everyday events

I haven't been doing a great job of taking pictures lately, but I seem to catch our everyday moments with my camera phone. So here's a few to show you a little of what we've been up to lately!

Addyson and Braden have made friends with the dogs! They were very afraid, but slowly over the last month or so they have fallen in love with them. Chloe has been living in the garage because our underground fence is not working and she is smart enough to know it and escapes. Maddie on the other hand is still terrified and stays outside like normal! She gets plenty of love too though.

Chloe was not impressed at their attention at first. Both dogs are super good with the kids and not at all mean but you could tell Chloe would rather they just leave her alone - it was a little much for her. But she's getting used to it and gets plenty of hugs and kisses!!!

We've been hanging out with daddy - working cattle, riding horse, sewing wheat, cutting beans. We are transitioning to winter around here!!! The business is slowing down and we are enjoying having daddy home to eat with us and play with us!!! The temperatures even seem cooler and more winter-like. We are ready!

One favorite errand (of Braden's especially - not so much mine!) is our trips to the grocery store. They love this!!! Braden usually says, "More stuff!!" And they get plenty of attention from other people. I don't remember what they were doing here, but there is always some sort of adventure to be had at Dillon's!!!

That's it for now! Hope you have a great weekend!

If You Were Mine pre-adoption workshop

I just want to share an opportunity with you! Our church is hosting a pre-adoption workshop called "If You Were Mine". This workshop is for couples considering adoption. It is a no-pressure way to get information on adoption if you are thinking about adopting. God asks all of us to take care of orphans, but he doesn't ask everyone to adopt and this workshop just gives you more information so you can make informed decisions. It discusses a lot of the different parts of adoption and helps you think through a lot of things. It is also a great jumping off point to research deeper and connect with other familes that have adopted or are thinking about adoption. God nudged Ryan and I in many small ways, but when we attended this workshop last fall it was the final confirmation that solidified God's call for us to adopt. It will be held November 19 from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. at Grace Community Church. If you're interested you can email tamilakey@gmail.com or I'd be glad to get you more information too!

On Its Way!

Today our dossier paperwork is basically complete and making its way out of the country! What a big step for us. We are now officially waiting for a referral. And from here on out we will be very quiet about the adoption process on the blog. Our agency has advised us not to share information via the internet - blogs, facebook; even emails need to be pretty limited just to be safe. This is to protect our little boy and our adoption - we would not want any information shared to jeapordize our specific adoption but also don't want to do anything that would hurt the process for all the other kids waiting to be adopted or the families hoping to adopt them. From time to time I might be able to share vague prayer requests and things along those lines but any details about receiving or accepting a referral or even travel dates won't be making any appearances here.

We would love your prayers and will be able to share some information with you the old fashioned way - with actual words coming out of our mouths! Imagine that! :) But please don't be offended by a lack of information - it is in everyone's best interest and not because we don't want you to know. We know you care about our family and this journey and that's why you ask and we will be glad to talk to you as much as we can.

So, how can you pray for us?

• Pray for patience and peace as we wait for a referral. This could take days or months - only the Lord knows and His plans are perfect for us but that doesn't mean we are perfect at waiting. Just like any couple expecting, some days we feel overwhelmed with the way life is now and wonder how God is going to give us the strength to handle another blessing and the adventure to get to him. . . and some days it feels like we could be waiting forever to meet our new little guy.

• Pray for peace and wisdom once we actually get a referral and start to learn about and learn to know the one God has picked for us.

• Pray for us as we someday get to travel and as we anticipate that. We are not experienced world travelers and this part is definitely intimidating to us. We are absolutely refusing to worry, but fear definitely comes without warning at various moments!

Finally, I want to leave you with a Psalm that I read that reflects where my heart is today. I am so thankful God has helped us tackle all the details up to this point and been faithful in so many ways. But the last part of this psalm makes me think toward our next steps - that God would be our protector and that He would finish what He started in us and in this adoption process. In the times when I feel like giving up from frustration, I can cry out "Finish what you started God - don't quit on me now!".

Psalm 138

The Message (MSG)

Thank you! Everything in me says "Thank you!" Angels listen as I sing my thanks.
I kneel in worship facing your holy temple
and say it again: "Thank you!"
Thank you for your love,
thank you for your faithfulness;
Most holy is your name,
most holy is your Word.
The moment I called out, you stepped in;
you made my life large with strength.

When they hear what you have to say, God,
all earth's kings will say "Thank you."
They'll sing of what you've done:
"How great the glory of God!"
And here's why: God, high above, sees far below;
no matter the distance, he knows everything about us.

When I walk into the thick of trouble,
keep me alive in the angry turmoil.
With one hand
strike my foes,
With your other hand
save me.
Finish what you started in me, God.
Your love is eternal—don't quit on me now.

Decorating with Meaning

You know how you have read verses your whole life and know them by memory? But if you read it in a different version it makes you actually think about it instead of just reading/reciting stuff you know by heart but really only know in your head? That totally happened for me a while back when I read I Corinthians. I so want our kids to understand God's love for them and how he asks us to share that love with others. It just seems like if they could really grasp these verses, that pretty much all the other rules that we have for them would sort of just fall into place and make sense. And I need a good reminder myself several times a day of these verses! So I decided to make something for their room. Like I said in the last post - this really wasn't my idea; I just tweaked it some. I got the idea from a blog that I like to read. You should check it out sometime!

http://liferearranged.com/blog/

So anyway Mod Podge and I had our first experience. It turned out pretty good I think. I can't tell you how many times one of those lines has popped out at me from their wall because I was not being loving. So it's sort of for all of us.

Here is I Corinithians 13:1-7 from The Message translation which inspired this little project!

"If I speak with human eloquence and angelic ecstasy but don't love, I'm nothing but the creaking of a rusty gate. If I speak God's Word with power, revealing all his mysteries and making everything plain as day, and if I have faith that says to a mountain, "Jump," and it jumps, but I don't love, I'm nothing. If I give everything I own to the poor and even go to the stake to be burned as a martyr, but I don't love, I've gotten nowhere. So, no matter what I say, what I believe, and what I do, I'm bankrupt without love.

Love never gives up.
Love cares more for others than for self.
Love doesn't want what it doesn't have.
Love doesn't strut,
Doesn't have a swelled head,
Doesn't force itself on others, Isn't always "me first,"
Doesn't fly off the handle,
Doesn't keep score of the sins of others,
Doesn't revel when others grovel,
Takes pleasure in the flowering of truth,
Puts up with anything,
Trusts God always,
Always looks for the best,
Never looks back, But keeps going to the end."

The other thing you probably noticed sitting on their dresser is this:

I stole this quote off the same blog. I get so tired of hearing - "That's mine!!!" and I thought this was a perfect reminder for all of us to share - and not just our toys - since none of it's really ours anyway. 

So that's a little more about some of the decorations in the twins' room! Hopefully a reminder to all of us to share the love that God has poured out on us every chance we get. Our sermon at church on Sunday morning was about this and the study we are doing in our community life group is focusing on the attributes of God including his goodness and love so these things have been on my heart lately and I wanted to share them with you!

The Twins' Room

Back in July (yes, 3 whole months ago) Addyson and Braden moved to one big bed!!! Their room looks a lot different! Our motivation was that we were going on vacation and really didn't want to drag along 2 pack-n-play's but we wanted them to be used to a big bed before we left!!! And they liked to sleep together in one toddler bed but kept waking each other up because there wasn't enough room. So rather than purchase 2 small beds that would take up a whole room we thought we'd just use one full bed we already had! It has worked great!

Join us on a little tour!

So, yes I'm a little behind blogging this but it took a while to get their room "done". The first order of business was a new mattress. Take a look at the price tag on the one that was on this bed previously.

What a steal - $79.50 for the Perfect Sleeper. Except back in the 1960's probably not so much. We actually saw the date on another tag - yep, 1960 something. Sorry to any of our guests who actually slept on that thing - it was not living up to its name anymore - definitely not perfect. Except maybe for bouncing on! But not so much for sleeping anymore.

Then I wanted to decorate. I got inspired and was actually a little crafty!

I saw a family rules canvas that I liked the idea of - and then instead of our own rules I used some of I Corinthians 13 instead. More on this in another post coming soon.

some of the stuff on the dresser

piggy banks on the dresser - a first birthday present that had been living on the top shelf of their closet because there was no place for them before. They LOVE these.

pictures displayed on a board I made out of an old poster frame that was in their room before, burlap, twine, and chicken wire - hopefully soon there will be a picture of a new little boy picked just for us! Or at least a picture of Russia so it can make a little more sense to them!

Addyson's and Braden's stick horseys in a barrel I picked up at Emma Creeks Antiques. They play with them all the time now that they have a home instead of packed away in the back of the closet.

And real life - a packed messy closet and toys, and huge stuffed animals

Some of the chalkboards from the Country Fair have found a new home. I am excited about changing these whenever we want and the kids drawing all over them! Right now I wrote Jesus loves me and the kids wanted me to draw around their hands and feet.

The quilt on their bed was made by Ryan's Aunt Carolyn. They LOVE it. It is full of fun farm stuff! (Sorry this picture is at a weird angle. Blogger and I are fighting with this picture - it keeps rotating stuff. Yuck. But you get the idea.) Addyson has a very cute girly one that someday she can use. Because I doubt they'll want to sleep in the same bed forever.

And Ryan's dad made the bed and dresser a long time ago.

They are enjoying their room! It is fun to see all the positions they sleep in - they like to sleep pretty close together usually!

And in case you're wondering - one crib moved to the spare room upstairs for new little brother. Along with the changing table and rocking chair. The kitchen playset and a bunch of toys moved in there too.

We feel like we gained a lot of room, since we weren't really using the spare room for anything before and now they can play in both rooms!

It feels like we are really waiting for a little boy now! I stare at the crib and pray just like I spent lots of time staring at both the cribs and praying when we were waiting for Addyson and Braden to sleep in them! This crib has prompted lots and lots of prayers over the last few years! Someday I'll show you a picture of our new little guy snoozing away in his own room!!! But that completes the tour for now!

Adoption Update

This is what our office looked like late last night as I worked on adoption paperwork!! Our home study arrived yesterday which we had been waiting on before we could move forward with any more paperwork. So, it was time to get to work! This morning we got stacks of papers signed, notarized, copied, sent off for apostilles, and FedEx'd! Whew! Believe me - all that mess was very, very organized and I think everything got where it needed to go and ended up in about 5 neat piles when all was said and done! And you know what - the fees that we paid today totalled very close to the amount of funds we received from the Country Fair. It really is awesome to see how God works! Also, have you noticed how windy and yucky the weather has been the last few days??? - God really blessed us with a wonderful day last Saturday!

So now we are waiting on a couple more documents to complete our dossier (the paperwork that goes to Russia) and for USCIS approval. And then we wait for our referral!!! We are crossing things off the list one thing at a time, but today we seemed to eliminate a bunch of crucial steps that seemed a long way away just a few months ago. We are getting closer and closer to finding out which little boy God has picked for us!

And now, since these 2 have had a serious absence from this blog - some cuteness to make your day.

 Addyson and Braden have been really playing together over the last few days - like really grown up playing. Pretending, telling each other just how and where to play, planning, and mostly playing together - there have been very few times when they play alone. What fun to hear them giggle together! Braden even told me when I peeked in their room to check on them - "We playing, momma go out." Awesome to watch them together - what a blessing twins are. The days of non-stop feedings are long, long gone and we are enjoying that stage after they hit 2 when twins are easier than a singleton. Hallelujah!!!!

Country Fair

The Because We Care Country Fair was a huge success!!!

Welcome!

Come on in and see what was happening on Saturday!

This was the welcome table where you saw Tami's smiling face! She is the one that got this whole event started! Where do we even begin to say thank you!!! Tami and her whole family shared their farm, hearts, and lots of time and effort with us and with you!!!

Also, a huge thanks to our community life group from church. They brainstormed and shared their creativity and craftiness! And hours and hours of their time to support us and get the word out about the Fair. They manned the booths at the Country Fair along with our family members and some other helpers. Thanks to each and every one of you. You made us feel so loved and supported, especially on Saturday! Thanks also to our family who worked long hours as well to put all the details together and pull off this fun event!!!

Now, follow me to the fun!!!

There was plenty of yummy food! Thanks to everyone who had a part in planning, preparing, cooking, and serving the food!!

There was cooking over an open fire - harvest skillet, cobblers, etc. And walking tacos, hot dogs, caramel apples, Russian tea cakes, and cotton candy to name a few!!  And now I'm hungry again!!! Yum!!

Plenty of fun for the kids (and kids at heart too!)

 

The barrel train that Ryan's dad built and drove was a huge hit!

There was also a hay rack ride!

And lots of activities in the kids area!

bobbing for apples

ring toss

tank of corn kernels to play in

water balloon launch (there were fun things to aim at like a silo, barrels - even an old harvest gold toilet)

face painting

roping

hay bale maze

There of course needed to be prizes for the kids - plenty of candy!

fishing

petting zoo

And all around there were pretty things to look at!

Like these fun chalkboard signs!!!

Andrea Siebert was busy taking family photos . . . and Wichita Photobooth Company was there too. Thanks to both of you for donating your time and services!!!

This barn was full of scrumptious baked good you all donated!! Thank you!

And lots of awesome silent auction items to bid on. People were calling in to get their final bids in before the 4:00 cutoff!! Thanks to all who donated items and to those who purchased them too!

The raffles for the K-State football tickets and the Date Night package also happened here.

Isn't that bunting fun? It was all over the farm and made everything feel so festive!!!

Back behind the barn was a paintball range where some of the bigger boys played. And a paintball gun even went home with a lucky winner!

It was so fun to see lots of people having a great time with their families!

As I walked around scurrying to get things ready early Saturday morning I was praying as I walked through each area. We have been praying for weeks that we would have good weather (the Lord blessed us with an absolutely perfect day), a good turnout (we are guesstimating around 300 - awesome!), but most of all that this day and event would bring Him glory no matter what the outcome. We feel like it did just that. We were able to share our hearts about adoption, talk with lots of people (some we hadn't seen for years!), and have a great time. It definitely felt like our little boy was missing out on a lot of fun - there were so many people at the Fair donating to get him home and to show just how much they love him and he is stuck somewhere far, far away. But we will tell him all about it some day, and he will know just how much each and every one of you loved on our family by your contribution - no matter how big or small - to the Because We Care Country Fair.

"Not to us, O LORD, not to us, but to your name goes all the glory for your unfailing love and faithfulness."

Psalm 115:1

(Thanks to Amanda Balzer for sharing her awesome pictures. I was so busy that my camera didn't catch even one snapshot.)