Saturday, February 25, 2012

Shoes for Orphans

When we began our adoption process we began researching about orphans around the world. There are so many needs in the orphanages themselves that people don't realize. Shoes is one of the needs. I came across this one called Shoes for Orphan Souls which collects new shoes and socks for orphans and distributes them all over the world. I felt led that was something that we could be doing as a church and community. So for the month of March, Lord willing, I am trying to get 100 pairs of shoes donated to ship off to Shoes for Orphans. I am really pushing this at our church and I pray that we get a 100. However, I know that our God is a BIG God and He can do immeasurably more than I can imagine. So if you would like to donate a pair of new (preferably tennis shoes and size doesn't matter) please give them to me in the month of March and I will make sure they are shipped to Shoes For Orphans. God Bless!

Sunday, February 19, 2012

Happy Birthday Josh

We celebrated Josh's 7th Birthday today. Happy birthday big guy!


Josh.....
compassionate
loving
determined
bright
helpful
saved!

We love you!

Friday, February 17, 2012

Water Park

For Christmas Ma and Pa got the kiddos a gift card to the Great Wolf Lodge in Cincinnati so we headed off Monday morning for a little break. They had a blast and want to know when we can go back. Thank you Ma and Pa!

Leap pad crossing.

Josh giving it a try.

Hanging out in the wave pool. This is where Liv and Josh spent most of their time. Every 15 minutes waves  are created to make you feel like you are in the ocean. They loved it.

Mom and Nate spend time on the lazy river.

Took a break before dinner to play in the arcade.

They got wolf  ears with their dinner.

They got their baths and jammies on and went down for some ice cream before story time.

At 8:00 they have story time for the kids at the clock tower. It was really neat.

Story time with Sparkle.

They were excited to get their Valentine Gifts when they woke up Tuesday.

After breakfast we headed back to the water before heading home. This was a raft we all got to sit on together and go down a  water slide. I was worried that Nate would be scared but he loved it and wanted to keep going.

We had  a wonderful time but all were exhausted on the way home.

Tuesday, February 14, 2012

Jeff+Sara

Happy Valentines Day!





"That's so  disgusting!" says Olivia
"Yeah, Daddy has a crush on Mommy. They are in love." says Josh 
     This is what we hear the other day when daddy was given momma some lovin. There's nothing better than to know and hear that your kiddos know that momma and daddy are in love. When they know that we value our marriage and put it before everything else they have the security they need.  I have shared 21 valentine days with my sweetheart and I am more in love with him today then ever before.
       No romantic dinner tonight. Instead we will be sharing a pizza in our swimsuits then off to ride some wild water park rides with the kiddos.


Tuesday, February 7, 2012

Just waiting...

Just wanted to give everyone an update on our adoption process. As of today we are fifth in line from getting a referral for our country. We will then know who she is which will be so exciting.
We are almost finished taking our required classes. We have 2 more to get in and I have to finish writing up our country cultural essay. Jeff has been busy typing up grants and sending them in. We are praying that we are granted at least one or two. We are also looking into doing some fundraising with t-shirts. If you have a chance go to showhope.org and check out the shirts. They are soooo cute. We contacted them today about doing some fundraising so we will let you know when we have some available. Other that that we are waiting and walking in faith. God has been so good in leading in us in every step of our process. We have already seen His hand at work and have been blessed to share our story with others.  I was contacted by homeschool mom in our area today about our process as she and her husband want to adopt too. It so neat to share our story and process with others and to tell them how faithful God is when you are in the center of His will. We have also been blessed to have Aaron and Christi by our side as they are also adopting a little girl. It will be such a blessing to watch these girls grow up together and be close friends. God is so amazing and good!
We sang this song Sunday at church and I just love it. It is called While I'm Waiting. As we are waiting for our little girl we will continue to serve and worship Him everyday.

PS- Happy 60th Birthday to my Dad tomorrow. Love you!!



Wednesday, February 1, 2012

Field Trips

The last two weeks we have enjoyed a couple of field trips. Last Monday we took the kiddos to the Eiteljorg Museum in in Indy. And yesterday I took them to Honeywell to see the play Jack and the Beanstalk. This was the first time Nate went to a play with us. He did really well for his first time. We have also been taking advantage of the spring like weather to get in some nature studies. It felt so good to be out and breathe in the fresh air. We have really missed this part of our day. We were all excited to see our first Robin of the year with her mate.

Here are some pictures of our trips. I took them with my phone so they are not the best quality.
Livy trying her hand at basket weaving.

Livy found a dress in their dress-up box like Laura Ingalls. She was so excited! She and Josh played store.

Cowboys Nate and Josh.

Liv and Josh building a tepee.

My three kiddos outside the Honeywell Center. It was a beautiful day.