I just read an amazing story on another blog called Ordinary Hero! It is a MUST read for everyone! Just click on the link or on the logo on the side of my blog and scroll down and read this amazing story (called The Little Hero) about an 8 year old brother taking care of his 11 month old sister.
It never fails...when I am having a so called "bad day" and I ask God for a better attitude or help... he always directs me to someone who really is having a BAD day (or life in some cases)! It just puts everything back into perspective for me. I am so selfish and clueless sometimes! I just want to encourage whoever may be reading this, (including myself) to pay attention and think about the things we really complain or get upset about. They are usually just ridiculous and petty things. We can change the way we think... I know it may take practice and habit, but it IS possible. That is exactly what God wants us to do...take every thought captive and give it to Him... and trust me He will get you thinking clearly!
Be the change you wish to see in the world.
-Gandhi
~Holly (is trying/praying to be the change!)
January 14, 2011
January 8, 2011
Melkam Genna!
Melkam Genna! That means Merry Christmas in Amharic. January 7 is Christmas in Ethiopia. Their calendar is different than ours. Mark and I were invited to an authentic Ethiopian restaurant (Yes, in Indy!) to join a bunch of families that have adopted from Ethiopia. The restaurant is called The Major, I highly recommend it...service & food were great. I loved getting a taste (figuratively & literally) of the Ethiopian culture. We were so glad that we were able to join such a great group of people. It was so encouraging and exciting to speak with families that have adopted from the same country as we are, as well as seeing their beautiful children (bio & adopted)! Thank you to all of our new friends ;)!
This past month has been a whirlwind! Here's our latest news...
~ We have prayerfully decided to be on the "either list" for a BOY or a GIRL! We have explained this to our kids & they are excited for whatever God has in store for our family.
~On Wednesday (Jan 5th) we sent in our dossier!!! This is a huge step in the process and is the major thing that we have physically done ourselves.
A dossier is a compilation of paperwork that shows that we are ready and approved to adopt. Each document had to be notarized, then we had to get the official "state seal." Our homestudy report was included in the dossier. The homestudy is a written report from a social worker who interviewed our family, digging deep into our history, our motivation to adopt, and the emotional/physical health of our family. This involved LOTS of forms ahead of time, then an interview in our home. Our complete dossier is off to Washington D.C. then Ethiopia! Here is a photo of all of the papers lined up on the table.
We will be doing a lot of waiting now... Waiting on these important documents to be approved and translated... Waiting for a referral for our future child! We would appreciate your prayers as always and we really appreciate you checking out our blog and checking in on us!
This past month has been a whirlwind! Here's our latest news...
~ We have prayerfully decided to be on the "either list" for a BOY or a GIRL! We have explained this to our kids & they are excited for whatever God has in store for our family.
~On Wednesday (Jan 5th) we sent in our dossier!!! This is a huge step in the process and is the major thing that we have physically done ourselves.
A dossier is a compilation of paperwork that shows that we are ready and approved to adopt. Each document had to be notarized, then we had to get the official "state seal." Our homestudy report was included in the dossier. The homestudy is a written report from a social worker who interviewed our family, digging deep into our history, our motivation to adopt, and the emotional/physical health of our family. This involved LOTS of forms ahead of time, then an interview in our home. Our complete dossier is off to Washington D.C. then Ethiopia! Here is a photo of all of the papers lined up on the table.
We will be doing a lot of waiting now... Waiting on these important documents to be approved and translated... Waiting for a referral for our future child! We would appreciate your prayers as always and we really appreciate you checking out our blog and checking in on us!
January 6, 2011
A Christmas to Remember
Christmas at my Papaw and Mamaw's house (my mom's side of the family) is never lacking in fun for the adults. The past few years we have all picked another's name and bought them a gift. But this year my sister proposed a different idea for our Christmas. We usually buy gifts that we really don't need (not that there is anything wrong with getting someone a gift), so why not chip our money in together and do some good for people who really need it. Everyone decided that was a great idea and that we were going to do it. We chose to have everyone pick a charity of their choice and then whoever got their charity drawn out of a bag would be the one we would donate to and we would all give that person our money/check (choosing from a bag made it a fun twist to just picking one).
Our family Christmas came and the kids had just tore into their gifts. My sister, Amy, announced that we were getting ready to draw for our charities and passed out some paper. Mark and I filled ours out and stuck them in the bag. Quickly after that, Amy handed the bag to my Papaw so he could pick one out. He grabbed one and opened it, he was trying to read it, when I decided to sit by him and look too. I knew it wasn't our charity because it was in blue marker. As I got closer I saw, "Holly and Mark's." As it actually sank into my head I finally comprehended what it said, "Holly and Mark's Adoption!" Immediately the tears came to my eyes and I looked up and saw that everyone was looking at me. WOW! I was shocked! We just weren't expecting that at ALL! Now that I look back, it's kind of funny how quickly we drew it out and no one even talked about the charity they were choosing (we had no clue at the time). So now I know why. Everyone wrote our name on their paper and they took Mark's and mine out...Sneaky...Sneaky!!!
This is definitely one of my top Christmas memories! We are obviously putting that money toward our adoption. For that we are excited and extremely grateful! But more importantly for us, is the tremendous support our family has displayed to us! Papaw, Mamaw, Mom, Dad, Buzz, Julie, Brittany, Derek, Alivia, Colton, Bob, Amy, Stephanie, & Shannon THANK YOU & we LOVE YOU SO MUCH! We are grateful that you are a HUGE part of bringing our future child home to us (your great-grandchild, grandchild, great-niece/nephew, cousin, & niece/nephew)!!!
Our family Christmas came and the kids had just tore into their gifts. My sister, Amy, announced that we were getting ready to draw for our charities and passed out some paper. Mark and I filled ours out and stuck them in the bag. Quickly after that, Amy handed the bag to my Papaw so he could pick one out. He grabbed one and opened it, he was trying to read it, when I decided to sit by him and look too. I knew it wasn't our charity because it was in blue marker. As I got closer I saw, "Holly and Mark's." As it actually sank into my head I finally comprehended what it said, "Holly and Mark's Adoption!" Immediately the tears came to my eyes and I looked up and saw that everyone was looking at me. WOW! I was shocked! We just weren't expecting that at ALL! Now that I look back, it's kind of funny how quickly we drew it out and no one even talked about the charity they were choosing (we had no clue at the time). So now I know why. Everyone wrote our name on their paper and they took Mark's and mine out...Sneaky...Sneaky!!!
This is definitely one of my top Christmas memories! We are obviously putting that money toward our adoption. For that we are excited and extremely grateful! But more importantly for us, is the tremendous support our family has displayed to us! Papaw, Mamaw, Mom, Dad, Buzz, Julie, Brittany, Derek, Alivia, Colton, Bob, Amy, Stephanie, & Shannon THANK YOU & we LOVE YOU SO MUCH! We are grateful that you are a HUGE part of bringing our future child home to us (your great-grandchild, grandchild, great-niece/nephew, cousin, & niece/nephew)!!!
January 5, 2011
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