Easter 2011

This Easter was an amazing time of reflection of what Jesus Christ sacrificed for us.  Words really cannot adequately describe His gift, but I am so humbled and thankful.

We celebrated Easter this year with LOTS of music!  Our church choir performed twice {once on Good Friday and once on Saturday} and we rehearsed almost every day the week before Easter.  It was so cool to be a part of spreading the true meaning of the holiday through song.  I LOVE to sing and have a renewed sense of the gift God gives us through songs after sitting last semester out of choir.  Taking that "sabbatical" really helped me to realize how awesome it is to have the opportunity to

"...sing and make music from your heart to the Lord."

~Ephesians 5:19

To memorize the musical, we listened to it over and over in the van, so, naturally, Camden and Melia knew every word to every song.  Their favorite was "Oh, Happy Day!"  I have to admit, it was one of my favorites, too.

On Easter, we spent lots of time with both families after church and did a couple of {indoor} egg hunts.

One thing to note...this was the year that Melia found out there is no Easter bunny.  Honestly, we've never done the Easter bunny.  We just never wanted to take away from the true meaning {and Melia has always been terrified of large holiday-related costumes, so it was a natural choice}.  I'm not sure that she even knew what the Easter bunny supposedly does, but when her friends talked about what all they got from EB, she crawled up on her teacher's lap and said, "Mrs. Schmidt, could you E-mail my mommy?  I don't think the Easter bunny visited our house."  Mrs. Schmidt, in her amazing-Christian-woman-that-we-are-so-blessed-to-have-for-kindergarten-in-public-school wisdom, said, "Melia, honey, why do we celebrate Easter?" to which Melia answered "Jesus".  {Insert Proud Mama smile here!}  So we talked about it and she gets it and she was totally cool with it...especially since she still gets a small gift in a basket on Easter morning to symbolize the gift that Christ gave us through His death and resurrection. :)



First Time Bowling

One of Melia's best little buddies, Eden, had a birthday party at the bowling alley a week and a half ago, so both my kids had their first bowling experience.

Melia and Camden were ready to roll! 

Check out that little man (note the gutter bumpers...everyone's a winner!) 

Coincidentally, Eden's little brother, Cade, is one of Camden's best buds {so fun!}. 

What a princess...she even looks beautiful while she's bowling. 

And the inevitable silly shot {always have to show their true personalities}. :)

P.S. Our agency FINALLY had another referral!  Our new unofficial number is

Upward Soccer

 Camden decided he wanted to give soccer another whirl, so we signed him up for Upward for the season.  If you have never had a child in an Upward sport, you are totally missing out.  It's so fun and they do it right.  Each game, they announce each kids' name over the loud speaker and they run through the parent tunnel. 

This picture was Camden's first time to have his name announced and in full Camden mode, he

ate. it. up!

His team is the Lil' Cheetahs...intimidating, huh?!

Kyler Jett, Gavin Cowger, and Camden sitting the bench.

He gives us the "thumbs up" sign everytime there is a play...good or bad!

By game two, he had mastered this intentional stride {cracks me up!} 

Camden may or may not ever be a star athlete, but, boy, is he having fun {and as an added bonus, he's learning that Jesus is present even in our recreational activities}!!  Love that!

Reading

We love to read at our house!  Ever since Melia was a newborn, books have been a major part of her life!  And now, in the second semester of her Kindergarten year, she reads on her own! :) 

There is basically nothing Melia can't read!

The sight words are easy...

She can even figure out the hard words.

Sometimes it's hard to believe she's only 6...

and then she makes a face like this:

 

It's fun to learn, but we do NOT take ourselves too seriously around here!

I'm Back!

Hi, Friends!

I'm back from a two-week unannounced sabbatical.  I really didn't mean for the absence to happen, but, man, these last two weeks have been CRA.ZY!  Between state testing at work, choir rehearsals and performances, sitting in on interviews for my current position, and Easter, the Internet just had to wait! :) 

So, here are a couple of things to get you up to date:

1.  There has been no adoption news.  No referrals, no news, nada...nothing.  To be honest, this might just be the most difficult part yet.  It's so cyclical...we'll feel like things are really moving and we'll be getting a referral any day and it's all so real, and then, nothing happens for a while and it almost feels like a dream and that it's not really going to happen at all.  This is where we are right now.  But, it will get better...we just need some news!

2.  We are getting ready to ask for donations for our "Welcome Summer" adoption auction.  If you are interested in donating, please send me an E-mail to jnchase311 @ yahoo . com.  More on that coming soon. :)

3.  I have realized that I don't blog enough about my precious little ones.  SO, this week is going to be all about my little blessings: Camden and Melia.  If you are not the kind who likes to gush over super cute kiddos, you might sit out of my blog this week.;)

14 Months

Fourteen months and ten days ago, Trevor and I decided to take a leap of faith and enter into the adoption journey by placing our names on a waiting list with His Hands Taiwan.  Since that time, there have been so many mountains and valleys, twists and turns, highs and lows.  But, the one thing that has remained constant is the faithfulness of our Father.

Psalm 33:4

For the word of the LORD is right and true; he is faithful in all he does.

We hold strong to the FACT that this adoption is God-ordained and that it will happen perfectly and in His time.

That being said, I want to use this post as an outlet for where I'm at regarding my thoughts about our adoption.  I've been somewhat up and down emotionally.  It seems like every time I turn around, the MOWYCA in Ethiopia is changing something procedurally (at least according to what we read or are told) or we are feeling called to change our preference or there are no referrals or there is a huge boom of referrals.  While some of the change is positive, it still is change and with change comes uncertainty.  Not uncertainty about if this is right for our family (we have NO doubt that it is), just uncertainty about when it will happen for us and how long it might take.

Throughout the process, I have tried to compare it to my pregnancies.  It's strange, really...in some ways it is easier: no morning (or afternoon or evening!) sickness, more energy, no constant paranoia that something I'm doing or eating is going to have long-term ramifications on the baby.  But, in another way, it is SO. MUCH. HARDER!  Our next child(ren) is constantly on my mind...where are they?  what are they doing?  are they being taken care of?  who is caring for them?  This leg of the journey can only loosely be compared to the months that we were waiting to get pregnant.  Each month, I'd hold my breath and think "could this be the month?!"  With adoption, I am feeling that every. single. day.  Whew!  It's a little exhausting!

I also can't help but think that with each of my two children, it was 14 months from deciding to have a baby to holding each of them in my arms (5 months waiting to get pregnant and 9 months pregnant).  Perhaps that's why I'm feeling slightly melancholy.  14 months is a milestone in our lives.

But, let me end with this...we are so thankful and so blessed to be on this journey.  God is stretching us and changing us and we are becoming closer and closer to Him every step of the way.  We are so thankful that while we don't know the answers, our Heavenly Father does.  He's got our kids...all of them...in His hands.

We are so blessed!

Another Auction!

No, we are not having another auction {yet! wink, wink!}.  BUT, our amazing friends, the Jetts, are! 

Tiffany and Richard adopted Kyler from The Home of God's Love (Taiwan) in 2005.  He and Camden are such good little buddies and totally dominate the soccer field! 

Kyler Jett, Gavin Cowger, and Camden

OK, maybe dominate is a strong word for what they do on the field, but, man, they are CUTE!! :)

Anyway, Tiff and Richard are in the process of adopting baby #2, a little girl from THOGL.  {Eee!!  Can't wait til they get her so we can spoil her!}  We are really bringing diversity to our little town! ;)

So, they are doing some fundraising and Tiff decided to do an adoption auction.  It starts tonight at midnight and runs through the 11th.  Click the cute little "Jet" below to check it out and start the bidding!

I donated several items to the auction including these:

Summer Striped Camera Strap Cover

Chocolate Swirls Push Pin Set

Summer Stripes/Flowers Push Pin Set

American Girl Doll Outfit with Headband

American Girl Doll Handmade Quilt

Paisley iPhone/iPod Wristlet

Electric Blue/Green Apple Links iPhone/iPod Wristlet {Adoption Auction Exclusive}

Plus, she has a ton more items!  I simply love this type of fundraiser because there is something for everyone {including me!!}.

Will you join me in praying for the success of their auction and join me in purchasing items to help bring their daughter home?!

 

P.S. Not sure how this happened, (either someone dropped off the ET waiting list or I miscalculated), but we received an E-mail from Ashley, our adoption consultant, and she said that we are now number...



Because We All Have Our Causes

Remember this post where I talked about how much I LOVE these shoes and the cause behind them?!

Well, my hubs equally loves these shoes and the cause behind them!

 

However, neither of us has shelled out the cash for the cause {and the goods!}.

So, today we were having a conversation about where we were on the waiting list in light of a little birdie who mentioned to us that we *might* be on the top of the waiting list for a toddler boy and that we *might* be second on the waiting list for a toddler girl.

I asked him when he thought we would get our referral and he guessed April 19th.  Then, he asked me and I said April 14th.  I thought we ought to make it interesting, so we made a little bet!  Here are the details {and how this story relates to shoes!}:

If we get our referral April 14th, I get to celebrate by purchasing my Sseko sandals.

If we get our referral April 19th, Trev gets to celebrate by purchasing his Toms.

{Closest without going over, of course!}

So, here's our challenge:

1. Leave a comment with your guess for our referral date.

2. Pick your cause that you could support by making a purchase (if you don't know of any, I'd be happy to provide a list!;)).  Type your cause in your comment.

3. If our referral comes on your guess (or close), indulge yourself and support your cause by making a purchase!

I hope you find this little challenge as fun as we did.  So excited to see how it will unfold!



A New...

This is the exciting news that I mentioned earlier today.  This week in a whirlwind of events, I officially was offered and accepted a new job!  Starting next school year, I will be taking the place of a retiree as the 4th and 5th grade school counselor in our town!

Are you wondering why?

Here's the reason:  although I LOVE my job, the age of kiddos, the students, my coworkers, etc., this is the best move for my family right now.  It has really been on my heart that I need to find a better way to balance my roles...I feel like my job has been the primary recipient of my time and my kids have not come first like they should.  With this new position, I will be off work quite a bit earlier each day, I will be on a 9 month instead of a 10 month contract (giving me 4 more weeks to spend with my children), I will get to walk my kids to school and walk over and pick them up after school, and they will be right across the street from me.  As an added bonus, I get to work with some great people and with elementary kids!  I expect it to be a fun change!

I have to say, it is going to be hard not getting to work with my husband!  I know it may sound strange, but this year has been really great for Trevor and I.  I love seeing him every day.  Even before he gets home for the evening, I know what's been going on at work and am able to be sensitive to that.  Plus, he's just really fun to work with.  However, of the 11 years we've been married, this is the only one that we've worked in the same grade level and we did just fine before.  Thank goodness for texting...and E-mail...and phone lines. :)

  

One More for Good Measure

Looking for our t-shirt sales?  Click here.  Pre-sale ends THIS Friday! :)

.........................................................................................

Wow!  What a week for our adoption process!!  Including yesterday's referral, there were 10 referrals given by our agency!

So, without further ado, our new number...

Is anybody else as excited as me?!

P.S. I had something else exciting and non-adoption related happen this week...I'll share soon! :)