Check out this song I just discovered by Brooke Fraser, of Hillsong United. It's beautiful. It's called "Albertine", after a child she met when visiting Rwanda.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WGx-xU6TnU8
Monday, December 21, 2009
Saturday, December 12, 2009
I've Decided I Love Her
Here is such a sweet story. But to understand the fullness of its sweetness, you have to first understand that my son, Gavin, has not been too excited about the idea of adopting a "sister" for him. Oh, from time to time when we talk about what toys she might like, he gets a little excited, but for the most part he stays a bit weary. And really, this is normal for him; it fits his personality, so it doesn't worry me too much. He, in general, in a very cautious little boy and resitant to change and new people.
Last night, he was drawing pictures. One for each person in our family and bringing them one by one to me to show me and then displaying them around the house. He then brought one to me on pink paper and said, "And this one is for our sister... because I've decided I love her." And then he proceeded back to the table to draw her more, "because she doesn't have much stuff."
I couldn't be prouder of my little firstborn sweetheart. Thank you, Lord.
Last night, he was drawing pictures. One for each person in our family and bringing them one by one to me to show me and then displaying them around the house. He then brought one to me on pink paper and said, "And this one is for our sister... because I've decided I love her." And then he proceeded back to the table to draw her more, "because she doesn't have much stuff."
I couldn't be prouder of my little firstborn sweetheart. Thank you, Lord.
Tuesday, November 3, 2009
Still Waiting, but staying connected
Well, I am finally updating my blog - it's only been about 3 months, and I just accidentally erased two paragraphs, so I am not getting off to a very good start.
Anyway, we are still waiting - no news at all. Which is why I havent updated my blog lately - nothing exciting to report. Well, actually my two little boys are always exciting. I am potty training Jeremiah. Yesterday he decided to poop on the stairs. So that was exciting. Today, during dinner, they repeated "stinky diaper" over and over and laughed hystarically each and every time, for about 20 minutes. So when I say "nothing exciting," that is technically not true - it always exciting around here.
But I am staying connected: I have cooked two Ethiopian meals in the past couple months and am very proud of myself, if I am allowed to be proud of myself. Thankfully my friend Cyndi (read her blog - it's awesome) has a pretty easy one on her website for Spicy Fish Stew. Yum. That was a week ago and my house still smells like Ethiopia -well Ethiopian spice anyway. The picture above is a meat and veggie dish- Alicha Yetakilit Wet Besiga.
Here is another great picture of my two very exciting and adorable sons. Okay, not here, at the top: I cannot figure out how to get the picture HERE. Can someone please comment and tell me how to get pictures where I want them?
Monday, August 31, 2009
By the way...
By the way, for those interested, our dossier is in Washington D.C. right now visiting the Secretary of State (that's right - Ms. Hilary Clinton herself - or someone representing her anyway), and the Ethiopian Embassy.
Waiting, Waiting, Waiting...
Waiting, waiting, waiting...
Can I just say I am getting tired of waiting? I want my child... or children. And I really want to know just that - is it a child or children? When I pray for her/ them, I want to pray specifically. I am tired of saying, "Lord protect my daughter, or my two daughters, or my daughter and son..." Waiting is hard!! Let's see, its been 9 mos. since we started the process ... and I am used to getting my child after 9 months - I guess I have been spoiled. Well, technically, its been longer than that, because we started adopting from another country a year before we started Ethiopia, and then it fell through as quickly as it started, and then we prayed for a year. So really its been more like a year and a half since I wanted this more than anything.
So tonight I am reminded of something I learned recently in my Beth Moore study on Esther. I wrote down the following:
"If God tells us to wait - we have to trust Him that His will is working - things in the heavens are coming in line with His will. If we wait on the Lord, we will renew our strength (Isaiah 40:31). If we are waiting on the person/event; our strength will be depleted."
Amen... but it's still hard.
Can I just say I am getting tired of waiting? I want my child... or children. And I really want to know just that - is it a child or children? When I pray for her/ them, I want to pray specifically. I am tired of saying, "Lord protect my daughter, or my two daughters, or my daughter and son..." Waiting is hard!! Let's see, its been 9 mos. since we started the process ... and I am used to getting my child after 9 months - I guess I have been spoiled. Well, technically, its been longer than that, because we started adopting from another country a year before we started Ethiopia, and then it fell through as quickly as it started, and then we prayed for a year. So really its been more like a year and a half since I wanted this more than anything.
So tonight I am reminded of something I learned recently in my Beth Moore study on Esther. I wrote down the following:
"If God tells us to wait - we have to trust Him that His will is working - things in the heavens are coming in line with His will. If we wait on the Lord, we will renew our strength (Isaiah 40:31). If we are waiting on the person/event; our strength will be depleted."
Amen... but it's still hard.
Monday, June 29, 2009
He holds them close to His heart
Last night my youngest son woke up terrified. He was screaming and trembling and calling my name. I tore up the stairs as fast as I possibly could, not because I thought he was in any real danger, but because I didn't want him to be scared for one moment longer than necessary. I wanted to hold him and tell him I was there and that everything was okay. He calmed down fairly quickly, but was still "too scared" to go back to bed right away. As I was holding him, I was brought to tears; I began to think of my child in Ethiopia. Where is she? What is she doing? Is she scared? Does she have someone to hold her and tell her everything is okay? And it hurts to not know what she is going through. I don't even know her yet, but I love her and want to comfort her. I don't know her yet, but thankfully, God does.
And in moments like those, I don' just think of my own, but of all orphans, who have no one to comfort them when they need it so much. And I can barely stand it. I cannot handle the thought of all those precious children out there, so in need of someone to love them. And in those moments, when I feel overwhelmed, all I can do is give it to the Lord, because somehow, even if I don't understand it, He has them.
"O LORD, You have heard the desire of the humble; You will strengthen their heart, You will incline Your ear to vindicate the orphan and the oppressed, so that man who is of the earth will no longer cause terror" (Psalm 10:17-18).
And in moments like those, I don' just think of my own, but of all orphans, who have no one to comfort them when they need it so much. And I can barely stand it. I cannot handle the thought of all those precious children out there, so in need of someone to love them. And in those moments, when I feel overwhelmed, all I can do is give it to the Lord, because somehow, even if I don't understand it, He has them.
"O LORD, You have heard the desire of the humble; You will strengthen their heart, You will incline Your ear to vindicate the orphan and the oppressed, so that man who is of the earth will no longer cause terror" (Psalm 10:17-18).
Saturday, May 16, 2009
So here's our story
So many people want to know why we decided to adopt. So here it is:
For me, it began back in High School - that is when God first planted the "adoption seed", so to speak, inside of me. My youth group visited an orphanage in Honduras and I was never the same. If I could have adopted one of those children at the age of 15, I probably would have. I still pray for two kids in particular - a 9 year old boy named Juan, and a little girl, I don't remember her name - but I have her picture. Strange to think that these kids really weren't much younger than I was at the time and are all grown up now, and by God's grace, hopefully thriving despite their difficult young lives.
When my husband, Jason, and I began discussing marriage, we talked that one day, maybe adoption would be part of our lives together. Many years went by, and two biological children were born, before these desires began to resurface. And it was like God just hit me with it all at once - like, "OK - here it is.. time to start thinking about this again!" And I couldn't stop thinking about it. I was ready to begin the adoption process. Problem was, my husband wasn't. That was so hard for me - why would God lay something SO heavily on my heart and not on his? So for over a year I battled those feelings of confusion and desperate desire to begin adopting - and I did a lot of trying to convince my husband that the time was right. But for whatever reason, it wasn't. Then last December, Jason comes home from work and tells me he has something to tell me. "I think it's time to begin." Wow! and hoorah! But strangely, I wasn't as excited as I thought I would be - I think I was thinking he would change his mind; it had happened before. And then I got scared - yikes- did I really want this afterall? I was fearful - and we had decided on Ethiopia - yikes again - could we really handle black children? But God is good, and over time, those fears have disappeared and He constantly shows us his goodness and faithfulness. The process is moving along, Jason and I are unified, and funds are coming in. Wow, there is so much more to tell, and so many details I have left out (I'll gladly share any of them). But the fact of the matter is there are 145 million orphans in the world who are susceptible to all sorts of horrifics that I won't go in to. And our hearts and our home have room to spare.
"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." James 1:27
For me, it began back in High School - that is when God first planted the "adoption seed", so to speak, inside of me. My youth group visited an orphanage in Honduras and I was never the same. If I could have adopted one of those children at the age of 15, I probably would have. I still pray for two kids in particular - a 9 year old boy named Juan, and a little girl, I don't remember her name - but I have her picture. Strange to think that these kids really weren't much younger than I was at the time and are all grown up now, and by God's grace, hopefully thriving despite their difficult young lives.
When my husband, Jason, and I began discussing marriage, we talked that one day, maybe adoption would be part of our lives together. Many years went by, and two biological children were born, before these desires began to resurface. And it was like God just hit me with it all at once - like, "OK - here it is.. time to start thinking about this again!" And I couldn't stop thinking about it. I was ready to begin the adoption process. Problem was, my husband wasn't. That was so hard for me - why would God lay something SO heavily on my heart and not on his? So for over a year I battled those feelings of confusion and desperate desire to begin adopting - and I did a lot of trying to convince my husband that the time was right. But for whatever reason, it wasn't. Then last December, Jason comes home from work and tells me he has something to tell me. "I think it's time to begin." Wow! and hoorah! But strangely, I wasn't as excited as I thought I would be - I think I was thinking he would change his mind; it had happened before. And then I got scared - yikes- did I really want this afterall? I was fearful - and we had decided on Ethiopia - yikes again - could we really handle black children? But God is good, and over time, those fears have disappeared and He constantly shows us his goodness and faithfulness. The process is moving along, Jason and I are unified, and funds are coming in. Wow, there is so much more to tell, and so many details I have left out (I'll gladly share any of them). But the fact of the matter is there are 145 million orphans in the world who are susceptible to all sorts of horrifics that I won't go in to. And our hearts and our home have room to spare.
"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." James 1:27
Monday, April 27, 2009
Well I have been waiting for this day to start a blog, and today is the day. Today our homestudy to adopt a child from Ethiopia was approved. And so now I finally feel like it is official. And therefore, the blog begins. This has been such a process for me already - primarily emotional at this point - more on that later, but the blogs I have read during this time have been such a blessing to me, that I too want to share our journey and pray that it will be a blessing and inspiration to those who read it. So as I begin, simply, I ask Lord, that you will let my written words bring you glory and that I may bless others in the ways they have blessed me. "He is before all things, and in Him, all things hold together."
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