One Thousand Gifts (Continued)

"Praise the LORD, O my soul; all my inmost being, praise His holy name" (Psalm 103:1).

Today's Thanksgiving Day. I am overflowing with things to be thankful for. Our pastor preached this morning about the importance of being intentional about giving thanks. He explained how being grateful is "a spiritual exercise that acknowledges our dependency on an unseen God and as we give thanks for His presence and provisions, those become more real to us" (and so does God). As he read from Psalm 103:1-5, our pastor that first and foremost, we ought to give thanks for who God is. Then, everything else becomes more profound.

My gratitude list is not only mine, but it includes my family's list as well.
#1 021- #1 045

-God knows what's best for us
-God's perfect will
-God and His salvation of us and my wife and all 4 of my children and that they love God (Paul's list)
-God and the Lord and my family (Curtis' list)
-Jesus, my Saviour and the Bible (Nicole's list)
-my friends and all the food we have (Jesse's list)

-God giving my husband the strength and confidence to pray in church this morning
-Paul's prayer:
"Lord, you are awesome and majestic, so it is with humble hearts that we come before your throne of grace in a prayer of thanksgiving for your gospel of reconciliation. Lord, we stand before your with hearts and lives that are burdened with the weight of our sinful nature. We thank you for opening our eyes to the way that we grieve you with each of our wrongdoings.

Thank-you for bringing people, circumstances, and events to our lives that reveal to us just how depraved we are. Through this revelation of depravity, you also bless us with the knowledge that we cannot do anything good on our own. Thank-you for our reliance on your grace as the only means to set us free from the captivity of our sin.

Thank-you also for the gift of your Son, Jesus Christ, who sets us eternally free from the guilt of our sin. Thank-you for our assurance of salvation through the cross of Christ.

Lord, please work in our hearts, minds, and hands each day, that we will be led by you to live lives of faith in Christ. We pray that you will open our eyes to ways that we can bring the gratitude of our hearts out in the actions of our hands.

Please reveal to us ways that we can glorify you through our lives, and give us the faith, confidence, and courage to act on those revelations. Amen"

-our niece's wedding this past weekend

-brother and sister together on the spelling bee team and winning first place!


-ability to run and participate in cross country

-extended family

-fall colours

-group hike

-amazing Mother and Father-in-law -their love of the outdoors and hiking

-51 years of marriage

-older cousins

-grasshoppers

-great host and hostess

-Thanksgiving decorations (not mine, but my very talented sister-in-law)

-eating outside

-leaves falling everywhere

-son listening to a suggestion from our pastor and leaning over, "Mom, we should do that!"

-siblings playing together

-charts and schedules

"But as for me and my household, we will serve the LORD" (Joshua 24:15b).

This was the verse that the minister preached about yesterday at our niece's wedding. This was also the verse chosen by my in-laws 51 years ago. I think it's a verse that will stay in the family, because our other niece used the same verse at her wedding last year. I hope and pray that it does stay in the family, perhaps not as wedding texts (although that would be great too), but in all of our daily lives. The choice that Joshua is offering to the Israelites seems obvious, but how often we fail to make godly choices as we use our free will. We so easily choose other gods in our lives - money, fame, acceptance, leisure, sports, alcohol, possessions, etc. It is my prayer for Jen and Trevor (and all of us) that we with the help of the Lord, we will choose to serve Him everyday and that He will be the center of Jen and Trevor's married life and in all of our marriages.

-listening to beautiful music by Jen's aunt and cousin

-driving in style


-definitely a highlight of the wedding- the infamous father/daughter dance; Ken comes alive as he and Jen shock the pants off everyone with their amazingly choreographed dance that they had been practicing!






-the slow father/daughter dance before the "real" dancing began!

-guess the donut to get the married couple to kiss- a fun idea by the MC's (my nephew and niece)

I pray that God will richly bless Jen and Trevor as they begin their lives together as a married couple. I pray that they will follow Him and allow Him to be their guide.

Adoption Update

"Commit your way to the LORD; trust in Him..." (Psalm 37:5)

7kg, 66 cm, and 38.5 cm
These are the measurements we received yesterday via e-mail of our baby girl! Since last month, our little girl has gained 1 kg, grew 2 cm longer (from 64 cm last month), and apparently her head grew 1.5 cm! With that information, we also received two gorgeous pictures (yes, I'm biased) which I have been studying over and over. I already developed 5x7's 4x6's and 8x10's (in coloured and black and white). We had wait an extra week for her updated pictures because they had to send a new camera to Ethiopia since the camera there broke. This was rather difficult, but oh well- this seems to be a better camera, because the pictures are much clearer!

Some families received their Visas this week which is exciting news. That means Visas are starting to come in again- there was a bit of a dry spell. This is a quote from our agency's update a few weeks ago regarding Visas:
"The CIC investigation into all Canadian adoptions from Ethiopia has been completed. As a result of the investigation, the High Commission is now requesting additional documents be sent with the Visa application to Nairobi. This change in process should not add any further delay to Imagine families, as the new required documents are items that have already been obtained for the Court processes in Ethiopia. "
I can't imagine things getting delayed any further! We're still hoping to get her Visa very soon! This has definitely been a test of patience and trust.

Not Alone

"The Lord is my strength and my shield; my heart trusts in Him, and I am helped. My heart leaps for joy and I will give thanks to Him in song" (Psalm 28:7).

"Carry each other's burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ" (Galatians 6:2).

I'm checking their back packs, signing agendas, making lunches, packing lunches, getting toothbrushes ready, fixing bed heads, searching for library books, etc. etc. all before 7:45 a.m. Sometimes I feel so alone in this role of parenting, but that could not be further from the truth. I know that God gives me the strength I need, and that through Him all things are possible. I also am blessed that God gave me Paul who does the whole parenting thing quite well! He really helped out last week when I had to help my mom first thing in the morning as she wasn't feeling well. Even though Daddy doesn't do things the way Mommy does, he still does it and he does it well.

I thank God for the strength that He gives me and for my best friend -my partner.

One Thousand Gifts (Continued)

No Visa again.

Apparently our agency office was open today, and there were Visas that came in, but unfortunately not ours. I didn't feel like joining the gratitude community today. I'm on #1 000 and I was simply going to give thanks for not having an ulcer yet. However, after I was reminded of the importance of giving thanks and was challenged by my dear friend on her blog, to read Psalm 100, I changed my mind.
http://www.heathershomewardjourney.blogspot.com/ (Heather's blog)

Psalm 100


Shout for joy to the LORD, all the earth. Worship the LORD with gladness; come before Him with joyful songs. Know that the LORD is God, it is He who made us, and we are His; we are His people, the sheep of His pasture. Enter His gates with thanksgiving and His courts with praise; give thanks to Him and praise His name. For the LORD is good and His love endures forever; His faithfulness continues through all generations."

my list continues...

#1 000- #1 020

-no ulcers yet
-Visas came in today
-families who will soon be united with their children
-nice visit today with a long time friend
-lunch and nice visit with another long time friend last week
-running with the sound of crunching leaves underneath my shoes
-smell of leaves/fall
-love of apples (I think we need to grow our own apple trees)!


-love of sports

-brother in law's 50th birthday and celebrations

-baby shower

-friend's prayers answered

-moving my office space

-helpful sister

-Mom's health

-out for dinner

-date night tonight watching "Inside Hanna's Suitcase"

-survivors of the Holocaust willing to tell their story

-fun, reliable baby sitters

-others' inspiring blogs

Adoption Update

"Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for He who promised is faithful"

(Hebrews 10:23).

Every week brings on new anticipation and excitement as we eagerly await the call from our agency that Deborah's Visa has arrived. It has been 17 weeks since all of her paperwork has been received by the High Commissions in Nairobi. Oh how we long for that call! We're not exactly sure what it is that we're waiting for- if it's an actual piece of paper, or what. Paul says if it is, we are going to get a huge frame for it and display it! The office of our agency is closed tomorrow, so we will have to wait a day (Tuesday) for our anxiety to kick in.

Also, the camera at the transition home in Ethiopia broke, so we did not yet get our monthly photos of our baby girl. Although that news was frustrating, I was glad to learn that because I was checking my e-mail dozens of times throughout the day, hoping to see new pictures of Deborah. It's just one of the ways we can feel somewhat connected to her. I can' wait to take our own pictures of her!

"Not flesh of my flesh nor bone of my bone, but still miraculously my own. Never forget for a single minute, you didn't grow under my heart, but in it!" (author unknown) This is the quote on the picture frame above my computer desk with Deborah's referral picture. We love her so much as she continues to grow in our hearts and we eagerly await to meet her and bring her home to her forever family.

I have been so blessed by the encouragement and prayers of so many friends, family, and church family. We have made wonderful connections with other families across the country. I appreciate every one's support and prayers. It's my prayer that God will continue to grant us patience. I pray that Deborah will be safe and healthy and that we will be able to bring her home soon. I also pray for the many, many families who are waiting for their referral (I remember how excruciatingly painful that wait was) and for families who are waiting for Visas and court dates. Oh, Lord, I pray for patience for all of us!

Wedding Preparations

Wedding Preparations

"At midnight the cry rang out: 'Here's the bridegroom! Come out to meet him!'"

(Matthew 25:6)

We had a very fun get together last night as we had a bridal shower for our niece's upcoming wedding!

As I was reading the parable in Matthew 25, it reminded me to live my life in a way to show that I am ready any time for Jesus' second coming. I think that I am ready, but am I really prepared as the women in the parable who took oil in their jars??? It is my prayer that I will be prepared and ready because we "do not know the day or the hour" (Matt.25:13).

It is also my prayer that Jen and Trevor will seek God in all their wedding preparations/ planning and as they begin their lives together as husband and wife. "This is what the LORD says to the house of Israel: 'Seek me and live.'" (Amos 5:4)