Sick.

Not me, luckily. But in what seems to be a pattern for all adoptive families, the flu has struck our house. Which is especially annoying because we already had the flu go through once this winter. Two of the three boys have spent the day puking, and my hands are completely chapped from the hundreds of times I've washed them as I try to not catch this while I spend the day cleaning it up. And the point of all of this is to say, don't hold your breath for a real blog post today, because it's not looking likely.

I will leave you with a picture, though.



It's from Halloween, but I think it appropriately expresses the feelings at our house today.

Blog Redesign

To be honest, I'm not in love with the new design. But it's late and I really need to get to bed, so I'm sticking with it for now. It'll probably change again soon, though. And maybe later today I'll have a real post as well, rather than this pathetic excuse for one. :)

*Update* -- I couldn't handle leaving the blog as it was, so I redesigned it yet again. I like this a little better, though it would be even better if I'd sized the header correctly before editing it -- then it wouldn't be so blurry. But that really will have to wait to get fixed, because I'm already up _way_ too late.

Being More Productive

So I'm now on day 11 of my facebook fast. It's been both harder and easier than I thought it would be. It's been easier in that while I like facebook and miss it, I don't have a longing to get back on that I constantly have to fight. It's not _that_ big a deal to be off of it. Except when it is. That's the hard part -- there are a few times when it's been really hard to stay off. When I know friends are hoping for travel dates and I want to see if anyone's gotten any. When I see a blog post about certain kids who someone's met in country, and know they've shared more details on facebook. When I see a post about a friend struggling and know other friends are rallying on facebook to provide support. Those are the things it's hard to stay away from. Hopefully I can remember that when I get back on facebook, and use it sparingly and specifically with those things in mind.

Overall the fast has been good for me, from a self-discipline standpoint if nothing else. I can be very self-disciplined when I put my mind to it, but I don't often decide it's worth the effort, so it's good to remind myself I have it in me. I've also spent less time on the computer, which was part of the point, but I'm still spending more time than I should, and not as productively as I'd hoped. With that in mind, I'm setting a new limit for myself. I have 30 "free" minutes every day to read e-mails, blogs, etc. I do need some down time, and I do need to feel like I can stay connected to friends who are far away. After that, though, if I want to spend time on the computer not working (i.e. paying bills, doing taxes, scheduling doctor appts, etc), first I have to write.

For those who don't know me IRL (probably a lot of you), I write. I write science fiction and fantasy novels. Or at least I try -- I have yet to actually finish one. But I do have well over 100K words written between my various works-in-progress, so it's something I'm fairly serious about. However, lately I pretty much haven't been writing. I was hoping being off of facebook would get me to spend more of that computer time churning out words, but no such luck so far. It's not entirely surprising -- I could barely scratch out a word while pregnant, and this isn't so very different. But it's something I like and enjoy, even if it is hard work, and since it's something I hope to possibly, someday, make a living with, it's something I need to be better about doing every day whether I'm in the mood for it or not.

So for the next two days I have to have 100 words written before I get any more computer play time (really not at all hard, but it's good for me to start small and build up), and the rest of the week I have to have 250 words written. Not that this matters that much to any of you, but publicly declaring it will help keep me honest with myself about actually doing it, so that's what I'm using this space for today. I'm determined to be more productive, and hopefully this will help get me there!

MFFM

MFFM is an acronym you see a lot in Reece's Rainbow circles, though it seems pretty unintelligible to anyone else. Nonetheless, it's one of my favorites. You see, it stands for "My Family Found Me". It's a page I check most every day, and I rejoice as I see children who are orphans who now have families committed to adopting them. So imagine my delight yesterday when I checked "MFFM" and saw "Ryland"! I'm so happy that he's going to have a family, and soon. Maybe we'll travel at the same time and get to meet them! Now if we can just get Carolina a family. Oh, and Sam of course! He doesn't have a committed family yet, but there was enough interest that my friend talked to him and asked him if he wanted to be adopted -- he definitely does, so please keep praying for him!

Two Updates and a Waiting Child

1. We got our USCIS fingerprint appointment papers in the mail yesterday! Our appointments are for March 15. I don't want to wait that long, and since it's during Spring Break we'll likely be out of town as well, so I'm hoping we can walk in before that. A friend who lives close to us was able to, so I'm praying we'll be allowed to as well. I'm not sure when we'll try (it depends on Jacob's work schedule), but hopefully next week.

2. A friend who sent their first papers over to EE just after us told me they got a submission date for their dossier (April 19). While I'm _thrilled_ for them, it does make me a little nervous that we haven't heard anything yet. Please, if you're so inclined, say a prayer or send some happy thoughts that there's no problems with our paperwork and that we'll hear back soon.

3. Yesterday another friend posted about a boy who desperately needs a family. He turns 16 in less than 3 months, when he'll become unadoptable. At that point he'll either be sent to a mental institution or be put out on the street. All because he's missing some fingers. As I read his description it reminded me so much of my younger brother, and my heart has been breaking for the last day at the thought of this boy not ever having a family. Please, please, pray for him and share his story. Maybe someone you know needs him in their life. You can learn more about him here.

Our Adoption Story Part 1: Reece's Rainbow

I thought our blog readers might like to hear the story of how we came to be adopting. I shared a short version of it on our Family Sponsorship Page, but I'm going to do a series of posts going into a little more detail.

It's been almost a year since I visited Reece's Rainbow at the start of our adoption journey. It wasn't the first time I'd been to the site, but it was the first time in quite a while, and this time was different. This time I was drawn in and couldn't stay away.

Growing up I'd always kind of thought I'd adopt in addition to having biological children, but it was never a conviction or anything, just an idle thought in the back of my mind. After Jacob and I were married he said he wasn't interested in adopting, and I just shrugged and thought, "Well, I guess I won't, then." And that's where it stayed for a long time.

But when I visited Reece's Rainbow again last year it was different. Even though I knew Jacob didn't want to adopt, I couldn't stop looking at all the faces. Even before I saw our daughter's picture, I came back most days and just looked through the pictures. Then one day, a couple of weeks into this, I noticed "Brigitte"'s picture for the first time. I think she'd been there all along, but this was the first day I'd taken particular notice of her as one particular little girl, rather than just one in a long line of pictures. And when I did notice her, I felt it.



It was the same thing I'd felt when I knew I was supposed to marry Jacob, the same thing I'd felt before I got pregnant with each of my boys. It was God very clearly telling me "This is your daughter". After that I was obsessed. I kept her picture up on my computer constantly, and looked at it throughout the day. I read, researched, and talked to people, figuring out what would have to happen for us to bring her home. And more than anything else, I prayed, because I knew unless Jacob decided adopting was a good idea, she would never be mine, no matter what I felt.

That was about 10 months ago, so there's a lot more to the story before we get to where we are now, but that's about all I've got time for tonight. More soon...

Pictures -- the Zoo

I don't have much to say today, so I thought I'd share some pictures with you. These are from our trip to the zoo a few weeks ago. Aren't my boys adorable? I can't wait until their sister's around to join in the fun!