Home again

We got home about 2:30 last night and the welcome this morning was incredible. I am amazed at this family that God has woven together and thankful to be home with everyone.

Stranded...

Well, the first blizzard hit Williston yesterday and today and according to Mike, the kids loved playing in the snow. E, L and I were in Denver to see our favorite allergist yesterday and tried to get home last night, but ended up getting stranded in Gillette. It was about 1:30 a.m. when the pilot decided to stay in Gillette instead of flying on home (no visibility and 50 mph winds). We were presented with hotel vouchers, a ride to the hotel and instructions to be back at the airport at 7 a.m. to fly BACK TO DENVER to try and get another plane to Williston today..Well, I needed to fill Layne's prescription for her asthma medicine and the ER wouldn't do it for me unless I took her in and checked her in there..no overnight pharmacies here. We opted to take our chances with staying in Gillette and I'm so glad we did. After checking in at the airport, it looks like we can hang out here and then get on the late night flight to Williston tonight. The lady at the ticket counter laughed and said we'd probably be on the flight with most of the other passengers from our original flight (after they had to fly to Denver, hang out in Denver all day and then fly back here to Gillette then to Williston).

I was able to get Layne's script filled at Wal-mart, with one of the friendliest pharmacists EVER, who happens to live in the same hometown that my parents grew up in. She is doing better after the second course of steroids for her asthma and I am relieved at not having to hang out in Denver all day. Mike said I'm not allowed to fly for the rest of the year (since our travel debacle in Ethiopia and Dubai this summer). Thanks, Mike for holding down the fort and doing it so well!!

Important to listen to--

This is not adoption related, it's about parental rights here in the U.S. Please listen to the link. It'll take you about 30 minutes, but it is well worth it. Also, check out parentalrights.org.

http://www.oneplace.com/ministries/family-talk/listen/parental-rights-at-risk-in-america-138426.html

Happy birthday Micah!!

One of the fun things about adopting older kids is helping them celebrate their first birthday. Obviously, Micah has had many birthdays to get as old as he is, but he's never been able to celebrate them. We had a wonderful day..All of his siblings went to the dollar store to purchase him a gift, so he had plenty of things to open. Everyone made him cards telling him how much they loved him...oh what fun it was to watch everyone LOVE on Micah for a few hours. He beamed from ear to ear most of the time, especially when he got to blow out his candles on the cake...We heard him proclaim, "You I LIKE!" as he took his first bite..

I love being a Mom, it is the best job in the world. I love being a Mom who gets to make kids feel special- kids born of my womb and kids born of another's womb. To me it doesn't matter and I think it's mattering less and less to those that God has placed in our home. Happy Birthday Micah! I am so thankful that Daddy met you last June and used you to get us to go back to Ethiopia to bring you all home. Your smile lights up the house. Your enthusiasm for life is contagious.

On another note- some dear friends that we met in August are heading back to Ethiopia in two weeks to bring home their second son- you see, they adopted their first son and found out that he had a very dear friend, a best friend, in Ethiopia who didn't have a family yet. I was there the day these two boys had to say good-bye to each other- it was one of the hardest things I've ever watched (reminded me of when we left with Gavin last year and his best friend was so very sad). When the Hammons got home, this other little boy was on their hearts and on their son's. They just accepted his referral and will be going to ET for court VERY SOON~~ the speed of all of this could make your head spin, but God knew. He knew that he could use their sweet son to bring yet another child home. Please hop on over to their blog and follow their story...better yet, help them out, this weekend, as they are doing some FUNdraising to bring him home. You might win an i-pad while helping a sweet, sweet boy find a forever family!! Just click on the light grey words, Hammons House and it will take you right there. Hammons House

I've seen over and over how God uses children to do what HE knows is important- caring for the orphan...God used Micah a year ago to open our hearts to having more kids. He then used our kids at home to ask Mike and I to consider adopting again. He used sweet Tariku to get his family to go get his friend. Do you see the smile on Micah's face in these pictures? He is loved, he is safe, he has a hope and future-EVERY child deserves this. Please consider bringing another child into your home- really, in life, nothing else matters..not until all 147 million orphans have a home. 147 million kids who are like my Micah, waiting, hoping and praying for a family to decide to come and get them.

Reality is a Weighty Thing

Reality is a Weighty Thing

Please read this- it's super tough, but it's reality.

Noah and the Webers

Yesterday, in church, we heard a great message about living our faith. The Pastor talked about how crazy all of Noah's friends thought he was, as he followed God's voice and built the ark. He went on to say if we hear God's voice, we must fear HIM enough to follow the voice. In Noah's case, his family was all that went with him. God blessed them, by saving them from devastation and out of their family grew the nations.

Our friends, the Webers are a Noah kind of family. They adopted sweet Abrham last year. He is a beloved Bench boy, from the same village as our Gavin. When they were in Ethiopia, they heard God asking them again to step out in faith and adopt again. Does the world call them crazy? Probably- I'm sure we've been called that many, many, times, yet we do follow an awesome God who calls us all to go to orphans in their distress.

Check out their blog at:
4nowsoon2be5.blogspot.com


If God calls you to help families who are adopting kids, please leave me a comment. We could connect you with families who are walking on faith, not on what's in their checking account. You will be blessed. If God is whispering to you to adopt, leave a comment. We would be happy to walk you through the process. Sometimes it might feel as lonely as it did for Noah and his family, but God does bless you when you step out in faith. I couldn't imagine our days without any of our kids. We are blessed beyond measure.

Great visit with Papa

My Dad came up this week for a little cross-country watching and kid greeting. I wish I would have taken some pictures of him while he was here, but it was definitely nice to have him here. All of my kids love their Papa, even the newest ones, who really don't understand his relationship to us. After he left, Micah said, "Papa, I like. Come back soon?" Even though we know that we have some great kids (not biased at all) it was nice to hear him say those same things.

Papa got his share of watching cross-country, with 7 out of 9 kids running- it was SO MUCH FUN to watch them! Gabe and Gavin have a little healthy competition going with each other and push each other to run pretty fast. I don't think I could run a mile in under 8 minutes anymore and yet they do it pretty easily. Everyone's times have improved dramatically from the beginning of the season.

The younger kids all have one more short race on Friday and then E,J, and K are finished on Saturday. It has been a great time as a family, traveling to each meet and meeting other families. I will definitely miss our cross-country times but know with 9 kids who love to run, I'll have many more meets in our future. If only they had a parents' race!!!