The rest of the story!

The day before court our visit with Olya was a little different than the rest. She seemed more quiet. Less interested in doing anything and nervous.

We weren't sure if she was getting teased by a couple of the girls or if she was just emotional. It really stinks not being able to understand what is being said right in front of you.

As we were heading to court the next day, our facilitator mentioned that she thought Olya was struggling. Olya had called to see if we would be coming for a visit. We all new Olya was working through her emotions, but it is so nerve wracking waiting to see if she might change her mind. When we arrived to pick her up she had not eaten yet and was very nervous. We were all very nervous and each of us had a hard time eating before court. It is a little scary waiting to get questioned. And for Olya it is a huge day! Saying hello to her future, but goodbye in many ways to her past.

We honestly are very thankful for this time for her. I never want to see my kids hurting or emotionally upset, but it shows us that she is making this decision knowing the consequences. She is facing reality and she knows what she is giving up. It also shows us she has bonded to her friends and care-givers and we know she knows how to love and be loved. In the world of adoption, this is a big thing.

We Praise God our process has gone so quickly. Being in and out of court in 10 days is really quite amazing. I think Olya thought she would have much more time before this day.

Once we got to court and had some time to hang out, she bagan to relax. She was very confident in court and gave me many sweet smiles as the court proceedings continued.

Our facilitator sat with us and we all debreifed after court. Olya seemed very happy and shared she would miss her favorite teacher.

Yesterday was our last day to visit and it was amazing. We had a wonderful time and she tried very hard to connect with us. We played checkers and took silly pictures. We "played" do you like, and just had a wonderful time together.

We are now packing to head back home for a short time of regrouping and reconnecting with our other 4 treasures.

We arrive home Sun. afternoon at 3 and will be heading back to finalize the adoption paperwork April 22.

We are looking at 1-3 weeks of being gone. Things could move very quickly again, but we have a couple of things that could hold us up for a long time. One is the passport. It is possible to get it in one day, but there are no promises. The other is a 5 day weekend. If we hit it just right, we may be hanging out for 5 days waiting for the offices to reopen. We have seen God move in a mighty way and we trust He will do what is best for the family.

We do not really know what Olya needs right now. If she needs more time then we would rather spend another 5 days here touring her country. We desire as healthy a transition as possible. Though we would love to rush back home, we trust God will do what is best. The timing is, as always in His hands.

HERE WE COME IDAHO!

 

 

 

Proudly Introducing...

We are proud to introduce our new girl, please meet...

Olya Naomi !

Our court date was a success yesterday! Olya is ours!

Our wonderful facilitator - far right and the children's services workers.

A huge thank you to them for making this day possible, and so soon.

Here is Olya at the puppet show in the orphanage. She did a great job writing and reciting a poem as well as being the voice for some of the characters.

A little crazy time with the I Pad!

Please don't judge our maturity by these photos. ;)

 

 

 

We love you Olya!

Welcome to the family.

You are truly a wonderful girl and we are so thankful

God has blessed us with you as our daughter.

Getting to know you!

Today part of our visit was joining a group of 7 kids and their teacher for a little spontaneous art class.

With tons of excitement all the kids quickly covered the table with news paper, pulled out the supplies and got to work helping our girl make a masterpiece.

It was truly a group event. Everyone helping to choose the colors. One dear friend assisting with holding the iron. The teacher giving her input and adding the details to the final product.

 

 

Then it was my turn, I too had everyone giving input as to what colors to use. Every blue was considered for the perfect sky. Some teacher touch ups on the crashing waves and I had an identifiable ocean scene.

Then it was Jeromy's turn. I tried to make it hard on him and jokingly showed him a challenging picture to copy, but with a lot a little help from the teacher, they got all the perfect details added to make a beautiful mountain scene.

 

We finished off our little painting party with a bag of candy and some English practice.

We have had a wonderful mix of time alone with "Our Girl", and time getting to know her in her world.

It is so nice to be alone and just get to know each other, but we also learn so much about her seeing the interactions with her classmates. She seems to have very loving and caring friends, teachers and caregivers. Everyone has been so welcoming to us, loving on our girl and very willing to let use part of their lives.

We have seen our girl really working hard to connect with us.

She asked about our hobbies. I told her I like to garden. Later out on a little walk she stopped, said Stacy and pointed out the garden.

She knows Jeromy likes to run and now whenever we stroll the long hallway she turns it into a race. I tell you what that girl can really move in that chair. I have to jog to keep up with her.

We are seeing more and more how God is knitting our family together. We always knew she was a perfect fit with our family but the more we talk about the future the more it seems she is the missing piece.

We can't wait to have all the pieces together.

(a little Easter Skype session)

 

Whirlwind!

Wow! Where to start!

So much has happened in the last few days.

Tuesday

While we waited for our referral from the SDA our driver Eugen took us on a tour of the historical sites in town. He is so knowledgable and gave us a great education about the history here. The buildings are amazing and the weather was pretty good.

Receiving the referral was, well shall we say uneventful, praise the Lord!

About six of us families crowded into a little space which did not smell good. We waited about 10 minutes. Went through a line, showed our passports and walked out with our dossier in hand.

It was so fast and no questions, yippee! (I guess all that worrying paid off. Lol)

We did get to visit with the other families, which again was a huge blessing. I (Stacy) was in great need of some girl conversation. The other moms are so sweet and refreshing, but we were all on our way to new things so our time together was short.

We then got ready for the train ride which I had been totally mistaken about. Thankfully I googled it before we got on. It was actually a 12 1/2 hour ride and yes it was hot and the bathrooms, ugh!

Wednesday

We survived the train and immediately started to work on paperwork. Our facilitator is amazing and very efficient. We ran to multiple buildings and got the paperwork moving then went to the orphanage. When our girl came in we were surprised, we didn't know she was coming so soon. We were very happy to see her, but it was a bit stressful. There was no time to talk to her. We had lots of paperwork to do, but she was so cute! She instantly grabbed a pen and quickly wrote her letter saying she wanted to be adopted by us. They asked if she had questions for us and she said "nyet"! They joked that she already knew everything about us.

We all said goodbye and she was off to lunch.

Honestly I was very disappointed and sad.

We were very tired and emotional and came back to our new flat feeling a bit defeated.

Our girl was great, but the meeting felt very much like a business transaction.

Our apartment building seemed very questionable from the outside. We survived the black-out on the elevator thanks to our driver and made it inside our flat. Wow! The inside has been nicely remodeled and looks very fancy, but we were very shocked by the wall hangings. We won't go into detail but they we're all immediately covered with anything we could find. We asked to change apartments but it seems that isn't a good option.

Thursday

After a wonderful nights sleep we headed off to do more paperwork, then we got to go hang out with our girl for almost three hours!

We had no translator and were in a room full of stuffed animals and board games.

We showed her through the picture book we made for her, gave her cards from the kids and her necklaces the girls made. Then she had us follow her to her locker and she showed us her picture book. She seemed so excited to show us. We asked if we could see her art (via Google translate). She took us on a tour, up the elevator to the different art rooms. I am not biased and not even over exaggerating. She is an amazing artist. It seems the teachers do a great job helping the kids to independently do many different kinds of art.

Here are just a couple of examples of her work.

After the tour we went back to the rooms and pulled out the maps we brought. And told her more about where we live.

Then her and I played a game of dot to dot. A fun and simple game to explain when you do not speak the same language. I was't sure how easy to be on her, but it seems she is one smart cookie. We took turns challenging each other and being too nice to each other. I think next time she will be up for a good mind challenging game.

Then she pulled out the UNO cards and taught us her rules. Just slightly different than we play. She was quick to keep Jeromy on track and ran the whole show. Dealing and keeping track of whose turn it is.

After about three games of that she pulled out a game we have never seen.

She seemed to have a good sense of adding and subtracting big numbers in the money game.

With a phone call from our facilitator, we were off - more paperwork then "home" for lunch.

Prayer request

We have been so blessed that all of the paperwork is coming together.

We have had a couple of major issues, but they got settled very quickly.

We already have a court date scheduled for April 12th, pending the next set of paperwork from the SDA.

If we get the paperwork, it will probably be the evening of April 11th.

Please pray we get it, if not we cannot have court until April 17th at the earliest. They will have a long weekend for their Easter holiday (Eastern Orthodox Calendar).

Thank you all for your encouragement, support and prayers!

 

Sad Goodbyes, Toilet Humor & Other Travel Adventures

Tears of joy and sadness filled our house the night before our departure. It suddenly struck everybody that mom and dad will be gone for a good two to three weeks and so it all surfaced. It, honestly, caught me by surprise and it turned out that our goodbyes were harder than anticipated. In the end, though, the kids were excited, and so with many hugs, kisses and goodbyes, we set off.

 

..and off we went. The travel actually went really smooth! Praise the Lord! In Amsterdam, we kicked the new "morning" (actually the middle of the night for us) with some mighty fine cups of Netherland coffee. Yes, they know how to make the good stuff here. One of my favorite hobbies is pursuing that perfect cup of coffee. So, you have probably figured out now that this is Jeromy writing and not Stacy. Since we are both sitting in a "flat" (apartment) with little responsibility (compared to normal Idaho life) we decided to take turns with the blog updates. Anyway, we embarked on a train ride to Central Amsterdam (the old and now touristy part of Amsterdam). Wow, what a cool place... and the people and culture seemed so friendly and festive. Cool, classic type bikes are everywhere... and people actually ride them everywhere.

 

Uhh.. but yes it is perhaps a little more liberal in some ways as well.

For example, we (or I should say Stacy) almost ran into this before I redirected her in another direction

 

Yes, they have very convenient outdoor port a potties in Amsterdam on the corner of the busiest street. No need to worry about closing and locking bathroom doors. Just walk up and.. well anyway.. ya probably get the picture. Stacy mentioned this Asian couple walked by and as the "husband" explained to her what these contraptions were the lady, in disbelief kept saying, "no..nooo. nooooo!"

Truly, my apologies if this is offensive, but we found this more humorous and shocking than anything.

Well, after our 9 hour layover, we finally boarded our last plane to our "Eastern European country" and we made it right through customs without a hitch. Again, thank you Lord! All we had to do was show our passports. No, digging out documents, no interogation, just a couple of questions and we were on our way. From everything we have heard, this is not the norm. Perhaps the 1am arrival time had something to do with it. Anyway, we are here and resting up. We have a very nice and comfortable "flat" that we are staying in and everyone is most helpful and friendly that we have worked with. Here is a view from our flat.. Straight below our window is a flat roof with bottles all over. Apparently, a favorite pastime is to drink and chuck :)

Yes, it was snowing this morning. Just like Idaho weather around here. Raining last night, snowing this morning and now it is sunny! Yippee! Feels just like home.

Thank you again for your prayers and support! Please keep us in your prayers. Tomorrow at 11am, we have our first SDA appointment. This is our first official adoption appointment to which we find if we can receive an official referral which is scheduled to happen on Tuesday at 4pm. We then are scheduled to take a train to our region at 9:30pm, travel through the night and hopefully meet "Our Girl" on Wednesday!

 

March Update

This month we celebrated Ayla's 11th birthday with nine girls here for a sleepover! She had an owl party and we ate fried ice cream. Yum, my new favorite.

 

We recovered from the worst "cold" ever.

 

We took the girls to their first concert. Rockin Worship and we had a blast!

 

We had some major adoption paperwork scares, it still is not really clear, but we are totally at peace that God will show Himself faithful!

 

Gavin started successfully eating with a spoon in his very own hand! It is a lot of work but he is getting pretty good at it.

 

(Video to come)

Eli had his big 5year old Birthday! He smiled the whole day, and I am sure at least twice he said " I'm 5".

(video to come)

We said goodbye to my dad for a month. He's off being a workin man! That is an adjustment since we usually see him everyday.

 

We got an I Pad 2! We debated between a new laptop and upgrading our phones but decided this was the most versatile. Kaly does her school on our laptop and it weighs about 20 lbs so it wasn't the best option for international travel. We have been told for a long time to get an I Pad for Gavin. Well as with everything else, it is requiring adaptations. We did find a mouth stick that works with I Pads and are awaiting it's arrival. We are hoping to take it so our girl can use the IPad. Her hands are just like Gavin's. I do not know if she will like the mouth stick, but the I Pad is going to work as our translator, so I hope she wants to give it a go. We downloaded the Russian Translator as well as a travel app. Now I just need to figure out how to get my videos on the blog from this crazy thing!

 

God provided a FREE and perfect wheelchair for us to take to bring "Our Girl" home.

 

God has also surprised us with more generous gifts to help cover costs of food and housing while in country.

 

THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU!

 

I "knew" He would! I just didn't really believe it. Someday He may get through this thick skull.

 

This adoption has been the ultimate faith builder, it truly is amazing.

 

After 9 months of this process, we finally learned to quit praying that things will go smoothly. That is obviously not God's top priority. Lol. We now are praying that through all the bumps and trials that He shows His power, and that He is glorified.

 

If He never allows a mountain in our way, then when are we ever going to get the opportunity to see Him move it?

 

I often have very little faith, but hey that's all we need, cause in reality it is Him doing the work anyway!

 

So this week is the final count down. In one week we are boarding the plane to fly off to the "wild unknown" and meet our very own precious treasure. She is waiting for us and knows we are coming soon.

The remainder of March will be spent packing and cleaning and wrapping up projects.

 

The kids are excited but getting a little emotional about mom and dad being gone for a long time. Please keep them in your prayers as well as my mom, she will be holding down the fort while we are gone. Praise God for great moms!

 

BTW We officially named our girl!!!! Can't wait to share her full name and lots of pics with you.

 

 

Jethro

Before I left for Uganda I told my friend that I did not feel like God was leading us to adopt from Uganda. Though I loved the idea.

But then I got there and held these adorable mommyless little children and thought surely God was calling us to adopt. :)

Well the little guy that got my heart the most was Jethro.

He was recovering from a major burn on his stomach and needed extra holding.
As I held him the nurse came to give him his medicine.
She forced it in him as I held him, realizing he was beginning to choke, I tried to sit him up and let him catch his breath, she kept pushing in the meds.

I got pretty emotional and had to step away for a bit.
A little later I asked her what his medicine was for....
her answer... for his cough.

All I could think was maybe his cough was from aspirating his meds.

I don't know the whole story and I do not mean to criticize, at least he had opportunity to have medicine. It just seemed this little guy was not favored in this place. It seemed he was one of the least of the least. It seemed that many of the mamas didn't like him much.

As I went back each time I tried to hold him and he seemed to remember me. One afternoon as he was being fed by a volunteer he saw me and threw his hands up for me to hold him.

What fun it was to hold him. He absolutely loved my paper bead necklace and would pull on it and suck on it.

After arriving home and as I tried to process our trip I would wear my necklace and think of Jethro. I prayed for him all the time and he is the one we contacted the orphanage about adopting. Our answer was "check back in 3 months", but in my heart I knew it was "no".

It didn't really make sense to me until we heard about our girl, but even then I felt like God had to have a plan for Jethro. As my little mind works I tried to scheme up a plan like ....
bring our girl home and then start adopting Jethro.

I knew it was my plan and not God's, but I just couldn't believe that God would leave him an orphan. I felt very passionate to pray for him and I have learned that God does this in my heart so I will pray and He always has a plan.

So I prayed, and just this week I heard wonderful news!

Jethro is being adopted. A wonderful couple that loves the Lord.
A couple that has been to Uganda and met Jethro has heard the call and not only are they adopting him they are going to live in Uganda at least for a time.

I know God had this plan and He would have worked it out even without my prayers, but it is so wonderful to know a little guy and pray for a little guy and be moved by God to intercede and then get to sit back and watch a beautiful family come together.

Jethro couldn't have a better family because I know that they are the family God chose for him.

~Jethro~

God has big plans for you little guy, and like the Jethro that gave wisdom to Moses, I pray God will give you wisdom to share with those God places in your life.

You are a treasure and a joy and I pray you will be blessed all the days of your life with the love that only God can give.

My Sweet Sister!

My Sweet Sister is doing a Scentsy Fundraiser
to help us bring Our Girl home.

Thank You Katie!

Here is how it works...

Go to Scentsy and click on buy from party on the right hand side. It is the Bringing Our Girl home party. This will take you to a place you can shop and find your favorite products and order on line and they can be shipped directly to you.

If you have questions or would like to check out samples Katie's contact info is 208-660-3458 or you can email her at kcorey2003@yahoo.com

Scentsy - We Make Perfect Scents!

warminghearts.scentsy.us

Hosting a Scentsy party is a fun, easy way to earn Scentsy products. Whether it’s a casual home party or a simple basket party, you’ll enjoy sharing Scentsy with friends and family, or co-workers.

These make beautiful Christmas, birthday, wedding, and even baby gifts.
Or just get one for yourself. :)

The party closes Nov. 29th so you will have time to get your gifts before Christmas.

We are so thankful for you Katie and your willingness to help us cover the costs of the adoption. We thank God for how he continues to provide all we need.

November

November is National Adoption Awareness Month!

This month is a time to increase awareness of the needs of foster children.

This is near and dear to my heart.

Our two precious boys came to us through foster care.
We have done respite for many other amazing kids, some of which we still have contact with.

We were so blessed to work with great social workers
and have amazing support through out the entire process.

In-case you are wondering :)
There are babies, toddlers, 6 year olds, tweeners, teenagers, special needs, healthy, sweet, lovable, scared, broken, hopeful, responsible, waiting kids going to sleep tonight praying for a forever family.

Pray for these kids, pray that God will work through what seems to be irredeemable circumstances. Pray that God will move His people to stand up and fight for these precious kids.
Pray that God himself will comfort their fears and ignite their hope.

Pray that God will strengthen those He has called.
It gets hard sometimes and fears creep in.
It is easy to put it off until tomorrow, it is easy to feel like it is just too risky.

Pray for the state workers. They are people with big hearts.
They have a very hard job!
They are not perfect, but I am thankful that they do what they do so I can do what I do.

Pray for our judges.
They carry a heavy load-deciding if a child should or should not be removed from a home.
Deciding if a child should be reunited or placed for adoption.
WOW! I cannot imagine being in that seat.

Let's not allow November to pass by without remembering the kids that would love to sit at a table this Thanksgiving and truly give thanks for THEIR FAMILY.

Quilt for Our Girl!

The Gift~

My friend Misty~the one I met on our mission trip to Uganda~the one I didn't really get to know until we roomed together in London~the one that is adopting two precious little boys from China~yeah that Misty.

She has come up with a beautiful idea to help bring our kids home.

She is making quilts. One for her boys and one for Our Girl.

If you would like to be part of welcoming Our Girl home you can have your name on the quilt.

A donation of any amount gets your name on a square of her quilt. When she gets home she will know she is loved by you.

Misty is donating her time and the materials to make this quilt a reality, therefor ALL proceeds will go to our adoption fund.

If you wish to take part in this beautiful gift to Our Girl that will help bring her home, please go to the side bar where you will find a Donate button through PayPal or send a check. (for checks please email me at scheelswheels@gmail.com and I will give you our address.)

I believe this is the fabric we will be using. From all I have learned about Our Girl, I think she will love it. It is sweet, colorful and fun just like her.

Let's Welcome Our Girl Home One Square at a Time!

Update Already!

I am so excited to share that our USCIS officer called this morning!!!

I put off the last post for so long, not sure how much to say.
Not wanting to show my anxious heart.
I wanted to wait till it was all good news.

God has much different plans than I.
Last night when editing the last post it published.
This has happened before, but it seems He had bigger plans.

He knew you all would be praying and He wants us to share our burdens with each other.
As my good friend reminded me this morning, this way you can all be part of this journey with us.

After waiting for over a month to get an answer about paper work we got exactly what we needed/wanted.

We do need to fill out an I-600a and mail in our home study, but our officer said we do not need to send in any more paperwork. What we have is sufficient!


I know God is good all the time, but man it sure feels good to see Him working things out in this process and giving us hope that this really is His plan.

THANK YOU ALL FOR PRAYING!

Over the last year God has begun to break my heart for older children waiting for families.
~~~~~~
Just before we left for Africa I had my heart broken by a 15 year old in Haiti.
Instead of laughing on her 15th birthday she cried.
She cried because she knows she is one year away from never having a family.
~~~~~~~~~~
While in Africa God showed me how even 35 year old women with children
still long for a mother.

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

When I got home from Africa we pursued a few adoption avenues.
Nothing came through and we didn't feel led to pursue it any more.

~~~~~~~~~~

Then we got a call about a child in foster care.
I didn't even give it a thought I just said "No".
Anyone that knows me probably just fell off their chair, but it is true,
I didn't even give the social worker a chance to finish.
I called Jeromy and he was like "what".
Honestly he was a little bummed that I had said no.
I just thought we weren't ready, but then I cried the rest of the day.

This brought us to a place where we really had the talk and came to the
conclusion that we were both ready to do whatever God had for us.

~~~~~~~~~~

On July 4th, after a busy couple of days we had a day to just stay home.
I checked Google Reader and watched a video posted on a blog I follow.

The video was about institutions in Serbia.
It was horrible and again I cried all day.
That evening Kaly said, Mom why do you keep crying?
I told her a little about the video, but told her she couldn't watch it.
She said what do we do?
I said we pray, we pray that God will show us how we can help
so people do not have to go into institutions like that.

~~~~~~~~

July 5th
I checked Google Reader again. (darn blogging :)
This time there was a post from an arthrogryposis blog I follow.
It was about a girl turning 16.
She has arthrogryposis and needs a family in like a week,
otherwise her future is most likely going to be spent in an institution.
I followed the link to the post on the other blog.

I saw:
A beautiful, smiling teenage girl that just wants a family.
She wants a life outside of an institution.

I called Jeromy and he was instantly on the same page.
He came home and read the blog.
We emailed the family that was advocating for her.
They emailed us back and have been by our sides the whole journey.

~~~~~~~~~

Every step of the way we have seen God prepare the way.
We have seen Him put the right person in the right place to help us out.

We got our I-600 turned in.
It took one week from the first moment we started to the moment it landed at USCIS.
It arrived the day before her birthday.

USCIS told me U was closing adoption the next week.
I said "I know".
U hasn't closed yet.
They decided to wait until it could be a quicker transition.


~~~~~~~~~

We did all of our home study paper work and home visit.
We should have the final copy in our hands this week.
If you haven't done a home study I just have to say,
it is a lot of paperwork and training to get done in less than 2 months.
It was a bit stressful but God made a way
even with us being gone for almost 2 weeks of that time.


We have been putting together the paperwork for the U side of things.
Getting paper work notarized, Jeromy's passport, dr. appointments,
new copies of our marriage license and on and on.


I have to be honest, at times it gets very overwhelming.
I look at the list of to do's and I wait for USCIS to call back concerning some paperwork they want that doesn't exist.
Usually I am at peace knowing that if this is God's will it will be fine.

Sometimes I get sick to my stomach, see we have fallen in love with a girl,
she is no longer just an orphan. She is our daughter.
I get sick thinking that paperwork could stand in the way of us bringing her home.


I know God has brought us here.
I know God can do all things.
I just do not know what His plan is.
Is His plan to bring her to our home or does he have a plan I cannot see?

I trust he has a plan for our girl.
I know he is working in her life and he is working in ours.
Our desire is that she is here with us, but
We pray for God's will.

~~~~~~~~~

We have been so blessed by the family that was advocating for her.

1st they hosted her and gave her a chance to see what being in a family was like.
She wants that, she wants a family like theirs. She wants to come to America.
They showed her a loving family and made her feel so comfortable that she didn't want to leave.

Then they prayed and advocated for her.

They answered many of our questions, got the documents translated, connected us with a facilitator, encouraged us and then they came and stayed with us over Labor Day weekend.

They have a beautiful family and a daughter and son from the same orphanage.
The daughter translated for us when we made a video of our family and houses.
She speaks Russian and I know she will be invaluable to help us make a more comfortable transition for our girl.

Oh they even brought KVAS , Eggplant paste and candy for us to try.
They brought videos of the weeks they hosted the kids and a video from the orphanage.
They brought a cd : "Hillsong's Kiev".
Christian music in Russian.

We love all of it and both Jeromy and I cried
as we watch our girl playing games at Chucky Cheese.

Her smile is contagious.

Jeromy looked up Russian churches and stores in Spokane.
There are a couple of good options.
We want to help her stay connected to her culture and
we want to learn more about Ukraine before we go there, but mostly it just helps to feel like we are getting to know her.

Jeromy is such a proud daddy, he took the videos to work to show off to his fellow workers.
He said," I am a proud daddy, hopefully permanently".

Our kids pray for their sister every day.
Gavin talks about her a lot. He is so inspired that she walks on her knees.
We have the girls' room all figured out for 3 girls and just realized a couple of days ago the connection that their window over looks the "Three Sisters" mountain.

It all amazes me.
It is amazing that God led me to Uganda to prepare my heart for a girl in U.

It amazes me that I can still doubt and worry after all He has done.
Not always but it does creep in.

It amazes me that God has prepared the way ahead of us in so many ways.
Our girl even went back to the orphanage with Christian music in Russian.
We pray that if she doesn't know Christ as her Savior that God is working in her heart that she would very soon.

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


Please pray that God will make a way when there seems to be no way.

What A Momma Means

My Mom

Always there ~A protector ~A helper ~A comforter
~ An example of Christ~



Many people in Africa cannot say that.
Many adults still desire that kind of relationship.
Grown women still want a mom.

At the Hope House in Uganda something got me.
It was not the conditions of the way people live.
It was not the fact that many of these women have had to sell themselves to survive.

It was when Maureen was beaming as she introduced her mom to the group.

It was when two grown women introduced themselves
and ended with "and I want a mom".

Then there were the little ones without mommas

In Uganda half of the population are about 15 years old or younger.
There are 2 MILLION orphans, this means 2 MILLION kids have lost either a mother or a father. Unfortunately, many of them have lost both.

In Uganda only 2% of the population are 65 years old or older.
They have no older generation to pass down wisdom learned from a long life.

We met and loved on many orphans while in Uganda.

They are precious and though many of them needed and wanted material things,
their need for attention was much greater.

Even big boys need a momma.

I pray that God will speak this over them:

"As a mother comforts her child,
so will I comfort you;
and you will be comforted...."
Isaiah 66:13


Little boys need to be protected.

These little ones are loved and they know how to be big helpers.

They are in a good orphanage but yes it is just that; an orphanage.
They do not have a mommy or daddy.

I fell in love with the girl in the middle. She is so precious!
When I asked her how old she is she said, "I don't know".
She is a smart girl and she has a great education.
She has a safe place to live with great caregivers.
But she doesn't have a mom or dad to care for her
and she doesn't even know her age.

This was a great orphanage.
The kids here took a while to warm up to us.
They are bonded to their caregivers.


This was a much different picture than the first orphanage we visited.
The first one the kids would go to anyone as long as someone would touch them.
The first orphanage the mamas can get kind of mean.
The first orphanage was so hard for me that I told our group,
"I hate it and I don't want to go back".

Well guess what,

IT'S NOT ABOUT ME!

It is hard at that home.
I was uncomfortable.
I don't like getting yelled at by a momma.
I don't like seeing babies dying from something that could easily have been prevented.
I don't like seeing 53 little children age 3 and younger packed together every day of their lives.
I hate showing up and seeing a baby a couple of hours old and finding out he was just found in a pit latrine. He had maggots on his eyes and umbilical cord.

I HATE THAT I CANNOT FIX IT!

But I can do something.

“If anyone has material possessions and sees his brother in need but has no pity on him, how can the love of God be in him? Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth.” (NIV)

1 John 3:17-18

I can pray~I can give money~I can give time~I can share Christ's love

~I can share their stories so they aren't forgotten~

This Mother's Day

I can

~thank God for my mom~

~and I can pray that children will be united with the family God has designed for them~

"God sets the lonely in families..."

Psalm 66:6

Who Will Love Me For Me?

I read this post yesterday and cannot get this sweet girl out of my head.
She is asking on her 15th birthday "who will love me for me?"
I pray someone can be her mom and dad, someone can show her God's love.
I pray she will no longer feel ignored and abandoned.
I pray by her 16th birthday she will feel loved and cherished.

This is her cry and the cry of so many orphans, prisoners, and lonely wives.
I pray that God will pour out His love through me to encourage and love His children big and small.



video and song by JJHeller

Curious Minds Want to Know!

I have had a lot of questions about our upcoming trip to Uganda, so here is the scoop, the whole scoop and nothing but the scoop.

When: April 4-16th


Where: Kampala, Uganda

For great maps of the location:
http://www.worldatlas.com/webimage/countrys/africa/ug.htm

Kampala is the capital of Uganda. It is on the north side of Lake Victoria.
It is said to be a safe place and quite beautiful. We will be there during the rainy season and it looks like it should get up into the 80's Yippee! Notice we are just above the equator.


Why: We are going to love on orphans. Some in orphanages and some that live on the streets. We are doing this because these children need people to love them and we feel it is our turn. We are God's hands and feet. It is His heart that these children are cared for. We know we will only be there a short time and I feel maybe we won't even make a difference. When we leave they again will need food and love. I pray this trip is one that will change eternity for someone.
I pray that through these stories maybe someone will feel God's call to adopt a child with no hope. I pray that someone will feel called to go long-term and serve where I don't feel I can. I pray that this will be the beginning of going as well as sending funds to assist these sweet children. I know there are kids around the world that need God and love and food. I pray that this will be a little flame that will help to begin to make a fire roar. A fire that can be felt and seen by "All the Children of the World".


Who: I am going with 2 of my friends from church, Terah and Kaylee. Both had only 24-48 hours to commit to the trip. Terah hadn't really planned on a journey like this but her and her husband have seen God leading this direction for their family so she is following God's lead. Kaylee has been ready for missions and has just been waiting for God to show her when and where.

We are going with a team lead by Linny and Emma. They are the wife and daughter of Senior Pastor of The River Church.

The River Church website if you are interested.
http://www.iriverchurch.com/

As you already know, I have been following Linny's blog for some time now. She loves the Lord and loves the orphans, and when you put those two passions together you get a dynamic ministry.
http://www.aplacecalledsimplicity.blogspot.com/

There are 19 of us on the team!

How: I saw the post on Linny's blog inviting crazy ladies to join her. I sent for an application and here we go. It was really a simple process. Linny and whomever she confers with said I could go. Yippee! So thanks to some wonderful friends and family and a nice tax return we will send in the money for the trip and off we go. My passport is in process and I still need to get my Yellow Fever shot. Maybe this week. :(

And the kids will be in good hands. While Jeromy is at work, my mom will have the kids. She does great with all of their needs and Jeromy is a super dad and can handle diapers, therapy, meds. and setting Gavin up on the Wii. The girls are great at helping with laundry and dishes and some sweethearts from church are helping with meals for the family while we are gone. So really I don't think they even need me, but I need them so I promise I will be back.

We do ask for your prayers. We pray that this will not just be a time of meeting physical needs but ultimately a time to meet spiritual needs. Maybe our true mission will be in the airport or on the plane, but pray that we can lovingly share the hope we have anytime the Spirit leads. Pray for us as I know it will be hard to be away from our own families and babies and it will be hard to leave babies in Africa with no mommies. Please pray for our children. God is working in the hearts of our kids. Little Gwen already has a heart for the orphan and Kaly and Ayla want to go with us. I know this trip is not just about this trip, it is giving these kids a passion at a young age to want to make a difference in this world to serve God and help others.

Thank you all for your support we could not go without hands and feet here in Idaho supporting us and helping us and our families during this exciting journey.

I JUST CAN'T LET IT SLIP BY!!!

It is November!!!!

It is my very favorite month!!!

Yes, it is Thanksgiving and that truly is my favorite holiday!!!

Yes, it is my birthday and that is always fun!!!!

It is also my mom's, sister's and Dad's birthdays. Lots of celebrating and family time!!!!

But, it is also my favorite month because.......

IT IS NATIONAL ADOPTION MONTH!!!!!!!

I love adoption!

I love that God has chosen to adopt us into His family. What a family name to carry.

I love that we have been able to adopt. What a joy our boys are to us!!!

I love that so many friends have been able to adopt!!!!

I love reading blogs and stories about adoption!!!!

I love encouraging others that are considering adoption!!!!

I love praying for all of those kids out there that are waiting for families!!!

I love how my girls always ask "can we adopt a little girl?"



I have thought a lot about how I can be involved in caring for the orphans even though bringing home another child right now is not where God is calling us.

I want to help the desperately poor, so less children need to be placed for adoption.

I want to encourage young girls to wait till they are married, so less children need to be placed for adoption.


I want to be part of supporting people to go to those in need, even though I cannot go.

I want to pray more and fast more for those little and big children that do not have a family to call their own.

I want to start an adoption ministry through our church or community.

THERE ARE SO MANY THINGS I WANT TO DO, SO MANY NEEDS I SEE IN THE WORLD AND SO LITTLE TIME AND RESOURCES IN MY VIEW, BUT.... I KNOW THE OWNER OF THE CATTLE ON A THOUSAND HILLS AND THESE ARE HIS CHILDREN!!!!


Jesus Loves the Little Children
all the children of the world.
Red and yellow black and white
they are precious in His sight.
Jesus loves the little children of the world.

Have you considered........?

ADOPTION?


Many of you have adopted and or considered adopting. Many of you are just waiting for God's timing to bring another child into your home. But some of you may have only had the thought skip through your mind. I just want to ask and plead for you to consider adoption and or foster care. I ask that if you have never been on your knees before the Lord God Almighty concerning adoption that you would do it today.

Please do not allow any earthly concern to stop you from at least asking the Lord if this is something you should consider. Please be willing to pray for His will. I know God does not call everyone to adopt but I do believe He calls us all to be willing to care for the orphan. This can be done in many ways and He will guide each of us down whatever path He has for us.

My heart is so broken tonight as I see another sweet child desperate for a family. I never knew this before but it seems in Eastern Europe it is possible that they will move children with disabilities to an institution when they turn 5 years old. Gavin just turned 5 and if he were there in an orphanage his hope would be gone. He would no longer be on a list to be adopted. I know God can touch and minister to kids, even those in institutions, but I know I would die before I let Gavin be raised there and I Hate, Hate, Hate to think any child could not know the love of a family.

If you have concerns about your age or you income tell the Lord and He will show you if this is something He wants to overcome. He loves these children more than we all could put together. I know He loves us as much too. He will not lead you down a path He is not going to light. I am not promising it will be easy or that all issues will melt away, but I am promising if He calls you to adopt or be a foster family then He will equip you and He in his time will show you the way He has for you.

Would you consider taking teenagers. There are so many that think their time is up. No one wants to take a teenager. The teenagers we have had have been such a joy. Problems-probably, but worth it-yes!

If you have room consider a sibling group. We know 3 sisters that were adopted together and if you have ever seen them together they are like one. I think if they had been separated they may not have survived. They are so fortunate to have been chosen by an older couple that was willing to say yes to all of them not just the baby.

If you don't have money to pay for an adoption consider foster to adopt. This program places children in your home as a foster child. You are paid the foster care rate. It isn't a bunch of money but it does help cover the costs of having an extra child in the house. Then if the child becomes free for adoption they can be yours for ever. When we adopted our boys we were able to get adoption assistance because of their special needs. It is no guarantee, but it is a very inexpensive way to adopt.

I do not know your situation but I am seeing more clearly everyday the situation many children are in. Some here in our community some all the way around the world. They all need love and many of them are in great need of homes and families.

Here is a link to a beautiful little girl with lower limb arthrogryposis. There are so many kids of every age, race and need. Only God knows the child He has chosen for you.

Arthrogryposis Adoption: Abigail has a $5000 Grant: "Abigail has a $5000 grant through Brittany's Hope this grant expires in less then 3 months!!!! She has lower extremity Arthrogryposis is sh..."

Yeah, cry again! It seems to be my theme. Sorry!