Dossier

Our dossier arrived in Uganda yesterday!!!  We are so excited that it has finally arrived.  Now...more waiting!  We are waiting for a report to be filed with the lawyer but this will take time.  I came across a  John Piper quote that really spoke to me and wanted to share...

 "To wait on God means to pause and soberly consider our own inadequacy and the Lord's all-sufficiency, and to seek counsel and help from the Lord, and to hope in Him (Psm. 33:20-22; Isa. 8:17)... The folly of not waiting for God is that we forfeit the blessing of having God work for us. The evil of not waiting on God is that we oppose God's will to exalt Himself in mercy."

Thank you for all of the prayers and we ask you to keep them coming!

Love
Tracy

Kirabo Seeds and Chocolate Chip Muffins

As we are waiting to travel and bring J home, it has been such a blessing to be able to meet in person or over the internet other families adopting internationally!

 

I wanted to share about a ministry in Uganda named Kirabo Seeds (its pronounced Keer-a-bow, like “rainbow”) started by some of those friends we have "met" during this waiting time.  This ministry was started by an ordinary family who really didn't start out to begin the ministry (as a side note, I have come to realize that a lot of ministries have been started by ordinary families).  They went over to Africa to adopt their daughter but while they were there God showed them that His plan involved a little more...it wasn't just to come home with their daughter…. it was to adopt a whole orphanage!  This is how Kirabo Seeds was born. I marvel at how God works!  This family obeyed the call from God and began this ministry that is providing hope and love to children of the Kyengera orphanage!  These children cried out to God for deliverance and he answered mightily!  Orphan care is so much more than adoption. Adoption is a huge part of it but for the church it has to be so much more.  We also know that it has to be both domestic and international orphan care...it shouldn’t be a matter of “either/or”.  There are so many awesome ministries out there, but if you feel God leading you to help Kirabo Seeds please go to their website http://www.kiraboseeds.com/ or my new friend Tonya's blog http://www.tonyalatorre.wordpress.com/ and help out in any way that you can!  You can sponsor a child or buy a necklace or send vitamins or whatever else strikes you! Here are a couple of pictures of the kiddos from the orphanage!

This summer Jake and Elyse will be raising some money to help buy a goat for the Kyengera orphanage.  While it may not sound like much to us, a goat for these kids means milk (better nutrition) and then the ability to make money from the sale of the goat milk which in turn leads to being able to pay school fees etc. They are so excited about this project!  We read the book Beatrice's Goat by Paige McBrier, which is a story about Beatrice and her family and how they are given a goat through Heifer International and how dramatically their life is changed just through one goat! It is so easy to get caught up in the adoption/orphan cause but it is not about adopting, not about our family, and not about little J...ultimately it is about furthering the kingdom of Jesus!  We pray that these kiddos see Jesus and his provision for them through the gift of a goat!

Where do the muffins come in?  Jake and Elyse are kicking off their fundraising efforts and will be selling these muffins to our neighbors this weekend!  We think they are yummy and wanted to share the recipe!

Chocolate Chip Muffins

2 cups of flour

1/2 cup white sugar

3 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon of salt

3/4 cup milk

1/3 cup vegetable oil

1 egg

3/4 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips (mini or regular)

3 tablespoons white sugar

2 tablespoons brown sugar

Directions:

1.  Heat oven to 400 degrees. Grease bottoms only of muffin pan or line with baking cups.

2. In a medium bowl, combine flour,1/2cup sugar, baking powder, chocolate chips, and salt; mix well.  In a small bowl, combine milk, oil, and egg; blend well.  Add liquid ingredients to dry ingredients and stir until dry ingredients are moistened (batter will be lumpy).

3.  Fill cups 2/3 full.  Sprinkle tops of muffins before baking with a combination of 3 tablespoons sugar and 2 tablespoons brown sugar.

4.  Bake for 20-25 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool just a little before removing from pan.

Love

Tracy

Little Hands

Yesterday, J turned 20 months.  It is hard to believe that he had just turned 13 months when we saw his picture for the first time!

  I had to share with you his sweet little hands! We cannot wait to hold those hands and have this little boy home with us!

Love
Tracy

 

Parenting from the Overflow

Wait...to stay or rest in expectation, remain in a state of repose or inaction, as until something expected happens

Patient...bearing misfortune, provocation, annoyance,delay,hardship,pain etc with fortitude and calm and without complaint, anger or the like

We are waiting right now and praying to be patient!  Because honestly we have no choice...it is completely out of our hands.  BUT...it is so hard.  I have not done a good job of being patient...with fortitude and calm with out complaint or anger.  These past couple of weeks have been a challenge and I have not done a good job of exhibiting the fruits of the Spirit!

So, when I saw Teri Lynne's book Parenting from the Overflow, I knew I needed to read it.  Just like I shared a book for Moms of boys last week this is the book for Moms of girls! It challenges us to remember that we are not only parents but also children who are still learning.  Honestly, I have never thought about parenting from the overflow...but doesn't it make sense?  If I am not allowing God to fill me up daily how in the world can I expect to point my children towards Jesus?!

My heart is set on being a child who first sits at the feet of her Father, who calls out for His

guidance and leans on His Word. And as I focus on being the child He created, I am sure of this:

better part” … and that I won’t get so focused on being a parent I forget I am also a child. He will give me the wisdom to parent the child He has entrusted me. - Teri Lynne  

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness,

faithfulness, gentleness, self -control: against such things there is no law.  Galatians 5:22-23 

 Teri Lynne uses the fruit of the Spirit to encourage us Moms to parent from the overflow...we must be filled with the Lord so that he overflows from our lives!  So go on over to Teri Lynne's website http://www.terilynneu.com/  and get yourself a copy for only $5.00.  All of the proceeds from this book go to the Mercy House.  If you haven't heard of the Mercy House go to their website http://www.mercyhousekenya.org/ and check them out...phenomenal ministry. 

Please continue to pray for little J and our family!
Love
Tracy

Warrior Prayers for our sons!

We have reached the point in the adoption process where we have done all that we can and we are just waiting.  Please continue to pray for speed for our paperwork and for a court date to come sooner rather than later! I just wanted to share about a book I recently purchased.  

Parenting boys is NOT EASY!  None of the books I read could have fully prepared me for the role of being a mom to a boy (and, really, for a girl either…but that’s for another post)! It is a job I love with all of my heart even though it is really hard.  I am a mom to two boys, but one just happens to be half way around the world right now.  Jason and I have learned since beginning our parenting journey almost nine years ago that everything we do has to be deliberate!  Raising Godly men is not easy, period!!  The world fights against us at every turn and we want our sons to grow up and not measure their worth against what the world measures it against.  Things like job title, salary, size of house, types of cars, vacations and the list goes on and on.  We want our boys (all of our children) to have hearts that chase after God.

 

But the LORD said to Samuel, “Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The LORD does not look at the things people look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart.” 1 Samuel 16:7  

 The heart is the key.  We can change our son's behaviors but if his heart is not changed then it doesn't matter.  God is the only one who can change the heart and so what does that mean for us....we pray with all of our being for our sons (daughter too)!  That is where a book called Warrior Prayers comes in...it is an e-book written by Brooke McGlothlin and I had to share it because it has been such a blessing to us.  She offers great tips and prayers of scripture to pray over our sons.  Elisabeth Elliott said once "We are not raising our children on a playground but on a battlefield."  Since that is the case then I better choose right now to go to war for both of my sons (and daughter)!  You can go to Brooke's website and download the book or purchase it for your Kindle.  Believe me, it will be the best $5.97 you ever spend!  http://www.brookemcglothlin.com/

Friends, the battle for our sons’ hearts won’t be won just by reading and implementing the best parenting techniques. It won’t be won through late night talks, lectures on right and wrong, or even committing to a Bible-preaching church. These things are all important parts of the equation, but they don’t trump the most important piece of the fight. Prayer.   - Brooke McGlothlin

Elyse

I just had to share a picture of the beautiful gift Elyse just brought in from outside for me.  She walked in and said I picked you some flowers....Happy Mother's Day, Mommy!!  I love her sweet heart!

Have a great weekend and Happy Mother's Day!
Love
Tracy

The Zoe Foundation

“When you have set your face to go after God, He will disturb your peace. And if you’re willing to follow Him, the voice will come and the voice will mess up your materialistic dreams, the security of your home. He will send you on circuitous paths that you don’t understand; people will not understand you. You’ll have to make decisions to leave the familiar to go to a land that is totally unknown. But if you take the risk, you’ll find that God is on the other side of that still small voice telling you to step out into the world of crazy.” - Lou Engle

http://www.thezoefoundation.com/

And... It's Off!!

Today, two important things happened in the process: first, we received the official notice of the pre-approval of J's visa, and second, now that we have recieved that, we were able to FINALLY send off the final package of paperwork that will make its' way over to Uganda!  Woohoo!!  It is first sent to our adoption agency, and then they send it to Washington, D.C., where it passes through the State Department and then off it goes!

So, please pray for a quick trip for this package.  Once this package is received in Uganda, a probation officer is sent to make a visit to actually see the child being adopted.  We've heard and seen that this doesn't  always happen right away, even if the information has been there for a few days, even weeks.  The probation officer visit is important because that's really all that stands in the way of the paperwork actually getting to the courts and them scheduling a hearing for us.  Also, wouldn't you know it, the courts will actually shut down for the whole month of July.    

AND

T-shirts came today!!  For those who ordered t-shirts you'll be receiving those in the mail shortly!  And, thank you again for buying one!  We hope you like them!

Love,
Tracy

Psalm 115:1 and scrapbooking

This past weekend we put together a scrapbook to send off to J!  We had so much fun taking action shots and putting it together for him.  We have tried to include Jake and Elyse in each step of this process. I had some adoption mommas pass on the tip that they had their kiddos participate in as many steps as possible...to build the idea of family and that it is all of us in this not just mommy and daddy!  Great advice... so we have tried to do that.  We will be going to the post office today to mail it off and  we are praying that little J can feel the love that comes with it!

Not to us, O Lord not to us but to your name be the glory, because of your love and faithfulness.  Pslam 115:1 

This is our prayer as a family.  We do not want anything in our lives to point to ourselves...we want all glory to go to God!!  Each step so far in this process is a testament to God's provision and grace and we praise HIM for all of it!

Love
Tracy