"People Think We Are Crazy"

I have been reading a lot of other blogs lately that Pam has linked to ours or of those who have commented to our posts. I see a recurring theme. Most of us have been told by family, friends and co-workers that we must be crazy to want to adopt these kids. "It's a lot of money." "These kids have problems." "They will disrupt your lives." "Why are you doing this at your age?" "How are you ever going to retire?"

If we thought like the world, then we wouldn't adopt. We would be worried about climbing the corporate ladder and our 401k account. We would be keeping up with the Joneses and going on vacations in Hawaii.

In Romans 12:1 & 2, Paul writes, "...present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect."

Doesn't James 1:27 tell us what is "good and acceptable and perfect" in God's eyes? We are to care for the widows and orphans!! That is our living and holy sacrifice. Those of us who are adopting are merely mimicking what our Father in heaven has already done for us. He paid the price Himself by the sacrifice of His Son, brought us into His house and adopted us as His sons and daughters. Shouldn't we sacrifice, bring them into our homes and make them part of our families?

I'm not crazy. I'm just doing what my Father taught me.

Kevin

Bittersweet

Today is a wonderful day! It is our daughter Morgan's 10th birthday. We had the opportunity to throw her a birthday party yesterday and celebrate the day of her birth. Today is our future daughter ______'s birthday also. Last year we got to celebrate it with her, while she was visiting America. I am celebrating and sad at the same time. I wonder if anyone said "Happy Birthday" to her? I wonder if she got our gifts? I wish we could call her but she isn't available because she is at camp. Little one, we want you to know you are in our hearts right now. We are thinking about you on this day. We love you so much already and can't wait to be together as a family forever!

This is my prayer for you my little ones. I want you to know this always and take comfort that your life was not an accident. God surely does cares for you too! Someday I will read this to each of my children and prayerfully it will be a great comfort to them as it is to me.

Psalms 139:1-18 O Lord, You have searched me and know me. You know my sitting down and my rising up; You understand my thought afar off. You comprehend my path and my lying down, and are acquainted with all my ways. For there is not not a word on my tongue, but behold, O Lord, You know it altogether. You have hedged my behind and before, and laid Your hand upon me. Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; It is high, I cannot attain it.

Where can I go from your Spirit? Or where can I flee from Your presence? If I ascend into heaven, You are there; If I make my bed in hell, behold, You are there. If I take the wings of the morning and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, even there Your hand shall lead me, and Your right hand shall hold me. If I say, "Surely the darkness shall fall on me," even the night shall be light about me; indeed, the darkness shall not hide from You, but the night shines as the day; the darkness and the light are both alike to You.

You formed my inward parts; You covered me in my mother's womb. I will praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Marvelous are Your works, and that my soul knows very well. My frame was not hidden from You, when I was made in secret, and skillfully wrought in the lowest parts of the earth. Your eyes saw my substance, being yet unformed. And in Your book they all were written, the days fashioned for me. When as yet there were none of them. How precious also are Your thoughts to me, O God! How great is the sum of them! If I should count them, they would be more in number than the sand; When I awake, I am still with You.

Pam

Little Wonders

I have been frustrated by our choice of music on our blog. That might sound trivial but I am the kind of guy who remembers special moments and times by the music of that period. I really like Third Day and other Christian rock bands and Steven Curtis Chapman's "When Love Takes You In" and "Cinderella" can make me cry but they are on everyone else's blogs. I wanted a song that was ours that expressed my feelings about life and family. We chose Rob Thomas' "Little Wonders" from "Meet the Robinsons", which is one of our family's favorite movies. I hope that you will pay attention to the lyrics, especially when he sings:
"Our lives are made
In these small hours
These little wonders
These twists and turns of fate
Time falls away
But these small hours
These small hours still remain

Let it slide
Let your troubles fall behind you
Let it shine
Until you feel it all around you
And I don't mind
If it's me you need to turn to
We'll get by,
It's the heart that really matters in the end"

Our lives here on Earth are small hours in our Lord's hands and these orphans are some of His little wonders.

Psalm 127:3-5. "Behold, children are a gift of the Lord, the fruit of the womb is a reward. Like arrows in the hand of a warrior, so are the children of one's youth. How blessed is the man whose quiver is full of them; They will not be ashamed

Kevin

Looking for name suggestions

Not much exciting to post right now, still waiting for the filing. In the meantime, we have been trying to come up with names for the kids. Garrett and Morgan are so frustrated with us because we change the names constantly. It is common for people to change the children's names to an American name. We also would like, as their parents, to be the ones to name them. The children usually look forward to having American names. So we have gone from Joseph to Daniel from Tara to Jesse to Jena to Paige to Ana to Hannah to Rachel to I don't know! I am looking for good name suggestions if you have any!! I am out of ideas. This is what I do in my spare time. Sad isn't it? I do have two middle names: ________ Frank Greer and ________ Hope Greer.

Well, today I hit a milestone in blogging. I figured out how to insert pictures in my blog. I can't believe what I was doing before. I was going to the layout and adding a page element and couldn't figure out how come all my posts were together! Now I realize the insert picture is right on the posting screen. When all else fails, listen to the tutorial.

Pam

Round Three Finished!

I think I got our dossier complete again! I shipped off the last of my paperwork yesterday and hopefully everything is good. Now we just wait for August 7th to get here. Please pray that the paperwork passes and that our dossier is accepted the first time.

Kevin and I just got back from our vacation in Mazatlan and are refreshed and ready to go! (You can read more about that on our other blog) We couldn't help but imagine how our family will change in the near future. We are excited to see what God is going to teach us in our journey. It amazes me to see how He has softened our hearts in so many ways. He has challenged our thinking about what is truly important. I am going to start a blogroll which has some very inspiring stories. You can see what I am talking about when I say God is speaking to our hearts.

Hebrews 12:1-2 Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.

Pam

Mercy & Grace

Pam just called me to tell me that we have our submission date on August 7. I don't have much to say since I am in shock with the reality that we could be going to Ukraine this fall. I am overwhelmed with emotion and can almost feel them in my arms and hear them say, "Papa!" God proves again his mercy and grace!

"Therefore let us draw near with confidence to the throne of grace, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need." Hebrews 4:16

Kevin

We Got Our Date!

Wow, we have waited so long to hear that we have an actual filing date! I am so excited I can't believe it. We are going to file our paperwork on August 7Th! Please pray everything is good on it and there are no other delays. This is the real beginning of this whole long process. After we file our dossier on August 7Th we will get an invitation to go to Ukraine. Hopefully, that won't be too long. It can be as soon as two months and as long as five. We would love to have the kids here before Christmas. It was hard enough celebrating the 4Th of July without them. Thanks for your prayers. Did I tell you we really get to file on August 7th?

Pam

Anxious

I am sitting on the edge of my chair waiting to find out if we get to submit in August! I know the list is out. I know people who have heard. I can't stop checking my e-mail. Things seem to be moving faster at the SDA now. I wrote an e-mail to our agency asking if we are on the list. I hope to hear back soon. Pray, pray, pray!!!!

Phillipians 4:6 Be anxious for nothing, but in everything in prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made know to God, and the peace of God which surpasses all understanding will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.

This is a reminder to me to settle down:)

Pam

Still Waiting...

We are still waiting for the FBI prints to come back and after that our dossier will be shipped off to Ukraine and hopefully filed soon. I sit holding my breath, that our agency will contact us shortly about when this will happen.

1 Corinthians 1:18 For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.

Pam

Happy Birthday America!

It is so fun to write these blogs and make so many new friends. I appreciate so much all of the comments. It is great to get all the support and prayer especially from people you don't even know. I love reading about people who are just getting ready and beginning to travel. I love following their journeys. It helps me to become familiar with what I can expect. Although, I know anything can change at any given moment! I am finding the best thing to expect when you travel is don't expect anything to be predicable.

I love seeing the pictures on a couple of the Texas blogs! For all of you who know me, you know how much I loved being a cowgirl! Maybe TX for our next move someday? Just kidding, my daughter Morgan would have a melt down at the thought of moving again! Personally, I love the adventure. We are happy here on our mini ranch in Southern CA. We love our church , family and friends we have made here. That would be hard to leave. The CA part wouldn't be that hard. Times are very uncertain here, to say the least.

Getting ready for a relaxing 4Th of July. We decided to go to a fireworks show this afternoon and relax instead of a party this year. Mixed feeling on that but it should be a great time. I still have to make homemade ice cream today (Family tradition)! Time to remember what was fought for and what we are still fighting for, by all of our soldiers and celebrate the United States of America! Happy Birthday America!

Proverbs 27:17 As iron sharpens iron, so a man sharpens the countenance of his friend.

Pam

Almost ready for round three!

Well, today we got everything notarized and got all the medical stuff done. The doctor noticed I have gained weight again... I said what do you expect when you are carrying twins and twelve months pregnant! I promise to start trying to lose weight soon and stop the stress eating. All we are waiting for now is the FBI clearance to get here. I go on a mission when I have to do these updates. Stay out of my way! :) I am getting quicker, but I hope I don't have to do it again. If anyone would have told me all the hoops you have to jump through, I would have felt very overwhelmed. God has given me my strength everyday. I can't forget those sweet faces and their hope for a family.

John 15:5-11 "I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing. If anyone does not abide in Me he is cast out as a branch and is withered; and they gather them and throw them into the fire, and they are burned. If you abide in Me and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you. By this My Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit; so you will be my disciples. As the Father loved Me I also have loved you; abide in My love. If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept My Father's commandments and abide in His love. These things I have spoken to you, that My joy may remain in you, and that your joy may be full."

Pam

What is God teaching us?

I hit rock bottom a few weeks ago. The roller coaster emotions and delays of the adoption, anxiety over my job, and a nagging bad back left me a wreck. I was cross with Pam and the kids and ready to chuck it all for another geographic move to who knows where. Pam's nerves were a frazzle too and we asked each other one morning, "what is God teaching us?"

Then it hit me like a ton of bricks: contentment. We were so anxious to get the adoption done and bring the kids home that we were not content with each other and the two beautiful children we already have. We let the world rob us of our joy and contentment that only comes from our relationship with Christ. We wanted it in our time instead of God's time.

Once we got that straight, we realized how God had used this time to prepare us and our home. He put us on a more stable financial footing and gave me reassurance at work. He gave us time to do some much needed home repairs. He helped me to lose weight which has taken some of the strain off my back. He put us in a wonderful church family that teaches, disciples, prays for us and loves us. He deepened our love for Him, for each other and Garrett and Morgan. Since that realization, we see with different eyes and wait on the Lord to lead us.

"Not that I speak from want, for I have learned to be content in whatever circumstances I am. I know how to get along with humble means, and I also know how to live in prosperity; in any and every circumstance I have learned the secret of being filled and going hungry, both of having abundance and suffering need. I can do all things through Him who strengthens me." Philippians 4:11-13

Kevin