Updated Homestudy

Met with our new social worker today to update our homestudy, so we can send it with our I 800a extention paperwork. Made a few significant changes... praying for God's leading. Praying for Calvin to come home soon and for his protection. Otherwise, life goes on. Each day a blessing from our creator. While we wait we are:

1. Making applesauce

2. Visiting apple orchards

3. eating donuts

4. making homemade pumpkin pie and eating them too

5. homeschooling

6. Helping with a church plant in the innercity

7. praying

8.praying

9 worshiping

10 praising

11. learning to walk by faith and not by sight

12 learning to be patient

13 teaching our children to grow in the Lord and have HIS WORD on their hearts (Deuteronomy)

14. Working on adoption paperwork AGAIN

20 months registered...

We have been waiting over 2 years for you to come home, Calvin. It has been 20 months since we were registered with the Bulgarian government. Praying for you to come home soon. Sending kisses your way.

Roma people being kicked out of France...

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-11186592

Mackinac Island

Ferry to Mackinac Island

This past weekend we went to Mackinac Island with Chris' family. The weather was beautiful, blue skies and in the low 80's. We stayed at Mission Point on the island, which the kids love because of Mac the Moose. At 8:30 there is a story time with Mac the Moose (a book about Mackinac Island) and the kids get a cookie and jug of milk. Saturday we rode the 8miles around the island. Last year Caroline did great, this year she complained her legs were tired, so we made many stops along the way.Cathryn rode her bike for the first time on the island and made it half way until she got a flat tire. Thankfully Chris had an attachment to pull her on the back of his bike.

I will post pics in a few days!

Now we are getting ready for school to start next week. Caroline's school, North Hills Classical Academy, had to close because of not enough tuition paying families. We were very sad to see them close their doors. Caroline got a great education there last year. She is learning grammar that I learned in high school!! We found another school close by that is also a classical school. They do the same grammar, different math though. Singapore instead of Saxon. She had her placement test and did fine. She still struggles with money!!! Trinitas Classical School has combined classes so the 1st and 2nd grade will be together. I am curious to see how it will work. Cathryn will be home schooled and we will begin next Tuesday when Caroline goes to school. In the coming years, my goal is to homeschool both girls in the morning and then do a homeschool partnership where they will go in the afternoon for classes such as art, music, Latin and science. I think I could teach the other subjects:) We are sad summer is coming to an end but we look forward to what God has in store for us this year. Hopefully a little boy will be home with us from Bulgaria this year.

Navarre Beach Vacation

We recently went to visit my family for a week vacation. We stayed at Navarre Beach for the week. It was very humid but the breezy made it bearable. The kids had their first experience with salt water in their eyes and mouth. After the first day they got used to it. They enjoyed jumping the waves and floating in the water. The girls also perfected their hoola hoop skills and we went bike riding in the early evenings. One day we went to Pensecola to go parasailing and see the Blue Angels practice. It was a ton of fun. We also ate lunch at Flounders on the beach. In the past when we have gone to this restaurant it has been packed and you have to wait to get a seat. This time there were 5 families in the restaurant and our server said they have lost 60% of their business because of the reported 'oil spill'. Which took 2 days to clean up months ago and yet no one is vacationing on the gulfshore because of all the bad press. We had so much fun playing in the water together as a family, collecting seashells, eating on the deck of our condo and laying out in the sun. Once we got home I asked the girls what their favorite part of the trip was; Cathryn said the bunk beds they slept in and Caroline said,'parasailing'. For me it was laying in the sun and spending time with my family. This week we will begin getting back into a routine for school, which starts after Labor day.

On the adoption front, we haven't heard anything. I will begin our i800a extention paperwork this coming month, once homeschooling gets underway. We have now been registered and waiting for a referral for 19 months. It is very frustrating, especially when we were told by our agency that the wait wouldn't be longer than 18 months when we signed up with them. We get to renew our USCIS paperwork for free this time around (however we will have to pay to have our homestudy updated, and renew my passport which will be expiring soon, pay for medicals again for the homestudy). This will be good for 18 months I believe. By that time we would have been waiting for more than 3 years.

The question I struggle with is, when do we stop putting money into this and move on, how long do we keep pursing this? My prayer is that God will show us in a clear way what we should do. I feel the last couple of years God has asked us to do certain things and we have had to make the decision, do we obey, step out in faith, or stay comfortable and do what feels safe? We felt called to adoption even though it is very scary with all the unknowns. We felt God leading us out of our present church to join a church plant in the inner city. This was also very scary with many unknowns and hard to leave friends. But I know we aren't called to be comfortable in this world, this isn't our home. We are called to be light and salt in this world. To reach the unsaved, to minister to the orphans and widows, the fatherless. I pray that God will use me for His glory and it is only through Him that I can obey. A great book I read recently is 'Fresh Wind, Fresh Fire' written by Jim Cymbala. He is a pastor at the Brooklen Tabernacle. It was so encouraging to me. A must read about prayer and how God works when we are willing to listen. I continue to pray for God's will for my life, I pray for the orphans that they might find their forever families. I pray that our son will come home soon. I will end with my favorite verse: Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding, in all your ways acknowledge Him and he will direct your path. Proverbs 3;5-6

while we wait...

1. Caroline has finally conquered her fear of water in her face and is swimming under water. So proud of her. Now she is asking to take swimming lessons again.

2. Cathryn has mastered backstroke and freestyle. She is also reading at 1st grade level, at 5 years of age. We are proud of her too.

3. We have been attending a new church, and meeting 'new' friends. God is good all the time. It was very difficult for us to leave our friends at our other church but God's ways are always better than ours.

4.I am starting to knit little hats for the babies in Bulgaria's orphanages. When we finally get to go to Bulgaria i will leave these little hats at Calvin's orphanage. It makes me sad to think of these little ones cold, so hopefully these will keep their heads warm. My goal is to knit a hat a week. Once I get 30 hats done, I will be brave enough to knit little sweaters.

5.I have ordered all of Cathryn's curriculum to homeschool her this year for kindergarten. We will be doing 'handwritting without tears', math u see, All about spelling (reading program and spelling), and Bible.

6. We have been raspberry and strawberry picking. Love strawberry jam and raspberry pie. Blueberries are next.

7. Vacations coming soon, can't wait.

8. Missing and praying for Calvin. Praying for his safety, physically and emotionally. Praying for his birth mom to.

registered for 18 months today

Was informed by our agency this week that no referrals will be made during the months of July and August due to holidays in Bulgaria. Please pray with me that we get a referral in September. Have a great summer, we have plans to go to Gulf Shores and MAckinac Island this summer. Can't wait.