Quote of the Day

An amazing woman we met in Ethiopia shared this today...THANKS CHERRIE!!!

Making a difference that echoes in eternity may look foolish to everyone else in your life. - Tom Davis

Celebrations and Prayers for Others

I'm a flake. I admit it. I'm joining flakes anonymous.

A dear Christian sister Eliz and her family have grown very recently by two precious special needs sons. It was a long road, and we have been praying and celebrating with her forever changed...and forever blessed family. To check out her blog or give her a "WOO HOO! PRAISE GOD!" cyber hug....check out "The Road 'Down' Home".

Please also keep them in your prayers not only for attachment, but also the three more blessings (one very sick) that they will be bringing into their family shortly.

There are also two dear wonderful blog friends that helped our family by talking to our social worker (when we began our adoption of Jael). They have some very special little girls that need prayers.

Selah (Chrissie's little sister) at "All Are Precious in His Sight" has undergone surgery already and could use prayers as they proceed.

Jubilee, wow...I have such memories of praying for her home coming, is facing a very serious surgery tomorrow. During a routine MRI they found masses on her brain that needed to come out yesterday. Follow Jubilee's story at "A Place Called Simplicity". Please hold her up, especially tomorrow and following, to our Heavenly Father.

Any and All Things Home School~Part 2~The First Year

My mind jumping from one thing to the other lately, had me arguing with myself what to post next. It went something like this.

"You need to share about that first year, it's where it all starts."
"But I think some might like to see how it benefits and adoptive family."
"Well, your right, but they still start with the first year, right?"
"Pfft, you just want your way."

Yes, life is interesting in my mind.

Everything in our life is obviously not home school. I honestly don't write about home school much, but as it is a part of us, I really want to share what wisdom has been SHARED with me. You didn't think the wisdom came from me, did you?! Smile

So, I got my way again. I'm going to talk about the first year.

Again, there is no guaranteeing that it will make sense. Check out my last post to see where this all started.

If you are NOT wondering, thinking about starting, or home schooling...this may not be the series for you. Just a warning (smile)....

THE FIRST YEAR

Looking back on the first year, it was hard...seriously hard. It was the boot camp of home school.

Thankfully, I was warned, but that didn't do it justice.

I'm a big investigator and preparer too, so you would think it wouldn't have come as quite a shock.

It did...

Mainly it was difficult because we are programed to think school is supposed to be a certain way. If it is not, you fail.

The first year is the deprogramming year. This is the year where you get comfortable in your home school skin. This is the year you shed what the world says school should look like.

How long should an average home school day be?
How do we figure out field trips?
If a child gets sick, how do we manage make up days?
How many days of school should there be in each year?
How often should I test?
Should I order all the extras recommended in the curriculum?
Should I schedule my day or let it flow checking off what has been done until it's complete?
What if I miss something they need?

To start I would like to recommend some avenues and explanations to get you started in your first year.

Some things I wish I'd known.

Some things I learned the hard way. Truthfully, a lot of things I learned the hard way.

**I want to encourage my home school friends who read this blog to comment with more advice. I'm sure to have missed things and many of you have been MY teachers.**

STARTING THE FIRST YEAR (YOUR HOME SCHOOL BOOT CAMP)

You know, starting felt like a really obscure maze for me. I wasn't even sure what questions to ask or what crazy situation would pop up around the corner. Every question led to twenty more.

These are the top ideas/avenues that I valued most when starting our home school adventure.

1. Talk to friends (and friends of friends) who home school. Have a prepared list of what you want to ask. Ask what they wish they had known. Talk about curriculum. Expect to think of twenty more things that you MUST know before starting and pray your friends have patience (wink). My friends are still talking to me. I'm taking that as a good sign.

2. Join online Yahoo Groups. Yahoo makes joining pretty easy. There is one big one called, "A Home School Review" that is a great place to ask anything and everything home school. There are also smaller and more specific ones that are WONDERFUL as well. I started with "A Home School Review" and branched out from there. Seriously good people took their time to answer my questions and NOT tell me I was stupid (Yes, any of my children reading this will now say, "MOM! We don't say STUPID!")

3. Google online what your state laws are in regards to home schooling. Ours are fairly lenient, but each state is different. Pretty important to cover your bases there.

4. Join HSLDA (Home School Legal Defense Association). It is about $10 a month and if any one should challenge your home schooling, they legally represent their members at no cost. Parental rights also can change and you are kept on top of it, as well as keeping you abreast of the newest home school laws and some great opportunities.

5. Google your area for a local Home School Association, Teaching Co-op, or Local Home School Groups. Often they will offer field trips, student government, year book, prom, and many many other opportunities for your kids to connect with others. A local teaching co-op offers classes that are fun, educational, and for me (which is important) beyond my teaching abilities. Some classes are taught by certified teachers and some are just taught by the gifted of the community. We take advantage, especially in high school, of this opportunity. Truthfully, it's a great way to get out and avoid some cabin fever as adults as well. Other home school moms and I joke that co-op is our therapy session.

6. I've had several give me the next bit of advice and, yes, it did help. For the first year consider doing a box set curriculum. This means that all (or almost all) of your curriculum is the same. Example: We used ABeka the first year, while creating our own Bible curriculum. The teaching books for different curriculum vary. Figuring out one curriculum's teaching book can leave your brain spinning, add many...it can be a little much until you find your comfort zone. Once you find your comfort zone, the fun really begins.

7. You don't need to buy EVERYTHING when it comes to extras the curriculum recommends. Ask those that have used it what they REALLY needed. My bet is that it's only about half of what was actually recommended. I bought EVERYTHING the first year and maybe used half. Often those that make home school curriculum only modify the curriculum used in Christian Schools or Private Schools. When you are teaching one on one, you know when your child gets it and when the light bulb goes on. Those that make the curriculum don't always take that into account.

8. I have a ton of friends who are teachers at a traditional school. When I asked them about home school and advice, they were very positive (which INITIALLY surprised me a little). Many of these teachers had experience with those coming from a home school. They said that the main issue they saw was many parents had stopped using flash cards and such when home schooling. They didn't emphasize the memorization.

9. Think about what you've seen in five day a week schools. Often the kids only do every other problem. Sometimes you see the teachers skip a lesson that is just review and give it as extra credit. Again, you see when your child "gets it". I believe in practice and reiteration, but you don't have to use EVERYTHING provided (including all the lessons if they are not necessary).

10. If you want your children to be tested at the end of the year to insure they are on target, there are often local places to do that. Remember though, some don't test well. I know adults that struggle with that. It may not be a accurate reflection of what a child knows.

11. This was a big one for us. Often you will have a schedule that tells you what lesson your child should be on for that particular day (example: Lesson 4 on September 3rd). I like that, but I have realized that sometimes my kids WANT to work ahead. They are ready for it. I now have a schedule that shows me (about every four weeks) what lesson they should have accomplished by that date. Often they will be ahead. There is nothing wrong with the fact that you may be only doing one subject by the last day of school (because they finished early). There is also nothing wrong with going past that day if more time is needed. Flexibility is an awesome thing about home school.

12. Many (if not most) home school mom's do a four day home school week. They teach five days worth of school in four. Since this is a HOME school, home still needs some attention too (errands, cleaning, etc.).

13. It usually takes us about six weeks to get in the groove each home school year. Though each year it seems to be smoother, we still end up doing some tweaking.

14. Many use the same History, Science, and Bible for elementary school ages. We buy the curriculum for the oldest and it's AMAZING what the younger children understand. We do tweak things for some younger activities, but it simplifies so much.

Now, here are a couple of questions that I threw at people and some answers that work in my quirky mind.

How long should an average home school day be?
I know parents that home school anywhere from three to eight hours a day. Usually it averages around 3-5 depending on the day.

The reason being is not the lack of things to teach, but the ability to go on to the next subject without having to wait for everyone else to finish.

Our day, or I should say MY day, tends to be longer (smile). In teaching multiple children, one child may have some play time while I finish teaching another child. I average 5-6 hours a day. In a later post I will share more about how we do things with multiple children, curriculum, etc.

How do we figure out field trips?
Often the local home school association will offer quite a few. If not, just get creative. The local fire station, police station, library, sports arena, ice cream shop, petting zoo, and pumpkin patches are great places to start. The more it ties into the curriculum, often the more your children will remember it.

If a child gets sick, how do we manage make up days?
If you let your child work ahead (as stated above), often you will not have do juggle a whole bunch. Every once in awhile we do double days where we will double up on a certain subject. Also, there is nothing wrong with finishing the year a little later than you planned or tweaking the days you planned off. A couple five day weeks will catch you up in no time.

BELIEVE me when I say that I have experience in this...lol...after coming home from Ethiopia with what we believed was malaria (four months of cycling fevers), we only ended one week later than I intended.

How many days of school should there be in each year?
We usually do between 165 lessons to 175 lessons. You will notice that in your curriculum, if your children have gone to traditional school in the past, there is often "left over" lessons in any book that is returned.

With sick days, weather days, special days and field trips, often they will not finish every lesson.

The next elementary school year in language and math often starts with what was learned the year before.

How often should I test?
This totally depends on the parent. Though I see the value in teaching our children how to test, testing in every subject every week may not be necessary. That is a parental judgement call.

Should I order all the extras recommended in the curriculum?
I think I answered that one above (smile)...not necessary.

Should I schedule my day or let it flow checking off what has been done until it's complete?
We let it flow, switching things around, until all the items on the assignment sheet are checked off for the day. Sometimes we change the order. We just find that works best for us and our full quiver, BUT I know many that are very scheduled and VERY successful. You need to find out what works best for you.

What if I miss something they need?
Having a box set helped me not worry quite so much the first year. I knew the necessities were covered and I could just add what I wanted them to learn on top of that.

The first year is so much about finding what works that I didn't want to worry about missing something. As time progressed, I learned what I did and didn't like and found the creative juices flowing.

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My brain is now on meltdown (today was our first day of school) and I'm sure I will publish this and decide to come back and add things later. A few more posts are coming. Though I don't want this to be the focus of our family blog, lately I've received quite a few home schooling questions and don't want to totally diss something that we LOVE.

Here are some of the subjects I'm thinking about touching on in the next few home schooling posts...
*Home Schooling High School
*Reactions to Home Schooling
*Home Schooling and Adoption
*Our Home School
*Home Schooling a Large Family/Multiple Ages

Any more ideas or questions? Shoot them my way and I'll be glad to touch on them!

Now off to bed before my brain leaks out my ear...

Tim Hawkins is a nut and this made me totally laugh. Enjoy!

The Attack (Adoption and Our Spiritual Walk)

In the beginning, as we think of adoption or following God in any way, satan finds our thoughts ripe for polluting. You know the lies satan tells us to try to get us to turn our backs on the thought of adoption, but what about when that doesn't work?

Then comes the attack.

Every time we step forward to bring our child/ren home, we get hit. We are surprised. Yet this happens every time.

Truthfully, I think we are a little clueless. Either that or it's like when you labor to deliver a baby biologically. It hurts. It REALLY hurts!

Yet after a relatively short time, it just doesn't seem so bad. We don't remember the reality so much and our memories fade with the reality that we have our child.

Our adoption pregnancy is often the same way. After our angelic treasure (depending on the day...hee hee) is in our arms, the roller coaster of attacks, hiccups, and stress...well, we sometimes start to forget how hard the process was.

I think that often we have a school of thought that believes when we truly step forward and follow God, that only rainbows and unicorns will litter our path.

I've heard myself say on numerous occasions, "Following God is not easy." We say it and then, at times, wonder why the hard stuff happened to us.

Strange thing is that somewhere along the way the light has gone on. Don't you just love those light bulb moments?! I don't wonder anymore.

When some of the rough stuff and craziness happens, I know why. I know that God has given us a spotlight and it's what we do in the spotlight that matters.

Let's back up...

I met a wonderful woman last year. She came up and quietly asked me if our Bekah was from Ethiopia. They were asking God if their child was in Ethiopia and she had been wanting to ask me for so long.

I remember when they committed to bring their child home. I also remember when the weird stuff started to happen to them.

They had not bought into satan's LIES. When the lies didn't work, satan attacked.

*Problems at work that had never happened before.

*Everything breaking all of a sudden (that seems to be a common one).

*Drama in a non dramatic life.

*All chaos breaking loose.

What can satan hope to accomplish?

He hopes to make us give up. He hopes to make us postpone and then just decide we didn't really hear God in the first place. He hopes to distract us and make us explode (in a very ugly way) right in the spotlight that God has given us.

The cool thing is, what we are seeing is very Biblical. We are not alone in our struggle against satan. We are not alone in choosing to follow God and satan raging battle. Here are just a few of those who fought and won (because, even in death...God wins).

Joseph was rebuked by his father for a dream given by God (the sun and moon and eleven stars were bowing down to him). He was asked, "'Will your mother and I and your brothers actually come and bow down to the ground before you?'" Genesis 37

Elijah took on the hundreds of prophets of baal to prove that God is God. Jezebel then pronounced that as surely as he lives that he would be dead by the next day (1 Kings 18 & 19).

Mordecai, Ester's adoptive uncle, faced death for refusing to bow down to someone else besides God (Ester 3:1-6).

Job who suffered because he was faithful to God (Job 1-42).

Daniel was thrown in with a den of lions because he would not obey men, only God (Daniel 6).

John the Baptist followed God, preached, served, and told God's truth...and was beheaded for it. (Matthew 14:1-12)

Stephen was a man of God... standing up proclaiming God's truth and was stoned (Acts 6-7).

The disciples were brought before the Sanhedrin and told not to speak of Christ anymore. They were jailed and flogged.

"The apostles left the Sanhedrin, rejoicing because they had been counted worthy of suffering disgrace for the Name." Acts 5:41

Now this is the best part...

What did the disciples do with the spotlight?! REJOICED FOR BEING COUNTED AS WORTHY!

Again, it's what we do with the spotlight.

When we follow God, we get satan's attention. When we don't...not so much. We are being counted worthy. God reigns and satan does NOT have free reign. I love what
Job says...

“I know that you can do all things; no purpose of yours can be thwarted." Job 42:2

We cannot expect to follow God and have the father of lies say,"Ehhh (shrug)...no biggy."

If we step into the unknown (which the future always is) knowing that God has our hand and we are blind, just following His footsteps, then we can expect satan to try to tear our hand out of His. God's position is coveted by satan. He wants us bowing down to him.

It's kinda like that psycho ex-boyfriend, "If I can't have you nobody will."

Funny thing, you think satan would realize God's power by now. You think he'd realize God wins. Maybe he does though. He's just trying to take us down with him.

Let's take the spotlight that satan gives us and turn it upward. Let's really tick satan off. After all, we don't belong to him anymore.

The Lover of Our Soul is bigger, much more powerful, and always wins.

"Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand." Ephesians 6:10-13

A Dream, Parents of Trauma, and Judgement

I had the wildest dream in the wee hours of this morning.

I dreamt that we were in the foster/adopt program. We had a 11 year old boy and 5 year girl (siblings) for the weekend. For the first 24 hours, it was like a honeymoon. Then it was like a nightmare.

The young man had two faces...one kind and with the other he would do hateful things and just smile. The little girl seemed to be so thoroughly attached to her brother that she would try the same things, but you could tell that she just didn't know any better. It was awful.

I remember clearly wishing the weekend were over. It was horrid. The wild thing was that I don't remember thinking that we would never consider adopting these two, but that I really needed to get my bearings.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It was just a dream, but this happens every day in real life. Children so broken that they don't know how to accept love and they try to drive it away. They don't know how to rely on another because when they have in the past, they have gotten hurt.

This was a painful dream to have, but a good reminder of what many go through daily.

I've been thinking a lot of the judgements we heap on others...even when we're not meaning to.

The two most ironic judgements I remember bouncing around in my mind are now somewhat funny.

When I was young I'd see home school families out during the day. Sometimes they would look different (AMEN for not looking like the world!) and I would ask myself what they were doing to their children (in a very negative way). Ya, that's pretty ironic coming from a mom of eight that now home schools...lol.

The next one was, as a young mom, I remember looking at a parent handling a child melting down and thinking that she must be doing something wrong. Yes, I know, because children are all robots and we can always anticipate any upcoming naughtiness (sarcasm, sarcasm, sarcasm). Is it ironic that Rachel decided the other day that she did NOT like going to the dentist (for her siblings appointment) and made EVERYONE work it to calm her? Ya, a little.

It's amazing how many judgements come from a lack of understanding. I'm not talking about acknowledging Biblical sin as a sin, but just the every day judgements that pop into our minds.

One that I've been thinking of lately, as I've been watching some amazing women get reamed on their blogs, is that somehow many assume all a child's problems are because of the parent. Yes, I've met the parent who never disciplines, etc.....but....

There are adoptive and biological parents that are fighting for their children every day. It's all out spiritual and physical warfare. A fight to pull out the weeds that have grown in the foundational cracks. Sometimes a fight to help their child be the best they can be through a physical disorder.

I used to judge this. I'm no different. When I was young I saw a screaming child as a result of the parent's ineptitude.

Now, not so much. Now I wonder if there's anything I can do. I want to give the mom ,who is so valiantly trying to hold it together, a hug. I want to encourage them to fight.

This dream was not fun, but it was a reminder that what we see is not the whole story. We may not see the spiritual war going on for this child. We may not see manipulation, triangulation, violence, sensory disorders, FAS, RAD, and SO many other things that can be at the root of the meltdown right in front of us.

To all you parents of trauma out there, consider yourself hugged. It can be a very lonely fight, but you are very admired by one blogger here. Thank you for going to war. Thank you for being tougher than any world renowned ninja. You do this 24 hours a day for life. Your samurai sword (with God behind it) can lay satan on his back.

Stand up and take a bow....on the other hand, go climb in bed and get a good rest. You deserve it.

"If I speak in the tongues of men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. If I give all I possess to the poor and give over my body to hardship that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing" I Corinthians 13:1-3

Any and All Things Home School~Part One~Why?

It's that time again. It's my mad rush to be prepared to teach 11th, 10th, 5th, 3rd grade, Kindergarten, and two year old pre-school.

You want to see multiple personalities?

Easy, peasy, one two threesy

Many have asked me about home school lately and since I've had a little bit of a writer's block. No, that's not it. It's more like my brain has refused to work in any kind of cohesive manner. I haven't posted on home school.... or just about anything.

Tonight I've decided not to worry about the lack of cohesive thought though (who knows if it will ever come back...giggle) and I've have decided to attempt a series of posts on home school. I'm not promising anything will...
...make sense.
...be funny.
...be informative.
...be instructive.
...make sense.

Did I say make sense? I just wanted to make sure I got that in there?

If your interested in home school or just want to find out how we got here, this may be the series for you. Not promising anything (smile).

I thought I'd start at the very beginning. It's a long time ago (ok, only four years) in a place not so far away.

(cue dramatic music, fade in)

For years I thought home schoolers were nuts. I really did. How could a child be socialized. How would they learn to deal with the real world?

As the years went on, I began to admire home schoolers. After meeting several centered, realistic, and mature home schooled kids (people don't even refer to me that way), I began to admit that these mom's MUST be amazing. They must be dusting off their super man cape daily. They were doing something right.

Something that I could NOT do. Something that I would NOT do. It was beyond me.

This was our reality.

Thomas and I had always known we wanted our children surrounded by Biblical teaching. We promised each other we would do what was necessary to keep our kids in a Christian school.

I was the mom who volunteered for everything. I was the room mom. I went on every field trip. I organized. I was the Outreach Coordinator. No one could say I slacked at the mommy job.

Little ones in toe, I was always there.

Unfortunately always being there didn't solve a bullying problem. Either did handling it in the correct way (up the ladder of authority).

It didn't solve the bullying problem for our child OR for the boys who were bullying our son (and others).

Finally, mid way through the sixth grade year we said we couldn't do it anymore. We wouldn't subject our son to this with seemingly no resolution. The bullying was changing him. We had exhausted every avenue and did everything we could to teach our child not to give up.

(side note: Two months after we left these boys were expelled)

We searched the area and finally settled on a local Christian University Model School (school Monday/Wednesday/Friday and home school Tuesday/Thursday). We moved our child mid year and then moved all our children the beginning of the next school year.

Then a year and a half later, things changed.

I bet you can guess this one.

Did you guess the green phantom? That's what we call money around here. It was getting hard to afford all the classes for our ever growing family. At that point Tom, Sarah, Anna, and Max (pre-school) were all attending.

The summer after my daughter Anna finished 1st grade my husband found me sitting in the middle of our play area with forms scattered around me...crying. I just couldn't figure out how to do it financially. I was weary of struggling to try to make our budget work with four children in private school (and at that time paying off an adoption loan to bring our sweet Bekah home).

Yet I was convicted that we HAD to marinate them in God's love. Life was about God, not school.

My husband amazed me at that point (and not for doing the Cabbage Patch or dancing on the side of the road). He said, "Honey...have you ever thought of home school?"

Now if we hadn't gone down the road we had I would have looked at him like he was stark raving mad (like I usually do in other words...love you honey!). God had been making changes in me though. He had shown me just a smidge of what home school was like. He had planted a seed in me that just maybe I could do this.

Year one I taught Anna (second grade) and Max (Kindergarten). Bekah was just itty bitty then and her learning was more along the walking and talking line (important stuff).

Year two I branched out. I taught (drum roll) SEVENTH GRADE (Sarah)......and NINTH GRADE (Tom) as well.

What started with a financial issue, ended with God's leading and blessings we couldn't have imagined.

How did our kids react?

The younger kids were excited.

Anna, who started home school in second grade, would come home many afternoons, after being away at school all day, crying because she was so tired. She still needs a little more quiet at times.

Our teens were reticent and somewhat fearful.

Where would they make friends? Would they be couped up in the house all day with MOM (lol)?!

All I'm going to say...right now...is that they now say that they would never go back. You couldn't pay them to go back. They, and this is the best promotion ever, (as teenagers) say that home school is the best thing that could've ever happened in regards to school.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

We believe God can lead families in so many different ways in regards to schooling. As long as we are open and don't limit God, great things happen.

(To be continued...)

Getting Real....

Ok, so I was reading a blog I love (shout out to Dawn!)...and introduced to a new "blog hop". It's called Fo' Realz'.


I think I may just put that on a home school spelling test. My kids do always say I have my own "Kat" dictionary.

The challenge is to be real...nitty gritty, totally honest...real. I try not to be imaginary normally, but to spill my guts...hmmmm...

Here it goes. Remember, read at your own risk.

I started writing (ok, some in my mind) about two dozen blogs the last six weeks...from adopting out of birth order, to home school, to just about everything. But I can't...nope, can't do it. I make it half way through and then stop. My brain is a shocking mess. Complete thought? Nope, and I love to write. It's my outlet, but with everything (and I mean EVERYTHING) going on....

I have a list on my refrigerator of about 20 MAJOR things I needed to do this week. Not one of them is done because I decided that this was the week I needed to change the kids rooms. I don't want to start anything until they're done. It doesn't matter that home school starts in less than two weeks...

My washing machine died and we were without one for about two weeks. Right now dirty laundry piles are stacked up in our play area (which was supposed to be a formal dining room...we don't do formal). We're working our way through those and I smell and odd smell, but don't know where it's coming from.

I feel grumpy and tired. I feel like we're waiting for the next thing to hit. Ya, I know it's not right, but somewhere deep inside that's reality. I feel like I'm setting here going...fires, exploding sidewalks, air conditioning in the car breaking, refrigerator breaking, drama, washing machine breaking, illness, lice, loss of a very dear friends mom, my grandma's health deteriorating, waiting for taxes, our computer screen dying, my bro losing his job, the stone from my wedding ring getting knocked out....and on and on and on, all happening this summer....grump, grump, grump, grump, grump....

See, I knew I could do reality...lol.

Really, God is good. That's reality. Hanging tooth and nail to that reality.

How Can We?! (Adoption)

I wrote this previous post.

"Should Everyone Adopt? With a Tsp. More Wisdom and A Cup More Thought"

I believe it. I believe it and yet my heart overflows when I read a post like the following.

"The Blessing of Verity"

How can we say, "Sorry, God...I can't". Oh, I know the "Lies satan Tells Us About Adoption". I've listened to many of them.

Yet this little girl is starving to death. She has a family that wants her. She is their daughter. Now it's a race for her life.

Look at this precious blessing from God.

How can we say, "I can't do it. I can't even ask God if this is what He wants from me." Look at her sweet picture and say it. I know I can't.

I want to scream from the mountain tops. I want to yell that these children are real! They are not just numbers.

Oh dear God, what are we doing ignoring this?

Please pray for Katerina and her family. Please pray God sustains her and brings her family together quickly.

Recent Email We Sent Out...

Prayer request sent to our family and friends...

One of our friend's said, "This stuff only happens in soap operas."

Since the fire many odd events have happened. The most recent being our sidewalk exploding at five am. About a plate size chuck of cement is missing from our front walk. From dust...to small rocks....to a small football size of concrete litter our front walk at this very moment. I must say that we did laugh, this stuff is weird and so obvious. It's just another of satan's darts.

We are weary though, beyond weary.

That said, God protected our family once again. If the children had been outside at the time....

Apparently it was something called a tension cable that criss cross our foundation and hold it together. It gave..exploding the cement around it. Our friend who happens to be a contractor came over to take a look (he and his entire family are a blessing to us) and said he'd never seen that happen before...ever.

For some reason satan does not want Jael home.

Do you remember the dream that we shared of our sweet daughter Anna, BEFORE she knew we were adopting or even considering it.

The morning after we knew Jael was our daughter (but Anna did not), Anna came in and threw herself on my lap terrified. She said, "Mommy, I had a scary dream. We adopted a little girl from China, who was born different than most kids. She was SO cute. That was the good part. The next part is the scary one. We were on this ship and all these people were trying to come on board and trying to hurt us."

Next a friend called saying she felt the storm intensity that was coming our way.

We knew when we began this journey that we'd be bombarded. We have been like never before. Yet, we would not give up Jael for a few measly storms....or a few battering storms. We are feeling a bit battered here.

How does this latest storm effect us? We had our adoption almost paid for. Now, in order to prevent the cable (which still has a lot of tension on it) from tearing through our house until the tension eases, we MUST (if for no other reason than for safety) get this fixed now. No more exploding cement for us!

Though we apologize for the numerous emails, we really feel prayers are needed. God has listened and protected our family and we could really use them now. We know those facing life or death have gone and are going through so much more than we are. Thank you for taking the time to pray for our family.

Adoption Update:
Our immigration approval came in (from the U.S. government).
Our paperwork (dossier) is now logged in by the Chinese government (July 29th).

Prayer Requests
*That our paperwork flies, quicker that we imagine, and we can bring Jael home quickly...prayerfully before Christmas. Specifically, that the Chinese government processes our paperwork very quickly.
*That Jael has stories and words of God whispered in her ear and that her heart is prepared for us.
*That God's protection continue to cover our family (including Jael) and this adoption.
*For a God given peace. We could really use the peace (smile).
*Finally for the insurance (which we call in the morning) to come through. Though we do not have foundation coverage, this is a specifically unusual occurrence that might be covered through another avenue. Please pray for financial guidance and blessing. God has truly provided and covered us constantly, but prayers are treasured.

Thank you again for all your prayers. God has been gracious to us and your prayers are cherished.

Having a Blast in Christ,
Thomas and Kat

Update on the Exploding Sidewalk

Ya, you can automatically assume that a sidewalk exploding probably does not mean good things. Once we ruled out sidewalk terrorists, we went to a pro. A good friend/contractor came over yesterday during his, VERY rare, free time. Serious brownie points are owed....and with all he has done for us, maybe a truck load.

I bet you'll never guess what he said!

"Never seen this happen before."

Apparently our foundations are filled with something called tension cables (hopefully I got the name right). Picture a square (the best way I can figure to describe this). There are cables that run every 2-4 feet from one side to another. They then have the same thing from the other side of the foundation slab which makes crisscrossing cables. When the cement is poured the cables are tightened to help hold the foundation together. One of our cables gave. There is still tension on it, thus it can tear through our house until the tension is lessened. Hmmmm....this is maybe not the best news ever.

We will call our insurance tomorrow. Though our foundation is not covered, this is an unusual one.

Obviously during our journey to bring home Jael, this is not something we financially want to hear. Hmmm...maybe this just generally is not the thing we want to hear.

Yes, I broke down for about five minutes yesterday. The storms are wearying. I think we are actually a little beyond weary now.

Yet God has blessed us. The cable could have gave when we were outside. One of the cement chunks is about the size of a small kids football. Someone could have been killed.

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So, in the big picture we're are still laughing. I mean really, exploding sidewalks! How can we not!

We have, more recently, added a few tears in there too. Could you pray that God shows us the financial way and that maybe, somehow, the insurance will cover this new craziness? We would have almost had the adoption paid for had this not happened....

Honestly, after praying for Jael, we've been praying for peace above all else.

GOD ROCKS and this will be ok, just feeling a little battered right now.

Now to fix the foundation...

I guess all our foundations needs some repair work now and then (smile).

Thanks friends....

Five AM Exploding Sidewalk...SERIOUSLY?!!!

At five o'clock this morning I sat up straight in bed.

I had heard a loud boom like a collision or gunshot.

I woke my husband (he can sleep through ANYTHING and this is proof).

We checked on all the kids. I peaked out the window at our van (thinking maybe someone hit it) and finally went back to bed. I thought I had dreamed it.

This morning was a teen event at our Church and we all dressed, hoping to run some errands after dropping them off. We opened the door to a most bizarre site.

Apparently our sidewalk, a couple feet from the door, had exploded (about the size of a dinner plate). Yup, these things happen to us...lol.

We may have a clue in just a few what caused it...not gas (house still here), could be foundation (been hot and dry), or a more far fetched thought of lightening (had a storm this morning...but no scorch marks). To quote a friend (thanks Roxanne!) I now think it was one of satan's darts....yup!

Right now we are just shaking our head laughing.

God is good, and thankfully He gave us laughter!

Exploding sidewalks...that's a new one!




There were a couple of cases (about 40 lbs) of tile right beside the...uhhh...incident. It threw and broke many of them.