ROAD BLOCK

So it seems we've hit a little road block with our fundraiser. It's been almost a week since our last donation came in and we still have a ways to go to meet our goal.

So far, we're at 37% (just over $3700 raised). That's amazing and we are SO grateful!!

But, we really need a few of you (well actually 900 of you) to pitch in $7 so we can reach our goal.

Seven dollars doesn't sound like much--but every $7 given really adds up.

Now, if 63 of you want to give one of these

then we can wrap this thing up just like that (how great would that be??? :-)

Know that we are so thankful for all of the support and donations we've received so far and we're trusting in God's provision and praying that He gets the glory through all of this.

Please click here to donate today and help us bring our baby boy home

and pass on our link http://www.acharityproject.com/f/7forour7th to

help spread the word!!!

Some More Testing Over Here

Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. James 1:2-3

So, this past Wednesday night, I ended up in the ER after days of grueling neck and back pain that had spread to my right arm. I had tried every remedy, been to several doctors and had gotten no relief--after an MRI, we finally knew why.

One of my disks had slipped and was completely compressing on my spinal cord, causing all the pain.

Thank goodness they figured it out, because I was almost at the point of requesting an amputation of my pesky right arm.

I am now on "bed rest" for the next 2-4 weeks (should be fun with 6 kids :-) following a spinal fusion and disk replacement and wearing a sporty neck brace for the duration.

Through it all, we have received an outpouring of support from friends and family-they've been taking care of me, the kids, Nick, cleaning, doing laundry and have set up meals for almost a month!

We are so blessed.

We can actually take James 1:2-3 to heart and consider this trial as joy as it has definitely strengthened our trust in the Lord as we've witnessed His provisions for our every need.

Praise-our needs are being cared for.

Praise-I did not suffer any permanent nerve damage

Praise-God continued to provide for our adoption even as I laid in the hospital.

So far, over $3700 raised to bring our baby boy home through our

$7 for our 7th fundraiser!!

So, we persevere.......

$7 For Our 7th Update

WOW!!!!!

Look what God has done:

Through the generosity of many, we've raised over $3,400 in just one week! Just amazing to see what happens when we come together to support one another.

We are so thankful.

Please help us continue to spread the word by sharing our fundraising link below.

http://www.acharityproject.com/f/7forour7th

Special Visitors

We had very special visitors come for breakfast yesterday. Below are four sweet friends-our girls Hermela and Meron and their "Ethiopian sisters" Yordanos and Sela. These sweet girls- -once orphans--now happy and thriving with their forever families-were reunited for the first time in over 2 years.

Yordanos was Hermela's best friend in the care center. She told me when she first came home that Yordanos was really like her sister. They went into care at the same time and had such a special bond. They both took on the role of "mommy" to their little sisters while they were waiting for their families to bring them home. Many pictures we received would be of these two carry their "babies" on their backs. They were always looking out for the little ones.

So good to see them back together again!

Now That's A Lot Of Kids

My Ethiopian adoptive mom friends all got together this weekend to hang out. There were 28 kids altogether--from just six families! We were even missing a few-2 where sick, 1 is in the belly and two are waiting in Ethiopia (including our little buddy).

Cool fact--every one of the 9 Ethiopian children pictured below were able to come home because God provided financially through fundraising!

Before we ever started the adoption process, we had always assumed that you had to have all the money up front. In fact, we held the common opinion that you really didn't have any business adopting a child if you didn't already have the money.

God has definitely challenged us on that one and opened our eyes big time.

What we found is that, God isn't in the business of using those that have it all together or even those who are qualified. He's in the business of using those that are AVAILABLE.

Over and over this theme is played out in the bible from David to Moses to Mary....

So often we limit God by what we think we can do or handle. We worry, wait and waste instead of trusting.

The bible teaches us to, "Trust in the LORD with all your heart
and lean not on your own understanding;
in all your ways submit to him,
and he will make your paths straight"

Proverbs 3:5-6

Let's face it, fundraising isn't really any "fun."

But it has been fun and such a blessing to watch God move and work to provide for our baby over the past few days.

We are inching up towards our goal and we're so thankful to those of you who have given.

For the many who have checked out our fundraiser and thought, "what difference will my $7 make?" I encourage to gaze at the beautiful children below welcomed home through adoption and know that every little bit helps and every little bit has made a difference to them.

It matters.

Please consider donating your $7 today and help change the life of a child.

Be the difference for one--it's super simple--just click the link below or at the top left side of this blog.

$7 for our 7th

http://www.acharityproject.com/f/7forour7th

Such an awesome testimony of God's love and provision for the orphans!

Wow!!

Just two days into our $7 for our 7th fundraiser and we've already crossed the $2000 mark!!!

Pretty awesome!

Even more awesome is how many of our friends and family members have stepped up to share our story.

In the past two days, more than 1700 people have visited this blog (that's up from the usual 150 that stop by on any given day).

We have been showered by the generosity of many and we are so thankful.

So, we're at 20% of our goal-just amazing-but still a ways to go.

So if you happen to drop in, consider cruising over to our fundraising page at

http://www.acharityproject.com/f/7forour7th

every little bit helps--that's the idea--your $7 REALLY does make a difference

and if you get a chance, share our link--that's what makes this fundraiser work

Thanks so much!

Some time later....

....the brook dried up

Last week, our pastor taught a sermon about Elijah from 1 Kings 17:1-16. In the story, Elijah tells the king that there will be no rain for several years. God then tells Elijah to run and hide and directs him to the rough and desolate Kerith Ravine. Elijah obeys, doing just what the Lord had instructed (even though he didn't know how things would work out). Elijah knows enough about God to know that He is faithful and that He can be trusted. As expected, the Lord provided for all of Elijah's needs-giving him water from the brook and sending ravens to provide him meat to eat.

The next part of the scripture brings this nice little story to an abrupt halt.

1 Kings 17:7 Some time later the brook dried up because there had been no rain in the land.

What's that all about???

God calls Elijah.

Elijah obeys.

God provides and then the water runs out??

That doesn't seem to make sense does it?

Well, this message couldn't have come at a more appropriate point in our lives as we are at the point where the brook has dried up.

When we started our adoption, we thought we had all the financial details worked out. God had provided and we were excited to have a plan this time around.

Shortly after we turned in our paperwork, we experienced an onslaught of unexpected expenses. It was literally as if an attack was launched (remember, the enemy hates adoption-the bible says, "Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour." 1 Peter 5:8).

With each new blow, we tried to remain thankful that we had the funds at the time that we needed them for these expenses. After all, this was God providing for our needs. It was hard though to watch the money we thought we'd be using for our adoption go instead to pay for dental work, medical expenses, household and car repairs.

As the story of Elijah continues, we see that while the resources that God had originally provided dried up, He does not leave Elijah without a plan. He provides for him in another way through a lowly widow. God instructs this widow with only a bit of flour and oil to her name to share what she has with Elijah. He uses her tiny step of faithfulness to provide for Elijah and her whole family.

For the jar of flour was not used up and the jug of oil did not run dry, in keeping with the word of the Lord spoken by Elijah. 1 Kings 17:16

God provided for Elijah in another way and we are trusting that He will provide for our adoption in another way.

One such way is through our $7 for our 7th campaign at A Charity Project.

The idea is simple, you give $7 and then spread the word to those you know via the web, facebook, email, or blogs and they give $7 and so on. The ripple effect ensues and we meet our fundraising goal.

Click over to our fundraising page to learn more.

And my God will meet all your needs according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus. Phillipians 4:19

Art Show

Our co-op had their annual Fine Arts Night and all of our budding young artists decided to enter some original pieces.

Rahel is a very talented drawer and has been working with sketch books lately. She created the angel picture to her right.

A close up of Caleb's battle scene.

My very helpful and creative aunt watched the kids for me last week and brought along canvases for the kids to paint. They were a hit at the show.

All dressed up for the night!

Goofy Littles

Our two youngest (for now) kiddos sure keep us entertained. Here's Colton "helping" me make a cake for my mom's birthday.

pure delight

I love how his eyes roll back as he goes in for another lick.

And this one is always sure to give you a good laugh. I think I've hinted that Meron is well, now how do you say it nicely, not the most self motivated worker in the house. So, when she asked if she could vacuum, I of course said "sure." Away she went, just a singing and vacuuming.

She turned it on, but never actually let it touch the floor.

What??? Doesn't everybody do it this way?

My sweet little "babies."

Spring Training

It's that time again and Spring sports are in full swing. Our littlest buddy joined the gang and is now officially in "training for baseball." That's what he tells anyone who will listen, "hey, did you know I'm in training for baseball?" He's taking it pretty seriously, but having a ton of fun too. On the way to his game Saturday he said, "Dad. If I strike out, I'm still gonna be happy." Just loving the game. He did strike out his first at bat, but then he got a single and a double and ended up scoring a run for his team!

Look at that face.

Caleb's working hard again this year and back on the baseball field. He's got one great swing and knows how to be "baseball ready" as they say.

The two big girls are back at soccer. Hermela scored two goals for her team on Saturday!

And Rahel has made some major strides with her game, adding in lots of fancy foot work tricks!

The little girls are busy working on their Swan Lake piece for their ballet recital in June and are super troopers as we round the practice circuit each week (no easy feet, let me tell you).

February Fun in the Florida Sun

Well, I'm a little late with this post, but I wanted to squeeze it in. Nothing like a swim mid February to get you going. It has been an exceptionally warm "winter" with averages in the 80's and few days pushing 90. While I enjoy a cool day here and there, I'd take a warm winter in the pool over a day in the snow any time.

The weather worked out perfectly for our family trip to Disney World

My parents, Nick and I all worked several Disney running races as volunteer "water servers" to earn free tickets for the family. I use to be one of those runners. You know when you're a runner, you have to pay a pretty hefty entry fee and all you get is a mickey medal and a t-shirt. When you volunteer, they hook you up with a free park ticket, a windbreaker and a snack--and you don't even have to break a sweat--pretty sweet deal. We had a couple tickets given to us as well, so we ended up having enough for the whole fam to get in.

We spent two nights in our cozy RV at the Disney Campground and had a blast.

Smores and a movie the first night.

Then we headed out bright and early the next day for the Magic Kingdom.

Waiting for the bus.

Colton and daddy.

Hermela, FL Gee Gee and Rahel

The highlight for the girls. Rahel was counting down the days until she could "see where Cinderella lived."

I thought I had taken more pictures, but I guess I was too busy having fun? Mission accomplished. Memory documented!

Dreaming Of Our Treasure

As we inch up on the baby boy list with our agency, excitement is building around here as we anticipate seeing the sweet face of our newest little treasure.

Throughout this process (and even before we started), I've had vivid dreams about our little one and have awaken many nights in prayer for him and his birth family.

Adoption has brought such joy into our family, but it is always the result of loss and heartache for the child and birth family and so I take comfort in Psalm 34:18 which says, "The LORD is near to the brokenhearted; he rescues those whose spirits are crushed."

What peace to know that the Lord is near our baby boy.

Each time I think of our boy, I wonder what's going on with him. Is he still in his mom's nice warm tummy or is he already born? Is he alone? Is he hungry? Is he safe? All these things flood my mind and then I realize, he is right where God has him and he is safe in the hands of the Lord.

I'm getting increasingly excited to get that call and see his cuddly little face. We've never actually waited for a referral as all of our girls were on the waiting child list, so anticipating "the call" that will bring news of our awaited child is kind of like waiting for Christmas morning as a kid. You know it's coming and it promises something good. Of course with Christmas, you always know how many more days you have left. No such luck in the adoption world. We could get the call tomorrow or a month or two from now (or longer I suppose, but I really hope not). In any case, it should be pretty soon and I just can't wait!

I love these next verses and they have really brought me peace and reassurance during this waiting time and I'm sure they will be helpful as we wait to bring our baby home:

For the revelation awaits an appointed time; it speaks of the end and will not prove false. Though it linger, wait for it; it will certainly come and will not delay. Habakkuk 2:3

The Lord is good to those whose hope is in him,to the one who seeks him;it is good to wait quietly for the salvation of the Lord. Lamentations 3:25-26

Dreaming and waiting for our little Treasure.......