Jared, his sister Jill and brother Jason

 

Our family with Jared's brothers' wife and children and his sister

 

My brother and I

 

Our first family photo! Sorry to all for how terrible I have been at blogging and keeping everyone updated. I hope to do better once we finally get moved and settled. Hope everyone had a Happy Thanksgiving, I can't believe that Christmas is 10 days away. The kids are so excited!!!!

Sick with the flu--

The flu really is the pits.... I have children coughing and sneezing, running fever and complaining of awful headaches. I have never seen Austin so sick for so long. Only a few of us qualify for the Tamiflu but we are making the best of it. Lots of soup, books and good movie times.... It has been almost 3 weeks since we returned home from Ethiopia. How time flies.... I still can't believe that they are here but it also seems like they never weren't here. Hard to explain but so true. I remember days on end wondering if the day would ever come that we would get to wrap our arms around them, love them and pray with them.... Everyday I get to do that now! How faithful God is!!! Tonight as I tucked my sweet smelling boys in (yes they were both clean:-) ) and I prayed with them- I buried my nose into their necks to drink deeply of the scent of my children. Muluken giggled because it tickled and Austin just said, "awwww mom". I love them to pieces.... Gifte prayed outloud for the first time tonight- all in Amharic but the girls all cheered for her- I wanted to cheer for the girls for being such great encouragers. I called home today to talk to Jared because I got to go to Walmart alone this afternoon- hence the reason I am up at 12:40am- I treated myself to a delicious iced coffee from McDonald's..... Not a real smart idea for someone who can't drink caffine past lunch time. I guess that's what happends when I have alone time :-) Anyway- I called to ask my sweet man a question and Austin said- "dad, it's mommy." Oh, melt my heart. Daddy is always daddy- but mom- is usually Mom.... Except on some occasions, like today.... Precious reminders that children really are a gift from heaven.... I am so grateful to be their "mommy" and their "daddy's" wife!

beautiful children---- Faithful God!!!

 
While we were waiting for our new tickets and hotel vouchers at JFK, I sat down on the floor with the kids- the wait was long. Before long, KK was playing with a little girl (who was from Dubai) with the lid of a water bottle across the floor and then Austin joined in. Not to much later, a little boy came and sat down with me. He showed me his book and then he let me read to him. It didn't take long before the little girl was in my lap and I had the precious opportunity to read to them. My children's willingness to play with these children and then having the opportunity to read to them made the 2 hours fly by and we were on our way in no time, with sweet memories of playing on the airport floor. Thank you Jesus for precious opportunities!

 

I think I have this figured out- we'll see.... like I said earlier, the amount of pictures is overwhelming... These first pictures are our trip to the airport, at the airport in Dallas, and then I included some pictures of the Dubai airport in this collage- it was a beautiful airport that was enormous by every definition of the word. It was immaculate..... We had a lot of fun together as we traveled. It was an adventure!!!

Some about Ethiopia

I cannot open my email to check it but I was able to send one out today to a dear sister in Christ- I am sorry that I couldn't attach the pictures. I will have my sweet hubby try to fix it later today. We are piled up watching football and waiting to leave to go to Austin's football game and then we are going to some friends' house who are from Ethiopia and we get to eat traditional food. yeah!!! I know my older "homemade" (thanks for the term Kimmie:-) children won't be excited but Muluken and Gifte and Jared and I are. It will be a time of good fellowship and some familar language for Muluken and Gifte!!! As I was looking through the pictures we took on our trip, I don't even know where to start.... I need a bit more time and I will sit down and dialogue our trip and going through the pictures. I won't be able to post many of the pictures because they are full of children's faces, several of them have homes, but many of them do not.... The country is beautiful and the people seem to really take pride in their work. It was amazing to see people plowing with mules and not tractors- how much we take for granted....

First week home-

This has been an amazing week- one that has been exciting and full of new things, which I think leads to a very tired group of people. I want to fill everyone in on our trip but I don't have the time to write it all out now- I will say that the week was great, it was joyous and sad at the same time. Ethiopia is a beautiful country with beautiful people, but the poverty there is overwhelming and excruciating to see. I will tell more about it later. I have to write about today though- it is our first sunny day since we've been home. The kids have been outside riding scooters (thanks to nana and grandpa!) and today we were blessed with 2 bikes that our friends' daughter, Maria, grew out of. Muluken and Gifte have never rode a bike before, but today Muluken was determined to figure it out. It was awesome to watch him try and try... It didn't take long and he got it. Gifte wasn't so brave today, maybe tomorrow.... They are tenacious children, which I love because all of the other children are that way. They encourage each other to try new things and then have a great time watching each other accomplish them. Tristyn was so excited to have a "new" bike, she got on the smaller one and hooted and hollered all the way down the road. The older kids like to play soccer together, which has to be what they do the most now- except for riding scooters...... hmmmmmmm , Muluken is still on the bike and so is Tristyn..... so we probably have something new that will be a favorite.
Speaking of something new- nothing has really seemed to surprise them yet. Not light switches, constant power, seemingly never ending hot water, heated and cooled houses, HE washing machines, not really even Walmart seemed to surprising..... but mini blinds, vacuum cleaners and the dryer has stumped them :-) A few days ago, I pulled clothes out of the dryer and they were hot. Gifte could not figure out why they were hot- so I showed her the dryer... In Ethiopia, they hang all their clothes outside to dry. Last night, Muluken kept opening the mini blinds, up down, up down go the slats... He was pulling the strings up and down and up and down, but he could figure out how to actually get the blinds to go down on the window- from strings to strings he went- up and up went the blinds- to the next set of strings, up down up down go the slats- no luck with the postition of the blinds on the window.... hmmmmm- pull the strings on the other side again- up more???????? I went over and showed Muluken how to pull the string to the side for the blinds to go up or down..... Amazing! He played a little while longer before he was satisfied with this new find.
Today, I was vacuuming and we have a HYLA vacuum that holds water. Gifte got on her hands and knees on the floor and watched the water spin round and round in the basin- "Mom, what that?" I showed her how the vacuum sucks air thru the hose by putting it on her hand and then I hooked it back up so that we could finish vacuuming the floors- she watched for awhile and then she wanted to try.... Not long after, Muluken wants to vacuum- not just a little but a lot- the whole living room- under the cushions, behind the couch.... I think they would have re-vacuumed the whole house if I would have let them. Interesting! It was cute!
I think I need to keep a journal of everything that is going on because I seem to have no time to sit at my computer- i think my computer is about to crash anyway- but things are going well. God is a big God who provides in ways that are small and huge. Our extra large family is such a testimony of His faithfulness. I need to remember that when we struggle with communication and bickering, (yes, they have bickered). I know that He is faithful to complete the good work that He started. I will write again soon! I have much to share......

3 Days and Counting!!!

Oh my goodness! I am so tired but about to burst out of my skin with excitement.... My precious little (yes I said little, not my littlest :-)- but still little brother) haha-- came over today to help Jared and make more sense of our mess of donations. I thought that I had all of our stuff packed yesterday- until one of my dear friends called this morning and said, "Kris, I have more!" So off we went, to meet her to fill up the back of my truck once again with clothing and formula. Praise God! I should have counted all the cans of formula (large and small) When I empty the bags in Ethiopia, I will try to remember to do that. We are able to take 8 bags with us, all but one are filled with donations of clothing and formula and all of it was donated... More than 350lbs worth of donations... Praise God!!! and.... there is still some leftover for Elaine to take with her when she goes to get her little girl :-) Thank you to everyone- everyone who has prayed, provided (in any way), worked and been there. When I saw my friend Tina today, we shared a few tears at the craziness of all of this. In January, it was a feeling that Jared and I had that we were supposed to do this- praying all the way that we were doing the right thing and that God would open the doors if this was His will and close them if we had misunderstood- well, He threw every door open and I can't begin to even describe all of the ways that has happened... but we are almost there-and then we will start on an entirely new journey full of twists and turns and lots of unknowns- but one thing that I am sure of is that God will be there. It almost makes me laugh at my stupidity to think that I doubted the God of the Universe- how silly is that????? The sad thing is that as much as I would like to say that I won't do it again, I will..... probably later tonight..... when I can't wrap my brain around something and I start worrying and doubting before I even realize that I am not trusting... the reality of my human flesh... My desire is that I longer I walk with Jesus, the more I will trust and the less I will doubt... He gave me a verse right before our spaghetti dinner out of 1 Samuel- "stand still and watch this great thing I will do before your eyes." Amazing!!!! He always does what He says... I pray that our children will be able to look back at this journey and be willing to walk wherever God leads, no matter how illogical and irrational it may seem to their human minds. Anyway- I wanted to post the pictures of some of the donations all over our bedroom and to say that I feel like I can maybe do this whole blogging thing- I figured out how to put a playlist of songs on here- Yeah!!!! We have last minute items to pack but other than that we are pretty much done.... My step-mom and dad come in tomorrow at 2pm- they are coming to care for our little girls while we are gone. I feel so sad to leave them, but am excited for next Friday, October 9th- when all 8 of us get to be together as a family!!!!

A week away!

I have orphanage donations spread all over the floor in our bedroom. I am packing bags with clothing and formula, all of which was donated. Praise God! I have learned more about the provision of God during this journey than ever before in my life- and how it comes through his people, many of whom we don't even know. So I send out a huge thank you to everyone who donated anything, who prayed, who worked---and any other way that someone may have participated to bring Muluken and Gifte home. Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! May God richly bless you! I am going to get back to packing so that we are ready to go in a week! Yeah!!!!!!! We can't wait..... The line in a song by Aaron Shust keeps coming to mind- I would put it on this blog but I don't know how- "To God alone be the glory! To God alone be the praise! Everything we say or do, let it be all for you! The glory is yours alone!!!!"

Almost 4 am-

This is Day 2 of no sleep. Medicine does funny things to your body.... I have lists a mile long in my head of all that needs to be accomplished in a short amount of time. Too short- yet 11 days too long.... I have watched the videos others have posted on their blogs of their gotcha day and I cannot wait to have ours... Every one that I watch reminds me of this precious journey all who have adopted have ventured on... It brings tears of joy to my eyes just to think of it. The journey has been long but not so long in light of eternity- or really in just the reality of bringing them home. Being pregnant was somewhat like this- you wait forever and ever it seems and then when it is just around the corner there is seemingly too much to do- but once they are home and in your arms- the wait seems to slip from your memory... Hmmmm- the miracles of God. I know I should be sleeping- but I lay there and am literally almost wide awake.... I have a thousand 'wonders' on my brain... I also realized tonight- that our house is sold and we have yet to well---- we are waiting on the Lord to provide what we need. I am counting down the days until our family is all together and eating together at my table which has been missing 2 Pavatt's since the day we bought it :-) I laugh at the thought because God knew and somewhere in my heart so did I- I just didn't think it would be like this and I am so thankful that it is... I asked Jared tonight again (because I kept him awake to talk to me until 2:30) if he ever thought he would be a dad to 6- he chuckled and said, "I never thought I would be a dad to 4 but I am and it is awesome!" He is a great daddy- and an amazing husband. I am thankful that we get to be on this journey called life together.

Ethiopia Here We Come!

We officially have travel dates and tickets! We leave October 3rd for Ethiopia with Kailyn and Austin. We will arrive in Addis on October 5th and have the opportunity to spend some time there with our children and their little sister. It is such a mix of emotions- I can't wait to see them and love them... To see their country and their people. But then I am saddened, that their sister will stay behind for awhile until she is also able to come home to Arkansas. We are all trusting in the Lord's timing... The waiting is hard.... To even write the dynamics of the way life has been and the changes that God has made- hmmmmmmm.... I don't know where to start. I don't think I can right now- but what I will say is that God's plans are so much better than even "our best thought out plans"- they aren't logical and rational to our human brains- but wow- I am so excited to see all that God is going to do through this process for our family, Jeremy, Elaine, Cody and Caleb (and soon to be a precious little girl) and for our community... it makes me laugh out loud- the craziness of it all. But- I can only say, that it is all God... and I praise Jesus for that.... I can't end with that though because it makes me think of Jared's cousin Mica and her husband Carrol. Mica has continually been my encourager through our adoption process. She and Carrol are hopefully soon going to be able to travel to bring Pedro home from Mexico- but this is their second time adopting... She has reminded me continually that this is God's and not mine- that He loves them more than Jared and I do and that He will provide. I remember a phone conversation several months ago where I was crying and almost hysterical because I could not understand how all of this was going to work, where the money would come from- our house was too small, our car wasn't big enough.... you name it, it wasn't going to work.... she was so calm and reminded me over and over of the truth of God's faithfulness and how He had been faithful in providing to bring Josie home and was providing to bring Pedro home and that He would do the same for Muluken and Gifte.... Mica and many of our other friends have been anchors to my soul through this time. When I would get lost for a bit in the storm, they were there to be His hands and feet to pull me back to the safety of what is true. So- to Mica- thank you for sharing your story, your journey, your heart, your love and your faith with me- it has made walking this road even more amazing... We love you and are praying for you all..... To every other friend, family member and brother and sister in Christ (if I started naming I would accidentally leave people off)- thank you for loving us and serving Jesus by being so willing to serve us through this process with all the fundraisers, support and prayers. We could never have made it to this place without the willing hearts and hands of His people. I not only stand back amazed at what an awesome God we serve, but also at what can be accomplished when His people come together for a common purpose- May he richly bless each of you! May God alone receive all the glory!
Mica and Carrol sharing their adoption journey at our spaghetti dinner-
Mica talking to Josie- her Guatemalan princess :-)

 These are some more of the pictures from the Both Hands Project! What a great day!

Bringing them Home!

God is so amazingly good! We are leaving in 3 weeks to bring Muluken and Gifte home to Arkansas!!!! Austin and Kailyn are going to travel with Jared and I, the little girls get a special week with Nana and Grandpa! So far, this has been one of the most amazing journey's of our lives, I can't begin to imagine what it will be like to actually get to meet them and touch their precious faces, after how long we have loved and prayed for children that we have never met. I got to speak to Gifte on the phone a few weeks ago- she has the sweetest voice and seems so happy. The Ethiopian people seem to be so full of joy, even though they are afforded so little in life. It is something that I can definitely learn from.
We are in the process of gathering donations for our trip to bring to the orphanage, clothes, shoes and baby formula. I am also gathering all that we will need to take with us. Imagine being a young child and having nothing..... nothing at all.... The normal everyday things that we take for granted, like underwear and socks- shoes that fit and clothes that are just ours..... Mimi (Jared's mom) has had a great time picking out some flip flops, pajamas, pants and some shirts, as well as underwear and socks!!! Praise Jesus for grandparents :-) She is getting ready to have her hip replaced and will need lots of prayer to get her through so that she can walk well again.
Life has been lots of fun lately. We started school, soccer, football and we are selling our house, trying to buy a new one------ and bringing Muluken and Gifte home. We are praying for God's will and provision in all of it. I can't wait to bring home pictures and tell of our trip. We have the opportunity to fly through Dubai on our way to Ethiopia and Jared is so excited. It should be an amazing adventure, I can't wait to see the reaction that all 4 kids have.
We also have an opportunity to meet their little sister, who they just found and some of our close friends are adopting her. God is so good!

These are the before and after pictures of Ms. Ann's house from August 22 when we did the Both Hands project! It was awesome! Ms. Ann has a very large yard to take care of and we had the opportunity to help her by getting so much done in one day. The rest of the pictures of the new fence and kitchen stuff are on Jared's computer, so I will post those later on today or tomorrow.... It was a blessed day!

Meet Muluken Pavatt!

Meet Gifte Pavatt!!!!

We passed Court!!!!

I am awful because we passed court on August 19th and I am not writing until right now... We have had so much going on and.... but they are 100% ours and I can post pictures of them so you can meet them!!! YEAH! We should be traveling about the beginning of October to bring them home, maybe earlier if possible... All of our projects to raise funds to bring Muluken and Gifte home have gone so well. We are now nearing the end and are just really lacking what we need to travel. So we are praying and hoping and trusting... God has brought us this far, he will finish what he started, I just in my humanity cannot fathom how.

We are fully into school with the kids. Austin is using the Abeka video streaming for his schoolwork, which he and I love..... In a few months when Kailyn starts 3rd grade, I think we will use the videos for her as well. I have no idea what we will do for Muluken and Gifte, but the videos allow more time for me to work with Tristyn and Brityn on letters and sounds, numbers etc.... I love being at home with them and getting to watch them grasp new concepts... lol- some of them I get to learn right along side them :-)

Life is full and busy- the Both Hands project that we did on Ms. Ann's house was amazing. We had about 60 volunteers throughout that day and we transformed her yard, built her a new fence, and fixed up her very tired kitchen... It was so awesome! That day I realized that our college kids are amazing and very capable- hmmmmm..... Everyone worked so hard and Jared and I are so grateful for all the love and support that we have been shown and that was given to Ms. Ann. She is the neatest lady and would definitely be a cool grandma!

Austin is playing football and Kailyn is playing soccer, the two fall sports that we love. Tristyn just turned 5 and Kailyn is about to turn 8. Wow, when Muluken and Gifte come home, our children will be 3,5,8,9,10 and 11. That's a mouthful! We might get to call the transition house and talk to them this morning! Praise Jesus! I keep wondering what to say- I love you, love you, love and I can't wait to wrap my arms around you and hug you and pray over you as I love you?????

We listed our house and made an offer on another- we are praying for wisdom and provision.... life has been an amazing roller coaster this year! but there isn't any place that I would rather be than here, with Jared and our children and trying to be in the center of God's will- the very best place to be...

4 More Days Until Our Court Day!!!

So we originally thought that our court date was the 19th, but it is actually August 20th.... Today is Monday and I spent the day running around getting ready for our widow's home project this Saturday. We are so excited to bless Ms. Ann Bearden and hopefully in the process receive what we need to bring our children home. We are going to be doing so much work around her house with all our volunteers. I am excited to see the finished product... she is the sweetest woman and is so deserving! Also, if we pass court on Thursday, we will travel about 5 weeks later to bring them home!!!! Yeah!!!!

This has been the craziest summer, and I realized today that I haven't written in a really long time but there is not way to fill in all the amazing blanks since the last time I wrote. God has provided in the most amazing ways and we (Jared and I) are learning so many lessons, things that I wish that we had learned earlier, but God is gracious and gives us time to learn our lessons.

We are right at the beginning of Austin's football season, which is always exciting because it means that college football is right around the corner- Go Hogs!!!! Kailyn is going to play soccer again, and Tristyn and Brityn will be the sideline cheerleaders with Jared and I :-) Tristyn will be 5 next week- which is sad because I wonder where all the time goes... but she is precious and looking forward to a pair of rollerblades for her birthday.... oh, the simple things in life.... We continue to pray for wisdom and God's provision- I am excited for fall and our growing family! I desire to do better about updating our blog- I need someone to help me make it look cute, any advice would be greatly appreciated!

Court Date August 19th!!!

We received the email Friday, our court date is August 19th. We are so excited and so scared.... We have so many things planned to help us complete the process to be able to bring them home. Lord show us the way....

Austin spent the last week at Central Arkansas Youth Camp. He had the most amazing week. 15 kids asked Jesus to be Lord of their lives and I think 6 or 7 were baptized. Praise you Lord! The week was exciting and exhausting for both the campers and all the awesome counselors who were there to encourage these kids.

I am looking forward to going to church this morning to hear all about the details... the personal testimonies that made up the week. God is so big and so great... watching camp and going to participate in praise and worship was so encouraging to Jared and I. We also had the priviledge of speaking to the kids about our adoption process and the results of that were amazing. This precious young man walked over to Jared afterward and asked him if he could hug him, because he too, had been adopted. The kids gave out of the goodness of their hearts and Jared and I were overwhelmed when John told us the amount. Thank you Lord for the opportunity, for precious children and for always showing yourself faithful to your children. May all the children and counselors, all who were involved in any way at camp be richly blessed by you Lord.

Dossier Completed and on its way to Ethiopia!

So the last week has been completely overwhelming... in a great way! We had the inspector come to our home last Monday, he said "proceed'. We are trying to add 2 rooms in our attic and enclose our garage to make room for our precious children- all 6 of them. The two boys will hopefully be upstairs next to daddy's office (which will be the other room) and the garage will be a family room and homeschool room, God willing. Our dossier was received at our agency all completed from the Assistant Stork (Praise Jesus) on Thursday and sent to Africa the same day. We received word yesterday, that maybe, we could get into court the beginning of August before they close for the rainy season, if we pass court we would travel about 5 weeks later to bring them home. We also received another video of the kids receiving the gifts that our agency director took over for us. They put their new clothes on and they fit them perfectly :-) They were all smiles! We are continuing to pray for them and their needs and all the adjustments that they are going to be making. It will be a huge adjustment for us all- but one that God will surely see us through.

I didn't say it on here before, but we spoke at our church on Father's Day and had the opportunity to share our hearts and needs with them. We love our church and the people in it. It isn't a very big church but it is a church with a lot of heart and people who are genuine and honestly love the Lord and live out their convictions. I am so thankful for the encouragement that we received and the prayers of our church body.

Last night, we had pulled pork sandwiches, beans and chips.... we were missing lots of kids, but their were 18 in the kitchen. It was loud and wonderful. I wonder sometimes how this will all fit when our kiddos come home- hmmmmmm, Lord, show us the way. Some of the kids helped us clean out the garage and move stuff into the large trailer that is sitting in our driveway. We are hoping to have the concrete poured soon so that we can enclose the garage. The other kids swam with our girls and then we lit off fireworks. It was a great night! A great end to an amazing week and a great beginning to another week.

Our paperwork is on the way!!!

We sent our dossier off to the assistant stork last week and hopefully it should be in Ethiopia by the end of this week :-) Sending it off was so scary- we don't have the funds or the room for them. UHHHHHH! Lord help us and forgive our unbelief.

We had a car wash on Saturday and it was so cool to watch our sweet baby girls wash cars with their big, somewhat grown-up college kid family.... they all worked so hard along side my dear friend Lauren, my brother, sister-in-law and of course Jared. It was so neat! I praise Jesus that we made it through the heat of the day and still came out smiling. Well, maybe not my brother, he got a pretty bad sunburn. I was overwhelmed with gratitude for the help and the love that was shown that day!

All powerful...

How easily I forgot the power of our Creator... The love he has lavished upon us.... Friday I sat on the phone with a dear friend and cried- how on earth is this all going to work out. The storms that were raging in the sky that afternoon were a reflection of what was in my heart. Confusion and anxiety- things that do not come from God.... Yet I allowed them to sit there- to wrap themselves around me. I failed to take my thoughts captive to Christ, to lean on Him and to know that He is all powerful and all-knowing. Even after the encouragement I received, I wallowed in it. Sunday was a hard day, Austin left for Seattle for a month.... But that night, God showed up in the largest way at Sunday Night Dinner. We had a large crowd- but one stood out... A young man who we have prayed for many times- his sister is a regular at our home.... A sister in Christ, but a baby sister in our hearts and most definetly a "Yacy" to our children. She has been praying for him for years, he came to Jesus.... :-) Showed up at our crazy home and we got to love on him, pray for him and to see his heart and the freedom that God has given him. Only Jesus can do that!!! His heart for the Lord and his thankfulness for what he has done- reminded me that we too, are supposed to be the same way. To never lose our zeal for Christ. I remember when I became a believer, he so radically transformed my life, that many in my past weren't sure who I was anymore :-) It's a God thing- what else can you say? But over the years- I have laid much of that zeal down, struggled to trust and to believe- which then causes me to struggle to obey. Lord forgive me for my unbelief.

This afternoon- we received a phone call in response to an email I had sent requesting info on a ministry called Both Hands.... If you have a moment- please look it up (when I become computer savy, I will try to put a link up). I was so excited about the opportunity to work with this ministry to help us and others like us to fund our adoptions but also to reach out to widows who need help with their homes and projects that they are unable to pay for or complete by themselves. The mission is amazing and we are excited to begin the process. Helping with both hands, being the hands and feet of Jesus in more ways than one and getting others involved in serving. What better way to remember how powerful God is, how great his love is and to give that to others.

We received our approved and finalized homestudy!!!

We can now move on to the next step- which is sending our dossier off for authentication and then..... on to Ethiopia! Praise Jesus! The waiting is so hard. People ask all the time how everything is going- it is so hard to answer because.... well- I decided it is partly because we were raised in a generation that thinks that everything happens, now.... the microwave generation.... including Jared and I :-) God is giving us opportunities to be patient.

Our children are finished with sports for the summer and we get to enjoy a nice break, with dinner every night at home together. That makes my heart smile. Austin and KK are memorizing verses. Sure, I encouraged it a little- a quarter a verse. What better way to earn money. The younger ones are learning to swim and are absolutely fearless. I remember as a little girl, long summer days--- that drug on forever it seemed.... Now, it justs flys by...

We planted a garden and it has been fun to watch everything grow- we have our first peppers that are almost ripe :-) Yum! Our dog, Sarah, who we adopted from the people who lived across the street and moved, just had 5 puppies.... I said it, FIVE... To add to our already crazy house. The kids all think they are great fun.... Soon they will be ready to find new homes :-) They are precious though.

Our college kids are out of school for the summer, and two of them just got married- to each other. Two other couples just got engaged.... They are all growing up and it has been so awesome for our family to be a part of their lives. Each of them is a testimony to staying strong in their faith when so many are giving into their flesh. I will have to figure out how to put some pictures of Sunday Night Dinners on here.

We have the amazing opportunity to speak at our church on the 21st of June about our adoption. I am nervous but so excited to share this exciting adventure and allow others to see such a great need. Please continue to pray for us and for all 6 of our children.... That God would move mountains- everything that stands in the way of His will.... And that we would remember that "we can do all things, through Christ who gives us strength."

Making Progress

We drove to Fort Smith yesterday to apply for our I600A.... We are nearing completion of everything and it is exciting and nerve wracking at the same time... Our final visit for our homestudy is scheduled and then we send everything off and wait. and pray, and pray...

We aquired the much needed storage unit for our yard in order to move everything out of the garage, so that we can enclose it... Praise Jesus! It is a small thing but one of the things that was so needed in order to provide the room that we need in our home to fit two more precious children and.... a homeschooling area :-) that is so exciting!

The last few days have brought a lot of encouragement from family and friends... I told Jared that until recently, I never realized how often people comment on how many people comment on how many children we have because everytime someone makes that comment, one of the kids tells them that we have two more. That they have a brother and a sister in another country who are waiting to come home... How amazing! If only we all had the ability to see life through the eyes of a child...

Still waiting....

We received new pictures of them.... They are beautiful.... Sometimes I wish I could reach through the computer to the pictures and hold them. I tell them, soon, soon... Then I ask God, when, when???? Last week, doubts ran through my mind like a freight train speeding out of control. I sat on the floor in my room with Jared and cried for what seemed like hours. KK came in with the mail, "Mom, we got a video!" After we watched it, Jared asked me if I still doubted what God was asking us to do. "No, I don't." But then the next day, I dropped some more paperwork off for our homestudy and she asked about our 1600 A. We haven't applied yet because we haven't had the resources to pay for it. Lord, where is all this going to come from? God works in the most amazing ways- and the exact amount we needed in order to file came within a matter of hours after I drove away from that office :-)! Praise Jesus! Always in His timing and not in ours...

The mountains that have to be moved seem monumental. Our children here at home think this is exciting and taking forever- they can't wait to meet their new siblings and get so excited everytime they see a picture... Oh, Lord forgive me for not trusting... for not having faith... for not believing... I desire to see them play in the yard with their brother and sisters... to laugh and experience love and family... to gather all the pavatt's on mom and daddy's bed to pray and read His word... I am growing impatient. Months seem longer than they really are right now. I am praying for a June court date and maybe--- maybe--- we can bring them home in July... I know it is not about my timing though....

We have lots of other things keeping our lives busy between soccer and schoolwork, for kids and mom. I'm not sure why I thought school was a good idea for me. The kids seem to find it humorous that I have to study and take tests like they do. I feel like I should say, "but yours is so much easier!" Like Austin says to Kailyn... Kailyn is taking a break from gymnastics for awhile, which is so hard... but she wants the opportunity to play some other sports like softball. Life is full and good.... but missing two...

In Awe...

We were driving home from KK's gymnastics meet Saturday night and the stars filled the night air. I often wonder if God just threw them out there and watched them fill the empty darkness or did he hand place each one of them? The vastness of the sky that surrounds us is beyond our comprehension, much like God is.... Francis Chan said that our mind is like a coke can and what we can comprehend is like filling the coke can once with the water from the ocean. There is so much more than what we see, feel and hear.... More then what could ever possibility fit in our coke can. Yet, I try to fit God around how I can comprehend Him. Oh, Lord forgive me for my unbelief. Everyday that goes by, the impossibility of bringing these children home looms on my mind. In a few days, they are going to receive a blanket, books, games and some needed necessities from us... On the way to mail them, I hugged those bags as tightly as I could thinking that I could send them hugs through the mail. Hugs to children who don't receive much of anything. We are richly blessed in comparison to what these children have.... Makes you wonder why as a culture we are struggling so much.
Austin climbed into bed with me last night.... Wondering why he has so much and so many have little. What could he do? He could sell some things that he has because he doesn't need most of it anyway. It makes him greedy and just want more. Oh, son I thought- you are so wise... I think I need many things when in reality I just really want them. Do I even understand the difference between a need and a want anymore? Beth Moore says, "Gross excess catapults us so far into our wants that we cease to recognize our needs." Oh, Lord that is me... I have all of the basic necessities and so much more... Please Lord, teach us as a family to be content in You. To rest in your goodness and mercy... To find opportunities to share those gifts. Thank you Lord for your infinite love.... I rest all of these things in you...

How Lord?

How is it that calls our hearts to things that we don't even know???? To a place that we have never been? His word says that "His ways are not our ways," so I know it is not supposed to make sense but I am still so troubled by it. Somewhere all the way around the world, Jared and I have two children that we love and are praying for. I long to hold them and to pray with them. When I watch our children out in the yard, I see the other two with them. How Lord? How is this even possible? The impossibility of it is enough to make me feel like I am drowning. The mountain is too high to climb. Standing at the bottom and looking up- Lord you and only you are going to have to carry us up over the mountain or move it out of the way.

Reminded of His Power

We sent our application to adopt yesterday. It is so exciting and scary at the same time. We have prayed that God would open the doors if this is His will and slam them shut if it is not. The impossibility of it all is almost suffocating. Luke 1:37 says "Nothing is impossible with God." Nothing Lord? Nothing that is His will... We say "YES" Lord- We want to follow you. To be willing and obedient to your calling. Lead the way Sweet Jesus!!!