Those of you who grew up in "church" and got caught up in all the religion and missed Jesus... this gives a great perspective for all He has done and why this Jesus is worth following!
Wednesday, January 11, 2012
The Jesus I know!
Those of you who grew up in "church" and got caught up in all the religion and missed Jesus... this gives a great perspective for all He has done and why this Jesus is worth following!
Tuesday, January 3, 2012
2012 is the YEAR!
What an amazing month of December we had! We tried to be intentional and SLOW down our busy pace of life...AND it worked!! We spent time with friends and family, going to the Muppets movie, splurging on frozen yogurt, rock climbing at the gym, crabbing at the coast, playing games, eating yummy food, celebrating Jesus birth and watching Christmas movies together! I would do it all over again...it was so worth it!
Now if we can only keep our everyday life like that:-)
Adoption update:
Some of our friends who are also adopting from Uganda with the same agency got their referral a few days before Christmas. What a glorious Christmas present! But...if I am truthful...which I aim to be in EVERYTHING...it caused my heart to race and I kinda freaked out a little. Just a little bit.
This whole adoption process became so real for me hearing their story and the precious little girl God has set aside for this awesome family. It hit me...we could be next! My faith is being stretched and I have told God how much I need him to strengthen my faith and help me to put all my trust in Him.
So we continue to pray for our little boy that God is moving in his life and preparing him to join our family and preparing our hearts for him too!!
Now if we can only keep our everyday life like that:-)
Adoption update:
Some of our friends who are also adopting from Uganda with the same agency got their referral a few days before Christmas. What a glorious Christmas present! But...if I am truthful...which I aim to be in EVERYTHING...it caused my heart to race and I kinda freaked out a little. Just a little bit.
This whole adoption process became so real for me hearing their story and the precious little girl God has set aside for this awesome family. It hit me...we could be next! My faith is being stretched and I have told God how much I need him to strengthen my faith and help me to put all my trust in Him.
So we continue to pray for our little boy that God is moving in his life and preparing him to join our family and preparing our hearts for him too!!
Friday, December 2, 2011
Adoption update
I CAN'T BELIEVE that it's Dec 1st and I have failed to update my blog since Aug. 9th. Good grief! I promise to try and do better:)
We are heading into our 6th month of waiting for the referral of our little boy! I know that anyone who has walked this adoption journey before knows how difficult it can be to SIT AND WAIT! We talk about him and pray for him with the kids or friends and family who check in and see how things are going but, mostly...we sit and wait!
Friends have told me that this is the hardest part...waiting for your referral. It seems to drag on each day and you swear your phone will never ring! We don't know who he is just that he is alive and in Uganda needing a family to love him and care for him.
Dare I say, that some days we are so busy with our other 3 children that it actually feels like its not even real and will never happen. Once in a while the days drag on when all my kids are in school and I "try" to stay busy with housework, reading my adoption, coffee dates, etc...to help pass the time. Don't get me wrong, I have LOVED these past 3 months with the kids in school and days to myself enjoying the quiet house and being able to lounge in my jammies listening to my favorite podcasts, cooking or just sitting quietly. But...my heart has a longing that was placed there by God and it will continue to long until He completes the journey that He started in our hearts exactly a year ago this month!
We are heading into our 6th month of waiting for the referral of our little boy! I know that anyone who has walked this adoption journey before knows how difficult it can be to SIT AND WAIT! We talk about him and pray for him with the kids or friends and family who check in and see how things are going but, mostly...we sit and wait!
Friends have told me that this is the hardest part...waiting for your referral. It seems to drag on each day and you swear your phone will never ring! We don't know who he is just that he is alive and in Uganda needing a family to love him and care for him.
Dare I say, that some days we are so busy with our other 3 children that it actually feels like its not even real and will never happen. Once in a while the days drag on when all my kids are in school and I "try" to stay busy with housework, reading my adoption, coffee dates, etc...to help pass the time. Don't get me wrong, I have LOVED these past 3 months with the kids in school and days to myself enjoying the quiet house and being able to lounge in my jammies listening to my favorite podcasts, cooking or just sitting quietly. But...my heart has a longing that was placed there by God and it will continue to long until He completes the journey that He started in our hearts exactly a year ago this month!
Tuesday, August 9, 2011
Waiting patiently
Ok . . . so sorry . . . I am still here!
Life keeps moving forward each and everyday. Our family is LOVING this summer! We have taken a trip to Montana to visit friends and then off to Alberta to visit my family and more friends! It was such a treat for me to reconnect with wonderful people who have helped shape me into the woman I am today. I haven't really been home (Alberta) much in the past 3 years, so for our family to take the time and make it happen was truly a blessing to me:-)
We have tried to swim as many days as possible, have friends over for bbq's, we've attended summer church camp, participating in community concerts and outdoor movies have just been a few of the highlights! And...just last week soccer and softball have started up AGAIN! I swear I can hear the leaves rustling in the wind getting ready to turn colors:-)
It has been a wonderful summer that I have enjoyed everyday with my 3 munchkins and sometimes many more...but something has been missing deep in my heart...our little boy all the way over in Uganda is not home yet!
Our adoption update:
Our paperwork, home study and our online training are all done! We went to get our biometrics fingerprints on June 7th. We left expecting a good 45 day wait to hear back (that was about average of how long our friends had been waiting). We were shocked on June 18th when our FDL showed up at our home in 11 days!! Maybe God knew we needed that:-)
We so we have officially been on the waiting list for almost 2 months. We have been told to expect to wait at least 6 months before we get our referral call for our son! Some times the days drag on and seem to go by so S.L.O.W.L.Y and other days I can barely keep up!
These past few months have been a good time for our family to pray diligently for him and to expect great things as we seek the Lord as a family on behalf of "little Valdes".
We also want to thank each of you for your prayers and support! Also, so many of you have gone out of your way to show love and financial support for our family as we move forward to bring our son home!
Thank you, thank you!! God is using you to be a part of something GREAT!
I promise to do a better job updating the blog and sharing the AWESOME things God is doing!
It's all about Jesus!
Erin & Valdes fam
Life keeps moving forward each and everyday. Our family is LOVING this summer! We have taken a trip to Montana to visit friends and then off to Alberta to visit my family and more friends! It was such a treat for me to reconnect with wonderful people who have helped shape me into the woman I am today. I haven't really been home (Alberta) much in the past 3 years, so for our family to take the time and make it happen was truly a blessing to me:-)
We have tried to swim as many days as possible, have friends over for bbq's, we've attended summer church camp, participating in community concerts and outdoor movies have just been a few of the highlights! And...just last week soccer and softball have started up AGAIN! I swear I can hear the leaves rustling in the wind getting ready to turn colors:-)
It has been a wonderful summer that I have enjoyed everyday with my 3 munchkins and sometimes many more...but something has been missing deep in my heart...our little boy all the way over in Uganda is not home yet!
Our adoption update:
Our paperwork, home study and our online training are all done! We went to get our biometrics fingerprints on June 7th. We left expecting a good 45 day wait to hear back (that was about average of how long our friends had been waiting). We were shocked on June 18th when our FDL showed up at our home in 11 days!! Maybe God knew we needed that:-)
We so we have officially been on the waiting list for almost 2 months. We have been told to expect to wait at least 6 months before we get our referral call for our son! Some times the days drag on and seem to go by so S.L.O.W.L.Y and other days I can barely keep up!
These past few months have been a good time for our family to pray diligently for him and to expect great things as we seek the Lord as a family on behalf of "little Valdes".
We also want to thank each of you for your prayers and support! Also, so many of you have gone out of your way to show love and financial support for our family as we move forward to bring our son home!
Thank you, thank you!! God is using you to be a part of something GREAT!
I promise to do a better job updating the blog and sharing the AWESOME things God is doing!
It's all about Jesus!
Erin & Valdes fam
Tuesday, March 15, 2011
God keeps leading...
Hey family and friends,
I'm sorry that I have been out of commission for a while. I told you all that blogging is NOT my thing and it takes EVERYTHING I have to sit down and write my thoughts, feelings or circumstances down! So here I sit after some prodding from my dear hubby and sweet friends :-)
Adoption update:
We had our first homestudy meeting a few weeks ago and God was evident that He is still in this process with us and He is still leading us! During our homestudy visit, Jeff and I were asked if we knew about their pilot program for Uganda. Those of you who know us know that we have been serving in Uganda since 2002.
The last we heard is that you had to live in Uganda for 3 years to be eligible for adoption, so from the beginning we did not think Uganda could be an option. Our coordinator told us that the program has changed and is now an option for families in the USA. The Uganda program is still so new they won't advertise it until they have successfully worked with several families.
Jeff and I went home and prayed about what to do. We have so many dear friends, loved ones and ministry partners in Uganda and we believe we will ALWAYS be involved there! God made it clear to us that that is EXACTLY where He is leading us. If we had not pursued Ethiopia then we may never have found out about the Uganda program where we believe we are to be.
So...we have officially moved over to the Uganda program and will be adopting a little boy from Uganda (hopefully this year!)
We are still in the paperwork process, and America World allowed us to change programs (countries) at no additional costs. Our homestudy should be done in the next few weeks and then we move to complete our Dossier.
We want to thank you all who have sent emails of love and support! We love having a team of friends and family supporting us and praying for us as we move forward.
I'm sorry that I have been out of commission for a while. I told you all that blogging is NOT my thing and it takes EVERYTHING I have to sit down and write my thoughts, feelings or circumstances down! So here I sit after some prodding from my dear hubby and sweet friends :-)
Adoption update:
We had our first homestudy meeting a few weeks ago and God was evident that He is still in this process with us and He is still leading us! During our homestudy visit, Jeff and I were asked if we knew about their pilot program for Uganda. Those of you who know us know that we have been serving in Uganda since 2002.
The last we heard is that you had to live in Uganda for 3 years to be eligible for adoption, so from the beginning we did not think Uganda could be an option. Our coordinator told us that the program has changed and is now an option for families in the USA. The Uganda program is still so new they won't advertise it until they have successfully worked with several families.
Jeff and I went home and prayed about what to do. We have so many dear friends, loved ones and ministry partners in Uganda and we believe we will ALWAYS be involved there! God made it clear to us that that is EXACTLY where He is leading us. If we had not pursued Ethiopia then we may never have found out about the Uganda program where we believe we are to be.
So...we have officially moved over to the Uganda program and will be adopting a little boy from Uganda (hopefully this year!)
We are still in the paperwork process, and America World allowed us to change programs (countries) at no additional costs. Our homestudy should be done in the next few weeks and then we move to complete our Dossier.
We want to thank you all who have sent emails of love and support! We love having a team of friends and family supporting us and praying for us as we move forward.
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