One thing we have realized on the journey to bring S and V home is that you cannot do this on your own. We have blessed by so many in so many ways!!
Thank you for your many prayers---prayers for the girls, prayers for paperwork to be completed, prayers for provision, prayers for our family.
Thank you for your listening ears---for hearing our concerns, struggles and sharing in our joys!
Thank you for helping us with our other kids---dropping off meals, taking them places, making things special for them.
Thank you for helping us with paperwork---reading things over, delivering items for our dossier, and the many prayers for paperwork to be completed.
Thank you for rejoicing with us as we go through the next step along the path to expanding our family.
Thank you for understanding why we are doing this even though it might not make full sense to you.
Thank you for items you have given us for sweet S and V.
Thank you for helping us with our fundraising projects---t-shirts, benefit concert, bracelets, Ginger on a Mission, and garage sale.
Thank you for continuing to pray as we prepare for our trip to bring the girls home---we are so blessed to have so many who believe in the power of prayer and are faithfully lifting us before our Source of everything. Thank you for believing in His faithfulness and praying in that way.
Monday, April 28, 2014
Sunday, April 20, 2014
He is Risen!
Happy Easter!
We sang one of my favorite songs this morning--In Christ Alone. Our pastor talked about how we can live out our resurrection life by serving and loving others. We have all we need in Jesus---once we have Him, we don't need status, success, things, security....He is all we need, and we are free to love and serve others. Thanking God today for His Son and the meaning of Jesus' resurrection---in Him alone.
In Christ Alone
In Christ alone my hope is found,
He is my light, my strength, my song;
this Cornerstone, this solid Ground,
firm through the fiercest drought and storm.
What heights of love, what depths of peace,
when fears are stilled, when strivings cease!
My Comforter, my All in All,
here in the love of Christ I stand.
In Christ alone! who took on flesh
Fulness of God in helpless babe!
This gift of love and righteousness
Scorned by the ones he came to save:
Till on that cross as Jesus died,
The wrath of God was satisfied -
For every sin on Him was laid;
Here in the death of Christ I live.
There in the ground His body lay
Light of the world by darkness slain:
Then bursting forth in glorious Day
Up from the grave he rose again!
And as He stands in victory
Sin's curse has lost its grip on me,
For I am His and He is mine -
Bought with the precious blood of Christ.
No guilt in life, no fear in death,
This is the power of Christ in me;
From life's first cry to final breath.
Jesus commands my destiny.
No power of hell, no scheme of man,
Can ever pluck me from His hand;
Till He returns or calls me home,
Here in the power of Christ I'll stand.
We sang one of my favorite songs this morning--In Christ Alone. Our pastor talked about how we can live out our resurrection life by serving and loving others. We have all we need in Jesus---once we have Him, we don't need status, success, things, security....He is all we need, and we are free to love and serve others. Thanking God today for His Son and the meaning of Jesus' resurrection---in Him alone.
In Christ Alone
In Christ alone my hope is found,
He is my light, my strength, my song;
this Cornerstone, this solid Ground,
firm through the fiercest drought and storm.
What heights of love, what depths of peace,
when fears are stilled, when strivings cease!
My Comforter, my All in All,
here in the love of Christ I stand.
In Christ alone! who took on flesh
Fulness of God in helpless babe!
This gift of love and righteousness
Scorned by the ones he came to save:
Till on that cross as Jesus died,
The wrath of God was satisfied -
For every sin on Him was laid;
Here in the death of Christ I live.
There in the ground His body lay
Light of the world by darkness slain:
Then bursting forth in glorious Day
Up from the grave he rose again!
And as He stands in victory
Sin's curse has lost its grip on me,
For I am His and He is mine -
Bought with the precious blood of Christ.
No guilt in life, no fear in death,
This is the power of Christ in me;
From life's first cry to final breath.
Jesus commands my destiny.
No power of hell, no scheme of man,
Can ever pluck me from His hand;
Till He returns or calls me home,
Here in the power of Christ I'll stand.
Sunday, April 13, 2014
Looking to freshen your spring wardrobe??
We've got a great shirt to liven things up!!
We are hoping to sell our remaining t-shirts to help fund our travel costs to bring S and V home. And we have lots left! Help!
We would be so grateful if you would share this post with any one you know who might be interested in a very great adoption t-shirt. On the front the shirt says "Adopting a child won't change the world, but for that child, the world will change" and on the back "We love because He first loved us. 1 John 4:19". The t-shirts are $15 each and are available in adult sizes small to XXL.
And we have some beautiful bracelets for $8 to go along with your t-shirt! Mother's Day is around the corner:) If you buy a bracelet, half of the money goes to our adoption and the other half to help Haitian parents provide for their families!
Speaking of Mother's Day, how about a new purse? Or something to hold all the pesty cards you have? A group on Etsy called Ginger on a Mission approached us and will donate half of the amount sold toward our adoption. They have some great items---click on their logo on the sidebar to see their stock and prices on Etsy. If you do purchase from them, mention this blog or Diana and Anne (the pseudonames for the girls).
We would appreciate it if you would pass this link on to those who you think might like any of the items we are selling. We would love to try and make as much as we could to cover airfare, hotel and travel costs in country, especially as we will be traveling in the more expensive travel months.
We are hoping to sell our remaining t-shirts to help fund our travel costs to bring S and V home. And we have lots left! Help!
We would be so grateful if you would share this post with any one you know who might be interested in a very great adoption t-shirt. On the front the shirt says "Adopting a child won't change the world, but for that child, the world will change" and on the back "We love because He first loved us. 1 John 4:19". The t-shirts are $15 each and are available in adult sizes small to XXL.
And we have some beautiful bracelets for $8 to go along with your t-shirt! Mother's Day is around the corner:) If you buy a bracelet, half of the money goes to our adoption and the other half to help Haitian parents provide for their families!
Speaking of Mother's Day, how about a new purse? Or something to hold all the pesty cards you have? A group on Etsy called Ginger on a Mission approached us and will donate half of the amount sold toward our adoption. They have some great items---click on their logo on the sidebar to see their stock and prices on Etsy. If you do purchase from them, mention this blog or Diana and Anne (the pseudonames for the girls).
We would appreciate it if you would pass this link on to those who you think might like any of the items we are selling. We would love to try and make as much as we could to cover airfare, hotel and travel costs in country, especially as we will be traveling in the more expensive travel months.
Tuesday, April 8, 2014
Empowered...
I love that word! Bill and I recently went to an Empowered to Connect conference for foster and adoptive parents. It was an amazing couple of days! Our foster care/adoption ministry has all of Dr. Karyn Purvis' DVDs so we are very familiar with her and love what we have read and seen already.
The conference was so much more! We both walked away truly feeling empowered to help S and V. One quote that Michael and Amy Monroe had that hit home in many ways was "there is no adoption without loss". We will know of some of the losses our girls have experienced but many of the other losses only God will know---and we want to help them walk through the healing.
I will share some of the great quotes from the weekend and hope to add more about what we learned later. Three things that Dr. Purvis' ideas focus on are empowering, connecting and correcting---working on body, spirit and soul. For our childrens' bodies, we need to make sure they are fed every two hours, are fully hydrated (HUGE!), get lots of healthy touch, and have sensory activities every two hours. Sleep is also very important for our kids. Connecting is being "fully present" and spending lots of time with them, looking at the belief behind the behavior, lots of eye contact, warmth of voice, playful engagement, and nurturing play. Correcting---Dr. Purvis describes this parenting as "investment parenting" addressing the mind, will and emotions. Everything you do should build trust, preciousness, allow child to use voice, and help child self-regulate. Correcting needs to be immediate, direct, efficient, action-based, and leveled at the behavior, not the child. Great stuff!
If you are interested, the Empowered to Connect website has tons of free info on it---many short clips with Dr. Purvis and the Monroes. I can't say enough about the conferences--if you get a chance, please try to attend! You will leave with a much better understanding of who you are and what you need to do for your children.
So here are some great quotes--
The conference was so much more! We both walked away truly feeling empowered to help S and V. One quote that Michael and Amy Monroe had that hit home in many ways was "there is no adoption without loss". We will know of some of the losses our girls have experienced but many of the other losses only God will know---and we want to help them walk through the healing.
I will share some of the great quotes from the weekend and hope to add more about what we learned later. Three things that Dr. Purvis' ideas focus on are empowering, connecting and correcting---working on body, spirit and soul. For our childrens' bodies, we need to make sure they are fed every two hours, are fully hydrated (HUGE!), get lots of healthy touch, and have sensory activities every two hours. Sleep is also very important for our kids. Connecting is being "fully present" and spending lots of time with them, looking at the belief behind the behavior, lots of eye contact, warmth of voice, playful engagement, and nurturing play. Correcting---Dr. Purvis describes this parenting as "investment parenting" addressing the mind, will and emotions. Everything you do should build trust, preciousness, allow child to use voice, and help child self-regulate. Correcting needs to be immediate, direct, efficient, action-based, and leveled at the behavior, not the child. Great stuff!
If you are interested, the Empowered to Connect website has tons of free info on it---many short clips with Dr. Purvis and the Monroes. I can't say enough about the conferences--if you get a chance, please try to attend! You will leave with a much better understanding of who you are and what you need to do for your children.
So here are some great quotes--
"There are answers for everything our children need, but we have to understand the issues in order to find the answers." -- Dr. Karyn Purvis
"To correct a behavior, I'm first going to have to address the belief that drives that behavior." -- Dr. Karyn Purvis
"I can't think of a better reason to change the way you parent than to more faithfully meet the needs of your child." -- Michael Monroe
"We as parents must learn to recognize the difference between a brain problem and a behavior problem." -- Deb Jones
"We can take away violence by giving a child a voice."
-- Dr. Karyn Purvis
-- Dr. Karyn Purvis
"Healing is about meeting a child right where he is and loving him there." -- Dan Coley
"As a parent, it is better to err and repair than to never err at all." -- Dr. Karyn Purvis
"We have to realize that children who are adopted are constantly seeing and being seen through the lens of adoption." -- Terri Coley
"God has designed us for relationship. This is why the most powerful tool for changing the human brain is...another human brain." -- Michael Monroe
"You cannot lead a child to a place of healing if you do not know the way yourself." -- Dr. Karyn Purvis
"We all get stuck sometimes, but kids from hard places get stuck more easily, more frequently, and stay stuck longer." -- Amy Monroe
"If we give them a chance, our kids want to be connected to us even more than we want to be connected to them." -- Dr. Karyn Purvis
"You have to manage your expectations so they don't manage you." - Amy Monroe
If there's not a connection, your child cannot feel safe. If you're not connected, you can anticipate behavioral issues.
I have to demonstrate love day in and day out to change what my children believe about love, about themselves, & about big people.
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