FINANCIAL UPDATE & OUR LAST CHRISTMAS AS A FAMILY OF FOUR

As cliche as it sounds this time of year, thankful is how I feel this Christmas.  We've even been celebrating Christmas in the middle of a stomach bug floating through our family - which made me thankful for dishwashers, large capacity washers & dryers, and Lysol.... so much Lysol.

As we head into 2019, I am still in awe of the thought that this time last year adoption wasn't even on our radar.  What a difference a year makes!

Over $1,700 has been raised already towards the orphanage donation leaving only $3,800 to go - gosh, I can't believe how close we are.  Even our caseworker and the financial advisor at our adoption agency have taken notice and are in awe of your support and the speed at which funds have been raised!!

As I was writing thank you cards for what was given towards the orphanage donation in the last week I realized that cards have gone to:

North Carolina
New York
Pennsylvania
Connecticut
Tennessee
Maryland
Georgia
New Hampshire
Montana
Texas
Colorado
Ohio
and even another country: Germany!

Holy smokes!  The tribe of people who have come around to help us is wide and long and deep and high.  It reminds me of Ephesians 3:17b-19.  Ironically, those are the exact verses we have prayed over Abilene and Andrew:

"...and I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and deep and high is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge - that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God."

The process of adoption has added another level to a lot of things in our lives.  It's given us a different lens to look through.  And these verses from Ephesians 3 are no different.

With Abi and Andrew, of course, we had people praying, many gifts given, and much love lavished.  We had a tribe with them too, but, to be honest, we took them for granted.  We took Abi and Andrew's health for granted, we took them home to a house we took for granted.  Brad and I took each other for granted, not realizing that it is no small thing for a child to come home to two parents, a warm house, clothes to wear, diapers that will be changed, food that will be frequent, hugs that will never cease, eye contact that will aid in development, and a community of people who will provide support all the days to come.

"being rooted and established in love," takes on a different meaning seeing all the people that have supported us so far.  "love" refers to Christ's love.  Benjamin will have a literal blog to read about the foundation of love that was established for him through Christ months before he got here.  "may have power together with all the saints," Benjamin will have a literal list, to see the saints who have come together in the hope that he, too, would grasp

"how wide and long and deep and high is the love of Christ..."

And isn't that prayer for us too, "...to know this love that surpasses knowledge"?   This process has given us a little taste of that love, one that we hope we continue to taste day after day, on both the good days and hard ones.

Our paperwork is in the hands of the USCIS.  We're waiting for them to approve our I800 and mail that approval to the National Visa Center.  When that happens, we'll be able to apply for Benjamin's visa.  After that, we wait for permission to travel - we're that close!

Thankful.  And no better way to wrap up our last Christmas as a family of four.

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If you're interested in contributing to the orphanage donation as a part of year-end giving, click here to donate!