Hopscotch and chalk

Logan and Ashten enjoyed the sun outside a couple of weeks ago.....Logan spent his time drawing a hopscotch board out of chalk. Ashten spent her time jumping on what Logan had made and looking cute!

Wow! He looks so grown up here

Goofball

Ashten-isms

I love seeing language develop in little kids, it's so fun to see the different stages.  I feel like Ashten is going through the stages so quick though, she is definitely talking a lot more than the boys did at this age (but I think that's pretty much a girl thing).  Ashten has some things she says that just come out sounding so cute.  I'll try to spell them out phonetically.  It helps if you say them using your sweetest 2-year-old voice impression!

a-pees = other
boof-ball = goofball
no map = no nap/bedtime
bren-na = blankie
Bee-na = Brayden
Pret-nis = Preston
Nog-ick = Logan
happy to you = Happy fill in a holiday (i.e. birthday, Mother's Day, etc) to you
wuv you too = Love you too
Gee-ma = Grandma
Daddy west-el = wrestle with me now Daddy!
coy-ya = Sequoia (our dog)
ba-mato = Bob the Tomato

Preston's new life

For a long time, when our kids pray before dinner, Preston has basically prayed the gospel - telling God thank you for dying on the cross and taking away his sins.  After he is done praying, we would always ask him if he believed what he just said and if he would like to do anything about it.  He would always say "I want to ask Jesus in my heart, but not right now, I'lll do it (later date)".  We tried to not be pushy as this has to be his decision and not ours, but it was so hard when we knew he understood.

Well the other night (May 14th to be exact), our whole dinner conversation was about sin and Jesus and salvation.  It was so cool.  And Preston totally gets it.  He gets it like a 4-year-old gets it.  Sure, he doesn't understand all the ins and outs of Christianity, but he has faith like a child and he knows he is a sinner and in need of a Savior, who is Jesus Christ. 

So after dinner, he came up to me and asked Chris and I to come downstairs with him.  When we got downstairs he said he wanted to ask Jesus in his heart.  Chris asked him a few questions and then guided him to pray to ask Jesus in his heart. What a sweet, special time!  After that, Brayden and Logan came downstairs and they were SO excited for him, Brayden especially.  Brayden helped Preston call all his grandparents and they were excited too.

I praise God for the blessing of giving us children who desire to follow God with their lives.  I pray that this decision is theirs and not something they are doing just to please us.  Only time will tell, but I believe that God has touched each of their lives in a unique way and they know deep down that God is truth!  Praise God!

Baseball player

Logan has been begging to play baseball for over a year now, so this year we finally signed him up.  He had his first game a couple of weeks ago and he was average.  It was his first game though, so he was still trying to figure out how that exactly went.  But then the following week he practiced on his own for about 2 hours in 2 days and he improved so much at his 2nd game.  He got two hits and for one inning he was the pitcher and assisted in all 3 outs!

We're so proud of you, Logan.  Keep trying your best and working hard!

God is just showing Himself strong!

Did you know????

• 34% of Christian Families consider adoption
• ONLY 1% actually do it
• There are 163+ million orphans in the world who desperately need a forever family
• If ONLY 7% of Christian families would adopt...there would be NO MORE ORPHANS!

(Taken from http://paynefamilyblessings.blogspot.com/)

So the first thing that stuck out to me when I read this was: why do only 1% of Christian families (out of the 34% who consider it) adopt?  I am only speaking from our experience here, but I am guessing it's mainly because of the money. 

Honestly, probably our biggest hurdle to starting the adoption process was the money.  It is scary expensive.  Like, you-could-take-that-money-and-buy-a-brand-new-car expensive.  But actually, it's more than that.  Because I don't think God would provide money for us if we just sent out a support letter to our friends and family asking for money to buy a new car.  God definitely has an agenda and one of His top priorities is seeing that orphans are cared for.  See James 1:27 if you don't believe me!!!  So that is what He funds!

As I've said before, when we started this process and found out we'd have to pay over half of the total cost by the end of the summer, we were super, super discouraged.  We were stressed and felt like this was basically God's way of saying "no, you got it wrong.".  But boy, were we wrong!  Since February God has provided over 1/3 of the total cost.  He hasn't done it in ways we would think either.  We have received gifts from people who we never thought would give or who have given more than we would expect!  And our adoption agency actually lowered the cost of adoption through a Mother's Day promotion they were doing!  How many times have you ever heard of that happening?!?!?  I know I never have!

And that's just the money we have in hand right now!  In the next month, God has provided two additional, unexpected sources of income for our adoption.  One is some friends who very generously offered to help us fundraise, so we are having a silent auction in June.  SO many people have donated things for the auction, I mean big things, and some from people we don't even know!  The other is that just yesterday Chris was invited to be an AP reader for the AP Chemistry exam, which provides additional money for some fees we have coming up.  According to their website, they first start calling readers in February and if you haven't heard by April, well then you didn't get called that year.  So to be called in the middle of May? - totally a God thing!!

Chris and I were actually just talking last night about how we weren't feeling extra pressure to apply for grants at this point.  We still definitely will as we don't want to assume upon the grace of God and the ways He wants to provide, but originally our plan was to have those totally ready to send out the day that our home study was complete (along with all the other paperwork we should be working on at that time).  But with all that God has provided, we believe He is giving us a little room to breathe, to be able to focus on the paperwork at hand and then apply for grants once our dossier is submitted and we are on the waiting list.  So God has been so good to us through this whole adoption process even in non-monetary ways, giving us strength to press on and get what we need to done without worry about how we will afford it.

I am not saying all this to brag on ourselves or what we've been able to accomplish, but to point it all back to God.  He does care for the orphan and He did call us to this adoption and He does promise to provide everything we need to do His will. One verse that has been a theme since we first sent in our applications is 2 Chronicles 16:9: For the eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to show Himself strong on behalf of those whose heart is loyal to Him.  Love that, and that's definitely what He's doing.  Nothing so far has been because of us, this is all God!  Isn't He awesome?
I'm linked up with Faith Filled Fridays for this post!

Baby chicks

The Cubbies director at our church is so fun.  She is so great with the kids and always comes up with such fun things for them to do.  One thing she does is order a whole bunch of baby chicks, store them at her house for a week or two, and then bring them to Cubbies the Wednesday before Easter.  Then, during Cubbies, she lays out a big tarp and the kids get to hold them and play with them (gently, of course!). 

I brought my kids in before Cubbies so that all of them could see them and hold them, since just Preston is in Cubbies. 

Ashten was a little afraid to hold them, but she wanted to look at them.

Preston was a little nervous at first too, but I heard he held them the whole time in Cubbies.  He told me "I made a nest for the baby chick with my hands and it thought I was it's mommy!". 

Logan loved them so much, he didn't want to put them down and go to his own class.  That didn't surprise me one big, he's the animal lover of our family.

Brayden was very quiet, but he really enjoyed holding them I think.

Curlers and nerf guns

I can't explain my life sometimes.......it's so random, but it's never dull!

(You can also see our new kitchen color in the background. In February I repainted the kitchen from a dull, boring gray to a bright, fun green.  I love it!  The first picture is probably the most true-to-life color.)

Zoo field trip

A few weeks ago, I went with Logan's class on a field trip to the zoo.  This is the first time I have ever been on a field trip with one of my kids and it was fun.  I hope to be able to do more of it in the future since Ashten is now older and I don't have to worry about sticking to such a strict schedule.

Getting ready to head into the zoo.  Preston really was excited, even
though his expression says otherwise.

Isn't he such a sweet big brother? Ashten adores him.

Looking at flamingos

This is about at the point where I told them that we had to walk
all the back to the other side of the zoo.

At the end we got some cotton candy and ice cream, as a treat for walking so far and doing so good!  Yum, yum!

I got Ashten and I a cone to share.  Guess who got most of it?

Logan's teacher told us that cotton candy is actually one of the best candies because all it is
is sugar, there are no additives or anything.  Hmmm...

Can't believe this boy is coming to the end of 1st grade!

I had a really good time chaperoning this trip.  Our zoo membership lapsed about a year ago and we've been missing going.  We might have to renew this year, it was so fun!

Adoption FAQ

Sometimes I get questions that I don't feel like I answer really well on the spot or I get comments that don't really require a response, although I think of a really good one later.  This is my forum for that!

Q:  Why are you adopting from Ethiopia when there are so many children here in America that need a home?
A:  I can't really say except that we both felt a very specific calling to do an international adoption from Ethiopia.  This is not to mimize the orphan situation right here in our own country at all, but too many orphans is a world-wide problem, so I think we can make a difference no matter where we adopt from.

Q: Do you really need more kids?
A: I gotta admit, this one really had me stammering for a minute.  Um, true answer is "no, we don't NEED more kids".  We aren't doing this because we have this insatiable desire for another child, although we are looking foward to having another child.  We are doing this because God told us to and we are not called to have all the answers, we are called to obey.  Oh, and my answer to that question once I finally gathered my thoughts was "God thinks we do."

Q: Are you crazy?
A: Short answer: just a little bit. Long answer: We realize that by today's standards, having 4 kids is a lot, let alone 5. But honestly, having 5 kids doesn't scare me in the least. I am so excited for the day she is home with us. So I guess it depends what lens you are looking through: the world's or God's? (By the way, this is a question we have gotten multiple times, I wish I was kidding!)

Q: Where are you at money-wise?
A: Although a highly personal question, we have agreed to be completely open and vulnerable during this whole process, so we share anyway.  We originally announced our adoption and at the same time shared our need of $17,000 for the first round of expenses.  God has been so incredible so far, showing Himself strong and providing for us, even when it doesn't look promising.  We have received $9000 so far, enough to start our homestudy and partially pay the fee for our other agency!  I wish I had enough stamina to accurately type out all the ways that God has been answering prayers and showing off, it's so cool.  I guess if you're interested, you'll just have to ask me!

Q: Where are you at in the adoption process right now?
A:  Right now we are working on completing all the paperwork for our homestudy.  After we turn that in and they review it, we will start on the 4 homestudy interviews that we have to do.  At the same time as the homestudy interviews, we will be working on our immigration and dossier paperwork.  When ALL that is done, we will be placed on the waiting list for a referral.  Word on the street is that it can take up to 24 months to be "matched" with a child.  Then, lots more paperwork and 2 trips to Ethiopia later and she'll be ours and home with us!!! 

Q: What can I do to help?
A: Pray! Pray more! Pray still more! We are under attack from Satan all the time. He is trying so hard to discourage us get us to give up. If, while you're praying, God prompts you to help more, please contact us to find out the most current needs and the best ways to help.

Q: What have people's reactions been?
A: It has been funny to see how different people react.  Some people are totally excited right off the bat.  Some people sit there stunned in silence and need lots of time to process what we just told them.  Some people come to us days or weeks later with a list of questions, so we know they've been thinking about it and wrapping their heads around it.  Some people act kind of non-chalant, like it's really cool, but no big deal.

Q: How's it going overall?
A: Depends on the day, sometimes the hour, you ask me.  There are days of discouragement and defeat.  There are days of elation and joy.  And there are days of every emotion in between.  This journey is definitely a roller-coaster ride.

Q: Couldn't the amount of money you are spending to bring one child home be better used if you just sent it to the orphanage and let them use it to feed and care for many children?
A:  It's true that extreme poverty is a huge problem in Ethiopia, and there is a lack of food and other basic necessities.  However, you can't buy love and you can't compensate for a child not having a family to call their own, no matter how much money you give them.  There is nothing wrong with sending money and caring for the orphan that way, but we definitely don't feel like that is what God is calling us specifically to do.  For all orphans, the best thing and their biggest need is to be in a family that loves and cares for them.  We feel like God is calling us to be that family for one orphan halfway across the world.

Easter photo shoot

We had a great Easter this year!  We went to church and then went over to Chris' parents for lunch.  My parents were also there, so the kids were able to see both sets of grandparents!

 

Preston was mad at me, so no smile  :(

Girls are so much fun at Easter - all those pretty dresses!  This one was a gift from her Aunt Clara

  

Later in the afternoon when we weren't all dressed up.