Homestudy!

After much annoying pestering (by me), our homestudy is done! I am sure our social worker is glad to be done with us for now.  I had to read 19 pages of how a complete stanger viewed our family. I was really nervous to read what she thought of our house and family.  I must admit she described my house way better than it actually is.  I was thinking "No way, that's not my place!" 

So it is onward and forward for us. 

Next up is a USCIS "aka Immigration" application.

Wooohooo! 

Why?

I can't begin to count the times I have been asked "why". 

"Why are you adopting?"

"Why are you adopting a girl with Down Syndrome?"

"Why do you want more kids when you already have 5." 

 

Sadly most of these questions come from fellow Christians.  And I just want to say, "Because Christ told all of us to take care of orphans. Because there are childen who may never know what love is this side of Heaven." But that is a little too blunt and so I generally tell a round about story.  Tonight I was on Reece's Rainbow and I just  was blown away by the new arrivals on the sight.  If not for this organization so many people would have no idea what was happening to these rejected children.  Orphans who are not "true" orphans....they have parents out there, who for some reason or another decided they were not worth keeping and gave them away.  How can we not have compassion on the least of these?

 

This is Zoey

She is six years old!  Yes, you read that right!  And she weighs 10lbs.  Her file is only available through Reece's Rainbow for around 2 months.  My six year old weighs over 40lbs. In fact, I think my daughter weigh over 10 lbs by the time she was 2 wks old. Zoey needs a family. 

 

This is Bowen

This little fellow needs a Mom to hug.  Isn't he just so adorable.  But he is still sitting in an orphanage somewhere because his parents didn't want a child who had missing limbs.

 

So I dare you...ask me "why?"!

 

 

 

Passports!!!

    Ok, they are not here, but we have FINALLY applied for our passports.   I know this isn't a huge step, but I take what I get these days.  Lately, all I here is "you have to wait", "no, you can't do that yet", "it's not ready yet", and my favorite "this is a long process".  (As if I haven't already figured out that it's a LONG process.)  I get so frustrated.  I am one of those people that likes to do everything I can; I like to feel the progress. But progress is a bit invisible these days.
    Maybe it is time for me to dig deep and figure out what lesson I am supposed to be learning now.  Or maybe this is just Patience 102.  And I was just silly enough to think that Patience 101 was enough.

    Apparently I am supposed to be satisfied with posting yet again about our fundraisers.  So here is our list:

1.  Use Amazon to Christmas shop!!! Just make sure to use our link box at the right!

2. Livi's Gift Shoppe on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/#!/LivisGiftShoppe
Check it out....I am continually adding new things!

3. Blocks....yes, I will still make blocks.  I may never want to see a block again as long as I live, but for Olivia I will persevere. The info about blocks can be found here: BLOCKS

Orphan Sunday

A year ago I couldn't have told you that the first sunday in November was called Orphan Sunday -- a Sunday dedicated to sharing the needs of orphans with the church body.  A year ago I couldn't have told you even in a ballpark figure just how many orphans there are in this world.  I had no idea.  How sad is that? 

  James 1:27
Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this, To visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep himself unspotted from the world.

I am amazed at how many times I read that verse and didn't realize that it meant ME.  I was to visit the fatherless....I was to help orphans...ME!  The word "fatherless" appears 43 times in the KJV.  43 times!!! These lost children are important to God and they should be to us. 

 

 

And since I learned about the needs of Orphans from Reece's Rainbow (a sight dedicated to raising awareness and funds for special needs orphans), I thought I would share just a few of the children waiting for someone to read James 1:27 or Matthew 25 and say "Hey, that's ME....God wants ME to do this...He really does care about the "least of these". 

Dawn

 

Angelina

Kolya

Boden

Veronica

 

I just wonder how many Christians celebrated Halloween.....do you think the same number of Christians are celebrating Orphan Sunday? Think about it!  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 



Christmas shopping?

Who knew you could help us out just by Christmas shopping?!?  You can!  All you have to do is:  every time you use our Amazon link on the right side of the page ( you can use the Amazon 4 Adoption at the top right or the Amazon search box at the bottom right) to do your Amazon shopping, we earn a percentage toward Olivia's adoption.  Easy, right? So easy you should try it today!