week 1

Well we have had our first week as a family in our new town.  It have been rather uneventful.  It had been pretty chilly and windy so Naomi and I stayed home mostly.  We did get out an run a few errands.  The bank, the park, the grocery store and to Sonic.  This week we will be getting out for some serious park time at the beginning of the week.  Then we have a serious temp drop. 

This could be good because out new case worker should be calling us sometime to set up a home visit so we can get reestablished in "the system"  as well as get set up for respite care. I am excited and nervous about the switch.   So many rules and regs to make sure we follow.  I am going to have to do something with the knives and I am not sure what to do about our random steps.  However, I know it can be done.

I have not gotten to take any pictures of our home but I did get a picture of my "welcome to your new home rose" that God blessed me with!

 

More to come soon!  I am sure!  I just have to get myself back on a schedule!

random update...

OK. So, things did not work out at the church.  It was a mutual decision.  It was a bit "messy" at the final meeting.  Adam and I were unaware of somethings that caused their decision to "terminate" him.  But Adam went to the meeting ready to resign. So it seems God was confirming our decision to leave.  So we are back at our previous church.  We are getting geared up for VBS and MOPS. 

I am currently trying to update my resume.  I found a part time job that seems good for me.  It is a foster care family recruiter. I think it would be fun.  Also right up my ally.  When I am asked about adopting or foster care I get all pumped up.  It is with our agency which could be good.  also it is part time, with the possibility of night and weekend so, I bet it might be flexible enough to work with Adam's schedule.

We are coming up on Adam being "jobless" for a year now.  It is hard to believe. We are getting desperate.  He has exhausted so many of the typical engineering and pastoral job hunts. Now he has began applying at Quick trip, FedEX and the like.  I think I heard him mention Wal-mart too. He has been struggling the last few days.  Please pray for him.  He could use some direction and wisdom.

As for adoption, we were being considered for a little boy and a little girl.  Well we are no longer being considered for the boy.  The agency had to downsize the "potential family pool" from ten families to three.  So we got cut.  Not too surprising. But the girl's parental rights will be severed soon.  Which means she will have her staffing (the meeting they decide the best family) in the not too distant future.  

 

Fluff! (updated)

Where to start... hmmm

Well we are still waiting when it comes to Adam's job. The church where he works part-time is trying to sell some land.  Once the land is sold they will bring Adam on staff full time. The land has a buyer...but we are now awaiting on the government to approve everything. It has to go through the government because of the size of the land sale.  So we are waiting.

Adam was able to preach the first time at our new church.  This was his seventh sermon.  He did a pretty good job.  The next time he preaches will be at the end of June.  Unless the Pastor needs him before that.

The senior pastor at our church has announced he has stage 3 cancer.  This is his second battle with cancer in the last two years.  So they are going to hit him pretty hard this time. Please pray for him and his family.

     

We are currently being considered for two children for adoption.  No, it is not a sibling group. One is a 10 month old girl.  The other is a three year old boy.  Both of these children have special needs.  Should we be chosen for both, we do not feel we can take both of these children on at the same time.  Honestly, we are leaning more towards the girl mainly so we can maintain birth order. Naomi has developed the only (oldest) child personality.  She is very motherly when ever she is around babies.
  
It would be great to be selected finally.  We have been in the system for 3 years now.  But for us to get chosen it would certainly help if Adam had a full-time job. 

The girl's staffing meeting is first.  It will be at the end of June at the earliest.  So we wait and pray.

Naomi has been battling a rash the past few weeks. I thought it was caused by the new laundry detergent. However, after seeing the doctor and putting hydrocortazone lotion. The rash had gotten better but not gone away. Yesterday we went for a follow-up visit. He suggested it could be a food allergy or that she was developing eczema. To check for food allergies she is not to eat any fruit and we will reintroduce them one by one.

After her nap, (which was 4 hours) she had a fever. It got up to 103 last night. So we will not be going to the church garage sale today.

Kids!
So here's to a day of snuggling and movies for this mama!

March Forth

NOTE: I had meant to post this yesterday.  But it take me a bit longer to type these days.  So bare with me.  Until my finger heals I will probably post pictures for thee most part.  But I do have a few fun stories to share about Naomi coming soon. So stay tuned!

Well, it is March Forth again. This day has some significance to me.  It was a year ago yesterday that we were not selected for Amara.  It was the first child we were considered for.  I knew the chances were slim.  There are very few who are chosen the first time.

And now a year later, Naomi can wear the shirt that my mom bought for Amara.  And each time I put it on her I can't help but think of her "almost" sister. So I pray for her.  I have chosen a verse for her and the other child we were not selected for.

Great is our Lord, and mighty in power;
His understanding is infinite.

Psalm 147:5.

Each time I start moping over the adoption process I bring this verse to mind. It brings me a lot of peace in knowing His understanding is infinite. It also carries the reminder of how powerful God is.  Nothing is impossible with Him. 


So now we continue to wait for child number two.  We do not know when or how this child will be added to our family.  But God does.  I thank Him that he has a perfect plan for our family.  Until then I get to dote on our first answered prayer.

"Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go." Joshua 1:9.

Tomorrow

Tomorrow is a big day for our house.  If you remember this post, I mentioned a little boy whom we were being considered for.  Well, tomorrow, November 20 will be the staffing.  They will decide during a meeting at 10:00am.  We will be praying for wisdom for the staff who are meeting.  We know our chances are rather slim considering we have no income. So it will truly take and act of God for us to get this little boy.  I truly hope and pray that we might be chosen.  But I'm trying to keep things in perspective.  I know I am still healing from the fact we were not chosen for Amara. God has a plan for good and not for evil.  I am resting in that promise.  

God is in the drivers seat... 

Last weekend was pretty intense. We had a 2 hour interview where we had to give "our story" and answer 13 in depth questions. We also had a second round of interviews that were "speed dating" style. We also had to come up with a worship session and we were fed a TON of information. Naomi had a blast with her grandparents. They said she only fussed once because she did not want her teeth brushed. It was the longest she had been away from Adam and me.

Now we wait and see what they thought of us. They will designate us in to one of four categories.

1) Not a church planter

2) A Revivalist (take a dieing church and build it up again)

3) A Paulene Church Planter (Fast paced get a church started then move on in about 2-3 years)

or

4) A Founding Pastor (plant a church and stay for long term, about 5-10 years).

We personally feel that we are the fourth. But we will see what they have to say. 

Hope everyone has a good weekend!

Home Study update

Today we had our home study updated. We also got to meet our Adoption Facilitator. I guess our agency has had a revamp lately. I am so glad to have met her. We met for about two hours. It was quite the experience.

She updated EVERYTHING and Got a lot more in depth. She also clarified a few things on our original profile that was not clear. I am really excited to work with the Adoption Facilitator. I already feel like I know her better than the caseworker we had for almost two years and I have only talked with her for 2 hours. It also feels like she has a good grip on what we want. It is CRAZY!

She also gave us some information about the little boy we are being considered for. I guess 5 families were selected and two families have backed out. That leaves three families, including us, who are being considered. However one of the families have to have a full home study done. This takes a TON of time and it has not even been scheduled yet! The little boy's birthday is in the beginning of October. It is my prayer that he will begin placement before his birthday. (The possibility of this is very slim knowing that news. But I will continue to pray because nothing is impossible with God.)

So now we wait... and pray...

And walk the dog.

my house!

I thought I would take the time to show you all our new house! It is a bit on the small side from what we are used to. (It is about 1000 sq feet.) So here we go!

This is the view when you walk in to the house. A good sized living room. around the corner is the dinning room.

This is my kitchen.
The fridge and about the same amount of counter top is on the opposite side of the room

The only bathroom is on the upper level.


And here is Naomi's room.

As for our bed room and the Office they are a work in progress. Hopefully we will get them done before we have our home study!

Yep that's right, we are going to have to update our adoption file again. We are not concerned about the house (although there are a few things that need to be done). Adam really needs to find a job before the worker comes. Those of you who pray, please pray he finds a job very soon. Thank you!

Timing

I am amazed and a little humored about God's timing.  I was at a play date today at a friend's house.  (This is a close friend whom we have been close with for 4 years now.  We are very blessed to get to live so close to them!) Adam called me.  He told me tat our case worker had called...She had sent me a profile!  The profile is for a little boy, he will be 2 in October.  So he is older than Naomi.  While I was reading the profile I could not help but to think...Sounds like he would fit right in.  The only thing is that we really do not match up with any of the recommendations.  

I am just floored by the timing.  In the 2 years we have been in the system we have not had a single match sent our way.  And now that Adam got laid off and is returning to school and we just moved,  we have a profile sent to us.  It is kind of funny!

So please pray as we have some big decisions to make.  Also, please pray for Adam that he might find employment soon.  We know there is a job for him here. God would not have brought us up here with out providing an income for us.   

He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the hearts of men; yet they cannot fathom what God has done from beginning to end. 

Ecclesiastes 3:11

Adoption updates

We got a call today from our case worker. I am glad Adam answered it because I would have ended up crying or something. It was not bad news. I was just in one of "those moods" and I was rather annoyed by the end of the conversation.

First she wanted to update our address (and nothing else in our file). They had mailed out something and it had come back to them. So she actually had to call us to check on us!

Anyway the second was that there will be a change in policies starting next year.

Policy number one: New families it want to adopt will be charged (are you ready for this?) $675. She said this is to cover background checks and "start up" fees.

Policy number two: Starting in January 2010 we will be charged $250 each year we want to remain an adopt only home. This fee is not applied to foster families. (Hmmm I think they are really trying to get people to do foster care.)

Also, we will be getting a new caseworker starting in September.

Like I said not bad news. Just kind of annoying. Oh and for those keeping track... we have been in the system for almost 2 years now.

randomness

So I am not really sure what to write to night...But I feel like posting something.....So here it goes.

I realized I had not given an update on our attempt to adopt.  Once we get moved and such I will probably try to post some thing about it.  Basically we are still just waiting... and waiting ... and waiting...kind of annoying, but I guess our time to adopt has not come. (God's timing is perfect you know) This has not stopped me from praying for our children to be.  I figure that is what I am called to do right now.  Intercede through prayer.  (Please, Lord, have your hand upon them.)  I also still pray for Amara.  I can't bring myself to stop.  She even has her own verse. I know God's plan is best that His understanding is infinite.  Sometimes it is just hard to let go of something you had your heart so set on.

We are getting things worked out for moving.  The house looks more and more packed each day.  I want it all done with.  I just want to box every thing up now and be done.  But we have 4 more days to live here and we need a lot of the things that are not packed yet.  Slowly but surely I know it will get done.

Tomorrow we head back to KC.  Adam has an interview with a engineering temp firm.  I can tell he is getting a little antsy about the cash flow.  Yes, we are fine for the time being, but being the provider it is getting to him.  And I completely understand.  Going back to school is going to take a pretty good chunk of cash. And there is no sign of stable income in the near future.

However we are amazed by God's provision.  The place we are living is a total God send.   The rent is remarkably cheep.  The price lowered in the time we started looking.  It is small but the price is very nice.  We also get a discount if we pay before the first of the month.  It has all the basic necessities and it is clean! we will be just down the street (practically) from some good friends and my grandfather.  There is a park close by (something we always look for) and he gave us the month of August (or at least what is left of it) FREE!

Well it is getting late, and I have a big day ahead. I hope you didn't mind my randomness.  At least you got to play peak-a-boo with Naomi!  It is her favorite game!

Good night!