Blessing:Free Stuff

I kept telling Dave that we need to buy a bed for Jude. Since we are adopting a toddler I figured we could just skip to a twin sized bed. That way we can lay next to him and comfort him as he goes to sleep. We would look at prices in stores and he would say, "God is going to give us a bed." I still continued to shop around on Craigslist and online sales. Even when I found what I thought was a good deal, Dave would say the same thing. I decided to wait it out and trust in the Lord for a free bed, though I thought it sounded kind of funny.

God did just that, he gave us a twin size bed. A couple of weeks ago we were at small group and one of our friends was telling Dave how they had an extra twin bed in the basement that they needed to get rid of. I am excited about this blessing and again blessed by God's little surprises.

I had purchased the comforter on serious clearance a while back, and found the bedskirt for $5 over the weekend.

We have enjoyed having in set up in the office/Jude's future room. It seems to make it all feel a little more real. I've enjoyed sitting on the bed and praying for the boy across the world who will soon be here.

The animals really like it too.

Family Trips

Yesterday we were in Denver and that is where I took this picture. There is a large construction fence up that is covered with these crocheted flowers! Very Cool!

As we were walking around downtown I couldn't help but think of how different next year will be. It will be us and Jude. Us and a stroller. The three of us walking through the park and Jude wanting to pet all of the dogs walking by.

Then we will begin to have family pictures and memories.

What has been on my mind?

There have been a lot of things on my mind as of late. The always present thoughts about our adoption have filled my mind and heart even more than usual. I suppose it isn't necessarily the adoption, but the world; and I believe that thoughts about the world are much more prevalent in my mind than prior to adoption. I can't stop thinking about Ethiopia, the world orphan crisis, and how selfish we are. I am including myself on that, I am selfish. I have no unmet needs, there a things I want, but I have everything I need and more. I wonder what it is like to live in absolute poverty, I wonder what it is like to not have a family, or to be HIV+. My heart is breaking just thinking about what I will never experience in my ever so blessed life. I am thankful for all that the Lord has given us... and filled with questions of why there are so many people in need.

All I know is, it is my responsibility to do all that I can to change the world for the glory of God. Please don't misunderstand me. I know that I can not save the world, Jesus is the only savior. What I am trying to say is, we can all do something to impact the lives of others. It all starts with awareness.

Imagine for just a few minutes what it would be like to live here:

Now what are we going to do about it?

It is all too easy to see a video like this and say, "Wow, that is sad." I encourage you to let your heart break, and your life be changed.

Nesting?

It is safe to say I have entered some sort of "nesting" phase in preparation for Jude's arrival. We do not know when he will come home so I am taking it slowly. I love to craft, so why not make things for him and his room? I will soon post pictures of some of the things I've made. Waiting is much easier than I thought it would be. Our caseworker called on Friday to check in and I realized that we've already been on the waiting list for nearly three months. We continue to live life as normal, while preparing hearts-home-and minds, and never forgetting the precious son God has for us in Ethiopia. So blessed to be basking in the perfect peace of God's timing on this.

If you know me you know that I am not usually good at waiting, I really thought anticipation would easily turn to anxiety... but seriously... God has this under control, and there is no reason for me to worry.

Though I did catch myself worrying about being sick while we travel, this came to the forefront of my mind when I was in the Emergency Room on Friday because of endless hours of vomiting. David asked, "What would we do if we were in Ethiopia right now?" I think I will add a little more concentration on health to my prayers.

An Earthquake, More of Our Story, and a Whisk

Do you remember what happened a year ago today? Haiti was devastated by an earthquake that is estimated to have taken the lives of more than 230,000, injured many more, and left one million homeless. Before the earthquake Haiti was already suffering in extreme poverty and had over 300,000 orphans. Just because it is not in the headlines anymore doesn't mean we should stop praying for the country, leaders, people, and its restoration.

So how does all of that fit into our adoption story?

When I was just a little girl, about nine or ten years old I saw a documentary (probably on Dateline) about international adoption and the world's orphans. Learning that there were kids in the world who were in need, not just of food and clothing but of a family broke my heart. From that day forward I knew that God was calling me to adopt. I didn't know when, or where I'd adopt children but I knew that God was stirring my heart, and I had to do it. Orphans were always on my mind and in my heart. I would talk about it whenever I could, read all that I could find, and I told everyone I knew that, "Someday I am going to adopt children." During my senior year of high school I wrote my final research paper on impoverished countries and international adoption... and began to think that maybe I might be a single woman and live in one of those countries and "mother" the children at an orphanage.

David, bless his heart, listened to the desire God had put in my heart when we first started dating six years ago... and didn't run. I believe that God began preparing his heart from then on. We got married in 2007 and we continued to say, "Yeah, someday we will adopt." Throughout the years my heart has continued to be captured by adoption. When I would see a newsstand with Angelina Jolie's growing adoptive family or a family in an airport or a restaurant (sorry if it ever looked like I was staring at you) that had apparently adopted my heart would do a little dance and I'd get dreamy about the story God would someday write into my life.

All that being said, I will now tell you how this ties in with the earthquake.

I read the news about the tragedy in Haiti and my heart broke for the people and the country as a whole. There were already so many orphans in Haiti, what was going to happen? Haitian adoption qualifications would not allow us to adopt at our age, as well as the steps involved following the earthquake. That gentle stirring that God had been doing in my heart for nearly fifteen years turned into a whisk. I am not kidding, it felt like all the feelings in my heart were been whipped up so fast that I couldn't contain it.... then I knew, the time to adopt is NOW. I shared what was was on my heart with David and we began to research countries and agencies and pray-pray-pray.

So today my heart breaks for all of the Haitian lives lost and effected by the quake that occurred one year ago; my heart also beats with joy, anticipation, and an overwhelming sense of peace about God's call for us to adopt NOW. We have been on this journey for a year and have learned so much and will always be learning and growing through this experience.

My prayer today is that more people will feel a stirring in their hearts for the orphan and begin to advocate, we can all do something.

It's Christmas, again.

Just as we were all starting to come off of the sugar high and take down our decorations I want to wish you a Merry Christmas. January 7th is Christmas is Ethiopia. Today I wonder how our little Jude will celebrate. Has he heard the name of our Lord? I look forward to next Christmas when we can all be together as a family. There are so many things that I dream about doing with Jude; but really high up on my list is taking him to church, especially the Christmas Eve service. It was always such a special time for me as a child and can't wait to experience it with our son.

We received our January waiting list numbers. Not a whole lot of movement, but still loving the peace that God is giving us about His timeline.

On the boy list we are officially number:

And if it is God's will for us to have siblings we are number:

Though the sibling list goes down each month that is because there are families like us that are on both lists, but have accepted a referral for a single child. Therefore they are removed from both lists. Siblings groups are not very common (especially under 5 years). We would love to adopt siblings though, only God's timing will tell.

Pieces of Peace

Just like providence -peace is a one of my favorite words. There are so many meanings of the word. The dictionary has seventeen different definitions. Not that I don't care about World Peace, but that is not what I am talking about.

I am also a fan of this kind of Peace... but still not what I am mean,

Not this either...

but THIS...

And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

-Philippians 4:7

The at peace feeling in my heart that comes from the Lord. It is such a blessing to feel at peace with everything in our lives right now. God's Providence is guiding our lives and His plan is perfect. He knows which little boy in Ethiopia is Jude and when he will come home to Colorado and become a Rogers. Knowing each day that we are living in God's will and our family is forming fills my heart with hope and peace.

Jude

This is Dave making a special announcement. Thought it would be good to kick off the year with some big news. Our son's name will be Jude.

We would like to retain his Ethiopian name as his middle name.

We have been talking about names for quite a while and Jude is what we settled on, quite a while back. We were just holding off on announcing it in case we changed our minds. That hasn't happened so we're sticking with our first pick.

Why?

• We really like the name.
• It is a strong name from the Bible.
• It means "praise, thanks." And we have continually praised and thanked God for this blessing
• We love the Beatles and Hey Jude is a great song. When I hear it I think of Jude and Stacy.

Hey Jude

Hey Jude, don't be afraid

You were made to go out and get her

The minute you let her under your skin

Then you begin to make it better

And anytime you feel the pain, hey Jude, refrain

Don't carry the world upon your shoulders

For well you know that it's a fool who plays it cool

By making his world a little colder

So let it out and let it in, hey Jude, begin

Remember to let her under your skin
Then you begin to make it better

Partial Lyrics from Hey Jude

Written by Paul McCartney and John Lennon