Tuesday, September 27, 2011

Retreat Anyone?


A couple of weeks ago another adoptive mom and friend emailed me about this retreat, Created for Care.  It is  a ministry that puts on this retreat, it was created by adoptive moms for adoptive moms.  I had never heard of it, or if I did I did not pay attention before.  She told me it would be fun if I could go go, she had just registered and it was the first day of registration.  Apparently for 2011 retreat registration filled up in 48 hours.  So I thought about it, this would be a huge stretch of my comfort zone, going to a retreat with only myself and meeting up with some friends, whom I have only really talked to through emails and texting.  Anyone who knows me knows this is the kind of thing that makes it hard for me to breathe.  But I thought what the heck, I need to do more to get out of my comfort zone and how fun would it be to spend a weekend with other mom's, mom's to be, etc. who all have one thing in common - ADOPTION.  Since we are in the beginning of our 2nd adoption This might be a great time to connect with other mom's before our road gets rocky and we really need the support of others on the same journey.  I know we will need that support, we have been there done that!  Well in the 10 minutes it took for me to decide yes I am going to go, registration was full!  400 women in something crazy like 9 hours.  Tell me Adoptive mom's don't need somewhere to bond, connect and relax!  I was really bummed since I was really looking forward to spending time with my friend Holly.  Holly took pictures of Daniel before we were able to bring him home, and we started the process together for the 2nd time at the same time.  So I did what everyone else did and added my name to the wait list and was waiting.

Well on Sunday I got an email from Created for Care that they were opening up a 2nd Retreat in March.  Well since I was on the waiting list for January I have already registered but for all the rest of you reading this who have not registered or didn't get in in time for January - registration opens tonight for the March retreat at midnight!  From what I read and see you probably want to wait up and get on that list as soon as possible.

I have never been to this retreat but from what I have read on their facebook page and website and just listening to those that have been there it is amazing and definitely worth the time.  I can't wait to go and connect and make some new friends (and yes just saying that makes my heart skip beats with anxiety).   The following was taken from their website www.createdforcare.org describing the retreat:
Created for Care is a non-profit ministry designed to encourage, equip and bring rest to adoptive families through yearly retreats. Because leaving little ones can be difficult, we began our ministry with retreats for moms--but we record all of the sessions so both parents can benefit from the time of encouragement and insight shared from counselors and other adoptive moms. Our retreats always fill up quickly, and we truly believe God is in the midst of doing something amazing through them. He loves orphans too much to leave them orphans. And He loves your family too much to not lead you, love you and carry you on the rest of your journey as you raise your sons and daughters for His glory. Come join us at the next retreat...
So here is the information for how you can also come along to this retreat, visit:

www.createdforcare.org

You can see the schedule of events, the lodge (it is beautiful) and the dates and times.  I hope you see you there!

Wednesday, September 21, 2011

Nervousness = Nachos!

What happens when you are nervous, anxious, worried and most of all hungry? Usually no dinner equals eat everything in sight by 10:00 here. Only thing is when I am stressed, nervous and anxious I am usually hungry for nothing but junk food. Tomorrow Daniel is going to go in for surgery tomorrow, this is the surgery that was suppose to happen in July. And of course this morning he woke up with a stuffy nose and slight cough. Fortunately we still had some medicine from the last time (I think this is all allergies as mine are bad this week) so we gave him the breathing treatments all day. We are praying that they will do the surgery and we will be done with this mess. It is just a minor procedure but the anaesthetic still has me worried. I know faith in God means trusting him completely and trusting that he will watch over us and everything will be OK. I know it will I am just by nature a worrier. I will keep you updated tomorrow either with "we are relaxing in bed watching movies all day" or "ugh they didn't do it again". I know it will be the first one.

Anyway Back to the food. So tonight I was starving for the BBQ chicken nachos from Smokey Bones. No time to run up and get some, plus I don't want to pay for them. So I created my own version. Below is the recipe:

BBQ Chicken Nachos at home
Tostito Chips any flavor, my favorite is Pepper Jack
Lloyd's BBQ Shredded Chicken (or any type of already made)
Tomato
Onion
Shredded Cheddar Cheese
Sour Cream

Heat the shredded chicken. Spread the nachos out on the plate and sprinkle with the cheese. Put in microwave for 20 seconds. Top the chips and cheese with the shredded chicken. Add the chopped tomatoes and onions. Sprinkle sour cream over top of all of it. I don't measure anything just pile it. And it is wonderful.

A little word of wisdom that will get me through tonight and tomorrow morning:
Trust in the Lord with all your Heart - Proverbs 3:5

Tuesday, September 13, 2011

Jesus Loves Me

Jesus loves me this I know. For the bible tells me so..... Take it away Daniel! Faith like a child! I love listening to him sing. He sings Jesus Loves Me with all his heart over and over again. I can't wait for the day we will listen to both boys sing Jesus loves me together. Hopefully someday soon. After we sing Jesus Loves Me every night, we also pray for Daniels brother and for him to come home soon. Where are we in the adoption process? I get this question a lot. Our homestudy is complete and we have all our documents for our Dossier (the packet of information that has to be sent to Ethiopia) except one last paper, our approval from USCIS. We have sent the forms and homestudy to USCIS and are now awaiting our fingerprint appointment (yes we have to get fingerprinted again). Hopefully it does not take long to get this appointment but I am not holding my breath. We will keep you all updated on our progress and I am sure everyone will here us shouting praises from the rooftops when our paperwork is all submitted!

Tuesday, September 6, 2011

Olive Tree Promise

We have started another fundraising site I found through some friends on Facebook. It is called Olive Tree Promise. This site has everything from pictures, baby items, decorations, clothes, etc. Something for everyone. Plus every purchase benefits our adoption. We want to thank everyone who has supported us this far, we have some amazing friends and family. We still have a long way to go before we get to bring our baby home (I can't wait to see that first picture). It seems so surreal to me that 1 year to the day that we brought Daniel home, God was like ok you have been a family of 3 long enough it's time to start your journey back to Ethiopia. I love how God never ceases to amaze me. Check out our website either by clicking here or clicking on the Olive Tree Promise image on the right under our T-shirts. We still have lots of T-shirts for sale too and our Just Love Coffee Fundraiser. Many have ordered the coffee and can't say enough about it, it is wonderful and would make great Christmas gifts!