Home Visit Complete

Our home study came and went quicker than I can grasp.  It almost fells like it didn't happen, like I missed it.  Lee Ann was here and gone in 45 minutes.  Most of her time was spent talking with Sarah and Julia.  Then she took a quick overview of our place and left.  It was really fast.  I kept wondering why she wasn't asking me where Jed would sleep and our plans to move to a bigger home.  Those questions never came so I offered the info to her.  I guess I expected more because I heard, from other moms, that the visit takes about two hours and she will let us know what needs to be done before her next visit.  None of that happened.  We won't even have a next visit until Jed is home.  So now we wait for the home study to be typed up, sent out(I'm not sure who has to see it) and approved.  After this process we will be matched with a child, our son, Jedidiah Nathan!

While we wait we will get our passports.

My Sweet Julia

About a week ago Julia came up to me with a bag full of stuff and shared that she doesn't really use the items any more.  I asked her what she was going to do with them and she just smiled and walked away.  Sometimes Julia needs use to dig for more info.  So I followed her and asked her why she was putting them in the bag.  She smiled and said she wanted to have a garage sale.  Cute!  I asked her what she was going to do with the money and with no hesitation said she wanted to give it to me for the adoption. WOW!  I was touched by her motives but not surprised.  Julia is one of those people that loves to bless other people.  She is a very thoughtful little girl who really cares about people, especially if they are in need.  Allow me to give you a few examples.
At Christmas time her class was collecting money for a child with cancer.  Julia came home and told us what her class was doing and she asked if she had any money.(Note-she did not ask me to give her money)  We went to her bank and were surprised to see so much money in there.  I asked her how much she wanted to give.  Without hesitation she said excitedly,"All of it"!  All I could do was smile and enjoy this moment.  Watching my daughter give without any thought about what she would miss out on was a beautiful thing.  How many times do we, as adults, stop and think about what else we could do with our money when we know we should give it away?
Then one day Julia randomly told me that if she had $1000.00 she would give it away to families that needed it.  She is always saying stuff like this to me.  She is always trying to find ways to help someone who needs it.
She prays for a homeless man I used to talk to, she prays for people in Sri Lanka and she prays for people who don't know the Lord. 
This girl has a huge heart and I am so honored that she is my daughter.  She inspires me to be a better person, as all my girls do!

Just Had to Share

I know I said I would not be posting until next week but I really want to share a few things with you.  Let's start with this.

Last week I wrote a check for our immigration paper work.  This check took the last bit of the adoption money.  When I shared this with Josh his response was, "Well, I guess it's time for God to provide again."  I agreed and not another word was spoken about this until a few days ago when I received a check for $1100.00 from our church family.  When I first saw the check I was confused because I thought we had already received all the was given towards the adoption form them, boy was I wrong.  I am still in awe of how God is moving people to give.

Then the other day my mom called and asked if I would like to have a cleaning service come to help me with the house.  At first I was unsure about the offer.  Sure I thought it would be wonderful but this is not a privilege I am used to having.  After thinking about it I realized this was another one of God's blessings for me, us. 

And yesterday one of the teachers at my girls school gave me $100.00 for the adoption!  This teacher is truly amazing and has loved our family for many years. 

It's people like this that make life so great.  People that make a difference in how life goes on a day to day basis.  Thank you all for your love and support.  Each one of you will hopefully reap the reward of your generous support when you hold Jedidiah for the first time.

First Home Visit Scheduled!!!

I am really excited but a little nervous about our first home visit with the social worker, Lee Ann.  We will have her over next Tuesday at 4:30.  If you knew my Tuesday schedule you would think I was crazy.  Really!  I help lead an after school Bible club and we leave school at 4:00 which leaves me a half hour to do whatever I need to do to prepare myself.  This visit should give Lee Ann a good idea about my mothering skills or lack of them.  Usually when we come home on these days it's a rush to do homework, get dinner ready, have the girls shower and clean up a little.  I would like to remind you that this does not include all the needs I have to take care of for each one of my girls.  There always seems to be a need for something.  For those of you with at least three kiddos you know exactly what I mean. 

Unless something changes you won't hear from me until next week.  Let's pray for no changes, at least in the timing of this meeting.

Our Interview Is Done

We had our interviews with the social worker assigned to our adoption March 31st.  This is the first of three meeting we will have.  The next one will be at our home.  The plan right now is to have her come at 4pm.  We don't have a date set because we have to check on schedules so we can all be home.  I'm a little nervous about the time but at least she will get a good idea about our family.  Now I have to focus on cleaning!!!