A New Normal....

I am sitting here drinking a cup of hot cocoa - so different from where I was just a week ago.  I was sitting in a Haitian airport with sweat running down my back and face, wondering how I was going to make my legs move forward enough to get me on an airplane to fly out of a country that still held my girls! 

The most common question we get....that is, when I choose to go out into the real world, which quite frankly, I am perfectly content being in confinement in my home.... is "How was your trip?"  The person is usually beaming from ear to ear and expecting an exciting response from me.  Sometimes, I fake it, "Oh, it was good."  Sometimes I respond, "Well....you know..." while cringing inside.  And then other times I just break down, becoming a hot mess feeling like my heart is literally being ripped out all over again.  I know people don't understand.  I certainly didn't before I left!!  And really there is no way to understand unless you have gone through this process. 

We had two wonderful weeks with our daughters.  Most of their personal life I will keep private, because after all, it is their story.  Please don't be offended - that's just how we are going to do things.  There is no manual for how all this goes down, so we are choosing to write our own!!

These two weeks we were to "socialize and bond" with our girls.  We did all that and more.  Our oldest of the two girls (D) was much more aware of what was going on, especially at the end of our time.  She didn't like to see me cry and in fact, came over and wiped my tears away.  She is beautiful, bold and bouncy!!  She is a Batchelor through and through!! 

Our younger girl (W) is a more shy, timid, and charming little girl.  She would hang on our necks like she never wanted to let go.  I am not sure how much she truly understands what is going on - and part of me prefers it that way.  We would explain who the people in the pictures were and she would dutifully repeat their names and we would tell her they were her brothers and sisters, but I'm not sure how much of that she comprehended - it's a lot for a little gal!! 

We are amazed at how God picked these girls out for our family.  They are truly similar to some of their brothers and sisters!!  God has taken care of them thus far and we will continue to rest in the fact that He will take care of them until we can physically bring them home.  There will obviously be bumps along the road, but we are ready to tackle those bumps together as a family. 

The 7 kiddos here did wonderful while we were separated!  Shouts out to my sisters, brothers-in-law and parents who took such good care of them.  I'm not sure most of them wanted to come home!!  We will continue to talk through things with them and help them to understand the process and what's going to happen. 

As of right now, we have no idea when they girls will get to come home.  From what we can tell, it will still be at least a year before all the paperwork, courts, procedures, etc are complete.  While this seems like a daunting time frame - I am resting in the fact that my God I serve is powerful, that He can make this timeline shorter if He desires.  I am completely resting in the fact that His timing is perfect, as it has been thus far - not gonna lie - sometimes I have to remind myself of this every hour!! 

So that leaves us here - in this process of figuring out what our new normal is.  We left parts of our hearts in Haiti but I am glad that I serve a God who is in the business of healing hearts!!  We would love to have your support through prayers. 

It's been so long, so long, so long....

It has been a long ten (almost 11) months of silence. 

We had a trickle of information come in last weekend, Aug. 16th. 

But we still wait...

The next step is our official referral (finding out who our kiddos will be) and all the details they know about them.  We are very anxious and we both feel we are getting closer and closer.  This step is typically taking about 12 months to complete (we are almost at 11 months!). 

However, in this time of waiting, God has built our financial resources up!  We are less than 10% away from being fully funded!!!!  God is good and while we think He isn't doing anything, He truly is by providing for our future needs!!! 

So keep hanging on with us!  We know the wait can be boring, we know the wait can be daunting.....
but it's all in God timing and we are clinging to that! 

Hopefully our next blog will be more details about our kiddos! 

Four Leaf Clover Wish

This beauty brought me a four leaf clover this morning.  She says it is going to bring us luck and we will find out who the kiddos are that belong in our family within 3 days!  I didn't have the heart to tell her that probably won't happen.  She was so excited, so we'll just go with it!  It brightened my day if nothing else!  That heart of hers is incredibly BIG!!! 

Our next fundraiser!

139 envelopes

So here's how it works - there are 139 envelopes - why 139? Great question!!! 

Psalm 139

 

O Lord, you have searched me

and you know me. 

You know when I sit and when I rise;

you perceive my thoughts from afar.

You discern my going out and my lying down;

you are familiar with all my ways.

Before a word is on my tongue

you know it completely, O Lord.

 

You hem me in - behind and before;

you have laid your hand upon me.

Such a knowledge is too wonderful for me,

too lofty for me to attain.

Where can I go from your Spirit?

Where can I flee from your presence?

If I go up to the heavens, you are there;

if I make my bed in the depths, you are there.

If I rise on the wings of the dawn,

if I settle on the far side of the sea,

even there your hand will guide me,

your right hand will hold me fast.

If I say, "Surely the darkness will hide me

and the light become night around me."

even the darkness will not be dark to you;

the night will shine like the day,

for darkness is as light to you.

For you created my inmost being;

you knit me together in my mother's womb.

I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;

your works are wonderful,

I know that full well.

My frame was not hidden from you

when i was made in the secret place.

When I was woven together in the depths of the earth,

your eyes saw my unformed body.

All the days ordained for me

were written in your book before one of them came to be.

How precious to me are your thoughts, O God!

How vast is the sum of them!

Were I to count them,

they would outnumber the grains of sand.

When I awake,

I am still with you.

 

If only you would slay the wicked, O God!

Away from me, you bloodthirsty men!

They speak of you with evil intent;

you adversaries misuse your name.

Do I not hate those who hate you, O Lord,

and abhor those who rise up again you?

I have nothing but hatred for them;

I count them my enemies

Search me, O God, and know my heart;

test me and know my anxious thoughts,

See if there is any offensive way in me,

and lead me in the way everlasting.

You choose an envelope, and you donate that amount of money. It's that simple.

If you choose envelope #5, you donate $5. If you choose envelope #139, you donate $139. You get the idea, right? Some select envelopes will have bonus items associated with them (Ex: candy bar, coloring page, gift cards, etc.... so choose wisely, you may just end up with a gem from our family!)

We will keep everyone updated on what numbers have already been purchased and which envelopes are still available. If there is a denomination that you really want and someone already took that envelope, choose two envelopes to add up to that number! We also would love to hear why you chose a number if it is special to you!  For example, I had a sweet friend who was going to buy a necklace and she gave us the money instead of purchasing the necklace.  It was a touching gesture that I had never thought of doing, and want to start being more proactive about doing the same thing! 

If we get all 139 envelopes, we will raise almost $10,000 ($9619 to be exact)! AMAZING! This would almost take care of our last LARGE payment that is due. We are continually blessed and astounded at how God has taken care of our finances with this whole journey. He has always provided and we trust in Him to finish this journey with us! Want to join us?  Either message (email, FaceBook message, text or reply somehow!) and tell me what number envelop you would like. 

**As a side note - this fundraiser came from my daughters heart. She is a giver, a compassionate hearted person that loves people. She came to me wanting to sell things like potholders, rainbow loom bands, etc. I wasn't sure how that would come about, seeing as the market isn't necessarily booming for those kinds of items! However, I didn't want to squash her spirit. She then said that she wanted to give some of her personal money towards raising funds for the adoption. Again, I didn't want to take her money, since she and her siblings are raising enough money for a plane ticket home for one of the kiddos. I prayed and prayed about how I could involve her more, since she was obviously interested in being actively involved in raising funds. So I started searching for ways for her to be involved. This is where the idea started and we, as a family, decided this was a fun way for everyone to be involved.**

God at work!

Sending thankful prayers up to my God today! 

One of my friends just got a travel date notice to go and pick up their son!  This other mama and I have been on our adoption journey together for over a year.  I am soooo grateful that they get to meet and give him a forever home very, very soon!  God is good all the time! 

I know it is quiet on our end here recently, but praise God with me today loudly that He knows exactly what He is doing - matching families, clearing government red tape, sending out travel dates, etc!  God is working for those that don't have an earthly family YET! 

Quiet on the Home Front....

Time to update - what information, I'm not sure!  But it's time to update! 

Many referrals are coming in through our adoption agency, it's just not our time yet.  I know we have a longer wait ahead of us....sometimes I get anxious and want to meet our kiddos!!  It's truly good that others are getting their referrals, because that means that other children are getting their forever homes and forever families.  I can't imagine what it would be like to be told that you now have a family that wants you, that loves you, and that is coming to get you to take you to a safe, loving home!  I want my future kids to hear those words oh so badly!!! 

We are hosting a Parents Night Out on February 13th.  Parents will be able to drop off their kids from 5pm-10pm and head out to a nice, quiet Valentines Day date.  We will provide a light snack, movie, games and a craft.  Reservations are limited, so contact me if you wish to sign your kiddo-crew up!  We will be accepting donations that go towards our adoption expenses.  Feel free to share this announcement with anyone local! 

No other news to report on quite yet.  We are brainstorming another fund raiser that I mentioned in the earlier post - so stay tuned for that announcement! 

Brainstorming.....

My husband always cringes when I say - "Oooo, I have an idea!" 
(To be honest, I think my father does too!)

Well, all of your interesting, fun-loving people who get excited when they hear about something new

STAY TUNED!!!

 

I have an idea brewing in my head that I think will be a fun way to raise money!!! 
Ooooo, back to brainstorming!!!