A Heart Full of Joy

My heart is so full today I am about to bust!  Today we found out that we are having our home study on Thursday, June 2nd at 10:00 am.  I am really excited but now I really need to get into cleaning mode.  There is so much to do before then.  This will be our 3rd home study so I should be a pro.  I'm not nervous, I just want my house to finally be Springly Cleaned so now is my excuse!  Walls will be painted, a little bit of furniture purchased and after almost 7 years of living in this house it might actually be the way I want it!

The 2nd reason my heart is so full is because one of my college roommates completed the adoption of her 4th child!  I am so excited for Lynda and Dan!  I know their hearts and how they love children.  They have made adoption a huge part of their family.  I understand the waiting and paperwork and visits.  I understand how it can wear on a person.  I am just so happy for them.  Days like this are the best.

Now for the 3rd reason!!!  A month or more ago, I wrote about the Davis family here.  They were in the process of adopting Kirill when the judge told them no because he had Down Syndrome.  Well, TODAY he is their son!  You can read about it here.  We serve an amazing God!  He is worthy to be praised!  I am so happy for them.

So as you can see. my heart is FULL of joy!  The only thing that could make this day better would be for someone to show up on my front porch with a baby for me!!   Since that probably won't happen I am going to work on this house!!  Have a joyfully full day!!

One Step Closer

I am so excited that we turned in our Home Study Notebook this past Friday!  We are now waiting to hear from the agency to schedule a date for our home study.  I am really hoping it is the first week of June so that I can spend Memorial Day Weekend cleaning!  I really need to get this house in order!

I can't wait to get this part of the process done.  Once our home study is finished, we will be able to apply for grants.  These grants will help us in the financial aspect of this journey.  Our next payment is for $5500 and we must raise $1000 to pay for our psychological evaluations.  If you would like to donate to our fund you can do so by clicking on the donate button on the right had side of this blog.

I have also had people ask how they can help us raise money but they do not live close by.  There are many ways you can help us.  First, you can pray.  Ask God what He might want you to do.  Here are a list of ideas that we have so far:

1.  Bake Sale
2.  Car Wash
3.  Garage Sale
4.  Dinner
5.  Purchase or take orders for our Adoption T-shirts
6.  Purchase items from our Etsy Store.  www.etsy.com/shop/117project
7.  Blog about our adoption journey and direct others to our site.
8.  Lemonade Stand
9.  Craft Sale
10.  Raffle

Hope this helps some of you.  Thank you for partnering with us on this journey!

Adoption T-Shirts

I am getting ready to place an order on Friday for t-shirts.  If you would like to purchase one you can do so by clicking on the right hand side of the blog under t-shirts.  These t-shirts were designed by my brother-in-law, Brian Todd.  They are black with red and white writing. 

These t-shirts come in men, women and youth sizes.  The cost is $20 for men and women sizes and $15 for youth sizes.  All proceeds go into our adoption fund.  We are currently working to raise $5500.  So far we have raised $3000.  Thank you for your help and support.

Also, don't forget to check out our Etsy store!  http://www.etsy.com/shop/117project

Armed and Dangerous

I'm pretty sure the words armed and dangerous have NEVER been used to describe me, but last week I attended a Pastor's Wife retreat with about 150 other beautiful, armed and dangerous women.  I really didn't know what to expect but I did know that being there would change me and I couldn't wait to get there.

During the Christmas holidays, my sister-in-law Jennifer told me about this retreat.  She wanted to go and wanted me to go with her.  The retreat was being put on by a ministry for Pastor's wives called Leading and Loving It and I have to admit I wasn't leading and loving anything!  I was pretty much done with ministry and the idea of loving ministry again made me want to puke.

I had withdrawn from every ministry I was a part of because I was tired of pretending.  I was done smiling and acting as if God was doing awesome things in our life and our church when the night before I had begged my husband to quit his job and then begged God to make me sick so I wouldn't have to go to church.  I was going downhill fast and I really didn't know how to stop it.  I thought maybe I could give this whole ministry thing one more chance and decided to go.

Over the last couple of months, God has worked on my heart.  He has begun to restore my passion and love for Him.  He has raised me up out of the pit and set me on a rock.  He has lifted my eyes to Him and protected me from the Evil One.  He has shown me He is God and restored the joy of my salvation.  Only God can do those things.  It is because of Him that I am still standing.

I arrived in Nashville, TN, on Tuesday a little apprehensive but ready and who was the FIRST person I saw?  HEATHER WHITTAKER!  THE Whittaker Woman!!  OMG!!  Now you have to understand that I think buckets of goodness about Heather. She is a woman of strength and godliness and poise and I want to be just like her.  (And her husband is a pretty good singer!)

Fast forwarded to the next day at lunch.  I told Jennifer I wanted to get my picture with Heather (cause in this family we get pictures taken with people we run into that we admire).  I knew this could go one of two ways.  I could end up with an Andy Stanley story like my husband (bad) or a Doug Fields story (good).  So I went up to her and asked if I could get my picture taken with her.  Sadly, I could not get the words out of my mouth to tell her what I great person I think she is.  Actually, I have no idea what I said to her!  She had to be thinking, "Stalker!"  Anyway, she was gracious and kind and took her picture with me (which I immediately sent to my husband.) 

The three days that I was in Nashville was full of laughter, tears (lots of those), pain, struggle, victory and joy.  I had the privilege to facilitate one of the small groups and I quickly realized how much pain was in that room.  How many broken hearts were holding on for dear life.  I listened as woman after woman told stories of deceit, judgement and attacks on their husbands and families.  I listened how others had risen above this pain and comforted those in the valley.  I watched how women who did not even know each other became sisters of the closest kind all in three days.

I realized that I am not alone.  There are women all over this country who are going through what I am.  There are women all over this country who have been through what I am going through.  They have wanted to quit.  They have wanted to walk away.  I thank God that there are women all over this country who will pray with me and for me at a moments notice and because of them, I am armed and dangerous!

Check out http://www.leadingandlovingit.com/

My Momma

I thought today I would write a little bit about my Momma, being that Mother's Day is Sunday!

There are so many words that I could use to describe my Momma, but I think the word that describes her best is strong.  My Momma has a silent strength that I can feel when I am talking to her on the phone.  She is my prayer warrior.  She has gone to God on my behalf more than I will ever know.  She keeps me grounded but has never once discouraged me from flying.

This strength that my Momma has grows every day.  This strength gets her through every work day and when she is tired she goes to visit her Dad who lives alone because her Momma lives in a home for Alzheimer's patients.  My Momma carries the burden of caring for her parents and has NEVER once complained that she has no help or that she needs a break.  She happily visits with her Daddy because she knows her time with him is short and she treasures every evening.  She then visits her Momma who does not even know who she is, yet she sits and talks with her as though she understands every word. 

I watched my Momma's strength grow as she dealt with the death of her older sister, Sue.  I watched as she stood as the pillar of strength for our family.  I watched as she did what was needed to get things done.  I listened to her voice break over the phone when she told me her voice on the phone reminded my Uncle of his wife.  I listened to her worry more about him and her nephew and nieces than herself. 

My Momma is amazing.  She loves her children and grandchildren.  She loves my Daddy.  She is the image of what every mother should be.  My Momma IS Mary Poppins!  I kid you not!  I want to be just like her.  I want the same strength that flows out of her to flow through me.  She is my hero and I love her so much!

Happy Mother's Day Momma!!!

A Small Hiccup

Two days ago, I was working on background checks for our home study.  I completed them all except the Ohio one that requires me to go to Ohio and be fingerprinted.  Such a hassle, but a necessity.  I am still trying to figure out why, in this world we live in, it is not possible to do ONE background check that covers the whole world.  With all the technology we have, why can't you be fingerprinted and then do a background check and pay one fee instead of a bunch of little fees?  It is very time consuming and annoying.

Anyway, being that my husband was born and raised in Argentina and did not move back to the States until he was 19, we are in need of a background check from Argentina.  Well, yesterday, my father-in-law headed to the police department in Padua only to find out that Scott must be present to be fingerprinted.  Then, it will take 90 days for the results.

Hmm...

Well, we aren't planning to make a trip to Argentina anytime soon and it certainly isn't in the budget for Scott to go, so we have to figure out what to do. 

After a quick call and email to the agency, it has been suggested that we get an affidavit.  I'm really not sure what it all entails or if it will be acceptable to the Honduran Government, but we will continue to pray.  We believe that God has called us to adopt and His plan is better than ours.  I am excited for God, to once again, show that He is in this and He is guiding us every step of the way. 

This journey is full of "God stories".  There is no doubt in my mind that the children that become our children are ours and were meant for us from the beginning.  We have the stories to go with Trent's adoption and we will have them for these little ones. 

So, we are asking you to pray with us.  Pray that this will just be a small hiccup in the process and we will be able to move forward and bring our babies home soon!

Part of the Process

Paperwork.  It is part of the adoption process.  However, it is leading to MASS frustration right now!  I truly wish I could say "POOF!" and it would all appear!  That would be awesome!  I spent the entire day today working on my home study notebook and I'm not done. 

So far, I spent $82 on background checks and have 4 to go.  At some point in the next couple of days, I need to get to Ohio for my fingerprinted background check (that can take up to 30 days for results).  While also trying to figure out how in the world you get a background check from Argentina.

I also need to make all the centerpieces for the Mother's Day Jubilee (banquet/party/get together).  I don't think I have enough tablecloths either.  Guess I need to add tablecloth finding to my list. 

Oh life!  How is it that some days nothing happens and other days I'm losing my mind over everything?  Guess it is just part of the process.