melz midnight brew

Expecting AGAIN!?!

Yes friends & family, we are!!

…but not the way most would expect. This time we are following God’s calling and we’re ADOPTING!!!

We always knew we wanted to adopt again in the future, but we thought it would be the same way we added our first blessing (a son!) to our family, through domestic adoption, but God quickly made it very clear to us that He has called us to adopt a child internationally this time. We had originally been looking to adopt from Russia or Kazakhstan, but Ethiopia kept reaching into our hearts.

I’ll admit that all I could think about was children with HIV/AIDS, severe malnutrition/starvation, Malaria, etc- The idea of adopting a child from Africa was very intimidating! -But then I guess you could say the light bulbs went off in our heads. THESE are the very children that NEED US!! These are the children God calls us to care for. The orphans, the outcast, the hungry, and the sick. I realized that those uncomfortable feelings were really just the Lord causing a stirring within me. I knew we had to respond. So we decided to “look into Ethiopia” – to our dismay, we learned that one can adopt *3* children in Africa for what it costs to adopt *1* child in most other countries! That alone was almost enough to convince me.

We also learned that 1 in every 5 children in Ethiopia dies before they reach age 5. Most orphans have lost 1 or sometimes both parents. On a positive note, we learned that Ethiopia is in the “top 5″ countries to adopt from. Ethiopian orphanages are said to be smaller and more loving. Many times children are being cared for by surviving older siblings and/or relatives. They typically have healthy attachments and bonds with others. Children from Ethiopia tend to adjust well to their new families, and the thought behind this is that there are less children with “attachment disorders” and other behavioral problems that are common in children who have been institutionalized. This was very encouraging to us, and we decided to pursue adoption from ETHIOPIA!!

We are specifically requesting a child or sibling group between the ages of 1-5. Our preference has been for a girl, but we’re open to either gender. We would like to adopt a special needs child, and some of the conditions we have told our adoption agency we would consider are: A child with Cerebral Palsy (surprised?), Downs Syndrome, Deafness, Missing Limb, Cleft Palate, Autism, and pretty much any mild to moderate disability. Of course, we have a special place in our hearts for children with CP, but we are simply allowing God to show us the way… We are so excited to see who he decides to bless us with!

Because we are adopting special needs, we are able to save at least $5,000 of adoption expenses. We will still be responsible for all other costs (Homestudy, Travel, Immigration fees, & post-placement lawyer fees) We are going through a special program for “Promise Children” through WACAP, our Adoption Agency: http://wacap.org/.

About 13 weeks ago we signed up for a Dave Ramsey “financial peace university” course (1 more class left!), and I’m happy to say that we are on the road to being debt-free, and we even have our own little “adoption fund” nest egg growing . It feels so good to have control of our finances, really, for the first time in almost a decade of being married! I was never a DR fan prior to this course, and actually couldn’t stand to listen to him on the radio/tv, but now I’d consider myself one of his biggest fans! He truly is a man of God, and his ministry of helping others achieve “financial peace” is full of such wisdom and truth. I can’t help but love the guy

Anyhow, that’s our exciting news for the year… stay tuned for more. I plan to update as much as possible, as I know there are a handful of you dear friends out there praying for us and our future child(ren)!

If this is your first-time visiting my blog and you’d like to know more about adoption, either international or domestic, please feel free to leave me a comment! I’m more than happy to help to the best of my ability, and I can always point you in the right direction if I don’t have the answer you’re looking for!

God’s love & blessings on each of you this weekend ~ Let your light shine.

I encourage anyone who has less than 5 minutes to spare, to please watch this video. We sing this song practically each Sunday in our church, and I can’t help but be immensely moved by it each time. Even more so now, after watching this video.

How will God use you to help care for orphans?

Welcome to my very first Patio Container Garden!!!
It’s still a work in progress, I have lots more I want to do – but wanted to share what I have for now with you all I forgot to take pics of the basil, chives, and oregano I have growing in other pots, but just to give you an idea… this is all out on my back deck.

Red Chile Peppers (I’m so proud of these!):

Husky Red Cherry Tomato’s:

Chinese Wisteria I managed to bring back to life after last years drought:

Cayenne Peppers:

Fennel Plant:

More tomato plants:

If you look closely enough, you’ll see the start of my very first hot banana pepper!

Not bad for a city girl, eh?

Got this child’s bench swing from the auction down the road for $1 the other night! Sweet. I love a bargain!

My Clematis that I thought I had killed last year – managed to survive. These bamboo poles were courtesy Colleen, Mariah’s awesome nurse who happens to grow lots Chinese Bamboo on her 100 acres!

Fresh dried Oregano from my front yard. I had enough to do about 4 little bags like this one. Yummy!

Introducing Mandy… the gorgeous new addition to our family. She is a 2 yr old spayed female Great Pyrenees. We love her oodles and oodles!

Yeah, in fact, we love her so much that we finally broke down and purchased our first Dyson vacuum. We’ve only been eye-balling those for a few years now… Ours is the Dyson “Animal” -made especially with pet hair and people with allergies/asthma in mind. I could tell the difference in just one night. After vacuuming the entire house yesterday, I woke up this morning and didn’t have my usual 15 minute sneezing fit, nor did I have to puff on my inhaler. Wow! It was well worth the $, and Mandy is worth her weight in gold. I highly suggest the Dyson to anyone with indoor pets!

Mandy is the best behaved dog we’ve ever owned, and the kids absolutely LOVE her. She is so gentle, even allowing Savannah to sit on her back like she’s a horse! I pray that she stays healthy and lives a long long life with our family
That’s it for now folks. Have a GREAT day & be BLESSED!!