399. Jeannine Floores our case study worker doing our homestudy! She is aweosme, funny and upbeat and real, very real! I highly recommend her to anyone who needs a homestudy! Her heart is in it to win it and I very much enjoyed our time with her last night during our first interview!
400. Praying friends-thanks to those of you who pray for us and thank you to Jenn and Marylee for texting yesterday to remind me that you were praying for us!
401. space heaters, we always use them anyway instead of turning on the heat, but our heat is not currently working in our house so i would definitely call space heaters gifts at this point!
402. my hubby brought my newspapers in this morning for me so I didn't have to go out in the rain, he is too sweet!
403. Tanner's brain, the way he thinks is truly a special gift to us!
Last night we had our first interview and it went very well! She is a hoot and we enjoyed talking with her (even if we spent most of the time answering questions, some easy, some harder. She made them all easier by helping us and sharing her own personal story of adoption. She was late so we only had a short while with our kids up and her there, but we had warned Tanner that she might talk to him and so she went ahead and did his interview last night while we played with Kenni in her room.
She is going to send me some of the funny comments he made (we obviously can't have a copy of the homestudy, but she will send the key funny quotes). I can't wait to hear them and I will of course post them on here as well as make them part of the adoption scrapbook. From what I remember that she told us I will say he is one smart cookie and we are so blessed God gave him to us! He will be an amazing leader and man someday!
We had to discuss the worst part, which is, what are you willing to adopt and what are you not willing to adopt? It was hard to say no to certain things, but we have to do what is best for our whole family including our biological kids and I pray that kids with those backgrounds are adopted by someone who is called to do so!
She asked us if we read and pray together as a couple and it was very sad for us to say no, not since we were newly weds. I read on my own as does my husband, but we have been missing out on reading together, or praying as a couple. We pray with our kids each night we put them to bed, but not with just each other. So last night we decided that trying to read through the entire Bible in one year is just not realistic for us, but in two years we are confidant we can do it, so we started over and read Genesis 1 and 2 last night. It was nice and I'm looking forward to spending this time with him each day!
We meet again next Tuesday, she had to reschedule due to her college son leaving on Thursday to go back to school and we totally understand so now I have to get a list of both of our addresses from the last 10 years together for her as well as us discuss a few things we were't sure of last night...
sorry I tried to post a picture, but it wouldn't let me browse my pics so I am unable to....
Wednesday, January 9, 2013
Tuesday, January 1, 2013
two posts in one day you say
our little little enjoys her jewelry :)
As this is the first day of 2013 I wanted to add another little note. I am very thankful for 2012 and all that God did for and with our family last year! I'm very much looking forward to this year and what God has in store for us!
Stick with me if you can: I brought home my catalog as I always do to show my hubby before deciding on what to buy with my spending money. I showed the hubs the items I liked and asked his opinion, he ended up taking the catalog and looking all through it and picking out pieces for me that he liked. Then he read the back of the catalog which said you can start your own business for only $149 (you can also start selling from your own hosting show and apply free product amount towards your start up cost amount). He said you would be good at this you talk to everyone and are comfortable with strangers and you could just wear the jewelry while you coupon and when people compiment it offer your business card and to host a show for them to earn free jewelry. I thought he was a little crazy, I always say not interested whenever I go to these parties as far as becoming a consultant goes. I don't like sales I hve done it before and I was not good at it (seas lawn and garden and fitness equipment). I said well I will ask Lora about what all it entails and we will pray about it.
Got some info, started praying...one night I was laying in bed with the hubs and he said you really should do Lia Sophia, I really think you should. I was still not sure and asked if he had really prayed about it, he said he had. That was the 1st real glimmer of me thinking I might do it. I was not getting any info from God as to go ahead or not, but my husband was so who knows....then i read the book "adopt wihtout debt" great book lots of great info on fundraising. I read a section on getting a part time job temporarily to help with the costs of adoption and suddenly I realized this was what God was planning for our family to help provide for the cost, I would go back to work. There are a lot of things I won't sacrifice for the sake of money-even if it is to pay off debt, or help fund an adoption. I am a stay at home mom, I homeschool our kids and I really feel this is what God intends for us so I will not budge on that! With selling Lia Sophia I don't have to give any of my mom duties up! I still get to be home with our kids and teach them. Also I don't want to work every evening or even 4 or 5 nights a week and have our family miss out on vaulable family time. With Lia Sophia I don't have to answer to someone else's idea of my schedule, I get to create my schedule with my husband in a way that works for our family. I don't have to be a salesperson, I get to wear beautiful, affordable jewelry and offer others to get it free when they approach me (the product thus selling itself) by hosting a fun party with their friends. The product is guranteed for life which is important to me, it will last and is quality jewelry!
The part that most excites me about selling this jewelry is that I get to share my story with as many women as God allows at their parties. Why did I decide to start selling jewelry? I'm glad you asked I wanted to help fund our adoption while not sacrificing precious time with my family. Then when people ask my why we are adopting of have adopted I get to share the most precious part of my life and that is my Lord and savior Jesus. Because God adopted us and first loved us, we are able to love and adopt our 3rd child. Short sweet and too the point. All glory to God and what a fun way to share Him with others! I feel like God has been preparing us in so many ways for this year and I am very excited to see what He does and how He uses our family to do His will....
If anyone would like to host a show please let me know. Another awesome benefit of buying from Lia Sophia is that you get to buy 2 items at full price then get up to 4 items at 50% off and the best part of that is that the 2 full priced items are your cheapest items. Where else can you get that deal? I have never seen anywhere offer a deal this awesome! email me at bigace3@hotmail.com
Thank you in advance for your support and prayers as we walk through this process and trust God with 2013!
finally a litlte concrete
392. setting a date for our home study to start (Jan. 8th and 10th)
393. skyping with family on Christmas morning
394. cold weather in Texas finally
395. emails from Gretchen
396. celebrating holidays with friends when you can't be with family
397. Nick finally having time off and getting to have him pretty much all to ourselves!!!
Those are the current gifts I am thinking on, but here is the adoption update for those who don't know:
We had a lot of back and forth and misunderstanding over the price as well as who would do our homestudy and finally after the uncertainty of it being $700 or $1000 we have been given our answer that the homestudy will cost $700. We are blessed that I am a saver when it comes to our monthy allowance and birthday money because I have that amount currently (God has provided and we are so very thankful--see this is why it pays to save--literally) I will pay for the study and then when we get our tax return I will get my spending money back and will be buying a .38 special revolver called the "body guard" which I am also very excited about :)
So we have our homestudy scheduled and the money is already in place to pay for it I feel like it is the 2nd big thing to check off the list in this whole thing. (1st one being the paperwork being turned in). Yes I am a list maker!
Emotions: as soon as the date was set for the study I freaked out. It was my first real freak out in adopting. I admittedly started to get think "can we really do this? Am I really capable of teaching and training another child-especially one that is likely going to have other issues aside from the normal kid issues of energy and craziness?" Then i remember that God called us to it, it won't be easy, but with Him it will be possible! I am going to fail our 3rd child just as much as I will fail our 1st 2 children and I am covered by God's grace in this and He will walk with me through it. Jesus has provided exactly the grace, people, money, patience, calm, words, etc. that I need to walk in faith through this adoption process and once we are finally able to bring our child home, He will be with us through that too. I am excited and thankful for the amzing God I serve and amazing husband He gave me to walk through this with! My friend G said "may you be a blessing to someone in 2013" I liked the way she put it and I liked that I can say we are going to be a tool God will use to bless someone in 2013, our 3rd child that will get a forever home and parents that love them. We are not perfect parents, some days I don't even feel like a good parent, but God is the perfect Father and He knows exactly what He is doing and so we will be the exact parents this child needs and this child will be the exact child we need as parents!
Tanner really wants a boy, Nick really wants a girl, I honestly don't care so long as we pray and discern the child that God intends for us (or children). It's weird to have no burning desire for more children, but to have a burning desire to bring home our 3rd child because they are ours and belong with us! I hate to think of not being able to protect them or provide for them while we are apart, but then that is where faith comes in and I have to trust that as we pray for our child's safety and wellbeing and health and healing that God is indeed providing all that our child needs. I'm praying for a super natural and tangible presence in our child's life that is felt and evident to our child and the people caring currently for our child. That God's hedge of protection would be surrounding our child and that their precious little hearts would begin to heal and prepare them for becomming part of our family. There is much faith in adopting, trusting God to care for your child while you can't, trusting God to provide the funds, trusting God to reveal the child He intends for you to you clearly, trusting the sleeping situation and car seat situation, the babysitting situation when required, not having family nearby as support so trusting God to provide the friends to help out like family would, and then just waiting for His time which is perfect.
These are the siblings to our 3rd child, can't wait to be able to put up our next child's picture!
can't wait til our child knows that we are thier forever parents!
393. skyping with family on Christmas morning
394. cold weather in Texas finally
395. emails from Gretchen
396. celebrating holidays with friends when you can't be with family
397. Nick finally having time off and getting to have him pretty much all to ourselves!!!
Those are the current gifts I am thinking on, but here is the adoption update for those who don't know:
We had a lot of back and forth and misunderstanding over the price as well as who would do our homestudy and finally after the uncertainty of it being $700 or $1000 we have been given our answer that the homestudy will cost $700. We are blessed that I am a saver when it comes to our monthy allowance and birthday money because I have that amount currently (God has provided and we are so very thankful--see this is why it pays to save--literally) I will pay for the study and then when we get our tax return I will get my spending money back and will be buying a .38 special revolver called the "body guard" which I am also very excited about :)
So we have our homestudy scheduled and the money is already in place to pay for it I feel like it is the 2nd big thing to check off the list in this whole thing. (1st one being the paperwork being turned in). Yes I am a list maker!
Emotions: as soon as the date was set for the study I freaked out. It was my first real freak out in adopting. I admittedly started to get think "can we really do this? Am I really capable of teaching and training another child-especially one that is likely going to have other issues aside from the normal kid issues of energy and craziness?" Then i remember that God called us to it, it won't be easy, but with Him it will be possible! I am going to fail our 3rd child just as much as I will fail our 1st 2 children and I am covered by God's grace in this and He will walk with me through it. Jesus has provided exactly the grace, people, money, patience, calm, words, etc. that I need to walk in faith through this adoption process and once we are finally able to bring our child home, He will be with us through that too. I am excited and thankful for the amzing God I serve and amazing husband He gave me to walk through this with! My friend G said "may you be a blessing to someone in 2013" I liked the way she put it and I liked that I can say we are going to be a tool God will use to bless someone in 2013, our 3rd child that will get a forever home and parents that love them. We are not perfect parents, some days I don't even feel like a good parent, but God is the perfect Father and He knows exactly what He is doing and so we will be the exact parents this child needs and this child will be the exact child we need as parents!
Tanner really wants a boy, Nick really wants a girl, I honestly don't care so long as we pray and discern the child that God intends for us (or children). It's weird to have no burning desire for more children, but to have a burning desire to bring home our 3rd child because they are ours and belong with us! I hate to think of not being able to protect them or provide for them while we are apart, but then that is where faith comes in and I have to trust that as we pray for our child's safety and wellbeing and health and healing that God is indeed providing all that our child needs. I'm praying for a super natural and tangible presence in our child's life that is felt and evident to our child and the people caring currently for our child. That God's hedge of protection would be surrounding our child and that their precious little hearts would begin to heal and prepare them for becomming part of our family. There is much faith in adopting, trusting God to care for your child while you can't, trusting God to provide the funds, trusting God to reveal the child He intends for you to you clearly, trusting the sleeping situation and car seat situation, the babysitting situation when required, not having family nearby as support so trusting God to provide the friends to help out like family would, and then just waiting for His time which is perfect.
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