Sending a package to Ethiopia.

We had the opportunity to send two gallon size containers to Jonathan and David a few weeks back. We were so excited!! I did not realize how much thought I would have to put into these packages. I ended up having a lot of questions for Lisa our "go-to" gal at our agency. I had initially places two soft blanks and a stuffed animal a piece in each bag. We didn't know what condition the blankets would be in, so we decided to wait until we saw the boys. I told Lisa how much Jason did not think I could get a blanket AND a stuffed animal in each bag. Let me pause and say right here. When a mother is determined....watch out!! So I took pictures to show you that I indeed got them in their containers. I was quite proud of myself and displayed my talents to Jason and of course bragged to Lisa!! :)






In the end, the picture below shows what we eventually put into their bags. The girls each painted them a picture and Gracie had drawn the picture in the middle of our family including the boys. We wrote a letter and put a family picture inside as well. It was so hard to know what to write and what to pack. I did not know how much a 3 and a 1 year old would be able to grasp as far as a picture and letter was concerned. We are so excited to meet them. The anticipation builds daily and I am thankful that my days are full of keeping up with the girls and other activities.
If I could have done one thing over, I would have sent a small photo album with pictures in it. I feel like kicking myself over that one, O well!!

'Til next time!!!

Yep, I am a little confused. Silly me for not keeping all the adoption details straight!! Ok, so I told you all that we are picking the boys up around Feb. 25th. I was wrong!! After excitedly talking to our wonderful agency gal, she sweetly informed me that Feb wasn't going to be the time we would pick up Jonathan and David!! What????? Come to find out, we had signed a power of attorney for them to do the paperwork in the courts of Ethiopia. Funny, after signing all those papers, you think I would remember THAT ONE (lol). Anyway, we will go 6-8 weeks AFTER our court date on Feb 25th for the court appointment at the USA embassy in Ethiopia for getting their visas to come back home. I was a mixture of being really sad and disappointed but slightly relieved that we have a little bit more time to prepare.
We are behind in getting ready for them to come. We haven't even started on their room yet. It seems to be the domino effect in our house. In order to clean out their bedroom and closet, I need to reorganize our bedroom storage closet. Next in order to do that I need to pull out the crafts in our food pantry and games out of the girls closet. Then before all that I needed to find a new piece of furniture or armoire to store games, crafts, crayons, markers and anything else a little one year old would love to eat!! I started with domino #1. I found a computer armoire at Walmart(of all places) that was solid. It had a lot of good compartments for organization and looked very trendy and nice. I thought we were going to have to spend serious cash to find something decent that wouldn't fall apart with a child swinging on the doors one time! :) Anyway, I have yet to start domino #2...hopefully this weekend!!
Today I have felt very tired, God's promise that I have continually remembered was: "the JOY of the Lord is my strength". I am thankful for a wonderful and understanding husband and a special friend that let me spill it all out. Even the coffee didn't help today!! God's mercy and grace are new every morning, so I am looking for a good night's rest and a fresh start tomorrow.

YIPEEEEEE!

We have a date......February 25th is our court date in Ethiopia and when we get to bring Jonathan and David home. We also found out in the same email that we were approved for ANOTHER $4,000 grant from Child of the King ministry. As I read the email, I found myself crying and shaking. I was so overwhelmed with the news and also God's continual provision for us. It has caused me to fall on my knees in thankfulness and I am without words to describe the feelings of joy, humbleness, being overwhelmed, scared, apprehensive and just plain excited that it has finally arrived and we have a definitive date. The girls were ecstatic and Gracie's eyes popped when she found out. She asked me if she could pray and this was her prayer: "Thank you God that we are bringing our babies home sooner than later." She was getting weary too of us telling her it could be awhile longer.
We don't know yet any definite dates for flying etc....We are researching and educating ourselves on this next step. It seems we can barely keep ahead of the task that is in front of us. Please continue to pray for us in this journey, for I know it isn't close to being over. I am encouraged and strengthened to see God's active hand in this process. He didn't have to pour open the floodgates of heaven to show us that this was His will, but we are humbled and thankful. We are confident God has great plans for these boys and we are privileged to be a part of His plan for them. We are not sure why He chose us, but we rest in the fact He will give us the strength, wisdom and grace when we need it.
Thank you all for your support and your love and excitement in this process. It means more than you ever know.

Catching up from Thanksgiving & Christmas!

One of our Christmas presents from mom was my Grandma Eimer's old hats from when she(grandma) went to mass with her family. Back in the day, they had to cover their heads in church. Each of us got four hats a piece and that didn't count the ones that my Mom had kept also. Pretty amazing that she saved them for all these years.
Yup, you are seeing a goofy side of my sisters and I. This was actually pure fun with no holding back and trying to be cute and sexy in our "Jackie Kennedy" hats. We were pretending to "model". This is only a small slice of the pictures that were taken during this fun event.

The girls kept asking to help Daddy fill up our van with gas. We tried to keep our 20 hour interesting and add things that they would enjoy. So here is Daddy explaining and guiding the girls through the art of filling your tank with gas.
Jason had a lot of things to get caught up on. Here is took a picture of what he was typically doing on our road trip.
The girls taking a nap. It was so dry up north that you can see Gracie's hair sticking to the blanket that was hanging from her window to keep out the sun.
Jason and I love playing cards and aggrevation (marbles) with Great Grandpa and Grandma Meyer and the rest of his family. I didn't do too well this year with cards and marbles....I think Grandpa enjoyed getting the better of Grandma and I. I told Grandpa, "The company was great, the games...oh, not so great." I told him that things would be different next time!!
It's amazing what grandkids will get you to do. Here is Grandpa Steve, hunter and fisherman, reading a princess book to Gracie. I am so proud of him!!!
Oh, and Allie got Uncle Tyson to color with her. Look at his amazing concentration!! :)
Having a meal at Red Lobster together. We had a great time!! We sure miss the family.
Gracie and Allie sipping their "Shirley Temples". That was their favorite part of the meal!! Thanks Grandma Donna!

My fearless daughter holding a lobster at Red Lobster. She held is for quite some time while I was fumbling to get my camera out. She kept calling it a "hamster." Hamster...lobster...what's the difference!!
Reminiscing through pictures. One of Steve's presents.

Allie trying to hold Daddy's head to get him to smile and look at the camera.
Allie was going around taking pictures of everyone. So I took a picture of her taking pictures. I know....a little confusing!!
Donna's side.
Playing cards with Dad(Rolly) and Adam(my brother).
Great Grandma Wieczorek reading to Allie



Allie holding Grandpa Rolly's dove at his feedstore. Good picture for advertising his feed!!

Gracie was the brave one again. Walking around with the dove and petting it. She called it Snowflake.

Still Waiting

It seems like the majority of your life can be spent waiting for something. Waiting for loved ones to be saved, waiting for a better job, waiting to find the perfect spouse, waiting to buy or improve a home, waiting for kids, waiting for your kids to grow up, waiting in line, or waiting at stop lights. I was thinking about this today as I was praying for a court date for our boys to come through. Four out of the five families have already gotten dates, but we are still waiting. I am a little disappointed but at perfect peace with God's time frame and not mine. I am quickly reminded that we haven't waited nearly as long as some people have while going through an adoption.

I sincerely believe that we wait most of our lives for a purpose. God is more interested in the process that we go through than the end result. Now don't get me wrong, God does care about an answered prayer, but He wants us to grow in our godliness as well. Here are a few lessons I have learned about waiting.

1. Waiting often aligns my will with God over time.
2. Waiting teaches me life lessons that I would have never learned without the struggle.
3. Waiting reminds me that God is ultimately in control, not me.
4. When the answer comes, after the wait, I can look back and see God's perfect timing and sovereignty.
5. Waiting teaches me contentment in my circumstances.
6. Instead of fighting the wait, see what I can learn and be taught through it.
7. I often use my excuse of "waiting for something" or "waiting for a better time" as an excuse for not doing anything at all.

Waiting can also be a time of resting upon God. This reminds me of Isaiah 40:31, "They that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength, they shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not grow weary."

One of my favorite quotes, which I have taped to my kitchen cupboard, comes from Elisabeth Elliot: "Today is mine. Tomorrow is none of my business. If I were to peer anxiously into the fog of the future, I will strain my spiritual eyes so that I will not see clearly what is required of me today."
I can become so preoccupied with having to wait that I miss the blessings of today. Waiting should not be an excuse for me to put off or cancel my duties or do something that God has called me to work on or do in my life. So many people think that waiting is passive when in fact it is active. You should not be twiddling your thumbs, but should be actively pursuing God's heart and mind as part of your waiting.
I am called to wait peacefully and fully trust and hope in God. I am only called to live each day to my fullest and trust Him with my future.
Instead of saying my kingdom come, my will be done, it is worth waiting so I can say your kingdom come, and your will be done.

Playing in the Snow!

The girls were so excited to ride in Grandpa Rolly's tractor. I can't tell who is enjoying it more...Grandpa or the girls. They helped him "drive" and "feed" his cows.!!


Here they are out in the pasture feeding the cows. Even though it was cold, the landscape was beautiful...even for a farm!!

Here the girls and I are playing in Grandma Carol's backyard. Their first snow experience when we came to SD. They loved their Tinkerbell and Hannah Montana long underwear so much from Grandma that they wanted to go outside just wearing them!! Allie also wanted to wear a skirt to play in the snow. That is where the phrase came in...."mama knows best girls, Mommy grew up here...trust me, you'll want to wear your other layers" :)


I don't know who that schmuck is trying to throw a snowball at me?? Is it the abominable snowman? Did I tell you he missed?? Better luck next time!!

I am really not about myself in poses, but I love this old red grainery of my Dad's. I thought the red paint really set off my white jacket!! :)
This is Tex, my Dad's dog. He is such a sweetie. He really enjoyed romping in the snow with Jason. This is one of my favorite pictures.


Grandpa Steve took the girls sledding at Great-Grandpa and Grandma Meyer's farm. You can see they are thoroughly enjoying it by looking at their frozen smiles! They rarely complained of the cold. I think they were too busy giggling and singing while being pulled around behind Grandpa Steve's suburban.

Great-Grandpa Meyer, age:86. Proof that there is no limit to your age when having fun!! Jason and I had to help him up though. He was covered with snow and laughing.



Another one of my favorites!!

Gracie and Allie with Great Grandma and Grandpa Meyer.

Grandpa Steve with his girls!! You can't really tell, but they are sitting in the side of a snowbank.

After lots of fun outside, we came inside and had hot chocolate and chocolate pie and other cookies and goodies. There have been a lot of fun memories made at Grandpa and Grandma Meyer's home.
I didn't have enough time of upload more pictures....so more to come of our Christmas up north. We haven't yet heard about a court date for our boys yet. We are hoping to hear very soon.

Hope you all had a wonderful Christmas and New Year. This Christmas was especially hard to quiet my heart and mind and really meditate on the reason for the season: Christ's birth. God has been gracious even in spite of my shortcomings and I have felt His presence and love. Christ is more precious to me than ever before and I look forward to this year and what He has in store for me and our family. I know all struggle, pain, joy, love and circumstances come from God and He allows everything to happen for a reason. I entrust my life in His hands and know whatever happens is in His perfect plan and is for my own good and for His glory. Everything good in me come from the Father above....to Him be all the glory and honor.

Approaching 50 million-A memorial to the missing.

Between Two Worlds: Number of Abortions Since 1973

The number of pennies represents the number of abortions that have been performed. Very sobering. I pray we don't become complacent with the idea of abortion. I would encourage you to open the above link. It talks about how many states it would take to equal the population of 50 million.