Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas!

It's Christmas morning and the sun is just about to come out. I thought if I got up by 5:30 I would have time to do my quiet time before Levi (Nephew) awoke for the big morning. Haha! No way! He woke me up at 5:28. There is no beating that kid! It was so fun watching him this morning. He was fairly excited about his toys, but when we went to get "baby desus" out of the pocket on the advent calender- he was SUPER excited! My niece, Emma, knew exactly who's birthday it was when I asked her the other day.

We went to the Christmas Eve service last night and had communion- which is always super special. What better way to celebrate THE Messiah's coming than by remembering his sacrifice? I will confess that I couldn't keep myself from thinking about our children though. I tried hard to keep my eyes dry several times yesterday and last night. My efforts were fairly successful as I didn't want to alarm others to my pining heart. It must sound silly to some that I miss 2 little people I've never even met, have no clue what they look like, and don't even know their sex, much less their names! Yesterday I also realized that they have BOTH probably been born. We really are enjoying being with family and friends, but I can't help but feel the yearning for ALL our family to be together.

I miss you my children and I hope to know you by next Christmas! Merry Christmas wherever you are my babies!

by faith...

I have been working through Thessalonians in my quiet times and i am really loving it. This morning I read and underlined this "With this in mind, we constantly pray for you, that our God may count you worthy of his calling, and that by his power he may fulfill every good purpose of yours and every act prompted by your faith." 2 Thess 1: 11.

Yesterday I went with Beth to a friends house to tidy up. I decided to wear my running stuff and run from her house home (don't get too excited, it's not THAT far). For what reason did I make my run for yesterday? What did I pray about and plead with God about? Our PASSPORTS! I prayed that he would help me recall where either I put them or Chris put them. It's just not like us to lose something THIS important. It's like losing the key to both our ministry and our adoption! It's replaceable, but not without a cost. Very unsettling to us both to say the least. Neither of us slept well last night. On my run last night- I prayed that I would have the faith i needed to just TRUST that we would find them. I began talking to myself and praying for BIG FAITH and I came to the point where I expected to walk in the door and Chris would be waiting there for me telling me that he found them. I got home and no passports. We went to eat and visit with my aunt and cousin for a while. On the way home we decided that by tomorrow afternoon (today) we would begin applying for new passports since CT is less than a month away from leaving.

This morning after my quiet time I called the US dept of State to see if they had them. The lady told me that they would have already sent them back to us if they were found. So she and I began the process of invalidating our passports so no one could use them. I was prompted by the Holy Spirit to ask: if we found them could they make them active again? She said that once she pushed the button then we would HAVE to apply for new ones b/c our others would be voided. I told her that I was sorry for bothering her but I needed to look just one more time. The Spirit led me directly to our filing cabinet where we had looked 100 times and deep down in between the "important documents" folder (where we always keep them when we are home) and another folder there they were not inside but between!! I immediately picked up the phone to call Chris in the middle of his bible study and put the phone back down. I got on my knees and bawled. God is just so so so good. Even though this seems so petty and silly it was SO important to us and important to our Father. He wanted us to find them. He DIDN'T want us to spend a few hundred dollars getting new ones expedited. Oh how he LOVES us!

"...by HIS POWER he may fulfill every good purpose of yours and EVERY ACT PROMPTED BY FAITH."

Ho hum...

Got a letter today from USCIS. They got our I600 application however it has "been suspended" until we pay the other $160. It was very confusing to me b/c the paperwork said there was an application fee of $670 and $80 for additional adults living in the home. Well, I thought it meant other than CT and I so I didn't pay it. It's fine... i just feel like it puts us behind which I'm used to, but Chris is leaving January 11th. I reminded them on that via a sticky note with my check for the remaining $160. ;)

If anyone is still following this blog and feels the spirit lead them, please pray we find our passports! Very soon! We have looked everywhere for them and it isn't like us to lose them... we it isn't like Chris. I lose things frequently. We cannot remember where we had them last, but if we do not find them then it causes some problems. It will affect our adoption stuff as well as Chris' trip back to Kenya Jan 11th. Plus it's more money. We feel like we have looked EVERYWHERE there is to look! Only the Lord knows where they are! We have prayed but maybe we need to call Vic Owen... (some of you will get that if you heard the sermon at RFBC sunday)

Guess what?

I know I'm awful for not updating! I'm just so glad to be home and with friends and family that the last thing I want to do is sit in front of the computer.

It's going to get harder as soon as I start a job too. Now, I will stop making excuses and give you the low down.

Yaya market: Went wonderfully! We raised a bunch of money and were so surprised by the turn out! Thanks everyone who came out. It was fun seeing everyone and getting some cool Kenyan stuff in the hands and homes of others.

I600A: Mailed it off and it got there on Thursday. I'm nervously awaiting to hear something from them.

In the meantime, I'm re-working that good ol' dossier. Trying to get it ready for when we get our i171H

Grant $: This morning I saw a large brown envelop sitting on the table, but assumed it was for matt and beth. I looked at the top left corner and immediately knew it was for us! I ripped it open and skimmed quickly to find numbers. WE WERE GRANTED ANOTHER MATCHING GRANT OF $2,500! I was, of course, very excited. I called Chris and he just kept saying: "Lindy, God is just so good. God is SO GOOD TO US!" I couldn't agree more. We certainly don't deserve this, but He LOVES to provide for His children. He are on cloud 9 today to say the least. :) This always makes the wait a little better!

"He loves us, Oh how he loves us..." I have enjoyed listening to Jesus Culture while running lately and this song makes me smile so big every time.

Thanks for staying tuned friends!

HALLELUJAH!!!

Well gang- it's official. Seriously this time. It's done, completed- signed, sealed and delivered!

Our Homestudy is finished, in my hand, amended, and approved by our family coordinator. The other day I went downtown to a lawyers office (Abby Austin's lawyer) to get my 2 copies of our HS notarized along with a few other important papers. Here is what they do here to notarize something- they put a sticker on it, stamp it with a seal, sign it, then charge you a small fortune! GOODNESS MERCY! I thought it was only going to cost me a couple hundred shillings. Try again Captain Frugal- 5,000 SHILLINGS!! My mouht flew open immediately. I couldn't hold it shut. Fortunately, I had gone to the ATM and gotten out exactly 5,000 shillings "just in case" right before I left for downtown. Then I just happen to have 400 shillings in my wallet to pay my driver. Tell me that wasn't God's provision! I'm over that it cost me a small fortune, I mean really, what is 5k ksh to God anyway? I just can't tell you how thrilled I am that it is over....well, this part. We have been working on this homestudy for close to a year. Okay, 10 months, but that is close to a year!

One week from now will mark one year since we started this adoption process.

We are still about a year away from seeing our children, but God has made it so clear that it will be a time of G-R-O-W-T-H! Spiritually, parentally (that's a funny word), and as a couple. SO much will be taking place the next several months so I'm thinking that this time will just FLY by..... at least part of me hopes so. Since I will (hopefully) be working- Chris will be taking on more responsibility of the adoption stuff and I am GLAD to be handing it over. He'll be making MD appointment, ordering new Certificates, sending off our I600 and all of that type stuff.

More on this later- thanks for your sweet sweet prayers, my friends. Can't wait to hug your little necks soon!

Oh work update:

Yes, indeed. I did loose my job. I was only a tad ticked about how it happened, but God had prepared me for it. I had 3 dreams the 3 nights before I got "the email". In my dreams God made it clear to me that it just was not what he wanted for me. I won't go into detail, but I just feel so "taken care of" in a Daddy-Daughter kind of way. Do you ever feel protected from something- like when God is more of a Daddy to you? Oh- I just really love that feeling...

So I'm on the hunt again in case you guys are running out of things to pray for and need something :) I'm just not really sure where to start looking.

HE WILL PROVIDE though... just as Daddy always does.

Adoption stuff... for real...

I realized that this here, is supposed to be an adoption blog. Have I said ANYTHING about adoption lately? Nope. For that friends, I am sorry. Life has been in rush mode getting ready to come home, packing, buying junk for the yaya market... which is a TON of stuff, and trying to get our homsetudy done. So nothing has really happened much on the adoption front other than me amending our HS, sending it to Terra (our country coordinator), her sending it back to me corrected, me fixing a few more things and sending it to Social Worker Steve (SWS), him sending it back to me, me changing and sending it to Terra and ALL that over again and again. HOPEFULLY I pick it up this week (I'm trying in the next 2 days). THEN I have to send it to get Kenyan notarized. Ugh.. 10 days people! 10 days to get this all done. Makes my tummy queasy.

I'm so excited about coming home and seeing all my peeps again, seeing our precious niece and nephews, and getting to sit down face to face with Lindsey to work on Run4Revolution stuff. I just want to warn you all, that I might act like a bit of a hermit for a while. It's hard sometimes adjusting to American culture. You'd be surprised at how much I dream of being in the house just vegging with my family, staying indoors only going out to run and for church. Don't be disappointed in me, I'm just being honest about what I get excited about. :) And I am looking SO forward to my sweet beagle to come back to live with his mama and daddy for a little while. I know, just a dog; but he's been our pseudo child for 5.5 years.

I was sort of getting excited about working however I think I might have just lost my job. I was hired via email and phone interview with HPRHS ER. I worked there as a new grad for 3 years. Well, a few days ago I opened a can of worms. I emailed the ER manager asking if they could get some soap that would accommodate my needs. I had a lot of problems with eczema when I was there not knowing I was allergic to ingredients in the soap. I explained that I was allergic to propylene glycol, quaternium 15, formaldehyde, and fragrance. If I use soap with these products my hands itch, crack and bleed. After several emails they have given up on me and said that I can't be in direct patient care b/c the soap that I can use isn't really a soap. I have a hard time believing I am the only medical person in the US that has a weird skin allergy. I am going to try one more thing before I throw up my hands with the ER. I am going to try and make my own Thompson-antispetic-concoction. If they don't accept it I'll need to find something else. Anyone else know of anything nursing jobs?! I'm coming home SOON and was supposed to start work on Dec. 7th!! Seriously friends, keep your eyes and ears peeled for me! Or we could just pray that this situation works itself out. ME WORKING- is the purpose of me coming home! I HAVE TO make some money so we can our babies home from Rwanda and so we can return to our Kenyan family!!!

Here are some random pics for your viewing pleasure!

Abby likes Chai!  

Miles like Chai too.  And he likes to stick his pinky out whilst drinking it...

Kailyn just before bedtime with uncle Chris.

CT, handsome as he is, up in South Horr this week with his friend Michael

Miles with the kids in South Horr and their new disk golf corse.  Miles' dream came true!  They LOVED it!

This pic is for Laurie, my sis in law. These are called Fushia's, but she can't remember the name of them.  She took it upon herself to rename this plant.  She calls them "Geisha's".  I can't look at them without a chuckle, thinking of her.  

KayKay and I with the doggy at the tea plantation today

Melia... thinking hard about the life of a 6 year old

Zippidy doo da...

i know, i know- i ask you people to pray and then i don't give you an update. sorry.

Zippy-

She is alright other than having a bad experience at the hospital here. Aparently this hospital we had heard good things about is having some problems or SOMETHING. Or it could be that it is still a 3rd world hospital. Tuesday I picked up Thomas when it was still dark. We drove to hospital X in a matter of an hour and 20 minutes. Supposedly Zippy was to have had her surgery before we ever even got there. We found her laying in bed with 2 hands full of bruises and holes. Thomas and I both thought she had already had the surgery, only she had not. She said some "trainees" had stuck her 4 times trying to get an IV. "WHAT? You're veins are AWESOME!" (you know i'm one of those sick nurses that gawks at peoples veins, all but drooling).

Whatever. I guess I could get over that. The "trainees" also tried 3 flippin' times to put her catheter in. I suppose soon I'll be making my way to the pharmacy for some antibiotics for her UTI she's destined for. Grrr.

So at 8:30 they take my friend to the "theatre" aka OR waiting room. We were told to come back and check on her at 12:30. So we sat in the car for 3.5 hours, away from the germs, then went back inside to where we had left her sitting. Guess who was STILL sitting there- yep. Zipporah. She was in tears. Her IV was hurting and she had told people but no one cared. I looked at it and it was infiltrated- no doubt. She said they kept telling her it was fine. I promptly went to the nurse and told him that her IV was hurting and infiltrated and if he "doesn't take it out then I will." He gave me a glare and walked to her. He agreed it was infiltrated! Good, now we're getting somewhere! I showed him exactly where he could put the next one. huhuh... gotta love me- I'm such a pain in the butt when it comes to people I love. I gave her a quick pep talk and back rub assuring her everything was going to be fine. (why i didn't just go to the pharmacy before hand and get her some valium ,b/c it's OTC here, i don't know. I could kick myself!) We talked to the staff and like many nationals do they told us what we wanted to hear: "She's next. As soon as this emergency gets out of the OR." I understand emergencies, so whatever. Thomas and i went to the cafeteria to get something to eat about 1pm. We tried to joke a little while we attempted to stomach hairy ...hair infested ... locks of curls .....ehem... our food. (Okay so we just tried to pick out the hairy pieces. I mean come on people- it's hospital cafeteria food at it's worse. We really did try to eat it reminding ourselves people are starving.)

After we ate we went back to the theatre to see if Zippy had gone into surgery. Nope. Still sitting. She had been sitting on a dirty wooden bench for 6 hours being told she was "next". I was done. I starred at a man texting and smiling wondering if whatever he was doing was too important for me to interrupt. Finally I walked over and as politely as I could utter, I asked why in the world my friend had been sitting there for 6 hours. He was very nice and allowed me to look at the OR board telling me that the patients are numbers in the morning. That day, they had 7. Zippy was number 7. I asked if he had any type of time frame other than "next". He pointed to a Mzungu doctor and asked if i'd be willing to talk to her. So i walked over to her inquired about my friends' surgery. She told me 15-20min! And i felt like i could bank on that- she was an American and we all know what freaks we Americans are about our time. When asked to leave the OR waiting- as mannerly as i could i told them I'd like to stay to assure my friend would be going in this time. She finally went in and Thomas and I went to the waiting room. Thomas was so precious sitting there twiddling his thumbs and bitting his lip. He really was such a wonderful husband through this. So other than them also losing her chart, sitting in the OR waiting for 6 hours, being a pin cushion, crying her eyeballs out, and not receiving adequate pain meds, she's great!

I took a chicken pie (her favorite thing to eat is chicken) to them tonight because she just got home. She had a horrible, painful ride back in a Matatu (taxi van)- so she was in some pain, you can imagine. She felt really warm to me and was having some epigastric pain and "pulling" so she has very specific instructions to call me tonight and i will take her to the ER if need be.

She wanted me to tell everyone thank you so much for their prayers!

a last minute prayer request...

i know this is last minute and I've been meaning to post it.

my very best kenyan buddy that partners with us is having surgery this morning. her name is zipporah. her husband and I are about to drive to the hospital which is about an hour away. i've never driven there before and it's pouring outside which now makes it a 2 hour drive. please also pray for safe travel for us in addition to God's protective covering over her body.

thanks so much

'Tis so sweet...

My alarm went off at 4:45am. As I rolled over I could already feel my heart begin to pound. I staggered into the bathroom where my gear was neatly placed on the countertop the night before. As I looked down I saw a tender note from my sweet husband. I smiled. As I began to put on my R4R "armor" I looked in the mirror and began to recite that all too familiar verse:

"Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes [like human trafficking]. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms." (Eph 6:10-12)

As we arrived and parked, Rich said a quick prayer and we all got out of the car ready to run for an in incredible revolution. I soon found myself standing there, elbow to elbow, in a mass of people i didn't know. The race was about the begin, but my heart had started long before my body. Next thing I knew i was jumping up and down. Finally- the sound of a gun! We were off. My first REAL half marathon- and what cooler place that Nairobi?! I tried hard to pace myself but the excitement was keeping me from succeeding. Just as I found my pace I passed a woman in a wheelchair who had started a good 30minutes before myself. She was pushing herself as hard as she could on uneven pavement. I looked down at her... elbows bleeding and she was only 2 miles into it. I felt my throat begin to tighten quickly. Tears began to form. I saw the determination in her face and knew she wanted no help or pity. I fought tears and begin singing to my ipod knowing I couldn't let myself cry because I wouldn't be able to breathe. Another 4 miles passed. Then I heard a familiar voice in both ears speaking, not singing. As soon as I heard this voice I knew I recognized it. But where? I didn't remember putting this on my "NBO marathon" playlist. After the first sentence, I KNEW that sweet voice. It was my very best friend and my favorite voice. My heart did a flip as my number one fan read scripture to me. And what better time than mile 6? Once again, I felt my throat begin to close. I told myself to: "Calm down and cry later. If you cry you can't breathe; if you can't breathe, you can't run. If you can't run, you can't fight..." So I kept on.

As the road doubled back I would see one of my team mates on the other side of the road. I LOVED seeing that beautiful shirt that made us part of team that is fighting for something so great and so beyond us. It really was an encouragement... even though he was 20 minutes in front of me.

Every 2-3 miles they had water stations. I guess because of the lack of clean water here they had 200ml bottles of water rather than paper Gatorade cups with 2 sips of water. I skipped the first several stations telling myself "you've never trained with water, why do you need it? Chris is at the end of this race- he'll have water." (Being thirsty usually prompts me to pray for the people of Sudan and my best friends team that just went in to build wells this past summer. It's a good reminder when I'm thirsty to pray for those people to find the living water.)

Finally I succumbed to the temptation of wetting my mouth, but quickly wished I hadn't. The ground was soaking wet from wasted water of several thousand people. Runners could only take a few sips then toss them on the ground. I was about to freak out: "People! This country is in a water crisis right now!" And there was no way I could finish my water or I would have made myself sick. I reluctantly sat my bottle on the ground (yes, upright just incase someone wanted to have some water behind me). The next time I was REALLY wanting water was about 3 miles from the finish and I had made a vow to either drink someone elses or not drink at all. It was the last water station before the finish. I ran by it starring at that luscious, clear, cool, goodness dripping from the hands of the providers. A man just to my left took a few sips as I watched, mouth watering. Then he just held onto it. After about a minute of thinking he had to be finished with it I said "May I please have your last sip, I didn't want to waste the water." I wondered if he spoke english. He said "What?" So I tried again in Kiswahili "Ninataka kidogo Maji Tafadali." He smiled and handed it right over to me. I had prayed I would meet at least one person I could tell about R4R and my passions. So 3 miles out, prayers answered. I met Steve, my water benefactor. We soon discovered we were both rookies. Our first half marathon. He was running in a pair of very flat Puma's with dress socks, me in my comfy, borrowed awesome Nike's and padded socks. I'd been training a few months; Steve trained 2 whole weeks. That's a Kenyan for you. We were about 3/4 mile from the finish line inside Nayo stadium and it began to rain pour. Steve said "Me, I am going to stop now." I grabbed his arm, pulled him forward not allowing him to stop and yelled "NO! YOU CAN'T STOP NOW! YOU'RE AT THE END!" As if he was running for the same reasons as I was. It might have been borderline rude, but I mean- it was the end! We'd come this far without stopping. He looked at me with furrowed brow and said "You are hard!" We continued on together. Several others were stopping as if they'd seen the words "Finish Line". As we entered the stadium the feeling of that nice soft track against my aching feet and sore knees was like heaven to me. I looked at Steve and said "Enjoy this moment." As we took our last 1/4 mile around the track I searched the stands for all my Mzungu's- they weren't hard to find. As I came around the curve they were the white ones, yelling and cheering as if I'd won the 1.5 million shillings. I again looked at Steve and said "Let's finish this hard." So we both sprinted through the finish and high five one another. What a beautiful feeling I will never ever forget. I'd won more than 1.5 M shillings. I had helped fight against slavery and free children...

I knew I couldn't do it in my strength. I would have never made it out of the car. I truly felt the Lord was honored through this marathon and I have no intentions of stopping now. I am part of a revolution.

What a joy it was to run for such a time as this...

Sneak Peek- YAYA!!

Here is your sneak peek at the Yaya market for November 20th and 21st at Monkeez Brew. I mean, if nothing else you should stop by just to see me! Feel free to tell me what you like so i know if I need to get more of something.

Angel ornaments

More Magazine necklaces- lots more!

Nativities

A very random picture of our home group from church.

more nativities

Go on a safari every dinner with hand carved safari animal napkin rings

These are made from banana leaves- I love their legs! (I ordered more thats is why only 2 are pictured)

Plant something in these darling little pot things!

Hand carved, really skinny, wooden Africans. There is one mama that is pregnant...hehe

Assorted carved gords

Drums! Okay so we have 3 of these but I have no idea how we will get them back! We'll just have to see if they make it!

Earrings: Kazuri, magazine, animal, africa and more

Hand sewn African baby dolls

scarves

and a few more nativity scenes

coconut shell necklaces, knives, soap stone bowls and more!

I have 4 CUTE amani wallets- I bought one for myself!

I only have a few shillings left so I must spend them wisely- tell me what you like so i can make some money for my babies!!

Running... into old age

Okay my Michigan friends- I'm dying to know how the Detroit Marathon went!? Anybody out there?

The Nairobi Marathon is THIS Sunday!! My stomach is turning just thinking about it. I'm nervous. As I've been training I have chosen Saturdays for my long runs. I was so nervous the night before my 9 and 12 miles- that I couldn't sleep! I guess I can plan on running the NBO 1/2 marathon on ZERO sleep as well.

This past Saturday it rained poured the whole night before so I knew it was going to be a muddy mess. Sara is doing the 10K so she and I drove separate over near where Rich and Shauna live to run around there. There is little traffic and the hills aren't nearly as steep. The plan was to run 60 minutes together then head back to our mommy vans so she could head home to the fam. I was going to grab a quick sip of water then do another 40-50 minutes. (I was trying to take it a little easier b/c I have had some real aches and pains lately.) I was right about the muddy mess. We were slippin' and sliddin'! I just knew I was going to bite it before it was all over with. Running off-road is much better on the joints so I try to stay off the pavement (although Sunday will be nothing but pavement). We had to stop just to rake the mud off our shoes b/c they were getting SO HEAVY.

As we completed about 65 minutes we headed down a gravel straight road that ran next to 2 large fields. As we neared our vans we noticed 2 men climbing through the barbed wire fence to come "greet" us. (Kenyans always call it "greeting".) I was NOT in the mood to be harassed so I went straight to the van to get my water, not stopping to talk. I knew they wanted something. They started asking Sara for money saying they had watched our cars. I decided just to get in the van and I would finish my run at home. You see I knew that if we told them "no" and then I turned to go back running, sure enough I'd have pieces of my van missing when I got back. That's what happens here. Just ask Graig. As soon as I got in my van I wished I hadn't. Sara told them that she didn't have money to give them. I wished that I would have stayed outside the van to say: "#1- we both have alarms on our vans. #2- we have several friends that live around here watching them for us." That way next time I came back to run they would think we were friends with everyone so they wouldn't be tempted to piddle with our mommy vans. But I just got in the van and ignored their requests for money. I know what you are thinking: "She is so jaded." Yes, I admit that I am. I can be sensitive too, but sometimes it just gets old getting treated like you are a walked ATM instead of a real person with feelings.

At any rate, I got home and could hardly get these bones out of the van. I was aching... bad! I tried to go back out but didn't make it very far. I found myself guarding every single step with my shoulders tensed up to my ear lobes. I took myself inside and reclined with a bag of frozen veggies on my leg and knee. Lindsey's diagnosis is that I have already worn out the milage on my running shoes I got in May. :( It probably is time for new ones. So I'm not sure what I'm going to do in preparation for Sunday's race since I only did about 6.5 miles Saturday. All I know is that 27 is coming... HARD and FAST with a baseball bat swinging with no plans to miss me.

And can I just give a shout out to Linds for running a 5k with about 8 minute miles at 8 months pregnant! She told me she knew she needed to pass people so they would see her R4R T-shirt! haha! Not sure I'm going to do much passing Sunday... maybe I'll just do an occasional finger point to the back of my tank instead.

Sykes! Dat's really not funny Friday

You may think that this Sykes monkey is all cute and stuff...

You may even think that it is really cool that he frequents our yard...

Well, you know what's NOT funny?

What's not funny is me, in my bedroom minding my own business -when peeping Tom here decided to pay me a visit and ALMOST came in my room!!! Sometimes Chris and I leave our bedroom door to the balcony open when we've been out there, for the breeze and what not. That door is VERY noisy and I heard it slightly open more than it was. I look over and this is the face I saw checking me out!! I ran toward the door clapping and yelling "YOU GET OUTTA HERE!" Then I yelled for Chris to come. He just jumped up on the banister and starred at me (the monkey that is, not Chris). He was only 6 feet from me at eye level... so I yelled at him again and finally he jumped up on the roof like this peaking over at me. He sat there for quite some time checking us out. Chris went and got a broom and shooed him away, further up on the roof. He decided to hang out and chill on the solar hot water panels for a bit, then he went on. I guess to continue his peeping business. Creepy little booger...

Do-hickies, Chicks, and Scuba Steve...

Isn't this little do-hicky to the right so nifty? Don't you want it for yourself? I thought so. Well, it's REALLY easy to put on your facebook, blog or whatever! Thankfully Neil made it extremely user friendly! Probably did that for those of you like me... who are special when it comes to blogger and facebooky stuff. (Anyone know how to do that nifty thing where you write a word and then put a line though it. I've always wanted to do that.)

Any hoots- add it so we can get the word out about R4R.

Lindsey and I have already watched God BLESS this so much! We both get sweaty palms and almost wet ourselves b/c we get THAT excited about this! We both have faith it's going to be HUGE! Help us out!

Adoption News:

We have a meeting with Scuba Steve today at 11. I'm hoping to sit there with him and get the Home study reworked together. He told me to correct it and re-write it however I wanted to and they would be happy to sign it. So I did. I honestly think that we would have some difficulty ever getting it from them, if I didn't do it. So I'm very thankful they gave me that luxury. Hey- I could be a social worker after this!

Chris and I are thrilled that the Lord has given us the opportunity to keep on moving forward with this adoption. Though it has brought some frustrations and heartache at times, it is a privilege to be a part of. It's going to be SO worth it in the end! Adopting is not s right that we have... but a privilege. So we have to keep that in mind!

I went shopping yesterday at the market with Candice and Sara. Candice is adopting from Ethiopia. Sara and her family live with us and are adopting from Kenya. I bought a TON of stuff- so before you guys Christmas shop, check out all the cool stuff I bought. I was able to get it nice and cheap, so it would be a good price for you all! And it helps us to fund our adoption. We pinned down a date for the Yaya Market. It will be the day after we get back- November 20th, and the morning of the 21st. It will be at Monkeez Brew again, there was much success there and it seems to be central for many people. Soon I will post some pictures of all the stuff that will be there! Here is a hint: Nativities!

Ministry News:

I can't wait until Chris posts on the ministry blog about our new chicken project. It's just he is so so so busy right now. But I will give you my little adoption bloggy people a sneak peek! Yesterday, 103 baby chicks were delivered to our house! They are nice and comfy in their little chicken house now. Thomas just sat inside their house with them for like 2 hours yesterday. He was SO cute with them! In 4 weeks we hope to sell 2.5 kg chickens! This is our first chicken house. If they all live then we will build more... lots more. This will help offset ministry costs and help our national friends become more autonomous!

Good News or Bad News?

Which do you want first?

Good News it is then.

Well, today we woke up and had an email from AWAA saying that we were accepted to their Rwanda program. So we're on the move... FORWARD finally!

I take it back. There is no "bad" news. It's just that i sit here this morning looking through all the "paperwork" (it's on the computer) and I realize it's not quite as easy as I thought it would be. Some of your adopt-y people are saying: "easy"?? I mean easier b/c we have done so much of it already with our Kenya adoption. Apparently it's been a while and I have forgotten a few things. Like getting papers notarized. For anyone living in the states, it's no big deal. For us, it is a big deal. Last time we ended up coming home to do a lot of it. I really don't want to wait until the end of November to get this going b/c I already have SO SO much lined up for when we come home. And the homestudy- I'm not even going there right now.

Ugh.... I am just so, so, so, overwhelmed. It makes me nauseous just thinking about what all we are re-doing. Guess thats my morning sickness. It is 9am...

Zofran please!

Slamming Doors...

If you haven't read the ministry blog I encourage you to do so now so that you are updated a little more about what's up with the adoption. The below post was written as it is dated. I wanted you all to know why we are no longer adopting from Kenya. I also wanted to give you a little glympse into what was happening in our hearts during all of this. I will try to be better about updating you all and answering as many of your questions as possible. Really, if there is something you don't understand or that I don't explain well, please just leave a comment and ask! I think I would rather be asked about them here on the blog than in person. Sound weird? Or does it sound like I am emotionally unstable? I guess I'm not sure how sensitive I'm going to be about it when we get back. We thought last time we boarded the plane to come back to Africa that when we returned we would meet all of you at the airport holding our child(ren). So here it is, raw as ever...

August 19,2009

Yesterday, it appeared a door was shut... to us it seemed as though it was slammed shut. I'm writing this as my emotions are fresh and my wounds are deep, however, the peace truly has surpassed my understanding.

As you may have read in my previous post I wrote Monday morning- we were scheduled to get our fingerprints done at the embassy Wednesday morning. I was a bit confused about filing the i800 in the US b/c that wasn't what I was told by our country coordinator. Monday night, I was so excited about Chris going to his first mens group meeting with our new church. I think he was a little hesitant, but I knew he needed to go so I raised his hand for him in church Sunday when they were doing a head count. Sara and I hung out at the house with the OSU group. Chris and Graig both came back so excited and pumped about their new found friends. Chris had a huge smile on his face and said "you aren't going to believe this! God is so great!" He told me he had met a guy who works at the embassy and was kind of a "big man" who knew all about the i800 b/c he works with human rights. He said we did need to file it in the US and said we could email him any time with questions. So you betcha- next day I sent him an email to check into what the lady had told me about "warning [me] about the delay of the i800." Later that afternoon (Tuesday), I decided to take my Sunday afternoon nap since I was cooking all day Sunday. I just wanted some time to read which usually leads to falling asleep. Chris had to run a few ministry errands so he left me read-sleeping. When he returned he gently woke me up and told me he needed me to sit up and wake up because he had something really important to tell me. He proceeded to tell me that before I emailed our friend, he had already been checking into this that morning. Then he got my email and knew he needed to call Chris and update him on what's going on with the whole situation. As painful as he knew it would be for us to hear it, he said he had to tell us.

It appears as though no one has been approved for the i800 (we were the first with our Kenyan and US agency). There are people who work at the embassy who have been waiting on theirs for almost a year now. Kenya wanted to be Hague accredited with the US, however they are noncompliant with Hague requirements which is "no contact with the child until after court process". Kenya says no way they are changing. Therefore they will likely be closing Kenya to the US. Unfortunately, we are caught up in the middle of all this. Fortunately, Our God is so big and has a wonderful plan for Team Thompson. This is brand new news that both of our agencies are completely clueless about. CAS is scrambling for answers. That night after our weeping session, we decided we needed to tell the Austin's as it could involve them as well. We were very concerned for our friends as they already were with their little girl. However they were grandfathered in with their old application and under the i600.

Our friend told us to go ahead with our fingerprint appointment as scheduled. We awoke at 5:30 the next morning. As we got ready in silence and gathered our things I felt Chris sort of watching me and waiting on me. As we made eye contact he reached out his hand for me. We knelt before the Lord and commited all of this to Him. We asked for peace and guidance only from Him. As we sat in the lobby awaiting our appointment a familiar face walked in. It was Matt Mucher whose parents are part of our accountability team. He was so nice to take us to the cafeteria to eat while we waited. He then sent Elizabeth, whom our appointment was with, to fetch us in the cafe. Afterward our fingerprinting she called our new church friend to meet us. He was super busy (he is the #3 person at the embassy!) but took the time to take us back to the cafeteria and insisted on buying us a cup of coffee. We talked more and he kept saying how sorry he was to tell us all this news. He also told us horror stories of children having to be given back b/c they would never obtain US citizenship. What we kept trying to reinterate to him was that he was such a blessing! I can't imagine going so far in this process as to have actually met our child to begin raising him to later find out he would never receive US citizenship and they would have to take him back to the orpahage. I'm pretty sure that would be the end of Lindy Thompson's sanity.

As I grieved our loss I began throwing questions out "Does God EVER intend us to be parents?", "Will I ever know what it's like to love like my mother has loved me?", "Will I ever get the opportunity to raise little missionaries?", "Are God's intentions for it to ALWAYS just be Chris and I?", "I thought we heard right! I thought You said Kenya." I spoke aloud my raw emotions and began searching scripture asking God to show me His heart, though I knew it deep down. God's heart is definitely for orphans, widows, and the oppressed. His word is very clear about that. God wants us to be parents or He wouldn't have given us such intense desires. God DOES want us to adopt children for He has adopted us! Adoption is at the core of our savior's heart!! And maybe we did hear right and everything will turn around for Kenya. Maybe we did hear wrong, but God wanted us to learn from this. And I'm okay if we heard wrong, because I've also heard right before. Whether we heard right or wrong we are learning more how to discern His voice.

After talking to Sara, she also encouraged me by a simple reminder. She said that not everyone has a heart for orphans. And not everyone who has a heart for them brings them into their home to raise and bring up as their own. God is going to use our passion b/c He has given us these hearts for embracing orphans.

I am waiting to post this because Chris and I have decided to keep this to ourselves for the time being. We need much time to sit on the steps of our souls to pray about what God will lead us to next. We are apart now for 2.5 days to have alone time with the Lord. (which is virtually impossible in NBO)

We are praying in our time apart that God will give us some clarity as to whether to continue on with Kenya- risking more heartache, money, and disappointment; or whether we should change countries which, for us, would mean changing agencies and also loosing money. Either way we are loosing time and money, but praying God's answer will be in His supreme timing and not a minute sooner.

This is one truth I know:

Children don't come without labor pains...

...but where the heck is my epidural!

October 2, 2009

Now it's 6 weeks later and we have applied to adopt from Rwanda through AWAA. We are waiting to hear back from them. Then it's back to Little Angels to amend our homestudy. Then we will be able to file our i600a.

Why Rwanda?

Most of you who know me, know that I have literally wept for these countries who have fallen victim to genocide. I've just recently gotten to where I don't burst into tears when I meet sudanese people. Back in 2007 when I was reading numerous books about genocide in Sudan and Rwanda we were also looking into different adoption agencies. We found AWAA and at the time their Rwanda program was so new it wasn't even on their website. It really interested us, but we were turned off by the fact that it was a pilot program.

I am very impressed with how Rwanda has recovered from the genocide there in 1994. Which is more than I can say for Sudan. Rwanda has come SO far and worked hard for it. Maybe one day the war will truly cease in Sudan, they will build up an infrastructure, have homes for orphans and we can adopt babies from there as well!

Oh there are so, so many children all over this world who need families!

Why Run?

So here it is. The moment you've all been waiting for...

I want to tell you about a Revolution. This is one of the coolest, most spectacular, life changing revolutions you will ever have the opportunity to be a part of. It's called Run4Revolution and so many are already choosing to take part. This is an exclusive running club around the world! (Okay so Kenya and America so far...)

CT and I have been prompted to put in writing what our passions are. One day, a while back, I was just doing my daily run and I began thinking about what mine were. I thought of 2 of them immediately b/c usually I'm doing them at the same time. I am passionate about children and running. Not just praying for my children, friends children, and those adopting, but children among the least of these. I have always been drawn to the least of the least. There are children out there, approximately one million, that I am passionate about saving. These children are not necessarily orphans. Some have families, but they have been ripped from them to spend their lives having the most despicable, atrocious things being done to them day in and day out. What is this? It's called a few different things. You may of heard it called sex trafficking, child trafficking, child slavery, human trafficking. There have been arguments what to call it and what not to call it. Call it whatever you want. I call it despicable and something MUST be done about it. What am I going to do about it? Well first I spoke with the first person I could think of that is also passionate about justice, stopping human trafficking, and running. Lindsey Broere and I have emailed back and forth 100 times growing our ideas and passions. It amazes me how God began speaking to both of our hearts at the exact same time about the exact same things! Secondly, I started running further and harder. Thirdly, I began talking it up to my runny friends. We have 6 people so far that are doing the same. We will RUN 4 REVOLUTION. We will RUN LIKE SOMEONE'S LIFE DEPENDS ON IT. Our goal is to raise awareness about Human Trafficking and raise money to aid organizations who raid these brothels, that force children as young as 4 year olds, to surrender to such heinous acts. It's still a work in progress, but the revolution has already begun...

I think I have said this before at some point but I want to try and explain why and how I run. When I began running back in 07' I began to do so to release some serotonin and a crazy amount of energy (In fact, it was Michael B that talked me into starting b/c he had been running). Soon after I began running it turned it to a wonderful prayer time with the Lord. As I began picking up my milage Joy talked to me about focusing my runs/prayers ON something specific or someone. This totally opened my eyes to a whole to realm of thoughts on my runs.

Running, for me, has never been about myself, my health, nor my appearance. I relate it a little to fasting. It's weakening the flesh to strengthen the spirit. When I've already run 5 miles and I am about to run up a huge hill, I think about a friend going through some difficult situations. I run that hill FOR that person. I do not allow myself to stop. I run it FOR strength and hope for those children in the brothels. I run it FOR those men who have left their families to put themselves in danger to raid brothels and save little girls from a life of exploitation. I run for those starving to death in Kenya due to the lack of rain which has led to dead livestock and zero crops. This is why I run...

What can you do?

~Educate yourselves on human trafficking

~Read books on human trafficking. My first one was "Terrify No More" Gary Haugen

~Pray about joining R4R- EMAIL US if you would like to learn how to get started or get involved.

~Help us get the word out

~Tell your runny friends

~Most importantly, start running/walking several minutes a day. Use that time to focus on praying for these victims.

~And stay tuned as the next few posts reveal more about how you can help

A Blow Out...

I mean this is just way too funny not to share.  I almost forgot I took a picture of this b/c I uploaded them on the other computer that I rarely use.  The day we left for Mali Saba I went out into the yard.  Shaggy laid down right in my path wanting me to pet her belly, so I squated down and this is what happened.  All in a matter of 2 seconds!

These were my FAVORITE JEANS!!  I've had them for at least 6 years!  Remember when I told you guys I was going to Toi Market to look for jeans b/c Zippy made fun of my jeans?  Well these were the ones.  AND I bought 3 pair which I had to donate to the Saint Boys (we are no longer calling them Street Boys) b/c they didn't fit.  Oh and don't be alarmed, those aren't black underpants, just a pillow from the couch.  So after my blow out I put my hand back there and felt. Could it be?  Did I really just blow out the whole backside of my jeans?  I had to put both hands back there and run in the house.  Graig was standing at the door and Thomas was in the yard.  G said "What's wrong with you?"  I said "Nothing!  Just don't look at me!"  I mean seriously... who does this to their jeans?  What's so funny is G had JUST done the same thing with his jeans that week.  That's why we both had to go to the market.  It's just so hard b/c you can't try them on.  I thought I wore size X, but when I bought 2 size X's- neither fit!  So I decided to try one more time and only look for Gap size X.  Found them!  Tried them on at home- HIGH WATERS!  They didn't even say "short".  I guess I better just stick to wearing my gauchos for now. 

Hope you laugh as much as i did...

My joy...

Some of you guys are getting BEHIND in reading this blog, huh? It's b/c I'm super-awesome-fast-girl-updater these days.

Honestly, I just don't even know where to start at telling you about adoption stuff. I get so overwhelmed any time I think about, blog about, or sit sit down with the paperwork. In fact, "The Folder" is tucked away in a drawer so I don't even have to look at it. I think when the time comes I might just let Chris tell you what's going on. I really think that somewhere since August 18th, I lost some of my joy. It may sound extreme, but I really think I lost some of it for a short while. You know what that means? My joy was not where it was supposed to be. It was in the Emergency Room before I knew it! My joy was not: delighting in the Lord. It was in my hopeful future children. Wrong? Absolutely. I have been reading a book called "Crazy Love" by one of my favorite pastors- Fancis Chan. Michael B recommended it long ago, so I ordered it, but stuck it in with the others on the shelf here. I finally began reading it back at the beginning of August. I put it down for a little bit when I was busy loosing some joy. The thing is, I knew I was obsessing over the paperwork, homestudy, i800 junk. I picked up Crazy Love again and have really been enjoying it. It has slapped me around a few times. It's been good for me to be forced to put the adoption stuff down for a while and focus on my first love. You know what the outcome has been? It's now in the recovery room, doing much better. I have all my joy back and I really think I'm okay if even it ends up being another year before we get to meet our children. For they are not the reason for my joy, but my savior is! I have some other things to focus my mind and time on and those things will take first and foremost focus on Him and guidance from Him. I am very excited about the things He has laid on my heart these past few weeks. I have been led to evaluate my passions and do something more with the very first one I wrote down. But you'll have to wait to hear more about it.... it could be big... really BIG. Oh how I love keeping you people in suspense. All 2 of you! :) I've hinted around on other posts, so some of you may have a slight idea what it involves. okay, okay, I'll give you another hint which has something to do with this post:

The other day I was running and listening to my ipod. I was meditating on some different aspects of this "project", wondering how this thing was going to work, and thanking Him for helping me find where my joy comes from. Then this song came on and struck me differently than before.

Who can hold the stars in my weary heart

who can see everything

I have fallen so hard

sometimes I feel so far,

but I'll be on your wings

I can climb a mountain, swim the ocean- do anything

but it's when you hold me

I start unfolding all i can say is

Hallelujah, Hallelujah

Whatever is in front of me, help me to sing hallelujah

The same sun rises over castles and welcomes that day

spills over buildings to the streets where orphans play

only you can see the good in broken things

You took my heart of stone and made it whole

set this prisioner free

Hallelujah, Hallelujah

Whatever is in front of me, help me to sing hallelujah

Hallelujah, Hallelujah

Whatever is in front of me, I'll choose to sing hallelujah

Hallelujah

Betcha my cat is cooler than yours...

Can your cat do this?

How about this?

Can your cat do this 6 times over?

Yea, that's what I thought.

Mine can.

Pepper killed Momba number 6...

...twas a green one this time.

...so Pepper got extra dried fish!

Good kitty.