The Second BEST news all year!

I just got notified that Peter's Medical VISA has been Extended. 

DRUM ROLL

May 29th 2013!!!

YEAH! YIPEE! the time crunch pressure is off! we will be able to travel with him as soon as we have INS permissions and he will be free to return to USA soil!!

WHOO HOOT!

YIPEEE

SHOUT HORRAY!

Thank you to our Dear Lord who makes this all possible.

And to our many supporters who have given SO MUCH to support and encourage us! 

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Sweet surpirses

I checked the PO box today and got not ONE letter/card for Peter, but TWO!

One from a family in Winston who are ALSO adopting and fundraising, they were abundant generous in their giving for Peter. (Thanks J & K)

Another from a Tax preparer in Gallatin that saw out latest article in the Gallatin paper (that I have yet to see) .

Both of these cards touched my heart and I am again overwhelmed with love and humility for ALL the help we have received, I have not blogged about each individual gift of Love, but each one has touched my ehart and given me such an appreciation for the Lord.

He commands.

We Obey.

We also make excuses and complain that the road is hard, or even impossible, but to reiterate my previous post......When the spirit touches your heart to act, the Lord will create the means to obey. He will not leave us lonely, and He will provide.

Step ONE

When you feel that feeling, the one where your heart aches for the child in a photo, or you feel compelled to help someone in need, how much of your energy is spent in talking yourself OUT of action?

You rationalize, that SOMEONE else will help them, or solve this problem, and that certainly if it was meant to be YOU, that you would 'know'

Faith without works is dead.

You have faith enough to consider the need, whether the need is of an orphan, or a neighbor, your heart is led to desire a better circumstance than that person is presently in.

So what do you do. Do you get out your check book, and balance and figure, how to make it happen,

or do you check that checkbook, and try to figure out how your not capable of making it happen??

Which is it? I know where I sit. and I know where I lack faith.

Now consider this, can you go without, one pair of shoes, or one trip to the mall, or perhaps one less luxury item? (boat, vacation, new furniture) and instead take that amount ($50-$25,000) and put it to use in a child;s life that very likely has not known a single night without pain and suffering, hunger, loneliness or illness.

Do you have it in you?

For those of you who still love me after I put your foot to the flame, can I share some insight on adoption?

Make the first step, BEYOND the email inquiry, or phone message asking for the informational packet.

Put your savings account to use, and commit.

Make the first step, that is to arrange for your home study to be completed.

it is a $2,000 commitment, and many of us spend that much and more on weekly dates through out the year (40 weeks at $45 is $1800  a year)

Can you trade in a years worth of dinner & movie date nights for a picnic and star gazing, your not sacrificing the TIME spent together, but rather the money spent on mundane weekly date nights.

if YOU can not commit to $2,000 right now, consider helping someone.....anyone.... allowing their time and efforts to go farther...Share what you have, because we all know we have been given SO MUCH in our lives, and it feels better to give than to receive.

Start there, make the choice, get your homestudy completed.

And for that ONE friend who spoke to me about the DESIRE to adopt but the fears have not allowed you to move onto the next step....the homestudy will wait. Get it done, and then sit on it. Pray on it. Consider it a stepping stone, the lessons and education you learn will not be wasted, but you NEVER know when you will need that homestudy in a hurry.

(P.S. there have been at least 6 friends who have shared this desire/fear with me....you are NOT alone.)

Go. spend your savings, change your life, and the life of a child who may otherwise die waiting for someone to care enough to DARE and MOVE.

ready

Set

ACTION

Niggling and Nodding

Do you ever have a niggling? a thought or feeling in the back of your mind that will not rest. When you are at rest the thought pops up, when you are at play, when you are pensive, silly, relaxed, stressed. No matter what your experiencing the idea or thought returns?

I have.

It has been a constant worry and concern for the mother-less and the father-less.

I have shed many tears over the empty feelings, and empty arms of the 147 MILLION children that have no one to kiss their boo boo. No one to worry if they are out too late, and no one to encourage them to follow their dreams.

147 MILLION folks.

That is a big number. HUGE.

It is hard to fathom how one person (me) can make a difference when the number is so daunting.

Now I will describe the nodding. I have felt like I SHOULD adopt for 13 years. I have read books, researched types of adoptions, and I have KNOWN it was my calling to love the motherless.

Do you want to know the one (lame) reason I have never followed through, not the fear of failure, not the fear of inadequacies, not the possibility of getting hurt. only ONE thing.

M.O.N.E.Y.

Yep, you've got it, I have put on my list of goals at least 40 times to adopt.

and here is the sad part, I would say to my Lord, "I am willing to bring a child into our home, and hearts, you just provide the way."

Yep. I kinda gave HIM the 4-1-1

Not cool. not right, and it never worked. I felt like I was being a 'good' person for wanting to help, so He should make up the financial part and make it easy.

There it is.

EASY folks, I wanted the finances to FLOW into our home so that adopting would be easy.

I am ASHAMED to admit, that each and every time an abundance flowed into our home, I allowed non important expenses to eat up any excess that was created.

In essence I justified the extra income as necessitous, and allowed for it to be wasted.

I felt like I needed to have nice furniture, a nice car, or a finished basement BEFORE I adopted, in my mind I debated with my self that certainly I would not pass a home inspection (home study) if I did not do these NECESSITIES .

Gluttony.

I have looked an orphan in the eyes, and wiped an orphans tears. I have cried over the loss of innocence, and I have had a change of heart.

Do not get me wrong, I still want that nice furniture, or the finished basement, but the reality is this:

THINGS DO NOT MATTER.
Nope not one bit, PEOPLE matter!!

So many of my dear wonderful friends have shared with me the desire (hope) to adopt, and immediately say how the finances are too daunting. They feel the same way I did. (do) that I have so many needs (new car, new computer.....new clothes.....blah blah blah) How can i CARVE out an additional $25 THOUSAND dollars to adopt a child!??!?!
 
YOU CAN'T. There i said it.

On your own, and without many helping hands (celestial and earthly) it is not possible.

5 months ago I shared my plea with a group of friends in my immediate circle of our need to pay for this adoption.

They were shocked, and dare I even say, insistent that it was not possible!?

Later this week I will be creating a plan, for each of my LOVED ONES who have felt that niggling in the back of their minds, that THEY CAN DO something.

For ONE child, making a difference in ONE child's life, forever, yes. you can. do. it.

you can.

I promise.

How many miles?

We have come so very far. It feels like over a year has passed since we brought little Peter home.

March 21st 2012.

In this short amount of time we have made remarkable progress. We have almost reached our initial goal of $16,000.

We have overcome obstacles, we have endured many sacrifices, and we have loved so deeply it is hard to imagine.

The road continues to wind, turn and twist, we have more battles to fight, and more sacrifices to endure.

If I had known this was going to be THIS hard...would I have been willing to accept the challenge?

I honestly do not know.

But I did, and here we are, the time deadline has hit, and we still have very few answers.

The government of Liberia has asked for more papers, and more answers.

We still do not have a travel date.
We do not have any idea at this point what we are going to need to get to Liberia. It is all a bit foggy, and unclear.
One thing we DO KNOW is the insurance that was provided for Peter is coming to an end. I will not bore you with the reasons, as they are private and not of my choices. but this leaves us with a whole new hurdle to overcome,

we still need a number of tests run to petition Peter's eligibility for adoption, and it looks like very soon that will need to come out of our own pockets.

He still needs to be evaluated for his genetic disorders,  and for his dental work, these two alone could cost us thousands of dollars. Equal to or greater than the adoption fees.

I am deeply invested and have done some research, It has been proposed we host a benefit concert for Peter.

We have many family members in Utah, and we are doing the ground work to hold this concert in our home town.

We need sponsors and a location to host this event.
I need another cheerleader, as my emotional energy has dwindled. I feel so impotent and lost.

So there you have it, another stepping stone towards Eternal Bliss.

and we keep on keepin' on.

An update 8/8/2012

 "Furthermore, the child's ability to attach to a family is gravely hindered when temporary custody is taken and the child is subsequently returned to foster care in the interim waiting period to finalize the US visa. "

This is the reason I am adamant that Peter will not return to Liberia without family.  it is detrimental to HIS long term well being to remain WITH us .... forever. It is not simply a mother-son bond, or a nice thing to do. it is setting the child up for future security.

 IF the Liberian Government drags this process out, our family will make whatever plans necessary to remain with him.

 At this point, we were informed that we must file another form for the US government that may take 3 months to process, the paper work required along side it are as laborious as the home-study, and we are just getting started. on the good side, we already have organized our family documentation (for the homestudy) so now it is a matter of photo copy each item and then mail in the $850 fee.

Peter will remain with his family, he will not suffer the confusion of yet another separation.

Consider this:

We have very limited means of communicating with him what to expect, or what is coming up. So how do you tell a 5 year old with very limited communications where he is going, and when you will return for him?

we wont.

Sacrifice brings Blessings

Each one of my children have come to our homes through Faith.

Having our first child was frightening and exciting at the same time, so many wonders crossed my mind, so many worries, but most of them have not come true.

The surprise in this adoption is HOW MUCH Opposition we have encountered. We have nay-sayers who have pleaded we give-up, we have strangers criticize our need to fund raise, we have emotional issues that have surfaced and dragged us to our knees, today I spent time in reflection, trying to see what lesson I have missed. (Or rather what lessons I have need to learn)

The answer is this: Satan Does Not Want Adoptions to Move Forward.

He is the Father of all Lies, He is the Father of all Discouragement, and the Father of all Despair.

Satan is the great oppressor, he wants children to be lonely, he desires homes to be broken, he wants us to GIVE UP.

the LAST thing he wants is for children to be honored and protected, he hates to see them nurtured and loved.
he seeks to destroy hope, faith and love, so during every step of this journey, we have been barraged with chaos, pain, destruction, and hurt.

Within 72 hours of bringing Peter home, our family vehicle was totaled.  The insurance did not cover a replacement.

Then over the course of the next several weeks, we had :
the Washing machine break, thrice, the dryer went out, dishwasher stopped working, the radiator exploded, the tire on the NEW vehicle (brand new tires) EXPLODED damaging the side wall of the family vehicle, we had more visits to the ER in these 3 months than we have in 10 years.

Every time I turn around we have a new obstacle,  and we have had to be more flexible, humble, pliable, and return frequently to our knees.

IT has been the hardest undertaking of my life, maybe all trials while we are in them feel like the hardest, but a life is on the line, and there is no QUITTING, there is no way we can GIVE UP, or change our minds.

We are in it for ETERNITY.

and no matter how often we must turn to our rice & bean menu, we will endure, we will go without,  this season, and no frivolous expenses.

What could be more worth it than this...............

Ups & Downs

The kids and I had a down day yesterday. My oldest daughters dear friend is moving out of the state, and this leaves her without any peers nearby. Her friend made a SUPER SWEET (tear-jerker) gift and delivered it.  It is a bulletin board of TONS of the pictures of their happy days together, my daughter added the photo of them together in 2006 when we arrived and first met.

Later last night my business partner and I discussed the INCREDIBLE opportunity that he has been given, and we talked about the logistics of getting him moved out of state.

In all, our closest circle of friends and associates are moving in what feels like an Exodus.

It was a rough day.

Just as I was about to retire for the night, I saw an email, it was a TOTAL surprise from a Stranger-turned-friend and I will share it with you here,

"A couple months ago we did a promotion to help the Gordon family adopt Peter, an orphan from Liberia.

 

Thanks to your generosity, the promotion far exceeded our expectations and the Gordons are closer than ever to meeting their goal.

 

The Gordons just need $1,760 more to meet their goal of raising $16,000 to adopt Peter.

 

It's been a long, tough, and emotionally exhausting journey for them.

 

They're so close, and I'm confident we can put them over the top.

 

So here's the deal: For anyone who donates just $10 or more to their adoption fund, we'll send you a FREE manifesto of your choosing (excluding the personalized Family Manifesto). We'll even cover the shipping costs.

 

How to Get Your FREE Manifesto:

1. Visit the Gordon's website, scroll down the page and find the yellow "Donate" button on their right sidebar below the video.
   
2. Click the "Donate" button and follow the process to donate $10 or more.
3. Once you've donated, complete the form on this page and tell us which manifesto you'd like us to send you (excluding the personalized Family Manifesto).

Yes, we trust you. 

We need just 176 people to donate $10 and Peter's adoption will be secured.

 

You're going to feel great for a long time after helping Peter secure a loving home. Not to mention you're going to love your free manifesto.

 

In case you have trouble finding the "Donation" button on the Gordon's website:

 

 

 

Click the video to learn more about Peter's story:

 

 

 

 

Life Manifestos, 2424 Roundabout, Round Rock, TX 78664-6205, USA "

the sweet nectar of life is accompanied by hard trials and ONLY through the cycles of ups & downs do we carve out who we TRULY are.

I am SO BLESSED to have met Stephen Palmer, and his long-distance support has meant SO MUCH to me.

The efforts he has taken to make our journey have been HUGE.

One person CAN make a difference.

Thank you, from the bottom of my heart, the words seem so hollow in comparison to the emotions that accompany it, THANK YOU once again.

Dee

Enjoy the Sweet life

Peter has been home for 5 months. He has grown, and learned so many things, when he first arrived he reacted so peculiarly to a kiss, at first he would recoil, then he would open his mouth (much like a new baby learns to kiss) and then he started puffing when we kissed him, with 9 people in the house, he has had LOTS of practice kissing!!

Now, it melts my heart to see how he reacts to the family, he leans in all puckered up for a kiss, and he repeats it over & over. (as do the rest of my kids, especially Rubi the 9 year old, I have Very affectionate kids!)

(He is not in love with sweets, and although he tries them every time, his face shows how little he thinks of our sugary treats!)

Seeing him learn how our family shows affection, and learning so quickly the expectations of our household, I cant help but wonder what could be possible for this sweet boy!

I am deeply and eternally grateful for the support and love I have seen shown to Peter.

Thank you for accepting, loving and including my boy into your hearts. Thank you for sharing his story, and for allowing us this precious gift. He is so beautiful, he is so sweet, and he is so loved.