Our wait Is Part Of His Plan!

We know that all things good are worth waiting for.  Well, our Miracle is taking awhile but it is so worth the wait.  We can choose to be sad and unhappy about the wait or embrace it and trust that his plan is also about the time that we are spending in wait for our little one.  We choose to embrace this whole journey and trust in Him. 

As many of you know we were right there.  Home study done, visa ready, hearts prepared and then it happened.  They stopped doing adoptions at the organization that we were adopting from in Taiwan.  My heart said let's wait.  God led us to Taiwan and I was not ready to just switch countries because it was easy.  One thing I have learned in my 36 years is that easy does not always mean it is the right choice.  Walking with the Lord is definitely not always easy.  Through the hard it builds our character and strength in our faith. 

We went a few months ago and talked with our social worker.  We signed up to do domestic adoption in Illinois as well.  We check our emails all the time to see if there is any news.  Taiwan  remains in my prayers and on my heart more than ever. 

Taiwan is not only on just Kent and I's heart but also on our pastor and his wife's as well.  They are leaving 4/09/2013 to go on a missions trip to Taiwan.  As much as my heart wants to hide in their suit case and just go find my child I know God has already picked them out and it is not my choice to play his part.  Our church is being called to Taiwan and I can not wait to see what that looks like in the future.  I know that my connection with this beautiful county is more than just a thought in my head.  God has my heart connected and even thought I am not for sure what that looks like I know that it is real and it is strong.

We found another orphanage that I have been trying to put in an application for so long now.  It is a Christian organization that has not been taking applications for awhile now.  I finally got to fill one out and they have now put us on their waiting list.  We are number 29.  Praise the Lord we have a number!  7 used to be my favorite number but now it will always be 29.  It is so exciting to think that after 28 more families receive their miracles we could receive ours.  Oh what a day that is going to be.  My heart and soul are so ready to make our family whole.

We are waiting and praying and believing more than ever that through the wait we have became different people.  We know what it feels like to be able to have a child and we know what it feels like not to be able to have a child.  We have made so many friends and connections because of this beautiful little life that we are so blessed to be able to someday call our own! 

Thanks so much for your prayers, patience, and love.  We have had so many asking and I have been really bad about keeping up on this blog.  I am so sorry for the wait.  We are still believing that through many miracles all of this will be a testimony to so many others that are adopting or are thinking about it.  We have chose a little more difficult road than most but I know in my heart that it is the road that God chose for our family. 

Speed Bumps

     I love that the title of the series our Pastor is doing is called "Speed Bumps. "  We have been waiting for over a year now for our adoption.  For those of you that do not know, we are held up right now.  Taiwan changed their laws earlier than expected and we are waiting for them to transition.  We got our paperwork done right after the deadline of them taking paperwork. (Speed Bump 1)
     Two days after I posted my last blog I had a bit of a health scare.  I was overdosed on Vitamin D and thyroid medicine that my doctor had prescribed.  I have been on thyroid medicine for 3 years because mine is a little under active.  The doctor had not been watching my blood work and they gave me too much.  Needless to say my body did not like that at all.  At the same time Kent had to have rotator cuff surgery.  He had hurt his shoulder at work.    It was suppose to be a simple orthoscopic surgery.  His surgery ended up taking 4 incisions and 23 staples to fix the tear.  (Speed Bumps 2 & 3)
     While all of this was happening we also got some more news.  Lifesong will not match our fundraising funds for the adoption. (Speed Bump 4)
     I have to say that during all of these speed bumps we had a lot of time to just take in each other and take in the Lord.  We talk all the time about his timing being just right.  Here is an example of how his plan is greater than ours.  All of these events happened the summer of the drought.  This means since it is summer the kids were home.  We had extra help around the house.  Since it has been so dry the grass has not been growing and Kent has not had to mow much.  Normally Kent has quite a few burials.  If he has a full burial it takes so much more work than a cremation.  The last full burial he has had to do was the day he hurt his shoulder.  He has had many burials since that day but they have all been cremations, lifting a huge amount of work off of him.
     I have learned so much about my Father through out this whole experience.  There was one specific night when I was having a really hard time sleeping.  Kent had just had his surgery.  He had taken pain medicine that made him rather sleepy.  I did not want to wake him to tell him I was having a hard time.  I laid out like a cross on the bedroom floor praying with all I had to my Father.  I then heard him say "Monica why don't you come to me more often when you are in need?  I am your Father and you go to Kent to help you instead of me.  He is your husband but he is human just like you.  If you want supernatural help you have to come to the inventor of supernatural".  Big lesson learned right there!
     We just received our 5th speed bump in the last couple of months.  We were going to be able to adopt from the Organization that we were because they did not have the rule that you must have to have $80,000 in assets to be able to adopt.  Our home and Kent's truck are part of his pay at his job.  Since we do not have our name on them because they are provided through his employer we are not eligible to adopt from most agencies that have a Taiwan program.  This organization was different, we were so excited.  Now that they have to partner with an agency we do not know if the Taiwan door will stay open for us.  We talked to our social worker about foster adopting is the US.  In order for us to have that option and keep our hearts open to Taiwan we would have to switch agencies and maybe start our home study all over again.
     Now what?  We pray!  We pray that we know God put all of those speed bumps there for a reason.  We pray and ask for direction and guidance.  I know that it is his will not mine.  I want whatever he has for my life and nothing less.  So I pray that the doors that are suppose to be open will open and our hearts will spot them.  I pray for our child and for their mother.  I pray that my Father uses our story to inspire or help someone who is walking or will be walking this same path.  I pray for all of you.  I pray that you know when you have hit a speed bump.  Those speed bumps all of them are there for a reason.  Take that time to deepen your faith and get closer to the one that longs for you to be close.  Our God is taking care of our family.  He is doing it in a much different way then I imagined or would have picked but that is why he is God and I am not.

Mathew 18:5 In whoever welcomes a little child like this in my name welcomes me!

     I want to start off by saying how sorry I am for not updating the blog in awhile.  Not a lot has changed in our adoption process until this last week.  If any of you have been through the adoption process, there is a lot of waiting.  We have waited every step of the way.  You turn in a little bit of paper work then you wait until you turn in more just to wait.  We are getting closer and closer!

     We went to Naperville this last Monday and got fingerprinted for the last time.  The paperwork is now in the hands of immigration.  This is the last stop our paperwork has to take before we send it to our friends in Taiwan.  We are praying that the paperwork gets through in a very timely manner. 

     We just found out a couple of weeks ago that they are changing adoption in Taiwan quite a bit.  We are adopting independently through a Christian organization in Taiwan.  They have been allowed to give referrals for families adopting.  As of June 1st they will no longer be able to do that.  We are hoping and praying that God stays in the lead on this journey and that he helps our paperwork to get through and in their hands in time.  If not then we wait until this Organization partners with an agency and then we could get a referral. 

     We have learned that the adoption process can definitely be very hard because laws change all of the time.  We also know that getting all stressed out will not do anybody any good.  God has had this whole journey planned out from the beginning and he knows how it will work out all the way to the very end.  We are so thankful that we know and trust in him and he has it all under control.

     We are waiting to hear back from LifeSong an organization here in Illinois that helps financially with adoptions.  We should be hearing back from them any day now.  They help match donations up to a certain amount.  We are planning on having another garage sale/bake sale as soon as we find out.  I still have a ton of stuff from our last garage sale in the basement just waiting to find a new home.  If you would like to donate or help out with the garage sale/bake sale just let me know.

     All together the cost of the adoption is between $26,000 - $28,000.  We still have a long way to go financially but we are getting closer and closer everyday to getting our pictures of our soon to be little one.  I can not wait to see our new family member.  Our hearts are so full of love for this little child that we have not even seen yet.  We know that they are waiting on us right now and my heart aches to hold him or her and let them know how long we have waited and how much we love them. 

     Thank you all for being an incredible support system for us while we have been on this journey.  We know that God has so much more in store for our family.  This is about so much more than adoption.  It is about listening to his prompting and following him to places we never thought we could go.  I really feel that God has a calling for our family and I can't wait to share it with all of you after we bring our little one home. 

     I am sorry once again that it has taken so long for me to update our journey.  As many of you know months fly by really fast sometimes. We love you all and we appreciate your prayers!

Staying on His course!

     I love that when I opened my Bible tonight the first thing I read was Psalm 19:1-8.  It is about staying on God's course.  It says that as long as you keep walking His course and keep seeking him then you will be blessed.  Kent and I just started the 21 day Daniel fast.  We are seeking him deeply and know that he has amazing plans to bless our family.

     As many of you know we have been waiting and waiting for our home study to be finished.  We just found out it will probably be another 8 weeks before it is finished.  It would be so easy to get stressed out and impatient while waiting, but God has given us this extreme feeling of peace.  We know it is going to happen and it will happen right when it is suppose to happen.  God's plan is always on time and his timing is always right. 

     We have got to watch some friends of ours go to Taiwan and adopt there little baby girl through pictures on facebook.  It has been so exciting to get to watch and see the same path being walked that we are walking.  We have got to see the whole thing unfold.  Walking this adoption journey with others that are right there too is so comforting.

     We know that we still have a ways to go.  We have to wait on the paperwork first.  Then we can go to Lifesong For Orphans and they will help us in raising funds.  We are still so far away from our goal but God loves doing miracles and it is so awesome being able to have front row seats to this one.  He has already shown us that he can work through anybody.  He loves to show us his love in so many ways and it is so fun to see it coming from directions that you never expected.

     We are taking this time of waiting to get closer to him everyday.  It is so fun watching him and the closer to him I get, the more I see him everywhere and in everything.

     We love you all and thanks for all of your prayers and support.  There is not a day that goes by that someone does not ask us about our adoption.  We are so blessed to get to have you all walking beside us on one of the most amazing adventures of our lives!

Patience - The will or ability to wait or endure without complaint!

    I want to apologize for not updating the blog in awhile.  As many of you know this is a very busy season.  We have been making ornaments, shopping, spending time with friends and family and trying to keep up with both the kids activities.  We are spending the day tomorrow baking cookies  (which is about a month later than usual.)  Well a lot has gone on and not a lot has gone on with the adoption.  Confused?  I will explain.

     We have completed all we can do for our part of the first process in the State Of Illinois.  We have been waiting for weeks for DCFS to process our paperwork.  We have called our social worker a ton of times.  The only response we can get is that the state is really backed up.  We finally called Bill Mitchell who is the State Representative for our area.  I have worked with him before a few years ago and he helped us out in a situation with Dawson and the school bus.  We knew that he would jump in to help out.  He called DCFS to see what the hold up was.  He was then told that when the state made all their cut backs that was one of the jobs effected.  There is only one lady who processes the paperwork for adoptions in Illinois. 

     We then explained our journey and how the law in Taiwan has passed to stop International adoption.  If we can get the paperwork finished and finish our journey before July we should still be OK.  I know it would just be easier to switch countries and be put on another waiting list but God has not released us from Taiwan.  We really feel as though he has laid this all out and that is the direction he told us to go.  We know that his timing and his plan are always perfect and no matter what happens that it was all his will.  He has had this planned from the very beginning and we have learned that trusting him is so much easier than fighting him and trying to go our own way.

     Bill Mitchells' office got a hold of the lady that does all of the adoption paperwork.  He asked her if she could put our file on the top of her stack due to our situation (the law passing in Taiwan.)  We are now just waiting to hear back and we are praying for a miracle that our paperwork gets found and finished.  There could not be a greater Christmas present. 

     About a month ago God put something on my heart and I feel it is very important to share.  We were having a conversation and he opened up my heart and eyes and said "If you can not trust me 100% in your life then how can you trust me to bring your little one home."  Wow, that is huge.  I go to church and pray everyday and thought that my relationship with him was going just great.  Surprise he loves to shock you back into reality sometimes and he did me that day.  Well, since that day I have been trusting him with all that I have and all that I am.  I am expecting him to do big miracles because I know that he is true to his word.  I have put all my trust in him and I know he will make sure our little one gets home.

Thanks for all of your continued support and I am so sorry it took me so long to update you all on our adoption!  We are just learning to be patient and watching God's plan unfold in his time.

All Things Are Possible Through Christ Who Strengthens Me!

     It has been awhile since I last updated the blog and a lot has came up.  The last time I updated we were just waiting on DCFS to get our paperwork finished.  Well, we are still waiting.  Our social worker told us it would be about 2 weeks and it has been 5 weeks.  We are now going on week 6.  This is only the first of two trips for our paperwork.  It has to be sent to DCFS twice.  I am starting to think that our papers are lost in a pile somewhere.  Prayers for our paperwork to get found and processed are very welcomed right now. 

     There has been another small kink put into our process.  We knew at the beginning of our adoption that they were trying to make some changes to the adoption process in Taiwan.  They were suppose to make these changes at the beginning of next year.  They were trying to pass a law that stopped international adoption in Taiwan.  We knew that it was not a big deal because if you were already in the process you were grandfathered in and the adoption would still be completed.  Well, they decided to move the date up to try and stop international adoption.  They passed the law last week.  Since our paper work from DCFS is still in limbo we have not officially started our process in Taiwan yet.  We are told however that the law will probably not go into effect until July.  If we can hurry and get the paperwork back and get the process started and finished by then we would still be OK.

     We are asking for prayers that our paperwork gets found and processed quickly.  We know that God has our path all planned out and his will, will be done.  I have prayed and asked God to take away all the uneasy feelings and all of the weight that my heart is bearing.  It is so hard knowing that someone else is holding your future in their hands and it can't get started until they make it start.

     Thank you all so much for all of your support and prayers.  We know that it is only by God's will that this whole journey began.  The outcome is going to be an amazing miracle that is a true testimony of his great love.

The Waiting begins!

     I thought I would update you all on how our adoption is going.  As many of you know with adoption there is a lot of waiting that comes along with it.  Well, that is where we are right now.  We finished our home study and sent our paper work to DCFS.  They have to look it over and send it back to our social worker.  Well, it has been a month now and we are still waiting for them to look at the paper work.  Once the paperwork gets sent back to our social worker she has to send one more paper to them and then it will be finalized.  It is really hard waiting for someone else to get your future started.

     We are asking for prayers that our paperwork would get a chance to get reviewed and they would get it mailed back in a timely manner.  We know that waiting is a huge part of the adoption process but usually this is not when the waiting begins.  This paperwork is usually done being processed in a couple of weeks.  We know that God's timing is always right but our hearts are so ready for the next step.  Thanks for standing by us and for all of the prayers.

God Moves In The Most Amazing Ways!

     In Christ I am of royal lineage.  I am a child of the King.  My Father, the King, provides me abundant blessings not only in the life to come but in my day-by-day earthly life.  We have been watching God move in the most incredible ways.  His blessings in the past couple of months have been unbelievable to watch.  I know bringing our little one home is just the beginning in this new chapter in our lives.  His plan goes way beyond that.  I want to share with you a couple of the heart warming stories that we have had the privilege to witness in the last week.

     As many of you know I have a 15 year old daughter who is a young woman after God's own heart.  She walks with him like no other teenager or most adults that I know. If you can't find her around the house she is usually either studying for a test, sending and receiving messages from a couple of dear friends on facebook, or in her room reading her Bible.  God has blessed me with some pretty amazing kids.

     Sam met a young man last year through our church.  He was traveling with a band that came to visit.  He is a 16 year old young man that absolutely loves the Lord.  The two of them have stayed in touch via facebook.  He lives a few states away.  He told Sam one day that he really felt as though God had put a number on his heart and he was going to work real hard and save the money to send us for the adoption.  Sam received a letter in the mail this week with a check for $500.00.  I know that God works through many people but watching him work through a teenager just absolutely warms my heart.  I can not thank him enough for all of the hard work that he did to help give us a donation to bring our little one home.  Now if that is not humbling I don't know what is.

     I have another really cool story to share with you.  We worked really hard to put a garage sale together in 9 days.  Many of you know that we live in the middle of the woods and a garage sale sounds like a pretty bad idea.  That is true unless it is God that that is leading it.  We threw together a garage sale in 9 days.  We held it last weekend at the same time that the Nature Center down the road had their Fall Festival.  I had some pretty amazing friends come and help our family pull together one really miraculous sale.  While my girlfriends and I were sitting and chatting we noticed a lady come in with her 2 year old child.  He was just adorable and we all kind of initiated conversation with his momma.  She walked around and then after a short time of looking grabbed a 25 cent dinosaur and came over to pay.  She handed my friend a twenty.  When my friend Jenny went to get her change she said "No please keep it."  "See our little guy here is adopted and we were out driving and I saw your signs."  "We felt we really needed to stop and do this".  Then as fast as she walked up she exited.  It was really moving to see God at work.

     Our kids proved to be very hard workers the day of the sale.  They stood on the corner flagging down cars with the signs.  They brought us in so many people and we were so thankful to have them there.  Our sale raised $500.45.  Thank you to all of you that came and found treasures and helped us get a little closer to bringing our little one home. 

The joy of the Lord is your strength.  Nehemiah 8:10

We Are So Blessed!

     This week we have been putting together a last minute garage sale.  We have found out that for the nest step in our journey we are going to need $6,220.00.  We have been thinking about having a garage sale but did not think that we could get one put together before winter.  Well God knew we could.  He decided that we could put one together in less than 2 weeks.  The Nature Center right by our house is having their fall festival this next Saturday.  Well, since we live in the middle of no where a garage sale was probably not going to work.  As God would have it this Saturday hundreds of people will be driving right past my house.  Well, we figured why not give it a try?
     We have been getting donations for the sale and I have been going through everything in our house.  I figured if it is around just because I like it and not because I need or use it, then it is time for it to go.  We know that God has provided us with exactly what we have needed so far and there is no doubt that he will keep providing through this whole process.  We know that we have to work at raising the funds and that as long as we are doing our part he will surely intervene. 
     The cool part is we have been watching another couple that is going on our exact journey.  They are also adopting from where we are.  It is so neat to hear their stories and be able to watch God work hard in their lives to bring their little one home as well.  They are a couple months ahead of us on their journey and it is so cool to see where they are and know that we might be there really quick.
     There are 147 million orphans in this world and we are so excited to make that number one less.  I love being pregnant without being pregnant.  It is so awesome when people ask if we are adopting a boy or girl.  Well, we do not know yet.  It is like being pregnant and waiting for the ultrasound.  As soon as we get a referral we will know.  Waiting is hard but it is also so much fun.  The anticipation is overwhelming yet wonderful.  We can not wait to start getting all the baby things ready.  We want to wait and find out for sure if it is a girl or boy and we also want to make sure we know exactly what age so we kind of have an idea of sizes and toys. 
     Our family is getting stronger everyday.  We are all walking this journey together.  There has been a lot of major bonding going on preparing to expand our family.  Dawson and Sam are both so excited.  We babysat for a friend the other night and we all were working together to make things run very smooth.  We had a great time and we can not wait for our little to come home so we can take care of them and love them to pieces.
     Our sale is this Saturday at 8:00.  We have had some close friends offer to help out.  We are so excited to see what God has in store and we hope to see you all there.
     This song is an amaing song that I had to share.  Since this adoption process started this song has a whole new meaning to our family.
   

The Next part Of Our Journey

     We are so excited!  Today was a big day for us.  We had our home visit for our home study.  We are almost finished with the first part of our journey.  Our home study should be finished in about 2 weeks.  Now the waiting begins.  We have to finish one last class on-line but it is almost done.  Then we just wait.  We wait for our social worker to put our file together.  We wait for her to mail it off and for it be mailed back.  Then we can mail it to our adoption advocate.  He then will look it over and make sure everything that we need for our paperwork in Taiwan is there.  Fingers crossed it is all there and then he can mail it to Taiwan.  We then wait for our referral : ) !  Then we wait for the court in Taiwan to get the paperwork and set up the first ruling.  We have officially paid off our home study.  That is so exciting and now we will begin the next step.
     We still have a long way to go.  We still have a little less than $24,000 left to raise.  We know though that God has had this whole journey planned from the very beginning and he will help us get there.  We will begin applying for grants as soon as the home study is finalized.  Then we will have to do another fundraiser of some sort.  I think that we should come up with a fundraiser that is all about God.  A unique fundraiser that would be very pleasing to Him.  Kent on the other hand has a complete feeling of peace and he knows that the Lord will provide.  It seems like everyday he has been providing a little bit here and a little bit there.  In our humanness we feel it would be so much better if he would just provide us with a check for $24,000, but we are learning to trust him more and more everyday.  His timing will be the perfect timing.  It may not be on our schedule or how we picture it, but it will be exactly in his time and exactly how he has it pictured.  We have been very humbled by this whole process.  Those of you that know us well, know that it is very hard for us to ask others for help.  We have always done a pretty good job of taking care of things on our own.  This time we know that we have to step out in faith and depend on the help of others.
     We are so excited about getting our home study finished because we know we are one step closer to bringing our new child home.  We are living out a dream and love that you all are here to watch it all unfold.  Every night when I go to bed I try to imagine what our next family picture will look like.  I can not wait to get our daughter or son home and love them to pieces.  I can not wait to share their adoption story with them and let them know how much God loves them and what he has done for all of us. 
    
Romans 15:13  May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.
    
    
  

In My Dreams

     We have had a bit of a crazy week.  Sorry it has been awhile since the last post.  We have all been passing around a nasty respiratory infection.  We have had physicals, shots, TB tests, classes to figure out, work and cross country.  We have been going allot of different directions and last night our two dogs got sprayed by a skunk.  Today was me and Kent's date day and we spent it giving the dogs a tomato juice bath followed by a regular bath and had to shave them both.  You know that you are really in love when even a day filled with dirty, smelly dogs is a great day when you are together.  I am so blessed to have the greatest husband in the world. 
     We went to the doctor last Wednesday and got our physicals for the adoption.  We were so excited until we actually got there.  It is crazy that the older you get the more in depth the physicals get.  Let's just say that it was definitely a very awkward visit for both Kent and I.  We made it through it and now we are another step closer to getting our home study finished.  We can not wait to hurry up and get it finished so we can begin the wait of a lifetime.  The wait to get the referral of our new family member.
     I had a dream last night that we were in Taiwan and we were going to pick up our little girl.  Now we don't know for sure if it is a boy or a girl but in my dream she was just beautiful.  I was handed our little bundle and could not quit kissing her.  I looked up and Kent was smiling and had a tear running down his cheek.  My face all covered in tears was so excited.  Kent looked up at me and said can I hold my daughter now?  I started crying even more as I handed her to him.  I woke up and then could hardly get back to sleep.  I can not wait to see what our little one looks like.
     Everyday that goes by we pray for the organization that is going to be helping our birth mother out.  We pray for our little one, and his or her birth mother.  We pray for the transition from a family of four to a family of five.  We are praying that all the paper work will be efficient and that it will be processed in a very timely manner.  We pray that we will keep this all about God and never lose sight of the fact that he is the one that made this all possible and keeps making it possible.  We pray for all of the people that are praying for us.   We hope that through this process we will be able to help others and our story will be a blessing and testimony of what God can do.  He loves us so much that he has turned the impossible to possible.
     Thank you so much for your continued prayers!

Big Miracles Come In Little Packages!

I found this poem tonight and I just had to share it with all of you.  It is just beautiful and it captured my heart.

Kisses in the Wind

I hold you in my heart and touch you in my dreams.You are here each day with me, at least that's how it seems.

I know you wonder where we are... what's taking us so long.

But remember my child, I love you so and God will keep you strong.

Now go outside and feel the breeze and let it touch your skin...

Because tonight, just as always, I blow you kisses in the wind.

May God hold you in His hand until I can be with you.

I promise you, my darling, I'm doing all that I can do.

Very soon, you'll have a family for real, not just pretend.

But for tonight, just as always, I blow you kisses in the wind.

May God wrap you in His arms and hold you very tight.

And let the angels bring the kisses that I send to you each night.

Aurthur unknown

I just have to take a minute to tell you my heart.  I feel so blessed and you all are an amazing group of family and friends.  Just since our fundraiser last weekend we have raised another $300.00.  God is so amazing to watch in action.  My niece who is in boot camp right now a I write this, sent us a letter the other day telling us how excited she is for us.  She also sent us a donation for our adoption.  It is so crazy for me to think that the little girl that use to have picnics in our yard, and sang and played for hours on video is now all grown up and helping to support our adoption.  I had a dear client and her husband give a check and tell us that she is thankful for our family.  We received a check in the mail today from some very good friends of ours who were also there supporting us at the fundraiser.  I can not tell you how amazing it is to see everyone gather around us in prayer and support.  We knew going into this that $28,000 is humanly impossible to come up with and the only way it was going to be possible was through God himself.  Well, he is working hard and we can not thank him enough.  We even received our first set of hats and booties from a girlfriend of mine that is incredibly talented when it comes to knitting. 
     We have turned in most of the paperwork that we had to fill out.  We are now waiting to get our physicals.  We also still have to make a blueprint of our house and an escape route in case of an emergency.  We still have to get the dogs their newest shots and we are waiting to get back our well water tests.  We had to get our well tested to make sure that our water is up to state standards.  We did get our fingerprints done and they are running the background checks.  We still have our classes left to take.  The autobiographies were probably the hardest part.  We had to write our life stories with specific questions that had to be answered.  The funny thing is you can so tell the difference between man and woman when it comes to telling a story.  I answered questions in paragraph form and sometimes it took a few.  Kent's answers were very much straight and to the point.  Sometimes they were only one sentence answers.  His was short and sweet and very much to the point.  Mine were very long winded and very intricate.  I am so blessed to be married to a man that helps even me out.  He is amazing and God knew exactly what he was doing when he through our paths together a little over 16 years ago. 
     I can't wait to get this home study finished so we can start waiting for our referral.  We are hoping to have it all done by the middle of October!  We ask that you keep this whole process in your prayers.  There is a lot of paperwork that has to be mailed here and there and we ask for prayers that it all to be mailed and received in a very timely manor. Thank you all again for all of your love and all of your support.

Miracles Through The Rain

Blessings come even through the rain.  Last night was sure proof of that.  These are just a few of the pictures I took from our Adoption Fundraiser.  We are so blessed to have such a wonderful group of family and friends.  We raised $3059.50.  I don't know about you but to me that number is just awesome.  We are now a little bit closer to bringing our little one home.  We now have enough to finish our Home Study, take the classes we need, and even a little bit left for the next step in our adoption process.  It is so cool that God just keeps providing exactly what we need right when we need it.  I have been watching God do some pretty remarkable things lately and I knew he was going to be in control of the whole day.  When Kent woke me up yesterday he said "Get up get up it's time to get up God is going to do some pretty amazing things today."  That is such a great way to get out of bed.  Thanking and praising him for the day ahead.  We jumped up got ready and headed to church.  We praised God in worship and thanked him for what he has been doing , and for what he still has in store.  We have came to this great place of peace with him because we know that it is not humanly possible to come up with the finances on our own. The only way it is possible is through him.  Even when I got out of bed yesterday and saw the rain, instead of flipping out (like the old me would have) I gave him a great big thank you for giving the ground a drink.  We have not had rain in so long and we really do need it.  I knew that rain or shine his glory was going to be had.  We had the most amazing time last night.  We had friends from so many different parts of our walk there.  We had family members, church family, old friends, new friends, and even a few friends we had never even met before.  We had an awesome worship team that volunteered there time, and gifts.  We also had many people step up to help set up, run the bake sale, help with the silent auction, grill hot dogs, move tables, and help clean up.  We had people praying that could not come and people praying that were there.  We ended up being blessed in so many ways.  Our spirits were so full last night by the time we got into bed that we could hardly sleep.  We were talking about all the events of that day and how incredible our God is.  We talked about all the things we wish we had done (like grab the microphone and thank everyone for coming, & tell the volunteers that they could have as many hot dogs as they wanted.)  We have never done anything like this before so it is all new and it is also a path of learning for us.  We want to tell all of you that came and that prayed that we love you and thank you from the bottoms of our hearts.  We are so blessed that God has put you all in our lives. 

Psalm 72:11-14

I will remember the deeds of the Lord; yes, I will remember your miracles of long ago.  I will meditate on all your works and consider all your mighty deeds.  Your ways, O God, are holy.  What god is so great as our God?  You are the God who performs miracles; you display your power among the peoples. 



Taking Time To Count Our Blessings!

     We have learned through the years that it is very important to take time with the Lord.  Even on busy weeks like this one, well especially on weeks this one.  This is not just our Fundraiser week, but it is also Sam's Homecoming week.  She is on student council and has had to be there early every morning before school.  Dawson has had cross country practice or a meet everyday this week.  Kent and I have both been very busy at work as well.  We still have lots to do to get the fundraiser all ready to go.  We have more baked goods to be baked, cookies that need separated into packages, baskets that need to be finished, lots of tea and lemonade to prepare, and a few other little minor details.  We have realized lately that our world has and will continue to totally change.  We have stepped out of this place of comfort that we had found.  It felt very safe and cozy there but now we are sailing into a whole new world.  A world that is lead by God and may at times take us out of our comfort zone.  In this new world faith is the one thing that keeps us going everyday.  When we decided to add to our family we were overloaded with emotions.  We were scared, excited, happy, and did I mention scared?  There is a lot to take into consideration but we knew that God had made our choice for us.  We knew that walking with him he would take care of us.  We are changing a lot a things in our lives right now.  We have been very nervous about the financial aspect of this adoption.  It takes more money than we can even imagine coming up with ourselves.  That is why we know that we have to give it to the Lord and let him take control.  We know that when we finally get to bring our little one home we are going to have to start making a few cut backs.  We feel that God is not giving us this child for someone else to raise them.  We are going to change our schedules so that Kent or I will be home at all times.  We have been very blessed with two wonderful Godly children and we want to make sure that this child has the same upbringing as Sam and Dawson.  We are so excited to see how God's plan is going to unfold.  People keep telling me that a year is a long time to wait.  Well, when I think about how much fun we have had as a family going through this whole process I believe that a year will fly by.  We have seen God move in ways that we have never seen before.  He is daily showing us how blessed we are.    We are trying to make sure that an hour does not go by that we are not thanking him for what he is doing in our lives.  Thank you all for being here with us right now on this most amazing journey.

We Are officially Under Way!

     Today has been a very exciting day.  We went and got our fingerprints taken.  Then we turned in our first set of paperwork and our first payment.  Thanks so much to the My friend Jenny's good friend.  His donation is what got us started!  God has been absolutely moving in our lives every single day.  I can not even begin to tell you how excited I am.  It is so unreal that we are actually here right now.  Tuesday when I was at work one of my co-workers clients was telling me all about her kids who had adopted.  I am so priviledged to have the friends and clients that I have.  Everywhere I look and everwhere I listen I have been seeing God hard at work.  The other day I was watching  House Hunters International and the family was moving from Pennsylvania to Guatemala.  They were moving there to help work at an orphanage.  I know with everything in my heart that God has some amazing plans in store for our family. This adventure has been one of the coolest experiences that we have ever shared.  I keep seeing him all around me everyday.  It has definitely brought my relationship with the Lord to a whole new level.  Thank you all for listening to me vent my excitement.  It probably sounds funny to you but getting a case number today was like winning the big lotto.  We are on our way and totally official now.  Yeah!

P.S.
I was going to put pictures on here of all our paperwork but I misplaced our camera. 
I will get pictures up as soon as I can.

One Tough Week But An Even Tougher God!

     I am sorry that it has been a week since I last posted.  As many of you know we have had some medical issues with Sam and Dawson this week.  Last Sunday we stepped out of our box and got up in front of the church and gave our testimony.  It was like Satan said oh yeah well take this.  Later that day Dawson had to go to prompt care because of problems with his asthma.  Monday Kent took Dawson back to the doctor and I had to take Sam to get a CT scan because of her migraine.  By the end of the week we had made a total of 4 doctor appointments, 2 CT scans, 2 emergency room visits, 4 shots, and one visit to the neurologist.  We are pretty tuckered out physically but we know that this journey is by far the most incredible thing our family has experienced together and we haven't even got to the best part yet.
     We can not thank all of our prayer warriors enough for the prayers for healing and strength this week. Sam is doing much better and we are finally getting some answers about her migraines.  All of her test results should be back Tuesday and we will know more.  Dawson is now back on all his allergy medicines and is doing great.  We are taking this weekend to relax and get all caught back up on homework and housework. 
  We got all of our new home study paperwork on Monday and have been trying to get as much done as we can.  Hopefully by the end of the month we will have it all finished.  For the first time in along time I am really enjoying doing paperwork.  The fundraiser is coming up very quickly.  We are so excited to get to see all of you there and get to tell you in person all the cool things that God has been doing in our lives.  If you can't make it and have any questions feel free to message me on facebook or post any questions you have on the blog. 
     We love all of you and can't thank you enough for your continued  prayers and support! 

Deuteronomy 7:9  Know therefor that the Lord your God is God, he is the faithful God, keeping his convenient of love to a thousand generations of those who love him and keep his comands.

Helping with an adoption + recieving a new patio = a really neat opportunity!

I bet there are 2 things you have been telling yourself! 1. I would love a new awesome patio! AND 2. How could I help someone bring an orphan home! Well...now is the time to do both at once!  Ha ha! Our good friend (Brian Bland) who has a huge compassionate heart for orphans....is donating his labor to help with our adoption. Here are the details:
250 sq ft
Approx ...16ft x 16 ft
Decorative stamped, colored patio. (see picture of sample) Your choice of one base color and one accent color.
Must live within 40 mile radius of Bloomington, Normal.
Tear out of old patio extra$1.50 per sq ft.
If it has to be hand dug (back hoe unable to go into back yard) $1.00 per sq ft extra.
All money from labor (even extra charges mentioned above) will be donated to Swindles adoption.
$2500 value. Starting bid $1500 To bid you can go to godspathtotaiwan.blogspot.com beginning tomorrow to start bidding. Auction ends Sept. 18th.

We are so excited and feel totally blessed that we have such wonderful friends!

Psalm 33:4 For the word of the Lord is right and true; he is faithful in all he does.

     We have some very exciting news.  We have found an organization that has excepted us in Taiwan.  This whole journey has been led by God and we want to make sure that it stays that way.  The organization that we found asks first if you are a Christian.  They only work with Christian families.  Well, sounds like a perfect match to me.  We have been on a roller coaster of emotions these last 4 months and they just keep getting better.  The only way to tell you how happy I am is to say that my heart won't quit smiling.  We are finally on our way.  We have a meeting with a new home study agency on Monday.  The one that we started is different than the one we are going to need now.  We have found out some answers to a few questions we had and a few questions that some of you have asked me.  It should take around 1 year.  The cost is going to be right around $26,000.  I know that sounds like an impossible amount right?  Wrong, God has done more than impossible so far so why should I be worried for one minute.  I want to thank all of you for the prayers and the continued support everyday.  We knew we had some pretty great family and friends but that does not even begin to describe all of you.  Your prayers have helped to lead us to where we are right now.  Thank you all so much.  There are a couple of things we would still love to have prayers for.  The first, Taiwan is changing some of there laws on adoption.  They should go into effect as of Jan. 1st 2012.  We ask that you pray that the changes will not effect our adoption process.  the second thing we would ask for prayer for is finances.  I know when some of you hear that it is $26,000 you think that we are a little crazy.  Well, this is what I know.  My God has called us to adopt, and from Taiwan he has shut and opened doors, and this one has led us here.  I have had to learn to trust him more than I ever have had to before and it has turned out to be a wonderful thing.  I wake up praying, talk to him all day and go to bed praying.  I can truly say that I have never been this close to God in my life.   I am so glad that you all are getting to walk this out with us.  We are honored to have all of you in our lives!

Pr. 3:5 Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding: In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight.

We Would Love To Hear Your Stories!

We have been facing a few hurdles on our adoption journey but I know that it is all in God's time.  We thought that it would be very nice to hear some enouraging adoption stories.  If you or anyone that you know has a story that you would like to share we would love to hear from you! 

A New Direction!

Well, many of you know that we have been trying to get things worked out with an orphanage in Taiwan.  We found out last night that it has fell through.  I was a little discouraged last night, but then I talked to a friend .  She was quick to say "Monica evidently your baby is not there."  Kent and I both realized yesterday that it was God's way of saying you have to step out a little farther in faith.  We were so excited about adopting from that orphanage because it was going to be so much easier financially.  We believe that God is wanting us to trust him more.  It would be a lot easier to raise $8,000 but it takes a whole lot more trust and faith to raise $30,000.  We don't know where he is going to lead us but we are praying very hard to try and figure out which direction to go.  We have e-mailed many agencies and are hearing from new ones everyday.  Once we have an agency I will feel so much weight lifted off our shoulders.  If you could all keep praying that God would show us the way and he would open the right doors we would appreciate it very much.  I will tell you this that since this whole journey began my faith has deepened to a point that I did not even know was possible.  Kent and I have been married very happily for 16 years but this has brought us as close together as a couple can get.  We have watched so many videos of families bringing home their little ones and it is the most amazing thing to get to see.  We can't wait for our video so we can share it with all of you!