FFF- Happy Leap Year Day

Today's FFF is a video. Our foster family had mentioned swimming in Guatemala while we were there on our pick-up trip. We sent them this to show them how we swim in January!

Blessings,

Urgent Need

With the permission of our adoption agency, I'm posting this letter. Maybe some of you will be able to help.


Dear CCI family,

I am writing to you about a most urgent need that has come to our attention in the past 4 days. As you may know, CCI has received our license to provide adoption services in Ethiopia. We have found an orphanage in the rural western side of the country who has been very excited to work with us on finding homes for their many many orphans. We should be having our first 7 children come home from Ethiopia shortly.. in March or April.

The home where we have been working has been providing housing and school for 159 boys aged 6 and above. These boys are, for the most part, not part of the adoption program, as it is very hard to find homes for boys in this age group. This home had been supported by an American gentleman. This past week, their benefactor has decided to discontinue his support of this orphanage. This leaves the orphanage in an immediate and desperate situation, as they have 159 children to feed! The total running expense of this orphanage is about $8000/month. The food bill is $3000/month. They have immediately let some of the teachers go and they are reducing other staff members. However, they do not have any means to provide for even the basic need of food for these boys! They have asked for our help and we are going to do everything we can to help, but CCI does not have excess income to meet this need.

I am asking that anyone who is interested, to please consider helping us to provide for at least their food needs. The figures are overwhelming but I know that God cares more about this than we do. Please share this need with your friends and family and if God leads you to help us meet this need, it would be a blessing to the children. Funds could be sent to CCI earmarked ETHIOPIAN NEED and you would receive a tax receipt.

Sue Hedberg
Executive Director
Celebrate Children, International, Inc.

Praying for ALL the children,

Favorite Friday Foto - THEN AND NOW

I've so enjoyed seeing everyone else's FFF, that I've decided to jump on the band wagon. You can find the weekly theme here.

So, here is our first picture of Samantha. When I saw it, I knew she was our daughter. Something about her face reminded me of our youngest son, Nathan, who was a premie. Every day, the kids and I would check the website and every day, Samantha's picture stayed. Other little girls came and went. Then, on the Thursday before Easter, we got that wonderful call...if we still wanted to accept Samantha's referral, the attorney was willing to give it to us, even though we still didn't have our 171-H.

This is Samantha, NOW. One year later, I am completely convinced that God knew from the moment of her conception that she was meant to be a part of our family. The beautiful RED cheeks are a result of cold, dry, Nevada weather. We've been applying LOTS of lotion, and they look much better now. This picture was taken at Samantha's Great-Grandma's 92nd birthday party. How fortunate we are to have extended family to celebrate life with!

Here are NOW pictures of Jeffrey and Kayla. I don't have their THEN pictures on our computer. Will try to scan those in later.

Here's Nathan's THEN and NOW photos. What a testimony his little life is to the miracles God can do!

Blessings,

Simple Joy

Nathan wanted me to post the video of him and Samantha, so here it is. May the simple sounds of children laughing put a smile on your face today. I can tell you it warms my heart to see how God has built our family. It is a testimony to His grace in our lives as I watch my children wholeheartedly embrace and welcome Samantha. Recently, I've had several conversations with Nathan regarding Giovanni. Here's the one from last night...

Nathan: "Mommy, I really wish Giovanni was home."

Me: "So do I."

Nathan: "But I'm glad Samantha is home."

Me: "So am I."

Nathan: "Are you glad I'm home?"

Me: "Yes, sweetie I am very glad that you are home!"

What a precious gift our children are!

Blessings,
Amy


Psa 127:3 -- Children are a gift from the LORD; they are a reward from him.

Laughter

Even though we're all sick (and mommy has now lost her voice!!!) we are still laughing. Thought you'd enjoy seeing this video of Samantha and Jeffrey. Laughter is definitely good for the soul!

Blessings,
Amy


Psa 126:2
We were filled with laughter, and we sang for joy. And the other nations said, "What amazing things the Lord has done for them."

Seeing the Blessings

This was from a devotional I read this morning. What a beautiful reminder it was to me. The kids are all sick...ear infections and breathing treatments...never fun stuff! Every time Samantha sneezes, her face is covered in bubbles! But, in the midst of it all, we will give thanks. Thanks that Samantha is home. Thanks that we live in a country where medical care is available. Thanks. Praying you'll look for the blessings of today.

Linger Just a Moment Longer

Breathe in every moment of your day today.

Recognize what a gift today is.

Grab someone you love and let your embrace linger just a moment longer.

Take mental pictures of the toothless grin of your baby, the tousled hair of your toddler, the crooked smile of your teenager.

Hold your husband's hand.

Look past the dirty dishes in the sink, the laundry piled high, the stuff the kids left out and see the beauty entangled in all this evidence of life.

And thank God for it all. Right now, in this second, see the blessing.

Blessings,
Amy

Psalm 31:19
Your goodness is so great! You have stored up great blessings for those who honor you. You have done so much for those who come to you for protection, blessing them before the watching world.

The Sacrifice of Praise

I'm studying about worship right now. I love the definition of worship, not just what I do on Sunday mornings, but how I live my life. My daily walk and relationship with God is worship, or it should be. There's a song that I can't stand, "We Bring the Sacrifice of Praise", it's not a bad song, it's just that when I was in college, my piano teacher made us play it over and over and over...jazz style, blues styles, worship style, gospel style, country style...you get the idea. Anyway, as I've been living life with Samantha and my other kiddos today, that song keeps running though my head. In 1 Chronicles 21, David is bringing a sacrifice to God. He wants to purchase a field where the sacrifice will be offered. He goes to the owner of the field and asks to buy it. The owner tells David he can have it for free and he'll also throw in the oxen for the sacrifice. David's reply, found in verse 24 is, "No, I insist on paying what it is worth. I cannot take what is yours and give it to the Lord. I will not offer a burnt offering that has cost me nothing!"

As I reflect on that, I realize that praise IS a sacrifice. Right now, praising God in the midst of my daily life is hard. It's tough being the mom of four beautiful children. Samantha is adjusting, but I can honestly say that I still don't really FEEL like her mommy, and I'd bet she'd tell you the same if she could. I'm sure she wonders where that other mommy went. The mommy who spokes words of love to her in a very different language. The mommy that cared for her and understood her cries better than I do right now. But, when I change her diaper and tell her I love her, I'm praising God. When I feed her lunch and give her a bottle and look deep into those brown eyes and tell her her mommy loves her, I'm praising God. Why? Because I'm walking where He's asked me to walk and I'm doing what He's called me to do. I can praise God while I'm doing laundry by thanking Him for a washer and dryer that do most of the work for me. When I'm scrubbing the kitchen floor, I can praise God by thanking Him for our beautiful home and for four precious children who spill punch and track in mud.

To be honest, praising God right now, where I am, costs me something. Not money or anything monetary, but a cost that I can't quite put words on. A cost that requires a choice...to thank or to complain. And maybe, because it does cost me something, my praise is sweeter to my God. It would be easier to grumble and complain or to not do it at all or to beg for a housekeeper, or throw aside the calling we've been given to homeschool our kids and adopt another one!, but can I offer praise when it costs me nothing at all?

So today, I bring the sacrifice of praise into the house of my God. I will choose to praise Him as I hold my youngest daughter while she cries tears of grief and confusion and refuses to nap. I will choose to praise Him as I teach my older children what it means to follow God and pray that someday they too will bring a sacrifice of praise into His house. I will choose to praise Him even when I don't feel like it, because my feelings don't change Who God is and they don't dictate what He requires. I need to worship God the way He asks me to, with joy and thanksgiving.

Blessings,
Amy

Hebrews 13:15 -- With Jesus' help, let us continually offer our sacrifice of praise to God by proclaiming the glory of his name.

I've Been Tagged!

This is Tag, You're It...blogger style...There are 5 rules to being tagged (some of which, as you'll read later, I've chosen to ignore!):

1. The rules are to link the person who sent this and leave a comment on their blog so their readers can visit yours.

2. Post the rules on your blog.

3. Share 7 strange/weird facts about yourself.

4. Tag 7 random people at the end of your post and link their blog.

5. Let each person know they've been tagged by leaving a comment on their blog.

I was tagged by Tabitha's mom, Becky...

So, here we go...

1. I am hopelessly addicted to Yahtzee played on our Nintendo Gameboy. My husband and I usually play 3 or 4 games every evening to help us wind down after putting the kids to bed. I'll also try to sneak in several games during the day while overseeing school stuff or making dinner!

2. I really don't like scrapbooking! I enjoy stamping cards and knitting, but just can't get into the scrapbooking thing. However, my oldest daughter LOVES scrapbooking, so for her sake, I attend crops (once in a while!) and help her complete pages.

3. My favorite popcorn is Homestyle by PopSecret. You have to buy the big bags though, not the snack bags. On that note, what's up with snack bags. Really, I thought the big bags WERE individual servings!

4. My favorite TV series is The West Wing. We own all but the last season, which was poorly scripted. Hubbie and I watch an episode every evening (while playing Yahtzee). I love the dialogue of the characters and the insight into the world of politics.

5. I LOVE a good second-hand store! Savers is one of my favorite places to shop. You never know what fun bargain you might find. Also, who wants to pay full-price for something only to come home and shrink it so it no longer fits? I'd much rather let someone else pay full price, shrink it, take it to Savers and let me buy it for a tenth of the price, already shrunk! My sister took Kayla shopping for her 5th birthday. When they pulled up in front of Old Navy, Kayla said she'd never been to that store. My sister told her to try it, and if she didn't like it, she'd take her somewhere else. To which my precious daughter replied, "Like Savers or Factory-2-U?" I LOVE that girl!!

6. There is no greater joy in my life than being the wife of my precious husband and mom to four of the most wonderful kids in the world (five, if you count Giovanni who isn't home yet!) Okay, that wasn't strange or wierd, but I HAD to include it.

7. Last, I met my wonderful hubbie in an airport in Burbank. The rest is, as they say, history!

Okay, this may sound strange, but I couldn't figure out who to tag next. Everyone who I blog with has already been tagged, I think! If you haven't been tagged, leave me a comment and I'll tag you...is that cheating?!?

Blessings,

Amy