Random Fun Fact

I found out today I have a double heart shape in my fingerprint on my left middle finger, so I guess I should not proceed with my plans to rob any banks :-)  The last item on our list for the requirements for adoption paperwork was the fingerprinting and so, during Brad's lunch hour today, we completed this last step and turned in this final item on our long list of things to do.  I breathed a little sigh of relief that we have finally completed the list....I'm sure that is humorous to God who knows that was just a "drop in the bucket" compared to what may be to come, but at any rate, I feel a sense of satisfaction right now and I intend to bask in it.

I think I told you we have an accepted offer on our home...so the appraisal was completed and we are just waiting for the results to know if the sale will proceed as planned....and (lots of ands right now in our life) we have also put an offer on a home and should find out soon if our offer was acceptable to the owners of that home.  Lots of ands....unknowns....and praises!  God has really been blessing us and working out so many details.  All the while, He has been letting us know He is right here with us.

The house we made an offer on is not my dream house (yet), but it has a lot of space with a full unfinished walkout basement, and a huge bonus room over a three car garage and I might actually have some land for a garden....plus, if our offer is accepted as it is right now...it would enable Brad and I some extra cash to start making some fun changes to it (to Brad's chagrin)....I know I watch too many home improvement shows, but I am super excited about this possibility.  Don't ask Brad how many pictures of kitchens I have made him look at over the last three days...it is embarrassing how obsessive I can be in my pursuit of perfection.  At any rate, I think Dave Ramsey would be proud of us for "not biting off more than we can chew" financially.  After taking Financial Peace University, I am plagued...err, I mean, blessed with his voice in my head every time I get ready to make a financial decision.

So, no big news yet, but God is working behind the scenes...I know it because His fingerprints are becoming so identifiable...I wonder how many hearts can fit on his pinky finger?

What a GINORMOUS week!

Yes...ginormous is a real word...I checked and it was added to the dictionary in 2007 :-)  I am thinking pretty soon my (dot, dot, dot) ... should also be added...I use it so much I am thinking Merriam-Webster should just call it a word, or is it...?

I am so exhausted...I hope I can finish this upda.....zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz...haha!  OK, if you didn't laugh, you feel my pain....this is Brad's joke every night of my life!  If you laughed....so did I, the first 14 days we were married and then, not so much!  BUT, this was a crazy, busy week and I am very tired.  I will just touch on some highlights.  Brad and I enjoyed our 10th Anniversary this week.  We had lunch together that day and joked that we will need to start looking for a conversion van if our family is going to grow too much more...never thought I would have that discussion :-)

When Brad and I were starting to talk about adopting we were really hoping to sell our current home and purchase a larger home with a little more of a yard and a nice basement.  When we weren't having success selling it, I was frustrated and talked (well, whined) to my pastor about it one Sunday.  He asked me if I had considered just taking a step of faith to adopt with the house I have right now...even though I am dreaming and planning for something else....my perfect plan, right?  I am mocking myself right now.  Have you ever heard the story of the person clinging to their sack lunch when God is offering them a feast?

So, if you have read the other blogs, you know we are proceeding with the adoption in faith....well, we didn't take the "for sale" sign out the the yard yet and last Sunday we had a gentleman come to look at our house.  He loved it and through a series of conversations this week, we ended up meeting with him on Friday at his bank and he made an offer for our house at our asking price...WOW!  During the meeting, he says to Brad, "I know your family will be growing...would you need a conversion van?"  He has one that he is selling and wonders if we want to work it into the downpayment somehow...haha...I elbowed Brad so hard...this is one reason I have never tried to play poker...I wear all my emotions on my sleeve and Brad has the bruises to prove it.

Along with this news, we met with our adoption worker on Wednesday...we thought just to turn in some of our paperwork, but when we started talking with her about ourselves and our hopes for adopting a sibling group, she got really excited and told us about two sisters she thinks would be a great addition to our family.  She said to take some time to think about it...so, we talked, prayed and shared this opportunity with our daughters.  We have decided to proceed with the intent to adopt the two sisters.  I wish I could tell you all about them right now, but I probably cannot share their names or any information at this point.  Anyway, we have been scrambling to get everything together that the agency will need for our file and home study.

Throughout this whole process, I keep asking God, "are we on the right track...are we going too fast...are we making the right decisions?" I love to decorate and redecorate...poor Brad :-P  So, I have been having fun getting ideas for another girlie bedroom....I was looking at a website that I like to visit for ideas and this particular store names their lines of bedding/decor children's names...I clicked on a room that I thought looked great and the name of it was one of the sister's names....I was shocked at that "coincidence", so I scrolled through that line of product....the last two items on that page began a new line of bedding and...guess what....it was the name of the other sister.  Coincidence?  God makes life so interesting!

So, we might be having the home study for the adoption and the home appraisal for the sale this next week.  We also have to start looking for a home.  Should the sale of ours go through...we would only have 30 days to move out.  Usually, this time of year, I am frazzled just trying to get our taxes done...haha!  So much for just "touching on the highlights"...there are too many, what can I say!

Thanks for your prayers...I think they are working!  This is when I need you to pray that I don't start clinging too tightly to what "I think" God is doing (my sack lunch)...but, just allow Him to do it His way (and enjoy the feast). Blessings!

A Tribute to My Prince...Happily Ever After 10 Years

This is going to be a little sappy...just a warning!  I wanted to post the vows I wrote for Brad for our wedding day and had to go through a little trouble to get them....apparently my poetry from before we were married is not listed on Poetry.com any longer...at least not without me having a Facebook account   :-)  So, I had to dig out our wedding VHS tape :-) and play, pause, rewind...play, pause, rewind...a few times to get all the words to the vows I wrote and said to him.  It was amusing to watch my romantic, 26 year old, self pledging my love and faithfulness to him.  Kenna watched it with me and said, "Mom, you were really sweet!"  I hope the emphasis was not on WERE.  There is so much that is unknown on a wedding day....I praise God I chose wisely and Brad has been, I think, the perfect match for me, a constant friend, strong spiritual leader, and a better dad to our daughters than I would have ever dreamed!

My Sweet Prince

A penny to a well I did not toss, nor have I wished upon a star that crossed my darkened sky...

But I found from God in the simplest kiss...a friend for life, my Sweet Prince

It may not be a Fairy Tale, but we will find joy amidst some peril.  Life is silly and it will hand us straw for gold.  But I refuse to see straw as such when my heart has learned love's "Midas Touch".  Each time as us a jagged rock is thrown, let's remember, with gentle hands it becomes a precious stone.

Together, let us save these gems.  For we may not know the where's and when's...only how and with whom to handle them.  Surely they will make our home a castle full of light...steadfast, strong and fastened tight from attacks that will try the weakest points in the dark of night.

So, My Prince, let's laugh out loud!  We have a secret plan for when evil comes 'round.  Love will give us the strength to laugh and God will let this laughter abound.

HAPPY 10th ANNIVERSARY, BRAD!  LUB, ME

Adopted by God

This weekend we participated in our Foster Pride training.  This is the training program for families that are interested in getting licensed for foster care or adoption.  We had a terrific group of families in our sessions...I think there were 40 to 50 people in attendance, so it was a pretty big group.  The agency had to change the location of the meeting in order to accomodate all the interested parties....this was extremely encouraging for me to see that so many people were interested in taking this challenge to love, care for, and nurture children.  So many of the couples/individuals in our group also indicated their faith as significantly important to their lives and to their decision to become foster or adoptive parents.

Here are a few things God has brought together in my mind over the weekend.  I have been reading Francine Rivers' book, Sons of Encouragement, and I think it is taking me over a year to finish it although I have loved it.  God has led me to read other books or parts of books through that time period as well.  As God would have it, I just picked the book back up and read the section of the book describing the life of Amos...leading into Hosea's ministry and, even though I love Francine Rivers as an author, I hated this story (Francine, if you are reading this, it is totally not your fault).  Do you ever hug a book?  Well, I know it sounds weird, but I sometimes hug my books when they give me a lesson of truth or some kind of wisdom.  I have often hugged the Bible and I remember hugging John Piper's book, Don't Waste Your Life, recently when God clearly spoke to my heart about adopting.  Anyway, I did not hug the Sons of Encouragement book after this story...I threw it to the ground and asked God why he would ask this man to do something so difficult.  Life was too hard for Amos, there was very little redemption, the people God placed on Amos' heart rejected him, scorned him and wished him dead because of the truth he spoke...and in the end....well, I guess I won't give that away in case you want to read it :-) The encouragement in that story just didn't speak to me the way I had wished it would at the time.

So, that was all fresh in my mind when I started taking the Foster Pride training on Friday.  That day was somewhat uncomfortable and discouraging (though, I am sure realistic) as the presenters discussed all kinds of behavioral issues, emotional problems, physical challenges...etc that can or will come into your home when you foster/adopt.  There is a compassionate part of me that wants to be open to anything, but there is a protective part of me that likes the status quo family Brad and I have worked to achieve so far.  So the presenters asked us to consider which behaviors we would be willing to accept...(really hard stuff)...and I struggled in thinking of saying yes to some of them...but, then I struggled with saying absolutely no to them too.  The session was very insightful and resourceful, but I realized Brad and I would need to spend some time in prayer to consider these issues.

Saturday morning I woke up to God clearly telling me, "remember, you are adopted"...it was as soon as my eyes opened and it was a pretty strong statement to my heart.  I started crying right away as He told me that truth and showed me why I had just read about all the struggles Amos went through in order to speak truth to God's wayward children.  He reminded me of the fact that I have been and still am sometimes, wayward, rebellious, disobedient, unwilling to listen out of my own stubborness...and basically, that He would not have marked a no by any of my behaviors in order to give me a second chance. OUCH!  That is humbling...I am still reeling from the effects of that truth hitting me.

So, with a new perspective- that of my own "adoption", I went on Saturday to the second part of our training and feel like I am better prepared for whatever behaviors we will encounter with the children God brings into our lives.

It is always amusing (like an inside joke between me and God) and so meaningful to me the times that God will turn the lesson to an application in our lives and, since I am married to a pastor, my life lessons often become illustrations for our church family.  After the last two days of adoption training, we found out on Sunday morning that our pastor was ill and would not be able to preach.  God would have to put something together for Brad to share and so we went with the topic of being adopted by God.  In the process of putting our thoughts together into a message we were looking at similarities between how the adoption process is similar to how the Bible describes our adoption as God's children .  We found an article giving eight similarites that were very touching and we felt would help us clearly communicate the message that was on our hearts from the weekend.  As we were printing it and reading through it we realized this Sunday was Sanctity of Human Life Sunday, coincidence?  NO WAY...after we printed the article we saw it had been written by John Piper..CRAZY! He was actually the author I mentioned earlier whose book Brad and I were reading when we felt like God was leading us to start the adoption process now.  Not to mention that every verse that had been chosen and song that we were planning on singing was perfect for this message...God was showing off even as we were scurrying around to get something together.  After Brad spoke he opened it up for a time of sharing and there were so many incredible testimonies shared of how people's lives have been touched and transformed by adoption.  God is in control.

It's finally winter in Michigan

Last weekend was the first time we really felt like winter began for us...finally we needed the shovels, snow blower, and snow angels were appearing in the yard.  One of my favorite things about winter is that we have a little white dog, (mini) Kooper...(speaking of angels, he is quite angelic, just ask some of our friends who have watched him for us while we have vacationed...haha!)  

Anyway, when we get a good amount of snow, he just hops around in it, buries his nose in it, and rolls in it...he absolutely loves the white stuff.  It is sometimes hard to get him to come back inside because he is having too much fun and then, once he does come back in, his fur is so full of little snowballs that he leaves puddles everywhere. 

I hope you will enjoy the pictures I am including with this blog...I particulary like the one of Kassi getting snowblown by Brad while she was trying to help him clear the driveway. 

Another part I truly enjoyed was taking these pictures from inside the house...haha! 

CONFESSION (because it is good for the soul),

I often conveniently declare myself the hot chocolatier so as to stay warm or give myself an excuse to go out to the front yard to start making my own snowball arsenal...whatever suits my fancy :-)  There are only so many years left before the kids figure out my strategies...new mischievious ideas are welcome...I will soon need to up my game.

Big Announcement

WE ARE EXPECTING!!!

To adopt, that is :-)  One of the things we have talked about since before we were married was that we would love to adopt someday.  We love kids and have always felt drawn towards doing something significant to serve God that also ministers to kids...and it is quite evident through scripture that He cares deeply for orphans and has commanded believers to do their part to care for them.  We came home from our conference in New York with full hearts, asking God what He desires for us and both of us felt as though He was telling us this year will be a year for something new.  We have prayed about it a lot and have sensed His leading in the direction of adoption.  The decision does not come without some apprehension about the adjustments this will mean for our family...especially our daughters....Brad...and me...and who knows how Kooper (our dog) will adjust..., but all kidding aside, there is a lot to consider and many more people involved in loving and nurturing any children we will welcome into our family and it is our prayer that all involved will come to love God's plan for us and through us and that this process will be blessed even though we have been warned that many frustrations and challenges may lie ahead of us.

We had our Orientation meeting today and will continue the process for training and the home study.  We are told it can take somewhere between 3-6 months to complete the process to be ready to adopt, plus it could take much more time to identify the child/children that would be a good match for our family.  It is our hope to adopt through the Foster Care system (appropriate, I know...all the punny people have been having a heyday with this one).  We have a passion to keep a sibling group together.  I have already been looking at the photolistings, but even doing that is emotional for me...when I actually think about it...it is quite overwhelming to see the faces of children (in Michigan alone) who are looking for a forever family. But, for me, the emotional part is good because it usually causes me to pray.  So far two sibling groups I have been interested in have been adopted...Brad keeps telling me to stop looking, but I am thinking it is working out pretty well for them for me to keep looking and praying....maybe if I decide I am interested in all of them; good people will adopt them :-)

Anyway, thanks for reading...if you are a believer, please pray for us as we continue through this process and seek God's plan for our Fosterrific family.

Faithfulness

Kenna had an opportunity at her school to write a paragraph on self-control.  She does not currently attend a Christian school, but she attends a school that stresses moral values and so, occasionally, they will have assembly and talk about things like honesty, perseverance, respect...etc.  She decided she would write about the topic of praying before she eats her lunch and how it takes self-control to hold off on eating when she is hungry to thank God for her food.  I was so proud of her for coming up with this topic on her own.  The classes that were writing on this topic knew that a few would be chosen to be read for assembly and Kenna was hoping hers would get picked so she tried to write the whole thing in her best cursive (which she is just starting to learn) :-)  After they finished their paragraph, they had a peer look it over to proof read it.  She said the girl that read her's was a Christian too, but read the paragraph and said to Kenna, "are you sure you want to write about this...you know it could be read to everyone in assembly."  Kenna said back to her, "I hope it is read to everyone in assembly..."

As God would have it...because it is not about luck, you know...Kenna's paragraph was chosen and she was able to read about her topic of self control and be a witness of her faith.  I am so proud of her...

God spoke to me about this some more, though, in terms of faithfulness.  We have been studying about the Persecuted Church on Sunday nights at church and their many challenges and persecutions and how standing up for their faith could mean death for them and their families.  I think one thing God has impressed on me is that we have to be faithful in the little things...sharing our faith when we have opportunities like Kenna did with her paper at school.  We never know when we may face persecution for our faith, but God is faithful...just like He honored Kenna when she decided to include her faith in her paper by allowing hers to be chosen...He blesses all who stand up for their faith.

Stay strong for Christ and have a blessed Christmas!!!