Spring Break Fun

We wanted to do something as a family this Spring Break, but we didn't want to break the bank on a vacation, so we decided to take a 2-day staycation instead. First we ventured over to Glen Rose to Fossil Rim and went on a little African safari Texas style. Aaron and I had gone before when we were newly married but never had taken our kiddos. Needless to say, they loved it. All these "wild" animals walked right up to our car in hopes of getting a little snack fed to them :)












With a little nap in between stops ....


We then headed over to Ennis to the Galaxy drive in movie theater. This was all of our favorite stops on our staycation. Did you know that in the U.S. there use to be over 4,000 drive-in movie theaters and now there are only 400 left? This is so sad, seeing how much fun this place was. And very economical compared to the big indoor theaters we are all use to now-a-days. For a grand total of $31.00 we got 4 tickets to see not one, but TWO 3-D movies, a Lg. popcorn, m&ms, 2 drinks, a hotdog and a pizza! $31.00 wouldn't even pay our way into the movie theater at our local theater;and don't even get me started on the robbing that takes place at the concession area :) We had so much fun! We laid out a big quilt, the girls had their pillow pets they laid on, and covered up with blankets, and we all enjoyed the movie outside in the perfect weather we have been getting. It was wonderful! We will defintely go do this again. Next time we will take the truck and some lawn chairs perhaps.




Our last stop the next day was Six Flags. We had a good time, but will NEVER go again during Spring break. It was so crowded we could barely walk through the mobs of people. Our girls, however, did get to ride their first tiny roller coaster. We stood in line for about an hour to get on it, but it was worth it just to hear those belly laughs.

Makeover

Oh how I love and am thankful for this man who is willing to put asside his masculinity for the sake of entertaining his daughters :)



Now please don't tell him I posted these or he will kill me ;)

Rescue The Perishing - Jackie Castro

This is just beautiful!

Some Good Medicine

In the midst of this hard week with the news of MOWA decreasing Ethiopian Adoptions by 90%, we thought we needed to take our minds off things and gather with a group of our friends and have some fun. These are the ones we can completely and totally always be ourselves around. We are like-minded with similar hearts, and everytime we come together it is a time of fun and refreshing. We are so thankful for the friends God has put in our lives....SO THANKFUL for you all.














"Everytime I think of you, I give thanks to my God. Whenever I pray, I make my requests for all of you with joy, for you have been my partners in spreading the Good News about Christ from the time you first heard it until now. And I am certain that God, who began a good work within you will continue His work until it is finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns.
So it is right that I should feel as I do about all of you, for you have a special place in my heart. You share with me the special favor of God, both in my imprisonment and in defending and confirming the truth of the Good News. God knows how much I love you and long for you with the tender compassion of Christ Jesus."
Philippians 1:3-8

Urgent need to pray!

Please everyone that reads our blog. There is an urgent need to pray for Ethiopia. I talked with a sweet woman on the phone yesterday about our son, and she reminded me that this is a battle. Satan HATES adoption, because it is the very picture of God's heart. We need to be battling for the children in Ethiopia. How do we do that? We pray. Please pass this information along. PLEASE read below:

I copied the below things to pray for from our agency's blog.


These prayer guidelines about the adoption program in Ethiopia come from
Tom Davis at Red Letters


1. For God's will to be done on earth as it is in heaven.

God is in control. For those of you who are facing being stuck, remember that God is in control.


2. For God to breakdown strongholds of the enemy.

Every child deserves the right to grow up in a health family, and adoptive families provide that for thousands of children each year. Pray that God would demolish the strongholds that are set up against adoption.


3. For God to fulfill His promises.

God defines Himself as the Father to the Fatherless. He declares He will set the lonely in families. He warns those who would interfere with His plan to bring justice and mercy that is due to them. Find the orphan scriptures, pray them to God, and ask Him to fulfill those promises to the children of Ethiopia now.


4. For the courts and judges and government officials making this decision.

Ask the Holy Spirit to permeate the courtroom and convict the hearts of the judges and other government officials. Bring the power of the Holy Spirit into these discussions and proceedings--not that we would get our way--but that God's perfect will would be fulfilled in these decisions.


5. For the children and families

That God would shorten their wait times. Fortunately, God is bigger than these obstacles. Pray that waiting children would receive comfort. And pray that waiting families would experience peace, grace, and love from those around them.

While things are uncertain, our best response today is prayer.

AMEN!!

Fun with Cousins!

Last weekend we had my sweet neices Avery and Emery stay the night with us. Our girls were so excited! Avery and Emery are their 2 favorite people in the entire world. The night consisted of bike riding outside til dark, tea parties, movie watching and cookie making.

All cozy on a bean bag pallet.

We decided to make rice crispies on a stick!

We dipped them in chocolate, caramel, sprinkles, m&ms, and coconut. They sure were messy......


but they sure were good :)

A Team of Support!

(from left to right, Aaron & Stacy; Trent & Stephanie; Jason & Kendra; Bruce & Patty)


Throughout this whole journey of adoption, Aaron and I have felt that God wasn't going to stop there with this passion He has laid on our hearts. We have always felt as though there is something more that God wants us to do, in addition to adopting our son. Thoughts of starting an orphan-centered ministry within our church always seemed to pop up in our minds, until we heard one day...."why don't you do something with that?" So we talked and we prayed about what it was that God was wanting us to do, and Aaron felt as though starting an adoption-centered home team would be the best place to start. This way we are in community with other family's with the same passion as us, and we can establish relationship with them on a weekly basis. And so that is what we did, we put the information out there and had 3 families who were willing to jump in with us. So for this last year, we have met every Wednesday night in our home, and discussed and prayed and have gotten to know each other's stories and hearts and visions, and have really learned so much from each other. We have in our group me and Aaron who are in process of our first adoption from Ethiopia; Trent and Stephanie, who adopted Evie from Russia, and are now praying for their next step in pursuing adoption again; Jason and Kendra, who brought home sweet Eleni from Ethiopia in July of 2010, and Bruce and Patty who adopted Sarah from India, and have been YWAM missionaries and orphan advocates for many years now. At the beginning of our meeting times, we really didn't know where to start. We honestly didn't feel as though we knew what we were doing, but also knew that was ok. God knows exactly what He's doing and that was enough for us. Not too long after starting, Kerri and Dan (some leaders in our church, who also happen to be in the process of adopting 13 year-old, Sasha, from Russia) gave us a DVD and study guide that they suggested we start watching as a group. The DVD/study guide was "Empowered to Connect" by Dr. Karen Purvis. "Empowered to Connect" has been a great learning tool for our group. With their permission to share, when we first started the study, Kendra and Jason were struggling with their adjustment to bringing 2 year-old Eleni home. Eleni didn't want anything to do with Jason, and wouldn't let Kendra leave her side. Jason took a month off from work to help with bonding to Eleni, and struggled having an understanding of why Eleni wouldn't give him the time of day. It was heartbreaking for him as a dad, and strenuous on Kendra and Jason's marriage. To top it off, Kendra and Jason also have 2 biological sons and their youngest son, was also having a hard time adjusting to his new sister. It was a hard time for them, but they pressed on and today Eleni is well-adjusted, has 2 brothers that adore her, and has a strong bond with both her mom and dad. Kendra and Jason enjoyed "Empowered to Connect" and mentioned that they wish it was something that their agency would have suggested as a tool for them. Kendra mentioned that while you are in the process of adopting, you do all this reading and preparing for your child to come home and you think you are ready. But then when reality sets in, and you are in the midst of a difficult adjustment time, she feels that Empowered to Connect could serve as a great time of learning and walking you through those first months of adjustment. For Aaron and myself, this time for us has been a huge time of growth and learning. Before meeting with this group I guess you could say we were oblivious to the realities of the possible difficulties we could face with our adoption. We weren't really prepared. Listening to everyone else's testimonies and difficulties they faced, at times scared us half to death. There were moments, when we would hear something from someone in the group, or Dr. Purvis would start discussing a hard reality, and I, more so than Aaron, would freak out, and say..."oh my gosh, what are we doing? Are we really up for this? This is when I realized that adoption is for sure a calling. Caring for the orphan and the widow is something all of us as followers of Jesus are called to do, and that can come in MANY forms. Adopting a child, however, is a specific calling. Aaron and I would always have to remind ourselves of the clear call we received, and the many confirmations we received along the journey to keep us moving forward. Without our group and without having "Empowered to Connect" as a learning tool, I don't think Aaron and I would be ready to bring our son home. I can say with confidence that we are for sure called, we are prepared, and with the help of this team of wonderful people around us to pray for us and lean on for support, we are ready to go get our son. We can't wait! We are so grateful that God led us to do this. I am convinced that without it, we wouldn't be in the place where we are now, this place of growth, and peace and pure excitement. Community is so important.

(Eleni and Aubrey, little buddies, and...Kendra and I joke...future sisters-in-law, because Eleni and our son are going to get married..lol)