1. The first service in our new church building is set for May 25! The chairs arrived a couple days ago, the painting work is mostly done (I'll post before and after pictures soon), the carpet was laid yesterday, a window installed (replacing a rotten board filling up the hole where a window must have been broken sometime back), and the little platform is built and carpeted. Poor Michael (our co-worker) has been putting in 11-hour days, and all the men of the church have put in time as well, doing painting and so on as they have time.  Anyway, it looks like we're set to start meeting there a week from Sunday.

2. I get a night out tonight!! The ladies of the church are going out for pizza   as a goodbye party for one of the ladies .  The family that we had Adoption Day with last summer is moving back to the States for the husband's job. I will miss Denise a LOT, and Eoin is sad that his only Asian friend will not be around anymore. Our families were using the same type of curriculum for schooling, and Denise and I used to compare notes and trade books. Anyway, I'm sad to be saying goodbye to Denise, but a night out with "the girls" is something I haven't done in....actually, I'm not sure I've ever done it! Unless you count Bible study.

3. I'm thankful for a frugal, hard-working husband.

4. I'm thankful for Deirdre's little babbles. She's just so cute!! I wish everyone could see her.

It was actually warm today! Deirdre had great fun picking dandelions.

Adoption Update

It's hard to believe it, but we mailed off the homestudy to the U.S. embassy in London today. We were supposed to also send the approval letter from the adoption agency, but they sent it to the social worker instead of us! However, she will send it to the embassy on our behalf. Now we just need to pray that it's all approved, and quickly.

On the Ghana side of things, the orphanage director is meeting with the social welfare officer tomorrow to discuss our case. He's hoping to get us a court date for next week, which would mean that Mairead was legally ours! I don't know if we will actually get into court that quickly, but I can't help hoping a little.

Currently Reading Helper by Design: God's Perfect Plan for Women in Marriage By Elyse Fitzpatrick see related

Thankful Thursday

I realized this week that I've let Thankful Thursday degenerate into a list of things that are obviously good things that I ought to be thankful for. And there's nothing wrong with being thankful to big answers to prayer! But having a daily attitude of thanksgiving requires looking at everything with gratitude, including what I usually take for granted. So today I am thankful for...

1. Good, godly books I can read.

2. A husband who calls me "dear Lady"

3. Hot water

4. Deirdre's smile

5. Boys who don't mind playing with their two year old sister.

6. Molly's talent for drawing

7. The little wild daisies I can see from my kitchen window

8. Friends who pray for us

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A Funny from Deirdre:

Yesterday I was watching a video with Deirdre, and it featured a lively tune. I was humming along and bopping my head around (I have such an incredible sense of rhythm, you know), and Deirdre came over and put her hand on my knee. She looked at me seriously and shook her head and said, "No, Mommy. No dance."  

I guess my efforts at being lively were just too painful for her to watch.

We have seven weeks left of our curriculum. Woohoo! And then we will take a break of a week or so and start next year's curriculum. Why? Well, we are planning on going on furlough in the fall and I don't want to take all our books with us! Also, we will hopefully be getting our new daughter this summer, and we'll take a break for that too.

I'm really excited about the new stuff...the main curriculum is still My Father's World, but finally we will be out of ancient history and into Rome to the Reformation. Knights and castles, here we come! So fun, because we actually live near castles! I'm looking forward to our other new stuff too, but I'll tell you all about it when we get there.

A couple days ago I was in the middle of giving instructions to one of the children, and the phone rang. I picked it up and said clearly into the receiver....

"Come here, please!"

I think I'm losing brain cells rapidly.

In other news, I've been asked a few times for titles of books that we've enjoyed reading with/to the children. I know with my English background I ought to be able to give people quite a list at a moment's notice. But I never can seem to think of any. So today went through the bookshelves and wrote down the titles of books we've read with/to the children (chapter books, I mean). It's actually a fairly short list, for reasons I will explain later. Here's what I came up with:

The Chronicles of Narnia

The Little House books

Anne of Green Gables

Several books by Patricia St. John (The Rainbow Garden, for example)

The Hobbit

Several stories from The Happy Hollisters series (which are sweet and wholesome and totally unrealistic )

The Triplets Have an Adventure and several more long-out-of-print books, mostly British

Several missionary biographies

Misty of Chincoteague and Stormy, Misty's Foal

Ned, of course ( you didn't really think my kids would escape that one, did you?)

We're about to start The Secret Garden

That's quite an unsatisfactory list, really. I'm sure I've forgotten a few, but not many. One problem is that there's no inter-library loan here, and the offerings in our local library are few. We do actually have thousands of books at our house, but so many of them are just over the level that my kids could handle (theme-wise; they're very good at language).  Right now they're enthralled with non-fiction books about history. I'll try to post about new books we read as we read them.

I've been re-reading Middlemarch recently. It's fascinating, and full of complex characters. However, it will never be an all-time favourite book of mine because of the hero. Listen, guys, if  you ever find yourself becoming attracted to a married woman, YOU RUN FOR THE HILLS!!!  Don't mope around in the same village as her, nobly saying nothing about your passion and secretly hoping that her husband will die so you can marry her. It may have worked out ok in the end for Will Ladislaw, but it wasn't thing right thing to do.

Sorry, I guess there was a spoiler for the book in the above paragraph, but how many of my readers were actually planning to read Middlemarch anyway?   It's a long, long book.

The point I was going to bring up, though, was from the last paragraph of the book:

"Her full nature, like that river of which Cyrus broke the strength, spent itself in channels which had no great name on the earth. But the effect of her being on those around her was incalculably diffusive: for the growing good of the world is partly dependent on unhistoric acts; and that things are not so ill with you and me as they might have been, is half owing to the number who lived faithfully a hidden life, and rest in unvisited tombs."

Most of us live "hidden lives" in this respect. We'll never be mentioned in history books or extolled as those who influenced the lives of thousands. But a faithfully lived hidden life does untold good to those around it. And God uses mostly the weak things of the world to shame the wise.

Thankful Thursday

1. There are so many things in my family's life that are almost coming to pass. It's encouraging that things are moving along on many fronts, but to be so near the end of waiting makes it tempting to be impatient. I'm thankful to be in this position to remind me that it is God who ordains the events of life as well as their timing, so that we rely on Him alone.

2. I'm thankful that the children have all recovered from their colds. Next week I hope to say that same about Tim and me!

3. I'm thankful for my very supportive extended family; what a blessing!

We went to book airline tickets to Ghana yesterday and found that the price would be astronomical...merely because we would only be staying a day or two. So we're not going.  We'll find a way to re-adopt her when we're in the States for furlough at the end of the year (Lord willing). Part of me is relieved...I've never wanted to meet a child of my heart and then have to leave them behind for weeks or months before they can come home. On the other hand, I was excited for Tim to see a bit of Ghana, and just really wanting to see our new daughter, too. Ah, well, at least God made it clear what we ought to do! Please keep praying for the paperwork to get moving on the American visa side of things...it's lagging behind the paperwork in Ghana!

Here are a couple pictures from last week. Remember the conference we went to? Well, it was near a lake, and our kids got up close and personal with one of the swans.

And here are the girls with their daddy:

She's two!

We had a "Spring" theme for her party, with a caterpillar cake, "butterfly" sandwiches, and "flower" crackers. She had a cold, but seemed to enjoy it all!

More adoption stuff, sorry. (But tomorrow is Deirdre's birthday, so you'll get a change of subject then!)

We got news that we should have an adoption decree in about three weeks! It doesn't mean she'll come home then, unfortunately. We still need the American visa. And that could take months :(

But it does mean that Tim and I need to travel to Ghana before the adoption is final. Why?  American law says that if both adoptive parents see the child in person before the adoption is final, then the child will get automatic citzenship when entering the U.S.. If we don't both see her, she'll only get a green card until she is re-adopted. Most people simply re-adopt the child. However, because we live overseas, we will not be able to re-adopt her in an American court. And if she stays out of the the U.S. for too long, she will lose her green card. So adding all those factors together (including that even if we could re-adopt her, it would cost something), it is much simpler and cheaper in the long run for Tim and I to make a quick trip to Ghana to just meet her.  One of the families from church will watch our children. We're hoping to only be in Ghana for about 24-36 hours...we'll make more firm plans tomorrow.

A couple of weeks ago we got about an hour's worth of video footage of our new daughter's orphanage and the children there. Some volunteers  went over at Christmas to help build the new orphanage building and took lots of videos. They weren't particularly trying to get clips of any individual children, but we got lots of glimpses of our little girl sprinkled throughout the videos. We got a friend to edit one of the clips and put it on our computer, so you can see it. Our little girl is easy to see--she's the only one in pink! I didn't realize until I put up the video how blurry it looks on here. Oh well.

We just got the news that our paperwork made it to Ghana safely.  Ahhhhhhhhh....it has taken us 8 months to get to this stage, and it's such a relief to have it out of our hands. Now we have two things to keep praying for regarding this process:

1. Our social worker was supposed to send our homestudy to an agency in Texas that would approve it and then send it to the U.S. immigration, who have been waiting for it since August. I emailed the social worker this week to see if it had been done yet (I don't think it has), and haven't gotten a reply. This really needs to get done soon, so that we can get U.S. visa approval as soon as possible.

2. We hope the social welfare worker in Ghana will not sit on our case for a month like he did with another family. Because our little girl is already cleared for adoption from the Ghana side, we are hoping that we will get a court date before too long.

Thank you for your prayers on behalf of this little girl. I'm hoping to show you a video of her very soon...stay tuned!

Usually I re-read books that I already have, since new books cost money and our library here has nothing that I'm interested in reading. However, now and then I get a gift certificate for Amazon and I get to purchase something off my ever-expanding wish list. I got this new book today,The Rise and Fall of a Regency Dandy, and started reading it. It's fascinating, though it would probably only be of interest to historians and literature people. I was also sent the manuscript of someone else's book that they want me to do some editing on, so I'm kinda spoiled for reading material. How fun!

I should, perhaps, mention that I do borrow a lot of Christian books from our co-workers, who get new Christian books sent to them all the time by various relatives, friends, and supporters in the States. That's really nice to have that resource.

I know I haven't posted much recently...the adoption is still at the same point that it was before (still waiting for the birth certificate), and everything going along as usual. I was blessed today by Eoin's trying to share the gospel with one of the neighbour children. I don't think she understood, and he said to me later, "Next time, should I just start at Genesis?"

No funny quotes from the kids (other than the cute one above), but I thought I'd share some funny comments we've gotten about our kids over the years:

1. "Are you going to tell them that they're adopted?"

(Somehow I think they'd figure it out eventually, don't you?)

2. "Are they twins?"

(Asked about both Aidan and Eoin and Eoin and Molly!!)

3. "Are you going to teach them to speak English?"

(No, we're only going to communicate with them in Khmer, Zulu, and Ewe.)

It's Sunday night. The kids are asleep after a full day. Tomorrow we start back to our regular schedule.  I wanted to say something poetic and profound after that introduction, but I discovered that I had too many ideas swirling around in my head. So I will list them. You can decide which one would have been most poetic and profound.

1. Sometimes going back to the daily routine feels like getting on a treadmill....same thing, day after day. That's why people get the "Monday Morning Blues" isn't it? But treadmills are good. They build strength and endurance.

2. I know people facing very difficult circumstances that would be supremely grateful to have a boring old day. I am blessed. I have a great husband (I was going to say more but I don't want to get anyone jealous ), four beautiful children, and I get to live the sort of life that I always wanted to live. A flood of thankfulness overwhelmed me today when I reflected on this.

3. It's not REALLY a treadmill. I mean, there is routine, but there are new things even in routines. For one thing, we get to learn new school-type things every day. We just started on Homer's The Iliad, for example. I'd never read it before. Also, I get to refine my housekeeping methods...more on that in a moment. And then there are different manifestations of sin that pop up both in myself and the children every day. Of course I wish we were all sinless, but it's really kind of a challenge to go from dealing with one child over anger to dealing with another one over hurt feelings. And of course, while I deal with that, the other two cook up something mischievious to do.   C.S. Lewis said once that (and I'm quoting loosely here) a man would not find enduring wonder on the moon unless he had first found it in his own back garden. What he meant was that you can consistantly find interesting things even in "normal" circumstances, and if you can't, all your interests will be very short lived. At least, I think that's what he meant...it's getting late here. If I'm all wrong, just forget about it. In any case, I want to be--and teach my kids to be--the kind of people that are never bored. I want to be able to find something of interest in every situation and location. I think I'm beginning to babble here.

4. About the housecleaning...I've begun to realize that you can't have a spotless house without working at it constantly. You can have a tidy and livable home by assigning different chores to different days and making sure nothing is neglected for very long, and that's what I've been trying to do. However, your home will not be spotless if you do it that way. And I've discovered that Tim likes it more spotless than not. So I am trying to clean and tidy as soon as I notice things not as they should be (which is hard for me...I can be quite oblivious). For naturally tidy people who cannot function unless everything is clean and tidy, this is something they do in their sleep, and they have to learn to let some things wait. But that's not me. I must say, I find it exhausting to be constantly "fixing" everything. But Tim loves the results, and I think it will be less stressful in time.

Also, I've realised that my kids are really, really bad about leaving things around. Now, we do have "pick-up/clean-up" times worked into the schedule, so they do eventually put things away. But I've failed completely at getting them to just put stuff away as soon as they're done with it. Obviously, that's not a sin issue, but with four of them leaving things out (and me as well ), it means there's a LOT to put away at "clean-up time." It also means that for much of the day, things are lying around.

So....I'd always heard of people who fined their kids 5 or 10 cents whenever something was left out, and they reported success. However, our kids don't have any money, so that wouldn't work. On the other hand, they do love their sweets (kind of rare around our house). So here's what I came up with: in the morning, each child gets 10 M&M's in a little bowl. Every time I find something they left out (meaning, they aren't using it and didn't ask if they could leave it out--like an elaborate toy set-up), they lose an M&M. If something is lying out and no one takes responsibility for leaving it there, then they ALL lose an M&M. This teaches them to put things away whenever they spot them, even if they didn't personally leave them out. At the end of the day, just before they brush their teeth before bed, they can eat whatever M&Ms are left in their bowls. I've been trying out this method for two days, and so far, it's working well. Of course, there will be a bigger test tomorrow when we have our normal weekday schedule. But I have hopes.

One day, about seven months ago, I had a really bad attitude. I was unhappy over some circumstances, and Tim kindly admonished me to respond in a better way. Well, rather than listening to rebuke like a wise person, I acted foolishly and produced a fake cheerfulness that was somehow supposed to punish him (I wasn't thinking very logically at this point). I kept it up for several hours until God granted me repentance and I apologized and made things right.

The interesting thing about this little episode was that the children somehow picked up on my sickly-sweet demeanor (although they must have missed the sarcasm) and became ultra-polite, cheerful little angels. Over the months, I've noticed that whenever I try to speak to them in a pleasant, cheerful way, they tend to respond with cheerful obedience. Not 100% of course, but it seems to motivate them very well. Not to mention that it's what God desires my communication to be like.

So last week I was pondering this, and I thought, "Why don't I always speak that way? Why can't I just rid myself of that annoyed, what-are-you-bothering-me-with-now tone of voice that I adopt when I'm busy or stressed? I think I'll make a concerted effort to ALWAYS speak pleasantly." I didn't mean that in the middle of disciplining a child I'd be smiling, but I would still not be harsh or angry or frustrated. I thought it would take me a day or so to get into the habit.

Oh my word, I am SO bad at this! I catch myself constantly speaking in a way that is neither cheerful nor pleasant--and who knows how often I do it and don't catch myself? I think if I get this mastered than I will be a long way towards dying to myself...it is so hard to disregard your emotions and speak in a kindly way when you're being interrupted from a task for the twentieth time by someone who really had no good reason for needing your attention right then anyway. But God gives grace for such times, and I know He will help.

I know, I know, I said I was going to put adoption stuff on the adoption blog, but I thought this might have a wider application than just "here's an adoption update."

We got the news today that one of the boys at our new daughter's orphanage died and was buried today.   He was three years old and died of dysentery. The thought always comes..."that could have been our girl that died."  We got the medical report for her; she's "healthy"--which means that she doesn't have any life-threatening diseases (thank you, Lord!). But she had malaria this month (very common there), and when she was measured last week she was 87 centimeters tall. If that is accurate, it means she's slightly shorter than Deirdre, who's over a year younger! I posted a picture a couple weeks ago, showing where the kids at the orphanage sleep. Several people commented how very sad it was to see the kids sleeping like that. I agree. And yet, as Ghanian orphanages go, it's a good orphanage! The kids have more than a handful of rice everyday to eat (which is more than can be said for a lot of Ghanian orphanages!), and volunteers teach school to the older kids. Really, they're at about the same standard of living as most people in that area, or even better. After all, they have cement instead of dirt for their floors.

At any rate, I have moments of panic when I think, "What if something happens to her?" Our paperwork still has not been sent...we're waiting for her birth certificate, which should come this week. I'm hoping she'll be able to come home around May. But of course there's no way of knowing. And it's very hard to be separated from her for these weeks and months, knowing that she is exposed to all sorts of dangers and diseases that I want to protect her from.

BUT God is in control. That is so comforting! If He wants her to be kept safe until she gets home, then she is as safe there as she would be in our house. NOTHING can harm her. Isn't it great to serve such an awesome God? He's even in control of the paperwork and the timing of it all. It is such a relief to rest in His wisdom.

But don't stop praying.

Well, it's been a while since I posted a devotional, so here's one to enourage you!

 The lazy man will not plow because of winter; he will beg during harvest and have nothing.

Proverbs 20:4 

Have you ever noticed that lazy people are expert at making excuses? I am dead lazy by nature, and can think up an excuse for anything that I don’t want to do. The sad thing is that I can be taken in by my own excuses, and feel that I don’t really deserve the natural consequences of my laziness.

Most lazy people are like me. The excuse given in this verse in Proverbs is typical. The lazy man thinks he can’t plow because it’s cold outside. It’s not convenient for him to work—it would be a hardship—and so the plowing doesn’t get done. Other lazy people make up excuses that are so lame that no one would take them seriously. For example, a lazy man described in Proverbs 22:13 says that he can’t go to work because there might be a lion in the streets that would kill him! This excuse could only appear reasonable to a fool, and that’s what the Bible says: “The lazy man is wiser in his own eyes than seven men who can answer sensibly.” (Proverbs 26:7)

What sort of excuses do you make when you are feeling lazy? Are you waiting for a more convenient time to do something? Do you tell yourself that there’s a risk in doing this particular thing? (Even though it’s a risk you would think nothing of if you really wanted to do this thing.) Are you just “too tired” to do it now? The sort of rest that a lazy person uses to avoid working is not the kind of rest that brings refreshment. It is the sort that leads to more laziness: “Laziness casts one into a deep sleep, and an idle person will suffer hunger” (Proverbs 19:15).

Now, there are times when we simply cannot work, and there is a valid reason. Another passage in Proverbs deals with excuse-making. When God asks His people to deliver others from danger, and the excuse given is that they didn’t know what was happening, the writer of this Proverb says, “Does not He who weighs the hearts consider it? He who keeps your soul, does He not know it? And will He not render to each man according to his deeds?” (Proverbs 24:12). God is the one that will determine if your excuse is valid or not. Most of the time, when I examine my own excuses (“I can’t organize my bedroom yet because I’m waiting to get those special baskets to put things in”) they are pretty pathetic. May God help us to look at our excuses through His eyes, and make us honest with ourselves.

For further study:

 James 1:24, 25 “For he observes himself, goes away, and immediately forgets what kind of man he was. But he who looks into the perfect law of liberty and continues in it, and is not a forgetful hearer but a doer of the work, this one will be blessed in what he does.”

Ecclesiastes 4:5 “The fool folds his hand and consumes his own flesh.”

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Taken from Wisdom from Proverbs: Devotions for Homeschooling Moms. All proceeds go toward bringing our little orphan home!