Time for Fasting and Prayers

As the story of Kirill and the Davis family continue to make its way around the bloggy and adoption world, my friend Linny at A Place Called Simplicity  has called a day of fasting and prayer for this Wednesday, March 30th.  It is so important that we all, as the body of Christ, participate in this opportunity to come before our almighty God with this urgent request.  If you are not able to completely fast for medical reasons (or pregnant like me :)) there are other opportunities to give up something on this day: TV, a meal or 2, certain foods, the Internet, anything that focuses your attention on this special day... and spend that time in prayer instead.  Everyone can do this.  Even my children will be giving up something that day.  So, please, join with us this Wednesday and be a part of something great.

A Boy And His Friends

Kate made up this bed for Dan and her dollies last night in the living room while we were watching a movie.  He fits right in!

Time For Prayer

This is the second time in a week that I have heard about this family and so I feel that beyond my daily prayers for them, they need all prayer warriors to take their circumstance to the Lord in prayer and petition.  It's a heart-breaking story about a loving, well-equipped family being DENIED the adoption of a Down Syndrome boy because the judge feels that he would be better off in an institution.  Yes, you heard me... in an institution instead of in a loving home with a mom and dad.  They have appealed to the Supreme Court in Moscow and should hear the decision sometime in early April.  Please take a moment to read the entry dated March 24th at their blog Our Eyes Opened which summarizes their situation and then pray fervently for a favorable outcome.  Kirill needs us to do this.  The family needs us to do this.  And all families with pending court dates for special-needs adoptions in this region need us to do this.

Adoptive Family Needs Our Help- UPDATE

 From Adeye's Blog :

THE BEAMISH FAMILY ADOPTION IS NOW FULLY FUNDED.

ALL GLORY TO GOD!!!

Thank you to every single one of you who helped to raise almost $9000,00 in less than two days.  Thank you for opening your hearts to this family, and their special little girl waiting on the other side of the world.  Thank you for spreading the word, and for rushing in to help when there was a desperate need.  I am humbled and amazed. I stand in awe of my God in heaven who loves the orphan passionately.  THANK YOU for being His hands and feet to Kameron and her sweet family.  I am so deeply grateful, and I know they are too.


To God be the glory, GREAT things He has done!

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Original Post:

Please click over to Adeye's website to see the details.  No Greater Joy Mom.  She is advocating for a family that needs our help to raise the final funds necessary for the adoption of sweet Kameron.  With God's help, our collective gifts and effort will aid in bringing Kameron home to her family.  Please give what you can and help spread the word.

His Timing

Patience is not a virtue that I easily demonstrate.  If something needs to get done, I do it.  If a problem needs to be solved, I fix it.  I rarely wait around for an issue to resolve itself.  I suppose that could be considered the better side of having a lack of patience.  However, the lack of patience that I am particularly concerned with and striving to improve is waiting on the Lord; because there are some things that I cannot fix, complete or resolve.  There are things I desperately want to work on right now that I can't.  I can't resume our adoption paperwork.  I can't start our adoption fundraising.  I can't go on the mission trip I want to that leaves in 2 weeks.  I can't push my husband to finish the home improvement projects. :)  I can't speed up this pregnancy.  I can't and I need to be reminded constantly that the Lord is working all this out in His timing to His glory.  In the end, I know without a doubt that I will be grateful for this patience that I am learning and I will be especially grateful for the Lord's plan that is so much better than mine.  He will lead us to our children when the time is right.  He will lead our family on the right mission trip and it will all be apparent in hindsight.  For now, though, I sit in my home in rainy Southern California praying for peace in my heart.  God has me in this place at this time for a reason.  My concentration needs to be to complete our homeschooling year, love and nurture the children God has blessed us with so far, and to enjoy this last and final pregnancy.  There is no self-help book I can read or group I can join.  Only prayer and spending time in God's word provides me with the strength and peace that I need.  It's easy to drift away from it, to spend the time reading a good book instead or to say I don't have the time.  To a Christian, spending time with the Lord should be like breathing.  We need it to stay alive!  As I remind myself of that today, make sure you're "alive" with the Lord today.  It's the only way to live this life!

The Garage

I really wish I had taken pictures of the garage before we cleared it out.  Basically, if you can imagine stuff everywhere with an opening just big enough to park my car, then that's what it looked like!  Once everything was cleared out, our wonderful carpenter (Rob) insulated, drywalled, painted and helped Jim put in the upper cabinets.  We still have to paint the floor, install the lower cabinets and counter tops, and put in a hardy area rug.  After that, we get to move the couch, treadmill, TV, videos, games, toys, and basically the entire playroom out there.  Can't wait!  Here's what it looks like now.

This should hopefully be accomplished in the next 2 weeks.  Then, onto the next project: turning the playroom into Will's bedroom.  And this all needs to be completed in the next 9 or so weeks before the baby comes.  Yikes!

My First Ever Blog Post

As I venture out into the "bloggy" world, I do so with trepidation as I wonder, "Do I really have anything worthwhile to say?"  I suppose that will develop as I feel more comfortable posting and I feel more bold about sharing my family and faith.  I'm also going to have to reacquaint myself with technology as I feel completely out of the loop since I stopped working a couple years ago.  So, this blog will evolve as my knowledge increases.  Welcome to our world of children, homeschooling, mission work, orphan care, adoption, fundraising, and all the delightful craziness that is our life!