A Good Week

This week I had two important "Ah-Ha" moments. First I realized that adoption for us is totally possible and that these girls are going to be ours, forever! I can't tell you how long this journey has been in my heart but for it to be so close that I can see the finish line, although it is still pretty faint, it is there. I can't wait for it to be touchable.

Second, I realized that the money will be here when we need it. That the good Lord will provide all of it, when we need it, maybe not until then, but it will be there. That is such an overwhelming feeling of comfort knowing that God has a plan for this too. As my mom said to me, "if He takes care of the little birds, then why would I ever doubt He would not take care of me!" Such a good thing to remember all the time, in any situation!!

My mom and I went out and clearance shopped this weekend. We were able to find the girls a few items at great deals. It is so fun to see clothes in the closet for them, just waiting for them to come home. Last night as I was looking at each of their little piles, I realized that this is possibly more clothes then they have ever had in their life, and yet, I was thinking they still need more. They still need jackets, coats, shoes, underwear, ect. You get the picture. And right now, they have three outfits to their name and they still smile. A lesson I know I could learn from.

Steve and I have decided to make fudge in three yummy favors and sell it in hopes of raising enough money to move to the next step in the adoption process. We are making approx 4 oz shaped hearts of solid fudge, one of each flavor, peanut butter, mint and regular. We will then package them in cute valentine wrapping and applying a handmade card to them. We are hoping to sell a lot of them!! If you are interested, just let us know and we can make arrangements for you to get your own!!

Blessings to all!!

A month later...

Do you ever just have a feeling and know? Something inside you says this is not going to be the easy path but definitely the path worth taking?

Do you ever read or hear something and say to yourself, if there was only something I could do?

I had that feeling in December when we decided to once again hit the adoption trail. It is such a hard and long path filled with so many ups and downs, unknowns and at times, too much known that is makes it that much more difficult. 

When Steve and I started on this path this time we had pretty much decided that we would like to add two children close to the age of our birth children to our family, one boy, and one girl. The thought of having two boys and two girls was very exciting to me! Don’t get me wrong, I was really nervous about it too. I knew there would be days that I wondered what we had got ourselves into. But then I would remember all the times that Elliot and Aleah have just wrapped us in their love and it made it all worthwhile and I could not imagine that feeling, x4. How blessed is that!

Then God introduced us to this sweet girl, H. She desperately wanted a home, a family of her own, with the dream of being a teacher some day. Steve and I talked about it and decided that what could be better than giving a home to an older child that desperately wanted a family. Then we found out she had a sister. There was just no way we could leave that sister behind. God made sure she was available for us to adopt as well! So now our family is so blessed to add two girls to our family, H is 10 and M is 9. (I promise to post pictures very soon!!)

So now, here we are about a month later and things are going CRAZY fast. We had our home study and we were told it could be complete in about 2 to 3 weeks. The home study is the final piece needed in order to be ready to send everything to the US government asking permission to adopt and to the Uganda government asking permission to allow us to make these girls part of our family. So now we wait and pray. Pray that the girls are excited and patient through this process, pray that the funds, or as a dear friend says, the ransom for our girls comes at the times we need it. We pray that when the girls leave the school that it makes room for two more girls, two girls who don’t have a bed to sleep in or food in their tummy at night, a chance too for them to find their forever family. 

We have been asked numerous times, why Uganda. The stories of orphans everywhere are heartbreaking. Every country has a story; every country has a child longing for a family of their own. This is our story. God put this in our hearts to love these girls and to bring them home. We read about the orphans in Uganda and our heart aches. I know that God has a plan but I don’t think his plan was for us to allow 2, 3, 4 year olds to live on the streets fighting for their food alongside the rats and dogs. I don’t think God’s plan was for us to allow children to be left in fields and on railroad tracks (yes, I said tracks) to die because their parent(s) felt they had no option but to leave them. I know every country has its story and I know every country has a call for help, but this was the calling that God put in our hearts. The place God called us to make a difference. One or two or even three children may not seem like much of a difference, but God takes that one example and multiplies it. In 2009 there was approximately 69 children adopted from Uganda by American families, in 2010 that number is over 200 children, and for 2011 we know it will be higher. That is the difference one child can make; one child, one calling, one God.

So why did we choice Uganda? We didn’t, God called us there. God wants us to help make a difference. I am not sure where our story will end but I know this story starts with two sisters in Uganda who just want a forever family and a mom in Montana who just wants her girls’ home.