Yours

Adopting Daughter of Purpose has been an experience that has changed how Nate and I view the world. We see the statistic that there are 144 million orphans in the world and we continually ask ourselves how we can do more. Yes, we have changed the life of one child and maybe if we were to adopt again in the future we'd change that life too, but it doesn't seem like enough. It bothers us to sit in our comfortable American home knowing that there are people out there who don't even know if they will eat today. Sending off a bit of money for someone else to fix it just doesn't sit right with us. So we have prayed that God will use us to be a part of the solution. No, we don't feel called to be missionaries in the dark jungles of Africa, but we are being called to go to Haiti this summer.

Nate and I have been asked to lead a team to Haiti to help get an orphanage off the ground. We are so excited that we are nearly busting at the seams because this what we've been praying for--an opportunity to be a part of something that will impact the lives of many orphans. On this trip we will also be taking our oldest daughter because we believe that even though she is a child, she has much to contribute. We want to work alongside her in ministry and share our heart for the nations with her. What we hope is that it is a life changing experience for her. Honestly, we hope it will be a life changing experience for all of us. May we think more like Christians than like Americans...

We share all of this with you because we have begun a new blog to journal how God has lead us straight into His heart for the fatherless. Although Daughter of Purpose was the jumping point for the passion God has given us for orphans...this blog--14 degrees--is HER story. This blog will be printed out into a book for her because it is a journal of the first year of her life. We don't feel like it would be fair to take this spot just for her and change it to ours. We will continue to write her story until she has been with us one year (in May).

If you are interested in reading our journal about our passion for orphans, you can visit it at http://www.journeyintohisheart.blogspot.com/. The rub is this though...we haven't fully decided yet if we want want our journal to be public or private. Right now it is private--you have to receive an invitation to read it. For now it will remain that way, but it may change in the future. If you are interested in following our thoughts and our trip to Haiti (and we pray more beyond that) then you will need to send us an e-mail asking for permission to read our blog. If you know us personally then you probably know how to do that. However, if you don't, but would like to read it you can e-mail us at nates5bs@gmail.com. Our new blog is titled "Yours" because our life truly belongs to the Lord and we desire for God to use what we perceive as ours to become His. It is still in the works so you will have to be patient as we develop it. From my graphic art eye, it's a mess right now...nowhere close to how I want it to look visually, but the reality is that "Yours" is not about what it looks like. It's a place to journal our thoughts.

See you in Haiti...

I Have a Dream...

...of a world where no one has to live in extreme poverty...where there is no such word as orphan.

-"Red Lett*rs" by T*m Davis

Fun in the Kitchen

Here's just a few pictures from the last few days. Nothing special going on here, but a whole lotta fun in the kitchen.

First, this is Daughter of Purpose practicing being a chef. We were adding our ingredients in for Friendship Bread. You know the one that keeps on giving and you care for it each day? Then you have to find people who want to take some of your "babies" from your bread? Well anyway, we had a great science lesson about fermentation!

For St. Patrick's Day we did all kinds of green things. Daughter of Purpose certainly knows the color green and the shape of a shamrock now! I didn't wake up this morning with intentions of serving such a green meal for dinner, but as the day progressed, I kept coming up with new ideas! We had Pesto, broccoli, green milk and we even made some very green bread in the bread machine! I topped it off with green butter.

The Talker wasn't feel so great this evening so he humored me with a smile.

In the late afternoon we took a walk to McDonald's by our house and tried to enjoy some Shamrocks shakes in celebration of this fine holiday, but apparently McDonald's wasn't selling them this year. Can you believe that? We were so bummed, but still managed to have a lot of laughs over chocolate milkshakes. We were grateful for the sunshine and exercise we got!

Baffling the Doctors

Daughter of Purpose had her BIG consultation with all of the doctors, residents, physical therapists and people from the orthodic/prosthesis dept at Shr*ners. I'm sure there were more departments represented, but those were the ones I could put my finger on as we sat in the room.

I'm not really sure how to explain to you about today so I will just summarize it with what one of the doctors said to us as they examined her..."We're just trying to figure out how she is doing what she is doing. How is she even walking?" It took some restraint to not respond with, "Because God is in the business of doing the impossible--that's why."

Previous to this, I didn't really realize it, but I had become focused on what she cannot do, how to get it fixed and how to help her come to terms with that. In this light bulb moment, it dawned on me that my focus has been wrong. She is astounding the doctors with what she CAN do. I guess I never realized that her abilities are beyond their medical expectations and that is much to be thankful for. It never occurred to me that she could be in worse shape.

With that in mind and with much rejoicing for her amazing growth, the only thing the doctors could say was that she is doing great and to continue with what we're doing. They did change one of her braces, but beyond that they just want to see her every few months to keep an eye on her.

All of this makes me want to do some more research about Marion*Rudolph who had polio as a child but went on to become an Olympic runner. Who knows what God has in store for Daughter of Purpose...

1 Samuel 1:27 "I prayed for this child, and the LORD has granted me what I asked of him."

Fun in the Sun

The weather has been wonderful here, but despite that a few of our kids decided to enjoy the souveniers Nana and Papa White brought back from their cruise in a very creative way inside the house. They took the toothpicks with umbrellas on them and instantly knew what to do!

Back to Shriners

We will be on our way back to Shriners again this week. Daughter of Purpose is scheduled for a "Surgery Consult." This is the meeting where all of the doctors in the Orthopedic Unit and the residents gather (at a very early hour, mind you) to take a look at the file of and at DOP herself. They will put all of their expertise together and let us know if there is anything else they can think to do to help her. We will also learn the results of the procedure she had done a few weeks back. While all of this brainstorming is going on, we will most likely receive a long-term prognosis for her.

We honestly, don't expect to learn anything new for Daughter of Purpose. Our guess is that no surgery will help. It's basically physical therapy that will give us any results. So please be praying for us this week as we travel AGAIN. Pray also for the doctors to have wisdom and discernment. If Daughter of Purpose remains as she is today--great! However, we just want what is best for her and ask that if there is anything more we can do for her that it would be revealed. Thanks.

1 Samuel 1:27 "I prayed for this child, and the LORD has granted me what I asked of him."

Perspective

Almost 10 months ago we brought home a little girl with very short hair and what was there was sparse. The hair of Daughter of Purpose has been growing steadily, but today we were able to put it into its first pony tail! Yeah!

10 months of her being with us and so much to be thankful for. This past week, Nate and I had the opportunity to view a video of a 9-year-old little girl that needs a family. It was heartbreaking to watch it and realize that this little girl is functioning at the level of a 5/6 year old. I do not believe there is anything wrong with her except the fact that being in an institution has taken a toll on her. Absolutely heart breaking.

God used this video to put some perspective into my life. We adopted Daughter of Purpose to bless her by making her a part of our family. Instead, she has blessed us. We have been so fortunate through this process to get a gem of a child. She has attached and bonded with us and learned English better than we ever expected. She truly has become one with our family in such a short time. She has exceeded our expectations for her. All I can say is that God knows exactly what He's doing and knew what our family could handle. It strikes me often that God has known since the beginning of time that this child would be a part of our family and made her to be a perfect fit. She was not in our sights, but she was in His.

I read something lately that I've been meditating on and think it is so simple, but profound. I can't remember what book it was in (I've read quite a few lately) so I'm going to do my best to relay it to you. Daughter of Purpose is like Moses...God's purposes for her could not be accomplished in the arms of her birth mother. We know nothing about her birth mother and I think I'll always watch Daughter of Purpose and be curious about where certain characteristics came from, but I am eternally grateful for her birth mother. Without her, I wouldn't be so blessed. Daughter of Purpose has become so much a part of me--us, as a family, that I have caught myself thinking, "She does that like her Daddy" or sometimes I fill out medical information about her forgetting that she did not come from my genes.

It hasn't been perfect along the way, but I certainly have nothing to complain about. God is good.

1 Samuel 1:27 "I prayed for this child, and the LORD has granted me what I asked of him."