We are praising the fact that travel will be SOON. :-)
In the meantime, I want to share a couple blessings that we have encountered over the past few days. God has been showing his love to us in the little things and we feel so blessed.
Last week, we were discussing the unofficial "dress code" for travel in Z's country on one of our message boards from our agency. I sorta started getting nervous because everyone was saying women should wear capris, not shorts. I own 2 pairs of capris and the rest shorts. So, we will be visiting the orphanage for 5 days total. With the cost of the flights coming up, along with the $5,500 in foundation fees that are due, we were getting a little nervous about the money situation. I mentioned this to a friend of mine on our way over to get cucumbers from her mother in law's garden. While we were there, my friend remembered her MIL was getting ready to donate some of her clothes. Well, low and behold... she pulled out 5 pairs of capris. The chances that they fit me are slim to none since I never have luck at goodwill or anywhere getting clothes that fit. I tried them on... and all 5 pairs fit perfectly! Thanks Lana!
Only 4 our pictured because one pair I've already worn!
The next blessing came in the way of the mail. Another friend of mine from Holland was going to sell us a toddler Patapum (which is a soft sided carrier much like the popular Ergo). We wanted to try this out for Z on our first trip to see if he'd be willing to be carried in it. These carriers promote attachment and for a scared little blind boy, this might be the best thing in the airport while traveling home with him. Well, last week it came in the mail and my friend not only sent it to us... but she GIFTED it to us! What an awesome blessing. Thanks Susan!
The Patapum is slightly bigger than the Ergo and has more support for a taller child.
The little blessings continued to come this past week. On Thursday, I got home and found this in the mail. I ordered it a while ago and sorta forgotten about it. We weren't sure it would come in time for our first trip when we ordered it. Can you guess what it is?
All we need now is a little guy to use it to explore his new world!
Give up? This is little Z's first blind walking cane! Let me tell you, this is the cutest thing I have ever seen. So little and perfect for our little guy! We are still debating whether we will bring it on our first trip for him to try out and we would possibly leave it for him.
Hannah has been busy sewing things for her little brother, but recently ran out of material scraps that my mom gave her. Here are a couple of the things she has sewn. I'm quite impressed with the work of my 13 year old! She made these 100% on her own!
A little bucket hat made lovingly by his big sister!
This little toy even has crinkly stuff inside, perfect for him!
So, today Hannah was thrilled to go to my mom's house because she let her go through ALL her material and take what she needed! Well, her extra scrap material. We can't wait to see what things her imagination can come up with! Stay tuned... Until then, here's just part of the material that she was given from her grandma. Thanks Grandma!
She promises to pick it all up before she goes to bed LOL!
Another blessing came tonight and I'm still smiling because of it. We were going through craigslist today looking for a crib. A lady posted about a crib and we responded. She had posted it yesterday and usually we get a response saying, "sorry, already gone!" Well, tonight we got an unexpected response. This lady is giving us her crib! For FREE. And it comes with the mattress AND it's fairly new... made in 2005! It's dark cherry finish and will be perfect in Dave and my room when he comes home. We plan on doing something like this when he comes home. That way he can safely be in our room so he knows we are here to meet his needs. I learned about this from another awesome adoptive mom and Dave agrees that this would be the best for Z. Thanks Rachel for the idea! Thanks Amy for gifting the crib to us!!!
This is how Rachel suggested. This new crib we were gifted will be perfect!
I could go on and on about the little blessings we've received just over the past week. I can't express how truly thankful we are!
Lastly, I want to congratulate my husband for getting a new job working nights! If you know Dave you will know that public service is where his heart is. He is a volunteer fire fighter, works on the Hazmat team, runs a business selling light bars and now he has a job as a security officer! He will work 3 or 4 nights a week and when little Z comes home he will be able to stay home with him and we won't need to put him in daycare! Dave has been trying for a security job for years. Perfect timing wouldn't you say? Please pray as he transitions from his other full time job because for a while he is going to be VERY tired.
I'm so proud of my husband!
Please know that there are still LOTS of puzzle pieces to put your name on. Let me know if you would like a piece or two. Hoping to have all of them sold before our trip. Won't you help? For more information please see this blog post: http://addingawealtothebus.blogspot.com/2013/07/quick-wont-you-buy-puzzle-piece-or-two.html
Anyone who purchases a piece of the puzzle will have a chance to win a $100 Visa gift card! The more pieces you buy, the more chances you have to win! $5 gets you a piece with your name on it so we can always remember who helped bring our little guy home.
Thanks for your continued prayers. Hopefully the next post I write will be letting you know what our travel dates will by! Praying it's this week!
So many blessings! They are such an encouragement too. Congratulations to Dave, I know it makes a huge difference for a man to work in a field he loves. They can put up with so much more if they actually like what they are doing. Praying continually for your family and Z!
ReplyDeleteThanks JoLynn! I pray for you daily as you are on this same roller coaster journey :-).
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