Certified....

Another task completed! We are now certified in infant, child & adult CPR and First Aid. Michael & I attended our training last night, along with other people working with our agency. It was good to get yet another thing marked off the list. Ahhhh....but not so fast! Just as sure as we are to have almost everything completed, but what do our wondering eyes see.....another stack of papers?! Yes, Dennis, being the wonderful man that he is, gave us another package of documentation that we have to complete. He handed a stack to Michael and Michael thought that he would take one piece and pass it around (you know, like how we would do in school)....but no....that whole stack was just for us! I've never seen so much paperwork before. I haven't counted it but I think it's got to be at least 30 more pages to fill out. This is some of the trickier things, like our disciplinary action plan. How do we plan to discipline our children? What actions do we plan on taking? How will we follow through? etc.... We have to put all of that in writing and in detail. We have to complete a whole series of questions on our marriage, our families, our home, our work ~ basically every aspect of our life...that wasn't necessarily covered in detail in the biographies we wrote. Then we have a behavior policy we have to create, an evacuation plan and map for emergencies has to be made, who we plan to involve in our children's lives (like family members, babysitters, child care providers) on a regular or irregular basis......just to name a few of the things, without looking at the paperwork.

A bit overwhelming but I'm sure we can do it. It's just difficult to put into words how you would do something, or carry out your disciplinary actions, what rules we will have for our household, the responses when they aren't carried out, etc.... They definitely want to get into our minds and see what we're thinking, but I think it's a positive thing.

We also found out last night that we are signed up for the Advanced "quick-start" PRIDE training (our 30 hours required by the state of Texas). Most couples have to do this over a period of 8 - 12 weeks, but our case worker felt very strongly that he wanted us to be in the Advanced class. So, we are signed up for 3 ten hour Saturday classes in May. We were shocked to find out that we'll be finished with all of our training in less than a month! WOW! Once our training is completed, we will be assigned another case worker who will work with us on our actual home study and help us with yet another stack of paperwork. Now I think I know why God gave me the gift of organization and the patience for paperwork!

On a side note, life has been rather crazy for us. Michael's dad gave us a scare last week, when he had a heart attack. Thankfully, he did not have to any extensive surgery (like bypass) done, and they were able to repair the damage with angioplasty and a stint. It was so hard to be so far away during the crisis (as they live in CA) but we are so thankful for his quick recovery and that he is back home.

Last Friday, I had to have a last minute outpatient surgery done and what was supposed to be "simple/easy" did not turn out to be the case with me! I always seem to fall into the "2% of the people get...." I have always been a very slow healer and have difficulty with anesthesia. I was laid up in bed until Tuesday evening. I finally returned to work yesterday, in pain, but have been able to make it through the last 2 days at work. Michael did a very good job of taking care of me, the dog and the house, while I was in bed. I should have my test and biopsy results in 2 weeks and hopefully nothing serious will come of the result. But as in all things, God is a big God and is in control and we are so thankful for the ways that He continues to watch over us, take care of us, meet our needs and walk with us on this journey.

We both appreciate your prayers and support through all that we've been going through! Love you all ~

The FBI and Quest Diagnostics....

.....two places you don't typically want to spend your Saturday morning with, but Michael & I were happy to do so today.

We arrived at the testing facility to get our fingerprints electronically scanned by the FBI and it was actually quite facinating to have done. They scan all 4 fingers, then your thumb, on each hand. Then they go back and individually roll each finger from one side to the next to see all the "branches" of your prints and verify that each fingerprint still matches what was just previously submitted. After 14 prints and 1 photo, we were both on our way to completing the final 2 tasks of this part of our adoption process.

Then it was off to Quest Diagnostics to get our blood work done. I'm usually the one that phlebotomists don't like to work on ~ collapsed veins, hiding veins, running veins, rolling veins ~ you get the picture. I have learned through all my years of blood work, to tell them what they need to do. Do not attempt my arms ~ you will be unsuccessful. They usually argue with me and tell me that they're the best and they can find veins that no one else can. Today though, I did not have to have the fight. I told her that she just needed to draw the viles of blood from my hand with a butterfly needed. There was no need to check anywhere else. She said - ok. OK?! Really?! You mean you're actually going to listen to me? WOW! What a concept! I was thankful that although the needle in the hand is anything but pleasant, it sure does beat getting poked multiple times as the "best" search out the hiding vein. Michael has no issues with his veins, so in the end, we were in and out of there in no time.

So, that completes the 2 things left on our list for this stage of the adoption process. Now, I just have to mail all this paperwork to Dennis and then we'll get our schedule for PRIDE training. WHOO HOOO!

Now here's to enjoying the rest of our weekend....maybe we'll watch one of the 3 movies we have from Blockbuster!

Approved!

I was just finishing up the dishes from dinner, when my phone rang. I glanced over at the phone to see who might be calling. I didn't recognize the number and thought - ugh...my hands are all wet...I'll just let it go to voicemail...but something inside me told me to answer the call...so I did.

"Ms. Thompson?" the caller asked.
"This is she", I replied.
"Hi, this is Dennis with Lutheran Social Services...did I catch you eating dinner?"

We chit-chatted for a bit and he apologized for not calling me sooner. I had left him a message today, just to check and make sure that he had received our application packet that we mailed on Monday. I didn't really expect him to call me back, even if he did get the packet, since I knew that it would be at least a week before we'd hear from him.

He wanted to let me know that he did get the packet the very next day; that he actually had a few hours to review some paperwork that day (only because a meeting got cancelled) and that the first packet he went for "happened" to be ours. (I don't want to boast here - just want to share what he said.) He went on to say that he has never received such an organized, well put together application, with everything actually included, not needing to ask for us any additional information and biographies that were just amazing. I was just standing in the kitchen with my mouth wide open....Michael looking at me with wonderment, not knowing what was going on. He then said that he prayed over the paperwork and felt led by the Lord to bring us into the program. Not only are we accepted and in the program, but he wants to personally oversee our case because he really wanted to help us along the way and make this process as easy and quick for us. I just kept saying "thank you", "we're so excited", etc....actually, I'm not even sure what all I said.

We just have one last thing to make everything final (in this stage) and that's our fingerprinting with the FBI on Saturday morning. This will be our 3rd attempt to get this completed and WE WILL SUCCEED! Once those results are into the agency's office, we will be set up for training. Once training is completed, we will be assigned a case worker, who will then perform the home study on us, as well a whole new pile of paperwork. We are by no means "there yet" but we are one step closer tonight than we were this morning.

All glory be to God! Only God could give us the words to say in our biographies and reach out and touch Dennis' heart. Only God could have our paperwork show up on his desk, just when he had some free time. Only God could have us approved in less than 2 days after paperwork was received. We serve a BIG and AWESOME God! Michael & I are so thankful for all His blessings and how He continually reminds us of His handiwork in building our family.

Thanks so much to all of you for your friendship, encouragement, prayers and support. We love you all and will keep you posted along the journey!

The appointed time

"The plans of the Lord stand firm forever, the purposes of His heart through all generations” (Ps 33:11).

But I must be prepared to wait on God’s timing. His timing is precise, for He does things “at the very time” He has set. It is not for me to know His timing, and in fact I cannot know it – I must wait for it.

I was thinking of Abraham and Sarah this morning and thought - if God had told Abraham that he would have to wait thirty years before holding his promised child in his arms, his heart might have failed him. So God, as an act of His gracious love, hid from Abraham the number of weary years he would be required to wait. Only as the time was approaching did God reveal His promise: “At the appointed time next year….Sarah will have a son” (Gen 18:14).

This morning the Lord spoke to me ~ take heart, Courtney, when I require you to wait. I will not disappoint you. I will never be even five minutes behind “the appointed time”. And soon “your grief will turn to joy” (John 16:20)

Michael & I are now in the true stages of waiting. Our application packet (over 40 pages long) was mailed out to the Houston office on Monday - we FINALLY got it all together! Now, we just have to wait (again) to hear back from teh agency with the approval. Once approved, there are still plenty of steps left to complete as well as training. Interestingly enough, Dennis (our intial case worker) called me on Monday to follow up, since he hadn't received our package. We called him back and he was excited to hear that we had sent the packet in the mail that day. He told us that he had decided to keep us in the Houston office, versus the Woodlands office, due to the fact that the Woodlands office was down to just one case worker and his office has 7 case workers. He said that he felt strongly about keeping us with his group, as the process would move much more quickly and he really wanted to stay involved with us. That was very comforting to hear.

It's all about waiting, being patient, being still, and trusting in the Lord. It is completely out of our hands. We have done what we needed to do and we trust that the Lord will turn our grief into joy at just the appointed time!

What a relief!

Michael & I went back to the doctor today to get our TB "site" checked out.....we're negative for TB! What a relief! :)

Only negative thing was that the doctor forgot to complete our medical forms but promised to finish them this week and mail them to us, so hopefully he won't take long. I will call on Monday to make sure that he was able to get them done.

Our biographies are done! YEAH! Now, we just have fingerprinting to do on Saturday morning and we'll have everything completed to send off.

Yeah...it's feeling good!

Crazy week so far....

It's been a busy, crazy week so far...and it's only Wednesday!

Michael & I have crossed off a few things from our ever-growing adoption checklist! We both had our physicals and TB testing done. We have to go back tomorrow to make sure that we don't have TB. So far, so good! :) No red marks yet :) Michael told the doctor that he was worried that his latest work with chickens might make him have TB ~ ha! No worries, he wasn't being serious.

I have completed my bio and feel good about it. Michael has started his and should hopefully have it done by tomorrow. Then we get our fingerprints done on Saturday morning. We still have things on the list to complete, but they don't all have to be done right away.

Sometimes it feels as if we're rushing and then at times, it feels like we're moving at a snail's pace. Please pray for us as we complete the final application process and that everything submitted will be well received at the agency.

Now, I'm off to see the results show for American Idol. For those of you who watch, my bottom 3 picks for the week are as follows: 3. Chris Sligh, 2. Haley from San Antonio & 1. Sanjaya Malakar. Now, Sanjaya shouldn't have even made it past Hollywood, so obviously he should be the one to go tonight. My gut tells me that Chris Sligh will be the one to go. Guess we'll just have to see! As for who should win the competition? Melinda Dolittle - hands down!

TTFN,
Court

Autobiography....

How do you put into words the story of your life? From childhood, through adolescence up to the present day of adulthood. How do you say what needs to be said and yet not bore them with the details or come across as being anything but sincere?

I know my life. It's who I am. How do I sum it up for strangers to read and understand my heart?

How do I put on paper all the reasons I want to become a mom and hope that they see my heart?

This is much harder than I anticipated.....I've always been a good writer....I just hope that doesn't change tonight :)

~ Court

A Relaxing Weekend....

A relaxing weekend? What's that? It's been so long since we've had one, that I was beginning to forget what that even was!

Friday night, Michael & I enjoyed some great Texas BBQ. Would you believe that we actually bought it from Pappa's BBQ and that Michael didn't grill it himself?! SHOCK! I know! However, we made one slight mistake a few weeks back...we didn't bring our grill back into the garage and then all the rain hit...now all we have is one rusted out grill. Oh well...such is life. We'll get another one soon. So, in the meantime, we chose to treat ourselves to some 2nd best BBQ. Sure was nice to not have to deal with the clean up too :)

We finally got around to hanging things up on the walls. That took a little longer than expected....with all the "discussions" that had to take place over just the right place to hang something. In the end, we still have empty walls but we're happy with how things look as of now. I will have to take some pictures and post later.

On Saturday, I watched Gabriela, Isabela & Maya while Ashley went to a friend's babyshower. One might think that this event would NOT be included in relaxing weekend, but we had a lot of fun together, as always. It was a nice day outside, so we all played in the sandbox and went for a short walk, before the rain showers hit. Then it was inside for a movie and popcorn. The hard part of having 3 little ones is that someone is always left out of things. "CC, sit by me...sit by me..." Well, there's only 2 sides of me, so that usually means that the one "left out" gets the best spot in town...my lap! At one point, we were all watching the movie GARFIELD (for the hundredth time I'm sure) on the love seat...that's right....I was laying with my legs stretched out, Isabela on my right lap, Maya on my left lap and Gabriela laying across my legs. Now that's one picture I wish I had to share with you...but alas, I was a bit too occupied to even try to attempt a photo. Here's a photo....BEFORE the girls joined me on the love seat :)

I did something today that honestly, I don't think I've done in months. I read an entire book...that's right...the whole book in just under 4 hours. I'm not a big fan of Christian fiction, but I read a book by Karen Kingsbury about 5 years ago and I have become her biggest fan. She's such a talented writer. She can truly sweep you away into the story, make you feel like you're living it with the characters and there is always such a great message with each one. I wish they'd take her books and make Hallmark movies from them. I usually buy her new book the day that it's released and finish it within a day. This time was different. I'm sure that I bought the book at least 5 months ago and I just decided to read it today. I'm glad that I did. The message from her latest book was this: Love is not possible without sacrifice, and sacrifice is not possible without love. Isn't that what Jesus taught? He died on the cross as the greatest sacrifice, the greatest gift of love, and it's through His grace and salvation that we can do anything good and lasting!

One of the main story lines of this book followed a soldier into Iraq. Regardless of our differing political views, we must - as Americans - agree to pray and be grateful for the men and women who put their lives on the line so the United States can remain a free nation. The cost of freedom is great. Living in the U.S. is free to all of us, but freedom is never really free either. A cost is being paid every day by the military men and women and families in our midst. Let's not forget that. For those serving our country, I thank you, and am praying for your safety and quick return home.

Hope everyone has a great week!
~ Court

Burst of Praise!

This was in my inbox this morning and wanted to share it. I hope that this will encourage you today, as it has me.


Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen. Ephesians 3:20-21


Paul is praying about Christ’s unknowable love and he bursts out in a song of praise.

God is able, for he has all power.

God is able to do, for he is active and at work in our lives.

God is able to do what we ask, for he hears and answers our prayers.

God is able to do what we ask or imagine, for he knows what we dream of that we are even afraid to ask.

God is able to do all that we ask or imagine, for there are no limits to his power and goodness.

God is able to do more than all we ask or imagine, for he is gracious and exceeds our biggest dreams.

God is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, for his power and goodness transcends all boundaries.

This is the God we come to. This is the God who hears our every prayer.

To him be the glory!

Faithfulness

As Michael & I go through the adoption process, there are days where I just don't see how it's going to happen. Fear, anxiety & fatigue (just to name a few) begin to overwhelm me. When that began to happen again this morning, I was reminded of these wonderful promises in Isaiah:

Fear not; for I am with you: be not dismayed; for I am your God: I will strengthen you; yes, I will help you; yes, I will uphold you with the right hand of my righteousness" (Isaiah 41:10).

"Fear not," God says to me. And yet I fear. "Be not dismayed." And yet I worry and become anxious over many things. God continually tells me "I am with you," yet I continue to become panic stricken by the cares of this life, not realizing just how close He really is. My eyes are so often on the problems that surround me that I cannot see the God who remains with me.

I know God is near. But if I am blinded by my problems or selfish wants, how can I see Him? And if I cannot see Him, how can I bring myself to trust Him? And if I cannot bring myself to trust Him, how shall I learn to depend on Him when I am surrounded by trouble, or burdened by the cares of this life? How will I learn to have peace when the budget is tight, the job insecure, the process is too slow or when my day to day becomes a tedious "daily grind?" The daily grind can and does get to me, as I'm sure it does to everyone.

Then I read the verse again from Isaiah 41:10...He says, "Do you feel weak? I will strengthen you. Do you need help? I'll be there--I will help you. Are you weary and feel like you cannot take another step? I will hold you up." These are not simply words but they are the promises from God. He is talking to me....He is talking to all of us. I just simply have to believe that what He said He will do, He will do. Not because of my faith--but because of His faithfulness.

But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint" (Isaiah 40:31)

I am so thankful for the Lord's faithfulness and love for me; and encouraged to know that no matter what, He is with me always, even on those days where my faith is less than perfect.

Checklist

Slowly but surely we are getting things marked off our list. We have rescheduled our fingerprinting appointments for the end of the month. We also have our physicals and TB testing scheduled. We have completed the paperwork for the fire inspection of our home; still trying to figure out who is suppose to inspect the house though.

Now that we are settled in the house, we can focus solely on the paperwork. Our goal is to have everything completed by the end of the month. Once all of our paperwork is completed and turned in to the agency, we will know in a week of our approval. Once approved, we can start our training classes.

Michael & I are so appreciative of all your support, encouragement and prayers along the way. It means more than you know.

Some new pics....

Michael & I had our first night of entertaining the whole Crews family on Saturday night. Bobby & Cierra were here for Spring Break, so it was a good time for all of us to get together. It was nice to be the ones doing the entertaining :) In the midst of everything, I only managed to get 2 pictures taken, but they couldn't have been better ones!

Who needs a kiddie table....when you have the floor?!

We had great food (thanks Honey!), plenty of room and lots of laughter.

Many of you have asked to see pics of the new house as well. So here are just a few. All of the boxes are unpacked but the walls are still barren. We're going to work on that this weekend. These pictures were taken 2 days after moving in. I just realized that I didn't take any of our bedroom...will have to do that later.

1. Dining Room 2. Kitchen from breakfast room 3. Kitchen 4. Living Room from back door 5. Guest Bedroom (feel free to come and visit!)

1. Our big purchase - a very comfy, huge couch. 2&3. Chopper's choice of comfort. 4. Another view of living room.

All moved in....

The move to High Hollow Lane really went better than expected. It reminded me of the beginning of the movie, Meet The Fockers...when everything is going right, after everything going wrong in the first movie, and just waiting for the bad stuff to start...and it doesn't! That's exactly what happened with our move.

Michael & I were able to get to bed fairly early on Wednesday night and had a good night's sleep. The movers arrived early and got us moved in less than 3 hours. The cable/internet guy called to say he was in the area, could he come over early? Sure....we don't have the tvs set up, but we can do it quickly. Of course, it would be helpful to find that one box that I packed all the cables and remotes in so that it would be so easy to find when needed (found it right after the cable guy left). Furniture was delivered before the scheduled time and looks great in the living room. My mom came over after lunch to help with the unpacking of boxes...mostly in the kitchen. It's amazing how much stuff we have!!! My mom was a great help ~ as she should be, after 20+ moves in our lifetime. Thanks Mom!

The only hiccup came when the movers tried to install our dryer and we found that the electrical outlet in the wall was different than our dryer. UGH #1! So, it was off to Lowes to hopefully find an adapter. We arrive at Lowes to be told that they don't have adapters; we'll just need to re-wire the dryer....it's easy! No problem! Um...yeah...right! So, we bought the new wiring and decided to attack it first thing Saturday morning. What a sight! As most of you probably know, the area for a washer and dryer is very tight and very difficult to do anything with. Our house is no exception. We pulled the dryer out and Michael was able to re-wire the dryer without much trouble. That's when we realized that the movers must have left the vent hose behind at the other house, because we didn't have one. UGH #2! So, I made a quick run to Lowes to get a vent. Came back to the house, put it on and realized that the package didn't come with the clamps. UGH #3! I went back to Lowes and got the clamps. Came back to the house, got the vent hooked up and then realized that I couldn't get out from behind the dryer ~ ha! UGH #4....now we have to unhook the washer, move it out of the tight space, move the dryer out, let me move out of the way, hold up the vent so that it doesn't get crushed, very carefully remove myself and push the dryer and washer back into place. Ahhhhhh...finally! So, then we test the dryer and there is this clanking noise....so I open up the dryer and what do my eyes find.....the vent hose AND clamps....UGH #5! Michael & I just looked at each other and after a little bit, were able to laugh about it!

Chopper has been adjusting to the new digs, and we have found that he's quite the guard dog....barking at EVERYTHING! For those of you who visited us at our old house, you'll remember how the house was very removed from the street and we heard almost nothing. We are now on a busy street and Chopper barks at every little noise. That will hopefully change :) One good note, we have broken Chopper of his need to get up every morning at 2:45 to go outside...we've been able to push it until 4am....which makes me very happy!

All of the boxes are unpacked! We just have to decorate the walls....lots and lots of walls!

On another note, we were not able to get the fingerprinting done this weekend. We have it scheduled for the 17th. We just weren't able to get things done in the midst of the move. We still have a lot to do with the paperwork so we will most likely start our training in April. Michael & I just keep reminding ourselves that it's all in God's timing, not our own.

Moving Forward

We received a call from Dennis, our counselor, yesterday. He was just following up to see if we were still going forward with the process with their agency, since he hadn't received all our paperwork yet. YES!

He's already calling us? I'm freaking out! It's only been 8 days, including one weekend....yikes! Even in the slows of the week, we couldn't have gotten it all done; let alone in the midst of moving. But he quickly explained that he just wanted to know if he should keep our file open. I'm sure plenty of people leave the orientation and don't go forward. I explained to him that we were moving this week but that we had been working on the paperwork and hoped to have it to him in the next 2 weeks. He was going to check on the scheduling of the PRIDE classes to see when we could get started on that.

I just want to get the move completed and then be able to focus on the paperwork.

On that note, we have received the keys to our new home and will begin to move some things in tonight. The movers will be at the old house first thing in the morning and we are so excited. We just hope that everything coordinates well...between the movers arrival time, the delivery of new furniture to the new house, cable guy coming out and last but not least, Chopper's reaction to everything during the move...that should prove interesting!

One final note....in my Bible time this morning, the verse of the day was this:

Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus (Phil.4:6-7).

It made me think...how can I ever really give something over to God and know that I have indeed left it in His hands? This is not an easy task, but it is one that gets easier in time. It's the difference between walking on an ice-covered lake and walking on a concrete sidewalk.

This verse reminded me that when we entrust something to God we do not hold our breath until the problem is resolved, and then breathe a sigh of relief. If we have truly entrusted something to God we should feel God's peace at the moment we trusted. We REST assured that God has it under control, and that He will make us aware of any thing needing to be done. So if we say we have given it to God yet breathe the sigh of relief only after things are resolved, then we did not completely trust. But if we can say we have given it to God and then feel the worry- free peace from trusting Him, then we have really begun to learn how to walk on the ice as though it were a sidewalk.

Walking on ice ~ Court

One thing accomplished....

We are scheduled to get fingerprinted next Saturday morning....one thing down, many more to go.

Back to the list.....

The Process

As I said in my previous post, Michael & I attended the first orientation with LSS last night. This orientation, along with everything else, is a requirement of the State of Texas. Our counselor, Dennis, was thorough with explaining everything that we would need to do to get certified and very encouraging about the process.

We were handed a packet of information that we are required to fill out. It’s a bit overwhelming and time consuming. There were so many forms to fill out, papers to sign, boxes to check, directions to follow…and it was just the first night. I had already been warned of all the paperwork involved but this was even more than I had imagined.

Here’s just the beginning of what we need to get done in the next two weeks, to start PRIDE training in March:

*Application
*Criminal background check run
*Child abuse record check run
*Firearms safety verification.
*Photos of us and our home.
*Medical forms completed by doctor
*TB tests done
*Certified copy of marriage license sent to agency
*Certified Proof of citizenship
*Autobiographies of each us, using the 2 page single spaced guidelines provided by agency
*Marriage and parenting data sheets completed by each of us (a huge document of question after question)
*Verification of income
*Copies of the last 2 years of income tax statements
*Personal budget
*All of their policy and procedures signed off on
*Get fingerprinted at the FBI level

Once this is completed, we can start our 30 hours of training and certification to become adoptive parents.

Can you all just take a deep breath with us?! It’s not necessarily that these items are difficult to do or complicated, but there are just so many of them. Everything has to be certified, no copies. So this usually requires getting the information from the main source – county clerk’s office, state department, etc. This takes time. I can see where this could get frustrating. But I’m trying to stay positive and just get it done as quickly as possible. Dennis said that the paperwork is the biggest part of getting through the process quickly. The faster we get these 16 things done, the closer we are to being united with our children. Then we go through the training and home studies, interviews, evaluations, etc.

As we were driving home last night, Michael and I were talking about how thorough the State of Texas is with the foster care/adoption process. It’s a good thing though. These children have already been removed from their birthparents. They don’t need to be put into an unfit home. Isn’t it interesting though, that as adoptive parents, we have to go through 30 hours of training every year and yet a birth parent doesn’t have to. We have to be fingerprinted at the FBI level and pay for the fingerprints and yet a huge majority of these parents have been fingerprinted for free, as they have criminal backgrounds. Makes you think…..what if they required this of birth parents?….maybe there wouldn’t be 47,000 children in foster care just in the state of Texas?!

Even with the huge packet of forms, applications, requirements, and lists of things to do, Michael & I are still so encouraged and excited about the journey the Lord is taking us down. He has truly blessed us. We believe with confidence that our children are being prepared for us, even now, as we are being prepared for them.

“Whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.” (Mark 11:24)

We thank God for our children and pray that they are protected until He brings them to us. While we are trusting, God is working, and in due time our faith will become sight.

It is only human to want to see before we step out on the promises of God. Yet God said to Thomas and to a long list of other doubters, “Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.” (John 20:29)

Believing........Court (and Michael too!)

The First Meeting

It's late, but I wanted to post a quick note to let you know that Michael & I survived our first official meeting with our adoption agency. We've chosen to work with the Lutheran Social Services, who in turn work with the State of Texas, and all the children in their care.

Our mentor, Dennis, shared with us some staggering numbers/facts with us tonight:

At the end of 2006, there were 6,998 children in the foster care system in Harris County without a permanent home. For the whole state of Texas.....47,825! There were 4 couples and 2 single ladies in the meeting with us. We were all dumbfounded by these numbers. Do you think that the State of Texas has enough foster parents and/or adopted parents for these children? No way! Michael & I were even more convinced that this was the route that the Lord desires for us to take.

We are a bit overwhelmed tonight....so I will sign off for now...but promise to write more tomorrow.

Much love ~ Court

Orientation Meeting

Many of you have emailed me about the orientation meeting we were supposed to attend on Monday night. Well, it turned out that this orientation meeting were for foster care parents only. The foster-to-adopt/adoption orientation isn't until this coming Monday, the 19th. So, we will be sure to let you know how it goes.

It already seems to be a slow process....and I guess that's because it took so long for another orientation to come up on the schedule. We're hoping that things progress fairly quickly, once we get into the system and start taking our required classes. We are required to take over 30 hours of training before we are officially available. A friend did tell me that they were able to do their training over a long weekend, versus a couple of hours here and there. We hope that this will be something we can do as well.

Thanks so much for all your prayers and encouragement. It means more than you know.

On another note, our house is officially a wreck; boxes everywhere; Chopper confused! We plan to attack the garage this weekend ~ oh joy! Just 14 days until we move.....

Much love ~ Court

Pictures of our new home

Many of you have asked to see pictures of our soon-to-be home. These were taken last weekend. It's difficult to get good pictures of an empty house but here you go. We'll be sure to update with more once we're moved in and settled...enjoy.

• 1. View of kitchen from living room
• 2. From the back door - View of living room, breakfast room, kitchen (leading into the dining room). 1st hallway leads to the master bedroom. Other hallway leads to the other 2 bedrooms and garage.
• 3. Outside of the house

We're moving!

After much prayer and house hunting...we found out today that we got the house that we've really been hoping for. We will be moving on March 1st -- now it's time to get busy. Oh my! I do believe that we have accumulated quite a bit of "stuff" since I first moved in 4 years ago....

Now it's time to get services switched over, find a mover (don't worry family & local friends...your moving services will not be needed!), find boxes, go through everything, find more boxes, and get moved in 22 days ~ whew! We can do it...I'm the queen of packing and moving.....

We're just so thankful to have a bigger place - one of the things we can check off our list of things to do with the adoption process. Our current home was just too small for little ones.

Thanks to all who have been praying for us in this adventure...it continues on.