Certifications, Authentications and Fingerprints, Oh My!

As part of our adoption process, all the documents required for our adoption have to be notarized. We then take these documents to the local county clerks' office for certification and then the documents go to the Secretary of State for authentication. Today was the day I went to do the certification and authentication. In addition, today was our appointment for fingerprinting. In order to get the piece of paper (an I171H) that allows us to bring an orphan into the country, we are required to be fingerprinted (again).

I started at the Robertson County Clerk's Office and let me say they are the MOST friendly and efficient folks!! And, additionally, since their Clerk has a heart for adoption, she has determined that certification for adoption is (get this) FREE!!! It's one of the only things in this process that has been free!

After that, I headed over to the Davidson County Clerk's office. I got a parking spot right up front and walked right in with no waiting and was done in less than 10 minutes.

I headed over to be fingerprinted after that. Apparently, I have perfect fingerprints. I'm SO HAPPY to have something perfect about me. *smile* Processing time in the Memphis CIS is 8 weeks so hopefully, we will get the I171H right about the time we get our referral or have to travel.

I then spent 20 minutes driving around downtown Nashville trying to find a parking spot near the building where I had to get our documents authenticated. Finally, on what I had decided was my last round before I parked three miles away, I found a spot -- right in front of the door again. The lady working there was the same one who did ours for China. She is SO nice!! They were also not busy and I managed to get them done quickly. Right at the end, I realized one of the documents I had combined really needed to be separate. Unfortunately, it was one that was from Robertson County so I had to drive back to that office to get a new certification. I will go Monday and get it authenticated and put the package in the mail. I just didn't have the energy (or gas money, for that matter!!! at $3.19 a gallon) to drive back to Nashville.

And, the best of all is that after reading about how much folks in other states have had to pay for their authentications, I was very pleased to have walked away with all my documents having only paid $40.

Our fundraiser for this weekend (concessions at a ball tournament) was cancelled due to the storms that are expected. While this is disappointing in that we needed to have the fundraiser, it will answer a prayer that our family has been praying for just a little time to get some things done at our house. I'm behind in my paperwork and Kevin's working very hard on building up the floor in the office.

I'm EXCITED to report my friend Jennifer has received her daughter -- a big surprise to me as I thought she was still waiting in the Vietnam program. Congratulations to her and her beautiful daughter. Jennifer was my Secret Santa this past Christmas. Visit her blog here.

Fasting

This comes from a website I read about fasting and it's history and implications for we as Christians. During our 40 days of prayer at church, we have been encouraged to fast. My friend's mother recently fasted while in a day of prayer for her and her husband. Because of my concerns about our adoption, I am feeling led to spend time fasting and praying for God's continued blessing on our adoption along with the prayer requests that we have been asked to pray about in relation to our church, it's growth, staff and impact on our community. We are at a point in our adoption where we must have His intervention to continue and I feel the need to seek His provision at a very sacrificial level. During this time when we are coming upon Easter and His Son's greatest sacrifice for us, it would seem now is a very appropriate time to do so. The link for this article can be found here.

Fasting is a time honored Christian ritual. It is the voluntary sacrifice of food and sometimes drink, too. What is its purpose? How do we make a decision to fast? How long should we fast?
Abstaining from food is the typical kind of fast. (Daniel 6:18) There are occasions when people abstain from both food and drink, though this is not common. (Ezra 10:6) Typically, fasts are one day in length. (Judges 20:26) Sometimes, they are three days (Esther 4:16), or even seven days; “And they took their bones, and buried them under a tree at Jabesh, and fasted seven days. (1 Samuel 31:13)

On three occasions in the Bible, people fasted for forty days. This is not a prescribed practice; these were very unusual circumstances. The first occasion was when Moses received the Ten Commandments. (Exodus 34:28) The next occasion was when Elijah encountered God before the anointing of Elisha. (1 Kings 19:8) The third occasion for such a fast was when Jesus was in the wilderness and tempted by Satan. (Matthew 4:2)

There are many reasons given in the Bible for fasting. The fasting itself is an act of sacrifice and when we fast and experience hunger, we are reminded of God and His sacrifice for us. While fasting denies the flesh comfort, it feeds the spirit strength. Fasts are voluntary, part of religious tradition or done in obedience to God. When you decide to fast, be clear with yourself and with God about why you are fasting, how long you will fast and use the time normally spent preparing and eating food to deepen your relationship with God. The fast should serve a purpose; there should be a significant reason for it.

Bereavement was once a common reason for fasting, though it is not so much anymore. The fasting may have been incidental in some cases but was often a way to feel closer to God during a particularly difficult time. “And it came to pass, when I heard these words, that I sat down and wept, and mourned certain days, and fasted, and prayed before the God of heaven” (Nehemiah 1:4)

Distressing or difficult times are reasons for fasting. Fasting is a way of communicating feelings of fear, anxiety, distress or grief to God. Self-denial is one way of expressing genuineness or sincerity. It’s also a way of making a spiritual contribution to relieving the situation, a way of showing God a willingness to do our part and asking Him to make up the difference. (See Esther 4:3) Fasting is sometimes used as a sacrifice when asking God to intervene in a situation. “But as for me, when they were sick, my clothing was sackcloth: I humbled my soul with fasting; and my prayer returned into mine own bosom.” (Psalms 35:13)

Fasting can also be a way of expressing sorrow or regret for sin. God doesn’t ask us for this sacrifice but He is pleased by it. “And they gathered together to Mizpeh, and drew water, and poured it out before the LORD, and fasted on that day, and said there, we have sinned against the LORD…”(1 Samuel 7:6) When this kind of sacrifice is made as a sincere gesture of sorrow or penitence, it is accepted by God.

When Christians seek guidance from God fasting may be an action that is helpful. The idea is to use the time we spend on food to spend with God instead. It provides extra time to spend in prayer, worship and listening. It is also a way of preparing for a spiritual event or change. It’s an act of submission, a way to get our desire out of the way in order to allow the spirit to work. (Acts 13:1-3)

Fasting can be a form of worship. “And she was a widow of about fourscore and four years, which departed not from the temple, but served God with fastings and prayers night and day.” (Luke 2:37) Surrendering comfort as an act of worship is not necessary but it is pleasing to God if it is sincere. It is much like saying, “Thank you God for giving Your Son for me. Let me be a little uncomfortable for Your sake.” Here again fasting is an act of sacrifice.

Fasting is a way of communicating emotion to God; it’s a sacrifice that can be made for the sake of restoring a right relationship with God, or can be made coupled with a request for help. Fasting is a way to subdue our flesh for the sake of our spirit. Fasting must be done sincerely to be a pleasing sacrifice to God.

Fasting can be used for a variety of reasons but it must be done sincerely. Choosing to fast can be a way to communicate feelings like sorrow, grief, and regret but it can also be a way of worshipping God. Fasts can be a sacrifice when we ask God for help or guidance and they can be acts of obedience when God asks us to fast. Fasts are time limited and are done for a reason; be clear about how long you will fast and why you are fasting. Whatever your reason for fasting, use the extra time to grow closer to God. He will honor your sacrifice.

Here are some other great links for fasting if you are interested:

Prayer and Fasting - Focusing on God
Scriptures on Praying and Fasting
Fasting - The Key to Power

Artwork for Ellie's Room

So, I got my creative juices going and wanted to do something other than the traditional hanging letters to spell a name in Ellie's room. So, I've covered the letters I bought with scrapbook paper, put some embellishments on and considered mounting them on a canvas. It looks ok, but now I've got another idea. I will show you some "in progress" photos now and when it's finished I'll show you the final product.

When will our referral come?

For those of you who voted in the poll to the left and chose March 10, sorry!!! The highest date so far is April 15 (tax day!!) and that is a possibility. I'm still waiting word that the referrals I heard about back on March 3 have come through. Two of my adoption friends (#2 and #3) on the list are now referring to ourselves as Nancy Drew as we try to sleuth out when the referrals are coming and who is where on "the list". We are still #5 as best I can tell.

For those of you who might not understand how this works, I will go over it for clarification.

Once we signed a contract with the agency and sent in our first fees, we were put on "The List". After we were on the list, we started gathering the documents that will be part of our "dossier". This is a package of papers to include things like our homestudy, photos of our home, letters from our employers, police letters stating we are not criminals, etc. Once this document is complete (FRIDAY!!!! yay!) I will send it to our agency and they will send it for translation and legalization. This will be the document that will go to court. However, I am ahead of myself.

"Referrals" are made by matching a family to a child that is available for adoption. Children are not available for adoption in Kyrgyzstan (or to go to court for adoption) until they are three months old. We could receive a referral for a younger child, but her paperwork would not be able to go to court until she was three months old. Once we are matched with a child (our referral), we will get photos and medical information. After that, we are required to travel to Kyrgyzstan to visit with her for 14 days. We will travel to the orphanage each day and spend somewhere between 1-2 hours with her. After this time, we are allowed to accept the referral and the case can proceed to court (assuming she is three months -- if not, the court will not hear the case until she is three months). We will return home to wait. After going to court, there is a mandatory waiting period of 30 days. After that, 10 days are required to get a passport and visa for the child to come home. Typically, families with our agency return to pick up their child in about 8 weeks after the first trip.

We are just barely into our window. I'm still sticking with my original prediction of April 15. God is fully in control of when this will happen. Knowing that He has this taken care of, I'm ok with waiting. I know he has the perfect daughter/sister picked out for our family.

I got my weekly baby fix in at church tonight holding Caleb. I even managed to get him to sleep!! He's a finger sucker and just terribly cute when he does it. His parents, however, aren't AS excited about it as I am -- something about dentists and orthodontists, etc.!! *smile* Caleb is my "practice baby".

Please continue to pray for our journey and for Ellie and her birth mom. There are days I stop and think, "I know there are people praying for us and this adoption -- maybe right now." It helps me make it through whatever is going on and truly keeps us strong. We are continuing to have faith that God is going to provide the remaining portion of finances we need to make Trip 1 and then what's needed for Trip 2. We are so close now but it's sort of like the old saying that close only counts in hand grenades and horse shoes. It's pretty much all or nothing in this case. It's another thing that makes me stop some days and go, "You know, God is working on this. Just because I don't see progress in this area doesn't mean He isn't taking care of it." It's much like the nursery that you all haven't seen photos of yet *smile*. Just because I'm not mentioning it doesn't mean I'm not working on it. I am!!! It's just not quite ready to share yet. Here's a sneak peek of the stenciling I'm doing. Sadly, there's only one line (the last one) done.

Washing Dishes

When I was little (and I mean little) my job was to wash dishes. I remember have to have a step stool to reach the sink (my parents are laughing at this point!!). Washing dishes was my job until I left home (a LOT of years later).

So, in an effort to instill a little of the same "job ethic" and "responsibility" into Joshua -- and, let's be honest, a way to get out of doing dishes!!! -- I felt it time that he learn to become responsible for the dishes each day.

Tonight he started. I got all the expected reasons why he shouldn't have to do this: "I'll gag; that food on there is gross; I'll throw up." Imagine all this in a very whiny voice. I told him he could throw up and then he'd just have to clean that up too. THAT seemed to be the right answer as he stopped and said, "I don't want to have to do THAT!" to which I replied, "Then don't throw up." He found some rubber gloves (he couldn't TOUCH that stuff!) and started the process. A BOTTLE (I'm certain it was that much) of Dawn and multiple gallons of water later, he emerged with the dishes clean and the dishwasher running. He only had to re-wash one pan and, surprisingly, didn't gag.

We'll see if we manage to make a habit of it. Here's some proof of his work.

I'm such a "mean" mama!!! :-)

Emotions and Adoption

I'm never surprised when the emotions hit me during what has turned out to be a long adoption process. I think back to our naivete when we started this process some three years ago and I wind my mind back through all that we have gone through and the emotions that have ripped me apart and the tenderness with which God has reminded me that He is in control, not me. To say it has been a roller coaster would be like calling Hurricane Katrina a thunderstorm. It has provided the highest of highs and the lowest of lows and ever emotion in between.

So, the last few weeks were not surprising, I suppose to me, but they have proven to be an enigma. During a time I should probably be the happiest since we are so close to the "prize" or the "goal", I find myself feeling ambivalent. This seems to be the best word to describe my emotions right now. I'm tired from all the work that we are pouring out right now with trying to get our house in order so we can add another person and from fundraising to raise funds more quickly than we had anticipated we would need them.

Somewhere along the way I lost sight of why we were doing this. I got caught up in the thought and process of adoption and forgot to focus on the outcome of the adoption. Someone who is adopting using our same agency just travelled for their first trip. They shared their blog with me yesterday and I spent quite a while marveling over this tiny baby girl that they were blessed with being told was theirs. Somehow, in the painting, the hammering, the baby clothes, the pizza kits and the paperwork, I haven't been still enough to think about the child, the baby.

I got a sample diaper in the mail today. When I held it, the reality of the fact that a little wiggling baby girl would be in that diaper and in our home and our hearts came crashing in. I went into her room and thought of her sleeping there, crying in the middle of the night. I think, because I have been here and done that before, I can understand that even though she is not "real" to us yet, she is going to touch our hearts, our home and our family in such a way that none of us will ever be the same people as we were before she came. I hope I can change her life in a positive way as well.

A friend commented as we talked about the things I'm writing here that I'm in my last trimester of our adoption pregnancy -- the time when you are most miserable, most anxious and most afraid. You have no idea when the baby is coming, but know that everything is going to change. You are tired from all the work of just existing and carrying a baby. You are so anxious about "nesting" and getting it all ready for the baby and yet you are also so tired. That's exactly where I seem to find myself these days.

Our family is ready (pretty much, anyway) to receive our referral when it comes. We are ready to dive in headfirst to find what our "new normal" is going to be. We are ready to go back to life without the burden of adoption work. While adoption will always be a part of our lives, of Ellie's and my history, it doesn't have to be the focus of our lives all the time -- like this seems to be.

I can envision my little girl. I see her small with dark hair -- lots of it -- and dark eyes. She will be dark complexioned. I see her tiny fingers clutched around one of ours. I see her yawn and hear her coo. I see her sleeping in her brother's arms. I see her, just like her brother did, sleeping on her daddy's chest for a nap. I see her in church on Sundays, knowing "my girls" will all want to be holding her and playing with her (Sara, after all, has called dibs on babysitting). I see her at MeeMee's and DeeDee's for Christmas and at Nana's for Sunday afternoon dinner. I see her chasing the cats and laying on the dog like Josh used to do. And so while I am fearful, I am excited.

I found the following verses that gave me comfort this morning. I hope if there are other parents who are adopting and waiting that are reading, they will find some comfort in this as well,

Isaiah 30:18

The Lord longs to be gracious to you;

He rises to show you compassion

For the Lord is a God of justice

Blessed are all who wait for Him!

In "The Window"

We are now in the "window" that we were told our referral would come. Granted, we are just on the early side and don't expect to hear news yet, but it's exciting to know that it will be soon.

The dossier is ready sans one employment letter and one set of police clearance letters. I forgot to tell them I needed two. I have have those done and a couple of documents notarized and Friday I will go about getting it all authenticated and certified. We also get our fingerprints done on Friday and will begin the tedious wait of getting our I171H.

We are waiting to hear from two others who are in front of us on the Adoption Options waiting list. When their referrals come I will begin to get antsy.

Maria

Rambling

There's no good title for this post as I'm just catching up a few whirlwind days/weeks and exploring some of those "contents" of my heart that reflect the title of the blog. Be forewarned, this post will ramble. :-)

Today we had the remaining dossier documents notarized. I thought that would finish things up, but wouldn't you know it, there is always a piece or two missing. I realized I only have one employment letter for me and the lady who did my letter is out this week. I only have one police clearance letter for each of us, but that lady is coming back this week. I need to make my photo pages which I can do within a very short period of time. I need to take the passport copies to the bank and have them notarized since I forgot to take them today. THANK YOU to Lisa for notarizing our things (again!). Will this dossier ever be done????

So... laundry tip. I have a messy, messy boy who loves condiments of all varieties and never fails to wear them. He gets this from me. We have found that Easy Off BAM will take out pretty much any condiment/grease stain on colored clothes. It works OK on whites, but you might have to run it through twice. On colored clothes though, we have managed to take out grease stains on clothing that has already been washed and dried several times. This is a product made to clean the grease off your appliances and out of your stove, so it makes sense. We have seen no loss of color on the items either. So, there's your tip for the day.

On the fundraising front (will that ever end??) we will be selling concessions at a softball tournament this weekend at Joelton Park. We are doing the breakfast booth on Saturday and Sunday. There are supposed to be between 20-30 teams there, so we are hopeful that it will be a productive couple of days. Our Sunday school class informed us today that they want to help with this by purchasing the items we will sell. I was just floored by this offer and generosity. I'm always amazed at the ways God chooses to help. It is never a way I would think of on my own.

Along those same lines, our pastor has encouraged us to memorize (in however long it takes us) ten scriptures. We are to pick verses that apply to us at where ever we are in life. We are to write them on cards and take them with us and study them until we have them memorized. I'm going to list my ten verses here so I don't forget them (people who know me will find this both funny and sad -- but true!). I'm cheating a little because some of them I already know, but during the next few months of this adoption, they are truths that I need to continually remind myself of. It's been a hard few weeks emotionally on the adoption front and I know if I commit these to memory, they will serve as a reminder of the promises made and kept.

Delight yourself in the ways of the Lord

and He will give you the desires of your heart.

Psalm 37:4

I will not leave you as orphans.

I will come to you.

John 14:18

Lord, listen and be gracious to me.

Lord, be my helper.

You turned my lament into dancing.

You removed my sackcloth

and clothed me with gladness

so that I can sing to You

and not be silent

Lord my God.

I will praise you forever."

Psalm 30:10-12

I Corinthians 10:13

No temptation has seized you

except what is common to man.

And God is faithful;

he will not let you be tempted

beyond what you can bear.

But when you are tempted,

he will also provide a way out

so that you can stand up under it.

He will cover you with his feathers,

and under his wings you will find refuge;

his faithfulness will be your shield

and rampart.

Psalm 91:4

Set a guard over my mouth, O Lord;

keep watch over the door of my lips.

Psalm 141:3

He who guards his mouth

and his tongue keeps himself from calamity.

Proverbs 21:23

I will sing of the LORD's great love forever;

with my mouth I will make

your faithfulness known

through all generations.

Psalm 89:10

No comments about the ones about my "mouth" from those who know me well.

This is our last week of school before spring break. I'm going to try to get caught up with work this week (hahahaha) so I can take a day or two off to do things with Kevin and Joshua. I'm hoping for pretty weather. We did have our snow Saturday -- somewhere around 5-6". It was pretty much gone by early afternoon.

All the keys are popping off my laptop. I'm without "K" and now "L" and "C" are pretty much done for. Does ANYONE know where I can take to to get it cleaned and have the keys repaired???

Pizza Pizza -- Again, Again

During our last Little Caesar's Pizza Kit sale, our order was short a couple of kits. Then, apparently, we lost one (how???) and so we needed to re-order. Because of that, we are going to allow anyone who wants anymore or who missed this last order to place an order. Our cut off for getting the orders is 3/16 (Sunday). The orders will be delivered on Thursday March 20.

We've had great comments from the last sale and we've already collected 30 orders for the next time.

If you need to see the brochure, you can find it HERE. Scroll down a few pages and it will be a color brochure with prices.

While I'm bragging about their products, let me say that we have been SO HAPPY with our salad fixings kit. Just add lettuce and you're done! It combines all your favorite gourmet toppings with premium dressings in 4 flavorful salad combinations. The Salad Fixin's Kit goes anywhere! Joshua loves the Caesar Salad Kit and I love the Southwestern kit. We throw some chicken in with it and have really quick meal.

We've also heard rave reviews over the wings that come with the Deep Dish Family Meal. The kit comes with a deep dish family size pepperoni pizza, 10 boneless wings and 18 pc Crazy Bread.

Thanks, again, for all the support!

Baseball Season Starts Again

Tonight was our first official practice for the 2008 Baseball season. This year Joshua is a Padre. He's very excited because all his friends are on this team and he really likes his coaches.

It was REALLY cold out there tonight. They are predicting a big snow here tomorrow -- possibly 4"-6" of accumulation.

Check out our team blog. We are excited about havnig a blog. There's not a lot there now, but we are excited about using it this year.

I like baseball -- when it's warm!

Progress Being Made

Despite the fact that I found no "takers" for my position of Replacement Me, I decided something HAD to be done with that "To Do" list when people began asking me, "Do you REALLY have that many things to do??" with some incredulity. I sort of whispered my reply in embarrassment, "Those were just the most important things." *smile*

So, today, I got on that proverbial ball and got the following items cleared off my list:

1. 1. Punch has gone to the vet. She has some really long named possibly allergy/immune system thingy that is causing her paw to become inflammed and the vet indicated she thought it was starting in another paw. I LOVE my vet, Dr. Lamb. She is awesome. She came back in with a book and showed me pictures, told me about what it was and everything. Sadly, all I was thinking in my mind the entire time she was talking was, "Is she going to DIE from this???" followed by, "I wonder if this is a high dollar fix?" Fortunately for both Punch and me, it was neither. Some steroids and antibiotics and she should be one the mend. It might take several weeks.
2. Deposits are made at the bank.
3. Weekly Bible study classwork is complete and class for this week is done.
4. Telephone repair man came and the phone is working again.
5. Joshua's tonsillectomy has been cancelled and I will call back closer to summer and after our referral to re-schedule.
6. Dossier is in order. We are missing only the photo pages and we have to have the police clearance letters re-done. Everything is ready for notarization. Thanks to my friend, A., who also lives in TN and has adopted from Kyrg, I will now only have to go to two county clerks offices instead of three AND I have a phone number where I can "call ahead" and they will have it ready to staple to the paper. You CANNOT beat that, can you??
7. I am headed to Bowling Green for a LONG day tomorrow to clean that work up there. I have entered some of the backlog of work I have. This might continue to be on the list for a few weeks. But hey, it's job security, right???

Thanks to Kevin today for picking up the missing Marriage Licenses, Joshua's medical forms and having our passport copies made. That took a LOT off me.

I'm feeling a bit better. Give me a weekend and I just might be able to cut that list down to just a few items!!! Yay.

And, Dana, if you are reading this, I have pulled out the items you have asked for and will be scanning tomorrow night and emailing them to you. They are "on the list".

And last, but certainly not least, I got my baby "fix" in tonight at church. My friend Michelle's baby, Caleb is just TOO CUTE and is usually a willing participant for my much needed fix!

Psalm 30:11-12

WOW! As I study for my Beth Moore class, I came across a verse that made me stop and just think how perfect it was for our adoption story. In all honesty, it might not be for Kevin's or Joshua's personal experience with this adoption, but it is as if it was written specifically for me. It is:

You turned my wailing into dancing;

you removed my sackcloth and clothed me with joy

that my heart may sing to you and not be silent.

Oh Lord, my God, I will give you thanks

forever.

I can think back on some of the darkest times during this two and half, almost three-year journey and remember the times when there was most definitely wailing and sackcloth. I can almost see the end now. I can "taste" the joy and feel the cloth of it that will clothe me. I feel my feet begin to vibrate in the beginnings of the "dance". My heart has begun to hum in anticipation of the song it will sing.

And, as always, I will continue to give credit, praise and thanks to the One who continues to make it all possible. Forever.

As I continue looking through the rest of my study, I feel as if He is sitting here saying, "This is to prepare you. You are close." Look, as I have at the quotes and the section titles and be amazed and His timing.

God never more closely surrounds us than when He lifts us to His breast and carries us HOME.

Our mouths were FILLED WITH LAUGHTER then, and our tongues with SHOUTS OF JOY. Then they said among the nations, 'The Lord has done GREAT THINGS for them.' Psalm 126:2

Those who sow in tears will reap with SHOUTS OF JOY. Psalm 126:5

VAIN LABOR (section title) - Godless labor + little sleep = the futile expenditure of energy

WOW again! I feel like we are so close to the filling of laughter and the shouts of joy and the great things to come. And, there is the reminder of not filling our lives with Godless labor, robbing ourselves of sleep and the futile expenditures of energy.

Pinky Bear

INTRODUCING: Pinky Bear

Saturday night Joshua wanted to go "do something". We thought and realized we had gift cards left over from Christmas for Macaroni Grill and that he had gift cards and a "stuff for stuff" certificate all from Build-A-Bear so the evening's activities were planned.

While on the way, I mentioned that we might ought to be considering the bear we were going to take to Kyrgyzstan for Ellie. We had talked about doing a BAB with a sound recording of our voices to take to her on trip one and leave it until we return for trip two.

So, in addition to building "RUFF" the Husky dog, we built "PINKY BEAR" the, well, Pink Bear (we had several moments of indecision on what to call the Bear, so we went with the non-creative obvious). Pinky Bear's shelf tag said she was "Full of Love". Her paws have magnets in them to make them stick to her nose, making her look as if she is ready to blow you a kiss.

We recorded a sound card to put in one paw with each of us saying a little something. Granted, it had to be quick, there was only 10 seconds on the recorder. I have threatened everyone in the house not to play the recording as I'm afraid the battery will die before we get there or before we get back to get her. I'm sure she won't be able to play it, but I'm hoping her caregivers will play it for her.

Wanted - A Replacement for me ...

Ok, so I'm looking for someone who wants to come in, clean up my life for the next few weeks and then I can, hopefully manage it for a while.

Here's what you will be responsible for doing over the next few weeks:

1. Finish my dossier. It needs to still be taken to Lisa's house for final notarization, taken to three different county offices for authentication and then to the State for Authentication. Copies need to be made of all the documents for my files and then it needs to be mailed to Adoption Options. This needs to occur immediately.
2. Research cause and find cure for my cat, Punch's, recent limp. Her front paw is a bit inflammed. Please research and let me know if it will kill her to continue to limp for a few days and if Neosporin is poisonous for cats. You could take her to the vet -- if you have time. This needs to occur immediately.
3. Clean and photograph the last two rooms (Ellie's and our bedrooms) for the dossier. This needs to be done immediately.
4. Stencil the remaining verse on Ellie's wall. This, of course, needs to be done immediately in order to finish #3.
5. Oh, and yes, find a curtain and lampshade for her room -- this does NOT have to be done immediately. Tomorrow will be fine.
6. Move everything out of the garage office with Kevin on Saturday so he can work on the floor. After he finishes on Saturday, move it all back.
7. One word: LAUNDRY -- Yes, immediately.
8. Go to bank and make deposits -- immediately.
9. Go to medical clinic and start Hepatitis shots. Be SURE to get that done before I take back over. *smile*
10. Gather documents for and complete 2007 taxes. Immediately, nah, it can wait a day or two.
11. Complete Bible study materials for tomorrow night's class.
12. Go to Bowling Green, KY and complete past due inspections (as a favor for company so you can stay on the good side and to earn some extra $). Yes, immediately.
13. Complete the 88 inspections that are currently coming due. This should only take a week, but really, you should get on it.
14. Go visit my grandmother in the nursing home. Plan to stay a while because that's what I promised I'd do next time I came.
15. Call and cancel Joshua's tonsillectomy. Be sure to spend the amount of time required to let them know that he has just gotten over strep and the flu and now seems to have a sinus infection. Remind them that his immune system is tired and can't quite do a surgery now. Re-schedule for summer. This should have been done yesterday.
16. Could you back-up my computer before it crashes losing everything? If you'll just take it to my mom's house, she has a system to back it up. While you are there, she has some computer work that she needs you to handle. Yes, immediately, please.
17. Meet the telephone repair man tomorrow who can hopefully tell you why you haven't been able to hear anyone on your home phone for months. He will be at the house between 8 a.m. and 6 p.m. You'll need to be there. :-)
18. Mail gift to friend in Texas.
19. Mail off camera that is not taking clear photos. It needs to be packed well, shipped with insurance the form needs to be filled out.
20. Balance checkbook and pay bills -- should be done daily.
21. Cook and vacuum -- daily.
22. Catch up the blog entries and read all my past due email, delete non-relevant email and clean up deleted files.
23. Coordinate upcoming four fundraisers for adoption. Plan what to sell at upcoming concessions stands, coordinate volunteers, make signs and buy food. Gather items for yard sale (once you find a place to PUT it and set a date to have it). Determine date for donut sale.
24. Finalize and send off grant application. This should have been done last month so if you can do time travel, that would be great.
25. Diet for me too, if you will -- that seems to not be working so well with me doing it so maybe you'll have more luck.

I think, if you could just get that much done and back on track, I'd be able to handle the rest.

Fingerprinting appointment letter has arrived

We got our letter from USCIS today indicating we now have an appointment to get our fingerprints done (again). I jokingly tell people they are just checking to see if we robbed the Piggly Wiggly in the last 18 months since we had them done last.

Our appointment is March 14 at 1:00. After that, the USCIS in Memphis is running 8 weeks to get out I171H forms. We have to have a copy of this document to Adoption Options, have it notarized, authenticated, translated and legalized before our dossier will be able to go to court. So, if we got a referral tomorrow we could not proceed with the court proceedings until that is done.

I've checked with two of the people in line in front of me on "the list". They have not heard from te agency yet as to referrals this week. In all honesty, that is not upsetting me right now. We still need time to finalize these last fundraisers, time to get one more grant application in the mail, and time to get that I171H form. So, technically, we are still #5. I know (technically speaking I know of them from online) the two people situated at #2 and #3 on the list. I think I know who #4 is (friend of #3). I have not been able to figure out #1 yet. :-) It's nice being able to correspond with those folks. I'm as excited for them as I can be!!

Pizza Pizza = Tired Tired

Whew! I remember thinking when Carla brought up the idea of a pizza sale as a fundraiser that I was concerned about getting them all delivered on the night they came. Now I know why. Boy, tonight was some serious work.

The pizza delivery truck came about 5:40. I was very sad to see that it did not have Little Caesar's on the side of the truck, but I took a photo anyway. *surprise!*

The boys, Josh, Bryce and Chris, were really excited about helping unload the truck. Carla had everything printed out and organized so each type of kit got put in the correct place, a thank you note was taped onto the box and we began to "fill" orders. Two hours and 205 items later, the last car left the lot to head for deliveries.

I am so thankful to all those who sold and who came to help distribute (we could have NEVER done this alone and without Carla's expertise).

I got home at 9:00 and we had a Family Meal Kit (less the cookies) for dinner. I did add some additional toppings to our kits, but here is the finished product.

Kevin has now gone to his office to put more pizza kits and cookie dough in the refrigerator there. We have pizzas in our refrigerator, freezer, on ice in coolers and stashed at my mothers and the church. They are EVERYWHERE! This is in addition to all the folks who picked their orders up tonight and are delivering them. We are thankful, though, that this brings us one step closer.

I truly hope everyone enjoys their Pizza-Pizza as much as we did.

An added blessing tonight was that a call to our agency to ask some paperwork questions yielded more information on where we are on "the list". Apparently, our agency is expecting three referrals in the next little while so we could feasibly be #2 on the list in the next week.

We are in a mad dash to try to figure out where the last bit of funds will come from, figure out what we will do about missing school for Joshua if our referral comes early and we have to travel before school is out, and how we will "get it all together". Oh well, God will take care of the details if we will just listen for His voice in the crazy, exciting madness of it all. We're getting REALLY close now.

Science Project

The science fair is a yearly tradition at our school. Third and fourth grade students are required to participate and the first and second graders all do a class project.

This year Josh and his dad came up with the idea to make homemade weather instruments to see if you could predict the weather without professional equipment. I reserve the right as blog author to comment that people have, for centuries, predicted weather without professional equipment simply by walking outside, looking at the sky, smelling the air and saying, "I think it's going to rain." However, apparently that does not qualify as meeting the standards of the "scientific method" so more effort was required at our house.

Kevin and Josh looked on the internet to find out how to make a barometer and an anemometer. For those, like me, who are scientifically challenged, a barometer measures atmospheric pressure and an anemometer measures wind speed. Here are their homemade versions of these pieces of equipment. (I will admit that I don't have a clue what the professional versions would look like -- you'll have to research that on your own). Also included are some "Photoshopped" versions that include what the used to make them.

Data was gathered each morning and each evening and entered into Joshua's "log book" (to make it more cool for him, Kevin brought one home like he uses in the field).

At the end of their data gathering period, they compiled their information and Joshua typed it up on the computer, emailed it to me for formatting and we printed it, he cut it out, matted it using construction paper and we all helped him tape it down on the board.

VIOLA -- finished project. How come it sounds so much more simple in words than it really was? How come we felt like we were nailing jello to the wall trying to get Joshua to finish this project? Anyway... here's what it looked like before it got sent to school.

He was unable to attend the judging this evening as we were unloading and delivering pizzas (it WAS his choice to stay there instead of going to the fair), but I called another mom and found out that he won 2nd place in his Earth Sciences division. He came in behind his friend, Kaitlin. Ironically, when they were about six months old, they were both in a baby pageant. Kaitlin won first place and Joshua won second. When I told him about getting second and Kaitlin getting first, he said, "I'm always coming in second place to her!" *smile*

Snow

Yeah, we got the snow day I wished for. Josh is STILL running a fever, albeit much lower than before. We are down in the 99-100 range now. He was distraught that several of his friends called for him to come play in the snow and I wouldn't let him go "spread the love" (aka the flu) with them.

I relented and we did go out for about 15 minutes and he got to sled a little. I'm sure it wasn't good sound medical advice, but, hey, he has the flu, it can't get a lot worse (well, I guess it COULD). He's also a ten-year-old-boy and this was a pretty good snow. I only managed to capture a few photos. I was too busy sledding with him.

Tonight I feel funky. I'm a bit achy (a lot achy) and my head hurts. I'm off to bed because I absolutely have to work in the field tomorrow.

Humor: I have found my illness

I got this from my friend Susan. After she read it to me, I asked her, "What I want to know is why whoever wrote this has been following me around and taking notes of my day!"

Enjoy.

A.A.A.D.D.

Thank goodness there's a name for this disorder. Somehow I feel better, even though I have it!!

Recently, I was diagnosed with A.A.A.D.D. - Age Activated Attention Deficit Disorder. This is how it manifests:

I decide to water my garden. As I turn on the hose in the driveway, I look over at my car and decide it needs washing. As I start toward the garage, I notice mail on the porch table that I brought up from the mail box earlier. I decide to go through the mail before I wash the car.

I lay my car keys on the table, put the junk mail in the garbage can under the table, and notice that the can is full. So, I decide to put the bills back on the table and take out the garbage first.
But then I think, since I'm going to be near the mailbox when I take out the garbage anyway, I may as well pay the bills first.

I take my check book off the table, and see that there is only one check left. My extra checks are in my desk in the study, so I go inside the house to my desk where I find the can of Coke I'd been drinking. I'm going to look for my checks, but first I need to push the Coke aside so that I don't accidentally knock it over. The Coke is getting warm, and I decide to put it in the refrigerator to keep it cold.

As I head toward the kitchen with the Coke, a vase of flowers on the counter catches my eye--they need water. I put the Coke on the counter and discover my reading glasses that I've been searching for all morning. I decide I better put them back on my desk, but first I'm going to water the flowers.

I set the glasses back down on the counter, fill a container with water and suddenly spot the TV remote. Someone left it on the kitchen table. I realize that tonight when we go to watch TV, I'll be looking for the remote but I won't remember that it's on the kitchen table, so I decide to put it back in the den where it belongs, but first I'll water the flowers. I pour some water in the flowers, but quite a bit of it spills on the floor. So, I set the remote back on the table, get some towels and wipe up the spill.

Then, I head down the hall trying to remember what I was planning to do.

At the end of the day: the car isn't washed, the bills aren't paid, there is a warm can of Coke sitting on the counter, the flowers don't have enough water, there is still only 1 check in my check book, I can't find the remote, I can't find my glasses, and I don't remember what I did with the car keys.

Then, when I try to figure out why nothing got done today, I'm really baffled because I know I was busy all day, and I'm really tired.

I realize this is a serious problem, and I'll try to get some help for it, but first I'll check my e-mail (or update my blog)....

Checks

We've been gathering money for pizzas for a few days now and have just been putting them in an envelope on the fridge. Today, we got a package from Susan with checks and then I met Carla tonight to get her checks. I decided I should sit down and calculate the checks, start to make the deposits and see if I still needed to collect any more.

I told Carla Sunday night that at some random point in the next week I would burst into tears as the impact of this sale hit me. And it just did. I had to quit adding up the checks because as I sat here seeing name of friends I knew and loved and the names of people in our community that I don't know, who had written "Latham Adoption Fund" on their checks, I became overwhelmed with gratitude that strangers would support our adoption of a little girl in another country.

Latham Adoption Fund -- that's us. This is real. This is unreal. This is close.

There are checks from all over a five county area. I realize that each slip of paper I held is tangile proof of a promise fulfilled from God that He would provide for us when He called us back in August 2005. It makes me feel so humble, so awed at a God who provides for our hearts' desires as well as our needs and appreciative beyond what words can adequately express for the support of those who gave of their money to buy pizzas and cookie dough to give a little girl a better life.

Thank you, everyone of you.

Flu

Because Josh was out of school for two days, I knew we would need a doctor's note. He also continued to have fever (since Saturday) so I made an appointment this morning to take him in to the doctor this afternoon.

BLOW ME DOWN when the doctor says he has the flu! They swabbed his nose and did the test and it was positive. Since he's had it so long, Tamiflu wouldn't be any help. By the time we got back home he was exhausted.

He's back on the couch with some books, a few movies from the Red Box, Puffs (with Vicks Vapo-Rub -- cool things!!) and potato soup on the stove (his favorite food). There is nothing better when you are sick or when it's cold than a warm bowl of loaded potato soup with some crispy french bread -- yummmm!

I asked the doctor how long before I could consider Kevin and myself "safe". We were told that if we didn't have it by Saturday, we were ok. Saturday is a long way off. I think I'm having some hypochondriac symptoms already. :-)

As I sit here and write, the most beautiful snow flakes are falling outside. The neighbors' roofs are already white. Hopefully, there will be no school tomorrow and we won't have to miss another day of school.

Ellie's Bedding Came!

I LOVE Ellie's bedding. It is so soft and feminine. I have now begun to stencil (doesn't that sound so 80s??) a Bible verse on her wall. MAN, that takes a lot of time. I should have picked a shorter verse. :-) I've got one of three lines done, but I really like it. I will post photos when I'm done. Mama is going to look for a valance/curtain or materials to make them tomorrow when she goes into town.

I still need to paint my grandmother's small chest that we are going to use for a side table beside the glider/chair and I need to either stain or paint the cradle that will hold her baby dolls. There's always something to do around here. Kevin is working diligently every night on raising the floor in the garage/office so that it will be at the same level as the rest of the house. There will be NO PHOTOS of this for a while. It's TOO BIG of a mess.

Thank you mama and daddy for the bedding!

Fourteen Months - LID for China Anniversary

While we are working feverishly to complete an adoption from Kyrgyzstan, it remains in the back of my mind that our dossier is sitting in China -- waiting. Today is our 14 month "anniversary" of our log-in-date for our China adoption. When we began, the wait time was at fourteen months. Now, when I go to the China Adoption Forecast website and check their forecast for our referral date from China, I get:

Our prediction for LID 2006-12-25

If China did all future referrals at the exact same speed as they did this month: 2011-12-10

Our best guess - a weighted average of recent CCAA velocities, guessing that CCAA will perform about as well in the future as they are performing now, but might return to previous trends: 2011-07-08

That's our best guess for when you might receive your referral. Just at a guess, we can suppose that the CCAA either speeds up or slows down significantly, and show you those dates. If they speed up: 2009-09-30. And if they slow down: 2014-09-19.

"
Since China generally sends out referrals in a batch about once per month, your referral date could easily vary +/- one month depending on whether you just get included or just get missed in a particular batch.

"

So, based on this information, our wait will be 5.5 years if we continue down this path. It will be a minimum of 41 more months to referral.

Our social worker asked, while updating our homestudy, if we will still continue with our China adoption when we finalize our adoption from Krygyzstan. I told her that I didn't know. And, I don't think we know. God is good enough to only reveal as much as we can deal with at a time. I'm sure, once we are past this adoption, we will know what we need to do. I suspect, after the Olympics in Beijing are finished this summer, there might be movement in China's adoption process. They have been positioning themselves for a long time to be a country promoted in a positive spotlight. Being high on the list of international adoption sources would not be considered positive in their country. It remains to be seen what will happen with that country as well with our continued attempts to adopt from there. My heart still feels the call from there. The significance of our log-in-date is not lost on me. Time will tell.

Portrait of a Sick Boy

I was sitting on the couch working tonight and looked over at Joshua. Bless his heart. He was the portrait of pitiful. I don't think he ever knew I took his picture. Note the following:

1. Wet rag to cool forehead.
2. Blankets to cuddle up in.
3. Lots of pillows.
4. Stuffed kitty
and, most important,
5. REMOTE CONTROL (it's a man thing that starts early!)

Oh, and the brown stuff around his mouth -- remains of the chocolate chip cookies I felt like a sick boy should have. We are still battling a fever off and on. One minute he's hot, the next he's got chills. He's got a hacky cough. I'm suspecting that there is more than strep going on here -- maybe an underlying viral infection too. Needless to say, there is not going to be a school day in his future tomorrow.

Thank you Pizza-Selling Friends!!!!

I can't say how appreciative I am to each of the people who have taken their (precious) time and energy to sell pizza kits for us. I am SO EXCITED to report that at final total all of these wonderful people sold

204 Pizza Kits!!

I honestly was worried that we'd make 100 kits and we more than doubled that. Of course, this would not have been possible without the work of many people selling and many more people buying. So, I hope I don't leave out anyone who sold, but if I did, I am very sorry!

Thank you to:

Carla, Sale Organizer

Tracey, who sold the MOST kits!!

Carlyona

Carlinda

Karla

Trish

Mike and Maggie

Susan

Jennifer

Stoney

Iris

and all the people at church who helped out!

We are that much closer to bringing Ellie home! I will never forget all the help we have received in this process.

And, on the paperwork/dossier front, we have made photos of the kitchen and dining areas. Hopefully, I can get the living room in order this week (after my sick little man gets well and moves off the couch) and then the three bedrooms upstairs. We have photos of the front and rear of the house and our family photos so that portion of the dossier can be done.

I wonder if Ellie has been born? I wonder how her birth mom is doing? I wonder what her (the birth mom's) life is like. I know she cannot fathom what a community on the other side of the world is doing to welcome her daughter to their country. I can't begin to imagine the decisions she is making right now and how she is feeling. I sit here wondering if across the world it is Monday morning and she is waking up and feeling Ellie move around in her. I wonder if she has a job, a family, a home. I wonder when she knew the decision she would have to make about her daughter. I hope, somehow, she could know how much her daughter is wanted and loved already. I wish she could see in my heart to know how much I will love, cherish and care for her daughter and how much I know this sacrifice is costing her emotionally.

I wish she didn't have to hurt and lose in order for me to gain and love.

Strep - Hopefully our Last Time

Little man has strep -- again. When I picked him up from school on Friday, he said that he didn't feel good and that they had taken his temperature at school but it was normal. We went into town for me to complete an inspection and then went over to Hobby Lobby to pick up his board for his science project. He told me that his throat had a spot that was itchy and sore, but he didn't have a headache or stomachache or fever. I debated taking him on over to the urgent care place next door, but decided we'd wait and see.

Saturday, AFTER playing basketball (I'm so sorry teammates!), he complained of being really tired, his throat still hurting and he wasn't hungry. Now, if my little man isn't hungry and is tired, he is sick because I never hear complaints about tiredness and lack of hunger!

We took a trip out to the urgent care and spent TWO HOURS there to get a strep test. We were the second person on the list when we got there so I can't imagine how long others waited. Bless his heart, he threw up after we got to the back and we had to be moved to another room. He fell asleep on the bed waiting to see the doctor. His little cheeks were so rosy with fever.

The doctor confirmed strep and gave us ten days' worth of antibiotics. That will take us up to seven days before we have his tonsils removed on March 12. As I told him, hopefully, this will be the last case of strep throat he has to endure.

In Memory of Samantha

My dear friend Heather, who is adopting from Vietnam, got word today that her sweet baby, Samantha, passed away yesterday. She was born November 5, 2007. Her photo taken for referral was made on Christmas Day, 2007. She was laying on the sweetest heart-shaped pink pillow that made her look like she had wings. She does now.

God loved Samantha more than anyone here on earth ever could, and while I KNOW that the Fields are heartbroken today, I know that Samantha is dancing with the angels and worshipping God and knows no pain, no heartbreak, no sinful world and no loneliness. She joins another of her friends from the orphanage who died just two days before. There are still multiple babies from this orphanage in the hospital. Please pray that other adoptive families will be spared the pain of losing their child.

My heart and love and prayers go to my friends, Heather, Charley, Kristen, Kalee, Bradley and Cody.

Here are some verses I found, hopefully, to comfort and remind who is in charge, who loves us and who comforts us in times such as these. Hopefully, these will be helpful to Heather, Charley and their children:

2 Samuel 22:7

In my distress I called to the LORD; I called out to my God.

From his temple he heard my voice; my cry came to his ears.

Psalm 10:17

You hear, O LORD, the desire of the afflicted;

you encourage them, and you listen to their cry,

Psalm 18:6

In my distress I called to the LORD;

I cried to my God for help.

From his temple he heard my voice;

my cry came before him, into his ears.

(similar to the verse in 2 Samuel, also written by King David)

Psalm 22:24

For he has not despised or disdained the suffering of the afflicted one;

he has not hidden his face from him but has listened to his cry for help.

Psalm 34:15

The eyes of the LORD are on the righteous

and his ears are attentive to their cry;

Psalm 119:147

I rise before dawn and cry for help;

I have put my hope in your word.

Psalm 119:169

May my cry come before you, O LORD;

give me understanding according to your word.

Psalm 142:5

I cry to you, O LORD; I say,

"You are my refuge, my portion in the land of the living."

Revelation 21:4
He will wipe every tear from their eyes.

There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain,

for the old order of things has passed away."

Jeremiah 31:13

Then maidens will dance and be glad,

young men and old as well.

I will turn their mourning into gladness;

I will give them comfort and joy instead of sorrow.

Romans 12:15

Rejoice with those who rejoice;

mourn with those who mourn.

Psalm 119:2

Blessed are they who keep his statutes

and seek him with all their heart.

Luke 6:21

Blessed are you who weep now, for you will laugh.

Deuteronomy 32:4

He is the Rock, his works are perfect, '

and all his ways are just.

A faithful God who does no wrong, upright and just is he.

Isaiah 55:8-11 - The Message

"I don't think the way you think.

The way you work isn't the way I work."

"For as the sky soars high above earth

so the way I work surpasses the way you work,

and the way I think is beyond the way you think.

Just as rain and snow descend from the skies

and don't go back until they've watered the earth,

Doing their work of making things grow and blossom,

producing seed for farmers and food for the hungry,

So will the words that come out of my mouth

not come back empty-handed.

They'll do the work I sent them to do,

they'll complete the assignment I gave them.

Pizza Fundraiser Coming to an End

As many of you know, over the last month, we have been selling Little Caesar's Pizza Kits as one of our adoption fundraisers. We are coming near the end of the fundraiser and will be collecting order forms and money this Sunday and Monday and turning in our order for delievery on Thursday.

We were required to sell 100 kits, and I don't know for certain how many we have sold yet as I have fliers here, there and everywhere. I feel certain we have sold 85. There are several people, however, I don't have a number for so we are VERY CLOSE to our goal of selling 100 kits.

If you are interested in purchasing a pizza kit before our deadline, there is a link here (this is a PDF file of the flier that we are handing out -- scroll down a couple of pages to get to the form)that shows what kits are available (there is also cookie dough, pie kits, cheesy bread, dip kits, gourmet spice kit and gourmet salad kits. Each pizza kit (unless it's personal pan pizzas) makes three pizzas. And while we are selling these, I will say this is my FAVORITE product to buy. Anytime anyone is selling these I get several kits. They are easy to make, taste good and are reasonably priced. Each kit has three pizzas and a pepperoni kit is $18. It's very comparable to what I would pay for pizzas from the grocery. The cheesy garlic bread (Crazy Bread, I think it is called) is probably sinful, it tastes so good. I have not tried the cookie dough, so I cannot comment on that, but if it is as good as the pizza kits, it is a good product.

You can email me at mblatham@charter.net if you need/want more information. A special thank you to each person who sold or purchased a product and a very special thank you to Carla C. who suggested the sale and has co-ordinated all of it for me (which has made it a VERY enjoyable fundraiser!).

Ellie is truly a lucky girl to have an entire community working so hard to bring her to our country to be part of our lives. And we are more lucky to call all these people friends.

18 - 98

Ok, so I had a "freak out" moment in the car rider line picking up Joshua today. Something made me think that we are pretty close to March. Then my mind rambled over to the fact that there is a small possibility that we could get a referral in March. You'll remember my post about the window of when we might get a referral (March 10-May 5).

THEN... I calculated how many days we have in our window. We are between 18 and 98 days to a referral.

OF COURSE, my dossier is not complete so that's not going to be very helpful. I'm going to take a day next week to go around and gather up all the last pieces of paper I need, take them for notarization and authentication just so we can be done.

Then, there are the photos that we have to make of each room in the house. That is going to be a problem. Every room in my house right now has things in it that don't belong there. It all started when we decided to start working on Ellie's room. Scrapbook/craft things went in tubs that went to the garage/office. Toys went to Joshua's room, but there are 4 tubs of things to go in the yard sale. They are sitting in his room. The shelf they were sitting on (formerly in Ellie's room) is going in the yard sale and it's sitting in the hall. There is barely enough room to walk through the upstairs hallway. The bedding we bought LAST YEAR for our room has left Ellie's room and now sits in OUR room waiting for someone (read, "ME") to strip the wallpaper border and paint the room. The living room has boxes of cabinets that are waiting to be put in the garage/office when the floor is framed. Kevin is starting on that this weekend. Everything in the garage/office will have to come out and go somewhere else until that is done. WHERE??? And, so, HOW am I supposed to take lovely photos of my (not-so) clean house for the Krygyzstan government officials to review when I don't HAVE a clean house right now????

Now, granted, when all this rearranging/re-doing is done, it will be MUCH nicer and we will be much more organized, but OH the CHAOS we are living in right now is just too much some days.

I checked the UPS site and Ellie's bedding should arrive tomorrow. I also checked to see if our newest grant application had arrived yet. The USPS site is only updated in the evening, so while I suspect it got there today, the site isn't updated to reflect that yet. We truly could use that grant. We are on the downhill slide, but the reality is, that even with the upcoming concession stand we're working at the community Easter egg hunt, donut sale and yard sale, we are still short the funds we will need to fully complete this adoption. I still am standing firm in the fact that God will provide it when we need it. The peace over this and the lack of worry I have had is such a blessing and I thank Him every day for taking that worry from me. I am, however, tired of fundraising and I know my friends are both tired of fundraising and OF ME!! I don't blame them. I'm wearing out my own welcome in my own home, so I can imagine how they feel! :-)

18-98 days???? You've GOT to be kidding me.

But, I can't wait!!

Prayers for Samantha

I've been so blessed during our adoption journey to be allowed to become part of so many lives I would have never been part of had we not "met" through adoption.

I've had the opportunity to pray for and see the successful heart transplant of Brea Wusterbarth (China). What a BLESSING that was. It is the reason that when I renewed my driver's license this year I chose to be an organ donor.

I have had the privilege of praying for a speedy homecoming for Reed Land (Taiwan). Following his journey as "Flat Reed" and now following as he grows up (and has over 6000 photos taken in 5 months or so) has been such a blessing to me.

I have been privileged to form friendships with Heather from Texas and follow along as she waits to bring home Samantha from Vietnam. Many of you got an email from me a few days ago asking for prayer for Samantha and her parents-to-be Heather and Charley. Samantha is in critical care in a hospital in Hanoi, Vietnam for pneumonia and other respiratory problems. Eleven more children from her orphanage are also hospitalized. One, I am sad to report, died a few days ago. WHAT A PRIVILEGE it is to be allowed to pray for this baby's health. I have continually prayed for this tiny child in a third world country who is battling for her life.

Who are we that we are not in her place? Why are we privileged to be born in a country with adequeate healthcare? Were Samantha here, she would be sick, yes, but this would not be life threatening like it is there. Each day her parents wait to hear something about her condition.

Please pray for Samantha and her parents. Let God bless you as much as he has me by praying for these children.

Where would we be without moms?

Ok, so I got to thinking about how ironic it is that the two people who are most responsible for bringing Ellie home are my mom and Kevin's mom. Ellie's name was chosen a LONG time ago and it was for both of these women. My mom, Lois, and Kevin's mom, Mary Elizabeth were the names we used to come up with Lois Elisabeth Latham. L.E. are her first initials and we are calling her Ellie.

Both our parents have given sacrificially to make this happen. We would never have been able to do this without them. My mom actually has also paid for Ellie's bedding and is going to make her curtains as well. Both women have been untiring prayer warriors for us and it means so much to us to know that they (along with my dad, too, of course) are so supportive of us.

So, a BIG THANK YOU to Ellie's (and Joshua's) grandmothers!!

These photos are from last Easter, but they are all I had of the grandparents.

Kevin and his mom

Me with my parents