Waiting in line

I've been saying for several weeks that I feel like I'm waiting in line to get on a roller coaster. Its a scary, yet exciting place to be. I know that there will be ups and downs, twist and turns and in the end I'll be happy I got on the ride. Having just begun our home study process, my dining room table is covered in stacks of papers. Organized chaos. I know exactly what needs to be done or has been completed in each stack. Today I relinquished my first stack to the postal system. That took my breath away. I felt like I was giving up a bit of control. So now our finger prints are on their way and we are one stack of papers closer to our newest blessing!

Pennies and Prayers

We started our first fundraiser today!!  It is very difficult to ask people to donate, but as you may or may not know adoption is very costly and fundraising is a must for us.  I know the Lord is in complete control because as I hear the large dollar amounts being tossed around I haven't freaked out or began to worry.  I don't know how the Lord is going to provide, but I am confident that he will!  I realize that "He is able to do immeasurably more than all we can ask or imagine" Ephesians 3:20 and if He wants it to show up in our mailbox it will, but He may choose to show himself mighty thru fundraising.  This one is easy!!  I've passed out some baby bottles and asked for them to be filled with spare change and returned when finished.  When its returned I'll add it to the fund and give the bottle to someone else.

My mom suggested to enlist help from friends and family around the country who I may not can get a bottle to.  If you'd like to participate I challenge you to fill a cheap bottle with as many coins as you wish and mail it to me.  As money begins to come in I am going to make a list on here somewhere to indicate how much has come from different places around the country.  It will be fun to see where all we can collect change from. 

My hope is that this will be fun and easy!!  Thanks in advance for your prayers and pennies (coins).

Faithfully Ever After

A couple of months ago David and I attended a conference called "kNOw more orphans".  Obviously the Lord had been tugging at our hearts or we probably never would have been there.  One of the speakers said that at the end of his life he wanted it to be said not that he'd lived "happily ever after" but "faithfully ever after".  I loved that!!  My sentiments exactly. 

So over the course of these two months we have looked into different ways to care for the orphan and feel completely led to adopt a little girl from right here in America.  We have signed up with a consulting agency (Christian Adoption Consultants) who in just a week has held my hand thru the beginning stages of adoption.  I love it! 

Our boys knew we'd been to the conference and knew we were praying and seeking guidance from the Lord, but last Sunday we told them we are officially adopting.  They are so excited and can't wait to have a baby sister.  You'd think they had a megaphone telling everyone they can.  On Monday they wanted to name her.  I explained that she may come in the form of a toddler who already has a name and it won't be like the dog where we just change it.  They understood but wanted to work on a list just in case.  Mason took the list to school where his friends took a vote on their favorites and his teacher even added a few names!

We are all so eager to get all the balls in motion!  A few friends have encouraged me to blog my way thru this process so here we go.  I don't feel that I have the gift of writing as some of the other bloggers do, but spilling my heart I can do!