While We Are Waiting....

The wait....UGGGGG!!!!  Well I guess I shouldn't say UGGGG!!!  The wait, while difficult, has been full of blessings.  As I sit here, my little Eden is coloring!!!  What a blessing.  No gloves! No vest! No helmet! No earmuffs! No blanket! No beanbag!!!!  In this long wait, God granted some answers for us with Eden.  We have been enjoying seeing a side to our little girl that had been hidden deep inside her waiting to burst forth.  We still have hard days, but they are nothing like they were!  The wait has brought an excitement and maturity to Phoebe.  She is watching God slowly yet perfectly bring our family together.  Someone gave her some clothes the other day and she said, "God is good!"

My faith in my Father has also grown as it has been stretched so thin it has become transparent! I am catching glimpses of the depth of love God has for the orphan, the fatherless, the defenseless, the oppressed, the widow.  I am realizing the role we as the Body of Christ have been charged with.  I realize it is a command just as much as the 10 in Exodus.  I am grateful that He called my family to adoption.  How is He calling you to defend the fatherless, the oppressed, the widow?  Do you know we have children in Huntsville, Alabama that go to bed hungry for several nights in a row?  Do you know about Manna House?  Lincoln Village?  For Life Ministries?  Kids to Love?  Those are just a few ministries in town that I know of that you and your family can get involved in.

Another way you can help is by donating to adopting families.  Adopting is expensive.  Eden's adoption process was $28,000.  Phoebe's process was $38,000.  We were able to pay cash for all the expenses that went along with both of their adoptions.  Needless to say, that was all our savings.  When God tells you to do something, you simply do it.  You have to trust even when it seems impossible.  We had raised all but about $10,000 for the expenses of Lyric's adoption when God said that we were to adopt Tilly too.  With the obedience came fear.  How would we raise the remainder of one adoption process and add to it another?  God is faithful.  He is using total strangers, friends, and family to bring these two precious girls home.  With the addition of the second adoption and the continued fundraising, we are now only in need of $11,800!!!! That is a drop in the bucket compared to where we were 2 months ago!  Thank you to all those who have helped.  I know that for many of you, the gift you have given us was out of little and a huge sacrifice.

We have one more fundraiser that we are doing here at the end.  We are doing a Puzzle Fundraiser.  See...God has put our family together.  He designed 4 little girls half a world away to be part of our family.  Our puzzle fundraiser is a reminder of that.  For a donation of $5 (check or paypal) we will put your name on a puzzle piece.  When it is completed, we will frame it and hang it in our home.  It will serve as a reminder that God has perfectly put us together.  Each piece of the puzzle is completely different just like each girl in our family is completely different, but they each have holes that can only be filled by our family and by the Creator Himself!

                                          This is our puzzle.  It is a picture of the Forbidden
                                            City in Beijing, China!  It is a beautiful place!

                                         These are the people that have donated to the puzzle
                              fundraiser so far!  Thank you for helping us put our puzzle together!

I am hoping to have some news this week on the next step of the process!!!  Please continue to prayer for our girls in China...for protection.  Pray for the next steps to go quickly and smoothly.  Pray that God will be glorified throughout the remainder of this process.  Thank you!