Talk Radio, A Job Possibility, & the Library

I've been listening to some talk radio on the internet...Aunt Linda (from Ohio) told me about it...they've got some great topics and she referred me to this one because they were talking about "thriving as an adoptive family (which is actually the title of a new book)." I can't wait to go through some of their archives because last year that had several shows on orphans, fostering, adopting, etc...

Anyway, I listened to the first one today and there was a scripture reference that really struck me profoundly!

James 1:27 "Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this; to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world."

There is so much meaning in that one sentence. God wants us to be selfless, to take care of those who would otherwise have no help and by doing that, we will be focused less on ourselves and more on others...and I believe that if we do those things to the best of our abilities that it will keep us focused on what is important and we can "keep out" the pollution (for me, material things)! Just wanted to share.

Please be in prayer for our family as we attempt to follow God's urging toward fostering children. Our first meeting is April 13th and we're getting fingerprinted this week.

Also, I ran across a job add for a Children's & Parent's Service Coordinator through a community support provider here in Keokuk. The job is a supervisory position for those working with mentally & developmentally challenged children and parents. I was immediately drawn to this. I have applied and am being as prayerfully responsible as possible...if this is a right fit for all, God will make a way!

The boys and I went to preschool story hour at the library this morning...they read 3 books, watched a short video, and had crafts before some playtime. Here's a couple of pictures...

Playing with the trains

Playing with Legos! Chase loves to build!

Definitely Divine

Today was absolutely beautiful! It was sunny and 65. We started out this morning hanging the rest of the drywall in the bathroom and doing the first coat of mudding. We then decided it was too beautiful to be inside so we cleaned up our mess inside and headed outdoors. We raked and picked up leaves, cleaned off the patio and porch, pulled weeds, trimed rose bushes (some stems were black & dead), and then grilled hot dogs and ate outside. It was sooo much fun!! The boys and Rascal loved playing outside. Thank you God for your beautiful thoughtfulness in rescuing us from the death of winter! We are so thankful and enjoying the rebirth of the trees, grass, plants, and flowers...just in time to celebrate the resurrection of Christ. Irony, coincidence or Divine? Definitely Divine!

Playdate with the Girls!

Today we had a playdate with Myra, Lily, and Aspen! They came to Keokuk to see us. The kids had so much fun playing with toys, chasing each other, playing with Playdough, and using the Color Wonder markers...we had leftover lasagna from last night, oranges & apples and then settled in for a movie-the boys picked Ice Age. Mr. Peyton crashed just 20 minutes into the movie and is presently still sleeping. It's always so good to visit with Myra and watch the kids enjoy playing with one another! I didn't take any pictures today but Myra did so maybe she'll share some with us! It was a fun day...now it's time to get back to work...picking up toys, doing laundry, making supper...

On a seperate note - arrangements have been made for Andrea Boes...

Visitation Friday March 20th 4-8pm St. Peter's Catholic Church Montgomery,IN
Funeral Saturday March 21st 10am St. Peter's Catholic Church Montgomery,IN

In lieu of flowers donations are asked to made to Realy for Life"Team Andrea". Envelopes will be available at the church.

Please continue to pray for the Boes family today and in the coming days.

When It Rains and Pours...

We'll be spending Friday getting a contractor to the house to look at the roof and give us an estimate for repair and a quick fix AND shopping for a vehicle for dear hubby. I mean seriously...the slate roof has worked quite well for the last 109 years...does it have to give out now? Oh and hubby wrecked his old school bravada back in October...we knew it was just a matter of time till it died...it started weezing today. We're guessing it's death is imminent. So...not much fun going on here...but hey, we're all healthy and laughing anyway!

It's So Hard to Say Goodbye...

It's so hard to say goodbye to a pet that you love so very much! I personally haven't had to deal with this yet but I can imagine the loss. Today, my dear friends Myra, Travis, Lily, and Aspen are having to put their dog, Charity to sleep. I know this is a very difficult decision for them but Charity has been suffering from seizures and the medication is not doing its job and has decreased her quality of life as well. Please pray for this family as they cope with the loss of a great family dog and as Myra and Travis do their best to explain it to Lily (their 2 year old). Here's how we'll all remember Charity...the sweetest pitbull I ever met!

With much love,

Peyton Sings Happy Birthday

Peyton's Birthday

HaPpY BiRtHdAy PeYtOn!!

Today is our baby's 2nd birthday! Can you believe that?? It seems pretty crazy to me...we've been singing Happy Birthday on and off all day but won't be "partying" til tomorrow afternoon! Matt & I needed to hang drywall and stuff in the bathroom today, and we'll have church in the AM...so after their naps we'll have some presents and cupcakes like we did with Chase! We're hoping to take them to bowling sometime soon, but the local bowling alley only does bumper bowl on certain days/times...anyway, I'll post pictures and a short video after the "party."

Happy Birthday Peyton! Momm and Daddy love you bunches!
XoXo

Foster Parent Orientation

Matt and I have decided to attend the foster parent orientation class in Burlington, Iowa next Tuesday evening. We have received our paperwork and begun filling it out and will be getting fingerprinted on Monday (hopefully)....that way we will be ready to proceed with licensing classes if we determine that fostering is something we can commit to as a whole family. Please be praying for us as we are making very important decisions for the future of our family. We both feel that being adoptive parents is something God has called us to and openly embrace the idea with our all our hearts.

God bless!

Financing our Adoption

We have discovered that financing another adoption is going to be very difficult this time around because I'm no longer working outside of the home. So I've begun to search for fundraising options that can help jumpstart our adoption. We still have not decided whether we will adopt domestically (in the US) or internationally, but the average cost of either is $25,000 not including misc. expenses. I found a neat way to raise money today and have begun a "pledge" fund. Please visit http://www.fundable.com/groupactions/groupaction.2009-03-05.1239515663 in order to read and make a pledge if you would like. The kicker to this is we only have 25 days in order to raise the funds or everyone will be refunded their donation. Please spread the word to everyone you know and help us make our dream of a family of five become a reality!

**Please do not feel obligated to contribute...I just thought this would be a good way to get the word out.**

God bless!

Another Baby?

Two posts in one day...sorry, but I needed to share...

As some of you may know, Matt and I have begun considering adoption again. We are so excited by the thought of possibly adding to our family one more time. Right now we are in the information gathering stage because there are several different options to adoption: foster to adopt, private independent adoption, domestic (open, semi-open, closed) adoption, and of course international adoption. Please pray for us as we discuss all the options and search for what is best for our family.

Fun With Friends

We had so much fun with our friends Myra, Lily, and Aspen today! The play group we were going to attend at our old church got cancelled at the last minute but we all went to the church to play anyway. It was so much fun and we had McDonald's for lunch in the preschool room...Appy surprised of all by her instant love of double cheeseburgers!! Here are some pictures of the kiddos playing together...they we so good and we enjoyed playing!

Aspen, Liliana, Peyton, and Chase in the cage.

The gang playing with soft blocks...those things are awesome!!

Lily on the bridge...that's my favorite part...but I didn't climb all the way through this time...Myra and I were busy chatting!

Peyton at the end of the play yard...or is it the beginning?

Appy eating Goldfish crackers...this just kills me...I've "known" this baby girl since she was about 10 days old and am struggling to realize she'll be 1 in just a few weeks!

Lily and Chase...Myra has told me that every night when Lily says her bedtime prayers she thanks God for Chase and Peypin...Isn't that sweet?

We love and miss seeing our friends...but since warmer weather is on the way, we hope to see them much more!!

Going to Macomb

The boys and I are heading to Macomb this morning to visit some friends and I'm so excited! We're going to play group at The Crossing (our old church), visiting with some of the staff, and then going to Myra's for lunch and to play with Lily and Aspen!! I can't wait to see her and the girls! Aspen has started walking since the last time I saw her! Anyway...here's a couple of pictures I snapped recently! Hope you all have a great day!

The boys on their "mountain" or maybe it was their "rocketship" that time...I don't know...they like to pretend!
Chase...this is his..."I'm watching Scooby Doo, please don't bother me look."

And...this is how Peyton enjoys Scooby Doo..."Blankie, pease mommy!"

Love you bunches!