M and H giving a little sibling love
I heart this weather!!!! We are having weather in the upper 70's and this momma is loving it!!! We took the bikes to the park after school and rode until it was about dark....which is about 5:00 these days:(..... I would be game to live somewhere that had weather like this everyday, 365! I had already mourned the arrival of the cold weather.....Pulled out all the coats.....Put away all the shorts.....Have been applying Vaseline to my children's chapped faces........AND then a warm front!!! I will take it.....THANK YOU very much....any day I can get to play with my children outside before we are stuck inside all winter, I am going to take full advantage of...
H and M are exhausted when we are driving home and Matthew is staring out the window. I said, "Are you tired?"......and he said....."Yes....but I just wish Lincoln was here with us." What a sweet boy! I wonder what his little mind was sitting there thinking about....what he was picturing? My sweet, M, can't wait to be a big brother.
We have been busy with all the extra activities going on for the Holidays! So far...H is an Angel in the church praise choir production at church......She is a tree in the Nutcracker presentation at the local theatre......and she has tried out to be a reindeer sister in her school play for Christmas (haven't heard the outcome of that audition, yet)..... She has found a new confidence and love of performing this year and I can't wait to watch her in every single thing!!!
It is such a small world!!! We went to get our fingerprints done on Monday to complete our INS approval....and there was a family there that was doing the same thing.....we got to talking and discovered that we grew up in the same town and she knew my sister's ..... Everywhere we go there is always a connection to my hometown....too funny.
So....fingerprints can be checked off my list and now I just wait.....I haven't heard any updates this week about Lincoln but I know their are people working hard on our case..... I would LOVE to have ANY bit of info that I could get my hands on but I will be patient and wait to hear instead of calling everyday like I want to do :)
You can still purchase shirts from OH for the whole month of November.....They really are awesome, vintage looking, soft T-shirts. I want to give my friends and family A BIG FAT THANK YOU for buying shirts from OH in our name. You all truly ROCK.....and we are so humbled by your generosity!!!
I can't wait to load up my THREE children in my car and head to the park....I am with Matthew......it would have been more fun if we all had been there!
Blessings!
Kasey
Sunday we are headed to stay with my sister Kristi and her fam for the night. We have our appointment to get fingerprinted for our INS approval at 8am on Monday!!! Every little thing I can do (physically) for our adoption makes me feel better. I feel like I am completing something that is getting me one step closer to Lincoln. Because traffic is so bad at that time, we are headed there the day before so that we won't have to leave in the wee hours. Our kids LOVE their cousins and they can't wait to get there. H is already trying to get us to go right after church.....
INS approval will be the last thing that we have to do here in the US to get our Lincoln. Praise the Lord!!!
I will leave you with a set of fingerprints that I can't wait to see smudged all over my walls and windows.......His little hands are going to do amazing things. I am sooo blessed!
Blessings!
Kasey
Ordinary Hero has new shirts! They have added some new shirts to their site and I must say....they are really cute! There are new adult and kid designs. I have linked their name above so head on over and get a new shirt. Remember that they are giving away all t-shirt sale profits this month.....write our name (Kasey-Lincoln)or the name of someone else that is signed up, in the memo and they will get the profit..... OH has been coming up with some awesome ideas of things to add to the site.....so watch for those, also.
Lately I have found the word "why", to be a repetitive word in my world. I have to say....when you really think about it.....we never really have the answer. Does it make us feel better to just say it, ponder it, mull it over? Isn't the definition of the word faith pretty much the answer to all of our why's? Shouldn't we just except that God knows what he is doing, and questioning the reasons "why", really isn't going to get us anywhere?
Why did you decide to adopt? Why Ethiopia? Why a toddler? Why not the US? Mommy, why is it taking so long, why don't we just go get him? Why not a baby?.....it goes on and on....
There are welcomed "why's" (especially when you know the answer), necessary "why's" (to know who drew on the wall) and the dreaded open ended "why" that only God can answer.
I have found that whether it be highs or lows.....the question "why?" is always our first thought. Why am I so lucky? Why did God choose me? Why is this happening?
WHY NOT!!!!...is my new answer. I have chosen to simply live by faith and KNOW that God is perfectly, divinely orgestrating my very blessed life. This wait may seem long and even extended....but at least he chose me to wait! God could have chosen someone else to be Lincoln's Mom.....he could have deemed me unqualified....but he didn't. I am blessed beyond words to have the privilege of being Lincoln's Mom no matter how hard or how long it may be.
I am blessed with a husband who said yes.......I am blessed with bio children that are beyond excited to meet their new brother.....I am blessed with an extended family that has a heart just like mine. Only God can do this. So, what I think of as a "not so perfect" plan IS perfect to God and I just have to have the FAITH it takes to know the difference.
I am going through "glitches" and highs and lows...but I know that these are the things that are drawing me closer to God. If waiting, and glitches are what he thinks I need, then I am saying, "why not"!
What is a post without a pic???? So I am going to leave you with one of the "why's" that was answered in my house recently..... Our daughter, H, has been one of the last kids in her class to start loosing teeth. I know, this doesn't seem like a big deal but to a child that is one of the oldest in her class.....it was a big deal! She wiggled, pulled on, and agonized over this tooth "situation". She would ask...."Why am I not loosing my teeth like everyone else?" I would simply say, "You will loose your teeth when you are meant to loose your teeth....we have no control over teeth falling out. I have no idea when Dad lost his first tooth but I can tell you as an adult it won't matter." I was even secretly glad that the teeth hadn't started falling out because I wasn't ready for the "awkward" toothless stage. Then as if it was a gift.....on her seventh birthday she lost her first tooth.....and they have been falling out like crazy ever since! So....why am I telling you this? Whether it is loosing teeth or waiting for a child.....we all have "why's". Having faith and knowing it will happen when it is meant to happen is a lesson that is not easy whether you are seven or thirty three!
I recently read a quote that I LOVE.....
"If God Calls you, He will equip you."
I am feeling equipped!
Blessings!
Kasey
Ordinary Hero is doing amazing things for the month of November! Because November is Adoption Awareness month..... Ordinary Hero (my blog queen sister #1, Kelly's) foundation is donating all profits to families raising money for their adoptions. SO.....If you were planning on buying yourself and every family member you have an Ordinary Hero T-shirt for Christmas......You can do it now and the profits will go toward our adoption!!! Just go to their site, buy your shirts, and in the MEMO line of your order...write KASEY. We will then get the money put toward our adoption. How Cool is that? The top seller will win a matching grant from OH.....So Awesome! The children's shirts are too cute!
No updates on Lincoln. I am learning a different level of patience.....and I can feel myself growing because of it. I went to my MOM2MOM bible study this morning and we are doing an awesome study. It spoke straight to me. It was all about God only giving you what you can handle.....I sometimes think God gives me more credit than I deserve...ha. I know I can "handle" what I have been given but I don't necessarily want to...:)
H, the Candy Corn Witch
M, the Police Officer
We had an awesome Halloween! We had a Candy Corn Witch and a Policeman. Every year when we are finished with our Trick or Treating my kids always talk about what they are going to be the next year. It was music to this Mommas ears to hear my children talk about Lincoln and how they should all match next year..... Thank you Lord that this will be our last Halloween without our Lincoln!
Don't forget to order your Ordinary Hero shirts this month!
Blessings!
Kasey
