Blessings!!

What a beautiful crisp day it is here in central Indiana! The sky is bright blue with a few fluffy clouds drifting along. The soft shades of brown of the woods behind our house look lovely paired with the bright blue sky. There are a few patched of icy spots in the nearby fields reflecting the blue above.

I'd like to pass along a little blessing that my parents did for us a week or so ago. My dad...aka Hero to my children and myself...needed someone to go along with him to pick up his new/old RV that he purchased for he and my Mom to drive around in. (He is a bargain shopper...it would be very difficult to buy even a good used car for what he paid for this new-to-him RV!) Anyway, we drove to Ohio and when we got back late that evening, HE TRIED TO GIVE ME MONEY for having gone with him! Isn't that just crazy? I mean, I would give HIM money just to get to spend the day with him!

So of course, I refused!!! The next day, Mom called and said that they had a microwave for me!
WOW!!!! WHAT A BLESSING! We haven't had a microwave since we moved here in late spring! They decided that they wanted a microwave that fit their kitchen better (yeah, right....) so they gave me theirs! Sounds kinda fishy, don't you think????

Well, I appreciate it greatly! Now, I keep forgetting that I have one and every day, I think what a nice thing that was for them to do for us!

It is really a neat thing to be a blessing to someone, isn't it? I was just thinking today what a blessing the Duggars and the Bates are to us. They have really influenced us and I'm not sure that we would be adopting now if God hadn't used them to influence us. We don't have access to the Duggar tv show right now and it has been kinda sad for me to know that I don't get to see either family on a regular basis but sometimes I can catch up with them on the internet!

Well, speaking of blessing, I need to go clean our bathroom in our bedroom and be a blessing to my husband! And I think he's going to have a meatloaf for supper tonight before church...meatloaf is one of his all time favorites!
Have a lovely day!
Beth

Adoption Update....

Wow...it seems like we are bouncing around like a ping pong ball!
Saturday we attended our first foster care workshop. I found it very interesting...somewhat sad in certain aspects, but very educational.

However.......DRUM ROLL PLEASE..........................

Our original plan....adopting from Lesotho, Africa.....is on GO!!!!

Our adoption agency contacted us last week and said that our dossier is ready to be hand delivered to the government agency in Lesotho in two weeks or so!!!!!!

We MAY BE matched up with a child or children within just a few months!!!!

We are going to continue to go forward with the foster care classes. They are very educational for all aspects of adoption and depending on how many little ones we are matched with in Africa, we may want to adopt from foster care in the future. We know that we would like to have two children in our home! (besides the teenage children that we already have...)

This is an incredibly exciting time in our lives and also VERY busy...so it is pretty likely that our waiting time won't seem quite so long for us!

Marci and Ben are getting married in late April. (Marci is my oldest daughter, soon to be 22.) We are doing all her food for her reception, pasta, salad, bread, wedding cake, candy, cookies....etc....

Jennie will be graduating from high school AND will have earned her CNA license by May! We've got to figure out how we are going to do her graduation party! She will actually be receiving her diploma from OUR homeschool since the high school she is currently attending wants her to retake all of THEIR final exams for her year she was homeschooled. We are not going to make her do that since she will be tested on things that she didn't study for through her Abeka homeschooling classes. Besides that, in order for her to make room in her school day to take her classes for her CNA license, she had to take other classes outside of her school day...more homeschooling classes. So we are just going to give her a diploma through us...a registered home school through Indiana.

Niece Jessica will be getting married in June...and we are doing her cake and flowers!

Our church most likely will be allowing us to have a fund raiser dinner for adoption in the spring!

Daughter in law ERIN is expecting baby number 2 in the late summer!!! Woohoo!!! Another little person like 1 1/2 year old Liam to keep up with! No wonder she is a skinny Mommy! (I know, Erin, all those miles running and exercising has nothing to do with it, right???)

Hopefully the "big" house will sell soon and we can start adding on a family room to this little house we live in. We do love it...it's just kinda tight quarters.....

So...lots to think about and to plan for!

Blessings!
Beth

Conversations with a 3 year old.....

Evidently, 3 year old Granddaughter, Seraphina, has been thinking a lot about baby Jesus this past Christmas season. She has also overheard us discussing our adoption plans. On the way to visit us a few days ago, she had this conversation with her Mommy.

"Mommy, I want you to have another baby and I want it to be a sister!"
Abi, laughing, says "Well...you'll have to talk to Daddy about that. " (They do have another little one, Baby Gabe who is almost 1.)
"Well, Grammy Beth is going to have another baby!" Seraphina declares.
"Oh...I don't think Grammy Beth is going to have another baby." Abi corrects.
"Oh yes she is!" Seraphina insists. "She keeps talking about getting a baby! And this time it's gonna be BABY JESUS only it's gonna be BETTER, 'cause this time He's gonna be a GIRL!!"

Oh dear....I'm afraid she is going to be badly disappointed! Any child we ADOPT will be a cute little sinner...just like HER!!!!!

We are starting our "FOSTER PARENT" classes this Saturday! We both feel led to try to adopt through the system. We will not just foster however, any child or children we take into our home will be legally available to adopt. So....it's just a matter of time! My spirits have been lifted significantly with this idea and yesterday we had a phone call confirming our class! WooHoo!! (Besides that, I will have three full Saturdays with my HUBBY!!! Can't get better than THAT!! ....unless it was four Saturdays!!!!)

Blessings!
Beth

Home....home at last!!

We had MOSTLY a good time on our little "vacation" to Florida. We stopped in Nashville and visited a dear friend, Joe, and he took us out to eat for Christmas. But first we went to the Hermitage (Andrew Jackson's estate.) It was really pretty! Becca loved taking pictures and we actually picked some cotton and brought some home to grandson Dylan. The next day, it was off to Florida. The weather was warm...pretty foggy near the water in Pensacola one day...but the next day it was WONDERFUL! The day we decided to climb the lighthouse...all 177 steps...it was soooo foggy that we couldn't really see the water! On New Years Day, we went to the beach and to the fort in Pensacola. We had a great time with three of the cutest nieces that there are! (I got to spend time with an adorable 5 year old who kinda likes her Aunt Beth!)

On our way home, we had some car troubles in Tennessee. We had pulled off the interstate to change drivers and the car refused to start. After a few hours and a new battery, we were back on the road!

I am NOT a city person, but the lights of Indianapolis never looked better when we finally got closer to our house. I stayed up that night and talked to Jennie, who didn't go with us. I was SOOO impressed that she had kept the house so neat and clean! Not too bad for an 18 year old! She is rethinking her desire to have pets in the house when she eventually moves away. She is learning that ham trimmings is NOT good for an elderly dog and two cats. I understand there was quite a mess......I'm glad I wasn't home.....But it was so hard to go away and leave her alone here. She did spend quite a bit of time with her big sister, though! I am so glad that I can completely trust her. (She spent some time watching movies...."Shrek 3" was in the DVD player!!...... OOOHHHH Really bad girl, huh??)

We are still pondering some adoption possibilities. My heart goes out to these little children who need homes. I sometimes become too emotionally involved before I let my head think things through. We are currently seeking God's will and plan for our lives and for a child in need.
Sometimes it is just so difficult to truly know if it is God...or is it me...who is saying "move ahead." Sometimes it just seems like we could provide a good environment for a child who needs us. But is this the right time....and child?

We are praying and right now I have yet another little precious child's picture on the front of our refrigerator....reminding me/us to pray! Could you also say a prayer for guidance for us?

Love and Blessings,
Beth