Priorities

I have a hard time stepping away for work, even for a day. I know how much money we need for the adoption and every day is a little step closer to meeting that goal. I also think that in the working world these days, there is some guilt associated with taking some time off, especially taking an unexpected sick day.

This morning, Nick woke me up at about 3:30 this morning. He was standing at the foot of the bed doubled over in pain, trying to walk. It's amazing how quickly you can become alert and jump out of bed when you need to. I asked him if he thought we needed to go to the ED. When he answered maybe, I knew it was serious because Nick would definitely not make that decision lightly. Within a minute or two we were in the car heading to the hospital.

His symptoms all pointed to appendicitis this morning and I was pretty sure we'd be going in for surgery pretty quickly. Although his clinical presentation looked like appendicitis, some of the tests havente necessarily supported that. Although it hasn't been completely ruled out yet, the doctors are exploring some other options, as well. All in all, I expected to be able to make it into work without too much of a problem, thinking he would just be in for a quick surgery and then to recovery. Needless to say, this hospital visit hasn't been so straight forward and here I am at 1:30 pm having not been able to go into work.

I'm trying to not feel guilty about that. I shouldn't feel guilty. Nick is my number one priority and I need to be here while we figure out what is going on. And probably for the first time (even more so than when I had my own gall bladder removed earlier this year - I took two days off work and felt terrible for doing so...) I am able top feel good about my decision to call in. That sounds ridiculous, right? Well, it probably is. Either way, I'm right where I should be. And let me tell you, Medical Center of the Rockies is where it's at. Nick is no longer NPO (nothing by mouth) and because his clear liquid lunch went okay, the nurse gave him a room service menu. With things on it like grilled salmon, French dip sandwiches, lemon pepper chicken and Asian stir fry. He also has this crazy big flat screen tv with normal television options, an entire movie selection and wireless keyboard that connects with the Internet up onto the tv. Not to mention this view people. I tried sharing a picture with you all, but it isn't uploading from my iPad properly, so you'll have to wait until we're home. Just picture the trees changing colors and a fantastic mountain view.

Nick's on his third movie while we wait for the doctor to get out of surgery and see what we're thinking about plan of care from this point. We'll keep you updated!

Representing

This weekend has gone by quickly in our house! Nick is back to work as a normal Monday since patients don't take a holiday, either, but the Just Love team (me! ha) were out at the Kids for Kyla 5K/10K. I really love running into some familiar faces at events like these and meeting new people who share our hearts for adoption.

If you remember, Kids for Kyla was the first grant we received for our adoption. They are a local Northern Colorado organization - I'm not sure how many people appreciate how cool it is to have a local group like Kids for Kyla around. Nick and I are lucky to be able to attend their events.

We have a bunch of new scarves in from Ethiopia (thanks Amy!) so we have re-stocked our fundraising items. As always, we have our Ethiopian scarves, a set of Ethiopia pillow covers, Ugandan paper beads and our t-shirts. Let me know if you'd like pictures of the scarves we have if you're interested in ordering! We're selling them for $20 plus a few bucks for shipping.

Our Just Love booth this morning

Hope you all had a wonderful Labor Day, too!

grief

the tears burn and leave my eyes stinging. i feel sick. when the tears do finally dry, i'm left feeling bewildered and lost. i eventually pick myself up and move forward. i'm grieving a deep loss. the loss of time with a child i love so dearly. maybe the loss of a lifetime.

My husband hates the alphabet

Well, he hates the first few letters, at least.

We frequently hear about plan A, plan B, plan C....and the list goes on (especially if embarking on an international adoption). What we have learned is that nothing is our plan. Not our plan A, or B or C. We are also frequently asked about biological children. Most people who read our blog are involved in the adoption community and understand this, but others we know assume we are unable to have biological children since we have chosen to adopt. Is adoption our plan B? N.O. We are simply following what we feel God has laid out for our lives; His plan. And through all of this, all the tears - and there have been many - and all the hopes, we must believe His plan is greater than ours (first or second...or third and fourth).

While we don't understand everything that happens, and we may never get the answer to the whys while we're here on earth, we have nothing left but to believe His ultimate plan. It's such a disconnect from our wordly views of planning and preparing for the future. Let's be honest here, none of us know where we'll be in ten years, five years, or even five days from now. As difficult as it has been for me to let go of those ambitions and plans (we seriously thought we'd be legal and offical parents by now), it's also liberating. You're right, God, I cannot handle this on my own. I cannot do this without Your strength. While this doesn't make my heart break any less for the hundreds of orphans I've met and loved and experienced life with, it comforts me that while I cannot do it alone, I don't have to. I have the strength of God to carry me through the easy and the hard days.

Adoption is a last resort. Family preservation is ideal and what we focus many of our efforts on, but we know there are millions of orphans in this world without a family any longer for one reason or another, and God's plan is for us to care for them now. For us, we feel like God's plan (the only plan A) includes adoption. We also believe it doesn't end there. We are lucky enough to travel to a place that feels more like home than anywhere I've ever lived and offer some of the gifts we've been given. God has also called us to child sponsorship. Remember that thing I was talking about? That family preservation thing? All some of these parents need is a little help to be able to raise their child in their culture.

While I believe it's important to research where the resources God has entrusted us with go, we've been so fortuante to have the opportunity to invest in some reputable organizations, including Compassion International and Children's HopeChest. We have seen our dear friend Yemamu and Sisay work tirelessly to help the children who live in Korah to give them life; good life, with access to food and clean water and clothes and education and a shower; the things they deserve despite the circumstances in which they were born. Children's HopeChest has come alongside Yemamu and Sisay's vision, Hands for the Needy, and has set up a child sponsorship program for all the kiddos currently enrolled. There's good news, then there's good news. Most of the 210 children in the program are sponsored! The other good news is that there are nine children left waiting that you could step up and help. Go check out all the adorable faces here.

Adoption, as well as child sponsorship, are ways we have been called to act. We pray that you can also find the way in which God has called you to care for the orphan, and that we can all be accepting of plan A: God's plan.

Friends

This adoption thing really can create a sense of community between those who can relate to all we're experiencing.  In fact, some of these people become friends. Those whose phone numbers are now saved in your contacts, not just in your blog reader. Well, I have been fortunate enough to rub elbows with the sweetest lady ever, Beth Cupitt.

Beth is the founder of Give1Save1. I know you all know what that is (is that all I ever talk about these days?!), so you'll appreciate how she has such a special heart for families who are fundraising. In fact, Give1Save1 is opening it's doors for families adopting domesticallly, in the Caribbean islands and in Asia. That should be coming live any day now.

Anyway, I'm getting off topic, which is dear Beth Cupitt. She is offically accepting the referral of an adorable little boy from Ethiopia. I'm telling you, he is precious. He has some special medical needs, though, and needs to get home to his family as soon as possible. What's this mean in the adoption world? A big fat check. And travel expenses. So not only does Beth have a huge heart, but she is crazy creative. I mean, seriously crazy creative. Here are a few ways we can help her out and bless her family:

Donate. She's created a Charity Project page where you can read more about her and her family and see that donate ticker go up and up!

Buy a painting. We cannot wait to have her do a special order painting of our sweet girl. You send the picture, can pick the color scheme and verse and she does the rest. You can also buy a painting she already has in her shop if that suits your fancy.

Have her take some pictures of your family. So you have to be local for this one, but she lives in Nassau Bay, Texas. You can contact her at b.cupitt@yahoo(dot)com.

Beth and her family. Precious, right?

Seriously, if anyone deserved to have us stand behind her and her family, it's Beth's right now. And her little baby boy who needs to come home. I think we can make this happen.

Everyone loves a giveaway!

There's a giveaway going on over at Give1Save1 this week! I've been thinking I need some items to adorn my wrists and this bracelet may just fit the bill! First read through the amazing family updates, then check out the giveaway at the bottom of the post. What would you pick?

Do me a favor?

I feel like I actually have some interesting life things to share, like the fact that we were in a Texas for a few days for training at our adoption agency, or that my mom and brother are here visiting or that I thought I made myself blind by getting paint stripper in my eye. Instead, I'll leave you in suspense to await the exciting details of all that (sarcasm noted, right? nothing too crazy going on here) to give you a post from a virtual friend/fellow Give1Save1 blogger on something that is clearly near to my heart.

The following was written by Lindsay Hirth and is re-posted with permission from the author herself. You can go check out the original over here.

Farewell

Over the last nine months, I have been involved in one of the greatest blessings of my life. I have worked behind the scenes and as a blogger for Give1Save1, helping dozens of families offset the immense costs of providing homes and new futures to orphans around the world.

 

But I’ve decided to take a leave of absence from my post here on Give1 to tackle some other projects. And in leaving, I have a shameless request. I want a going away present. And not just any going away present…I want you to give me about $13,000 in support of my adoption…in fact, I want you to give every American adopting that much, too. 

“What did she just say?” Yep. I’m serious.

 

Adoption Tax Credit

I want you to help pass the Adoption Tax Credit. When my husband and I first considered adoption, the Adoption Tax Credit was a giant piece of the financial puzzle for us. At the time, we figured our adoption would easily be finalized in time to take advantage of the credit. Then the “slowdown” came in Ethiopian adoptions. Then we heard that that tax credit was due to be “sunset” at the end of 2012. Wow…not good news. This meant that the $13,000 we were counting on to reimburse some of the debt we were taking on for this process was probably not an option anymore. A very big deal for us…and thousands more families. 

For many years, the Adoption Tax Credit has helped 100,000 families annually to offset the costs of adoption, both domestically and internationally. It has made the difference for countless families to provide homes to foster children and the world’s many, many orphans.

Source: Hope for Orphans

 

On the fence for political reasons? I hear you. I am proud to be this group’s “token liberal” (a term I’ve given to myself), and I’m not a big fan of tax breaks when our country is at war or is facing such an immense deficit. But without this tax credit, fewer (probably dramatically fewer) families will be able to afford adoption. Fewer adoptions mean more children in “the system” (a vast majority of the people adopting in the US adopt domestically). More kids in foster care means more tax dollars needed to support that system of care. Whether we devote tax dollars directly to foster care or through the adoption tax credit, orphans need resources. They need us.

 

What You Can Do for Orphans

As it currently stands, the Adoption Tax Credit has a 1 percent chance of passing as legislation. So what can you do about it? Give us 5 minutes and call your Representative today and urge that he or she co-sponsor the bipartisan bill H.R. 4373, the Making Adoption Affordable Act.

 

You can reach your Representative in the U.S. House of Representatives by calling the U.S. Capitol Operator at 202-225-3121 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting 202-225-3121 end_of_the_skype_highlighting and asking for your Representative's office. If you don't know your Representative's name, click here and enter your zip code in the box provided.

Here is the message we would ask that you give to your Representative:

• I am a constituent in your district and the adoption tax credit is important to me. (It matters to me because...)

• I urge the Representative to become a co-sponsor of The Making Adoption Affordable Act, H.R. 4373.

• If Congress does not act, the credit as we now know it will expire in December, 2012.

• H.R. 4373 is bipartisan and it supports all types of adoptions (domestic private, foster care, and international adoptions).

• This tax credit has made adoption a more viable option for many parents who might not otherwise have been able to afford adoption, allowing them to provide children with loving, permanent families.

• Thank you for your support of H.R. 4373.

 

Finally, help us spread the word about this important issue. If you want to learn more about the adoption tax credit, click here.  Also, "like" the Save the Adoption Tax Credit on Facebook.