God sends chain mail????

  Well we are plugging away with the adoption and moving forward.  We have walked through a few doors that God has opened.  With God’s timing and direction we will be the “pilot family” for Lifeline Children's Services’ new Colombia Program.  This is a wonderful ministry and we are honored to be their first family in this program.  God is continuing to bless us!  A few weeks ago, Lifeline informed us that because we are willing to be the pilot family for this program, they wanted to award us with a $2500 grant towards our agency fees.  This was a huge blessing, obviously.  Well as everyone told us it would be, this great news was followed by the worst week!  Which included, but was not limited to, Julia splitting her lip when her train car came unhitched at the pumpkin patch and rammed into a tree, our car exploding and my personal favorite…..Jacob lying to the administrator of Homelink and almost having his first suspension in Kindergarten!!!   So, I guess we have our first battle scars for this process.  They were biggies. 

So the chain mail….. last night while updating myself on Facebook, I was included in a chain mail message that read like this:

         Ok Ladies, Young and “mature”… it’s that time again…Breast Cancer Awareness!
DO NOT TELL ANY MAN WHAT YOUR STATUS MEANS!
Copy and paste this message and forward it to all of your friends. Let’s see if we can spark things up as on previous occasions.
The idea will work around month and date of birth.
First, select your month of birth from the list below. Then write: I am going to live in (Blank A) for (Blank months.
If your birthday is October 21, you will write…”I am going to live in Amsterdam for 21 months!”☺
Thanks for joining us and confusing men more! Remember to copy this message and send it via PM to lots more women!!

January Chile
February London
March Miami
April Dominican Republic
May France
June St. Petersburg
July Austria
August Germany
September Holland
October Amsterdam
November Las Vegas
December Colombia

So if anyone is wondering….. “I am going to live in Colombia for 1 month!”  

O.k. so really,  do I have time for this? Blogging!  No, I don’t.  Between being wife, mommy, teacher and the occasional friend, my life is pretty booked up.  But, I know that if I don’t do this I will forget our story.  You will forget our story. Most of you know the long version.  If you don’t, ask.  I would be happy to send you the “book” or letter Joe wrote to our family and friends on how the Lord led us to adopt.  It is worth the read.  Or I can simply indulge you with the short  version.

The Lord has asked us to adopt from Columbia.  The child will be a “special needs” child.  Whatever “special needs” is.  Certainly I am special needs, just ask my husband.  But, in Columbia, if you have three or more children in your home already, you are only allowed to adopt a child over five, or a special needs child.  Since we already have a five year old, we are opting for special needs.

This will be a journey with the Lord for us.  We have no idea where we will end up.   Our desire is to write the events of this journey down so we do not forget the lessons, but more importantly, the miracles.  We will need some.

Adopting a child, without special needs is challenging.  Adopting with special needs will be stretching me. Finding out how to pay for this adoption will stretch Joe.  So here we go.  We will keep you updated on how the lord will lead us through this.  We depend completely on him to navigate this.

Psalms 27:10-14

10 When my father and my mother forsake me,

Then the LORD will take care of me.

11 Teach me Your way, O LORD,

And lead me in a smooth path, because of my enemies.

¹² Do not deliver me to the will of my adversaries;

For false witnesses have risen against me,

And such as breathe out violence.

¹³ I would have lost heart, unless I had believed

That I would see the goodness of the LORD

In the land of the living.

¹⁴ Wait on the LORD;

Be of good courage,

And He shall strengthen your heart;

Wait, I say, on the LORD!