Jackson Hole!

I just got back from the most beautiful trip!

A Challenge

Sunday at church our pastor challenged each of us to give up something important to us...either give it to someone who needs it or sell it on Craig's list and give the money to someone.

This is where my money will be going to:

http://followinggodto.blogspot.com/, http://www.dreamingonanangel.blogspot.com/, http://kiva.org/

I challenge each of you to do the same! It might just be fun!

I got it!!!

My book came today!! Yippee!! I'm so excited to start reading it.

I also signed up for a free seminar in Denver on adoption. I found it through the adoption agency I think we'll end up using.http://www.awaa.org I just have such a peace about America World Adoption. Plus I know someone who works there and it seems like a really special agency.

So I think Ethiopia may be our place! I'm still praying on that one for sure...but I do feel like we are being led that way. Yeah!

Finally!

After searching the library and Barnes and Noble...I have finally ordered the book "There is No Me Without You" on ebay...can't wait till it gets here! My next book to order is "Fields of the Fatherless" written by C. Thomas Davis...recommended by my friend Hollie! I love reading...especially when I'm super interested about something.

Oh Baby!

This is how my sweet little man woke up from his nap today. Not too sure why the sad face and sad little cry. But how cute is that face!? Guess we'll be spending some extra time cuddling this afternoon!

Learning more...

I figure I need to do more than just pour over adoption blogs and see all the warm hearted stories and cute smiling sweet faces. I need to really get the facts! Not that it will change my mind on adopting...I just want to prepare myself for it all. It's so easy to get wrapped up in the emotions of it all...kind of like when I was pregnant with my first and I had all these great visions of holding that sweet little quiet angelic infant in my arms as I rocked her to sleep. Not that I didn't adore her, but it all looked a little more messy in real life than I had pictured! And just how I know that my sweet little baby cried and pooped and spit up on me and how I was tired and sore and cranky I know that there will probably be some bumps in the road for the new little person we bring home. So with all that said I think the first book I'll pick up is "There is no me without you", by Melissa Fay Greene. One step at a time.

blogs, blogs, blogs...

I can't seem to get enough of reading blogs on adoption from Ethiopia. I'm really falling more and more in love with the kids from this country! But is this where God is calling us to? I want to make sure...I don't just want to get so wrapped up in it all that I miss the perfect place He has for us. And with Adam still not having found a job, we are really in no rush of making a rash decision. Lot's of time for prayer, which is always good!

Pretty Pretty!

I love my new background...thanks to my hubby! I'm not so computer savvy and I knew if I could get Adam to help me, that he'd get sucked in until he figured it out! And that's just what happened. : )

Wants

I have so many wants going on right now in my life. First of all I WANT my husband to find a job! That would take care of the other little wants in my life. But an even bigger WANT right now is to adopt. It's hard for me to even believe this is the road the Lord is taking us down right now. Especially with my husband not being employed. But I know in the mean time I can spend a good deal of time in prayer and research. This reality of adoption has really only been a thought for a little over a month now. I think for myself I always thought of adoption as a noble thing to do, but I had a husband who really was not interested at ALL!! I started praying a few years back if adoption were something God had for us that he would soften Adam's heart toward it. And I really didn't think much more on it until God started planting little seeds.

Seed #1: Reading a great blog about a family with four kids adopting two more from Africa. Very inspiring reading, that mom in that family is amazing to me!
Seed #2: Listening to our executive Pastor Rick Clapp talk about his trip to Africa and crying during the video presentation as it spoke about all the children dying because of the health crisis in their county and the lack of having parents to help.
Seed #3 Praying right in that sermon that if we were to adopt that Adam would want this just as much as me and that doors would be open and hearts would soften.
Seed #4 Sitting in an airport 3 days later not having talked about adoption once when my husband turns to me and out of the blue says "I think we should adopt a baby from Africa" I can not tell you how hard it was for me to contain the emotions running through me in that moment.
Seed #5 Willing myself the very next morning to get up and go to a meeting after arriving home very late the night before. And meeting Beth, whom I didn't know very well...finding out that she works for an adoption agency and they do adoptions from Ethiopia! Once again the emotions inside of me were almost uncontainable!
Seed #6 after letting my fear take over and deciding it would be much easier to ignore this calling from God then to go through all the pain it was sure to cause...sitting in church hearing from our pastor Kelly talk about pastor and author Rick Warren and his incredible heart for the orphans in the world. Yet once again I felt God calling me down this road of adoption.

Am I scared?? Of course, I think of all the millions of reasons we should not do this and why it is sure to wreck my lifestyle and possibly the family God has already given me. But do I think it's worth living out my faith?? Absolutely, because I don't think living out your faith comes from just talking about all the nice things we should do as Christians. I think it takes sacrifice and trusting in the plan for our lives. And by trusting I may just get some of my biggest WANTS out of life.