August Collage & Fingerprint Update

Here is our collage for the month of August.

It is so very hard to imagine that this is the last collage I will do that doesn't have our new little man in it!

37 weeks pregnant :) 

August was a busy month!
Starting at top left and going right:

**Miller graduated from his crib to a toddler bed :(

**Sweet co-workers gave me an awesome baby shower!

**Miller had his 2nd Birthday party

**Miller got a trampoline for his birthday

**We are STILL number 66 and 32 on the waiting list for Malachi

**FOOTBALL SEASON is here! Miller and Blakely at NE High School Football game

**Celebrated 1 year DTE!

and

**We finally poured concrete for our back porch! We still have work to do on it :)

Disclaimer: I have NO idea why my pictures have all of a sudden become blurry on this blog! It is driving me crazy! If you can help me, please message me!




Since we have been waiting a year now, our paperwork is starting to expire :( So we will have to start doing updates. We began with updating our fingerprints.
Praise the Lord for a sweet fingerprint lady who allowed Lee to go ahead and update his today instead of on his scheduled appointment tomorrow!
We are so thankful that the USCIS, FBI, whoever once again has our never going to change fingerprints :)

The most comical part of the fingerprinting session was when we were filling out forms.
It asked for my height and weight  :) Ummm....
I looked at Lee and said "this is a joke." (at 37 weeks pregnant).
So I did the best thing I knew to do. I chose a weight half way between what I weigh today and what I weigh not pregnant! It at least made me feel a little better.
The lady ended up laughing and saying "girl you could have just put you "normal" weight."
When we left, we attempted to remember how old Miller was the last time we visited this building. I found the Link to last year's post and I forgot that sweet Miller still had his helmet last year!
I love my little blue helmet baby!!

We are praying hard that we only have to update these things maybe one or two more times!
Praying hard!

1 YEAR DTE!!

 

 

ONE YEAR DTE!!

August 31, 2013

 

 

We celebrated with a little Kroger Cookie Cake (fancy huh? :)) while we watched the Bulldogs play!

We had the camera set to take automatically and we loved this picture of Miller after the camera snapped! He was licking the icing!



 

Sweet boy posed a little better in this one!

 

For those of you new to our journey, Saturday August 31 marked ONE YEAR that we have officially been on the waiting list with our agency.

DTE = Dossier to Ethiopia

August 31, 2012 was the day that ALL of our paperwork finally made the trek across the world to Ethiopia!

 

CLICK HERE to see my blog post from last year on our DTE date.

So.... Where does that leave us in the process?
Still waiting :(

I honestly thought that I would be extremely excited on our 1 year anniversary.
However, if I am being honest, I have stared at that date on our refrigerator calendar all month and my heart has been VERY HEAVY!
So heavy that it was hard for me to celebrate on Saturday.
Don't get me wrong... I ABSOLUTELY haven't changed my mind about adoption.
But the wait is hard.
A friend of ours who recently brought home his son from Ethiopia said to me on Sunday, "People underestimate the stamina it takes to keep your joy during the wait. It's hard."

When we first began this journey, our agency told us to except a 12-18 month wait before referral.
Then last year the wait increased before we were DTE to 18-24 months.
And this year... on FRIDAY Aug 30 to be exact... I received an email that said the wait time had once again increased to 30-36 months or longer.

If we have been officially waiting for 12 months... and they expect 36 months at least... then we can safely say we have 24 more months until we receive a referral. :(

There are so many reasons for increasing wait times. '
It's red tape. Paperwork. Clearances. Etc. Etc.
Forgive me for not desiring to go into detail tonight.
Don't be confused. There is NOT a lack of orphans in Ethiopia. The hold up is in the paperwork clearing these children to be adopted.
Orphanages are full. Children are waiting (which is honestly more painful than me waiting).

Last year, I HONESTLY believed that Malachi would be our next child.
However, God had other plans.
He was not surprised by the increased wait times, or by my pregnancy (obviously He is the creator of life).
So today I cling to the Truth that God is not surprised by any of the governmental red tape, but instead, He is using it to put together His perfect plan. God is in control of all of it.

Pray for us in the wait. Pray for children to be placed in families. Pray for governments to become more efficient in adoption cases.

Oh yeah... my sweet co-workers gave me plates for all 3 boys recently at my baby shower.
Miller ate his eggs off Malachi's plate on Saturday to celebrate DTE :)
Isn't this plate precious??



It's not WHAT you do, it's HOW you do it

I was having brunch with a sweet friend the other day and we were reading through a Bible Study. The question was posed "what are you doing that is advancing the kingdom of God? What do you spend your days working on?" Initially I responded that I felt like I was in a rut and not really doing anything but surviving. Then I replied, "Well I know that one of God's major purposes for me is being a mother. So I can count that."

But can I really?

After all, unbelievers are mothers too. Many of them are actually really great mothers (at least according to the world's standards).

 

So then I clarified myself.

 

It's not WHAT you do, it's HOW you do it.

 

I remembered our pastor recently saying during a sermon that people focus so much on "raising their kids right." He went into detail about how parents go to the extremes to make sure their kids stay out of trouble, make good choices, get a great career, etc. etc.

Those are not bad things.

But his punch line at the end was:

"If you excel in parenting at everything worldly, but don't teach your children what a TRUE relationship with Christ looks like..... you have failed."

 

And he wasn't just talking about teaching your kids to go to church on Sundays.

No.. He was talking about something so much more.

He was talking about modeling relationship with Christ to your children so that they fully understand.

 

(I think I just felt my stomach fall onto the floor).

 

What... A... Big... Calling and Responsibility.

 

I claim that above all else I want my children to love Jesus.

But do I really?

Above all else? Above being a good athlete, a star student, popular, successful?

Do I desire it above all that?

Let's don't even mention the struggle that so many parents have which is finally letting our children go. Letting them leave us and become independent.

No, we secretly want to keep them forever. Sure we want them to grow up, but they better stay close to us. They better not move too far away.

 Even if MY desires for my children aren't GOD'S desires for my children??

 

Hmmm...

 

Maybe this Mama needs a wake up call.

 

Don't you worry. God has already been giving me one... slowly, but surely.

AND MY BOYS ARE STILL TINY!!

 

It's as if God says to me, "Enjoy them, because you are raising men who will one day leave."

 

Lee and I beg during our prayers "God please call our boys to follow you. God please bring salvation to them. Our hearts desire is that they love you and give up everything for you!"

 

And the rubber meets the road.

 

I recently read the account of Jesus calling James and John to follow him. It's found in the book of Matthew and Mark. It has rocked my little world.

 

"Going on from there, He (Jesus) saw two other brothers, James son of Zebedee and his brother John. They were in a boat with their father Zebedee, preparing their nets. Jesus called them, and immediately they left the boat and their father and followed Him."

Matthew 4:21-22

 

Those two boys jumped out of their father's boat and followed Jesus. And let me remind you that at this point in time, people didn't know that Jesus was the Christ. They didn't know the New Testament like we do today.

 

I wonder how Zebedee responded. Did he encourage his boys to go? To leave him there in the boat fishing. Did he give them his blessing, or did he pout and become bitter? Did he put them on a guilt trip for not staying to help him with his livelihood? Or did he usher them out of the boat... knowing that they would never live near him or work with him again?

 

How did this daddy react when his two precious sons stepped out of his boat and began to follow a man that he didn't even really understand?

 

Scripture doesn't tell us. But scripture does go on to tell us about the lives of this man's sons.

James and John became part of Jesus' inner circle. They weren't just 2 of the 12 disciples. No, they were 3 of Christ's best friends (along with Peter).

John even ended up writing several books in the New Testament, including John, 1 John, 2 John, 3 John and Revelation.

 

And I picture that sweet father sitting in the boat, watching his sons walk away. He must have feared that the world would think his boys were crazy. He must have feared for their future. After all, wasn't staying with him and remaining fishermen the "safer" option?

 

I bet God met him there. Encouraged him. Blessed him.

 

You see... being a fisherman in those days wasn't a prestigious job. It was mediocre. As a matter of fact, most fishermen didn't have an education. Zebedee may not have raised his boys to excel according to the world's standards, but man oh man, Zebedee did not fail as a father.

Zebedee must have instilled something in his boys that gave them a craving for eternity.

 

My sweet friend sent me this picture after church the day that our preacher talked about teaching your kids relationship with Christ.

  

 

She wrote "My kids may never be the star students or exceed worldly standards. But at the end of the day, all I want is for them to know and to love Jesus."

 

I love her heart for the Lord. And pray that those 3 little kiddos in this picture do just that - love Jesus and love people.

And I pray that when the rubber meets the road, I sit in the boat like Zebedee and encourage my kids to "go". 

 

Organ Donation and Adoption

Strange blog title huh? 

This post has been swirling around in my head for about 2 months now, but I never had time to slow down and type.

A few questions repeatedly come up with Lee's new job with M.O.R.A (MS Organ Recovery Agency).

"How do you do it?"

"Aren't you depressed all the time because of how sad it is?"

Lee always replies the same way. "Yes, it is sad that there is loss. However, I can't help but think about all the people whose lives are being saved on the other side of the loss." 

Journey with me for a moment. 

I walk into her ICU room. She greets me with a friendly smile.
"You ready to work with therapy?" I ask.
She replies, "sure." 

Beep... Beep... Beep... 

The sound of all her monitors ring in the background of our conversation.

I arrange multiple IV lines so that she can make her way to the edge of the bed.

We walk around the room, dragging multiple IV poles including the machine that is hooked to her heart (externally) to keep her heart pumping.

She's sick.

We both know it.

Her time is limited.

We finish our session and I tell her to have a good weekend.

She looks out the window and her face turns solemn. 

"I am hoping to get a heart this weekend."

Her words carried a weight. A heavy weight.

She knew what getting a heart meant for someone else.
And it wasn't easy.

That was the last time I saw her lying in that ICU room hooked to the external heart pump.

She got a heart.

Lee comes home exhausted from work.
"She's sick, Abby. I don't know how much longer she will make it without a liver."
He was on his feet all day taking care of her.
A few days later Lee comes home amazed.
She had received her liver and would be discharging home from the hospital within a few more days.
"She was so sick. I am so amazed" said Lee.

Organ donation can be a beautiful thing.
But it can only come after loss.

Lee and I have both had the privilege of seeing the beauty of organ donation in the lives of our patients.
We have seen their faces and touched their hands.
So when Lee replies "I can't help but think of the people waiting on organs and how their lives will be impacted."
He is speaking from personal experience.

Adoption is such a parallel.
Adoption is beautiful. However, in order for adoption to occur there must first be some type of loss.
Our sweet Malachi will endure loss that many of us have never known.
Those words carry a weight. My heart is heavy, not only for him, but for his birth parents also.
My heart is heavy for orphans at large.

Praise God that we serve Him who is redemptive and makes all things new!

Miller's 2nd Birthday

Miller had his 2nd Birthday Party Yesterday!

He LOVED it!

I am pretty positive that he had absolutely NO idea that it was HIS party, but he ran wide open in the gym for 2 hours! We couldn't keep up with him!

 

Here are a few pictures from the party.

 

We had it at the MS Cheerleading Academy

 

The Birthday Boy!

 

This picture makes me sad! He's so grown now! 6 months ago we went to a party at this same location and I had to help him up these slides :((
Yesterday... he did EVERYTHING by himself.

This picture reveals the ENTIRE day... Miller RUNNING as fast as he could.
Literally, I couldn't keep up with him.
That's him and sweet Mary Grayson running to do the obstacle course again (for the 20th time literally)
 

 

The birthday boy got a small black eye. No worries, it didn't phase him.

 

 

 

 

Kemp and Ty Sumo Wrestling

 

 

Miller enjoying a cupcake.

Daddy was in charge of the camera during singing and he accidentally didn't get pictures or videos :))

I will operate the camera next year

 

 

Me and my little man

 

 

The "theme" was Mickey Mouse.

"Oh Two-dles"

 

 

 

The best family picture we could get.

 

 

This was a more realistic picture... Miller way too busy to participate!

 

Birthday parties are fun and chaotic.

The reason they are worth every minute of it is because they celebrate LIFE. 

 

We are so thankful for this little life named Miller that God has entrusted us with.

As I looked around the gym yesterday, I was thankful for all of the tiny little lives running around.

Each one created for a specific purpose!

JULY 2013

OUR JULY 2013 COLLAGE

HIGHLIGHTS

Lee reached the New Testament at the end of the month! 2 years this boy has been faithfully reading through the Bible and he is moving from Old to New Testament!

Miller's first experience with fireworks on 4th of July!

River trip with Blackburn Family the 4th of July weekend

Miller and Blakely - buddies & cousins

Lee taking Miller for a ride on the knee board. 

Miller and JayJay riding the tractor at the deer camp

Lee and I painted the nursery!! Grey in color.

Miller Blackburn turned 2 YEARS OLD on July 30th! We took him to the children's museum to celebrate.

He is having a Mickey Mouse Birthday party this weekend.

Unfortunately, we did not move up any spots on the waiting list.

Still number 66 for an infant and 32 for a toddler :( 

Adoption, Pregnancy, Life

I'm up late and it's quiet... so I decided that I would do a little blog post. I don't have anything earth shattering to talk about, but just a few little updates on life. 

ADOPTION

I cannot believe that at the end of August we will have officially been on the waiting list for 1 year!! Geez... time has flown by and crept by all in one. 

With our 1 year "anniversary" for DTE approaching, we have lots of updates to do.

Boring, but necessary paperwork.

We filled out the paperwork a few days ago (July 22) to update our fingerprints. 

I kinda had a bad attitude filling out paperwork. I will be glad when the non-referral paperwork is complete!

After we filled out the paperwork, I grabbed Malachi's journal and flipped through the pages to see what we were doing in July of last year. Ironically, I had written in his journal on the exact same date last year - July 22. So I snapped a picture of the scripture I had written.



Love that scripture. However, that scripture reminded me of the weight of responsibility Lee and I have in raising young men. They are my boys right now, but I am not raising humans that will remain children. I am raising men to be sent out into the world.
Lee and I are the warriors.
Lord help us shoot our "arrows" in the right direction.


PREGNANCY

I am 31 weeks pregnant!
Seriously, this pregnancy has flown by! I am getting nervous as the weeks keeping coming and going!
And let me tell you... I have a wild little boy in my belly! He literally never stops moving!
We made a "small" step of progress this week! We painted his nursery!
It's grey for those of you wondering. The colors in the picture didn't really show up right.
Nope... don't have anything other than grey walls picked out. No theme. No bedding.
Yes, we do have a name picked out.
I plan to blog about that at a later time.





LIFE

I love artwork.
Why?
I don't know.
I just do.

I like to write.
Why?
I don't know.
I just do.

The past week or so I have had the "urge" to do a little art.
Lee said yesterday, "you seem yourself again."

A local artist that I was reading about made the following statement when asked why she loves to paint.

"I paint because there is something inside of me that needs to come out."

An expression.

For those of you who love to paint or write - you completely understand what she is saying. There is just something inside of me that wasn't meant to remain there.
It was meant to come out.
So... I have decided that I am going to "attempt" to not keep stories that I would love to blog about held inside.
I am also going to "attempt" to let expressions of art flow freely and TRY not be self-defeating.
I want to be myself, and ultimately be all of who God created me to be.

I will end with this precious new addition to our house.
It was a multi-person project.

I came up with the idea.
Lee, his cousin Sha, and her son, Ty, all graciously went along with my idea. They took a quick trip to Lowe's and Hobby Lobby.
Sweet Lee (and Ty) built the frame.
We painted and distressed and glued burlap.
I painted the word "BLESSED" on the bottom.
Then I sent it to my sweet and talented friend, Felicia Robbins.
I said "Felicia, just make it pretty. Add some birds or something. Oh and make that word "blessed" look better. I'm too pregnant to stress over this :))"
She did! She made the whole thing come together beautifully!!
Check her out on Facebook. Her page is Robbins Roost Designs.
She's great.

Anyway.

Felicia called and said "Abby, I'm thinking 5 birds." She went into all the details of having 2 birds one color, etc. etc.
Finally... I understood where her sweet brain was going!
5 Birds for our family of 5.

2 birds one color (me and lee)
Then she said, "tell me some other colors you have in your living room."
I spouted off some colors and she said, "okay, perfect. I will pick a few colors and get it to ya."




Isn't it pretty??
Obviously, I need to get some family pictures in it! One step at a time :)

I proudly shared this picture with my coworkers the day I was going to pick it up.
At first glance, you wouldn't think anything special about the number of birds.
But I told my coworkers that they represented our family.
My boss replied "yeah, and that's your colors too."
Me: What?
Boss: Your colors. Those are your colors.
Me: I am confused. My kids aren't yellow, green or red.
Boss: No, no. The flag. Aren't those the flag colors?

Moment of silence.

Why, yes.
Yes, those are the Ethiopia flag colors again.
Green, yellow, red - in that order.

I later told Felicia and she laughed saying that she hadn't thought of that at all, but that she had carefully considered the placement of colors.

There's so much more to life than what meets the eye.

Always.

God is an artist.

His art always has more depth and meaning than what meets the eye.