Puzzle Fundraiser

Our Puzzle Fundraiser is going strong! Thank you all for starting us out with a big bang! We are humbled and honored that so many have blessed us with their friendship and support. This means the world to us. May God bless all of our family and friends who have become a part of bringing home our future child. We love all of you and pray for you as well.

Valentines Day Everyday

I have never been a fan of Valentines Day. I know I know. I am not a party-pooper I promise. I love roses as much as the next woman! However, I love them for any other time of the year. I did read something today that grabbed my attention. It said that we should not forget that God is our true love. God is love and deserves our best!

Everyday we wake up, it's Valentine's Day because we have an opportunity to show God how much we love Him. For those of you who are fortunate to have someone special in your life, I encourage you to do something special with them - pray together for God's guidance over your life. Express love daily and allow God to be manifested in your life.

That being said - I wish all of you love and peace today and every day!

Disappointed but not discouraged

When life has you down, you don't have to stay down. Learn from what went wrong and make up your mind to improve what you're working on or working towards. I read somewhere that with every disappointment you face, you're one-step closer to where you need to go. For every disappointment, God will make it up to you through His blessings. Isn't that powerful stuff? A friend once told me that every now and then, God has to withhold some things from us because He knows what's best. We may get upset and even question God about His decision, but God sees what ahead of us and has a way of preparing us to receive our blessings.

I love this positive way of thinking. God is all-knowing. He is preparing our path. We just get impatient and selfish and want things when, how, and where we want them! I am struggling with this right about now! I want funds to complete our home study and commit with our agency. I get so tired of waiting and not knowing how and fundraising! I want to bring home our beautiful babe now! BUT - God knows what He is doing. This is all making me stronger and introducing me to families that are facing the same hardships. They are truly worthy of God's favor - more so than I am.

So, I am praying for all the families that struggling to raise funds during this difficult time. I am praying that they will receive all the blessings that they so deserve.

Determination

Daily Prayer: What do you do when you're faced with a situation that seems hopeless? Do you throw up your hands and give up or do you roll up your sleeves and fight? It's so easy to quit at something that seems hopeless because the possibilities are slim. Possibilities appear slim when we look at things from the natural eye.
Doing the right thing will cause you to be placed in situations that are going to test your faith. Simply put - things will test you but won't prevail. Understand that God's working something out on your behalf and won't allow you to be defeated.
God loves you so much that He'll allow the enemy to become so cocky in his planning that the enemy will err. Let's all laugh at the enemy because he was stupid enough to allow you to read this message. Because of the enemy's stupidity, you're about to be set free. God takes what the enemy meant for evil and turns it into your good.
Take your eyes off what you see in the natural and focus on the spiritual. In a real sense, stop looking at what may seem obvious and place your hope and trust in God to do the impossible. Always remember, God's in control. Don't allow the enemy to destroy your future. You weren't created to quit; but to overcome. A positive attitude will take you to new altitudes. Real power comes from God working in you and through you. Do you believe it? I do! Let us take a moment to give God some praise. With God, we are guaranteed victory!

WHY?

This is not an inspirational post. You will find no profound messages today. I really must rant so that it clears my system and I can move forward. Why do people ask why? "Why do you want to adopt? You have 5 healthy children." Really? Is that how many it is? "Why do you want to adopt from another country? We have need here!" But you are not adopting from here either now, are you? "Why a special needs child? What does that mean anyway?" To all this I just answer back - WHY NOT? Call me crazy (I am some days) but I am not counting the days until my children grow up and move away. I actually LIKE my kids and I LOVE being with them and taking care of them.

Plus...isn't it about time we DO something? We have been living our safe little lives with our beautiful daughters trying to save money and get to a certain point in life so that we can .....blah blah blah! Can you even begin to put a price tag on a child's life? I for one cannot. And I will not turn a deaf ear to God any longer when He whispers " Feed My children, give My children a home, clothe My children."

What am I living for really? I want to give glory to our Father. We are all God's children. I want to love these children just as our Father loves us. I think the comments are going to come more frequently now because more and more people are becoming aware of our intentions. It is not just "talk" now. It is action. We are asking for help. Many people do not feel comfortable with this concept at all. It makes us look inside and take stock of ourselves.

I challenge my fellow man to MAKE A CHANGE! Do something drastic for the life of a child! Take the plunge! Stand up and stand out! So, to those of you who did not already get it:

God willing, we are adopting a special needs child from the Ukraine. We are proud and honored and totally unworthy! But we are following God's plan for our family and we are trusting in Him to provide the rest!

Never Stop Learning - Strive to be Better

"Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God--this is your spiritual act of worship. Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is--his good, pleasing and perfect will." (Romans 12:1-2 -NIV)

In our spiritual journey, we should never take for granted what God has given us. I believe that God created me for motherhood. I have longed for a family of my own with a loving husband and many children playing around me. God has blessed me with just that! Now I must be ready to do my part for Him. I am so excited to see what God has in store for our family!

Side Note: A beautiful, innocent angel in the Ukraine finally has a family who has committed to her! I have streaming tears of joy for that family. May god shower every blessing upon their heads for bringing home this precious child. Even though we could not make her part of our family, we feel a bond with this family because they are God's instrument.

Five Beautiful Noodles

I spend most of my time posting about our adoption journey and the ups and downs we face every day. Please let me write a post about my five wonderful biological daughters who are my inspiration and my heart.

Morgan is beautiful, intelligent and independent. She owns her own home and is planning her wedding (yes, wedding) coming up this June. We invited her to go to dinner with us last weekend at a pizza joint and she said, "Yes. Only you cannot talk about the adoption! I am planning a wedding you know!" This made me take a step back and share in her moment.

Alex is my feisty, gorgeous senior in high school. She absolutely hates school! She has a temper and is very emotional as well! She is graduating this year. She is also the most tenderhearted girl and loves her little sisters to death. I have to make an effort to keep up with her high profile life.

Avery is the self proclaimed "big sister" of the youngest three. She is so smart and is the spitting image of her father. She makes up new names for herself because she is tired of the name "Avery!" And I mean original names! Jalayla is her latest! She also loves her Grandma.

Kennedy is a cute and goofy little sweetie. She has her own language that even we do not understand sometimes. She is not afraid to turn on the tears if she needs to do so! She always says, "I sorry Momma, I sorry Avvry." She loves toughing and cuddling.

Miss McKinley is a mess! She has been so quick to learn everything early because she has two sisters to watch and learn from. She prefers to learn to stand - crawling is just a waste of time! She has had the hardest time of any of my children with teething. She loves her sisters and her Daddy who calls her, "Junior" to my disdain!

These are the lights of my life! They are part of the reason that we are adopting. We love them so much and are so proud of everything little thing they accomplish. Thank you for being the best daughters a mother could ever ask for! We love you all so much and cannot wait to see what you will become and what you will accomplish!