Every November, the adoption community celebrates a whole month dedicated to creating awareness and reminding others of this amazing family-building option. This year is especially exciting for Mr. C and I since we are now fully embroiled in the details of an international adoption.
I am so grateful for adoption; because without it, I would most likely not exist. I wish I could thank my biological grandmother for choosing life for my mother; so that I could, in turn have a life. And now, to know that our child(ren) is half a world away (already alive or about to be born soon) waiting for us is just so wonderful I could burst into a fit of happy tears! We are blessed beyond belief.
Father God has a true heart for adoption; for are we all not adopted ourselves through our trust and belief in him? We are His children through the most powerful adoption process available; and we are so loved. I know God is looking out for us and blessing us on this journey, because he is so truly in love with orphans:
For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God. For you did not receive the spirit of bondage again to fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption by whom we cry out, "Abba, Father." Romans 8:14-16
But when the fullness of the time had come, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, that we might receive the adoption as sons. Galatians 4:4-6
You are the helper of the fatherless. LORD, You have heard the desire of the humble; You will prepare their heart; You will cause Your ear to hear, To do justice to the fatherless and the oppressed, That the man of the earth may oppress no more. Psalms 10:14,17-18
Pure and genuine religion in the sight of God the Father means caring for orphans and widows in their distress and refusing to let the world corrupt you. James 1:27
I tell you the truth, when you did it to one of the least of these my brothers and sisters, you were doing it to me! Matthew 25:40
Adoption is going to make me a mommy - FINALLY! A brave and selfless woman, half a world away from where I sit typing this in Missouri will make an adoption plan for her child(dren) very soon. After 6 months in the child's native country's foster care system, s/he will be eligible for international adoption. Our adoption agency will review our file and the files of several available children; and out of that process (which we believe is guided by God) we will be matched with our child(ren)! We will be the perfect parents for them, and they will be the perfect child(ren) for us. What an amazing miracle this is!
We are celebrating National Adoption Month by sending in the last of our paperwork and (*hopefully*) our home study fee. We only have one more paper to get from our accountant, then we will have every last required document needed for the adoption to be official! How will you be celebrating/spreading the news? Are you going to events or hosting some of your own? Whatever you decide, I hope you are blessed beyond compare and over-flowing with love as you contemplate the beautiful gift of adoption!
All the Love in the World, *mandie*
Well, here I go again! It's that time of year again - National Novel Writing Month (30 days to write a novel/50,000 words); or, as many participants lovingly refer to it NaNoWriMo. I tried my hand at it last year, and I promptly FAILED.
This past April, I participated in Script Frenzy (essentially the same concept as NaNoWriMo, except you write scripts instead of novels - I wrote draft one of my graphic novel script). It was a smashing SUCCESS! While I still have re-writes and lots to change/add/rethink, it was a fabulous jumping-off point for me. So, I thought I'd try my hand at NaNoWriMo again.
So, today, my goal is to finish the prologue of book #1 of my children's book series (there will be 5 books total). I am extremely excited and nervous about this under-taking, because I have literally been planning this book series since 2004 while still in college! Yikes! It's a lot of pressure. These characters have been living with me - no, I'm sorry, a more accurate word is haunting - they have been HAUNTING me for about 7 years now. Whispering to me in dreams and demanding my full attention at all hours of the night and day. I only hope I can do them justice as I begin to write their lives down on paper.
If anyone else is participating and would like to be friends, I go by Squeakerabudabi on the NaNoWriMo website. Much luck to you and Godspeed to you fingers! :-)
Tip-Tap-Typeroo,
*mandie*
In the midst of so much turmoil going on within my family with my mom being sick again and my sister battling catamenial epilepsy and our adoption, I think I forget to stop and just praise and thank God for all of the good gifts and wondrous protection He has given us. I want to take some time and do that now.
First off, W is on a new hormone treatment for her catamenial seizures; and so far, so good! *thumbs up* Monday, she had a very small seizure (twitching fingers and feet); but it was NOTHING compared to the grand mals she had been having twice a month. I just KNOW that the current treatment is working!
For those curious, catamenial epilepsy is marked by seizures that occur only around your period and/or ovulation in your cycle. (I wrote about it previously here .) W's treatment is to be on very high doses of progesterone (a natural anti-convulsant) along with several other herbs and vitamins and minerals that build up the body and adrenal glands in the wake of seizures. She is feeling and looking so much better! She is almost completely off of the AED's (anti-epileptic drugs) that her previous (IDIOT) neurologists had put her on (and which did NOTHING but make her feel nervous and crazy all the time). So, she is on her way to total healing; and we are all so grateful to God for answering that prayer for us!
As for myself, you might remember that I had some ovarian cysts burst on me (three to be exact!). It was certainly not fun. To top it all off the Chinese herb regimen I had been on made me bleed continuously from October 3rd until...well, I'm still bleeding. I do think, however, that since this was my first cycle off of the herbs and my first cycle back on BCP's in literally years, that my body was just going through a lot. I start this pack of pills on Sunday, if the bleeding hasn't stopped by next week, I'll have an u/s done to see if there's anything going on. Also, a "persistent, drippy period" was a supposed side-effect of the Chinese herbs I took; so, I might order the herb they said would help end said non-stop period and go from there.
ANYWAY, Dr. K had done my one-year colposcopy after my LEEP procedure. I was a little upset, because just by looking at my cervix he was saying that it looked as though there was nothing to do be done - that I would have cervical cancer one day. I was really upset with him for being so down and not even giving me a chance before jumping to conclusions.
I went home and began to pray. I told God that, like David said in the Psalms, if He wanted me to be able to praise His name, He had to give me something to praise him about. That a dead man cannot praise Him. A sick person cannot be a light and witness of His strength and power. A 30-year-old with cervical cancer is not a good example of what his might can do. I prayed that the results of my biopsy would boggle the minds of everyone involved - from the lab techs to the nurses to my doctor. And you know what?????
They came back completely NEGATIVE for EVERYTHING!!!!!!!!!
I have no cancer. I have no pre-cancer. My cervix is healthy and looking good! When Dr. K's nurse, C called to tell me the results her EXACT words were, "Well, Mandie, all of our minds are just BOGGLED by this; but it is the best possible result ever - you are completely healthy and are absolutely pre-cancer free."
YES!!!!! Thank you, Jesus! I just KNOW that He answered my prayers EXACTLY the way I wanted them answered! What an amazing and wonderful God I serve. He is truly the good daddy, the wonderful philosopher, the mighty physician! How wonderful is His name in all the universe!
Right now we're going through some rough news with my mom. She is sick, but God is mightier than any disease - no matter how hefty it may seem! I KNOW He is healing her (she's already healed!), and that she will live out her many years to come praising His name and showing people how mighty He really is!
So, there you have it - Praise God for Praise Reports! He is faithful and good and is always blanketing us in his unfailing love! :-)
May Blessings Be Poured Out Upon You,
*mandie*
We're still not revealing which country we're adopting from, but I thought I'd give you these picture clues. If you can decipher the country from these, then you deserve to know! :-)
What's your guess???
*m*
My sister M and I threw our first baby shower without the aid of our uber-crafty mother last Saturday, and it was a smashing success! Mom had just had gall bladder surgery; so, she was pretty much out of commission when it came to helping us out. Luckily, she had already finished several things before it got to crunch time; so, that was good.
B, the mommy-to-be, is having a little girl in December; and her favorite color (and consequently the baby's nursery) is purple; so, we took that as our main inspiration. We wanted B to feel like the center of attention for the day, and who gets more attention than a princess or queen?! So, a princess theme of "once upon a time" seemed perfect.
It's always better to see than describe; so, here are some pictures - we had so much fun putting this together!
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| My mom made this amazing castle diaper cake! Isn't it incredible?! It contains hundreds of rolled-up diapers, receiving blankets, rattles, little baby lotions and soaps, socks, teethers, bows, etc. She did an incredible job! (PS: If you think you might want to order one, message me on here; and I'll try to get her information to you!) |
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| We kept the tables simple with "flowers" of different shades of purple M&M's, "bouquets" of baby socks and onesies, and paper princess crowns. |
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| A PINK frog prince (he's strong in his masculinity!) greeted guests as they came in to the party. |
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| The buffet reflected the purple theme. |
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| The food carried out the princess theme as well. This is the "pauper's porridge" (ie: tomato bisque and cheddar chowder). |
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| "Royal Septres" (pretzel sticks), "Excalibur Cups" (dollops of ranch dressing with carrot, celery, and cucumber sticks), and "Crown Jewels" (purple rock candy, green Jelly Belly jellybeans, and cups of cubed grape Jello and green and red grapes). |
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| "Let Them Eat Cake" pops! |
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| "Diamonds in the Rough" (ie: homemade chocolate truffles). |
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| My mom's famous sugar cookies are "the Queen's biscuits". |
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| "Princess Potions" (coffee, lemonade, grape Crush soda), "Jester Juice" (grape Kool Aid), and "Fairest of Them All Elixir" (water). |
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| Grandmama-to-be, Mommy-to-Be, M, and me standing in front of the silk and tulle covered gift tables. |
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| The gift tables. |
Everyone said they had a really good time, especially B; which was the most important thing to M and I. So, we considered it a success!
*mandie*
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