Blessed New Year

I've never posted via my iPhone and I'm clearly struggling with it. I just a few mins o quiet and wanted to reflect on all the 2009 was about and what 2010 holds for our family. I'm sitting here in front of a fire at the family lakehouse and I'm so grateful to be able to relax and reflect on the journey we are on right now. God is at work in our family in ways I can't explain but as a mom I see them and know they are from HIM.
Adoption update: we received notice from homeland security that our I600A was being processed and we would receive fingerprint appointments soon. Once we do, we can send our dossier to Ethiopia and be officially on the wait list. As the reality of knowing who our children are gets closer we all get more and more excited. The anticipation of new siblings permeates our family and it is so exciting we can hardly contain ourselves. I pity the individual that asks me an adoption question or about how we are doing in our process because I could talk their ear right off.
So as we go into 2010 I am thrilled to think (God willing) this will be the year we bring our children home and our crazy, fun, loving family grows by 2,3, or 4 more. If you think of it, please pray for our children and that God will put people in their life to love on them until we bring them home. If they only knew how much they are going to be loved!!!

If you want a good read for 2010 I highly recommend The Hole in Our Gospel!! God has changed me as a person through the words in this book. Also, a group of friends and I are reading through the Bible together this year. I'm looking forward to all that HE will say to me and teach me through His Holy Word.
The Porterhouse wishes all of you a blessed New Year full of God's grace and mercy!!

Last Chance to Order

I am placing my t-shirt order this week. If you want to order and haven't, now is your chance !! We are getting closer and closer to getting our dossier to Ethiopia. I will post an update on our journey soon. In case you didn't know, Christmas is in 5 days ... so much I still want to do.

T-Shirts for Sale

"Do not merely listen to the word and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says ... he will be blessed for doing it." James 1:22,25

Our adoption journey began earlier this year. We have been blessed by a beautiful friendship with the Alexanders and it was at Abe's one year birthday party that the words were first put to our heart's pull toward adoption. The words were spoken just between Craig and me - but the desire was spoken. Since that time, we have researched agencies and miraculously were brought to one that has a special place in our hearts (YWAM-Ethiopia), we completed and sent in our application, we had our homestudy visit, we completed the required hours of adoption training/education, we have become rather fluent in adoption lingo, we have been blessed to meet great adoptive families, and we have compiled our enormously tedious dossier. I look back and remember how overwhelmed I was with the thought of international adoption, much less with actually doing something about it. But, I can't begin to explain the difference in our family in the last 9 months. Our journey thus far has been -- well, it's been life changing!!

And here I am on the threshold of another learning curve. The thought of fundraising and selling things is SO far out of my comfort zone ... Yet, God is giving me righteous confidence that "from the one who has been entrusted with much, much more will be asked." And so, here it is, our first fund raiser (drum roll please .....)

Two amazing women, seven adoptions and thirteen kids .... 147millionorphans.com is helping other families raise funds for adoptions. We are one of those families. Below are the t-shirts we are currently selling. Plans are in the works for a party with even more products. Please let me know if you have questions and thank you in advance for helping bring our children home.


Ladies 'Pick-Me' Daisy Ragland
Color: Chocolate sleeve/ white body -pink/chocolate graphics
Available Sizes: Sm, M, L, XL
Price: $24.95

Men's Original Cross TEE
Color: Navy Short Sleeve Ringer TEE
Available Sizes: Sm, M, L, XL, 2XL
Price: $24.95

147 Million Orphan Toddler Tee
Color: PINK or RED
Available Sizes: 2T, 3T, 4T
Price: $19.95

Youth Tees will be coming soon ....

Did you know that 34% of Christian families consider adoption, but only 1% actually do?

Thank you again - and please be patient as I learn the ins and outs of fund raising ... oh yea, and please spread the word!!!

Surrender

Our adoption process continues to move forward in several ways. We almost have our dossier completed - still wrestling with the bank to get the right letter from them, and reading through the draft of our homestudy. We need to get our CIS approval and get our dossier authenticated before it can be sent to Ethiopia and we then can be put on the official waiting list -- so, all that stands between us and the waiting list is about $7,000 (we then have another big installment when we accept our referral). As Craig said "Whew that's a BIG number", and it is - TO US - but not to our almighty, God. HE is bigger than that and HE is a good God. So, this is the other area where our adoption process moves forward .... our trust and surrender. The adoption journey has been a walk of faith for us, but we are seeing now that saying 'yes' to adoption was the easy part --- saying 'yes, I trust YOU GOD to take us all the way' is proving to be more refining.

I have to go back and remind myself of the character of God and the promises of God:

Philippians 1:6 "being confident of this, that He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion"
Psalm 16:8 "HE is at my right hand, I will not be shaken"
Jeremiah 29:11 "For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you a hope and a future"
Lamentations 3:23 "His compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness"
Malachi 3:10 "test me in this, says the Lord Almighty, and see if I will not throw open the flood gates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that you will not have room enough for it"
2 Corinthians 12:9 "But He said to me, 'My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness'"
Psalm 86:10 "For you are great and do marvelous deeds; you alone are God"

God laid it on my heart today that every time I doubt that we will have the money to complete this adoption, every time I become anxious about where the money is going to come from, every time I become discouraged about how long it may take, I am telling God that I doubt HIM, that I am questioning HIM -- that I don't trust HIM. Somehow it's as though I believe I can do it better or that I need to get in front of HIM to control and handle all that this process entails. How foolish, prideful and downright sinful of me. I cannot comprehend the depths of Christ's love for me and each person of this family (both here and in Ethiopia). I trust HIM to pour down HIS blessings and I trust his sovereignty for that which I don't even know lies ahead.

Halloween, Homestudy & Crayons

We had a very fun Halloween serving 250 hot dogs and 400 goody bags as a homegroup. It was even bigger than last year and we are shooting for the moon next year. Here are a few costume pics:

We had a rose fairy, red ninja, blue bonnet fairy and rockstar. We had plenty of glitter, pink hairspray and weapons!!

We completed our homestudy today. Craig feels great about it ... I'm a little contemplative - just thinking over the questions and answers. We have a few more pieces of paper to gather and then our dossier will be complete and we can move forward. Thank you for all that prayed for us today - this journey is in God's hands and it is when I pick it up again that I feel anxious. How timely that our study at church this morning included not only Psalm 82:3 "Defend the cause of the weak and fatherless" but also James 1:27 "Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world." God knew that we needed to be reminded of our calling and His confirmation on it.

Now for something a little lighter ...

What do you get when you combine a glass bowl + wax paper + broken crayons + microwave=a mess!! Craig decided to tackle a 'craft' project while we finished cleaning the house for the homestudy and get 4 kids dressed for Halloween. Unfortunately, he started the microwave while he went outside to spray Hannah's hair pink and when we came in the wax paper was on fire. A little water on the mishap and the glass bowl exploded and melted crayon erupted all over the microwave. The melted crayon in the microwave wasn't even the worst of it .... the burnt crayon smell was terrible!!

The enemy may have thought this was enough to get me goin' ... WRONG .... backing over the cooler on the way to church this morning - that didn't get me either! Luke showing his pocket knife and sword to our social worker .... that ALMOST got me. But I refuse to let the enemy speak lies to me. I will trust in the Lord!

Psalm 138:8 The LORD will fulfill his purpose for me; your love, O LORD, endures forever— do not abandon the works of your hands.

Thank you to all who covered us in prayer today. We pray that we God will allow us to be His vessels of service and love through this adoption. We are humbled, grateful and blessed for His calling our lives.

Homestudy

Our Homestudy has been scheduled for Nov 1st (Happy Birthday Boba). I am not sure what I was thinking scheduling it the day after Halloween, but it was the first available date in November, so there you have it. We may be hiding costumes and candy in the car - not sure what to do about the sugar high all the kids will be on .... but perhaps they will just appear to be joyful, happy, jovial kids :)


I have been reminded recently of the parallel between the journey of adoption and the journey of pregnancy. I am so grateful I have experienced pregnancy and I am grateful to now be experiencing the pregnancy of adoption. Just like when I have been pregnant, I find myself thinking about our next child(ren). What they will look like, what our family will be like when they are here, what their little personalities are going to be like, and wanting so much to hold them. I praise God that He knew our children before they were born and He knows those that are yet to be Porters. Thank you God for the miracle of motherhood - both biological and adoptive.

Psalm 139:14-16
I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful,
I know that full well.My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place. When I was woven together in the depths of the earth, your eyes saw my unformed body. All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be.

Next step ... Dossier (silly amounts of paperwork)!!!

Approved!

We received word yesterday that our adoption application has been approved!

application read to go!

paperwork - paperwork - paperwork

Next step .... Homestudy!!

Please pray for God's financial provision as we move forward. We know that this journey is all about trusting God each step of the way. We pray that our faith in WHO God is will be so impressed into our souls that it is lived out through our family not just in the words we speak.

Malachi 3:10
"Test me in this, says the Lord Almighty, and see if I will not throw open the flood gates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that you will not have room enough for it."