"Home study"

Well I had never really heard of the term....  As I start to hear of it and learn of it, it means a lot!  Brianna has been asking about it quite a bit and thought I should share some of what it is about.  This is where is all starts...

I started out with a much smaller binder and soon realized that was not going to work.
This binder holds all the paper work, fundraising information, forms, documents, phone numbers,questions, list of things to do, books that need to be read, classes we have to take, references,background checks, finger printing information, medical forms, insurance information, fire safety,  other safety checklist, child abuse forms, drivers records, biographies, applications... I think that sums it up?

 This is what it looks like sometimes during a school morning while the children are working on school, I work on paperwork.  It works out rather well, it made it seem not so overwhelming or like wow this is alot!

 It took me about two morning to write my biography and an evening to type it up.  Kevin on the other hand is still writing his up.  We are all trying to encourage him.

Are date for the home study was April 29th at 8am in the morning. We were all up and ready to face whatever the Lord brought us, just before she came I said to my self what do I have to worry or be anxious about, the Lord says be anxious for nothing.  Philippians 4:6
So we spent all morning sitting in the living room talking, asking questions and answering tons of questions.  Then shortly afternoon we gave a very quick tour of our house and then sat at the table and worked on paper work for a half hour or so.  So my binder is lighter.  I only have a few pieces to get to her sometime this month (along with Kevin's biography).

This is all I have left!
she said now I can start on the paperwork for Joshua Tree.
That is a whole new story and step in the process. 


Now we wait and pray as all this will take about a month to run all the checks and whatever else they have to do.  So that is what a home study is all about.

Weekend get away!

Things are getting a little crazy around here.  There is paperwork, home study, fundraising and to top it all off we have been going through a lot of remodeling of are 1920's farmhouse.  And to say the least it has been very busy and also very dusty around here. Two weeks ago there were new windows going in around the house and when it came to the kitchen..... Well, Kevin said I think it would be best if you and the girls left for a few days, because things are about to get worse... I left when things were beginning to look like this...
Well I could not think of a better reason to leave and where to go was not a hard decision either.  I headed to Rhinelander to visit Mary, Noah and Austin. So I went from this ...

to this....

Try painting finger nails with this little guy running around, I'd say it was a perfect choice!

He is getting to be quite talented, he is almost walking.

He loves eating frozen blueberries, not fresh, but frozen!

Some knitting lessons with Grandma Brainard.

Grandma and Austin, wearing one of his sweaters hand made by her.

Mom and Austin, wearing another sweater from grandma.

Hanging out with his Aunties.

It was a very enjoyable weekend, Noah took us all out to eat the first night. It was so good! and very relaxing to not have to anything but enjoy the food and the company.  The next day we did a little shopping and made homemade subs and spent the afternoon visiting with grandma Brainard, what a blessing.  That evening we had pizza and then after supper Mary says to Noah can you watch the kids while my mom and I go out?  I started laughing, she said so I can do my weekly grocery shopping, ok. I forget when you have little ones how nice it is to have dad take over at home so you can enjoy some time alone, even if it is getting groceries.  The last day we just hung out and visited. As we headed home that afternoon it was snowing pretty hard, but we just took our time. And when we got home this is what we found....

Well not quite ,but I can dream a little.

It is coming along little by little.  The Lord is so good and continues to bless us in our home.

As for me and my house we will serve the Lord. Joshua 24:15

Raffle for Giggles 'N More Getaway

A big thank you to Giggles "N More Getaway for joining us and making the impossible, possible.

We are raffling off one free night at Giggles 'N More a $100.00 dollar value. 

(I know this is pretty small, but if you click on it, it should pop up larger on your screen.)

Giggles is a small retreat in Holcombe, WI. We got to spend a day there this winter, sledding. We had so much fun. The girls loved the dressing up part of it.

Outside

And inside

Even the boys couldn't get enough...of the sledding that is!

So you can have fun no matter what time of year, and the Owner, Carol makes you feel so welcome and at home.

This gives you a little idea what Giggles is about. If you would like more information check them out on Facebook.  Now if you would like a chance at a free night here (for your family, for a romantic getaway, ladies retreat or mens, scrapbooking, quilting.... you name it. Here is how you can do it.

It is $5.00 per ticket you can use our paypal account on this blog, just write a note with your payment with your name and how many tickets you would like. Or contact Brianna or myself for other ways of buying your ticket. If you have any questions just let us know! We would love to hear from you. Please share this on facebook, twitter, or whatever you choose.

This is running from April 13, 2013 till Saturday May 4, 2013 We will notify the winner on Monday May 6th.

A Gift for "Miss A"

Thanks be unto God for His unspeakable gift. 2 Corinthians 9:15

Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning. James 1:17

This morning "Miss A" was very sad wondering when her family is going to come for her. She doesn't know what it is like to have a family, she has been living at For His Children since she was very little. But she is still longing, waiting and hoping.....

This afternoon I was able to give her a gift, she doesn't get many gifts so it was very special for her! The psychologist told her that I really love her and I am going to be leaving soon so I wanted to give her a surprise! So she tried to wait patiently for her surprise...

After some visiting and chatting I gave her the present and she pulled it all out! She kept asking, is this for me too? This is all mine? It's just for me? I don't know if she has ever gotten a present from an outside person in her life. They always get birthday presents from the orphanage....but this was different.

She was so excited and thankful! She just kept saying, gracias, gracias, muchas gracias tia Brianna!

We had to figure out what to do with everything!

She loved the blanket!

As far as she knows, she just received love and attention from a nice senorita,  but I know so much more! It's so hard to not say God willing, your family is coming! Do you want to be my sister? You have a family that is thinking about you and praying for you everyday! You have a family that has cried for you and is so excited to meet you! You have become part of our lives and you don't even know it yet...

She was thankful so she drew my a picture of her and I.... can you tell which is me? I think the hair gives it away.... :)

Today when I went to see her she showed me her new blanket...and told me it is very warm! She dragged her pictures and bible around all day! I don't think I have ever seen a gift so appreciated!

Well my time with her is winding down...I head for home next week! I'm so thankful that I met this sweet little girl, and for every moment I have enjoyed with her... now I look forward to when I get to see her again!

This afternoon we prayed together....her in Spanish and me in English, these are such sweet times!

This little girl has truly been a life changing gift from God, and I know she has only began to teach me what me and my family will learn through her precious life, and this wonderful journey that God has placed us on.....

A special treat with "Miss A"

I have been trying to talk to the Psychologist at For His Children for about a week now..but we haven't ran into each other at the right time....but this morning she came into talk to me while I was working.....It was a wonderful little chat and left me full of joy and tears of happiness! (literally I cried when I left) She encouraged me to form a closer relationship with "miss A" and invited me to spend time with the two on them in the afternoon. So I could spend more one on one time with "miss A" and make it more personal. Of course their is a major langage barrier between us, which makes it hard, but we will have to overcome is sometime, so might as well work on it while we have the opportunity! 

We headed to Condado Shopping, the local mall...

They do this to introduce her to the world outside of the orphanage...

So she gets use to traffic, people and all the wonders of the outside world! She was very chatty on the way, Andrea the Psycologist knows some English so she helped out...

But when we walked into the mall, "miss A" just looked and watched! She was a little nervous, but she enjoyed looking around. We went to a book store and she just stood in amazement  It took her awhile before she would actually look at any books. Andrea was really great about giving us space and encouraged us to talk to each other even if we didn't understand what the other one was saying.

Then we walked around a clothing store and a shoe store, explaining to her what high heels are, apparently she thought someone had something sticking out of the bottom of their shoes when they came with heels on...

We went through a toy store too, but again, she just looked in wonder....

Then we went for ice cream...chocolate ice cream...does it get much better than this? She enjoyed her ice cream but I think she needs a little practise on licking it off the cone...

It was so special!

So after we got back to the orphanage, we had to stop and say hi, to Senior Lama... 

She wanted to take a picture of him too!

She was so excited to tell the tias about her time out...

I was very excited too! :) I'm so thankful that I met this little girl and for every moment we have shared....because I know....this is only the beginning....