In a box

Ah thank you, we got emails and comments from y'all with all kinds of suggetions for the car sickness. I did them ALL! I went to CVS and bought the sea bands for Ian, I put my iPad on the back of the seat so they would look forward, I fed them an hour earlier, turned the vent toward them and kept the car cool, I gave them a small dosage of Benadryl and I took a longer way to school to avoid a curvy route. Whew! And it proved to work, no puke to or from school... and Ian wasn't so upset either! 

I don't know which one of the many tips worked for us, but I am a happy momma if this continues to help them!! Thank you to all who shared your tips! Ian and Jovie thank you too!

So while Mae was in school I took Ian and Jovie to the grocery store to stock up on essentials - we are supposed to get a bad wintery storm here! And when we got home I made us all lunch and sat at the table between them. 

Ian and Jovie were having a little conversation among themselves and as it continued I found myself saying, "hey guys, what are y'all talking about?" I sat there quietly realizing I'm the third wheel here! Jovie and Ian are talking and laughing and I have NO idea what they are going on about! Bet that's never happened to you before! 

 I am glad they have each other. (: 

I want to give my thanks to Amazon for providing my kids with priceless entertainment. A very large box was delivered today, I guess I've found the perk to having 2 in different size diapers.  

They all wanted in and loved it! Every kid loves boxes, right? My 3 were enthralled and I realized the treasure I had too! Look all 3 are being contained and don't even know it (; So I made it my goal to see how long I could make this last... 

For a long time the box itself was fun. They'd all sit down and then all stand up over and over. I think they love being together. 

Next, I gave them crayons to color the box. The little ones liked the sound it made to color over the corrugated cardboard. They were trying to make it sound as loud as they could. 

When crayons were old I fed them snacks.

I got a full hour of *free* box babysitting! I actually got to CLEAN my house up for the first time in ages. Anyone got any other ideas for next time? 

Battles and Blessings

We heard remarkable news yesterday: WE HAVE RAISED ALL OF OUR ADOPTION EXPENSES.

DONE! It is still sinking in. I honestly can not express to you the magnitude of this. It is a weight lifted that I didn't realize was quite so heavy.  I don't know how to begin to thank everyone, but my eyes are filled with tears and my heart wants to burst. We could not have done it without your help. Praise God, but on the heels of this I have come to realize I have so much to learn about God. God has been dealing with my heart.

So, this little revelation may have taken me an embarrassingly long time to reach, but—It is not about me. I think I know what I want and what I need. I was singing on Sunday and the words, "Here I am Lord" and it really hit me... my prayers around our adoption are all centered around me: "Please let our kids come home quickly." This is my heart's desire, but on Sunday I realized how much I am caught up on this, and then it hit me even harder that God is probably saying, "Kristen, this whole thing was my idea!!"

Oh yeah.
This was all God's plan after-all. He had to clue me in on it, and I am only a participant.

Okay, not rocket science, but this should change things, right? This does not change the longing that I have to know my children, but it most certainly does change the perspective. I am (we are) so small. To think and pray only in our little tiny worlds is really narcissistic, don't you think? I have been thinking very small. God's desire is to get these kids home, I do know that... but how much further does his plan reach? Wow, that is a thought.

There's also the matter of trusting. You see, I know that I am out of control... I know that there is NOTHING that I can do to make things speed up, but do I have even an inkling of how big my God is? I recently heard a quote, "There is not one inch of the universe that the Lord Jesus does not say, 'That is mine.'"

Just maybe God's plan is to not only give these two children a momma, but to also build this momma's character.

Okay, so it's not about me, and I have very little vision past my own selfishness. But there's more...

Patience. I'm realizing just because you have no choice in the matter does not give you patience. Patience according to wikipedia is the state of endurance under difficult circumstances, which can mean persevering in the face of delay or provocation without acting on annoyance/anger in a negative way; or exhibiting forbearance when under strain, especially when faced with longer-term difficulties.

Yep, I do not have patience. I am trying to handle my "delay" without it affecting me negatively, but I feel like this has been like taming King Kong. And it has been a little destructive, but I am trying to overcome it daily. God gave me a few people to aspire to: Noah waited 120 years and endured ridicule for his promise to come to pass. Abraham and Sarah waited 25 years for their child, all the time watching their bodies becoming increasingly older. Joseph waited 13 years in prison before his promise came to pass and he became a position of power in Egypt. So there is a promise to hold tightly, while battling King Kong, "Those that have faith and patience inherit the promises" Hebrews 6:12.

So today I feel honored to know that I am a player in the plan God has had in place... no matter how long the wait is. God just called us to obedience and we have done everything we can. And GOD is so much bigger than I give him credit. He is showing us a glimpse of this today through the generosity of so many people that HE IS IN THIS, with $29,140 raised!!!

Adoption Funding

I remember very clearly the feeling of looking at our adoption budget and feeling like it was so unreachable and being sick with worry. This journey to Ian and Jovie has been all about the unknown, but we have been shown over and over that God is faithful.

At church, there isn't a Sunday that I don't cry during the music:  Break my heart for what breaks Yours has a whole new meaning when you are experiencing the magnitude of adopting the fatherless. So all this to say, no matter how tough this is, we are honored to have been given this calling.

Adoption is just one of those things for us that brings us face to face with our heavenly Father.  In our normal daily lives it feels like we are the ones in control, and my conversations to God happen much less frequently. But adoption is a very humbling process. Everything but filling out the paperwork and having our home clean and ready for the home study is out of our control.  

This is a beautiful thing. God is always at work in every area of our lives and in every part of the world, but we don't always take notice.

It's been so evident God has been at work—we have been witnessing God move over and over again and we're really only halfway there. He has already done so much and used our family and friends to bless us, not just financially, but also through loving support and prayer.  God has provided these funds to cover our adoption expenses. 

And this is only the beginning... the best is yet to come. 

At the top you will see we added a new page "Adoption Funding". We spent some time breaking down our adoption expenses, the fundraising, and donations received. Please take a moment to read it here.