Freed to Visit Orphans

This beaufully moving video was put together by Brannon McCallister for the organization Together for Adoption.

Treasure of Jesus

What can I do
How can I live
To show my world
The treasure of Jesus

What will it take
What could I give
So they can know
the treasure He is

And if I can sing, let my songs be full of His glory
If I can speak, let my words be full of His grace
And if I should live or die
Let me be found pursuing this prize
The One that alone satisfies
The treasure of Jesus

Treasure of Jesus by Steven Curtis Chapman from the album All Things New by Steven Curtis Chapman.
© 2004 Sparrow Song / Peach Hill Songs / BMI / Admin. by EMI CMG Publishing.
All rights reserved. Used by permission.

Give Us Peace

Yesterday we received news that our 2 yr old son may have a serious, potentially life-threatening digestive disease that has no cure, but can be successfully controlled through strict dietary changes. My first reaction, which unfortunately seems to be par for the course for me, was to respond in fear, instead of having faith in our heavenly Father and His plans for Jaxon's life.

I realize I need to immerse myself in God's Word, which always ministers His peace and comfort. Verses like..."Weeping may endure for a night, but joy comes in the morning"...."In this world you will have trouble, but take heart, I have overcome"....and my all-time favorite, "For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."

The following lyrics are taken from John Rutter's "The Falcon", and are based on Revelation 7:15-17. In these tumultuous times, no matter what is happening around me, my heart can be at peace because of the promise of heaven where He will dwell with us forever.

Behold, the city of God is with men.
He will dwell with them,
and they shall be His people.
And God Himself will be with them.

They shall hunger no more
neither thirst any more.
The sun shall not strike them,
nor any scorching heat.

For the Lamb in the midst of the throne
will be their shepherd.
And He will lead them to springs of living water.

And God shall wipe away
all tears from their eyes;
And there shall be no more death,
neither sorrow nor crying;
Neither shall there be any more pain,
For the former things have passed away.
Dona nobis pacem

~~~~~~~~~~~~
"The Falcon III"
~ by John Rutter
~based on Revelation 7:15-17

We finally managed to corral everyone together for a few minutes to snap a new family picture for the homeschool yearbook. It's not great, but it'll have to do for now, since Jared was anxious to get back to college, although I suspect he was more anxious to see his girlfriend, Heather, than he was to resume his studies. Ü

I also updated the kids' individual pictures on the right side of the blog, so take a minute to check them out.

Announcing.....

...the birth and adoption of our Russian Princess, Jaeci Joanna. Jaeci arrived on October 22, 2008 at 7:57 pm, at Lennox Hill Hospital in New York, New York, less than two blocks away from Central Park on the Upper East Side. She weighed 10.5 pounds, which necessitated a Cesarean delivery, then afterwards she had a little trouble clearing the excess fluid from her lungs, so she was placed in the neonatal intensive care unit for a few days. Like Jaden & Luke, Jaeci has Down syndrome, and she also has a small PDA (patent ductus arteriosis....aka small hole) in her heart which doesn't even require medication, but otherwise, she is very healthy.

The day after Jaeci's birth I caught the first flight out and arrived in Newark, NJ late that evening. Friends who I had stayed with during Luke's adoption last year found the baby and me a place to stay in New York while we wait for NY and KS to approve all the adoption paperwork. The family we're staying with has an adult son with Down syndrome who lives with them, and they were all very excited to help us out. They have lovingly embraced us, and now Jaeci has two new "uncles", Kevin & Steve, and a new "aunt" Jan. What a blessing they have been! We spent Halloween evening roasting marshmallows and making s'mores for all the little trick-or-treaters who paraded by our hosts' driveway.

Jaeci's birthparents are both Russian immigrants, and in Russian culture, almost no one keeps their special needs babies. If they survive pregnancy & birth, SN babies are placed in government orphanages, then somewhere between the ages of 4-5, they are transferred to mental institutions, where the vast majority die within the first year due to lack of necessary medical care, therapies, attention, etc., but mostly because they have no one to love them. Even though Jaeci's birthparents live in the US now, most of their family members still live in Russia, and it would have been culturally unacceptable for them to keep her. They both love her very much, but they wanted her to grow up in a loving family who would accept her unquestioningly, instead of being ostracized because of her disability.

We weren't planning or even hoping to adopt another child, but when the Lord unexpectedly brought this precious baby girl into our lives, we couldn't say no. Some might think we're "off our rockers", but we are thrilled to be a part of the Lord's plan for little Jaeci's life. She is so sweet and precious, and we already know she will be a tremendous blessing to our family.

Jaeci and I are now caught in a bit of a legal limbo, approved by NY but still waiting for KS's approval, but we hope to be home within the next few days. I forgot my camera, so I'll have to wait to post more pictures until we get home, but here are two that were taken with my cell phone....

One more thing...we needed to find a new name for our blog, because it seems eight is NOT enuf. haha (Even though the title of our blog has changed, as far as I know, our blog address will remain the same.) Feel free to come visit here anytime!

No one ever told me...

No one ever told me
That holding my sweet baby boy
Would end much, much too soon.

No one ever told me
That giving you freedom to grow
Would give you wings to fly.

No one ever told me
That watching you become a man
Would be so bittersweet.

No one ever told me
That being at home without you
Would feel so incomplete.

No one ever told me
That leaving you in the Lord's hands
Would leave my hands feeling empty.

No one ever told me
That answering God's call on your life
Would lead you far, far away.

No one ever told me
That following God's plan for my life
Would produce such a Godly harvest in yours.

No one ever told me
That releasing what I wasn't meant to keep
Would return that which can never be lost.

I love you, Son, go with God...

~Patrice McCarty, 2008

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"'For I know the plans I have for you,' declares the Lord, 'plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you a hope and a future.'" Jeremiah 29:11

Big changes ahead

We found out a few days ago that we'll be going through a big change in a couple of weeks. Late Wednesday Jared came into the house and sat down at my computer...I noticed that he was looking at Central Bible College's website, and when I stepped over to my desk to get something (no, I wasn't prying...lol), Jared told me that during youth group, the Lord touched his heart, and while he was talking to our pastor about his future after youth group, he finally broke down in tears. As they prayed, the Lord showed him that instead of working and taking the correspondence course, He wants Him he to go to college, which starts in a little over a week. Jared had been fasting and praying over the last several weeks, seeking the Lord for clear direction for his future, and the Lord was faithful to reveal His plan for Jared's life.

I think the Lord had been preparing me for Jared's news all day long...you know how when you know something important is about to happen, your adrenalin gets pumping, giving you a feeling of anticipation? I literally felt like that all day Wednesday, but couldn't put my finger on why, 'cause as far as I knew, nothing important was "in the works". Well now I know why. lol

I'm sure we will miss Jared desperately, but I have a "knowing" in my heart that this is from the Lord. I haven't shared this with Jared yet, but I had much the same experience between my junior & senior years in college...I was living with my brother in OK and wasn't planning on going back to college, due to no money. I had decided to work for a year and then transfer to a Christian college in the Oklahoma City area to complete a degree in social work, which my previous college didn't offer.

The weekend right before school started I drove back to school to hear a beginning-of-the-school-year concert given by their traveling worship team. The Lord touched my heart during the concert, and while talking to my music professors after the concert I broke down in tears. At that point I *knew* the Lord wanted me to stay and complete my music degree.

I drove back to OK and fought against it for a few days, because I couldn't figure out HOW I would pay for it, but He wouldn't give me any peace until I called my professor and asked him if I could resume my studies in the music dept. He not only promised me a job as his secretary in the music dept, he promised me a spot on the traveling worship team as well, which had always been my dream.

I still couldn't see how I would be able to afford tuition, but as I stepped out in faith, the Lord worked out all the details, and the rest is history. And while I have no earthly idea how Jared will pay for college (nearly $20,000/yr), I am confident that as he steps out in faith, the Lord will once again work out all the details.

Happy Birthday, Jared!

Our firstborn turned 19 today. WoW! Just saying that makes me feel reaaaalllly old! LOL The details of his birth are so vivid in my mind, it seems like just yesterday that he was born. But in other ways, it seems like it happened a whole other lifetime ago, know what I mean?

Jared recently told us he wants to take correspondence courses toward becoming a pastor/missionary, instead of going to a 4-yr college. The cost for each of the three different levels of the program will be less than a thousand dollars, instead of over $20,000/yr for Bible college. The levels of the program are the equivilent of associates, bachelors, and masters degrees. He would have to read a series of books and take a test after each book, and each level will take approx. 1.5 to 2 yrs to complete. He can work full-time while he's taking the courses, and complete the work at his own pace. He can complete all three levels, or just one or two. After finishing the first level he would be "certified", after the second level he would be "registered", and after the third level he would be "ordained". Our pastor to the seniors is only "certified", and he told Jared he is able to do everything an ordained pastor can do (baptize, marry, bury, etc) except vote at our denomination's pastoral leadership conferences.

We haven't told Jared yet, but as soon as I receive the next disbursement from my mother's estate (sometime this month), we are going to pay for his first level as a belated graduation gift. Besides our seniors' pastor, who completed the program decades ago, two other men from our church are enrolled in the program right now, so Jared will have several mentors who can help him if need be.

Happy Birthday, Son! I know we don't say it enough, but we love you and are so proud of the godly man you have become, and that you are determined to follow the Lord wherever He leads. May the Lord bless your obedience and devotion to Him!