Friday, October 18, 2013

Decisions, decision.........

Hello!

     Well, our family is facing some major decisions right now, and all of the options are exciting!   First of all, is our adoption decision.  We never thought we could adopt again....or at least until the teens were over 18.  The state of IL is very particular about family size, and we are over their limit.  But recently a friend, who is a caseworker, called to ask if I was still advocating for a set of twins, who have arms and hands just like my Rory.  I had been told that they found a family, so I was no longer advocating for them.  The caseworker told me that they had NOT had a family, and then asked if we were interested in them!!!  I explained to her our family size limit issue, and she said that her agency would do everything in their power to get IL to approve us!  Not a guarantee by any means, but we have never had an agency willing to go head to head with IL for us!  So, here we go.  It is in God's hands.  He knows where these boys belong.  If it is with us, we are ready!

    In the midst of thinking about adding 2 to our family, we realized that our home is much too small. We already have Meng and Daley sleeping in the master bedroom with us, and no where to put two more!  So we began getting estimates to build onto our home.  We got several estimates, and they were so radically different, that it confused the heck out of us!  So, we decided to look at all of our options, and began looking at large homes for sale.  And then, we found it!  The perfect home for us!  It is HUGE, plenty of room for everyone, plus the new lil ones (if they are ours), and even guests!  The only catch is, it is is a residential area, which means giving up my farm and my farm critters, including the new horses we just got!   So, here we go again, putting our lives and our future into God's mighty hands.  I am sitting here right now, waiting for our realtor to come, so we can officially list our home on the market.  And if it sells, we will be moving!   Whew!  I am excited, but also a wee bit overwhelmed!

    I will keep this blog current, with our decisions and our progress.  Prayers appreciated!
Much love, and God bless!

Tuesday, October 8, 2013

Running, Riding, and Rescuing!

I don't do things for myself very often.  Not enough time, and better things to do!  But, not long ago, I began a running program, and I can truly say it is one of the best things I have ever done for myself!  I am in better shape physically than I have been in a very long time.  And spiritually as well!  When I run, I have nothing to do in my mind but: Pray, Praise, and sort through the thoughts that are always racing through my head.  Daley runs with me, and it is a blessing to her as well.  She loves the sunshine, the breeze blowing in her hair, and the movement of the stroller, thumping along the road.  We have done several charity runs together, and even though we don't astound people with our amazing speed or abilities, we love our time together, and are both better for it!  :)

Well, we did it!  We talked Dale into getting some horses!  Which was no small task!  We had horses when Brogan and Patrick were teens, and they were a lot of fun.  But, once they got older, the younger kids did not have enough interest and Dale and I did not have enough time.  This summer, we went to the state fair, and all the kids were infatuated with the horse shows!  So, we began talking and praying about adding horses to our farm again.  And God started working.  We now have 2 beautiful horses, both given to us and both a blessing!  Sugar is our old gal!  A beautiful jet black thoroughbred/Morgan cross, who is a babysitter for the younger kids.  And Cherry is the younger mare, who is a wee bit spunkier than we hoped, but she is still working out beautifully for the kids to love and learn on.  I have always loves horses, so I am very happy to look out the window and see them both grazing in our pasture!

And on to the rescue part.   Well, it started with a little stray dog, we call Wishbone.  We don't want another dog.  We don't need another dog.  But she came, she's a sweetheart, she's adorable, and it looks  like she's staying.  Actually, Patrick and Danyne are hoping to take her with them, when they start their life together.  But in the meantime, YES, we have another dog.  But that's not the only rescue that God has put on our hearts.  We are feeling that familiar adoption "tug" again.  Yes, I know, you will think we are crazy.  We may very well be.  But.....I would rather the world think we were crazy than God be disappointed that we failed to obey Him.  So.....here we go.  I cannot reveal any great details yet, but I will say, that if God intends for us to move forward with this particular adoption, He will have to perform some mighty miracles.  Miracles in moving China to waive regulations, Illinois to waive regulations, and in blessing our finances!  We are willing, if He has chosen us to be parents again!
How I love this exciting life!