Expecting!!!

I haven't blogged in awhile. Not because I ran out of things to say, but more just because we've been in a quiet, restful place as a family. We've spent a lot of time in the pool, at the park, and just playing at home together. It's been a nice reprieve after the tumultuous mid-summer changes. 

We're in a new, healed place now and we  are expecting-in multiple ways!!!

- We are expecting, literally! Yes, in the good, old fashioned, we're having another baby way!!! Yay! We are thanking God for our newest blessing growing inside of me now! I just entered my second trimester, which is the other reason my blogging has lapsed...let's just say fatigue rules in early pregnancy! 

- We are expecting God to use us through adoption again. His word says that "He sets the lonely in families", and we are a family willing and ready once again to share our home and hearts with the little children that Jesus loves so much. We are excitedly waiting for God to bring the sibling group to us that he wants to graft into our family. 

- We are expecting to see much fruit in the lives of our children through our decision to homeschool. B is just starting PreK this year, and we are loving that he is learning at home! I plan to post soon about why we chose to homeschool, as it is a topic dear to my heart. We also joined a co-op, a group of 34 like minded families who are living this homeschool journey together by meeting weekly and supporting each other daily. They have already been such a blessing to our family. We are loving the new friendships that have come through this group, and the God honoring, encouraging fellowship is exactly what our family needed. 

- We are expecting God to lead us into a new adventure. We have no idea what is in store for us, but we have been sensing the Holy Spirit in fresh way, and we are excited to watch God restore what has been taken from us. We've struggled with our place in ministry since our return from Vegas, and God has been reveling to us the lessons we learned through those trials and the new path before us. We couldn't be more thrilled with what he is doing. He does so much more than we can ask, think or imagine when we open ourselves up to his way, and his time. 

Hopefully I will keep up with our blog a little better now. It's been on my mind the last few weeks to post, and I've not followed through. I'm looking forward to documenting more of our lives as time goes on! 

Our Van

When we found out that we had been chosen as the adoptive parents for the three, we had to make a vehicle change in order to transport everybody, so we bought a 12 passenger van. After our adoption had been dissolved, we felt that it was a little unnecessary to continue driving a people mover at this point in time. (Yes, we do plan to adopt again, but it's probably a ways off given the age group are now willing to accept.) It's also not the most cost efficient thing to drive, getting 12 miles a gallon! 

Chris headed to the dealership one evening to see about making a lateral move into a mini van. He found one that fit our needs and it worked out so that our financing would be about the same, so he brought it home planning to go back the next day to sign paperwork. 

That's what we did...two nights in a row! Both times they were unable to complete our paperwork due to computer glitches and printer errors, although everything had been working fine just seconds earlier. 

The next day a friend asked if we still had the big van (technically no, but yes?), because she had found a buyer for it! We had been trying to sell it for a couple of weeks, but it's a pretty slim crowd looking for those types of vehicles. Within the hour we had connected with a family who had been praying for our van!!!

Problem: it was at the dealership, and we were driving a van we were supposed to be in the process of purchasing. Chris called our salesman and he said we were too far into the purchase to back out, and that it was impossible to get our big van back. Chris asked him to speak with his boss and started driving to the dealership. Our friends and I prayed. When he walked into the dealership the manager was waiting for him with the keys to our big can and didn't hassle him one bit. 

The family who bought our big van from us had a mini van that they wanted to sell to us. It is exactly what we were looking for and that we had almost bought from the dealership. Even better, they are allowing us to pay them in increments so that we do not have to take out another loan and have interest. 

God is so good to us. He allowed computers to crash and printers to malfunction so that we wouldn't buy a van he didn't want us to have. He worked in the heart of the manager at the dealership so that we had no issues. He provided a cash buyer for us, a nice van for us, low, no interest payments for us, and a new encouraging relationship with a family who is living a God honoring life! 

All week I was praying this verse that I read in my quiet time on Monday:

"If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him." -James 1:5

I was pleading to God for the wisdom to make the right decisions concerning our van and our finances. He answered! O how he loves us! He is our provider and sustainer, and we give him praise! 

Summer Play

Having some fun at the park...

(Swim goggles are his current favorite fashion accessory!)

Playing with Daddy at the mall! 

Puddles

I love the rain...it's my favorite type of weather...however, rain does keep the boys from backyard fun, and we can't have too many days of that in a row! This past week we had several rainy days, so we headed out for a walk when it took a break and found a few puddles along the way! 

I'm not quite sure of the reason we can't all look at the camera and smile at the same time...

Who really needs rain boots anyway?

It's really hard to get a good picture of N right now...he's always moving! :-)

Eating Fresh

One great thing about growing your own produce is how excited the kids get about seeing everything grow! The boys were able to harvest and enjoy carrots this evening while playing outside! :-)

Dissolution

Our adoption was terminated yesterday by social services, who determined that it was in the children's best interest to return to their previous home. While we are extremely saddened by this situation for the sake of our family, we also recognize that this is the right decision. The three children that we were in the process of adopting are now back in the place they've known as home since they were born, with their Nana and Papa. We will miss them greatly, but are thankful that they have a safe home and a family who loves them.

Please be in prayer for this situation, especially for the adjustment of all of the children. After B was told that the three would be leaving, this conversation occurred:
B: "But mommy, they were going to stay here and be our family forever and ever! They can't leave!"
M: "I know buddy, but sometimes things have to change that we don't want to change, and they have to go back to Nana's house, but we will still love them forever."
B: "But why are they going back there?"
M: "Because Nana and Papa love them and missed them so much that they want them to come back and live with them."
B: "But I will stay here?"
A lot of reassurance about his place in our family continued the conversation, and is still carrying on today.  This is hard on us and this is one of the main reasons we decided to be an adopt only family, instead of doing foster care with adoption being a possibility. We wanted to protect them from brokenness.

We are holding on to this promise in Romans 8:28- "And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose." We definitely love God, and were acting in response to his calling, to fulfill his purpose, so we know he will work this situation for our good! A few treasures that we've already been able to mine from this situation are:
1. Nana and Papa were able to recognize that what they had lost was precious to them, and I trust that they will cherish the children that have been returned to them.
2. C was able to be identified for some services and therapy that he needs to receive, and that process was started for them.
3. We got a taste of large family logistics and parenting older children. The list of things that we learned about ourselves, each other and our family dynamics will be invaluable for our future with our bio children, as well as any other children that God chooses to place in our home.

Please forgive that this is an abrupt announcement via a blog post, instead of individual conversations, but this happened quickly and without warning. We had a regularly scheduled visit with our case worker on Monday morning, in which we were informed of the protocol for our situation, then a phone call on Tuesday morning with their decision. The children left within hours after the decision was made. We would like to thank everyone who supported us through the journey of the last few months, through gifts, prayers, and loving on all 6 of our children. We couldn't have done it without you.

I want to close this post with some pictures. About a week ago, we had our family pictures done, and though these will be tucked away, I don't want to do that without sharing them first, as this was our family, no matter how short our time with them was!

A very special thank you to our friends, Ray and Ashley, who have practically lived at our house the last two days. They have held us while we cried, prayed with us, wrestled our decisions along side us, fed us, washed our dishes, changed diapers, played with our kids, babysat, packed suitcases and so much more.  True evidence of the body of Christ! We love you guys! Oh, and she is also responsible for capturing these beautiful images, of which I have to share just one more.  I hope his cuteness makes you smile!

Library Cards!

We visit the library weekly, both to enjoy the activities there and to bring new books home to read. The maximum number of items you can check out is 30. That wasn't a problem when I was going with just a couple of babies, but now I have 4.5 small people picking out books, plus the ones I need! (N is the half...his attention span is not quite up to par with browsing through rows of books. He and L just chill in the stroller!) 

So, today, the 4 bigs got their own library card! Yay! We're doing the summer reading program, and they each got their own library backpack as their first prize from that, so now they are really set! 

Waiting patiently for the lady to put them in the computer system. Please note the "closed" sign. Apparently if you fill out four different forms with four different kids standing (somewhat still and quiet) next to you, two babies in a stroller, and 5 bags of books to check out, they fear you will hold up the lines forever and they open a special one just for you! :-)

We love our library!