Yesterday I woke up to some of the greatest gifts God has ever given to me. Not only was my husband lying next to me in bed, but an angel. I was being "petted" by a small hand and of course he was saying "DADA"! I rolled over and he cuddled right in. I felt so at peace. I was reminded, as I often am, that these children are not mine, but the lords. After a few moments of peace, the day had begun!!! Jordan rolled out of bed and left the room. The little angel decided to get off the bed himself. I tried to lay there, wanting to go back to sleep, but he proceeded to take off his own diaper and was running around the room, just when I heard angel number two crying in the next room! The joys of parenthood.

I continue to feel so blessed by all the things going on in our lives. Summer has been amazing. No we didn't go on any fancy vacations or set off at sea for a cruise, but I felt blessed right where I am. Jordan is loving his new jobs. He has been a traveling preacher, a farmer, a father, a gardener, a lawn boy, spoke at a funeral, a roofer, a painter, and of course his new current position at Habitat for Humanity. I have been blessed to take a graduate course online and stay home with the boys. We have been swimming, visited parks, had play dates, and more.

I started reading a new book last week that a friend let me borrow about a girl who traveled to Africa to be a missionary. Since someone lent me the book I decided I'd better read it so I can give it back to her. I didn't have such high expectations and thought I might not even enjoy the book. I was wrong. The book is called Kisses from Katie. It’s about a young girl named Katie Davis who lives in Uganda. I want to share some things from her book that have me in constant deep thought.

Adoption is wonderful and beautiful and the greatest blessing I have ever experienced. Adoption is also difficult and painful. Adoption is a beautiful picture of redemption. It is the gospel in my living room. And, sometimes, it's just hard.

Being a foster parent is also all of the things above... We have not learned anything new in a long time about the little angels we now have. Although...to us they are ours, I am constantly reminded that birth child or not...no child will ever be mine. These beautiful blessings are just gifts from God. They are his children, just like you and me.

My family, adopting these children, it is not optional. It is not my good deed for the day; it is not what I am doing to "help these poor kids." I adopt because God commands me to care for the orphans and the widows in distress. I adopt because Jesus says to that whom much has been given, much will be demanded (Luke 12:48) and because whoever finds his life will lose it but whoever loses his life for his sake will find it. (Matthew 10:39)

I think she is an amazing writer and so much of the story has me comparing what she writes to my own life. We continue to pray for our angel gifts from God and the ones we have not met yet.

God granted us some other gifts as well!!! The last blog was about an account we had opened with an organization called life song for orphans. We sent out some support letters after a huge pride battle in our hearts... We received in abundance. People gave with their hearts. We have about 10,000 dollars saved now because of the generous donations of so many. I was brought to tears when I got the statement from the organization. It gave me names of people... It let me know that people understood and that God was going to continue to provide for us and our future family. Thanks again for all the support. We continue to ask for prayers for our angels and our future children as we continue on this journey. We still need about 4,000 to accept a referral and I have no doubt that when the referral comes, God will provide.

We won’t be getting a referral until after February due to our current family situation, but we have come to terms with being patient in the waiting, only because we are too busy to do anything else!

I want to leave you with one last thought...people often say to Jordan or I, "I couldn't do foster care" or "I couldn't handle it, if they ever left." or even "how do you do it?"

My new answer is "I don't" "It's just a little bit of coffee and a lot of Jesus"

 Like I said it’s hard, but the support is what keeps us going.  Thanks again for reading, praying, and the financial supports.