Peace

I did more research on Haiti and even attended a webinar Wednesday on Haiti Adoption after the Earthquake....most of it was more of the same that I have already posted and from everything I have found out as I said before, it is going to be a long process. I know that this was a devastation unlike any other, so there is always a chance they could do something they have never done before, but right now, adoption is halted. They do not know if or when they will resume. There has to be a process--they said it would be illegal to ship kids here and adopt them out without knowing the status of their families and relatives. The US may at some point down the road be called on to provide a safe place for some children, but they don't know if it will be homes or refugee camps or if they will even be called on. Their top priority adoption-wise, are the families that were already in process before the earthquake and the children who already had orphan status prior to the earthquake. Just because they were in an orphanage doesn't mean that they are available for adoption. Because of the poverty, a parent may temporarily place their child in an orphanage for a time in the hopes of returning for them when they were better able to provide for their needs. They said this earthquake had brought about a flooding of calls inquiring about adoption of Haitian children and they were backed up trying to respond....they also said, that while you cannot adopt from Haiti right now, you could go ahead and start paperwork to be ready if and when they began adoption processes again. They emphasized that in various countries, there are over 143 MILLION orphans RIGHT NOW, READY & WAITING for a family. After thinking and praying about it further....I have to go back to what I know about my God....He is SOVEREIGN (He can see the big picture and knows what we need)....He is TRUSTWORTHY (He never fails)...He has a PLAN for us, not for harm, but for good...so, although I have been so confused, He has brought us to the place we are for a reason. Yes, I hurt for Haiti and I long to hear how Calvin is and if he is ok. And yes, if he has been orphaned, we want him. If that is what God wants, then He will give us that opportunity and make that clear, I trust that...But the Lord brought us to China--I have done all I know to do to be "open" to changes in our plans, whatever that means--and I have had no clear leading on changing what we are doing. I feel really at peace about our daughter in China. I am excited and looking forward to seeing her sweet face and loving her for the rest of my days:)...I know it may seem weird to hear me be so confused "out loud", but this is really what my head has been like lately...it isn't like your heart hurts for either/or (China/Haiti). It hurts for BOTH and I think that is ok....

Have a wonderful weekend,

Part of the Process & Sweet Lily

Well, our final homestudy visit got cancelled for Friday and rescheduled for next Tuesday. I was kind of bummed...but, in the meantime, I have had time to complete the last details of paperwork and have been working on the 8 hour Hague training modules. I had been dreading that so much..maybe I am just a weirdo, but it has been SO good to me. I cried my eyes out tonight while I was going through it. I guess it was the videos--videos always get me---they have videos of families that have adopted from about 5 different countries and they all share their experiences on different aspects of the adoption process and, I don't know, I was just overwhelmed with emotion as I listened. I honestly feel like it is an eternity away and it is hard to imagine us in their positions, I guess, being done with the whole tedious process. I just feel so unsettled and with all that is going on in Haiti, and all the directions I am currently pulled in.....my heart is in turmoil and overloaded and I feel like my full attention hasn't been on China and our process since the earthquake.....My prayer has been, Lord, just please lead us to our child, wherever they are....Don't mishear me. I am not saying I don't think we should go to China...I am NOT saying that. I just feel like a big question mark has been thrown into the equation because I don't know where Calvin is and I am UPSET... I just want to know that he is ok....like I said before....we feel like God brought us to the point we are at for a reason and we are going to continue on that path until it is obvious we should do otherwise. I feel like that is the right thing. On a very bright and lighter note...I have been really blessed this week to be able to see friends of ours go to China and get their daughter, Lily....isn't she BEAUTIFUL......they have had her about 24 hours so far, and are still in China!! How exciting!!! It has been awesome to be able to read about their daily happenings while they are there through their blog...

when I see sweet little faces like this, it makes me feel like, yes, one day it IS going to be ok....


Proverbs 3:5-6 Trust in the Lord with all thine heart and lean not unto your own understanding. In ALL thy ways acknowledge Him and He shall direct thy paths...

Heading to bed early tonight:)

Lord, Mold Me

I read this post this morning and will say, it touched me so deeply. God doesn't always call us to do the easy thing or take the easy road. Man, I have I surely learned that, but HE CALLS US to do things...LISTEN TO HIM...He is sovereign--in ALL things. I really needed to hear that this morning. He sends things our way to refine us, things to grow us so that we will be more like HIM. Oh, how I want to be more like Him....Please read the January 22 post by clicking on the link listed below. Pause my music at the bottom of my blog before clicking on the link:) Enjoy and let God speak...http://kissesfromkatie.blogspot.com/

How Can We Help Haiti???

I will be very honest...I have been in a huge, very emotional funk since the earthquake in Haiti...I am worried sick about Calvin and still haven't heard anything regarding where or how he is. I KNOW that it is going to take time...but, sorry, that isn't going to make me think about him any less. All this gets my mind going about adoption....What if Calvin is orphaned? What if he needs a family after all this? Of course, if Calvin were orphaned---we want him!!!!! What about all of the orphans in Haiti now?? How can WE help Haiti?? Should we look into adopting from there??? So, long story short, after a rough day yesterday, I got some information from a friend about potential orphans being brought into a church that they had contact with. So, I called this morning to find out more information. After much calling, prayer and research, what I found out is that they did pass the Humanitarian Parole Act and that most of the kids being brought in and adopted were families that WERE ALREADY IN PROCESS of adopting from Haiti...yes, many children will be brought to the United States for medical care, but from what I have found out, at this time, with all of the disarray in Haiti, there is no way to know if the children truly are orphans. After things calm down and get more stable and they begin to get back on their feet and can figure out who is alive and who is not and after they find out if there are family members that are looking for children, then who actually is an orphan can be assessed and this could take a very long time. Basically, Haiti can't just ship a bunch of kids to the US and adopt them out without knowing if they have any family members that want them. So, today, I am feeling at peace about continuing through with our China SN adoption, knowing that God is sovereign in ALL things and He has brought us to where we are for a reason. I have to be honest, the past few days, I have really been toiling over it, thinking that Haiti was in need of families NOW to take kids. If that was what they needed, I was open to it, but as I am researching, I am finding that is NOT what they need. God may very well use this situation in Haiti to speak to your heart and He may be stirring your heart to adopt---if HE is......LISTEN!!! He has a funny way of using one situation or a series of situations to get you to the place that He can move in your life. There are orphans ALL over the world in need of a family. He may even be calling YOU to HAITI and if He is, then that will happen in HIS timing...but if you are burdened and you are asking HOW CAN WE HELP HAITI NOW????? Then, what they need is PRAYER, money, supplies and time.... Just click on the button below and donate through Compassion International...we have been sponsoring children through them for several years. They are reputable and dependable and they have staff members on the ground, in Haiti, as we speak.

Haiti Earthquake

With a heavy heart....

Our Calvin

This is my Calvin. After feeling the Lord's prompting to sponsor a child back in 2007, Charlie & I sat down at the computer and found Calvin. He is the same age as Charlie, they are only 6 weeks apart. He loves soccer, he loves to sing and sends us the sweetest drawings. Calvin is from Port au Prince in Haiti...from a community called Delmas 24. I am worried sick and can't seem to find out any information at all about him. I contacted Compassion and I put an iReport on CNN.com with his picture and information. Calvin has a mother, a father (named Ilem) and 2 siblings. Please pray that he is safe and that his family is protected. I just cannot fathom what it would be like for Charlie to be sitting in a place like Calvin is. Seeing, hearing and smelling things that no 7 year old should have to experience. I am serious, please pray. He is our Calvin. We do NOT miss one day praying for him and his family and he is so dear to our hearts. Just look at his sweet face--I pray that God will engrave it in your mind so that you don't forget to lift him up....

Thanks so much,

Home Study Round #2 & Remembering My Dad

Well, maybe I won't ever get around to finishing those other 2 posts that I had started on. Things have been so busy that I am doing good to post about the current days happenings....so, today, we had all of our individual interviews. Our sweet social worker came about 3:15 and stayed until about 5:45 or so. It wasn't so bad at all. She did interview the kids and that was pretty humorous...she asked what they thought it would be like with another little sister and Charlie said...I think there will be more screaming and yelling. I was like--perfect. Of all the sweet, innocent, perfect little things he has said to me about having a new sister, and he pulls an answer like that out of thin air for the social worker...I just laughed...what else can you do. It is a little true...in those moments when everybody is upset, I guess there will be a little more screaming:) I am hesitant to post this, but I am going to anyway....I asked her when she thought there was a chance we could be matched because I didn't want to get my hopes up for something that would not happen and she said we could realistically be matched by March. That would definitely be the earliest...Now, she said that but I am still thinking it could be April or May...guess we will see. We are trucking along on our paperwork, so I know I am working as fast as I can and that is all I can do....it is all in His timing anyway:) Well, the good news is, I feel like 1000 pounds has been lifted. The next meeting will be at the agency and we are trying to pin that time down...on another note, today is the anniversary of my sweet dad's death...he was such an amazingly wonderful, loving, godly man. His death has been the absolute worst and best thing that has ever happened to me. I miss him so bad it hurts sometimes, but I know he is having a time up there praising Jesus. His death has changed me forever, but for the good...and I give God the glory. He is sovereign and His ways are higher than mine. (Isaiah 55:8-9)....well, time to get back to our nightly routine and get these kiddos fed and ready for bed....

Crazy Day!!

Oh my stars...this day has been cRaZy!! I don't think I have had this many things to do in one day in a long time...so this was what our day looked like:

Up and Charlie out the door at 7:20
8:45 Max to MMO
9:00 me and Lucy to the dentist for our cleanings
10:30 ran a few errands
11:30 lunch and a quick house 'pick up' before the home study
12:40 picked Max up and took him and Lucy to a friends house
1:00 social worker at our house
1:45 drove to Madison with the social worker and met Charles for our 1st joint interview
2:35 drive back to Athens
3:15 pick up Max and Lucy-head to dentist (meanwhile another friend is dropping Charlie off at the dentist for his 3:00 appt)
3:30 dentist for Max's appt
4:30 finally home:)
5:45 went to pick up clothes from cleaners
6:00 cooked supper/started baths/got Charlie ready for practice
7:00 Charlie practice
7:30 Lucy in bed:)
8:45ish boys in bed and started working on adoption stuff and am still doing it even now!!!

It has been a greatly productive day, but I still have several posts in the works...maybe tomorrow!!! By the way, our homestudy went great...it was actually kind of fun thinking back and talking about when Charles & I first met! Next meeting for our individual interviews is this Thursday!!
Goodnight!!

Our Homestudy

I am working on a few posts but have been SO busy....OUR 1st HOMESTUDY VISIT IS TODAY!!!! I am excited and can't wait to have this under our belt...I will try to work on the blog later tonight and hopefully get some things posted. Pray that all goes well!!

Chocolate Gravy

Maybe the words, Chocolate Gravy mean something to you....all I know is, I had never heard of that before until a year or two ago when our friends, Shawn and Shana started talking about chocolate gravy this, chocolate gravy that....I was thinking chocolate and gravy don't really go together. So, Shawn volunteered to have us all over to try chocolate gravy!!! Let's just say that Shana wasn't quite as excited about that as Shawn--haha. We had everything you could dream of...bacon, eggs, deer meat, waffles, chocolate and regular gravy with biscuits...they worked super hard!!!! It was delicious and we had a really great time, of course. The chocolate gravy was really good and very interesting (as was the conversation!!!)...it kind of reminded me of a thin chocolate pudding (the gravy that is). I liked it...but, I have to say regular ol' greasy gravy is my favorite!! I had ALOT of biscuits last night....when we left I looked 3 months pregnant!! Eric, Paige, Shana, Shawn, Me and Charles...(when we first came to our church, these couples, plus, the Welch's were our very first friends--miss you Jerry and Julie!!!)

Charlie, Jordyn and Max...

Goodnight!!

A Thought for the New Year

Ok, prepare yourself, this is a long one, but hear me out..."Deep Thoughts by Jennifer" are few and far between:) So here goes....About two years ago or so, somehow, somewhere I heard about a woman that went a whole year without buying anything for herself....ludicrous, I know...no clothes, no shoes, no jewelry, etc. I thought, wow, that is CRAZY...how could you go a WHOLE year and not buy anything...and why would you want to??? Well, since I heard that story, it has kind of stuck with me and I have pondered the whole concept...could I do it, why would I do it...and lately, I have not been able to get it off of my mind...then, about 2 or 3 months ago, I stumbled onto a blog and this girl was in the middle of doing that very thing, so since then, it has been on my mind pretty heavy and I have been thinking and praying about it and I don't know why but I can't seem to shake it, so I am taking that as a green light. With the new year approaching, I thought---what better time....

We have SO much. My whole life I have thought--this is just life, this is just how it is...you want something, you need something, you go get it. You work hard, you make good choices, you live a good life, you DESERVE it. You don't have the right kind, you don't have the right brand, you don't have enough...you go get the newest, the latest, the best. You say YES to yourself to the point where you have no idea what it is like to tell yourself no. All of your friends have it, they are Christians, it isn't wrong to have these things. You want to look nice, to dress nice, you want to give the right impression, the right image. You want the right hair--maybe a new style, maybe a new color, some highlights...maybe that will make you feel better...the right makeup--your skin just isn't looking right, the color just all wrong, you need a change..... the right clothes..You want to feel good about yourself---don't you deserve that?, you don't want to feel frumpy, everything in your closet is just blah. You have only bought one new pair of shoes this season...YOU DESERVE IT....why is it that our clothes/hair/makeup determine what mood we are in or if we feel good about ourselves (that is a post for another day, I'm afraid), so, this is what our society pumps you full of and everything around you makes you believe it is perfectly normal and pretty much, if you don't become aware of just the total self absorption that you are flooded with, you will be full of YOU and you won't even have a clue. I know I sure didn't. Beth Moore's Daniel Bible study hits this nail on the head....

With all that God has been doing in my head and my heart the past few years, this has really been something I have been dealing with for a while and although this past year I have done better, I know I still have a long way to go. This summer in Ecuador was part of this process for me...to be around people that didn't have the choices that I have...and I guess I say that 'loosely'...more like, aren't as self absorbed as I am. People who are wearing the same (dirty, mismatched, ill-fitting) clothes day after day... who are wearing shoes with the heel cut out so that they can still wear them...whose hair their mom has cut short so that they don't get lice as easily because they don't get a bath very often. And these precious people are HAPPY...grinning ear to ear and full of love....And here I sit, having a bad day because I am feeling blah because I don't love my outfit...how disgustingly selfish and selfabsorbed....after that trip, I was appalled at my own self and my own thoughts. I remember the Sunday after I returned from Ecuador...getting up to get ready to go to church and walking into my closet and just crying. Feeling ashamed and embarrassed for having all those clothes in my closet. I couldn't even wear a dress that day...(and just typing that out sounds so shallow), but I couldn't dress up. It took me to a whole new place, Ecuador did-- and I am glad... I NEVER want to forget it, I never want to get back to the sickening selfish place that I was. The sad part is, I may not be as selfish and self absorbed as I was, but I still am SO selfish.

I think about my little Ecuadorian angels. I picture Joselyn's and Olga's sweet faces and they still bring tears to my eyes...



I pray God's hand of protection over them. They are not orphans (if they were, they would already me mine!!), maybe they have great families that love them, but are just unable to provide for their needs. They have families, but not stuff....then, I think about the ORPHANS. The 'least of these'....they do not have even their basic needs provided for AND they have no love and no family and no hope. My heart breaks. I prayed for many years, Lord, I want to know YOU....and this is the path that He is bringing me down. I am just starting and He has already shown me so much, I wouldn't trade it for anything. I am open to what He has for me and for my family. And, yes, I am excited about 2010 and what He is going to show me this year. But, I have to say, this is going to be hard....Long story LONG [I always like to say!... it is usually never short:)] is, my goal this year is to buy nothing for myself...I want to be sensitive to needs. Me stretching through the year with what I already have should be no big deal, but why does it feel like a big deal. Why does that feel like such a huge task?? I have SO much, but the thought of going without buying something that I want makes my chest hurt...how ridiculous! Even as I am typing this, it makes me feel stressed. What if I see that shirt that is just to die for? I may never find it again....I make myself sick. And the sad thing is, the other day, as I was hashing out if I should really and could really do this, I really had the thought...well, I DO need some new "undergarments", so maybe I could just go get what I need and then, that should get me through the year...then, I thought, isn't that the point...my need and REAL need are 2 different things. If I think I am needing something now, then good, I am going to live with it..."suffer" through the year and that won't be even one bit close to what these orphans are going through, what they are facing. I want to identify with them and when I go to my closet and I hate all of the clothes in there and feel "bad" in the clothes I have I want it to snap me back to reality and to what is important. I want it to make me think of them, when I want to think about me...and that is WHY I am doing this...kind of a 'fast' of sorts...fasting from something that the world shoves in my face. But, I want to choose to say no. I want to practice saying no to myself because I am not all that good at it. I want my focus to be on others and I think this is one way to channel that focus. Yes, I could have done this and done it secretly and I contemplated that, but I am posting for several reasons...this has been one of my convictions and this train of thought is not going to be shared by everybody, I understand and that is ok:)--I am not writing this to say, oh look at what I am doing, but hopefully this will strike a chord in someone's heart like it was struck in mine. If it gets just one person thinking in a different way, then it is worth laying it out there, as ugly as it is. It's embarrassing to admit some things that go through my head, but if we are going to make a difference, we have got to get real...also, I like having and need accountability and I know my sweet friends will help me out in that department when I go through weak moments at Target:) (Now, with that being said, I DO reserve the right to buy any orphan/adoption/fundraising thirts, etc in support of friends adopting & our new orphan ministry:), but that is the only thing that I will let myself buy...I thought that one through and didn't want this to get legalistic! Plus, our new tshirts for Hearts of Compassion should be ready in the next month and I will definitely be supporting this ministry that we have worked SO hard to get started!!) So, that is where I am tonight and I will keep you posted on how that is going, because I must admit, I do love clothes and shoes for sure and it will be a welcomed challenge....


"But don't just listen to God's word. You must do what it says. Otherwise, you are only fooling yourselves. If you listen to the word and don't obey, it is like glancing at your face in a mirror. You see yourself, walk away, and forget what you look like. But if you look carefully into the perfect law that sets you free, and if you do what it says and don't forget what you heard, then God will bless you for doing it...Pure and genuine religion in the sight of God means caring for orphans and widows in their distress and refusing to let the world corrupt you." James 1:22-25, 27



Now, I think I can sleep...Goodnight!!

Hello, 2010!!!

I am finally getting around to posting our New Year's pictures...we took a ton and I just haven't taken the time to edit them and post so, here goes....we have started the tradition of going to my uncle's house in Dothan for New Year's so we left on Thursday and headed down...my aunt had tons of food and there was a bonfire, fireworks, marshmallows...basically, the works. My uncle even went to our FAVORITE DONUT shop, Loyless Donuts and got about $40 worth of donuts:) I had so much Mexican Connection salsa, chocolate covered strawberries and donuts that I really thought I might have to throw up to be able to sleep. We let the kids stay up the whole time...very interesting when their bedtime is usually around 8-8:30...we got back to the hotel and in bed about 1 or 1:30 and strangely enough, the smell of bacon from the lobby breakfast woke me up at 6:00 the next morning...here is Max after sampling the chocolate fondue...of course, he is always trying to be funny!!

Max getting plenty of encouragement from Aunt Regan....

Crazy cousin Becky and baby Davis...

All of the Peters girls and Davis trying to work on the chocolate fondue...

For Christmas, Donna and the boys gave Lucy a sweet tutu, wings, gloves and THE ROSE HEADBAND (as shown)....it is now Monday and she has worn that big ol flower every single day since she got it on Thursday...she is so funny and LOVES to dress up!! She has it on in EVERY single picture, I think...

Checking out what Donna is into...

Here are the "big boys" roasting marshmallows in between fireworks...

Me and Lucy...she still isn't a big fan of the "pops" (fireworks)...

Lucy loving on Uncle Robert..I think he likes it a little too...

Self portrait of me and Charles in the van at a stoplight at 1:00 in the morning on the way to the hotel....I think we were delirious by this time...



New Year's Day was rough. I met my sweet friend, Alison, for coffee at 8:30 (no pictures will be posted of that sight)! Then, we ended up back at my Aunt Lou and Uncle Robert's house for the Auburn game and New Year's lunch including black eyed peas and homemade cornbread...i did eat about 5 peas. Not a fan. One thing that I LOVE is lounging in that awesome fluffy chair...thanks, Uncle Robert for sharing:) It was nice to be lazy for 2 days....Lucy had NOTHING to do with me while we were there...she just wanted her Aunt Lou!!!

Me and Uncle Robert...

Me, Regan & Davis with Uncle Robert and Aunt Lou....

Then, we trekked back by about 9:30 that night. We always have a ton of fun and the kids LOVE being with their cousins!!!! Can't wait to do it again next year!!! Happy 2010!!!