Every Mother's Dream

Words I thought I would never hear.

My son ASKED me to cut his hair.

Let's be clear.

It's either ask Mom or shell out your own $20 bucks.

I have learned enough to pick my battles.

After all, there's more of them and only one of me.

So the hair was long, really long.

Kinda cute, kinda curly.

A snip snip here and a little cutting there.

A trim he got.

Not too bad for an amateur.

Slightly more presentable.

And he liked it.

Dodged the bullet.

Casting Free

Off to another Home Study meeting today.

Oh yes, we are still working on that.

We are in the revision stage.

I have been refining and honing my "begging" and "pleading."

Please pray that we can finish this week.

Our social worker is truly coming through for us.

The second agency is helping as much as they can.

Tick-tock goes the clock.

Can you tell what I need to work on?

I need to push this boat of anxiety and impatience away from shore and let it drift away!

On the way home from the meeting, I got a call that school would be let out early due to weather on this lovely first day of spring. I picked up the boy and we went to get his cast off, because he was not into waiting any longer either.


Being a blogger does strange things to one's mind. You find yourself in these moments and then all of the sudden realize that this would make a great blog post and out comes the camera or phone or whatever is handy. I think the doctor rolled his eyes behind my back. :)

The umpteenth x-ray looks good although he needs to wear a brace for a few more weeks and do mobility exercises to increase his range of motion.

One for Mom and Dad: The doctor told Jerrod it wouldn't be very smart to try snowboarding this weekend or until next year..... He said it a lot nicer than we did.

Casting free seems to be a theme today.

Who Are We Waiting For

Linny, at A Place Called Simplicity, has no idea that she was a major catalyst in my change of heart.

You see we ALWAYS fostered and adopted in age order.

We felt very strongly about that and still maintain that doing so has contributed to the health of our family.

But one day I was reading her post about NETS and that was the turning point for me.

"At once they left their nets."

To follow Jesus.

Instantly I felt that age order wasn't going to be a net I got caught up in anymore.

No one was more surprised than me.

Then I found this precious face that made my heart leap.
Having looked at many waiting children over the years,

I was not prepared for the thump, thump when I saw him....

after being freed from my "net."

God has provided the funds, nurtured the desire, opened doors that appeared locked.

Our needs are simple.

COULD YOU PRAY?

We are paper chasing with voracious intensity.

Might you pray for our little boy to come home soon?

He has an extremely complex heart condition and every day counts for this precious son.

We have prayed for favor over every desk and hand that touches our paperwork, that this process would be expedited if it is His will.

All of our days are numbered, I know, but his so much more so.

God has truly blessed this adoption in many ways.

A wonderful friend commented last week, when we were stalled yet again, that it only gave God more time to show His miracles.

I know there are lessons in waiting, but I also know that laying my heart at the feet of Jesus and following His call without counting the cost leads to immeasurable treasure in heaven.

Missing Her

We are missing our little purple plum.

We talk to her on the phone and we visit periodically.

The boys miss her.

A lot.

Trey is asking some very good questions.

About adoption.

Different than the older girls who remember.

Oh, if there were only ONE right answer.....

Part of the great joy of being foster parents was getting to be there for the firsts. First taste of snow, first time at the beach, first piggies in the lake water, first steps, first bites, first strawberry field, first pony ride, so many wonderful experiences.

Miss you little purple girl!

International Night

We participated in International Night with the local home school group.

Three guesses which country we picked to study.

No, actually, you only get one guess and your bound to get it right if you know what we have been thinking about lately.

Yes, you are right.

We picked the amazing country of China to learn about.

Erika made many moon cakes, a simplified version.
We had two boards that included reports on Chinese New Year, Great Wall, pandas, numbers, interesting facts, Forbidden City, maps, lanterns, and dragons. Erik had his laptop to the right that had a slide show of the landscape of China.
They did most of the work. I am proud of them. Next time, I think I will do even less...
We all went together to support the kids. There were hundreds of people and about 18 families exhibiting from all over the world. Lots of goodies.
He was getting tired near the end. Poor guy!
The goal was to learn about China and that we did.

For me, it wet my appetite to know more about the culture, people, and landscape that we will hopefully visit later this year.

The Best Line

We got a draft of our home study. Right now it is going back and forth between two agencies for revisions.

Reading about ourselves was humbling but actually we are pretty boring. No skeletons, no prior marriages, no arrests or convictions to spice things up. Plain old God-hearted people, that's us!

Here was the best feel-good-line in the whole thing:

"They are more interested in their family, close friends and community than they are in material acquisition or social status. They are happy with their life and feel they have been blessed."

Someone who spent a few hours with us GOT it. She encapsulated what we are all about in a few sentences.

Does it get any better than that?

Artists in Residence

I looked for a picture of our artist-in-residence but couldn't find one handy. She's is too busy creating. Cora made these mural size drawings a few weeks ago. The depth of her artistry amazes me. Yes, we signed her up for art classes. Just her. Generally we try to combine classes and interests but she has earned this one.
Speaking of artists, I believe a certain almost 12 year old might need her own camera. This is what I discover on mine on a regular basis. I love the creativity.
Not to change the subject but what am I going to do when the two of them are on the real deal? I can just imagine them revving those engines. Maybe my hearing will be gone by then!

Is it spring yet?

One of Those Days

Some days are like this.

All day long.

What do you see in those eyes?

I love this clever, beautiful, amazing girl. My mother heart wants to help her to be happy. I want to take away all the hurt and worry and sadness. I am thankful that God has given us the opportunity to earn her trust and love. This soul battle is one I am willing to fight with everything I've got.

And it is a BATTLE.

We are having some of these days right now.

Back to the change issues, weather, time, activities, clothes, Mom gone at appointments, anticipation of upcoming events.....

The earlier time change will hopefully prove to be beneficial around here since it is farther away from a birthday which can be an unsettling time for many adopted kids.

What we learn on this journey continues to amaze me still.

And tomorrow all things will be new.

The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases;

his mercies never come to an end;
they are new every morning;
great is your faithfulness.

Lamentations 3:22-23

The Long Wait/God's Timing

All of our paperwork for our dossier is complete......

EXCEPT our home study.

Waiting for review, for a waiver from the state, waiting.

Our China representative sent me a time line and my hopes
of traveling sooner than later were dashed.
I get discouraged.

But then God comes through
every time I start feeling anxious.
I got this picture today which was
taken at the beginning of this month.

He's waiting too!

Once the home study is cleared,
we can send in our I800A
and get the process moving.

Hebrews 11:1
Faith is being sure of what to hope for and certain of what you cannot see.

Techno-Kids

Look who's surfin' now?

I think he likes what he found.

Today we had Chinese class online.

We had a girl's laptop and a boy's laptop.

The kids are enjoying the class and take
lots of notes about radicals.

Meanwhile, the dynamic duo got introduced to Starfall.

Driving a wireless mouse is no problem for a three year old.
Who knew?
While they were all engaged, I got to:
Organize the toy box.

Which was being used as a.....bed/hiding place?

And laundry, always the laundry.

Busy kids, happy momma.