Stepping Up

Psalm 121:1

I lift up my eyes to the hills—

where does my help come from?
My help comes from the LORD

the Maker of heaven and earth.

My new Beth Moore class, Stepping Up, starts tonight. I've had a chance to review the materials and I'm SO excited. I'm always fascinated by Beth Moore's studies and walk away so much stronger in both my faith and my Bible knowledge. Many of you who listen to Christian music might recognize the verse above. It is from the Bible, but is also is a lyric from the song, Praise you in the Storm by Casting Crowns. It has long been one of my favorite songs. The lyrics have comforted me so many times. I've put them below for those of you who might have never heard the song before.

This is a study of the Psalms that were recited by the Jews as they returned to the tabernacles for the feasts that were celebrated by them. It is a study of Psalms 120-134, the Psalms of Ascent. I can't wait to get started on it.

I've spent the last few days trying to get caught up on work that I got behind on while school was out for break. I'm happy that I'm almost caught up so that when I leave Monday for South Carolina for two weeks, I will have everything up to date. When I return, of course, I'll be behind again. Such is the nature of my job. :-) I'm dreading South Carolina a bit because I will be gone from home so long and because there are so many jobs. My motivation, of course, is that it will bring us that much closer to being able to bring Ellie home. My secondary motivation is that the quicker I get it done, the sooner I get to come home! Please remember me and my family in your prayers over the next few weeks. It is harder, I think, for Joshua and Kevin than for me. Life continues to move fast at the Latham house and with one less person around, it's hard for the two who have to pick up the pieces.

We are all becoming very excited about Ellie's coming home soon. We have begun to think about her room and think we will start clearing in out when I return. I'm sad to report that all my crafties (scrapbooking, bow making, cards, etc.) will have to be put in tubs until we can work out something for storage out in "the office" (ie., the half finished garage area), but I know that will come after Ellie is home and we become more settled. I don't have time for crafties right now so I'm sure once she arrives I will not be "crafting" for a while. Hopefully, we will be able to settle down afterwards and I can resume some scrapbooking. We also have to find a place for the shelf of Joshua's toys that are in current residence in that room. There is going to have to be some serious organization going on!! Wish us luck!! It will be exciting to decide if we are going to paint the room (it's a nice shade of lavendar now) and if so, what color; to get the furniture out and pull out Ellie's "pretties" that we have been buying through the past two-three years in anticipation of her arrival and get it all situated. Photos will be provided when we begin.

Praise you in the Storm

Casting Crowns

I was sure by now

That You would have reached down

And wiped our tears away

stepped in and saved the day

but once again, I say "Amen," and its still raining.

As the thunder rolls

I barely hear you whisper through the rain, "I'm with you"

And as Your mercy falls I raise my hands and praise the God that give

And takes away

I'll Praise you in this storm

And I will lift my hands

For You are who You are

No matter where I am

Every tear I've cried

You hold in your hand

You never left my side

And though my heart is torn

I will Praise You in this storm

I remember when I stumbled in the wind

You herd my cry

You raised me up again

My strength is almost gone

How can I carry on

If I can't Find you

As the thunder rolls I barely hear you whisper through the rain"I'm with you"

And as Your mercy falls I raise my hands and praise the God that gives And takes away.

I lift my eyes into the hills

Where does my help come from?

My help comes from the Lord

The maker of Heaven and Earth

I lift my eyes into the hills

Where does my help come from?

My help comes from the Lord

The maker of Heaven and Earth

"Official" Call from Agency

Philippians 4:9

Practice what you have learned and received

and heard and seen in me, and model your way of living on it,

and the God of peace will be with you.

While we knew that our agency had received our contracts last week, it was nice to get a call today from the director who told me that he had received them, signed them and had a copy back in the mail to us. I confirmed my estimation that we would get a referral in April or early May and he said that was right in line with what they were expecting.

I've begun to look for a changing table and dresser for her room. One of the photos we will have to send to with our dossier (word translated to mean, a packet with a LOT of pages about things you would NEVER in your life imagine you would need to adopt a child) is a photo of Ellie's room. Right now, if we included a photo of "her" room, they would laugh and tell us they wouldn't let us have another cat (which would, after all, be a blessing as we don't NEED any more cats). Her room right now is sort of a combination craft room/Joshua's toy storage room/Ellie's clothes, toys, books storage/ironing board room/junk room. I'm AMAZED that we can fit so much stuff in one room!!! I'd post a photo, but .... nah!!!

We were so blessed at church yesterday when a friend walked up, told us she had been reading our blog (she had linked over from the Lands' site) and pressed a donation into our hands saying, "I hope this will help bring Ellie home." How unexpected and how very kind! We were stunned and yet know that this is how God works -- unexpectedly and using those He calls to help. I hope our friend is blessed over and beyond how she has helped us.

Contracts Received - Estimated Referral Dates

Isaiah 43:5

Do not be afraid, for I am with you.

I will gather you and your children from east and west.

I checked with Adoption Options today and they have received our contracts. I expect us to be "on the list" on Monday. We will begin an intense process of dossier document gathering. I also had a LONG conversation with someone with our other agency today -- someone from the headquarters. She assures me that by the end of January we will be allowed to proceed with our concurrent adoption (although we were with or without them) and that we are the first family on the list to start the process. She hopes that we will be able to begin some things in the process even before that. The policies will be ready, however, by the end of January and we can have them update our home study, provide post placement reviews and, mostly importantly, not have to spend any more money since we already have a credit balance with them. Granted, I fully expect, when the policy comes out, they will expect us to pay a hefty sum for these services.

I looked at the calendar, and from what we have been told by Adoption Options, we should expect a referral between the dates of MARCH 10 and MAY 5. I am anxious to see how close we come to that time frame.

Many of you have asked me, "What exactly is a referral?"

When the government of Kyrgyzstan selects a child for us, they will prepare a document of information concerning her birth, medical and social records, along with a photo. This will be sent to us and is called our "REFERRAL". We have the option to accept or decline this referral. We have a bit of time to make this decision. If we accept it, then we will be required to pay the balance of our agency fee, some additional travel related fees, purchase airline tickets, make hotel reservations and plan to travel to Kyrgyzstan to spend 14 days meeting, bonding and determining if we truly do want to accept this referral. We will then return to the States and the process will begin to have our case heard in court, have the adoption finalized and obtain her passport. When this is complete (between 6-8 weeks), I [Maria] will return to pick her up and bring her home. This trip will last approximately 7-10 days.

I had an interesting conversation with an adoption friend today. She lives in Texas and will laugh when she reads this and how it moved me. She and I have talked at length through the past few months about the finances for our adoption. She and her husband are DTV to Vietnam and hopefully will receive their referral soon. Anyway, I distinctly remember a conversation she and I recently. She was just distraught that they could gt their referral any day and they were $5,000 short. We were brainstorming ideas for her. We didn't come up with any. When she called today, she said that they had worked out a way to pay the rest of their fees -- through a way they would have never thought. Then she said the most amazing thing. Something to the effect that she had been reading my blog and from what I was writing, she figured I had something in the works in the background because I seemed so confident
about the money coming. HAHAHAHAHAHA

Kevin and I talked just tonight about how there is no "Plan B". We always have a Plan B -- a backup, just in case things fall through. This time, God is Plan A, B, C and D. Without Him this just won't happen. There is no way we can make it happen. We have exhausted all our resources with this and the China adoption. So, if I sound confident, it is in Him, but certainly not due to a backup plan, because I can't fathom one. My backup plan is just trust that He will not call me to something without equipping me. This time the equipment required will be money. I still remember Beth Moore talking about how He has cattle on a thousand hills and how He would just have to sell some cows. So, I will wait for the auction. And when He chooses to act, all the glory will be to Him and hopefully others will see His faithfulness and be blessed by it as well.

Do these verses not point beautifully to what God expects of me?

Psalm 40:1

I waited patiently for the Lord to help me,

and he turned to me and heard my cry.

Psalm 27:14

Wait patiently for the Lord.

Be brave and courageous.

Yes, wait patiently for the Lord.

Isaiah 30:18

So the Lord must wait for you to come to him

so he can show you his love and compassion.

For the Lord is a faithful God.

Blessed are those who wait for his help.

Micah 7:7
As for me, I look to the Lord for help.
I wait confidently for God to save me,
and my God will certainly hear me.

Psalm 5:3

Listen to my voice in the morning, Lord.

Each morning I bring my requests to you and wait expectantly.

A "Replacement" Blessing

Imagine my surprise this morning as I checked my email and found that someone had donated almost HALF of what we "lost" in our AdSense ads yesterday. A very kind friend from Florida, a single mom, nonetheless, made our first "Chip In" donation. I was especially moved because I know how hard things are for single parents. I have several friends who are and I hear, firsthand, how hard it is to make ends meet most months. And then to have that come from her literally moved me to tears. It was a good day, I only cried three times. :-) By the time Ellie comes home I'll be a soppy mess.

To God goes the glory -- great things He hath done [daily]. Thank you to my sweet friend from Florida. This verse is for you ...

Luke 6:38

Give, and it will be given to you.

A good measure, pressed down, shaken together

and running over, will be poured into your lap.

For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.

December 21, 2012

Mark 13:32

But the exact day and hour? No one knows that,

not even heaven's angels, not even the Son.

Only the Father. So keep a sharp lookout,

for you don't know the timetable.

It's like a man who takes a trip, leaving home and

putting his servants in charge, each assigned a task, and

commanding the gatekeeper to stand watch.

So, stay at your post, watching.

You have no idea when the homeowner is returning,

whether evening, midnight, cockcrow, or morning.

You don't want him showing up unannounced,

with you asleep on the job. I say it to you,

and I'm saying it to all: Stay at your post. Keep watch.

When the mail came today there was a flier from a televangelist hawking his product about the return of Jesus, which he professed was going to be December 21, 2012. For a small donation, we could get a video of why he believes this and refuting the secular version of why this was the date and yet proving, using scripture, why this was going to be the end of time.

A search of this date will find you pages of links about how this is going to be the "end of time" from places like Global Psychics, how it is the end of the Mayan calendar, astrological charts, the alignment of Jupiter and Saturn, gravitational pull of the sun and the galaxy and on and on the list goes. The website I read is located here. It is such a scientific, non-God based site, I hate to even link to it, but I do think it's interesting to read what they are writing and compare it to what God writes. In giving equal time, here is a website exploring a Christian's views on this date and it's significance.

Do not learn the ways of the nations or be terrified by signs in the sky, though the nations are terrified by them (Jeremiah 10:1-2).

Fortunately, I know how the story ends. :-) I've always been taught all my life that, no man knows the time when Christ will return (see verse above). But, I started to think about the return of Christ and how it could come soon -- maybe even in my lifetime or Joshua's and Ellie's. Then I realized, it's not something I've ever really talked about with Joshua.

So, when Joshua got in the car and we had covered today's school events, I said, "Joshua, you know Jesus is coming back one day right?" He said, "Yes." I said, "What do you think you'll do when you see Him returning?" He said, "I'll probably faint." I told him I might faint right along with him. I asked him would he be excited. He looked at me like I had lost my mind and said, 'Well, yes (read, "well, duh!"). He said, "It beats dying." Ahh.... another Josh-ism. I said, "I love you Josh." He said, "Yeah, I know." What a sweet moment.

I'm so glad that we will share eternity together. He is such a cool kid and person -- most of the time, well, as much as I am, I suppose. *smile* It would be really cool to experience the Rapture together as well.

Regardless, I found this verse about folks who claim to be able to tell the future.

Ecclesiastes 8:7

Since no man knows the future, who can tell him what is to come?

Humor Break - Cat Resolutions

Proverbs 17:17 - [The Message]

Friends love through all kinds of weather,

and families stick together in all kinds of trouble.

Ok, after many serious posts, we will now take time for a funny post. Kevin sent me an email entitled: For Cat Lovers only. Being a cat lover, I opened it to find a great list of My Cat's New Year's Resolutions. I hope you enjoy them.

Your Cat's New Year's Resolutions

• My human will never let me eat their pet hamster, and I am at peace with that.
• I will not slurp fish food from the surface of the aquarium.
• I will not eat large numbers of assorted bugs, then come home and throw them up so the humans can see that I'm getting plenty of roughage.
• I will not use the bathtub to store live mice for late-night snacks.
• We will not play "Herd of Thundering Wildebeests Stampeding Across the Plains of the Serengeti" over any humans' bed while they're trying to sleep.
• I cannot leap through closed windows to catch birds outside.
• If I forget this and bonk my head on the window and fall behind the couch in my attempt, I will not get up and do the same thing again.
• I will not assume the patio door is open when I race outside to chase leaves.
• I will not stick my paw into any container to see if there is something in it. If I do, I will not hiss and scratch when my human has to shave me to get the rubber cement out of my fur.
• If I bite the cactus, it will bite back.
• When it rains, it will be raining on all sides of the house. It is not necessary to check every door.
• I will not play "dead cat on the stairs" while people are trying to bring in groceries or laundry, or else one of these days, it will really come true.
• When the humans play darts, I will not leap into the air and attempt to catch them.
• I will not swat my human's head repeatedly when they are on the family room floor trying to do sit ups.
• When my human is typing at the computer, their forearms are *not* a hammock.
• Computer and TV screens do not exist to backlight my lovely tail.
• I will not walk on the key board when my human is writing important adagfsg gdjag ;ln.
• 

I'm now going to add some of my own (from, um, personal experiences):

• I will not beat up the dog just because he is afraid of me; I will not eat his food.
• I will not wake my owners up daily at 5:30 to eat and then again at 6:00 to be let outside.
• I will not kill the birds eating at the bird feeder my owner put out -- no matter how fat and tasty they look. Should I slip and fail, I will NOT leave the dead carcuses on the front porch.
• I will not beat up my brothers and sisters.
• I will not scream for milk everytime someone goes into the kitchen.
• I will not hide in the dryer.
• I will not snort grass out my nose and cost my owner a lot of money.
• The laptop is not a heated bed for me to lay on while my owner tries to work.

Proverbs 18:19 - [The Message]

Do a favor and win a friend forever; nothing can untie that bond.

Seeking Whom He May Devour

1 Peter 5:6-10:

Humble yourselves, therefore, under God's mighty hand,

that he may lift you up in due time.

Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.
Be self-controlled and alert.

Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion

looking for someone to devour.

Resist him, standing firm in the faith,

because you know that your brothers throughout the world

are undergoing the same kind of sufferings.
And the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ,

after you have suffered a little while, will himself

restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast.

God's word is exactly what I needed today. This is verse whose concept has been hid in my heart since private school days and came to me as I sat reflecting on how Satan has continued to attack us and our adoption today. Satan knows that we are going to save Ellie from a life in a country where she probably not be exposed to Christ. And he doesn't want that. He wants her soul. We are in a battle for her soul and she's probably not even been born. But I have God on my side and "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me." Just imagine how angry the devil is that each of you come to this site each day and are immediately confronted with God's word. Which is why I think this happened:

I tried to log onto my Google Adsense account today to find this message:

Account Disabled
Your AdSense account for this login is currently disabled. We recommend checking your email inboxes for any messages we may have sent you regarding your account status. Sometimes our messages can be caught by email filters, so please be sure to check the Bulk/Spam folders of your email accounts as well.

I have not gotten an email. After much research, I found a few references on the blog to AdSense and clicking and how this can earn us some money. Apparently, I'm not supposed to do that. There has also been a lot more activity on this site than normal (THANK YOU ALL FOR CARING ABOUT US!!!) and so that must have triggered something. I have filled out an appeal and am hoping to hear from that soon.

And then, this morning I got a call from our first agency asking why I had let our fingerprints expire for our I171H. Well, I really didn't really want to talk to them anyway, so I just told her I had been busy. Truth be told, I wasn't really sure, when they expired, what the best path for us to take was. Our SW indicated that she was going to send an email to the headquarters to ask about our status in being able to do a concurrent adoption. Hmmmm.... I didn't mention that we already were doing it. She said that she thought we would be able to do that and would be able to move on this month. She asked how long for a referral and I told her 2-4 months. She did send the email and copied me on it. Kevin and I talked and decided it would be best, since we have an appointment to get our homestudy updated from another agency tomorrow, to call the director and tell her where we were and that we needed a decision like today.

She told him she had done all she could do as a branch director but gave him the name and number for her supervisor at headquarters. Kevin called and surprise she was going to be out until Friday. Her voicemail did indicate she would check her voicemail. She just called back a bit ago and said that she was "aware" of our situation (I'm certain that EVERYONE there is "aware" of us) and that she appreciated our "passion." She said that she would make some calls tomorrow but it would be Friday before she would be back in the office and at that point she would talk with the CEO of the organization (folks, this is a BIG organization) and get a determination for us by Friday afternoon. So.... then we were faced with a decision: a) wait and expect a different result from them than we normally get, or b) go ahead with the new home study agency update tomorrow. The thing that made it a more difficult decision is that the update from our agency is $150. The update from the new agency is $1000. Mindful of the fact that we need to be pinching our pennies so hard they drip water, we opted for decision a. We will wait until Friday. I have cancelled our appointment for tomorrow -- without telling her exactly why -- and will reschedule for next week if Friday doesn't go the "right" way. Regardless, we are set to move forward. We have to -- we've mailed the contract and agency fee. So, we have made it all the way to the top now. I'm not so sure that's a good place to be -- but leave it us to be there.

On a sweet, sweet note, when I checked my email today I had a paypal notice telling me a friend of mine from high school (folks, this has been a day or two!) had made a donation to our adoption fund. I almost cried. She recently adopted her daughter from China, which is how we found each other again. I rejoice so much over the blessings because they make the "junk" part of adoption so much easier to deal with. Thank you so much; you know who you are!!

Our pastor is leading our church in a four month study of Satan. It began last week. We have been warned that we will be attacked. The title for this week's lesson was, "Finding Satan." When I saw it in the bulletin, I leaned over and told Kevin, "I don't seem to have any trouble with THAT one, I need the one on getting rid of him." We got a good chuckle from that. Brother David has asked each of us to get a prayer partner. I was so lucky that Janice asked ME. Yay!! I have been praying for her several times each day. I know she is praying for me. It is a comforting thought. I leave you with what God says about praying for each other.

James 5:16

Confess to one another therefore your faults (your slips, your false steps, your offenses, your sins) and pray [also] for one another, that you may be healed and restored [to a spiritual tone of mind and heart]. The earnest (heartfelt, continued) prayer of a righteous man makes tremendous power available [dynamic in its working].

"Happy Photos"

Proverbs 15:15
For the despondent, every day brings trouble;

for the happy heart, life is a continual feast.

James 5:13

Are any of you suffering hardships? You should pray.

Are any of you happy? You should sing praises.

Months ago, I started this blog so I could have a place to write about my work trips and post pictures I called "happy photos." While I was out working, I made an effort every day to find something that made me happy and to take a photo of it. You'd be amazed how your attitude will change if you go about the day looking for HAPPY.

For a long time, I have been so totally wrapped up in the day-to-day of life and adoption that I haven't taken enough time to be just "happy". So today, I decided to find me a happy photo. Here they are:


Of course, these two kitties reminded me so much of Scat, who we lost last year. The bottom one had the most beautiful copper eyes and was so friendly. He (or she?) followed me around the entire time I was measuring the house.

And, another happy photo is this one of the finalized contracts we mailed off today. We should be "on the list" by Monday. Our Ellie might be born by now or might be ready to be born anytime. Please, pray for her and her birth mother, that they are safe and healthy and have shelter and food. Pray that this woman who is giving her life will find a place of peace in her life after making this decision. Pray that Ellie is well taken care of until we can get to her. (And while you are praying, pray that she's a great sleeper, too, ok??). *smile*

Joshua went back to school today and seemed to have a good day. How fortunate we are to be back on some sort of schedule. It's 8:45, he's in the bed, and maybe even asleep. Those 6:00 wake up calls hit you hard late in the day.

I was thinking today, as I was driving to Bowling Green. I really want this trip to Kyrgyzstan to be a life-altering experience for Joshua. I'm not talking about the arrival of his sister. I really want him to experience how other countries of the world live. I want him to understand the realities of life in other countries, the poverty, and how privileged we are in the US. I want him to experience a country where Christianity is not a common religion, where English is not spoken and where a fast food restaurant is not on every corner. I also want him to understand how spoiled we are as a country and how unappreciative we are. I want God to change him through this experience. I continue to pray for this for him.

I got an email from an email friend today who is adopting from another country. She reads this blog and will know who she is. I am praying for you. I am hoping that God will ease the pain of wanting and longing and waiting. I found this verse tonight while searching at Bible.com (one of my favorite online Bible search locations). I immediately thought of you. I hope it brings you some comfort. Hugs, my friend.

Psalm 113:9

He gives the childless woman a family,

making her a happy mother. Praise the Lord!

Along those same lines, I have truly, truly enjoyed searching for Bible verses each day for the blog. This was something I felt called to do early this year. I feel I have been so blessed. Each day, I search for a verse that is relevant to what I'm writing about for the day. Every day there is a verse. Imagine a God that covers every area of your life! There is nothing that I will ever experience that He hasn't already planned for and given me direction about in the Bible.

We had another friend who emailed us today offering to help us do a pizza kit fundraiser. Apparently, they sell really well. I should know this because I routinely go around asking if anyone is selling the Little Caesar pizza kits. Our family loves them and they are really reasonably priced. We talked this evening and decided that this could be a good fundraiser for February. It moves my heart each time someone offers this type of kindness to our family, especially when it is so unexpected. It's a sweet reminder that God is taking care of this for our family by using others' kindness and generosity. We are so blessed.

Ecclesiastes 3:12

So I concluded there is nothing better than to be happy

and enjoy ourselves as long as we can.

Contracts Being Mailed Tomorrow

We are mailing our "official" contracts tomorrow along with our first check for agency fees. Here's a photo of Kevin (who doesn't seem to make the blog often) signing them.

Once they are received, we start in hard on completing our dossier while we wait for our referral. We are told it could come in two to four months. Some of you might not know what I mean when I talk about "our referral". Once a child has been chosen for our family, we will be sent a photograph and medical and social data on the child. We have a set number of days to accept this "referral" or to request another. If we accept the referral, this will be our child.

And here is a photo of Joshua, stuffing the envelopes with the letters we are sending to folks updating them on our adoption (he is REALLY excited). We went to the library today and we picked out some books on Kyrgyzstan (he's learning to spell this) and one called How I Feel About Having a New Baby in the House.

Two people have asked me in the last two days, "So, do you have your furniture and stuff?" And I just look at them (much like a deer in the headlights) and go, "Ummm, I have a baby bed." And really, other than clothes (of which we have a closet full, it seems) and a few toys, bibs and blankets, nothing else. I'm not even sure there is a mattress for the bed (which is 10 years old, after all). My mom said, "Well, do you have anything?" in a kind of unbelieving way. I told her, "I've been so busy thinking it wasn't going to happen anytime soon that I didn't bother to buy stuff." And now, I'm going to be so busy completing all the paperwork and stuff, I won't have time to buy anything. Of course, Walmart is open 24 hours a day in a crisis. She told me she would "start looking". I know that will make her happy!

But as I told my mother, technically she could sleep with us, and I can change diapers anywhere. We'll have to get a car seat and want to get a baby sling or Ergo carrier for attachment and bonding, but, the rest is really just window dressing. It will come -- or it won't -- and she will be here and we will just be tired, oh, wait, sorry, I meant, HAPPY!!

We also went by Mr. Ronnie and Mrs. Sandy's new pharmacy today. He had asked the members of our Sunday School class to come by and write our favorite Bible verses on the floor. They are laying tile and carpet this week and he wants the word of God under it. (How cool!). Joshua was excited about this (what kid isn't excited about using a marker and writing on the floor). He kept asking, "Are you SURE this is ok? Did he SAY it was ok?". I made sure I found out where the kids' section was going to be because I wanted to write there. When I got there, Mr. Denney, who is doing the tile work, said, "We're fixing to tile right over that area. No one will see that. You probably want to write where there is carpet. Somebody might get to see that one day." I told him that God and I knew it was there and that was all that really mattered. Our verse for that area was:

Psalms 127:3

Children are a blessing from the Lord;

They are a reward from Him.

And over behind the counter, we wrote Kevin's favorite verse. Ronnie and Sandy's granddaughter Hannah had already written my favorite verse, Jeremiah 29:11, so I signed our family's name to Kevin's verse:

Isaiah 40:31

But those who wait on the LORD will renew their strength.

They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary,

they will walk and not be faint.

And Joshua included his favorite verse,

John 3:16

For God so loved the world that He gave his one and only Son

That whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.

Joshua had another ballgame tonight. They WON -- whoo hoo -- 18 to 12. It was a really close game and Joshua performed better tonight than in the first game. Each player did better this game after having a little game experience under their belt. I've just never seen Joshua give all like he does out there. When it's over, his face is red, he says he's exhausted and he is quiet for a long time. It's great exercise though and he seems to have a LOT of fun on the court. More photos when mom emails me some!

Photos from Joshua's Basketball Game

As promised, here are the photos from Joshua's basketball game:

Suet

Colossians 3:12

Therefore, as God's chosen people, holy and dearly loved,

clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience.

After having posted the information on how to make suet, I thought today might be a good day to try it out. I checked my cabinets and found all the ingredients EXCEPT lard (wonder why I don't have any of that?) so I called my mom to see if you could substitute butter. She said she didn't think that would work. She suggested bacon grease. Ironically, we had cooked bacon for breakfast and VIOLA there was still bacon grease (aka "LARD") in the skillet (yuck!).

Well, let me just tell you, I am ANTI-lard. I don't like grease, lard, anything of the sort -- except butter, which is why I had plenty of that (oh, here I go, getting off topic again).

So, I called Joshua in to help. He likes to mix things a lot so he mixed for a while and then decided he needed to lay down (all that stirring must be hard work). I think it might have had something to do with the fact that I was about to move the bird bath and he thought he might have to help. Here's what the final product looked like -- pretty nasty looking, but it smelled a lot like peanut butter so that wasn't all bad!

I moved our bird bath from the back deck to the front yard (I should have provided you all a photo of that!) with the completed suet in it and waited. And waited ....... and waited some more. APPARENTLY, birds NAP on Sunday afternoons (like Reed Land and his dad) and do not feed. So, becoming bored, I left my post. Several hours later, when I looked out, lo and behold our "pet" squirrel was sitting up on the feeder eating away at our suet. I call him our "pet" squirrel because he is the tailless one. For ages we thought he might be a chipmunk, but as he got bigger, we realized he was a squirrel without a tail. He's terribly cute -- which is the only reason I continue to let him eat up all the bird food and now the suet. This explains why he is now round.

Apparently, he is the ONLY one who likes it because I have YET to see a bird eat any of it. Might be the bacon grease, I don't know. My friend, Betty, told me to get a photo of the tailless squirrel for the blog, so I'll be on a quest to provide you all with that soon.

In the meantime, here's a photo of a squirrel my mother just sent me. He's eating out of her bird feeder too (is there a squirrel conspiracy to starve all the birds?). You can cover up the tail on this one and it looks JUST LIKE our tailless squirrel.

Psalm 40:1

[ For the director of music. Of David. A psalm. ]

I waited patiently for the LORD; He turned to me and heard my cry.

Josh - Running Back?

Ephesians 6:10

Be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power.

Today was Joshua's first basketball game of the season. He is playing in Springfield at the Center. We have friends who children played there last year and had a good experience and Joshua wanted to get some experience under his belt before the joined the team at school, so we signed him up. He is on the "Yellow" team. They have seven players.

We've had three practices and today was our first game against Coopertown. His friends, Bryce and Chaz were on that team, but Bryce was out on injury and couldn't play today.



Regardless, we lost 17-8. Josh played a really good game -- especially for his first game. He ran back and forth up and down the court during the entire game. He is good at rebounds due to his height. His face was just so red after the game and he was so tired.



Surprisingly I didn't take my camera. I knew my mom and dad were coming so I knew there would be cameras galore. I have a few from mom but haven't gotten the ones from dad yet (he goes to bed earlier than mom!). Mom's camera seem to have trouble focusing, even on sports mode, but here are a few to bait you. When dad sends some of his tomorrow, I'll update the site with them.


But the "Josh-ism" for the day (priceless!) is as follows, "Hey Daddy, I'm a running back -- I kept running back and forth up and down the court today!"

By the way, he is number 22. Look for more adventures in basketball world during January and February.

Jeremiah 31:25

I will refresh the weary and satisfy the faint [says the Lord].

Two - Four Months and a Fee Explanation

Isaiah 43:2

"When you pass through the waters, I will be with you;

and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you.

When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned;

the flames will not set you ablaze."

Today I emailed our agency to see how long we will likely have after we send our contracts to them (which we will do before I leave for South Carolina). The answer I got back stunned me: 2-4 months for referral.

WOW. Doing the math means that we should get a referral between March 21 - May 21. WOW.

After doing the math, we have determined that at referral time we will need to secure $17,100. Between our first and second trips, we will need to secure an additional $5,000.

I said a long time ago that I would post explaining what the fees for international adoption were for. This seems as good a time as any. This is provided both for the curious and those who might be considering adoption. KNOW, however, that fees for adoptions are different from different countries and that for the sake of agency confidentiality I am grouping some of their line items into more broad categories. I will admit, Kyrgyzstan seems to be one of the more pricey countries to adopt from - ONLY IN THAT airfare is really expensive to/from there and there is a two trip requirement. Many of the fees listed we have already paid, so the totals end up being much more than we need at the present. So, here goes:

• Application fee (to agency to be accepted into program): $350
• Agency services fee (this is for payment of staff, office spaces, counseling services, humanitarian aid in foreign countries and general operating expenses): $13,800
• Home study (varies from agency to agency; international home studies are typically more than domestic): $1500 - $2500
• USCIS Fee (this is for an application to bring an orphan into our country; included in this number is the fee for fingerprinting): $830
• Fee to the country of Kyrgyzstan: $5,000
• Airfare (two adults/one child) First Trip: $5,000
• Airfare (one adult/one baby) Second Trip: $2,500
• Hotel (Trip 1 and 2): $1300
• Transportation while in country (includes a translator, driver and car, and coordinator who will be with us at all events we are required to be at): $4500
• Food (two trips - 15 days): $500
• Medical exams and visas for baby: $465
• Visas for various countries: $900
• Consulate Registration: $1000
• TOTAL: $37,645

Having our sweet baby Ellie home ... priceless.

Psalm 9:10

Those who know your name will trust in you,

for you Lord, have never forsaken those who seek you.

Back to South Carolina - Another Blessing

Psalm 2:8

Ask of Me, and I will surely give the nations as Your inheritance

And the very ends of the earth as Your possession.

Matthew 7:9-11

Or what man is there among you who, when his son asks for a loaf,

will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, he will not give him a snake, will he?

If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children,

how much more will your Father who is in heaven

give what is good to those who ask Him!

Wednesday night I was wrestling with the financing for the adoption (again). Satan is really trying me on this trusting God issue and I feel like Abraham who wrestled the angel all night long. So, in a moment of desperation, I decided to write a letter to God asking him for both deliverance from my struggle with this issue and for the money to just come so I could stop worrying about it and actually enjoy this process more. I felt much better after the letter and went to bed.

Yesterday, out of the blue, I got a call from one of the companies I work for, again offering me another project in South Carolina. It is a blessing, of course. What I want to point out (for me as much as anyone else) is that this is not what I had asked God for, but how He choose to answer me. It is an answer to my prayer and a huge blessing (at 10% of the funds we need it is great!!). I think God is gently reminding me that HE is in control and will provide the funds as we need them (manna - Israelites) and that I need to continue to trust Him daily and not try to store up the manna.

So, I'm off to South Carolina again in a few weeks. I'll leave January 21 for 11 days and 850 homes to inspect (see sidebar if you want to know what I do) for State Farm. I suspect it will not be the last time I do a project this year. Each project brings us a little closer to Ellie.

Matthew 6:8
So do not be like them; for your Father knows what you need before you ask Him

This is "For the Birds"

Psalm 50:11
I know every bird in the mountains, and the creatures of the field are mine.

The photo above was taken by my father, Charlie Binkley.

My mother, father and our friend, Betty, photograph birds on a regular basis. Betty recently purchased a lens, Big Bertha, that has me salivating to have one as well. It's a Tamron 200-500 mm (gosh, I hope I got this right) and it focuses in at 8.2 ft. Now, for you non-photophobes (like me--I just point and shoot), know that this thing will take a photo of a bead of sweat off your face from a LONG way off. Betty measured it and it is 21" long. Man, could I use this during sports season!

But, I digress. They have really been feeding and photographing the birds as of late and I recently got an email from Betty with my mother's recipe for BIRD SUET. The birds seem to love it and I wanted to share it with you all.

• Chop in small pieces one orange and one apple, peeling of both (don't forget to wash because of insecticides on fruit
• Small box of raisins or equivalent
• 1/2 cup Dry Roasted, unsalted peanuts, optional
• 1/2 cup lard or shortening, lard would probably be better
• 1 cup of crunchy peanut butter, they make the extra crunchy and you could eliminate adding any extra peanuts
• 1 cup black oil sunflower seed, or other wild bird seed would work
• 1/2 cup of yellow or white corn meal
• 1/2 cup of flour.

Put peanut butter and lard in microwave for about 25 seconds, it makes mixing the two together and if it is runny it will make adding the other ingredients easier.

I'm told by both mama and Betty that the birds LOVE this stuff. And, by feeding them, we are being instruments of God (see verse at bottom). Imagine!

Here is a photo taken by my mother, Lois Binkley. I thought this little bird just looked like he was in the middle of a party. I guess he didn't realize that these were concrete birds.

And, I LOVE cardinals so these are two of my favorites!

Red Cardinal - Photo by Betty Kelley

Red Cardinal Eating - Photo by Lois Binkley

Matthew 6:26

Look at the birds of the air;

they do not sow or reap or store away in barns,

And yet your heavenly Father feeds them.

Are you not much more valuable than they?

Resolutions

Jeremiah 29:11:11

For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD,

"plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.

So I decided to forego resolutions this year. It seems like every year I have basically the same ones and they seem to wane before the spring thaw comes so it seemed like a waste of time to make a resolution. However, I am going to try some new things this year.

On my blog, each day that I post, I am going to share Bible verse that is important to me. Well, in all honesty, they are all important to me, but every time I read the Bible I am amazed all over again by the truths that are just waiting there -- waiting to be read and to be used to make our lives better.

I am continually amazed by a God who loves us so much that he inspired all this Word for us to read and study and yet the vast majority of us tote our Bibles to and from church and leave them sitting in the car or on a shelf, never really cracking them open to gather up all the great stuff that's in there.

Imagine being chosen by God to be one of the people used to tell a story in the Bible. Can you really, truly imagine that? Out of the billions of people who have ever lived, can you imagine why God chose to use the people he did? Do you think they knew that God was going to use them as a story for people to read thousands of years later? Do you think that as Elizabeth was telling Mary how John lept in her womb upon seeing her and feeling the spirit of the child she was carrying that she stopped and thought, "Hmmmm.... I wonder if this will move Maria Latham 2000+ years from now?" I doubt it.

I wonder if when Hannah was praying for her child, Samuel, if she knew that some 2000 years later, I would have a wall hanging in my bathroom stating, "Hannah waited for God's perfect timing without knowing when it would come." Did she know that I would meditate on that thought every day as I got ready to leave the house or at night as I got ready for bed? Once again, I doubt it.

Do you know how your actions will measure out some 2000 years from now? What if you are the life that someone will meditate on? What if God is using you right now to help someone else? A huge burden and responsibility, isn't it? Well, know that I fully believe that he is using YOU right now to accomplish His goals. Is there anything you would want to change knowing that? I know there are things I would want to change. And, so I try. I can accomplish all things through Christ who strengthens me -- one of my favorite verses in the Bible. It comes to me at the most wonderful times, like right now. It comes from hiding His word in my heart that I might not sin against God. Hiding His word is something I don't do enough of, or well enough. Something I will try to be better at -- but not, I remind you, a resolution.

I hope each of you find peace in 2008 and that you will allow Him to use you in a way that if recorded and passed down some 2000 years from now that it will bring glory to Him. I hope, if you do make resolutions, that they last longer than mine do!

Psalm 127:3

Children are a gift from the Lord;

they are a reward from him.

You Guys ROCK!!

Ok, so I'm just moved beyond belief. Last night, I sent an email out to 91 of you. Factor in that a few got returned and many are work addresses or addresses that don't get checked everyday and you probably come up with something like 60.

The blog has had 149 hits. Thanks to all our "clickers".

Thank you so much to all of you who have emailed and said you would share it with your churches, your co-workers, your family and friends. God is working so much in all of this and we give him ALL THE GLORY.

For those of you who have asked, we will receive an electronic funds transfer into our adoption account at the bank when we generate at least $100 in earnings. For example, if by the end of January, we have $100 or more in earnings in our account, they will deposit it into our account in February.

And, on a different note, does anyone else have children going STIR-CRAZY from the Christmas break? I'm thinking I'm going to wrap Joshua up in coveralls and have him run around the house about 12 times to burn some energy. Thank goodness he has basketball practice tonight so he can run for an hour and expend some energy. It has been flurrying here a little bit, even though the sun is shining. It is bitter cold out and I can't really blame him for not wanting to go out. Hmmmm.... maybe the Dance Dance Revolution dance pad will wear him out -- I'm off to plug it up for him!

Good-bye 2007

As the evening draws to a close and I contemplate bedtime, I have taken a moment to reflect on all that the year 2007 has offered to my life.

There have been the continuation of friendships that have been on-going for years. The "Girls", Sharon, Jennifer, Dianne, Iris and Dawn, remain a steady source of support for one another and I know I speak for all of us when I say I can't imagine life without them. I was blessed to make new friends and even more blessed not to lose any of the ones I have. I continue to be blessed by my friend Susan who challenges the way I think, points out when I'm wrong, listens when I complain and buys me Starbucks' gift cards.

My mother was seriously ill a lot this year, but as the day draws to a close I have heard how she is cleaning and washing and organizing and preparing for the new year. For those simple activities that she can enjoy I am thankful for there were many, many times this year that those things were not possible. We have been blessed to have had the Lord provide healing from cancer, deliverance from much of her pain through physical therapy and even after much difficulty post-operatively, the successful removal of her gall bladder and thyroid.

My dad was healthy throughout 2007 and had good results from a colonoscopy this year. He continues to work at The Home Depot and get up earlier than the chickens. He developed a huge interest in computers and cameras this year.

Joshua has done well in his new school, both behaviorally and academically. It was a good move for him. He did well in sports this year and looks forward to basketball, baseball and football for the coming year. 2008 will see him enter middle school. How can this be? He just isn't old enough! 2008 will also see his tonsils and adenoids out -- a procedure that has my mommy-fear on high alert. I know that God gave him to me and that He loves him more than even I do. I know He will take care of him. 2007 was the year we learned of both his and my ADHD diagnosis and we have truly come a long way this year in finding what works for him, for me and for our family. Knowledge truly is power in this case.

Kevin has done well this year at work, completing the submission of his packet to become a Senior Geologist and move up to a more managerial position in the company. This is something he has wanted for a long time and I know he is happy to have achieved it. He has been asked to be a Deacon Partner at church in the coming year and is very excited about that. I am very proud of him and thank God for blessing this man who takes such good care of us.

And me, well, 2007 didn't bring my daughter, but it allowed God to use this time to mature me and grow me more into the person He needs me to be. I was able to travel several times this year to South Carolina to do projects and while it is always hard to be away and is hard when I return, the time away is always like a respite from "real life" and allows me time to focus on my relationship with God as I only have responsibility for myself during that time. I was blessed in my time facilitiating the Beth Moore classs on A Woman's Heart: God's Dwelling Place. 2008 will bring about facilitating another Beth Moore class, Stepping Up. I am truly looking forward to it as I grow immeasurably from each study of hers that I do. Sadly, I know it will bring on more direct attacks from Satan as I work to study God's word in-depth, but it is a price I am willing to pay to grow closer to Him.

I have become so much more aware of the plight of poverty, homelessness, orphans and political unrest in the world around us. Sadly, I have become somewhat jaded about the world of adoption and of the agendas of the agencies who proport to serve these populations, but I know that my God is the Ancient of Days and that in the end, He will work it out so I don't have to.

I lost my dear friend this year, Scatty-Ratty-Patty-Boombalatty, aka Scat, my big fat yellow kitty who had such a hard life, medically. There are times I still catch sight of him out of the corner of my eye -- walking through the house. I suspect that 2008 might be the year we loose our Sunshine, an old girl who has been a good dog.

I feel I have settled more into my church and have made more friends -- a hard task for someone who really prefers to be the introvert. I have made many new friends online through my adoption research.

I still have my Grandmother, but each year, we think it will be her last. She turned 80 this year. She is only a little short of living to be the oldest of her siblings.

2008 brought home Reed from Taiwan; the birth of Caleb; the pregnancy of my friend DeeAnna; and the move of our friends, The Lyons to another church. It brought about the recent referral of Mikayla from Hong Kong to our friends Mark and Anita after their move from Tennessee to Florida this year. We saw the referral and subsequent travel of friends, The Hoods from Smyrna, who traveled to China to get Jadyn. My high school friend Terri traveled to China to get Teagan (and she also experienced the marriage of her daughter and birth of her granddaughter this year as well). And fellow Tennesseeans, the Hindman's traveled to China to pick up Zoey. 2007 saw the miracle of Brea Wusterbarth, a precious little one originally from China who received a heart transplant.

2007 saw me turn 40, my grandmother turn 80 and my son turn 10. It was a year of "0's". It was the year that dear friend Phyllis Trevathan, who also turned a "0" age this year, left our cul de sac to marry and move to Franklin. Sadly it was the year that my dear friend Stoney lost his brother, Dean, and uncle, Cecil, both unexpectedly.

It was the year that Kevin and I first got to attend the Weekend to Remember marriage conference at Opryland -- it was life changing and a wonderful experience -- thanks to our Sunday school teachers, The Felts'.

It was the first year that all of Kevin's family had been together for a holiday in many, many years. It was such a blessing to have Thanksgiving all together and for all of the family to finally all be in the States at the same time.

It was a good year, all things considered. It was a year that made me laugh and cry, to glorify and praise God and to question Him. It was a year to be thankful.

I look forward to 2008 and all the excitement it has in store!!

Happy New Year Dear Friends!

Moving Photo

This photo is from one of the Baby Houses in Kyrgyzstan -- Tomok, I believe. A local humanitarian group recently went in and provided medical supplies for three orphanages in the area and provided this photo and an update of what they did. I hope you have the time to read it -- it is just one page.

This is the link to their site, The Footprints Network. Their goals (from their site) are:

We support the UN Millennium Goals:

With two billion of the world's people living on less than $2 a day, alleviating this crushing poverty and the health, social and environmental ills that accompany it, is everyone's responsibility. Most projects we support are in developing countries, as these projects yield the greatest social return on investment.

We support the United Nations Millennium Development Goals, which aim to significantly reduce world poverty by the year 2015:

• 
  
  Eradicating extreme poverty and hunger


• 
  
  Achieving universal primary education


• 
  
  Promoting gender equality and empowering women


• 
  
  Reducing child mortality


• 
  
  Improving materanal health


• 
  
  Combating HIV / AIDS, malaria and other diseases


• 
  
  Ensuring environmental sustainability


• 
  
  Developing a global partnership for development

Thank you for Giving to the Lord

We had such a beautiful song sung at church Sunday -- "Thank You for Giving to the Lord." I was so moved just as I am every time I hear this song, knowing that this side of heaven, we have no idea what our actions really can mean. We have no idea how God can take what little we do and turn it into something magnificent. I have been blessed to be able to see His effects on my life through all the turns and twists that I went through as a baby to come to the home and parents that I now have.

I came home to search for a video of this and was amazed again by God when the video I choose to watch (out of many on YouTube) was one with photos of people who are Asian. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did. As I watched this video I realized just how my viewpoints on life have changed. I want, so desperately, for God to use me, to change lives. I want to fully give myself to Him to do great things. I just can't imagine knowing the needs in today's world and not wanting to DO something about it. But for the grace of God go I.