Something Perfect

I have been a little emotional today

well more emotional than usual for me.

It wasn't until I was sitting in church that I figured out why.

Yesterday was our yard sale and I had been so busy

preparing for it that I hadn't thought much about 

what the date was.

So when I was sitting in church and I looked 

at the program and it said

April 22, 2012 it hit me.

I starred at it for a moment and thought

really

Is it really April 22nd?

I knew it was coming up but somehow it slipped my mind.

Had it really been two whole years?

Two whole years of no longer worrying about if the child I loved

would be placed back in a horrific situation.

Two whole years of her being just our daughter.

No longer having to drop her off at the halfway house

only to have her come back covered in bed bug bites 

and crying about hunger.

Two whole years of not having to worry if they would hurt her again.

Two whole years of not having to think that even though we had been

her foster parents since she was 2 1/2 months old 

they might not allow us to adopt her if 

her biological sister's adoptive parents wanted to. 

April 22nd is Nevaeh's Adoption Day. 

The day the courts acknowledged her as our daughter.

The day I no longer had to hide her face in pictures 

or have the government be in ever aspect of our lives from

having them visit our home to asking permission to go on vacation. 

It was the day I could finally be at peace with the 2 1/2 long years

it had taken to get to that point.

Yet,

here I am today on another adoption journey.

One that when I started  almost a year ago 

I promised God I wouldn't worry about.

I promised I would trust Him because I didn't

with Nevaeh's case.

I worried over everything from the time she was placed with us

until the day the adoption was final. 

This time things were going to be different I told Him.

This time I would trust because I could now look back on 

Nevaeh's story and see His hand in every aspect of it. 

This time I would let Him have full control 

because I knew He had set me on this course. 

So why or why couldn't I remember that

when the storms got rough once again and there looked like 

there was no hope. 

The way Nevaeh's story turned out was a miracle.

If someone would have told me at the beginning of our journey

that her parents would call us up 3 days before court 

and ask us to adopt her I would have never believed it. 

I missed out on so much joy when Nevaeh was a baby. 

So much wasted time worry about things I had no control over. 

I guarded my heart not giving it all to her

unsure if she would be ours forever.

After all,

we were just her foster parents.

Our feelings and emotions didn't count. 

We knew that when we signed up for it. 

So this time I promised I would be different. 

The seas have been very rough on this journey but not because God

has made them that way. 

It has only been rough because I have not trusted in Him. 

For some reason once again I have it in my little pea-brain mind

that my plan is so much better than His. 

That my time frame is more important. 

There is still time for me to change.

Still time for me to trust. 

Still time for me to remember my promise to Him. 

Little one,

mommy is coming 

I just don't know when

but 

God does. 

And someday this song will apply to you 

just as it does to Nevaeh now.

There's an ache that's missing today
There's an emptiness that's been filled
There's a cloud that's lifting and drifting away
There's a ragin' storm that's been stilled

There's a joy that's real
There's a wound that's finally healed
There's a future replacing the past
There's breath of new life in the cast


And there's something perfect happening here
And this moment will bury the mountains of fears
And through countless tomorrows
It won't disappear
This something that's perfect
Happening here

I had a sweet friend contact me and ask to
do a Shake the Box fundraiser for me.

If you would like to help our family raise the
last $6,000 we need to get our little one home
please visit her blog.
http://www.marvelousloveblog.com/2012/04/shake-box.html

Praying for a Good Wind

I know I promised I would write something on my blog

that didn't have to do with boring fundraising.

I really haven't written much lately because we really don't

have much to write.

Back in July of 2011 we started on this journey and I wrote a post called

Sailing to Holland.

I talked about how we knew we would encounter stormy seas.

I guess the part I didn't realize is how we would encounter 

what is known as the Dead Calm when sailing.

Which basically means to be stuck 

in the middle of the ocean with no wind and no 

idea as to when your boat will move.

So lately we have been praying for a good wind. 

In the movie "The Other Side of Heaven"

a boat full of missionaries are stuck.

One of them mentions they should pray only for a good wind

because if they pray for an east wind there maybe someone else stuck

somewhere praying for a west wind. 

So it is best to pray for a good wind.

Well, that is kind of where we are at right now.

Our region is shut down to American adoptions 

because there have been cases of Americans who have not treated their 

adopted children nicely and in some cases these children have died.

Now we know that the percentages are low as to how many

Americans treat there adopted children badly as to the ones

who love and care for their children. 

But that doesn't mean there isn't a problem that needs to be fixed.

So I have very fixed feelings.

On the one hand

I know that Steve and I have been prepared 

for this adoption. 

I know that we have been screened and trained and 

that we know it will be hard and we are not expecting a fairy-tale. 

We know we will have a child that speaks a different language

and will require lots of time and energy.

We know she will be scared and there will be many challenges. 

So while her country is trying to decide how best to deal

with the rotten Americans

we sit stuck in the middle of the ocean not knowing

when the wind will blow. 

Our hearts ache for a little girl that is an orphan. 

One that has probably moved 3 different times and had to adjust

to a whole new group of people each time. 

We want her to experience the love of a family. 

To know what it is like to have a mom and a dad.

To learn from brothers and a sister.

So the only thing we can do right now is pray for a good wind.

Pray that her country is able to figure out what they want to 

do to best protect the children that are being adopted. 

Pray for us to have patience as they work through this. 

Pray for her to be safe and feel loved while she continues to wait for a family of her own.

And of course pray that our fundraising efforts are fruitful and 

when the time comes we will have all we need to finish the journey. 

Praying that whatever is best for her will happen. 

Name Your Price Curriculum Sale

In order to try and get rid of the 

last of my homeschool curriculum

I am doing a Name Your Price Curriculum Sale.

From now until Midnight on April 10th (PST)

you can go to an item and tell me how much you would like

to pay for that item and as long as you are the highest bidder on April 10th

the item will be yours.

There is no minimum bid but shipping is non negotiable. 

I only charge what the post office charges me.

Here is the link to what I have left.

https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.234883906610801.49113.148027775296415&type=3

I am now an affiliate for 

All About Learning Press.
So if you every need anything from there
please consider purchasing from me :)

I will be doing a review of this product later on.

And of course for those of you who 

purchase any of your homeschool curriculum at Amazon

I have an affiliate link for there too.

And last but not least there is my always popular

digital software fundraiser.

http://operationorphannomore.blogspot.com/p/digital-fundraiser.html

I have some fun things coming up with that one too.

Thanks again for all the support.

I promise to actually do a blog later on today

with some of my feelings about our adoption.

I know the last few months have pretty much been

boring post about fundraising. 

I appreciate you all hanging in there with us :)