Friday, November 27, 2009

Ordinary Miracle

Those of you who read my previous post regarding our "snag" with USCIS may recall that our extra paperwork cost an additional $340. Let me share with you what the Lord did YESTERDAY. Last night at church, one of the hard-working gals from Friends of Ezequiel
handed me a card. Inside the card was a check for the proceeds from a recent Lia Sophia jewelery fund raiser held for Ezequiel. You know where this is going, right? The check was for . . . ready . . . $343!!!! God added an extra $3 just to show us He has a sense of humor - ha ha!
GREAT IS THY FAITHFULNESS!!!

Thursday, November 26, 2009

Choosing Thankfulness

We have hit another snag in our paperwork with USCIS. Our blessed office of homeland security decided our homestudy wasn't quite specific enough regarding our capability to parent a special needs child. We were asked to submit an addendum (called a supplement 3, to be exact) along with the $340 fee required for this form. IT IS A RACKET! I know many folks like to blame the high cost of adoption on greedy agencies or greedy foreign entities. I can tell you, firsthand, Uncle Sam gets a nice little piece of the pie. I realize the title of this entry is "Choosing Thankfulness" and it sounds suspiciously like I am headed in the wrong direction here. Let me clarify.
On a normal day in the life of our family, a surprise $340 bill would really be painful for us. We have a budget and it rarely includes unexpected expenditures in such a large amount. Thanks to "Friends of Ezequiel" the money was just waiting and ready to be used when we needed it. I am TRULY, DEEPLY thankful today . . .thank you, Friends of Ezequiel for your support. Thank you JESUS for keeping our boy safe as we wait for him. Thank you, most of all, Lord, for saving my soul.

Monday, November 16, 2009

Critical Mass

Yes, I have hit "critical mass"! As all of you adoptive parents out there can attest, there comes a time in the adoption journey when you say "I simply can NOT wait one more day for my child" and then, because you have no choice in the matter, you wait.
I am there. I am positively climbing the walls in anticipation of meeting Ezequiel.
There is nothing more I can do to the house, his room, his clothing, etc. I have read all I can read on Down Syndrome, heart defects, local surgeons and the like. I have answered the question "do you know when you'll travel" at least 1,000 times and it kills me to have to say "sometime between early December and early January" once again.
I am not now and never have been a patient person. I have prayed and asked the Lord to make me satisfied with the here and now. I am not satisfied.
I am praying that our I-800 approval is in the mailbox TODAY. If not, I don't know what I'll do. Oh, yes I do . . . I'll WAIT!

Tuesday, November 3, 2009

Prayer Request

I just received an email from Ezequiel's orphanage. Apparently, he is becoming very stranger phobic as of late, especially if those "strangers" have white skin.
That poor, sweet baby has no idea what is in store for him - he is getting ready to be taken from all that is familiar by some crazy white lady and her tan kids and husband (ha ha). Please, Please pray that God gives him great peace. Please pray that he is
able to sense just how much I love and want him so he won't be afraid of me.
Most of all, please pray that our precious boy is not traumatized by being taken from
a perfectly loving orphanage and enveloped by our perfectly loving family.
Thank you!!!!

Vision Forum, Quiverfull and Pretending

 If you were a homeschool mom in the late 90s and  into the 2000s like me, you may have been confronted with your feelings of complete inade...