The BEST Christmas present ever

The day we've been waiting for is finally here-- we are going to Ethiopia to adopt our girls!!! 

God continues to give us far more than we ask or imagine (Ephesians 3:20-21)!!!  I began praying last Sunday specifically for a December 17 court date, and then we received a call Monday with a court date of Friday, Dec 14... so Brian and I are leaving Tuesday morning Dec 11 with Ella and Ava for Ethiopia to meet and adopt our 2 daughters!!  We are all SO VERY excited!!

Continued prayers for our family are greatly appreciated-- for our boys, who are staying home with my folks, for our new girls and all the transitions they are about to begin, and for our safety as we go.  Please pray specifically for our flights to be smooth and seamless with no delays, as it is a very long trip and it's the first time Ella and Ava have ever flown.  :)

We are sending in a sheet order before we leave, and it will likely be the last order that we send before Christmas.  We are still about $2K short of our goal, so we plan to continue selling after the holidays.  But if you'd like to get sheets in time for Christmas, now's the time to order.  We'll be sending an order tomorrow, so reply to this if you want yours added.

Also, we are wrapping up another fundraiser tomorrow as well.  Chalisa Skaggs with Premier Designs Jewelry has given us 25% of the profits from the jewelry show going on now.  There are some great gift ideas, and you'll also be helping us reach our goal!!  View the on-line catalog at
www.Public.fotki.com/cising/jewelry
password is: bling
You can view the regular catalog and holiday books with the link, then contact Chalisa Skaggs at Godgave2@insightbb.com with your order. Premier accepts every card, cash, and checks.
SPECIAL FOR DECEMBER: With every $75 purchase, get any 1 item up to $50 for JUST $5!!

Again, we are SO GRATEFUL for your prayers and support throughout this year.  We know the real story is about to begin as we meet our new girls for the first time, and we grow our family as God leads us.  We appreciate your continued prayers as our journey continues.

May God bless you this Christmas season, and may you know the peace that can only come from Jesus.

Much love,

Party with a Purpose!

Just in time for Christmas!!! 

An opportunity to shop for Christmas AND support our adoption-- a WIN-WIN!!
This is a "PARTY WITH A PURPOSE" because 25% of the show proceeds go toward our our adoption!

WOOHOO!

PARTY WITH A PURPOSE!!
Premier Designs Jewelry Afternoon Social
Sunday, December 2, 2012
1p-3p
Fern Creek Christian Church
A light lunch will be served; feel free to bring a friend and your daughters for a girls' afternoon out!


Drawings will be held for FREE JEWELRY-- hostess benefits will be shared between all those who order!!!

All orders will be received in time for Christmas!

Also, each show that books from our PARTY WITH A PURPOSE (to hold your own Premier jewelry show) will continue to give 10% back to our adoption from your shows, too!  (The gift that keeps on giving!!!)

If you can't make it Sunday, PLEASE shop on-line at
www.Public.fotki.com/cising/jewelry
password is:  bling
You can view the regular catalog and holiday books with the link, then contact Chalisa Skaggs at Godgave2@insightbb.com with your order.  Premier accepts every card, cash, and checks.

SPECIAL FOR DECEMBER: With every $75 purchase, get any 1 item up to $50 for JUST $5!!
Please let me know if you can attend.  I'm looking forward to seeing you a week from Sunday!!
Have a happy Thanksgiving!!! :)

....and down the stretch they come!

As most of you know, we are nearing the end of the process to bring home our 2 daughters from Ethiopia... in less than 6 weeks, we'll be traveling to Ethiopia to adopt them and make them legally ours, and then the real journey begins!!  (I really never imagined us with 6 kids! ;) )

You may also know how expensive the whole process is: from the beginning, our goal has been $40,000 to bring them home.  Now that we're in the home stretch, we're just at $7,000 short of our goal.  The Lord has graciously provided for every step of this journey-- truly, from the very first payment and form we submitted, the Lord has provided exactly what we've needed.  We have had countless friends and family-- even complete strangers-- join in writing our adoption story and for that, we are eternally gratelful.

November is National Adoption Month, and this Sunday is Orphan Sunday.  Many of you will hear stories at your churches about orphan care, adoption, and fostering programs.  You may see facebook posts about orphan care, or you may read articles about the fatherless.  You might see pictures of orphans across the world, some in the US, and maybe even some right in your own community.  Many will touch your heart; some stories and photos may even stir you get involved in orphan care in some way (hopefully!)

We have an opportunity for you to be part of directly saving the lives of two very special orphans-- two little girls waiting to come home to their forever family.  We are asking that you prayerfully consider helping us in this final "home stretch" .... the final $7,000 is all we need to get our girls home!
http://www.westsandsadoption.org/ws/donate/


Just click on the link provided, then click donate!  In the ‘purpose’ space just type in BRIAN AND JENNIFER CLARK adoption.  Your donation will be TAX DEDUCTIBLE!!!  West Sands will send you a receipt to be used for your tax return.

I stand amazed at the Lord's grace, His kindness, His provision; I have been, and continue to be, completely overwhelmed at how we have seen and felt His hand on our family throughout this entire journey.  We continue to thank God daily; our lives are truly Ephesians 3:20-21! 

To God be the glory!!
Much love,

Exciting news!

We have exciting news!!!

We are thrilled to tell you that we received our referral and have been matched with 2 precious little girls ages 8 & 10!  Now that we've seen our daughters' faces, we are more anxious than ever to get to Ethiopia and meet them, and bring them HOME!

We will be traveling in about 6 weeks to adopt them, but sadly, we'll have to return to the states without them because of the process.  (This is NOT unique to our adoption; we knew this was how it worked when we first began.  But somehow it's harder now, knowing that we'll be leaving our kids behind.)  We will return about 10-12 weeks after our first trip to bring our girls home forever.

We also recently found a home that we believe will be our new permanent home!  We sold our house in Mt Washington in September and have been living in a small rental house for a little over a month now, but have found a home in the Highview area that we think is perfect.  We have a contract and are hoping to close sometime at the end of November or early December-- right around the time we are due to travel.  We appreciate your prayers that the housing situation closes smoothly and we're able to get moved and settled quickly.

We desperately need your continued prayers for our family!!  Prayers for our new daughters, as they begin transitioning into a new home in Ethiopia and then into our family, our culture, new sights, smells, tastes, people; prayers for our current kids, as they prepare their hearts and home for more siblings; prayers for Brian and me, to continue to rely wholly on God to lead us on this journey.

We also need your financial help....  Travel costs are a bit higher than we estimated, so we are working hard to raise the final $12,000 to cover our travel costs and immigration requirements to bring our girls home.

We'll be placing sheet orders every other Friday beginning next week (Nov 2) and continuing weekly until we've reached our goal... we've also applied for some grants and another special opportunity called "BOTH HANDS" that we'll send information about if we get approved.

God has been SO GOOD to us every step of the way, and we trust His provision for our family for the remainder of the journey.  We know He will provide.  We trust Him to take care of our girls while we wait to go get them. 

Please share the sheet info with EVERYONE you know; every sheet set sold gets us a little bit closer to getting our girls home!!

WOW!  LOTS going on in our family!!  We are so thankful for all the love, support, prayers and encouragement along this journey!  We love you all!

Sheets?!

God is SO GOOD!  Our last sheet order July 20 had 97 sets on it!!  THANK YOU!

We are just $5,653.75 from our referral fee goal of $14,200! Each sheet order gets us a little bit closer, and we're almost there!

That's just 314 sets of sheets left to sell!! We already have 13 orders towards that 314 goal, and you can help us reach it!

We are placing another order next week (August 10) and would LOVE to add your sheets to this order!  PLEASE, if you haven't yet ordered, try some sheets today!  $35/set no matter the size, color choices attached... (eggplant purple, chocolate brown, black, cranberry red, white, caramel, navy blue, gold, beige, light blue, sage, and gray) 


WE HAVE SEVERAL SETS FROM OUR LAST 2 ORDERS THAT DIDN'T GET PURCHASED; IF YOU WOULD LIKE YOUR SHEETS TODAY, PLEASE REPLY TO THIS EMAIL.  WE CURRENTLY HAVE:
KING: 1 cranberry red, 1 navy blue, 1 black
QUEEN: 1 eggplant purple, 3 black
FULL: 1 cranberry red, 1 caramel

If you have already ordered and received your sheets, THANK YOU!  Please please please pass this info onto everyone you know!  This is a great deal and we're so close to our goal we need your help to reach it!

Simply mail a note with your size and color choice, along with your check for $35/set to

Jennifer Clark
521 Cherry Hill Pkwy
Mt Washington, KY 40047

We'll place another order next Friday, August 10 and would love to have 100 orders!  We'll continue placing orders every other week until we reach our goal, so PLEASE pass this info along to everyone you know!

A friend recently wrote to us, "Only God could use SHEETS to bring your children home!"  So if you've purchased or if you've shared this info, thank you for helping us bring our children home!  :-)

A bias for action?

I just got home yesterday from 4 days with our oldest daughter, Ella, at church camp.  WOW.  How amazing it was to see God working in the lives of fifty 7&8 year old children!  I can't tell you how many times I was moved to tears at their pure faith, their complete-- almost naive-- trust in God.  My prayer was that I would have such unabashed, "undignified" as they sang each day, faith in Jesus.  To be so bold and confident in my own relationship with Jesus and in His love for me that I'm not afraid to do crazy things for Him.

All the while, I was chewing on something I'd heard last Saturday night from Bob Russell at Southeast Christian... we'd attended the 50th Anniversary service and he preached a simple message about Southeast's history.  One statement he made stuck with me: "Faith means having a bias for action."

Faith means having a bias for action.  Kind of felt like confirmation that this journey we're on is the right one, that it's from God.

So we press on toward our goal of bringing our children home. 

But even as I write that sentence, it all seems quite unreal to me. If the truth be known, I really feel like I'm in some kind of trance, watching my life happen as though someone else is living it.  It's both unnerving and peaceful at the same time.

I mean, the paperwork and the chaos of giving all of our family history and information and compiling our dossier and the fundraising-- that's all busywork, and while it's been exhausting, that's really been pretty easy for me.  Really.  I can do things like that because I'm pretty good at organizing and gathering and compiling, and even fundraising... or at least organizing events.  God has certainly provided the increase for every event we've had.  Getting everything ready for Him in advance was the fun part for me!

What I mean is everything thus far has been work that I have control over, and it's not really been about our children at the end of this journey.  Obviously, everything we've done has been a means to get us to the end-- to get our children home.  But thus far, it's been about busywork-- those things that I'm so good at that require so little of my heart and oh so much more of my mind.

Now that we're waiting... now that there's nothing much for us to do (except sell sheets! Sheet info)... now this is a place I'm not super comfortable being, and it may be the reason for the trance-like state I feel like I'm in most days.  Again, this is both unnerving and peaceful... it's almost eery, because I don't recall ever experiencing anything like it in my life.

And this is where I'm realizing a few things:

I do not like not knowing what's coming down the pike... I'm a much bigger fan of knowing what's going to happen and when.  (Kind of like the 7&8 year old campers, who always needed to know what was next before they could relax and enjoy the current activity!) Yet at the same time, not having control has been a relieving kind of feeling-- knowing that I have no control in the final picture of our family forces me to trust that God will do what He says He will do in Jeremiah 29:11.  

I've learned that I'm willing to do crazy things for my Lord when it's within my comfort zone-- like compiling and organizing and doing busywork... but when I have to be still and wait (Psalm 46:10) and trust in God's timing, it's not such an easy thing for me.  This is where God is refining my character.  Obviously, God gives each of us gifts and when we use those gifts for His purposes, our confidence in Him soars.  (At least mine does.)  But put me in a place where I'm not so gifted (patience, quiet spirit, trusting His timing) and that's when I'm forced to get out of the way and hold tightly to God's promises.  You'd think I'd get this without needing so many lessons!  (See Getting rid of the clutter)

Sometimes a bias for action means committing to something bigger than you can handle, and trusting that God will prepare you in His own way and time for what He has planned for you.  It means saying, "I do," long before you ever even know how hard-- or even what exactly-- the commitment will be.  I've recently talked to several people in different situations who have had opportunities to be the hands and feet of Jesus, but who seem to make excuses about how they just can't get involved in something because of the busyness of their lives.  Its makes me so sad to know that they are missing out the blessings that come with complete, "undignified," sold-out obedience to Christ.


I've followed other family's blogs as they've journeyed this same road, and I've read and heard their experiences.  I've heard the adoption journey referred to as a roller coaster, and I've heard it referred to as white water rapids... like a raging river that rushes along and throws you around, only to bring you to a still pond of water where you sit lazily awaiting the next swell of rapids.

I'm not loving this still pond we're in, and I certainly don't like not knowing when the next swell will come-- especially when I haven't felt like we've had a difficult time so far.  What I do love is that God is using this journey-- this very moment, even as I write this-- to refine me, to draw me nearer to Him, to reveal my own sin weakness and His own greatness to me, and to show His glory to the world.  And for that-- for that, every weird, unnerving, eery feeling is SO worth it!

Sorry if none of this makes any sense.  Perhaps the most difficult thing for me in this whole journey is not being able to find the right words to articulate the feelings I have.  It drives me crazy to not be able to express myself clearly!  But it is in this that I trust in the promises of Scripture:

I rest in the fact that the Holy Spirit intercedes on my behalf even when I don't know how to pray or what to ask God to do in my life.  (Romans 8:26-27)

I hold tightly to my hope in Jesus, because I know that God will do what He promised (Hebrews 10:23).

I cling to my God's promise in Jeremiah 29:11-13, that He has plans to prosper me and not to harm me; that I will find Him when I seek Him with all my heart.

So that is my journey for today... it's not adoption, not paperwork, not even the children at the end of our journey... it is seeking God more fully with all of my heart and trusting that He will reveal Himself to me a bit more each day.  It is having complete faith and almost naive trust-- like those 7&8 year old campers-- in a great big God who loves me more than I could ever imagine and who has great big plans for me.

To God be the glory!

Update... and sheets, anyone??

As you know, we are adopting a sibling group from Ethiopia.  We have finished what is affectionately know as the "paper chase," where we have had home visits with a social worker and completed piles of forms and paperwork for both our government and Ethiopia's.  

We are now waiting. 

We have been approved for up to 4 children ages 0-14 years old.  We are completely trusting the Lord's providential wisdom, that He's preparing for us the exact children He has for our family.  Our hope is for a sibling group of 2 or 3 children, but we know the Lord will only give us what He's equipped us for!

Adopting is ridiculously expensive!  We knew it would cost a lot, but we never could have guessed exactly how much!  The estimated cost to adopt 2 children is $40,000... and God has graciously provided just over $14,000 thus far!  We've had yard sales, sold t-shirts, hosted Pampered Chef parties, received donations from friends and family, and even held an orphan care dinner-- and now we're selling sheets!  We will keep our goal of $40,000 based on a sibling group of 2 until we learn otherwise... if we do, in fact, receive a match for a larger sibling group, the cost to adopt them increases approximately $5-7K per child.

As of today, we've paid out over $11,000 in expenses to our agency and our government for the process (fingerprinting, home study, etc.)  We have just over $3,000 in our adoption fund.  The day we receive our referral (child match), we have 7 days to accept and pay the referral fee, which is the largest lump-sum payment in the whole process.  The referral fee for 2 siblings is $14,200, and the agency adds $5,000 for each additional child.  So, while we completely trust that the Lord will provide, we are working tirelessly with a variety of fundraisers to raise the money necessary to bring our children home!  We would be devastated to have to reject a child match because we didn't have the money needed to adopt them!!!

We discovered this fundraiser from 2 of my family members' experiences with the sheets.  My aunt and cousin had purchased them for a different organization's fundraising.  Much to their surprise, the sheets were amazing!  Truly, they said, "Macy's quality sheets at K-mart prices!"  Between 1200-1500 thread count, deep pocketed, with lots of colors to choose from, they decided to secretly begin selling sheets to friends and our family without ever letting us know!  Within just a few weeks, they'd sold over 50 sets, and raised over $500 for our adoption!  They met me out one night just after Derby and gave us a check for $560 for our adoption!  And they STILL have people calling and asking for more!  

They told us about it, that it's the easiest thing they've ever done for a couple reasons: 1) the sheets are priced so inexpensively, 2) the quality is so good, and 3) once people bought one set and received theirs, most called to order more!  

There's no deadline on ordering... this is an on-going fundraiser, and we can order any amount at any time.  However, we are working hard to raise the $14-19,000 referral fee so we eliminate the risk of having to reject a child match because of not having enough money.  So every sheet set you order gets us a little bit closer to bringing our children home!

We have said many times since beginning this journey that it takes a village to adopt a child... and we are so grateful to those people who are a part of the village helping to get our children home!!  We're praying the village continues to grow with more folks wanting to be a part of our family's story!

If you'd like to order sheets, you can comment on this post and we'll add your order to our next batch.  Simply include size, color and quantity.  The sheets are $35 per set, no matter which size or color you choose.  You can mail a check to us when you order.  Thanks again for your support!

Much love,

From Ella....

Hi, new siblings! 

Guess what we've been doing for the past like 4 days? 

We've been cleaning out our basement to raise money for you guys to come home with us!!  And we have a lot of stuff to sell to help get you home!! 

I really want new siblings to have even more fun than we normally have at our house! 

I really hope that you guys have more than enough blessings that God has sprinkled on you and your guardians right now.  And now I wish for MORE blessings on you!

Love your future sister,
Ella

Waiting

Waiting isn't what I thought it would be.

I'm not exactly sure what I had in mind.  Perhaps a peaceful reprieve compared to the crazy rush of getting paperwork and forms together.  Time to play with the kids, enjoy the weather, actually get back into living in the present with them....maybe some time to enjoy our current family as it is today, kind of like the last trimester of each of my pregnancies.

Alas, no such wait exists, at least not right now.

There's still much to do, and I'm still praying for balance in the midst of this journey.  I do believe that's what it's about for me right now.  Trying to stay in the present with our kids here and live in my heart with our future kiddos, praying for all of them and relishing the time we have right now, waiting on the Lord and trusting His timing and His plan.  The Lord is refining my character every day of this journey, and for that, I am thankful.

We completed our homestudy last week, submitted all of our forms, paperwork, letters, etc., and even turned in our completed dossier.  We wrote several checks-- paid for everything up to our referral, which means we've paid out over $11,000 thus far for this process.  Praising God for providing every cent and praising Him for what we trust will be His continued provision.

Essentially, there's nothing left for us to do on our side of this process (except PRAY.)  We've done our part, and now "we wait."

We wait on a phone call from our agency, matching us with a sibling group.  The call could come next week or next year; we just don't know... although we pray it's sooner than later.  We trust God's timing.  And we still don't know how many children!  So we trust that God, in His providential wisdom,  knows exactly what is best for our family and exactly which children in Ethiopia will be our forever children.

But I'm anxious.  Not in a worried kind of way.  More like you know you're about to get a really yummy treat and you can smell it baking, but you have to wait until it's completely cooked and cooled off before you can take a bite... that kind of anxious.  Excited, but kind of nervous that the treat might not be everything you've hoped it would be, or that it might even burn your mouth if you eat it too soon.

Have I mentioned that this waiting is NOTHING like I thought it would be??? It's just not easy, or peaceful... and it's only been a week!  My heart aches for those families who waited years, and for those families waiting now.

We continue our fundraising efforts... God has provided over $14,000 so far!  We are so grateful and thank Him daily for the people, provision and prayers that have been given on our family's behalf.  We are planning another few events and applying for grants and loans.  As it stands right now, we need another $26,000 to get our children home.  This doesn't scare us quite as much as the $40,000 did when we first began.  Because we know our God equips us for that which He calls us, and He has provided thus far. Truly, Ephesians 3:20-21 has been our lives for the past 4 months!

But when that call comes-- you know the one I referenced that could be next week or next year?-- well, when that call comes, we have ONE WEEK to accept the match and pay the fees associated with the referral.  As little as $14,200 or as much as $24,200, depending on how many children God has for us!  So we've upped our efforts, planning and selling and praying for ways to raise the money needed to get our children home.

You know, we had to see specialists to conceive Ella and Ava, and we have joked for years that Ava was our "most expensive child."  It's almost been a trophy in our house.  :-)  (Ella's 1 treatment was fully covered by insurance, but insurance didn't cover any of the 5 treatments we had before Ava was born.)  Obviously, we are overjoyed that we sacrificed at that time in our lives because now we have our sweet-spirited, precious Ava!  In much the same way, we sacrifice, but know with certainty that it will all be worth it when we get to meet our precious children!  And they'll most certainly be awarded the trophy for "most expensive!"

So we work, we wait, we pray, and we trust... Galations 6:7-10

Progress...

We met with our social worker, Lyndsey, yesterday.  We are one visit away from finishing our part of the paper process!  Friday we'll wrap up our meetings, turn in the last of our paperwork and submit our final agency payments.  We're hoping that within a week or 2, our dossier can be sent along with our immigration application... and then it's WAIT WAIT WAIT!  Exciting and scary at the same time!  

The Lord has provided for our family every step of the way.  So far, we have raised $13,560 through His grace-filled provision... we've paid out $11,135 and have just over $2700 remaining in our adoption fund.  Words cannot express our appreciation for the literally HUNDREDS of people who have played some part in bringing our children home!

But we still have so far to go... we are praying for a short wait, and we know that our children are in Ethiopia somewhere and that the Lord is protecting them right now.  But we want to get to them NOW.  We want them HOME.  

We are praying that we'll have a match before the end of June, and that means our next-- and largest-- payment will be due!  When we receive a match (referral), we have 24 hours to provide payment if we accept it.  The first child referral fee is $9,200 and each additional child is $5,000... and since we're trusting the "how many" to God, we don't know "how much" will be needed.... as little as $14,200 or as much as $24,200.  But we're trusting Him completely with that as well, for we know that what He calls us to, He equips us for.

To God be the glory, great things He has done......

Surprises

How the Lord continues to surprise me!  In ways large and small, God is so full of grace and mercy that I simply do not deserve!

Last Thursday night, my cousin Carrie and Aunt Julie showed up while I was reffing at Southeast and surprised me with $560 in funds raised from a secret fundraiser they had been doing since Derby!  And through tears, I had just told Brian the night before that I was "DONE" with fundraising... that I just felt like this process is so daunting and never-ending!  What a shot in the arm and a HUGE dose of encouragement to "just keep swimming!"

And then just last night, when I was trying to cancel our fundraising Pampered Chef party because I was afraid no one was coming, 7 guests unexpected guests showed up!  And on top of that, our show (not finished yet) has reached over $700 in sales!!  We NEVER dreamed such an ending to this little fundraiser!

Just as I'm always asking of the Israelites as I read through the Old Testament, "When will you ever learn?!", I'm certain the Lord is asking the same of me!!!  Sometimes I have faith to move mountains... other times, like last night, I don't even have faith of a mustard seed!  And it's during these times that I know my heavenly Father is shaking His head, wondering when I'll ever learn....

Thankful for His steadfast love and His continued provision for our family.

What can we learn from Cookie?

So we're caring for Cookie, our neighbor's guinea pig, while they're at Disney. And already, we are learning lessons that will likely help us in some small way with the adjustment that comes with adding more children to our family.

First thing this morning, Ella excitedly ran to Cookie's cage and wanted to hold him. But every time she reached for him, he ran into his little play tunnel where he couldn't be touched.

"Well this isn't working out very well," she said. "He won't even let me pet him."

"Perhaps he's afraid," I explained.  "He's adjusting to new sounds, new smells, new surroundings...give him a little time to get used to it here and I'm sure it will get better. He's got a lot of new stuff around him and he might just need some time and space. It doesn't mean he doesn't like you or that he doesn't like it here."

"Yeah," she replied. "And he's probably missing his mommy, too. Brooklyn's his mom and her voice is different and so is her room."

I can't help but think the Lord has arranged this teaching moment just to help prepare us all for the transitions that lie in our future. How graceful and merciful the Lord is to give us simple ways to learn lessons and to prepare our hearts and our children's hearts for what is yet to come!

Obviously, bringing our new kiddos home will be much bigger than a little guinea pig. But I'm thankful for the blessings, both large and small, of preparation.

We'll continue to learn more each day that will help us all prepare for the adjustments of growing our family.

Even from little Cookie.




- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Ella's first post...

Hi, brothers and/or sisters!

I would love to come see you in Ethiopia, Africa.  

And I will come to see you!  Some time we will come and have you come into our family.  I can't wait until I get to see you!  

We are raising money for you to come home and live with us.  All of our friends and family are helping raise money for you guys to come home!  I can't wait!  

We are so excited for you to have a family again!!  We have had lots of fundraisers to help raise the money that will help us bring you guys home with us!  

Hope you have lots of blessings until then!  We'll keep praying for you.

Love your sister,

Ella

Introducing my proxy....

I want to write.

Really, I do.  

I desperately want to have time to pour onto paper (or computer) my thoughts, feelings, desires, hurts, prayers, dreams... especially as we walk with God as He grows our family.

But, alas, it's just not something I'm able to squeeze into my day, or week, or month.  Or, I could.  But then I'd have to neglect some other part of my life that just is so much more important right now.  Like sitting with Roman in my lap as he has a breathing treatment, or rocking Kolby to sleep for his naps (which I never did with the others!), or reading with Ava, or playing backgammon with Ella.  Simple things, yes.  But important things nonetheless.  Things that I'd just rather not miss these days.

So, my brilliant little cousin suggested that I have Ella update our blog.  (Thanks, Annie!)  That she write her thoughts about our family life and this journey we're on together-- all from her 8 year-old perspective.  And-- bonus!!-- that it could even be her writing assignment each week for her schoolwork.  Genius, pure genius!

So here it is, folks.  I introduce my sweet angel, Ella Vivian.  8 years old, and writing to her future siblings about all that she wants them to know about our family and this journey we began long before we ever met them.

Enjoy.  I know I will.

You are Invited...

Hey everyone!

I want to take a moment to direct your attention to the new tab/page at the top of our blog. There you will find information on our upcoming fundraiser and orphan care awareness event. We hope you will join us! Click the button above, or, if you're feeling a little technologically challenged, as I often do, just click here!

On-going fundraiser closing April 19

Please don't forget our on-going home interior product fundraiser, just in time for Mother's Day!



"Celebrating Home" (formerly "Home Interior")

Through April 19, we are selling "Celebrating Home" (formerly "Home Interior") products... just in time for Mother's Day!  We receive 50% of every order toward our adoption costs, so please use this opportunity to purchase your gifts and tell the receiver that they also helped bring our children home!  Visit http://www.celebratinghome.com/fundraiser/adoption/OnlineFundraiserHome.aspx.  Please place your order by April 19.  This will be the last date to order for our adoption fundraiser.  Products will be shipped at time of order.  

Thanks for your support!

What we called "yard sale" was much more like a FLEA MARKET!

Just a peek....













Praise the Lord for His provision!!!

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When a plan comes together

Don't you love it when a plan comes together, better than you could have ever expected or imagined?  When some close friends of ours told us they were getting rid of most of their possessions and moving to the mission field in the Middle East, our passing comment was, "What if you know some people that need to raise some funds for an adoption."  Their response: get some trucks. 

From there we started filling our garage with the generous donations of friends, family and even some relatively minor acquaintances.  Once our 2 and 1/2 car garage was as full as it could get, we started feeling that this event might be okay.  Little did we know that we were only about halfway to collecting all that everybody wanted to donate to us. 

While the donations were awesome that wasn't even close to the best part.  Our friend Beau summed it up best with his comments to me.  He said "I've been involved in several churches in my day, but I have never seen a church get involved so passionately in something like I witnessed this weekend."  I couldn't even begin to name all the people that pitched in to help our cause with their precious time and hard work.  There was furniture to move, donations to haul, thousands of items to clean, sort and tag, customers to attend to, clean up afterwards and much, much more. 

Jen and I feel strongly that we have been called by God to adopt these kids. It sure is great knowing that we have so many people to pitch in, support and pray for us on this journey.  There is no way we can do this alone.  Fortunately, we know that we don't have to. 

The question over the last several days has been, "So how was it?"  Meaning, how much did you raise?  The final total isn't quite ready yet, but it's looking like around $7,400.  God is big. 

Thanks to all who are walking this journey with us.  It takes a village you know.

B

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