Yay! Homestudy visits soon!

So, we got the call today that all of our paperwork was received by our homestudy agency and they are ready to begin our homestudy visits!! YAY!!! We should be hearing from our social worker soon so that's so exciting. The agency said she will probably plan 4-6 visits with our family. It's exciting but I'm a little nervous too!

We have also been working hard at our adoption education. Out of 6 online classes, we only have 2 left! Just ask us about medical issues surrounding adopted children, attachment, what types of immunizations we need to go to Ethiopia, trans-racial adoptions and conspicous families, and we'll tell you what we know!! :) We are also still slowly but surely working our way through the 20 chapter With Eyes Wide Open Workbook. It's really good but goodness it does take time...not necessarily cuz the chapters are long but because they take such deep thought and deep heart conversations between me and Brian.

The other thing we are working on simultaneously is our dossier (or big pile of important, notarized documents). We have gotten several things for it but many items are "Items to be completed by others" and they take more work to get. This week we're heading over to the local Clerks office at the Davie County Courthouse. Brian is going to call AGAIN and try to convince the lady that a notarization is not the same thing as a certification and that we really need our criminal background checks notarized. So, pray that they will listen and do it the right way!

We are also working on more fundraising! Our dossier fee will be due as soon as all of this paperwork is completed and our homestudy visits are completed and the document is written up and turned in. We need to have that done by October at the latest. That fee is around $5,000 but it's a super important step in this process. Once we turn that in with this paperwork then we will be placed on a waitlist!!! Then we will wait some more until we receive a referral for a sweet little Ethiopian girl!

I did forget to mention a while back that our church has opened an Adoption Fund up for us. You can make a tax-deductible donation to our adoption by writing a check to Reynolda Church with Hunt Adoption in the memo line. Their address is over there to the right. We are hoping this week to secure a location for a way cool fundraising event this summer. Pray for that for us if you would please. We have been looking all over for a location and we think we may have found something.

Alright, I'm going to enjoy the last night of my vacation! :) I'll post some pics later.

Pampered Chef Adoption Party!

This Wednesday, June 30th, at 7pm I am having a Pampered Chef Party to benefit our adoption! My friend Kimberly sells PC and offered to give 20% of all of the sales directly to our adoption fund. Way cool! So, my sweet friend Meredith offered up her house to host the party. She's a great party thrower. :) Even if you can't be there Wednesday, you can still place an order by checking out the online catalog and e-mailing me the order by clicking the CONTACT button at the top of the page here. If you live in the area, I hope you can make it! E-mail me or leave a comment and I'll message you with directions if you need it.

p.s. i have 2 of these bowls and i love them!

Amazing Story!!

Another local AGCI family shared this story today. It is soo incredible and I really wanted to share it with you all. I am so amazed at how God has such good and perfect plans for us. He constantly is working to redeem and restore us. This story is about an Ethiopian orphan named Solomon. He is going to be attending school at the College at Southeastern Theological here in NC! Here is the story that she sent:

"Solomon Bekele is 19 years old and has been living in an orphanage in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia for the last 10 years. He was living without hope or plans for a future and he thought he was forgotten, even by God. He was all alone with not one living relative in this world. The Kolfe Orphanage with boys ranging in ages 7-21 years had not been maintained in over 30 years. The living conditions were tragic, with raw sewage seeping up from the ground, broken windows in all the dorms, and the beds they slept in were trash pile worthy. They only had Injera (their national bread) and soup to eat every day, three times a day.

Then in November 2007, the Mestas family traveled to Ethiopia to adopt a sibling group of three. They were taken to visit the Kolfe orphanage and met Solomon. They became pen-pals and miracles began to happen through the letters to Solomon.

Upon returning home from Ethiopia, the Mestas family started speaking all over the country on behalf of orphans and was instrumental, in just 2 months, of raising over $50,000 to renovate the orphanage. Eileen Mestas started posting Solomon's letters on their family blog www.jobsdaughters.blogspot.com which began spreading around the country like wildfire. How many people get to know a real orphan boy in Africa and hear his cries for help and his heart's desire to be loved? People from all over the U.S. started to visit Solomon at the Orphanage in Ethiopia, and continue the humanitarian aid efforts. When he was asked how many people had visited him he said; "Too many to count". In two short years, the Kolfe orphanage has become famous and is being transformed. Solomon has been instrumental in getting several of the younger boys adopted, and many more of them sponsored by American families.

Solomon failed the Ethiopian Government National School Exam in 10th grade and was considered not worthy of further education. He was not permitted to attend any more government schools or University and was destitute with no hope for a future.

The Mestas family started to financially support him going to a private school in Ethiopia where he graduated in August 2009, as Valedictorian! Out of 400 students he was the only orphan. Through a series of miraculous events, Solomon was awarded a full tuition scholarship to attend The College at Southeastern in Wake Forest, NC.

The president of Southeastern, Dr. Danny Akin, agreed to give Solomon a tuition scholarship if he could get to the United States. This was the greatest challenge of all, since the US Embassy normally does not grant student visas to orphans. It is mandatory for all international students to return to their country after they graduate. All students must prove ties to their native country, such as family, property, bank accounts, and other resources. Typically orphans have no ties to ensure their return. The odds were against Solomon again.

The Mestas family elicited the support of several organizations, such as the Gladney Center for Adoption of Fort Worth, Texas, Open Door Baptist Church in Raleigh and others who wrote letters of recommendation in support of Solomon's application. They also engaged the Office of Senator Kay Hagan, who assisted in the expedition of his VISA approval just yesterday, Monday June 21, 2010!! He received his Visa this morning and is booked on a flight to the USA tonight which arrives at RDU tomorrow, Wednesday, June 23, 2010 at 1:30 p.m.

God performed another miracle for Solomon and he will be living with the Mestas family and joining their speaking ministry for at least the next 4-5 years. Solomon has become the VOICE OF THE ORPHAN!

A crowd of at least 100 people is expected to welcome him at the RDU airport tomorrow. SOLOMON IS FORGOTTEN NO MORE! There are hundreds of others all over the USA waiting for the video to be posted on the blog and Facebook! This is just the beginning of Solomon's journey to greatness!! "

The Sad Loss of My Birkis

Okay I have so many things I wanna post but I'm gonna try to stagger them so as not to overwhelm you all. :) First off, we are in Blowing Rock for 5 days!! Seriously! I am so excited. A super sweet family is letting us stay in their place up here and I'm loving it. I went to Appalachian for college so anytime I can come back up to the mountains I get excited. We are trying to plan some fun inexpensive things to do with Isabel while we're here. I'll update you all on that tomorrow.

So, a couple weeks ago my very favorite pair of Birkenstock Birkis tore. Last year, the other toe strap tore and I was able to have it replaced and repaired for $7!

So when the other one tore I just knew that they could fix it up too. I carried my sad shoe in and the guy looked at it and said, "Well...the thing is, I'm afraid what would happen if I pull the cork bed out now...it's falling apart." I admitted that I had been wearing them literally every spring, summer, and part of fall for the past 5-6 years. I loved those shoes. They were so comfortable, unique, and soft. He pulled some of the toe strap to the side and said, "well you could just rip this off and then wear them w/out a strap over your toe." I said, "yeah....i could..." I tried it on like that later when I got home and it didn't really work and it looked kinda weird. I came to the realization that it was time to move on and get a new pair of shoes. I looked through my closet and realized that all my flip flops and even my Rainbows had little to no tread left and were pretty sad. So, I headed to the local shoe store that sells Birkis. Well, apparently, the new styles are just not that cute. I mean, if you have a pair, I don't mean they're not "cute" but they're just not "me." :) Anyway, I was disappointed. I started thinking. Isabel and Brian both have a pair of Keens and they love their's so maybe i should try some of those on. Well, here's the thing I don't like my toes to be covered...it feels weird. I also wanted something that would look cute with skirts and dresses but also cute with jeans. So, we headed over to Village Outdoors at Reynolda Village. I had the most helpful salesperson ever. He didn't pester me. He let me look around a while. I finally found a pair of Chaco's that I really liked. He showed me exactly how to fit them and let me try lots of different styles. I decided on a pair that look kinda similar to my good ol Birkis (well, they're blue anyways). I really like them so far but the rubber footbed definitely takes getting used to. The tread is way better on these though and they have great support for high arches (which I have).

Pitter Patter Art Giveawy

Hey, check out this cool giveaway. Pitter Patter Art makes the cutest t-shirts, mixed media art, children and baby items, and key fobs. You can go to her blog today and leave a comment to be entered into the giveaway to win a free key fob. She will draw 3 winners on Thursday! She has tons of different designs and fabrics to choose from when you place an order. I really want to order an Africa t-shirt but I haven't yet!

http://pitterpatterart.wordpress.com/2010/06/22/giveaway-time-2/

Happy Birthday Baby!

Today my baby girl is turning 4. I can't believe it...neither can she actually. She said, "Are you sure I'll be 4 today? When exactly will I be 4? At what time?" That is totally her. She is the silliest and most inquisitive kid I know. She is so smart but so tender-hearted. She will talk and talk on the phone but her introvertedness jumps out in public! She loves all things pink, sparkly, and purple. She has tons of stuffed animals and they are all her babies and all named Lucy, Mariah, Olivia, and Buva (yeah I have no idea about that last one). And of course there is Jerdan...her imaginary friend/stuffed bear. He goes on many adventures that remarkably sound just like Isabel's own adventures. We do not know where his name came from although Brian says it must be the Swedish version of Jordan. Isabel loves to play outdoors but seriously hates bugs. She writes songs for us every other day and invents words in her own made-up language. Her favorite music is urban gospel (mostly Israel Houghton), pop country, and anything she can dance to that she hears on the radio. She wants me to keep it on 102 jamz but clearly I don't think it's a good idea for our daughter to listen to 50 cent so I keep scanning through sketchy songs even though she says, "BUT I LiKED THAT!" She loves to read (thank goodness) and tells crazy stories and wants to move to a country where they don't speak English because she already knows English! She seriously dislikes crowds, carbonated drinks, big dogs, and people telling her what to do. Haha! She is always wanting to put things away and save them for her baby sister in Africa. She reminds me of things we'll need to get for her (new diapers and bottles since her's are old). She prays for her and our family and she strives to be grateful. Her heart breaks when she realizes that she has hurt someone's feelings. We are so thankful for her!

Happy Birthday Sweet Girl! We love you!

Isabel and her BFF

Using her real chopsticks from China!

A picture when I finally got her to sit still.

Cheesin' it (by the way she would also wear pj's all day...two of these pics are w/ pajamas on!)

5 Weeks for Freedom

So today I'm highlighting a way cool event that's going on this summer. Brian and I are supporters of IJM (International Justice Mission). I few years ago I read "Just Courage" by Gary Haugen. Gary Haugen is the founder of IJM. That book changed me. It's incredible and if you haven't read it then you need to! IJM is a human rights agency that works to bring justice to victims of slavery, sexual exploitation, and other forms of violent oppresion. There are 27 million people that are trapped in slavery around the world. There is an estimated 500,000-600,000 people trafficked across international borders every year. Each month I read about new ways that they are working to bring freedom and a voice to those that cannot speak up for themselves. At Christmas they provide opportunities to donate in honor of friends/family. A Christmas present can directly affect a girl that is trapped in a brothel. I mean it's incredible...seriously, I am amazed at this organization.

So let me tell you about 5 Weeks for Freedom. It is an awareness and advocacy campaign to support IJM's work. A team of people are giving up 5 weeks of their summer to go on a bike ride. They are going to cycle 1800 miles of the Underground Railroad. They chose that route because "it reminds us that change happens when ordinary people do what they can to stop injustice, that the evil of slavery has been defeated once, and that together, we can do it again."

There are several ways to participate. Go here to check them out: http://www.5weeksforfreedom.org/get-involved/
One major way is to text and donate. Right now it's only available for AT&T and T-Mobile Customers but others will be up soon. So if you are on one of those networks you can
Text FREEDOM to 20222 now to give $10 to IJM’s work! Click here for other ways to give: http://www.5weeksforfreedom.org/give/

Because Jesus came to preach good news to the poor, to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners.

None but Jesus

Here's my favorite song for the night:

In the quiet, in the stillness I know
that you are God
In the secret of your presence I know
there I am restored

When You call I won't refuse
Each new day again I'll choose

There is no one else for me
None but Jesus
Crucified to set me free
Now I live to bring Him praise

In the chaos, in confusion I know
You're sovereign still
In the moment of my weakness
You give me grace to do Your will

So when You call I won't delay
This my song through all my days

There is no one else for me
None but Jesus
Crucified to set me free
Now I live to bring Him praise

I am Your's and You are mine
All my delight is in You Lord
All of my hope, All of my strength
All my delight is in You Lord
Forevermore

There is no one else for me
None but Jesus
Crucified to set me free
Now I live to bring Him praise

PLAY

A few posts ago I said I felt like a GIANT PAUSE button had been pressed for our family's life. Well, as of yesterday the GIANT PLAY button has been pressed. We were waiting to hear some news about a possible job/move. So, we are not going to be moving/changing jobs. It was kinda disheartening but we are trusting the Lord and we know that He has good plans for our family. We also now feel free knowing that we can continue on with our homestudy for our adoption. We were waiting on that so we wouldn't have to repeat it after a move but we don't need to wait any longer! We will be sending that packet to our local homestudy agency so we can go ahead and start those visits!!

We are still working on our education (online Hague courses and workbook). We actually are really enjoying that so far. I'm not gonna say it's easy but I love that our agency wants us to be prepared and make plans ahead of time and think about situations. We are also continuing with all of our dossier paperwork.

There are still plans in the works for a fundraising event over the summer. We are still looking and praying for a location. We are continuing to collect all kinds of books, cd's, dvd's, and videogames too. Also, a friend that sells Pampered Chef is being so sweet and gracious! She is donating 20% of the sales from a PC party that I'm going to have in a couple weeks to our adoption account! Way cool!

So there is my update for the night. I should have probably already gone to bed because last night I was up making 64 cute little foam sticker cards for my students with a little note from me! They loved them! Today was their last day....I'm always relieved for summer to come but always sad to see my kids go. It was a sweet day with them.

Off to bed!

Blog Party!!

Today I'm participating in a Blog Party to celebrate a fellow Ethiopian adoptive momma's 1 year anniversary of her blog! I'm linking up to her blog and could even win some really cool prizes so if you're interested you should link up too by heading here: http://filledwithpraise.blogspot.com/2010/06/lets-get-this-party-started.html

All you have to do to participate is answer 5 ice-breaker questions. So here goes!

1. If you could have dinner with any person (past or present) who would it be?

When I was a kid I definitely wanted to meet Queen Elizabeth. I pretended that I was her and would order tea and crumpets and my sweet grandma would pretend to be ALL of the other royal family members! Now, I don't really have any desire to meet the Queen of England but I would love to meet the Apostle Paul. I'd love to hear his stories in person and ask him lots of questions about his life and missions. If I were to pick someone that's living I'd love to meet Sara Groves in person and talk to her about songwriting!

2.What is your most embarrassing moment that you are willing to share with the blogging world?

Well, as a kid I was kinda a klutz. I fell off my bike ALL the time. I tried to be all cool like my friend Jackie...you know she was the kid riding down the huge hill with both of her hands up in the air. I however just got tons of strawberries and bruises on that stupid bike. Once I was cruising along listening to my tape player and a branch above caught a hold of my headphones. It yanked my headphones up along with the cord that was around my neck! I of course fell right off the bike and landed on the ground looking up to my headphones hanging off a branch. By the way....I still don't like riding bikes.

3.If you could only use one word to describe yourself, what would it be?

I asked my husband on this one too and he decided compassionate. I think that describes my heart for kids and people. The reason I love teaching ESL so much is the kids and telling them they are special and made for amazing things! My heart breaks daily for things that I hear people say or things that I find out about families that need help. I love when I hear compassion growing in my daughter's heart too! She gives away things so easily if it helps someone else...she teaches me a lot. :)

4.You found a machine that allows you to fast forward your life to a moment or to rewind your life to a certain moment, but it can only be used for one moment. Would you fast forward or rewind and to which moment would you choose?
Oh, I would fastforward definitely. I have so much curiosity about what God has planned for our family. I can't wait to see the job that God has planned for my husband as he patiently waits for Him to lead us to the right place. I can't wait to see the face of our daughter in Ethiopia. I can't wait to see so many things! It's hard to choose just one moment!

5.What is your favorite simple blessing in life?
Cuddling. I love the few moments that Isabel slows down long enough to sit in my lap for a while and just lean her head on me. It is the sweetest thing and it makes me remember holding her when she was a tiny baby. I also love sitting and cuddling with my husband on the couch at the end of a long day. We can just sit and rest and talk. Definitely my favorites.

YIKES!!!!

Seriously....a guy actually gave this to Brian yesterday. Yes...it is none other than a good 'ol tract. There are so many things wrong with this that I don't even know where to start! The first thing I noticed was the guy....I mean he is seriously afraid and look at that font!! With those bold letters he oughta be!! But WHAT does that say about our God??? It says that He is scary, big, mean, condemning....
Ugh. Why do people think that these things are effective at teaching people about Jesus? Let's scare you into a loving relationship??? Doesn't really make sense to me. And you know the next step would be, "Now that you're saved...here is the list of rules that you need to follow to be a Christian." I just love grace so much that this stuff makes me mad. I want people to know that God is totally and completely FOR them! That He is LOVES them more than they could ever even fathom.

On a side note...the guy that gave this to Brian also wanted to know if he had "fallen into sin" and that was why he wasn't working in a church anymore. Then he asked if Brian was married and after he said yes, the guy said, "well is it your first marriage??" I mean what in the world?? He also did not approve of our church when he found out it wasn't Baptist like his. Brian just said, "well, we love our church."

Well, I hope that guy knows that Jesus loves him no matter what he does or says...and that he doesn't need to be afraid of a Father that created him.