Friday, June 30, 2006
Blessings
I am sure they will be the first of many but this one is a start. I said in an earlier post that we had to get some things notarized today and that it would cost us $4 a signature. Well we were looking at paying around $36 today and that was just the beginning of what would add up to about $100 in just notary charges! We got the notary done at AAA and got a discount because we are Plus members. Well the lady informed us that if we upgraded to Premier members we could have all notaries for free. We had her see how much it would cost us to upgrade and with the upgrade pro-rated we paid $15! In all we probably saved at least $85 and we have better AAA service to go with it! Thank you Lord for your provisions!
Getting to work today
We are going to leave in a little while to go get some notarizing done. One more step in this long process and it seems like there is SOOO much more to go before we can bring our baby boy home. On our way home we are going to swing by the agencies office and drop off our application, contract and check to get our file started. There will truly be no turning back now after giving up $2,000 on this thing, Jonah wouldn't hear of it. We might as well keep trucking forward. But it is going to be SO worth it when we hold our little boy in our arms for the first time! A new friend of ours from church just received their referral of their little girl from China on Monday and it was so great to see her picture and hear how excited her Mommy and Daddy are to go and bring her home. I can't wait for it to be our turn!
On another note, Jonah and I are insane. Did you know that? I wonder what we are thinking sometimes. We are seriously thinking about finding a foster agency here to start fostering again while we wait for our baby to come home. We know that God called us to foster and we can't seem to get that we need to be doing it out of our hearts. We are praying about it to see whether God wants us to start now or wait till after we bring our son home. I am really feeling the call to start now. We'll see what happens. I never thought that after the girls' ordeal I would willingly jump back into fostering, it was SOOO hard and I was emotionally drained for a full 2 years but I seem to look back and say to myself, "It wasn't really THAT bad", when in my heart I know that it was. I guess it's a little bit like labor and a birthmom saying, 'I will never do that again" but then after a few months say "I want another one! "
Yesterday I started "school" with Alana and she is SO excited about being such a big girl. She's 3 now ya know. We started on the first lesson of "Teach your child to read in 100 easy lessons". I had tried it a few months back with her and she wasn't ready but she is now. I am so impressed that she can do these lessons, truly I am. We may not be able to go very far with them yet but it's worth a try. I figure if she already knows all the letters and their sounds she should be ready to read, right? I'll let you now how she is doing with it. The cutest thing is that Kai sits with us and copies right back when I say to repeat after me. His sounds aren't very good but he is trying.
Sarah is still gone and we miss her so much around here. Things just aren't the same without her and her brother and sister miss her too. Alana is always asking when Sissy is going to come home and Kai will say, "Darah" when he sees her picture and blow her a kiss. I can't wait to see her smiling face walk off that airplane on Sunday!
Wow, that was a long post. Enough for now.
On another note, Jonah and I are insane. Did you know that? I wonder what we are thinking sometimes. We are seriously thinking about finding a foster agency here to start fostering again while we wait for our baby to come home. We know that God called us to foster and we can't seem to get that we need to be doing it out of our hearts. We are praying about it to see whether God wants us to start now or wait till after we bring our son home. I am really feeling the call to start now. We'll see what happens. I never thought that after the girls' ordeal I would willingly jump back into fostering, it was SOOO hard and I was emotionally drained for a full 2 years but I seem to look back and say to myself, "It wasn't really THAT bad", when in my heart I know that it was. I guess it's a little bit like labor and a birthmom saying, 'I will never do that again" but then after a few months say "I want another one! "
Yesterday I started "school" with Alana and she is SO excited about being such a big girl. She's 3 now ya know. We started on the first lesson of "Teach your child to read in 100 easy lessons". I had tried it a few months back with her and she wasn't ready but she is now. I am so impressed that she can do these lessons, truly I am. We may not be able to go very far with them yet but it's worth a try. I figure if she already knows all the letters and their sounds she should be ready to read, right? I'll let you now how she is doing with it. The cutest thing is that Kai sits with us and copies right back when I say to repeat after me. His sounds aren't very good but he is trying.
Sarah is still gone and we miss her so much around here. Things just aren't the same without her and her brother and sister miss her too. Alana is always asking when Sissy is going to come home and Kai will say, "Darah" when he sees her picture and blow her a kiss. I can't wait to see her smiling face walk off that airplane on Sunday!
Wow, that was a long post. Enough for now.
Tuesday, June 27, 2006
Things needing to be done!
Today I finished my autobiography for the homestudy. It took me a long time but I finally finished it, whew! Now it is Jonah's turn and we are hoping he can finish it by the end of this weekend. I am praying that we can send in the application, contract, and money ($2,250; gulp) to the homestudy agency (East West Adoptions) to start on the interview phase by the end of this weekend. Pray that we can get this done! Right now my list is to have this finished by Monday, July 3:
1) Faith finish autobiography (done)
2) Jonah finish autobiography
3) have contract notarized A(done)
4) send out reference forms (done)
5) notarize application for certified birth certs. (done)
6) notarize application for certified marriage cert. (done)
7) Make a copy of both of our Driver's license (done)
8) make a copy of both our passports (done)
9) finish application (done)
10) have application notarized (found out today we don't need this done, we saved $4!)
11) send check to agency (done)
Pray that I can get this all done. All of the notary stuff needs to be done when Jonah is here so that limits our days. The good thing is that AAA does notaries for $4 a page when you are Plus members, which we are!!!
Our goal is to be completely ready to go by the first of September because that is when the orphanage is opening back up to make more referrals after they moved the kids to a new building. There is a lot to do by then but I know we can do it as long as our homestudy and other paperwork is completed in a timely manner. The hard part is so much of it is out of our control and we are just at the mercy of others.
1) Faith finish autobiography (done)
2) Jonah finish autobiography
3) have contract notarized A(done)
4) send out reference forms (done)
5) notarize application for certified birth certs. (done)
6) notarize application for certified marriage cert. (done)
7) Make a copy of both of our Driver's license (done)
8) make a copy of both our passports (done)
9) finish application (done)
10) have application notarized (found out today we don't need this done, we saved $4!)
11) send check to agency (done)
Pray that I can get this all done. All of the notary stuff needs to be done when Jonah is here so that limits our days. The good thing is that AAA does notaries for $4 a page when you are Plus members, which we are!!!
Our goal is to be completely ready to go by the first of September because that is when the orphanage is opening back up to make more referrals after they moved the kids to a new building. There is a lot to do by then but I know we can do it as long as our homestudy and other paperwork is completed in a timely manner. The hard part is so much of it is out of our control and we are just at the mercy of others.
Monday, June 26, 2006
Celebrating our fourth anniversary
On June 23rd Jonah and I celebrated our fourth year of being married! My parents graciously watched Alana and Malakai so Jonah and I could get away for a few nights. It was wonderful to reconnect and be together without the interruptions that kids can cause (which are wonderful by the way). We went out to dinner and the movies, walked, talked, napped, went to bed late and saw the sights. It was such a wonderful and relaxing time but it is good to be back with my babies again too. It is amazing how much I can miss them when I am away for such a short time! Now I just have to get Sarah back safe and sound and I'll be one happy Mama.
Thursday, June 22, 2006
Wednesday, June 21, 2006
Sarah's first plane ride
By herself that is! Sarah leaves tomorrow morning really early to fly back to visit her best friend. They are going to go to Lake Trinity on a house boat and will spend the week inner tubing, swimming, and go down the slide. She is very excited to see Olivia again as she has missed her terribly since we have moved. Mommy is a little nervous to send my little girl on a plane by herself but Sarah is brave and keeps telling me it is no big deal. The only thing Sarah is bummed about it that tomorrow is Alana's birthday and my sister(Cari) is coming over with a cake and then taking Kai, Alana, Lauren (my neice) and I to Chuckie Cheese's to play. Tomorrow is going to be a fun day! I'll let you all know how Sarah did on the plane by herself when I hear.
Monday, June 19, 2006
Alana's turning 3! Yikes!
Much to mine and Jonah's amazment Alana will be turning 3 this Thursday. We had a little "party" yesterday during Father's Day at my parents house and she thought it was the coolest thing. I made her a birthday cake and she was a pro blowing the candles out. Her biggest present was a new 2 wheeler bike from my Grandma and Papa and she adores it.
On a sentimental note, we are amazed at God's blessing in our life with the gift of our daughter. Alana is one of the most loving and affectionate little girls I have ever met and is always making people smile wherever she goes. God has blessed her with the sweetest spirit but with fire behind it too! She definitely keeps us on our toes. It is hard to believe that just 3 short years ago our baby girl was being born without our knowledge into a horrible situation and the worst odds and had to endure 5 whole months of neglect before she was in our arms for good. It breaks my heart to think of what she went through those few months and wish that I could have been there from the beginning able to see her as a newborn, open her eyes for the first time, laugh for the first time (and boy can she laugh), and smile for the first time. I thank God that I was able to see her first tooth break through, be there when she sat up for the first time, rolled over, ate peas, said her first word and finally walked. It is such a blessing that I was able to be there for those special moments as she has grown and blossomed into a beautiful little girl that loves God and will tell everyone that He is in her heart. I love my Lana girl with all my heart and can't imagine what my life would have been like if exactly 3 years ago, while she was brand new God had not put foster care on our hearts and we had not been obedient.
With that said it is a great picture of how being obeidient to God may not be convienient but in the end He will bless you for doing what He has asked.
Happy Birthday Alana!
On a sentimental note, we are amazed at God's blessing in our life with the gift of our daughter. Alana is one of the most loving and affectionate little girls I have ever met and is always making people smile wherever she goes. God has blessed her with the sweetest spirit but with fire behind it too! She definitely keeps us on our toes. It is hard to believe that just 3 short years ago our baby girl was being born without our knowledge into a horrible situation and the worst odds and had to endure 5 whole months of neglect before she was in our arms for good. It breaks my heart to think of what she went through those few months and wish that I could have been there from the beginning able to see her as a newborn, open her eyes for the first time, laugh for the first time (and boy can she laugh), and smile for the first time. I thank God that I was able to see her first tooth break through, be there when she sat up for the first time, rolled over, ate peas, said her first word and finally walked. It is such a blessing that I was able to be there for those special moments as she has grown and blossomed into a beautiful little girl that loves God and will tell everyone that He is in her heart. I love my Lana girl with all my heart and can't imagine what my life would have been like if exactly 3 years ago, while she was brand new God had not put foster care on our hearts and we had not been obedient.
With that said it is a great picture of how being obeidient to God may not be convienient but in the end He will bless you for doing what He has asked.
Happy Birthday Alana!
My first I love you
Today I heard the 3 sweetest words a Mom can ever hear. I was feeding Kai his lunch and in between bites he said, "I (pointing to his eye) Uv OO (pointing to me). It was just the sweetest thing and completly made my day! Children are so precious and such a gift from God and I am reminded that during those special moments in between all the chaos of life. I love my Kai boy!
Monday, June 12, 2006
The first form is in the mail
Today I sent in our I-600a to the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). What is the I-600a you might ask? It is basically a form you fill out to apply for the advance processing to adopt a foreign orphan. With it went a check for $685, ouch! And that is just the beginning of all the money to be had by our government, the Liberian government and orphanage fees. We did find a homestudy agency today that is going to do our homestudy (a compilation of everything you could want to know about us) for $750 less than any other agency we have found. The best part is that we don't have to take any of those parenting classes I was telling you about! Yeah, that will get us one step closer to our kids because we don't have to take the time to take more classes. I guess we are in this for the long haul, no turning back now! It is so exciting!
Sunday, June 11, 2006
Prayer requests as we journey through this
We are in the very beginning stages of this whole journey and I think it is fitting to ask you all for your prayers as we go through this. Here are some that I can think of right now:
1) That God provide the finances
2) That our children will be protected from any diseases, sicknesses, and even death (I know of 4 people that had their children die before they could bring them home)
3) That we will be able to complete ALL the paperwork quickly and that it will be a smooth process
4) That all of the forms that need to be OKed by the government(both US and Liberian) will be OKed within a month of receiving them, or sooner.
5) That God will be preparing us for our new children and them for us.
6) That we will be prtoected supernaturally when it comes time to travel abroad to pick them up.
7) That Sarah, Alana, and Kai will be able to share in this joy with us and trasnsition smoothly when the new children come home.
8) That the waiting time will be a time of peace for our family and that we will not get impatient
Oh, I could go on and on but I think that is enough for now. Thank you for your prayers!
1) That God provide the finances
2) That our children will be protected from any diseases, sicknesses, and even death (I know of 4 people that had their children die before they could bring them home)
3) That we will be able to complete ALL the paperwork quickly and that it will be a smooth process
4) That all of the forms that need to be OKed by the government(both US and Liberian) will be OKed within a month of receiving them, or sooner.
5) That God will be preparing us for our new children and them for us.
6) That we will be prtoected supernaturally when it comes time to travel abroad to pick them up.
7) That Sarah, Alana, and Kai will be able to share in this joy with us and trasnsition smoothly when the new children come home.
8) That the waiting time will be a time of peace for our family and that we will not get impatient
Oh, I could go on and on but I think that is enough for now. Thank you for your prayers!
Why Liberia?
I have heard this question before ever since we started talking about Liberia a year ago. The answer seems simple to me. That is where our child/ren are and that is where God is leading us. Also, the children in Liberia are in such dire need of help, food and a loving home. They are literally dying away. Liberia currently has the highest infant mortality rate in the world! 1 in 9 babies die before their first birthday. The country just got out from under a 20 year civil war and it is decimated. There is no running water, electricity, or sewage systems in place and all of the buildings still wear the signs of the war. Many of the children were orphaned by the war and are desperate to find a family. There is very little food, one bowl of rice a day for each child. My heart just aches for these children! To me this picture is devastating. I know that there are children in the US that need homes but none of them are in this kind of a situation. They at least will have food to eat, good water to drink and a roof above their head if they are in a foster home. All in all this is where Jonah and I feel called.
There's another Winger (or two) on the way!!!
Did I get your attention with that title? Jonah and I are pleased beyond measure to announce that after a year of dissapointment with several domestic adoption leads we are officially pursuing the adoption of a baby (or 2) from Liberia, West Africa. God laid Liberia on our heart about a year ago and I have been talking about it ever since but knew that we would do our Liberian adoption as our last one (#6). I wanted to have another infant brand new from the hospital before going to do anything different, it was such a strong desire of mine and really it still is. Basically God told me to trust Him in this and that is what we are doing! We are trusting Him for so many things regarding bringing our babies home and the right timing but also I am trusting God that the infant baby that I want to bring home from the hospital will be coming home a little later than I had planned.
This is a very long and agonizing process filled with LOTS of paperwork, waiting, social workers prying into your private lives, more waiting, numerous classes to teach you how to be a parent (don't know why we have to do this if we already are parenting 3), doctors appointments, waiting some more, shelling out lots of money, and again more waiting. It is beyond me why anyone would want to go through this process ;)! If everyone had to go through all this before they could get pregnant we would have no teen pregnancy, druggies getting pregnant and those that do get pregnant would actually want to have a child! Imagine that.
We are adopting from an orphanage in Monrovia called Acres of Hope. You can check out their website using the link on the left titled "Liberian adoption". Liberia has such an amazing and tragic history and I will be putting more links to information about the country in the near furture if you are interested.
So in conjunction with our family blog this will be the place to come to get updates on our journey to our children in Liberia. I hope you enjoy reading about the journey with us!
PS. I also changed the respond portion of the blog. You don't need to sign in to leave a comment for me IF you click on the anonymous button. Make sure you let me know who you are in your post though. A few of you had complained about needing to sign in so I made it easy.
This is a very long and agonizing process filled with LOTS of paperwork, waiting, social workers prying into your private lives, more waiting, numerous classes to teach you how to be a parent (don't know why we have to do this if we already are parenting 3), doctors appointments, waiting some more, shelling out lots of money, and again more waiting. It is beyond me why anyone would want to go through this process ;)! If everyone had to go through all this before they could get pregnant we would have no teen pregnancy, druggies getting pregnant and those that do get pregnant would actually want to have a child! Imagine that.
We are adopting from an orphanage in Monrovia called Acres of Hope. You can check out their website using the link on the left titled "Liberian adoption". Liberia has such an amazing and tragic history and I will be putting more links to information about the country in the near furture if you are interested.
So in conjunction with our family blog this will be the place to come to get updates on our journey to our children in Liberia. I hope you enjoy reading about the journey with us!
PS. I also changed the respond portion of the blog. You don't need to sign in to leave a comment for me IF you click on the anonymous button. Make sure you let me know who you are in your post though. A few of you had complained about needing to sign in so I made it easy.
Friday, June 02, 2006
I found this on another blog and thought it was so great! Enjoy!
Dear GOD: I want to thank You for what you have already done. I am not going to wait until I see results or receive rewards; I am thanking you right now. I am not going to wait until I feel better or things look better; I am thanking you right now. I am not going to wait until people say they are sorry or until they stop talking about me; I am thanking you right now. I am not going to wait until the pain in my body disappears; I am thanking you right now. I am not going to wait until my financial situation improves; I am going to thank you right now. I am not going to wait until the children are asleep and the house is quiet; I am going to thank you right now. I am not going to wait until I get promoted at work or until I get the job; I am going to thank you right now. I am not going to wait until I understand every experience in my life that has caused me pain or grief; I am thanking you right now. I am not going to wait until the journey gets easier or the challenges are removed; I am thanking you right now. I am thanking you because I am alive. I am thanking you because I made it through the day's difficulties. I am thanking you because I have walked around the obstacles. I am thanking you because I have the ability and the opportunity to do more and do better. I'm thanking you because FATHER, YOU haven't given up on me.
God is just so good, and he's good all the time.
Dear GOD: I want to thank You for what you have already done. I am not going to wait until I see results or receive rewards; I am thanking you right now. I am not going to wait until I feel better or things look better; I am thanking you right now. I am not going to wait until people say they are sorry or until they stop talking about me; I am thanking you right now. I am not going to wait until the pain in my body disappears; I am thanking you right now. I am not going to wait until my financial situation improves; I am going to thank you right now. I am not going to wait until the children are asleep and the house is quiet; I am going to thank you right now. I am not going to wait until I get promoted at work or until I get the job; I am going to thank you right now. I am not going to wait until I understand every experience in my life that has caused me pain or grief; I am thanking you right now. I am not going to wait until the journey gets easier or the challenges are removed; I am thanking you right now. I am thanking you because I am alive. I am thanking you because I made it through the day's difficulties. I am thanking you because I have walked around the obstacles. I am thanking you because I have the ability and the opportunity to do more and do better. I'm thanking you because FATHER, YOU haven't given up on me.
God is just so good, and he's good all the time.
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