Fundamentally Feldman

HAPPPY ANNIVERSARY HONEY!

2010-03-11T06:20:00.001-08:00

Today Chris & I celebrate our 15th anniversary!

We will celbrate tonight at a soccer game - but we celebrated last week with an amazing get away to New York & Boston.

We walked across the Brooklyn bridge.

We walked through Central park.

We walked the Freedom Trail in Boston.

We sat and read.

We just enjoyed being together.

We had dinner at a table set for 2!

We laughed.

We talked about hard stuff.

We challenged one another.

We went out for dessert on a whim at 10:00PM!

What an amazing time to get away and just celebrate the last 15 years! I am amazed at how God can take two people who have absolutely NO idea of how to do marriage right, and teach us so much!

I am amazed at how God can take two people who are POLAR opposites and make us ONE!

Before you get 'wowed' with us or for us, you have to know that these 15 years are a testimony of God's grace in our life.

If your marriage stinks, there is hope for you!

You see, by all worldly standards, we should not still be married. By worldly standards and man's logic, we should only have 2 children.

But by God's grace He saved our marriage and continues to grow us closer to Him, and therefore closer to one another every day!

By God's grace we are blessed with 6 beautiful children and 15 amazing years together!

No marriage is beyond God's grasp - we want to shout it from the rooftops!!

Fifteen years ago today began a journey. There have been so many twists & turns, but I would not want to take that trip with anyone else in the world!

I love how you love me without condition!

I love how you serve us.

I love that you are my best friend!

I would pick you all over again (oh wait, you picked me :) )

Happy anniversary Honey - I can't wait to grow old with you!

Happy Birthday Daddy!!

2010-01-28T14:41:00.000-08:00

Happy Birthday to my amazing husband!! Yes, you've caught up with me again! I love to ask the kids what is so great about their daddy....

Catalina- "I love him because he keeps me out trouble"

Celeste- "Because I love my Daddy!"

Emma - "He takes me on dates, is loving and kind"

Megan - "That embarrasses me in public! (dancing mostly!)"

Isaac - "Daddy...Daddy...Daddy" (in case you didn't know even I am called "daddy")

Tyler - "He is fun and plays with us."

I am sure that they could come up with thousands more reasons! He really is the best Daddy ever!

I am so excited to be growing old with you! I praise the Lord for all that he has done and is continuing to do in your life! I always see evidence of God's grace in you!

You encourage me!

You love me!

You rebuke me!

You challenge me!

You teach me!

I am so thankful to be married to you! Happy Birthday Sweetheart!

Christmas 2009 Update!!

2009-12-14T11:48:00.000-08:00

A friend brought to our attention the other day, that two years ago our Christmas

card had 3 kids in it...one year ago it had 4 kids in it....and this Christmas 6!

Our family has been hand fashioned by a sovereign God!

We have seen and been part to miracles over the past year. We have watched as the Lord has moved in ways that make no human sense! Our God is Creator, Savior, Immanuel and He is sovereign!!

Although our family has been through a lot of change this past year, as we reflect we are overwhelmed with gratitude of how we are blessed! We have added members to our family, moved churches, met new friends...the Lord is good!!

I of all people do not enjoy change, but when the sovereign God directs those changes, the results are more than you could ask or imagine!

Chris and I celebrated

our 14th wedding

anniversary this past year! That could be

a whole other post. In short, there isn't a day that we don't see evidences of God's grace as he grows us closer to him and closer to one another. Chris has been blessed in his position with a local home health agency, and I am still a stay at home

mommy!

Megan turned 13 this past year! We love her rebellion....her purposeful rebellion to the notion of "teenager". She is growing so much in her understanding of the Lord, and has become such a servant in our home! She gets more beautiful by the day!

Tyler turned 11 this past year. He has really enjoyed his little brother as Isaac gets older. His favorite things to do this year have been to play soccer, learn to play the guitar and read! That boy has a book in his hand every time I see him (Chris & I

aren't sure where he got that from). It is such a blessing to watch him become a servant leader!

Emma is 7 now (where did the time go?). We adore the creativity that she brings to our family. She is continually making things, encouraging all of us to use our

imagination, and teaching us to be a family that recycles! :) She has enjoyed new sisters to dress up with, and has become quite the example "big sister".

Catalina turned 4 in June this past year. Isaac brought dimples into our family, and Catalina has brought curly hair! She is truly a beautiful little girl! She loves to make everyone

laugh when she makes her hair wild & crazy! She and Emma have so much fun playing! We love her giggles and her snuggles!

Celeste is just barely 3. She is so full of energy and smiles! You can always count on Celeste to make you laugh. I should start writing down some of the things she says because seriously, this kid is just funny! We love her cuddles and her huge smile in the morning!

Isaac turned one this past years. He is running all over the house and has become quite crafty at finding his sisters when they try to hide from him. He is starting to talk and is quite the little personality! We can't imagine our family without his joy!

Psalms 127:3,5 "Children are a gift from the Lord;

they are a reward from him...⁵ How joyful is the man whose quiver is full of them!"

Long Lost Blog!!!

2009-12-05T06:29:00.001-08:00

When your kids ask you if their family even has a blog anymore, you know it has been a long time since you updated! Granted, life has been a bit busy. The Lord has done amazing things! I will post all about our FINALIZATION later (yes, you read that right!)!

But for now, our amazing Megan wrote this poem for school, and I think it is beautiful! What a Christmas expression!

HE IS LOVE...

What is love you say?

Love is a man I admire with all my heart

The man I love is

Generous in giving

Loves those who hate him

He is merciful and great

He is LOVE.

The man I love is

Wonderfully great

Blesses those who persecute him

He is peaceful and unimaginable

He is LOVE.

The man I love is

Abba Father, LORD, God

Creator, The Lamb, The Great I Am

Friend, Hosanna, Redeemer

He is LOVE!

God is Sovereign and He Can ROCK Your World!

2009-07-08T04:36:00.000-07:00

Make a Smilebox slideshow

Where do you even begin, when so much has happened in the past few months, weeks and days?

Catalina(just turned 4) and Celeste(2) have began, and are almost complete with their transition into our family!

What began as a simple letter to request pictures of Isaac's biological sisters, has been orchestrated by a sovereign God to change our family forever!

Back in June, 2008 we felt like the Lord wanted us to try to get pictures of Catalina & Celeste. We had no idea that by mailing a simple letter, God would change our lives forever!

This journey has already been full of ups, downs and so many unknowns! The one thing that we were(and still are) certain of is the goodness, faithfulness and sovereignty of our God who loves us perfectly.

We believe that long before we even knew they existed, God had written these girls into our family! God's sovereignty had chosen them to be our children!

Psalm 139 is a scripture that is often read by or to expectant mothers. It is a passage that is filled with reassurance of God's sovereignty.

Do we really even understand what that means?

Webster's defines sovereignty as "supreme excellence...free from external control".

Psalm 139:16 "You saw me before I was born. Every day of my life was recorded in your book. Every moment was laid out before a single day had passed."

We often say that God is sovereign, yet wake up morning after morning to figure out our day or problems of life in our own knowledge and strength. We live day after day struggling to have "control" over our lives. I am as guilty as anyone! God is teaching me the comfort in resting in HIS sovereignty. God is refining us to HIS truth. Sitting under God's truth, even when life is overwhelming, is such a safe place!

So yes...we are a family of 8! Chris, Shannan, Megan, Tyler, Emma, Catalina, Celeste and Isaac!

We are not great people who have done some supreme act of kindness! We are all part of God's plan to live the gospel and bring Him glory....by HIS grace only!

Psalm 127:3 "Children are a gift from the Lord.."

James 1:17 "Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows."

I Have The T-Shirt...I'm a Runner!

2009-04-23T18:26:00.001-07:00

You read that right...I have a race t-shirt and a number to prove that I did it!

Ok, well I didn't do it in the fashion that some of you might consider success. However, I saw the Lord do things in me that I never dreamed possible!!

I am the girl who hated running!

Seriously - I was the most ANTI-RUNNING person that you had ever met!

And then the LORD shook my world! He reminded me that there was NO part of my life that was 'off limits'!

"But Lord..."

None of my excuses worked, and I began to run.....very slowly!

When I first began I could barely run 60 seconds!

During my training I ran a mile! Without stopping! Now that is some miracle work from an amazing God!

I didn't make my goal of running a mile without walking in the race.

I could beat myself up.

I could quit.

I could pout.

OR....

I could just continue to train and be obedient to what the Lord is teaching me! Taking care of my body is a responsibility that I have ignored for too many years!

I want my kids to see obedience not rebellion.

I want them to all learn to treat their bodies as the Temples that they are.

So...I run! Yep, I admit it, I am a runner.

My whole family ran! [My husband more than anyone else in the race because he ran back and finished the race with each one of us! He is Super Man in case you didn't know!]

We are runners!

I pray that we continue to run - both physically & in this thing we are living called 'life'.

There may have been a finish line in the race, but we have not yet crossed it in this life!

I will continue to be obedient.

I will continue to ask the Lord to teach me to be disciplined.

I will continue to ask the Lord to teach me about perseverance.

All of this is impossible without my Lord! You see, I confess to being one of the most undisciplined people you could ever meet - especially in this area.

But God is teaching me.

Obedience is always blessed - and when our God blesses, it is beyond anything you could imagine!

Eph 3:20 "Now all glory to God, who is able, through his mighty power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think."

14 Years....Praise the Lord!

2009-03-11T14:58:00.001-07:00

Today, 14 years ago, I married my best friend!

Wow, that makes us sound old! Actually one of the things we joke about all the time is growing old together and what that will look like!

For those of you that don't know, Chris and I have a "God-story" kind of marriage! We may have looked ok on the outside but we were a mess!

By all social standards...

By all logic...

We should have been divorced!

But by the grace of God, He saved our marriage! Our pastor recently asked for married couples to stand for others to see, if they were still married only by the grace of God. Our knees could not stay bent. We popped out of our seats.

We know that it was the Lord who saved our marriage, and we give him all the glory!

Not only did He save our marriage, but he is making it into something more beautiful than I could have ever imagined!

The Lord is sanctifying us, and continues to teach us daily how to live as a godly husband & wife.

I praise the Lord for today.

I praise the Lord for his grace!

If the next 14 years are as amazing as just the last...I can't wait!

AWESOME

2009-02-26T15:20:00.000-08:00

I think this is the first ever blog comment I have made. I just want to publiclly lift you up Shannan and encourage you in what you have begun to do. You are an Amazing woman of Faith and Humility before God. I am so blessed to be married to such a wonderful, Godly, BEAUTIFUL woman!!!! I LOVE YOU!!!! I cant wait to cross the finish line of the race with you...
Christopher

On The Sidelines OR In The Race..

2009-02-25T19:25:00.000-08:00

So there is a lot of chatter about this 5K race that is taking place. My friend Jenn is putting together a 5K & maybe a 10K that will benefit the Child Survival Program at Compassion. Normally I would write about what an great opportunity this is for us to support an amazing ministry. Unfortunately that has already been done here and then here.

So why am I writing about this race?

Because I am going to be in it.

Those of you who know me are waiting for the punch line.

You see this is where I would normally make a funny joke about how I think running is sick. This is where I would normally write all about how I am going to make fun posters for my friends who are going to be running & drive along beside them in my car cheering them on.

Simply put I do not run. Or at least I used to not run.

The Lord has a funny way of telling us to do things that we have said we would never do!

All of my life I have not been able to run. I was the kid who made everyone on the basketball team run extra "horses" because I would always stop.

I was the kid who tried to get lapped in PE class so I could run one less lap.

I was the kid who threw the shot put on the track team because the coaches said I wasn't "a runner".

Well the Lord is changing all of that. He has told me to run.

Right now I can only run for 60 seconds and then I am done! But hey...I am running. Run 60 walk 90...that's the plan for now.

So why am I writing all of this?

Because the Lord is asking me to do something that I KNOW I can't do! There is no way that on my own I can do this. If I am ever able to run a mile, it will be because of the Lord!

I am scared to death.

I am scared that I won't stick it out....maybe its the 25 years of failure that hint to this.

I am scared that I will quit.

BUT...here is what I know....I know that God never asks us to do things that aren't for our best! God wants good things for me. God wants to teach me so much!

So let's do this thing together in humility. If I can do this...anyone can!

The Lord always rewards obedience!

So I will run this race. I will finish...even if I can't run the whole time. I will ask the Lord to teach me. I will finish by His grace & in his strength!

Let's start this journey together....8 1/2 weeks to go if you are counting.

Happy Birthday Daddy-O

2009-01-28T07:06:00.000-08:00

You may look at this picture and wonder, "What in the world?" But if you know Chris at all, you just smile and shake your head! Only Chris would put nasty Galveston beach seaweed on his head and chase our children out of the water!

Happy Birthday to the most amazing husband and greatest Daddy in the world! I asked the kids what they loved about their Daddy and these are some of their responses....

he is silly (imagine that)
he dances in the kitchen with us (girls)
he wrestles with me (guess who?)
he takes us on dates (girls)
he loves to spend time with us even if we aren't doing anything
he can build things
he is funny
he growls at me (we imagined that's what Isaac would say)
he plays football & catch with me
he helps me with my homework (Megan)
he is a hard worker (Megan)
he is just nice (they all said that one..I will remind them of that )

It is truly a blessing to be married to this man for almost 14 years - Praise the Lord!! It is fun to watch all that the Lord is doing in his life, all he is teaching him, the leader he has become to our family!

The Lord has used Chris in so many ways to teach me...how to love, how to be more compassionate & generous. I could go on & on...

I love you honey! I used to say that I couldn't wait to grow old with you, now I will just say, "I can't wait to grow OLDER with you!"

Happy Birthday Daddy-O!

FELDMAN FAMILY HOLIDAY UPDATE 2008

2008-12-17T06:43:00.001-08:00

What an amazing year we have had! We have seen the Lord move in our lives and in our family in a way that we could have never imagined! The Lord has refined us, encouraged us, added to our family in ways that we had no idea, and challenged us to trust him for the amazing faithful God he is! He has begun an amazing reorientation of our family to look the way he has always intended! We find ourselves at the end of this year thanking God for a year of many blessings!

For those of you who haven’t heard from us in a while, you may ask who the fourth kid in the picture is? He is our precious Isaac. You can read our journey of adoption here, or call us and we would love to tell you of God’s faithfulness and his sovereignty! Chances are if you don’t know about Isaac, then we need to catch up anyway!

Megan is in 7th grade now and doing so good! She also started youth this year. She is turning into such a beautiful young lady, both physically and spiritually! Her desire to hear God’s voice and be obedient has challenged both Chris & myself.

Tyler is in 5th grade and still in the dual language program. It is amazing how he is fluent in Spanish! Chris has actually taken him on patient visits to his Spanish speaking clients whom he was having trouble communicating with. We know that this is a gift from the Lord and we can’t wait to see all the ways that he is going to use this skill in Tyler’s life.

Emma is in 1st grade and also in the dual language program. This has been an amazing year for her, as she was drawn to salvation and was baptized! We love to be challenged by her constant love for putting God in every aspect of her life! Her childlike faith is so simple, and we could all learn from it!

Isaac is our newest precious gift! He is 7 months old, and a big boy! We truly had no idea last Christmas what our family would look like, but no we couldn’t imagine our lives without him! The Lord has also added to our family by giving us an amazing relationship with Isaac’s birth mom, Kacie. You can join us this new year in prayer for the salvation of Kacie and her family. We have no idea what this new year holds for our family! As much as we never could have predicted all that the Lord had for us last year! What we know is that God continues to reveal himself to us. He continues to show us his character, and remind us of his unfailing love! He is a good daddy God!

We pray that the Christ of Christmas will reign in your lives and hearts this holiday season! May you truly experience his abundance…his peace… his joy… his hope…..this CHRISTmas season and into the new year!

A Sweet Visit & National Adoption Awareness Month!

2008-11-16T08:39:00.000-08:00

November is national adoption awareness month! A friend of mine has written a great post on examining ourselves with regards to caring for orphans. Check it out here.

Chris will never forget the sermon our pastor preached several years ago on
James 1:27 "Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world."

God’s Word challenged us to examine ourselves, and there began our journey towards adoption! Almost two years later, we are getting ready to finalize our adoption of Isaac!

We recently finished our 6 month supervision period, and got to meet with Kacie again! The excitement that filled us as we drove to New Life (our adoption agency) is beyond words.

The last time we got to see Kacie was when Isaac was 1 week old. Now at 6 months, he was headed to the red couch to see Kacie again! Every month we wrote Kacie, we talked about our anticipation of this day, and now it was here!

To see Kacie walk through that door, was indescribable . I wanted to jump up and run to hug her, actually that is exactly what we did! She looked so great, beautiful beyond description!

She hugged Chris & I and had Isaac in her arms before we sat down on the famous red couch. She was in awe of how big he was! There is a huge difference in holding a 6 pound baby and holding a 21 pound wiggle-bot!

She commented a thousand times about how big he is. It was precious as she took his socks off to look at his tiny toes and chunky feet. She searched his body for just one freckle, which was nowhere to be found. I love how she examines him with such detail every time she sees him!

We all sat with tears wanting to spill out of our eyes.

She kissed him all over. There has never been any doubt about her love for him, but anyone that could witness Kacie with Isaac would be blown away by her obvious love for him!

We sat and visited for 1 ½ hours! Some of that time we talked about what was going on in Kacie’s life. Some of that time we shared funny stories about Isaac. Some of that time we just sat in silence as she hugged, kissed, played and looked at him!

My favorite part of this visit was to see how Isaac reacted to Kacie. There was something familiar about her to him. He was quiet and still as they both looked at each other. It was precious to me!

I have to be honest and admit that at one point I was afraid of how that would make me feel as Isaac’s mother. But nothing could be more precious to me, than to see them look at each other with such love and familiarity!

Kacie is Isaac’s birth mom, which is something that I will never be. She holds a place in his life that is hers alone. I would never want to take that from her, or diminish it in any way!

Don’t worry, I know full well that I am Isaac’s mommy. The Lord has chosen Chris & I to be his parents. I find myself attributing his personality or characteristics to Chris or myself all the time, and then remembering that his genes are not from us. It always makes me chuckle at myself every time!

Kacie is a precious part of our family, and she always will be! The Lord not only gave us a son, he gave us so much more! His purpose for Isaac’s adoption, we believe with all of our hearts, is so much bigger than we could ever imagine!

Happy ½ Birthday Isaac!

2008-10-22T04:39:00.000-07:00

Exactly 6 months ago today the lives of everyone in the Feldman family changed forever! I don’t think that we will ever forget that call…that Kacie was on the way to the hospital and in labor! After months of praying and waiting, today was the day for this precious boy to be born! For those of you who may not know, Kacie is our precious birth mother.
Today we celebrate Isaac’s life, and God’s sovereignty! You may be wondering why the big deal about 6 months? Six months indicates the end of our “supervisory period”. We can officially get a court date to finalize Isaac’s adoption. Nothing really will change about our family…Isaac has been a Feldman since the day we brought him home! But still, it is an exciting time!
Isaac will have a new “official” last name and birth certificate!
Just as exciting to us, we will get to see Kacie next week for a visit. She hasn’t seen Isaac, except through pictures and videos, since he was a week old. There is a big difference in holding a 6# baby and a 20# smiling wiggly baby! I get chills just thinking about it!
Kacie is one of the most amazing selfless women I know. She has spent countless nights crying herself to sleep, missing the baby she carried within her for almost 9 months. Yet, she always speaks to how much she appreciates Chris & I! When we feel like she gave us her most precious gift, she is thanking us?
We pray for our relationship to grow with Kacie. We want to be as “open” with our relationship as the Lord asks us to be. We want our confidence to remain in His bigness, and never let fear take hold of our hearts. Our friends have an amazing relationship with their birth mom, and we pray for the level of “openness” that they experience. You can read their story here….it is an amazing testimony of God’s bigger plan!
On April 22 a beautiful baby boy was born…our son…Isaac Joshua! We became a family of 6, and yet so much more! The Lord added Kacie to our family. Isaac’s adoption story is so much bigger than our adding another chair to our kitchen table. We know that the Lord has big things in store. Ultimately we are praying for Kacie's salvation!
Thank you Lord for a precious, healthy baby! Thank you Lord for Kacie and all that our relationship with her and her family will bring.

Col 2:6-7 “ So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live in him, rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY EMMA!!

2008-08-19T13:29:00.000-07:00

Today is Emma's 6th birthday! Has it really been that long?

We love the joy she brings to our family.

Her morning cuddles.

The way she always remind us that "God is the best and favorite of EVERYGTHING".

The questions she asks about bible stories...ie. "now explain to me again how God is the same as Jesus and the Holy Spirit"

Her amazing imagination, that has really blossumed (thanks Emma B. for our imaginary pet shop!)

Her love for dress up!

Her love of giving!

Ephesians 3:16-18

"I pray that from his glorious, unlimited resources he will empower you with inner strength through his Spirit. Then Christ will make his home in your hearts as you trust in him. Your roots will grow down into God’s love and keep you strong. And may you have the power to understand, as all God’s people should, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep his love is. "

Children are a Gift...

2008-08-14T08:20:00.000-07:00

Isaac is 3 ½ months old already! Chris & I were just talking about how quickly these 3 months have literally flown by! Didn’t we just bring our precious bundle home from New Life? Where has the time gone?
The funny thing is that we have compared the 3 months that we waited to be chosen to the first 3 months of Isaac’s life with us. There is NO comparison…the time of waiting seems an eternity…the time of parenting is flying by.

I have spent some time contemplating why that is…but that is for another post …

Every day I look at this precious big boy, I think of his birth mom and praise the Lord for her selfless decision. It is easy to look at Isaac and realize the responsibility that we have been entrusted with to raise him to fear the Lord. To be raised in a Christian home is actually one of the reasons that our birth mom made the choices she did for Isaac.
Man, when someone gives you their child and says being raised in a Christian home is why I chose you…there is a serious sense of responsibility to fulfill that desire.

Enter the LORD…

“I have previously given you 3 beautiful children to raise to fear me!”
“They are no less of a responsibility”
“They are no less of a blessing”
“They are from me…a gift”

Psalm 127:3-5
“Children are a gift from the Lord…”

Talk about an attitude adjustment from the Lord.
What a reminder that the Lord has entrusted us with 4 beautiful children to raise to love him with all their hearts.

Deut 6:5-8
5 And you must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your strength. 6 And you must commit yourselves wholeheartedly to these commands that I am giving you today. 7 Repeat them again and again to your children. Talk about them when you are at home and when you are on the road, when you are going to bed and when you are getting up. 8 Tie them to your hands and wear them on your forehead as reminders. 9 Write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.

What a great time to stop and evaluate how we are doing at our calling as parents.

Happy Birthday Megan!!

2008-07-18T06:45:00.000-07:00

I was telling a sweet young married girl last night that having kids just seems to fast forward your life!

Didn't we just bring our firstborn home? Didn't she just start kindergarten? Didn't she just........

I can't believe that our precious girl is 12 years old! Yep...12! She is starting 7th grade this year! Junior High...I might need counseling.

Actually we couldn't be more excited! There is very little that is more exciting than watching the Holy Spirit grow your children and use them!

We love her smile, her giggle & her silliness!

We love her tender heart.

We love the way that she removes herself from sinful situations. She has taught us a thing or two about receiving persecution.

We love the way that she loves the Word and studies it so creatively!

We love her helpful spirit with her brothers and sister.

We love how she makes sure that Emma has had time in the Word before she starts playing.

We love the way she listens to the Holy Spirit.

We love her repentant heart.

Our Megan is turning into quite the beautiful young lady, and we praise the Lord that her inner beauty is what shines through the most!

Col 2:7 "Let your roots grown down into him, and let your life

be built on him. Then your faith will grow strong in the

truth you were taught, and you will overflow with

thankfulness."

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MEGAN!

A Mother's Love

2008-05-30T07:07:00.000-07:00

As I sat down today at my computer and opened the internet, our blog page came up. I realized that it has been a month since my last post. That just made me cry. Not because I am a blog junkie, or because I know that there are people wanting to read more….but because our placement day wasn’t the end of the journey. It was only the beginning, especially for a very special woman to our hearts…our birthmother Kacie. So continue to share in our journey and see the heart of a birthmother.

One week after we brought Isaac home, we went back to New Life to visit with Kacie. That visit was one of the most amazing, and yet one of the hardest times so far.

As we waited on the “red couch”, I wondered how this would all go. Isaac was asleep in my arms. I wondered if I would have any problem handing him to Kacie again (we had been working so hard and praying about bonding).

The moment that she walked in the room, all of my fears and doubts were gone. Chris & I hugged her and told her how amazing she looked for having a baby 1 week ago!
The Lord is so amazing! Every fear that I had was revealed as selfishness, and my heart was so filled up with love for Kacie that I just wanted to sit and hold her hand. The love that the Lord has placed in our hearts for Kacie is supernatural and unlike any love that we have ever experienced before.

I smiled as I hugged her and asked if she wanted to hold him. Her response spilled out of her before my question was fully asked. Before we all had a chance to sit down, he was in her arms. The look on her face was indescribable. All of her nervousness had turned to excitement and joy as she held Isaac in her arms again. It had been a week since she had seen him.

We sat on those couches and Kacie held him so close. She would kiss him over and over, telling him how much she loved him and how she had been thinking about him. She took his blanket off, looked in his shirt and took his socks off, just to check him over. She couldn’t get enough of him! Every time he would begin to protest, she would just draw him close and kiss him.

Chris and I know that Kacie loves this baby, there is no way that any mother could make the selfless decision of adoption without such a tremendous love! But to sit there on the couch and watch Kacie pour her love out on Isaac was one of the most beautiful things I have every seen! The joy of sharing that moment with her is beyond words!

We sat for an hour watching Kacie hold and talk to Isaac. She asked a lot of questions, mostly about how our kids and family were loving him. There were periods of laughter, questions and of silence. The silence wasn’t an awkward silence, but rather just moments that we all were rejoicing and sharing over a beautiful baby.

The words that broke that silence cut deep and took me by surprise (I can’t imagine what they did to Kacie). Sara spoke, “Kacie it is almost time”. Her reply was a simple, “I know”.

She wrapped Isaac back in his blanket and handed him to me with a hurt in her eyes, being careful not to let it spill out. She tucked the blanket and kissed him. As she started to get up. She stopped and leaned over, “Just one more kiss.” She kissed his sweet head so tenderly, as if to make it a kiss that would last a lifetime.

Chris & I stood up and gave Kacie a hug. We told her that we would see her in October. She was quick to leave the room. It was clearly too much.

The Lord has never let me see someone’s pain the way that he did that day. I was so blessed to see her joy, pain and most of all her amazing love for Isaac!

Kacie is an amazing woman. I am not sure that I am selfless enough to make the decisions that she has made. The love that the Lord has given us for her is beyond human understanding. We want more than anything for her to come to know our Savior! We pray and believe that one day that will be a reality!

Pray with us for Kacie. Pray with us for birthmothers whose hearts are so full of love, yet their arms are empty and aching.

Meet Isaac Joshua....

2008-04-27T11:01:00.000-07:00

Praise the Lord with us!!! The Lord is so amazing and good! On Thursday, April 24th we were able to bring home the newest addition to our family. Isaac weighed 6 lb 10 oz, was 19 ½ inches long and is perfectly healthy.

Praise the Lord, Kacie had an uncomplicated birth and is doing fine! Continue to pray for her, as this is a difficult time. We will be meeting with her later next week for a visit. Pray that we will be able to love on her the way Christ would. Continue to pray for her salvation.

We were so blessed to be able to go to the hospital on Wednesday to visit with Kacie and hold Isaac. It was an amazing time that I won’t even try to put to words. The Lord is good!!

James 1:17 Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.

I will try to write more later, right now I have a crying baby to go get! Praise the Lord!!

The Day We Met Her....

2008-03-29T07:56:00.000-07:00

I am struggling with what all to write about meeting our birth mom. I want so badly to remember every detail, every question, every answer.

Her name is Kacie.

Her favorite food right now is chicken fajitas & WhataChicken.

Her favorite color is red.

She has reddish, auburn hair, with freckles all over.

She loves to watch sports, especially basketball.

She is the oldest of 3 children, and has a brother and sister.

She is close to her mom, but she lives out of state right now.

I thought about that. How scary for her to go through all of this without a momma to hold her hand. Who will be in the delivery room with her? Who all will she call?

I am trying to remember every detail of the day, of the conversation, where everyone sat, every detail…the day that we met our birth mom.

She is beautiful – I mean it, really cutie! If our child looks anything like his/her birth mom, he/she will be gorgeous!

The meeting was wonderful! Only the first 2 minutes were awkward, just the ‘getting started’ part. After that, we just sat and talked until we almost lost track of time.

It was one of the most amazing days of my life, and yet it was one of the hardest. There I sat, just feet away from our baby. To think that our child heard our voices for the first time (I’m telling you we were close, especially for pictures).

As we watched her get in the car and drive away, I cried. I cried because I was happy, I cried because my baby was leaving and I had no control over anything that happened. I praise the Lord that our God is always in control!! I am finding that I need less and less control(as uncomfortable as that is), and more and more faith!!

Please be praying with Chris & me for Kacie. Pray for her salvation. Pray that we will be able to love her as an example of how Christ loves her. Pray for her health, and that of the precious little baby inside her. But most of all pray for her salvation. Pray that she will see who God really is. Pray that she will come to understand how much he adores and loves her.

This was yet another day that I have dreamed of, but never could imagine being real. What an amazing day!

...by the way she loved the flowers (if you missed that, read below)

ONE Amazing Floral Arrangement!!!

2008-03-21T09:25:00.000-07:00

Yesterday we met our birth mom! She was great and we had an amazing time visiting and getting to know her better. But this post isn’t about her (that will come later)…it is about her flowers….

It is a good ice breaker to bring a small gift, such as flowers, to the first meeting of a birth mom. So this story starts out 2 hours before the meeting was scheduled. Chris decided that he really needed a haircut, so I walked down to Kroger to check out the floral selection. I wanted the perfect arrangement, so I wasn’t willing to wait until we only had one store to choose from.

It didn’t take me long to find the perfect vase. Then I just stood in front of a hundred bouquets of flowers, for what seemed like 10 minutes. Finally, a voice came from behind me.

“Can I help you?” came a voice that seemed almost tickled that I was struggling so much picking out flowers. “Is this for Easter, birthday, a friend?”

I just smiled, and chuckled to myself at the thought of my trying to explain to this woman what my flowers were for.

I will never forget the look on her face, or how her smile grew with each word of my explanation of who the flowers were for.

She was a birthmother! Her placement had been 10 years ago!

The next 20 minutes were filled with amazing, ‘from the Lord’ conversation! She got to tell me her story of choosing an adoptive family and the placement. She talked about how glad she was that she has an open adoption, and how precious the letters and pictures are when she gets them. I got to, in turn, tell her what an amazing self-less woman she was!

It was a full 20 minutes of her encouraging me, and my edifying her! It was the Lord!!

Not only did we find the perfect arrangement of flowers for our birth mom, but they were put together with a love and understanding that I could have never dreamed to ask for!

Chosen...

2008-03-08T04:02:00.000-08:00

We got “the call”!! The day that I thought was just a dream became a reality.

I am still not sure that it feels “real” yet.

New Life called us Wednesday to tell us that a birth mom has chosen us!!

As much as I thought that there would be a huge sigh of relief, this has only begun the next leg of prayer and faith for us! This means that we have been chosen for the next phase of this journey.

What the journey looks like from here, no one can be sure, but we can be sure that the Lord has a plan.

Two and a half months of waiting on a call, felt like it took six. The Lord has shown me already the anxiety and sin in that. This has been such a refining and sanctifying process for us.

The Lord has truly shown us how much of this adoption we still had as our plan. We really thought that we would be having a black or biracial baby. This birth mom is neither! As a matter of fact, nothing of this birth mom looks like anything I had imagined! How often do we take God’s “plan” and incorporate all of our opinions, or what we think it will look like. The Lord has shown me this week how very much of this adoption had become “mine” instead of His!

No matter the outcome of this phase, we can be sure of one thing….the Lord has taught (and is still teaching) us so much, and for that we will be forever grateful. He has taught us so much about faith, or our lack thereof. He has taught us about his sovereignty and faithfulness. He has taught us how far we are from living a life of faith where we are obedient with no details of the future.

We will meet our birth mom sometime after spring break! For now you can be praying with us for her. Her name is Kacie.

I can’t wait to see her beautiful face, and precious belly!

Amazing FAITHFUL God!!

2008-02-26T07:23:00.000-08:00

When Chris & I started this process of adoption, the only thing we were certain of is that God called us to adopt through New Life. We had no idea where the money for the adoption would come from. We knew that God is amazingly faithful and that He knew all of the details!!

Sitting in one of the interviews with our case worker, she asked how we were planning to pay for the adoption. My answer was simple, yet filled with skepticism, “I’m not sure, but God has told us to do this.”
I will never forget her response! She simply confirmed, “Yes. He has it all under control!”
She spoke as a woman who had seen God move in this area for years and years. I nodded my head, trying to be full of faith. Ugh…will I ever get it!!!

A month later, Chris got his paycheck and was overpaid thousands of dollars. “Hmmm”, we thought. “Is this the Lord’s provision?”

We prayed and felt like the Lord was telling us to send the money to New Life.

As soon as we mailed the check, we were told that the company would be taking the overpaid money back over two pay periods. Not only would this take back the money that we unexpectedly got and had already sent to New Life, but it could possibly put us in a serious financial bind.

A crisis of belief. Did God really tell us to mail that check to New Life? Were we going to be OK financially? Things seemed to be a mess!

I praise the Lord for a husband who seeks the Lord. Chris knew that he was supposed to call the owner of the company and talk to him about the money. It is noteworthy to say that we have no idea if this man is a believer or not, but God can use anyone!!

So Chris called the owner and talked with him about the money. He told him our situation and what we are doing with the money. The man seemed unmoved. Needless to say, it seemed like a long shot to ask a boss who he had never met, to allow us to keep the thousands of dollars in overpay.

This is where God just blew us away!!! This business man did the unthinkable….he gave us the money! Business men who have no relationship with their employees do NOT just give thousands of dollars away! But our God is amazing and FAITHFUL, and can even use lost business men thousands of miles away to bless his children!!

What a faith builder for us! God is amazing and FAITHFUL, even when we doubt or second guess him.
Yes, God had told Chris to mail the check! Yes, God did have all of the details of this adoption (including the timing I keep reminding myself) under his control!

So by his grace and faithfulness, our adoption is paid for.

Not because we were diligent in saving, not because we are smart enough to engineer extra money in our budget, but for no other reason than his is a FAITHFUL GOD!! He is true to his promises!

We knew that he had told us that it would be taken care of, but we had no idea it would be in such unique circumstances!!! Did I mention that we serve an amazing and faithful God!!!

2 Timothy 2:13
“If we are unfaithful, he remains faithful for he cannot deny who he

is”

"That Day..."

2008-02-01T06:29:00.000-08:00

A period of waiting on the Lord always lends itself to lots of introspection. My thoughts lately have been on “that day”! “That day”, when we finally get to meet our baby. Even as I type that, feelings of excitement overwhelm me!

But as I pray for our birth mother, I have to recon template “that day”. What must it be like for her on “that day”? It must be the hardest day of her life! I don’t know that I have the selflessness in me to make a choice for my children that our birthmother will make. I’m pretty sure that I don’t.

I struggle with how I can look so forward to a day that will bring another human such pain. I have no idea how that day will look! I have no idea all of the emotions that we will go through.

So I ask the Lord…”How Lord? How can one day hold such joy and such pain?”

His response was amazing!

“I know that feeling child. I felt this way the day I watched as my son as he went to the cross of Calvary. Never have I felt such sadness and pain. Never have I felt such joy and excitement for the future!”

What a privilege when he lets us grasp a glimpse of who he is!!!

Good Daddy...Good Gifts

2008-01-15T04:57:00.000-08:00

Do you remember when you were a kids & something extra exciting was planned for Friday? Whether it was a field trip, Field Day or that special relative coming in for the weekend. I remember that feeling of anticipation, of excitement, that the whole week hinged on that climax! That is how we feel right now. Like any moment our lives will change forever, and yet that phone call will be just the beginning of another journey of prayer & faith. I feel like every time something happens that is a marker, it is just the beginning. What an exciting place to be, living in anticipation! The Lord is showing me that every day should be like this, anticipation of what he has for us because He is a good Daddy!!

A Balancing Act of Sorts...

2008-01-07T19:21:00.000-08:00

As Chris & I have entered the “waiting” phase of adoption, we have certainly experienced several emotions. I would say that balancing hope instead of anxiety is the trickiest so far. We often ask ourselves at the end of the day, how do you balance a hopeful faith without becoming anxious and succumbing to idolatry. The key for us is to remember that anything we think about more than the Lord is an idol! He has to be our focus!

So as we journey this wait, the Lord has been teaching me so much. As I sat and visited with a sweet friend over Christmas, she posed this question.

How long has the Lord been waiting on his children? How must the Lord ache for his children to be adopted by him, to accept his grace.

I honestly hadn’t thought about this aspect of it. I had ventured into the scriptures about adoption, but never took a minute to contemplate how the Lord feels as he sits in our shoes for generations and generations….waiting for his church.

Wow! That thought will give some perspective! I thought how it would rip my heart out if our child told us that the price we had paid wasn’t enough to adopt them. I thought how it would rip our hearts out if we went through the process and finalization steps, only to have our child say, “nah, I don’t think I want to be part of your family”.

I know that I haven’t scratched the surface of God’s emotions toward his children & church, but what he has uncovered for me has been amazing!

Lord let your children understand that they can call you “Abba, Father” [Galatians 4:6]....let us begin to understand your love.

A Little Faith....A FAITHFUL GOD!!

2007-12-28T06:02:00.000-08:00

So much has happened again since my last post…one day I will actually keep up with this thing!

Soon after we had this renewed attitude of encouragement, the Lord began to move & do amazing things (NOT A COINCINDENCE)! I think that sometimes he just waits on us to learn & get it right so he can move! We are such slow learners sometimes! But he is Faithful – and so patient!!

I called New Life and was told that our home study would be scheduled some time after the new year. I was good with that! Encouraged even….and then the ball began rolling…FAST!

A phone call on the 7th (the day after my last post!! Ha!) was at the least, unexpected. They wanted to start our study the next day. We set up interviews for the following Monday. This was an amazing time to just get to visit with our case worker and get to know her, and answer a lot of hard questions.
· Why do you want to adopt?
· What part of this scares you?
· What are you most excited about?
· What are you most hesitant about?
· What or who is your support system?

So many questions that were introspective and good!!

Then we scheduled our individual interviews & our actual home study. New Life coming to our house was such a blessing! Our kids got to ask questions and take our case worker for a tour of our home. They loved it! And from a mommy & daddy perspective…it was amazing to hear their questions. They mostly wanted to know if they would get to meet the birthmother, and had questions about her. I praise the Lord for their love for her already!

Needless to say…our home study was done in a week! Our profile was beginning to be shown last week to birthmothers that are due in and around February. Who knows what the Lord has in store for us? His timing is perfect! He is faithful! We only want what he wants for us….nothing more, nothing less!

One thing is for sure on this journey….our focus has to remain him! Anything other than him for our focus is trouble! Lord help us to be faithful to keep you at the center of it all!

Confessions & Declarations....

2007-12-06T03:52:00.000-08:00

I am embarassed to see how long ago my last post was - not really because I haven't kept up with this, but rather because it is a reflection of my heart. Let me explain....

Chris & I have been a bit discouraged over the past two months. Not because of anything that has happened, but rather we were not aware and offensive toward the schemes of our enemy!

Ephesians 6:12 "For we are not fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places"

We know that we are in a situation that God is SO in control of! His sovereignty is unspeakable! Yet..we doubt, we try and take or have some hand in control, we try our best to "help" the Lord!

We hadn't heard anything from our agency since we turned our packet in nearly 3 months ago. Let me be clear that New Life is an amazing agency, led by the Spirit, and worked by only two counselors (only one of which does home studies). These women are amazing, Spirit-filled and VERY sensitive to hear the guidance of the Holy Spirit! I say that to preface anything else I say about how the enemy discouraged Chris & I!

Over the course of three months, our discouragement has turned our hopeful anticipation of what the Lord will bring, to doubt. We allowed the enemy to get our focus off of how BIG our God is...and focus on man, logic and reason. Somehow, our subconscious "when", became a subconscious "if".

I think of it as a walk down a road - a tall road with steep ditches on each side. Walking on the road is walking with the Lord - a hopeful anticipation of what will come, and complete trust of God's timing! In order to stay on the road, you must keep your eyes on HIM!!

All it takes is one moment and off you slip, into the ditch! Take your eyes off of the Lord and put them on the situation....anxiety comes. A constant thought of "what-if", or "when"...consuming your mind! SIN!!!

Take your eyes off the Lord and put them on yourself - apathy! "Let's just not think about this, because it could hurt my heart"...self preservation and a complete lack of focus on WHO God is!! SIN!!!

Fortunately, through God's amazing grace and love, along with several godly friends faithfully praying for us and speaking truth.....we are refocused! We have climbed back onto the road of FAITH! GOD IS AMAZING! HE IS IN CONTROL OF EVERYTHING!! HIS TIMING IS PERFECT!!

He has taught us so much, but obviously has so much more to teach us!! I love it when he encourages us through his Word. This is the scripture that He spoke over me, as I repented for my lack of faith and focus....

Joshua 1:9 "This is my command - be strong and courageous! Do not be afraid or discouraged. For the Lord your god is with you wherever you go!"

Yes!!! Let us ALL be strong & courageous in everything we do!!! NOT because of our faith or anything other that WHO GOD IS!!!

Why is Adoption So Hard for Us to Grasp??

2007-10-09T07:12:00.000-07:00

I've been asking myself this question...why is adoption so hard for us to understand..why do we view adoption as 'less than'?? Maybe your reaction is no.... I don't! Maybe you're right. But maybe we have deep rooted issues and fears, that began far back in childhood. How many children face the fear that "I'm adopted". As adults, we wonder if we will be able to love adopted children as much? What is wrong with us???

I propose that we don't really understand how we have been adopted by the God of this universe, as his children, through Jesus Christ!! Take a minute and think about these scriptures.....

Galatians 4:5-7

"God sent him to buy freedom for us who were slaves to the law, so that he could adopt us as his very own children. And because we are his children, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, prompting us to call out, “Abba, Father.” Now you are no longer a slave but God’s own child. And since you are his child, God has made you his heir."

Ephesians 1:5 "God decided in advance to adopt us into his own family by bringing us to himself through Jesus Christ."

Romans 8:15-17a "So you have not received a spirit that makes you fearful slaves. Instead, you received God’s Spirit when he adopted you as his own children. Now we call him, “Abba, Father.”For his Spirit joins with our spirit to affirm that we are God’s children. And since we are his children, we are his heirs. In fact, together with Christ we are heirs of God’s glory.

Of course we don't understand the signigicance of adoption - our enemy is at work and has been for generations! Only when we understand how we are adopted,do we begin to understand how loved we are by a perfect Father!!

The Lord continues to teach us so much!!! Praise His Name!!!!

A Love Undescribable....

2007-10-03T07:48:00.001-07:00

Chris & I had one of our two required adoption training seminars this past weekend. It was amazing, draining, emotional, informative, perspective changing..... I think you probably get the point. We learned a lot more about the whole process. The cool thing thing was that we didn't get get more information, God did something huge in our hearts!!

We have been praying for our baby to be & birthmother for some time now. This weekend at the seminar, there was a birthmother who had placed her baby just 2 weeks ago, that shared her story. She carried a book filled with just 4-5 pictures of her precious baby girl, but she held it so close to her heart! For the first time, I believe that "birthmother" had a face for us. We sat and listened as she shared her experience of picking adoptive parents, preparing for placement, and the grief that followed.

I have never known a birthmother personally. But to see her heart, to hear her hurt....somehow made it all the more real to me. We watched a video of an actual placement of a baby. To see that mommy hand her baby over to another woman to be his mommy....the Lord broke our hearts. He reminded us how hard this decision is...and how very SELF-LESS!! He reminded us of the sacrafice made! This isn't just about us adding to our family, it is so much bigger!

I praise the Lord that Chris & I share the same desire & passion to have a relationship with our birthmother. We love her already, with a love that doesn't come from us! We pray for her daily : for her salvation; comfort; her understanding who she is to God & how he sees her; her understanding that she is beautiful, and not because of the way she looks; for her protection; for wise choices; for freedom in Jesus' power from any strongholds that may be in her life.

We can't wait to meet her. We can't wait to love on her! We have NO idea what all of that looks like, but God does & we trust in his sovereignty! The LOVE that WE have for this precious lady COULD NEVER BE PUT TO WORDS! Praise the Lord for tears! Praise him for the grace he has given us, that we can extend it to others!! We are in AWE OF HIM!!!

Our Packet is Done....That's Exciting Right??!!!!

2007-09-25T17:12:00.000-07:00

Well, our packet is done. Chris will take it to Tomball on Thursday and give it to New Life. I don't think that I have ever completed a 'checklist' so long and intense!! But that was the easy part. In our PAC meeting, Cindy told us that the packet completion would be overwhelming, but an easy period in our lives. We would actually be doing something.

So I've been asking the Lord why would being finished scare me? ONE WORD....CONTROL.....

You see, as long as the "packet" sits in my house with something else that I need to complete, my hands are still in it. Why do we want control of everything. Just a little control...come on Lord...just a little.

His reply is simple.....TRUST ME.....

Sure we can say that we trust him, that we have faith, that we believe that he is sovereign....but do we really? Do our lives reflect that?? Do our choices reflect that?? The Lord alone knows that hearts of men, even when we don't know our own hearts.

So the lesson this week is simple...trust him. Let go of all control - we're just going to mess it up any way! I want to be like King David who said, I will not lift one finger to make myself king (even though he knew he was already annointed). In essence, David said to the Lord, it's all you Lord, you have to make this happen, in your time, in your ways, by your power.

Lord continue to teach us how to let go of all control in our lives.

Hearts on Paper....

2007-09-12T04:03:00.000-07:00

Have you ever tried to share your heart on something, in writing? I don’t just mean something random, but something that you are passionate about? Chris and I wrote our birthmother letters yesterday, and honestly, for me it was the hardest letter I have ever written.
What do you say to a woman who is making a sacrificial decision for her child, one that will affect your family forever! All of the preconceived ideas I have ever had about birthmothers – the Lord has shattered them all! I praise the Lord for that!
He has broken my heart for them. He has shown me the hurt that they live, the agony of their decisions. They carry around a life inside of them for 9 months, and then let it go. For most moms, that first 9 months is just the beginning of a whole new world. But for birthmoms, it is all they have!
As I wrote my letter I cried. I thought of what it would be like to feel a baby jumping and kicking inside of me, and then to let him go forever.
We pray for our birthmom every day – as a family & as individuals. Our prayer is so big, it is a good thing that we have a BIG God to answer!

Teaching the Kids....or God Teaching Me???

2007-08-23T06:58:00.000-07:00

The kids have been studying Hebrews 11. FAITH is the cornerstone of our beliefs, and yet it is often so lacking in our adult lives. My thought was that if we studied FAITH in God’s word, we could grasp what it is, and how it should affect our lives.

“FAITH is the confidence that what we hope for will actually happen, it gives us assurance about the things we cannot see.” [Hebrews 11:1 NLV]
What things do we hope for? Are they God’s things or our own?

I love it when God teaches me SO much through me teaching my kids!! What in the world happens to us as we grow up….where does our child-like faith go? Why is it so easy for the world to steal our FAITH and replace it with doubt? That’s a chunk to chew on!!

"it is impossible to please God without FAITH. Anyone who wants to come to him must believe that God exists and that he rewards those who sincerely seek him." [Hebrews 11:6 NLV]

The Process....

2007-08-20T05:44:00.000-07:00

I haven’t done the best job at posting on a regular basis. Ok, I guess that it somewhat of an understatement…I haven’t done it at all. But I am going to be more faithful to keep posting frequently so that
1. everyone can know where we are in the process of adopting
2. everyone can know how to pray for us
3. I can share all that the Lord is teaching us through this process – an honest account

Right now we have our “packet” to get together. It involves finding things that haven’t been seen for 12 years (who knows where our marriage license is?), scrapbooking some pages for our profile (now that is up my alley), writing autobiographies, writing “dear birthmother” letters…… Honestly, it is all a little overwhelming, but one step at a time.

The hardest part of the “packet” to fill out is the Infant Acceptance Form. Basically it is a checklist that states what type of baby you will & won’t take. While we understand the necessity of this list (to match birthmothers to prospective profiles to choose from), we are hesitant to rush into filling this out. We want the baby that God has for us & we have NO idea what that looks like right now. So, you can be praying for guidance in completing that part of the packet.

For those who don’t know, after we submit our “packet”, our homestudy will be completed and our profile will be shown to birthmothers. We are trusting God for his perfect timing in all of this, from filling out every paper, to financing the process. God has so much he wants to teach us, so far that he wants to grow our FAITH!!

Hebrews 11:1 “FAITH is the confidence that what we hope for will actually happen; it gives us assurance about things that we cannot see.”

Yes God…..grow our FAITH!!

OUR JOURNEY BEGINS...

2007-08-11T20:31:00.000-07:00

Well, I’m not sure that I would have ever dreamed it…but here it is…..Our Blog. This is one of those things that I said I would “never do”…. And here I am ….. “bloggin’ “ We like to say that these are OUR (current) THOUGHTS ON (some) THINGS!

We want to share all that is going on in our lives, and there is so much right now! The biggest thing going on right now, is that we are in the process of adopting a baby from New Life. The Lord has taught us so much already, and yet we are certain that there is so much more to learn!

So come travel on our journey with us. My goal is to be open, honest and real. I want the Lord to use all that he is teaching us in whatever ways that he wants!! I want to be open, humble and teachable. So here we go! Join our journey!