Too true...

Working on school planning....and having my "coffee fix"
You know its bad when you read this poster out loud to your husband and he bursts out laughing at you while pointing in your general direction... :)  I need another cup before I can come up with a witty comeback ;)

Please watch

This is a must see...it is worth every minute of the time it will take you to watch it.  Some people will think we are crazy for wanting to adopt a special needs child...they will think it will be unfair to our other children.  But we don't believe loving others and growing in self-sacrifice for the needs of others is a bad thing.  No one can tell me that our "normal" children will not benefit from having siblings with disabilities...it is obvious that obstacles make us better people...if we let them.  And serving others in love is beautiful...

You don't get much better than this...


(HT to www.savinghissparrows.blogspot.com for the video)

Well...here we go!

We finally did it...Dan brought our application and fee money into our local agency and got the ball officially rolling for our adoption....aahhh!!!  It doesn't sound like a big deal.  It's just starting the homestudy.  But it has taken us many long months of prayer and discussion... to try to figure out what direction God was calling us.  Now its just time to take the first step and see what He does from there!

Dan thought it was no big deal...that he'd get really excited when the homestudy is done...I, on the other hand, can relate to this T-Shirt.  We may not be "expecting" yet...but its like we're really trying now :)

Not just talkin' about it...doing it.

We're using an agency that several friends have used and who has a social worker that is known to be really great.  So...I'm getting excited!  Nervous... but excited!

Susan G. Komen De-Funds Planned Parenthood!

So glad to hear that the Susan G. Komen For the Cure has decided to de-fund Planned Parenthood.
We've never been able to support any breast cancer research or walk for the cure activities through them because of their monetary support of Planned Parenthood. 

Lets pray they stay strong and continue to hold to this decision...Planned Parenthood is pretty ticked... :)

A fruitful weekend...

God is so good...

    I started writing a whole long post about everything that has happened in the past couple of days and I stopped and erased it and boiled it down to "God is SO good"...but I guess I need to elaborate on that a bit :)



    Unfortunately, with homeschooling and having a constant supply of kids around me all the time, I really don't have time to really think out all my thoughts and feelings in order to put it down here in the way that I would like.  So I'm just going to throw it down here...better written down in some way than not at all.  And I feel WAY too blessed from this weekend to not write it all down.

    We had the opportunity to go to several adoption workshops on Saturday...what was going to be Dan going on his own to learn more turned into a last minute decision for all of us to go together.  What could have been a stressful, difficult trip turned out to be a really wonderful one.  God just keeps giving us these opportunities and each time we stop to question or "make sure we're being reasonable" He reaffirms His call to us...even if it doesn't seem wise by the world's standards.

    The workshops were good...Dan was really glad he got to go and figure out some serious questions we both had that didn't seem to be getting answered.  It was really helpful to talk face to face with people there and get things clarified.   Dan, amazingly, feels very called to the same Eastern European area that I have not been able to take my mind and heart from for the past 10 months.  The kids there are constantly on my heart, our kids know many of their names and faces and pray for them unceasingly.  It was also a beautiful, warm day and we were able to take the kids to a park nearby and spend a good amount of time just having fun with the our kids.

      Another major blessing of the day was that I was able to meet another adoptive mom who has adopted from the area we are considering.  She lives only 10 min. from us and was so kind as to come over on Saturday night and answer questions for us for 2 1/2 hours!  Thank you, Michelle, for letting us bombard you with questions!  I can't believe we kept you that long!  This get together was totally a blessing for us and really encouraged us.

    Also, there is another family that is currently in the country that we hope to adopt from...I emailed this woman with some overwhelmed and confused questions and she so amazingly took the time to email me back some very helpful explanations to our questions....what a blessing!

    God is so good...pursuing an international adoption has so many difficulties...things that most families would decide was just too complicated to deal with while raising their own family of young kids.  But God doesn't ever seem to call us to easy stuff, does He?  Our Lord just keeps placing this country and its children there before us..especially at church.  Songs being chosen that speak of the orphan, homilies pointed straight at us and His call for us to adopt.  Sounds a little vague, though, right?  Well, it hasn't been.  Its always after we've had a little pow-wow about whether what we're considering is a good idea or not.   And then "bam!" Our Lord says do it!  This past Sunday was the big one.  The one that couldn't be ignored.  We're singing the Mass parts at church and they've chosen to use one (the only one, mind you, since there are several others that could have been used) that is based on a hymn from the exact country that we've been praying about.   It sounds weird, but it was just so well timed with all that had been learned the day before...when God had brought all the workshops and individuals together to ease our questions and encourage us in this.  We just pointed at the little name of the hymn and the country, smiled to eachother and I tried really hard not to burst into tears.  Happy, thankful tears... 

This is all pretty jumbled, I'm sure...when my brain has a free minute, it is usually thinking about what I should be preparing for school this week or what thing I could get ahead on around the house...but I just couldn't help but get something down about this weekend.  A great weekend...God really blessed us with a wonderful Saturday to enjoy one another, learn more about what we have in store and gave Dan and I a chance to really talk things over.  We were also so blessed to meet a new friend with an awesome heart.  

Michelle is fund raising right now to bring two little girls home...
Feel free to hop over to her blog and help her bring them home.

http://findingrdaughter.blogspot.com/

Sorry- Dan is the one who knows how to make that a link....oh well, just cut and paste it into your browser.

And please pray that the Carmichael family is able to have court soon and bring their amazing little boy home soon!

Thank you, Lord Jesus, for easing our worries and making our path just a little bit clearer.

Kimberly

  

As always...

We can always count on Matthew to speak truth and make us laugh out loud while reading it!

Some Things Moms Can't Do

http://www.ncregister.com/blog/some-things-moms-cant-do/

"The sanctitiy of ALL life...from conception to natural death"

Its January...the month that all christians recognize yet another anniversary of Roe vs. Wade and the legalization of abortion in our country.  Many people will attend local "March for Life" rallies and even the national March for Life in Washington D.C.   We have done these things and have loved being able to be a part of them.

This is a time when you will hear about the importance of the "sanctity of ALL life...from conception to natural death."  Our family has prayed for the end of abortion.  We have taken the kids and stood outside abortion clinics and prayed for the closing of their doors, the conversion of their hearts, and for the healing of all those that enter there.   The idea of the sanctity of ALL life from conception to natural death covers so much....and it is heavy on our hearts as we grow as a family and learn the plight of the special needs orphans of other countries.  The children with special needs in Eastern Europe are precious in His sight and deserve dignity and love.  We have such a tendency as society to value people by their usefulness...if they are not wealthy or beautiful or useful by this worlds' standards...if they cannot do something for us, make our lives better or easier then they are a "burden".  Oh,  if we just knew our worth and the worth of the "least of these!" Those in need cause us to give, to sacrifice in ways that can bring about a joy in us that only God can create!  God is in these needy, little ones and whether we realize it or not...we ALL are searching for God.

There are many special needs children over the months that have touched our hearts...many that we pray for regularly...many that my kids have thought lovingly of and have prayed for each day.  Kids get it...we can learn so much from them.  We hope to use the blog not only for ourselves, but to also highlight amazing kids that are in need of families.

This is Isabella..

thats not her real name, but that doesn't much matter.  This picture doesn't do her justice...she is amazing.  She, unfortunately, is barely existing in a "laying room" in Eastern Europe.  Most kids are available for adoption and have to wait for a family to choose them....Isabella hasn't even had the chance to be listed for adoption.  Probably because nobody thinks she's worth it...no one thinks she would be adopted.  So she waits...in a bed...24 hours a day.  She has been quoted as saying the best parts of her day are when they change her bed and when they eat.  That's not asking for much...She is one of the only kids in this room that is able to communicate....and yet she calls all the other children "her friends"...she is so social and loving and yet she is confined to this bed.

There was a wonderful missionary who visited with her...took video to share with others.  I've seen this video and let me tell you...this child is Beautiful...like break your heart, this child would be a blessing to any family who called her their own kind of blessing.  She is funny, engaging, sweet, smart and deserving of the dignity of a home and family of her own.  Please pray that she is given the chance to be listed for adoption.  


This is Maxim...

What can I say about Maxim...he is too funny for words.  I've followed him through two different missionaries now and he's always been one of the kids the struck my heart.  He needs a family.  He IS listed for adoption and has a grant set up for him through Reece's Rainbow.

http://reecesrainbow.org/?s=maxim&x=0&y=0

From all the videos and pictures I've seen, he is funny, sweet, has an amazing laugh and needs a family!

During this month of January...please pray for all the unborn, the terminally ill, the sick, the dying and the special needs orphans as well...that all may be loved as we would love Christ himself.

-Kimberly