Through this process we have met the occasional person that has nothing but negative things to say about us adopting. It seems in recent that those people are increasing in number and I felt like people should know a few things about adoption (or at least ours).
1) We weren't ready!
       So many times God's plans differ from what we think is right for us. We wanted to wait until we could afford to adopt. We now know that if we waited until everything lined up and was the perfect time to adopt we never would have. God has used this to teach us to trust Him in all things. Every fee has been paid and much of the money wasn't there until the day before it was due.
2) I don't feel equipped!
       I am a stay at home mom of three young children. I home school the older two. We have a farm where we grow primarily wheat and millet that takes a good portion of my time during harvest. I wanted my kids to be a little older so they could help around the house more. If God brings you to it He will bring you through it. In the short amount of time since we started the adoption process my kids have gotten better at helping around the house, keeping things picked up, and doing school with fewer arguments. God has shown me that dependence on Him makes my days a lot easier to get through.
3)Sometimes I want to quit!
      In my moments of human weakness I want to just quit! When people have nothing but negative to say, there is a fee coming due, and paperwork got sent back because it wasn't just right I want to quit. Then, I remember that beautiful little girl sitting in an orphanage without a mommy and daddy to love her. I remember this is God's plan not my own and if I lean on Him He will be faithful to give me the strength and endurance to make it through. God has already put love in my heart for her and I know it will continue to grow as we continue this process and finally meet her and then finally bring her home officially as our daughter.

I'm sure I could list more if I had more time to sit here.
Whether you are in full support of someone's adoption or are against remember to think about the stress they are going through and that many times they are being attacked by satan! Pray for that family. Pray for wisdom and strength. Many families are called to adopt and it may not be the most opportune time. By answering God's call these family allow God to build them, mold them, and teach them many, many lessons.

It has been an exciting week in the adoption world for us! The paperwork that was kicked back has been redone and is on its way back over. Now we wait for travel dates. We also learned that we were selected as one of this months 5/5/5 families on Reece's Rainbow.

5/5/5 for Families is a great program to help families financially bring home their children. It is a great opportunity for you also as you don't have to choose just one family to donate to if you are on a tight budget. Meet this months five families here http://reecesrainbow.org/category/sponsorafamily/555-family. These are families that are close to having many of their expenses due. To learn more about 5/5/5 and to donate visit http://reecesrainbow.org/555families.

Two weeks ago we celebrated Cayleigh turning 4 with a Frozen birthday party. It was a great time spent with family and friends. I loved making her cake and enjoyed how simple it was and how pretty it looked.

Easter weekend was spent with family. Cayleigh and I went to see Cinderella at a special Easter showing for kids. On Saturday we made Resurrection Rolls and colored eggs. Resurrection Rolls have become more of a tradition to me than coloring eggs. I love being able to show my kids the Easter story. I love they can see we put something in the "tomb" but after we bake them the "tomb" is empty. Chris and Josiah went out to dinner then we all met to go see Home with my parents. We spent Easter day at my grandparents. It was a fun day filled with family, food, and Easter egg hunts. I look forward to next year when our sweet little girl should be home to join in on all the fun!

When all seems to be going well something else happens. This time while something small it took a month to get resolved. Chris' medical was returned as not having enough information in regards to his foot. After a lot of phone tag, letters, and finally a new medical we are back at it. The medical should be in the mail to our NGO next week. I was so excited to finally be submitted and be waiting for travel dates then this...I know it is all in God's time and we must keep the faith that we are doing what He has called us to. If I didn't have that I would have given up a while back I think. I am a planner I must know what is happening and when it will happen and that is not at all possible in this journey. I am thankful God is bigger than me and helps me to focus on we will be meeting our daughter in a relatively short time and this will all be worth it.Thanks for all the prayers that see us through these discouraging times.

We have another fundraiser running at flowerpowerfundraising.com. They have a nice selection of plants and flowers including everbearing strawberries!

As we wait for our next step we keep ourselves busy with the farm and trying to get our yards completed. Our house and yards have been a working progress since we moved in three years ago. Our lawns finally have patches of grass and plants.This year my goal is to complete the front yard and start on the back. I love seeing the progress each year and enjoy looking back at pictures and realizing how much has been done since being surrounded by bare dirt three years ago. Our soil is very poor and has taken a lot of work to get it healthy enough to grow again.
Blessing until next time! 

Well another successful fundraiser down. After a long weekend at my parents we finished the weekend with an Indian Fry Bread Dinner and Silent Auction. We had many friends and family attend.

We also had many great donations from friends and local businesses. Thank you to everyone that came and supported this dinner. We are $1250 closer to our daughter. Thank you to our donors: Bar K Corral, Bamboo Panda, Village Inn, Tri-County GM, Katy Harris, and the many family members that donated items.We are so blessed to have the support of this community!

Sometimes it feels like the waiting, financial stress, preparing for a new family member, the paperwork, and everything else is going to bog me down. Then I look at all of the friends and family we have that have supported us along the way financially and in prayer. I can never say thank you enough and for helping us get through this long journey. We still have a long way to go but we are getting so much closer. So, THANK YOU for everything!

They're here, they're here!!! They're finally here!!!!! The background checks came in the mail yesterday! It took them almost 20 weeks to get here but we finally have them. They are now off to be apostilled and then off to join the rest of our dossier. It has been weird not being able to do anything in this step and just wait. I guess it is preparing us for the months to come while we are waiting for travel dates and then pickup dates. We are still fundraising like crazy. The mustache fundraiser brought in over $400. We are now preparing for a dinner and silent auction this weekend. God Bless!