CORRECTION

I forgot the B!  To view our photos and see Maria's amazing work go to www.ruthiebphotography.blogspot.com!  Her family is also on their own amazing adoption journey.  Read their story here: www.cincomariposas.blogspot.com

School Daze = No Updates

Wow, another long lapse.  I must confess, I just can't find the time to write!  :)  But, I really thought I should since a lot of people have been asking recently, AND because my AMAZING friend Maria, just posted unbelievable pictures of our family on her blog and may have encouraged you to come here to read our story! :)  (Visit her blog at www.ruthiephotography.blogspot.com)

So, it's nearly October, and I am still adjusting to school.  I switched schools this year to be at the same school as my two oldest children, Jayden and Asher.  They were ecstatic!  It has been so much fun getting to see them all the time at school!  I love our mornings together before they go to their classrooms.  They are so sweet and helpful in getting my room ready for my students to come in; they always want to know what I need for them to do!  I LOVE my new school, but I LOVED my old school, too.  So, it has been kind of a tough start; mostly tough to leave old friends and familiar routines, but also hard to figure out my new normal!  I am getting there though, and I have some REALLY great students who make everyday a fun, new challenge! 

Jude also has a new normal.  He is going to school full day this year!  He is loving it and learning so much!  He was sitting on my lap tonight "reading" his poems to me.  Yes, they are familiar nursery rhymes that he has memorized, but he was tracking the print perfectly and could even point out many words at random!  He also started soccer this year!  So now we have 3 playing!  It is so crazy, yet so much fun!  I love watching my children learn new things!

In my last post I wrote that we would be spending the summer working on our dossier and grants.  Well, our dossier is almost done!  We had our fingerprints done and have been approved by USCIS!  We have reference letters, police clearance, birth certificates, passports, etc. . .   We have to collect a few more papers and $5500, and then we are set! ;)  We applied for 4 grants.  We have recently heard from the board of one of them that they are prayerfully considering how much to give us!  Thank you, Lord! 

Our case worker and agency continue to be incredibly suportive through the process.  When I last spoke to our case worker, she was asking when she could expect the dossier.  I told her that I had no idea, that she could talk to Jesus about when He was going to send the money! :)  She laughed and said, "Okay, I will!"  About a week later, she sent us a document with timelines with our expected dossier date as November 1st!  A day after that we heard from the grant committee and received an unsolicited donation!  The Lord continues to provide for us each step of the way.  We completely trust in His timing and Sovereignty! 

Please continue to pray for us through this journey in these ways:
-that we would find favor with the grant committees,
-that God would provide the dossier fees quickly so that our documents don't expire,
-for continued preparation for our hearts, minds, and spirits,
-that the kids would continue to be excited, continue to ask us questions, and really understand what we are doing AND why,
-for our children in Ethiopia, for their health, physical and spiritual well-being, for their family there,
- and mostly that the Lord would be glorified in and through all of this, that it would NOT be about us, but about Him, who He is and what He has done!

Oh, we still have jewelry and bags to sell!  See the previous post for pictures and send me a message!!