Preparing

WE ordered a mini crib so we can have Julia in our room, it arrived yesterday. Mattress and bedding coming from a different person,it is on its way, and I just went and bought 2 necklace passport/money holders for us in prep for the trip. Rumors have it they are matching files this week, so hopefully within 2 we will have it in hand...time will tell!!!

Waiting

not even the smell of a rumor this week, so we wait for next week, my hope is something will start to come to light then with referrals early in November before we have to take off...so we wait...I am amazingly calm...not sure why LOL!!!

Mid October, here we are!

well, what is new in our world....

Well we are excited for friends who are currently in Ethiopia having just met their son who they are adopting. They are just waiting for a visa to come so they can bring him home,they have waited over 15 weeks for this thing, they decided to go and be with him until it came(been there a couple weeks so far). So cool!(them going), NOT cool, the paper delay!

We have other friends who are planning to adopt from Kenya, and just waiting for a few more pieces of the puzzle to fall in place before they uproot and head there.

We await our match and expect travel either in mid December or Early January, depending on when the matches come.

Myself, Cara and some friends are working on a whole Sunday devoted to Orphan care. www.orphansunday.org, is the inspiration for it, we are so excited. Going have the elementary kids walk thru a day as an orphan, we will share and challenge our church in areas of adoption, orphan care and foster care. We will have ways for them to interact and help, then have an evening time of watching a videocast about the "cry of the orphan" with Steven Curtis Chapman and Francis Chan. That is Nov 7. We will hopefully have our referral before then :)!

Lately I have been struck by the loss and pain the birthparents must feel in this process, thinking that my girls birth mothers, for example, will spend their life wondering," I wonder what kind of child they are like, how they look, what they like to do, are they thriving? Do they hate me for having to choose to have an adoption plan?..."

It saddens me that my girls will have parts of their past they will never know, because we don't know it, praying that absence of past won't cripple them emotionally or spiritually for their future, feeling so helpless that as their dad, I can't fix it, solve it, protect them from that...I CAN be there for them through it, love them with all I have, and then ask God to give me more, so that my girls will see God is more than enough for them and can help them not be trapped by these losses.

It is such a weird dynamic, adoption is such a gift in so many ways, yet it comes from loss...but the redeeming thing I cling to in this is God, the ultimate Father, His heart beats for the orphan,He cares so much for them, so I try to rest in that because I KNOW God makes beauty come from ashes and redeems past losses and hurt!

We are currently tossing around options for sleeping arrangements for Julia. We want to try cosleeping with her(meaning she sleeps in the room with us, in her bed/crib attached to ours) so she knows we are there for her. After months of being in a crib all alone, with no one to hear her cries, to comfort her,we need to teach her the world, no HER world, is not ever going to be like that again, that her needs will be cared for, that she is loved, and will be nurtured, loved, and cared for and that she has parents who will do that for her. I bought a used crib that we may try modifying to make it smaller(it would be an adventure as my carpenter skills are not great, but who knows it may surprise all of us), so it will fit in our room, or we found out there are mini cribs we may purchase that we can then attach to our bed, to make it secure and work with that. Be making that decision this week.

Last week we sat down and worked through a packing list from the research I have done over the years, a bit overwhelming to try to pack with so many unknowns, such as what size will Julia be(who knows!), what will we be able to purchase there(depends on where we end up going!)...fun!!!

Early November we are going on a Banff retreat for pastors and spouses(with Katie), as we don't want to leave her as she will be left with family during the China trip. Mid November I do some Magic for a Youth Conference in Edmonton, still working on some new magic for that. Birthday shows have been good to me, and I am loving having this creative outlet!

Enjoyed having my mom up for Thanksgiving and hoping my dad can make a trip up sometime in November also.

Love being in a church where we have found some people with a similar heart for adoption and orphans, and that as a bonus they are great friends for Cara and I.

Hopefully you folks reading the blog will see some more posts this month as we know WE ARE NEXT(love saying that after so many years of..."it is getting closer..."!!!)

Things to pray for

Pray for:

God to provide for Julia's mental, physical and emotional needs, also by providing people to touch her lovingly, say sweet words to her, notice her...We would be thru the roof if she was in foster care...

Pray that she has the ability to attach, so that even though there will be loss with her leaving an attachment in China, transferring is easier and healthier than having to create it.

Pray she will be able to grieve her losses, as that is HARD but part of healthy attachment.

Pray for our family who have to adjust during the attachment process(meaning as much as we would like to let them and they would like to, take care of Julia-that they will feel grace from God and that we will all have wisdom to know how to best use the love and desire of our family in ways that will help Julia and also allow our family to enjoy her and celebrate her coming into our family).

Pray for the person matching us this month that God will move their arms and eyes to match us to the one HE has for us.

Wisdom for us as we try to figure out packing(what to take, what not to take, working out luggage issues).

We would love for travel before 2011 is done, so that would mean getting a match end of October or EARLY November.

Wisdom in how to deal with allergy issues in China(food) I can't eat nuts, Cara can't eat seafood/fish...

That we will be easily accessible when the match happens.

That the doctor we give the medical info we get in the match will be given wisdom from God to analyze it truly.

That the paperwork that comes with a match will be processed well and completely, so there are no delays.

That once we are matched that TA(Travel Arrangements- visas etc, gets processed QUICKLY(it can take a month to 7ish weeks) the sooner we get approval the sooner we can book flights.

That travel will come at a time when travel costs are not too high.

So there are a few thing to pray about :)!

re-researching

Spent some time over the weekend looking over old emails from yahoogroups etc that I had saved from 2005 on, compiled some lists(packing, etc), still have to make some decisions on what we want as our final list for packing.

It was great to be doing this, this time, knowing the time is drawing near, and then once we get our referral, researching orphanage and province info.

I am suspecting we will get our referral when we are out of town, it would just figure...

Looked at blogs of folks just matched, it was great to feel that knot in the stomach again, of anticipation, and excitement,little bit of apprehension...

Book Review-Out live Your Life. Max Lucado

Great author, great title, decent read, outstanding discussion guide! How is that for a one sentence review! It is an easy read, but it isn’t one that jumps out and grabs you. Max uses some good examples, draws nicely from the scriptures that talk about the Acts church, and does try to make this a book that draws in the everyday things of life and accents some biblical principles to try to leave a legacy, or make your life count for God’s kingdom.

It is deceptive...now let me explain, because this is really the strength of the whole book. The principles he talks about are not new, they aren’t earth shattering, they aren’t dramatic, BUT if they are lived out they ARE radical and world changing. What is deceptive is that when you read it you can’t discount what he says, but it is very easy to deceive yourself and discount ACTING on any of it. Because this is rubber meets the road, practical faith shown through works and attitudes stuff, it isn’t the latest fad, the newest hyped “thing”, yet if we did ANY of the principles in it our lives WOULD make a difference.

This is where the discussion guide is AMAZING! Good questions to discuss as we all love to spent time TALKING about our faith, but half of the guide has very pointed and achievable ACTIONS for you to take, and you can really tell this is the heart of the truth in this book. Get the book, if you don’t have time to read it, just jump to the end, read and respond to the discussion guide, and you will be WELL on your way to making a difference. Don’t let the easy reading style of the book fool you. Take some action steps and Max’s heart for this book will come to life!

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the BookSneeze.com book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

WE ARE NEXT!!!!!!!!

Excuse the picture I just wanted something that said "we are next" this was the first one I could find, and don't want to waste time searching for something else :) It seems up to May 18 2006 is referred this month, so this means we will be matched in the next batch!!!!! So that means  probably late October we will finally see a picture of Julia and then wait 6 weeks to find out travel dates, then travel 2 weeks after that. This pushes us to LATE December or early January. We were hoping for preChristmas but with this months batch coming in like 10 days later that bumps that out, likely. BUT really who cares, it means we are one step away from a picture and only a few months away from holding her in my arms!!!!

In my arms

Part of my Monday morning is looking after Katie so Cara can have some time to do her bible study, or whatever she wants, and part of what Katie loves to do on Mondays is dance with her daddy. The last few weeks this has been a favorite song of our
Mark Wills, In My Arms Lyrics

Three a.m. on the clock
Lullaby, music box
Oh, baby please don't cry
Let's let mama sleep tonight
You've only been home one day
You don't even know your name
Tiny hand on my cheek
You;re a miracle to me
In the stillness of the night
Cradled in this rocking chair
I hold all my hopes and dreams,
Every single answered prayer

In my arms
Wish I could hold you forever
In my arms
I will give you shelter
Still I know I can't always be there
To protect you from this great big old world
But I swear this much is true
There'll always be a place for you...in my arms

As I watch you take each breath
Oh, it scares me to death
To know you're counting on me
To be the daddy that you need
Wounded knees, broken hearts
Learning how to drive a car
When it's time for your first date
Will I know just what to say
And when you find that one true love
I'll put on my best smile
And I'll try to hide my tears
As I walk you down the aisle

In my arms
Wish I could hold you forever
In my arms
I will give you shelter
Still I know I can't always be there
To protect you from this great big old world
But I swear this much is true
There'll always be a place for you...in my arms

Oh, this promise I will keep
As you finally fall asleep...in my arms

Fall is here

Picture of Katie, last winter.

Fall is here, cold is in the air, foggy this morning, had to scrape the window of frost, of course couldn't find the scraper had to use a paint spatula so off to Canadian Tire to buy a new brush/scraper combo.

Still have some Fall prep for the yard, plants to cut off, trim the hedge, but busy with work and magic stuff, which is good because the CCAA is not moving too much from what we can tell, so hope we hear something...sigh!!!!

18th and still waiting

well, folks figured by the 15th we would hear something, so it will be next week I hope so we can get September out of the way so we can be next!!!!