Three months

I can hardly believe we have had our precious babies for three months! Three months ago today I got the call that I could go to the hospital to care for baby boy. His bio-mom had chosen to leave, but he still had to stay for several more days, and I was allowed to go. We were at the hospital for four days before he was released. On the way home we picked up baby girl to finally be with us full time as well. These children have been such a blessing and have brought great joy into our lives. They are so precious I cannot even find the words.

All the warnings about how being a parent changes your life cannot prepare you for how your world gets turned upside down and shaken when you have children. Parenting is harder than I ever imagined, but also more rewarding than I knew, and I wouldn't trade these precious little ones for anything in this world!

Baby boy has grown so much! He has out grown the first outfits he wore, which prompted tears on my part. He giggles and coos now, bringing laughter to all in the house. Baby girl is thoroughly enjoying her role as big sissy, and steals kisses at every opportunity.

I cannot go into further detail, but we covet your prayer.

Phasing In

Time has been flying at an exponential rate around here. Due to the frenetic work we put in preparing for our potential placement I developed a severe upper respiratory infection that has required antibiotics- something I almost never do. My motto is that I don't go to the doctor unless I think I might die, so if I do, you know it is bad! However, all that work was worth it! Our nursery is set up, though still in progress, and we have our first placement. We are prohibited from posting pictures or identifying details, but I can assure you that she is the most beautiful 18 month old baby girl on the planet! :-) We will also be getting her newborn sibling, due in about a month, so we are preparing another nursery, as well!!!

Right now we are phasing in to having our precious girl full time. She is in a kinship placement, and so safe. DFS felt it would be less traumatic to make the transition gradually, so we are doing this back and forth dance for a while.

I've tried in three different sessions to upload the pictures for this post, and they simply won't load! You're gonna just have to use your imagination. I selected My Baby Sam's Paisley Lime Splash for our crib bedding, and my friend painted a gorgeous life sized tree with green leaves and birds and a nest all in silhouette. Our furniture is an eclectic mix, but I try to choose pieces that are as close to their natural color as possible.

Getting Ready

This week has been pure insanity. We learned last Friday that there was a very good possibility we may have our first placement by the end of next week. Later developments have revealed that we meet with the case worker on Friday, and possibly appear in court on Tuesday. This has thrown us into a frenzy of preparation. I have been through the whole, nursery is complete but there is no baby, thing before. I was not going to put myself through that again, and our case worker has been very careful to make us understand that it may take a long time to find a match for us. (We have been praying for a sibling group of four children three and under.)

 We have been remodeling our kitchen over the past few months (I've been taking pictures of each step along the way for a blog post, but am waiting for it to be totally complete to do the post.), and all of our attention and energy has been focused on getting that done.

The two bedrooms for our future children have been used for storage over the past five years. I thought I had gotten a good handle on clutter, but this week has taught me otherwise. I hauled a packed car (Chevy HHR) load to donate to charity, and threw away 4.5 kitchen trash bags of stuff! There is still a lot more to do, too! My daddy has been doing some sheetrock work where we eliminated a door that led to the kitchen and a window that opened onto our enclosed back porch. We had hoped to paint and shampoo carpets last night, and then set up furniture tonight. However, that didn't work out and we will be doing all those things in one night! We feel an urgency to have everything ready for the case worker to do her final walk through tomorrow.

I covet your prayers as we push through our last day of preparing for our very first placement. The list of things that need to be done yet is impossible to us, but our Heavenly Father is able to do above and beyond all we can ever think or imagine!

Waiting

The blog has been quiet, but our life here on the homestead has been busier than ever. Throughout the autumn and early winter months Wayne and I have been completing the classes and home study process that is required to adopt though our state. We are now licensed care providers through the state, but we do not yet have a placement. We are praying for a sibling group of four children, three and under. The process has included many long, late evenings, nights, and some Saturdays in classes along with home study visits as well as changes to our home to comply with the standards required for children in state care. We are eager for the children God has in store for our family!

I've known for quite some time that I wanted my nursery's theme to be "The Robin's Nest" with a blue, cream, and brown color scheme.  I knew that I wanted this to be decorated with trees and birds. Throughout autumn an idea started growing in my mind about grafting trees, and how if done properly a graft is not obvious to the untrained eye once the it has had time to grow. It is my prayer that God will perform this kind of miracle in our family, that eventually we will be a seamless unit with many beautiful branches.

I love that in God's Holy Word He gives us many beautiful pictures of adoption, especially in relation to our salvation. Some of my favorites include:

* Ephesians 1:5
So He decided long ago to adopt us as His children. He did it because of what Jesus Christ has done. It pleased God to do it. (NIrV)

* Romans 8:23
And not only this, but also we ourselves, having the first fruits of the Spirit even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our body. (NASB)

* These quotes were taken from Bible Gateway.

Breast Cancer Awareness

This post has been brewing for years. About a week ago someone put a status on Facebook that prompted me to write a mini essay. Another person posted some really great information that I thought needed to be shared. However, if I posted my thoughts as my status it would look like a rant. This is no rant. This is my well thought out and researched point of view. I respect that each of us has a right to our own opinions. My mother had breast cancer. Cancer, however, is not what killed her. She died of a drug overdose. The "medical professionals" gave her bushels of drugs that destroyed her liver and kidneys. The first step of her passing away was that her kidneys shut down and her liver wasn't functioning well. Both were the result of being overloaded with more drugs than those organs could metabolize. The AMA is a wicked, corrupt organization run by the pharmaceutical industry. The pharmaceutical industry is only motivated by making money. Big pharma has no intention of finding a cure. They want to string people along with their false hope and take them for every penny they have. I DO know that there are some physicians who have a sincere heart for helping people, and are doing their best to do so. They are rare, though. There are also some who went into the profession with good intentions, but have been brainwashed by the corruption that surrounds them. God has provided what we need for healing in nature via the plant kingdom and the earth (minerals). He has given us intelligence to know what is happening with our bodies, and if we invest the time and effort to study we can be healed of the vast majority of illness with what He has given us. I own an extensive library on nutritional and herbal healing, and there have been times that He has blessed me with nothing short of His supernatural understanding of what was needed; herbs that I truly didn't know much about, but came to mind and when I looked them up they were perfect for the ailment I needed to treat. I do believe there is a place for western medicine. Trauma is one example. Our doctors are really good at that. But for long term conditions- they stink.

I often feel judged because I do not participate in cancer awareness schemes. I think that my statement above is enough to explain my stance. I am certainly not going to give money to those who exist to make a profit at the expense of those whose suffering is unspeakable. Those who care and wish to be informed need to research. Some great places to start are listed below.

I will not be pinkwashed!

Abortions are linked to breast cancer.

Susan G. Komen supports Planned Parenthood