Visit with the Little Boys

We had a visit from our little nephews just after Christmas. These are the little guys we had in foster care when they were 2 years old and 9 months old. We had them for about two weeks while the Lord was making ready their forever home. If you missed it, you can read about that  here.

sweet brothers

Still Waiting...

I realized I haven't shared an update about our adoption process in a while. Not that there's much to share.

There have been no calls from our resource developer for a few months now. Back before Thanksgiving, we did receive an email asking if we'd be interested in a sibling group of 3. Their picture was just beautiful. Three little brothers, aged 2, 3, and 4. If I could figure a way to use symbols on this keyboard to depict my jaw dropping, I would! Three little boys 4 and under??? Was this some kind of joke? Didn't we already prove that we are no match for little fellas in that age group?

Hope For the Hurting

Last week we went on a field trip to a place called Refuge Ranch. Refuge Ranch is just what its name implies. It is a ranch, and it is a refuge for the broken, a place where the broken-hearted and the hurting can find healing, a place where they can find the love of Jesus within the love of a family.

Billy and Bonnie Walker are the owners of Refuge Ranch. They raise cattle on their ranch. And they are the parents of 26 children, 23 of whom they have adopted. Their story is amazing!

Bonnie says the Lord gave her a vision when she was a young girl that she would one day be the mother of many. She didn't know that in fulfilling that promise to her, God would use her and her husband to rescue broken and hurting children from foster care. They have an amazing testimony and you can read their story here.

Learning Places

My emotions are raw, and riding high right now... We didn't keep the babies. We chose to allow another, younger, child-less couple to take them into their foster home. It was harder than I thought it would be. Not foster-parenting. But parenting babies -- a 2 year old and a 9 month old. We had them for only 13 days and I was utterly worn out. Exhausted. Completely spent. And I had help!

What made me think I could do this? Starting over with a baby who doesn't sleep through the night. At my age -- I'll be 42 next month. When we completed our training and certification to become adoptive parents, we specified the age range of the children we felt like we could take into our home. And that range did not span the infant-toddler age group. But we received a call from our RD explaining that these babies needed a foster home in our county. She made it clear that she realized we didn't really want to foster-parent, and that these children were not in our preferred age range and we did not have to take them. But knowing how eagerly we've been waiting to adopt, would we be interested in fostering them, with the probability that they would be free for adoption within a few months?

Adoption Update, (Pt. 5)

We get to bring home our newest treasures tomorrow afternoon...

Those words evoke so many emotions. There are so many thoughts racing through my mind as I stare at this screen, trying to compose those thoughts.

I can't sleep. I went to bed at 10:30, but sleep has eluded me. My mind can't seem to slow down long enough to allow my body the rest it needs. We've been in a whirlwind here at my house for the past two days. Trying to get everything ready, to bring them into their forever home.

Adoption Approval Granted!

We received the letter in the mail yesterday... we're officially approved as an adoptive family!!! Woo-Hoo!!

We began this journey (officially) on May 3, 2010 and now almost one year later, (WOW!) we are approved and ready to begin searching for the child our God has already chosen for us!

We are excited beyond measure, and can hardly wait to meet him or her!

Praising the Lord for His goodness and faithfulness...

God sets the lonely in families. Psalm 68:6

Adoption Update (Pt. 4)

The "adoption lady" came by yesterday. She had to take pictures of our house, and verify that we have made the necessary changes in and around our house to bring it into conformity with state guidelines. Who knew there could be so many guidelines??

A Phone Call

I received a phone call today.

From our adoption resource developer. We call her "the adoption lady."

It seems we are getting closer! She said she has to finish writing our home study and turn it in to her supervisor. She has to take a few pictures of our family. She said by mid-March we should be able to start the process of choosing our child (or children).

Choosing our child.

Holidays Are For Families

We drove home to Alabama to visit with our families for the holiday weekend. I've mentioned before that both my family and dh's family live in the same town, so that means we have to share our time between them. And that means that we don't get to spend much time with either family. Sometimes I wish our families lived in different towns so we could go visit one family for one holiday and then visit the other family for the next holiday, and so on...

My Thoughts Exactly

Sometimes I have a hard time formulating my thoughts and reasoning into words that explain what I'm actually thinking. Here's a post by a bloggy friend that speaks volumes and describes my and my husband's thoughts and feelings about the adoption we are pursuing. Visit here.

Adoption Update (Pt. 3)

We have finished our 20-hour IMPACT classes. However, we're still working on all that paperwork. Did I mention there is tons of paperwork to fill out? Physical examinations, psychological evaluations, questionnaires, and essays. No kidding.

But I'm excited because our first home evaluation is coming up on Tuesday! The RD will come out and... well obviously, evaluate our home. She will tell us what, if any, changes need to be made so that our home will be approved. I'm so excited!

My youngest son keeps asking me, "Mom, do you think my new brother will be close to my age, or maybe a little younger?" He obviously thinks the Lord is going to give us a son! And I wouldn't be surprised, because although all of us have been praying about this for a long time now, he has been my little prayer warrior, consistently praying every night that "God will help us adopt a child, a little brother.) Children amaze me with their faith!

I've had some irl friends ask me about our adoption process, but haven't had an opportunity to go into great detail. So for those who don't know the whole story, you can read about it here.

We are faithfully following where He continues to lead and we are giving Him the glory.

Our Wild Weekend

We traveled to north Georgia Friday night for our school's football game (our daughter is a cheerleader). We were told to pack an overnight bag, that we might have to spend the night because there was a big possibility that the game would have to be stopped due to thunderstorms. We had dd pack a bag, but I didn't pack anything for the rest of the family. Our plans were to return home the same night due to the fact that we had our second IMPACT class coming up the following day.

Adoption Update (Pt. 2)

Today was the first of the three Saturday classes to complete our 20-hour IMPACT training. We began promptly at 9:30 am and finished up just before 4:00 pm with a 30-minute lunch break and two 5-minute breaks. Wow! That makes for a long day indeed!

There are nine couples (including us) and three singles going through this class together. There was ALOT of information to cover... so much to learn. We did some role-playing activities and had some question and answer sessions amidst the power point lectures.

We received more paperwork to fill out (I can't believe how much paperwork is involved), a checklist of documents we must provide, questionnaires to be completed by dh and me, as well as by our three children. We (the adults in our home) must be fingerprinted, have a criminal background check (we actually have already had the background check; that was a requirement to participate in this class), and undergo drug testing. All five of us must undergo medical evaluations and make sure all immunizations are current.

We have scheduled the first home visit and evaluation (to take place upon completion of this class).  We are well underway!

Adoption Update

The adoption counselor called today! She said it is time for us to start our IMPACT classes...Yay! We elected to attend the Saturday classes. For three Saturdays in a row (August 14th, 21st, and 28th) we will attend this class from 9:00am until 4:00pm! Yes, that makes for a long day, but the alternative is attending a 3 hour class one night a week for 7 weeks in a town that is about an hour's drive away from us.

We are all very excited! My husband is not really looking forward to giving up 3 of his Saturdays, but he did say he prefers this option. And the way I look at it, we'll be four weeks closer to having a new little guy or gal in our family. No, we still don't know who we are going to adopt. We are leaving it up totally to the Lord. He has lead us thus far in this venture, and we know that He knows who He is bringing us together with. We are trusting in Him.

I don't mean to insinuate that we are going to get to adopt any time soon. It sure does seem that the adoption process is a long, drawn-out ordeal. This is just the beginning of the process. I know that there is alot of training and alot of inspections that have to be passed. It does seem overwhelming to me, but we are confident that this is where the Lord is leading us. So again, we are trusting in Him.

Our Heart

One more post before I go to bed...

I am so excited to announce that today we officially began the adoption process!

No, we don't know who we'll be adopting, or exactly when. This is something our whole family has been in prayer about for quite some time now. We don't know if we'll be taking into our family a little one from some other country, or someone right here in our own state. We just know that after much prayer on our part, the Lord has finally said, "Go."

Right now, we are in phase one, better known as "the paper-chase." We've filled out paperwork, had our names added to a list of prospective adoptive parents. We will await the confirmation of an orientation, then we will begin a seven week course study, undergo home evaluations, interviews with our children (that part makes me a little nervous, having DFACS workers questioning my children about their home life, because after all, we do spank, and we homeschool...lol) and many more requirements to satisfy someone's idea of a good parent!

We are excited to see where God leads. We have friends who have adopted internationally, and when the Lord first began speaking to my heart about adoption, I just assumed that's where He would lead us. International adoptions are very expensive and I'm not concerned about that because I know that if that is His will, then He will supply the funds. But so far, no funds have come pouring in (lol). However, that didn't stop us from praying and seeking God's heart on this issue.

It seems to me (and to my dh as well) that He could be leading us to adopt here in the U.S. So, I set up an appointment with the Department of Family and Children's Services right here in our town. And that's where we are now...

In the "hurry up and wait" stage.

What Jesus Is Teaching Me

Hinds Feet on High Places...we just finished reading it yesterday. My friend is reading it right now, and as she has said, I think that it has blessed me as much, if not more than, it has blessed my children. How much of the main character (Much-Afraid) I can see in myself! How I so very often give in to my Fearing relatives and listen to their voices, inviting them into my abode! How so often I forget to call out to my Good Shepherd and listen to His voice, instead! God, help me to seek You all the days of my life; give me hinds feet so I too can run to meet You on the high places; help me to humbly and gratefully learn the lessons that You are teaching me on this journey.

Children of the World...the Lord recently used this team of children to minister to me and to my family, as well. They are an international children's choir comprised of 15 orphaned and disadvantaged children from several different countries around the world. This inspiring group travels across the U.S. for 10 months, putting a voice and face to the desperate needs of children whose lives have been devastated by civil war, famine, poverty, unclean water, and preventable diseases. It also allows the mission field to be brought to you.

I cannot adequately express what the Lord has taught me through these children! We were a host family to two of the little girls for two days while they were in our town. Their presence in our home opened our eyes to how very blessed we are, and sadly, how very spoiled. We take for granted (and I'm just speaking for my family) the basic necessities of life, even clean drinking water! Drinking water!!! No thank you, I'll have sweet tea, please. See what I mean by spoiled? They were so excited when I made green kool-aid to serve them!

No one has ever had to convince me that children are precious and a gift from the Lord, but being with these children most assuredly cemented that feeling in my mind and heart! I can't begin to tell you how the Lord has burdened my heart for orphans! I certainly pray (along with my family) that He will open for us the door to adoption. But in the meantime, there are other ways in which we can help meet the needs of these precious boys and girls. Our church has agreed to raise $15,000 to provide a well for a village in an underprivileged country. Our family has committed to sponsor two children through this organization. All three of my children volunteered to give up their allowances to help us sponsor these children! Because they volunteered without our even suggesting it, we agreed to take half their allowance to help with the monthly commitment. God certainly softened their hearts as much as he did my dh and mine. It will be a sacrifice for our one-income family, but hasn't my God promised to supply all my needs through His riches in glory?

I know that there are many worthy charities who seek to bring the gospel to hurting people while providing for their basic needs. However, if you are interested in having this special group visit your church, I would encourage you to visit their website, http://www.worldhelp.net to find out more and to see their tour schedule.

My children with Pashi and Aljane

Playing balloon toss