Our Adoption Video

We celebrated Orphan Care Sunday a couple weeks ago at our church and a friend of mine created this video to help us share our testimony. THANK YOU JULIE!!! What a precious gift to our family! (Don't forget to scroll down on the right to click pause on our playlist songs so you can hear the video : )

The girls first SNOW!! and some family fun

The past couple weeks have given me a lot of blogging material... so look out for an above average amount of posts : )Caleb and Emily
Think I need to take this pic to photoshop and adjust the lighting...
but here's my two funny kids, Sarah and Zachary

Caleb and Zach were more excited about Sarah and Emily's first experience with snow than they were to go play in it.... the way they love these girls never ceases to amaze me. We've had lots of fun.... building forts, snowball fights, eating icicles and somehow the boys convinced me to freeze a few of our snowballs in the fridge ... what was I thinking : )

Last night we had a special night going to the "kids eat free night" at IHOP and then a road trip to see the Festival of Lights. Our kids were cracking us up!!

Caleb wanted to take pictures of EVERY light display... we talked him into taking pics of ONLY our favorites(the batmobile was of course Zach's fave). Zachary in only his unique and hilarious way kept repeating, "I'm so happy... I think I'm going to cry"(I'm STILL laughing over that one.. Grandpa Chip would be so proud). And not to be outdone, Sarah sat on my lap in the front hitting the window and pointing, saying "WHOA!" every 5 seconds. Little Emily just stared out the window sucking her thumb with her precious laid back spirit.

Thank you Lord for family, for fun, for laughter, for loving us!

This was our photogragher Caleb's favorite of the night

Hope everyone is enjoying all the festivities of the Christmas season!

Visiting orphans AND widows

At 5 am the morning of Sunday, November 18, 2007, I was lying awake on my bathroom floor curled in a ball talking on the phone to the O.B. who was on call for the weekend. I was having contractions... and in much pain. In denial of the situation, I pleaded with him to order more terbutaline. No, he said in his foreign accent... you need to go to the hospital right now.

I was right around the beginning of my 22nd week of pregnancy. I'd already been to the hospital a couple times earlier that week, but this time was different. They wheeled me right past the triage and admitted me into labor and delivery. We had already been told that a baby born before 25 weeks would not be airlifted to a neonatal unit. When I entered my room, horror filled my heart, seeing the baby warming unit seemed like I might as well have been staring at my unborn daughter's coffin.

By God's mercy and will, we left the hospital 3 days later with my contractions stabilized. They never actually went away, thus remaining on bedrest until 36 wks. but I was able to carry Emily full term to praises of God's glory.

So what does this have to do with widows and orphans?

Those early weeks after the hospital between Thanksgiving and Christmas last year were truly frightening for me. I had very strong feelings of isolation, fear, anxiety, and a deep loneliness. One particular day, the boys were at grandma's, I was in my recliner all alone. A thought that I know was from the Lord( in the midst of my emotions) came to my mind.

"This must be how it feels to be a widow."

In that moment I prayed that the Lord would allow me to embrace these feelings and never let me forget how the widow/elderly must feel. My circumstances and emotions were only temporary but theirs..... it's their life! I promised the Lord that I would be faithful to remember the widow along with the orphan. My prayer is that each of you passionate James 1:27 friends would take time to consider the widow this season too!

The above picture is of our family visiting Dave's grandfather(who is a widower) over Thanksgiving : )

I encourage you to listen to the words of this song. I prefer the Sandi Patty version but couldn't get it. If you've never heard this song before... it's a tear jerker!

My grandma (Grandma-mom) came and spent a week with us earlier this year .... a little vacation from her assisted living home. My kids ADORE her : )... and so do I!


My d-group girls from church making cards for the residents at a nursing home we visited recently. I was so proud of them for their smiles, touches, conversations and prayers they shared with elderly that night!

Elizabeth, Anna and Hannah making new friends!

Ashley visiting with a sweet little lady

Casey taking a moment to pray with this elderly gentleman

Silliness

My little diaper thief...

she makes a bee-line for the rolled up diapers every time! YUCK!!

My only conclusion is Sarah must have fallen asleep in the upright position A LOT in the orphanage b/c it seems to be her favorite sleeping position : )

These two are definitely getting sillier everyday... nap time seems to be play time.... ugh!!

II guess in honor of all the bows I've been making, the boys decided to decorate the girls' heads. So, of course, I grabbed my camera and as I was happily snapping away trying to get a cute picture of the girls.....

I was completely unaware of what else was going on in the picture!

What a goofball!!

It's the Littlest Things...

... that make me love my husband!

Some of my favorite memories growing up were of hanging Christmas lights with my dad. My dad was obsessed with having the most lights and the highest lights in the trees than anyone else in our little hometown. Looking back, it probably wasn't the most aesthetically pleasing house in the neighborhood... but in my girlish memories it was the most beautiful house in the world!

Like every marriage, we've learned to compromise over the things that were different in how we were raised. So at Christmas time, we've blended my family's "over the top" traditions with his family's practical no-nonsense way of doing things. The most lights we've ever had in, around or outside our house has been whatever fits on our Christmas tree.

But today, I looked out our front window, and there was my husband on a ladder doing something so impractical... he was hanging Christmas lights on our house with our 2 boys! And it's not even Thanksgiving yet! I was so caught off guard I seriously had to fight off tears! I love my husband no matter what he does, however it's these little things that make me so grateful he's mine!

The "fog" is lifting

I always think you need about 3 mos. to start feeling yourself again after having a baby. But in our interesting scenario, having had two babies come into our family w/in 4 months of each other and both being very different entrances, those "3 mos. till you feel normal" has dragged on : )

However, several moments this past week have signaled a fog lifting. Sarah has now been home 3 months and so I think that timeframe works in adoptions too! Sarah's bonding and attachment, although never alarming, has seemed slow yet moving in the right direction.

Today she let me rock her. And yes, I cried. Oh, she's let me rock her before but only if she had a toy to play with or something to eat or drink. No, today she laid her head on my shoulder with her arms wrapped around me and we rocked... as mother and daughter.

In other developments, Sarah is walking a little, jabbering a lot, signing "more", and loves to make Emily laugh(you know, those cute baby belly laughs). Which by the way, the same week Sarah took her first steps, Emily learned to crawl : ) But more than anything, Sarah is learning to trust.

I can't tell you how many times I've thought about how MUCH our Father desires us to trust Him and yet we struggle while I've been waiting for Sarah to grow in her trust of us. It is with joy in my heart as I can clearly see that process taking place.... in her life and how it's affected my life trusting the Lord.

And now to some pics over the last couple weeks.....

Whenever I hold them on my lap together, they hold hands : )

Fun and Fancy Bows!!

I probably should have waited to advertise these until I had better pictures... but I couldn't wait! This is my new bow collection that I will be making and selling this season and one special bow for my friends who are adopting siblings from Ethiopia. This picture best represents the actual colors of the ribbons : ) If you are interested in purchasing a bow, please leave me a comment.

FUN CHRISTMAS Bow

3 " red ribbon bow(used in the Santa bow) with candy striped ribbon accent

and a seasonal charm

(Santa, candy cane, reindeer, present and X-mas tree)

$6

FANCY CHRISTMAS Barrette
3" red rose barrette with "boa"feathers and sequin accents

$7

FUN WINTER Bow

3" Turqoise /polka dot bow with "let it snow" ribbon and glittery snowflake accent

AND

3" Royal blue/polka dot bow with multi-color christmas light bulbs for center accent

(you can see this one in the collection photo... it's my favorite FUN one)

$6

WINTER FANCY Bow

3" and 2" Turqoise shimmery ribbon with "pearl" snowflake accent

$6 and $5

ADOPTION BOW

3" Chocolate shimmery bow with pink/chocolate checked ribbon and pink shimmery ribbon accents

$8

(All profits for this ribbon will go to Kendall and Davett Coffman's adoption

of sibling Ethiopian orphans)

What do you think of "CALAMITIES"?

When I look at the 4 beautiful children God has given us, it's hard to believe our life has been a sequence of "calamities" over the past several years. We've been talking about calamities in my study on Jonah and specifically this week on the calamity caused by the Lord when Jonah was in the boat.

Our Bible study teacher asked us a series of questions about our "fear of God" amidst storms in our life coinciding with the events of ch. 1&2 of the book of Jonah. I felt compelled to share those with all of you : ) Hope you find them as challenging and affirming as I did!

1. Do you fear God but not enough to obey Him when you don't want to?

2. Is your fear of God weak enough to think you can say "no" to God and get away with it?

3. Is your fear of God weak enough to allow you to "sleep"(as Jonah did) through calamity?

4. Is your faith so weak that other could question how you could profess to know God & live the way that you do?

5. Is your fear of God so weak that "the world's" fear of God is greater than yours?

6. Do you fear God enough to pray in the midst of your distress or is it your last resort?

7. Do you fear God enough to know there is no calamity apart from God?

8. Do you fear God enough to understand and appropriate His grace?

9. Do you fear God enough to curb your flesh and it's appetites so you're not lured from faithfulness by the world's vanities?

10. Do you fear God enough to realize salvation is from the Lord?

Praying you all know the fear of the Lord today!!

Uh Oh...

... look who's almost walking!

Since this video, she's officially taken 6 steps! She's SO funny and so different from the boys. When they learned to walk, they would let go of something and literally "run" as many steps as they could before falling. Sarah is very intentional with EVERY step and fights for her balance inbetween( she looks a bit like Frankenstein...shh, don't tell her). I love how you can get to know her personality even in learning to walk : )

On a different note, Dave got home yesterday from his weekend retreat with the youth. I've been patiently waiting for Sarah to attach herself to someone OTHER than me 24/7. And it finally happened!! Last night she reached out for Dave WHILE I was still holding her and just laid her head on his shoulder... AND didn't want me back. She had missed him!! Oh my goodness, it was about the sweetest thing I've ever seen!

Special Friends

This friendship just needed a post : ) Karie was the answer to my prayer almost a decade ago when Dave and I moved to Indiana. I had prayed for a friend... but He gave me more. He gave me a sister. Karie and I have so many things in common, we just laugh. Our birthdays are 3 days apart, we were married the same year, our oldest boys are 2 weeks apart, our second oldest boys are 2 days apart, our "third" babies are friends in Heaven, our third children on earth are both adopted, and now with Karie's pregnancy our fourths are little miracles from God!

Karie finally got to meet Sarah this weekend!

Our two beautiful "daughters of promise"!!

To think when we first met, we were just careless newlywed couples : ) Look at this little troop just 8 years later(minus the littlest due in just a couple more months)!

We love you guys... thanks for coming!!

Treasures in Heaven

Ever since starting this blog I have wanted to do a "thank you" post to all those who invested in Sarah's adoption. Through family, friends and the body of Christ, the Lord provided every penny for the journey of a lifetime to one precious child of God.

There were all kinds of ways people gave.... selling possessions, garage sales, providing garages to sell in, financial donations. Each and EVERY gift knocked me off my feet in praises and glory to God!

I am confident that God will reward each one who invested in Sarah's life. I was reminded again this morning in reading Matthew 6 that the Father delights in giving to the things of eternal value...

"Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves TREASURES IN HEAVEN, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves do not break in or steal; for where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. " Matt. 6 :19-21

So thank you... thank you for investing in things that have eternal value, thank you for giving when you could have used something new for yourself, thank you for listening to God's voice and obeying.... thank you for seeing this special, black- haired, almond -eyed, 19lb. treasure from Heaven as an eternal investment! May the Lord bless you all for choosing the eternal over treasures on earth!!


This past weekend 3 people(and their kids) came to meet Sarah for the 1st time... the first 3 people( besides my mom and dad ) to jump on board with our leap of faith in adoption through sacrificial giving. Diane(my aunt), Carrie(my cousin), and Heather(my cousin-in-law), you will never know what your support meant to me in those first few weeks of stepping out in faith! Thanks for supporting us then and for supporting us now with your fun visit to meet Sarah! I love you!!

Finally got the girls' pictures taken...

Sadly, the best one we got in their special Guatemala dresses : )

These toys are WAY cooler than all those annoying sounds you crazy adults are making!!

Another goofy face by Sarah : )

Sweet little Sarah

Woo hoo... I'm ONE!

I LOVE this girl's expressions!

Miss Emily....

trying to chase Sarah down in who will walk first

(feel free to pray for me!)

I've never seen either of my girls so sober as the day we took them for their pictures... but I definitely was NOT going to reschedule after trying like a mad woman to get two baby girls looking pretty( meaning no spit-up, no blow-outs, no pulling out hair things, no taking off shoes... and still the perfect time in their schedules when neither of them is hungry or sleepy!)

LOVE this lil' sweetheart...

you can get a little glimpse of the red tint to her hair in this one : )

Touched by Innocent Faith

This is the eldest of all my blessings... CALEB. We finally fulfilled our birthday promise to him by taking him to a Cardinals game. I think this picture forever captures how I will always "see" my son, whether standing at the front of a church waiting for his bride, or holding his first born child or even if I'm blessed long enough to see him hold his first grandchild. Just that huge grin on his face, cap on his head and ball and glove in his hands. I'm sure every mother has a single snapshot of each of their children that embraces the essence of that child.

Caleb has reached an age of having a special ability to humble me by his innocent faith. It makes me smile to think that God purposely gives us children just to remind us how GREAT is He!

Recently we were talking about adoption with Caleb and explaining the difference between adoption from another country and from here. Which led to trying to explain foster care.

We told him how mommy and daddy actually have a foster care license from going through the process of adoption.

Caleb's face lit up and he said, "Can we go get one(a child) right now??"

Of course I laughed and immediately said, "Honey, don't you think mommy and daddy are crazy enough right now with the 2 babies and you two guys?!" To which he shook his head emphatically no : ) My heart was so blessed by his selflessness because the girls have definitely taken away from the attention we give him. Innocent faith.

Then, last night at a Life Action service at our church, the kids came in to join their parents for praise and worship. Caleb stood on a chair behind me with his arms wrapped around my neck as he bellowed out in a very off-tune voice precious words to the Father in Heaven with singing.

I was nearly a heap on the floor right there, completely humbled. Simply amazed that God can work in this 7 yr. old's life in SPITE of this weak, flawed and sinful woman God gave him as a mother. Innocent Faith.

Thank you Lord for being sovereign, for being the ONE in control, the ONE that covers a multitude of wrongs with love!

A first Cardinal picture with all 6 of us!

The BOYS!

And the Girls!(oops, where's MY Cardinal shirt?)

Thanks Mom and Dad for watching the girls so we could spend some special time with our little men at the game!