I just need to brag for a minute about my incredible Tuesday morning community group. These ladies hosted a massive garage sale to raise funds for our adoption and for two other families in our church who are adopting. Do you know how good it feels to have people in your life who care about the same things you do and put that care into action?

Casey and I are hosting a small group for families who are considering adopting. It is a great study that really helps you decide if adoption is right for your family by reflecting on Scripture and dispelling fears about the process. It was so cool to recount to that group they many miracles we've seen that are directly related to our adoption. I want to share some of the miracles we've seen- but that will have to wait for another post.

Need + Trust= Miracle.

The Waiting is the Hardest Part

If I let myself go down this plan of what ifs and whens, I will lose my mind.

Here I sit on the verge of finally bringing home my daughter- feeling a little frazzled with tons of stuff to do and a little paralyzed by it all.

Reality: We have court in less than a week. I will be traveling to Burkina Faso in approximately 4 weeks. I will meet my nine year old daughter for the first time with out my husband. I will travel across the globe to bring her home to meet the family. We will have days or weeks until her open heart surgery. I need to learn French. I need to apply for my visa. I need to pick up malaria medication. I need to find clothes for her to wear. I need to figure out how to best educate this sweet girl I have never met.

The Bigger Reality: I have amazing friends and family who are willing to help at a moments notice and love me through it all. I have a God who has a plan that he established from the foundations of the earth and that plan includes the very details of this adoption. If anything goes badly, those bad parts will be redeemed and in turn give God glory. The beautiful parts will speak of His great love for the orphan and for me. Our family has an amazing story that is about to get more amazing.

I cannot wait until next week when I can officially post her beautiful picture and tell you her name. Next week she will be my daughter. Today, she does not even know she is getting adopted. Can you imagine? She has no idea.

We have no idea. No idea the goodness He has in store for us.

One of the Best Posts Ever

Apparently I'm a little late in discovering one of the best blogs out there for moms of young kids and/or adoptive families, but I'm glad I found it! It's called It's Almost Naptime. Check out this excellent post from a mom who gets it:

http://itsalmostnaptime.blogspot.com/2010/02/i-dont-want-my-children-to-be-happy.html

Spicy Zucchini Soup

Okay, I altered the original recipe SO much, I hope I can put this into recipe format:

4 tablespoons olive oil
1 onion, finely chopped
5 chopped garlic cloves (we love garlic)
1 huge approx. 2 pound zucchini, seeds removed, chopped (6 cups?)
1.5 cups mashed potato (you could use 1 1/2 cup chopped day old bread)
3 cups chicken broth
1 cup of water
cayenne pepper to taste
yellow curry powder to taste
salt
pepper

Heat olive oil and onions until translucent. Add garlic and zucchini and saute for 4 minutes, stir often. Sprinkle with salt.

Add mashed potato or bread, broth, water and bring to a simmer. Reduce heat and simmer for 20 minutes.

Add cayenne, pepper, and curry powder. Puree in blender, food processor, whatever you have. Return soup to pot.


I wish I had a picture of this beautiful green soup. My girls LOVED it (but they are cool like that). I had a plan to add shredded cheese, but they didn't even need that. Yum-o!

Please Don't tell the Folks at Make a Wish

In March of 2008, our family was blessed with the experience of going to Disney World through the Make a Wish Foundation. What an amazingly fun experience we had!

Lately, Carter has been making comments such as "I wish I was sick again so I could go fight Zurg at Disney" and "if I get real sick again can we please go back to Disney?". How does a mother respond to such statements?

Today, we saw an ambulance, and Carter said, "somebody is real sick, right?". I said, "yeah, buddy, we should pray". And Carter says "maybe they get to go to Disney now!".

All five-year-old goofiness aside, I am blown away by the progress Carter has made in the past year. He is handling kindergarten like a champ (with the help of an incredible one on one aide). He can ride his tricycle for two blocks. And this past year has been his healthiest ever.

No buddy, I wouldn't trade what we have now for 100 trips to Disney!

Adoption Update

Yay! I have an update!

We have been assigned a court date of September 14th. Travel will most likely be about 30 days after that. SO... mid-October, we should be bringing our daughter home! I can't wait until we pass that court date so I can post her picture and share more details with you all.

There are still some pretty significant details that need to come together, but this adoption looks like it is really happening! Praise God!

Adoption Video

Why Love Orphans? from Christian Alliance for Orphans on Vimeo.