It's Our Mission

Our sweet new little D has been here for a week and a half now. He just fell into place here with no real adjusting. He came in taking great naps, sleeping through the night, and he eats well. He does have some anger issues, but who wouldn't considering all he has been through in his short 16 months of life. He gets frustrated easily and tends to bang his head on the floor or anything close when things don't go his way. We are glad he's here. Just like Le's arrival, D's arrival has been a God send and very healing to my broken heart.

God is doing some amazing things through our pain and teaching us to focus on His will and His timing. I have been seeking Him through prayer and reading His word and He is actually speaking to me through many verses. He has been calling me to rest in Him, to have faith, without doubt, and to lay down my arms and let Him fight for us.

After talking to many people about Le's story, we have come to believe that this battle we are fighting is not a flesh and blood battle, but a spiritual battle, that we are not equip to fight. We feel called to let God fight this battle. We are trusting that He will fight for us, for our family, and for Le. We feel that He spoke to us about Le's coming, about us adopting Le, and about us pulling out of the jury trial. We have stepped out in complete faith, asking Him to fight, and asking that He would have mercy on any misunderstandings. Having grace on us as we try to be obedient.

I must confess that as I began to see that He was calling us to pull out, I felt very scared and out of control. I asked over and over that He would make it very clear and give us His peace as we let go. He was faithful to deliver! As I called our lawyer to tell her that we were going to pull out of the intervention, I was washed over with peace and I can say that peace has remained.

God is so good and I am blessed to be serving Him. Fostering and adopting is our ministry...it's our mission field. My life feels so different now and through this trial He has shown me my true mission in life is to love on these children unconditionally, to help in building their trust in others as well as trusting Jesus as their Lord in the future. The needs and hurts of these children are too big to ignore. We must step out of our selfish lives and love on the needy. These children have done nothing wrong and deserve the same love, security, and peace our own children have been given. What is God calling you to sacrifice so you can find your mission?

We're Expecting!!!

It's all the buzz around our house. We got the call Monday afternoon from our agency asking if we would be interested in taking in a 17 month old baby boy. He will only be here till June or so, but we are excited to love on this little guy and show him God's love. We continue to pray for our little Le's protection and for him to return home to us. In the mean time God is calling us to love on another sweet baby that needs a safe place to stay. Thank you God, that you are growing us and teaching us, both individually and as a family.

Show me Your Glory...

Our church family is a great blessing to us! We first stepped into it's doors, the Sunday before Easter, almost two years ago. Upon entering, God placed one of my dearest friends to welcome us. Although, we weren't friends before entering, He quickly knit our hearts together as we talked about our families, homeschooling, and our need for a church family. Almost two years later, this family, as well as several other families, have walked with us through the death of my mother, troubles with our teen, welcoming a new baby into our family, troubles with extended family, and now the loss of the baby. They know our hearts and our family and they choose to love us still. They are a huge source of encouragement and our go to for prayer. It amazes us to see how broken their hearts have been for us. Many have shed tears with us and have stressed their heartbreak. Just last Sunday, we were touched and moved by the emotions of one of our youth pastors. For the youth lesson, he had planned specifically to teach on The Death of Lazarus. He asked our oldest to read John 11:1-44. As she read the story, she knew immediately how the story pertained to our lives right now. This past week, I have read and reread the story over and over. I too see the parallels to our situation.

Last Saturday, my husband and I visited our spiritual birthplace, The Village Church. As we listened to one of the pastors speak on Moses and his relationship with God, he had us look at the verses where Moses asked to see God's glory, as well as the verses where he begs God to continue on with him and the Israelites as they headed to the promise land. Moses says "if you don't go with us, then I don't want to go!" I have felt that way all week long. I believe that Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead and I believe that He can and will bring our little Le home again. I believe that God passed by Moses and allowed him to see His glory. We are waiting on His timing, trusting that He is using all things for His glory and His good. Lord, if you're not in this, then I don't want to do it! I don't want to go on, if You're not going with us! Show me Your Glory!!!

Goodbye...for now

Last time I posted, we were awaiting the Judges' decision on Le staying with us, or returning to his birth parents. It pains me to write that he decided to send him to them. Le has been out of our house now for five days and boy does my heart ache. I long to hold him, to feed him, to change him, to comfort him, and to look into his deep brown eyes, and him know how much he is loved! God, continue to hold him and guard his heart, mind, soul, and body!

Waiting is so hard...

So, I haven't talked much on here about the struggles we have been battling, with our littlest one and CPS wanting to return him to his birth parents, but today we are waiting to hear what the judge has decided. It's especially hard because the judge is know for siding with CPS. Although we felt like he was really listening and taking things that were said to heart, his reputation proceeds him . Today I am nervous! I really want to know what he has decided, but then again, there is a part of me that wants to just continue on, pretending that things will be the same. Believing that Le will be ours forever.

I have said this a million times, but I don't know how people get through storms like these without the Lord. I am blessed to a daughter of the King! It is through His strength, His joy, His peace, and His promises that I can fight on. Standing strong in His word, knowing that His purposes will prevail. I pray that He is made famous and He is glorified through whatever the outcome is today and the days to come! My God is an Awesome God and He reigns on Heaven and Earth! Praise be to the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit!!!

Le's First Birthday!

Our sweet baby boy turned One this past Friday. I just realized that not only were we not there for his birth, but now he is away with his birth parents for his first birthday this weekend. We go to court again this Wednesday for the CPS final hearing. I have experienced moments of extreme anxiety, followed by God's overwhelming peace. I am choosing God's peace and joy, as I try to keep an eternal prospective through this storm. My happiness is circumstantial, but my joy comes from the Lord and the Bible reminds me that "the joy of the Lord is my strength." God's word also reminds me that these are "light and momentary trouble". Our family is being refined and others are watching to see how we handle it. Will we stand strong, or will we fall? Lord, I pray that you are our strength and focus as we stand and fight for this precious boy! We love you little Le and we are praying God's perfect will in all our lives.

First Snow of 2011

La, our sweet snow angel!

Kait having fun at the park in the snow!

Yes...this is our sweet boy, Le! We only had warm girl clothes.

Josh starting to build his fort!

Jake starting his fort!

Le watching the snow from the warmth of the house!

Le's First snow!

Let me start by saying that I love snow days! We don't see many snow days here in Texas, but when we do things just seem to shut down. I will also say that we don't watch TV very much at our house, and if we do, it's dvd's or shows streamed from the internet. With that being said, I can honestly say that I hadn't had much warning about the winter storm to come. In fact, I had been wearing my flip flops the three days prior to being snowed in. I did go by Target and Sam's last Monday to pick up somethings that I thought we might need, but only supplies for a day or two. In fact, as I realized early Monday evening that we might actually be stuck inside, I called and asked David to pick up some milk. He evidently didn't think things would be bad either, because he only bought one gallon, where I usually buy three. As the night went on and the rain and sleet starting falling, we were all excited at the possibility of no school or work. We were excited to see the results upon waking. Who knew that, not only would school be canceled for Tuesday, but for Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday as well? What a wonderful week it has been! The past 5 days, we have prayed together, ate together, played games together, played in the snow together, cleaned out closets together, and enjoyed one another. I love my little family and I cherish moments like these, when we can sit back and relish in each others company! I also forgot to mention that it was our littlest ones first snow, so that made it an extra special time!

2010 In a Nutshell

It has been too long since I have written, so I thought I'd catch up with some highlights from last year...

January- It's a New Year!
February- Our sweet baby boy is born!
March- Le is brought home!
April- Marks one year since my mom died!
May- Six Flags Homeschool Day!
June- I turned 40!
July- Transported kids to Lion Power camp!
August- Lots of August Birthdays!
September- School is in full swing!
October- 8th grade Football games!
November- We spent Thanksgiving in Paris...Texas!
December- Our first Christmas at home!

The Writings On The Wall...

In our home there are index cards posted on the kitchen cabinets with Bible verses on them to remind us of God's promises, as well as His commands. There are also some reminders posted in the bathrooms. Our oldest daughter wrote an encouraging note this weekend on our mirrors in our bathroom that reads "mom...I love you...you are so pretty" and "dad...I love you...you are awesome". I love that she took the time to encourage us this weekend, but do I believe it and receive it?

The past few weeks I have been wrestling with the fact that, even though I have decided to follow God and I ask Him to speak to me, I don't always recognize His voice and His truth. I do, on the other hand, know the enemies voice quite well. He whispers and sometimes shouts at me. His voice is stern and condemning, filled with guilt and feeling of worthlessness. I have become aware that the enemies voice is the one I have chosen most to hear and believe. This not only saddens me, but also challenges me to pay closer attention to the voices I hear and receive.

The last week or so, I have been listening intently, for God's voice. Sending the enemy away when he tries to creep in. I have payed special attention to the words that people speak to me that are uplifting and encouraging and I am receiving those messages of truth. I'm no longer apologizing for the way my house looks, or for the way my kids look, or for the way I look. I'm just doing the best I can and realizing that God is happy with who I am. Sure He's still cleaning some things up inside of me, but He's happy with me, and that's good enough for me. I am His and He deals with me very differently than the enemy does. I find my worth in Him and Him alone.

A Little Heart To Heart

Have you ever sat down with someone you love and had a heart to heart with them? I mean a real heart to heart? Not those awkward heart to hearts where you confront someone on things you feel they are failing at and you both leave feeling fractured and distanced from one another, but the kind where you look deeply into your loved ones eyes and you see their heart...just as Christ sees them. My husband, oldest daughter, and I had the awesome privilege of experiencing a true heart to heart with each other last Friday with a Pastor/Counselor friend of ours facilitating. The heart to heart session was life changing and I truly feel like a new door to our relationship has been opened.

During the session we looked intently into one an others hearts and spoke truth to each other. Truth that came straight from the Holy Spirit. Some of that truth was hard to swallow for me, even though it was positive. If you have read my blog before you'll remember in my post,
You've got me thinking, how I strive for perfectionism. And as you know, perfectionist are never happy with the way they have done, or are doing things, but I continue to work on moving out of the perfectionism I have lived in for so many years. I continue to search and listen to God's truth that is being spoken to me through others and I continue on the path of being content at the place where God has me. I look forward to our next Heart to Heart!

Changing Seats

We're a busy family of six, but we have always tried to make time to eat dinner all together in the dining room, where we can joke, talk about our day, and care for one another. We each have our assigned place at the table during dinner, but if you want to eat breakfast or lunch at the table and we're not all eating together, than your welcome to sit where ever you like. Some times as the kids are setting the table for dinner, they'll ask if we can change seats and sit in someone else's place. They love doing this! Well, that is everyone but our oldest. She says it makes her feel uncomfortable to be in a different spot. How odd is that? A place she knows so well, where we share life and meals with those we know and love in a very secure environment, yet she can feel uncomfortable there. Sounds a little like my life at times.

Every morning I sit at the dining room table at my place with my breakfast, my Bible, and my journal, but today was different. When I came to the table I saw that my oldest son was sitting in my place working diligently on his school work. I hated to ask him to move, so I sat in the chair just to the right of him. As I sat there looking out the windows, at the table I sit at daily, things looked different. I have to admit that I felt uncomfortable. And I started to think about how when we step out of our comfort zones, even if it's something small, we become uncomfortable.

Lately God has been calling us all to step out. This year our oldest daughter started public High School after 4 years of homeschooling, my husband has stepped away from his own company and taken a job an hour away, and we have made up our minds to adopt again this year. Needless to say things are uncomfortable at our house, even though it's the house we feel so at home in. The bright side is that Kaitlyn is loving High School and it has caused me to get up earlier to start our day. My husband is bringing home a paycheck every two weeks, instead of going 11 months without pay. And we are excited to welcome a new one (or two) into our loving home. Our days aren't all rosy, but we continue to focus on Christ and we go forward in His strength, knowing He has called us out of our comfort zones!

You've got me thinking...

I was reading on Some Girls website the other day about being "good enough" and how so many of us try to reach perfectionism. She (like so many other times) has got me to thinking.

Have you noticed that we not only strive for perfectionism in ourselves but we also look for it and expect it in others. Women are the worst. We strive to have the perfect body, the perfect children, the perfect family, and the perfect home. We allow voices inside our heads, as well as other women, to tear us down. We are constantly comparing ourselves to others. I know personally that I have asked my husband or my oldest daughter "do I look that big from behind?" or "do my legs look like hers?" and countless other critiquing questions. Where we are, never seems to be good enough...we need more...we need better...we need perfect. This has also affected the way I receive compliments and give compliments...I myself have a very hard time receiving them from others, because I never feel good enough. I, like my friend, am resolving to repeat God's truth when I hear voices inside my head tell me that I'm not good enough, pretty enough, thin enough, smart enough, or that I'm not anything enough.

Here are just a few verses that are speaking to me:
Jeremiah 1:5 says "Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart; I appointed you as a prophet to the nations." Our frames were formed by God himself and He has set us apart. To be different, to be who He created us to be.

In 1 Timothy it says, "For everything God created is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with thanksgiving, because it is consecrated by the word of God and prayer." When I read this passage the words "everything is good" and "with thanksgiving" sticks out. Am I thankful for how God created me? Do I see that all God has created in me is good? Do I strive for better than what He has given me?

Romans 8:1 say "Therefor, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus." If you are a dear sister in Christ my friend, then the condemning mean voice you hear inside your head is not the voice of God, it is the voice of the enemy. Trade that voice for the truth of God. Sisters, "Whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable-if anything is excellent or praiseworthy-think about such things." Philippians 4:8

This week I will listen for the voice that tells me that I'm not good enough or that what I have been given is not good enough and I'll replace it with God's truth that tells me that He thinks I am good enough and that He is ready and able to us me...just as I am.

Letting Go

As I was reading through Isaiah, a devotional in my Bible titled "Letting Go" caught my eye. As I read this short story on parents "letting go" of their children as they get older, I thought of how we as adult children have to let go of our parents as they get older also. As Christians, God has asked us to let go of everything in our lives that would keep us from worshiping Him whole heartily. That could be our children, our parents, our spouse, the love of money, the love of worldly things...anything that takes our focus off of Him.

Last April, God not only asked me to literally let go of my mother, but now He is asking me to let go of the grief that has had hold of me for the past 9 months. One of my best friends says that sometimes "God whispers" to us and I believe that He whispered to me the other day. I heard Him say very clearly "get up and let's go"...the weird thing is that I knew exactly what He was talking about. At that moment I said "ok Lord, let's go" and I walked away. Now don't misunderstand me...I haven't stopped thinking about my mom. I haven't stopped crying when I feel sad that the world that I once knew with her will no longer be. I haven't stopped longing for her touch, her voice, her warm smile. I just no longer sleep till 10:30 or 11am. I no longer am paralyzed by the depression I was living in. I no longer stay locked inside my house not wanting to socialize with others. I have my life back and I'm moving on...creating a new way of life for myself and my family, taking small steps, each and every day.

Letting go is hard to do. Letting go means that you can't go back. Letting go means you have to move on. Letting go means you aren't in control any more. So many times the things we work so hard to control will never be in our control.

Although letting go of our children as they grow and become more independent is different from letting go of our parents, we must continue to be in a relationship with both. We as parents must first make decisions for our young children, then start to mentor and guide our young adults, as we become their friends in adulthood and hand complete control of their decisions over to them. It is also important to stay in relationship with our parents as we learn from their wisdom through past victories as well as past failures and allow them to support and encourage us as we parent our growing children. I lost part of my support system when my momma died, but as I walked close to her the past 20 years or so, she taught me how to be the loving, caring, and giving mom I am today. I pray that I can instill these great traits in my children as they walk closely with me.

I'm back...

As you can tell by the date of my last post...May 21...you can see it has been quite some time since I've posted.

Life has been strange without my momma. My mind rests in knowing that she is with her Lord and Savior, but my heart aches daily. She was a constant support to me and my entire family and we are all saddened by her abrupt exit.

Hopefully I can get back to posting on her more regularly. Since our life has been turned upside down, we had put off the process of adopting from Ethiopia. Recently we have been talking about what we should do and feel like the Lord is leading us to foster to adopt again here in the Ft. Worth area. We are working on getting all of our paper up to date so that we can get back on the list. We have also discovered that our youngest daughter's birth mom is pregnant again and that if she is still using drugs that we may get that baby as well. The world continues to turn and we continue to wait upon the Lord. His timing is perfect!

In Memory of my mother...

On Saturday, April 25, 2009 my dear friend and mother went to be with the Lord. My heart now has a huge empty spot that is now filled with pain. I am confident that she is celebrating in heaven with Christ and her family and friends that went on before her. The Lord has been very generious to me the last few weeks and has blessed me with two different dreams that I would like to share now.

Last Thursday I drempt that I was getting onto a water ride. As I sat down in the boat, I asked the guy who was attending the ride if there was a seat belt for the ride, he replied "no", so I assumed that it would be a gentle ride. As the boat started off up the first steep hill, I heard the boy in front of me scream as he headed down the steep fall. I instantly thought "oh my goodness, I don't have a seat belt", I started to panic, but as I started down the fall, I felt the boat that I was in gently being carried down the steep hill. I immediatly felt peace and noticed that I was not afraid anymore. With each hill and drop, I continued to feel relaxed and peaceful. After I awoke, I realized that the ride I was on was much like the ride of grief that I am on now and that God is carrying me each and everyday as my emotions go up and down. He is my strength and the peace that I feel each day as I carry on with this life.

This past Monday night, I dreamed that me and our four children had the chance to visit with my mom one last time since her dying. My mom looked wonderful...she was much thinner and was very fit and active. When Kait and I saw her, we kept hugging and smelling her. I had so many questions to ask her. First I wanted to know about her hospital visit. I asked her if she knew what was going on, she said "no". Next I asked if she was scared at the hospital and she admitted that she was. I told her that I had been worried about the terrified look that I saw in her eyes. I then asked if she had been in pain that day, and she answered "no". I also asked her about my grandmother, Mawzy. She told me that she looked very cute...I thought that this was odd, because she was 81 when she died. I assumed that she had recieved a new body, just as mom had.

That's My Boy...

The other day while I was cooking dinner, our ten year old boy, Joshua, came out of the bathroom. He came over to me and questioned me about a book my husband and I are reading. The conversation went like this:

Joshua: "Mom, you know that book you and dad are reading that's in the bathroom called Bringing up Boys?"

Me: Yea

Joshua: "You know the one with the boy and the dog on the front?"

Me: Yea

Joshua: "Well...a dog sure would bring me up!"

Bouts of Confusion...

Wow, it's been a while since I last posted a blog and Wow have things been crazy! Last month we visited a new adoption group called Families Like Us. It is mainly a group for families who have adopted black children, but they welcome any adoptive family. A friend of mine from high school and youth group is a member and she had suggested we come and check it out. We loved it! We met some very neat people and also ran into another couple from our old church. We shared our hearts with them and also our vision of adopting from Ethiopia. They were excited for us, but a couple of them asked us why we weren't adopting from here. Not that they thought that it was bad that we were go outside the country, they were just asking. Of course, that got us to thinking again and wondering if the Lord was trying to tell us something. This is the part where the confusion set in. We continue to pray and ask God for direction and we are seeking out different avenues. Buckner is ready for us to start, but the process takes so long, costs so much, and the application alone is over an inch thick, which would take David months to complete. Where on the other hand, we already have everything we need with our current agency, Kornerstone, to get on the list this week and it would only cost us a couple thousand dollars to adopt through CPS. I know, it really sounds like a no brainer when you're reading this, doesn't it? Maybe we do know what it is we are to do. David is hesitant in doing anything right now. He said he feels like God is telling us to adopt again, but he isn't sure that it is to be right now. It is so maddening, but God has done this many times in our marriage, where He gives us a vision, but it doesn't actually happen for three years or so. We are learning to wait upon Him and trust that His timing is perfect. I know with the other things in the past, they have been much greater than we had imagined them being. We will trust again in His timing and in His blessing from our obedience. If you happen to read this, please pray for His direction for us and that we will press in and wait upon the Lord.

Life is good...

Since I last wrote several things have happened. First off David and I celebrated our 17th Wedding Anniversary, second we all celebrated Lala being with us for 2 years now, and third David and I attended the Buckner International Adoption workshop. Not in that order mind you. We started off last weekend by attending the workshop on Friday from 1-5ish. We were excited to be there and wouldn't have missed it for the world, other's on the other hand weren't as dedicated and the two other couples that had RSVP'd missed...maybe because of the monsoon we had last week. That was great for us though, it turned out to be a one on one with us and we focused mostly on Ethiopia, since that is where we are interested. We met five ladies that were there that day and we loved each one of them. Buckner has been around for so long and has such a great humanitarian aid program and these ladies hearts are wonderful and truly focused on the children and the families that they will be matching together. We are so excited!!!

After the workshop David and I were off to a weekend alone at his parents lake house. What a wonderful blessing it was to be there. We arrived there around 11pm and got settled in, going to bed around 3am. Needless to say it was noon before we got out of bed...I won't tell you why...OK I'll tell you...the clocks were off due to time change! What??? After having a wonderful "big" breakfast we sat talking, reading, relaxing, and praying. Before we knew it we had missed lunch and it was already 4pm. We grilled up some burgers and ate those for an early dinner. What a wonderful day we had with no worries in the world, most of the day we spent on our knees on the floor in prayer for our children and family. It was just perfect. We also started on the inch thick application papers. There is a long road head of us there. We headed out Sunday after another "big" breakfast after lunch. We picked up all four of the kids from my sisters house...she and my parents had taken turns with all seven of the grandkids at their houses and headed back home.

We then celebrated with the kiddos our anniversary and Lala's 2nd year of being with our family. The girls made cupcakes, I made icing and the boys grilled T-bone steaks out on the grill. What a grand celebration it was.

What a blessing to have such a close and loving family. We are so proud of our children and the young adults that the older three are becoming. Such wisdom they have that can only come from God. Praise God for good times...

Can I just say...

I talked about border bullies in one of my other blogs and I would like to address them again.

These people are well meaning people who ask us questions and then give us advice...mostly non biblical advice and then expect us to go..."you know...you're right...I probably shouldn't follow my heart because I might get hurt along the way". Plus they will be the first ones there in line to kick you when your down. When really these people, deep down, are just scared of something themselves, so they encourage others not to go there. Some are scared about losing their comfort, others are scared that they might get hurt, still others are unequipped, so they go around talking others into not stepping out. Another reason border bullies do there bullying...besides being scared is because it inconveniences them...forces them to do something they wouldn't have had to do otherwise. Sometimes they bully because they may have to live with the choices we make...in other words...the choices and decisions that we have made impacts them as well as ourselves...so they feel victimized. Some don't have that relationship with Christ so they just don't get it. They don't understand that Christ changes our hearts and that He really does converse and speak to us and we feel led by him to do things. It frustrates me, but I really don't expect them to understand...without Christ, you don't understand. And yes, if we stopped to think of all the possible things that can and probably will go wrong...we might just talk ourselves out of the challenge...so we try not to think about all the details, we just trust that He will be with us and provide for us when we get to that stage and we step forward. Some people think we are crazy...some thought Christ was crazy too. He calls us to adventure and steps of faith...not security and comfort...he promised us that life would be challenging and difficult and he calls us to die to ourselves...all those things to me don't mean sitting at home watching TV in the security of our comfortable homes, never getting out to serve...to me that is a wasted life. Our family has been offered the opportunity to serve in Mexico at a boarder town for a few days in April...as some of you know, Mexico is experiencing some security problems due to a drug war that is going on. When we talk with our children about whether we should go or not, our 13 year old responded that if she is going to die, she would "like to do it serving God"! Then our 11 year old chimes in that he would like to go also. These young teens may not get it fully, but they do understand that following Christ is not all fun and games...it's about fleeing from self and serving our Lord, who knows better than everyone how to live an abundant life, because he created it. Our family takes serving Christ seriously...so off we go on our newest step of faith. One giant step at a time!

We're on a roll...

And we're off...we have turned in our pre-application to Buckner and have RSVP'd to attend the International Adoption workshop on March 13...just one day before our 17th anniversary and our 2 year celebration of "gottcha day" for our youngest Lauren. She was our present for our 15th anniversary...and what a great little present she is. After this workshop we will start on our paperwork for the formal application and all the requirements for that. In times like this...where you have to wait...it works out good that time moves so fast. We are so excited!!!

God is making it very apparent that this is the road for us...since choosing to go with Buckner, we have been more excited and ready to run. We are requesting a baby girl and a baby boy that are between 0-9 months old. We are so excited that we have picked out their names already...we will name the girl...Kennedy Erin Jones and the boy...Leland Hudson Jones. That way we will not only have 3 girls and 3 boys, but we will also have 2 j's, 2 k's, and 2 l's. Our oldest is 13 1/2 and she is getting very excited...to the point where she has written poems for the children. Hopefully she will let me post them on here some day, but for now she isn't ready to put her heart on the line with that yet. She says that she is most excited about shopping for the babies...but what teenage girl isn't into shopping. Everytime we go into a store, we look at the baby stuff, but since we don't know for sure yet how big they will be, we can't buy anything. Although, Kait and I did pick up the cutest little "black" baby at Target the other day to take to Kennedy when we go to Ethiopia to bring them home.

We are so close to paying off the Suburban and the small loan that we have on our house. We sold tons of stuff in a garage sale last week and made over $600 there...plus I can now park my suburban in the garage. Getting rid of junk sure has freed us up and we don't even miss it. I have even started to think about cutting hair again from the house to earn some extra money to help out with the cost of adoption. God will provide...just as He has always done!