Awesome Giveaway

Enter this incredible giveaway. You can read all the details here while helping orphans along the way. Kim has gathered 16 items to be included in this and has featured each participant. Check it out, enter the giveaway and you might even find a gift for someone special while helping the orphans. Blessings!

God is Good...All the time

So most of you know our court date was scheduled for Monday. For us, it has been a bit of a wait (especially for Ghanaian adoptions). Needless to say, we were anxious, excited and totally relying upon God for strength Monday. We waited all day with no word. Finally, about 9:30 pm we got an email: Court has been postponed. I read it and truly had peace. Truly. You can read about it here.

Tuesday was our new day. I don't think I slept more than a couple of hours that night. I kept waking and felt like I was being reminded to pray, to seek His face. I did. About 2:30 the sweetest words I have ever read came across my email: CONGRATULATIONS!!!!! ADOPTION HAPPENED!!!! Of course, I cried. My babies are now legally and officially my babies. One more big step closer to them. Thank you, sweet Jesus, for granting this and for you, my friends, for praying with us and encouraging us along the way. I am so thankful God has chosen me to be their momma, chosen me to walk this faith journey with Him. I realize His love for me now more than ever.

What now? We wait, again. We pray for our adoption order to be handed to P so we can travel to Ghana to file our I600. We are praying earnestly for this. We are praying God will move this next mountain between us and our beautiful children. We know He will. I am so ready to hold my little ones, to see their faces and to tell them how much I love them.

Crazy Love Challenge

Oh, how I love some Crazy Love. I read this book by Francis Chan months ago and just soaked up every word. Now Erica over at The Road Less Travelled is hosting a Crazy Love Challenge for fundraising families. Well, we are one of those! You can check out the other families here.

We decided to adopt from Africa about 8 months ago. When we began, it was supposed to be a 4-6 month adoption. We learned very quickly nothing is normal with international adoption. However, God has walked us through each step and we continue to have faith in Him.

Just a little bit of background, we started selling our shirts months ago, had 2 adoption garage sales, and cut back on our expenses. We thought, okay, our fundraising is over. We can do this! Guess what??? Not so. We have had a bit of a different month around here. Two hospital visits with crummy insurance adds up very quickly. Adds up to thousands of dollars!!! You can read our "GOD STORY" here. Really, you shouldn't miss it!!! He is a Miracle working God!!!

So, we are back in fundraising mode. We need to sell some more shirts. We are cutting even more expenses than we were. We are doing everything possible to get our kiddos home. :)

Our shirts are $15 each, unisex sizing. We have children's sizes and adult large and xlarge sizes in stock. These are ready to ship. And we are getting ready to place an order for the other sizes. Please spread the word about our shirts. You can pay on the donate button on the side or mail a check. We usually ship out the next day. Thank you so much for helping us bring our babies home! You can order by leaving a comment or emailing me, 4oleary@msn.com.

The children of Ghana

What's on my heart? Orphans. What's on my mind? The children of Ghana, Africa.

Our daughter, Sydney, is raising money to feed the orphans of Africa when we travel to get our children. I thought she might raise $500. Guess what?? She has raised over $6000. God's plan! In praying how she is going to use that money, so many options have come up. What is God's plan for this?? Well, she is going to feed the street kids while we are there for 2 weeks, buy and deliver food to the various orphanages, and drill a well in a village that has no water.

In the meantime, we are looking for monthly food sponsors at one of the orphanages. There are 23 children and we need 12 additional sponsors. These children need you. They need you to help them eat. Isn't this what God calls us to do? James 1:27 - Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.

Will you help feed an orphan?

Postponed

Well, we got an email a little bit ago that our court today was postponed. Our rep will travel again to the Volta region tomorrow. We pray our case will be heard and we will pass with a full decree and for us to receive word to travel soon.

Now some of you are probably wondering if we were discouraged when we got the news. I can honestly say no. I felt a peace and comfort that I can only say came from the Lord. HOWEVER, an hour later we received other news that was just plain old discouraging. We have waited for 3 months for a court date. Some people wait 2 weeks. Can I explain that??? No. Does it make me angry for others? Absolutely not! I am so thankful for 2 week waiting periods, just so frustrated with 3 month periods. We have prayed for these sweet children, we know they are our children, I have imagined holding their little faces and telling them how much I love them, imagined hugging them and not wanting to let go. I have pictured what it will be like when all 5 of my children are together. Last week, when we received our court date I let my mind wonder back there. I could almost feel them in my arms. Today we prayed for our court, we prayed we would pass, we prayed we would receive word.

When I became discouraged and weary about an hour ago, I cried. No, I sobbed. I totally lost it! I am tired and want to hold my children. To see their precious little faces for myself. Then, as I was crying and trying to update our friends on Facebook, God gave me a little gift. He is so good to me! I shared a story about a verse a friend gave me in the very beginning of our adoption here. Well, tonight when I logged onto Facebook a friend had posted this:

He is ahead of you as your shepherd. He is behind you as your rear guard. He is above you as your covering. He is beneath you as your foundation. He is beside you as your friend. He is within you as your life.

She posted this on her status, but it was the first thing on my screen when I logged in. Can you say, GOD??? It was a simple message, a simple reminder to me just how much He loves me. He reminded me that He is ahead of me and behind me. He is guarding our adoption and our children. Thank you, sweet friend, for posting something the Lord laid on your heart! Thank you, God, for sending me that encouragement. To top it all off, another friend emailed a verse to me: Deuteronomy 31:8 - It is the Lord who goes before you. He will be with you; He will not leave you or forsake you. do not fear or be dismayed.

Do you see the pattern here? My God sent me a message. He is reminding me how He is holding me in the palm of His hands. Thank you, Jesus, and thank you for servants willing to encourage me and others around you.

Please pray with us tomorrow as P travels back to the Volta region for court. Please pray the judge will hear our case and we will pass court. Pray we receive a travel date soon. And pray for our hearts to find God, just like we did tonight. Pray for peace and comfort through the rest of our journey.

Our Emotions

The last few weeks have been eventful for our family, to say the least. We have had a lot of "mishaps", but God has strengthened our faith through it all. And He has used our adoption to help that along, too. As of today, we have been waiting 3 months for a court date. It seemed like an eternity. There were times when I felt like I wouldn't make it any longer, only to find God picking me up. :)

I found reassurance in scripture, in God's word. Two months ago, this verse brought me peace: Wait for the Lord; be strong, and let your heart take courage; wait for the Lord. Psalm 27:14 It reminded me to wait on my Lord, to wait on God. This is His plan for our lives and He will not lead us astray. Well, this morning I was on the phone with Righ (traveling Dad) and was so frustrated and discouraged. We finished talking and I hung up. I opened my email and I saw one from our agency director. It said UPDATE ON DATES in the subject line. I thought it was so odd, clicked on it and then read these words: Court will be Monday, July 26th. I will be power of attorney. They need to prepare to travel to file the I600 soon.

Oh, my goodness! I stared at the computer screen, re-read it, and cried. My three children just kept looking at me and saying, "Mom, what's wrong? What's wrong?" I couldn't even find words. I was so blown away. All of a sudden I could feel my little ones in my arms. We are almost there. We are so much closer. We called Righ and just praised our Lord and Savior. He is so awesome and incredible. He takes such good care of us. Me. I do not deserve it, but He still loves me. And I find it so powerful that He chose ME to be S & H's mom. Ultimately, they are His children. All of my children belong to our God, but He chose us to be their parents. To train them up to fight for Him, to tell others about Jesus, to love unconditionally. I am so thankful for this blessing of a court date. Please pray with us that we will pass on Monday with a full and final decree. Please pray we will travel soon after and that we will know God's plan for our travel arrangements. We only want to follow Him, follow His plan, walk in His steps. At times, today I have cried "just because". I think I will until my little ones are in my arms. I am so glad we decided to follow God on this journey. So glad we said yes to Him when He called us to adopt.

The part that saddens me are the 147 million orphans without a mommy and daddy. Without someone fighting for them everyday. What can we do to help one more?? What can you do??

I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you. - John 14:18

Let's Go To Court

We just got an email from Ghana. We are going to court!!! I read that email this morning in awe and cried like a baby! Thank you so much for praying and walking this journey with us. Our God is so Awesome, Incredible, Amazing! Please pray we pass with a full and final decree! Our representative in Ghana will stand in for us. Thank you, Jesus!!!!!!!

A Miracle Working God - Memorial Box Monday

Almost two weeks ago I woke up on a Thursday morning and just felt awful. I had a pain in my abdomen just below my rib cage in the center. It was nagging, but I've given birth to 3 babies so it was manageable. I left our three children at home with my husband and ran out to do a couple of errands. I got to one store and almost called my husband to come get me. I was unable to stand from the pain, but finally got back in the car and felt okay enough to drive myself home. I spent the rest of the day and night getting progressively worse. The pain was so intense I was in tears, begging, pleading for God to take the pain away. Two of "our" boys from Club 180 were spending the week with us so they along with Righ (my wonderful husband) and our 3 children prayed over me endlessly. They were all very concerned for me. The pain seemed to subside for a while, but about 9:30 it was intense again. I contemplated going to the emergency room. Now let me clarify something, I am not a doctor seeing girl and definitely not a hospital girl unless it is a true emergency. So at 11:00 I decided it could not wait any longer, but I was determined to drive myself so the kids could have Dad at home. Trying to be brave for my little ones!! I got to the ER and described my symptoms. The triage nurse was so kind and I asked her if she thought I could go home. Her response was, "Honey, if anyone needs to be in the ER, it is YOU!!!" So I stayed and my dear sweet friend, Robin, came to be with me. I was so insistent she not come, but she was way more insistent and I am so THANKFUL she won! Later on I proved to need her so much! They took me to the back and gave me morphine for the pain. Nothing, didn't touch it!! The nurse and doctor were so surprised. Okay, they gave me another dose of morphine. It helped that time. For the first time all day I was feeling so much better. Still a twinge of pain, but okay. The doc ordered a CT scan to rule out gallbladder issues or gallstones or kidney stones. It came back normal except for A MASS IN MY COLON. That didn't really explain the pain, but it was certainly something to be concerned about.

By this time, it was 7:00 am and the doctors were changing shifts. Dr. Bolin became my new doc and he was very concerned about the mass. He decided to admit me to the hospital. Let me add, we are adopting 2 precious children from Ghana, Africa and God has provided every penny for that. Well, our health insurance is not great. Actually, it is lousy so to me being there was ticking away at my adoption fund. I was very worried about that the whole time. Right about the time he decided to admit me, I became sick. Nauseous sick. Just felt sicker than I ever had with nausea. So here comes more medicine. This time it made me sleepy so the next few hours are a blur. I can remember glimpses of things. I remember my sweet husband walking in and I saw his worried face. (My parents had driven in from out of state to be with our little ones so he could be with me.) I remember my friend, Robin, hugging me and telling me how much she loved me. I remember several dear, dear friends being in my room. Later I was told they just stood and prayed and prayed. The love that was shown to me that weekend is overwhelming and makes me cry each time I think of it. To be honest, that whole Friday is blurry for me. I do remember our friend, Dr. Pete Sulack, coming in and praying with Righ. They prayed for complete healing over my body and for the mass to be gone. They prayed and prayed and prayed. Then he left, too. Now, it was just Righ and I. As I went in and out of sleep (drugged up sleep), Righ and I prayed and believed God had healed me. I still felt very crummy, but we knew our God was going to heal me.

The next day, Saturday, I was scheduled for an ultrasound and an upper GI scope with our new doctor, a gastroenterologist. My nurse forgot to call for my ultrasound so that never happened, but the GI scope was perfect. Still no answers. I was starting to feel better, but my bloodwork had come back. I was low on everything, iron, red blood count, hematocrit, B12. If it dropped any lower, I would need a blood transfusion. So we waited until the next day.

Sunday morning I woke up and felt better. My ultrasound looked awesome, but I felt well enough I could go home to my babies. I was still moving slow, dizzy, but ready to get out of there. That afternoon was uneventful. I slept a lot, but that night my pain returned. Only briefly, though. And it was gone again. I was scheduled for a colonoscopy on Tuesday because they really needed to check that mass. We had no other answers yet.

Monday I started my prep for the colonoscopy. It was awful! I kept begging my husband to please let me skip it. I felt better, just very weak and we both had faith that I was healed. In my mind, what was the point? I had already endured so much over the weekend. So many pokes and pricks and so many drugs and iron transfusions and on and on. I was weary of it all.

My husband won, though. He took me back to the hospital on Tuesday afternoon. As we were waiting for everything to begin I had my first thought of "Oh my, what if it is cancer? What if I have cancer? What will happen to my husband and how will he take care of our 5 beautiful children?" At that point, I began to plead with God. I pleaded for Him to take my uneasiness away, to take my anxiety away and for the enemy to flee. God was among us and He is all powerful! The next thing I remember is waking up to my nurse and asking for Righ. A few minutes later, he came back to me and said, "It's over! It's over, baby! No more needles (I have tiny, tiny veins) and no more hospital!" You see, when our surgeon did the colonoscopy he FOUND NOTHING! He told my husband I have the perfect colon! He took photos (yuk) and showed Righ where the mass was on Thursday night. He kept saying over and over how he couldn't explain it. He was confused, amazed. Righ wasn't. He told the doctor our God is bigger than this and He took care of it! He healed my wife. Of course, the doctor shrugged him off, but God did it. He took care of little ol' me!!!

People have asked us in the last week and a half if we were afraid. Honestly, no! We walked in faith and we just knew God was going to take care of it. So you see, I needed that colonoscopy (that I begged Righ to let me skip) so we could prove to everyone how BIG OUR GOD IS!!!!!!!!!!!!! He is awesome, incredible, awe-inspiring and He is a MIRACLE WORKING GOD!!!!!

So this is our Memorial Box Monday post compliments of A Place Called Simplicity. We know God has plans for our family to care for the orphans. He used our children in Africa to change our lives. We know these two precious orphans are only the beginning! He has called our family to take care of the fatherless, to speak up for the ones who cannot speak for themselves, to do whatever He calls us to do next. Thank you, God, for miracles!

Memorial Box Monday

Linny over at A Place called Simplicity takes every Monday for Memorial Box Monday. You can click here for the details. Well, as I read hers yesterday I was inspired to share one of many, many God stories that we have.

You see, back in November when Righ and I were both on the same page to adopt (yes, it took him much longer than me :) ), we decided, on our own I might add, to adopt a little girl younger than Aiden. He was almost 3 at the time. So we filled out all our paperwork and as we were getting ready to mail it, a last minute thought came up. Should we check that we would consider siblings? We prayed about it and to be honest, really felt God saying yes. However, I talked us right out of that one. We convinced ourselves we could not adopt out of birth order, which meant we would have 3 kids 3 years and under. Also, this would be way too hard for Aiden, our baby. :) So 2 months later we really felt God telling us we were to adopt siblings. Remember our paperwork read 1 child and we were getting ready to submit our I600A to USCIS. We were down to the wire. It was almost too late to change our minds. God had a plan from the beginning, though. While Righ was in Atlanta working and I was home holding down the fort, we both agreed to pray about siblings. When we talked the next morning, it was so obvious to both of us what God had in store. He had a sibling set waiting for our family. I contacted our agency that day and was so surprised to learn they had just received a healthy sibling set with a 5 year old boy and a little girl that was 2. AHHHHH! Now that is God. We waited for medicals and photos and just prayed God would show us His plan. So these are the two sweet children that belong in our family, the ones God had planned all along, and the ones we are anxiously awaiting their arrival. Another point to mention, we "wanted" a little girl younger than our Aiden. Our African princess is only 6 weeks younger than him. Doesn't God have a sense of humor???

Every Child Deserves a Home

Lyrics

To be remembered on your birthday

Feel a father’s kiss goodnight
To have a mother wrap her arms around you
And say it’s gonna be alright

These are the things we take for granted
That every child should know and love
It’s simply heaven’s way of telling them
They are precious in this world
Precious in this world

Every child deserves a home
Every child deserves to hear the words, “You are not alone.”
Every life on earth is sacred
Every heart is heaven’s own
Every child deserves a home
Deserves a home

They are out there by the millions
Hurting children without hope
Little boys and girls who need a family
That they can call their own

Now it’s up to us to help them
We can’t just close our eyes
Jesus loves the little children
And His arms are open wide
They are open wide

Every child deserves a home
Every child deserves to hear the words, “You are not alone.”
Every life on earth is sacred
Every heart is heaven’s own
Every child deserves a home

There’s something in their faces that tells us their story
There’s something in their cry that keeps calling out, “Don’t forget about me.”
Red and yellow, black and white
They are precious in His sight
Jesus died for all the children of the world

Every child deserves a home
Every child deserves to hear the words, “You are not alone.”
Every life on earth is sacred

Have you ever truly listened to the words of this song? Doesn't every child deserve a home? Doesn't every child deserve a mommy to whisper everything is gonna be alright as she hugs her child? We, as Christians, need to step up and care for the orphans. We need to be Jesus' hands and feet and love these children just as Jesus would love them. I'm not saying everyone should adopt. I am saying I BELIEVE everyone should do something, but there are so many ways to help. You can sponsor a child every month, provide an education for them, send the family money, the ways to help are endless. You can pray for them fervently. You can go on mission trips. And orphans are not just in other countries. There are so many here, right here in the United States. They just need to know someone cares, that someone loves them, that Jesus is their friend. And who better to show them than us? As you watch this video, I pray God will speak to your heart about how He wants YOU to help His orphans. Will you pray with me?

Faith

Streams in the Desert - July 10

I called him, but he did not answer. Song of Songs 5:6

Once the Lord has given us great faith, He has been known to test it with long delays. He has allowed His servants' voices to echo in their ears, as if their prayers were rebounding from a contemptuous sky. Believers have knocked at the heavenly gate, but it has remained immovable, as though its hinges had rusted.

True saints of God have endured lengthy times of patient waiting with no reply, not because their prayers were prayed without intensity, nor because God did not accept their pleas. They were required to wait because it pleased Him who is sovereign and who gives "according to His good purpose". Phillipians 2:13 And if it pleases Him to cause our patience to be exercised, should He not do as He desires with His own?

No prayer is ever lost, or any prayer ever breathed in vain. There is no such thing as prayer unanswered or unnoticed by God, and some things we see as refusals or denials are simply delays.

Christ sometimes delays His help so He may test our faith and energize our prayers. Our boat may be tossed by the waves while He continues to sleep but He will awake before it sinks. He sleeps but He never oversleeps for He is never too late.

I read this tonight and it spoke so LOUDLY to me. We have prayed earnestly for H & S to come from Africa. We have waited so long for a court date that I lost my faith in the fact that they would ever come home. I gained it back only to find God never, ever left me. Then, I started questioning myself, "Am I praying hard enough? Am I not obeying Him somehow? Should I be doing something else so they can come home?" I know these are all silly questions, but honestly I was at a point of not knowing what else to do. Now we are being presented with this trial of me being sick in the hospital. No answers yet, by the way, so please keep praying for wisdom for the drs. and complete healing over my body. In the midst of it all, God never leaves us. He always stands right beside us, holding us in the palm of His hands. We just need to turn to Him instead of away from Him. We need to keep our faith in Him. Months ago (when we thought our adoption would be fast) a good friend looked at me and said, "Please be prepared for a fight. It may not be so easy. You may have to fight." The morning before he said that God gave me the verse - For you shall not go out in haste, and you shall not go in flight, for the Lord will go before you, and the God of Israel will be your rear guard. Isaiah 52:12 It all clicks now. Our "easy" adoption isn't happening, but we are willing to fight for our kids. We are not giving up on them. We know God will grant them to us ON HIS TIME, not ours. They will be placed into our arms and I'm not sure I will ever let them go. :) This waiting will make our story greater for our Heavenly Father. My prayer is people will be inspired and not want to give up, that their hearts will be burdened for the millions of orphans living all over the world when they see our diverse family. Our adoption will not be a secret, we will have dark skinned children and light skinned children. People will ask questions and I say BRING IT ON! I want to fight for the children around the world, here in America or Africa or Asia or Europe, wherever. These children need a mommy and a daddy, they need a home, they need to be loved, they need JESUS!!! So I am reminded once again that God will not leave me. He will not oversleep. We may have to wait, but that's okay. Just to clear up having faith doesn't make the waiting easy. It is still hard, but through this He is testing my faith (already did that) and energizing my prayers. He will wake up and deliver my children soon!!! I know it!

Isn't God awesome?

The past week has been an adventure. First, Righ was rushed to the hospital for 12 stitches and a CT scan. In that, I realized (once again) how much I love him, how I rely upon him to live our lives together, and how when it comes right down to it he is my best friend. I cannot imagine my life without my dear husband. Now, it is my turn. Last night, I went to the ER suffering from severe abdominal pain. They tried different medicines, even morphine with no luck. The pain wasn't leaving. After a CT scan, they have a better idea. Tomorrow morning, they'll do an ultrasound and upper GI scope. Please pray for God's healing hand upon me, for my children to have peace with Mom being in the hospital. So in this my faith stands strong. I know God will take care of us and hold us in the palm of His hands. However, I cannot thank my friends and family enough. You have all been awesome, incredible, you bring tears to my eyes with your kindness. I love each and every one of you. My sweet friend, Robin, spent the night in the ER with me and I couldn't have done it without you. Thank you for being so persistent!!

Remember to enter Sydney's giveaway for her 2 tshirts. She'll draw Monday. Even a few dollars can do so much to help an orphan in Africa. Will you consider helping?

Where do I begin?

This adoption journey has been so awesome and incredible. It is such a God story for us. 9 months ago Righ didn't want to adopt and now he wants to change the world for the orphans. Only God can change a heart like that. I am so thankful for all the times God has shown Himself in this adoption and for the way He is taking care of my sweet children until I can get there. On the other hand, this is the hardest thing I have ever done. I know all you adoptive mommas know what I'm talking about. You sit and wait and wait and wait. Sometimes not even knowing what you are waiting for. That's where I am now. I do not know what we are waiting for. We sent our dossier in 10 weeks ago and are still waiting for a court date. I know there is a perfectly good explanation for this wait and God's timing is perfect, BUT it is still hard. It is hard not being able to see them, hold them, tell them I love them. I just pray they know how much we all love them, how our home feels semi-empty because they aren't here, how our hearts ache for them to be with us. Only God can ease this pain and sadness and only He can move the mountains (or ocean) standing between us and our kids in Africa. Tonight when I read my Jesus Calling book it started with TRUST ME IN ALL YOUR THOUGHTS. Now I can ask myself? Am I trusting Him completely? I wish I could say yes, but I cannot. The next few lines said I KNOW THAT SOME THOUGHTS ARE UNCONSCIOUS OR SEMI-CONSCIOUS AND I DO NOT HOLD YOU RESPONSIBLE FOR THOSE. BUT YOU CAN DIRECT CONSCIOUS THOUGHTS MUCH MORE THAN YOU MAY REALIZE. PRACTICE THINKING IN CERTAIN WAYS -TRUSTING ME, THANKING ME-AND THOSE THOUGHTS BECOME MORE NATURAL.

I think certain instances in your life require more faith than others. This is one of those for me. I need to practice thinking in certain ways, trusting Jesus and thanking Him. I need to trust Him in this adoption and I need to thank Him for those sweet children that He gave to me. I need to cherish the time before they come home and accomplish for His kingdom what He wants me to do. Right now it seems so easy, but tomorrow it might not. I just have to make more of an effort to remind myself and those thoughts will come more naturally. One of my favorite verses is "Walk by faith, not by sight" 2 Corinthians 5:7 Each step is a step of faith. Not knowing what is on the other side is scary, but it's all about the leap of faith. The leap into our precious Father's arms. Will you jump? Will I? I hope so.

I mentioned earlier that God has perfect timing and I have realized that more and more this week. You see, originally we should have already traveled and brought our kids home. That's okay, though. God laid upon our daughter's heart when she was 7 to help the orphans. In the last couple of months, she has started that into motion. In the last week, she found a village that desperately needs water, a village that needs medical supplies. God brought her and a man in Ghana together to work for His kingdom. If we had traveled a few months ago, where would His dream through Sydney be? I am so thankful for His perfect timing. You see, Sydney is getting ready to drill a well with the money God has provided through her t-shirts and donations. She is trying to gather vitamins and thermometers. And she will buy food for the orphanages when we travel. These are basic necessities and God is providing them. Please pray about how you can help with FEEDING THE ORPHANS. Maybe you are to be a prayer parter, offer financial support or God is calling your heart to Africa. You never know until you ask the Father. :)

Heavy heart

Even in the midst of God's perfect timing, I have a heavy heart. I miss my kids, Righ misses them, we all miss them. We are so ready for them to come home, for us to have some news, anything really. Is there a reason for the holdup??? This will be 10 weeks since our dossier went to Ghana. Who's counting though? Please plead with our Lord for an answer soon. And pray for our hearts to remain peaceful and patient. Pray for us as we try to live our lives for Jesus. Pray we will know specifically what He wants us to do. Happy 4th of July to everyone!

Awesome week at Club 180

We just got home last night from an awesome week in Cumberland, KY. Our week was full of excitement, lots of Jesus and lovin' on kids. Every time we go there I love those kids even more. I wonder how it is even possible. They are some of the coolest kids I have ever met. :)

So our mission team of 6 families spent Sunday - Friday doing a day camp for the kids of the area. Then, in the afternoons the guys did a football camp and basketball camp while the ladies hosted an INNER BEAUTY camp. I, on the other hand, watched our little ones and made sure the sports guys had enough water and a snack each day. The last day I got to play a little game, though. FUN! I love basketball!

One child gave his life to Christ and how sweet that was! He is an awesome young man and I cannot wait to see what God will do with his life. Of course, there is always excitement on a mission trip and this year, it involved my husband. He was helping with football camp on Wednesday when two of the guys brought him to the gym to me. "Get your keys and purse, we're taking Righ to the hospital," these were the words I heard. Not even sure what had happened I ran to get everything and yelled at someone to watch our kids. He and another guy, Steven (who I love to death), ran into one another and Righ cut his mouth open. Not only cut his mouth open, but gushing blood and cut really bad. So we spent the next few hours in the hospital getting 12 stitches and getting a CT scan. Both guys had been knocked out for a few seconds so we needed to check them. They are both free and clear. Thank you, Jesus!!! Please pray for Righ's lip to heal without too much of a scar and for his hands to lose the numbness and pain they have felt since the accident. I was so amazed by this experience. You see, I did not know our mission team very well when we got to Club 180. That has all changed now and I am so thankful! They were incredible to work with and watching everyone love on the kids was priceless. However, when Righ got hurt I watched everyone pull together and love our family so well. I literally ran out without telling my own kids anything. (When this first happened, blood was everywhere.) For the next few hours, our friends took care of my kids like their own. They comforted them, loved them and for this I am eternally grateful. That's just what Jesus would have done, but when I actually see it in action I am so amazed. God has given us a great group of people to serve this life with so thank you to everyone.

On the adoption front: nothing! We have not heard anything, but we are still praying. It was a good week. We were distracted from thinking endlessly about traveling. Now we are home again and the distraction is gone. Please pray for us to be patient in the wait, to not lose hope or faith, to have comfort knowing this is God's perfect timing!

On another note, awesome news for Miss Sydney!!! She has raised $3000 AND Righ's company will match $2200 of that. Total that up for yourselves!!! Isn't God awesome??? She said to me the other night, "Mom, I think I need a new goal." Yes, girl, definitely. Remember we still have our brown adoption t-shirts for sale and she still has her shirts for sale, too. They are $15 each. Can't beat that so leave a comment or send an email to 4oleary@msn.com.

Hope you enjoy some of our pics from this week. :)