Garden!!!

OK - yes, I'm a garden freak this summer. I'm certain you're all getting annoyed at my endless pictures of the garden, but it's so exciting for me that things are growing - and even producing something we can eat already (more on that below)! I'm also certain my dad is currently saying in his mind, "You can take the girl off the farm, but you can't take the farm out of the girl!" I never cared for farming growing up, but I sure loved the produce from the garden & sweet corn patch, and the awesome meat! It was the animals and the stinky stuff I didn't care for!

Here are a brief chronology with photos from the last few weeks...
Wednesday, May 13th (We still hadn't planted anything more than the lettuce. We were waiting for it to stop raining for more than a day or two!):


We finally got our radishes (next to the lettuce), beets (next row), and green beans (next two rows) planted on Thursday, May 19th. Then on Saturday, May 23rd, we planted the sticks (2 spots each (L-R) of yellow squash, spaghetti squash, zucchini, and cucumber), and (L-R) 2 big-boy tomatoes, 1 roma tomato and two green bell peppers. These next two photos are from Monday, May 25th. The first picture is the lettuces, radishes & (maybe if you look closely, you can see the) beets -- up already in less than a week!


Thursday, May 28th - more progress on the beets, and the beans growing. Also, tomatoes & green peppers inching along as well:


This morning, May 31st, when I went out to check on the garden, I noticed the bean rows were filling in nicely, and a couple cucumbers had sprouts. I could also make out a couple zucchini and a few more cucumbers starting to just barely poke through the soil, but I didn't have the camera handy. This evening when I went out again, there were even more up - these came up fast - like in 8 hours!!! The pix are in this order: cucumbers, zucchini, spaghetti squash, yellow summer squash, and one of most of the garden.


And the best part of it all... Here's what we're having with our supper tonight! Not a lot yet though - this is laying on a dish towel folded in half. I didn't want to use it all up at once or stunt its growth, so I just cut the outer leaves of a few of the largest plants (that were at least 4-6 inches tall). YUMMY!!!

Support Orphans in Haiti, For His Glory

The orphanage in Haiti where two of our children currently reside, is struggling financially. Below is an excerpt from a letter we adoptive families received last week.

As adoptions are taking longer than any orphanage in Haiti planned, there have been orphanages closing. There are others that are barely surviving and having to raise fees. Some have had to drastically cut back provisions to keep their doors open. We just received word of another orphanage about ready to close due to slow process of adoptions and the lack of funding that causes. It’s heartbreaking.

We have changed our payment structure for new families coming into the adoption process to meet this need. New families pay $225 per month child sponsorship and less for their process fees. There are currently only 6 children sponsored at the new family rate. Almost half of the children in the orphanage are not being sponsored at all, mostly because of the older adoption contracts. This is a serious problem.

If you are sponsoring your child, we sincerely thank you. The orphanage will not be able to remain open without the sponsorship funds. Although efforts are continually made to raise money for the orphanage by the Fundraising Committee, we need to multiply our efforts or the outcome is going to be bleak. We do not want to see the Maison orphanage be another orphanage that’s forced to close.

If every child in the orphanage were sponsored at $100 per month, that would be a generated income of $13,000 per month. That would be great, but still not enough to keep the doors open. The orphanage has been running consistently around $5000 short every month. When larger donations come in, that helps to offset the shortfall, but it’s not been enough to catch up. We need to find a way to make the full budget.

For this reason, we are asking that you actively partner with us in fundraising efforts. If you are adopting a child and paying $100 per month sponsorship, we ask that you utilize friends and family in a joint sponsorship effort to bring your child's sponsorship up to the full $200 per month needed.

If you are not contractually obligated under an old contract to pay sponsorship, we are asking that you begin sponsoring your child or children now. Again, if this is the case, please encourage friends and family to support you in this so that you can reach the $200 total.

If you are behind in payments, we realize the economy is tough in the US, but we ask that you do whatever necessary to get caught up quickly.

This does not cover the children that do not have families. If you have a church family that would consider “adopting” a child through sponsorship that doesn’t have a home, please contact me. It would be wonderful to secure a place in the orphanage for each child and we can only do this through your support.

The orphanage continues to provide 3 meals a day, clean water, formula for regular feedings of the babies, diapers, baths, the home, security, childcare and supervision, medical care including medicines when the children are sick, education, etc.

However, the orphanage is in a position that if funding does not improve in the next two months, children who do not have families will have to begin to be sent home. After that, programs will be cut. Following that, we don’t want to think about.

We know that God, in His sovereignty, will provide. He always does.

Please prayerfully consider what you can do to help our children and the many other children at their orphanage. If you'd like any further information, please let me know.

Our 10th Anniversary!

Today is Jock's and my 10th anniversary! Wow - the time went fast! What an awesome 10 years. I'm looking forward to several more decades with you Jock! I love you!
Our wedding day:

After ~5 Years of marriage:

And now:

...

OK - so we've been trying to plan a date, which is no small task on a holiday weekend, when you have a child. I'm not sure that we still have anything planned, but we'll see. We'll at least find some time to do something fun. I may or may not be a "date", as we may have a 6-year-old tagalong. At the very least, we are planning to go out for lunch together though - Kaylen will be at school.

Jock surprised me with the most awesome anniversary gift last night when we got home from lighthouse. It's a painting of our family of 5. I couldn't even respond - I immediately started crying, and am still tearing up writing about it and looking at it. I never would have guessed - I thought my laptop for my birthday was going to be for all of this May's events. What a surprise!

He's been working with an artist friend of ours (she also took our family photos last fall) for a while now, to get it just right. If you need an artist, just let me know. I think she's got several paintings for sale. I didn't even knew she did special requests, but it's beautiful! The pictures below don't do it justice...

Tooth #4 Out

Kaylen pulled out her 4th tooth this afternoon! This is the first top one she's lost.
Bring on the lisp! Although it didn't seem too bad yet tonight, I'm sure it'll multiply when she loses that 2nd top center one. It's slightly loose now, so I bet it won't be long before it's out too. Kaylen was really annoyed by not being able to eat her corn-on-the-cob Friday night, and today even more-so when she couldn't eat her fried chicken - we had to cut it off for her again. She was very motivated by annoyance today! The tooth fairy better replenish her petty cash drawer!

She lost the bottom center two last August, and the permanent ones filled the "holes" right away. The third tooth she lost (three weeks ago) was right next to the first two she'd lost -- no sign of that permanent one growing back in yet. She has a dentist appointment next week, so maybe they'll do x-rays and tell us how soon those permanent ones will be filling in her "holes".

Girl's Night

Jock was supposed to have a dinner meeting tonight, and I'd planned for Kaylen and I to have a little fun too. Well, Jock's still not feeling well (has been sick most of the week, worked only 3 half-days this week), so he stayed home, but we went out anyway.

It wasn't a typical girls' fun night, but we did go out to eat (which she loves!), and then made a trip to Walmart to get some things - you know, fun stuff like toilet paper, Oxi-Clean, Mucinex, spinach, juice for the t-ball team tomorrow, and new tennis shoes for a little girl whose feet grow WAY TOO FAST!!! (Those slip-on canvas shoes just don't work for t-ball or field days!)

Anyway... Has anyone ever had one of these?
Well... if not, let me just say, that if you go to Chili's for a meal, make certain you leave room for dessert!!! I didn't quite leave enough room (still full a few hours later!) but it was SOOOOO good!

Kaylen and I enjoyed our meal. Kaylen more-so after I cut her corn-on-the-cob off the cob. Apparently ordering your corn on the cob is not such a good idea if your two top front teeth are slightly loose! She started eating it, and then said, "Ouch." Not really in pain that, but I could tell it was difficult and annoying for her, so I offered to cut it off for her, and that worked much better. Good thing they give you a sharp knife with your fork! I'm sure the waiter thought we were nuts - after all you can order corn kernels or corn-on-the-cob - but he politely didn't say anything.

After Chili's we headed to Walmart. What with the huge sugary dessert, Kaylen was so silly. I'm so glad that Walmart isn't extremely busy on a Friday night! As it was, I still had to remind her to watch out and not run into people or to get out of the way - sigh! When we got home it was almost 9:00, so Kaylen headed off to bed after showing Daddy the new shoes and telling him all about the dessert. (Last time we went to Chili's we didn't leave room for dessert - big mistake!)

Anyway, it was really nice to have a night out with her. I had to really fight to regain a positive attitude after a little struggle we had before we left home, but it worked and we had a lot of fun together. I read another adoptive mom's blog recently that she has had to do that with her daughter who's about the same age as Kaylen - just explain that she may not deserve ____ because of ____, but that I'm going to let her do ____ anyway, because I love her and I still want to have some fun with her... No matter how difficult it was for me to not dwell on it and let it ruin our fun evening, I pulled it off, and it worked wonderfully.

God, please give me the strength to move beyond my frustrations and leave them behind so I can enjoy the rest of the good things in life and not dwell on the bad! Thank you for the grace in Christ Jesus. Please help me to model that to my child(ren) more often!

Birthparent Update

Praise God! We have received news that both of our children’s birth parents have been located and appear to be ready and willing to come to the embassy for their interviews – the appointments need to be set. J’s birth father is ready any time, just needs to be scheduled. E’s birth mom came into the city, but went back to the countryside the next day – they’d scheduled the interview for that next day, apparently not realizing she couldn’t stay that long. But now that they know where she is living, it should be easier to reschedule for her.

What a relief that they have been located. I’m certain it’s a struggle in Haiti to go out into the countryside and locate people, and get them back into the city for an interview. The country of Haiti is the size of the state of Massachusetts, but it’s not like here, where we can look up somebody in the white pages, call them and have them jump in their car to come visit for a day or two. I’m so thankful for our processor and staff, for locating them. This is a huge weight off my mind.

Now to just get them scheduled, and in at the scheduled time... then for successful interviews with no DNA requested. Thank you all for your prayers – keep them coming!!! We’re not through this yet... but I’m trusting this will be accomplished soon.

May the God of hope fill you with all 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

April 2009 Updates!

I’m a little delayed in getting this update posted. We’ve had a lot going on, and I don’t think things really slow down until June – if then – things tend to fill up in the summer too...

Here are our pictures of Elijah & Josephine that we received in April:


I just love Elijah’s smile. Josephine looks like she might have been smiling, but then they pulled the camera out and she became perplexed – just like she did for us when we were there in March. It takes her a bit to warm up to new things, which I guess I am happy about. Her eye looks healthy again soon - I think she may have had a touch of pink-eye when we were there in March.

Our process update for the month of April stated that our dossier is still in 2nd Legal. Our processor has obtained the abstracts of the adoption decrees, which are needed for MOI. I’m not exactly sure what that means, but I think/hope it means that they have our adoption decrees finalized and that they’re working on getting the archive papers on everything so we can be submitted to MOI.

I was told that 2nd Legal takes 2-3 months, so praying we’re on the short end of that timeframe, and that when we get our update for May processing (~June 1), that we’ll be in MOI.

Also, there has been no further progress towards getting Elijah’s birth mother and Josephine’s birth father in to the Embassy for their interviews. Please pray with us that they are both located, that they’re willing and able to come to the city, have their interviews, and the interviews are successful with no DNA requested.

I am, right now, choosing to cast my cares upon my Lord, believing and trusting in God to accomplish this and bring my children home.

Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:6-7

Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight. Proverbs 3:5-6

Happy Mother's Day 2009

I tend to have mixed feelings on Mother’s Day the last several years. This year is no different.

If my birthday falls on a Sunday, it is on Mother’s Day. This weekend will be the 5th birthday like that (yes, had to look that up on calendars). Honestly, selfishly, it’s a little weird, but a little less now, since I’m also a mom. However, my family is awesome about making my birthday special. This year Jock, Kaylen, and I are celebrating my birthday on Saturday, and then we’re doing something with Jock’s mom & family Sunday.

I lost my mom over 4 years ago, so it’s tough to think about not being able to give my mom a hug and wish her a Happy Mother’s Day. Last Sunday, I spent a little time at the cemetery where my mom’s cremains are buried. I spent some time “talking to Mom”, talking with God, and remembering some things. It was a beautiful day, and a good time and place to express some of my thoughts and feelings out loud. I miss her so much, but am so happy to know that she’s been made perfect in Jesus and is dancing with the angels as she watches over us.

I think of the babies I lost during our infertility struggles, and thank God for getting us through those tough times. He’s given me comfort in knowing that they are in Heaven with Jesus, waiting for me to meet them someday. At the same time, pray for many others who are silently grieving their little angels in heaven or praying for a healthy pregnancy this Mother’s Day.

I miss being mommy to my two little ones, who now share our last name, and who are (or are very close to being) legally our children. Yet, I cannot share this day with them. They are on my heart this Mother’s Day and every day, while we wait for them to come home.

I grieve for our children’s birth families, and what they may be going through not having their children to mother, on Mother’s Day. I read something today about the Saturday before Mother’s Day being recognized as Birth Mother’s Day in the adoption community, and have thought about how I can honor my children’s birth mothers this weekend. Not knowing them, and knowing that one of the three is deceased, they will be in my prayers.

On a happier note…

I celebrate the wonderful woman that is now my step-mother. She has been so good for my dad and to our family. Happy Mother’s Day, Terry!

I want to also wish my Grandma a Happy Mother’s Day. I thank God for the wonderful, Christian example you have been in my life!

Happy Mother’s Day to Jock’s mom and grandmothers!

Happy Mother’s Day to my sister, sister-in-law, and to many other family & friends out there.

And finally, for the 4th Mother’s Day now, I celebrate being a mom to Kaylen! She has brought so much joy into our lives the past 3+ years, and I’m proud to call her my daughter. I love you Kaylen!

April (and May) showers bring...

May lettuce?!? (and a few weeds). But the bunnies haven't eaten my lettuce yet, thanks to the beautiful fence Jock put up. There was even one out there snooping around when we were out checking on the new growth. He'll be tacking down the bottom to the border this weekend when we get started planting the rest of the veggies.


OK - well, those showers bring flowers too!
This is the 3rd summer since we planted our apple tree - weren't sure if it would bear fruit, but the blooms give us new hope - and there were bumblebees buzzzing around it too. Hopefully there's another apple tree somewhere near us, because I REALLY don't want to have two apple trees in our yard.





The yellow daffodils are waning, but my first tulip opened up this week. (My crocus' got eaten by the bunnies again, just as soon as they flowered. I plan to plant a few daffodils near the crocus when it's time to split my original daffodils. Maybe that will help.)

Meals from the Heartland - Important Announcement

I received the below email this morning.  I've been hearing about this the last day or two on the news, and am excited that they'll be doing this again.  What an awesome effort to help feed so many in need around the world.  I'm hoping to sign up our family to help package the meals again.  Who wants to join us?  (Note: the volunteer info says anyone 7 and up can help, but last year it said 5 and up, and Kaylen did a super job at age 5.)




Dear Friends of Meals from the Heartland,
This is a special invitation for you to be among the first to sign up for this year's Meals from the Heartland, September 3^rd -7^th at Hy-Vee Hall in Des Moines.
What if you knew… a child dies of starvation every five seconds in the world? Hunger exists and is very real in developing countries, like Haiti, Tanzania & South Africa. 
What if you knew… last year over 4 million meals were packaged by 12,500 volunteers at Meals from the Heartland? This year as many as 15,000 volunteers may be needed for this, the largest event of its kind in the country.
What if you knew… that for every $25 donated or raised, 100 meals would be sponsored? For each meal packaged at Meals from the Heartland, the cost is 25 cents for the rice, soy, vegetables & vitamins, and transportation to reach those in need. 
What if this year you volunteered? Sponsored meals to be packaged? Or did both?
In order to support the packaging of millions of meals, we need you. Please visit www.mealsfromtheheartland.org and sign up today! Consider donating and/or registering to volunteer. We encourage that you share this year's event with friends and family, create teams and motivate others to get involved.
You can make a difference… you can save a life. Thank you.
Sincerely,
Meals from the Heartland Team