The Prime Minister of Haiti has resigned.
You can read about it here.
After reading this article, here are my thoughts (just my own thinking, nothing official).
This past week, I have had some doubts creeping into my mind and have felt a loss of hope. The news coming out of Haiti concerning adoptions has not been good. They are wanting to change adoption laws, but not the right way.
Anyway, now that they have to appoint a new prime minister, maybe the focus will be on that while we continue to toil away trying to get our dossier there. From what I understand, if our dossier is in Haiti and the law is changed, we will not be affected. That's why we feel such an urgency to get it there!
What we're waiting on now:
1. Translations from Florida
2. CPA letter being certified in Austin
3. Then, #1 and #2 go to Chicago to the Haitian Consulate for legalization.
$4. Finally, it goes to Haiti.
Please keep praying that we can get it all together. Of course, I keep praying, "HURRY, God, HURRY!" but I know in my heart that His timing is perfect.
Will keep you posted.....
2.26.2012
2.21.2012
GLA Video
I am in a Yahoo group for parents adopting from GLA. It's so great to have other mommies to talk to who are playing the waiting game, too. My friend Cindy made this video with the pictures she took when she visited GLA. It will bring a smile to your face just seeing their smiles. It gives you a good idea of what GLA looks like, too. It's a very real possibility that our baby girl is in one of these photos and we'll go back one day soon and "know" her when we see the picture. : ) Sweet idea.
2.20.2012
MomHeart
Last weekend, I went to a great conference called MomHeart. I left feeling so overwhelmed with so much good information and teachings. I sat down and just made a list of the truths I learned at MomHeart. (Please don't feel obligated to read. It just helps me to type it all out.) : )
If you are reading this and you are a MOMMY, you should make it a priority to go to MomHeart next February. Sally believes that we should be pampered (nice hotel, chocolate, wonderful luncheon, etc.) and then she teaches us with her great wisdom. I would've invited more Mommy friends if I had known this wasn't a specific homeschool conference. Clay and Sally are homeschoolers, but that was not the focus of this conference.
So, in no particular order, here's what God taught me at MomHeart (ok, well, not all of it is "new", but I was reminded of much).
1. My children are my sanctification. God uses my struggles and trials as a mother to strengthen my faith and make me more like Him. If He had given me only compliant, obedient children, would I be looking to Him for strength to be a Mommy?
2. Ask myself: "How old was I when I quit sinning?" I won't, so I don't need to expect my children to be perfect. They are sinners, saved by grace, just like me.
3. Proverbs 14:1: "The wise woman builds her house." It takes TIME. I want to build a magnificent estate, not a little condo. Biltmore was build over years---brick by brick.
4. Am I an adversary or an advocate for my boys? I don't need to correct every sin or induce guilt or they will feel like they can never please me. I am their advocate---no condemnation, commit to being "for" them.
5. Jesus walked with the disciples and invested in their lives for 3 years. If I want to make disciples, I must invest time in my children's lives.
6. The thing that opens a heart is a loving relationship. Am I giving them enough time?
7. Relationship + Grace = Parenting Influence for Christ: Grace-based parenting=freedom!
8. I find grace and mercy at His throne (Heb. 4:15-16). My children need to find grace and mercy when they come to me.
9. In the absence of Biblical conviction, people will always go the way of culture. **This is such a true, deep statement. One of Clay and Sally's "mottos".
10. A Christian cannot be passive. Image of a plant: I'm either blooming or dying, there's no in between.
11. Right is always right, even if no one is doing it. Wrong is always wrong, even if everyone is doing it. I LOVE this---so much better than "if all your friends were jumping off a cliff...."
12. My boys' brains and souls are like treasure chests. How can I invest in them? What can I pour into them now that will still be there later?
13. My goal: giving grace, teaching truth.
14. I want to be a F.A.T. girl---faithful, available, teachable.
15. My children's hearts are like a garden. I have to cultivate and soften the hard soil so that the seeds God plants through me will grow.
If you are reading this and you are a MOMMY, you should make it a priority to go to MomHeart next February. Sally believes that we should be pampered (nice hotel, chocolate, wonderful luncheon, etc.) and then she teaches us with her great wisdom. I would've invited more Mommy friends if I had known this wasn't a specific homeschool conference. Clay and Sally are homeschoolers, but that was not the focus of this conference.
So, in no particular order, here's what God taught me at MomHeart (ok, well, not all of it is "new", but I was reminded of much).
1. My children are my sanctification. God uses my struggles and trials as a mother to strengthen my faith and make me more like Him. If He had given me only compliant, obedient children, would I be looking to Him for strength to be a Mommy?
2. Ask myself: "How old was I when I quit sinning?" I won't, so I don't need to expect my children to be perfect. They are sinners, saved by grace, just like me.
3. Proverbs 14:1: "The wise woman builds her house." It takes TIME. I want to build a magnificent estate, not a little condo. Biltmore was build over years---brick by brick.
4. Am I an adversary or an advocate for my boys? I don't need to correct every sin or induce guilt or they will feel like they can never please me. I am their advocate---no condemnation, commit to being "for" them.
5. Jesus walked with the disciples and invested in their lives for 3 years. If I want to make disciples, I must invest time in my children's lives.
6. The thing that opens a heart is a loving relationship. Am I giving them enough time?
7. Relationship + Grace = Parenting Influence for Christ: Grace-based parenting=freedom!
8. I find grace and mercy at His throne (Heb. 4:15-16). My children need to find grace and mercy when they come to me.
9. In the absence of Biblical conviction, people will always go the way of culture. **This is such a true, deep statement. One of Clay and Sally's "mottos".
10. A Christian cannot be passive. Image of a plant: I'm either blooming or dying, there's no in between.
11. Right is always right, even if no one is doing it. Wrong is always wrong, even if everyone is doing it. I LOVE this---so much better than "if all your friends were jumping off a cliff...."
12. My boys' brains and souls are like treasure chests. How can I invest in them? What can I pour into them now that will still be there later?
13. My goal: giving grace, teaching truth.
14. I want to be a F.A.T. girl---faithful, available, teachable.
15. My children's hearts are like a garden. I have to cultivate and soften the hard soil so that the seeds God plants through me will grow.
2.17.2012
Soooo excited!
This weekend, I get to take some time away and be refreshed! I'm too EXCITED for words. One of my favorite authors is hosting the MomHeart conference. In my opinion, she wrote "the" textbook on homeschooling. There will be great encouragement and great food. I need this. When we take breaks, it makes us better mommies and better wives. I wish I could convince all of my friends of this.
Sally Clarkson is my mentor, even though she doesn't even know me. She has the most encouraging blog and is so faithful to write on it almost every day. When I grow up, I want to be like her. : )
Sally Clarkson is my mentor, even though she doesn't even know me. She has the most encouraging blog and is so faithful to write on it almost every day. When I grow up, I want to be like her. : )
2.10.2012
Lonnnng week
How can 7 days seem more like 14? Some weeks are just like that. This has been a rough week for me. I have a good friend who has been hurt in so many ways and God placed me here to help her. It's just so hard to see a friend hurt. I am thankful that I am able to help her, but I have experienced such a range of emotions through this journey.
Something that I've been mulling over a lot this week:
It's not fair that innocent children have to suffer the consequences of their parents' sins.
I know that seems very whiny and immature saying, "it's not fair", but it isn't. I also know that children all over the world are suffering every day, but when they are kids who are close to you and you experience the suffering up close, it hurts in a REAL way. It hurts my heart. I want to take them and hold them and hide them. If only I could.
It's no coincidence that our memory verse for this week focused on God being "over every power and authority". He is on His throne and He is in control and I am resting in that. I have been on an emotional roller coaster this week, but He has continually brought me back to this truth. He is God. I am not. Period. End of story.
In other news: the State of Oklahoma is on my "naughty list" tonight. They sent Robby's birth certificate back saying we didn't send enough money. I went back to their website and double-checked and it CLEARLY says $10 for a certification. 2 more steps back. So, now I will mail it AGAIN on Monday with $20. The other 7 documents are at the Secretary of the State of Texas office. My money's on Texas. They will get back to us long before Oklahoma's. Sigh.
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