Thanksgiving Weekend

Thanksgiving Day, we spent together with just our family. It was an awesome day! We started the morning kind of late, with the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. I missed part of it because I had to make a quick run to the store. Then we watched the National Dog Show while I was fixing dinner. What's your favorite dog? Mine are always the Komodor and the Puli - love that rope-like hair! Last year's Komodor was prettier - this one had shorter dreads, but I did like this year's Puli. Neat to look at, but would never have one though - that'd be a mess to keep clean!

We had left-over Turducken that we'd made for our Bible study group last Thursday. I'd made a casserole of the stuffing, rice, meat, and gravy. We made up a great bean casserole and some jello with fruit in it. I also made Shaylyn's Pumpkin Dessert - it's so easy, and VERY yummy! Before we ate we all went around and shared what we were thankful for. We prayed for E & J in Haiti, gave thanks for the food, and then ate WAY too much! :)

After eating we had to rest for a little while, watch some football, and played a computer game together. Then when we thought we could move again, we went downtown. It was a perfect day for Ice Skating! The outdoor rink was open from 4-9, so we got there just after opening, and there were only about 10 people there - AWESOME!!! By the time we got skates rented, went around the rink once VERY SLOWLY, had the skates sharpened, and then got back on the ice, there were more people there, but not crowded like we'd seen before. It was soooo fun!

Kaylen is such a good skater! She can skate faster than me - although that doesn't take too much effort. It's a little humorous though because she looks like she's jogging. But this girl no longer has fear. She did fall down a lot, but got right back up. She was also VERY good at re-balancing when she was almost going to fall. Crazy! It was a game to her also to stay in front of us. She was so very tired last night though - of course from "jog-skating" all those laps! :)

I'm so bummed that my camera memory card pooped out on me (it said it needed to be re-formatted)! We had some awesome videos and pictures of Kaylen skating. I guess that means we'll have to go again. Would be nice to do anyway, because tonight is downtown's holiday lighting ceremony (it'll be packed tonight!). The ice rink is right along the river, with a great view of the downtown buildings, so it's beautiful to go in December. I'll try to get pictures/videos again if we do go.

We left the ice rink around 6:15, so we'd be home just in time to watch A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving, which was on TV at 7. Always a fun way to spend the evening after you're pooped from a long fun day!

Today, Jock had to go to work. Daycare was open, and since we pay by the week, Jock took Kaylen on his way to work. She would otherwise have been extremely bored with a 4-day weekend at home. I just half got up and fixed her hair for her. I then went back to sleep for a while, did some reading (Bible, 3:16 book, and computer-email/blogs/facebook), and spent some time in prayer. I had my breakfast/lunch of a bowl of cereal and a piece of pumpkin dessert around noon.

After lunch, I started cleaning and re-arranging the living room furniture. I worked some on my Christmas playlist - added it to my blog, but then noticed that there were several songs with broken links, so I spent some time finding new versions of my favorites. I put a batch of Chex party mix in the oven and some hot cider in the crockpot, and was about ready to get my shoes on to go pick up Kaylen, when Jock called and said he was on his way home and he'd pick her up. YEAH! I haven't been outside all day. Maybe he'll even bring the mail in for me. :)

Tonight we are going to finish off the left-over turducken casserole, listen to some Christmas music, drink hot cider, and put upour Christmas decorations. Should be fun. Tomorrow will probably be another lazy day, and Sunday we'll be going to church and then celebrating Thanksgiving with Jock's family, and Jock's Dad's birthday. Monday, it's back to work (and school for Kaylen).

Hope you all had a blessed Thanksgiving!

Christmas Season

The Christmas season is upon us... so I've changed over to my Christmas playlist. :)

I wanted to listen to my Christmas favorites while I'm preparing my home for Christmas decorating/baking. :)

What is your favorite Christmas song?

Happy Thanksgiving, 2009!

I wanted to wish all our friends and family a very happy Thanksgiving!

We'll be spending the day/weekend together, reflecting upon what we are thankful for. The Lord has blessed us with so much to be thankful for! I've been reading the book 3:16 The Numbers of Hope by Max Lucado, and it is really making me reflect on the gift he's given us in Christ Jesus. That's my number one, but after Him, the next four that come to mind are these:

1)
2)
3)
4)
In addition to:

• our extended family
  
• our wonderful friends
  
• good health and availability of medical care
  
• gainful employment that affords us many luxuries
  
• a nice warm home
  
• food in the cupboards/refrigerator/on the table

I could go on and on... I pray that you take some time today to reflect upon the many blessings in your life.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Prayer Update

I am humbled and filled with gratitude for the many friends and family that have prayed and continue to pray with us over our adoption process. While my mind is constantly drifting to our children in Haiti, and dreaming of the day we can bring them home, I am blessed by the trust and hope in our Lord. He will will fulfill his purposes and will bring our children home in HIS perfect timing. Until then, I continue to lift E & J, this adoption process, and my worries up to Him. I rest in the knowledge and peace that they are well-cared-for, and are loved by the nannies and staff at the orphange.

I faxed letters to both our US senators and our US Representative in the House. I got an email back from one of our senator's offices within a couple hours. The person that emailed me back is a friend of another family in the area that has adopted from our same orphanage, so it was nice to see her familiar name in my inbox. It's always good to know someone - and we are praying the contacts she makes on our behalf with USCIS are fruitful and help to move along the birth parent interviews and DNA testing.

I'll keep my blog updated as we learn any more details or information. Thank you all SO MUCH for your prayers!

Trust in the Lord with all thine heart, and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct thy paths. Proverbs 3:5-6.

Nov08 Adoption Update & Prayer Request

We received an update on our adoption process this week. Our dossier is progressing along within MOI, and they are ready to have the "long forms" filled out for our passport applications. I wasn't exactly sure what this meant, but I remember others having this done - checked with a friend who has their children home, and she said they were out of MOI about a month after their long forms were filled out. AWESOME!!!

Usually what this means is, when we're out of MOI, they will print the children's passports (a few weeks), then immigration/visa process (a few weeks to a couple months) - then they can come home. Wow! That really got me thinking about just how much I have to do here at home before they come home. Don't get me wrong, if they called me tomorrow and said to come get them, I would totally do it, and it would work out just fine - granted, a little crazy, but it'd be perfect, and we'd LOVE having them home.

BUT - and that's a big BUT - in order for immigration to go smoothly, we need both children's birth parents to come in for their interviews. Josephine's father is ready to come in, and our processor has requested an appointment but hasn't received it. Since Josephine's birth mother is deceased, it apparently is standard for them to request DNA. It used to be that a USCIS rep would meet the lawyer, child and birth parent at one of a few USCIS-approved labs in Port-au-Prince. Now USCIS requires it to be done at the US Embassy- BUT (another big one) they do not have a process, so they're not doing them yet - they've been at a standstill for DNA for several weeks (maybe longer than a month!). Elijah's birth mother is still missing. We understood she came to the orphanage at one point, about six months ago now, but hasn't been back.

Our processor has also asked us to contact our US senators and representative because of the issues with the DNA testing. Absolutely! If you'd like to contact yours on our behalf, feel free to do so. I'm not 100% sure how to go about this, and I'm nervous and words tend to escape me on the phone, but I'll do it for our kids! I'm glad we're getting to a point when our government is involved, and feel like there's something I can do about this insanity!

Please pray the following with us regarding our adoption process:
*For MOI to continue to go smoothly, and that no errors are found on our documents.
*For Elijah's birth mother to be located, able to come in long enough for her interview, for DNA to not be requested.
*For Josephine's birth father's interview to be scheduled.
*For our US Senators and Representative to be willing and able to advocate for our children in Haiti's USCIS/Embassy office.
*For the USCIS DNA office to be opened up, for them to catch up to the backlog quickly, and for our DNA to be tested and come back quickly with no issues.
*For our hearts and our children's hearts as we prepare for their homecoming.

We are going to fast in prayer for our children on Wednesday. Please join us if you can. We were blessed when we fasted and asked friends to join us in prayer in February - our process has gone fairly smoothly since then, and I've had such a peace about our children coming home in perfect timing since then. We'd like the help of our friends and family to lift our process to the LORD again. “Again, I tell you that if two of you on earth agree about anything you ask for, it will be done for you by my Father in heaven. For where two or three come together in my name, there am I with them.” Matthew 18:19-20.

And I know some of you are asking when - well, it still is unknown. Kaylen asked me this morning, "how many days". I'd love to be able to answer that question - with a number less than 100 - or wouldn't 50 make it an awesome Christmas?!? ...but it's all dependent on the above things. "How long, O LORD, how long?" Psalm 6:3b.

Psalm 4

1 Answer me when I call to you,
O my righteous God.
Give me relief from my distress;
be merciful to me and hear my prayer.

2 How long, O men, will you turn my glory into shame?
How long will you love delusions and seek false gods?

3 Know that the LORD has set apart the godly for himself;
the LORD will hear when I call to him.

4 In your anger do not sin;
when you are on your beds,
search your hearts and be silent.

5 Offer right sacrifices
and trust in the LORD.

6 Many are asking, "Who can show us any good?"
Let the light of your face shine upon us, O LORD.

7 You have filled my heart with greater joy
than when their grain and new wine abound.

8 I will lie down and sleep in peace,
for you alone, O LORD,
make me dwell in safety.