Could I love a child who doesn't look like me?

       My parents took Henry to the mountains for the week and I only have Mary Taylor during the day. Wow, having one child is so much easier than two, I wish I had realized that at the time. I cleaned my whole house and it is still clean after 24 hours! I took down all my Christmas decorations, I have returned Christmas gifts that were the wrong size, I have eaten out three times, I have taken a shower, dried my hair, and straightened it! It would have taken me two weeks to get all that done with two crazy kids!

       Yea! Now lots of time to focus on our adoption! Generations and Lifeline Adoption Agencies are both Hague accredited. The Hague convention is an international agreement that safeguards adoptions. They aim to protect the orphans and the parents in the adoption process. The Hague Convention requires every parent to participate in a training before they adopt. Our agency is part of the NCFA, which requires a 8-10 hour online training to be better informed about intercountry adoption before proceeding. So, I decided to start this training today. During the online training, I came across this article titled, "An Unmatched Set," which is about adopting a child that doesn't look like you. God has opened my eyes to the children of Uganda and I cannot explain the love I have for that country, but in my sin, I do doubt. I have had doubts and questions about adopting and all this has entered my mind.  Through this process, I am realizing how much I still need approval from men. I often fear what people think of me and wonder if this is God's will for various reasons.  But I am confident that God will direct my steps. This is not my thing, it is Gods. He put this desire and passion in me and he will lead me. Adoption is part of God's design. Adoption is beautiful. One quote from the article is:

"When I think back to my pre-adoption fear-'Could I love a kid who doesn't look like me?'- I know the answer now. I know that you can love a child who doesn't match and that that child will be nothing short of beautiful to you. I also know that you will sometimes forget that you don't look alike."

My friend Andrea posted this video about a musician named Micheal Franti. This inspirational video was aired a week ago on CBS during a special on adoption and foster care. Very neat story!





***I am learning that getting all this paperwork filled out is not simple. One piece of paper might require you to visit three different places. Then when you get to a destination and they might want you to fill out four more pages of information for just one simple medical procedure! Tomorrow is another day of running around town trying to check things off my list. Once I finish the finger prints and the medical form, I will start on the next series of papers! :) Wow, they weren't joking when they said it was a lot of work to adopt a child! But, I have to remember this is all one step closer to meeting the child that was picked for us before the beginning of time. All this paper work is the "pregnancy" leading to having this child in our arms! So all this paper work is worth it!

Christmas

We started our Christmas celebrations on December 19th with the DeBardelebens in Anniston, AL. We spent the whole day eating yummy food, opening Christmas gifts, and enjoying three toddlers run around a unchild proofed house!

 Here is Nana and Pop with their three grandchildren.

Henry (3), Dexter (2), and Mary Taylor (1).

 We attempted a family picture,

but their attention span was was

already gone from the grandchild picture.

We continued our Christmas celebration on Christmas Eve at Dee's parents house in Marietta, GA. We had fun catching up with Poopa, Aunt Julia, and Grandmother Dot. The boys had a great time running around wild with eachother. Mary Taylor enjoyed the extra attention.

Henry and Dexter slowed down for a second to enjoy a book with Nana.

Henry decides to read Dexter a book, while Poopa tries to scare them!

Aunt Julia and Grandmother Dot are enjoying some time on the couch with Dexter.

Henry and Pop

Around 3:30 we left to go to our first annual Christmas Eve Service at Atlanta Westside Church. It was so neat! Our church's focus is to Glorify God first and foremost, but our church is also a minimalist church. We do not have a lot of programs and activities in place from the top down, but our members are encouraged to take charge and get things started. Like this Christmas Eve Service, two "mom friends" of mine wanted to do a Christmas Eve Service, but our pastor was going to be out of town, so they talked to their husbands and a couple other church members and decided to try to pull it together in three weeks. Well, it was amazing! We had cookies and candy for the kids. We sang Christmas carols, we prayed, and we read scripture. The children went on the stage and had a Christmas story read to them and recieved ornaments to put on their tree at home. My suggestion for the service was to hold candles at the end of the service and sing "Silent Night". This brought back a lot of memories, because we used to do this at my childhood church in Birmingham. What a great Christmas Eve!

  These are the members that volunteered to set up the music and be the worship team for the night.

 

Mary Stuart graciously volunteered to read the Christmas Story

to the children from of the Jesus Storybook Bible.

 

The kids sang "Joy to the World" and "Go Telling on the Mountain."

Henry is giving us a thumbs up! Dominic and James aren't sure about this.

Mary Taylor was trying to escape from me, while the kids were singing!

Leah slept through the whole thing, I think.

Jenna is one of the mamas that got this thing started!

Christie is the other mama with the great idea!

Thanks girls!

After the Christmas Eve Service, we went back to Marietta and ate Christmas Eve dinner and opened presents. Thank you, Nana for a wonderful Christmas!

 Our little princess! Nana made this tutu for Mary Taylor. Too cute!

Jenn Jenn helps Dexter and Henry open their fire truck beach towels.

 We got back to our house around 10:00 p.m., put the kids to bed and packed up for Birmingham. The next morning, we had Christmas at our house for an hour or so and then hopped in the car and headed for Alabama.

Our Christmas Tree on Christmas morning.

She was so excited when she saw this! Such a girl!

Henry came into our room and said, "What's that bike doing out there?"

She was trying to feed the baby a bottle.

How does she know how to do this?

Once we got to Birmingham, where my parents live. We opened imidiate famliy gifts from eachother before the other family members arrived. We celebrated Christmas by having a Christmas dinner and then by singing happy birthday to Jesus.

I made my first "Happy Birthday Jesus Cake". I found the idea online.

* The round cake represents our world

* The inside of the cake is chocolate ,which means our hearts are dark with sin

*The white icing represents Jesus righteousness, which makes us white as snow

*The red icing underneath the candles represents the blood that was shed on the cross.

*The 12 white (should have been red) candles represent Jesus being the light of the world during the 12 months of the year.

*The green around the bottom of the cake represents "new life"

* I just added baby Jesus for fun!

My cousin, Ben, my sister-in-law, Leslie, and my brother Nathan.

Don't forget their new baby... I mean dog, Hurley!

My three beautiful cousins, Rachel, Corrie, and Hannah.

Mary Taylor is not so sure about Hurley, but she is starting to warm up to him.

My brother, Matt and his wife, Kelly. Such a cute couple!

The next morning we got up and all 22 of us ate at IHOP. Henry loves taking pictures, can you tell!

We had a great time in Birmingham! Thanks Mom, for making this Christmas special! I know you sacrificed a lot! Love you!

Three days later, my parents celebrated their 35 wedding anniversary! Thank you mom and dad for trusting God with your marriage and making it this far! Your a blessing to us!

They came through Atlanta to pick up Henry on the way to Boone, North Carolina.

I made them a sugar cookie cake in the shape of 35!

Well, I think that wraps up Christmas pretty well! I am tired! Now it is time for a vacation!

*Tomorrow, I am getting my medical forms filled out and our fingerprints done for the FBI and Georgia! I am trying to check things off my list, while I have one less child this week!

We have turned a corner!

         During the last couple of weeks, my children have turned a corner, especially my three year old little boy, Henry. He is starting to really love his little sister. They are starting to play together! For the past year, Henry has been highly jealous of his new sister. I could not leave the room, because he would hit her or push her down. Yes, it has taken Henry 1 year to get use to someone else getting attention other than him. Now, Mary Taylor chases him around the house and she really enjoys being around him. Today, while they were watching a cartoon, she laid her head on Henry's shoulder. It was so cute! Henry was not too happy about this, so he moved.  But, she is not scared of him like she used to be! Her face lights up when he enters the room! This makes my life so much easier too! I can leave the room when she is awake and go do the dishes! I feel like I am cheating the system, life can't be this easy! Sometimes, Henry asks me to get Mary Taylor up from her nap so he can play with her. Crazy! About a year ago, he said, "Give her to someone else. Take her to Brook's house (a neighbor down the street)." Now that they play together, this forces them to fight over toys, but I would rather listen to the fighting from both sides, instead of just one. Maybe this is how big families survive. The older children entertain the younger. I can see how this could work!

I took these pictures the other day when Mary Taylor was eating! Just precious! This is definitely a new thing for Henry.

 Looks like she is puckered up, she is not sure about this!

 

 She's thinking about it.

Well, it's not that bad!

No, I don't like it! Stop Henry!

Well, I change my mind, I love it!

Oh, never mind! Not like that!

Maybe I should practice before he comes back again!

Oh, here he comes again!

My brother is crazy, but I love him!

***We have been accepted with Lifeline adoption agency to do our Homestudy. I am in the process of scheduling doctor's appointments and getting organized to get lots done in the next week. I am getting eager to move this thing along! The idea of our child waiting in Uganda has become more of a reality to me!

Happy Christmas Eve!

Atlanta Union Mission

My friend Jenna Teachey planned a Christmas party for our kids and the kids at the Atlanta Union Mission. "Atlanta Union Mission is a Christian ministry that brings Christ's healing power to any person in crisis through programs of rescue and recovery. The Mission serves as many as 1,070 men, women and children every day of the year with emergency shelter, residential recovery and transitional housing." While the mothers and fathers are out searching for jobs, the kids are in day care from 7:00am-7:00pm everyday. What a long day to be away from your parents. So we decided to come visit them and through a Christmas party! We brought snacks for the kids to eat and presents for them to open on Christmas day. We were able to love on these kids as Christ loves us. This was such a blessing for us all!

We fit a lot of kids around this table!

This little boy wanted me to take his picture. Sooo cute!

Mary Taylor was a little jealous of all these kids in my lap!

The Pettit girls enjoying their snack with these kids.

Elisabeth was comforting Elie, because her mother left the room.

James was just enjoying his food and watching the Christmas movie.

We brought apples, cheese, crackers, and apple juice for the kids to eat instead of sweets.

They were heading to lunch after this party, so we did not want to spoil their meal.

Storytime was a little crazy, but I think the children really enjoyed the
Christmas book about baby Jesus.       

This little boy was so sad. I think his name was, Ashon (14 months) and he would not let me put him down. Mary Taylor inisisted that I hold her too! Henry was a little clingy, which is not normal.

This sweet little boy was patting Henry on the head.

These are all the presents we donated to the mission. We don't give because we want to feel good about ourselfs, we give because Christ first gave to us. His love compells us to love others.

I had the best time loving on these kids! I think we will try to do this regularly throughout the year. It benefits the Atlanta Union Mission kids as well as my on children, not to mention me too. It is hard to believe, I have lived ten minutes away from this ministry for two years and never knew about it. I pray that God will open up my eyes to the hurting people around me. It was hard leaving these kids after spending an hour with them. Ashon was so sad when I had to put him down. Wow! This must be a glimse of what it is like to visit the orphanages in Africa. God, prepare my heart now!

From mommy's heart

My friend Elisabeth sent me this cartoon. Too cute!

**We are in the process of switching to Life line Homestudy agency. Hopefully we can get over this glitch and start heading forward instead of backwards! God is in control!

For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an
eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not
on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is
temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.
    -- 2 Corinthians 4:17

Jesus and Santa Clause?

Growing up, I never remember believing in Santa Clause. My parents would always sign Santa's name to gifts and put gifts in our stockings from Santa, but they did not say, " Be a good little girl, or Santa will not bring you any gifts." But, I still enjoyed thinking of Santa as a make believe character.

My husband, Dee, did believe in Santa Clause. At the age of 8 years old, he was devastated to find out that Santa Clause was not real. He then remembers asking his mother, "Is Jesus real?" I am sure this is an extreme case, but it probably does confuse young children.

 

As I was looking for a nativity set on-line, I came across this one with Santa and baby Jesus. Pretty funny! I guess some people are trying to incorporate both. At least Santa is worshiping baby Jesus. Just a little confusing!

  The last couple of years, I have taken Henry to see Santa Clause at the mall, just for the fun. This year, we did not get a "spot".You have to sign up in October to see Santa Clause at Phipps Plaza. I know, it is kind of ridiculous! But you get cute pictures and a sweet video that we watch over and over again. Oh, well, I have been too busy with two children. When we talk about Santa Clause, I always make a point to tell him, " Santa Clause is just pretend, Jesus is the real reason for Christmas. He is the one who rescued us from sin." Henry still asks questions about Santa Clause and seems to enjoy the fantasy of him. He almost insists on him being real.

Most of our focus this year has been on Christ and his coming. We started doing the Jesse Tree, that my good friend Andrea informed me of. Such a neat tradition to start with your family. I am also learning how the whole bible is truly about Jesus and the sacrifice he is to us. We have been reading the
Jesus Story Book Bible along with the Jesse Tree. They make for a great combo! We really want Henry and Mary Taylor to understand that Jesus is the gift to us, not these worldly possessions that leave you empty.

The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have
seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the
Father, full of grace and truth.
    -- John 1:14

I have been following Noel Piper's blog for a while now. She referenced a great article
"Thinking About Santa" on the Desiring God website.

**We have had a dely in our paperwork. We are in the process of switching to a new homestudy agency, because we did not agree with the first ones policies. This is frustrating to me, but I am trusting in God's timing, not mine.

Compelling Grace

After God put this strong desire in our hearts to adopt, we could not help but talk about it, especially with people who understand the gospel of adoption! Little did we know that God was already working in our church. Since then, so many families have expressed their desires to adopt one day! You never know what God is going to do!

Well, one family jumped on board sooner than later! The Gilberts! They are also in the process of adopting from Uganda! Wow! God is so great! He is aligning our hearts together! So cool! We are hoping to travel with them this summer if it all works out! Terrell Gilbert went to Georgia State Law School with Dee and Jane Gilbert has a theological degree from RTS. They also have two wonderful children named Ellie (6) and Chad (4)! The Gilberts, actually informed us of a new church plant, Atlanta Westside Church, that we have now been apart of for two and half years. They are both such a blessing to everyone they meet!

Lord willing, the 147,000,000 orphans be two less in 2010!

Join the Gilberts as they start their journey of adoption! Jane recently started a blog to show how God's grace compels us in every area of our life! Compelling Grace

Jane, Thank you for your constant encouragement! We are excited to share this journey with you!