It is simply what it is, whether i like it or not!

Well i guess you've been waiting on the same thing we've been waiting on... the decision of the vote taken July 25th by the South American Government for our adoption approval.  Well here it is...
It NEVER happened!  They postponed it until August 12th.  So we will continue to wait. 

A couple of years ago i was treking in the jungles of Asia with a group of women.  One particular lady from Ohio, a Godly woman who was years ahead of me in wisdom, was talking about a particular incident that had happened in her life.  After she finished i asked her, "So how did you react to it?"

Her response has stuck with me for years... She said, "What do you mean?  I reacted just like one who believes God is in control.  What happened is simply what it is, whether i like it or not.  I either trust Him with childlike belief or i don't.  My belief in God is that He is who He says He is and He can do what He says He can do whenever He wants. Therefore He is on the throne and knows the circumstances before me.  So... i can choose to accept what comes good or bad and lean in to Him with complete trust or i can choose to disbelieve.  It is my choice,  therefore i choose to believe."

That is my choice today as well...  simple childlike belief.  i don't have to have an answer or a reason, i simply choose to believe God.  i don't like the delay or understand it, but it is what it is! 

Loving Him and you today, LeAnn

"A cheerful heart is good medicine..." Proverbs 17:22

Laughter is what i needed after i looked over the expectations of yesterday.  As you know, we were waiting to hear something about some movement yesterday, but we didn't, and still haven't.  So we are doing today just what you would be doing, the next thing as we are TRUSTING Him. 

i know in Isaiah 55:8-9 it tells me that Gods thoughts and ways are so much higher than mine.  So whatever is holding us up is exactly as it should be.  It doesn't change the ache in my heart, but it does help me focus on the ONLY ONE who can ease the pain. 

I am so grateful that He is faithful to meet me where i am in all my frailites, brokenness and sin!  That He loves me despite my failures and complaints and constant weaknesses.  And that He brings laughter just when i need it for my soul. 

I'll share a couple of good laughs i've had today, however you may not find them funny at all:

If you remember Jordan's arm injury from camp three weeks ago; Skyler decided she felt sorry for her last week at camp and would JOIN her:

i've spent the day buying supplies and preparing for our "new normal" this year for school...  did i REALLY say i'd homeschool them all?

How many times can the dogs chew up the SAME column??  And we be dumb enough to fix it... YET AGAIN!

I absolutly do not bake, i rely HEAVILY on Publix bakery, however it is Scott's birthday, so we will see if it is edible :)

And last but not least, what has given me the greatest chuckles of all is... the wait to arrive in South America has been pending since February 24, 2010.  So we are rolling into our 18th month now. 

However as we await our paperwork to go... God has chosen to place Jordan there in Costa Rica today...

as part of a mission team and is sending Scott to Peru within weeks for the same :)  We are all over the South American map, JUST NOT IN BRAZIL!!   

God has quite a sense of humor and knows exactly when i need to enjoy it!  His Word tells me that laughter is good for the soul.  So... as we wait and continue doing the next thing, we will choose to BREATHE deep, LOVE hard and LAUGH much because God is in control!  Thanks for joining us!  LeAnn

ain't no mountain high enough...

"Don't measure the size of the mountain, talk to the one who can move it." 

i read this on my desk in my home office first thing this morning and have been trying to focus on the truth of it all day. 

However i'd be lying if i didn't tell you that today has been one of those days, you know what i mean, those trying days we all have.  I am fully aware that God is in control, but as a human it is easy sometimes to get caught in the moment and act as if someone else is holding the control strings. 

So amidst the chaos of running one child here and another there, folding the clothes, preparing food, answering the same question for the billionth time and... the dog did what this time :), i've tried to stay focused on the adventure of adoption that God has allowed us on and not the size of the mountain we are trying to climb. 

But at one point today i had focused for a moment too long on the reality of the date and the fact we still didn't have the boys and began to get frustrated.  I began to repeat the above saying over and over but i could still feel my frustration mounting.  So i called it for what it was....  i asked the Lord to help me fight the feelings that the enemy would love for me to succumb too, but that i didn't want to feel and the truth that in my power i am just too weak to overcome the enemy but not in His. 

And... I JUST LOVE IT WHEN THE LORD SHOWS OFF!!  Within seconds the words from Marvin Gayes song, "Ain't No Mountain High Enough" were pouring through my head, and minutes later i was dancing around singing the chorus at the top of my lungs...

There ain't no mountain high enough

Ain't no valley low enough

Ain't no river wide enough

To keep me from you

So here is what i believe, God is on our side, He has this!  Whether we have one more month to wait, or three more, He CAN move any mountain He wants, WHEN He wants and HOW He wants to move it. And...there is absolutly no mountain high enough to keep us from our boys when GOD SAYS it is time! 
This truth puts a smile on my face and a dance in my feet!  LeAnn

Waiting for confirm...

Before i go any further let's establish this truth:  communication is a FRAGILE thing.  Now with that said, i am absolutly beside myself excited to share :)

IF i am understanding the process correctly (hence waiting for a confirm), we could possibly have our approval from the South American government as early as July 25th.  So what does that mean?  Well we are closer to take off for starters!

Actually it means that both governments will have signed off and given thier stamp of approval to the adoption of our boys.  We still can't go just yet though :(.  There still remains some paperwork sharing and swapping that has to take place between the two governments, the orphange and the judge presiding over the boys cases, which can take several weeks.  BUT... it does put us very, very close!!

Thank you, thank you, thank you for continuing to journey with us!!  I will let you know the plan as i find out!  To God be all the Glory, LeAnn

A little news is better than none :)

So the boys are doing great.. they played baseball for the first time on Saturday.  We are told they are quite the atheletes.  You know this made thier daddy smile when he found out, since he loves sports :)

However, i would be lying if i said anything other than they are getting anxious to come home!  As much as my heart aches, i cannot imagine theirs!  They've known a while now... and yet they've seen no movement.  I wonder in thier little hearts if they wonder if it is all true? 

So as much as my heart aches (and it is more than words can articulate) i can't imagine theirs.  They are finally told of their "forever family" and then we don't come.  They hear of a family and siblings coming and yet another night turns into day.  I cannot imagine!  Please pray for them!

i truly don't understand all the delays, but God does.  i don't understand the magnitude of what is going on behind the scenes as we sit in "the wait" but God does.  So... we will trust and wait! 

Yesterday i went on a walk (yes in the heat of the day, not so bright) and the words from John Waller's song, "While i'm waiting" brought tears to my eyes, but a strengthened resolve to my heart.  Here is what it says:

I'm waiting, I'm waiting on You Lord and I am hopeful.

I'm waiting on You, Lord though it is painful.

But patiently, I will wait!

I will move ahead bold and confident, taking every step in obedience.

While I'm waiting... I will serve You, While I'm waiting... I will worship,

While I'm waiting... I will not faint, I'll be running the race even while I wait!

I'm waiting, I'm waiting on You Lord and I am peaceful.

I'm waiting on You Lord though it's not easy, but faithfully I will wait.

Yes, I will wait!

We definitly continue to sit in a "waiting period".  But we are confident that in God's perfect timing we will get word it is TIME TO GO!  In His perfect timing we will wrap them in our arms.  In His perfect timing we will tell them of His great love for them and ours!  And in His perfect timing we will introduce them to you!  I can't wait for the day :)   

If i've forgotten to tell you lately, I cherish you!!  LeAnn

Also... Please don't forget our girls in your prayers, we are praying that God will make a way for us to meet them while we are in South America...  I am believing Him for this miracle!