Adoption

Would you let me share my heart with you just for a minute?

Over the past few years the Lord has worked in my heart to build a passion for adoption. I'm not sure when it started, maybe when my family began the journey of adopting Natasha, my sister from Belarus, or perhaps it was before that. For quite some time now I have known that some day I desire to be the mommy of adopted children. I want biological children too, definitely, but I love the extra blessing of giving your heart to children who might not otherwise have a chance. I recently heard someone say, with a biological child you get to have a child, with an adopted child you get to help a child. In both cases children are a gift from the Lord entrusted to us for a time of shaping and molding and raising to the glory of God.

I distinctly remember a conversation Brian and I had before we were married where we were discussing our hopes and dreams for our family. Through that conversation I learned that Brian shares my desire to build a family through adoption. He shared his experience with a small Jamaican girl on a missions trip that stoked the fire in him to adopt someday.

In our conversations over the past couple years our thought has always been to have children biologically first, then adopt down the road. This may be the path we take, but in recent weeks and months I have become more and more aware of the pressing need and wonder if perhaps our adoption dreams might be fulfilled sooner rather than later. There are millions of children in need of forever families. The percentages of those who consider adoption versus those who actually adopt are heartbreaking.

One of the biggest hurdles for many is the cost of adoption. Though this is steep and will certainly be a challenge for Brian and me, I know the Lord is faithful and He will provide. Would you join us in praying for the children in need of forever families? Would you ask the Lord to raise up the church to take a stand for these precious ones? Would you pray for me and Brian that we would follow the Lord's leading to adopt in His perfect timing?



There are many resources for those of you who would like to find out more about these staggering needs and how you can get involved. Here are a few resources to check out:

• cryoftheorphan.org


• redletterscampaign.com


• facesoftheforgotten.org


• nightlight.org

Happy Birthday Brian!

Today is Brian's 33rd birthday! He shared with me the other day that he will be a third of a century old sometime early next year (I can't remember the exact date, but he knew it!). Wow! I am blessed to be married to a man who has learned much in the time the Lord has allowed him to be a blessing here on earth.

To Tom and Judy - Judy, thank you for allowing the Lord to use you to carry Brian and give him life. Thank you for nurturing him and loving him through his childhood and teen years. Thank you for not shaking him to death even when you wanted to (and thank you Tom for intervening!...Brian told me a story about this once :-) Thank you both for teaching Brian about the Lord from a young age. Thank you for giving him the example of parents who love and are committed to one another for life. Thank you for allowing him to pursue the Lord's calling on his life even when it meant moving across the country. And thank you for giving him to me as my husband. You have blessed me more than I can express.

Brian - Baby I love you! I thank the Lord daily for giving you to me! All the years I prayed for you, not yet knowing who you were, I could not have imagined a more perfect partner and friend. Your heart for the Lord and knowledge of His Word greatly inspires me. Your dedication to ministry is amazing. I love hearing stories of how the Lord has worked in your life and how He uses you to touch the lives of the students you minister to. I am in awe of your tenderness when I watch you with Kaylee...you are going to be an amazing daddy when the day comes! And your love for me is more precious than I could ever deserve. Thank you for making me your wife and for treasuring me just as Christ treasures His bride.

May the Lord richly bless you today and in the days, and weeks, and years to come. Happy Birthday!

Catching Up...

Wow! It's been quite a while since we posted last. Time is flying by! We're enjoying the seasons--both of life and actual seasons. It has been a hot fall, but today is cool; perhaps the weather will actually change now.

Last time we posted we asked for prayer for our friends the Clarks, whose daughter was born quite early. They are all doing very well. Kate has been home for almost two weeks now and is doing beautifully.

We'll be posting some fall pictures soon so check back!

Rejoicing and Praying

We just found out that our dear friends, Michael and Abby Clark, welcomed their little baby girl Kate Elise into the world this past Thursday evening, 7.5 weeks early! Both Abby and Kate are doing well, but they have quite the journey ahead of them. Kate came into the world 3 lbs 11 oz and 17 inches - a beautiful, tiny girl!

Would you please join us as we rejoice in the Lord's goodness in providing Kate's safe passage into the world. Also, pray with us that He would continue to work in this situation to His glory as Kate grows and thrives in the coming weeks, as Abby heals from the emergency C-section, and as Michael, Abby and Kate adjust to life together.

Disneyland 2008

On September 20th we had the privilige of hanging out at Disneyland for the day thanks to Jewelly's work. Capital Group gave all their employees and family members tickets, free hats, and Disney Dollars for food. The tickets were park hoppers so we enjoyed the rides at Disneyland and California Adventure. I think our favorites were the Tower of Terror and Space Mountain.

Wonderful Weekend

This weekend was everything a weekend should be. Time together, time with family, time with friends; resting, working, accomplishing, playing. It's times like these I remember how completely blessed I am to live the life I do.

Saturday evening we had a wonderful dinner and game night with our good friends April and David and Kim and Brandon. Thanks for an awesome evening guys! We had a great time!







This afternoon we took a picnic to the park and enjoyed fellowship in the beauty of God's creation. As we were talking Brian brought up an interesting thought. In our society we have built up so much land, destroying the natural beauty of the earth; yet everywhere you go people have intentionally maintained plots of land, parks, where we can go to relax and soak up the beauty that once was. He mused that perhaps our need for parks is related to our desire for what was lost in Eden, an attempt to attain what once was, but is now lost. We were created to live in the center of God's glorious creation--to tend it and enjoy it. So next time you see a park, think about the garden of Eden and look forward to heaven when we will be again in the center of God's creation as He intended it to be.

One Year Together

Jewelly and I celebrated one year together on August 3rd. What a great year it has been. The Lord has blessed us tremendously. We celebrated our anniversary with a trip up the Pacific Coast Highway to San Luis Obispo. We stayed in a cute place called the Apple Farm Inn. I highly recommend it. They have a cider mill on sight and they would bring out cider and fresh baked cookies each night at 7:00pm. We sipped hot cider and played a game of checkers in the lobby. We also drove up to San Simeon and took a tour of Hearst Castle. We were amazed at the beauty and the magnitude of the castle as a whole, but more so than that, we were in awe of each individual pillar, statue, piece of furniture, carved ceiling, painting, and tapestry that he had brought in from all over the world. There is more history and culture represented there than in any museum I have ever been in. After leaving Hearst Castle we drove a few miles further to visit the Elephant Seals hanging out on the beach. Another reminder of God's great handiwork.