Prepping.

I'm a wanna be prepper. I think being prepared is a good thing. Fact is... I'm not real good at it yet!

 

Things I am prepping for:

 

1.  The trip to Uganda. Including, but not limited to clothes, shoes, toys, snacks, wipes, hand sanitizer, clothes for court, soap, sweeties, passports, and a ton of paperwork. We are also preparing for bonding, attaching, understanding and speaking basic Luganda phrases, and having to learn to not be sarcastic when we speak to people. For those that really know us, you know which of those is going to be struggle.

 

2.  Our current 4 children not traveling. I am making a school schedule for the 2 weeks, copying insurance cards, making a list of approved activities, printing out a chores list, purchasing food for them and the animals. Which leads us to...

 

3.  The micro farm for our disappearance. Hay, straw, feed, and more. With 1 dog, 4 quail, 7 chickens, 4 goats (2 being milked each morning,) and a bunch of rabbits, our kids will have their hands full. I sound like a prepper ;) ... Side note: Anyone want to buy two goats in milk that may be pregnant?

 

4.  The gyms. We are so thankful to have two amazing managers of our Snap Fitness locations and are attempting to hire each of them some part-time help for while Matt is gone and beyond. That will allow them to help cover all the things that Matt normally concentrates on each week!

 

5. The end of the world as we know it!!!!!!

 

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I've always said that once you have more kids than hands that it really doesn't make a difference how many children you have. The more the merrier. I truly believe that. However, this way is new to us and it really is the end of the world as we know it... and that is a good thing!

 

I have never added a child (or in our case two children!) through international adoption. I never had to learn the language of my bios more than the difference between a hungry, tired, and hurt cry. I never had to learn to deal with my child's loss of family, culture, and home country. I didn't have to think about parasites or what size clothes they'll be wearing when I meet them, or what kind of foods they will be willing to try when they get home. Babies don't add to the food bill for awhile, but Isaac and John's appearance will immediately cause me to prepare more food. Each meal lately, I look at what I have left and attempt to determine if that would have been enough to feed two growing boys. If not, I need to mentally adjust my food purchase next time and try again. We are also trying to prepare 4 kids for 2 more kids. This so far has been the most rewarding. Hearing their heartfelt prayers for Isaac and John have confirmed how much they already love them.

 

The beds are made. The seats are in the van. Their photos are in the frames.
Now to wait on the Lord's timing to bring them home!

 

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Here's a video and some pictures of us being distracted by our goats :)
Soon all these videos will inlcude Isaac and John!

 http://youtu.be/e_5gtLvdwiY

 

He knows.

... and I am so glad He knows. 

Updates from friends. Updates from the agency.

They can be exciting or inconclusive or scary or sad.

I've heard news in each category of those lately and I'm not sure how to process it all. 

Thankfully, I don't have to. I can lay it at His feet and pray for His will to be done and His peace to cover me. 

We found out for sure today that if we don't get our court date by mid-November that we will not travel until 2014. If God's plan is for us to wait... If God's plan is for our plan to change... If we are to have Isaac and John grow in our hearts a little longer before we hold them in our arms... Then let the the JOY of the LORD be my strength and let my fears fade as I put my FAITH in Him. 

Mark 4:40

He said to his disciples, "Why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith?"

Both Hands was amazing!

Matt's email to the volunteers...

Well THANK YOU everyone, Saturday went great. Throughout the day, I think we had close to 40 people helping on the project. By the end of the day all of our expectations were met & exceeded. Everyone showed the love of Christ in their actions & great attitudes. I was a little disappointed in the morning when I felt the rain had ruined our chances of completing the stain. I really should have know God had a reason, when will I learn? Because we had so much help now available after the stain crew got fur-lowed, Des suggested we try to do the kitchen floor instead. So fortunately Dave told us how & we got to work on that. We didn't think the kitchen floor would get worked on at all that day (Donna's son in law was going to try to do it in the future). While we were busy on that, the rest of the stain crew, the finished HVAC crew & other diligent workers took advantage of the ending rain & actually completed staining the entire outside of the house. Everything in & out of the house that all of you guys worked on came out looking great & 100% better.

In total, God used all of you to:
-Instal a heat pump, needed duct work & wiring for her house (giving them a source of heat for the winter)
-Painted her sister's living room downstairs, the upstairs hallway, bathroom, bedroom(brightening up the inside of the house)
-Fixed/ replaced the water damaged wall in the bathroom
-Installed deco vinyl "wood' flooring in the kitchen
-Cleaned most of the house very thoroughly
-Power washed/ cleaned 22 years of grime off of the siding (earlier in the week)
-Replaced the non working fan with a brand new fan with lights
-Stained the entire exterior of the house with a very light nice looking stain (modernizing the look of the house)
-Spent time getting to know & fellowshipping with both sisters
-Left them with a clean & healthier environment to live

In addition to those great things being done, many of you guys did equally important jobs of logistics, keeping the project able to function. Those don't get as much visual acknowledgment, but the project wouldn't have happened without your efforts & organization.

I believe it was a great opportunity, not only for us adults, but especially for all of our young volunteers to really get to serve in Christ name. I believe God used everyone of us & those that were praying for the project to bless Donna. We will continue to pray that it blesses the adoption side as well. We will be working on a video for you to email to anyone you sent letters to to show what their sponsorship went to. We'll get that to you asap, but if you'd just like to see before, during, & after pictures, Desiree has them posted on her fb page.
Thank you guys so much, God has blessed us with an amazing group of friends & family.

Sincerely,
Matt, Des, Trinity, Emma, Azriel, Isaac, John, & Titus

CLICK HERE for photos of the event.

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In other news, the puzzle is complete!!! All 500 pieces are sponsored! As soon as I get everyone's names, words, or Bible verses for their sponsored piece, the puzzle will be ready to frame :)

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We are packing, preparing, learning some Luganda, staring at the new picture of Isaac and John that came today, and waiting. The court date is that all important and necessary next bit of information that still has not graced the inbox of our email account. Wouldn't it be just awesome if I was able to update you with an actual court date when I wake up in the morning??? I'm not holding my breath.