God's rescue plan that unfolded that special night over 2,000 years ago (for it was really begun before the foundation of the world) is what we celebrate at Christmas. God's Son came in flesh to bring forgiveness, restoration, redemption and adoption. 
To be right with God the judge is a great thing, but to be loved and cared for by God the Father is a greater. Horizontal adoption (adopting our sweet girl) is a beautiful picture of our vertical adoption brought about by God's rescue plan. 
You see, our little one was literally rescued last Christmas. She has been in an orphanage for a whole year waiting for her adoption into our family -- her forever family. We have sacrificed to get her. We have done this gladly. 
And so while we will celebrate Christmas Stateside this year without our sweet girl, we know the day is coming quickly when we will be asked to come adopt her. Our lives will be forever changed. But we will also have to come home without her while final documents are prepared. She will legally be ours, but the reality of her new status as our daughter will not be realized. Yet. 
Until gotcha day! The day when she leaves the orphanage, never to return. The day we sweep her up in our arms and bring her home to enjoy all the love of her forever family. Christ's birth over two millennia ago was wonderful, significant, and necessary. He lived the perfect life I could never live. He took God's just wrath over my sin on the cross. He bore that wrath and separation from God so that I don't have to! Now by faith, I look with anticipation to Christmas Future -- that "gotcha day" when the reality of my spiritual adoption and position as a daughter of the King will be fully known and enjoyed. 
{Our adoption paperwork cleared the U.S. Embassy on December 4th, and now we are just waiting for the Ethiopian courts to let us know what day to be in country to adopt our sweet girl! Exciting days ahead for our family in 2015. Thanks for your prayers and support along the way.}
Do you have some kids on your gift list that just don't need another toy? Or maybe there will be some littles at your Thanksgiving get-together that need something to keep them busy while the grown-ups tend to the turkey. Whatever the case, I have a super simple DIY button craft kit to show you! 
It provides hours of creative fun. How do I know? It's been kid-tested at my house four times over. 
First, start with this great little board book called Blue's Buttons. (affiliate link) I bought this one used since it's not in print anymore. 
Then dump out that button jar, or buy a stash on amazon (affiliate link again!). Grab some paper and white school glue, and you're all set! It really is that simple. 
The book is fun to read and provides the inspiration. But once kids get the hang of it, the sky's the limit to the creative button masterpieces they will make. 
And if you'd rather not hunt down the supplies yourself, check out my etsy shop for this craft kit! Disclaimer: Please use care in letting children play or craft with buttons.
We're still here waiting for our next steps in this adoption journey! It's a huge lesson in patience and waiting for God's perfect timing. Here's what an adoption from Ethiopia looks like (taken from U.S. Department of State website on InterCountry Adoptions): 1. Choose an adoption service provider We are currently in the middle of step #4! USCIS has received our form and they are conducting the PAIR process. We are now waiting for the PAIR process to be complete and receive our court date! Then we can make arrangements for our first trip to Ethiopia to meet our little one and adopt her there! After that, we will need to come home without her and wait for everything to be finalized for our final trip to bring her home. 
It's a long process, but totally worth it. Being known, loved, and wanted is so very special, isn't it? So many parallels to God's adoption of me.
I used to be lost under piles of laundry every day. Wash. Dry. Fold. Sort. Put away. Repeat! With a family of six, soon to be seven, this simple system helps keep our sanity when dealing with the amount of dirty clothes a family of boys accumulates. Check out my full post over at Satisfaction Through Christ. How do you tame the laundry beast at your house? Share your great tips and tricks below! 
Our very important papers left Ethiopia on Wednesday and should be on our doorstep in a few hours! Now we can move on to the next steps to get our little miss home. Yay for progress! Five years ago, when God burdened our hearts for a little girl who had yet to be born, another little girl's story inspired us to start our journey. Enjoy this "gotcha day" video from weloveourlucy.blogspot.com 
Check out my summer DIY over at STC. Cheap supplies, easy steps -- anyone can make these! But if you'd rather not get your hands dirty, pop on over to my etsy shop and buy them. Every dollar goes to purchase our plane tickets to bring little miss home... hopefully this year! 
Did you hear the scream from Knoebels Amusement Park about 11 days ago?! Well, that was me! On the craziest of craziest of days, with spotty internet access and tired, dirty, happy kids, we got a voicemail from our agency saying to check our email -- we have a referral! 
Just two days after this post about waiting, our referral came! So many details in this story are already amazing, and God's timing is no less amazing. God's fingerprints are all over her story! Next step? More paperwork :) And in the next six months or so, we will have 2 trips to Ethiopia, bringing her home on trip #2. Have a heart for adoption? My etsy shop has been a huge blessing with all the expenses that come with this journey. Now we are saving for those two international trips. Every purchase from my shop helps our family in this journey. Thanks in advance! 
As I walked past our future daughter's room this morning, I was reminded of how long this wait has been. We officially started the paper chase for this adoption over 2 years ago. Our dossier has been in Ethiopia for over a year now. We have had to update our home study and are in the process of getting the paperwork ready to send into USCIS to ask for an extension of our immigration file with them. It was nice to have the initial paperwork over, but now we are getting to the point of having to redo it because it is expiring. When will the wait be over? So many people ask me if there's any news. And the answer is always no. Sometimes the wait seems a burden. How can we plan for the future if we're not sure when our trips to Ethiopia will be? Sometimes the wait seems pointless. But then, I'm reminded that the wait is God's plan. His perfect plan. 
Maybe the paper chase stage was easier because it was in our hands to get the job done. Now, everything is totally out of our control. And in the end, that's the best place for it to be. As you wait, tell yourself again and again that you have not been singled out. Remind yourself that you are part of a vast company of people who are being called to wait. Reflect on the biblical story. Abraham waited many years for his promised son. Israel waited 420 years for deliverance from Egypt, then another 40 years before they could enter the land God had promised them. God’s people waited generation after generation for the Messiah, and the church now waits for his return. The whole world groans as it waits for the final renewal of all things that God has promised. In ministry, it is vital to understand that waiting is not an interruption of God’s plan. It is his plan. And you can know this as well: the Lord who has called you to wait is with you in your wait. He hasn’t gone off to do something else, like the doctor you’re waiting to see. No, God is near, and he provides for you all that you need to be able to wait. {Paul Tripp} Can't wait to look back and see how God was creating a beautiful picture of His grace in our little lives.
Disclaimer: If you love to scrapbook the official, correct way, then this isn’t for you. Carry on. You're doing a great job! If you love the thought of having scrapbooks for your children’s memories but don’t have the time, talent, or budget for the supplies, then this is for you! Today I’m sharing how I organize keepsakes and memories for my 4 boys. This system is tried and true, as I’ve done it this way for 11 years and wouldn’t change a thing. 
There are three super-simple steps to this process: Find Supplies, Gather, Upkeep. 1. find supplies for your systemI use 3-ring notebooks for paper keepsakes and plastic boxes with lids (Memory Bin) for larger items. What do I put in the 3-ring notebook ("Keepsake Notebook")?
2. GatherDesignate a landing spot to put all the papers, artwork, and keepsakes you want to save. A couple times a year go through your pile of memorabilia, file and store. Your kids can help you decide what they want to keep. Print photos a couple times a year to include in the notebook. 3. UpkeepRepeat the gather step as often as makes sense for you. I used to do it 2-3 times per year, now it's more like 1-2 times per year. Whatever works. Don't be a slave to any organizing system -- make it work for you!
It's definitely a lot of fun to get the Keepsake Notebooks out around birthdays. My kids love to look through books that are all about their lives. And when my kids leave the nest, it will be freeing to be able to hand them their Memory Bins & notebooks! How do you organize all those keepsakes in your home? |  
 
 Help us raise money for our adoption with each sip of coffee. 
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