Sick of Slavery

I hate debt. I hate that because we have debt we cannot save as much money for the future as we'd like. I hate that we can't give as much as we want to give. I want our debt gone and gone for good. I hate that my husband has to work many hours a week to pay creditors.

Jason and I are working to pay off all of our debt. We've been at it for a while. Some of it is from our very costly adoption. Some of it is from a hugely expensive repair made to our nearly 40 year old home...one that we did not foresee and really could not help (except that we had not saved money in anticipation of the inevitable emergency!). Some of it is from our selfish impulsiveness. This time last year we had 7 debts to pay. Now we only have three left. (Plus a mortgage) I am so thankful that at least some of it is gone. We hope to be debt free in about a year.

I want to share a quote with you. This is from the great missionary Hudson Taylor and can be found in this book. "To borrow money implies, to my mind, a contradiction of scripture - a confession that God had withheld some good thing, and a determination to get for ourselves what He had not given." Ouch, ouch, ouch. His contemporary, George Muller, was able to care for thousands of orphans in his lifetime without going into debt for even a penny...ever.

A few years ago, I didn't like being in debt. I knew it was bondage. However, now it is a conviction to no longer use debt. I no longer feel like I can borrow money and honor God at the same time. And I am broken that I have participated in living beyond our means and not been content with God's provision.

But God is so merciful and so good. First of all, He has blessed us with enough. We have more than we need to live and can put extra toward debt. This is a huge blessing. I have a husband who agrees with me and is good at managing money. It is not an uphill battle with him...we are in agreement about the nastiness of the debt monster in our lives. And God has provided His word to guide us, along with many other helpful resources. He has also granted forgiveness and a huge desire to GIVE...which is a great motivation!

One of those helpful resources is Dave Ramsey. Not everyone will like his style, but we have appreciated the simplicity of his babysteps. We have learned a lot from him, but his first baby step has been the most helpful so far. Having a small emergency fund has kept us from further debt while we pay the rest off. And since we don't like to mess with that fund, we constantly reevaluate whether something is truly an emergency or not! Earlier this year my dishwasher broke. We decided this was NOT an emergency and we could wash dishes in the sink...so we did. And then we were blessed with a FREE dishwasher about 6 weeks later from someone who wanted a quieter model. We saved money and let me tell you I REALLY appreciated the dishwasher after weeks of not having one! What a kind Father we have.

I look forward to being debt free. And when that happens, I look forward to praising God and honoring Him with any abundance He gives us.

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PS...The Teasuer Principle by Randy Alcorn is another awesome resource that will help you see the beauty of giving away what is God's (and not ours) in the first place!

Making Our Own Doughnuts

We tried another "first" for us yesterday...making our own doughnuts. We are reading The Best Christmas Pageant Ever this week. In chapter one the Herdman children gobble up all the doughnuts intended for the firefighters who came to fight a fire started by them! So, I thought it might be a fun activity to try making our own doughnuts.

I used this recipe. They turned out really well even though it was a messy and time consuming project. Rachel got into it though and everyone enjoyed the doughnuts. Mary Evelyn helped some too. Here are a few pictures of our little kitchen adventure.

A Happy Thanksgiving

It was a wonderful weekend. Jason was off work from about mid-day on Wednesday until this morning. It was so nice to have him home. Tax season is just around the corner and I am cherishing these last few weeks before he is busy working most weekends and evenings.

On Thursday we had nowhere to be until supper time so we took advantage of the time and decorated for Christmas. We aren't finished yet but the tree is done and of course that's the biggie! We are using an artificial tree for the second year and Jason is really wanting real next year. He loves to cut his own. I loved going through the ornament box and seeing the girls' little handprint ornaments and nativities they have made. Of course we had the Christmas music going while we decorated. Betsie was convinced that the tree was hot and she was afraid to touch it at first...unfortunately she has gotten wiser in the last few days. So far, so good though.

Mary Evelyn hanging the stockings

The tree all finished

That evening we headed over to Jason's brother's house. He and his wife Charity fixed a delicious meal for us and all I had to take was a salad. My children were incredibly picky, which drove me nuts, but they were still pretty sweet and had a great time!

Jason and his mom



My father-in-law, Marc


Betsie with Uncle Paul


Rachel, Aunt Charity, and Betsie



After we got the kids in bed that night I had some work to do. My mom was still in charge of turkey and dressing, but I needed to get some deviled eggs and sweet potatoes together. So I worked on that Thursday night and Friday morning. I also made a vegetable dish and some pumpkin dip to be served with gingersnaps. We got to Mom and Dad's house by 11:30 and stayed all day.



I really enjoyed my time with my family. The food was great and we laughed so hard I thought my sister would go into labor. (Her baby wll be born in a week!) The kids had a great time playing with their dolls and a little backyard football. There was of course some football on the TV as well. It was really nice. Plus Betsie managed a 2 hour nap even with nearly twenty people in the house!

Betsie says yummy!


Uncle Paul gave Mary Evelyn that hat the night before and she wore it all weekend...she says it's her farming and fishing hat!



We even had a little culture. I bet you all didn't know what an accomplished violinist Jason was! (Cause he's NOT!) He was attempting "The Devil Went Down to Georgia" on my niece's violin but it was a bunch of screeches in reality. LOL! My Uncle John looks like he's listening to something really classical but don't be fooled. My niece Alyssa however played for us and sang us a few lovely songs!
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On Saturday I did a little shopping and went to lunch with my sister-in-law Liz and my Aunt Mary. Liz says it's a new tradition. We'll see! It was nice to get out with them, so maybe! But for now we are back to work and school for a few weeks.
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I hope you all had a great weekend as well!
Jennifer

I Can't Believe I Did This

When will I learn? Rachel is just as sneaky as I used to be when it comes to Christmas. And when will I learn that having readers in the house means I can't leave things lying around like when they were little. As in...my entire list of what all three kids are getting for Christmas...right down to the stocking stuffers. Sigh... I had the list out because I was wrapping things. I do this early so Miss Sneaky won't see her gifts. I was using the list to make sure I actually knew where everything was, etc. I left the dumb list sitting on my bed. And guess who saw it.

We knew she had seen it by the odd questions she was asking. "Dad, what is Carmen Sandiego?"

So much for my great ideas. I had even gone to the trouble of assigning each family member a Spongebob character's name so they wouldn't even know which gifts were theirs under the tree! My family members are Squidward, Sandy, Plankton, Spongebob, and Mr. Krabbs. We're quite the group, I tell ya. I'm the only one who knows everyone's identity! LOL!

I'm not mad. I would have read the list too if I had stumbled upon it. I am annoyed with myself though. My big girl won't be surprised. Happy, just not surprised. I tried telling her that was just my decoy list and the real list of real gifts is hidden. She knew that was not true. Ahh, well. I will just have to find some other ways to surprise her this year. Not with gifts...I'm done shopping, but somehow. And she and I have a surprise planned for Jason, Betsie, and Mary Evelyn. That will be fun.

But this is going down as the year that Rachel knew EVERYTHING! I suppose we'll look back on this one day with fondness. For now, I am kicking myself!

One Thousand Gifts

Well, I guess it's obvious that I won't make the goal of listing 1000 gifts by Thursday. But I will keep going for a few days and see how close I get. The exercise has made me see many blessings I may have ignored otherwise. And there are many, many gifts I don't feel comfortable sharing on a public blog...plus many specifics about other people in my life. I only did individual posts on the ones that live in my home, but I could have listed our parents, my siblings, and some friends too. They are all gifts in countless ways. Now...on with the counting of the blessings!

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258. The gift of reading good books aloud to the girls. We enjoyed a few chapters of The Long Winter last night before bed.

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259. Traditions

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260. New recipes...I am going to try a pumpkin dip this week.

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261. Listening to Betsie count to ten...and then go right into her abc's. The counting is in order, but the abc's are wacky!

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262. I thought Rachel was getting sick, but she is already getting better. Fever for only one night. I am really thankful for this, both for her sake and so we don't miss any family gatherings!

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263. My niece is going to be born two weeks from today!

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264. I am thankful that we get to see my brother and his crew this week.

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265. Good sales.

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266. I am excited about what I got our parents this year! (Don't buy things for yourself until Christmas ...please?)

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267. Free shipping and coupon codes

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268. Clean carpet (well, it's gross today but will be clean tomorrow!)

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269. I am thankful for the faithful brothers and sisters all over the world whose faith is so strong and so bold in the face of tremendous persecution. They encourage me.

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270. Good movies...we just watched Amazing Grace the other night. Loved it.

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271. my camera

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272. Home videos. I watched some hilarious ones of Rachel and Mary Evelyn yesterday. So, so cute.

Urgent Prayers Needed for A Mom in China

Please pray for a mom in China now to adopt her baby. She is with Bethany Christian Services and her name is Sandi. She and her husband had received their new baby, Hannah, and some time later at the hotel the husband got very sick and passed away. I cannot even imagine the shock. The adoption is complete according to the Chinese government but the US consulate in Guangzhou is giving her a little trouble. They want her to fill out additional paperwork (which guarantees nothing). Her state congressman is now involved. Please pray that her adoption can be finalized. This is a real mess. Hannah is no longer a ward of the orphanage and yet our own consulate won't issue a visa for her to come to America. Please pray for Sandi as she adjusts to the loss of her husband and, Lord willing, motherhood without him.

Update: It seems that Sandi AND Hannah will be flying out with the rest of their travel group! Prayers answered! I am sure she would appreciate prayers for her as she grieves her tremendous loss.

Little Ones Who Need a Home

I asked permission from our adoption agency to post about these children who are available for adoption and need a home. If you or others you know are interested in one of these children, you can contact Carol at cwa@cwa.org . Put something about the special needs list in the subject line. Also, there are others on the special needs list as well. You can find the entire list here. There are some cuties on the list so consider yourself warned! Whether or not you feel led to adopt, we are all called to minister and pray for orphans. So please pray for these children to be adopted and ask God what He might want you to do to minister to the fatherless.

I am specifically drawing attention to these children because they are at the same orphanage that my daughter is from (Zhuzhou Children's Welfare Institute in Hunan Province). There were loving caregivers there and it was a clean place, but nothing replaces a mom and dad in a child's life.

First is this adoreable little boy who turns two in January. His special need is VSD. He recently had his surgery to repair this so pray for his recovery as well as his forever family to find him! His records say he loves to be held and kissed...isn't that sweet?

Okay, next is this little guy who also turns two in January. He has a repaired cleft lip as well as a cleft palate. His report says he loves baths and his lab work is all normal.

This one really makes my heart break because he was abandoned at five years old. He will be eight years old in January. He has some balding on the back of his head as well as some burn scars on his foot and leg. He is described as active, friendly, polite, and eager to learn.

I would like to add that CWA was a wonderful agency to work with. And there is a great group of parents who have adopted from this orphanage ready to answer questions in a yahoo group once you have a referral.

Do You Like To Drink Coffee?

And do you want to make a difference in an orphan's life? Well, now you can do both at the same time! Saint's Coffee is a new company, only a few months old. And they are doing a very cool thing. For every pound of coffee they sell, they are able to donate money to feed an orphan for a month! And if you head over to Elysa's blog before November 19th, you can enter her giveaway for a pound of this coffee. She has an interview with one of the owners of Saint's Coffee there as well so you can learn more about it. Or you can go to their website here. Just another way to help the fatherless.

"Adoption", Another Disguise of God's Hand at Work

I asked Jason to guest blog for me since it is Adoption Awareness Month. I thought it might be kind of neat to hear a different perspective for a change! I joke that if had all been up to me, we'd still be doing the homestudy. Jason was Mr. Steady during the whole process and it was Jason that made things happen so efficiently (if efficient can ever be used to describe an adoption). Betsie adores her Daddy and he adores her.

God is never doing just one thing. And adoption is no exception.

When God started dealing with me on adoption, He began His awesome work in many other areas of my life, as well as my wife's life, my children's lives, my new daughter's life, my extended family's lives, etc..... and on and on and on.....

This time, God used the process of "Adoption" to change His people. You see, that is what He is always working on.... change in His people. Sometimes it's a little painful, and sometimes the changes come easy. But change must happen.

He forced me to overcome my selfish desires to keep my lifestyle easy. My other two daughters were growing up, and I liked moving out of the potty-training era. Our kids were finally able to feed and clothe themselves. I liked that. But He told me to start over. It was the best thing for my new daughter... but He was also working on me (He just disguised the work through "Adoption").

And He dealt with my wife on trust. Can we do this? Can we afford it? And the questions got worse the longer we had to wait on our new daughter to arrive. What's wrong with our application? Are we really going to ever get our new daughter?

And, honestly, I don't feel like I've really grown like He wanted me to. But when I look back 5 years ago when God started this "disguised" work, I can say, "I'm not who I was". Jennifer and I can both say that! What a glorious thing that our Father pursues our change... ultimately, for our good! He is so good!

What about you? He's changing you anyway, why not let Him change you through a process called "Adoption?" It's not any scarier than the medical issues you are facing, or the financial issues you are facing, or the fear issues, or the pride issues, or the trust issues, or the covetous issues... you get the point.


And when you are done, you get a beautiful new child to love on - that's the cool part!

God Bless,
Jason

One Thousand Gifts

249. I am thankful for my new copy of Batholomew's Passage, which happens to be out of print. Someone in my homeschool support group contacted the author and found that he still had just a few left. I emailed him and bought one for a deal! Yay! This will be a great read aloud for the Advent season.

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250. I am thankful that I only have a cold - as opposed to the flu.

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251. I am thankful that I know what to get my mom for Christmas...now my dad and Jason's parents are another issue. Hints would be appreciated from them.

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252. I am thankful that Jason has agreed to guest blog here sometime this month on a dad's view of adoption! Should be good!

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253. I am thankful that I have already made supper for tonight. Lasagna...plus two more for the freezer! (The kids are at co-op if that explains anything.)

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254. I am thankful that Rachel knows 3x7 today. LOL!

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255. I am thankful that Jason will have a few days off next week.

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256. I am thankful that God is in control of the 2008 elections...'cause I am not too excited about it otherwise.

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257. I am thankful for amazing ministries like Voice of the Martyrs and Cry of the Orphan.

Happy Birthday Rose!

That's right. The dog is five years old today. So have a piece of cake or chocolate or something in her honor. I probably will.

In Your Face Multiplication

I bet she'll never forget 3x7 again. I wore this math problem all day and quizzed her all day long on this ONE problem that took her a tad too long to recall today during a review exercise. Her question..."Mom, if we go anywhere are you going to wear that?" Good for her we never went anywhere!

One Thousand Gifts

243. I am thankful that Jason could work at home last night instead of at his office.

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244. I am thankful for being able to hear the girls recite their Bible verses before church this morning.

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245. I am thankful for the roast in the crockpot.

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246. I am thankful that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us! (Romans 8:18) This is the verse I am memorizing this week with Jason.

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247. I am thankful for a warm house on a cool day.

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248. I am thankful that Rachel and Mary Evelyn did not catch Betsie's virus (and that Betsie feels great finally!).

One Thousand Gifts

I am thankful for these gifts today...

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231. Betsie's first fever free morning in a week! She's still got a runny nose and watery eyes, but maybe this is the beginning of her feeling better.

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232.The understanding and forgiveness of a friend in my small group when I forgot to bring snacks this week. Ugh...I hate goofing like that. Can I blame a sick child for that?

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233. Our Little People Mayflower and First Thanksgiving sets. Very cute.

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234. Supportive extended family when it comes to homeschooling!

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235. My parents. How do you adequately thank God for people who have shaped you and loved you for your whole life?

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236. Caller ID...which I am ignoring at this very moment.

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237. Back to my parents...I am thankful that they instilled the habit of going to church into my siblings and me.

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238. I am thankful for awesome childhood memories of holidays (and other days!) at Grandpa and Granny's house.

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239. I am thankful to Granny's biscuit recipe in my recipe box...in her own handwriting. Two things we always expected at family gatherings...her biscuits and her chocolate cake, which came to be known as "Miracle Cake" to a few of us.

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240. Circus tickets! My uncle called the other day to tell me he had gotten us 5 tickets for the circus in January! Yay!

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241. Mary Evelyn gets to spend the night at my parent's house tonight. My dad's only condition was that she leave her critters at home. LOL!

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242. New shoes I forgot I had but then found in my closet. Mom bought them for me when we were on vacation a few months ago.

So What Made You Decide To Adopt?

This is one of those questions that I have been asked enough to wish I had a little money for each time I've heard it. I suppose having two healthy biological children already made us odd candidates for adoption. Infertility didn't make us adopt. And since we didn't adopt a boy after having two girls, people are sometimes baffled. The great thing about this question though is that it gives us an open door to give God some glory. The hard thing is that we (well, I) often fail to point to Him like He deserves.

Back in about 2002, Jason and I were in a really nice groove with our family. We had beautiful girls...ages 4 and 2 at the time. Both potty trained, sleeping in big girl beds, feeding themselves, etc. But they were still little and cute. Life was good. We were just beginning the homeschool adventure and had big dreams...then God gave us a new dream. And frankly, it scared the hound out of me.

We never even talked about domestic adoption. And I don't know why we were even thinking of adoption at all except that God put those desires in our hearts. We didn't know anyone who had adopted internationally at that point so I can only point to God when asked why we did this.

I remember researching countries and being determined that Korea was it. They would bring the child to us. And there was no way I was traveling half way around the world! Definitely Korea. Nope...we learned that we could only go the special needs route if we adopted from Korea. For some reason you could only adopt a healthy infant in certain states...weird. Then we learned what it costs to adopt. Whoa!!! I could not wrap my mind around those numbers. It seemed impossible. Still, we continued researching. Then I learned that Guatemala would also let the child be escorted to you. Great!

At the beginning of 2003 we had just about decided to go for it. We had signed up to go to a free seminar at an agency. Then we had a blizzard. Where we live, a foot of snow is a blizzard...you're homebound. This was fine with me as I was having NO peace about adoption at that point. I literally felt like throwing up when we would talk seriously about it. So we decided that it was not for us...at least not then.

And what do you know? The Lord led us to move in the spring of 2003 anyway. So the timing was an issue. But there was a problem...when we got to our new church it seemed that adoption was everywhere. One of our pastors had adopted and even had the nerve to pray that other families would do the same. You should see our church now. We have children from China, Russia, other Easten Europian countries I cannot spell, Japan, Guatemala, etc. It's so beautiful! And plenty of domestically adopted children too! We could not get away from it!

By 2004 we were seriously considering adopting again. But it was sooooo scary to me! The money, dealing with two national governments, social workers, paperwork, possible travel, the impact on Rachel and Mary Evelyn, etc. I really was afraid. But Jason was ready. So he just kept praying. I remember reading somewhere that the only things that last for eternity were God, His word, and the souls of men. This hit me like a ton of bricks...I certainly wanted my life to make a difference for eternity. Then I heard a pastor on the radio talking about "the least of these" and how when we do things for the least of these we do those things for Christ Himself. He addressed young mothers and encouraged them that taking care of children definitely counted. Oh goodness...God was really talking to me now.

I prayed that if God wanted us to do this, that He would lead me through my husband. Then I asked Jason if he would be ready if it weren't for my hesitation. He said he was ready to apply right then. So that was it! I knew God had answered my prayer. And I somehow knew that I would never regret adopting a child, but there was a real possibility that I might regret not adopting one day. By the fall of 2004, we were clients of Christian World Adoption, and life has never been the same.

And that's the story of how we decided to adopt.

An Adoption Story You Can Listen To

Since it's Adoption Awareness Month, I have to highlight today's broadcast of Family Life Today. It features an interview with Lysa TerKeurst and her adoption story. It's such an amazing story of how God called her family to adopt two teenage boys from Liberia...and then several of their friends as well! You can listen to the broadcast here.

One Thousand Gifts

221. I am thankful that my mother could stay with the older two girls while I took Betsie to the doctor this morning. (Day 5 of fever...apparantly a virus)

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222. I am so, so thankful that my nephew is healing well from a pretty rough staph infection.

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223. I am thankful for the children who shared their snack with Mary Evelyn yesterday at co-op since she left hers in the car!

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224. I am thankful for friends that know where I struggle and still love me.

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225. I am thankful for my husband...I know I did a whole post on that, but I really do thank God for him.

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226. I am thankful for my sister Laura, who is also my friend.

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227. I am also thankful for my sister-in-law Liz and the friend that she is to me.

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228. I am thankful that I got lots of cleaning done yesterday afternoon. Today is the day to come over...it might be dirty again by tomorrow!

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229. I am thankful for the people who read my blog and pray when I ask you to. (Keep praying for Ellie.)

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230. I am thankful that God helped me take a few scary thoughts captive today when I was tempted to worry. I am so grateful to be His child.

It's Adoption Awareness Month! And An Urgent Prayer Request

I hope to find the time to post a little about adoption this month...not just my own, but adoption in general. But first I want to start by highlighting my friend Denise and her adoption. Denise is one of the leaders of the homeschool support group I am in and she is just wonderful. She has a heart for God, homeschoolers, and children who need families. She is already a mother of three and trying very hard, along with her husband Greg, to bring home three precious children from Liberia.

Denise gave me permission to share her prayer request with you all. I told her that I do not have a huge following, but that those who do read this blog are serious prayer warriors!

Denise and her husband are adopting two boys and a little girl (the beautiful girl in the picture!). And like many adoption journeys, theirs has had quite a few delays. Already they have seen a little of God's purpose in this because at first they were going to adopt the two boys, but one delay led to them finding sweet Ellie...and now they long to bring her home too.

Which brings me to the urgency of the prayer request. Ellie has a special need (Potts Disease and TB). It's something that can be fixed, but it MUST be fixed. And for it to be fixed, Ellie must come home. And that's where we are focusing our prayers right now...that the process in Liberia will speed up for Ellie. She needs at least two surgeries. The surgeon has done this many times...it's very do-able...but she has to get here! If not, serious things could happen. As Denise said on her blog, "Significant things. Think, nervous system shutting down...breathing, swallowing, bladder, bowel, etc..." Do you see why we need to pray her home?

By the way, Denise and her family really hope to bring all three children home together. Two trips would of course take more money, more vacation time, etc. And they will need some time for Ellie's out of town hospital stays as well.

Please do me a favor and pray for this family, and especially little Ellie's health. Oh, and pray for them to have perfect peace in the wait.

Thanks,

Jen

Just some pictures

Rachel sitting in the garden checking out the catalogs that are pouring into the mailbox these days.

Betsie thinks goggles are so cool. These are Mary Evelyn's...I wonder if I can find a pair for her on clearance somewhere to throw in her stocking for Christmas... Hmmm...

The trees in our yard are beautiful right now and the weather has been so pretty. (Though I am praying for rain because it is desparately needed here!) Mary Evelyn loves to be outside every chance she gets.

Know What I Noticed Today?

My little countdown to Christmas thingy on my side bar is wrong. Add a day to it for the right number. (Big oops by somebody!)

One Thousand Gifts

I am thankful for these gifts today:

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211. Children's Motrin and Tylenol...I'd rather not need them, but we do today, and I am thankful we have them.

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212. I am thankful that Betsie ate a little supper tonight, even though she feels bad.

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213. I am thankful that I have finished Christmas shopping for my girls!

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214. I am thankful that Betsie is not sick in an orphanage somewhere. My heart is heavy for the babies and older children who still wait...

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215. I'm thankful for the movie, Elf, which I will be watching as soon as I finish this post!

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216. I am thankful for my new pink cell phone! (And that I had a credit for it and got it for free.)

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217. I am thankful for being able to brown lots of ground beef today and get it in the freezer. Lots of spaghetti, lasagna, and taco salad in this family's future!

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218. I am thankful for what Rachel wrote today:

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God created evrything.

God is in control.

God knows who you are.

God is everywhare.

God juges sin.

God has mursy.

God hears our prayrs.

God provides.

God takes notuce of our prayrs.

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219. I am thankful that I know which words we can work on for spelling this week! LOL!

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220. I am thankdul that Edy's special edition peppermint ice cream is back in stores for the next few months. Good grief that stuff is good!

One Thousand Gifts

I am thankful today for these gifts:

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201. That Jason is feeling better after a week of ickiness.

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202. That we get to hang out with friends tonight on a double date

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203. The willingness of my father-in-law and mother-inlaw to be regular babysitters. This is a bigger blessing than they know.

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204. My Usborne books came today.

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205. Safety on our trip to our former hometown to be with friends

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206. A wonderful (though brief) time with friends and their boys last Sunday

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207. A sweet visit with my friend Amy and her kids much of the day Monday while Jason was in class. It was good to be with her again.

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208. Betsie took a nice nap at Amy's house...very good gift!

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209. A beautiful fall day. It brought a smile to my face a few minutes ago to watch Mary Evelyn trying to catch the golden leaves falling from our big oak in the front yard.

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210. Sounds funny...but I have a great tuna casserole and my family loves it. I am thankful when I serve something that they enjoy! (Betsie had three big helpings! Rachel had about four!)