A much needed vacation

Last week, I flew to Arkansas to visit family, drove to Oklahoma City to see Third Day, and then went to Crater of Diamonds National Park to try and get rich--bahahahaha, on Saturday I visited my amazing son in Texas, and came home today. Here's the highlight of my trip:
Meeting Third Day! What an amazing group of guys with a Godly mission: Spread the word of God through praise! This is Mac Powell, the lead singer--I feel like such a groupie!

Lily's surgery is still scheduled for 4-11 Keep her in your prayers please!

April 11th

Just when I've given up all hope of getting this surgery scheduled, the Doctor calls and gives me the date: April 11th! Lily will spend 1-2 nights at Massachusetts General Hospital where she will have her first of 2 surgeries. That's 5 weeks away from yesterday and fortunately, I had nothing on my calendar those days. Phew! No need to reschedule anything.

Running out of Steam

Thank you, Linny, for always reminding me to be grateful for God's blessings in my life. There have honestly been days when I feel like giving up. I've waited for nearly two months for Lily's surgeon to schedule her first of several surgeries--it still hasn't happened. In the meantime, I've struggled with weight loss, depression, homeschooling, and spreading myself too thin. To top it off, I am struggling with our church. It's so hard to leave a church.

Lately I've been pushed into a role that I don't feel comfortable with, nor do I have the time to commit to the role. I've expressed my reluctance, and I hear those in authority acknowledge me, but then they seem to forget and assign me more work. Ugh! I just want to scream sometimes! In this role, I've learned so much, rumors mostly, about our church that are deeply troubling. If ANY of the rumors are true I can't allow our family to continue to worship there. Seriously, no one should.

Then I read Linny's blog and I am refreshed. Her constant joy, even during the hardest times any momma should face, reminds me that God is with me--He is watching out for me. He will schedule Lily's surgery, and He will guide our Church, or at least the families who are truly seeking His will for their lives. And my weight? Well, it goes up and down, and that's ok.

I've also been struggling with medical issues myself--at least I think it's medical issues. My doctor insists that it's just my age catching up with me. I'm only 41--so I don't think there's any reason for my age to be giving me problems.

So, if you get a chance, please pray for me. I could really use some guidance.

Grace For Ethiopia

From China to Ethiopia to China and back to Ethiopia?

You Bet!

I'm not talking about adoption this time--that boat has sailed. I love my children very much and can't imagine life without them, but for now I'm content with our beautiful children. God has blessed us beyond measure--not by America's standards, but by God's. We are rich compared to 90% of the world's population--very rich. Mike and I want to do more to share God's love with the people of this world, the unloved, or forgotten people. For me it's the children. There are so many children who don't have a shot at life. They are born into disadvantaged families, in depressed communities, with little or no hope for a healthy, long life. Even worse, the don't know the love of Jesus Christ! I know how depressing my life was before Christ changed my heart and I don't want to see anyone struggle without hope. Everyone deserves to have hope--a "hope and a future".

So, our family has decided to 'go into all nations' and share the Good News of Jesus Christ by being the hands and feet of God. We will travel to Grace Center in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia during the summer of 2013. We will bring supplies, medicine, love, and hope. I am waiting for more detailed information, but I think it will be an amazing experience.

In 2008, I traveled to Ethiopia to adopt our daughter, Grace. At the time I felt no calling to return for any reason. I was so overwhelmed by the extreme poverty and the horrible living conditions of most locals that I just wanted to get away as fast as I could. Since coming home, I've tried getting more involved in local ministries and community outreach programs, but my heart hurts when I think about the orphans of this world. America is great, we have it so good! On a bad day, I might complain that my coffee was too cold, or the internet is down; that is nothing compared to the daily struggles most Ethiopians face every day. They need fresh water, medical care, and food. For the abandoned children, these needs mean life or death.

That's why I feel so compelled to GO and share God's love by helping to supply some basic needs to these children.

If your heart is telling you to leave the comfort of your life for a week to help give comfort to someone in Africa, then join us in the summer of 2013 for a life-changing experience.

Still Waiting for News....but....

Lily's surgeon called this week to let me know he will be calling today---silly doctor. Hopefully we will be getting the dates for surgery.

I am so happy that Lily is finally saying a few words! She has been home for 8 months and wouldn't speak at all. She has a speech therapist, although I don't know if that is helping or not. But this week she began repeating some new words; "Amanda", "Kate", "BoBo"--our dog, and "shoes". He vocab is now up to 8 words--although she will not initiate conversations. She still babbles when she wants something and then gets frustrated when we don't understand her. Overall she is a wonderful little girl! We are so blessed to have her here. I hope to get through the medical issues soon so she can put that behind her. She is so terrified of doctors.

Have a great weekend!

MRI Done!!

And we are out of quarantine!! For now...

Yesterday, Lily had her MRI at Mass General in Boston. It went so well! Now we wait to hear from the surgeon to tell us what needs to be done and when it can happen. Lily was a champ! She didn't complain at all, until she came out of anesthesia--then it got really ugly. She was so grouchy!

Almost Out of Quarantine!

Only 3 more days until Lily's MRI--which is really good, cuz this Mama needs Lily to go back to daycare! She and Josh go to daycare two days a week so I can focus on homeschool projects with the bigger kids. For the last 3 weeks the "Littles" have been home every day; I've even kept them home from church so they don't get exposed to any cold or flu germs. So far it has worked and Lily has not shown any signs of illness (Praise God!). Once she is done with her MRI I will relax a little.

On a super-exciting, God-praising note, Thomas spent a day at Children's Hospital in Boston for endocrine testing. We were told by our local specialists that he would need human growth hormone treatment (he is 9 years old and still wears a size 5T), and that he would never produce testosterone, and that we should consider raising him as a girl. We prayed long and hard for him, and God answered our prayers in a HUGE way. Not only does he produce his own growth hormones, his only testicle (sorry for the explicit language) is normal and is expected to produce testosterone normally. Even better news: He does identify as a male and will be raised as a boy! Wahoo! That's good, since we've been raising him as a boy all along.

Now that this phase with Thomas is over, we can focus on Lily's medical treatment. She, like Thomas, has a diagnosis of gender disorder. We have no doubt that she identifies as a female, but we won't know how much her diagnosis will impact her future until it's here.

Please keep us in your prayers this Friday--January 20th for her MRI.
Thanks