Sleeping Like a Baby

All tucked in and sleeping like a baby.

We received these pictures this evening so I thought I would share them. Nathan looks very secure tucked in his blanket. Deidre said she had tried to arouse him to open his eyes for the picture but he was sleeping soundly.

I have always loved to watch my kids sleep. To this day I still check on each one at night and watch them breathe.

Children are precious. I can hardly wait until I can check on Nathan sleeping snuggly in his bed at home. Praying that the Lord would bring Nathan home soon. Deidre, thank you for the sweet pictures and the covering of prayer.

November 28 - Nathan is 3 months old :)

A Blessing from a Friend!

Children are a blessing from the Lord...even when they are far away.

We pray that Nathan would know that he is loved. Today the person that took these pictures told me that she had told Nathan that his family loved him. An answer to our prayer!

God is so good!

UPDATE: DNA was completed this morning, Nov.19. :)

Our Cutie Petutie!

Part of my heart is in Guatemala. It is such a blessing to get new pictures each month. He is sure a cutie petutie!

Weight: 8# 4oz.

Height: 20 1/2 inches

He is doing great!

UPDATE: We heard that we received DNA Authorization today (11/15). We were told it should be done next week.

I am Thankful For....

**A gracious heavenly Father who adopted me into His family, "while I was yet a sinner".

**A wonderful husband who lives out his faith every day, and whose heart embraces not only our family but beyond.

**For our children, both those with us, those in heaven, and those yet to come. Children are truly a blessing from the Lord.

**God's provision for a home.

**God's provision for our adoption of Nathan.

**For that matter, God's provision daily for ALL of our needs.

**For our dog, who some days is just an animal and other days a trusted friend.

**For wonderful friends that share my burdens and whose burdens I help to hold.

**For opportunities to see the Lord's hand at work in my life and those of my children.

**I am thankful for a church that is committed to sharing the truth of scripture.

**I am thankful for my mom, dad, and siblings. And for Ken's family who have added so much to our lives.

I could go on, but I will stop there. Sometimes as we wait to bring Nathan home I lose sight of all that I have today to be thankful for. I don't want to miss the present waiting for the future. God has set the time that Nathan will come home, I choose today to trust the Lord for His timing.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Update: We heard today that Nathan's paperwork has been corrected and received by the attorney. This is an answer to prayer and good news, too. :)

Check it Out!

Next week there will be a series of radio broadcasts concerning adoption.

Check out: http://cryoftheorphan.org/ to get the whole scoop and broadcast schedule. There is sure to be something for every family, no matter where your heart is in relation to orphan care.

"Open your heart for the mute, for the rights of all the unfortunate. Open your mouth, judge righteously, and defend the rights of the afflicted and needy."
Proverbs 31:8-9

May you be greatly encouraged during this next week!

"...and let us consider how we can spur one another on towards love and good deeds..."
Hebrews 10:24

Praying for the children of Guatemala,
Amy

Who are the Orphans in Your Neighborhood?

I wrote this post a while ago but never posted it, today I thought I should send it out. :)

Who are the orphans in your neighborhood? in your neighborhood,they're in your neighborhood? Who are the orphans in your neighborhood, are they the people that you meet when you're walking down the street? They may be the people that you meet each day. (Okay, for you Mister Rogers people, I took a little bit of "creative" license with this song-sorry).

This is a question that has been on my heart for a while. By definition an orphan is "a child who has lost one or both parents by death". To be orphaned is "to be deprived of one or both parents."

Living in the midwest it feels as if there aren't very many orphans. But the more I think about this the more I see.

Our two older kids help at a Good News Club nearby where approximatley 40%(I don't remember the exact number) of the children have at least one parent in prison. Some of them are temporarily orphaned. I have good friends who, as adults, have seen both of their parents go home to be with the Lord. While they are adults, they sometimes feel like orphans; they don't have a parent to call for advice or wisdom. Foster children are orphaned for a time. Though they are placed with a loving foster family, they are our society's orphans for a time. For many reasons, there is an overwhelming number of single parents in our culture. Some of these children are missing either a father or a mother.

What is unique about each of these people? They have unique needs that we can all reach out to help with. How am I going to help? That is the question I wrestle with.

I think the first step is to pray. Ask the Lord how I can be of service to Him in these people's lives. We have a large family, our time is crowded, but it also means that we have many arms to reach out with. :) I don't think it is an issue of "if" we reach out, but "where" are we going to reach?

I Will Put My Trust in Him

I am in Hebrews for my devotions right now. I like to really mull it over in my mind, so I go s-l-o-w. This morning I was reading in Hebrews 2,(told you I go slow), and as I read verse 13 stuck in my mind. Because of all that we are told before this verse in Hebrews we are able to "put our trust in Him".

I often talk about trusting the Lord for this adoption. And I do seek to do that daily, sometime moment-by-moment, but I often have thoughts in my head of a back-up plan. But if I have a back-plan, am I really trusting the Lord to bring us through this? That is something I am also mulling over.

By nature I am a problem-solver, as a woman and a mom these are probably things that help me in my daily life but it also makes me more prone to rely on myself rather than on God or others who offer help.

God is showing me through this adoption that I still have a ways to go to really trust in Him, and it is my heart's desire to trust Him fully.

When I got around to checking my email this morning there was a note from our agency. Seems there was an error on the hospital paperwork which caused a discrepancy with Nathan's birth certificate. It is supposed to be fixed and back to the attorney tomorrow. So here I go...."I will put my trust in him".

Secondly, an email led me to guatadopt.com which is giving news of Guatemala's intention to delay the implementation of the Hague until April 1, 2008. This is good news! So here I go..."I will put my trust in him."

This is our third adoption, the first one internationally-some things are universal with adoptions. While it seems that people are in control of the circumstances it truly is the Lord who has full control. So here I go..."I will put my trust in him."

And again, "I will put my trust in him." Hebrews 2:13

We consider precious Nathan our son, though not legally at this point, he is imprinted in our hearts. We are continuing to pray him home.

See update on "I Am Thankful for..." post.

Patience

We are waiting for an update on Nathan's case and praying that when it comes it shows some progress toward Nathan's adoption. Today a blogging friend went to the children's home on a missions trip and took a care package down for us-Thank you Angel! Rock Nathan gently for us.

I have now been to Houston with my mom to meet with the doctor at MD Anderson Cancer Center. We are waiting to hear from the doctor on Tuesday as to what they determine to be her treatment plan.

My hope is that I can be the support that my mom needs now as she has been such a support to me. She has been a great sounding board, listener, cheerleader, friend.... I wish my dad could be here to walk her through this valley, mom did such a wonderful job of caring for dad when he was ill.

Sometimes I am not sure I have the courage to walk my mom through this, though I know that when I am weak the Lord's strength will hold me up,(actually the only time I am strong is because of the Lord). My mom's faith will sustain her on days when she feels weak. I pray that the Lord would be her refuge, strength and comfort as we go through this uncertain time.

"God is our refuge and strength, an ever present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea, though its waters roar and foam and the mountains quake with their surging." Psalm 46:1-3

As I write this I realize that we are patiently waiting in two very important areas for two very different things. For Nathan: we wait patiently to bring him home and in this wait we hope the news comes soon. For my mom: we are patiently waiting for news, hoping that bad news never comes. The best news is that both of these waits are in the Lord's hands and we can trust Him totally with Nathan and Mom.