Thanksgiving Changes...

Thanksgiving has always brought such fun and joy to my life.  


As a mother I have been determined to keep our family traditions alive...and add a few of our own to the list.  Having both my mom and dad's families in town we are usually well over the average 4,000 calorie intake most americans have between our two gynormous meals.  Other than the two thanksgiving meals we also have a traiditon of holding hands in a big circle and sharing what we are each most thankful for in the past year.  We also use black Friday as a day for the women to congregate baking THOUSANDS of cookies. 


This year is turning out quite differently than my memories recall and how I planned to spend thanksgivings with my children.


Between the two families combined it's safe to say we usually spend thanksgiving with around 50 family members including a varitey of men, women, and children of 4 generations.  So the first big change this year will be us missing about half of the typical family clan.....and in turn will be much milder, quieter, and even maybe a bit relaxing (but if you know me, I DO NOT like relaxing holidays...I LIVE FOR the hustle and bustle this time of year brings). 


Also, my grandma has been out of town for a few weeks (doesn't she know she belongs at home with her local relatives for the holidays----j/k) and therfore we will not be holding our bake day on Friday (big gasp!).


BUT the biggest change this year is the change within my heart.  I've said this before but when we decided to adopt I did not realize it would be a huge spiritual journey for our family.  Our eyes have been opened wider than ever and I feel as if our hearts have grown tremendously as well.

How can we even fathom the love and devotion we have been given by our heavenly Father?  I know on Thanksgiving we all say, "God has been so great," or "We have so much to thank Him for this year," or "Let's give thanks to God on this day," and so on.  Then we go on to eating our largest meal of the year, watching football, or playing a few games.  How often do we REALLY think about those statements we make....and why do we often only make those "public" statements when it's a holiday in which we are celebrating? 


Don't get me wrong, I am not going to be a grinch this year by not eating a large meal--knowing of the millions of people who are STARVING around the world.  I'm not going to stop the traditions and live a life just grumbling over the things we take for granted.  BUT, I AM going to start to live a life of thanksgiving each and every day.  I AM going to think about the starving, less fortunate people and DO something about it. 


A few months ago a wonderful lady from our church challanged others to a three day fast on rice and beans (living like 85% of the world does) and to give the money saved on groceries to those who are less fortunate.  That challange got me thinking...I plan meals at our house each week, then buy only groceries that are needed for those meals (meal planning alone saves a lot each month!).  If I plan the meals, I get to decide what we eat...and therefore I have decided that our family is going to try a ONE YEAR weekly "fast." 

Starting next week we are going to have one supper a week that consists of food that is eaten by poor stricken communities (mostly rice and beans).  We will eat small portions and will use that night as a night of fasting, reflecting, and GIVING.  As a family we want to do more for the less fortunate and I believe this will allow us to do so.  We often want to give more but cannot find the room in our budget to give much more...by doing the math I believe by cutting out (almost) four suppers a month we will have close to $50 extra dollars that we can GIVE to others who are DESPERATE.  $50 dollars to us means nothing...but can mean so much to a family in need.

We would love to have other families join us in this challange!  Will it be hard, yes.  But it will be worth it...and there are MILLIONS of others who need the money soooooooo much more than we do, living in the "American Dream."

So this Thanksgiving despite the changes to our typical routine, I give thanks to the Lord who has given us EVERYTHING.  And may I always remember that EVERYTHING which He gives us belongs to HIM....how can we repay Him for that which has been given?  I believe the answer lies within HIS people who are needy, poor, orphaned, homeless, less fortunate. 

Happy Thanksgiving to you all!  May we all give thanks to the One who has provided for us.


I give thanks to you, O Lord my God, with my whole heart, and I will glorify your name forever. Psalm 86:12


Oh give thanks to the LORD, for he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever!        Psalm 107:1


Love from our family to yours!

Mother to FIVE!!!

Early Saturday morning my dear friend Becky went into labor at 32 weeks.  She was transported to Bismarck (an hour away) and delived her THIRD baby boy, Benton.  Because the hospital is an hour away and they are from Oklahoma with no family close, we stepped into the role of parenting their 2 and 3 year old boys (along with our three).  We had the boys from Saturday morning until Tuesday evening...and I learned a lot in those few days!!! 

The boys are both fun-loving, silly, typical toddler boys....and they easily adjusted to our schedule and home...BUT I realized quickly there are so many little routines that each family sets up (when baths are given, how to wash their hair, when to change undies, bed time routines, etc).  I learned that caring for children overnight is much different than the few hours I often do.


Getting in and out of the car was a treat....trying to get all three boosters buckled in the back of the van was a process in itself...trying to keep everyone together and counted for was another issue!  We got a number of stares on our few jaunts out of the house.  While eating at Wendy's after church on Sunday I almost busted out laughing at the people in line who were watching me try to get all five of them to the bathroom and situated at the table while Bobby ordered our food.  One lady moved her hand across the air motioning at the five kiddos I was wrestling, obviously asking if they were all mine.  Another family was in line to order and the mom and teenage daugther turned around at least 20 times then would turn back to each other whispering....a few minutes later their dad/husband came up to me and asked, "I don't want to be rude, but are ALL OF THESE your kids???" 


This statement got me thinking....what if they WERE all my kids???  I understand having a 1, 2, 3, 3, and 5 year old is pretty uncommon and maybe even a bit crazy....but what if we adopt two children, one being close to Ayla's age and one close to Owen's...AND two of them are black.  What kind of stares will we get THEN?!??! 


We've all heard the old saying "God doesn't give you more than you can handle."  But Katie Davis (Kisses from Katie) made me look at this statement through a different lens.  She (and I) believe God does give you more than you can handle.  God puts tough, hard, challanging, stressful situations in our lives so that we become dependent on HIM.  Times like these are when God takes over, makes us surrender, and does the impossible in our lives.


Our days with Baker and Beau were not a test....it was not a test to see if we can parent five children.  It was a blessing.  A blessing God gave us to be able to show love to our friends.  To be able to reach out to these two boys who will be living in transistion for awhile.  It was tough, exhausting, and overwhelming at times.  The four days may have seemed more like a week or two....but it was good.

Bobby and I have decided to get trained for foster care while we wait for our referral...down the road we may just get a phone call in the middle of the night that some children need our home...need our love....and we will welcome them into our home just as we did Baker and Beau. 


I always prayed and hoped I would marry a man who loves children the way I do.  I am often approached by wives who say, "How did you get Bobby on board with your adoption."  What people don't understand is that his heart for children is just as big as mine!!!  HE is the one that had to get ME on board with adoption.  HE is the one that after a very long church service/sunday school (orphan Sunday), a long weekend with five kiddos, and when we had plans to work on our remodel project, decided it was best if we jump in the car and travel to Bismarck so the boys could see their parents and meet their baby brother.  It was Bobby who pointed out that the other things didn't matter and "if it were our kids we'd want them to be there." 


I know foster care, adoption, or whatever else God has in our future will not be easy.  It will be more than we can handle.  But He will be with us and we will depend on Him.


When Baker and Beau left our house on Tuesday evening Ayla cried....she wanted them to stay....to come live with us.  Don't children have such huge hearts?!??!  Children are welcoming, loving, kind, and joyful!!  Oh what joys they bring to our life...just as all the other children God has in store for our family will!


Philippians 4:13
I can do everything through him who gives me strength

Love from our family to yours!

Orphan Sunday Recap....

I  thought I'd get to this post yesterday...but I've been blessed with having two other children to care for the last few days and find myself running in circles chasing after five children ages 5 and younger!!!  A post about THAT experience will come soon....stay tuned!

On Sunday we celebrated Orphan Sunday at our church...and it was such a blessing for us to share about the orphan crisis with others!  We were blessed to have two other families share with us: one on foster care, and one on their story of bringing home their daughter from Russia.  I am guessing there were around 80-100 people in attendance and we were delighted with the number of people God brought to listen!!  We had numerous people come up to us after Sunday School saying how they were touched in one way or another...and I can honestly say Bobby and I were touched 10 times more! 
When we first started this adoption journey we thought the process was about our family and what God wanted us to do for an orphaned child.  Now we know that His plans were much greater!!!  Bobby and I have grown an INTENSE passion for orphans, Africa, and the less fortunate.  To be able to share that passion with others and to see how God is moving in the hearts of others in our church makes my heart skip a few beats!!!  We had FOUR families pick up applications for foster care, and one family approach us with questions about adoption....that means at least five families were touched in some way.  We will be praying that the Lord works in their lives as He did ours. 
Here is a video we shared that puts a few things into perspective:

I often find myself feeling jealousy of my "friends" who have great support close by them....people from places like, NC, TX, OK, VA, IN, and OH.  The movement to care for orphans is growing so rapidly in places down south and out east...and I yearn for those connections and support here in North Dakota!!    BUT, I can see how God brought us back to ND in just the right time!!  We are now ready to take our ministry further and will be sharing our vision/dream with other chruches in Dickinson very soon.  In the past nine months God has definitely been working in our lives and has placed the right people and opportunities smack dab in front of us!!!!

I cannot wait to see the posts I'll be writing a year from now, two years from now, or five years from now!  I cannot wait to see the plans He has for us, our church, and our community!!! 


Love from our family to yours!

DTE!!!

We received wonderful news today!!!!!!  We are officially DTE (dossier to Ethiopia) for a girl (0-2) or sibling group (0-4) including one girl.  Those three words mean soooo much in the adoption world!  Today's date means we are officially "waiting" and will determine when we receive our referral.

Right now there are a lot of changes going on in Ethiopia.  When we first started this process we were told we were expected to wait 9-12 months for a referral...today the wait times are stated as 12-18 months....and that number is projected to increase....possibly A LOT!  Just yesterday a lady from our adoption "community" shared what the wait time trends are looking like.  For us, it was not good news.  To be honest, I was quite discouraged to hear that news. Thinking we were going to be DTE today and seeing those wait times was very hard and frustrating.

Bobby came home from work, could tell I was discouraged, and after sharing my feelings wish him he says, "Courtney, there is nothing we can do about it. God is in control, we both know we were called to Ethiopia and so we wait." 

I can honestly say that it will be hard, tough, and discouraging at times...but I know that the Lord has a plan for us and I am at peace knowing this is where we are supposed to be....so today we will rejoice knowing we are finally DTE and will wait for the plans which He has made for us!

A little glimpse of the paperwork involved with adoption:



Mailing our dossier last week
(we woke up on a Saturday morning knowing we had to get one document notarized before we could send our dossier in...I made a post on FB looking for a notary, thinking we were out of luck for a Saturday. I had a friend reply that she could meet us in 10 minutes...I had just jumped out of the shower, kids weren't dressed, and we were by no means "ready."  We scrambled as fast as we could, jumped in the car, got the document notarized, ran to make copies, and ran to the post office to over-night our dossier package....if we would have missed her that day our DTE date would have been a week later--which is a lot when you're talking DTE dates!)

At the post office nervous to send this baby off!!!! 

So, tonight we celebrate!!  We are taking my parents to a nice restaurant in Medora to enjoy the three beautiful blessings we already have and to celebrate the children (because we all know that I will not stop at just one!) who WILL BE joining our family one day...hopefully not too long from now!

Eli (5)

Ayla (3)

Owen (1)

Love from our family to yours!
(P.S. this Sunday is national Orphan Sunday....we are so ecstatic that we will be able to share our hearts with others and to charge others to get involved....will share more on Monday!)

Kisses from Katie

Most of you who know me know I am an avid reader.  I don't know the last time I went to bed without reading, took a trip without a book by my side, or didn't read at least two stories to my children on a given day.  I'm in a book club, a couple Bible studies, and my job revolves around reading.  If you can't tell, I LOVE TO READ! 

I love to read many different genres but usually end up choosing some sort of historical fiction or a good memoir.  But to me, the best book is one that I read in less than a week, one that I refuse to not pass on, and one that makes a difference in the way I live my life.

Kisses from Katie is that book.  I absolutely could not put this book down and would not only recommend it, but I will be personally handing the book on to many others, because it's
just that good.
From the inside cover:

"What would cause and 18 year old senior class president and homecoming queen from Nashville, TN to disobey and disappoint her parents by forgoing college, break her little brother's heart, lose all but a handful of her friends (because they think she has gone off the deep end), and break up with the love of her life, all so she could move to Uganda, where she knew only one person and didn't even speak the language?           

A passion to follow Jesus."

Katie's heart is poured out on the pages of her book.  Her emotions are true, her life is unbelievable and her passion to live a life following Jesus is nothing but inspiring.  She has adopted 13 beautiful Ugandan girls, has started an awesome ministry (Amazima) and is called "mommy" to hundreds of children each day. 

After writing about a couple of precious little boys Katie writes:

"And the truth is that these are only the children I know, in a very small faction of a very small country.  The truth is that there are children like this all over the world, sick, starving, dying, unloved, and uncared for.

The truth is that the 143 million orphaned children and the 11 million who starve to death or die from preventable diseases and the 8.5 million who work as child slaves, prostitutes, or under other horrific conditions and the 2.3 million who live with HIV add up to 164.8 million needy children.  And though at first glance that looks like a big number, 2.1 billion people on this earth proclaim to be Christians.

The truth is that if only 8% of the Christians would care for one more child, there would not be any statistics left.

This is the truth.  I have the freedom to believe it.  The freedom, the opportunity to do something about it.  The truth is that He loves these children just as much as He loves me and now that I know, I am responsible."

Katie takes that responsibility serious.  Her book shares hundreds of stories of lives she has changed by simply showing them love.  Love to poor, needy, hungry, hurt, lost, lonely, and dying children.  Love to children who suffer from HIV, scabies, malnutrition, and who have jiggers living in their feet. 

Often while building legos or playing "house" I'll hear my children singing their favorite songs.  The one worship song that they sing over and over again is "Glory to God Forever."  I'll hear little Ayla belting "Take my life and let it be" and Eli "All for you and for your glory. Take my life and let it be yours." 
I can tell you I will never hear those lyrics come out of their mouths again without thinking about Katie.  I have never read a story that fit those words better.  Katie lives every single day of her life for the Lord and answering His call for her life.  She is willing to give it all for Him. 

I pray that I instill a "Katie attitude" in my children's heart.  A heart that would give anything and everything to live the life God has made for them....because really, it is all for Him, isn't it????

Love from our family to yours!

I-171H Arrived

Rejoicing today!!! We received our I-171H in the mail today which means our dossier is COMPLETE!! Will be making copies tonight then overnighting the packet to AWAA tomorrow!

Dossier will get approved from AWAA then we will officially be DTE (dossier to ethiopia). 

Have a great weekend!

Living a Faith that Bleeds

I've gotten behind a bit on my blogging again...and it's not because I've been relaxing or slacking! In fact, I've been acomplishing much lately and have been in awe with the way the Lord has been speaking to me...so much that I don't even know how to respond yet try blogging about it or discussing it!

I'm not going to lie, moving to Africa has been thrown around in our house a number of times. I don't really think it will ever happen and don't necessarily feel that's what God has in store for our family...but that is definitely a little glimpse into the feelings we've had and convictions we're feeling.

We've been reading some great adoption books as well as inpirational, missional living books and each book we read brings about life transformations and realizations. The latest book I read (which Bobby is now reading) is Red Letters: Living a Faith that Bleeds by Tom Davis (same author who wrote the book Fields of the Fatherless which I blogged about in the past). Below are some points from the book (in italics) and some thoughts I had while reading and reflecting:

Jesus didn't come to earth and identify with the rich, the successful, and the most influential.   

God hid the mystery of the kingdom in the most needy. 

Jesus always stopped what He was doing to help. 

He reached out because his heart was overflowing with compassion.
As his people we are called to go and do the same.   

Who do I identify with?  Who do I spend my time with?  Who do I reach out to?  I've always thought I was a compassionate person.  Sure, I am compassionate with my husband, my children, my family.  BUT, do I show compassion to those in need?  Do I reach out to them on a day to day basis or only when I am asked to volunteer at an event or when I want an ego booster for doing good?  I most definitely do not reach out with compassion on a day to day basis as Jesus did.  Which leads me to the next point... 

It's not easy to actually DO what Jesus said to do.  How different would our world be if Christians were really living as little Christs?

What matters most is having a heart that goes out to those in need and then act on that need. Far too many of us take the easy route, the path of least resistance. The path of doing nothing. I don't think it's because we are evil, or because we want to see harm come to others; it's just easier. Safer. 

Wow.  Little Christs?!?!?!  But I am only one person.  One small itty-bitty person on this huge overwhelming earth.  What can ONE person do to make a difference?

Have you ever been evaluated by a supervisor at work?  I have.  I know that when a principal steps into my classroom I put on a game face and show them my best teaching skills and abilities.  I want them to be impressed.  I want them to see I care about education and my students. 

God is watching.  He is here with me at every moment of my life.  Watching, evaluating, calling, reaching out...I can only imgaine the life I would live and the lives I would touch if I remembered that He is not only with me, but He is watching at every moment.   I would put on a game face and live the life He wants me to at every moment.

Do we as Americans take the time in our fast paced, "keeping up with the Jones'" lifestyle?  Do we look at those in need and live out a compassionate life full of choices Jesus would make?  This books goes on to share facts of the HIV pandemic and crisis in Africa and shares stories of others who are ordinary people doing extraordinary things for people half-way around the world.  Can you fathom the life WE are living compared to THEM? 

Compared to those who live in poverty, Western and developed nations live in unbelievable abundance. 

4 billion of the 6.5 billion people in the world live on $1-2/day.

For children with no parents, no food, and no money, school is an impossible dream. (not college, SCHOOL)

12 million African children have already lost one or both parents to AIDS

17 million children die from malnutrition and starvation each year.  

33% of the world's population is malnourished.

And the list goes on.
I'm not saying we should drop everything and move to Africa.  Some are called to third-world countries to live, do work, or adopt.  Others are not.  BUT we are ALL called to do SOMETHING.   God is clear.  He wants us to reach out to the least of these and live our lives for Him, through them.  Yes, those people.  The people who we often walk by, turn our cheeks to, or roll our eyes at.  The people who live so far away that we think we can do nothing to help.

What kind of people do we want to be?  What kind of people do we want our children to be?  What kind of morals, examples, teachings and choices are we living? 

Psalm 82:3Defend the cause of the weak and fatherless; maintain the rights of the poor and oppressed.
Proverbs 31:8-9
Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves; ensure justice for those being crushed. Yes, speak up for the poor and helpless, and see that they get justice.
Matthew 25:40I tell you the truth, when you did it to one of the least of these my brothers and sisters, you were doing it to me!

Thanks, Tom Davis, for doing it again!  Breaking my heart, changing my life, and bringing me closer to our wonderful Lord! (P.S this book is only $5.60 on Amazon, as is Fields of the Fatherless!) 
(be on your toes for my next blog post that will be on another life-changing book Kisses from Katie by Katie Davis)

Love from our family to yours!

Emotional Rollercoaster

This last week was an emotional rollercoaster for our family!  We spent Sep 24-26 in Fargo...four hours away for a 10 minute fingerprinting appointment!!  It was a nice, quick getaway for our family.  We got to spend a few hours shopping (!!) and were able to catch up with my cousin, Jenna, and her sweet little man, Evan, while splashing in the pool!

We returned home on Monday to find a check in the mail...
a check for Bobby's work trailer that was damaged in a hail storm....
a check for $3,200...
a check that brings us within one hundred dollars from our dossier payment.  WOW. 
We knew God would provide once again...but we're expecting it to fall in our hands the DAY we returned home from our last step in completing our dossier.  We were expecting to have to dig into our savings account again...or to wait until more fundraising has been done.  Once again God has shown us that He is in control.  When we follow his call and open our hears and minds to His will, He will support us along the way!

Deuteronomy 10:21He is your praise and He is your God, who has done these great and awesome things for you which your eyes have seen...

We are now anxiously awaiting our I-171H (approval for a orphan petition) and then our dossier will be sent to AWAA for approval, then to ETHIOPIA for our sweet girl or sibling group!

After the high on the adoption front, we quickly faced a tough trial for our family.  Our black lab, Louie, has been struggling for about a year with nerve damage.  Slowly the damage took over his back legs and he was no longer able to do much.  Our amazing vet tried a few different approaches, and nothing worked.  Just recently the damage seemed to move to his front legs and he quickly went downhill...falling all the time, unable to walk more than few feet without falling, barely being able to lie down, and no playing.  We knew it was time to say goodbye, but making the decision was soooo hard! 

Louie has been with us since before we were married!  I picked him out when I left college in Grand Forks and made a trip across ND and MT where Bobby and I were married.  He quickly became our "child" and was my rock when I was lonely in a new place!  He was with us for SIX MOVES and three children!  He was definitely a part of our family.

Our vet called us on Friday morning and said she would be coming to our house that evening to put him down.  Bobby told me to give the kids a heads up...little did I know how much it would affect a 3 and 5 year old!  Eli quickly picked up on the fact that the vet would be "killing" him (in Eli's words) and could not let that go.  Bobby took the day off as we spent the day grieving as a family, digging a grave, and making a cross for him.  Louie was by our side most of the day, but it was hard to even look at him.  The pain was great, the emotions were high, the tears were plentiful. 


Psalm 34:18The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit

After I told the kids, I realized I maybe should have waited until it was over, as they were extremely emotional.  As a mom it was extremely hard to see my children like that!  In their short lives, this was the first time they had to face loss and grieving.  It was hard to see them so emotional and so hurt.  Looking back, I think it was good for them to go through this tough situation. It was a good time to bond emotionally as a family and helped them understand death at a personal level.
 
Matthew 5:4Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.

We're doing much better after the weekend has passed.  The kids still make comments about it...but Gus seems to be effected the most!  He (our chocolate lab that we got on Louie's 1st birthday) isn't eating and just lies around all day.  You can tell he is very sad and lonely! 

We are ready for this new week!  The weather is beautiful (more like PERFECT!), and we have a pretty low key week so we should be able to enjoy some family time outdoors before the ND fall/winter weather kicks in.

Love from our family to yours!

Aching for the Fatherless

We had our first James 1:27 meeting last Sunday...and had 21 people show up who want to make a difference in the lives of children in need...and 10 more that were unable to attend but wanted to!  We were blown away with this much interest and look forward to seeing what God has in store for this ministry within our church and our community! 


Bobby and I have our 1-600 fingerprinting appointments on Monday...didn't expect them to be four hours away at the nearest Adoption Support Center.  Still trying to figure out how to make the trip work!!!  BUT, even with the distance this means we are FINALLY on our LAST step towards completing our dossier!  We are still $2,000 away from our goal (need $7,700 to send in the dossier and currently have $4,900 in the adoption account...in addition to $1,000 we were planning on using from our salaries toward this step).  I have full confidence that some way or another we will make it work when we get that final piece of paper but continue to pray that God will provide and help us in this burden!

To be honest I've questioned God already in this journey...is this really what we are supposed to be doing??  I have no doubt that we are called to adopt and that we want more children in our family....but with all the slow downs in Ethiopian adoptions and the constant reminder of much money adoption costs, I find myself second guessing!

This process is a feeling that's so hard to explain.  To be in love with a country and child you've never been to or met!  To feel a constant pain for the fatherless.  To constantly be reminded of the waste and materialism of our country.  To know how expensive adoption is and know how many children need a home.  To see pictures of hurting children...lost...homeless....hungry....unloved...alone.  I want to take them all in, show them love, teach them about our wonderful Father, and show them a life they probably won't have.
 

To feel all this and then to hear that it will be AT LEAST another year before we even get a referral and can help an innocent child.  My heart aches...but I will continue to fight for the orphaned children even while we are waiting for our own child to bring home.

Love from our family to yours!

James 1:27 Ministry

We just returned from a great, fun, warm, sunny camping trip over the long Labor Day weekend!  We were able to get away for three days with some great family and friends!  I brought a pile of paperwork to get done and books to read and I am glad to say that I didn't touch ANY of it!  It was truly a nice weekend relaxing in the sun, fishing, and just letting the days go by! 

Over the past couple of years Bobby and I have really tried cutting back on commitments and appointments...simplifying our life...but it seems with three growing children, owning a business, teaching, church activities, etc we are always running from place to place or are busy planning for one thing or another.


We really  plan to place a large focus in our life not only on our personal adoption but on being advocates for orphans in our church and community.  We know God has called our family to adoption and also know He has called us to make a difference in our community/church.

It is hard seeing the support, resources, groups, ministries so many of my adoption "friends" have in their towns/churches.  Sadly, the support is very minimal in North Dakota and churches have yet made the move in joining the church movement in helping orphans.  Bobby and I have prayed and prayed about this need in ND.

We are extremely happy that our church has accepted our desires in bringing an adoption/foster care ministry to our church!  We will be announcing our ministry this Sunday during our church service and will be launching the ministry on Sunday, September 18th!!!!!  We are very excited to see how God will work in our church and community and how we can be used to make His plans a reality!

Please keep us and our church family in your prayers as we launch this ministry!  As of now we are the only family currently in the adoption process and we have one family who currently does foster care.  We pray that we will have others join us in this ministry who see the need, have a heart in this direction, and want to make a difference!

We have found many great resources for adoption ministries through Show Hope, Christian Alliance for Orphans, Orphan Sunday, Hope for Orphans, Tapestry, and a variety of videos on youtube and vimeo (click to see my adoption video playlists if you are in need of resources!). To announce our ministry this week we plan on showing these two videos (pause playlist to view):

Love from our family to yours,

New Adventures

I feel completely disconnected to the blog world these past two weeks!  I just returned home from an overwhelming work trip to NYC and I'm extremely happy to be home with my family.  Bobby has never had the kiddos overnight before...more less for 6 nights!  The trip was great: an exceptional writing conference, great food, shopping, and my first Broadway experience--Wicked.  NYC is definitely a whole different world than the openness and slower paced life we live in North Dakota. I found myself missing ND...the August evenings listening to the crickets chirping, the fields that are almost ready for harvest, and the sunsets or clouds you can see for miles. 

Travelling home was more than exhausting and frustrating (late take-off which led to missing our connecting flight, an unexpected night in Minneapolis, and then issues with the plane in MPLS)!  But I was fortunate to make it home just a couple hours before Eli's 5th Birthday Party (and fortunate to have such a great husband and mom who cleaned, cooked, and prepared for it!).  Here are a few snapshots of his baseball party:

We start inservice tomorrow and the first day of school is Thursday already!!  After the conference I am finally feeling excited to go back to work...of course I'm still a little saddened to be leaving my children, but know God had this planned for me!

Growing up, through college, and my first few years teaching math has always been the easiest subject for me.  It came naturally and was something I never had to plan/study for.  As a new teacher I found myself spending a lot of time anxiously planning my reading and writing instruction and had to work hard to teach these two subjects.  Oddly enough I spent so much time researching, planning, and educating myself in literacy instruction that I grew a huge love for literacy and teaching children how to read and write.  In the last two classrooms I had I  savored every moment of teaching literacy and developing new tools and ideas for my students! 

Now, here I am returning to education as an Instructional Literacy Coach (which is working with the teachers to develop the best reading and writing instruction for their students)...and the best part is I will be working PART TIME while my mom and sister-in-law are at my house 2.5 days a week with our children!  No more overly priced health insurance bills and a little extra income to go straight into our adoption fund!  Looking back, I can completely see how God has been planting the seeds and growing the roots to lead me to this job and this opportunity for some financial relief for our family! 

I'm thankful for all the opportunities God has placed in my life and I look forward to seeing how this new school year unfolds, how much Eli grows as a five year old, and what other experiences we will have this year!  We have our notarized home study in hand and will be sending our I-600 in TOMORROW!!!!!!!!!!!!  Last step in the paperwork process and our dossier will be sent for our baby girl in Ethiopia! 


James 1:17     
Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change.        

Love from our family to yours!

Far Away...but Close to Home

Ethiopia, Somalia, and Kenya have been hit with the worst drought in 60 years.  Bobby and I are working with our friends in the Ethiopian adoption community to raise support for four organizations already working to provide famine relief in the Horn of Africa (where our child(ren) are!!!)

Our one day fundraiser allows you to donate any amount (as little as one dollar) to any of four organizations--World Vision, Children's Hope Chest, World Food Programme, or Doctoros Without Borders

To encourage your donation over $25 or over $50, we have created a list of items for you to shop from.  We have t-shirts, jewelry, even a full-size Scentsy warmer. 

Please visit the site to donate to one of the four organizations or to learn more:
http://adoptivefamiliesforfaminerelief.weebly.com/index.html

Whether you decide to donate today or not... please pass on this website by forwarding this email or sharing on Facebook or Twitter.  We sincerely appreciate your support!

Fundraiser ends at midnight Thursday, August 11th.
For more information on the drought and famine go to http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=7372866n

Africa may be miles away, but we now have family living there.  Our very own children may be affected by the drought and may be suffering due to the lack of food/water.  Please pray for the people of Africa as this is a huge devastation for their country. 

Love from our family to yours!

 

Leaps and Bounds!!!

We are getting closer! We are STILL waiting for our Colorado background checks to get back, then will send our I-600 form in, wait for that process, THEN our dossier will be sent to Ethiopia!!!! 

We have so much to be grateful for this week!  God has answered so many prayers and we are getting so much closer to getting our dossier sent to ETHIOPIA!!!  We need $7,700 to get our dossier sent and this week brought us great strides!

A couple weeks ago the kiddos and I were running errands and decided to stop and get the car washed...which turned into a 1.5 hour adventure after we got stuck in the car wash, the arm broke on our car, we had to wait for the owner to show up to get us out, then had to take pictures of the scratches on our car, etc.  Believe it or not the 1.5 hours in the car with three hungry kiddos was not bad!  I kept my patience and was able to laugh at the situation.

Why the story?  Well, the small scratches on my car (which are almost 100% buffed out) brought us $400 in an insurance claim...of course we weren't going to use $400 for  something silly--like scratches you can't even see-- when we can put the money toward GOD's PURPOSE in our life right now!  (even got a bundle of free car washes, so the 1.5 hours was rather successful!)

THEN we've been preparing for a rummage sale for awhile now...cleaning closets, getting donations from wonderful friends and family, and setting up.  My goal in the process was $800-$1,000 and prayed that God would bring the people and money even on a rainy weekend. 

Well, God once again showed His wonders by bringing us...

$800 on the FIRST DAY ALONE...

 another $600 on the second day....

$1,400 to go straight toward our dossier payment. 

W.O.W. 

And THEN...we got our tax return a couple months ago (which some of which went toward our initial adoption costs) but were short changed $2,000 when we received our return.  We've questioned it a couple of times but it wasn't looking promising.  After our sale today I checked our bank account to find an extra $2,000 sitting  there....unexpectedly from our taxes.
That means this week we have made a huge leap and are able to add $3,800 to our adoption account!!!!!!!!  Can you say God is great...or WHAT?!??!!?

Today I was elated in all the ways God has answered our prayers and has provided for our family.  Just a few short hours after all the excitement I found myself in a situation feeling jealous and bummed out.  In that moment I had to stop, shake my head, and realize the little silly insecurities in life do not matter.  It's so easy to get caught up in the little things...at the end of the day when I sit back to reflect, I realize how small I am and how awesome He is.  I pray that God continues to show me how small I am...how silly insecurities are...how great He is. 

I pray that every one of you reading this will stop and take a moment to reflect on what God has done in YOUR life this week...month...year...life.

So much has been given to me;
I have no time to ponder on that which has been denied.~Hellen Keller

"Give thanks to the God of heaven.
His love endures forever."
Psalm 136:26 

Love from our family to yours!

"Mommy, which one of us is your favorite?"

Sometimes parenting is sweet, loving, fun and easy....then there are times that leave you tired, exhausted, angry or dumbfounded.  Little Ayla (3) is just blowing me away lately with her vocabulary and the things she comes up with...she's definitely our "talker". Eli (almost 5) on the other hand is more of the listener/heartfelt child and really thinks things through (a little background information for the following story!).A few nights ago I was putting the kiddos into the car and Eli asked the question every mom is asked at least once..."Mommy, which one of us is your favorite?" 

When he asked the question I was expecting to open a whole can of worms and an in depth conversation.  I started by responding..."Of course you are all my favorites...."

He interrupted, "But who do you LOOOOVVE the most??" 

"Eli, I love you all the same but for many different reasons.  I love you all because you are my children....I love you because..."

After I tell him what I love about him he interrupts again, "Well Mommy, I love Daddy more and then you." and grins.

Of course the conversation stopped at this point as I was completely dumbfounded (a little jealous) and laughing hysterically. 

I just read this post today that covers the same topic but with a much better ending:)  It's a great little story, so I'd recommend everyone to read this post:

"In Love with Adoption"

Post by Shelley Brown 

Love from our family to yours!

Black and White

Our family was able to get away for a short trip to Polson, MT last week.  It was a great time visiting friends and family in the town which brought us so many happy memories! 

The 12 hour drive was actually quite relaxing and was great time for Bobby and I to get some of our training done...on the way we read "Black Children White Parents: Putting the Pieces Together" by Tonya Moore.  Reading this book opened us up to great conversation and helped us realize some important issues we need to start thinking about (hair/skin care, cultural differences, our judgmental society, answering tough questions, etc)

We've just started the whole adoption process and I've already been asked numerous times how I feel about having a black child.  When we started this process we didn’t have any concerns about this issue as we knew we were called to Ethiopia and know we won’t have any issues loving or accepting a child of another race. 

Living in Dickinson we believe the biggest issue for us will be incorporating the child’s heritage in our life.  Being there is not much cultural diversity in western North Dakota and we do not have any African American friends or family, we will need to work extra hard in finding some good role models for our child(ren).  By reading books such as this, I feel we will be able to learn more about the black culture and what it will take from us to incorporate African culture in our life.   We look forward to teaching our children about various cultures and how to be accepting of others no matter the color of their skin or where they come from.

I can only hope that our community will welcome our adoption with open arms, but realize there will be some who do not favor our choice of a mixed race family and racism will be an issue throughout our lives.  We hope to show others the love we have for ALL people and hope that our family can be an example for others in our community.  

I know this topic will be addressed over and over again and will be the topic of many blog posts in the future.  I would recommend this book to EVERY white parent adopting a black child or even grandparents and close relatives!  I believe that by continually educating ourselves and living our lives through love, we can be effective parents of any race!

The fact is there are millions of orphans around the world waiting for a forever family.  We do believe and acknowledge that the perfect situation would have all children in a healthly home with their biological parents.  BUT, there are millions of children from various countries/races without their biological families.  There are MILLIONS of children waiting to be adopted in Ethiopia and God has trusted us in raising one of those children. 

Love from our family to yours!