Snowpocalypse 2014

Normally, the news of a possible snow storm in Atlanta makes me happy but, for some reason on Tuesday I was just not feeling it. I awoke around 3:30am to my weather radio app going off stating we were now in a Winter Storm Warning area. The night before when I had headed off to sleep the news was calling for a light dusting of snow here in our northern suburb of Atlanta ... that normally equates to a few snow flurries. Even the local weather forecasters at around 6:30am on Tuesday morning really seemed to still be downplaying any snow we were going to get. My husband headed off to work and the kids and I began our normal homeschool routine - we had no idea what was about to come.

When the snow began around 10:30am we had the typical flurries but, an hour later it was still coming down and appeared to be getting a little bit heavier. I texted with my husband - he said his office was going to release early but, still at that point later in the afternoon. I told him as long as he was on the road by 2pm I figured he would be fine. By 12:30pm when the snow began to really stick and the cars behind our home on a busy road were bumper to bumper I called my husband and told him best to get in the car and head our way. Needless to say, he never made it more than 1.5 miles from his office and even that short distance took over 3 hours. We decided his best bet was to head back to the office and wait it out or, plan to hunker down there for the night, like several of my other friends' husbands were doing at their offices. My husband was not able to actually make it back to his office by car ... he abandoned his SUV in a parking lot and hiked the rest of the way back - walking back into his office at 4:30pm.

The day went on ... my husband and I chatted several times trying to come up with a plan - he had no food, did not have any winter gear with him other than a jacket, and his office was turning off the heat (preferring people not stay there) - we found no hotel rooms within 10 miles with a vacancy - he had attempted to get food from a Publix and Costco within a block or two of his office but, both had closed. Things just seemed to go from bearable to bad quickly!

The news began reporting the horrid situation ... people were stuck everywhere ... interstates were becoming parking lots. Jackknifed semis, clogged side streets, tons of fender benders, school buses not able to get kids home.

When the kids and I sat down to an early dinner we prayed for protection for both my husband and all the people stuck in this mess.

Right after dinner I got on Facebook and found that an old friend from MOMS Club, Michelle Solictio, had begun a Facebook Group called SnowedOutAtlanta. What a miracle worker she was!! Hundreds of people at that point were offering up shelter or assistance to those trapped in the storm ... we posted offering up our home to anyone stuck on the road behind us either walking or driving. Later in the evening, we even attempted to help a man find a place for his 64 year old mother - who had been stuck for hours trying to get home. See she had remained at a local school getting all the kids on buses, so by the time she had attempted to get home it was too late. Her car had run out of gas ... her cell phone was dying ... she was on foot in East Cobb walking trying to find somewhere to go. I posted on my own personal Facebook page where she was and all of my friends in that area jumped into action offering up their homes. Thankfully, as she was walking to one of those homes her son found a friend in that area with a 4 x 4 vehicle who was able to pick her up and they decided to camp out at the Walmart just down the street.

And, then a gift from God ... a family posts on SnowedOutAtlanta they are willing to take in anyone stranded ... she describes where they are located and I realize it is just a block from my husband's office! I responded and she immediately posts her cell phone number. I call her and the first words out of this woman's mouth were "tell me what we can do". We chatted briefly and I immediately called my husband and gave him the good news ... he made contact and was off hiking to their home. This wonderful family blessed my husband more than they will ever know - they had even been through their own ordeal getting home. The husband had to abandon his own car on a major thoroughfare and hike home but, at 11:30pm they opened their door - welcomed my husband in - cooked him something to eat and gave him a guest bedroom for the night.

The next morning we used SnowedOutAtlanta to check the routes my husband could possibly take home ... the family he was staying with gave him a ride to his car and he was off, as soon as we found the roads were open. Just 24 hours after he first left the office to come home ... he walked up our street (which was still to icy to drive up)! We were so happy to see him ... so thankful to people like Michelle and the family who took him in.

I loved being on Facebook and hearing all of these similar stories ... rejoicing with families as they welcomed loved ones home ... some who had to hike 5+ miles from their abandoned cars.

Yes, there is blame to be shared and hindsight is always 20/20. We will all learn from this event - so many lessons. For now, I choose to focus on all the good that came out of that horrendous day ... and, that's all I am going to say about that!

My Word for 2014

 

"Not that I speak from want; for I have learned to be content in whatever circumstances I am. I know how to get along with humble means, and I also know how to live in prosperity; in any and every circumstance I have learned the secret of being filled and going hungry, both of having abundance and suffering need." ~ Philippians 4:11-12

2014 a time for new beginnings ... this year I will place my focus on the word "Contentment". I will not dwell on the past ... I will be content with where God has me now in all aspects of my life.  

Looking Back {2013}

Tonight we will say good-bye to 2013 ... it has been a hard year to say the least. God had our family on a journey that required us to invest all of our time, money, and our hearts. We would never have imagined that the journey we were on would end this fall in such heartache.

While part of me would like to just pretend 2013 never happened I cannot look at it that way ... trials are a part of life. And, looking back at 2013 there were beautiful moments ... those were blessings in disguise now as I reflect on them ...

{Lots of ballet ...}

{... and baseball}

{Fun fieldtrips ... like this rock climbing one}

{Our family spent a month in a European country ~ amazing lessons in culture and history}

{Fun times with friends ...}

{... and family}

{Ave Mae cast as Cindy Lou in "How the Grinch Stole Found Christmas"}

Good-bye 2013!

A Season Ends ...

Last month a season came to a close in our lives ... our adoption journey ended.

To protect Hope's privacy we will not be going into all the details publicly. It was a very sad ending but, we have peace in the way things came to a close.

Thank you to all of my blog readers - who prayed for our family and supported us in our journey. Please know how grateful we are! Our ways are not God's ways ... we can only be obedient to him in faith and know that He is sovereign.

^"That is why we never give up. Though our bodies are dying, our spirits are being renewed every day.  For our present troubles are small and won’t last very long. Yet they produce for us a glory that vastly outweighs them and will last forever!" 2 Corinthians 4:16-18

We're Leaving on a Jet Plane ...

This is it .... today is the day we have waited for over six months to arrive - we're leaving on a jet plane to go get our girl!!

I could not leave without thanking everyone who has prayed us through this journey so far ... without thanking those who have given financially .... without thanking those who have taken time out of their busy schedules to help with fundraisers and last minute errands that we needed done this week. Each and every one of you are a part of this journey with us.

Today as we board that plane I would ask once again for prayers for travel mercies ... prayers for our first court appointment on Tuesday ... prayers for our reunion with "Hope"... prayers as we spend the next month in a foreign country.

Looking forward to meeting up with friends in L@tvi@ who are already there at almost the end of their first trip. And, looking forward to seeing another family from right here in Georgia who are arriving just a day after us and staying in an apartment just a short 5 minute walk away.

Thankful for the One who goes before us - our God of angel armies!!

"So do not fear, for I am with you;
    do not be dismayed, for I am your God.
I will strengthen you and help you;    I will uphold you with my righteous right hand." Isaiah 41:10

When God Calls You Out of Your Comfort Zone

In a week my family and I will be boarding an airplane, traveling half-way across the world, to a country a year ago I never knew existed, staying in that country for a month with our new daughter - following our heart and God's calling, to a place way outside of my comfort zone! This is real ... God has called us and we are following - stepping out in faith.

The journey we are on will not be an easy one ... saving souls never is. A year ago I was sitting comfortable - sure I volunteered at church, read my bible, went to bible study, brought meals to friends who were hurting but, you know what - none of that was outside my comfort zone. I liked my easy life. Following Jesus was not so hard in my comfy area in the northern suburbs of Atlanta.

I don't like flying, not a huge fan of international travel, and feel a 10 day vacation away from home is really my max. I like being home, knowing where everything is and how to get there. I like grocery shopping in a store where I can read every label and understand the language being spoken around me. We were open to adoption but, I thought a preschooler was in line with what we needed. I remember even thinking when someone we knew was adopting a teenager - that is something I would never do. You see until now I did not mind doing what God had called me to as long as it stayed within my comfort zone and my parameters. {If there is one thing I have learned from all of this - NEVER tell God what you are not going to do because, that will be exactly where he will call you too.}

So what is one to do ... I know there are two options ... I have been at that cross-road. You know that place where you can either choose to follow God's plan or turn and run the other way as fast as you can. Having been in that spot {at the end of winter hosting} I can say - while trusting God and following him down the path he has chosen is utterly terrifying it is also so amazing!! Will it be all roses, sunshine, and rainbows? No! God doesn't promise us that if we follow Him our life will be perfect. I have learned to look at this differently - instead I have decided that this place he has called us to is a blessing. While as Christians we are all called to help orphans and widows in some way - not all of us are called to pack our bags and fly half way across the world to save a child. We are on an adventure lead by God! This is the truth I hold to ~ He has a plan and all I need to do is follow ...

"Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding;" ~ Proverbs 3:5

Adoption Update : Waiting ...

It seems like adoption is a lot of "hurry up ... wait ... hurry up ... wait". At least that has been our experience so far. I don't need to tell you how much this has tried my patience. We rushed to get our homestudy complete, so we could work on our dossier and send off our i800a - then came the wait on the i800a approval. We rushed to get our dossier apostilled and into the country for translation and to go in front of the ministry ... now we sit and wait again, this time on the orphan court. And, just when you think you've waited just about enough a key person in your adoption, in country, goes on vacation for the rest of the month. Ahhhhhh ... so frustrating.

Being the planner I am I want the adoption process all neat and organized and in a box with a bow on it. That is not adoption! Adoption is messy {as I've come to learn} ...  not only the process but, the relationships. Nothing breaks my heart more than to call our sweet girl and have her beg me to come get her now or ask me for the one hundredth time the exact day we will arrive in her country. Not to mention the ever present feeling that something could go wrong - no one is promised an adoption will go through. In the last few weeks, in the group I am in on FB for other families adopting from L@tvi@, adoptions have failed, for one reason or another. You grieve for that family that just lost a child. A child they had already pictured in their home - at their dinner table, in their life. And, then you just get reminded that could be you. It is times like these that I wish God would just reveal himself to me and spell out the plan he has for us. 

For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. - Jeremiah 29:11

And, in all of this I am still thankful for so many reasons ... God has provided so abundantly for our adoption. I need to remember what a wonderful adoption agency we are with. How blessed we have been to have our case worker for our adoption agency living just twenty minutes from our home, making our home study process fly in record time. How we have never needed to wait on funds - God has always provided the money when we needed it. How though we may be waiting months - some families wait years to complete an adoption. And, I am working to be more thankful for the lessons God is teaching me in all of this! I must remind myself that a year ago if you had told me I would be adopting, a teenage girl, from a country I had never heard of, I would definitely have thought you mental.

I equate where I am now to being 9 months pregnant with my three children. You know hard times are to come but, you just want to get that child here so you can go on with life. You want to hold them in your arms and feel like a family.

So, we will go on waiting. I will try to wait with a "happy heart", as I have so often in the past asked this of my children. I will wait right where God has me ... I will not try to squirm out from underneath the trial he has me under. And, in everything I will give thanks!


Blessed is the one who perseveres under trial because, having stood the test, that person will receive the crown of life that the Lord has promised to those who love him. - James 1:12

The Process So Far ...

The last month and a half seem to have flown by as we began our adoption journey. Having never adopted before we were newbies to all of this. Thankfully, having been an event planner I can manage a "to do" list in my sleep. That skill is really coming in handy.  For us to expedite this process we decided to work on almost all the beginning steps at one time. So, I thought I better update before we get too much further down the path.

First off, we have the best adoption agency rep who lives just 30 minutes from our home so getting our home study done - though time consuming, was a pretty quick process. There were doctor visits for check ups for my husband and I. Then the kids had their check ups - plus, some shots they were not looking forward to! Then there was the collection of finger prints and background checks {for every state lived in since 18}. And, there was lots of paper to collect ... birth certificates, marriage certificate, pet shot records.

And, just when you think there cannot be anymore paperwork ... another stack arrives for your signature. Of course, everything has to be photocopied - some times two and three times. As we began to work on our dossier documents we found out things not only had to be notarized but, apostilled {a word until beginning this journey I had never used or even heard of}. Apostilled is like a notarized notarized copy ... don't ask. I have signed my name so many times that I lost count ... and, even better, I ended up having to hyphenate my maiden-married name due to the fact that it was that way on my Georgia driver's license and when I got my passport they decided that it would have to be the same way. Which meant all of our adoption documents would need my hyphenated name - thank God when I found this out we had just begun the dossier document part of our adoption - which are the official papers.

But, as I write this now - our home study is done, our I800A is in front of our government {the document which requests permission to adopt a child from another country}, and our dossier is ready to be mailed off to L@tvi@, for translation {from English to L@tvi@n}.

We have had two fundraisers ...

A Willow House Fundraiser

A Basket Weaving Class Fundraiser

We are planning a large garage sale on April 27th and have already received some wonderful donations of items to sell! We have also applied for a grant and hope to hear back sometime before May.

So far to date, we have spent around $5,000 on agency and government fees. Another $600 on expedited passports and $1000 on things like finger prints, doctor's exams, and apostilling fees. 

This week we have $6715 due for more agency fees, translation fees for our dossier, and a post-placement fee deposit. Once again, I just have to say "to God be the glory" ... in the last 24 hours more than $5,000 has been received in donations. One of those large donations from a family who had no idea that we even owed this money this week - they themselves have been on a journey and had the most beautiful story to tell as to how we became the recipient of this donation. 

One of the scariest parts of an adoption can be the price tag you see. For us, that number is around $35,000 but, you know what, that is probably one of the least of my worries. I know God put us on this journey and when He does amazingly crazy things like that - He provides, just like he has this week.

For all those families who have blessed us beyond belief in the last 24 hours - we can never thank you enough for what you have given sacrifically and joyfully to help us bring our sweet L@tvi@n girl home.

"And my God will meet all your needs according to the riches of his glory in Christ Jesus." Philippians 4:19

Easter {2013)

Easter 2013 will go down in the record books as the one where we were either recovering from or down with the stomach flu! After three years of virtually no illness other than a few sniffles here and there we succumb to this horrid norovirus strand going around. I was the last to end up with it on Easter Sunday - I thought I might actually get out without becoming infected but, alas that was not in the cards.

Thankfully, from Good Friday through Saturday we were all well enough to enjoy some of our Easter traditions. On Good Friday the kids made a cross and we added some of our sins to the cross - a symbol of what Jesus died for on the cross. On Saturday, we opened up the Easter Story eggs and the kids all did a great job helping to tell what each item stood for.

We colored Easter eggs using our very favorite method ... crayola crayons on very hot eggs. The colors melt so beautifully and give you a lot more decorating options.

I love the fact that there is no messy dye to deal with or the smelly vinegar!

Lexi made a beautiful egg for a sweet child who we love and miss so much!

And, no Easter would be complete without resurrection rolls ... which I don't know if I will be able to stomach seeing ever again. Maybe a year from now ...

Hope you had a wonderful Easter celebration - celebrating Jesus' glorious resurrection!

Summer Orphan Hosting

New Horizons for Children has begun their matching matching process for their summer hosting period. Please take a look at our video showing highlights from our hosting experience this past winter season.

So many wonderful orphans, like Miranda, from both Latvia and Ukraine are available to be hosted this summer.

There are 147 million orphans in the world ... would you step out in faith and love just one?

January Blahs ...

The dreaded January blahs ... every year they set in. I can feel them creeping in as December rolls to a close and we welcome the start of a new year. This year it seemed they were delayed slightly by having a sweet Latvian girl here until January 13th but, as soon as she left, they set in with a vengeance. 

It didn't help that for a solid week after Miranda left we had rain. When the sun finally shone one January morning my kids did not know what to think ... the house was so bright once again. 

I did get a chance to get away for a homeschool retreat at the beginning of the month which was absolutely wonderful! For a weekend I was able to take in the beautiful sites of my favorite retreat facility - Winshape. It was such a restful and spiritual weekend. I made peace with a hard decision through prayer and the support of friends.

January can be hard ... back to school with a long time before another fun break {no February vacation to look forward to this year due to a ballet performance both girls are in at the end of the month}, short days, cold and many times gloomy days. But, in all of that, I need to remember to just look around even in these cold gloomy winter months God gives us such beauty. Just looking at the pictures I have snapped over the past month with my iPhone makes me want to smile.  

God gives us beauty and peace in the everyday!

"Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” Matthew 11:28-30

Good Bye 2012!

2012 is coming to a close ... tonight at Midnight we will welcome 2013 with a celebration with friends! Just a quick look back at our year ... and what a year it has been. {pictured above - February week long vacation at Disney World}

{June - Lexi spends a month in summer dance intensive and Devin spends the month doing All-Star baseball}

{August brought a family vacation with our friends, The Hanback's, to the beach in Florida}

{Christmas this year was spent with an orphan from Latvia in our home}

God has blessed us in so many ways this year ... love seeing how He works in all of our hearts. Looking forward to 2013 ... my word for the year- PEACE. I will find peace in whatever plans God has for me and my family.

2 Weeks with Miranda

So hard to believe ... it has been 2 weeks since we met Miranda and brought her into our home. This past week was filled with more fun adventures. We visited the World of Coca Cola with Miranda and her chaperone, Dace. Dace is amazing and it was so nice to spend a whole day with her. She was able to fill in a lot of blanks we had in regard to Miranda's life {so many things Miranda has attempted to tell me in Google Translate just have not come through - words do not always translate and I was left guessing many times what she meant}

Dace and Miranda both loved the World of Coca Cola and we were so thankful for the sweet blessing Coca Cola gave us by donating tickets for our family to visit.

Lexi and Ava Mae loved sitting on the couch used in the 2009 season of American Idol.

We have also enjoyed more shopping {thank you sweet friends for all the gift card donations!}... lots of gifts for kids at Miranda's orphanage and her director and the workers. Miranda's favorite thing - "Hello Kitty"!!

And, this was the message I received a few days ago on my phone from Miranda via Google Translate. It is going to be hard to say good bye in two weeks. No matter what ... I was reminded today of God's promise - there is hope in Him. So happy to be able to expose Miranda to the love of Jesus for the first time in her life.  Praying we have planted seeds that will continue to grow!

Our Christmas Wish

I know what you are thinking ... it is not even Halloween, why are we talking about Christmas. Hang in there friends, let me explain. You know how much our family enjoys being outwardly focused at Christmas. Last year we spent 24 days doing Random Acts of Kindness - surprising strangers with some Christmas cheer. I was all prepared to do that again this year.

Then, a few weeks ago an opportunity for hosting an orphan from Latvia for 4 - 5 weeks over the Christmas season was brought to my attention through a post by a friend on Facebook. I immediately went to the website and spent over an hour learning about this amazing program. Later that evening, when my husband came home from work I shared with him what I had found. He immediately, without hesitation, said "let's do it".

A week or two went by and we prayed ... and I kept trying to put this all out of my mind. Yet, I was continually awoken during the middle of the night with this opportunity on my mind. I know it was God's way of saying "trust me". So it is with great trust in God and a huge leap of faith that I agreed we should move forward with the process. My husband and I prayed some more and poured through the page of children and their bios. It was so hard to choose just one - we narrowed it down and went with who we felt God was leading us to.  Her name is Miranda and she will turn 15 on November 1st. In Miranda's bio she stated she really wants to learn ballet, loves working on computers, has won awards for cross-country running, and does not like to eat meat. We think she will be a good fit for our family.

We have just told our kids about what our plans are and they are so excited. They understand completely the financial sacrifices we will need to make.

If everything works out, Miranda will arrive sometime at the beginning to mid- December. She will come here with just the clothes on her back. Miranda is cleared for adoption so we will be praying while she is here for God to reveal to us if that is His plan or maybe, that we introduce her to someone who would consider adopting. And, that may not be God's plan at all, it may just be for us to open our home and hearts to this orphan over Christmas. We have no expectations other than doing our best to love on this child. And that is our Christmas wish.

Most importantly right now, we have until just November 1st to complete all of our paperwork and begin work on fundraising {nothing like waiting until the very last moment to get everything done}. Would you all join us in praying and, if you feel lead, help with a donation.

Click here to be taken to our fundraising site.


Thank you friends for your prayers!!!

Ava Mae's Baptism

On this past Sunday, Ava Mae was baptized in a beautiful service at our church.

She has been looking forward to this day for a very long time ...

{Pictured above ... Ava Mae on the big screen sharing her testimony. Below ... video clip from baptism.}

We are thankful to God for her decision to follow Him and for the heart He has given her for Him.
It was a very special day made more special by our dear friends who came out to celebrate this momentous occasion.

{Pictured above: Ava Mae with Coach JJ ... one of Ava Mae's favorite adults who came to pray over Ava Mae during her baptism.}

Your love for Jesus Christ

Shines through in all you do
For there are many that will see
The hope of Christ in you
We thank the Lord for you
For bringing you to this place
To be baptized in His precious name
And to walk on in His grace.