WAIT
A four letter word that holds so many emotions for me.....hope, frustration, trust, anger, love, worry, faith.....and the list could go on and on.
WAIT
In life we are required to wait on so many things. jobs, money, love, ADOPTION. Waiting is a part of everyone's life. Some wait patiently....others....like me....wait very unpatiently.
What kind of "waiter" are you? What is your attitude in your waiting? Who or what do you rely on?
It is in your waiting that your true character is revealed.
When you pray "Lord, let YOUR will be done." Do you REALLY mean that? Or are you actually praying with a selfish heart knowing your prayer actually means "Lord, let MY will be done" If we prayed that prayer with pure motives we would never question God and His timing.
I get it.....like I said I am someone who does not wait well. I hate not having control...I hate not being in control....I hate not knowing the outcome. But you know what I hate even more....not completely allowing God to handle my wait. I get so frustrated with myself for giving in to satan and his evil plans to still the joy out of my waiting, the prayer out of my waiting, the full reliance on God out of my waiting.
This has become my daily prayer..
"God, I am going to be faithful in the NOW and trust that when YOU decide to answer my prayer (in your way) you will."
Romans 8:28
"And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose."
As Christians we often over look the fact that we will have troubles. We expect life as a Christian to be easy, for God to answer our prayers exactly how we want them to be answered. But if there is one thing that I have learned in my 33 years on this earth is that God rarely answers my prayers in the way that I want. Does He answer them...yes....but rarely in "my timing" or "my plans". So, yes we will have troubles...we will have waiting, but God promises to overcome.
So I leave you with this....
How are you in your waiting?
Will you still follow HIM even if HIS plan is not your plan....HIS timing is not your timing?
Monday, December 31, 2012
Thursday, December 27, 2012
Our sweet Kenzie is 5 months old today!!! She is growing up SO quickly. I CANNOT wait to get my hands on her in just a week and a half. It is going to be so hard to leave her but I know that I will be with her again very soon and she will be in our family forever.
We have been having so much fun this Christmas break. We have had tons of family time, relaxing time, and even some cleaning/organizing time (totally not my favorite and the offer still stands if someone wants to come to do that for me.....haha). God has truly blessed me and I am so in love with every part of my life right now. This time last year there were some MAJOR uncertainties but over the past year God has performed some amazing miracles and Richard and I will always give him all the glory, honor, and praise. Some day I will share God's story of redemption, forgiveness, and love....but right now this blog is dedicated to our journey to Kenzie.
10 days....10 days baby girl....mommy and daddy are coming!
We have been having so much fun this Christmas break. We have had tons of family time, relaxing time, and even some cleaning/organizing time (totally not my favorite and the offer still stands if someone wants to come to do that for me.....haha). God has truly blessed me and I am so in love with every part of my life right now. This time last year there were some MAJOR uncertainties but over the past year God has performed some amazing miracles and Richard and I will always give him all the glory, honor, and praise. Some day I will share God's story of redemption, forgiveness, and love....but right now this blog is dedicated to our journey to Kenzie.
10 days....10 days baby girl....mommy and daddy are coming!
Wednesday, December 26, 2012
We had an amazing Christmas!!
My parents surprised us with a trip to Dauphin Island this summer as an entire family (my sisters and their families included). We have to pay for meals and souviners but everything else is taken care of!! So June 29-July 6 we will be laying (as a family of 4!!!) on the beach! So excited.
It was so fun to sit around and talk about Kenzie.....knowing she will be with us next year. At first I thought it was going to be super hard but I actually was very upbeat and excited knowing that our process will all be over very soon and also that she will be in my arms even sooner!
We got an email from Ted this morning that the social worker appointment is on Jan. 10. The SW appointment is important because this is a report that is submitted to the judge that shows him we are "fit" parents and encourages his approval on our case. We are still praying for immediate approval!
Now the craziness of getting ready for Taiwan begins! There is so much to do to prepare to be gone for a week and a half. I am so thankful I got all of my school stuff done. That is one less thing I have to worry about. Now I just have to get us packed, make sure stuff is ready for Kyler, clean my house (anyone wanna come over and do that for me..hah) and finish getting Kenzie's room all ready!
11 days and we will be on our way!!! PTL!
My parents surprised us with a trip to Dauphin Island this summer as an entire family (my sisters and their families included). We have to pay for meals and souviners but everything else is taken care of!! So June 29-July 6 we will be laying (as a family of 4!!!) on the beach! So excited.
It was so fun to sit around and talk about Kenzie.....knowing she will be with us next year. At first I thought it was going to be super hard but I actually was very upbeat and excited knowing that our process will all be over very soon and also that she will be in my arms even sooner!
We got an email from Ted this morning that the social worker appointment is on Jan. 10. The SW appointment is important because this is a report that is submitted to the judge that shows him we are "fit" parents and encourages his approval on our case. We are still praying for immediate approval!
Now the craziness of getting ready for Taiwan begins! There is so much to do to prepare to be gone for a week and a half. I am so thankful I got all of my school stuff done. That is one less thing I have to worry about. Now I just have to get us packed, make sure stuff is ready for Kyler, clean my house (anyone wanna come over and do that for me..hah) and finish getting Kenzie's room all ready!
11 days and we will be on our way!!! PTL!
Monday, December 24, 2012
The baking is done.....the presents are wrapped....I am finally ready for Christmas. This year is different than ever before. My family is spread acrossed a HUGE pond. Early on in the adoption of Kenzie we had prayed for a Christmas miracle. We had prayed that we would have her home by tomorrow. We quickly realized that, that wasn't going to happen. Yes, we continued to pray but realistically we knew it wasn't going to happen. So tomorrow I will wake up with various emotions. Sad because my prayer was not answered in the way I had hoped, but excited because in 2 weeks I will finally get to hold my precious Kenzie in my arms.
We found out a little more information about our process today. Since our BM report is done the judge could actually issue us our first decree on the spot and we could begin the quick wait (about 2 weeks) for our final decree and AIT appointment but we were assured that, that probably will not happen. We do believe in miracles and it would be amazing to be able to bring her home that quickly...so we will pray for that. But we also have to remain realistic. We were told every other couple has had to wait at least 5 weeks from the time the BM report was done and given to the judge before the judge has issued a first decree and then it is typically another 2 weeks after first decree before we can actually bring her home. So from our court date around 7 weeks is a realistic time frame (end of Feb.). We will continue to pray for sooner and ask you to join with us! God knows! .
We are slowly beginning to prepare for our flight over. We called the airlines today to check on some baggage issues and I have started to make a "pile" of stuff that we will take. Richard is working on her room this evening....setting up a shelf that I bought. It is so exciting to see all this pink, girly stuff in my house! I NEVER thought this day would happen!!!! I will post pics of her room as soon as it is done!
God has truly blessed us this holiday season. Although we wished our sweet Kenzie was home with us....we know we are still blessed to have her and are excited for the memories we will create with her very soon!
Love you all.....
Thank you for the prayers and PLEASE keep them coming!
We found out a little more information about our process today. Since our BM report is done the judge could actually issue us our first decree on the spot and we could begin the quick wait (about 2 weeks) for our final decree and AIT appointment but we were assured that, that probably will not happen. We do believe in miracles and it would be amazing to be able to bring her home that quickly...so we will pray for that. But we also have to remain realistic. We were told every other couple has had to wait at least 5 weeks from the time the BM report was done and given to the judge before the judge has issued a first decree and then it is typically another 2 weeks after first decree before we can actually bring her home. So from our court date around 7 weeks is a realistic time frame (end of Feb.). We will continue to pray for sooner and ask you to join with us! God knows! .
We are slowly beginning to prepare for our flight over. We called the airlines today to check on some baggage issues and I have started to make a "pile" of stuff that we will take. Richard is working on her room this evening....setting up a shelf that I bought. It is so exciting to see all this pink, girly stuff in my house! I NEVER thought this day would happen!!!! I will post pics of her room as soon as it is done!
God has truly blessed us this holiday season. Although we wished our sweet Kenzie was home with us....we know we are still blessed to have her and are excited for the memories we will create with her very soon!
Love you all.....
Thank you for the prayers and PLEASE keep them coming!
Saturday, December 22, 2012
Friday, December 21, 2012
I love Christmas! I love the holiday season and this year is a special one. It will be our last as a family of 3. We are so excited to welcome Kenzie into our forever family and we cannot wait until she is home with us.....but God has been working on my heart. I realize that I need to live in today. God holds the future and as much as I want to figure it out....mold it into my desires....or plan it on my own. If I truly trust in an almighy God that means I have to trust in Him in EVERYTHING...not just when it is convienent for me.
This has been so hard with our adoption process to Kenzie. It is so easy to compare our case to other cases. To wonder why "they are moving" and we are not. But just in the past week God has began to show me exactly what has been going on. We have received very positive news for THOGL and how our process is going. We still do not know exactly when God will allow us to bring Kenzie home...but we have hope. Just a few weeks ago I was in a really bad spot. I was crying out to God, pleading, and begging Him to give me answers. He did! It wasn't the timing that I wanted...but He gave us answers!
Several have asked when we will get to bring Kenzie home after court. At this point we have no idea. We asked THOGL what they thought and they gave us their opinion but they also do not know. For the majority of the couples who are home it has taken 2 months after their court appearance to bring home their baby or get their first decree. One couple actually took 3 months. But because our process is being done a bit different we have been told our "long" waiting was done before court (10 weeks) so we remain very positive that it will be in God's perfect timing. We know we will lose a week during Feburary because of Chinese New Year. But we are praying that the Lord will show us favor and process everything before that week (this is very wishful thinking).
Kenzie will be 5 months in 6 days!!! We had hoped to have her home by 6 months. At this point we know that, that will not happen. But that's okay! God has given us a huge peace about her age.
We are so thankful for this time in our life and we know that God has us exactly where He wants us! We know that it is going to be so hard to leave Kenzie...but we also know that God will reunite us very soon and when that day comes we will give HIM all the glory!
This has been so hard with our adoption process to Kenzie. It is so easy to compare our case to other cases. To wonder why "they are moving" and we are not. But just in the past week God has began to show me exactly what has been going on. We have received very positive news for THOGL and how our process is going. We still do not know exactly when God will allow us to bring Kenzie home...but we have hope. Just a few weeks ago I was in a really bad spot. I was crying out to God, pleading, and begging Him to give me answers. He did! It wasn't the timing that I wanted...but He gave us answers!
Several have asked when we will get to bring Kenzie home after court. At this point we have no idea. We asked THOGL what they thought and they gave us their opinion but they also do not know. For the majority of the couples who are home it has taken 2 months after their court appearance to bring home their baby or get their first decree. One couple actually took 3 months. But because our process is being done a bit different we have been told our "long" waiting was done before court (10 weeks) so we remain very positive that it will be in God's perfect timing. We know we will lose a week during Feburary because of Chinese New Year. But we are praying that the Lord will show us favor and process everything before that week (this is very wishful thinking).
Kenzie will be 5 months in 6 days!!! We had hoped to have her home by 6 months. At this point we know that, that will not happen. But that's okay! God has given us a huge peace about her age.
We are so thankful for this time in our life and we know that God has us exactly where He wants us! We know that it is going to be so hard to leave Kenzie...but we also know that God will reunite us very soon and when that day comes we will give HIM all the glory!
Wednesday, December 19, 2012
Good news today!
Ted emailed this morning. The courts sent notice that our court appointment is on Jan. 11 at 9:30am which is Jan. 10 7:30pm Joplin time. So please set your clocks, calendars, and alarms to be praying for us during that time! We are unsure if Kenzie's birth mom will meet us at court or come to THOGL first and ride with us to court. But we are very excited, anxious, and nervous for that meeting. We want God to be glorified and for Him to give us the words to say to her. We are forever indebted to her and the precious gift she has given us. So please pray for her as well. We know that this will be a very hard time for her.
Several friends who are adopting from THOGL are having hold ups in their cases. The judge and social workers seem to be moving very slowly right now. Please pray for them and that they will not get discouraged in their waiting. God's timing is perfect and it is so hard to understand that some times. Please also pray that the judge and social worker will work through our case rapidly. As Chinese New Year approaches in Feb. we are hoping that they judge will want to process as many cases as possible before that date....if not it could set us back a week or two. We are still praying to have her home in March. We were told that is very realistic and actually it could be even sooner because of paperwork that has already been completed towards our case. We pray this is true. It would be so much fun to have Kenzie at Kyler's 6th birthday party...which is March 16!
Thank you for your continued prayers! We feel them and know God hears them! May HE be given all the glory and praise through this process!
Ted emailed this morning. The courts sent notice that our court appointment is on Jan. 11 at 9:30am which is Jan. 10 7:30pm Joplin time. So please set your clocks, calendars, and alarms to be praying for us during that time! We are unsure if Kenzie's birth mom will meet us at court or come to THOGL first and ride with us to court. But we are very excited, anxious, and nervous for that meeting. We want God to be glorified and for Him to give us the words to say to her. We are forever indebted to her and the precious gift she has given us. So please pray for her as well. We know that this will be a very hard time for her.
Several friends who are adopting from THOGL are having hold ups in their cases. The judge and social workers seem to be moving very slowly right now. Please pray for them and that they will not get discouraged in their waiting. God's timing is perfect and it is so hard to understand that some times. Please also pray that the judge and social worker will work through our case rapidly. As Chinese New Year approaches in Feb. we are hoping that they judge will want to process as many cases as possible before that date....if not it could set us back a week or two. We are still praying to have her home in March. We were told that is very realistic and actually it could be even sooner because of paperwork that has already been completed towards our case. We pray this is true. It would be so much fun to have Kenzie at Kyler's 6th birthday party...which is March 16!
Thank you for your continued prayers! We feel them and know God hears them! May HE be given all the glory and praise through this process!
Monday, December 17, 2012
3 weeks from today we leave to meet our precious baby girl! We are so excited! This weekend Richard and I had an all day date day in Springfield, MO and Branson, MO. It was so great to get a away, finish Christmas shopping and just spend some time together dreaming about the future and setting family goals. While we were shopping we did find a super cute outfit that we are going to take over to Kenzie for a mini photo shoot! I will be so excited to share those pictures....
Speaking of pictures....you all have been patient long enough.
Here is our precious Kenzie Ann Mei-En Jett (4 months old)
Speaking of pictures....you all have been patient long enough.
Here is our precious Kenzie Ann Mei-En Jett (4 months old)
A few things we have learned about Kenzie:
*She is a great sleeper
*She doesn't like her bottle at first but once she realizes what it is she is a great eater
*She is VERY loved by several of the workers (they aren't "allowed" to have favorites...wink, wink)
*She loves to cuddle
*She giggles, rolls, and is begininng to sit up
Hang on baby girl......mommy and daddy are coming!
Thursday, December 13, 2012
Going private....
Richard and I decided that we are going to make our blog private until we get Kenzie home! We want this blog to be a place that we can update you all as we prepare to go to Taiwan and while we are in Taiwan. It is much easier for you all to go to one place to read our updates than for us to send out individual messages!
Thank you so much for your support and prayers as we have been on this journey! We COULD NOT do it without you!
Much Love,
Tiffany
Richard and I decided that we are going to make our blog private until we get Kenzie home! We want this blog to be a place that we can update you all as we prepare to go to Taiwan and while we are in Taiwan. It is much easier for you all to go to one place to read our updates than for us to send out individual messages!
Thank you so much for your support and prayers as we have been on this journey! We COULD NOT do it without you!
Much Love,
Tiffany
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)