Greedy

I want more this Christmas.
More Jesus!
Less of all the other stuff.

Praying the same for you.

"Derek, you wanna ROCK OUT??"

Meet David Carr, drummer for Third Day.

Micah LOVES to watch David Carr on my Third Day DVD's. He will watch for a few minutes, then turn around to his drums and try to repeat what he just heard/saw.

Today, as he was playing, he turned to Derek and said "Derek, you wanna ROCK OUT?"
You can see Derek's response:






And then, just when I thought it could not get any louder....

Thanks Jen!!!

I absolutely love the new blog design that Jen (at The Art Of Living) created for me! She was WONDERFUL to work with....super quick and very friendly. If you have given any thought to a new look for your blog, you should DEFINITELY contact her! Even if you have no need for that, you should go check out her VERY,VERY cute adoption stuff (mugs, t-shirts, etc)!!

Thanks, Jen!!!!!!!

"Bringing Derek Home"

Yesterday was our "2 month anniversary" of Derek's "Gotcha Day"!!!
I celebrated by finishing up the video that I have been working on for the last couple of weeks.
Hope you enjoy it....

TODAY, I CHOOSE...

EACH DAY
by Max Lucado

It's quiet. It's early. My coffee is hot. The sky is still black. The world is still asleep. The day is coming.

In a few moments, the day will arrive. It will roar down the track with the rising of the sun. The stillness of the dawn will be exchanged for the noise of the day. The calm of solitude will be replaced by the pounding of the human race. The refuge of the early morning will be invaded by decisions to be made and deadlines to be met. For the next twelve hours I will be exposed to the day's demands. It is now I must make a choice. Because of Calvary, I'm free to choose. And so I choose….


I CHOOSE LOVE…
No occasion justifies hatred; no injustice warrants bitterness. I choose love. Today I will love God and what God loves.

I CHOOSE JOY…
I will invite my God to be the God of circumstance. I will refuse the temptation to be cynical…the tool of the lazy thinker. I will refuse to see people as anything less than human beings, created by God. I will refuse to see any problem as anything less than an opportunity to see God.

I CHOOSE PEACE…
I will live forgiven. I will forgive so that I may live.

I CHOOSE PATIENCE…
I will overlook the inconveniences of the world. Instead of cursing the one who takes my place, I'll invite him to do so. Rather than complain that the wait is too long, I will thank God for a moment to pray. Instead of clenching my fist at new assignments, I will face them with joy and courage.

I CHOOSE KINDNESS…
I will be kind to the poor, for they are alone. I will be kind to the rich, for they are afraid. And kind to the unkind, for such is how God has treated me.

I CHOOSE GOODNESS…
I will go without a dollar before I take a dishonest one. I will be overlooked before I will boast. I will confess before I will accuse. I choose goodness.

I CHOOSE FAITHFULNESS…
Today I will keep my promises.
My debtors will not regret their trust. My associates will not question my word. My spouse will not question my love.

I CHOOSE GENTLENESS…
Nothing is won by force. I choose to be gentle. If I raise my voice, may it be only in praise. If I clench my fist, may it only be in prayer. If I make a demand, may it only be of myself.

I CHOOSE SELF CONTROL…
I am a spiritual being… After this body is dead, my spirit will soar. I refuse to let what will rot rule the eternal. I choose self-control. I will be drunk only by joy. I will be impassioned only by my faith. I will be influenced only by God. I will be taught only by Christ. I choose self-control.

Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. To these I commit my day. If I succeed, I will give thanks. If I fail, I will seek His grace. And then, when this day is done, I will place my head on my pillow and rest.

Cute boy!

I was scolded by my dear friend, Stacy, for not posting more photos/video of Derek....

Oh how I hate to be scolded! :)
Rather than go back through all our recent photos, I decided to just take a bunch of pictures this morning after his bath and make them into a short little video.

So, here is a one minute peek into Derek's morning.
We happen to think he is very cute, very smart, and OOOHHHH so entertaining! We know we are biased...but,

Speaking of videos...

Our church showed this video last week. Erica really likes it (and so do I)....so I am posting it here to share AND so we can watch it easily whenever we want without having to go to YouTube!! :)

HOPE FOR HIS CHILDREN, Inc.

More pictures and updates on our family soon....
But, for today, I wanted to share a "Hope For His Children" update with you!

Here is a "promotional" video that you can feel free to share with ANYONE you know! Hope For His Children is continuing to grow. We have had opportunities to share our mission in a couple of different churches and are praying for more doors to be opened. It was a blessing to be able to visit CFI...Compassion Family International.... (one of the ministries we are supporting in Ethiopia) and see what God is doing with the donations and money that have been given so far!!

Enjoy the video and please contact me if you have any questions, thoughts, ideas, inspiration, etc!!!

Almost 9 months ago, I read these words on a blog called "A Bushel and a Peck"...in response the question "Is everyone called to adopt?" Here's her response:

"I think the question is really "How is God wanting to use my life?"
I don't think God has called us all to have large families (adopt...do orphan ministry...etc.), but I think He HAS called us all to have a place where we get our hands dirty and out lives messy in meeting the needs of hurting people. It might be ministry to single moms, prisoners, the poor, the homeless, widows, inner city kids, immigrants, the sick...but SOMEWHERE God has a place for each of us to serve that will complicate our lives, and our homes, and our personal space and time...and THAT place will be a place where we know a special kind of fulfillment and satisfaction and where we are used to have eternal impact. For the lucky ones of us, it is the call to parent children who need families."

I can't tell you how many times I have re-read those words.

And over the past week, I feel like those words have come into living color in our home. When I think about the changes that have happened in our home in the last couple of weeks, we have certainly "complicated our lives, our home, our personal space and time!!" But, as a family, we are also realizing a very special kind of fulfillment and satisfaction as we see a child....A LIFE....change before our very eyes!! It is an absolute joy and miracle to watch Derek learn more and more each day how to love, cuddle, smile, laugh, kiss, and TRUST the very blessed family that God chose for him before the beginning of time!!

Our family is so privileged to have been called down this path...

Fresh Start...again

I had a haircut this morning.
"Cut and Color" to be exact.

I thought about re-scheduling. We've only been home 6 days. But then again, it's only for 2 hours. So I went.

When we got home (Micah, Derek and I) the boys both went down for naps....((2nd day in a row for dual naps!!!!)) and I was craving a quiet time. So, I got out my Bible, and my journal. I turned forward several pages in my journal to leave room for some thoughts that I still need to put on paper....then I folded back the page and wrote "A new chapter, a fresh start".

Fresh start.
I need one today. It has been a little busy. Quiet times with the Lord have been lacking.
But if there is one thing that I know the Lord is soooooo good at....it is the offering of FRESH STARTS! I know, because I have begged for them often from Him...and He is always faithful to follow through.
So I dug into the Old Testament. Read a little. Wrote a little. Then decided to see what Ann at "Holy Experience" blog had to offer.

IMAGINE MY GREAT SURPRISE AND UTTER DELIGHT when I read THIS.

I hope you will take time to read it. It's deep (usually is on her blog!) but very worth the read.

And I smiled that I had gotten my haircut!!!!!
A fresh start to a new year.
Now, where did I put my trumpet??? Oh wait, the boys are still napping!!!
:)

Pictures...

I am finding it to be an IMPOSSIBLE TASK....going through our Ethiopia photos and selecting ones to share.
For several reasons:

1) There were TWO photographers on this trip...me AND Erica. And let me tell you, that girl can shoot some good ones! So....double the photos to look through!
2) There is SO MUCH TO SHARE!! so many people....so many places...so many memories!
3) It is hard to see with tears in my eyes. I am not kidding....as I look back through the pictures, I am overwhelmed. Overwhelmed is an understatement.
4) I don't know what to share first. I want to talk about Derek. I want to tell you about what Hope For His Children has done and is doing. I can't wait to introduce you to the AMAZING FAMILIES we traveled with! ((See, more tears as I type that!!)) And I want to tell you about the children: the street children...the CFI children...the children of Hannah's Hope...the children who came home to new families...our children. I. LOVE. THEM.

But, for today, here are just a few photos....

OUR VERY FIRST GLIMPSE OF DEREK...HE WAS SOUND ASLEEP...AND OH SOOOOOOO CUTE!!!


DEREK'S FIRST BATH IN THE HOTEL IN ADDIS


BROCK PLAYING WITH HIS NEW LITTLE BROTHER


ERICA LOVING THE SMILES!


MICAH AND DEREK SPLASHING IN THE TUB


Things are going well. We are all adjusting to the new time zone, the new little one, our new roles...
Each day seems a little more "normal". Today Micah, Derek and I even managed an outing to the office, the bank, Walmart and Mexican food (to go)!! Big day!

That's all for now. I hope to post many more details (I know, my track record on that is not great!!) ....Hold me to it!

Thank you for all the prayers and sweet words!!

We're home!!!

Just had to share two "firsts" pictures with you....first FAMILY OF SIX photo and first SMILES photo!

There will be lots more photos and details to follow, but we wanted to let you all know that we are home....we are doing well....we are so in love with "little Derek" already....and we are thankful for all your prayers!

We're headed home!!!!!

Hi everyone!

We are headed home!  and we FINALLY have an internet connection! (at the Addis Abbaba airport)

We have Derek in arms and cannot wait for you to meet him.

There are so many wonderful details to share with you, but for now we just wanted to say "hi!" and let you know that all is well!

Derek is adjusting great...and we think he is SOOOOOOO cute (ok, maybe we are biased)

 

OK....that is it for now.  We will see you soon in the very blessed USA!

 

:)

 

p.s. Thanks for all your prayers....please keep it up, we have a VERY LONG trip ahead of us!

Timmons family update

Hello all!

My name is Jana and my husband is in Ethiopia with the Timmons family (he is picking up our little girl).  They do not have email at the hotel, but they wanted everyone to know that they are safe, they have Derek, and everyone is doing well!  It sounds like they are all having a wonderful time over there!  I am sure they would appreciate continued prayers for good health and safe travel.

Thank you!

Jana

Update from Ethiopia...

We are excited to give an update from Ethiopa!!
Yesterday (Friday) we spent the day with Peter from Compassion Family International.  We have continue to work with this ministry since our trip here in January!  It was absolutely wonderful to get to play and visit with the children who are benefiting from what we have done so far!  These children would likely have no access to education or substantial food if it weren't for the work of Peter's ministry here!!

Today (Saturday) we met up with Ephrim #1....he drove for us back and January...a wonderful Christian man with a great business mind who is trying to start up his own driving-sightseeing business here.  Not an easy task in Ethiopia.  He drove us to do a little shopping.  Unfortunately, Micah didn't care much for the ride and proceeded to vomit several times upon our arrival at the shops.  He seems MUCH better now and is playing without any complaints.  Hopefully it was just the drive. 

We also went to watch some soccer!  Ephrim #2 (a different Ephrim) has an amazing soccer ministry for street (homeless) kids.  We will definitely have to fill in the details and show pics of this later!!

We are getting anxious to see Derek.  Tomorrow we will move to the hotel next to Hannah's Hope....and then this family of 5 in Ethiopia will quickly become a family of 6!!!! 

Please pray for our health.  My biggest worry is still that we will all contract traveller's sickness at the same time!!

:)

We made it!!!

We are one tired family of  travelers, but we are emailing you from Ethiopia!!
Our trip here was smooth....and they only lost ONE piece of luggage (the 700 diapers for Hannah's Hope!) but they said it should be here by Saturday!?!?!

Tomorrow we will spend the day with the Compassion Family International children...seeing what has grown since we were here last!  It is amazing for Chad and I to back...and AMAZING to know we will be meeting Derek SOON!!!!

:)
Please keep us in your prayers.

Testing, testing.....1,2,3

The last time we were in Ethiopia, we did not have much of a chance to use the internet....so we weren't able to post on the blog.   We are not sure if things will be better this time or not, but if they ARE, we have to post via email....so that is what I am trying to do here!  Hopefully, we will even be able to send a picture or two...NO PROMISES!

Please be praying as we continue to prepare for the trip of a lifetime!!

Hannah's Hope, here we come!  We can't wait to walk through THIS gate!     :)

Planning, packing, patio and puppies!!

Wow!! It is CRAZY here!

We finally have tickets purchased to Ethiopia to bring Derek home! We leave in 6 short days....so it has been crazy here! We have been making lists, gathering & packing donations, talking about what to expect...and trying to maintain our sanity!

We did a couple of things 2 months ago that have added to the chaos (decisions we made back when we assumed the courts would close and we wouldn't have Derek home for a long time) ....

1) We started a remodeling project! It has become obvious that the project will NOT be finished...but Chad has been busy trying to get as much done as possible. This week it has been the patio. And I LOVE it!! I can't wait to sit out there and soak up some sun!

2) We thought it would be fun for Sugar to have a litter of puppies, so we found her a boxer-husband and she delivered her pups Sunday. Won't that be fun to come home to? HA! (It sounded fun when we thought they would have found them their OWN homes BEFORE Derek came home!!) :)

So, that's the scoop here! Crazy, but VERY blessed!!!
Stay tuned!

"He has the sweetest smile in the world...."

We received an update on little Derek (had I officially mentioned that will be his name??!!). This was our "Preparatory Update"....as in PREPARING TO COME HOME UPDATE!!!!

The update had some fun info about his daily schedule...like the "laying in the sun/massage" time from 9:00-11:40 a.m.! When we visited Hannah's Hope in January, we were there during this "sun" time, and it was such a JOY to see all the babies outside. In some orphanages, babies don't get outside much, if at all. But at Hannah's Hope, they are outside every day!!

The update also had the word that I was sooooooo waiting to hear: "SMILE"!!!!
In the ((few)) pictures that we have of Derek, we have yet to see him smile. He looks so sad in most of them. But listen to this description....straight from Ethiopia:

"Personality -- Dereje is content baby most of the time and has the sweetest smile in the world. He is an intellectual little guy; he takes it all in first before he warms up to you. He loves being outdoors and looking at anything that moves."

Music to my ears.
I guess he is waiting for us to see his smile for the first time IN PERSON.

He has also gained a little weight. He is up to a whopping 18 pounds at 15 months old (by the way, he is 15 months old TODAY!). That still puts him super low on the growth curve, but is great progress from when he came in to Hannah's Hope at 14 pounds!!

We are still waiting to get confirmation on our travel dates. If our appointment at the US Embassy in Ethiopia is confirmed, we are hoping to book flights for September 2nd.

Our family wants to thank you ALL for the kind words, BUT MOST OF ALL for all of your prayers!
Please continue to pray for our family as we prepare to BRING DEREK HOME!!!!

CELEBRATE!!!!!!

It is with very happy hearts that we are letting you all know WE PASSED COURT!!!
Praise God!!
Our little guy is now FOREVER a member of the Timmons family!
We are absolutely amazed at how God has put this adoption on the "fast track" to home!

All God's Children gave us tentative travel dates of September 6-10, but we are hoping to go a couple days early to see the amazing things that have been happening since we were there in January (more details on that to come!)

As of right now, we are planning on all FIVE of us traveling to Ethiopia....and all SIX of us traveling home! Please pray about that as we try to make the arrangements!

:)
Oh Happy Day!!!!!

PLEASE PRAY!!!!

In a few minutes it will be Wednesday, August 12, 2009 in Ethiopia.
August 12, 2009.
Our court date.

Sometime in the next 18 hours or so, a judge in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia will review the file on the Timmons family... and review the circumstances of little 14 month old boy living at Hannah's Hope Orphange. And, IF GOD SO CHOOSES, the judge will declare that sweet little boy PERMANENTLY AND FOREVER A MEMBER OF THE TIMMONS FAMILY.

Oh how we pray.

There are several documents and people that must all be in place for us to "pass court"....and every T must be crossed...and every I must be dotted. But we certainly serve a God who is way bigger than I's and T's....so we will pray.

We will post as soon as we know anything (it sometimes can take a day or two to get info) and then we talk about all the fun stuff that comes next...

Blessed AGAIN

Our heads are spinning.
It is beyond belief, really.
For some reason (say God) the Ethiopian courts have continued to schedule court dates into August (they usually shut down at the end of July for the 2 month "rainy season").....and we are so blessed to be one of them!!!

That's right .... we have court date AUGUST 12!!!!
This is good news. GREAT news!!

What it means: On August 12, our adoption will presented to the Ethiopian court. There are several things that must happen for us to "pass court"....but once we pass court, the sweet boy (who I can't wait to tell you more about and show you FULL pictures of) will officially, legally, and PERMANENTLY be a Timmons!!!! And come home!!!

Please pray for the court preparation.
and Please pray for our travel preparations, too.

And, while you are busy praying....can you please also pray for the families who are waiting for similar news?....we have been very blessed to make "fast friends" with 3 other families who all received referrals around the same time we did (lots of emails and prayers already!) ...1 of the families is still waiting on their good news. Please pray for them! :)

What's on our minds....

"My Story" (aka. "Deep-ish thoughts during oxygen deprivation")

I do not remember what song was playing through my headphones. Was it some of Mac Powell's lyrics that got me thinking? Or maybe Chris? David? Jeremy? or maybe it was that Sara Groves song that makes me want to cry. every. single. time.

Or maybe it wasn't a song at all.

Maybe it was Him.....The Author.

Anyway, I started thinking (as I often do about 2 miles into my run....when my oxygen level probably starts to drop). I started thinking about where we are in life right now. Thinking about what I might have missed if I had written my own story to this point.

The last two days I have been overwhelmed with gratitude. Thankfulness. Total amazement of the blessings. Not the material blessings (sometimes I think they are the actually the burden).....no, not the material things, but the opportunities, the people, the experiences...

And had I been holding the pen, writing the story myself....I would have missed out on so much.

I would not have authored the trying years that led to our first adoption. But then I may never have appreciated the total joy of getting to become a mama again!

I would not have wanted to include the very rocky, painful chapter of loving Isaac from afar for 8 months and then letting him go. But then I might have never known the joy of a boy named Micah and the blessing of friend named Stacy.

I would not begin to know how to introduce a scene that led to a burden for Ethiopia's orphans.
I would never have the creativity to include a mission trip "on the spur of the moment".
But then I would have never seen all those little brown faces, held their little hands, learned of their painful struggles...and I am not sure we would have ever had the necessary passion to give one of them a family of their own.

That's the thing.
There are so many times when I have wanted to grab the pen. Hurry the story along. Change the scenery. Edit out the waiting, or the tears, or the uncertainty.

But I am thankful for a Heavenly Father with strong hands....a strong grip on the pen...a Sovereign Author who is writing a story that is deeper, wider, bigger, more fun, more exciting, more blessed, more full, more colorful and more true than anything I could have ever thought of!!!

If I were holding the pen right now, my next post would announce a court date and talk about bringing our newest son home in a month or two. But I don't hold the pen. And when I look back over the chapters that have already gone to print....I am thankful for that fact!!

But I still am hoping and praying that God and I are on the same page on this one! :)

"No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him" 1 Corinthians 2:9

Please pray!!!!

We are blessed and excited and hopeful and nervous and......

We would love to show you the whole picture (and someday we will!)
We would love to tell you more about him (and someday we will!)

But, international adoption laws clearly state that we can't.
And so we won't.
BUT SOMEDAY SOON WE WILL!!!

We are praying that we will be granted a court date before the Ethiopian courts close for the months of August and September.
Will you please pray, too?!

Back from vacation...and on the list!!

We had a great time on vacation! At the last minute, because we had so much fun last year, we decided to go back to Yellowstone and Montana (instead of the historical tour of the the East coast that we had been planning). It was beautiful....BEAUTIFUL!! The kids was fabulous travelers....3,615 miles (with ZERO DVD's)! I have been guilty of giving my friend Colleen a hard time about vacationing every year to the Yellowstone area (saying things like "You know, there are other beautiful parts of the country you should see!") ....well, lets just say that I made my list of things we want to do "next year"...uhumm...oops, I meant, next time?!?!

This year we decided to stay a couple of nights in Montana, so we found a little cabin to rent. Check out the view from our little cabin in the Beartooth Mountains!!


On a super happy note:
The day before we left for vacation, our dossier was approved and we were put on the waiting list at 10! Crazy! That should translate into a referral in the next 3 to 4 months....of course, it could be sooner or later than that! If there is one thing we learned through Micah's adoption, it's that God is IN CONTROL, and His TIMING IS PERFECT!!!

Good-bye Dossier...may you have swift and safe travel!!!

Yeah!!
After a couple of months of gathering paper after paper after paper....our dossier is done and should be on its way to Portland, Oregon!



Once it arrives, All God's Children will review it...if everything is in order....then we finally get to wait some more! :)

Maybe at this point I should mention....

It's not that we were keeping it a secret, it's just that I haven't been posting at all lately (what? you noticed?!?!)

But, for those of you that didn't already know...we are adopting again!!!!
This time, from Ethiopia.
We have been gathering all the paperwork and praying like crazy for God's hand in all this!
Hopefully, our completed home study will arrive in the mail tomorrow, I will do some quick photocopying and GET OUR DOSSIER SENT IN TO ALL GOD'S CHILDREN!

For those of you who know the "adoption lingo" and love timelines as much as I do...I have added our adoption timeline to the sidebar.

We ask that you would please join us in praying for:
*God's timing
*the sweet child(ren) who will become part of our family
*preparation of our family (especially Brock, Erica and Micah)
*God's perfect sovereign hand to been directing the path ahead of us!!

If there is one thing we learned through Micah's adoption, it's that God's plan and timing are perfect and WELL worth waiting for!!!!

Stay tuned!

Obviously Third Day left me speechless....

Wow! Seriously...2 months???
Obviously that last post took alot out of me! :)

Much has happened since I last posted.
Just to name a few:

Brock turned 15!!!!!


Erica and I made a special visit to Stacy's over Spring Break!!!


AND WE HAVE DECIDED TO ADOPT AGAIN!!!
In case you hadn't heard.
This time from Ethiopia!!!

We are waiting for our home study to be written up and approved, and then we will submit our dossier and see what God has in store for us!!
:)
Please add that to your prayer list!

Maybe next time they will play in my living room!!

Happy Birthday to me!
Chad took me out for dinner for my birthday...and we just so happened to take in a Third Day concert while we were out!!!
Our seats were not "great"...but they were MUCH BETTER when the band came up to play right in front of us...and I mean RIGHT there. If I was any closer, I would have been playing the guitar myself! What fun!



They were so gracious as to play 4 songs for my private concert (I managed to convince myself that they did it for MY birthday!) and I was loving every minute of it, of course!

I should offer a brief moment of silence for the fact that this was the first Third Day show I have ever been to without Carrie (I think the band was wondering why she wasn't there beside me!?!?!) because she was busy being a good mama!

But I think I may have a new Third Day fan in the family....Chad REALLY enjoyed his first Third Day show!!
:)

By the way, I am still planning on posting the details of our trip to Ethiopia...even if it is on the anniversary of our trip.

"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord

"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. "

Jeremiah 29:11

Happy Birthday, sweet Isaac!

[[[ I originally wrote this post 2 years ago, on Isaac's 2nd birthday. As I read it again today, I was once again convinced that the words grow more true as more time passes. Perhaps some year, on this day I will post something different. But today, this still speaks from my heart...please, OH PLEASE, say a prayer for this little boy tonight!! ]]]

Somewhere in Guatemala, Isaac turned 4 years old today! We trust that the Lord is keeping him safe, as we continue to pray for him as a family. It would mean so much today if you all would take a minute to lift him up in prayer as well!!

When I think back over the 8 months that we called Isaac "ours"...I am reminded that our most important task as parents is to entrust our children into the Lord's hands....to remember that they are HIS first and foremost. I will be honest in saying that at times my heart aches for our "loss"...and I try to make sense of it all....but the reality is, we serve a sovereign God who makes NO mistakes...Isaac was (and continues to be) a beautiful part of the Master's plan for the Timmons family.

One of the songs that will always, always, always remind me of our adoption journey is "Blessed Be Your Name"...

Blessed be your name
In the land that is plentiful
Where the streams of abundance flow
Blessed be your name

Blessed be your name
When I'm found in the desert place
Though I walk through the wilderness
Blessed be your name

Every blessing you pour out,
I turn back to praise
When the darkness closes in, Lord
Still I will say...
Blessed be the name of the Lord
Blessed be your name
Blessed be the name of the Lord
Blessed be your glorious name

Blessed be your name
When the sun's shining down on me
When the world's all as it should be
Blessed be your name

Blessed be your name
On the road marked with suffering
Though there's pain in the offering
Blessed be your name

Every blessing you pour out,
I turn back to praise
When the darkness closes in, Lord
Still I will say...
Blessed be the name of the Lord
Blessed be your name
Blessed be the name of the Lord
Blessed be your glorious name

You give and take away
You give and take away
My heart will choose to say
Lord, Blessed be your name

Rock Star Cousins!!

And let me tell you...these cutie-pies were jammin'!


Every time I see them playing together....EVERY TIME...I continue to think of God's sovereign hand!! These two sweet lives born worlds apart (Micah in Guatemala, Faith in China)...now cousins living just 20 minutes away! :) Miracle upon miracle! We are blessed beyond measure!

"I Saw What I Saw"

I feel like I am doing this all backwards...posting this video before I have told who the people are.
But, the video is done. And I thought I would share.

"What now?"

"WHAT NOW??"
That was the question Dave, the leader of our Ethiopia trip, asked us to think about each day.
It seems a little odd to post about "What Now" before I have even posted about our trip...but the "What now?" is where my focus has been these last 10 days...so I will share a little bit about that first:

When God first called Chad & I to adopt Micah, our eyes were opened to the many needs of orphaned, abandoned, and impoverished children of the world. Over the past year, our compassion for these children has grown.

A couple of months ago, we began to consider the possibility of starting a not-for-profit organization as a way to do more to help these often forgotten children. On our recent trip to Ethiopia, God confirmed this desire and ignited a fire to get started.

Today, I introduce you to: Hope For His Children


The purpose of Hope For His Children is two-fold:
1) To increase awareness among our family, friends, church and community regarding the desperate needs of orphaned, abandoned, and impoverished children of the world.
2) To generate support for orphaned, abandoned and impoverished children in the form of: financial contributions, donations of various supplies, prayer commitments and mission trips.

We are very anxious to get started...and, well, in fact...we ARE started!

Here are the exciting things that have happened already:
*We are officially incorporated as a nonprofit organization according the laws of Indiana!!
*We have drafted bylaws and established our initial Board of Directors.
*We have obtained a Federal Tax ID number.
*We have applied for tax exemption in Indiana.
*We have set up an account to distribute contributions.
*We have sent a package of much-needed medication to Ethiopia!
*We are in the process of applying with the IRS for our 501 (c)(3).

You will certainly be hearing more about Hope For His Children in the future...but if God is moving in your heart TODAY to get involved, please let me know...some exciting things are already beginning!!

As for the details of our trip, my plan is to start posting a "day-by-day" journal of our time in Ethiopia. I pray that it will be a blessing to you, and a great refresher for me! So....stay tuned.....

A very inadequate post.

I just wanted to post to let everyone know that we made it back home safely!
Our trip to Ethiopia was amazing.
As we have started to share with family and friends, we are learning that there are really not adequate words.
There are so many emotions, it seems impossible to process all of it.
I will certainly post more in the near future (as I wade through my hundreds of pictures)!!

Grateful

We are very blessed to have received so many donations for Ethiopia.
Tonight we started weighing and sorting.
89 pounds of formula so far!
and 14 pairs of kids' shoes!!
Not to mention soccer balls, Bible story coloring books, vitamins, etc.


Please continue to pray as the trip gets closer (only 3 more days to prepare!!! can that possibly be right?).

test post

This is a test to see if we might be able to post from Ethiopia.
:)
If you are reading it, then I guess it worked!

6 days and counting!

We have been busy praying, preparing and packing!

A busy, busy barn!

Look what happened in our barn last night!!
We added 11 little piglets!
We have busy trying to keep the "farrowing room" warm now that the temperature outside has reached NEGATIVE TEN DEGREES!! So far, so good. I should probably go pray over the circuit breakers!





I am not normally the biggest fan of big, stinky pigs. But, you've gotta admit....those are some pretty cute piggies!

One year ago today: I BEGGED!

Today the Lord and I are celebrating a 1 year anniversary.
It was exactly a year ago today that I began begging...pleading for revival in my heart. Here is a peek into my journal:

1/6/08
"...and I know that means it must, MUST START WITH me connecting with You - my quiet times, my time in your Word, my walking in an awareness of your Holy Spirit. No wonder, Lord, that I am weak and sapped - I am trying to do it on my own - "religion" as my cover-up for my lack of relationship. Revive me, Lord!!!! ...."

And so it began...
Early each morning, me begging for revival. for desire. for passion. for consistency. for Christ in me.
I have failed too many times to think that I could do it out of my own effort. That works for awhile...then not.
The verse I claimed over and over and over again:

"Restore to me the joy of your salvation and grant me a willing spirit to sustain me. Psalm 51:12

Today, on this anniversary of ours...this is my journaled prayer:
1/6/09
"Lord, I praise You for the way You restore and revive...your specialty is redemption and I thank You for your faithfulness to it! One year ago today, Lord, I begged You for revival in my heart. And You provided. Do it again, Lord (Psalm 126), do it again. I am grateful for progress, yet SO aware of my need for more. The more I grow, the more I see my own sin, selfishness, selfish ambitions, vain conceits, on-and-on-and-on...Forgive me, Lord, and restore/revive me some more! My heart is humbled and I am begging again."

And this morning:

Philippians 3:7-14: But whatever was to my profit I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. What is more, I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ—the righteousness that comes from God and is by faith. I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, and so, somehow, to attain to the resurrection from the dead. Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.

And so I begin another year of begging.

Fun-FILLED day with cousins!

In lieu of Christmas presents this year, we (our family and my brother, Tim's family) decided to "exchange" a fun activity day.
And a fun-filled day it was....

Tim, Ali, Tyler, Zack and Faith joined us for breakfast.
Then off the the "gym", where we played and swam.


Then on to the bowling alley (we are such avid bowlers...not.)


You may think you're cool, buddy...but your mama still beat ya'!

Then lazer tagging.

Then ICE CREAM!


And at the end of it all...we were tired!! ("We" being the grown-ups...and obviously, Micah!)


As for this family...we had a GREAT time and all agreed that spending time together is something we should do more often!