I can't believe it is the first day of school already. Where has the time gone. Granite we are just in preschool but still so many things have already changed. The independence is there, which i love, but sometimes a mommy just wants to help.
Daniel still loves cars, drag racing, pretty much anything with wheels. I am convinced that one day he will be a lawyer or negotiator of some sort. He knows how to work his magic to get his way. He loves to say "well how about this plan". It is cute and frustrating all at the same time!
Daniel has the most compassionate caring heart. He does not like to see people who are hurting or sad. He wants to help them feel better. My favorite parts of the day are when he runs by while he is playing and just yells out "mommy I love you" for no reason and doesn't stop what he is doing to look back. God is working on this boys heart and I can't wait to see what he does. He is going to do some big things some day.
Wow, I just realized today we are almost at the 21 month
waiting point. 21 months waiting for a
referral to see that sweet little face with big brown eyes. Really it hasn’t seemed like we have been
waiting 21 months. Part of me is happy
that the wait hasn’t been as trying as it was while we were waiting for Daniel,
but on the flip side part of me is sad. I
feel like I had documented every single step in the process with Daniel, this
time around I am lucky to blog every 3rd month!
The wait is starting to get tougher. The movement of referrals seems to have all
but stopped. Average wait time for a
referral now is around 26-30 months. So
in reality we have 5 more months of waiting to go. Unfortunately once we receive that referral
the wait won’t stop there. When we adopted
Daniel 3 years ago the wait was mostly on the front end (in reality, God had
different plans for our journey). Now we will wait for a referral and then wait
even longer for court, then come home and wait for embassy appointments (while
the child is still in Ethiopia). Processes are changing which is adding more
wait time. While I understand the need
for some of the process changes, some are in the best interest of the children,
it is hard. Every time someone asks so
what is going on with the adoption. All
I can say is waiting. Waiting has become
a very normal part of my life. Waiting
helps us prepare, waiting helps us grow closer to God and waiting help us to become
a voice for the fatherless.
I know all this waiting is part of a bigger story. God has plans for this child, plans how he will
use our family while waiting and plans to grow us closer to him. Looking back now on our journey to Daniel,
the waiting was one of my favorite times, though if you would have asked me
while I was waiting I would not have answered that way. During the waiting is when I felt closer to
God than ever. I needed him, without his strength I would not have been able to
wait 11 months to hold my baby. He was
doing big things in that season of waiting.
He worked in our hearts to want to be a bigger voice for the fatherless,
to want to reach out to those who were going through the same things we were,
to be a support for others who struggled with the wait. There are a lot of unknowns, things out of
your control during the adoption process.
If you are anything like me that doesn’t work well. But God is in control, God knows the unknowns
and God will get you through.
So while I am waiting, I will continue to worship God. I
will continue to praise him and I will continue to stand in awe at the works
his is doing in our lives through this journey.
The waiting has helped me see just
how marvelous God can be. I listened to
this song below everyday on my way to work while I was waiting for Daniel. Now I have begun to listen to it again, to
help remind me while I am waiting I will wait in obedience and trust in God’s
plan:
God has this covered.
He has the perfect child picked out just for our family. Daniel prays every night for his baby
brother in Africa. I pray that through
this wait our 4 year old will be able to
learn what it means to wait patiently on God’s plan. I fully believe in God’s plan, his timing is
definitely not always our timing, his timing is not always easy but his timing
is ALWAYS definitely better than anything we could have planned. I just have to remind myself when I get
selfish and want my timing to be his timing, to just breathe and wait. Good
things are coming. This is the scripture that I am clinging too today:
May the God of hope
fill you with joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with
hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. – Romans 15:13
Please pray with us for the movement of referrals, that kids
will be united with their Forever Families.
Most importantly please pray for patience and peace as we wait on God’s
timing for our story.
Adoption is hard.
Adoption is an emotional roller coaster. Adoption is so unbelievably
worth it because Adoption is part of God’s Story!
Well I am not quite sure where the time has gone but Daniel
is officially 4! When this happened I am
not sure. He is getting so big so fast
and way to old. It is kind of funny how
when he does something he has not done before he will say “I can do that right
mom because I am 4”. Yep, that is
correct. He is so smart, probably to
smart for his own good, and you can tell he is soaking everything in around
him. He never forgets anything. I am praying that skill stays with him for a
very long time.
Some of his favorite things to do right now:
As always, play with cars and anything with wheels
He loves legos and to build things
Helping set the dinner table and clean up his toys
Play games
Play any kid of musical instrument (I love when he puts on concerts)
And anything outside, he is such a boy
Even though he has turned 4 he still loves to cuddle before
bed and watch a “movie” which is anything that is animated. Some of his favorite foods bananas, grapes,
ravioli and dippy eggs. For his birthday breakfast we took him to Cracker
Barrel for dippy eggs and waffles. When
he was finished the ladies brought him out an ice cream Sundae. Who doesn’t get to eat ice cream for
breakfast on their birthday!
One of my favorite things about the personality Daniel is
building is his knowledge and love for God.
He doesn’t miss a beat and loves to go to Sunday school. He has his memory verses memorized and will
randomly pull them out at the appropriate times. He can recite the stories he hears and then
tell you all about them. Here is one of
my favorites of him telling the story of Meshach, Shadrach and Abednego:
For his birthday he wanted a Goofy theme. Surprisingly it is very hard to find anything
with just Goofy, but of course my child would be obsessed with Goofy! So my dear friends came to the rescue again
and helped to make the cake and cupcakes.
I think this is one of my most favorite parts of Daniels birthday,
getting into the kitchen for the entire night before with these girls and just
baking, laughing and catching up. Here
are some cake pictures:
Daniels day was filled with family and friends all loving on him. His best friend from his old babysitters was even able to come and spend a few hours before the party with him. Below is a picture of Daniel and his cousins:
This little boy is going to do some amazing things as he
grows. I can’t wait to see what God has
in store as he has already touched and blessed so many just with his cute smile
and personality. Anyone that meets or
talks with Daniel can attest to that!
Trust in The Lord with
all your heart and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways
acknowledge Him and He will direct your paths. -Proverbs 3:5-6
I pray this scripture for Daniel, that as he grows he keeps his child like faith and Trusts in God as much, if not more than he does today! He is going to do great things, that is one thing I am certain!
It is always on this day that I wonder and think about the woman who gave birth to Daniel. The woman that I am so eternally grateful for, who gave us the best gift we could ever receive. I can't imagine how hard it would be to look into this face and have to turn around and leave. My heart breaks for her and I pray that someday we will meet so I can tell her how truly grateful I am, how her sacrafice blessed our family in ways we could not even have dreamed possible, how I could not imagine my life if I didn't have this face to wake up to and hear the words "Good morning mommy". There is a special place in heaven for this woman, of that I am sure, and I can't wait to put my arms around her and say Thank you.
Happy birthday Daniel! You are a blessing and loved more than you could ever imagine.
I can’t believe how long it has been since I have taken the
time to update this blog! Wow what a
difference it makes having a child around.
2012 was a big year for us. Mark
and I both got new jobs, we moved, marked the one year mark of waiting for baby
number 2 and my grandfather passed away.
Most of which happened in the last few months of the year!
We had prayed from the beginning of the year for God to
“shake things up” for lack of better phrasing.
And shake them up he did. I would
not recommend praying that prayer unless you are ready for him to move. First came the change in my job in March, it
was scary since I had been at my previous job for 10 years. New people, new places and a new area that I
didn’t really know how to get around.
But it has now been a year I have been here and I love it! Next came Mark’s new job in August. Once again scary schedules changing and the
unknown, which we all love so much. But
Mark has been there for 7 months and things are going great.
In November we marked the 1 year waiting for baby number
2. I can’t belive it has been a whole
year. It is funny how quickly this wait
time is going now that I am so busy chasing Daniel around. We pray for Daniels baby brother every night
and anytime Daniel gives a tour of the house it is always “this is my brothers
room”. It was so sweet we were unpacking
and a few things Daniel took out he put away for his brother. I can’t wait until we can all meet him and
Daniel can finally be the big brother!
Only 1 more year of waiting to go, and updated paperwork, fingerprints, etc. The paperwork never ends but is so worth it when we reach that orphanage.
Now for the move! We
had been looking for a house but not really looking saying when the time is
right, when finances are in order, etc.
Well the perfect house fell into our lap in October, closer to work and
including everything that we were looking that was on our wish list for a
house. So in the midst of crazy
travelling for work (yes the one that doesn’t like to travel for work now has
to travel quite a bit) we put in an offer.
6 weeks later we had bought a house.
I can’t explain how God worked miracles to make this house come through
so fast. Our goal was to be in the house
before Christmas. So we started moving
little boxes at a time getting things in order.
We set up the “big move” weekend and invited our family to help. Let me tell you we have awesome family and
friends. Pretty much every box was
unpacked, all furniture moved and in place and the house cleaned in 1 day. We were even able to put up the Christmas
tree.
Along with the move meant Daniel had to go to a new babysitter/daycare. Which was the biggest con to moving. We had the best babysitter who Daniel loved
and he made some really good friends in Leetonia. This was the scariest part, how do you pick a
daycare knowing nothing about the area?! Well I believe God had a hand in this
area too, someone mentioned the ACC Preschool.
We toured it and it was all said and done. Daniel loves going to school and he is
thriving learning more and more each day.
He has made good friends and the best thing is the school incorporates
God into every part of their day! Such a
blessing.
The week before Christmas we lost the most wonderful
man. My grandpa. He was such a great grandfather and we have
many fond memories. We are all finding
comfort now in the fact of knowing he is in a much better place, telling jokes,
bowling, golfing and fixing things. I
will miss him so much and am so glad I was able to be there to tell him good
bye. I was worried what Daniel would say
or how he would react. So of course, I
let Mark do the explaining. When Mark
told him Grandpa wouldn’t be there when they got the house he went to be with
Jesus. All Daniel was concerned with was
“How did he get there? Did he fly or did he drive?”. Good questions but how do you answer
them?!? I love the fact that my, then 3
year old, was comforted with the fact that Grandpa was with Jesus and someday
he would be too.
Whew! Sorry that was
so long, so that was our 2012 and 3 months of blog posts that I didn’t get
around to. Hopefully this year will be a
little bit better. I am only 3 months
behind now! We can't wait to see what this year will bring!
Help us win a Grant for our adoption! Simply shop on our store using the following link. For every order processed we get an entry into the drawing. New vendors are being added daily. Check it out and go Christmas shopping with a purpose, help us bring our baby boy home: http://theheddlesons.olivetreepromise.com/
Or if you know someone that would love a T-shirt, we still have shirts for sale, visit the links to the right of the page and select your size.
We want to thank everyone for their support through both of our adoptions. We honestly couldn't do this without the love and support of our family and friends. Your prayers are felt constantly and provide us comfort that through this emotional rollercoaster we are on called adoption we truly are not alone!
Help us bring Daniel's baby brother home so he can use all the things that Daniel keeps hiding for him. Today he pulled out a hat and put it on his dresser and said, "this is for my baby brother to wear". I can't wait to see his face when we finally get pictures and information of the child God is choosing for us!
Happy Halloween! This year Daniel wanted to be Goofy. I did not think this was a hard request until I started looking for one. They do not make a Halloween costume of Goofy for a child. You can find them for adults but not children. So thank goodness for Meka, my mom. From a picture on the internet she was able to make this costume.
Daniel was so excited to wear it. Even though it was raining and freezing cold outside. I am so glad he is still young enough to be happy with not going door to door and only visiting family. Think it will work again next year?
It is so fun to see Halloween through the eyes of a three year old. He is so afraid of anything with a mask or face paint. I think it was one of the only times that he would NOT let go of my hands. And I am not afraid to say I loved it!!!!!!
On our way home he said from the back seat with all his candy and surprises, "Mommy I had fun trick or treating and I was a good boy" with such pride in his voice. Can I freeze time and just leave him this age forever?!?!?!
Nine months waiting! I can't believe it has been 9 months since we submitted our paperwork and were finally DTE for adoption #2. Some days it seems like "Wow it has been 9 months already" and some days it seems like "it has only been 9 months".
The wait is so different this time. It is always in the back of my mind but I am not completely obsessed with checking the yahoo groups for referrals and court dates. I am not constantly checking my phone thinking today might be the day I see that 703 area code pop up on my phone. Maybe it is because (based on wait times) I know we are only 1/2 way through the wait.
The wait is the hardest part of adoption. Especially for someone with control issues like me! I do not like to be the one who has no control over when this piece of paper moves or when the I might see a picture. When I think about this I have to laugh because sometimes I think God gave me the passion for adoption and heart for orphans because 90% of it is all out of my control. There is nothing that I can do to speed up the referral process, there is nothing I can do to make an organization sign a letter, etc. With adoption you sit and you wait. I have learned a lot about waiting and patience through both processes. The biggest lessons I have learned are:
1. I am never alone - even in the roughest times when I feel like He is not listening or not there, He is. Probably more than ever because I need Him.
2. I can handle more than I think I can - God won't give you something that you can't handle. Your head might be saying "Oh no you can't do this or you won't make it through". Trust me you can. With the first adoption I said that once we got Daniels referral and picture, if I got stuck in court closures I would not be able to handle it. Well guess what not only did we get stuck in court closures, we didn't get to hold Daniel until 11 months after we first saw his picture. I made it through, not by my own strength but by leaning on His! I learned a lot about myself during that time. I have complete and total faith and trust in God, I have a great support system of family and how to make the most out of a rough situation.
3. God's timing is way better than mine! - the biggest lesson I have learned through adoption is God's timing is way better than mine. His plan is always better even if I don't agree with the timeline. If you just sit back and wait He will bless you more than you can even imagine. We waited what seemed a lifetime to have Daniel and start our family. But that lifetime (that wasn't so long) was so worth it and I can't imagine life without him.
So we have 9 months at least left of waiting to see that precious face of a baby boy with big brown eyes and a brilliant smile. What will we learn through this time? I can't wait to find out and see what God has in store for our little family. I already have a hint of big things to come...
Some days I wish I was 3 again. Everything is so simple in their little worlds. The extent of the drama is when they don't listen and have a time out. They know how to fix everything and don't understand when it really isn't that easy.
Tonight Daniel went to bed later than normal, and like always when he goes to bed late I seem to rush through the very important bedtime routine. Which I did tonight, instead of 2 stories we read 1 short one. He was overly tired and not listening so I finally hugged and kissed him, said good night and walked out the door. About 10 minutes later he yells out to me "Mommy we didn't pray". Feeling horrible I went in to pray with him. He looked at me with those big brown eyes and said "We didn't pray after our story" (get the importance of the bedtime routine). So I started to pray and we prayed for all the normal things and then I said "and we pray for those who don't have mommies or daddies, enough food to eat or homes to keep them safe", that is when my 3 year old son broke my heart. Ready for it? He stopped my prayer and said "Mommy why don't they have mommies or daddies?" I told him that I didn't know and that is why we needed to pray that they would find families to love them (not even thinking). He looked at me with the confused look he gets, that little nose all wrinkled up and said "They just left them". I was thinking and didn't say anything (trying not to get to deep with my 3 year old at 10:00 at night). He had it all figured out, he said "Well mommy you need to call them" to which I said "and what would I say". He said "You need to call them and tell them to come back to their families". If only it were that easy. Just a phone call and asking to return. I have a feeling God is going to use him one way or another to do something to take care of those without families or mommies and daddies. Because at 3 already he is worried for those with no mommies and daddies. What a heart he has already.
I am so proud to be his mama, so thankful we get to be his forever family and so thankful for the gift God has given us to watch him grow in his relationship with God. He loves Jesus so much already, God is going to do amazing things with this 3 year old little boy. I love him so and am so grateful to be a part of his journey.
I officially feel like a bad mom! I wrote the post below on Daniel's Gotcha day in May and never posted it on the site. I have a lot of catching up to do. Well anyway enjoy. I love especially the video of Daniel describing what his Gotcha Day is.
Happy Gotcha Day!
Wow how fast time flies!
I can’t believe 2 years ago today we went to the Transition Home, held
our baby boy for the 2nd time except this time when we left he left
with us on my lap and in my arms. I was
thinking of this fact this morning when I dropped Daniel off at the babysitters
and he wouldn’t let me put him down. He
kept saying “I want to go home with you mommy”.
It is amazing how big he has grown and how much of a big boy he is
becoming. Check out the picture below of
our family on that day 2 years ago and our family now.
Life definitely would not be the same without him. God truly
does set the lonely in families. We didn’t realize just how much we were
missing until we had him in our arms. I
can’t imagine not hearing that giggle or seeing that smile when he was being
mischevious, getting those good night kisses and hugs over and over and over
(even though it has now become a stalling tactic at bedtime). I love watching the joy that Daniel brings to
everyone he meets and who meets him. But
most of all I love that God chose Mark and I to be the lucky ones to get to
call him our son. Greatest gift we could
ever receive.
See what Daniel has to say about this special Gotcha Day and
just what that means for him (I love the excitement).
So I am a few weeks behind on events. No surprise with my now 3 year old running
around. Did you catch that, yes I said
3! I know it is so hard to believe
Daniel is 3 years old now. He is getting
so big so fast. Everyday it seems I am
putting more clothes away that are to tight, to short or all around to
small. He is so smart and funny and is
turning into an amazing young boy (notice I did not say man, we are not rushing
that one). He is no longer mommy’s baby,
but insists he is a big boy. He is very
opionated and knows what he wants and is not afraid to make it known
either. I am so proud at the big boy he
is becoming. Some of his personality
traits that have become very apparent this past year: He is a charmer, a flirt
and loves to make people laugh. He will
put a show on for you like nothing you have ever seen. He still gets shy and holds on to our legs
when he doesn’t know someone. He is so
smart and picks up on things very fast (sometimes way to fast for my
liking). He is such a joy and brings
smiles and warmth to everyone he comes in contact with.
For his birthday (March 9th was his birthday,
told you I am way behind) he got to have an Alvin and the Chipmunks party. The cake was amazing (thank you Audra and
Mikaela once again) with a stage, all the chipmunks and instruments. You wouldn’t think it would be hard to find
Chipmunk’s themed party supplies but it definitly was. There is nothing out there. Daniel’s favorite part I think was playing
with all his little friends. While we
were singing him Happy Birthday he sat there and rolled his eyes, he is so
dramatic! You can see video of it below (thank you Ryan for all the pictures
and video).
It was such a sweet
day.
On Daniel’s actual birthday he got to pick what we had for
dinner and if we stayed home or went out to eat. He wanted to stay home (he is really turning
into quite a homebody) and wanted us to bring dinner home. So we asked him what he wanted to eat, for
those of you that know Daniel you might have been able to guess his answer –
Chicken wings, the kid loves ranch chicken wings. So I picked up Quaker Steak and Lube on my
way home. Before dinner Mark asked him if he wanted to pray, here was
Daniels prayer “Dear God, thank you for my birthday and thank you for my family.
Amen” Melt my heart! He is such a sweet boy. That brought tears to my eyes and made this
mommy heart full!
I thank God everyday for this gift of this sweet boy. For those big brown eyes and little chocolate
fingers. For the gift of getting to be Daniels parents. Everyone says how lucky Daniel is to have
found his forever family. I say how
blessed and lucky I am that I get to be his mom. It truly is a gift that keeps on giving. On his birthday I take a moment to stop and
remember the woman who had to make the decision to give her son up for
adoption. A decision that had to be in my mind the hardest decision of her
life. A decision that not only changed her world forever but changed ours. Because of this decision we get the joy of
waking up to this sweet face, the sweet giggles, the sweet hugs and kisses and
the sweet dance moves (oh the dancing makes me laugh just thinking about it)
every day. A decision that I will be
forever grateful for, as she gave us the best gift of all. The gift to get to be
Daniel’s parents. The gift to hear him
say the words “I love you with all my heart”, the gift to hear him call us
mommy and daddy. God sets the lonely in
families and when you answer that call he gives you the best gift of all. He knew Daniel would be our son and he knew
he was the perfect one for us to all our own.
Valentines Day is here again. I think I have the best 2 Valentines a woman
could ask for and I got the best Valentines present a mommy could get last
night. While I was at dinner last night with a dear friend, Mark and Daniel
went to get me a Valentines Day present. Apparently Daniel saw this book and
freaked out (we didn't even know he liked Max and Ruby). So when I got home
Daniel brought me the book and said "Happy Valentines Day Mommy", the book is
Max's Easter Surprise. I love the gifts kids pick out. That is not the best
part. The best part of that Valentines Day gift came at bedtime.
We read stories every night and sing songs before bed. So I grabbed the book
and said I would read it to Daniel. To which he replied, "No Mommy I read to
you". I thought ok, this won't last long. He then started to read the book,
telling me the story he saw through the pictures, "Max and Ruby play with
puppy", "Max's belly hungry so he eat", etc. through each page of the book.
For those of you who don't know Daniel is only 2 and extremely animated and
full of laughter and joy. He was so proud of himself and proud that he read
that book. When he was done I told him I would read it to him and he said "No
mommy I done now".
I love love love that little boy. That little chocolate face with the big
brown eyes and bright infectious smile. He melts my heart. I love each and
every one of these mommy moments. I am so in love with that little boy, God
knew what he was doing when he created that child. He grew in my heart and I
knew I loved him before I even saw his face. God sets the lonely in families
and I am so glad we listened to his call. For when you listen when he is
knocking on the door to your heart, that is when you get the "Max and Ruby"
moments with a special little boy.
So thankful and blessed that I get to be Daniel's mom!
Christmas has come and gone again and I am not even sure where it went. I know it was here due to the disarray my house is in! Daniel was so fun this Christmas, since he is talking quite a bit more and very opinionated. After every picture we tried to take he would boldly proclaim "We're done now" and walk away. Trying to get a good Christmas picture was a challenge. He loves to dance and jump, too bad the camera doesn't love when he dances and jumps.
We tried to explain to Daniel that Christmas was Jesus birthday. Try explaining that to a 2 year old that finally just got what a Birthday means, cake and presents. He cried and in the middle of sobbing he would say "no my birthday". Finally he understood a little but I still don't think he liked it. The next thing that was so hard to explain was not every present was for him. One night after supper we told him we were going to go Christmas shopping to buy presents, to which he responded "buy a present for me", again a melt down when we explained no. When we got to the store we told Daniel he had to pick out toys for other little boys that maybe weren't going to get presents otherwise. And que another meltdown! Finally he calmed down and I think he really understood. He went down the car aisle (for anyone that knows Daniel this was probably killing him to go down this aisle and not get anything for himself he loves cars) and picked out some monster trucks and hot wheels. After that every time we went to the store he wanted to get presents for "boys that didn't have presents". Christmas with a 2 year old is fun!
Christmas eve Daniel set out cookies for Santa, like 10 cookies and 5 carrots. When we set them on the toy box, Daniel climbed up and grabbed a cookie and helped himself to Santa's snack.
In the morning that was the first thing he looked for. He wasn't so happy that Santa ate his cookies. For Christmas all Daniel asked for was cookies. He was so fun. Here is a video of him opening one of his presents:
Christmas morning before we left the house we sang Happy Birthday to Jesus, I believe this will be one of my favorite Christmas Traditions. Christmas is my favorite time of year. I pray everyday that next year we at least have a picture of our baby boy, that will be the best Christmas present ever. Until then we will enjoy everyday as a family of 3 and thank God for the precious gift of his son on that winter's morning.
I started this reading plan through Youversion.com - it is the Joyce Meyer Promises for Your Life Daily Devotional. It should take a year to complete. At the rate I am going it will take me a year and a half! Anyway, today I was catching up on some of the missed devotionals I have piled up and thought I would share.
For anyone that has been through, is going through, has followed someones journey through and prayed for an adoption specifically international adoption I hope this devotion speaks to your heart. The very first line "Whatever you are facing in life, or whatever is coming, God has already given you the faith for it." is so true, yet so hard to grasp when you are in the midst of a struggle, a time of "Why is this happening (or not happening)" or unsure of your path. You already have the faith to make it through the storm you just need to act! You have to release your faith in order for it to work, through works, actions and prayer. Faith is there, we just have to act upon it!
I also love the line "faith in God isn't based on our circumstances or how we feel.". Through our adoption with Daniel, through the red tape, the struggles and the year long wait to bring him home. I never lost my faith in God, that in his timing He would bring our baby home. We prayed constantly, asked people to pray and in the midst of it all we found ways to help and raise donations for other orphans.
Now we are starting a new journey, we have been officially waiting for 1 month and this is a great reminder to hold on to our faith.
Below is the devotion. My prayer is that it speaks to everyone reading as loud as it spoke to me.
Faith to See Yourself Through God's Eyes Whatever you're facing in life, or whatever is coming in your future, God has already given you the faith for it. It may not look like it, and you may not feel like you have what it takes to overcome, but faith in God isn't based on our circumstances or how we feel.
The enemy would like for you to believe that you don't have a chance in life, that you're too weak, too poor, too whatever. But God has a different view of you. God sees you through the eyes of love. He sees not what you can be, but what He has invested in you, not what you or others may see.
Seeing yourself the way God sees you leads to a life of overwhelming victory. But it takes faith. You can't just hear that God loves you and sees you as His child, you have to believe it. It takes faith to move forward and overcome the challenges of life. And faith does you no good if you don't know how to release it. You have to release your faith in order for it to work.
We release faith through our words, actions and, of course, through prayer. It's up to us to act.
First John 4:4 is a scripture we quote a lot, and almost anytime I say this verse in a church or meeting, everybody claps and cheers. But how many people really believe that "He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world?"
The truth is, the One in you is greater and He loves you. So stretch your faith today and see yourself the way God sees you. It doesn't matter what the enemy wants you to see or how things might look. Our faith overcomes through the One who lives in us!
You dear children, are from God and have overcome them, because the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world. -1 John 4:4
May we never forget the One in us is greater than anything in this world and He loves us so! Today I find comfort in reading and knowing I am loved by Him.
We are finally DTE!!! As of 11-11-11 we are officially waiting for a referral. You are probably wondering what that means if you are not in the adoption world right now. DTE means Dossier to Ethiopia, a dossier is our packet of paperwork that we have spent months gathering to get to this point. This does not mean we have a child already. We are just "in line" so to speak for a referral. We are requesting a boy age 0-2 and probably won't receive a referral call for 10-16 months, based on the trends today.
This time is exciting for us and kind of nerve racking based on our last experience, but praise God we are one step closer to our baby boy. Waiting seems to be the hardest part of this journey for me, especially since everything I am waiting on is out of my control. That is probably part of God's plan to help me learn patience and I can not control everything, His plan is way better than mine anyway!
I want to share with you a few verses that I held on to while we were waiting to bring Daniel home, and will hold on to while we wait to bring this baby home (we need to come up with a name):
Psalm 9:10 - He performs wonders that cannot be fathomed, miracles that cannot be counted.
Isaiah 26: 3-4 - You will keep in perfect peace him whose mind is steadfast, because he trusts in you. Trust in the Lord forever for the Lord, the Lord is the rock eternal.
Hebrews 12:1 - Let us run with endurance the race that God has set before us.
James 1:3-4 - For when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow. So let it grow, for when your endurance is fully developed, you will be perfect and complete, needing nothing.
Ephesians 1:11 - In him we were also chosen having been predestined according to the plan of Him who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of his will.
Now as I type this I wonder if our child is already born (with our age range he could be) or is his mom already carrying him in her belly. Will he have a cute button nose and big brown eyes like Daniel? What will his giggle sound like? Will he be outgoing or will he be shy? Only God knows because he has the perfect child already in mind for our family. Just like he did with Daniel. I really can't wait to see what the next few months bring and to watch God's plan for our family play out. I haven't even met this baby boy or seen a picture and I am already love him so much.
I am going to close this post with the following poem I found online (author unknown):
The Gift of Life
I didn't give you the gift of life,
But in my heart I know.
The love I feel is deep and real,
As if it had been so.
For us to have each other
Is like a dream come true!
No, I didn't give you
The gift of life.
Life gave me the gift of you.
That is what Daniel is to us, a Gift. We are so blessed and we are the lucky ones to have that special boy in our family. And so will our next baby boy. Oh I can't wait to hold him and kiss him, it's going to be a long year!
Happy Halloween (2 days later)! Daniel had fun this Halloween after we convinced him to put his costume on and that it was ok to go Trick or Treating. First the costume, I bought him this cute Scarecrow costume. His response the first time we tried to put it on "No mommy, it scare me". Since the name of the costume was Scare...crow, he was convinced he would be scared. Only my child. We finally got it on him and he made the cutest scarecrow ever (I am only a little biased).
Next the night before Halloween we were trying to explain to him the concept of trick or treating (we only go to like 5 houses of people we know, babysitter, parents, etc.). He would not give in, he kept saying "No". When I asked him why, his response "No mommy it will be to dark". Really, what child will pass up candy because of the dark. So we came home and went right at 5, to make sure it was not dark while we were out there (the whole 45 minutes we were out, which was mostly spent visiting).
The first house that gave him a sucker, he wasn't even off of the porch before he had it open and in his mouth. He would not let go of his bucket for anything. No one was going to take his candy away. Overall a great Halloween with family, friends and candy!
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