Today, both kids are napping. So what does that mean? You all get an update!! (ha ha ha)
It's amazing what you can do with a couple hours of undisturbed time....
So it's July which means we just received our monthly update. We are praising the Lord that TWO children were placed with families this month! In the moment of frustration when I say, "I want my child to be home with us!", I must remind myself that there are plenty of children that need families and they just happen to get to meet their family first.
So we wait.
In keeping with good news of children being placed with their families, our friends, the Fitzes, just left for Ethiopia for their long awaited journey to pick up their sweet baby girl! It's so neat to see God calling people to adopt and watching everything unfold. Pray for them as they are there with their two boys (3 1/2 years and almost 2 years old) and will be living in Ethiopia for the next month waiting on the last bit of paperwork to be processed.
I hope that you have a great Independence Day weekend!
Wednesday, July 2, 2014
Wednesday, June 25, 2014
Lifesong Grant Update
A little over a month ago I blogged about a matching grant through Lifesong for Orphans. With it being a busy time of the year for us and Mary Clair's first birthday just around the corner, we settled for just doing a blog and emailing a few people instead of writing 100 letters and such. Well, I have to admit, I was wondering if we'd be able to raise the $2,000 by the deadline. There was about a week left and I checked our account only to see that there was $0 in our account. So my natural reaction was to worry that we wouldn't get it all by the date...
But boy was I wrong!
As always, in God's timing and because He is faithful, the amount was raised! In fact, we exceeded the amount! So our total, including the matching $2,000, comes out to be $5,387.97!!!
We are blown away and so grateful for all the help that you, our friends and family, have been in making this adoption possible. And I'm hoping you are just as generous with your prayers and will be just as supportive emotionally and spiritually on the flip side once our child is home. God is so good to us. Thank you all and thank you Lord!
In other news, we were able to get away over the weekend for a fun day at Panther Creek! It does my soul good to get in the woods and be with the ones I love the most! Asher was a champ and hiked the whole time (except the 25 yards I carried him after he tripped over a rock and hurt himself). He came home with a bag of "treasures" (to which Jake says, "You are your mother's child." To which I say, "Who doesn't love some rocks and pinecones?!?") Mary Clair could not get enough of the creek and thought that she was old enough to forge the polar waters on her own. We attempted a nap in the hammock but she was too busy watching Asher and Jake walk through the creek longing to be playing with them. And as predicted, she feel asleep about 100 feet from our van on our way out.
I'm thankful for nature and I'm thankful for my family!
(Be warned...I was only going to pick a few pictures...but I couldn't help myself! There are just so many good ones to share. And this is why the world should be thankful I have a dumb phone and don't do instagram...)
But boy was I wrong!
As always, in God's timing and because He is faithful, the amount was raised! In fact, we exceeded the amount! So our total, including the matching $2,000, comes out to be $5,387.97!!!
We are blown away and so grateful for all the help that you, our friends and family, have been in making this adoption possible. And I'm hoping you are just as generous with your prayers and will be just as supportive emotionally and spiritually on the flip side once our child is home. God is so good to us. Thank you all and thank you Lord!
In other news, we were able to get away over the weekend for a fun day at Panther Creek! It does my soul good to get in the woods and be with the ones I love the most! Asher was a champ and hiked the whole time (except the 25 yards I carried him after he tripped over a rock and hurt himself). He came home with a bag of "treasures" (to which Jake says, "You are your mother's child." To which I say, "Who doesn't love some rocks and pinecones?!?") Mary Clair could not get enough of the creek and thought that she was old enough to forge the polar waters on her own. We attempted a nap in the hammock but she was too busy watching Asher and Jake walk through the creek longing to be playing with them. And as predicted, she feel asleep about 100 feet from our van on our way out.
I'm thankful for nature and I'm thankful for my family!
(Be warned...I was only going to pick a few pictures...but I couldn't help myself! There are just so many good ones to share. And this is why the world should be thankful I have a dumb phone and don't do instagram...)
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| He's a good one to follow down any trail! We love our fearless leader! |
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| Two little hobbits in the woods. |
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| SAFE! |
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| NAture...that's why I come here. |
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| That face. |
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| "Don't worry, I got this." |
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| The fam. |
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| Don't worry Mom, Jake was standing right next to the tree. |
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| It's a miracle! Everyone is looking and no one fell in the creek! |
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| Of course... |
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"But may all who seek you rejoice and be glad in you;
may those who love your salvation say continually,
'Great is the LORD!'"
Psalm 40:16
Wednesday, May 28, 2014
Mary Clair is 1
Can it really be that one whole year has passed???
Our sweet, precious, darling, wonderful girl is ONE! ! !
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| Pizza party and cake at the park. |
Fun facts about Mary Clair:
~Named after her great grandmother, Mary Anne (and all the other Marys in her life..), and the beautiful song, Clair de Lune by Claude Debussy.
~She was born on Memorial Day.
~She has a passport and made a trek to England at just 5 months old for her Auntie Mez's wedding.
~She will eat anything you give her...
~She can play the kazoo and the recorder very well. ;)
~Most popular nickname: Tiny.
Originally, we were planning on finishing up our adoption before having more kids, but God, in his perfect timing, brought Mary Clair to us. And what a blessing she has been to our family! Everywhere we go she brings a smile to peoples' faces. She is loved by so many people and I'm thankful for the friends and family she has to look up to.
We look forward to celebrating many more birthdays with her!
Here are some cute pictures from over the past year...(I could do more...but I won't bore you ;) )
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| First moments with MC |
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| Summer! |
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| She eats the entire thing...including the leaves. |
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| These kids love taking baths! |
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| First airplane ride (on the way home from UK) |
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| Kissy lips. |
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| Sibling love. |
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| One place they get along surprisingly well. |
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| This is pretty typical... |
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| And this is everyone's favorite! |
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| Baby Model. |
Tuesday, May 20, 2014
Lifesong for Orphans--Matching Grant
If you read our last blog, you know that in recent months we have been able to raise a considerable amount of money for our adoption. Our goal is to be able to adopt without any debt, and thanks to many of you reading this blog, we are almost to that goal! So, thank you!
One of the grants we recently applied for is from Lifesong for Orphans. They are a really neat ministry that desires "to mobilize the church, His body, where each member can provide a unique and special service: some to adopt, some to care, some to give." They have been willing to help us adopt by doing a matching grant of $2,000...so that means we write letters, blog, Facebook, etc. to raise the first $2,000 and they will match it! That totals up to $4,000!
So we were wondering if anyone out there would be willing to help us meet this goal? Our goal date is June 17, 2014. That gives us about one month to rally together these funds.
Here's how it works...
If you are willing to give, you can give two ways:
One of the grants we recently applied for is from Lifesong for Orphans. They are a really neat ministry that desires "to mobilize the church, His body, where each member can provide a unique and special service: some to adopt, some to care, some to give." They have been willing to help us adopt by doing a matching grant of $2,000...so that means we write letters, blog, Facebook, etc. to raise the first $2,000 and they will match it! That totals up to $4,000!
So we were wondering if anyone out there would be willing to help us meet this goal? Our goal date is June 17, 2014. That gives us about one month to rally together these funds.
Here's how it works...
If you are willing to give, you can give two ways:
o Checks should be payable to “Lifesong for Orphans. In the memo, note "Parham/#4400" to assure it goes to the correct account. Please mail to Lifesong for Orphans, PO Box
40, Gridley, IL 61744. Lifesong has been blessed with a partner that underwrites all U.S. administrative and fund-
raising costs (TMG Foundation and other partners). That means 100% of your donation will go directly to
the adoption.
o To pay online go to www.lifesongfororphans.org/give/donate. Select “Give to an Adoptive Family.” Complete the online form and fill in “Family Account Number” (#4400) and “Family Name” (Parham) fields.
**Note PayPal charges an administrative fee (2.9% + $.30 USD per transaction). Your donation will be decreased by the amount of this fee.
(“Individual donations $250 or more and yearly donations totaling $250 or more will receive a tax-deductible receipt. Receipts for donations under $250, will gladly be sent upon request. Lifesong is a 501(c)3 tax exempt organization.)
We will probably send out another update about this before June 17, 2014. If you have any questions, do not hesitate to ask! And please spread the word!! We are humbled and grateful for such supportive friends and family!
In other news, time continues to fly...Mary Clair will be ONE in a week! This has been a great year with her. She is so spunky, laid back, cute, and wonderful (and according to her Daddy she's never done anything wrong...just you wait, Jake!). I'll just have to do a birthday blog next week in honor of her ;) So stay tuned!
o To pay online go to www.lifesongfororphans.org/give/donate. Select “Give to an Adoptive Family.” Complete the online form and fill in “Family Account Number” (#4400) and “Family Name” (Parham) fields.
**Note PayPal charges an administrative fee (2.9% + $.30 USD per transaction). Your donation will be decreased by the amount of this fee.
(“Individual donations $250 or more and yearly donations totaling $250 or more will receive a tax-deductible receipt. Receipts for donations under $250, will gladly be sent upon request. Lifesong is a 501(c)3 tax exempt organization.)
We will probably send out another update about this before June 17, 2014. If you have any questions, do not hesitate to ask! And please spread the word!! We are humbled and grateful for such supportive friends and family!
In other news, time continues to fly...Mary Clair will be ONE in a week! This has been a great year with her. She is so spunky, laid back, cute, and wonderful (and according to her Daddy she's never done anything wrong...just you wait, Jake!). I'll just have to do a birthday blog next week in honor of her ;) So stay tuned!
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| Daddy's girl! Sporting their strawberry shirts :) |
Friday, May 9, 2014
Raising Support While We Wait
Hello Everyone! The days and months seem to fly by and here it's been two months since updating everyone...so here we go...
We have moved up on the waiting list! We are rejoicing that three children were placed with families last month through our agency! We are still a pretty high number on the list but the process is being slowly changed to a more efficient and ethical process. So hopefully we'll be able to rejoice with you in getting closer and closer each month!
Towards the beginning of the year we applied for about three different grants. Today marks the day that we have heard from all three AND have received grant money from each one!! Wow! It pays (literally and figuratively) to take the time and effort to fill out those lengthy applications.
The kind people of ShowHope, Families Outreach, and Lifesong for Orphans are the ones who are making this adoption possible financially by giving us approximately $9,500!
We are almost to our goal of paying for this adoption without any debt!
Stay tuned for more about Lifesong for Orphans and how you all can help us get even closer to raising all the money we need for this process!
________________________________________________________________________________
"For the love of Christ controls us, because we have concluded this:
that one has died for all, therefore all have died;
and he died for all, that those who live might no longer live for themselves
but for him who for their sake died and was raised."
2 Corinthians 5:14-15
Tuesday, March 4, 2014
One Thing Is Still True
I had to work my way through the cyber cobwebs to get to this blog...it's been since November that we posted! Just in case you were wondering, yes, we are still adopting ;)
Here's the latest and the greatest around the Parham house since then:
~Asher turned 3! He is such a joy and a huge blessing to our home. Here are some of his favorite things to do: play with play-do, ride his bike, jump off of almost anything he is able to get up on, lovingly torture is sister, play his guitar, and read books. His favorite color is orange and if you ask him what his favorite song is he'll tell you with a smile, "Bless the Lord!" (and he may just sing it for you if you ask him). I love his compassionate heart and pray that he becomes a mighty oak in honoring the Lord!
~Mary Clair is not a baby any more...it seems like over night she is such a big kid. She's eating all kinds of mushed up foods (tonight was peas and peached), can crawl like a pro, sits up by herself, pulls up to standing position on anything and everything (even the wall), and has a smile that will melt your heart. She's also become more vocal and interactive. The other week we were all sitting at the table eating a quick breakfast and she was playing in her walker. As soon as she saw we were eating biscuits without her she started yelling, "Ma! Ma! MA!!" (Which we interpreted as, "More! More!). Then this Sunday at church as we were practicing music, she was just smiling and clapping along. But my personal favorite is when I get her out of bed and she nuzzles down on my shoulder and pats my back like she's giving me a hug. :)
We are praying for our beautiful daughter to be a light and a joy to all she meets.
~Our child we don't yet know is still in Ethiopia. There has been no progress. You can pray for us as we try to be patient and trust God's timing.
~Last week I attended an adoption training/conference here in town. It was a great chance to meet other families in the adoption process (some having already adopted and adopting again!) There is not even enough time or space for me to tell you all the things we learned. I'll just say, children need love, touch, nutrition, stability...a family. Basic needs, prenatally and postnatally, are not received by these children coming from hard places and they suffer for the rest of their lives from this early on detriment. If you haven't ever prayed for these children, you can start now! They so desperately need a family to love them and help them work through these difficulties.
If you are interested in getting a small glimpse into what I learned specifically, check out Karen Purvis' Empowered to Connect. She is a brilliant woman that the Lord is using in a mighty way in the adoption community.
And I'll leave you with this...
We may not know what the future holds, but we can look back and have hope in what God has promised us.
"He defends the cause of the fatherless..." Deuteronomy 10:18
"He upholds the cause of the oppressed and gives food to the hungry..." Psalm 145:7
"The LORD will guide you always; he will satisfy your needs in a sun-scorched land and will strengthen your frame. You will be like a well-watered garden, like a spring whose waters never fail."
Isaiah 58:11
"Because of the LORD's great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail." Lamentations 3:22
So as we wait I can rest in the fact that God is taking care of our sweet daughter/son and that he/she will have all that he/she needs. And that as we do the work of caring for an orphan, God will strengthen us when we feel we are consumed.
The one thing that is still true:
God is faithful.
Thanks be to God!
Here's the latest and the greatest around the Parham house since then:
~Asher turned 3! He is such a joy and a huge blessing to our home. Here are some of his favorite things to do: play with play-do, ride his bike, jump off of almost anything he is able to get up on, lovingly torture is sister, play his guitar, and read books. His favorite color is orange and if you ask him what his favorite song is he'll tell you with a smile, "Bless the Lord!" (and he may just sing it for you if you ask him). I love his compassionate heart and pray that he becomes a mighty oak in honoring the Lord!
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| So sweet! And so musical already! |
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| We had brunch with the fam! Jake made some delicious biscuits. |
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| Every kid loves to open presents. |
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| Cookies with Sarah on his actual birthday. |
~Mary Clair is not a baby any more...it seems like over night she is such a big kid. She's eating all kinds of mushed up foods (tonight was peas and peached), can crawl like a pro, sits up by herself, pulls up to standing position on anything and everything (even the wall), and has a smile that will melt your heart. She's also become more vocal and interactive. The other week we were all sitting at the table eating a quick breakfast and she was playing in her walker. As soon as she saw we were eating biscuits without her she started yelling, "Ma! Ma! MA!!" (Which we interpreted as, "More! More!). Then this Sunday at church as we were practicing music, she was just smiling and clapping along. But my personal favorite is when I get her out of bed and she nuzzles down on my shoulder and pats my back like she's giving me a hug. :)
We are praying for our beautiful daughter to be a light and a joy to all she meets.
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| Singing a song |
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| #selfie |
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| The climbing girl (this was her first attempt on the fireplace). |
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| She's so happy when she wakes up :) |
~Our child we don't yet know is still in Ethiopia. There has been no progress. You can pray for us as we try to be patient and trust God's timing.
~Last week I attended an adoption training/conference here in town. It was a great chance to meet other families in the adoption process (some having already adopted and adopting again!) There is not even enough time or space for me to tell you all the things we learned. I'll just say, children need love, touch, nutrition, stability...a family. Basic needs, prenatally and postnatally, are not received by these children coming from hard places and they suffer for the rest of their lives from this early on detriment. If you haven't ever prayed for these children, you can start now! They so desperately need a family to love them and help them work through these difficulties.
If you are interested in getting a small glimpse into what I learned specifically, check out Karen Purvis' Empowered to Connect. She is a brilliant woman that the Lord is using in a mighty way in the adoption community.
And I'll leave you with this...
We may not know what the future holds, but we can look back and have hope in what God has promised us.
"He defends the cause of the fatherless..." Deuteronomy 10:18
"He upholds the cause of the oppressed and gives food to the hungry..." Psalm 145:7
"The LORD will guide you always; he will satisfy your needs in a sun-scorched land and will strengthen your frame. You will be like a well-watered garden, like a spring whose waters never fail."
Isaiah 58:11
"Because of the LORD's great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail." Lamentations 3:22
So as we wait I can rest in the fact that God is taking care of our sweet daughter/son and that he/she will have all that he/she needs. And that as we do the work of caring for an orphan, God will strengthen us when we feel we are consumed.
The one thing that is still true:
God is faithful.
Thanks be to God!
Thursday, November 14, 2013
Good News!
After a very busy October it's all the sudden Thanksgiving! This year has been such a blur as it is…birthin' babies (well...just one), adjusting to life with two kiddos, strawberry and pumpkin season, progress in the adoption process, grants, corn hole tournaments, etc, etc, etc.
Despite the blur, we have been able to clearly see God provide for our family in our adoption fundraising. Thanks to a bunch of you out there, the corn hole tournament was a huge success (and a lot of fun if I do say so myself!). As some of you may remember, what was raised at the tournament was matched by some pretty cool friends :) .
Well, God saw it fit to match that money too.
Just a few days after the tournament, we received an email from Chosen For Life Ministries, a local Athens-based adoption group, informing us that we were to receive a grant from them totaling $2,159! Wow! This was a huge encouragement to us. I just think it is super cool that regular people like us can take on such a huge undertaking knowing that what we need will be provided! (Can I get an amen?!) We serve a mighty and generous God!
On another note, we have only moved up one spot on the waiting list….I'm trusting in God's timing on all this, but honestly we are a little discouraged. Not only do we have to wait longer for our kid, they are waiting for us! (Not to mention all the other kids waiting to be placed with their forever families.) On an encouraging note, we do have some friends who received a referral recently! We are so excited for them as they are on the home stretch of the process. (If you are interested in checking out their story, go to their blog. They are also fundraising for a matching grant at the moment if you are interested in supporting them! Oh, and they have some cool t-shirts for sale :) )
More and more this process gives me the reality check of how it is not just paperwork…there is actually a kid out there that is going to join our family. Scary? Yes! But so exciting. Keep praying for us, along with other adopting families, as we add to our families.
Y'all are great.
Despite the blur, we have been able to clearly see God provide for our family in our adoption fundraising. Thanks to a bunch of you out there, the corn hole tournament was a huge success (and a lot of fun if I do say so myself!). As some of you may remember, what was raised at the tournament was matched by some pretty cool friends :) .
Well, God saw it fit to match that money too.
Just a few days after the tournament, we received an email from Chosen For Life Ministries, a local Athens-based adoption group, informing us that we were to receive a grant from them totaling $2,159! Wow! This was a huge encouragement to us. I just think it is super cool that regular people like us can take on such a huge undertaking knowing that what we need will be provided! (Can I get an amen?!) We serve a mighty and generous God!
On another note, we have only moved up one spot on the waiting list….I'm trusting in God's timing on all this, but honestly we are a little discouraged. Not only do we have to wait longer for our kid, they are waiting for us! (Not to mention all the other kids waiting to be placed with their forever families.) On an encouraging note, we do have some friends who received a referral recently! We are so excited for them as they are on the home stretch of the process. (If you are interested in checking out their story, go to their blog. They are also fundraising for a matching grant at the moment if you are interested in supporting them! Oh, and they have some cool t-shirts for sale :) )
More and more this process gives me the reality check of how it is not just paperwork…there is actually a kid out there that is going to join our family. Scary? Yes! But so exciting. Keep praying for us, along with other adopting families, as we add to our families.
Y'all are great.
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