We're Adopting!

We're ADOPTING! Ok, so if you've read our blog before you already know this, but because it has literally been 8 months since my last update...thought I would restate the obvious. Yes, family, friends, neighbors and newbies to our blog....we are still adopting. Almost 2 years ago we submitted our dossier to the Ethiopian Government and currently we have 30 other families ahead of us waiting to bring their children home.

Lily, Annie, Scott and I cannot wait to bring Samuel home and while we wait and prepare our hearts, our minds and essentially our lives, we are trying to stay busy by raising funds but more importantly raising awareness to the orphan crisis worldwide. Current statistics state there are over 147 million orphans worldwide. While God has directed us to Africa to bring home our son, the truth is there are thousands of orphans right where each of you live. Children currently in our foster system, struggling to gain a happy stable home life, children living on the streets, begging or stealing, just to survive. And because this is the reality of our world we would love to share with each of you the vision our family has and the ways in which you can help.

On August 9th & 10th we will be hosting an evening of entertainment. As I'm sure most of you know Scott and I have been doing theater for years and it is not only something we enjoy but something we enjoy together. Because of this we have decided to incorporate our love of theater to help us continue our fundraising. All proceeds of ticket sales go straight to the adoption and any other donations we receive. We have some really incredible people who are donating their time and talents to help us because they believe in our family and what God has called us to. I believe this night will not only help us, but be tons of fun. I am posting our flyer below with the information as well as the new designs for the t-shirts we will be selling the nights of our show as well as on our blog and through facebook.

As always thanks for reading, caring, loving and supporting our crazy life.

T-SHIRTS

SuperMan Tee  $15

Rescue the Orphan Tee $15

(all gender neutral sizes S-XXXL)

Adoption is the new Pregnant  $18

(Women's cut tees with glitter embellishment (not pictured) S-XXXL)

Hosting, school days & Life!

Hello blog world! Long time no write! HA! I just cracked myself up! Anyway, lots has been happening in our world. Just a quick update.

Lily started Pre-K 5 days a week and is doing so well!! 

This is the first day of school!

Annie is...well Annie! Sometime in the Spring she decided she was no longer answering to Anna and would forever now be Annie. She is stubborn, hilarious and so happy! 

This is really and truly such a good picture to describe the awesomeness of her personality.

We also decided to host a foreign exchange student from Liberia Africa for the school year. Raphina is 16 years old and in the 9 weeks we have had her she has taught us so much about her culture, customs and country. She will be staying with us until the end of school year and in that time we will go to Colorado, California and some other parts of Texas. We are excited to share America with her and also our culture and customs. 

Raphina's first day of High School in America!

Lily also started attending small groups at our church and at this point it is the highlight of her week. I think she may be the next bible drill champion! She also started playing soccer for the 'Twinkle Toes' this fall coached by her Daddy!!

GO TEAM!!

I'm sure there is tons of other things going on in our lives this fall but this covers the basics. For those who have asked...yes we are still adopting. We are currently number 47 on our list. That means 46 other families in front of us asking for the same (Infant boy 0-18 months). We are about to resubmit a lot of paperwork to the embassy that has updated information. As of this month all of our time dated materials will have expired. And as of 10/28 it will be one year exactly that we submitted our dossier. As of 11/1 it will be 2 years exactly that we started the adoption journey. Tons of dates and facts that seem tedious and useless but are days that have meaning in our life and our little boys. Please continue to pray for us. Pray that time goes by fast enough that we forget it has almost been 2 years and pray that as it goes quickly we don't miss anything! (Best of both worlds right?) Thanks and hopefully I will get on this thing again soon!!

The Waiting Game

Well, as usual we have been slammed with activities, trips and life in general. Scott took 21 students, teens and adults to Kenya Africa with Tin Roof Society  and they had a wonderful time exploring Mombasa while serving in schools. They also went into Nairobi and visited places I'm sure most of these kids had never imagined even existed. And while Scott was in Africa the girls and I went to California to visit my mom and brothers. And while both trips would be considered a success it is always hard to come back together and find common ground. Scott had several encounters with God while serving in Africa, while I played at Disneyland and the beach. We didn't really have the same goals or focus. But God is so good in bringing our family back together with a shared purpose.

A couple of days before I left California I decided to check our "unofficial" referral list. This list is simply a basic cataloguing of all the people in our agency adopting from Ethiopia. It lists families by last name and is placed in order by DTE or Dossier to Ethiopia. (Our DTE is 10/28/11.) Then it gets even more detailed based on requests, male/female, age...etc. I can honestly tell you I rarely check this list. Most people are probably wondering why...& I can tell you, it can be frustrating and rather discouraging for me. When we landed on the list the beginning of November we started at 61. Meaning 60 other families were "in line" before us for the same request. Male infant 0-12 months. And in the next 6 months we did nothing but go up. At one point our number was 63 then 65 and back down to 61 where we have stayed. 8 months and we have essentially seen no movement. But 3 days ago I happened to check and YEAH...we were 57! Now 4 numbers may seem insignificant to most people but 4 numbers was like manna from heaven as far as I was concerned. 4 numbers can sustain me for quite some time. And then today I went to show Scott and guess what....54!! 3 more numbers down! Apparently almost 10 children had clearance in country and were able to be referred to loving families. Meaning families have now been matched with children and orphaned children are no longer orphaned. John 14:18 coming to life!

I also received an email from our agency with a detailed attachment answering a lot of questions while we play "The Waiting Game". And with some of these answers Scott and I find ourselves wondering what are the best decisions for our family. So I ask for you to please pray for us as we pray and discuss our options.

Adoption is a roller coaster ride and until you are on it you cannot understand all it entails. But we know that this roller coaster is one we want to take and one we are humbled and excited to be called to. Love y'all!

The Windham's

Prayerfully Struggling Through it!

Well, It has been almost 6 months since the last time I have updated my blog. Not good at all. To be honest I have written blogs out but in the end decided against posting because they just seemed whiny and repetitive. So, I am hoping this one does not sound that way.

The most recent update is...We are still adopting!! The stinky part of that update is that we are moving nowhere. We started with a number in the 60's and if you can believe it, in 7 months we have only gone up (Meaning our number has gotten higher)! So we are further on the list than when we started. I have sent emails and asked tons of questions but no one seems to be able to explain to me this phenomenon. I spoke with our family coordinator and she said at least another 18 months to go. And thats on the low end of things. Could be as much as 24 months.

That being said...I am struggling. At the beginning you realize this is a possibility, an option, but the reality is really no fun. I envy those who walked into adoption and under a year had their child home. We are looking at a total of 3-4 years start to finish. Like I said I knew it was an option but realistically I didn't think it was for us! There I have said it...you never think the bad case scenario happens to you right?

Bad case scenario meaning my arms are still empty and my heart and head thought they would be full by now. Please don't misunderstand, I am a mother who has two happy healthy little girls at home and Scott and I thank the Lord every day for them. They do keep me busy and our life is full of laughter and fun...but 18 months ago I decided something was going to happen and it hasn't happened as I thought it would. I know...my bad! And now I'm struggling through my own disappointment in my expectations of adoption.

But we continue to pray. Pray for God's timing, God's peace, God's will! All of these things are good and right and yet I'm struggling. We are praying that the country doesn't close entirely (that would be worse case scenario!). And we are praying that in the wait God prepares our hearts.  We are also praying that financially God continues to provide. This November all of our time dated items in our dossier expire which means more money to renew what has already been done.

But ultimately I wanted you to know that although I am struggling through this time...I am prayerfully struggling through. I would love it if you would pray with and for me. Again, thank you to everyone who has supported us in so many different ways. We could not do this without you.

I hope you read this and know that it may sound a little, 'yucky' for lack of a better word, but I am confident that God is refining and working on me and my trust in Him through this wait. Doesn't mean I like it...But I know His way is better and His time is better and His peace makes it bearable.

Love y'all!

It's Beginning to look a lot like....

CHRISTMAS!! 

Well, Thanksgiving is officially over and we have our tree up! 

We also got a Choo Choo Train this year to put underneath the tree because Anna is a big train fan. And the girls have had so much fun watching it go around and around!

And also the start of the Christmas season brings our first #! Our # refers to our placement on the Dossier list. Now technically this is the unofficial list because our agency is unable to tell us our number officially due to privacy laws but we are excited to have an unofficial number! So here is our number, in Christmas Choo Choo style!

61!!!!

We are super excited to finally be on the list. It is moving rather slowly at this point so I'm not sure how quickly we will get another number but the wait has started!! Please continue to pray for us as we walk closer and closer to bringing our baby boy home!

Love y'all!

Stories

Well, The holidays are upon us and that means lots of food! And decorations and yummy smells and hopefully cooler weather. It also means lots of story telling in our house! Every day Lily asks 5 times a day for a story. Here recently she has started telling me stories and it has been so neat to watch as her imagination takes over and she creates. But when it comes to my story telling, I admit, I am not nearly as creative so I usually tell stories from the Bible. Last night we went through Jonah and Joseph and the story of when Jesus was born. (Funny side note: at almost 4 she really is so perceptive but last night as we were talking about Jesus dying on the cross and being buried I asked her what happened when 3 days went by and she proceeded to tell me, rather proudly too, that Jesus went in the belly of a whale!! Hilarious!)

Anyway, we talked about Jesus being born in a manger (Or as Lily says on a farm!! She's 4 so we go with it!) And we even went further back to when the Angel appeared to Mary to tell her about Jesus. Which lead to the discussion of sometimes doing things that scare us or we feel unable to do. And I realize sometimes I may broach topics that seem too adult for my almost 4 year old, but then I see the understanding and acceptance on her face and think, she is soaking it all in and because she is 4 and not 25 learning these things it will be easier for her to walk out her calling. Easier for her to trust the things of God because its what she knows and what she's been taught.

And once Lily has exhausted all questions, and trust me there is always plenty, we change to another story. Each one different and unique. Each person or character walking through life and teaching us lessons.

But because we live in a land of stories my mind has started to wander. Causing me to ask questions like...What will Lily tell her kids and grandkids about me? And what will her kids tell their grandkids? Plainly speaking, what will my story be? What will be the theme of my life? As I sit here and type I think of the people in my life and I can clearly see a definite theme in their lives. The things they taught and believed in. The things they sacrificed for. But what about me?

I think as a believer we would all like to say in the end we lived for Jesus! And I do hope that is said of me in the days to come, but what about the more intimate details, the things my family and close friends see? What have I expressed passion for? What moves me? What would I sacrifice everything for? Some things that jump to mind are my kids and husband, my family, people with no voice, children who have little to no hope left, the local church...these are all things that move me, that I am passionate about but what am I doing with this? James 2:17 says that , "So you see faith by itself isn't enough. Unless it produces good deeds it is dead." Simply put I can be passionate all day long about these things that tug at my heartstrings but if there is no action, no plan to support, encourage or dig deep into the trenches it is pointless, it is dead.

So as I type I am going to once again challenge myself, because we all need reminders of what we have been called to. No more sitting on the sidelines watching as the world falls deeper into hopelessness and despair. No more waiting while God looks to His people to help, aid, love and support the fallen. I don't want Him disappointed in me. It is a time for steps of faith. Because in the end I want people to see a woman of faith but just as importantly a woman of action.

Fear=A Mediocre Life

This is an excerpt from this book. I have previously posted about Katie's blog, which I highly encourage everyone to read, but this portion of her book really struck me. 


Katie writes:

"I remembered a story I once read:

'Once there was a people who surveyed the resources of the world and said to each other:  "How can we be sure that we will have enough in hard times?  We want to survive whatever happens.  Let us start collecting food, materials, and knowledge so that we are safe and secure when a crisis occurs."  So they started hoarding, so much and so eagerly that the other peoples protested and said:  "You have so much more than you need, while we don't have enough to survive.  Give us part of your wealth!"  But the fearful hoarders said:  "No, no, we need to keep this in case of an emergency, in case things go bad for us too, in case our lives are threatened."  But the others said:  "We are dying now, please give us food and materials and knowledge to survive.  We can't wait...we need it now!"  Then the fearful hoarders became even more fearful, since they became afraid that the poor and hungry would attack them.  So they said to one another:  "Let us build walls around our wealth so that no stranger can take it from us."  They started erecting walls so high that they could not even see anymore whether their enemies were outside the walls or not!  As their fear increased they told each other:  "Our enemies have become so numerous that they may be able to tear down our walls.  Our walls are not strong enough to keep them away.  We need to put bombs at the top of the walls so that nobody will dare to even come close to us."  But instead of feeling safe and secure behind their armed walls they found themselves trapped in the prison they had built with their own fear.  They even became afraid of their own bombs, wondering if they might harm themselves more than their enemy.  And gradually they realized their fear of death had brought them closer to it.'"

Can you see yourself? I feel as though it was directed right at me. How often I take care of me and mine, forgetting that I have been commanded to do so much more. Then she continued on to write these words that knocked me flat:

"Fear.  It's part of human nature, but it's not something we got from God.  Second Timothy 1:7 says:  "For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind."  When I imagine God creating each one of us and planting a purpose deep in our hearts, I never imagine that purpose being mediocrity.  While the Bible doesn't tell every person on earth specifically what his or her life's calling will be, it does include a lot of general direction:

'You are to find me in the least of these.'  Yes.

'You are to leave your earthly possessions and come follow me.'  Yes.

'You are to love and serve the Lord God with all your heart and love your neighbor as yourself.'  Yes.

'You are to go and make disciples of all nations.'  Yes.

'You are to entertain strangers and lepers and tax collectors.'  Yes.

'You are to live a life of mediocrity and abundance, holding on tight to your comfortable lifestyle, lest you lose it.'  No"






So I ask you...where does that leave you? Are you walking in fear hoping to scrape by and at the end say I've done okay? Or are you fearlessly careening through life, living without bounds knowing that God takes care of all your needs and then some? I can't say I always do the latter but it is what I strive for. Join me in serving the least of these, in loving those who the world has turned on and seem unlovable. Join me in living an abundant life in Jesus. I can honestly say in the moments when I hand a cup of water to the thirsty in the name of Jesus and in the moments when I sacrifice to the point of hurting I feel more like my Savior than ever before. And thats where I want to be, thats where I want to dwell. I want to rest and serve and live in the work and will of the Most High.