Giving

When we started this adoption process, we knew God would provide.

And boy, has He provided!

 What a blessing it has been to watch Him provide the money each step of the way.

We had saved and planned for this adoption but we 

definitely didn't have $30,000 just sitting around. 

A friend told me at the very beginning of our adoption when they handed us a check to put towards our adoption fund... "Kristen, God calls us all to help orphans and widows.  Our family doesn't feel called to adopt right now but we are still called to help and by giving to your adoption, this is a way that we can obey God and help."

WOW!  That has stuck with me through this adoption.  I've had a hard time humbling myself to graciously accept financial help for the adoption.  Todd and I have been so blessed and we're usually on the other side of the giving so it's been rather humbling to be the recipient instead of the giver.  I have reminded myself that many who have given have prayed about giving to our adoption and are obeying God's call to them - there's not much that I can't graciously accept about that!

SO many friends have stepped in and given to help bring Zaine home.  

* We had over 30 families donate stuff to our garage sales.  

If you gave one bag or ten bags - thank you!

* A friend bought me an ergo carrier to use when we travel with Zaine - this was our "congrats he is officially your son" gift from this family.

* A friend gave me a necklace with Zaine's name and Africa on it to wear while we wait to bring him home - she understood what it feels like to not have all your children in your arms.

* We recently received a check from some friends who said they prayed and this was what God led them to give... let me tell you - it was a "wow, God" amount.  We informed this couple that they had just bought themselves 1 day a month of babysitting (1/30th) Zaine (and we'd throw in our other children for free).

* Friends have picked up little things for Zaine's room, bought our lunch at random times, and given in "little" ways that mean so much to us.

* My parents have given and loaned us more than I could explain in a blog post.  They get adoption firsthand and have experienced seeing what adoption can do in a family and a child's life.

* There are friends who text or message me weekly saying that they are praying for Zaine and us as we wait.  They pray for details, very specific details in our case.  

Zaine is so very loved and we as a family feel very supported 

and loved through this adoption as well.

It all reminds me of the verse in Matthew 25:40

"The King will reply, 'Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.'"

Mother's Day 2013

Mother's Day 2013

Let me start by saying how VERY blessed I am!

My mother is one of my best friends.

She is the most gracious and selfless person I might know.

She is always giving of her time, energy and money to others.

She serves her family like Proverbs 31 talks about.

She gave so much when she (and my Dad) adopted my brother 11 years ago.

She's an amazing example to me of what a mother and wife look like.

She love me.

She accepted Todd into our family before we were even engaged - 

she gained a son the day we got married and loves him.

She loves my children so much and I absolutely love watching her interact with them.

and I get to call her MOM!

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"Mommy" is the most fun title I have!

I am SOOOO blessed by the two little kiddos that wrap 

their little arms around me each day with hugs. 

Addison and Xavier make me laugh and smile every day.

Every once in a while they also make me sigh and pull my hair out...  

But it's SO worth it!  

They loved me well on Mother's Day...

They smothered me with hugs and kisses and "I love you's".

They made cards and gifts with their little hands.

I love my little ones so much and feel so blessed to have 

been given the privilege to raise them.

I frequently remind myself that they are not mine - 

they are God's and He's allowing me to raise them for a short while.

What a blessing!

One little blessing was missing this Mother's Day - 

he was half-a-world away in Kinshasa, DRC.

I told myself I was going to focus on my 2 children here and not dwell on who was missing.

Much easier said than done...

I missed Zaine today...

a little piece was missing...

a really cute little boy with big brown eyes wasn't snuggled 

with the rest of my kiddos on the couch...

soon...  Zaine, soon...  I'll be able to hold you.

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This day also made me ponder and think about all the children who will never get to celebrate Mother's Day because they don't have a Mommy to love them.  That's a tough pill for me to swallow and makes me want to jump in line to be a Mommy to all of them.

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This day also made me think about Zaine's birth mother.

We don't know the circumstances but I pray that she is happy and 

healthy and knows deep down that her son is loved.

I pray she doesn't worry about him.

I also pray that she somehow learns about God's love 

which is a love that surpasses any earthly motherly love any of us can give.

God loves me sooo much more than I can even grasp.  

He loves all three of my children more than I could ever understand.

Todd gave me this necklace for Mother's Day last year.  He wanted to order a "Z" to add Zaine's initial to the necklace but he couldn't remember the place on Etsy where he got it... so he designed his own crafty "Z" out of paper.  The actual "Z" charm has now been ordered.  I like his creativity though!

My little loves after Mother's Day lunch.

 

The waiting is hard...

We are waiting and waiting and waiting...

So many people have asked recently "when do you get to go get Zaine" 

so I figured I should explain a bit about where we are in the process...

We received our I600 approval - this states that we have 

"provisional approval" from the USA to adopt Zaine.

They must complete their investigation of his story and paperwork before 

they will send our approval to the VISA office so they can issue his visa.

He needs a VISA to exit the country, so we kinda half to wait on that important piece.

I wrote a post a few months ago about the investigation...

The investigation is great overall - this will ensure higher quality of adoptions from the DRC and keep ethics at the forefront of each adoption.  That's all wonderful and we applaud the investigations but it's caused a slow down and backup with the adoptions in the DRC.  Thus, we wait...

Some days I wait well and other days I simply don't.

My baby boy is half a world away and I ache so bad to hold him.

We were blessed to have 2 biological children and that 9 months 

seemed like eternity until I got to hold my precious babies

but...

 I didn't get to see glimpses of their personalities along the way, 

hear from other families who got to hold my baby and take pictures of him, 

see another momma so graciously raising my child,

wonder what he was eating and how he was sleeping,

etc etc etc.

That's what makes this journey so difficult. 

Some days I remember so well that Zaine is in God's hands 

and He's looking after him right now while I can't.  

God knows what Zaine ate for each meal today, 

how many hairs are on his head,

what he thinks about when he sees our pictures,

how he slept last night,

if he's sick or not, 

and yes, the list could go on and on.

God's got it - He knows and He cares.

Other days I tend to get in a funk and focus on what I'm missing with Zaine and my worries.

I worry about his health and nutrition and growth.

I worry about whether he is rocked to sleep when he's sad,

patted when he's crying,

and whether he smiles when he's happy.

It breaks this momma's heart to hear my almost 5 year old daughter, Addison, 

pray for us to be able to get him home by her birthday because that's her birthday wish.

A little tear always escapes when she daily talks about how she's going to play with both her brothers.

Sometimes she's scheming ways to keep her brothers out of her Polly Pockets and My Little Ponies and other times she's planning what she'll play with them at the park, in the pool, in the backyard, and in the playroom.

Her dreaming is good for my heart - it makes it seem real.  

Zaine is coming home...

but right now - we pray, dream and wait.

I stare at Zaine's pictures all the time and pray for my little boy.

This adoption has strengthened my prayer life like no other!

This is hard - I'm not gonna lie!  

I'm not a crier generally but most days right now the words 

"bring him home" send me into a puddle of tears.

A verse that hit me a few days ago in my reading is Psalm 94:19

"In the multitude of my anxious thoughts within me, Your comforts cheer and delight my soul!"

Let's just presume that I might have a little anxiousness in my heart some days...  

I will continue to cling to God's comforts and let Him cheer and delight my soul.

He's good... ALL THE TIME (even when it's not my timing)!

 

Garage Sale = Smashing Success

I would consider the garage sale a smashing success yet again!

We had over 25 generous families donate their junk treasures to us.

Our house began to look (and smell) like Goodwill - no kidding!

I priced so many items that I began dreaming about round sticky price tags.

People tracked down numerous tables for us to use.

Neighbors and friends baked yummy treats for us to sell.

and that was all before the sale began...

We hosted the garage sale Thursday - Saturday from 7:30 until 5:00 each day.

Exhausted, but very blessed, doesn't even begin to describe it!

We had no idea how we would do after doing so well in the fall (we made $2,400 in September).

Let me recount the blessings of those days...

•  My favorite part of the sale was hearing other people's adoption stories.  So many people came just because our sign and ad mentioned the sale was for an adoption cause.  Adoption is a tie that binds hearts together.
•  Several young children came to donate their coins and dollar bills - such sweet and soft hearts.
• My mother baked tons of Africa cookies for us to sell and babysat Xavier for us each day.  What a blessing!
• Friends brought Starbucks and lunch to help sustain us throughout the days.
• Friends came to visit, donate and hang out with us - their support means the world to us!
• A friend came to help run the sale on Thursday - not sure what we would have done without her help!
• Soooo many generous people gave donations - not the norm for garage sales!
• My favorite special story happened after the sale on Thursday evening...  We had finally packed everything back up and gone inside to collapse from exhaustion when the doorbell rang.  Todd answered the door for a man who said, "I really wanted to get to your sale but missed it due to work.  Here's something for your adoption."  He proceeded to hand Todd a $100 bill.  Humbled doesn't begin to describe it!  He went on to explain that adoption is close to his heart because their adoption through the county system will be final on May 10th for their little boy.  Fun fact:  we will be at the same court on May 10th with some friends to celebrate their adoption being final at the exact time this man and his family will be there to finalize their adoption.  God works in mysterious ways!   

Now for what everyone is really waiting to hear... 

We were blessed with raising right at $3,500 over those 3 days.  

I cannot explain to you the blessing that money is to Todd and I as we look towards travel plans to get Zaine.  Sure, that money is so helpful but I find the support of our friends, the connection with random people via adoption, and getting to share with people why we wanted to adopt an even greater blessing from those 3 days.

 

Here are a few pictures of the event.  I was not able to get pictures of the sale once everything was out because we had tons of people show up early so here are a few I snapped about halfway through us carrying everything out (at 5 AM)...

 

 

 

Giving brother a kiss!

and now a hug...