Please help bring our baby home.

We may not know her name, or what she looks like, but God does.  We may not know what his special need is, but God does.  We may not know when we will get to bring them home, but God does.  We are not even sure where the money is coming from to pay for this, but God does!  When Cindy and I finally answered God's call to adopt, we knew there would be a lot of unanswered questions, but we stepped out in faith.  God will provide.

Maybe God wants to use you to help.  Many wonderful friends and family have helped us get this far.  Please consider helping us finish the race by making a secure donation through the donate link in the upper right of the blog, or participating in our fund raising efforts below.

Caitlin and Mark are making old fashion pot holders.  They are asking $2 each.

Cindy is offering t-shirts, lovingly created by her sister, Missy.  The patterns below are available in several different colors and sizes, for $20 each.  Please contact us for more details.

 Other sports available.

Whiteboard and a Little Girl.

Caitlin spent the day with me at work this past Monday.  Something she did will be forever burned in my heart.  First, she wrote a note to my boss that had a great big heart on it, with the words "Jesus Loves You".  This got me thinking.  How many times have I walked up to someone I just met and told them "Jesus Loves You"?  It reminded me of this verse...

Mark 10:15  I assure you: Whoever does not welcome the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it.

Do I accept God's kingdom with the faith of a child?  Do I have the child like innocence of faith, to not even consider that someone may be offended by my words?  Which is more important, being politically correct, or maybe being the only person to ever tell someone about Jesus?

Romans 10:14  But how can they call on Him to save them unless they believe in Him? And how can they believe in Him if they have never heard about Him? And how can they hear about Him unless someone tells them?

A little bit later in the day, she drew this picture on my whiteboard...

Galations 5:22-23  But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such things there is no law.

As I looked at her artwork, I began to wonder "Are these the things floating around in her mind?"  Praise God!  Proverbs 22:6 reads "Teach a youth about the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it."  How much more effective would I be if these were the thoughts in my head as a youth?  How much stronger would my faith be?  How much more fearless for Christ could I be? 

I am so thankful that God chose to use a whiteboard and a little girl to get me to search my heart.
I pray that all of our children will be as filled with the Holy Spirit.  I pray that God will use them to further His kingdom, and that they will be a blessing to Him.  Please pray for me to be better parent, for God to grant me the wisdom to raise His wonderful creations in a manner that pleases Him.
This is another reason Cindy and I are adopting.  Not only can we provide a loving home to an abandoned child, but even greater than that...  We can teach them about Jesus!  And one day, that child will tell a stranger "Jesus Loves You".  One day, that child may be able to teach a life lesson to an adult with a Bible verse, and a whiteboard.

Silly Day

Today was Silly Day at the twins school.  They were to dress in something silly.  I suggested cutting holes in old pillow sheets, but was overruled.  Here is what they came up with...

Birthday Party and BLIZZARD 2011, kinda.

Here are a few pictures from the January trifecta birthday party at A Play Place.  Thank you to everyone who came out.  We had a blast, and hope you did too!

 

Sunday night ushered in a crazy mix of snow, sleet, and freezing rain.  Here are a few snapshots of the winter wonderland...

Sunday night as the first round came in.

 

 Local fauna coping with the cold.

 

 

 

Not that anyone wants to see my foot, but it shows a depth of about 3 inches.

Happy Birthday Elizabeth and John!

Four years ago today, God blessed us with the twins.  We let them pick our lunch destination, and Elizabeth announced they wanted 'messican'.  Here they are in their sombreros, after recovering from the loud spinning noise maker, and Happy Birthday song.

Who knew the joy these little ones would bring?  Happy 4th Birthday!  I love you more than words.

Girl's first haircut and other random things

It's been way too long since I've updated, so this momentus occassion seemed an appropriate way to start back up.  Both Caitlin and Elizabeth have been begging the fool out of me to cut their hair.  I'm comfortable with the boys.  Just put the right guard on the shaver, and go to town.  But the girls?  Where do I start?  What do I do?  What if I mess it up?  We soon realized, that this was not only my first time cutting their hair, but also the very first haircut for both girls.  Here it is.  Whatcha think?  Both locks will be donated to Locks of Love.

The twins needed Christmas Pajamas for their school musical, so Cindy set off on a quest.  Surprisingly, there was little to choose from at the local merchants, so she let the kids pick out material at Hobby Lobby. Our wonderful friend, Janet Gomez, put together the creations you see below.  I'm not sure the kids have taken them off since. 

Of course, Christmas time calls for a visit to Santa.  He stopped by Bass Pro Shops for a bit.

A parting thought...  God blessed us this year by painting the landscape a beautiful shade of white, on Christmas Day, none the less.  Here is the old dogwood in the back yard.  This was a great reminder of the awesome power of God.  He created the sky, and painted it with stars.  He continues to paint the world with His wonderful brush strokes of glory.

Orphans...

In the Bible, God refers to us as His adopted children.  Galations 4:4-6 reads "But when the fullness of the time had come, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, that we might receive the adoption as sons." 

In the same spirit that He adopted us, we too, are called to care for the orphans...
"Pure and genuine religion in the sight of God the Father means caring for orphans and widows in their distress and refusing to let the world corrupt you."  James 1:27

"And anyone who welcomes a little child like this on my behalf is welcoming me."  Matthew 18:5

"I tell you the truth, when you did it to one of the least of these my brothers and sisters, you were doing it to me!"  Matthew 25:40

Ever since we married, Cindy and I have pondered the idea of adoption.  We tried for 5 years to have a child without success.  After undergoing fertility treatments, just as we were about to give up, God blessed us with Mark.  Since that time, God chose to bless us with three more beautiful children, Caitlin, and the twins, Elizabeth and John.  But the seed had been planted.  We could no longer just ignore the idea of adoption.

Over the past year, He has been speaking, no, yelling at us.  Through our personal study time, through worship services, through comments from friends and family, God has been calling out to us.  Only now, have we finally heard.  Now that we have removed the blinders, we see the numerous times God has tried to get us to listen.

WE HEAR YOU LORD!  We are ready to obey!

For many reasons, we believe God is calling us to adopt a little girl from China.  Through the amazingly blessed ministry of the Ferrill family, we were drawn to New Day Foster Home in Beijing.  We have applied for, and been accepted into the China adoption program through Lifeline Adoption Services.  There is an amazing sense of peace in making this decision, and obeying God's will.

We ask that you pray for us in the coming months.  Pray that we are listening to God.  Pray that we will faithfully and willingly follow God's direction.  Pray that we will humble ourselves before Him in submission.  Above all, please pray that His will be done!