TWO Months of Sweet Craziness

Today marks two months since I went with my little sister  C to pick up the newest additions to our family.  I can remember the day like yesterday.  We went and picked them up and they were just getting to their previous fm's from a visit with their bm and bd. We gathered all of their things loaded  everyone in the van and were on our way.  I remember thinking,  " yay we finally have a placement and they will be with us more than just a couple weeks."  On the way home we sang N's favorite song (Deep and Wide) and then Jesus Loves Me.  I looked through my mirror and thought this is BLISS.  Even though it has only been two months it feels like they have always been a part of our family.  This is one of the many tough part of foster care (loving children as your own but knowing they will/could go back with their parents).  It's been absolutely craziness at times. The first week was definitely the hardest.  It's sweet though now when the kids get home from school they hug each other and act as life never went on without each other in it.  There are days when sibling rivalry gets the best of them and days when I look over  and they are playing so sweet together.  Now that we have all settled into our routine's life is much easier (but not any quieter or any less crazy).  We have settled into our "new" normal.   For now I will enjoy every moment.  Enjoy little giggles and sweet craziness.  Enjoying and loving and pouring everything we have into these little guys while they are in our home.  Even though we are mommy and daddy now...  and may not always have that special spot in their lives, they will always on this side of heaven have a praying mommy and daddy even if they aren't ours "officially."    

Really because our children aren't ours anyways... they are His and we are just stewards over them.  

So as I pray over the babies from my belly I pray over these little ones too;

Dedicated to you all my sweet little ones. 

Love,  

 Mommy

The Stages of Labor

It has been so long since I've last posted.  In the last almost 3 years I felt like there have been so many things the Lord has spoke to our hearts.  Over the last two years we feel like God has shown us that we have been pregnant with something.  This may sound a little odd for some of you but just go with me for a second.   Three years ago when the Lord told us to start getting our license and foster to adopt we felt like we were almost pregnant with this dream/vision.   Over the last two years we have felt like we have gone through different stages of labor.  The beginning of the "pregnancy" as we will call it we were excited and felt extreme joy about the desire the Lord placed in our hearts and what was yet to come.   Shortly after we were licensed in April of 2010 we got a call about an opportunity to place our home study in on a baby named James.  At that time we felt like the Lord told me to go and open up the book of James and read it. It's funny because although I have read the book of James before I have never paid as much attention or have felt like the Lord spoke to me through it as much as he did this time.  As I opened the book of James and began reading in the second through fourth vs. says, "My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience.  But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, and lacking nothing."   We felt immediately that the Lord was going to begin working on the area of Patience in our life.  As I continued to read throughout James there were so many things that we felt like the Lord was speaking to us.  We did not have the opportunity to interview for this baby but I knew that through this God was showing us something.    A while later we had the opportunity to submit our home study on a precious little girl named Patience. We submitted our home study and waited and then later got a call saying we were chosen to interview to adopt little one.  It was an exciting time interviewing for our first time.  If I would have just looked at her name and realized that this was just another thing to teach me PATIENCE.  We interviewed and it wasn't until a month and a half later we found out we were not chosen to adopt her. (God really knows what He is doing.)  This we realized was the point in labor called transition.   Transition during labor is the part of labor when you feel that you can't go on that you are DONE.  You want to give up and feel like you can't press on.  We felt like God was never going to allow us to be used.  We also thought about giving up our license several times because we thought, "what is the point of continuing all this training for nothing."  Looking back we realize how God’s timing is perfect and there are SO many things He taught us before bringing us to the point that we are now. 
................ to be continued

Waiting

So we seem to be in the season of waiting! It has been so long since I have written. Littlest baby is now almost 9 months old! I can't believe that time has gone by so quickly. It seems like not long ago we got licensed for foster-adot ... and yet it is going to be 2 years coming up here soon. Two years of turning in our home studies on different kids and we've only have one interview up until now.  I really just have to trust God that HE has a plan and I just need to be patient and wait on His timing.

* Well we did get chosen during this time to interview for a little girl..it's obvious that the Lord is teaching me PATIENCE! lol :)  We ended up not getting chosen which we later found out was a good thing because her foster mom decided to adopt her!  I love it how God spared our hearts from getting hurt and attached because in the end HE knew that she wasn't supposed to be ours! God is SO awesome!!!!

Be still and KNOW that I am GOD!

Psalm 46:10

A new little blessing!

So we heard back from our agency regarding the possible adoption! They found a home for baby J. We are excited for him knowing that he is in the right home that the Lord has for him.  We are also at peace knowing that when the time is right the Lord will show us and bring to us the son we are supposed to adopt. God knew and know's the perfect timing and he knew when Briellah was going to come.

A few days after we found out about Baby J being placed we gave birth to our Beautiful baby girl! She was born at 6:06 am weighing 6 lbs 7 oz and was 18 inches long. She was born on January 8, 2011. She is 4 days today and has been such a great blessing to our home. Our other children absolutely adore her and so does her mommy and daddy! :)

We are busy snuggling, adjusting, lounging, and enjoying our days with daddy home this week. He is making the transition so much easier. He goes back Saturday for the day and then will be home for the weekend again! So next Tuesday will be our official day getting things back to normal. I think it will be a pretty good transition but also am a little nervous about having 4 littles 5 and under! But so ready to get things back to normal and start homeschooling again after our break for Christmas and then our little break after baby. I feel so blessed right now! Abundantly blessed!

It's been a while

It's been a really long time since I've posted last. One of the reasons that I am not so good at blogging is keeping up with it! Shortly after we got our good news of being licensed foster parents we found out we were going to have another precious blessing (in my womb)!
I am now only 8 weeks away from delivery and we are having a baby girl.  It's been 8 months since we have been licensed foster-adopt.  We currently aren't seeking to have kids placed except those who's parents rights have already been terminated that way we can just go right into adoption.   We've been getting lots of inservice trainings in and learning what we can! It's neat to sit around seasoned foster parents and learn all we can!
Last week we got a call from our agency! They have a baby that is in the state's care that they are looking for an adoptive family to adopt! We were SO excited to get the call! But now we have to just sit back and wait! We sent in our homestudy and the people deciding who his parents will be will review all homestudies of adoptive families that are interested in becoming his parents! There could be anywhere from 10-30 homestudies sent in! Then they will chose 5 families out of those 10-30 homestudies that they feel would be a best fit for this little man! So we are still waiting to hear if we were one of the 5 families chosen! It's all in God's hands! We may be chosen we may not be! Just learning about this sweet baby makes me so easily fall in love! I wish I could just go and get him now and become his forever family! But that is yet another thing that is not in my control! It's hard, really hard to know that God has placed this calling to adopt on your life.. to pursue it and just have to be patient and wait! To know there is a baby or a child out there that is your son but not be able to hold him, kiss him, snuggle him and give him your love like you do with the rest of your children! To pray for him, for his safety that wherever he may be that God would protect him! So this could be the little one God has for us or it could not be! It's hard to be patient and wait and just not know! Not know the plans of the Lord! I'm trying to not get my hopes up.. but it is.... SO ..... hard! I know we have another little one on the way and I am extremely excited to hold her, kiss her, and love on her! But at the same time there is a HUGE spot for adoption in my heart! I can't even describe it! I just know that God has big plans! The beginning of this year I felt the Lord speak to me that He was going to do some pretty awesome things in our lives this year! He has done some pretty awesome things... but I just can't help but wonder if giving us "twins" is in those big awesome plans!!!!!!
So now I will be patient as I wait to get a call and hear to see whether we get an interview or if we don't! I know that either way God has this baby's best in mind and He ultimately know's what is best! SO I will sit back and rest in the peace of knowing that He know's what He's doing and learn patience in this season that he is obviously trying to teach me patience! It's SO hard to wait though......... but patiently I will wait!
Today that song came to my mind from fireprooof!.... While I'm waiting.. !
:) Have a blessed week you all and I can't wait to share with you next what the Lord will do! :)

We are officially licensed for foster care!!!!

This week I am beyond excited! Almost 2 weeks ago we found out an amazing surprise... which I'll share with you next week! :-) Then Monday we found out that we are licensed for foster care!!!!!!

God has been doing some amazing things in our lives! My dh went with our Pastor to AG District in Indy the 17th and 18th. My dh came back refreshed, blessed, and excited for what God has in store! I was so blessed that he was able to go and get his socks blessed off!! :-) He came home and shared with me that he feels like we are in preperation for the mission field for Africa specifically! Okay I have to back it up a minute because I know I totally lost you (if anyone is reading, lol). My husband and I got married 6 days after I graduated from High School to then a month later move down to Pensacola, FL to attend bible college to pursue what God had for us! We knew shortly after actually it may have been before that we were called to missions. We were unsure where so we prayed, sought God and he showed us! He told us the name Zambia! At the time my dh shared with me that this is where God spoke to him and told us where we were called.. and we actually had to get out a map and question.. are you sure God there is a place called Zambia! Because we had never heard of it before! Well sure enough we opened up a map.. and saw that Zambia is in Africa just south of the Congo! Anyways within a week I was reading a missions magazine and there was an article about Zambia! I continued reading and found out that over 80% of the population is 16 and under because of the Aids crisis.. and that most children are raising children! If you know me at all you know I LOVE kids... they are my passion! Immediately I felt a confirmation in my spirt! Well for the last 5 years we have not really put off that calling we really believe that everything we have done up until this point has been preparation! We kept praying saying Lord whenever you tell us it's time we are willing to Go! After having small children of our own too there are a lot of things that I've definitely been more paranoid about. lol. And so I though well Lord that's great send us when were like 45 after our babies are grown maybe like Heidi baker! I love that woman by the way! She is SO inspiring and I can see Jesus all over her!!! aaahhh. Anyways so my dh came home and said babe I feel like we are supposed to start preparing! I knew instantly that we were and even though it might be a few years down the line till we are there we are supposed to start getting things ready for that season! I was beyond excited yet scared at the same time! Mostly because I felt Lord.. how am I going to do this! Raise these 3 babies, and (?) and (?) and (?) and do (?) and all while homeschooling them, taking care of what you've given me and still loving the motherless of Africa! Did you notice the "I" in there! lol. But it's him that's going to be doing it! I know without a doubt that He is going to use us! And I'm so excited to continue now to be emptied out of myself so that I can be an open vessel and He can use me!!!

As of now I don't know what this next year holds! I don't know why we went through this foster care journey if he didn't intend for us to adopt! I think we still are going too! I'm really really excited to see what he has in store for us over the next year!!!! I am SO ready to be doing everything I was created to do! He is an AMAZING Father who has blessed us over and over again.. he has never failed us.. not once!!!! I am also excited to see what is in store!!! His presence is so near right now! I love this season of complete Joy and just feeling and hearing him! It is good! HE alone is good!!!!!

"You are the Lord the famous one, famous one, GREAT is your name in all the earth! The heavens declare you are glorious, glorious, GREAT is your name in all the earth!!!"

Thank you Father for what you are about to do! Thank you for your presence, for who you are Jesus! You amaze us time and time again! Though we are no where near perfect and we fail you time and time again... you are such a loving gracious dad! You pick us up and you restore us, fulfill us and bring us Joy! You amaze me!!!! Father I am ready to be that open vessel! Rip out everything in me that doesn't please you and fill me with yourself! Help people to not see me when they look at me help your presence to be so strong in our lives and home that when people are around us their lives are changed.. not by religion... but by YOU!!!!! I love you So much Father!! I am in awe of your beauty! And I'm forever changed at your feet!

Love yours always,

Your beloved daughter!!!!!

posted April 2012- It's awesome how we are seeing God's plans and preperation for the mission field unfold!  We are so excited to be used by the Lord to fulfill His purposes for Him at this time.. and we know that at some point in our lives we will be ministering over seas! :)