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At She Speaks, I compared living a life of faith to a roller coaster ride. As we embark on our 2nd adoption journey, I feel like we are slowly climbing the first big hill.


Right now we are still in the paperwork stage. Meetings with our social worker, physicals, police clearances, all that good stuff.


But I'm starting to feel the emotions kick in. I still feel fairly removed from it all since we're just doing paperwork but I realize that soon (about 1 month) we could be officially "waiting."


How will it all work out? Will we have to wait a long time? Are we crazy - 3 kids have us hopping already? Who is our child? What lies ahead? How far apart will our baby be from Hudson? These are some of the many questions swirling around in my head.


The agency we chose, Adoption 4 Kid,s recommends that we be listed with other agencies as well so as to have more exposure to birth moms.


This is all very different than international adoption. I didn't expect to be choosing more than one agency.


And then I struggle with more questions. Should we just stay with this one agency and have faith that God will bring our child to us (small though it may be). Or should we step up and be proactive? It sounds hard to search for another agency right now. We were looking into one but the doors closed on that.


At this point, we're waiting for clear direction. I believe that God will open the doors that need to be opened, He will show us. He is big enough to bring our child right where he or she needs to be. He knows the big picture. He has a plan. I just wish I knew what it was! :)


In a way this adoption seems surreal. I feel less organized - though there is not much more I need to be doing. I need to stay calm and remember that God is in Control. Not in my timing, probably not in the way I think but what He wants to accomplish in our lives - HE WILL DO IT!


I have to admit, I'm struggling a bit with the uncertainty of it all. I'd appreciate your prayers. Everything I know about my God reminds me that I do not need to worry. He always exceeds our expectations.


Lord, fill me with peace and wisdom. Thank you for loving us and being close. Once again I am committing to trust You. My arms are open to Your will for us. I can and will trust You! I love you Jesus.


When Clint and I first starting praying about domestic adoption, we realized that our neat and tidy picture of having two girls and two boys from Guatemala was not going to happen.


One night, I was praying silently while cleaning up my room. I was worried about the uncertainties of how this child would feel in our family - would our baby be a boy or a girl - and so on.


As I was praying I heard myself say out loud, "Well, Lord I guess I just need to trust you with my family." I did not expect to speak out loud and it kind of startled me but I was so impacted by those words.


I truly can't wait to see what You have in store. Your ways are much MUCH higher and better than mine!!



Yes, Lord I simply need to trust you with my family. And I will.

Tuesday's Blend - Children's Literature

For more info on The Blend click here.

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I've always loved the idea of reading. Yes, that's what I said, the idea of it. Truly, when I get into a good book, I LOVE it! I love the new perspective I glean from reading both fiction and nonfiction.

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But the problem is, I don't read all that much. When the opportunity arises sadly I often find something else to do.

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I do enjoy reading to my children though and have been into it even more since school began. So I'm asking you to share with me your favorite children's literature.

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The library and I are friends. Unfortunately, the library enjoys our friendship more as I think I single-handedly support it with all my overdue/lost or destroyed book fines. Just today I had to buy a book because it got ripped on vacation and I neglected to tape it back together.

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Just as I was paying for it, I noticed that my dear son was chewing off corner of the Thomas the Train book we were about to check out.

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I knew this wasn't good because I'm smart like that.

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I'm ashamed to admit that I started walking "Thomas" over to the book bin to "return" it so that we wouldn't have to pay for it. But fortunately, the Lord spoke to my heart. It's in the little things, Jami.

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So I told the lady at the counter what my son had done and with sadness (like oh you poor dear) in her eyes, she started writing me up. Now I am the proud owner of yet another book!

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Uhhhhggggg! This is NOT how the library is supposed to work.

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Back to Tuesday's Blend.

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I want to hear your favorites. I'm primarily thinking about Paige and Raegan's ages here. But share whatever you want for I believe I have bloggies of all ages reading here.

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Thanks friends!!

and she's off...

I had to post pictures of Paige's first FULL day of school. It's my first kid off to Kindergarten, you know. Or have I mentioned that?! :)

The morning started out a bit rainy - all the better for Paige though as she loves her umbrella!

I asked Paige if she wanted me to help her on the bus.

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She was like "Oh no Mom, you just stay in the house."

"No way!", I told her I want to see you off."

"Well then just stay in the garage" she added.

And off she went...

I held it together, but Hud....not so much. The poor kid just stood there looking back and forth wondering where that big thing took his sister. Instead of running to his aide, I of course snapped a picture. Got to remember this moment, right?! :)

So do you think Paige likes school??

makes me cry EVERYTIME

the actual race: watch his father closely



And to think this father's love doesn't even compare to the love of my Father God!

He desires to run to each one of us - to pick us up and carry of through this race of life. All we need to do is ask.

What an Awesome God!!

The First Day of Kindergarten - Came and Went

Are there any similarities?
(thanks Megan for the idea! )


Today was our BIG day and it was a huge success!

This morning I took Paige out to the bus so we could meet the driver and to prepare her for tomorrow. We are quite fortunate because the bus stops right in our driveway. All I have to do is look out the garage door to see it!

We met our driver, Mr. Bill and he assigned Paige a seat. He told me he would find someone very nice to sit next to her! Thanks Mr. Bill!! Then he asked Paige if she would like to go see her seat before they left, of course we did! Again, thanks Mr. Bill!

Paige was nervous at first but as soon as she got off, she turned around and waved with a big smile on her face. Then she skipped into the house, "I'm so excited to ride tomorrow!!"

So I'm feeling good on the bus front.

Next up...school!

We had an assigned time to go in and meet her teacher. When we got there, Paige was very quiet and held my hand rather tightly. Soon though, she began playing and made some new friends. While she played, I filled out some paperwork and talked with her teacher.

After meeting her teacher, my fears are GONE! I nearly cried as I thought about how good God is to put this teacher in Paige's life.

This is a woman who has been a mommy for 20 years. She stayed home with her kids while they were young and then went back to work when they went to school. It is evident that she LOVES children. She seems kind, warm, and just plain wonderful!

She assured us parents that she would treat our children as her own. What a blessing!

I am extremely excited after today! I am grateful to God for being so good to me and I look forward to the days ahead.

Now to my Paige -

I love you sweetheart! My prayer for you is that you will let the light of Jesus shine through you! That you will have a soft heart for others and treat them with kindness and respect. I pray that you will be a good listener, obedient, and joyful!

Paige - I can't believe you've grown so fast. I am very proud of you! I am grateful to God for you! God has big plans for you kiddo! I love being your mommy!

Now off you go dear - LIGHT up the halls of your school!! I love you...always and forever!

Go team go!

Along with many other families across the world, we have been fully enjoying the 2008 Olympics!! There have been so many exciting moments in swimming, track and field, beach volleyball, and of course gymnastics!!

I loved watching the gymnasts as a young girl and now that love has been passed down to my daughters. I can barely watch the balance beam exercises when our girls, Shawn and Nastia are competing though. Oh the nerves...

Well the excitement of the games has gotten to us. So without further ado, here's our contribution to the team.

ahh, see the determination in her eyes

and that form, it's just impeccable

notice the speed at which her her legs are moving...ooooo, ahhhhh

now this is actually quite impressive!
what a man
the strength and determination it takes to hold 3 giggling children....it's simply amazing

Now for the Jr. league

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a mighty impressive somersault, Paige

Rae...well, she's just wild
and I'm not quite sure what the little man is doing, but he's trying!

I have to say that as fun as it was at the time, I am still (days later) paying for those cartwheels (aha! that's what she was doing you think to yourselves). Ohhhh my aching sides!

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GO TEAM USA!!!!!!!!!!

as always, HE is faithful!

I'm happy to say - I'm excited about Kindergarten!

Tonight we went to Paige's school for the Kindergarten mixer. We walked all over the school and met some of her classmates. Unfortunately, the teachers were not in but we talked to one mom whose son had Paige's teacher and she spoke very highly of her!

I have to admit though, I felt some sadness as we walked through the halls. And even as I write this, I have a bit of a pit in my stomach. I just can't believe that we are at this stage. Life keeps on moving by!

I was talking to my sister Megan the other day and we both decided that we need to enjoy each phase because time will not stand still. If we choose to dwell on the negative, we will miss out on the joys of today.

God truly is faithful as I feel more excitement than sadness regarding this next stage. Sure there will be new challenges but there will also be new joys!

I'm not sure how I will feel on Friday as it is her first FULL day, but I've already made plans to get my hair cut and spend some time at my mom's with Rae and Hud!

So, I step forward in faith that God will take care of my little girl.

He's got big plans for you Paige and I can't wait to watch them unfold! I love you baby!