finding joy in the journey

Lifesong Matching Grant

2011-09-23T09:34:00.000-07:00

We have received a matching grant from Lifesong for Orphans! For the next $3000 we raise, they will make a MATCHING donation, dollar for dollar!

So, would you please be part of bringing our children home?

You can make a tax-deductible donation by clicking on the LIFESONG image to your right ... please note GOULD #2169 with your donation.

We are also selling a few things to help us along the way ...

NOTE CARDS designed by Molly and her friends (Audrey, Lela Grace and Geneva); all depicting images of Africa drawn with colored pencils. They are precious! They are $10 for a variety pack of 12 (which translates to a $20 donation to us!).

The t-shirts were designed by our friends Mark & Lindsey for their adoption and they have graciously allowed us to sell them to help us raise funds as well. We are selling the t-shirts for $25 (which translates to a $50 donation!).

back: "I will not leave you as orphans, I will come to you. John 14:18"

So click the LIFESONG image on the right to make the donation. Then send me a comment with the items you want to order.

THANK YOU FOR SUPPORTING OUR ADOPTION!

dossier takes flight

2011-08-08T14:55:00.000-07:00

Just received word from our courier in Washington DC that all our documents have been authenticated and they've been sent to our agency. Our agency said that they should be in the package headed to Ethiopia this Friday. Wahoo! We've been waiting for this day since February! And it means another waiting period starts ... waiting for our referral - to see what precious babes the Lord has in store for our family.

Please pray that we will have patience and trust in God's perfect timing for our the growth of our family. It was hard for us to hear that we may not get our referral for a year! Maybe our babes haven't even been born yet?

Pray for Ethiopia. That they will continue to look favorably upon international adoption.

Please pray that we will continue to be blessed with funds to bring these babes home. God has taught us to rely on Him and trust that He will provide the funds in His perfect time and in His unique ways.

God is good. All the time.

waiting ... and waiting ...

2011-08-04T18:36:00.000-07:00

We got our immigration approval ... a huge and final step to having our paperwork shipped off for Washington DC authentication, Ethiopian Embassy approval and then our dossier will make it's journey Ethiopia. And that's when we start waiting ... strange to think that the last six months don't count toward that waiting time. But when our dossier is shipped to Ethiopia, we are officially added to the agency's waiting list. Most recently, we've been told it will be about 18 months until our babies are home.

This "pregnancy" is WAY too long! I cannot nest that long ... or can I? As we've added each child to our family, I anticipated their arrival with great joy yet pondered the reality that our family would be forever changed ... And this is the same. I am joyfully looking forward to loving on our five sweets for the next 18 months and will miss "this" family ... but yet won't ever want to go back! Ah, so hard to express these mama feelings! God's timing has been perfect for adding each of our other children to our family. And I trust Him for this addition as well.

We have applied for three grants and will know if we receive funds from any of them in September. In the meantime, we will have a yard sale with items donated by friends. And God has given us peace to dip (deeply) into our savings ... what better thing to save for than our children?

... more than adoption

2011-06-02T19:00:00.000-07:00

The joy in this journey is more than just about adoption. We are blessed with five beautiful children that have each added a unique gift to our family culture. I sit in amazement as I ponder what each of them has taught me about the Lord. I anticipate with excitement what gifts our adopted child(ren) will add.

The other JOY I am blessed to celebrate right now is the high school graduation of our dear friend and amazing nanny, WhitWhit. She has helped me home-school, discipline, feed, diaper, read to, corral, bathe, dress, and otherwise entertain this crew for six years. She has taught my kids about "peace baby," patience ("waiting without whining"), jump rope jingles, country music, dance steps, and Mr. T, among other things. And, personally, she has been a good friend and travel companion. I am excited about the adventures God has in store for her as she seeks His will for her life. We are blessed to share life with her ...

home study approved

2011-05-23T15:46:00.000-07:00

Well, we've just been plodding along with lots of paperwork and gathering documents and re-notarizing paperwork BUT our home study has been completed, submitted to our agency and is on it's way to us in it's finalized form. We are thrilled ... it's another step, completed, in the long process of this international adoption.

God loves adoption!

2011-04-18T17:54:00.000-07:00

Today we met our home study social worker. Lots of tedious questions ... but it was great. She personally is adopting from Ethiopia so it was exciting to share in her journey as well. Now it's pulling the final pieces of our dossier together, getting everything notarized, finishing our parent training and then wait, and wait, and wait ...

I met with an old friend today. She, too, is an adoptive mom of a son from Ethiopia. Even though we weren't close during the years she adopted, I was encouraged as she reminded me of God's hand in their family's formation. She told me that so much of her adoption process was a mountain-top experience with God because she got to visibly see His hand in so many steps along the way. And, already, I have experienced this. I anticipate with JOY how else He will reveal Himself and bring Himself glory... I can hear my friend Maureen's voice as she has told me so many times, "God loves adoption!"

The other way she encouraged me was to remind me that there will be bumps in the adoption journey... and those are the times I have to ask myself, "Is this where I stop trusting God?" Even as hard as it might be, I will have to remind myself that His plan IS perfect. Hard times are HARD; but I know I have grown in faith so much more during these times. I can't pretend to rely on my own strength or can-do attitude or type-A personality.

God is good.

... more pictures & the results!

2011-04-17T15:54:00.000-07:00

We were blessed with nearly 300 guests and $8,000 toward our adoption expenses! To God be the glory! Thank you, all, for your generous contributions to our lunch and auction - food, auction items, entertainment, monies and prayers.

Tomorrow is our first meeting with the home study social worker! We are thrilled to have this paperwork complete and we've nearly completed the dossier paperwork...

... to God be the glory ...

2011-04-17T15:52:00.000-07:00

Wow! We had a fantastic lunch & fundraiser for our adoption. God granted us a beautiful day and filled Sodium with our friends, covenant family and some of David's customers. Esmond took lots of pictures for us and I just have to post as many as possible to share with y'all. So enjoy ...

final auction list update

2011-04-04T13:00:00.000-07:00

We are blown away by the generosity of those donating items to our silent auction ... 72 items valuing over $5000! Here are the recent additions: week at a home in Fairfield Glade, Parents Night Out certificate and one month tuition from Let It Shine, housecleaning, babysitting, photo session, Stegmann Dance class, Sports Seasons gift card, Family First Martial Arts classes, handmade purses, Sugar Mountain condo, dog boarding and several pieces of original artwork.

Sunday was a beautiful day: I was reminded, once again, of God's faithfulness to His sinful people and my sinful heart to continue to doubt and fear. He is in control; He is sovereign; He works everything together for the good of His people!

I was blown away by the generosity of our covenant family as they supported us on this "Adoption Sunday," by prayers and purchasing tickets to our event.

As far as our actual adoption process ... We are patiently waiting for others to fulfill our requests for paperwork to be completed ... we are learning that much of the adoption process is waiting ... oh, I know God is using this in my sanctification process!!

updates

2011-04-01T18:41:00.000-07:00

We have so many fun things happening for our adoption fundraiser! Dan Meyers will be providing live entertainment with original songs and great stories. Another great auction item just came in - a party for 8 at Monkey Joes! We've got some fun games and crafts lined up for the kids.

We'll be celebrating Adoption Sunday at our church this week; praising God for the work that he is currently doing through adoption in three families! Would love to have you support our friends as they are fundraising for their adoption as well.

God is teaching us amazing truths and revealing Himself daily to us ... more to come!

Blessings!

More Great Auction Items

2011-03-30T19:34:00.001-07:00

Maureen just keeps getting great stuff donated! It's going to be a fun auction! Let's see more highlights - golf for four at a local club (worth $225), a party from Shane's Rib Shack (value $250), a professionally-decorated cake! And the lunch food ... generous donations coming in to keep us well-fed for the afternoon. Please make sure to purchase tickets ahead of time so we'll have plenty of food on hand. Thank you for your encouragement and prayers on this journey!

Silent Auction Items

2011-03-24T13:51:00.000-07:00

My girl friend has been reporting all the great auction items she is getting! A condo beach weekend, teeth whitening, oil changes, CAbi clothes, babysitting, local artwork, merchandise from downtown Franklin retailers and more! Make sure to get your tickets reserved to make sure we can feed you on the 10th! Blessings ...

Lunch Tickets now on sale

2011-03-13T18:28:00.001-07:00

Our lunch & silent auction event is coming together so well! You can now purchase tickets by clicking on Paypal on the right OR you can stop by the barbershop.

Sodium is a great new place - activities for all ages ... plus we'll have food, live entertainment and a silent auction full of great "stuff!" Please come be part of this fun afternoon as we celebrate adoption, Ethiopia, family and what the Lord is doing in our midst...

He did it!

2011-03-08T19:18:00.000-08:00

As we were putting together the first packet of signed papers for the adoption agency yesterday, I realized we needed to send a substantial first payment. And I knew we didn't have the cash on hand. You know what God did? A piece of sports equipment we've been trying to sell for a year sold AND we received an unexpected check from our refinancing process this winter ... totally almost the exact amount we needed for that first payment! Praising Him tonight ...

April 10 lunch and silent auction

2011-03-01T19:44:00.000-08:00

A dear friend and adoptive mother has offered to organize a lunch and silent auction to help offset some of the costs of our adoption! She is giving us such a precious gift of her time and energy ... and she's off to an amazing start with details already coming together.

So MARK YOUR CALENDAR for Sunday, Apr 10, 1-3 pm. We'll have lunch at SODIUM while enjoying live entertainment, fellowship and activities, and you'll also have a chance to bid on some great silent auction items. More details to come!

... we're official!

2011-02-28T12:53:00.001-08:00

We've received notification from the adoption agency that we've been approved! Thanks be to GOD!

... finding joy in our journey

2011-02-25T06:50:00.000-08:00

We've learned to anticipate with joy the obstacles that the Lord has put in front of us that seem insurmountable. They have been overcome only because of what the Lord was able to do... nothing done in our own strength or intellect. We are reminded daily of Whose we are. The joy of the Lord is your strength. Neh. 8:10

God has blessed us with five amazing children. We know the scriptures are true that proclaim, Behold, children are a heritage from the Lord, the fruit of the womb a reward. Like arrows in the hand of a warrior are the children on one's youth. Blessed is the man who fills his quiver with them! Psalm 127:3-5a

We have both experienced a burden on our hearts that our family isn't complete. And our eyes have been opened to the millions of orphans in the world.

God executes justice for the fatherless and the widow, and loves the sojourner, giving him food and clothing. (Deut. 10:18)

I will not leave you as orphans, I will come to you. (John 14:18)

Religion that is pure, and undefiled before God, the Father, is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world. (James 1:27)

For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me. Then the righteous will answer him, saying, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? And when did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? And when did we see you sick or in prison and visit you?' And the King will answer them, 'Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.' (Matthew 25:35-40)

So, how can we ignore what we know? We can't ... we have started the process of an Ethiopian adoption!!