As of last Thursday, Feb. 1, Jenalyn knows that we are coming for her. She said "Thank you, Lord!" Then she burst into tears.
So, we are officially approved. Before we travel, we must raise the rest of the funds and fill out another pile of paperwork.
Monday, June 1, 2009
Entry for January 15, 2007
So much going on here! As can be seen by the amount of time that has gone by since my last entry.
We sent our dossier to he adoption agency last week. ICAB (Intercountry Adoption Board) should have it maybe by this week or next, depending on when it gets to the agency and then there. That means soon our girl will know "officially" that we are coming for her! I am nervous, excited, and terrified all at once. I have known for 2 1/2 years that she was to be ours, and it is finally coming to pass. We still need to raise a bit more money for the final agency fee and the travel expenses. We are leaving that in God's hands. He is faithful, and He is the Father of the fatherless, so He will provide, as He has before.
On the house front - we poured our foundation last Monday. We will finish tearing down forms and sealing it this weekend, then the pit gets filled back in. Next step - framing! I will post new pictures as soon as I get them all organized.
I have met all my requirements for birth doula certification through DONA International. I am waiting for one evaluation form and am finishing up my essay. In a couple of months, I should be officially certified. This is a HUGE accomplishment in my life, one that has taken me about 4 years to complete, due to LIFE happening! I am very excited about this!
I am also finishing up my medical transcription training. I hope to be finished with the final Advanced Transcription unit in the next 3-4 weeks. Then I have Career Development, which I think I can do in a week or so. My next goals will be to study for the certification exam and get into a paid internship program.
So many life changes happening, but it is so exciting to see God's blessings in my life and my family's life, and to see His calls upon my life coming to pass.
Because I have learned that it is in the brokeness, in the sense of desperation, in the total surrender to His will and His plans, that I am truly free.
We sent our dossier to he adoption agency last week. ICAB (Intercountry Adoption Board) should have it maybe by this week or next, depending on when it gets to the agency and then there. That means soon our girl will know "officially" that we are coming for her! I am nervous, excited, and terrified all at once. I have known for 2 1/2 years that she was to be ours, and it is finally coming to pass. We still need to raise a bit more money for the final agency fee and the travel expenses. We are leaving that in God's hands. He is faithful, and He is the Father of the fatherless, so He will provide, as He has before.
On the house front - we poured our foundation last Monday. We will finish tearing down forms and sealing it this weekend, then the pit gets filled back in. Next step - framing! I will post new pictures as soon as I get them all organized.
I have met all my requirements for birth doula certification through DONA International. I am waiting for one evaluation form and am finishing up my essay. In a couple of months, I should be officially certified. This is a HUGE accomplishment in my life, one that has taken me about 4 years to complete, due to LIFE happening! I am very excited about this!
I am also finishing up my medical transcription training. I hope to be finished with the final Advanced Transcription unit in the next 3-4 weeks. Then I have Career Development, which I think I can do in a week or so. My next goals will be to study for the certification exam and get into a paid internship program.
So many life changes happening, but it is so exciting to see God's blessings in my life and my family's life, and to see His calls upon my life coming to pass.
Because I have learned that it is in the brokeness, in the sense of desperation, in the total surrender to His will and His plans, that I am truly free.
Entry for October 14, 2006
Brokeness. That is what leads to true peace. Brokeness and surrender. God brought me out of my brokeness, restructured the pieces of my life to create something new, and placed me on His mountain, to make my life a witness to others.
Then He called me to surrender. Daily I take it back from him, and daily I let it go again. He knows what to do with it better than I ever could. He created my life, He planned every moment of it. "I know the plans I have for you...to give you a hope and a future" (Jeremiah 29:11).
I pray this brokeness on those I care about. I pray that God will break them, shatter them, reveal Himself to them in awesome and incredible ways, so that His Truth is clear, His presence cannot be denied. I don't pray it because I want to see them broken, bleeding, hurting, and alone. I pray this so that God can pick them up, rebuild them, set them on His mountaintop, and use their lives as a witness to many. I pray it so that they can know Him in ways they never thought possible. I pray it so that God can bring them to this same place of surrender - surrender of hopes, dreams, and desires into His hands, with no expectation for anything in return.
I pray it so that they can know Him, love Him, experience Him, and know the deep, lasting, indwelling sense of peace that I have received. No matter what life brings my way, I know that I will be okay, my husband and children will be okay, because God has given me his Perfect Peace. He is my Source, my place of Refuge, my Provider. I have nothing, am nothing, and know nothing apart from Him.
Then He called me to surrender. Daily I take it back from him, and daily I let it go again. He knows what to do with it better than I ever could. He created my life, He planned every moment of it. "I know the plans I have for you...to give you a hope and a future" (Jeremiah 29:11).
I pray this brokeness on those I care about. I pray that God will break them, shatter them, reveal Himself to them in awesome and incredible ways, so that His Truth is clear, His presence cannot be denied. I don't pray it because I want to see them broken, bleeding, hurting, and alone. I pray this so that God can pick them up, rebuild them, set them on His mountaintop, and use their lives as a witness to many. I pray it so that they can know Him in ways they never thought possible. I pray it so that God can bring them to this same place of surrender - surrender of hopes, dreams, and desires into His hands, with no expectation for anything in return.
I pray it so that they can know Him, love Him, experience Him, and know the deep, lasting, indwelling sense of peace that I have received. No matter what life brings my way, I know that I will be okay, my husband and children will be okay, because God has given me his Perfect Peace. He is my Source, my place of Refuge, my Provider. I have nothing, am nothing, and know nothing apart from Him.
Entry for October 11, 2006
Well, we are really doing this. We closed on our construction/land loan last Wednesday. We now officially own the property. We are working on permits and approval by the developer. We hope to FINALLY break ground in a couple of weeks. (We couldn't turn in the permit applications or get developer approval until we legally owned the land.) It would be nice to have it framed in before winter really hits. It's getting cooler now, but we know the worst is yet to come.
On the adoption front, we did our homestudy last week. This is pretty much the first step in the process. Jenalyn turned 14 on Sunday. We wish she had been here already to share her birthday with us. Alex and Kati made her birthday cards, and we scanned them into the computer and emailed them to her. She got them, we were told in a return email. The next day, she sent us an email. It was good to hear from her. We are anxious for the day that she will join our family forever.
I am in awe of the blessings God is bringing into our lives at this time. The timing must be His. We wouldn't be crazy enough to be building this house at this precise time in our lives without Him!
I am daily reminded that in surrendering, I am truly blessed. There are two specific areas of my life that God has called me to surrender. Sometimes, this is a daily struggle, a daily reminder from Him. When I am willing to submit, I see his extraordinary blessings. I don't necessarily see the answers I want, nor do I get the desires of my heart. But He pours out His blessings nonetheless, and they are more awesome than I could ever have imagined!
On the adoption front, we did our homestudy last week. This is pretty much the first step in the process. Jenalyn turned 14 on Sunday. We wish she had been here already to share her birthday with us. Alex and Kati made her birthday cards, and we scanned them into the computer and emailed them to her. She got them, we were told in a return email. The next day, she sent us an email. It was good to hear from her. We are anxious for the day that she will join our family forever.
I am in awe of the blessings God is bringing into our lives at this time. The timing must be His. We wouldn't be crazy enough to be building this house at this precise time in our lives without Him!
I am daily reminded that in surrendering, I am truly blessed. There are two specific areas of my life that God has called me to surrender. Sometimes, this is a daily struggle, a daily reminder from Him. When I am willing to submit, I see his extraordinary blessings. I don't necessarily see the answers I want, nor do I get the desires of my heart. But He pours out His blessings nonetheless, and they are more awesome than I could ever have imagined!
Entry for September 30, 2006
It's been awhile since I've been on. As a home-schooling mom, who also needs to work part time and is finishing up a class of her own, I am pretty busy during the week. Now we are going to add house-building to that list.
We do have our final loan approval. Just waiting now to close on the loan and the land. We will be working on the building permit application today and gettting things together for approval from the developer. Hopefully, if all goes well, we can break ground in a couple of weeks.
God has blessed us continually during this whole process. We have seen His hand overcome so many hurdles. This could not have come together like it has with our doing. It could only be Him. We couldn't have worked out all these details so perfectly.
On the adoption front, we have our home study on Thurday. We are going to go ahead and apply for adoption assistance through SPCO, so we can get the ball rolling. The home study is the first step to eveything, so we need to get that done. Jenalyn turns 14 in a week, and we want her home with us as soon as we can.
I will try to update posts on here a little more, and keep an update of our house builidng project and our lives.
Entry for August 16, 2006
This surrendering is hard. God has really brought me to this place of having to surrender certain areas of my life to him. And not just a superficial surrendering. A complete surrendering, with no expectations from Him in return.
So, it basically has meant giving up some of my dreams, my desires, to obey Him. And it hasn't been easy. My continued prayer has been, "Okay, God, here I go taking this from you yet again. If I'm supposed to surrender this to you, you're gonna have to help me to do it. So here it is, AGAIN! Please help me to not take it back."
Slowly, I am starting to see his blessings given in response to my obedience. Blessings in unexpected forms and at unexpected times.
The biggest is the sense of peace He has instilled me with. A peace that could only come from Him.
So, it basically has meant giving up some of my dreams, my desires, to obey Him. And it hasn't been easy. My continued prayer has been, "Okay, God, here I go taking this from you yet again. If I'm supposed to surrender this to you, you're gonna have to help me to do it. So here it is, AGAIN! Please help me to not take it back."
Slowly, I am starting to see his blessings given in response to my obedience. Blessings in unexpected forms and at unexpected times.
The biggest is the sense of peace He has instilled me with. A peace that could only come from Him.
Entry for August 10, 2006
Here we are one day after Jenalyn has returned to Cebu City, Philippines. It seems weird around here without her, now that we were used to having her around.
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