One of Those Days

So it has been one of "those" days around our house today.  

 

Part of this stems from our homeschool ski trip yesterday.  I hate to admit I am old but good grief, I am feeling it today.  I am sore and wind crisped...and sleepy! But thankfully, so are my kids so I don't have to blame my age. Right? We are one sorry bunch to be around.  I should just declare this a housewide "Nap Day".  

 

Secondly, I finally called the USCIS office to find out why our approval has not arrived and they said it still is in processing (whatever that means).

 

Oh yes, and thirdly, I found a mangled pull-up in my wash.  Do you have any idea what a pull up does when whipped around a front loading washing machine with a load of dark clothing.  Not pretty!

 

But there is a light at the end of our rather bleak day.  I decided to check the "my family found me" page on Reece's Rainbow . And guess what I found!  Two of the little ones I told you about in my last post have found a family!  Micah and Mabel are both listed as having families that have commited to bringing them home. Hurray!   Now it is time for little Libby to find her family!

 

So instead of looking at the things which I cannot change --like Olivia's paperwork and my sore body...and the "PULL-UP"; I hope I can look at the things which my great God can change--like the lives of orphans and the hearts of Christians. Because He is just that amazing.

 

"God of the universe,

do You hear the cries that pour out from all the earth,

can Your hands reach down and heal the hurt of the broken.

God of the universe,

when we hear the cries that pour out from all the earth,

will You give us hands that reach and heal the hurt of the broken.

God over everything,

will You give us eyes to see all the light we bring,

will You be the voice that causes our hearts to sing for the broken."

--Bebo Norman--

 

Little Drops

The other day I mentioned to a friend that sometimes adopting Olivia seems like a drop in a huge bucket.  There are so many orphans.  And does it really make a difference to adopt one, when there are obviously so many out there?

 Today I ran across a blog post by an adopting dad who mentioned the same thing; only he thought of the child they are adopting as a "non-drop".  I wonder how full the bucket would be if Christians would step forward and keep one drop from falling in the bucket? 

 

So I thought I would introduce a few "drops" today.  These are just a few kiddos that can be caught before they fall in the bucket. 

 

Micah

This little guy just tugs at my heart.  His description says he is a healthy down syndrome child, who is developing very well.  He had a heart repair surgery and recovered well.  Is he not the cutest?  Now I just have to mention here that this guy is in a relatively easy country (cost run $19-$25k--trust me this is very inexpensive; 2 trips of 5 days, and I believe only one parent has to travel). 

 

Libby

This little girl is just so stinking cute.  She also has down syndrome and is listed as healthy.  She is on one of the fastest programs (some children have been brought home within 7 months, $25k, 2 trips).

 

Mabel

Mabel is the reason I found Reece's Rainbow.  A fellow Etsy shop was trying to raise money for her adoption.  And although she has close to $8,000 in her fund she has still not been adopted (total for her country is $25k, so with her fund her adoption would only cost $17k)  She is 8 years old (Doesn't look it does she? - she is the size of a 3 year old). 

 

Thanks for humoring me and reading my posts.  I know all people are not called to adopt.  But we are all called to "care for the fatherless".  Maybe you read this and thought "It's not for me."  We'll then repost, because someone somewhere out there is about to have a heart changing experience when they see these kids. 

I know I did.

 

Ps. You may wonder why I can show you these kids pics and not Olivia's...well, let's just say her country is a little more stubborn. ;)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Thank You

This is for you... you know, who you are! Don't laugh too hard. :)

 

 

Also I will be removing our "chip-ins" this coming week some time.  We really do appreciate what all of  y'all have done to help bring Olivia home.

 

I still have a lot of handmade items to sell in Livi's Gift Shoppe and will probably continue making things until we bring Olivia home.  To pay for those though, you will have to use our waysthatyouchangeme@gmail.com paypal account

 instead of the "chip in". 

Valentines Day

I know y'all can't see pictures of Olivia just yet and so on this Valentine's Day I thought I would share a quote I found that kind of sums up what this adoption has been for me....

 

I can honestly say that I was not looking to adopt at this time.  I have looked before...you know, before we had 5 kids of our own. Way back when it would have been "easier" to adopt.  But I have learned that God is there directing our steps no matter where we think we might be heading. (Pv. 16:9) And His timing is always perfect.

And I know that seeing a picture, doesn't make everyone want to adopt. But I think God used the pictures of the reality of orphans to wake me up and see beyond my little world.  So for Valentines Day, instead of sending out Valetine cards I am going to show you Valentine  faces...who knows maybe next year they too can share V-day with a family.  It just so happens that I found kiddos that have the same name as mine....fun! :)

Micah

 

Riley

 

Both of these kiddos are on Reece's Rainbow and have Down Syndrome just like Olivia. 

Happy Valentines Day!

 

 

 

Progess + Challenge

Our biometrics appointment is finally done.  We made the 4 1/2 hour trip to Albuquerque yesterday.  Our appointment was scheduled for 1:00PM but we made it there at 10:15AM, so upon the recommendation of others we decided to just walk-in and see if they would take us early.

It was one of those store fronts with the tinted windows so we could not see in, and once we stepped in, the place was really bare.  There were about 20 empty chairs to the left and an officer at a desk to the right. (So at this point we are guessing they just might take us early.) Just before we reached the desk the officer pointed to a dispenser and told us to sanitize our hands before continuing to the desk.  Weird, right?  You go to the doctors office crammed with sick people and they don't ask you to sanitize, but here at this completely empty office, we sanitize.  Because maybe our germy hands are going to leave some creepy disease on the fingerprint scanner.  Also they are very paranoid about ball caps there.  The lady practically panicked when Josh wore his hat BEHIND THE COUNTER.....big no, no!

After about 5 minutes we were adequately fingerprinted and on our way home --4 1/2 hours home.  But no matter how rediculous the trip seemed it was awesome to be actually making measurable progress.  We have about a two week wait until our results arrive and we can move on to one of the final steps.

So again we wait.  Regular life keeps us busy!  The kids have school, Josh is burning stuff ;), and I am preparing for a Valentine Banquet at our church.  Every year I am volunteered for decorations.  This must mean I do a decent job, right?  This year we decided to get a bit carried away with my ideas and we are all going to "dress" for the occasion. So I have an idea....

Ya'll who know me, know that I am not super outgoing and flamboyant- neither is Josh for that matter, he hates Valentines Day and going out (in fact, I like to call him a barnacle).   BUT....here's my idea.  Our "CHIP- IN" over there is being closed down- the company is closing in 2 weeks!  I thought maybe we needed a last hoorah. So I am going to let someone at the Valentine banquet get a picture of Josh and I dressed up.  And if the chip-in that says "Olivia's In Country Fees" reaches $950 by Saturday, we will share a (most likely) terrible picture of Josh and I dressed in our best 50's Soda Shop attire! :)   Anyone game?

Saturdays

This is the second time I have had to drive to the Post Office every day for an entire week hoping I would find the letter I was looking for.  This time it was our USCIS Biometrics appointment.  Last Saturday I received a letter stating that they had indeed received our application and were working on our appointments....I would receive the appointments soon.  So anxious me went faithfully to the mail everyday.  Why did I not learn my lesson the first time?  Apparently they like to send things on Saturday. 

All that to say, we received our appointments!!!!  Tuesday the 12th we will head to Albuquerque to get our Biometrics done.  What are Biometrics?  Good question!  To my knowledge they are just fancy fingerprints.  Digital pictures of our fingerprints --because apparently the ink ones done by our local police are not enough.

Once we finish this step, we will have a two week wait for approval.  Hopefully I can wait the two weeks before I start driving to the Post Office daily. Once we receive approval, I will have a 5 hour trip to our state capitol to have all our dossier documents apostilled.  Apostille?  Yes, now this word is just a fancy word for a notarization that only the Secretary of the State's office can preform.  They have to apostille each peace of paper you are sending off to the child's country and this can be moderately cheap like $5 per page up to $50+ per page.  Just depends on how much your state feels like charging.  Hopefully NM has mercy! ;)

And that is our news for now.  Wish I had more.  I was told by our case worker that she might be able to get us an update on Olivia this month some time.  We have only seen pictures of her from one day at least 6 months ago.  I really would love to see a new picture. I know y'all miss out on the pictures but this mom really could use one.

Thank you to all the people who read this blog and follow our little journey.  Some days it is so hard to be patient.  And some days I have true panic that I will not be able to care for her the way she needs.  Some days all I can do is pray that God will work in the unknowns...the what ifs.  Some days all I can do is hold on the fact that God called us to this and to stay the course......and I am thinking that this is precisely where God wants me to be.

So thanks again....keep us in your prayers.  We have a lot of things to work through in February! We are looking forward to what March and April may hold! :)