Giveaway! Choose One of Three Books!

Those that know me pretty well call me either passionate or insane, both said with love (smile). God has given our family a ministry. A ministry that often brings me to my knees. It is amazing, awesome, and heart rending. He has placed on our hearts orphans around the world. You can read I Choose to be Blessed. You can read Let Me Tell You About Jesus or The Effect of Economy on Orphans. You can even read my most recent The Blind Side of Adoption…Do You See?, to understand the passion God has placed in our lives.

Today on our blog, we are looking forward to giving away one of three books (it’s your choice)to one of our readers. All have played a major role in our family’s journey.

Book #1: There Is No Me Without You by Melissa Fay Greene
This book is a true story of a woman, Haregewoin Teferra, in Ethiopia whose life was changed by seeing beyond her gates, to the overwhelming need of the orphans there. I was privileged to meet this wonderful woman when bringing Bekah home.

Book #2: Adopting the Hurt Child: Hope for Families with Special-Needs Kids-A Guide for Parents and Professionals by Gregory Keck and Regina Kupecky

Book #3: Parenting the Hurt Child: Helping Adoptive Families Heal and Grow by Gregory Keck and L.G. Mansfield
Both of these books brought home the reality of the hurt these wonderful children have been through. They also show that adoptive parenting may not always be easy, but you are not alone, and great blessings await.

God has been very good to us and I hope the book you choose blesses your life as it has ours.

Remember friends, please leave a way for me to contact you when you comment! We are only able to ship within the United States. Don't forget to tell us which book you want! We will draw a name on Sunday, December 6th. That will mark the date that we have been on the waiting list for referral of our twins from Ethiopia for two months. We couldn't think of a better way to mark the date than share just a little of our passion for these amazing blessings all over the world!

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The Blind Side of Adoption...Do You See?

This is not a review of the movie “The Blind Side”, but a review of sight…the ability to see.

Sight is this miraculous thing. It enables us to move forward without tripping and falling on your face (which I do often). It enables us to understand the world around us. It enables us to act.

Yes, I did see the movie “The Blind Side” tonight, but I brought something out of this movie that I didn’t expect. You see, we all have a blind side that we use so often. Many call it “turning a blind eye”, but basically it’s the ability to turn around and not see the world around us.

Occasionally we moms use the blind side when our house is “a little too quiet” and we really don’t want to know why, so we pretend. We pretend that we don’t know our three year old found a permanent marker and “decorated” the refrigerator with her “art work”. We pretend that our teen isn’t sneaking the snack you hid in the cabinet to eat after the kids went to bed. We pretend that the quiet is really a well-deserved peace settling on our households. This blind side often serves us well.

A young man name Michael Oher, seventeen years old, walking the streets on a freezing cold night, fell through the cracks of a foster care system that is overloaded. A family, living in their comfort, saw. Does that sound simple? It is.

They didn’t need night vision goggles or corrective lenses for their hearts to see someone that had no cushion, but abject poverty. They didn’t need a flood light to see a young man that had no home, comfort, or the loving arms to wrap him up and let him know it would be ok. They saw, because the Lord, our Heavenly Father saw Him. They saw because they threw away their blind side like litter along a highway.

When we arrived at “The Blind Side”, the line wrapped through the huge 18-cinema complex. A second theater had to be borrowed to house the overwhelming crowds. I personally was stunned. You could hear the silence in the theater as the movie progressed, hearts breaking for Michael and his life before love. The crowds filtered out of the movie exclaiming its greatness, with tears in their eyes. What a good movie. What an amazing family. What a great man Michael is.

I came out of the movie, tears in my eyes, praying that we all give up our blind side. There are other kids still on the street, having fallen through the cracks. There are children in abusive homes, children of crack addicts. There are thousands, if not millions, of children who don’t know where their next meal will come from. They own one set of clothes, ragged and worn, often smelling of urine. They wake up to their father standing over them knowing that what comes next is every parent’s nightmare. Children are waiting in orphanages, children’s homes, and foster care around the world. Many of these same children are wasting away from neglect and starvation.

I want to ask you a question. It’s about a child that doesn’t go to your children’s school. They don’t live down the block. In our safe little worlds of comfort, they aren’t physically present in our lives. Before I ask, this one verse comes to mind, “Faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.” Hebrews 11:1

Do you believe and have faith that these children are out there and that they exist, though you haven’t seen them? If the answer is “yes” and God has allowed you to see with His sight, what will you do with that sight?

Will you choose to take a child off the streets, to ease their loneliness, or will you choose to leave them there and continue to pass by? I know this may sound harsh and I’m FAR from being able to pass judgment on anyone. I’ve made and continue to make mistake after mistake. This is not about guilting anyone into action, but about truly seeing, using our sight.

I just want to remind everyone out there that this is very clear and straight forward.

Will you see that child standing alone on the street corner? Will you see them smile in hope as you hold out your hand, letting them know they’re not alone? Will you hold a child having night terrors about their life before love?

Or will you take another avenue? Will you reside in comfort, closing your eyes to the fact that without you they will not have a family (just pretend they will, we are all good at pretending)? Will you look into the eyes of a cherished child of God and turn your back? Will you decide to choose to not see, close your heart to what you know, and turn your blind side?

God is not blind and neither can we be.

No Orphans of God

I wanted to post this video in honor of National Adoption Month. Then I thought about it and realized that I LOVE any idea which brings attention to the need of these little ones out there, but that this need is much bigger than a "month" could hold. I've seen this video before and am posting it in honor of all the little ones out there, waiting for someone to let go of the "I can't" and say "I can".

Look What Someone Donated

We wanted to show you the generosity we've experienced. Check out this handmade beauty...wow. It actually made me think of the talent in shaping and creating a carpenter must have. What a perfect life for Jesus to be raised in...He shapes and molds all of us into (hopefully) creations of beauty glorifying Him.

One Month Waiting, Yard Sales, and Thankfulness

On Friday, November 6th we officially hit our “one month waiting” mark. One month ago, our documents were registered with the Ethiopian Courts. One month ago, our paperwork was no longer an issue (on this end) and the seemingly endless paper chase was over. If you’ve ever put together information for an adoption…it is not easy. The paper work is our least favorite part.

We are now considered “waiting”. Waiting used to be HORRIBLE for us, waiting to see a picture of our little one for the first time. This time it’s (so far) much different though. This time we have a lot of peace and this time I personally am busy with home school and don’t have time to obsess (which is normally my specialty…smile).

We tend to get a lot of questions about when our little ones will arrive home. When will we see their pictures for the first time? I’m going to explain a tiny bit about our process, so bear with me. Once you are officially waiting, with any agency, you are given a general time frame. With many agencies it is over a year for the referral (picture and info) for a little one and the older you request, the shorter the time frame. With our agency, the average is about 5 to 6 months of wait until you see a picture and commit to adopting your child….a specific child or children. This is only a guess. No one knows just how many children of any certain age the orphanage will be referred by the government. No one knows how many children will leave their country with their forever families to make room for new blessings to fill their orphanage bed. No one knows how many families will suffer overwhelming loss any given month. It’s hard, we all want our referrals, but tragedy has to happen for our referral to happen…none of us wishes that.

Our agency is a little different though. Most agencies give out referrals in somewhat of a first come first serve basis. They match a child with a family’s request parameters (such as boy, 3 years old, minor special needs) in the order that the paperwork (or dossier) reaches Ethiopia. Our agency works with a very large orphanage, or group of orphanages (Toukoul 1, 2, 3, and currently building 4). Those running the orphanage match a child/children with a family and it has very little to do with when your paperwork was submitted. They look at personalities, parameters requested, and they look at the match that will be best for any specific child.

The referral of our little ones may come tomorrow or it may come in 7 months (outside the normal wait time). We don’t know…just that our babies will come to us in God’s timing. Do we hope it’s sooner, rather than later…of course…in a way. We recognize the loss though and no, we don’t hope for the loss…sigh.

Once we have our referral (pictures and paperwork) and sign our contract to adopt these blessings, then we wait. We wait 1-3 months (usually) for our case to pass Ethiopian court and for the babies to be legally ours. We then wait about 6 weeks (usually) for our embassy date (the time we travel and bring the babies home).

That said, we have been waiting one month….our first of many milestones. The wait after we have seen their picture will be the hardest. We will be longing to hold them in our arms.

Until then we try to glorify God, celebrate, love, teach, and numerous other things. Just last Saturday, with many donated items, we had a large parking lot sale. It was crazy, awesome, and very blessed. We had enough items donated to have another sale in December…crazy awesome. God is good. Our friends (wow) just blessed us beyond belief. Donations exceeded expectations. Friends picked up and delivered trailers full. They worked the sale tirelessly. We are so very thankful.

It has been an amazing adventure seeing God work in this. We cannot wait to see what He does next.
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Prayer Requests and Praises

Praises!!!
God has brought us a long way in this adoption. He’s touched hearts and supplied funds in ways we didn’t think possible!
We are now waiting one month!
God has given us an amazing support system in our friends and family. We are so blessed.


Immediate Adoption Process Prayer Requests
*That the funds pour in like water in a surge of blessing and that God blesses us with the funds to accept the referral and travel when the time comes.
*That God’s hand is on the remaining paperwork and that they proceed with not a glitch, quickly and correctly. These are the papers we will need to accept the referral of our sweet little blessings, the papers to pass court, and the papers to bring them home.
*Though it may seem a bit premature, please specifically pray that once we are referred our little ones, that they come home quickly and pass court the first time. Many are starting to have multiple court dates, delayed court, and a LONG wait until travel. The Ethiopian government is being very cautious and caring with their wonderful children though and for that we are so thankful.
*That our twins may be gathered into our family with a quickness blessed by God.

All Adoption Prayer Requests:
Please Pray…..
*For these little ones God has chosen to place in our family…for their physical and emotional health in a difficult place.
*For their biological family…that God has His hand on them and brings them peace in whatever they must face and the choices they will be making. Also, please pray that they come to know Christ and the peace only He can give.
*That God has His hand on this adoption, guiding us, bringing peace, and financially providing.
* That we have peace and not stress, trusting God in every step.

We also pray that hearts are convicted daily to open their families and lives to orphans around the world.

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Also, please join us in prayers for four beautiful Christian families and five sweet children who are facing obstacles above and beyond what a adoption process usually looks like. Governments will literally have to move for these older and special needs children to come home. Families are waiting for them and we are SO excited to see God work in these lives and these governments to bring these adoptive blessings home!

Olivia Mame (Ethiopia)-I would like to ask your prayers for a little sweet young girl in Ethiopia named Olivia Mame. There are some very immense road blocks, serious ones, that have to be conquered in order to finish the adoption of this precious young lady.

Jubilee (China)- A Christian family is struggling through major hurdles with their international adoption from China. Please pray for this family and for the government to move to bring her home.

Daniel (Liberia)-A little one with hydrocephaly awaits his family. Please pray that Daniel does not deteriorate farther and that people in authority to move this case feel the passion to see this through quickly.

Ronaldo and Julia (Guatemala)-For years this family has been trying to get their beautiful future children out of Guatemala. Every time it seems close there is another glitch. Please pray with us. Please pray that EVERY problem is resolved and every piece of paper has the perfection only God can give.