When it rains it pours...and that's not a bad thing

You've all heard the saying "when it rains it pours." I agree that it seems to often be the case but that's not always a bad thing. Like plants, sometimes we need all the rain to grow. It's hardships that help us grow even if they aren't our favorite part of life. Plus if we never had rainy days we wouldn't appreciate the sun as much. It's in the pouring rain that I depend on God even more than in the sunshine.

Since our last post, I feel like I have been drinking from a waterfall and barely keeping from drowning in the process. In the past couple of weeks, we have closed on our house, moved in, had one home study for our "foster" daughter, had another home study for the boys, had a weekend youth retreat, took a short trip to Asheville to help my mom pack her house, taught art lessons, tried to fill quote orders, worked on adoption paperwork, worked on adoption fundraisers and sorted, priced and brought close to a thousand items to two local consignment sales. Last night Morgan and I sat down together and felt like it was the first time we had seen each other in weeks. Sure, we have been living under the same roof, but we hadn't had time to just sit down and talk.

Over the last few months, I kept saying to Morgan that when we got into the house things would settle down and we would get back into our routine. Thus far that has not proven to be true. We may be sleeping at this new house but we do little else there. We still don't have internet so I have to go to the church to get online...my smart phone has decided to be not so smart and shuts down when I try to use any of my apps for more than a couple of minutes. That has made it difficult to post new blogs. Our internet will be hooked up on Monday so I will get better about keeping you updated then.

Yet among all this chaos God continues to be faithful. Perhaps He has used this "pouring rain" of busyness to show us that He alone was the one behind all the funds coming in. When we were too busy and too tired to do the work ourselves, God provided families in our church to encourage and support us. Many women came and helped me sort and price the consignment sale donations. People have donated both items to sell and money and their generosity has blown me away. We had one person, who is a friend of a friend living in another state, donate $100 to bring our boys home! Who does that? She doesn't even know us! Little things like this make me cry with gratitude.

People have been reading our blog and telling others about what we are doing. Through this 2 other families, that we didn't know beforehand, are now seriously considering adoption from the same orphanage! One family hopes to go with us in July and get their 2 kids! Another family in our church is prayerfully deciding who it is that God has for them to adopt. It is WONDERFUL to go through this journey with others. God knew what we needed before we did and he has provided in abundance!

In February, I set the goal of raising $10,000 in March. Honestly, I didn't think it was attainable but I thought, "what the heck, shoot for the moon." We are currently only $700 away from that goal! I cannot believe how much people are supporting us and loving on our children through it. The consignment sales are still continuing so hopefully they will help us get that last $700. At that point we will be a little more than halfway to the funds needed to bring the boys home. Thank you all so much for everything you have done for us. We will announce tomorrow morning who won the ipad. It's not too late to donate and get your name on the list of donors we'll choose from. :-)