We have an Approved Homestudy!

This was just taken a couple of weeks ago!
Now we don't have any snow

I have been waiting MONTHS to hear this good news!!  We are so excited!!  Now we are busy gathering the last couple of documents that we need for our Dossier--the big stack of papers that will go to Joshua's country so our papers can be registered there and we can get a travel date.  Finally some progress!  I am so thankful, and continuing to trust in God's perfect timing as well as His provision to meet our needs to cover the expenses of this adoption.  We are hoping to get all our paperwork sent to our adoption placing agency by the end of next week.  We are getting closer, little Joshua!

This morning I had the privilege of speaking at our local Christian school, where Freddie attends Kindergarten.  It was an honor to share at their weekly chapel service, the passion that God has given me for the orphan and for adoption.  The kids really seemed interested, and I was so encouraged!  Their eyes grew so big when I shared about what 165 million looks like--it is so hard to wrap my mind around that number.  I hope that I could help the children learn a little bit about orphans around the world, and what they can do to make a difference.

In honor of our homestudy approval, I will add a couple of pictures of our home--just for fun!  :)

Valerie's Room



Very Pink



Freddie's Room
Soon to be Freddie's and Joshua's Room!

Lots of Animals!

Grateful

All week I have been planning to sit down to report about our spaghetti meal last Sunday.  Well, I am finally getting around to doing it.  :)  We are so very grateful for the many, many people who made the meal possible:  those who helped with the set-up, the cooking, the serving, all the ladies who made the wonderful desserts, those who came and ate and stayed to listen as Tim and I shared about what God has placed on our hearts.  We are just so grateful for the support of our church, our family and our friends--it is truly humbling to be so blessed by so many.  We served about 150 people on Sunday, and all together we raised $2,500 to help with adoption expenses!  Here are a few photos from Sunday.  I wish that I had taken some pictures during the meal, but I was so busy that I didn't think of it at the time.

Freddie and Elijah check out the dessert table

Valerie helping out

Table decorations and Joshua Jars

Display Table

If you were not able to come to the spaghetti meal, but would still like to help with the enormous cost of bringing Joshua home, you can do that right here on our blog!  If you use the Reece's Rainbow give button, your donation will even be tax-deductible!

We will hopefully be doing a fun fundraiser thorough the blog soon, so keep an eye out for that!

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!