Friday, Oct. 24, 2008Kat officially turned over the management of this site to me today, so it's time for me to get on the stick. Ok, the truth is she's been trying to get me started on it for months, but the handoff wasn't completely successful until today. So there are a few things new on here. And since I notice that last sentence isn't a complete sentence, I"m reminded how much i depend on Word to check grammar. Who knows what will show up here. Today we rearranged our bedroom to try and accomdate the furniture in there a little more effectively. Since we only have three bedrooms and now three children, obviously someone is going to be doubling up. So Noelle's bed will be in our room, for now anyway :) We have finalied that we will pick mom up on Saturday, Nov. 1st from Roanoke VA, that's halfway between here and my parents home. Mom is taking her first plane ride with us to China! We are excited she is going, and it should mean that we'll get some good pictures because I'm terrible. Now if I can just deal with that crying thing. It's been a long time since I cried in front of my mom. Oct. 7, 2007I find it hard to believe that it has been 20 months since our Log In Date. Could it possibly have been that long? Could it possibly have only been 20 months? In some ways it seems like it has been forever. In some ways it seems like just a little while. "Thank you, Lord Jesus for family and friends. They perserve my sanity."(at least what's left of it. :) ) I recently came across a song by John Waller that descibes perfectly where I am and how I feel about this wait. I’m waiting Nov. 20, 2007 This is an amazing video from Shoahannah's Hope: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uvPk_qyojxE < xml="true" ns="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" prefix="o" namespace="">
Aug. 7, 2007Early this summer Shaohannah's Hope published a small book for adopting families. They ask people in every stage of adoption to write a paragraph or two and submit it to possibly go in this book. I received a copy of the book in the mail a few weeks ago and much to my surprise, my "letter" was published in the book. Yeah God! It is a letter to those who are beginning the process of adoption. Here's what I wrote: "Go through all of the process. Get excited. Buy clothes and toys. Dream out loud with your friends. Have yard sales and get lots of people involved.Put up the crib and decorate the room. Get all your family and friends dreaming about what it would be like to adopt. Also know that there may come a time when your heart will feel like it is being torn from your body because you have a child somewhere in the world that is just out of your reach.Don't be afraid to climb into your Father's lap and have a good cry because you just don't understand. He does understand and will bring peace to your weary heart. Most of all, realize with every joy, every tear, you are seeing more of the heart of God." I will have to admit that this process of waiting has been one of the most difficult things. No control. Wait. Questions. Wait. No answers. Wait. I'm not sure that I know anyone who is good at waiting. We are children of our time. Microwave ovens. 60 second commercials. Instant information from across the the world via the internet. All the while this adoption of Noelle. A child, precious in God's heart, cannot be rushed. Not for me, not for anyone. From the beginning of time God knew that there would be an amazing baby that we would name Noelle. She would be born and for reasons we will probably never know, she will be abandoned. God in His perfect timing nudged our hearts to start a process that would be around three years just to see this incredible little one. God knew even then that Noelle would need a Daddy who would show her Jesus, a mommy who would always be in her face loving her and thanking God for her, a brother who will spoil her rotten and defend her and show her what God is like, a sister who will show her how to defend those who need defending, who will show her that Jesus loves her by every day being there as only her sister can. Waiting does funny things to your heart. You become more sensitive, more open to hearing, less set in your ways. Maybe that is why God has brought me to this time. Maybe it's to learn more about Him. I think that will make me a better Wife, Mom, daughter, sister, friend. I hope so. "Noelle, waiting for you is a priveledge and honor. I love you" Mom
May 21, 2007Thank you so much to all of you who gave things for the Yard Sale and for those who worked on the day of the Sale. God is so good. We had a great day and a great opportunity to meet new friends. "Noelle, you have so many people that love you. I am praying for you continuously. Your family, and your church family, and especially your mommy loves you so very much!" March 31, 2007Wow! One year, one day since I started this site. Hard to believe. I know that there has not been alot to read, but there has not been alot to tell. Waiting is, for me, a quiet experience. I am usually not one to complain or make alot of noise about things that I can do nothing about. So I just pray that I will have the patience to wait graciously on God's timing for our family. I know that He has Noelle waiting for us. Somewhere. Sometime. And while sometimes I feel as if my heart will break to wait another day, I know also in my heart that God is in control. It looks like the earliest that we could see Noelle will be December. How perfect would that be. Our Noelle in December. November 4, 2006"Still waiting!" We are becoming very acquainted with those words. Life is still going on. Hannah turned 17 in September and Will's 19th birthday is tomorrow. I can't believe how quickly time goes by. And yet how slowly it seems this waiting for Noelle is going. I am so proud of my children, who are really young adults. They are such godly people. Thank you Lord. How could I ask for more. I pray for all three of my children that God will take their lives and use them to build His kingdom. Noelle, baby, I love you. We can't wait to have you home.
Aug. 23, 2006Good News! We got word last week that we received an Adoption Assistance Grant from Shaohannah's Hope. What a good God we serve!He is so faithful in giving us encouragement just when we need it the most. Thank you, Lord Jesus for providing. Thank you Steven Curtis and Mary Beth Chapman for your vision to help other families bring their children home. Thank you Shaohannah's Hope!
July 6,2006It has been five months since our LID. In some ways it seems to have taken forever. But at the same time, the last few weeks have been so exciting and crazy. The time has flown by. Will graduated from high school on the 16th of June. That has been so amazing to watch as he has turned into the most precious and godly young man. Gene and I are so very proud of him. We can't wait to see all the wonderful things that God is going to do in and through Will's life. Also, Hannah is growing into this beautiful young woman. She is so gentle and very talented. I know that God is going to use her greatly for His Kingdom purposes as well. My thoughts have been on Noelle so much in the past few days. I can't help but wonder what she is doing- what new thing is she discovering . I pray that God will wrap her in His loving arms and keep her safe. I pray that she will know love from her caregivers. I pray that somehow God will plant the seed of our love for her in her heart. Noelle, baby, we love you and can't wait until God brings us together.
April 3,2006I'm finally getting to spend some time on this site. "Thanks again Bryan!" March 31, 2006God's sense of humor. Even while I was lamenting yesterday, our adoption worker was sending me an e-mail saying that we have our Log in date. Yeah! Our LID is Feb. 6, 2006. What that means is that from that date our countdown starts. The wait is 11-12 months from Log in until referral. Referral is when we get Noelle's picture and some information about her. March 30, 2006It's March, still no word on our Log In Date. This is the craziest thing emotionally. It's like being told,"You might be pregnant, you probably are, but there's no way to know. Oh, and by the way, you'll probably be pregnant for about 12 months. And don't expect too much excitement over it because there will be no physical evidence until about six weeks before your baby is here." Yes, I know that I sound a little nuts, but from what I hear, this is what adoption is like. An aside- To those "Been there- done that" adoptive moms who are so encouraging- Judy, Lisa, & Pam- Thank you so much. To my right hand woman through all this process, God has so blessed me with a friend who is a constant encouragement. What would I do without you? I pray that I'll never find out. To my church family- you never cease to amaze me with your love and generousity. I wish you could- for just a moment- look into my heart to see the passionate love that God has given to me for you. To Bryan- thanks for being patient with me while teaching me how to do this "web stuff", and Janet thanks for letting me take Bryan away from family things for a while to get this site going. You guys are the BEST!!! Sorry about the rabbit trails. I'll write more later. Love to all! Ka |
