Yes!

Woohoo!  We got the official "yes" to proceed with the adoption of our very special little sweetheart.  I so wish that I could post her picture, but for now I can tell you that she is 10-years-old, she lives in Ind*a, and that we all love her like crazy!

As you might know, we already have two other 10-year-olds in our little brood, and that was the main obstacle in getting approval from the agency.  They said that they rarely approve "artificial twins", much less "articficial triplets."

But, we prayed...and y'all prayed...and God chose to include this answer to prayer as a part of her amazing story.  Isn't He so very good?!!!  There is so much more to our little treasure's story that I can't wait to share with everyone.  It's been over two years in the making!

But, we still need to get approval from Ind*a, so please keep praying.  They prefer smaller families, but I have faith that God can break down that little barrier just as easily as he broke down this one.  He's just so very faithful!!

family photo

We snapped this quick family photo today...



Because sometime you just need a family photo...
(where everyone is looking in the same direction and not making silly faces)

And that's all I'm sayin' for now.
(but so, so, so hoping to be able to say a little bit more tomorrow...)

What love can do...

This is one of the most moving posts that I have ever read.  Please take a few moments to read it.  You'll be blessed.

a little hint

Oh my!
The meeting date has been changed to Tuesday.

But since y'all have been so patient,
I'm going to give you a little hint:

(it involves a small person)

So, please keep praying!!
'cuz this situation is more complicated than most,
but our God is able to move mountains!!!

Did I say today?

Goodness!
I'm so sorry to keep you in suspense.
I really am not trying to be mysterious.  :)
I was sure that we would have an answer today...
but we didn't.

We did, however, find out that one of the main people making the decision is
(in her words)
"praying that it works out."
very cool...

In fact, we are quite encouraged
because even though we are
(also in her words)
"asking them to break all of the rules"
she seems totally willing to do that.
Isn't God so very good?!

Please keep praying!!!

no news is...

well, you know the rest :)

And I'm hoping that it's true, because we didn't get any news today!
So, please keep praying (and thanks to those of you who have already been praying!).
We should know something more tomorrow.

You will conquer.  The conquering spirit is never crushed.  Keep a brave and trusting heart.  Face all your difficulties in the spirit of Conquest.

Rise to greater heights than you have known before.  Remember where I am is Victory.  Forces of evil, within and without you, flee at My Presence.

Win Me and all is won.  All.

God Calling, May 20

Win Me and all is won...

Win Me and all is won...

Win Me and all is won...

All, friends.

All

big things happening...please pray!

Dear friends, we would so covet your prayers over these next couple of weeks.  Some decisions are being made (things that are out of our hands) that could really be wonderful.  It's going to be a great God-story!  There is one decision that will be made on Monday or Tuesday.  If that one is a "yes" then there is just one more major hurdle before I can share about the things that I have been asking you to pray about.  Thank you so much for your faithful prayers, sweet friends!

Wordless Wednesday

What do you think about adoption?

At dinner tonight, I asked my children a question.

"What do you think about adoption?"
I told them that I wasn't going to say what I thought, but that I really just wanted to know their honest feelings.

Here are some of their answers:

I think that adoption is good, but I don't understand why so many people only want little babies, and that they only want healthy babies.

I do not think an orphanage is good, because some people think that only healthy babies are good.

Adoption is good because children don't have to live on the street.

I think that someone should make orphanages nicer, because they're not very good environments.

If I adopted a child, I would adopt an older child, because when children get to be a certain age, they have to leave the orphanage, but babies have more time to be adopted.

I think that adoption is a union between nations.

I feel sad because even if one child who is needy is adopted, there are still like 500 more who are in the same situation.

I don't understand why more people don't adopt.

So, how about you?

What do you think about adoption?

love times three

Oh my!  Look at these sweet faces.

All of these beautiful children live at Sarah's Covenant Homes in India.  They have the opportunity to attend school, starting in June.  This is such an important opportunity for these children.  Most Christian children in India are from the lower classes and are not able to attend school.  These children are greatly loved at SCH, but they still do not have families of their very own. There is no one to pay for their schooling.  Would you consider giving a gift to help pay for the education of these precious ones?  An anonymous donor has generously offered to triple your donation during the month of May....so $10 becomes $30 and $50 becomes $150.  How wonderful!  Would you prayerfully consider how you could help?  There is a chip-in on my sidebar.

Lily's letter to the editor

Lily came out of her room one day a couple of weeks ago, after a time of prayer, and gave me this letter.  "I want to give it to the editor of a newspaper."  Well, we haven't sent it to a newspaper yet, but I have to tell you, I LOVE my girl's heart.


Dear Editor,
My name is Lily. I’m ten years old, and adopted from China. I’ve noticed that a lot of people think that dogs are more important than humans. Dogs are cute and all, but God didn’t make them in His own image, like humans. People are starving, while dogs eat from pink plastic dishes. People are shivering in rags, while dogs sport diamond collars, camouflage shirts, pink fluffy tutu’s, and outfits for every holiday. Children are begging in the streets, while dogs sleep on plush cushions. I own two dogs, and I’m not saying that they are bad or anything, I’m just saying that people are more important!

In Christ,

Lily Wei Le*

Genesis 1:27
So God created man in His own image;
He created them male and female.

Mother's Day thoughts

Thinking of so many precious ones without mamas to hold them today...



feeling grateful for my own wonderful mom...

and knowing that I am completely blessed with five beautiful children to love this day...

May your Mother's Day be filled with joy and love.

May there be many more children celebrating with their mamas next year.

Life Without Limits--book review

There is no doubt that Nick Vujicic leads the sort of life that is an inspiration to others.  Born without arms and legs, Nick has not let that fact slow him down.  Not only has Nick decided that he can live a life without limits, He also encourages others to live that sort of life, as well. 

I received a copy of Life Without Limits, by Nick Vujicic for free from WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group for this review.  I am so glad that I did!  I plan on having two of my children read this book this summer.  I am sure that the book will be an encouragement to them, as well.  Nick Vujicic reminds every reader that they can choose to either wallow in self-pity for the many ways that their life is not how they would like it to be, or they can choose to live a ridiculously good life.  The three main ways that Nick encourages others to live this sort of wonderful life is to 1) trust in God and His ultimate goodness, and 2) focus on the ways that we have been blessed, and 3) focus on the ways that we can serve, bless and love others, rather than focusing on the difficulties of this life.

I would definitely recommend this book to others.  The only complaint that I have about Life Without Limits is that sometimes the focus seems to be a little too much of "pull yourself up by your own bootstraps", rather than "our God is good and we can completely trust in Him."  Nonetheless, if this book is read with the understanding that all that we are and all that we can do is totally dependant on God, then I think that it can be a great encouragement to be all that we can be, in Christ.

Happy Reading!

Come quickly, Lord Jesus.

Dear friends, there are just no words to describe what women in many parts of the world endure.  Let us pray for the women of India today.  Please take a few minutes to watch this video...Lord Jesus, come quickly.

oodles of outings...

We've taken a number of fun field trips for school in this past month.

The first was a kindergarten field trip to the Children's Museum.

Grace and Addie had a wonderful time!

This bubble-maker is new and really neat!

The second field trip was an all-school field trip to the science museum.

It was Alyssa's birthday, so we had a little party in our van on the way down to the museum.

Here's the whole crew, minus a few adults who were taking photos.

There was a pirate exhibit that some kids loved, and some (er...Grace) well, not so much.

She and I pretty much ran through the exhibit...it was just way too scary for my little peanut.

But, she didn't mind posing for a photo outside the exhibit.

And the last field trip was to a local farm.  It was another kindergarten field trip, but Jadon joined us for this very sensory-rich day.

We had oodles of fun on all of our outings.

Next stop...the zoo!