Words of Encouragement

It's weird.

The constant change of emotions through all of this. 

It's hard. I have to pray a lot that I won't be overwhelmed by the anxiousness I have-to meet my children. 

I have to pray not to worry so much, that God will take care of them. 

Today started out rough. I don't really know why today was more difficult in particular. That just seems to be part of the cycle I suppose. Sometimes I feel like I must be experiencing pregnancy because I feel so hormonal (i.e. crying about almost anything, especially anything that makes me think of Silas and Judah).

But, it always seems that when I am feeling low, God shows up to let me know that I am not alone, that He is with me. Today, that came in the form of watching some of my students perform an African dance at the talent show (which brought a couple of tears to my eyes even though it was in no way intended to be sad). It was getting a new video of both of our boys in the mail when I got home from work (I will watch it over and over again). And then it was reading a blog post from one of my friends who is adopting 2 babies from ET as well. She had several bible verses listed to help encourage us through this waiting period. I am reminded by this that I am not the only one who is waiting. In a sense, we are all waiting on SOMETHING. We may be waiting on the blessing of children, new jobs, someone worth  marrying, promising test results, a change of heart for a loved one (or maybe ourselves, for a particular pain to lessen, or maybe love. We wait for hope in the future. These verses reminded me that our hope should be in Him. That even when things seem out of control (or out of MY control), HE has it under control. I hope these can help others who are waiting on whatever that may be. :)

 Waiting with Courage:

"I remain confident of this: I will see the goodness of the LORD in the land of the living. Wait for the LORD; be strong and take heart and wait for the LORD." Psalm 27:13-14

Waiting with Hope:
"But I trust in you, LORD; I say, 'You are my God.'  My times are in your hands."  Psalm 31:14-15

Waiting with Expectation:
"But as for me, I will look to the Lord and confident in Him I will keep watch; I will wait with hope and expectancy for the God of my salvation; my God will hear me."  Micah 7:7

Waiting with Strength:
"But those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint." Isaiah 40:31

"The reality of waiting is that it’s an expression of God’s goodness not empirical evidence against it. He is wise and loving. His timing is always right, and his focus isn’t so much on what you will experience and enjoy, but on what you will become. He is committed to using every tool at his disposal to rescue you from yourself and to shape you into the likeness of his Son. The fact is that waiting is one of his primary shaping tools."
-Paul Tripp from the article Spiritual Muscle Development.

Slowing Down

It appears as though things have slowed down in terms of our family getting a court date in Ethiopia this summer. It is looking more like we won't be able to get to meet the boys until after the rainy season (October) rather than July as I was hoping. I could be wrong, (and I hope I am) but I'm trying to be realistic.

  So with summer quickly approaching for me, I am looking forward to having time to prepare for their homecoming whether that be late summer or sometime in the fall. I look at their pictures all the time. Sigh, have I mentioned before that waiting is a little hard? ha.

I feel like God has given me a lot of peace lately through all of ups and downs. I was worried a few days ago, more than usual. Usually when I am worried about things I have nightmares. That night I had a dream about the boys coming home and that everything worked out. I felt so happy in this dream. I know it was just a dream but it made me feel better. I am hopeful.

Tons of Savings

Derek and I recently started couponing. I mean I have used coupons before, but only if I happened to get one somewhere checking out or attached to a product.  This is not entirely because of the show on TLC...I have only seen it once and it just seemed crazy to me. We actually read about so many other people through blogs who seem to have great success couponing and we decided to give it a whirl. I must admit...the first week or so I didn't like it. Too much time clipping, organizing, and I felt like I didn't know where to start. I was a little overwhelmed.

However, after getting everything organized in a nice binder that is easy to manage I am happy to report that couponing has been a great success so far. I tend to be somewhat frugal anyway, so I am kind of surprised I had never done this before! There are also many great blogs out there that help you know what stores have the best deals of the week that you can match with your coupons.

Most shopping trips we have been able to save at least 50% if not more. Now that I have started this, I don't think I could go back to buying most items without coupons. For example, in the past 2 weeks these are the items I have been able to purchase for less than 50 cents (and some of them free!): bar soap, body wash, deoderant, frozen veggies, pasta, rice, soups, hair bands, razors, salt, mustard, barbeque sauce, peroxide, toothbrushes, etc. I could go on and on.  As we are always trying to save money, couponing has been a great blessing and it's kind of fun hunting for the best deals. Who doesn't love saving money?

It is Real...

I saw this post from the non-profit organization called Ordinary Hero which is geared towards orphan advocacy. I encourage you to read this story about a girl who left America to help the orphanages in Ethiopia. These orphanages have a lot of needs in order to care for these children. This is real.  It is hard to see, isn't it? 

I look at these pictures and I see one of my little babies. One of the babies I have prayed desperately for who is well below the weight he should be for his age. I have seen videos and pictures of my precious boy and through his clothes I can see his distended stomach and the bones in his back. The need is so very real.

I'm ashamed to say I probably used to feel like this wasn't my responsibility. That I had other things that my money needed to go toward. Or maybe I felt like it was ok to pretend I didn't know that things could be like this...that all of those commercials on television weren't totally accurate. Yet, now I know. I realize how silly my "wants" are because I see how great the NEED is for the least of these. Please take a moment to read  the following post below from Ordinary Hero. What if we just thought about what we could do to help? I would guarantee that it could make all the difference in the life of at least one.

 A picture says a thousand words.......
Trust me when I say that your help with Restoration Orphanage is greatly appreciated. Ashli has taken this project on, and she and God, with your help, are making a HUGE difference. She also just had a team come in to help her. Here you have it in her own words....

"Its going great!! This VO team helped organize and paint and it already looks like a different place!!! Its amazing! The kids are so happy! The baby room actually smells good and all the babies have gained 1-3 oz already! God really knows what He is doing and how He is doing it! Everything is such perfect timing, it is all undeniably Him!"

One young girl, doing an amazing work in Ethiopia and literally saving lives!!! If you would like to donate toward helping the children in this orphanage, you may do soHERE. Just remember to put "Orphanage aide" in the memo box. Remember your donation is tax deductible.
THANK YOU!!

Spring and Summer Wreaths

For these designs and more (customizable as well) visit my Etsy store!

 Derby Wreath

Court Submission!

In the craziness of the last week I wanted to say that we found out we had been submitted for a court date in Ethiopia on April 22nd! We were under the impression that all of our paperwork might not be submitted until this week, but we found out we had already been waiting for a date for now almost 2 weeks!! It usually takes 4-6 weeks to hear about a court date (which will be the first time we get to meet our babies). So we COULD hear when that date will be in a just a couple of weeks. So exciting. We are really hoping for a July court date, so I guess we will just have to wait and see. We got new pictures of both our babies this week and it is amazing to see how much they have changed in a month!

Baby Blankies

 I found the most precious baby blankets ever on Etsy. I knew I wanted to do an animal/jungle theme for the boys but I also wanted to do it a little more modern. I love being creative and I have lots of cute ideas for their room. I saw these blankets and knew they were perfect so I decided to gift myself with these blankets for them! haha I have a feeling that most gifts to myself will be for them from now on.

 Monkeys and Elephants 

 Silas

Judah

Blankets can be purchased as customized from Bankie Baby on Etsy.