Ephesians 3:20...Part 3

Now all glory to God, who is able, through his might power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think.

Ephesians 3:20

     So a "Part 3" seemed like a good way to dust off the cobwebs from this little old blog. Quite frankly, there has been neither time nor energy to do much aside from putting one foot in front of the other as of late. Oh and we don't have the internet yet. But that's a different story.

     My "Part 2" was a slight cliffhanger with the exciting news and HUGE answer to prayer that we had sold our home and were looking to move. And like any story, there were lots of details in between the beginning, middle, and end of our whole "moving" saga. All of these details aren't appropriate for the big wide world, but I can say that lots of these details were worked out- and in a good way. Things were obviously stressful. But we did it! We MOVED! And things are STILL stressful as we live among boxes and other miscellaneous items that somehow "made the cut" from one house to the other. I joke with Eric that all of the "treasure" in our garage could probably be put into a dumpster and I wouldn't be sad. Ha! Sometimes emotions make you say silly things. I know anyone that has ever moved is shouting out a big ole AMEN right now. 

     It's been a week since we've been sleeping in our new abode...and we feel so blessed and grateful to be home. We're especially excited that our home study can move forward! We still have some paper-chasing to do, but some of those things involve the physical being of our "home"...what it looks like in the front and in the back...what our son or daughter's room looks like...what the main living areas look like, etc. Pictures will still have to wait a little while yet, as I'm not sure piles of boxes will be looked upon favorably. But we know there is no gray area with selling our house or moving anymore. And we definitely won't have to spend extra money on updating our home study now because we have a forever HOME!

     We also couldn't set up home visits until things were more cemented with our living arrangements. Would South Korea allow us to adopt if we were living in the basement of Grandma's house? We just didn't know if that'd be allowed. HA! All jokes aside, we did live with Grandma for a few days during the transition time of moving (read: we moved some stuff, but not enough to live at either the old or new residence) and it was such a blessing. If you live near parents and have children, again...AMEN. Grandparents (and parents) can be such a huge help. 

     Our new "neighborhood" is turning out to be a wonderful atmosphere for our family. Our son spends his "after-school" hours shooting at his (new to him) basketball hoop...our daughter loves to ride her bike and fly kites...and I love seeing them enjoy the outdoors! We've been super blessed already with a sweet couple who owns farmland that is on two sides of our house as well as a mini-golf course that we can see from our back window. Our kids are in heaven. Yesterday, we came home and the sweet couple was mowing and weeding our lawn. *We have more grass than at our old house and will have to invest in a different mower.* Then, they took the kids for a golf cart ride to let them play a few holes at their mini-golf course. Eric and I tried our hand at it too. Our youngest golfer made it out with 2 hole-in-one shots. I'd say there will be some stiff competition this summer!

     Some days are definitely harder than others to find the joy in each moment. But even in all of the stress, I need to remember to slow down and thank God for all of the ways in which He has worked in our lives over the last year. Sometimes, it's difficult not to focus on the here and now when the here and now is stressful. But you always hear the words of wisdom to look at the "bigger" picture. And when I look back at where we started and where the Lord has led us...it's been a beautiful journey. I didn't say an easy journey...but  a beautiful journey...with many ups and many downs...a journey with growth, heartache, and blessing. He truly has given us peace in a lot of situations and has accomplished infinitely more than we could have asked or thought. 

John 14:14 and Chicken

"You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it." John 14:14

     A few months ago, one of our dear friends approached me about doing a chicken BBQ fundraiser on behalf of our family's international adoption. We graciously accepted her offer and with that, our friends hit the ground running. Tickets were ordered and printed. Fliers were made. (Well-made, might I add.) Posters were hung. Emails were sent. Spreadsheets were created...complete with red numbers and with black. Truthfully, the amount of behind-the-scenes work probably can't adequately be explained into one little post. But I want to try...because it was a LOT!

     Soon, the time came for ticket selling. Our Sunday school class took on this task...and the idea of divide and conquer seemed like a great one! Many of our friends took stacks of tickets to sell. The fundraiser was shared on social media. There were announcements made at church. Getting the word out was half the battle. 

     Early on in the fundraiser, I remember naively asking our friend if there was a minimum number of tickets we had to sell. I had heard from a friend that this certain company had a minimum presale of 300. I laughed. That can't be true. 300 is a big number. Maybe it's different for personal fundraisers. It has to be...right? Wrong. My friend's response when I asked her was 300. 300?! The minimum pre-order for this particular chicken BBQ company was 300. No matter who you were. Ha! Remember that spreadsheet with red numbers AND black ones? Breaking even was selling a little over 200. And a few weeks before the fundraiser...our number was 87. Honestly, my hope and prayer was that our friends could at least break even. To take this fundraiser on was a huge task and I knew the amount of work that had been dedicated...on our behalf.

     We continued to pray for this fundraiser and for well...chicken. And you know what? God heard our prayers- our prayers about moving in the hearts of others and our prayers about chicken.  And after another week had passed, we hit 226! The goal of 300 was much more of a reality now! Red numbers became black numbers. Praise God! Even days before we were to give our final count, people were ordering tickets. My coworkers bought 13 more the day before we had to turn in our final count to the BBQ company. Honestly, it kind of chokes me up just typing this story...because it's a story that only God could have authored. To go from 87 to nearly 300 in a matter of a couple weeks is crazy. But God does crazy things! We've witnessed that time and time again in this journey already.

     Well, today was the big day. The BIG day for our BBQ chicken fundraiser. And do you know what our number was? 355. Three hundred fifty-five. That's how many dinners we served out of our church kitchen between the hours of 10am and 1pm. Oh and I should also add that our dear friends added a cookie to each dinner as well...homemade cookies. So on top of serving 355 half-chickens, my friends (and mama) baked more than 355 cookies to pass out as well! One of the most exciting things about this journey is the stories that we have to share with our son or daughter some day. The stories about our friends, our church family, and our community who rallied behind us to help bring him/her home. And thanks to this fundraiser, we can add more than $1400 to our adoption fund. I can't wait to bring in the stack of checks to the bank tomorrow. As I've been asked other trips to the bank, "Did you just get married?" No...no...we're adopting...and this will help bring our son or daughter home. Thank you for bringing us even closer to that moment. Thank you, thank you from the bottom of our hearts. We are forever grateful to each and every one of you.

     Lastly, what's a great post without some pictures? Unfortunately, I did NOT get a picture of everyone who was involved as I was the crazy ticket-taking lady. And well...it was crazy. Thank you to everyone who bought, sold, served, baked, and shared our fundraiser. We love you all!

 The directors of traffic reporting for duty!

 Have you ever seen so many cookies? I have not.

 The first shift crowd. Ready for action!

The second shift crowd...an action shot! No time for posed smiles. 

Praying that you all have a blessed week. Thank you for reading about our journey and being a part of our story!

It Had to be You

Early bird. Night owl. Which one are you? I've always considered myself both a morning person and a night person. Now, don't get me wrong...there are days when I like to sleep in just as much as the next person...and there are definitely nights when I can't wait to get to bed. But when you average it all out...I tend to function on little sleep. *The level of functionality is definitely up for debate by my loved ones, I'm sure.*

Evenings, in particular, can get me into trouble though. It's usually when I write (for example, it's after 10PM as I begin this entry)...or it's when I work on school stuff...or it's when I simply pass the time by going on bunny trails sparked by social media or other thoughts that won't turn off in my brain. Speaking of bunny trails...

There I was...on a late night bunny trail...a week or so ago. My destination not completely unknown. I knew where I was going, but I didn't necessarily know what I would find. Or who. And that's when I saw you. You. Beautiful and precious little you.

I knew it had to be you. I had never seen you before, but I knew it was you. I recognized your sleeping habits. I recognized your medical needs. I recognized your milestones. I recognized it all and so it had to be. It had to be you. Beautiful and precious little you.

Although I had never seen you, I first met you a few weeks ago. It was then that I learned about how you came into this world. I learned about many things that make you tick. And I wanted to see you so badly. But I didn't need to see your face. I just wanted your words. Words that I could pray over. Words that (we) could pray over. Words that introduced me to you. But the time just wasn't right for more than words. Until this night...when I was on a bunny trail...and I met you for the second time. This time, with more than words. My bunny trail had a purpose. My bunny trail had a destination. My bunny trail led me to you. Beautiful and precious little you.

The next week was filled with prayers and phone calls...and waiting. Lots of waiting for you. We were supposed to hear about you on Monday. And then Monday came and went. I prayed for you again on Tuesday. And then Tuesday came and went. So here we are on Wednesday and I'm praying for you again. Beautiful and precious little you.

29

     Twenty-nine. The significance of twenty-nine probably doesn't mean a whole heck of a lot, unless you're someone like me...someone who counts. I'm a counter. Believe me, counting is not something I've always done..but I've learned to be pretty good at it.

    Normally, I'm good at counting to twenty-four. Sometimes twenty-five or twenty-six. But never twenty-nine. That's not a number I count to...except this last time. I counted to twenty-nine. Twenty-nine is a very different number than twenty-four. It's even enough different than twenty-five or twenty-six. But I counted to twenty-nine and then...just like that...it was time to start over...beginning at number one.

     The number one began with other counting too.  I counted the number of bedrooms in our house. I counted the number of occupied seats in our car. I counted a lot of other things that made the number twenty-nine hurt even more. But then I began to count the number of papers and appointments we've already checked off our list. The number of things we'd have to do all over again if I counted past twenty-nine. And once again, I'm thankful that I'm good at counting to twenty-four because I don't like counting to twenty-nine.

     Someday, I hope I lose the art of counting. The only thing I want to count...is the moment right in front of me...staring at me and asking me to do something with it. Embrace it. Love it. Be grateful for it. Share it with the people around me. Somedays that's easier said than done. But here's to not counting...at least not to twenty-nine.

Are we crazy?!

     Some may answer this question undoubtedly "Yes"...while others may think it's still up for debate. I've asked this question myself more than once in this process already.  But thankfully, one of South Korea's requirements is a psychological examination. So we can pay someone $800 to answer this question for us! Ha!

     All jokes aside though...we began the psychological examination process a few weeks ago. We were told there was a six week wait for new patients. This news made me slightly nervous since we have a deadline for this part of the home study. I called our case worker and she explained that this was a fairly typical timeline for most families in this stage. She didn't think it would be a problem.

     Upon calling our soon-to-be psychologist and telling her that the six-week time frame would work, she let me know that if Eric and I were open to being called when she had a cancellation...it could be sooner. And we have been SO blessed by God's timing. Due to three cancellations in the last couple of weeks, we're almost finished with our entire process already! We've got 2 visits down and 1 to go. And after tonight...we'll have completed our 2nd required test. Let me tell ya, I am really looking forward to answering 500 true and false questions. Eric is doing this same test as I type. I'm hopeful he's alive when I switch spots with him in an hour. Ironically, he just texted me and he's only 100 questions in...pray, friends!

     On top of the amazing timing of cancellations though, we have also been SO fortunate to have someone (that can complete our specific requirements) who is literally 5 minutes from our house. For example, I received an email from our other case worker talking about another family going through the South Korea program. This family is located within an hour of us and they were having trouble finding anyone to do their psychological examination. But, they had finally found someone and wanted to pass along the psychologist's information to us. I love the community that we're already experiencing with this adoption. While we were grateful for their thoughtfulness, we had already started our process with someone very close to us! WAHOO!

     God is working in so many big and small ways and I wanted to check in and let you know where we are in the process! Now, I've gotta run and go show off my sanity! Have a great week, friends!

Ephesians 3:20...Part 2

Now all glory to God, who is able, through his might power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think.

Ephesians 3:20

     Before school started, we had put in an offer on a house. While this house wasn't officially on the market, we came to an agreement with the seller that if we sold our house, we would buy their's. We were thankful the sellers were more than willing to work with us and give us a "first" shot at buying their house. It was the PERFECT location...within walking distance to my school. Our children's school. Perfect. Under our contingent contract, we were given x amount of days to sell our house... simply because it was a contingent offer and this family was moving out of state. They couldn't sit on it forever. We understood that, but it seemed like the perfect situation. Great location. 4 bedrooms. Just what we wanted.

     Well Thanksgiving rolled around and our "contingent offer" expired. It was discussed that the owners would try and sell the house on their own. If our house would happen to sell soon, we could still have first "dibs" on their property. As time went on and with no movement on our end, we began to discuss other avenues of trying to make this situation still work out. There just weren't solutions that made sense and we kept praying about it. We really felt like God would provide for us in this circumstance. If it was to be our house, we knew God would make a way for it to happen. At one point in time, this house was even thought to be sold, but something fell through. With each changing scenario, we couldn't help but pray for God's will with this house. Was this all working out for a reason?

    Fast forward to February... It was a Thursday and I was coaching my girls' basketball team. We had just lost a heartbreaker...by 1 point. As I left the locker room, I sat on the bench (in between games) and got out my phone. I always check my phone in between games to make sure our kiddos have made it home with Eric, etc. I had a message from the seller of "the house". He was apologizing and letting us know that they had sold their home. I immediately texted back a "Congrats!" message. We were so grateful they could move on. We truly were. And honestly, we had just felt like God was telling us "no" on this house.

     Three days later...on Sunday...we were asked to show our house at 1:00. That night, we were asked to show this same couple our house AGAIN on Wednesday. Wow. That was quick, God! On Monday, the couple that came through our house (just on Sunday) put their house up for sale. On Tuesday, they made a "contingent" offer on our house. By Thursday, we had come to an agreement and accepted their contingent offer. On Friday morning, we learned that they had sold their home which meant we had sold our home. WHAT!? Let's recap. We find out on a Thursday that the house we had been looking at has sold. Less than a week later, we have sold our house. Friends, that is ONLY a God-thing. It became crystal-clear that the house with the "perfect" location was not the perfect house for us.

     Now for a few extra God-details...we are in the middle of a master bathroom remodel. It was understood that this project would be finished before we sold it. The message was passed on to anyone that came through our house. Well...our bathroom still isn't finished, but Eric was making headway on it. Well during the second showing of our house, the buyers brought their own contractor through the house. {Scary} They found some issues that quite frankly were just that...scary. The kind of stuff that makes you want to throw up. BUT they wanted the house "as it was"...meaning the bathroom did NOT need to be finished. While Eric wasn't quite sure whether he should be offended, I was praising God! This project had already been dragging on for several months. And finishing it just seemed impossible. And to have a buyer come through and ask us not to finish it? HALLELUJAH! They also waived the home-inspection which helped save money for us. Again, another detail to His perfect plan.

     Things are beginning to fall into place ...and we are so grateful for answered prayers. We'll close on our house in mid-April and move at the end of the month. To where? Well, we will just see! Praising Him as we have about two months to finish up our home study...we're so thankful that selling our house is off our to-do list. Trust me when I say we have SEVERAL other things we need to cross off our to-do list.

Ephesians 3:20..Part 1

Now all glory to God, who is able, through his might power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think.

Ephesians 3:20

     Life is happening fast. Faster than I can stand. And yet...there's this peace amongst my chaos. A peace that I have in spite of it all...because that's the only thing I've been praying for in the last month. The only thing.

     Peace isn't something that comes naturally to someone who has just been given a task list of 43 items that need to be complete before we can start our "official" home study. That's just not a typical response to such a large, seemingly insurmountable list of to-do items. "Here Lindsay, have some peace. Oh, and by the way, you have x amount of days to complete these tasks."

     Peace? No. The words that come to mind have been more like panicked, stressed, defeated, overwhelmed...to name a few. And for more moments than I'd like to admit, I've let these words define me. 

     On top of this, you have other happenings. Lots of other happenings. For example, LIFE. (read: teaching, coaching, being a mom, being a wife, and selling a house) See? Happenings. 

     Selling a house you might ask? And trying to get ready for a home study? We like to make things interesting, don't we?! The truth is...we put our house on the market before school started (knowing full-well it may take us a year to sell in this market). This was before we signed on with our adoption consultant and before we applied to our agency. Our oldest starts Kindergarten next year and we'd like to move to the school district where she'll be attending. The same district Eric and I graduated from...and of course, it's where I teach. It's also the community where we attend church and where we spend time with our families. Moving just makes the most sense to us. But things that make sense aren't always easy, right? 

   So here we are...with a house to sell...working towards our home study...with a house to sell...so someone can visit our home...which may or may not be sold...needing to take pictures of our living spaces and bedrooms to send to our agency and to South Korea...which may or may not be in our current house... Dilemma. Stress. Life.

     But remember, HE is able to accomplish far more than we could even ask or think. I can't wait to share what the Lord has accomplished in our lives this last month. Stay tuned, friends! Our story is a true testimony to His plan and His perfect timing.