Autumn Updates

Hello!

I am still trying to get used to getting back into the swing of "blogging".  And to be honest, not sure that I am going to be writing out our whole life story here (but if you'd like to know, let's go for coffee!).  I definitely want to share photos, and share updates.  But as a busy mom of three little ones, I rarely have time to read other blogs (I've mastered skimming and quickly taking in the photos!) let alone write an autobiography of our life.

So UPDATE....how are we? We are awesome! Loving the little years with our kiddos, and taking as much time together as a family as we can get. Lately, enjoying the leaves, cool air, and warm sun. "How's the adoption going?" most people ask...I'd have to say that if it is in God's hand's (which we believe it is) then despite the setbacks it is going good. Each setback - which basically right now means that it is taking longer for our documents to get over to Tanzania than we hoped (because we have to keep gathering more documents that somehow got missed in the process, or expired and have to get redone ) - can definitely feel discouraging.  However, when we keep our eyes on Jesus (who has shared His heart of adoption with us in the first place) we feel pretty hopeful. He is way more into adoption than we could ever be, and we trust that He has perfect plans to grow our family in His timing.  So....that's where we are! SOOOO close to getting out our "Dossier" (fancy for - huge - package of all of our life's documents) to Tanzania. So close.

We have also been doing some number crunching. Looks like my hope for a $25,000 adoption was way off!  We are going to easily be pushing double that by the end. Sound scary? Not really, not when we know that all of our money belongs to God, and what better use for it? Praise the Lord for His perspective in our lives! We have started making these adorable Christmas Tree ornaments (Anthropolgie - like the store - inspired!) as a family, and we are going to have a little fundraiser, to give our friends, family and community the chance to play a part in our adoption journey....so stayed tuned for that, it's pretty cool :)

Now for the photos.....

Took a trip to the farm to see my family this fall. Love these horses.
















My baby girl just turned 6. bittersweet.







And my baby sister just got married! (There might be more photos to come....it's hard to resist.)

Orphan Statistics

These last few days have been so hard! We are waiting for our home study to be finalized so that we can take the next major step in our paperwork process - filing a form with the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services, an orphan petition.  And our social worker doing our home study is just AWESOME, we feel so blessed that she is our home study worker... so I am trying so hard to just let her finish and not rush her...but it's so hard, I am so ready to finish our documents!

To keep myself from going crazy I thought I would just look up some information on Tanzania, and on orphans and adoption.  Here is what I came across from "The Joshua Tree" Blog, I thought it was worth sharing:

via the SHOW Hope facebook page

*  The births of nearly 230 million children under age 5 worldwide have never been recorded, depriving them of their right to a name and nationality.

* As of 2013, an estimated 17.7 million children worldwide had lost one or both parents to AIDS. Most of these children live in sub-Saharan Africa.

* Last year, 9000 children were adopted internationality.

* 81.5 million Americans have considered adoption. If just 1 in 500 of these adults adopted, every waiting child would have a permanent family. 

Wow. Is adoption something that has ever crossed your mind? I wonder if so many people have considered it at some point because at the very heart of our Creator IS adoption.  Have you ever dug into the Word of God and seen how many Bible stories involve adoption? Including our own adoption story for those of us who love and follow Jesus Christ as our Saviour? 

July 2015

We had so much fun this HOT fourth of July.  

Below are a few photos I took out at a friend's house that night, before the fireworks...

We purchased our tent when we lived in Tacoma, WA, and I think we used it once there, and then once again in North Carolina when I was pregnant with Aubrey.  We finally felt ready to take it out of storage and the older kids went camping with daddy at Lewis and Clark State Park last weekend.  They loved it! 

The other major thing that we have been doing this summer is diving into a pile of paperwork.  The time has finally come where we felt the Lord leading us to start the adoption process for our next baby.  It has basically been a couple of months of just "hurry up and wait" as we fill out, file, and wait for many documents to arrive so that we can just keep filling out more documents, and pray that the already received documents don't expire before our packet is finally complete and ready to send off to Tanzania, the country that - God willing - we will be adopting our fourth baby from.  This part of it sure doesn't feel very exciting, and the hurdles in the road can often take the wind out of my sails, but I trust the Lord and I believe in His timing  - He will make it all come together and work for our good and for our baby's good. Praise the Lord that HE is in control even if we aren't! 

Here We Are

It is amazing to me how much life can change in such a short amount of time.  The last time I posted Brodie was just a baby.  Now he is this awesome little 3 year old kid who is so good at ripping around on his strider bike.   Aubrey is growing into this beautiful little girl, now enjoying her first summer vacation from school.  And Jairus....I've never even blogged about him because after Brodie I was on Facebook more often - updating with photos to FB was just easier for awhile! However as life changes and keeps moving forward I just am not on Facebook as much as I used to be, but I still want to update our close friends and family with what is happening in our lives.

There are so many people we wish we lived closer to, and maybe it's because we are getting older (or perhaps from watching the show "Parenthood") but we definitely want to stay in touch.  Anyone with little-loves knows that talking on the phone - and even FaceTime - is almost impossible with all the interruptions, so ..... here we are :) On benandchelsa.blogspot.com .... welcome back!  And truly, I love this blog, it holds SO many of our dear memories and we love looking back through it.... apparently you can have publishers make a book out of your blog for you! That would be amazing.

Summer Has Begun!

Today was SO hot we couldn't resist getting the sprinkler out....we love summer! 

Just a week and a half ago it wasn't so hot, but we had such a fun time out at a friend's farm from church.  The kids especially loved the baby chickens and calf. 

My Jy-guy the animal lover. 

So hard for me to believe that he is fast approaching a year and a half already! 

Papa & Nana came for a visit and we headed to the National Park for a hike. So beautiful! 

This past weekend I volunteered to photograph the Color Dash 5km fundraiser for the Christian School.  I've never been to one of these runs and it was awesome! Aubrey helped toss color on the runners....she had such a blast!

These two water boys....the best. 

Nana stayed with us an extra week and we are so glad she did! xoxoxoxo

We're Getting Bigger!

Well...hmmm where to start right? It's been awhile since I blogged! It's kind of sad because for us it is like an online photo album to look through full of memories. Even if no one ever checked it out, I would still want it for us! So here is a little update, because apparently the last one was - eek - 7 months ago.



Above : Me when I was 5 months old



Above : Birthday Girl and Friends in October

Below : Our Family Photos at a lake close to Williston, it was sure cold that day but we got some great photos!








We love our 3 year old!!!



About 6-7 Months Old






Photo Credit  for this Family Photo: Gabriel Black


Above : I'm Eight Months Old!

Now... CHRISTMAS 2012

AND January 2013....9 Months OLD!

This month our little guy was fitted for a Cranial Band.  Basically, he was born with the most perfect little round noggin, but because he always looked left while laying on his back and while sleeping, the left side began to flatten.  I think he always looked left because of a mild case of torticollis (a tight spot on his shoulder that our chiropractor pointed out to me).   The flat area always bothered me because I could tell that even his left ear was now more forward than his left ear as his scull was pushed forward on that side.  Essentially, the cranial band is like getting braces to correct your teeth.  In a few months, his little melon should be nice and round again :)

 The reason I am blogging about this is because it is very common, and if by us sharing someone else is helped, then it is worth it.  If you are in your baby-making years you know about the "Back-Is-Best" campaign to prevent SIDS.  I've heard 1 in 10 babies now develop what is called "Positional Plagiocephaly".  It wasn't until I saw this blog post by our friends in Iowa that I realized it was common and that we could actually do something about it!  I wish we hadn't taken so many months to decide if this was the right route for us, but he is still young enough that he really doesn't care! And maybe it is perfect timing...he is full on crawling, pulling himself up to stand on anything that seems remotely sturdy, and trying to keep up with his Big Sister.  I think he is already realizing that falling and knocking his melon doesn't hurt anymore, and is getting even more bold (yikes).