Truth Is ~ Tuesday

Ok so here you have it.... The truth the way I am seeing things on this Tuesday night..... No holding back just saying what comes to my mind for the next 5  15 minutes ( I kind of had a lot to say) .....
Ready ~ Set ~ Go

I am frustrated tonight very very frustrated.... I thought our homestudy was almost done... This is basically all we are waiting for on our end.... Our social worker said we had an approved home study and now I find out our adoption agency is wanting to talk with our social worker her email read like this...

"I noted a number of items in my home study review that I felt needed clarification.  I want to make certain that you and your husband are fully prepared for your adoption before we move forward.  I’ll give you a call after I have spoken with Cara and let you know where we stand.  Thank you for your patience."

Ok I have no idea what any of this means and I am a little freaking out!! This email brought me to tears.... Tomorrow you had better believe tomorrow I will get tot he bottom of this!!! What doesn't make since is our home study agency here in Indiana has approved our home study.... This email is coming from the adoption agency in Texas... The people who have our dossier.... We have been working on our home study since August..... August people... That's a long time!! It should be done.....

As I was crying my eyes out tonight... Zach (gotta love him) says to me all in gods timing i guess god isn't ready for our home study to be complete.... I know all about gods timing and fully believe in god's timing but tonight I wasn't having it!!

I really have no idea what this lady is meaning when she says fully prepared for our adoption.... HELLO Big Red Truck... We have been to the 3rd world 3 times now and are planning on going back in May... We are reading any adoption book we can get our hands on... We are attending adoption conferences... We are having Haiti Days at home to learn/ teach our boys more about Haiti... We are talking to other adoptive parents... We are fundraising.... Our kids rooms are ready for them beds toys clothes  there rooms are ready they could come home tomorrow.... What else would she like us to do??? Truth is we would probably do whatever she told us to as it is the ransom for our children... That is just the cost of getting them home.... Someday there will be no more ransom someday they will be our children and they will be home.... But until that day we will continue to pay the ransom.... jump through hoops.... all for the sake of our children.

Zach and I are so so ready for this thing to be done.... Its harder than being pregnant.... It truly is the hardest thing we have ever done! Nothing that I can think of can compare to what this feels like...

**Sigh** ~ Deep Breath ~
Holding onto Faith tonight....
Hebrews 11:1 Now Faith is the substance of things hoped for the evidence of things not seen....

Connecting Hearts With The Forgotten

Zach and I had the privilege of attending the Connecting Hearts With The Forgotten adoption conference this weekend in Carlock, IL we really had a great time! Learned a lot and meet some really great people! This was really the first adoption conference we have attended and it was great! There was a lot of orphan ministries at the conference also a lot of adoption agencies at the conference. 


What did we learn ??? 


Well first off Daniel Bennett spoke to everyone to open up the conference... Daniel Bennett is the author of "A Passion for the Fatherless" A few questions he ask all of us was.... 



What is the purpose of Life ??  To Glorify God 
Isaiah 43:7
Everyone who is called by my name, 
Whom I created for my glory, 
Whom I formed and made.”

Psalm 106:8

Yet he saved them for his name’s sake, 

to make his mighty power known.

1 Peter 2:12

Live such good lives among the pagans that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day he visits us.

What Does God say about the fatherless??

James 1:27

"Religion that god our father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world."

Psalm 68:5

A father to the fatherless, a defender of widows, 
is God in his holy dwelling.

How is god most glorified in orphan care ministry?

My personal answer to this question is thanking god in everything we do. Orphan care ministry is not just adoption. It is supporting orphans somehow in someway worldwide. The world has over 147 million orphans. It is time for the church to wake up and get on board. Find a way to support orphan care ministry or start their own orphan care ministry. Every step we take to end the orphan crisis is glorifying god!! 

We Then heard Carolyn Twietmeyer speak with Project Hopeful / Truth Pandemic. Wow what this family and other like them are doing is amazing!! Spreading the truth about HIV+ adoptions!! Amazing!! Take a moment to watch this video.. The truth is contagious. Spread it!! 

Lifesong For Orphans was there and we sat through there session about fundraising for adoption which was very good!! Lifesong is doing some wonderful things that are really helping families bring there kids home through there different fundraising options!! 

We met Gwen Oatsvall with 147 Million Orphans

147 Million Orphans is a really cool thing for adoptive families! Its a way to fund raise with some really awesome products!! Check them out!! 

I also got to hear Gwen's personal story from the fairy tale to the true story of adoption! We all laughed and cried with her as she shared her story!! 

It was really a great day!! We are so so happy to have been able to attend this event!! And now happy to be able to share some things we learned with others!! 

Giving Thanks

1 Thessalonians 5:18

Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of 

God in Christ Jesus for you

Sometimes...... This is hard to do..... 

Give thanks in all circumstances??

~ Reflecting back on last week and our trip to Haiti and back we are very thankful for everything god did for us on this trip. First off we were very thankful to be able to go again and visit the kids. We were thankful that we have family and friends that will look after our kids, house and pets. Thankful that we were able to watch the Superbowl it was in Indianapolis this year!!  (yes I said thankful for the Superbowl) Thankful Monday morning for no fog and no bad weather as we drove to Chicago. We learned that it was rather foggy at home that morning and as we took off we could see just how foggy it was!! Yikes Very thankful we didn't have to drive in that!! Thankful that even though we were running late and O'hare Airport was a crazy hot mess of people we somehow got into the right line and made our flight... I actually thought as we were getting into the mile long security line we weren't going to make our flight! At that point I said a prayer that went a little something like this... Dear Jesus if you really want us to get on this plane and visit our kids this week somehow someway we will make it through this line and on our plane.... The line started to move and move some more and before we knew it we were through the line and off to our gate!! Thank You Jesus!!! I even had time to stop at the Dunkin Donuts and get something to eat before boarding the plane!! We were very thankful to connect with the Stewart's in Fort Lauderdale as they had our transportation arrangements for when we got to PAP. Thankful for a safe ride to the hotel. Thankful for all the new people we got to meet on this visit and thankful for all of our other adoption family we got to reconnect with!  We love you all like family and could not get through this crazy roller coaster ride we call adoption with out you all!! Very thankful for the time with the kids and getting to see how they have grown in just 3 months time!! Derline had her hair done and that was the highlight of my trip!! She isn't a little baby anymore!! Thankful for our international phone working! Even tho it stunk we are very thankful we were able to get home a day early due to a situation here at home. Thankful for the time we did have in Haiti this trip and very thankful that we did get to meet little Sophia (Derline's Friend) this trip even if it was just for a few minutes!  Thankful for trying something different at the restaurant while in Haiti! Chicken Creole with Rice and Beans was Amazing Yum-O!! Thankful that Juvens seemed to remember us and was more calm this time more laid back and relaxed! Thank You Jesus for this!! As sad as it was to leave a day early we are very thankful for our ride to the airport and the 2 great ladies  Bonnie and Betsy whom we got to fly with! It was a pleasure getting to know them better!! Thankful for flying home from PAP on a 767 and we had seats A&B!! (This means it was just me and Zach no one else  a 767 is 2 seats 3 seats 2 seats!! ) Thankful for bathrooms in America even more thankful for clean water that I can wash my hands with!! Thankful when arriving back to Cold Chicago and finding our car with no snow on it!! Thankful to drive home safely and sleep in my own bed!! Thankful that we were home a day early and we got to see Kaden play in the High School Boys Basketball game at half time and between games. 

 Most of all just thankful for everything the lord is doing in our lives! 

^{2 Samuel 22:31}  God’s way is perfect!
      The promise of the Lord has proven to be true.
         He is a shield to all those who take refuge in him.

~ So for now we are back home praying for the day these amazing kiddos will join our family here in Indiana.. We don't know when that day will be but we are trusting that God's timing is perfect and when he is ready for them to come home they will come home! 

Ecclesiastes 3:11 
He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the hearts of men; yet they cannot fathom what God has done from beginning to end

Hummingbirds

I follow Project Hopeful on Facebook and they posted this today and I wanted 


to  share it with those that follow my blog.... The question is..... 


Are you doing all that you can??

One day a terrible fire broke out in a forest - a huge woodlands was suddenly 


engulfed by a raging wild fire. Frightened, all the animals fled their homes and 


ran out of the forest. As they came to the edge of a stream they stopped to watch 


the fire and they were feeling very discouraged and powerless. They were all 


bemoaning the destruction of their homes. Every one of them thought there was 


nothing they could do about the fire, except for one little hummingbird.

This particular hummingbird decided it would do something. It swooped into the 


stream and picked up a few drops of water and went into the forest and put them 


on the fire. Then it went back to the stream and did it again, and it kept going 


back, again and again and again. All the other animals watched in disbelief; some 


tried to discourage the hummingbird with comments like, "Don't bother, it is too 


much, you are too little, your wings will burn, your beak is too tiny, it’s only a 


drop, you can't put out this fire."


And as the animals stood around disparaging the little bird’s efforts, the bird 


noticed how hopeless and forlorn they looked. Then one of the animals shouted 


out and challenged the hummingbird in a mocking voice, "What do you think you 


are doing?" And the hummingbird, without wasting time or losing a beat, looked 


back and said, "I am doing what I can."

Prepare

Verb: pre·pare/priˈpe(ə)r/

”

Make (something) ready for use or consideration As Zach and I prepare to leave for our upcoming 3rd trip to Haiti I am filled with emotion. What must be done to prepare for an upcoming trip?? There is all kinds of things that must be done at home, work, pto, and then there is preparing of your heart.  Well the list is endless  ~get everything ready for my boys here at home ~~ School plans  ~~ Practice plans  ~~ Clothes  ~~Bags Packed  ~Make sure the dogs are taken care of  ~Make sure everything at work is done to survive with out me for a week ~~ most importantly payroll!  ~Carnival planning  ~~ When I get home carnival is in 8 days which means not a lot of time! I am trying to get as much done before I leave as possible!  ~ Pack bags for Zach and I and the kids in Haiti ~ Pack Food for us in Haiti  ~ Pack Toys and bottles and diapers So many things to cross off the list and chances are I will probably forget something!!  ~~ Most importantly I am trying to prepare my heart. The trip is never easy you are out of your comfort zone... We miss our kids at home but we love the time with the kids.. This trip I am trying to prepare my heart to just be open for whatever comes my way. I am asking god to take my hand and lead me use me the way he intends for my life to go. We have been asking a lot of questions lately and I am praying god gives us an answer on this trip... I know its not always that easy but in his perfect timing I know we will get out answer!  "Cast your burden upon the Lord, He will sustain you. He will never allow the righteous to be shaken." Psalms 55:22