Before I remove the "Chip-In" Button...

I wanted to ask everyone to keep praying for Jonathan. He is one of the little ones that we were raising money for. His picture is earlier on the blog...he is still struggling and is currently in ICU. Please keep this little guy in your prayers!

Praise the Lord!

Check it out - over $4,000 has been raised for the little ones at New Day who need surgery! Thank you guys for donating and praying for these little ones! You can check out all of the little ones in need of surgeries or whose surgeries have been covered at http://www.newdaycreations.com/foster/help/mdc.htm . Amazing work is done there, folks!

Happy 4th of July!

For Daddy, this is a science....

For Abby, she wasn't quite so sure...


The girls decided they liked the ones that made little noise and stayed on the ground.

I have to agree with the girls. Anytime we hear Daddy say, "Well, kids, I'm not so sure what this one does." That is when we decide to take cover behind the bushes.

Jonathan's surgery

Little Jonathan was able to have his heart surgery - praise the Lord! Please keep this little guy in your prayers, though. It was a 3 and a half hour surgery, and the doctors are concerned about the healing of his heart and lungs. As his body fights for strength, let's pray that the Giver of all strength and life would heal this little guy!

Thank you from the bottom of my heart!

This will be short, but I just want to post a HUGE thank you to everyone who has contributed to the Surgery Fundraiser! I will have an update very soon on the surgeries, Lord willing. :-)

God is so good, and He is working mightily. We have been praying that He would "Wow" us with who He is through this adoption, and although we can't post details yet...He is doing it. Your prayers for our family are coveted. Thank you again!

We have a birthday boy!

Maggie and Abby love being "territorial" at the pool stairs! :-)

Drew, the birthday boy, and Brooke


I can't believe he is 11!!

Maggie and Bailee (our fantastic helper and friend!)

Well, we celebrated Drew turning 11 yesterday - I can't believe it! We spent the day at the pool celebrating with a few friends and family. We all had a great time. What was really special though, in the midst of all the celebration, we had (of course) our little guy on our minds. Continually, both Mike and I were reminded of Psalm 46..."Be still and know that I am God." So, we were able to relax (as much as you can with a bunch of kids in a pool) and enjoy a very special day - the birth of our firstborn child!

Persistence

Maggie the "Persistenator"(hey, it's my blog, I can make up words :-)

So, I was really discouraged this morning with our news from our agency. Yet, tonight, as I was reading Answers to Prayer by George Mueller (fantastic book, by the way), I was greatly convicted by my discouragement. Whenever this amazing man was faced with challenges, this is what he said about them, "The difficulties, which He is pleased to allow to arise, are only allowed, under such circumstances, for the exercise of our faith and patience; and more prayer, more patience, and the exercise of faith, will remove the difficulties."

Now, we have prayed, if the Lord has another home for this precious little guy that we have fallen in love with...we want him there. We want him where the Lord wants him because that is what is best for him. But, I realized, that we weren't given a definite "No" today. Our agency was frustrated because it wasn't a definite "No" or a definite "Yes". Yet, to me, that is a green light to keep praying and exercising our patience (which, by the way, is not my greatest virtue). I realized that George Mueller was like my Maggie...she really doesn't like to take "No" for an answer. I know that most kids don't like to take "No" for an answer, but Maggie just doesn't give up. And sometimes, even though this goes against EVERY parenting rule in the book, I will give up after she has asked me 109,000 times for a lollipop...I will give it to her just because she keeps asking. I wonder if the Lord sometimes just delights in us asking. So, until we are given a definite "No" we are going to keep asking for our little man. And, if in the Lord's sovereignty, he gives us a for sure "NO" and sends this little guy to a different family, then that is what is best for him, for us, and for God's glory.

All that to say...we are still holding out hope for our little man's file!

One last quote from Muller, "I have thus minutely dwelt on these various matters for the encouragement of the reader, that he may not be discouraged by the difficulties, however great and many and varied, but give himself to prayer, trusting in the Lord for help, yea, expecting help, which, in His own time and way, He will surely grant."