I am just overwhelmed with love for our new daughter.   She is a very talkative little girl.  Here are some of the things she said that have touched my heart:

"When I was in Ghana, I did not have a mom."

"Now I have a mom, a dad, bothers, sisters and a BIG car!"

"Mom, I am so happy you brought me to this home."  (meaning our family) 

"Mom, I Iove you so much."

Gifty's words just make me realize what a blessing it is to be an adoptive parent.  We are so blessed to have her as our daughter.  How amazing it is that God took this little girl from another continent, who did not have parents, and put a love for her in our hearts that propelled me to Ghana to bring her home and become a part of our family.

Is there anyone reading this that has thought about adoption but has not moved forward yet?  Do you have open arms?  May I encourage you to take that leap of faith, and welcome a child into your heart and family.  A child that may be waiting, waiting for the day to hear that they have  family that will love them forever. 

There may be obstacles in the way, but God can move them!  We have seen it ourselves.  We have been blessed with adoption grants, wonderful friends with families like ours, job opportunities for us to make extra money to pay towards adoption expenses, and a stronger faith and dependance on the Lord to make it all happen. 

Stepping out and blessing another, will change your life and someone else's for the better.  It is a win-win situation.

And for those who may not be able to adopt for whatever reason, sponsoring a child or two is  great option.   Or possibly give financial support to those who are willing and able to adopt, but the lack of finances are holding them back.  

We are all called to help the orphaned in one way or another.  Consider what God may be calling you to do.  Make yourself available to God, and see what He has in store.

Here is a poem I have posted in the past.  I think it is worth posting again.

  Just Say "YES"  

It is "finished" was what He said. 

Jesus paid the price for all of our debt.

The greatest sacrifice, he gave His life.

Oh how He loves us, this selfless act of Christ.

My heart longs to repay you, the Lord of my life. 

You cannot repay Me my child, but take My hand and I will be your guide. 

What can I do Lord, to show you my love? 

Step out of your comfort zone, I promise you will never be alone.

Go forth, and let my light shine through.

Let people see Me in all that you do. 

Be selfless and loving, let go of your pride.

People might curse you, but fear not, I will be at your side.

I have a great task for you at hand,

you must leave the old, and embrace a new plan. 

Yes, Lord I will follow, please show me the way.

I will bring  glory and honor to  you each day.

The door is open and I am walking through.

I am saying "yes" I will be an ambassador for You.

I can do all things, through Christ, who strengthens me. (Phil 4:13).

Sue

May 9, 2006

Well I'm still here.  Things have been a little crazier than usual.  We are having interior painting done, and have pretty much been living out of the kitchen and the bedrooms.

Gifty has transitioned into our family wonderfully.  She just fits right in.  I know God intended her to be in our family from the start.

I wanted mention my dear friend, Carolyn.  She and her husband have 9 children, 3 which are adopted from Ethiopia.  They are now adopting another child from Ethiopia.  She is 9 years old, and she has a special medical need.

I love Carolyn's way of wrtiting on her blog.  She has a good sense of humor and is also straight to the point.  In a recent post she asks "Do you have empty arms?  I know a few kids that need them."

They are trying to raise money for their current adoption expenses.  Please visit Carolyn's blog for encouragement, a laugh, and inspiration.  If you feel led, please considering helping financially to bring their daughter home.

On the right side of her blog, you can click on the "donate" button and be entered to win a beautiful quilt.  It is being raffled to raise money to bring their daughter home.

Carolyn's Blog

Not everyone can adopt, but we can all give something to make it possible for others who are willing to go the extra mile and welcome an orphan into their family and give them a family, a future, love  and hope.

James 2:14-17  

I have been thinking about my life lately, and all of things that have happened because I got out of the driver's seat and let God be in control of my life.

If I would have listened to what most of the world thinks is the way to live, I would be missing out on an extraordinary life.

Because I prayed to God and told Him to use me here on earth, my life has gone where I have never expected.

I have been to Africa 3 times in 14 months!  When I think about it, it is hard to believe sometimes! 

I would have missed out on so much, if I did not make myself available to God.

People often ask me, are you going to have more kids?  It seems to be a topic of curiosity among many.

My answer to this is simple.  Once you have been called to be a blessing to others in this world, you simply can not say "I am done now."

If God ever reveals a  child in need to us again, of course we could not say no.

So, I don't know if we are done adding to our family or not.  That is up to God.  I will do whatever God asks me to do.

It is the most amazing experience in life, to simply be a blessing to someone who can not repay you.  Nor, would I ever expect to be paid back.

But, what is incredible is that we have been blessed!  We wanted to give to children  that had nothing.  No parents, no future, no hope.  I never expected the abundant blessings that come from being an adoptive parent.

We have one life here on earth to live, and we must live it to the fullest, God's fullest!

I pray that  my children live their life for God.  What a waste their life will be  if they don't!

None of us must ever waste our life!  Start living for God!  Ask Him to reveal to you, what you can do for him! 

Don't miss out the most rewarding opportunity!  You never know what God has in store for you, if you don't ask!

Make yourself available and get ready for an awesome adventure! 

Matthew 25:21

21"His master replied, 'Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master's happiness!'

This is a post from another person's blog.  I read it and thought it was so insightful.  I have permission to post it here:

 There is something that has been bothering me and I have to get it out... Some days I am embarrassed to be an American. I know, it’s nothing like the song goes... I’m embarrassed. Let me explain.

I was watching TV the other day (right there a LUXURY in most countries) and this McDonalds commercial came on. I don’t know if you have seen it… but it’s the one where the mother is watching her approximately 4 year old son share his toys with his little brother and basically just share his life, his stuff with him. The commercial goes on to say “this is one thing you will not have to share” and the mother takes the son on a mommy date to McDonalds to get his own happy meal while the little brother stays behind with his dad. Now I want you to know I am not against some one on one time with your child- what I am against is that the commercial brainwashes us into feeling sorry for the child, who God forbid, has to ‘share’ with his little brother.

I see this a lot in real life as well. I cannot tell you how many times I have heard people say “Wow, your kids must be so nice to ‘let you’ adopt- my kids would hate that- having to share with someone else”.

BINGO. First of all, ‘let you’? In my house- Todd and I are the parents- period. We make the decisions. Of course we prayed about adopting again as a family. Of course we had long talks, answered questions and concerns. Of course we took each and every child into consideration. But we had the ultimate decision. As adults, as parents, that is VITAL.

All too often I see families today being run by the children. Second, what is wrong with your child learning to give- to give up- to share? That is where my embarrassment comes in. As a country I feel like we think we DESERVE more than we really do. We deserve so much that we are not even willing to wait for it. You know, we just pull out Mr. Visa and go get what we deserve- right then, right there. We work hard you know. We deserve the best. We deserve a break today. (Sorry McDonalds, I know you are getting picked on). But seriously, the media plays into this more than I think we even realize.

I want my children to work hard, but I also want them to learn to wait- to learn to go without if necessary and to learn to appreciate what they have worked for. I want my children to learn to live with less so that others can simply live. I want them to share- to see their siblings as a gift- not look at them with hatred because they had to let them touch one of their toys or take up a minute of their time.

We might not feel rich some days - but we ARE. We can jump in our car (not walk for 20 miles on a dirt road) and drive to a SUPER Walmart or a SUPER Target and get exactly what our little hearts desire to eat right then and there. We can burn our dinner and throw it out if we feel like it- where as in other parts of the world every single little crumb is the difference between life and death. Yet- we act as if we deserve more - deserve better. We are big complainers. Big time. We complain about just about everything and everyone we can. They bug us, they get in our way, they waste our time.

As adoptive families we act as if it’s our ‘right’ and we deserve better service. We complain about our agency, the government. We DEMAND better service. Because after all, we wrote our check you know- we should get what we deserve. We forget we are not talking about ‘buying a new car’. We are talking about a life- a gift from God- that no we do not deserve just because we wrote the check and turned in our homestudy.

We don’t deserve anything. We are blessed-because of someone else’s misfortune, to adopt a child. What we are doing IS a good thing (at least on our end) but that birth mother is hurting, that agency is working with little staff, and even less money, and the child has no voice, no choice in the matter.

I have now done a domestic adoption and 2 international adoptions- let me tell you- there are mistakes made from all sides. It all goes slower than we want- or believe that we deserve. We make mistakes, agencies make mistakes, governments make mistakes. Period. But the child is the blessing- and God lets that happen-we never once deserved it. We are no better than the child that God gave us- they owe us nothing. There is nothing that I did to deserve to parent my children. Any of them. Ever.

I have seen with my own eyes the look of despair, the loss of hope in children and parents in Guatemala. I have seen their living conditions- no running water, dirt floors, tin roofs and yet they still praise God for that. How can we feel ok after knowing that and yet still complain about our less than perfect service?

My prayer for us as Americans is to stop brainwashing our kids into thinking they deserve the world- and to stop thinking it ourselves. To teach our children to share, to teach them compassion, to teach them to look outside their own needs and to really see how blessed they are. Tell them that name brand clothing does not make them any better than anyone else… help them to not judge a person by the color of their skin or the car they drive. Pull them from out behind the TV, the Xbox and even the computer and teach them to really live life. Learn to say the word “No”. Quit blaming their teachers when they misbehave in class. Show them how to find real happiness, a purpose, meaning to life. Spend time with them, explain to them to be aware of falling into the ‘all about me’ trap. Better yet- be a living example.

It’s got to start with us- we have to teach them the truth. Let them be the kind of Americans one day that we really can be proud of, because this generation is blowing it. Now everyone put your right hand on your heart and repeat after me… I pledge allegiance to the flag…

We arrived home Saturday from Ghana.  We had a great trip.  It was exhausting because it is such a long journey, but all in all it was good.

Our oldest son Jacob went with.  What an amazing experience for him.  He loved Ghana and wanted to stay longer.

We went to the beach one day.  Jacob loved jumping in the waves and made a few Ghanaian friends.  Arama liked the water too, but did not venture out far.

The next day we went shopping at the art market.  They have so many vendors selling things.  Jacob learned how to barter and how difficult it can be.

We bought some drums, jewlery, wooden elephants, hippo, and giraffes.

Arama has been transitioning well.  She loves having a mommy and a daddy.  She loves her siblings, too.

Arama has had a few weepy moments, but that is to be expected.

I just keep praying for wisdom & discernment.

We are all so happy to welcome our new daughter home!

Thank you Lord, for the blessing of adoption. 

On March 10, Assemblyman Joel Anderson, R-La Mesa, introduced a resolution in support of home schooling. ACR115 "would acknowledge the long and rich history of private home schooling in California and call upon the California Supreme Court to reverse the opinion.

If you are in support of homeschooling as a choice for parents, call
Governor Schwarzenegger' s office at

916-445-2841.

It's entirely automated.
Press "1" (English),
then "2" for legislative bill.
Then the recording asks if you are calling regarding ACR115 -
press "1". 
If in favor, press "1". That's it. It took all of 15 seconds.

Well, our daughter is finally coming home!  I can hardly believe it is finally happening!

In 9 days I will be on a plane to Ghana.  I am very excited, but overwhelmed and stressed, too.  I have been packing today.  But there is so much I want to get done around here before I go.

This adoption process and had more ups & downs than our Ethiopian adoption.  But we signed on with a new program and that is to be expected as they work things out.   Anita, at AAI has been wonderful to work with.

As I pack Arama's clothes, toys, & baby doll it is just so surreal that I am going to have another little girl soon.

It has been wonderful to see God's hand in this adoption.  Things may not have always gone the way I wanted, but God is bigger than me and he knows all of the when's, where's, and why's.

Please pray that our trip goes well and for, Arama.  This is going to be such a big change for a little girl.

Thank you.

This family's blog really touched my heart today.  They are in Ethiopia now, picking up their little girl.  I am so happy for their little girl, she now has a family.  But what about all of the other children that don't?

Please read the post for Saturday, March 8th:

We love Big Families Blog

About 3 days ago I became ill with a fever, cough, and I am just plain tired.  I am on an antibiotic, so I am slowly starting to feel better.  I have not been this sick in a long time.

My kids have been great.  They have been helping to take care of the little ones so I can sleep when needed.  I really am really proud of my children, they are very responsible for their age.  That I believe that comes with being part of a large family.  When you have a large family, everyone has to help. But, even if we only had 2 children, I still believe that children should help in the household.  They are learning skills that they will need for life.

Today I slept in.  When I woke up, my girls surprised me with a clean living room, family room, and kitchen.

What makes it even more wonderful is that I did not ask them to do this.  I am just so thankful for children who think of me in time of need, and others, too.  I always tell them that that we are to put others above ourselves.

Romans 12:10

On Sunday, I attended children's church with Arama and the other children.  I think it is wonderful that they are being taught God's word and brought to church every Sunday.  They even have the children put on their best clothes for church.

I stayed in children's church, because Arama did not want me to leave her.  Children's church lasted about 3 hours.  The children sing praises and they have memorized scripture.  Children as young as Arama (3) could recite verses, the Lord's prayer, and the entire Psalm 23.  I was so impressed.  The children recite new verses so it is ingrained in them.  These teachers put their all into teaching these kids.

I was asked to preach in children's church.  Seeing how well they know the Bible, it was a bit intimidating.  I thought "what can I say to these people that they don't already know."

So I spoke about how God has a plan for each of them, just like he had a plan for Arama to join our family.  I mentioned the book of James and how we are to put our faith into action by  being  "doers" of God's word.  And how it is more blessed to give than receive.  The adults were pleased with what I said so I guess I did a good job.

Arama is musically inclined always dancing to the beat and singing.  She is charming and loving.  I observe her with younger children and she  is concerned when another child is crying.  They said she likes babies, so I'm sure she will be happy to have Daniel for a baby brother.

She is also the "informer."  If any child is doing something wrong she says "Teacher, look."

I can't wait to have her home, but I know she is going to grieve her orphanage family.  The staff at the Eban House take such good care of all the children.  They are so loved.

When I arrived at the orphanage, it was around 10:00 at night.  They woke Arama up and told her mommy was here.  She was placed in my arms.  She looked at my face for a minute or so.  I told her "It is mommy" a few times.  Then she realized who I was.  She took her little hands and placed them on my forehead.  She gently caressed my face down to my chin, 3 times.  Then she took her hands and was lovingly touching my hair.  Talk about my emotions running high, it was hard to hold back the tears. I put her back to bed and told her I would return tomorrow.

The next day came and I returned to the orphanage.  Arama came running to me.  I held her the entire day because she refused to let me put her down.  It is good that she is not too heavy.  She was very possesive of me.  All of the other children wanted to be by my side also.  She would tell them "No, that is MY mother." She was so happy to have a mother to call her own.  Every child automatically should have parents to love and care for them.  Arama would give me kisses often and was just quiet the first day or two, taking it all in.

It is an honor and a blessing to be her mother.  Thank you my heavenly Father for the blessing of adoption and our new daughter.  The Bible says it more blessed to give than receive and that is so true.

I will write more later.

Please visit  Mary's blog.

Mary is a mother to 10 children, 4 of whom were adopted from Ethiopia.  She is doing a fundraiser to supply mothers in Ethiopia a baby blanket for their newborn babies.

Many of these mothers leave the hospital without having a baby blanket for their baby.  How sad that is as I think of my drawer full of baby blankets. This is a wonderful opportunity to bless a mother & child.

Sue~

I have really been struggling with sadness lately.  Two different adoptive families have lost a spouse recently.  It is just so sad and distrurbing when someone young dies unexpectedly.  I know God is in control of all things, but sometimes it does not make sense.

My heart aches for these people who have lost the loves of their lives.  My heart cries for their children. I pray that their faith remains, and God helps them to carry on.

It is just another reminder that we can be here one day and gone tomorrow.  We must not waste our life and dwell on things of this earth.  We have to live for eternity, and make a difference while we are here.  We need to think of others, help the poor.  We need to look at our checkbooks, where is our money going?  Are we helping others and giving back to  God?

We need to look at our calendars, what are we doing with our time?  Are we using our time to glorify God?  Are we loving our children?  Are we training in the ways of the Lord?  Or are we running them around to unnecessary activities?

Please remember these dear families in your prayers.  Here are their family blogs, if you would like to read:

Amber:

 http://www.cold-water-news.blogspot.com/

Eric:

http://lazydranch8.blogspot.com/

Well, pretty soon I will be heading to Ghana.  Not to bring our little one home, but to file some necessary paperwork.  I will be gone for 1 week.  I will get to spend my days with Arama and the other children at the orphanage.  I am going to bring some crafts to do with all of the children.

I can't wait to meet our daughter!  A few days ago, she said to Anita (our adoption coordinator) "Tell my mommy I love her, okay?"

It is going to be difficult to not bring her home with me.  But, hopefully I will return to Ghana in month and bring her home then.

There are so many ups & downs in adoptions.  Of ten there are delays and other things that are out of our control.

But, through it all God is with us.  He has given me peace.  During this waiting time my love for Arama has grown, so I know there is a purpose of the waiting time.  He works on our mommy hearts, to love and welcome children that did not come from our womb, but from our hearts.

I am thinking about stopping my blog.  Or, there just might not be too many more entries.  With full hands and a full heart, I don't have much time for blogging anymore.  When Arama comes home, I want to devote all of my attention to her and  my other children.

I love being a wife to Ken and a mother &  teacher to my children.

Often, people seem to be in awe of my life.  When they ask  the typical question "How do you do it?" My answer is "You know when you are in God's will or when it's your calling, because you don't feel burdened, you feel blessed."

God is so good.  He has blessed me indeed.

Know You're A Homeschool Mom When...

You get to change more than diapers, you get to change their minds.

When a child busts a lip, and after seeing she's okay, you round up some scotch tape to capture some blood and look at it under the microscope!

You find dead animals and actually consider saving them to dissect later.

Your children never ever leave the "why?" stage.

When your teenager decides to take one community college course, and comes home and asks you why the teacher wrote "At" on his paper. (A+)

You ask for, and get, a copier instead of a diamond tennis bracelet for your wedding anniversary.

Your kids think reading history is best accomplished while lying on the floor with their head resting on the side of their patient dog.

Your husband can walk in at the end of a long day and tell how the science experiment went just by looking at the house.

You never have to drive your child's forgotten lunch to school.

Your child will never suffer the embarrassment of group showers after PE.

The only debate about the school lunch program is whose turn it is to cook.

You never have to face the dilemna of whether to take your child's side or the teacher's side in a dispute at school.

If your child get's drugs at school, it's probably Tylenol.

Your neighbors think you are insane.

Your kids learn new vocabulary from their extensive collection of "Calvin & Hobbes" books.

Your formal dining room now has a computer, copy machine, and many book shelves and there are educational posters and maps all over the walls.

You have meal worms growing in a container....on purpose.

If you get caught talking to yourself, you can claim you're having a PTA meeting.

Talking out loud to yourself is a parent/teacher conference.

You take off for a teacher in-service day because the principal needs clean underwear.

You can't make it through a movie without pointing out the historical inaccuracies.

You step on math manipulatives on your pre-dawn stumble to the bathroom.

The teacher gets to kiss the principal in the faculty lounge and no one gossips.

Your honor student can actually read the bumper sticker that you have put on your car.

If your child claims that the dog ate his homework, you can ask the dog.

Some day your children will consider you to be a miracle-working expert and will turn to you for advice.

Your kids refer to the neighbor kids as "government school inmates."

You can't make it through the grocery produce department without asking your preschooler the name and color of every vegetable.

You can't put your produce in your cart without asking your older student to estimate it's weight and verify accuracy.

A Village scene in Northern Ghana

Here is another description of our little Arama (or Gifty) from an adoptive father who is in Ghana currently.

"Gifty. I am going to put her in my suitcase and bring her back. That girl is so funny. She is very fun and a bundle of energy. She likes to make funny faces and dance all of the time. She is also really smart too. She is very into her surroundings."

These updates on our daughter have been wonderful.  It is so nice that our agency, AAI, lets other parents who are traveling take pictures of other kids who are waiting to go home, and share them with their families.  I received a new picture of Arama.  She was looking at the Hello Kitty sticker book we sent her.  I also gave her a small photo album with more pictures of our family, because she said to tell her mommy in America that she wants more photos.  I included pictures of our kids playing in the snow.  I wonder what she thought of that.  People in Ghana don't know what cold weather is, or what snow is like.

I pray God will prepare Arama's heart & mind for all of the changes that are going to take place in the future.  I am sure she will be happy to be in our family, but she will miss Ghana and her caretakers too.

My two other daughters are getting older and we have not had a little girl around here in a while.  It will be fun!   Her sisters can't wait to have her home.  I know she will be doted on.

One thing that is nice about having a big family is that your kids really are each other's best friends.  I believe that is the way God intended it to be.

Have a wonderful & blessed New Year!  My prayer for 2008 is that God will continue to work in me and family and make us more Christ like every day.

Well, several other parents are in Ghana right now.  They are filing their paperwork & are hoping their children will come home soon.  Two of the adoptive dads have commented on Arama.  Here is the first comment:

"Arama is a riot. She is very ticklish and man can she do the funky dance."

Another dad said:

"Arama is "cute as a button" and can do a really great funky dance."

So when she comes home, we will definitely have to get her dancing on the dvd recorder!

I am just waiting now for paperwork to be filed here.  Hopefully I will travel in Feb.  I have already started some packing and have had fun finding good deals on cute clothes for Arama.  I Bought her a Dora backpack and a cute baby doll.  I also bought her a travel Magnadoodle for the airplane ride.  

If you want to read more about Ghana here are the 2 blogs of the adoptive parents that are there now. There are recent updates. Also, Arama is often referred to as "Gifty."

Steppin' Heavenward

6,160 Miles

Well, it looks like I am not going to Ghana in January.  To make a long story short, I am filing my immigration paperwork here, instead of in Ghana.  If I filed it in Ghana,  It would require me a very long stay or possibly 2 trips.  So, I will file the paperwork here and when everything is done I will go to Ghana.  I should be going in Feb or March.

I feel at peace about it though.  It is all in God's hands.  I am just a little weary from the emotional ups & downs of adoption.

Well, I received surprising news last week.  I found out that Arama's case went through court and she is now ours!  Also, I will be traveling the beginning of January to bring her home!  It  looked like she would not be coming home until March or April.  So, I am still in shock!

The "nesting" instinct has kicked in.  I had several things I wanted to accomplish before Arama came home and I thought I had plenty of time to get everything done.  Well, let me say I am moving quickly now!

I will have to stay in Ghana longer than my Ethiopia trip.  I will probably be gone for 12 days.

The weather is supposed to be very hot this time of year.  It won't be like Ethiopia, that's for sure.

We are going to stay at a hotel that has a lovely swimming pool.  I am sure Arama will love the water!  She has probably never seen a swimming pool before.

It will be nice for out son Jon to have a sibling close in age.  Jon and Arama are 9 months apart and Daniel is 23 months younger than Jon.  So, these 3 will have each other as playmates.

I can't wait to meet Arama for the first time!

God has blessed us incredibly throughout this journey.  Thank you Lord!  All of the glory to you & you alone!

Ok, I can usually handle stress fairly well, but tonight the adoption related stress is getting to me.  We are just in limbo right now.  Nothing is happening with Arama's case, and I honestly just feel plain sad.  I am actually a little weepy tonight.

Not knowing anything is so frustrating.    Knowing that your new daughter is on the other side of the world and everything is out your control just wears on you.

My pregnancies took  their toll on me physically, especially the twins.  Adoption is just an emotional roller coaster ride.

So tonight, I will ask God to give me patience and  to comfort me.  I will pray that Arama is healthy and loved.