Beginning to Fill My Days...

Well, today we chose names for our girls, one means Graceful, the other means Gentle and we couldn't be happier. They are beautiful names and we both agreed on them. And their initials will be 'appropriate'.

Once again I am posting applications on line and on Thursday I will go in person and drop them off locally. We'll see what happens.

I am also going to start working on my angel pins.

I have also started planning a quilt for a 'raffle/give-away' to raise funds for our girls. I am also beginning to plan a walk-a-thon for this fall, too. I'll keep my ideas posted!

I am going to post a picture here on my blog soon of the girls that we are 'considering'. They are beautiful and we are so very excited about it.

We have had a difficult night of peace. Our oldest son Chris doesn't live with us, our other son Austin is out for the night, and Cale is back at school, which most parents of young adults would find to be totally exciting...yay, an empty house! But the peace and quiet isn't exciting to me. The 'empty nest' which many call it, isn't my cup of tea. I personally don't enjoy that kind of quiet. I don't find it enjoyable. I don't know, maybe I should work at a daycare all day with a bunch of screaming children and get my fill that way, so that at night I would enjoy the quiet more :D But I don't think that would last very long. Our family isn't complete and that is what our journey is all about.

Thank You Lord for the gift of adoption!

Life Lessons Learned!

Well things seem to be easier for me as time goes by. Cale calls and texts me on a regular basis, everyday! No it's not the same as having him home but it will do for now. He did promise that he would go to Boston College for his graduate studies!

Well, I have been making things for my fundraising adventure. And I am excited that I will be walking in the Buddy Walk on September 26 here in Connecticut. So I am keeping busy.

A thought occurred to me the other day while I was talking with Tony and sharing my frustration with him about not finding a job. First, this is the first time in many, MANY years that I have not been hired quickly. In the past Tony has said that he has never seen anything like it before...I apply for a job, go on an interview and, if I'm not hired on the spot, I have a job offer like...the next day! (I know it sounds conceited, but I don't know how else to put it.) Well, that isn't happening this time! I have applied many places and only had one interview, and that was a bust...Hmmmmm...so back to my point...

My plan for this adoption was to get a full time job somewhere, take all the money I made at that job and put it in the bank for the girls adoption costs and as they came up, I'd write a check. 

I started reading all the adopting blogs and saw a common thread...God was supplying the needs and the funds for these adoptions and He was receiving all the Glory!

So, if I get a job and pay for it all, how will others see what God can and will do? How will people see the blessings that God has in store for those who trust Him? If I get a job, how will that Glorify Him? It would be ALL ME! And then I realized just how selfish that would be of me...So I guess I'm not getting a job right away, which brings me to the next thing...

I guess I will be stepping up the fundraising endeavor. I am going to begin to sell my Angel pins. I will post the picture soon. I will also be making a quilt for a raffle and either selling or raffling off a couple of baby quilts also. I am also going to attempt to organize a walk for the girls sometime in October.

So, please pray for my family and the girls as we go through the beginning stages of our adventure 'Bringing Home Our Princesses'... We all Thank You!

My Heart is Full and God is Great!

Well, even though my baby is gone and can't read yesterdays post because when I read it I cry, God really has been Gracious to me! I am rejoicing that several little ones have arrived back home in the US! 

Julie and Daisy just arrived home! Paula and Elizabeth brought Bella home! JoAnne just came home with her three little princesses, Masha, Milana, and Lillia! And Melissa is home waiting out their time for Mark to come home with Simon and Erik! Congrats to all the families that came home...we'll be praying for those who are working hard to do the same! 

So instead of crying for myself now, I end up crying for everyone else! And my family comes in and asks me why I'm crying and the standard answer is "you know why! I just read a blog..." The blogs are very encouraging because if these families can save children from a loveless life, I know that I can!

I'm also going to start checking into an adoptive father's message board. If I find one that is great and has alot of members, great. But if I don't then I guess I'll start one for hubby and let adoption families know about it. I think that it's important for men to be able to voice concerns and ask questions of others and 'bond' (if you can call that bonding for them). It may actually help some of these husbands feel like a part of this whole journey. 

Well anyway, back to the fundraising and message board searching! YAY!  :)

I Don't Like It When They Grow Wings and Fly!

Okay, so you have babies...you raise them to be strong and to stand on their own, teach them to be independent and do things for themselves. You home school them and teach them well... and then they are ACCEPTED TO COLLEGE!!!

I am a proud mom to a college student, but last year we lived in Louisville Kentucky, and Cale was a college student at Northern Kentucky University about 100 miles from our home. I took great comfort and solace in the fact (with help from others I might add) that he would be home about every other weekend and all holidays, and sometimes for 4 days in a row! That made me content. 

When we moved back to Connecticut last April, Cale still had a month to go for classes, but I was okay with that because he was coming here in a few weeks. He came up after mothers day but just in time for my birthday. I was a HAPPY mom that day. I knew that he was going to be here for the summer! YAY for us!!!

Well, he left for school last night. A friend of his from Louisville flew up to drive back with him. He is an independent college student that daddy and I raised for such a day...but no one prepared me for the heartbreak of knowing that he is 13 hours away from us in case something happens. I am just praying that God will protect him and be gracious to me and make the time fly for me til Thanksgiving.

I am so sad, there will no longer be 11:00 pm chats in the kitchen catching up on the days events, no more Cale walking in the door saying 'surprise! I'm home for the weekend!' I guess the lesson for the day is time is fleeting...enjoy even the smallest moments, cherish every second because they won't last but in your memories!

So, needless to say, I haven't worked on any of my fundraising ideas because I've been rather pre-occupied. I will go start that now though, as time really is precious and fleeting. I'm using these weeks of quiet without my 'baby' to add to our family! Look out girls...your mommy and daddy are preparing to bring you HOME!!!  

Well yesterday came....

And I don't have a job yet, they told me to call them again next Tuesday. We'll see...it's all in God's time and He doesn't follow our time schedule. :(

Please pray for our family and the twins as our events are put off for another few weeks while I find a job.That job was probably not a good fit. I have had gut feelings in the past and rushed into a job only to find it was a bad idea. I had a feeling this time and Tony told me to follow my gut, but instead I wanted to follow my heart and put up with a job just to bring the girls home. I think God was Gracious to me, AGAIN, because I don't always follow (Him)...I want to be the leader! :) Isn't that sad? I've been a christian since I was 12, you'd think I would've learned that lesson already...and the one on patience...yup still learning that one too...

But in the mean time I have a few ideas to help RR with fund-raising...I think. My mind has been working overtime with ideas, some are great and some I'm not so sure about. I will try to upload them and see what others think...and please, be critical if need be, I can be thick-skinned so constructive criticism is appreciated. Sometimes I think Tony is afraid to say he doesn't like something just because I made it. :)

Well I'm off to finish a couple of projects to send to RR. Look for my uploads and see what you think.

Looking Forward to Tomorrow...

Tomorrow I will be calling to see if I have the job. I have to say I'm rather excited! I have figured out that if I get the job we will probably be able to commit to the twins about September 1st, which is just around the corner for us...and I can hardly stand it! I check every day to see if they are still ours, knowing someone else could commit at any time...but I am believing that God has set them aside for us. And if not, there are a couple of other children that we have considered, but the twins are the ones that have stolen our hearts!

Can't wait for tomorrow at 10:30! We'll see!  :)

The Things We Do...

Well, yesterday was a busier day than we had expected...we are trying real hard to find ways to collect money so we can begin this process. I have been brainstorming for several weeks and have come up with a few ideas, as well as taking ideas from others on RR's group.

Yesterday I had an interview and I will call on Tuesday to see if I got the job. That is what I had not planned on when we moved back here to CT. I was not going to work but I was going to be the typical SAHM and just do what house wives do...you know, knock back a few bon-bons while watching Dr. Phil and Oprah! :) Kidding! Anyway...

I figured that I would get a job and every penny that I made would go into the girls account we set up just for this adoption. If I like the job enough I will figure out a way to continue after bring them home, but at this point if I don't like it, I won't feel bad if I leave after they come home.

We are planning on making our Commitment to them in early September, just a few short weeks, that is if I end up getting this job.

Then I came up with an even better idea...we went and sold some of our old gold jewelry...because they are far more important to us than gold or things! So we'll see what happens on Tuesday.

Please stay tuned to see what we do next! :)

Our Journey Begins again...and so it goes...

We started our journey in October of 1999, when Tony accepted the call into ministry! As time went by we felt that our family was lacking in 'mass', so we wanted to add to the ranks. :) Then in March of 2003, we had been discussing what a few other friends were doing to continue growing their families, but that just wasn't what God planned for us, financially or physically, so we let it go.

I was still home schooling our boys, working part time and just enjoying things in life. Well, I started feeling that all too familiar tugging on my heart strings and mentioned to Tony what I was feeling. I really expected to hear him say "now now, blah, blah bladdy blah..." but instead he told me that he agreed and felt the same way, so look into adoption. Well...that came completely out of the blue!!!

So I made a phone call and we were on our way!!! :)

We became licensed to adopt in our state, but our status was pending because we didn't have the room to take in another child. So when it came time to move, the available home we took once again didn't have adequate space. And then again! :( There is something to be said about God's timing...and I had to trust!

So then in December of 2005, things began happening. The house that we were renting went up for sale because the owners were getting a divorce, so that meant moving again. And to Tony and his job, there was a merger and he opted to transfer to another warehouse in Indiana and that would give him the opportunity to attend seminary classes in Louisville, KY. So we did...

Then while in Louisville, we attended an international adoption meeting and started thinking... again, and started thinking about adopting special needs children, meaning other than age. We began researching Downs Syndrome, and that is when I found Reece's Rainbow! That was about 3 years ago to the month.

Unfortunately, things were more complicated than we had originally thought, so I had to go to work and it looked like we were there for other reasons, which we still don't understand. When I went to work, I unsubbed from RR and left those dreams behind for what I figured would be for a very long time to come. :(

So jump forward 2 1/2 years, and here we are, started our journey again. We feel we would like to add the blessings of girls to our home. This time we have fallen in love with a couple of little girls and are looking forward to the day that we can announce who to everyone involved in RR! God willing, it won't be long!!! :)