Birthday Bat-Boy turns 4!

Today is my baby's fourth birthday! (he told me I could still call him baby even when he's 'old'!) We celebrated with a batman birthday party at pump it up this past saturday and he had a blast! He said it was the best party ever ;) Today he took spiderman cupcakes to his class at preschool and then daddy and I took him to a Chuck-E Cheese lunch. We sure love our little man and are so proud of the way he's growing up! This was actually sunday, the day after his party, at his friend Cole's birthday party also at pump it up-mouth full of cake!

Myles had Batman make an appearance at his batman themed party at pump it up!

Papa and Nana came from Pennsylvania and he's showing off his new star wars figures

Today is...

"Today is the day the Lord has made. I. will. rejoice. and be glad in it! Today is Orphan Sunday! I'm praying today for Marlee, and orphans all over the world to be placed in loving forever homes. I'm praying that God would place His call on their parents to say 'yes' to adoption! and I'm praying for the church as we become more aware of the orphan crisis and our responsibility to care for widows and orphans. We got our October number...60! I'm not going to lie, we were a bit disappointed/discouraged at only moving one spot and being in the '60s' for the third month in a row! But I remembered that children's song, and we sang a new rendition of that song called,'Today is the Day', by Paul Baloche at church last sunday. One of the newly written lines says, "I won't worry about tomorrow, I'm giving you (Jesus) my joys and sorrows, I'm trusting in what you say. Today is the day!" The truth is that God's in control, and I'm not. That can be SO freeing when I decide not to worry! When I worry, I'm trying to be in control, and that just messes up the way it should be! God is much more capable at handling my life (and this adoption) than I am, and I believe that in my head, but sometimes there's this huge chasm of about 12 inches between my head and my heart :) Y'all hear me on this one?! Sometimes I recite scripture or sing truthful songs in faith-wanting and praying that I will get there someday even if it's not reality in me today. I showed up to wednesday night prayer service last week pretty discouraged and exhausted from waiting...and worrying ;) However, I left so encouraged because I confessed, and then body of Christ (my brother's and sister's) spoke truth to me and prayed over me in this waiting time. I'm waiting for some other things as well in my life, and it can be just plain tough! I pray that you would do like the psalmist in Psalm 82 when you find yourself discouraged in waiting, "pour out your hearts to him, O people, for God is a refuge and a strength for us." I'm encouraged today that God loves me. He sees me, and knows me. He loves, and sees, and knows you too. Let's trust Him more as He gives us grace to!

Fall Festivities

Fall is my favorite season, and while it's not really a season in Mississippi, it's not 100 degrees anymore-and for that I'm grateful ;) I thought I would update you on what we've been up to during this fun month...pumpkin patches, fall round up's, the fair, soccer, visits with friends, and always thinking about our girl while we update all our paperwork as October marks our two year anniversary of being on this adoption journey!

Our taco soup is pretty tasty (at least our friends and us think so). Here's the EASY recipe: In the crockpot put 2lbs. ground beef, a pack of taco seasoning and dry ranch dressing, 2 cans of corn, 1 can of light kidney beans, 1 can of dark kidney beans (drain the beans only), 1 can of rotel, 2 cans of diced tomatoes. cook on low for 3/4 hours and serve with cheese, sour cream, and corn bread!

This is my best attempt to get a picture of him at soccer! He is loving it almost as much as Michael is! :)

We had our best buddies come stay with us for a night earlier in the month and the Myles and Mac duo were back in full force!

The fair was fun since we just went during the lunch time hours and he got to go on rides!

The pumpkin patch has become one of our favorite family traditions! We went this year with our good buds, the Elam family:) Myles and Sam loved the train ride together!

Myles and his school buddy, Cole! These two are such cuties!!

At his preschool 'Fall Round Up' riding a pony for the first time! I couldn't believe he actually did it, but with positive peer pressure from his friends and me standing beside him he did great!

radical generosity

I almost entitled this post 'the local adoption giving bandit', or 'the mystery envelope', but this encompasses what I wanted to share...a recent story, and the faithful God who is providing every day with supportive friends and family who are doing the work of Christ by interceeding and encouraging us. Now onto the recent good news... On Sunday afternoon I was checking my facebook when I saw a picture of a simple envelope with a blue post it note on a local fellow adoptive families page. The note said, "to help bring *your daughter* home", and inside was an amount of money that floored them! I got giddy with excitement for my friends :) They are earlier on in their process than we are, just finishing their paperwork, and settling in to wait as long as it takes, but money has been a stress for them in this stage. So what a blessing when they knew their adoption wouldn't be held up because of finances! Well, I went to check our mail on monday afternoon and lo and behold there was a very familiar looking envelope with a blue post it note stuck to it reading, "To help bring Marlee Joy home"!! To say I was shocked is an understatement! I quickly peeked inside, saw a flash of green, and quickly shut it back with a squeal of delight! I rushed inside and went through so many emotions for the next hour that I finally decided I had to shut it down and take a nap :) (excitement proved to be predominant and that didn't happen!) I texted Michael and he was stunned too. We shared the news with our small group and family that night-they were full of Joy! But God showed me something as I was looking at the faces of those I have sweet community with...I'm constantly surrounded by 'radical generosity'. now, none of my small groupers and immediate family (that I know of) gave us that amount, but they give us love, encouragement, their money, and especially important prayer all the time! Many of the girls I shared this story with monday were wearing jewelry that they had bought from my last fundraiser! I'm not saying I'm not thankful for this big amount-I AM! and God used a servant to bless us so that we are funded for our next big payment, and money will not be a thing preventing us from a referral (matching us with our daughter). But I don't want to say this gift was MORE important/special than all of the others have been, just because it was more money. As I look back on all of the ways God has provided for us financially in this adoption, I think every gift was unique because each giver was unique and that made each one so special in it's own way! From my very first check from a sweet lady that I don't know in Virginia for $25 that taught me God is going to use whoever He wants, to our local church coming together to secretly raise money for us by supporting an orphanage in Mexico at the same time and showing me the way the body of Christ should operate. God's got this, and always has. Philippians 4:19 "And my God will supply ALL your needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus." And when He does verse 20 should be our response, "Now to our God and Father be the glory forever and ever"!

September 2012 #

Don't get too excited, our movement isn't flying down the waitlist this month, but the fact that we did move at all is encouraging since we are in the 'court closure season'. We are officially # 61 for September 2012. That's one spot down from last month. Things certainly seemed to have slowed down with the closing of the courts and the rainy season in Ethiopia. Just to refresh your memory from last year, the Ethiopian courts close for a period of time in the fall during their 'rainy season'. During this time children can still be matched with families, but their adoptions cannot proceed through court until they start issuing appointments again. We are about halfway through the closure right now. I am excited, however, that this month's movement means a sweet baby girl is known by her heavenly Father, AND her new adoptive earthly family. She's being loved on and prayed for by many and will soon meet her forever family in October when the courts reopen! This month has been a 'sabbatical' month for our family. We've taken time to unwind from our normal schedule and sought the Lord. We are rested and refreshed from being in a new rhythm and in God's presence. A huge thank you to our church family for allowing us this time!! One weekend this month while Michael was away hiking with friends I had a girls day and disguised it as a fundraiser :) Here's Adriel, me and Jessica hanging out! This was such a blessing to me to have my friends come over and encourage me with prayers for Marlee and they even bought jewelry to help with our adoption costs!

This past week has been a great time to reflect on where we've been as a family, and also to dream about our future! We spent the week at the Beach living it up! (and severely over-eating and loafing!) I adore my boys and loved getting a chance to love on them, play with them, and take pics of them. One sweet thing I have to share...as soon as we drove in to Orange Beach, we went down to the water. Myles saw it and said, 'Marlee lives across that ocean-let's go get her!" Then he ran into the water ;) I love how sensitive he is to remember his sister though he doesn't even know her yet!

lately

last weekend Michael and I got away to D.C. (where we joke around that we'll retire one day due to the excellent weather and of course the home of the Redskins football) We got to see the new MLK memorial, and spent time with my amazing cousins!

Here we are sunday after church with the littlest Lewis, Lily! Myles stayed at home with Michael's parents and they had a blast too!

The week before that Myles got pretty sick with 'shigella' a type of bacterial food poisoning! it was so sad, but after a week and a half of not feeling good, he was back in business!

Here is is at his first soccer practice, sitting on his ball, listening to his coach!

We are still on sabbatical and loving having Michael around when he's home, and we covet your prayers for us during this month! We officially began our adoption paperwork renewal today, so I'll keep ya updated on where we stand in the coming weeks! Thanks for partnering with us in prayer!!

August 2012 #

Just an update for y'all at the end of this wet week:
Hurricane Isaac has dumped lots of rain and wind at our house starting wednesday afternoon, but we are well and drying out! Myles was feeling a bit 'under the weather' wednesday, but was back in action for the rest of the week. He's doing really well at school and I even completed his first 'project' for him :) Michael told him, 'wow, mommy's doing so great on your poster! She's going to be great at doing your homework". (insert sarcastic laugh by me) NOT hardly buddy! All in all, he's liking school, but it will take a little time to feel comfortable in a new environment.

Next, I wanted to share our new August 2012 number...62! That's five spots this month!

This upcoming month of September is declared a month devoted to prayer at our house (as every month should be I guess, but I digress...) If you haven't heard, Michael is on sabbatical from work/church for the month and is doing some serious resting/learning/traveling/praying! We are beyond grateful to our wonderful church for this opportunity!! I'll be trying to keep life for Myles as close to our 'normal' as possible, with the exception of a beach trip and a few days with his grandparents so Michael and I can get away together! If you think about us this month, would you pray for us? We would love to hear the Lord together, grow together, and be replenished together.

And to end this disjointed update, our friends Doug and Shelley are finishing up their adoption and need the last bit of money to bring their son home, so they are selling t-shirts. They are gray and have the blue silhouette of Ethiopia on the front with Psalm 127 inscribed inside "Children are a blessing and a gift from the Lord." I ordered mine this week and can't wait to sport it:) We were in ministry for a season with this dear family and love that we're both on this journey of adoption! If you can't swing the t-shirt cost (only $15), and even if you can, please know that prayer is even more vital and I'm sure they would love for you to say their name to our heavenly Father on their behalf! Here's their blog address where you can see the t-shirt fundraiser post and learn more about their journey! http://www.dougandshelley.blogspot.com/

Welcome to Preschool!

The past week has been fun and crazy because we've been living up the last week of 'summer'! I put that in quotes because it's summer weather here in Mississippi for like 3 more months, and Myles is just going to pre3k 3 days a week. We've made some fun out of our days nonetheless and gone to the park, library, pool, had friends over, and gone put-put golfing! I had to bite the bullet today and send him to his first day of preschool and I got a little sentimental over it! I'm thanking the Lord that I have had a wonderful 3 1/2 years at home with him and that he has wonderful teachers/friends at a great preschool (where I also teach the mother's day out program two days a week). Here's Myles in front of the preschool banner and playground...



This past week we also received an amazing package from worker's whom we pray for in Ethiopia! They are so incredibly supportive of us adopting a baby girl from their country and they couldn't resist buying her this traditional dress! It came with a cute head wrap too!



We also had a very special day yesterday-8/14/12-Michael and I's 8 year anniversary! This was Michael's card this year :) He got me a Dyson vacuum cleaner!! I am so excited-seriously-this is speaking my love language! I can't wait to go try it out! Until next time-let love reign! I can't believe I'm going to quote Toby Mac, but his new song "Let my life be the proof" is such a great lyric. my fav line, "If I give to a needy soul, but don't have love, then my heart is the one full of poverty."

August 3rd

Just had to write this down for memory's sake :) and it's a fun story!

A few days ago, on August 3rd, two very cool things happened. 1. My one and only brother turned 29 forever :) and 2. we moved 3, yes 3 spots down the waitlist! This has never happened to us before. 3 spots on the 3rd is pretty clever, God. I feel like I got a birthday present too :) we are unoffically 64 now.

July 2012 number!

The best movement we have ever seen-Thank you God! Our email we received last night read...


'For the month of July you are officially #67 on the girls “list.” Congratulations on your movement this month! Very exciting!'

12 spots. wow. And my friends nearer the top of the lists are #2 and #7!!

Thank you for praying with us this month and for rejoicing with us too :)

One Year Closer

This is our 'One Year Closer' anniversary. We got on the waiting list with our adoption agency exactly one year ago today and began a wonderful year of waiting on the Lord for Marlee Joy to come home! I wanted to come up with a list of some of the blessings this year has brought as we've been on this faith journey...
1. obvious building and growing of our FAITH!
2. learning about and deepening our PRAYER life!
3. watching MYLES grow in his knowledge and excitement of adoption, and just growing another year bigger!
4. having so much fun watching God PROVIDE for our adoption financially!
5. being ENCOURAGED to press on by our wonderful faith family and friends!

This month has been no exception! I've been praying (along with many of you) for 9 baby girls to be referred to their forever families this month and I have watched God do amazing things! Our agency has opened up a partnership with another orphanage full of waiting kiddos! We have seen SO many children matched with families in July-though they've not been all baby girls, it's been only a movement of God that He has been so gracious to show us His power! I'll be anxious to tell you what our official number is on the last day of July (hopefully!) since I have no clue yet where we are :) I'm certain we have moved 9 spots down though!!

Marlee,

On this one year closer anniversary we are encouraged that God has a perfect timed out plan for us to become a family. We are waiting on the LORD to bring you home and we have really loved praying for you, watching our family grow in our faith, seeing Myles excited about his 'brown baby sister', and receiving so much grace from the Lord to press on in the journey to you! We've been standing on His promise that 'those who wait upon the Lord will renew their strength', and we will be united! We love you so much already!
love,
Mommy, Daddy, and Myles man

Pennsylvania Picures

You've missed the best part if you ever visit PA and you miss seeing a Lake Erie sunset :) Myles and I loved skipping rocks while we waded in the water during the sunset with Nana and Papa (mom and dad)


We went to a fourth of July parade and it was about as exciting as Myles face here...

but he also got to ride a dragon!

We love having campfires and making smores!

Myles was kinda obsessed with his 'kingship' while at Nana and Papa's house ;)

We got to visit the farm and my sweet cousins-what a treat! This was so good for my soul :)


And Myles got to play his first round of 'tut tut golf' as he calls it...and now he is obsessed! He asked for it everyday and so we finally took him again the last day we were there! We LOVED our visit to PA!!

Double blessing

Isn't this double rainbow awesome! We took it last week one night during the week it never stopped raining ;) It was two perfectly bright arcs right over our neighborhood! It was the sweetest blessing to see, and I think just a precursor to more blessings to follow. Our heavenly Father LOVES to bless us when we seek Him, and I've got to tell y'all a story about our latest 'shower of blessing'!

I've been letting this blog post ruminate for about a week now and when I think of what I want to say, I'm still at a loss! I'm humbled. I'm grateful for God's promises and provision. I'm thankful for our church body and encouraged by their support and love. well, here goes...

Last sunday evening we were invited to a small group get together from several couples/families in our church. I thought it might be the perfect time to say 'thank you' to Michael for all of his hard work he's put in to ministering to the people of Pinelake these past 10 years. His '10 year anniversary' was in april of this year, but it was CRAZY this spring as we were short staffed and preparing for Easter. So I thought the summer would be fun to get some people together and surprise Michael with some appreciation. These amazing families were all about it, and they went to work inviting even more folks and organizing food etc! As we gathered in the living room to let Michael in on why we were all gathered, one of the small group leaders started talking to me in front of the whole group and explaining that they had all been selling homemade Mexican blankets to help support the Mexican orphanage that our church partners with. (as an aside,; I knew that they had been doing this). What I didn't know, was that they had increased the price on the blankets with the hopes that they could also bless someone else from this project-they just didn't know who it would be. This very same small group leader who never gets on facebook, 'just happened' to get online and saw some friends of mine supporting an adoption through the profits of their business, then he saw a post I had put up under theirs with my blog post about our family doing an adoption fundraiser (our garage sale). He said that when he saw that, he knew he was supposed to give US the extra money for OUR adoption costs!! The group presented us with a sweet card and the money and I was just crying! Michael knew they were going to do this for some time, but wanted them to surprise me! :) Then I turned around and told him that we were so grateful for HIM and all his hard work at pinelake and our fellow staff said some sweet words too. They gave him a cake, a pack of mountain dews and homemade oreo balls ;) they know him well! It was awesome. Those sweet folks may never know how much it all meant to both of us. Let me just encourage you to encourage your pastor whenever you feel the holy spirit's leading because it's a tough road sometimes! Another cool part-the amount of money they gave us was the amount we needed to finish paying for our referral fee! That's the $ due when we are matched with our daughter and will probably not happen until this time next year...but you never know! We have been praying this month for 9 baby girls to be matched to their forever families, and we have some exciting movement news to share at the end of this month so stay tuned and keep praying!!!

New Number

So We got our June 2012 # finally over this past weekend and we also just returned from our trips this past weekend (Michael in NOLA, and Myles and I in Pennsylvania) We moved one more spot closer to Marlee Joy than last month, and I believe everyday is a small step closer! For last month we are officially #79! And I know of several referrals that have gone out already in the last days of June and first week of July that are putting us lower and lower :) I'm praying a bold prayer this month-that 9 baby girls would be referred out in July! This isn't just selfish to move us down to 70, but my good friend, Alison is at #9 on the list and I've been praying that she would get a referral before the rainy season court closure in August...would you PRAY with me?! This would also bring a referral to my sweet friend Jenny, and she would have a girl! (ok, that girl part is kinda selfish:) I also have a friend, Katie, that I've met during this adoption who received their referral for their son, and just got back from their first trip to Ethiopia! I am praying for their next appointment with embassy, and for all the preparations they are making to welcome a 5 year old boy into their home! I'm learning how to pray them home. Speaking of home, check out this sweet pillow my friend Katie got me with 'home' on it for Marlee's room! I've been so spoiled with encouragement over this journey-but I'm not complaining-Thank You!!

Disney World!

We couldn't pass up the mickey mouse shaped ice cream on a stick as we left the park one day covered in the treat!


Myles was in awe of all the characters he got to meet...among his favorites were Buzz, Woody, Lightning McQueen, Mater, and Jake the pirate!




We couldn't go to Disney and not think of our own princess, so we got her this Tiana doll as a souvenir!


We had a blast seeing through the eyes of Myles this week as the wonder of disney for the first time caught his imagination. Maybe next time we'll go in the off season, and with a little girl in tow!

May 2012 number

Our New May 2012 number is 82! Following a three month trend of moving two spots a month and I am ready to be done with the 80's! I have had a really long week waiting...on adoption, and on test results. It was hard, but so worth it to feel my Savior really be my refuge and strength. I got good test results back, rested in the Lord's promises and got a lower number...counting my blessings! I'd like to ask you to pray for us regarding the adoption...for direction. Sorry this post is so vague, but that's all I got for now. Thank you all for loving and encouraging me, and lifting me and my family up to the Father so faithfully! Before I go, I wanted to share this adorable dress that my co-worker and friend made for Marlee girl and gave me this past month! I just love it, and I love the heart of the giver!! Thank you, Ginny, for encouraging me all year, sweet friend:)

Practicing

This spring I've been practicing a few things:


Grieving-My bf moved. My husband is pretty busy. I'm in a period of extended waiting for our daughter. We've been in the process over a year and in July we'll have been on our waitlist for a whole year. We are estimated to wait another year. This requires me to find healthy ways to grieve so I don't go bad crazy!! :) any ideas?! So far, I've allowed myself the freedom to cry more at appropriate times, I've asked for prayer and confided in people who love and want to care for me, I've gone on walks and cried out to the Lord, and I've listened to encouraging music.


Thankfulness-This one is literally changing me. I've been very slowly reading through Ann Voscamp's book called One Thousand Gifts. I. love. it. I'm a slow processor so I'm reading it chapter by chapter, journaling, rereading, stopping for days/weeks at a time to let it sink in and practice it. Knowing in my head that God rocks and has given me grace upon grace is one thing, to look for it, be made aware of it, and then thank Him for each one is radical nourishment for my soul! This is leading me to the next two practices. Two things I haven't had/done in a LONG time.


Rest-"Cast all your anxieties on me because I care for you." ok, God, I will try; you mean, you really care?! "Trust [me] at all times, pour out your heart to [me] for I am your refuge and strength." I see your grace is even in the 'hard' things so I know you're always good-I can trust you. You really do want to hear what's going on?!


Joy-"In [God's] presence there is fullness of joy." God is fullness of Joy. That is what He experiences all the time. That deep happiness that comes out of gratitude is where He resides. When we rest in Him, we feel it too. I'm just starting to practice this and it's still very fleeting to me, but I think my brain is starting to understand ;) I know the way to Joy is God-looking to Him to do all the cleansing work in my heart let's me see Him clearly. "Blessed are the pure in heart for they shall see God". It's kind of a cycle. I come to God to 'fix me' and I rest in Him. My heart is grateful for His grace and Mercy and I thank Him. This makes me 'see' more of His grace and goodness and I seek Him more and He gives me His Joy. This results in worship and I want to come to Him more etc.

Just some things I'm working on...how about you?

April Update

April went by so quickly that I hardly noticed it was almost gone until last night. Michael was talking about schedules and events going on in two or three weeks, May this and that....hold up-May? wow, I'm kinda glad :) I tried not to constantly check my email today since it was the last day in April and that means new adoption numbers day! We finally did get our new April 2012 number this evening...#84!! We also received positive info regarding the movement of the program, the wait times decreasing once children are matched to their families until they get to come home, and the U.S. Embassy reiterating that they are in favor of Americans adopting Ethiopians :) (that's always good to hear, right?!) In my last blog post prior to Easter I mentioned how I was taking the month of April to pray for the Horn of Africa. Let me say, I'm so glad I did. God reminded me of His plan for me, even His purpose for me to have DAILY DEPENDANCE on Him alone. I fasted at times to pray for different specific things and that was the sweetest communion with Him and the times I was most 'in tune' with God. He's been doing some painful pruning in me this month, so if you think of it, please lift me up to the Father in prayer. I'm kinda tired right now, but I'm also very grateful for His working in me-and the love He shows even through the hard times to make me like Jesus. For a little update on our 'fundraiser with phones'....I have dropped the ball and have not put much effort into this one guys! If you have some old (working or not) phones, ipods, mp3's, or small gadget and you 1. live out of our area-message me and i'll get you my address for you to pop them in the mail to us. or 2. live at the resevoir/brandon area and go to our church out there, just drop them off in Michael's mailbox at the church. or 3. live in clinton-message me and I will come pick them up from you!! Thanks so much!

Happy Easter 2012

We got to celebrate with Nana and Papa (my mom and dad) this year! it was a packed weekend with Michael's birthday on friday where we went out to eat with the extended family, our neice, Charley's, third birthday party on saturday and easter sunday at Pinelake Clinton!

Happy Easter 2012 from the Manuels!

Going Green

This is definitely going to be a 'miscellany sunday' type post so I'm going to give you Topic headliners to help you (and I) feel orderly!

First things first-we are #86 on the girls list for the month of march!! I'm excited about some movement this spring, and hoping it keeps up. But even if it doesn't, I'm praying my faith will ;)

Next, the reason for the name of this post is because we are kicking off this beautiful spring time with a Green fundraiser! Over spring break, I started researching a fundraiser where we could recycle old/used phones and small electronics and be compensated for them-I love fundraisers that "fit" me, and I love to recycle-so it's a win/win situation. You give me (or send me) your old phones, ipods, mp3 players, tiny gadgets that are cluttering up our drawers and help out the environment by recycling them, while raising money for our adoption costs! We have some adoption friends that have made several hundred dollars doing this! Just message me and I'll send you our address if you'd like to send us some.

And while I was at home researching this fundraiser, my hubby was in New Orleans helping a church plant there build garden boxes for a school and do other neat community service projects-including a very tasty neighborhood crawfish boil that I did drive down for!! SO, when he got home, he said he would build us one too :) We just planted this weekend and I'm excited to see how our experiment garden will do!


I also wanted to let y'all know that I'm going to spend the month of April praying for the Horn of Africa. Our church has two mission teams in the"horn", and they are having a prayer initiative for this month. Each day is designated for a specific request for them, the church, the people they are serving etc. I may blog about certain days or things I'm learning as I pray so stay tuned...

Finally, to cap off this past week I'd like to share a pic of some of my favorite ladies :) Three of my cousins, Christa, Jennifer, Katie, and I all got to go to Chicago last weekend to celebrate all of our 30th birthdays because our husbands surprised us and are completely sneaky and aweosme! We all turned (or in my case are about to turn) 30 this year and I just LOVED getting to spend some time with my fellow 'winter croppers', as my grandfather used to refer to us! Here we are at Wrigley Field in the rain...notice that we're almost all wearing green ;) I'm a dork, but they know that-Happy Birthday girls!