Barefoot Books Adoption Fundraiser

We are ringing in the new year of 2010 with a wonderful fundraiser! I will be selling multicultural books, Cd's, & gifts from Barefoot Books. This is a great company that gives back to the community. The commission earned goes towards our adoption costs. There is a Winter Sale going on until January 31, 2010 which offers 80% off select items! Please click on the picture to the left to browse my web page.

New Year Prayer For All

My daily devotional from Rev. G.: "I thank You for this day and everyday You bless us with. As we embark on a New Year, I pray for peace, wisdom, knowledge, and understanding. I pray that 2010 will be better than 2009. I pray that any hurt received in 2009 will be comforted in 2010. I pray that any sickness/illness encountered in 2009 will be cast out in 2010. And I pray that hopes and dreams will be renewed, restored, and revived in 2010.

God, I pray that You bless the ones reading this prayer. I pray that You will open up the windows of heaven and pour out a mighty blessing upon their lives and the lives of their families and friends. I pray that we may become more concerned with doing Your will instead of always asking, begging, and pleading for money and material things. I pray that You may show us that life is beautiful in the little things. Lord, I pray that You may strengthen our faith in trying times and allow us to rise above mediocrity and seek to be all that You have called us to be.

I pray that you may forgive us of our bad habits and anything that was and/is unpleasing to You. Continue to shower us with Your grace and mercy. I pray that we will become more focused on serving You and doing what You have called us to do. Strengthen us and guide us."

Happy New Year to all of you! May God bless you and tour families.

Out With the Old & In With the New

From my daily prayers: "Your life is too valuable to hold on to dead and boring things. God wants you to experience new blessings, fresh anointings, and powerful miracles; but you must first get rid of the old and accept the new. Once this is done, get ready to go higher and higher in your walk with God."

We know that in this journey, we will need to make some tough decisions if we want better. We are committed to our adoption in 2010! We will achieve all that God has planned for us!

God Has Everything Under Control

That is what I tell myself when I have a whole family sick during Christmas! Also when I am struggling to complete our home study. This adoption journey is so exciting and never dull. I do not want another Christmas to go by for any of these beautiful orphans without a famiy. My precious 4 year old Avery got upset one night because she did not understand why some children do not have a Mommy and Daddy. "What do they do when they are sick?" she said. "Who gives them kisses and hugs?" she wondered out loud. What more can we can say? How do you answer that? That is why we keep on going day in and day out.

Merry Christmas to All

What a wonderful example of our Heavenly Father here on earth - Derek Loux. Praying for his entire family and all his friends. He is holding all the orphans who never got the chance to have a father's love. I wish I could have met this amazing man. We hope to bring home as many as possible God willing.

Love and blessings to all of our family and friends!

Child Who Needs Your Help

I have just found out that a 15 year old girl from the Ukraine is in need of a family. If she is not placed by August 2010, she will age out and have no chance. When she does turn 18, she will be sent out on the streets where prostitution and drug use are typical. She has a very positive description and would make a wonderful daughter. If anyone knows of a family that would be interested, please let me know so I can share the contact information for this young girl.

Thank you to everyone for your help! Merry Christmas to all of you and God bless your families!

Daily Devotional Thoughts: "God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind. The more you praise God in the midst of the stuff you're going through, the less you worry about what you're dealing with."

Life Ain't Fair

Daily Devotional: "Life ain't fair. Whoever told you it was, lied to you. In this life, I've discovered the more you try to make sense out of something, the more confused you'll become. The more questions you ask, the less likely you are to find a solution. Instead of asking why you're in what you're in, ask God to give you clarity on how to deal with the issue. It's easy to say seek God in the midst of confusion, but it's difficult waiting on Him for an answer."

Today I pray for an open heart, open mind, and open ears. Let God prepare the way and lead us through this adoption. Stop asking questions and wondering how and why! Merry Christmas to all who are questioning as well!

Christmas Shopping & Wishing

This is a favorite time of year for our family. We love decorating, shopping for the girls, cold weather, and songs and movies! We are having better and better Christmases because we have taught our sweet little girls about the true meaning of giving rather than receiving. We are buying less "things" and focusing more on a couple of items they really, really want. Less is so much more! This year what is really getting to us is the fact that the beautiful angels abroad will spend another Christmas alone, hopeless, and sick. We ache for them.

As always during this time of year, appliances and cars break and funds must cover these. This year it hurts because we are trying so desperately to save for our adoption. We have faith, though. We have some items that we will begin offering as gifts for donations in 2010. Our fundraising can begin in full force once our home study is complete so watch out! If your heart leads you - please make a donation at the bottom of this blog site or sign up and shop through iGive or Onecause so that a percentage goes towards our adoption! Your prayers are the most important for us!

One last thought: As I read my devotional prayers this morning, I immediately knew that God was speaking to me about my dear husband. It said: "Unfortunately, many of us have adopted the mentality of saying 'I love you' without any meaning. Many have learned this behavior from dysfunctional family members and abusive relationships. The phrase, 'I love you' has taken on many meanings. In other words, allow the words of my mouth to please you instead of me showing you. Love is more than words; it's showing someone how much they mean to you through your actions. Your actions should show someone how much he or she means to you." This is what my Matthew does each and every day. I have always complained to him that I wish he would say "I love you" to me more often. I get very needy and want these words to make me feel better. However, what he DOES for me and our family every day is so much more important. Thank you for showing me how much you love us Matthew.

Another Emotional Day

Do not let anyone tell you that adopting a child is easier than carrying a child! I have had some anxiety problems while pregnant the last three times but nothing compares to these emotions! It really is a roller coaster ride, isn't it? My Christmas wish would be for people to understand the definition of true mental illness. I read this in my devotional for the day: "Confidence is realizing that God has given you a gift, talent, and ability to use for His edification. When you're confident in yourself and your ability to function in your calling, you won't settle for settling and you won't allow yourself to be played, disrespected, nor disregarded. When you believe in the words from the apostle Paul to the Philippians, 'I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me,' you'll be able to accomplish those goals you have set forth.

Scripture of the Day

"For with God nothing will be impossible." (Luke 1:37 -NKJV)

Impatiently Waiting

This is a very hard and emotional time for us. We are mid-home study and moving forward as quickly as possible. However, it is so difficult to hurry up and wait! It is so hard to look at pictures of children (especially one you really feel a calling to adopt)and know that you must follow guidelines and wait for the process. I have to confess that I have been selfish. I wanted to only pray for a child to come home with us. This is wrong. I have asked forgiveness and now I am praying for that child and every child to find a family - even if it is not ours. God has plans for us - big and important plans. I was just being tempted. Please pray for us - for patience, serenity, and peace. Please pray for the orphans of places like Torez. Pray for their little hearts to endure.

Trying to Conquer Fear

Am I afraid if I do God's will, I will go against the wishes of my family and friends? If I know God has been calling me to make a difference, why am I arguing and procrastinating? Anytime I choose to stand up in the face of fear, I am going to go through some difficult times. Difficult times will strengthen me. Whatever I want to do, I should pray to God for direction and guidance. Then, I will go full speed ahead! This was my prayer this morning. When I feel down and out - just tired of the battles every single day - I tell myself this! This adoption will not be handed to us on a silver platter. We will have to work and fight and let go. We will have to let God lead the way - even if it is a difficult, scary path.

More Thoughts on Faith

This is another daily affirmation that I would like to share because it just fits how I feel this week:

We all have the Power - God's Power - on the inside that will help us get through anything on the outside. Bad things happen in our lives. The reason why we are sane is because we didn't give up on God. No matter how bad the situation may be, always trust in God. When we remain faithful in what appears to be a hopeless and helpless situation, God steps in and does something awesome.

This is what I pray every day now. This adoption journey is not easy - on any level. Is anything really really important easy? I hope this experience makes me a stronger, more humble, more caring wife, mother, and friend.

Step Into the Winners Circle

This was in my daily affirmation and I had to share it with all of you:

When people around you tell you something's impossible because of your lack of expertise or experience, they have no understanding of divine intervention. Laugh at them because you can use their hateration as motivation for your elevation. It's about believing that God is able to use you inspite of your flaws. From family members, to friends and coworkers, and even to people who claim to be children of God, you'll have people trying to defeat you. But you must always rise above the negativity and shout 'I'm a winner today!' As long as you have faith the size of a mustard seed, you'll never be defeated.

I am so grateful that this fellow Christian shared these inspirational words. Today, I will begin praying for us to be winners! Winners in God's Circle!

Thought For Today (and Everyday)

"I'd like to ask God why He lets poverty and injustice exist, why there are so many orphans and why He does nothing about it.....but I am afraid He will ask me the same question".

Right in the Middle

We have now been finger printed! We will mail these and our other forms off so that we can have our background checks! I am also in the middle of lots of educational reading. Since I am a bookworm, I love it! Much of this information applies to all of your children, so it is very helpful to read. Keep our family in your prayers as we continue this adventure. It is a thrilling ride, and I become more "on fire" inside my heart for adoption! God is a show off sometimes! He never does anything small - what He is doing with us is amazing. We are in awe of His goodness and His precious children around the world.

The Next Steps

Finger Printing and doctors appointment tomorrow! Here we go! We are very excited and nervous! Please pray for us to have successful appointments. Our family has been sick with all sorts of fun viruses etc. so we are ready to get back on track and healthy again! We have been having dreams and thoughts about the children of Torez again. I want to share another wonderful quote that I read on a fellow adoptive parent's blog:

God does not call the equipped. He equips the called.

We are praying that this is true! For - we are truly unworthy servants, but we will fight just as hard as we can to save these children!