Tears of joy!

   
                            Great is the Lord and most worthy of our praise!!


     Sorry for not updating sooner. This week has been crazy yet exciting. This week has also been full of tears of joy! My friends the Walser's  found out on Wednesday that they are going to be the proud parents of a four year old girl. She is so beautiful and her name is Abigail Lynne Walser. Brings tears to my eyes just writing that! They had one week to pay the referral fee of $8300 and God has worked through all of you to get them more then half way there! Truly amazing. I am humbled and in awe at the pouring of love and money that has been sent their way. God has really shown me that no amount is to big for Him and no time limit is going to stop all that He has planned. It's something that in my heart I all ready knew, but to see it really happen is just incrediable. Thank you Jesus for allowing me to be apart of their adoption journey. Please head over to their  blog and help them get the rest of the money in. Help them get their precious daughter home and in their arms. We love you Walser family more then you know and I can't wait to meet sweet Abigail Lynne!!
 UPDATE: They got all the money!!! Praise God, sweet Abigial Lynne is now a Walser! Thank you all for your help!!!!

      The last couple of days leading up to my birthday I decided not to ask for money for our dossier, because I wanted the focus to be put on the Walser's. God decided to bless us anyway. (there is so much to go around, God provides for what He favors) I must have cried a dozen times on my birthday as each email came in with a donation. Thank you all so very much. I will never be able to truly express my gratitude towards all of you for sacrificing on behalf of our son. I can't believe how close we are to becoming a "waiting" family. We only need $1230!!!! That is 49 people giving $25. Completely do able and I am excited for all of it to come in and we can finally send in our dossier. Our puzzle is also starting to take shape. It's $10 to sponsor a piece and your name will be permanently written on the back.

Here is an update to our puzzle

 

      
      For my birthday dinner, my hubby took us all to the Ethiopian restaurant. I was really excited to try it again (I was actually craving it) and we were dying to take the kids. I was not sure if they would like it, but they know the rules when it comes to food. They have to try it only once and they have to try it every time it is offered. (meaning, if Monday they had beans they have to try it once and if they don't like it fine, but when I offer it again on like Thursday they have to try it again) They all loved it. I was quite shocked, but very excited that we can keep going as a family. Can't wait to bring our son there. I loved all the food and I am excited to go back. I heard that in Ethiopia it is a little different, so I am excited to try it there as well.

       
 

        I also have a dear friend who bought one of my necklaces so she can do a giveaway for her birthday. Check out  her blog and try to win one. Super easy! Thank you Jamey for helping to get our adoption out there. Every little bit helps. A little can add up to a lot fairly quickly.
     

      Thank you all for your love and support. I am blessed beyond measure. I don't deserve any of it, yet I am incredibly grateful.


           
    "How awesome is the Lord most high. The great King over all the earth.
        Sing praises to God, sing praises, sing praises to our King, sing praises.!"

Psalm 47:2,6

No time to be lazy and the puzzle is back!!!!

      My birthday is in one week from today. On the 29th of July I will be 29!! I love saying that, so cool! Anyways, for my present (since I know all of you have been racking your brains on what to get me ) I would love to be able to have the money to send in our dossier. One week to raise $2380. On the last day ( my birthday) I will be doing a facebook a-thon to try and raise what ever remainder we have left. Will you help spread the word?

No time to be lazy:
       I have been praying about a shirt idea ever sense we decided to adopt, but could not think of anything. About a week ago the Lord gave me an idea that I am so excited about. I am in the process of getting the design right, so this will take a while. Also on August 7th we are going to be having another yard sale. This one needs to be a lot bigger, We are going to advertise in the paper and we could really use your help the day of and also if there is anything you can donate we would be thrilled to come get it.

     On another note. THE PUZZLE IS BACK!!!! First let me explain why I deleted it to begin with. I got this idea from a friend who got it from a friend etc. I found this puzzle and just fell in love with it. Then after it was up, I saw that someone else had did the exact same puzzle. I felt horrible even though I did not intentionally take the same one they had. But after praying, my sweet hubby said "We love it and we should do it. We are all in this together!" So very true! So it is back. Here is the idea in a nutshell:

     We are asking you to "sponsor" a piece or pieces of our puzzle for $10 each. When you sponsor one, we will permanently write your name or your families name on the back. When it is all finished we will put it in a glass case so that you will be able to see the front and the back of all the people who helped bring our son home. I love this idea, I love being able to have something for our son to look at and keep forever. So we are asking you to please sponsor a piece or two! If you want to see exactly what ours will look like complete go to this puzzle. 

 So please help us put our puzzle together and bring home our little one.We will update with pictures as  the sponsors come in. Our kiddos are very excited to put this together as they are sponsored, so let's give them something to do :D

WE NEED YOU!!!

     I am so excited to say that our homestudy is COMPLETE! It has been done for a while, I was waiting on signatures and my social worker got sick and some other circumstances, but it is Done! I have all ready sent it over night to UCIS. (Please pray that it is accepted and we get our appointment to get our fingerprints very soon.) Wow! I can't believe that it is finally done. I know some of you may be thinking that I still have a ways to go and we do, but to have one hurdle over with is very exciting in my book.

   What's next you ask!?! Well, we need to get our dossier in. I have almost all the required documents for that. Just waiting on my birth certificate and some references and then the finger prints and thats all. Oh and one more thing, I can't even send it in til we have the money :(   You can look to the right to see how far we have left to go, almost $2600. God can do this, nothing is to big or to small for him.  Once we get this dossier in, we will be put on the waiting list to get our son. Oh, how I can't wait to be a "family in waiting". That's when we find out who our precious son will be. (Jumping for joy)

     Here's where we really need your help. First, please pray. Second, could you please consider donating or buying one, or two, of our beautiful necklaces??

Here is a little bit about them,

This necklace is made up of glass trade beads with silver pieces from Africa. In this picture it is actually doubled. The necklace measure approximately 44” in circumference.

This necklace has an actual 25cent Ethiopian coin with the Lion of Judah on the front and a man and a women with arms raised on the back (I like to think they are praising Jesus) It is set with a black braided leather cord. The leather cord is 18" long and the pendant is approximately 1" in diameter. The Lion of Judah was the symbol of the Israelite tribe of Judah from the book of Genesis. You can   read more about it here.

 Both of these amazing necklaces can be purchased to the right.

 Also if you are unable to do any of those ( I hope you can pray) then please feel free to pass around my blog.

  I am so thankful to the Lord for getting us one step closer. He has done it in such a short period of time. I can't wait to hold our little one.  Thank you all so very much for your support!!

Servants to the King?

      Jesus talking to His disciples (us)....."You know that those who are considered rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones exercise authority over them. But it shall not be among you. But whoever would be great among you must be slave of all. For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for many." Mark10:42-45

      All of us are disciples which means we are  really servants to the body of Christ. Not "lords" over the body of Christ. When we get out of our servant attitude we become more greedy, and that's when we only care about ourselves. Bigger house, nicer car, big TV, new phone, Etc.  We then tend to "overlook" others in this world who are hurting, or hungry, or dying. We tend to think that we can't possibly help, because we have bills to pay from the new couch that we had to have or the vacation that we worked so hard for.

    "This says the Lord God, Ah Shepherds of Israel who have been feeding yourselves! Should not shepherds feed the sheep? You eat the fat, you clothe yourselves with the wool, you slaughter the fat ones, but you do not feed the sheep. The weak you have not strengthened, the sick you have not healed, the injured you have not bound up, the strayed you have not brought back and the lost you have not sought." Ezekiel34:2-4

      God's desire is that we are to serve the body of Christ and  when we serve, we should have a heart of a shepherd, where our concern and our care is for the sheep (people) not for ourselves.

Some facts about Ethiopia:
• one out of every 20 children born alive die in their first month of life
• one out of ten die before reaching their first birthday
• one out of six die before reaching their fifth birthday
 The major diseases affecting children under-five, such as acute respiratory infection, diarrhoeal diseases, measles, malaria and malnutrition are responsible for 70 per cent of childhood morbidity and mortality. All of which could be prevented and /or cured.

     I am so thankful that God has called us to adopt. It has opened my eyes to so many things that I chose to over look. Do you realize how rich we are in America? Yes, I said RICH! If you make more then $2 a day, then you make more then most people in the world. Did you know that  there are children in this world who are dying because they have no food or clean water to drink? Did you know that my son does not have a birth certificate? That they will guess how old he really is and that they will just make up a birthday? How would that make you feel to not even know when you were born? I know that there are so many children dying all over this world and not just in Ethiopia. The Lord just led my heart there so that is why I am talking about it.  I would like to make something very clear though. We are NOT adopting this child because we want to "save" him. We are adopting because we want to have another son, God is the one who happen to lead us to a country with so much poverty. I can't pretend any longer like it's not there. (Proverbs24:12)

  Are we as Christians doing a good job of shepherding our sheep or are we fattening our selves?


"I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep~ Jesus (John10:11)
   
Father, forgive me for always turning the focus from you to myself. Father look after our son and all the other children in this world who may feel like there is no hope and will one day see that their hope lies in you. Lord I am so thankful for the depths of your power and grace. Father I know that we are all sinners and fall very short of your glory, but may we commit ourselves to truly serving you on this earth until you return. May we strive to put you at the center of our lives everyday and may we repent the times that we do not. May we experience more and more of your holiness as we grow closer in our relationship with you. In Christ name, Amen!