Category Archives: Adoption Preparation FIRST…Africa:). No new numbers…our agency was quite busy today. SO…our new numbers will come on Monday. Crazy thing–I’m so cool with that. We’re not in single digits…knowing today or Monday doesn’t change anything. HEY…has someone out there been praying for me?! Well, God sure is good because I’m so at peace with where we are—and […]  And we’reeeeeeeee off! We’ll spend the next several days representing Wiphan at the Adopting for Life Conference in Kentucky. You know…if you have a heart for adoption, you’ve adopted, you’re considering adoption, you’d like to get plugged into an orphan ministry or you’d like to learn how to start an orphan ministry in your church…it’s […] Your’e kiling me , I sooo want to go! My husband is going to be out of town and I keep thinking maybe I’ll throw the kids in the car and drop them off in Franklin with the in-laws! OK, maybe not, way too much going on around here. But I am jealous! I think I would want to attend the one of the ones dealing with transracial adoption. At the T4A conference in Franklin this Fall we didn’t think that we were even considering Africa- so we didn’t attend any of those!! So wish I could go and have coffee with you! I’m not sure how I would choose a breakout session though! IF I had to choose I would like more information on getting our church involved in adoption ministry. Have a great weekend! Cannot wait to hear all that you learn! Only 1? I can only pick 1? Wow…they all look so good. I would have to choose “Here’s the church…here’s the people…” Do you suppose any of this info will be available for download/purchase following the conference? I’m not sure if it will be available for purchase or download–but the basic conference book was available for download from the T4A conference. SOOOO many good ones to choose from!!! I *SO* want a conference to be held CLOSER to me next time! I’m going to attend what I can and I’ll post on the ones I can visit next week! Thanks for letting me know which you guys would love to hear about!!! You guys know I love sharing about anything orphan/adoption related!!!! Meant to add Kim…I’ll definitely ASK your question and let you know what I find out! WOW!!! I so wanted to go!!! I live way to far to be spontaneous though. So I’m thinking ANY of the sessions on getting an adoption ministry in your church, the fundraising ones for families, and the one at the bottom where MEN leading… oh what a glorious day when more men are bringing their wives to adoption rather than the reverse. Anxious to see what you get to do and all the pics!!! Can’t wait for you to share. Have a blessed time and drive carefully! Definitely the one about ethnic adoption preparing us for Heaven. Sounds like a great time! Awwww…wish I could be there!!! But that would be a long flight and a lot of extra money that needs to be going towards our adoption right now. I really would love to have coffee with you too! =) Our Son’s Name… Yes, we’re on both lists—for either a boy or a girl…BUT I feel pretty certain being #19 on the boy list and #30 on the girl list that we’ll get to #1 first on the boy list. You NEVER know…BUT—I’m excited to be able to tell you our son’s name…if in fact, […] LOVE the name Isaac! Love the meaning you have behind it! Thank you Leigh. I’m in love with that name so much already:) I am sure your little Issac will fill you with Laughter when he is finally in your arms! Love your post! Love the name too. Hey, I have grown up in the church and didn’t realize that about the Sundays….hmmm….makes complete sense, just didn’t know it. Like you I don’t think of myself as a certain denomination either….we are CHRISTIANS 🙂 I did not know that about Sundays in Lent either. I love that we can always learn something new. I also learned the other day that “Alleluia” is to be hidden during Lent until Easter Sunday. The kids can make a banner, hide it, and then it appears along with their Easter baskets. Oh…and super love the name Isaac! I love how you said that the story of Abraham and Isaac has repeatedly been placed on your heart. I felt the same way about the Visitation when Mary visited her cousin Elizabeth. We named our baby we lost through miscarriage Elizabeth. We have been in the fost/adopt program waiting for a match. We got the call on my husband’s birthday that we were matched with twins. What are there names? – John and Marie. When were they born? -on the feast of the Visitation. When we are open, God prepares us for His perfect plan. Hope you will be welcoming Isaac home soon! L.O.V.E the name Isaac! great choice!!!! and glad to hear if it’s a girl, she won’t be Isaac-ette 🙂 Love the name here too! We are leaning towards Eli 🙂 I really like the significance of the pairing of Samuel (our littlest) and Eli. There are some cool correlations with his priesthood…plus the name “fits” well with our other kiddos I think 🙂 Hang in there girl!!!! Love the name and love your heart!!!! Thanks so much for the e-mail yesterday. Made my day! Praying for you on this journey. So excited for what God is doing in your family! Habakkuk 2:3 I have to admit…I’ve fallen behind on the reading. 🙁 Trying desperately to catch up. Oh Andrea I am smiling too 🙂 I know God is smiling over your sweet Isaac right now. Precious. Love the name! Of course…you are talking to a mom with a Samuel and Josiah:-) Ya know the adoption road can be long and hard, but keep your eyes of Jesus. Don’t look to the left or right..but keep looking up! God’s plan is good! Sorry if I told you this already, but my Josiah has frequently said, “If we would have gone to Ethiopia, we would have our baby by now” (we started Aug. 08). I remind him that God didn’t call us to Ethiopia (this time) but our Abby is in India and that she NEEDS US TO WAIT! God is so good…still have his peace even through all the mess we are in now. One day we will have our Abby in our arms and you will have your Isaac!! That’s a great picture!!! Blessings to you! I LOVE the name, Isaac is so lucky to have you all for his forever family!  First…I want to say to those of you reading along this year with me the One Year Bible reading…thank you for your PATIENCE these last few days. I must warn you, you are taggin’ along with a momma in the midst of her adoption journey. It’s one of “ebs and flows” they say…and being in […] Amen. Praying for you tonight. I’m continually amazed at the beautiful posts you write and even in the midst of discouragement you continue to encourage others. I’m so glad you heard Him tonight and can take comfort in following His plan. As we were doing our reading tonight my 8 year old said “No way, would I sacrifice my son if God asked.” Such honesty…and I will never be able to fully comprehend this part of the bible myself but I believe you’re right on…it’s about obedience and being obedient often looks crazy to the world. What could look more crazy then sacrificing your own child? But Abraham was obedient and God met him there. I want to live my life in obedience but it is so easy to look to the right and left. Thank you for the reminder to keep looking straight ahead~I will be praying for your family and the baby that will be so blessed to join you! oh – I needed that this morning! Thank you so much for opening up through your frustration – what an encouragement! We are also dreading the wait – and we are not even on the list yet! But we did feel God calling us to AGCI, and definitely to ethiopia, so….eyes forward! Praying for you today. my heart breaks for you andrea. i have been were you are a million time during our 2 year wait for silas. but! know that God is working on you and shaping you during this time. i didn’t know it at the time (i was stubborn and didn’t want to be molded…i wanted my baby). BUT…He was right (why do i question Him?!). i needed it BIG time and i would not be the person i am today without the wait. plus, it will make the homecoming THAT much sweeter. believe me, it is amazing to bring a baby home after a short wait…but just imagine the JOY and REJOICING of bringing home a child that you (and everyone) has prayed for and waiting for for SO long. it is incedible. i still have no words to describe silas’ homecoming. i know this is crazy…but i am thankful for the wait. once i was past it, i could see all the blessing that God had planned for us that we would have not experienced on my time frame. being on the other side, i can say with confidence that EVERY detail was beautiful orchastrated by God…even if it took A LOT longer than i ever expected and took many turns that i did not expect to take. hang it there, friend. i know it is impossible…and there is not much that anyone can say to comfort you (well, except for how much it STINKS to wait). i love you and am here for you. quick comment as I rush my kiddos out the door for school…but I AM HERE IN IT WITH YOU 🙂 If nothing else…misery loves company right 🙂 I feel your pain and know exactly what you are going through…I’m here anytime you need to chat! We WILL get through this!! Jenn I know… The wait is SO hard. Painful. My heart ached for my girls when we were waiting. And, I know that AGCI is always very conservative in their estimated time frames. We didn’t think, when we got on the list this 2nd time in May 2009, that we’d have a referral for 10 months to a year…. And we got our referal a little over 5 months after being on the list! And there were months of very little movement for us, too. I know this isn’t all that helpful right now, but I just wanted to share that I know how you feel and hope that the referral comes sooner rather than later! I am with you on this! My heart wants a child so desperately….my heart wants…..TO NOT WAIT ANY MORE!!!!! hanging in there with you! The wait. OH, the wait. It is so so hard. I feel your pain. Your writing is beautiful. Amen. P.S. I have been trying to convince my husband of the name Isaac, too….he’s not biting. 🙁 so beautifully written..I can SOOOOO feel your pain!! Been there done that one!! AND, crazy, but i can’t wait to be back in your shoes some day!! 🙂 wonderful post…kristi  ***They told me adoption was not for the faint of heart. And this post isn’t either. This is just my heart and where I am today. It’s not fluffy or pretty—it’s just real. It’s a part of our family’s faith journey…to look back and remember every question we asked and to later see how His […] Beautiful and so true…. Obedience and living in HIS will is truly filled with the only true beauty on this earth. Because through the good and the bad, HE remains true and will lead you exactly where He has planned for you to be. love love love this post. the ministry of wiphan care is so beautiful. i appreciate your heart so much. loved the juxtaposition of the disneyworld trip and many family trips to your child’s birth country. what is it all supposed to look like for this little family? i struggle with this so much. great question to ponder…where do the roads meet. you’ve given me much to ponder, pray about and praise god for today. Trust and Obey. Andrea, God will make it chrystal clear His will for each of you…it is too big for man to figure out…it is truely a God situation…place All of your TRUST and OBEDIENCE in His palm and He will lift the cloud to make His will so clear in your HEART ! I know you do this …tell Satan of doubt ,the theif to destroy JOY to GO AWAY…Jesus ,the gentleman as Father Dan refers to HIM, KNOCKS at the door…open it and talk to him..tell Him to make it CLEAR !!! Be prepared for the JOYS ahead for you and your family. Andrea- what a wonderful ministry! I just love how it came to be, and how God tugged at your hearts as well. I have learned so much through our own adoption journey. God placed adoption on my heart in 2004, and it was 4 long years later when our adoption was finally completed. At times He seemed so silent, and at times I couldn’t even begin to see the road through all the fog. But I have learned that his timing and his plan are perfect. As I was reading I was thinking it may even be through this child you will adopt from Ethiopia. This new babe may grow up to be the orphan and widow advocate that God intends…. I am reminded of Hannah and how she prayed for her child. I can’t wait to see how He unfolds your adoption journey and how he grows this Wiphan ministry. LOVE THIS POST! it is SUCH a struggle, and almost too heartbreaking to bear most days. If we are seeking Him then He will guide us in how He wants us to raise these precious children. Your heart for your son and his birth family is beatiful and what a blessing that is going to be for him but also in the midst of this struggle it is blessing you too. And I’m sure you hear this a lot but I have noticed how many people tell me I am going to bring so much hope to my children, I try to gently remind them that bringing them to the US is not giving them hope but pointing them to the Lord is pointing them to the only hope any of us have! I think we must have been separated at birth!!! Oh how are hearts are equally yolked. =) This is the part I try to get my poor husband to see. When he doesn’t understand me, when he thinks I’m going crazy because I cry for no reason. I don’t just want to add to our family, I want to save them all! To restore their own families. To feed every hungry PERSON, child and adult alike. Some days my heart is so overwhelmed I feel I will never be able to do enough. They say be careful what you wish for, and I definitely didn’t foresee what was ahead when I ask the Lord to break my heart with the things that break His. I can’t wait for you to read ‘The Hole In Our Gospel’ A quote from the book–“if Jesus was willing to die for this troubled planet, maybe I need to care about it too. Maybe I should love the people who live on it more. Maybe I have a responsibility to do my part to love the world that Jesus loves so much.” I hope you don’t buy it yet, I’m sending you my copy when I’m finished! ♥ Thinking of you and praying for you and with you today! wow. I have been STRUGGLING with this exact thing as well. Thanks for struggling right along side me! Vanessa so incredible that someone that I have never met in person just spoke the words of my heart perfectly! I struggle every day knowing that the daughter that I am yearning for probably still has a mother who is yearning to keep her – how do we function daily with these thoughts and feelings tugging at my heart and soul! Thank you so much for putting on “paper” what I have not been able to! Perfectly written. Know that we are praying for you all as you make this journey… this is so good – super encouraging. thank you for speaking truth! praying with you and your family. Thank you for sharing your heart today… It is E’s birthday, and a year ago today was when we really opened our hearts to the idea of adopting an infant instead of an older child. Now she’s asleep in her crib! Adoption is amazing, but my passion doesn’t end there, either. I know my role in Ethiopia isn’t over, and I can’t wait to see what will happen next! thanks for sharing and for being real. don’t apologize! my heart feels the same way on this “adoption journey” and i get to the point some days where i will get so worked up…but then i have to give it to HIM…HE is the Father to ALL the children in the world…and He will show you and me how to help Him care for them… So true, this is something we have discussed and struggled with as well. With my husband and I both having multiple trips to Africa you are ‘ruined for the ordinary’ and that constant prodding from the Holy Spirit reminds us that we can’t just settle into life here and be OK with that. 5 years ago we looked at a ministry in Uganda to work with over there, and God didn’t open those doors. But we’re reminded that just becuase that wasn’t His plan, it doesn’t mean that something like that won’t happen in the future. We are called to walk with faith – waiting to see how and where God will lead us. For now, adoption is in His plan, maybe another time – we’re running an orphanage or living there doing some other ministry. Either place we are – we are to follow – through the good times and bad, and those tough thoughts that don’t allow us to become complacent. So very true….that is something we have really learned. It seems so distant and hard, but in the end it is God’s Story. That is why it is sooo important for all to know that AGCI offers them a chance to keep a child if all they need is monetary support. Makes my soul rested to know this fact. I think God works sooo deeply in our hearts on this journey that there is no real way to describe it. There is no “easy” adoption. There is no way we can be left unchanged. It amazes me that through all of our very dark tunnels as we have been through the adoption process 7 and now on our 8th time…..that God has changed our hearts in tooo many ways to even begin to describe in a comment. Praise God for your journey. Praise God for changing our hearts to live radical lives! Praise God that HE ALONE GETS THE GLORY for our lives. May we really see what HE IS DOING….not just what number we are on the waitlist. Praise God! Thanks for sharing your heart! You are such a gifted writer and such an inspiration. I just love your spirit!!! Oh thank you for putting words to all that is on MY heart as well! I totally understand and have the same thoughts. It is my drive to continue with our orphan care ministry as well! We were told that we would not get any info. on our child…just the way the country works. Ended up getting WAY MORE than I thought and it was quite a process for me working through our little girl’s story, understanding the culture, mindsets, etc. Also opened my eyes to organizations like Smile Train and how a $250 surgery can change a life and the families’ living conditions (families with a CL/CP child are basically shunned in the village). God is good and I believe with all my heart that God has chosen Abby to be in our family for the call He has on her life! Thank you for this post Andrea! Ever since we started our adoption journey, we have prayed and prayed that the Lord would direct us in how we can help children who have living relatives keep them instead of having to make the heartbreaking decision to relinquish them for adoption. I can’t wait to see what he has in store for our family and yours!!! I pray that the Lord will use each of our adopted children as emissaries to draw attention to the great need and bring help to the children and families of their beautiful birth country. Praying for you!!! Sarah This road we are on is definitely a hard one. I’m so glad that God is in control of all the details…I certainly can’t handle the pressure alone! Glad for friends who are like minded and trudging through the hard stuff with us! Jenn Awesome post…and that is exactly WHY i’m still at it and can’t STOP!!! I know God is asking MORE of us!! I can’t wait to see HOW that plays out 🙂 kj […] in the middle), is on the board for an organization called wiphan…you can read about it here and here on andrea’s […] |
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by admin
what a trooper you are for cutting your own hair…i think your hair looks great! good job!
I’m sooo impressed with the haircut! I love that the last few pictures of Parker he’s been in full costume!
That’s my boy Shannon…we even had a babysitter who had a shirt monogrammed for him that says “Lil Hero” because this is SO him!!!!!!!
Oh yes. The budget. I think we are implimenting a newer, stricter one each month b/c I’m so bad at it. Okay not THAT bad. BUt I hate it that’s for sure. You know I’m doing good when I’m complaining about having nothing to wear. It’s not really that I have nothing to wear, its just that I don’t like my options anymore! =) But hearing about you cutting your own hair made me want to cry (although hubby walking in to the house to Me: scissors in hand, surrounded by hair is a common occurance)! I’m a hairstylist (retired? SAHM now) and I hate to hear about ameteurs (no offense, haha) cutting their own hair. But I have to admit it doesn’t look bad by any means. 😉 Shhh…don’t tell anyone though! I don’t want the word to spread about at-home-stylists! =)
Oh, Andrea…your hair looks great. I have been cutting mine for quite some time and even *sigh* went to the box color. 5dollar dinners (dot) com has been a huge help for us and she cooks very healthy. If you were on my fb you could see my pictures of dinners for a family of 5 in the 3.00 – 5.00 range for the entire meal. I must say your ham dinner looked amazing but I knew I could not get it to come in under 5.00. So that will be a special occasion meal for sure!
Thank you, Andrea, for stopping by our blog and leaving your words of encouragement. This blogging thing is so new to me, but what fun! I have loved reading about your journey for a few months now, and it is so great to read others stories who are a bit further down on the adoption path. On another note- We made many sets of your valentine cookies and gave them to our kiddo’s “Prayer Parents” this year for their valentine’s and they loved them! Thanks for sharing great ideas. I was also wondering how did you make your Lent tree? I’m a visual learner and I was hoping to see how you made your tree to hang all the ornaments. Just had to ask! It will be fun to watch your journey continue to unfold.
God’s grace to you,
Amy
Wow! I think you did a great job with your hair. That would’ve ended in a disaster if I had tried that. Me, scissors, and hair are not a good combination. But, you look great! And the adoption thing definitely holds you accountable to living on a stricter budget. Our 10 year anniversary is coming up and for years we had big dreams of going to Hawaii or something, but now that we’re adopting again, I think we might be heading to Chicago or something instead. Thankful that the Lord uses adoption to refine my heart in so many areas….including stewardship. 🙂 Have a great weekend!
I love the whole lent tree thing! What an awesome way to teach kids!
Oh, I think your hair looks great! I cut my hair to save money to a couple of months ago. All the kids were screaming and I just decided to wack my hair off so I could have some organization to my life! I wasn’t so straight, but my mom helped me straighten up when I saw her the next week. I also cute Henry’s hair! Yes, it’s a bowl cut, but that is an Alabama thing. I wish I could highlight my hair myself, but it never turns out right. I am always trying to do things myself. Have a good weekend!!
I think your hair looks great. Next time you are in town, I will have you cut mine:)
Love all the pics. Thank you so much for the prayers and kindness. Much love,
Amy