Approved

We finalized our foster care process today and we are officially approved!! Today at lunch we received our welcome packet and were told that our names would be put on a list of eligible parents. WOW! When I look at the big picture I am so excited about this. A tangible way to help the widows and orphans (James 1:27 Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress...)

I am a planner, however, so I need to go and organize my thoughts a little and develop some systems. I have to be really honest. Am I nervousYES..Do I have a lot of questions...YES. Many of you are probably saying "why would they want to do this" and I sometimes find myself asking the same question. We have 2 children who are healthy and we are blessed. We have always wanted more children, however, and our ultimate hope in fostering is to adopt our third child.

So now that we are approved we need a toddler bed &/ crib (if anyone has one that they would like to get rid of let me know) and we could use another infant car seat as well. Once we have a child in our home there are resources that we can use, but we have to prepare ahead of time just in case we get the call...soon :-).

As our family and friends we would love if if you would be praying for us through this time. Pray for God's wisdom and discernment as we begin to get phone calls about potential children. We know it will be so hard to say "no we can't help that child" but at the same time we have to be wise for our families sake. Pray as we look for childcare for this child (I work 2 1/2 days per week and would like to continue to do that at this point) that we would pick the right place and that everything would work out. Most importantly pray for the chid who will come to our home. This child is already out there in who knows what kind of a situation. Pray that God would protect him/her either in the womb or in the home. And please pray for all of the children in foster care. We will only be able to help one of these kids but there are over 20K in the US alone in foster care right now!!!

Thanks for your prayers and support. We are so excited about taking this step and having a new little one in our home soon.

Jude gets a baby

Jude has had quite the week. He had a stomach bug, lice (maybe still not sure about that..i know i know..) and a perforated ear drum! While we were out shopping I gave in to his request for a baby on the shelf. This is a picture of him. 

Bread of Life

I discovered a new blog which is GREAT. If you are a mom of preschoolers you know what it's like to try and think of things to keep your little one busy. Well, this site is fantastic. I have a link to it posted to the right. Check it out if you get a chance...I promise you will love it.  

This month the site is helping mothers teach their kids about the I Am statements about Jesus. For the first week of March the statement is " I am the bread of life." So yesterday Ellison and I put together our poster and we baked some homemade bread. I have a bread maker but we chose to do it all by hand to drive home the point and to make it more hands on. While we were making it we talked about the yeast and what it does and how that relates to what Jesus can do in our lives. I must admit that I was more excited than she was but I hope that some of what we did sinks in. 

Here are some pictures of our fun times!

Also if you're interested in a good recipe just let me know and I can email it to you. 

PS- I really need to learn how to put these pictures on in order and to add captions. If you know would you mind telling me ;-). 

 

Update on the Kids

Hi Everyone!

I have missed updating. It's been a very busy couple of weeks but a lot has happened. I'm beginning to wonder if there is ever a dull moment with kids and I have concluded....not so much! 

I have recently had a chance to be a part of a young mother's group which has been incredible. It has really helped to challenge my thinking on a lot of things and it has given me a renewed hunger to discovering my identity in Christ. The focus of the group is on mothering and I've found over the past few weeks a soft spot when I just look at my kids. The blessing of having them and watching them grow just overwhelms me. Now I don't want to give you the impression that every moment is filled with love and laughter because that is just not the truth :-). I have found that it's easier to see the joy in the midst of the difficult times. So, with that n mind I would like to share some updates on the kiddos. 

Ok. So Ellison went to the dentist and has 4 loose teeth. She is only 4 and won't be 5 until November. The dentist thinks that they will fall out within the next 3 months. She is very excited, and it's funny to see her shaking those teeth all the time.  In other Ellison news she moved out of a car seat and is now only in a booster. This is her first really "girlee" seat and she loves it. She is having trouble getting buckled in so we have to work on that with her. She is really growing up so much and is really growing into a sweet big sister. When Jude gets disciplined he goes and lays his head on her lap and she just rubs his back. She loves being with him and they really get along well (ok, not all the time). 

Jude is really growing up too. He is 18 months old now and is definitely a toddler. His favorite things include: throwing a ball, catching a ball, playing basketball...notice a trend here. Really he just loves to throw anything and that is our biggest challenge right now. He throws food off his tray, throws blocks, basically anything in his hands. He has a very high pain tolerance (I'm not just saying that either. The boy barely cries at vaccinations) which makes it even harder because if you pop his hand he just looks at you like "what?". He really is our little cuddle bug which is so sweet. 

So here are some pics of our last few weeks. 

Aquarium

One of my friends and I took advantage of the great mommy and me special that the aquarium is offering. For only 20 bucks you can take up to 4 preshoolers, 1 adult and your parking is free. That is an amazing savings! Here is the link if you're interested. www.georgiaaquarium.org/meandmommy.aspx. Here are some pictures of our time. It was so cool! I've never been to an aquarium before so I was just as in awe as the kids :-). 

Pray for Carrie

Hi Friends,

Most of you know about my love for Austria and our desire to go back to serve there. I don't think any of you know that this dream was birthed in the backyard of two of our dearest friends, Lance and Carrie Borden in Austria. It was there that seeds were planted for mission work. Lance and Carrie have been serving in Austria for over 10 years now. Carrie is one of those people who I've always looked up to in the Lord. She has taught me so many things about marriage, God, and children (although I had not yet had children when I lived close to her). She even influenced my decision to go part time at work last year during our week long trip to Austria. She also handed off her trusty spank stick and encouraged me to put it to use :-).

I just got news that she has cancer on her tongue and she is in for a hard long road over the next 3 months. Including taking a portion of her tongue, chemotherapy and radiation. Our hearts are broken for this family. I've posted some pictures from our times shared with them. If you would take a second and pray for Carrie. Pray for God to heal her completely and to be with their family (they have 2 children).

Thanks so much.

25 Things About Me

I posted these on facebook but thought I'd put them on here too. Maybe you'll learn something new about me :-). Have a great day.

1. Words cannot express how grateful I am for Christ's sacrifice on my behalf. As each year passes the reality of this seems to really sink in more and more.
2. My family is very multicultural. My sister is married to a Native American, My brother is married to a Colombian and my hubby is the hottest white man...man....I've ever known. When all of our kids are together they can all pass for siblings. Pretty cool I think.
3. We name our children for meanings. Ellison comes from Elijah and means The Lord is God. Jude's name means Praise. When he was born he developed spinal meningitis and stayed in the hospital for 3 weeks so he really is our praise.
4. One of the hardest things I've ever done is walk away from the hospital without my baby. It feels so unnatural and makes me count my blessings when I see his little face.
5. Ian and I lived in Europe for our first 2 years of marriage. It was a gift. We were together for 21 out of 24 hours per day...Literally.
6. Because of number 5 I am drawn to Europeans. I love their accents, their way of life and I just love being around them in general. I think that's why I love IKEA so much. Europeans flock there.
7. We dream of returning to Austria to live as missionaries. We are hopeful that 2010 will be our year.
8. We are in the process of becoming foster parents in order to adopt our next child through DFACS here in Georgia.
9. I ran my first 1/2 marathon last November. It was very exciting and I'd like to do another one. Ian and I did it together and it was cool to cross the finish line together.
10. I love my church. It has revolutionized the way I think about God, faith and life in general. I am so grateful for that place.
11. I love my job. I work part time at my church in children's ministry. Would never have imagined myself here, but I'm so blessed to do what I do.
12. I'm really bad at keeping in touch with people...really bad but the internet is making it easier.
13. I have visited 7 European countries and lived in 2 (Austria and Croatia).
14. I have been to Colombia, South America to visit my brother and his family. I wasn't afraid and it was beautiful! I hope to go again soon.
15. This goes without saying but I love to travel. When I go near the airport I have a moment of depression because I'm not getting on a plane to go somewhere new.
16. Although this falls far down my list it shouldn't be. I'm in love with my husband. I thought I knew what that meant after only 2 weeks of knowing him, but I really understand love in a new way. He has taught me so much and he truly is my best friend.
17. I'm bad at taking care of cell phones. I have lost or broken so many of them. It makes me scared to get a cool smart phone b/c I'll just lose it or something.
18. Having children has been a great joy for me. They have taught me how to be silly, they have shown me that they love me just because I'm their mom (I know that won't last forever) and they have taught me how to trust God in a new way.
19. I have regrets in my life. I'm thankful that God has used them to bring me closer to Him and to gain glory for Himself. My regrets make me think hard and long about every decision I make (not always a good thing.)
20. I love being non-traditional. We seem to always do things a little differently than everyone around us and I'm ok with that.
21. I want to teach my daughter how to read. She is in preschool but she has a real interest in it and I would love to have that honor of teaching her. It will open up a whole new world to her.
22. I am hoping to read the entire Bible this year. We are going through the chronological Bible which makes it very manageable. So far I'm staying on track :-).
23. I love taking care of and managing my home. I want to make our home a place where we all want to be.
24. I want to live a more healthy life. I can see the person I want to be but just can't seem to stick with a good plan to make it a reality.
25. I am not where I thought I'd be at this point in my life but I'm so grateful for the journey and the things I've learned.