Saturday, August 29, 2009

Progress!

Our dossier is now in The Philippines and in the hands of our ICAB (intercountry adoption board) social worker(Thank you, Christian Adoption Services). Ezequiel is still "on hold" for our family. I have mailed in our i-800a (US government form intended to declare an orphan as a relative) and the LARGE payment that goes with that (Thank you, Friends of Ezequiel) and now, we do what all adoptive parents do best . . . . . wait.
I am not a good "waiter". I feel I must DO something to speed things along. I have prepared a room for Zeke, washed and stored clothing and even bought a few sippy cups.
What now? I am trying hard to keep my mind and heart focused on the "here and now".
It's so hard to do when I feel like a part of our family is an ocean (or two) away.

Saturday, August 22, 2009

Lifesaving

Yesterday was, according to several friends who asked the manager, the busiest day Rudinos has EVER HAD! We don't have any idea what our donation will be but I am so grateful to those who came out in support of our adoption. Apparently, it takes little to no encouragement to get my friends (and my friends' friends, etc) to eat out - ha ha!
Switching gears . . . did any of you know that geckos can become constipated and die? Okay, I get how this sounds crass and random but, let me explain:
My oldest son has a leopard gecko. He had it placed on sand in the tank based on advice from a knowledgeable, barely pubescent salesperson at a local pet store chain.
Apparently, when geckos eat they ingest some measure of sand each time and have trouble digesting it. We noticed about a week ago that our gecko ("Officer Byrd", named after Judge Judy's baliff -another story altogether) had not um . . .shall we say . . . "made us a presnt" in a few days. His belly began to swell and a purplish spot appeared on his underside. After much research, we found that the course of treatment for gecko impaction involves the following:
1. remove the gecko's sand and place paper towels on the aquarium floor
2. soak the gecko twice daily in warm water/clear pedialyte up to it's "belly"
for 15 minutes per soak
3. mix plain chicken babyfood, a few drops of mineral oil and a little calcium powder and let the gecko lick it off your finger twice a day
4. wait and pray everyday that you wake up to gecko poop
After repeating steps 1-4 for two or three days (and hoping to wake up to a live gecko as opposed to a carcass) you should see some "action". We did.
Anyway, I thought I'd share my new found, life saving wisdom with anyone who might need it (ha ha).

Thursday, August 20, 2009

Wednesday, August 19, 2009

The Gift Goes On . . .

This Friday (August 21st), the owner of Rudinos Pizza in Holly Springs (at Sunset Lake and Holly Springs Rd, near Harris Teeter), has agreed to donate 10% of his sales for
the WHOLE DAY to our adoption of Ezequiel!!!!! This is simply amazing!
I'll see you guys Friday over a spinach calzone!
Love,
Nikki

Monday, August 17, 2009

Grand Total

The shrub sale yesterday was absolutely an amazing success! It was humbling for Anthony and I and yet we would not have wanted to be anywhere else! Don't get me wrong,it was very hot outside. We worked for about 12 hours straight hauling, moving and loading plants. There was no restroom on the site where we held the sale so . . .uh . . anyway, I'm sure you can use your imagination on that one but honestly, it was exactly where I wanted to be. I was serving side by side with friends who love my family and love the Lord. These friends labored in the hot sun for 12 hours just like we did but they weren't "getting" anything in return. They felt a call to help us bring our son home and they heeded it. Anthony and I know that we have done nothing to earn these loyal friends who are such committed brothers and sisters in Christ. God just chose to bring them to us because He loves us. Those who came out to help, sweat and donate were a beautiful example to us of how to love, not just with words, but with deeds. You, my friends, ARE the hands and feet of Christ.
Thank You!
The total amount earned toward our adoption yesterday? Hold on to your hats, folks .
. . . $3,900.00!!

Saturday, August 8, 2009

SHRUBBERY SALE/ FUND RAISER

I'd like to invite all of you to come to a big event hosted by "Friends of Ezequiel".
On Saturday, August 15th from 7:30am-2:30pm, there will be a huge shrub sale to benefit our adoption of Zeke. This sale will be held at the corner of Avent Ferry and Piney Grove Wilbon Rds. in Holly Springs. There will be Holly, Leyland Cypress, Knock-Out Roses and many other varieties of pants in 1 gallon pots ready for planting.
All the proceeds (100%) will go toward our adoption. Please come out and support us.
If you aren't looking for plants, you can come out just to donate or to help with the sale.
Please don't forget to pray for a successful event!

Still Here

It has been awhile since my last post and, for good reason. We have been working on the dossier in order to have it in The Philippines in just ONE WEEK!! Yes, it's true!
Our spectacular agency, Christian Adoption Services (www.christianadopt.org) has a representative headed to The Philippines August 13th. He has agreed to hand carry our file to the Inter Country Adoption Board himself. This will cut several weeks off our wait time . . . that's the "good news". The "bad news" is that the faster the process, the more quickly we will be expected to render payment. I guess I should not call that "bad news" but should view it as an opportunity for God to "show off". We know He can do more than we ask or imagine. We look forward, eagerly, to watching Him provide for each step of this adoption.
Yesterday, our local town newspaper carried an article about our adoption on the second page. This article has moved some families to reach out to help us through donating, praying and offering practical items such as a crib or clothing to our family. Unless you have been the recipient of such an outpouring, you will never know how humbling and comforting it is. I feel almost like I did as a child when I knew I didn't have to worry because my parents would handle the big, scary things that came along. I have NO worries about this adoption because my Heavenly Father is already sending out my brothers and sisters to come along side us and take care of the details.
I close this post humming the old chorus from years ago
"God is so good.
God is so good.
God is so good, He's
so good to me . . "

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