We started this blog back in August and I had full intentions of updating it weekly, well 5 months later here is my second post! It has been extremely busy around our house for the past couple of months, we have filled out mountains of paperwork, completed our James 1:27 project, and baked over 75 dozen cookies to raise money for our adoption. We have turned in all our paperwork and now we are waiting for our referral. We told Robin Anne and William about the adoption several months ago and their excitement has been wonderful. William keeps telling us he wants us to bring home two children and there is not a day that goes by that we don’t talk about our precious little one on the other side of the world. They are truly excited about being a big brother and a big sister to a child that does not have a family. This process has been amazing for our family. At times it has been very difficult and discouraging, but we have all learned so much from this experience. One of the very first Bible verses that I ever memorized has been an encouragement to me throughout this journey, Romans 5:3-4 “We can rejoice too, when we run into problems and trials, for we know that they help us develop endurance. And endurance develops strength of character, and character strengthens our confident hope of salvation.” Even though this has been difficult at times with fears about our child’s unknown medical needs, financial concerns, and paper work issues, I am so thankful for this experience because through it God is growing my faith and drawing me closer to Him. He is teaching me to trust in him alone and I am so grateful for these things. My precious children are learning and growing through this process as well. We have cut back every household expense and told them that we are saving all our money to bring home our child. My sweet Robin Anne who recently turned 5 got some money for her birthday, she came to me and gave me some and said she wanted to give her money to help bring the baby home. Later that day she came to me and said “Momma, when I gave you that money I wanted to cry,” I asked her why and figured she was going to say because she wanted to spend that money on a new toy or something. But what she said blessed my heart beyond belief, she told me that she wanted to cry because she was so happy to be able to give her money to help bring our baby home. What I can learn from my 5 year old! My little 3 year old William constantly goes through his toys and clothes and picks out things that he wants to give to his new little brother or sister. I love how God is teaching them how to give selflessly. God has been so good to us, we now are 2/3 of the way there financially and all our paperwork has been sent off. It is amazing to see how much God has provided for us thus far. We still have a ways to go but we are trusting that He will continue to provide for our needs. I am so thankful for my amazing friends and family that have worked so hard to help with our fundraising efforts and for their many prayers and sacrificial giving. I am truly blown away by them and cannot stop thanking God for their encouragement. As we excitedly wait for our referral we are continuing to fundraise. We are selling long sleeve adoption t-shirts (the girls shirt is purple and the guys is navy blue) which are the same design just different colors. They are $16 each and come in youth and adult sizes. We are preordering these shirts so if you would like one please let me or PJ know by the end of this week. We will be having a huge rummage sale at Magnolia Baptist Church on February 3rd and 4th. Many kind people have donated tons of stuff so it will be big. Come check it out! Also, we will be selling iced sugar cookies again for Valentine’s Day, so pick some up for your favorite Valentine. Thank you for visiting our site and please continue to pray for our family, I will try not to wait 5 months to update again!
God Bless,
Annie
