Woofta! A lot has been going on the last couple of weeks! Between figuring out adoption decisions, finalizing paperwork, having two weekends of family travel, and then of course the normal busy life routine - my mind is almost fried. I've found myself feeling a little out of place lately and not on top of things. I keep making random mistakes - misplacing papers, looking at things wrong and giving out the wrong info, forgetting to set my alarm, walking into a room and not remembering why I went there - these are just some of the weird things I've been doing lately. I'm looking forward to this Spring and the freshness of what is to come. Hopefully I can feel a little more on top of things soon and everything can be a little more calm, at least for a short time... I'd even take a day or two!!!
Since we were home this last weekend, I got in two long runs. It felt so good to be running in "warm" weather... let me clarify that the weather only felt warm because it has been so stinking cold here. It was 36 degrees one day and 45 the next, with feet of snow still on the ground. The lake I ran by was still completely frozen over, as evidenced by the four-wheeler's driving on it, but the river I ran next to was freely moving and rambling - there is hope!!! We have even been hearing some birds around here and there are rumors of robins in the area, although I have yet to see one. With Spring though, I tend to have a sense of excitement, like something new is just around the corner, which is very fitting this year with Little C hopefully joining us within the next few months.
Speaking of Little C...
We haven't heard anything yet from ICAB (the organization in the Philippines that will look at our paperwork), but we trust that they did receive it and will hopefully look at it within the next month or two. In the meantime, Jon and I have been talking about the boy's room and are thinking about doing a little painting. Caleb wants there to be Star Wars light sabers painted on the wall, I was thinking though that just getting one color on the wall would be a good start, having to draw and find multiple paint colors may be a little much for this full brain of mine! :)
We have also been discussing the amount it will cost to travel to the Philippines in order to bring Little C home. This cost will be one of our bigger payments as it includes airfare, lodging, transportation, food, and we hope to also take a donation to the orphanage Little C has been raised in. Unfortunately, we will not be able to pay for this all out of our pockets. I wish we had the funds personally, but knew this would be the biggest part of our adoption struggle. We have had such support with the Owie Owl fundraiser, but that won't be enough, so we are going to have a couple other fundraisers to help off-set the upcoming costs.
A wonderful friend has volunteered to host a Thirty-One party for us! She sells the product, therefore getting a commission on whatever sells, but she is going to give us a percentage of that commission! How awesome is that!!!!! I met her at a quilt retreat last fall and it was her idea to do this for us - I was speechless - what a blessing! You can buy Thirty-One bags between April 1st - April 11th through Karen Guthmueller. There will be a link on my Facebook, and I believe I will be able to put a link on here (hopefully tomorrow). Let me know if you want me to send you the link personally!
AND THEN - we have also made the decision (once again, as many of you know) to leave the Ethiopia program. We will now be doing the paperwork for the Bulgaria adoption program through our agency. Why Bulgaria?
Alright - well that was enough words on a blog post for one night! I'm off to bed!
Oh! Don't forget, if you were thinking you needed a new Spring or Summer bag, now would be the time to buy!!!! ;) Think Thirty-One Fundraiser!!! Such a good excuse to buy a new bag... (I like a good excuse, don't you!?)
Thank you friends and family for being with us on this ever-changing, CRAZY journey! You are the best!
In Christ,
Mara
Since we were home this last weekend, I got in two long runs. It felt so good to be running in "warm" weather... let me clarify that the weather only felt warm because it has been so stinking cold here. It was 36 degrees one day and 45 the next, with feet of snow still on the ground. The lake I ran by was still completely frozen over, as evidenced by the four-wheeler's driving on it, but the river I ran next to was freely moving and rambling - there is hope!!! We have even been hearing some birds around here and there are rumors of robins in the area, although I have yet to see one. With Spring though, I tend to have a sense of excitement, like something new is just around the corner, which is very fitting this year with Little C hopefully joining us within the next few months.
Speaking of Little C...
We haven't heard anything yet from ICAB (the organization in the Philippines that will look at our paperwork), but we trust that they did receive it and will hopefully look at it within the next month or two. In the meantime, Jon and I have been talking about the boy's room and are thinking about doing a little painting. Caleb wants there to be Star Wars light sabers painted on the wall, I was thinking though that just getting one color on the wall would be a good start, having to draw and find multiple paint colors may be a little much for this full brain of mine! :)
We have also been discussing the amount it will cost to travel to the Philippines in order to bring Little C home. This cost will be one of our bigger payments as it includes airfare, lodging, transportation, food, and we hope to also take a donation to the orphanage Little C has been raised in. Unfortunately, we will not be able to pay for this all out of our pockets. I wish we had the funds personally, but knew this would be the biggest part of our adoption struggle. We have had such support with the Owie Owl fundraiser, but that won't be enough, so we are going to have a couple other fundraisers to help off-set the upcoming costs.
A wonderful friend has volunteered to host a Thirty-One party for us! She sells the product, therefore getting a commission on whatever sells, but she is going to give us a percentage of that commission! How awesome is that!!!!! I met her at a quilt retreat last fall and it was her idea to do this for us - I was speechless - what a blessing! You can buy Thirty-One bags between April 1st - April 11th through Karen Guthmueller. There will be a link on my Facebook, and I believe I will be able to put a link on here (hopefully tomorrow). Let me know if you want me to send you the link personally!
AND THEN - we have also made the decision (once again, as many of you know) to leave the Ethiopia program. We will now be doing the paperwork for the Bulgaria adoption program through our agency. Why Bulgaria?
- Over 7000 children are waiting to be adopted
- The wait time is pretty predictable - it will most likely be about two years from now when we receive a referral, which is really great timing with our adoption of Little C
- We have a good chance of bringing home siblings, which we had been praying about before Little C took over our hearts :)
- The country has a stable adoption program that was revamped about seven years ago and has been running smoothly since
- The idea of waiting for an unknown time, most likely 5-7 years, on the Ethiopia wait list just felt like too much. We are ready for our family to be home and together. It is frustrating when so many children are in Ethiopia that need a home, but it makes us much too nervous to work with their unstable adoption program at this time. Continue to pray for these Ethiopian children and pray for officials that are working with the adoption system.
Alright - well that was enough words on a blog post for one night! I'm off to bed!
Oh! Don't forget, if you were thinking you needed a new Spring or Summer bag, now would be the time to buy!!!! ;) Think Thirty-One Fundraiser!!! Such a good excuse to buy a new bag... (I like a good excuse, don't you!?)
Thank you friends and family for being with us on this ever-changing, CRAZY journey! You are the best!
In Christ,
Mara
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