Why Is Mommy Getting Smaller?

Such an innocent question with such a theological answer.

FYI...I'm NOT saying that this is God's message for you, I'm saying it's God's message for me. 

You see when Kevin and I decided to adopt, we both had this sense of God calling us to this. This was part of the purpose for our lives.  And while it's been painful, a lot of work, it took money, time and effort, it's been so clear that our family was called to adopt. "I will not leave you as orphans, I will come to you." The amount of blessings we have seen and been a part of through this process is astrometric.  

So why does Isaac asking me why I'm getting smaller have anything to do with this? Obedience. 

I had been ignoring God's prompts for a while that I needed to get healthier.  Psalms 75:4 - They had no struggles, their bodies were healthy and strong. And Luke 12:23 - For life is more than food...

I'd tried, but I learned this journey needed to be shared. I needed an expert to help and teach me. This weight loss thing is not easy, it's painful, it's a lot of time, effort and money (food, healthy food does not go on sale). But it's clear to me my obedience in caring for the body God gifted me is the right thing for me, right now.

And each time I start to feel discouraged I go back to these verses and I look at the measurements and where I started.  That I couldn't run before 6/22 and now I run several miles a week less than three months later. 

If I'm running and I think "I can't" I think of people who actually can't. Those who were maimed in war, those who are too sick and I start running or lifting weights for them. Having the ability to do these things is a priveledge that I no longer take for granted.  

Yes I said almost all of this to my four year old. He only interrupted 4 million times, but I'm pretty sure he got 100% of the message. :). Okay maybe just "God told Mommy to do this Mommy didn't (Mommy diversion to story about Jonah), Mommy is now obeying and seeing an abundance of blessings.

But I couldn't do it without all of the support I've had...so thank you for your part in making Mommy smaller.

PS-I thought I would share a photo of the sweat blessing. Post run bliss. :) 

Iris is One Less!

We just received the orphan verification letter regarding Iris' case.  The fantastic news is that there is One Less orphan in this world today!!!

As a part of Kevin and I perusing her case, they were able to find extended family of Iris and Iris has been re-unified with her extended biological family!  This is such a blessing because as things were proceeding it became apparent her documentation was probably lost and her file would have to be rebuilt.  And A LOT could happen in 5 years, so it was becoming more and more unlikely she would have the proper documentation to be adopted internationally.   But the best thing that could possibly happen is for extended family to care for her. She is no longer INSTITUTIONALIZED, no longer an ORPHAN!

When Kevin and I first started this process, we knew it would be a battle each step of the way, but we felt called to her and her case.  As a result, she was reunified with her biological family along with a few other children.  We are thankful for the checks and balances that exist that do not allow children to leave their birth country if there are options available to them otherwise.  This is a BLESSING!

However, please continue to pray for her and the reunification.  This process will be difficult and we pray that it works well for all involved.  Also, Dane is taking this really hard.  He was really looking forward to her being part of our family, so his heart is very heavy.  Please pray that he can see the blessing in this.

And the question we keep getting asked is "What will you do now?" and we don't have an answer just yet.  We will continue to pray and ask for God's discernment for what He will have for our family.  While Iris will always hold a special place in our hearts, we know this is what God intended and we feel blessed to have been able to help her find her family from 10,000 miles away!

Mommy is a Title I Earned

With Dane, when he was born, he learned I was his Mom.

When I picked up Isaac, I was just some lady who looked different than all the other ladies he'd ever seen.  

As I brought him home (40 of the most extreme hours of my life) I told him I was his Mom.

Over time, he started calling me Momma.  And then one day he called for Momma a million times. (Maybe I'm exaggerating, but that's what it felt like).  And the next few days I was highly annoyed by this.  Yes, I'm your Mom and I'm here for you. 

And then I realized, holy WOW, HE knows I'm his Momma. He's accepted me as his Momma.

Something I cannot possibly explain well enough is how hard it is to earn this from a child who lost everything and everyone they knew and the only thing the know is that you are what replaced it.

So today when Isaac started saying Momma a hundred times, I started to get irritated, but then realized, yes, I am you're momma and I've earned it!

It's 10 o'clock, Do You Know Where Your Children Are?

Last night at 10 o'clock, we knew Isaac and Dane were down the hall sleeping, but we had no idea about Iris' whereabouts.  

Today at 10 o'clock AM, she has been FOUND!!! The investigator knows where she is at and is going to have an update in the next week about the ability to adopt her!  We know the orphanage she is in normally does not do US adoptions, but we are praying they see fit to let us adopt her.  Please pray with us! 

Life Is Hard, But God's Still Good

Well, it's been a while.  A long, long while.  Because we've been waiting for some good news.  Truth is...We don't have it.

The orphanage Isaac and Iris called home has been closed. We currently don't know where Iris is.

We have hired a private investigator to find her and help unite us together.  They will help us work with an agency that can process her paperwork.  (The agency we were working with will not be able to work in Ethiopia starting in July so we are likely moving to another agency once they locate her).

It's hard to talk about this without getting choked up or wanting to walk away from the conversation.  It's a little too much reality for me.  

To think she has lost her first and now second families.  The amount of pain and loss she has gone through at her young age astounds me. When I think of her and put a movie reference to my feelings I think....The force is strong in that one.

And when I pray and ask God what we are to do, what we are to learn from this His answer is to remain steadfast,  "This little girl needs an advocate and our minor inconveniences could mean everything to her.  Don't give up. Keep following this until there are no more leads."

In reality, the orphanage move may make it easier for us to work with her.  The "old" orphanage director has been holding things up.  This could be the answer to prayers we have been asking for.

So while we may seem a little "off" or distracted lately, it's because our hearts ache for our baby girl...

Meanwhile, the boys are making forts and playing cars and havin' fun...

"Life is hard, but God's still good." ~Matthew West

Let Our Baby Girl Go!

So exiting news and sad news all at once.  The exiting news is that the US Government has approved the Hendrickson family to bring home a child from Ethiopia!  Woo-hoo!  The sad news is that we are now in the waiting game again.

We are waiting for the orphanage director to release her paperwork and her to our US Agency.  I can't even imagine how this process must feel for them and how hard it must be, but the ultimate goal of her having a family is the purpose of this process!!!  So, we are asking for your prayers, that his heart be softened and as Moses called to Pharoh to "Let my people go" we ask for the orphanage director to "Let Our Baby Go!" We have a home, two excited brothers, parents who are ready to dote on a little girl and animals ready to chase and play.  It is time.

Thank you for your prayers in advance.

Project Life 2014

I first started Project Life when Isaac came home from Ethiopia.  I thought it would be a way to fully document his "first year." At least his first year with us.  It's kinda hard missing the first steps, but as a scrapbooker, there's this desire to document everything!

My first year was good, but very Isaac-centric. The second year has been going well, but I started realize to do it right I needed to prep the album ahead of time. So I thought I would share my prep.

I don't use the pocket folders for the final pictures, but instead to seperate and display the journaling cards.

Then I make 53 pages with paper inserted with each of the weeks documented. One for intro and conclusion and then the 52 weeks of the year.  As the year goes on, I will put the scraps into the appropriate week.  Also, I use Lightroom to import in the photos into data folders and then print the photos weekly(ish). Then I will put them in the appropriate week.

When I finalize each week I will look at my Facebook page and pull out the quotes and things going on and voila, we have it!