Good News

We were given misleading information from ABBA fund, they hadn't spoken to our church yet about the specific amount they wanted to award us. So, it is not $2,500 matching fund. It is a $1,000 matching fund instead. We are thankful for any amount and feel blessed. So if you received a letter from us, we are still going through the ABBA Fund the only difference is the amount the church is giving us. Thank you to our family and friends who have encouraged us these past 2 years. Praying we will be seeing our son by this time next year.

I have to believe...

A fellow blogger has this song on her blog and it really speaks to me right now!

I have to believe, he sees my darkness

I have to believe, he knows my pain

I have to lift up, my hands to Worship

Worship his name

I have to declare, that he is my refuge

I have to deny, that i am alone

I have to lift up, my eyes to the mountains, thats where my help, it comes from

oh yeahhh

He said that he's forever faithful

He said that he's forever true

He said that he can move mountains

If he can move mountains

He can move my mountain, he can move your mountain too

I have to stand tall, when he wind blows me over

I have to stand strong, when i'm weak and afraid

I have to grab hold, a hold of the garments, the garments of praise

I have to sing praise, when the hour is midnight

He unlocks these chains, that bind up my soul

my sin and my shame he has forgiven, and made me whole

He's got everything under control

I have to believe

mmmm yeah

Lord I believe, help my unbelief

I have to believe in you

I have to believe

Ran and Finished my 5k May8

So the week before the race I kept going back and forth as to whether I was going to run because f the weather conditions and my asthma. The night before I had made my decision not to run because it was supposed to be 41 degrees, windy and raining. My husband though talked me into picking up my packet of info anyway just in case. That evening he talked me into running, by saying how I had trained for this and should try it any way, so what if I got asthma and had to walk off the course. So we got up at 6am and were down at the starting line at 7am. Chris' family were there to cheer me on. I finished it without getting asthma and the rain held off until we were done. It was still very windy, especially up the hills. I finished in 35'2''. I was very emotional when I crossed the finish line but held it together. It was actually a lot of fun running with over 5,000 people. Maybe I should do one more this summer?

Matching Grant Mishap...

We heard from the ABBA Fund about a matching grant, which was a mistake so we are being told now. They hadn't talked with our church representative...so now we are waiting to hear back from them as to what we are being awarded. The letters have been sent to friends and family already. We are hoping to hear back from ABBA this week so we can figure out a plan! So if you have received a letter from us and are reading this, hold off sending any money until you see an update on what is going on thank you!

Can you imagine getting an email saying congrats you have been awarded so and so amount only to receive an email a week later saying, oops we made a mistake and you might not receive anything. This has been a very difficult month because of other non related issues I am not at liberty to talk about on here. That is why the I believe song means so much to me right now and my HOPE is in the Lord not things here on earth.

16 months registered with the MOJ

So, it has been 16 months since we have been registered and I feel like we have been waiting a long time, especially when friends ask us if we have heard anything yet. Each year i feel like we say" this summer....". Well not this year. Now I am saying hopefully by January we will have a referral. That would be 24 months of being on the registry. I have decided once we actually do get a referral our blog will go private because there are some people out there who have been trying to stir up trouble with adoptive families and the MOJ in Bulgaria. Really sad!

This week we did receive some good news, we received some financial assistance from a church in Georgia. I feel very blessed. Of late I have been struggling with holding onto hope and God gave me a bit more hope with this blessing. We still need to raise some money so looking forward to hearing back from ShowHope in the next few months. My prayer is that we will be fully funded by the end of the year, and that we will receive a referral soon so we can bring our son home. The girls still pray each day for Calvin as so do I. I pray that many more families would step up and start adopting children who are either in the foster care system or orphanages. I was thinking how amazing it is that we have so many families waiting for years in the domestic program and in the international program when there are so many children wasting away in orphanages without hugs, kisses and love. Even if an orphanage is clean and the workers are kind to the children, they still don't feel special, like someone wants them, loves them and gives them the security they need at such a young age. I don't understand what is taking so long! The children are there so let them come home please.