Merry Christmas!

So I have been MIA here for awhile in blog world, but sickness upon sickness has been hitting our home, but we look forward to this Christmas season with much Joy!

I have new decorations on my tree this year, part of my Christmas present from the In-Love's. I now own PLASTIC ornaments. We very much needed them this year due to our 19 month old busy boy! He loves balls, and I knew with our wood floors and the exploration he does with things lately I would have many broken ornaments. So now when quick fingers plucks these off the tree and throws them; no harm done! And let me tell you he is very quick about it too!

EJ loved helping hang the ornaments this year too, and it was fun for all three of us!




And here is my attempt to get a pic of the kids in front of the tree. This first one EJ was trying to hold on to Mo as he was walking towards me to grab the camera. So then we decided to put him on his scooter thing to see if he would stay put. Oh well, better luck next time!





My family and I want to wish you a very Merry Christmas! May you feel God's blessings all around you.

Where's the Line to See Jesus

My hubby just sent me this and I love it! Enjoy!

For The Men

Please read this link. It is a common thing, especially in the adoption world, but with caring for the orphan in general that typically the woman are the loudest most vocal on the subject. So to the men please click on this link and read away.

Depraved Indifference

Just watched this on another bloggy friends blog...Be touched, hear what God is asking you to do.

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National Adoption Month, Article 3 & 4

So since I am behind I am posting on the last day of the month the last two articles I wrote for my church. They actually haven't been published yet due to zero space in the scroll, but will be soon.

I could say a lot more on adoption, but this is a good start! :)

Article 3

The 3rd part of this four part series is about the hard truths in adoption.

I would like to start with a verse that I read during a trial when we were adopting Mo.

1 Peter 4:12-13 A
Dear friends, don’t be surprised at the fiery trials you are going through... Instead, be very glad-for these trials make you partners with Christ in his suffering...

Before I dive into this verse let me start off with some very hard and tough truths in adoption.

Truth # 1- Most of us FEAR adoption; we fear the unknowns in adoption. You see our biological children do not typically start off their lives in loss and tragedy, or experience abuses we here in our safe homes and environment could ever fathom. So there are many of us who may have had the thought to adopt or foster that do not because we let this fear stop us.

Truth # 2- Adoption is sinfully expensive and that alone stops many Christian families from adopting.

Truth #3- My children have suffered huge losses. Loss of their birth family, loss of their culture, loss of their special mom’s who cared for them while we worked to bring them home. EJ wept the entire first night we had her, even in her sleep. She had lost her first mother at birth, and now her foster mother and everything she had known for almost 9 months in a matter of an hour. Our joy in the moment caused her great pain. Our son was malnourished when he came to the orphanage, his first mother had no job, no food, and he was starving to death. He was greatly loved by her and the many special mothers’ at his orphanage, and then came K and I. Who were we to EJ and Mo but another body that may be gone tomorrow?

Truth # 4- When you adopt there are people who will be against you. Perfect Strangers, friends, and yes even family.

Truth # 5- Adoption is a spiritual battle for these children’s lives. The first is stepping out and adopting them, and the second is a battle for our children’s souls. We teach them about God and Jesus, and Satan hates this and does everything he can to stop it.

You see our trials in adoption and with our children as they grow may have times of great suffering but it pails in comparison to the suffering of our Christ and he promises them life. Not life in their identity and where it lies, but life in their identity through him, through his love and saving grace.

Here is another verse to focus on until my final entry next week.

Exodus 22:22
“Do not take advantage of a widow or an orphan.”

Article 4

The 4th part of this four part series is about God’s calling in our lives.

I have to say that I am extremely passionate about adoption and the orphan, and it is really hard for me to condense all of my passion in order to touch you with something that is a command from God.

A command might seem an odd choice of words to you, but it is in fact a command from God.

James 1:27 states this, “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.”

If you noticed throughout this 4 part series I have quoted various scripture that commands us to care for the least of these. I have intentionally done this.

Now go back to James 1:22

“Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. DO WHAT IT SAYS.”

Did you read that? Do what the word says. Never mistake that God’s heart is for the orphan, the widow, and the lonely and he references them so much in scripture friends. Don’t wait another day. Do what God is telling you to do and care for them.

Adoption is not for the weak, and it is not the easy road, and it certainly is not the solution, or the only way to do what God commands us to do.

When I say it is not for the weak I say this because Satan HATES adoption. He hates that children are being placed in Christian homes and learning about the love and saving grace of our Father. He will do everything he can to stop us from doing such a thing. He will plague us with doubt, and he will bring crazy obstacles along the way, but GOD sees us through and he will bless what he ordains.

Adoption is a calling straight from God and it is not meant for everyone. Supporting families in this call may be how you are to help the orphan, or specifically praying for families adopting, or supporting one of the many organizations out there who do wonderful things for the least of these.

I will end with this. Our family believes we are here for a special purpose and that God has given us all we need to carry out his plans for us. We are all made for so much more than we realize and our hearts have to be ready to fight. Our time on earth is not for rest but it is to battle for the thing God wills us to do to bring glory to him. EJ and Mo are the children the Lord saw fit to bless us with and we cannot wait for what he has next.

VERY Thankful as always, but especially

again this year...

Mr. Mo gave us quite the scare on Sunday the 21st. He had a fever and it was pretty low grade, but started to rise in the early afternoon. I had checked it at about 101.8 or something and not five minutes later it was up to 102.5. So I gave him some medicine and sat down with him and all of a sudden he started seizing. At first I just stared at him thinking is he really doing what I think, but I quickly realized yes and had K dial 911.

So Mo and I took our first ambulance ride and w/in a minute or so they cooled him down and he stopped seizing. Thank you God. We spent the rest of the day in the E.R. and he carried his fever for a few days, but is now doing very well.

We are so very thankful this did not turn into anything more serious.





We were recuperated by Thanksgiving, and Ms. EJ decided to break out in hives. I really think it was the stress of Mo's situation. She really was very worried about her little brother and she still has major anxiety when it comes to Dr.'s especially since it has only been a little over a year since she was in ICU. We are so thankful for her recovery as well.

Fast forward through holiday parties and the festival of lights parade to last night where we celebrated EJ's 3rd Forever Family Day. She received Tink and Vi and was so very super excited about them. First thing when she woke she had to go check on them because they slept in her desk drawer in her room. :)

Also note, my princess was adamant about wearing her M&M shirt with her Elmo Pants yesterday. I, of course, obliged because it was her day and really what is the harm.




I pray everyone had a blessed Thanksgiving this year.

Since the sickness' that reeked havoc in our home last week has me a little behind I will be posting my 3rd and 4th articles tomorrow for the finish of National Adoption Month.

Week 2 - National Adoption Month

So here is my second article for our church scroll that printed on Sunday and this was about our Mo.

In December of 2008 we submitted our pre-application to a wonderful agency called All God’s Children International to yet again begin the process of adopting, but this time from Ethiopia. This actually was not a quick and easy decision. You see when we decided it was time to start the adoption process again we thought we would go the domestic route and had all the paperwork and everything complete in order to do that, but God had a different plan. He began impressing Ethiopia on my heart and when I brought it up to K he wasn’t so sure and so he began to pray about it. God spoke to him as well and so we began the process to bring another child home.

The paperwork process was long and consuming as it was with EJ’s adoption, but more had been added since then even. Every adoption is different, but we were determined and we flew through this stage as quickly as possible.

By April of 2009 we had completed the paperwork and everything in between and we were officially on the waiting list with our agency in late April. We were #5 on the boy list and #26 on the girls list. Let me tell you how amazing these numbers are folks. Last I had heard was if we were to get on the lists now we are looking at the upper 90’s for the girls list and upper 60 or 70’s for the boys. Our Journey was a miracle from beginning to end as is every adoption journey.

In June of 2009 we received 2 different referrals that were not to be and they broke us. We couldn’t understand what God was doing, but the great thing about God’s plans is that he knows what we cannot see and we are to rest in that. Long story short we received the call about our son Mo on July 2, 2009.

God was moving big mountains friends. We had major timing issues that we could not believe were being moved. Typically Ethiopia closes in the month of August for the rain season and we feared having to wait that much longer to bring our little man home. Miraculously the courts stayed open longer that year, and we received a court date in August, passed court in August, and on September 4th, 2009 this Ma Ma was on a plane to pick up our 8lb 4 month old son in Africa!

Our process for Mo lasted only 9 months; this is so unbelievably short of a time in international adoption. We know that God wanted this little one home with us and he is so perfectly fit for our family too.

Please continue with us as I share more about adoptions next week.

Another verse to focus on:

Deuteronomy 10:18
“He defends the cause of the fatherless and the widow, and loves the alien, giving him food and clothing.”

PICTURES

Also, I didn't get a chance to do it with my first article, but here are the first pictures we saw of EJ and Moses when we were called about them. Hard to believe they were once so tiny now!

EJ at around 2 weeks old



Moses at around 2 months old