Spaghetti Sunday!

This Sunday, Tim and I will be hosting a spaghetti lunch at our Church, following the 2nd service, (at about 12:30 pm) in the Outreach Center. We will have pasta, salad, garlic toast and lots of yummy desserts! We will be sharing about our journey to adopt Joshua and what God has been teaching us lately. Please come fellowship with us and learn more about adoption/orphan care and how you can be involved. A freewill offering will be taken to help with the enormous cost of bringing Joshua home from an orphanage in Eastern Europe. There will also be some of my craft items for sale, goodies, and my very talented brother (Micah Carpenter) will have some of his music CDs available for purchase with all the proceeds going to help us with adoption expenses. We would love to see you there!  If you are not able to come to the meal, but would still like to make a donation to help bring Joshua home, you can do that by clicking on the RR donation button for a tax-deductible gift, or on the chip-in for a gift that is not tax deductible. Here is a link to Micah's music blog: http://micahcmusic.blogspot.com/ You can hear his music right on his blog--he is amazing!

Evangelical Free Church

115 Carr Lake Rd SW, Bemidji, MN 56601-8257

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Held

Today was tough.  Some days are just like that.  Today I have been struggling to stay patient while our Home-study is being completed.  I know that it is in God's hands and that His timing is ALWAYS right and perfect--but waiting is so hard!  Today I have been missing Joshua.  Even though I have not yet met him, I long to hold him close and whisper to him that he is loved, that he is precious, that he is wanted.  It hurts my heart that he does not yet know these things.  He doesn't know that he has a Mommy and a Daddy, a brother and a sister.  He does not know how hard we are working to bring him home.  There is so much peace and comfort in knowing that Joshua is held in the arms of Jesus--and that I am being held and lifted up by those same strong arms.  Oh, how I need Him!

Saturday at Maplelag

Last weekend we drove a couple of hours to Maplelag resort.  Every year they have a cross country ski race and it is becoming a family tradition to go and watch the race.  This year my youngest brother participated in the race, as well and two young cousins of mine.  It was a chilly day, but sunny and beautiful.  Freddie discovered the ultimate sledding hill and had a blast going up and down the slope.  Valerie had fun being pulled on her little red sled, feeling the snow and eating cookies!  The kids and cousins had fun running around in the lodge, exploring and playing hide-n-seek.  It is an interesting place, large and open and decorated with old railroad station signs and rustic furniture,  Support beams are large gnarly and knotted logs that are full of character and charm.  Old wooden skiis are mounted on the walls and there is a large stone fireplace that invite you to come and sit--or climb if you are under the age of 10.  It is a peaceful place.  We had a great time enjoying family and the beautiful Minnesota winter!

Paperwork and Prayer

Adoptions are made up of lots of paperwork and ever so much prayer!  I wanted to give a little up-date on where we are at in this process.  Hopefully soon we will have some real news, but right now we are mostly waiting.  Our Social worker is finishing up writing our homestudy, and I am really trying to be patient, but it is not easy.  We are working on our Dossier paperwork that will be submitted to Joshua's country as soon as our homestudy is complete.  We have a few more forms to fill out, and then we have to have everything notarized.  After it is all together and notarized, we will have to visit the Secretary of State to have a special seal, called an Apostille, placed on each document to make it even more official.  Then our Dossier will head overseas to be translated.

We have been busy getting a family newsletter/support letter ready.  One more review from the editor (Tim, of course!), and then I can start printing.  The letters should be ready to mail by Monday, at the latest.  Send me an email, if you would like to receive our letter, and you are not already on our address list.

Last week we got approval from our Church to host a fundraiser lunch after our church service on Sunday, March 18th!  This is a big answer to prayer and a huge blessing to us.  Hopefully we will be able to raise some desperately needed funds for adoption expenses.  But even more important than that, we will have the support of our church family and have the opportunity to share what God has been doing in our hearts and lives.  We know that He will provide what we need!



Here is a fun picture, just because!  These two are Sunshine!



Please take 2 and a Half Minutes

Please take 2 and a half minutes to watch to video clip that I added just above this post! It will be time well spent. It asks the vital question, "How should Christians respond to the orphan crisis?" I encourage you to think about that, and to pray about how YOU can be involved.

Over 26,000 children die everyday around the world from lack of care. There are over 163 MILLION orphans around the world.

In the book of James, we are called to care for the widows and orphans. It is not optional, if we want to be living in obedience to Christ. James does not say that IF *SOME* of you are moved by compassion, then maybe you should do something. No he says that TRUE RELIGION that is acceptable and pleasing to God, is to care for the widow and the orphan. Our faith is defined by our actions.

Adoption is certainly about giving a child a family and meeting the real physical needs. But it is more than that. It is about giving children the gospel. When we adopt a child into our home, they gain a mother, a father, siblings, a safe place to live, healthy food and medical care, education, love and attention. All those things are very important, but they are not the MOST important. When we adopt a child into our home, we give him JESUS. We give him life! This is the gospel. This is missions.

As a church we need to step up to embrace children and embrace the culture of life that our society seems to be at war against. We need to be willing to take a stand for life. We need to be ready to adopt, to come around families who desire to adopt and provide support and encouragement. We need to to help the single mother and the woman facing an unplanned pregnancy. We need to rally around the couple who just found out that the baby they are expecting has a chromosomal abnormality or other serious health issues. Children are a blessing--all children.

Tim and I are so thankful that God has grabbed ahold of our hearts and is walking with us down the road of adoption. We are responding to Him in obedience, and we are praying that many others will want to be part of our journey to bring Joshua home. We are trusting in God to provide and meet the financial needs that we will encounter through the course of the adoption. Tens of thousands of dollars. Joshua is worth it! His life, his soul--is worth it! Please consider how you can help!

Wristlet Keychains!

I have been making these fun wristlet keychains to help with adoption expenses!

Some are listed in my Etsy Shop, and others will be listed soon. Or just leave a comment if you are interested in any of the ones pictured.

A Different Kind of Waiting

When I was pregnant with my son, I could hardly wait to meet him! I loved feeling my belly swell and knowing that he was growing and healthy. I loved feeling him move and kick, and knowing that he was nestled in so safe and warm under my heart. Even though I had only seen his shadowy form on the ultrasound photo, I knew he was beautiful. He and I were one, connected, always together. Everything I did, I made sure that he was protected, safe, nourished, loved. I could hardly wait to meet him, hold him in my arms and count each finger and toe and cover him with kisses. Yet, the waiting was good. He needed to grow and be ready for life in the world outside my womb--I didn't want him to come early, but only when the time was right. And we had to get everything ready for him! There was the nursery to paint and decorate. Darling little sleepers to shop for. Parenting books to read. Doctor visits to attend. I waited, but I waited full--he was already with me.

When I was paper-pregnant with my daughter, I could hardly wait to meet her! As she grew in my heart, I was filled with love for her, and anticipation and hope. But my arms and womb were empty. It was a different kind of waiting. I had a small photo of her, and I knew that she was beautiful, but she was growing, and I was missing it. I longed for her--to hold her in my arms, to keep her close, to kiss her little button nose. Was she safe? Were her needs being met? Was there someone to sing her to sleep and hold her if she woke up scared? I was not there to protect her and care for her, to love her. Constantly I had to turn my worry over to trust in Jesus, that she was being cared for. I knew that God's love for her was even greater than mine, and I took comfort in that. The gestation time in an adoption depends largely on government agencies, and processes over which I, as a parent have no control. The timing is uncertain. But through it all, God is at work, He is is control.

Again, I find myself in the midst of a paper pregnancy. I am waiting for my son. I am longing to hold him close, kiss his soft cheeks and tell him how precious he is, how loved he is. I grieve the time I have lost with him, what I have missed in his life. But I know that so much more lies ahead, and I can't wait to be there through it with him--to be his Mama. I pray that God is watching over him, protecting him, providing for all his needs. I pray that he is loved and warm and fed, that he is given the medication that he needs to stay healthy. I am working so hard to do all I can to make the wait as short as possible, but much of that is out of my control. I stay busy caring for his big bother and big sister, his father and his home--all these that he knows nothing about yet. We are all waiting for him. Praying for him. Preparing for him. He is half way across the world, but love for him is growing in my heart. It is a different kind of waiting. It is so incredibly hard, this "empty" waiting. But God is at work, and He is good. I will put my trust in Him, while I am waiting.

***The photo was taken in Hong Kong on our first full day with my sweet daughter.