Big News

Well Here it is.....the BIG NEWS POST! I have been so busy it's just silly, but it has been a lot of good busy and so I am fine with it. Busy for the sake of busy is no fun, but busy with purpose and fulfillment is ok anyday. We started a requirement to our schedule in the midst of the busyness that I recommend to any family, especially if you are in a busy stage in your lives. We have a family night every week. A night with dinner, and a game, and dessert. This night is non-negotiable.  Because, if we just say, we'll do it later.....it never happens. This has been wonderful and really helps us keep our priorities at the front of our focus.

First for those who want to know how our girl is doing.....

She is doing wonderfully!!! 

Speaking in full sentences.

Making Art work (which we were blessed with pictures of)

Making music

And READY to go home!

And don't you agree that she needs a bow in her hair? Cute little bobs demand bows, I think. But at least the orphanage has the adorable tights thing down.

Next, in big news......WE ARE FULLY FUNDED!!!! If you didnt notcie by our thermometer on the right, God provided ABOVE and beyond in perfect timing......from the most unexpected source. Do you want to hear a little snippet that will give you goosebumps? A few weeks back we had to send off a check that would accompany our dossier being submitted to "Andrea's" country. We sent off the check and waited, and waited, and waited........It did not arrive! I called the post office. I called the bank. I called our adoption agency. It was lost, and we could not proceed without it and there was nothing anyone could do for me. Bank said we had to wait 90 days to cancel it, post office didnt have a way to help, and we were just stuck and panicing. So, as God has taught us to do extremely clearly through this adoption, we got on our knees. Surrendered it to Him, again. The next day I recieved a call saying that we had been awarded a grant I had applied for several months back for exactly the amount we needed. Dossier was submitted without a second delay. The check arrived back home several weeks later...in pieces. I guess it got stuck in a sorting machine. 

He is so good isn't he?

I am SOOO grateful to all the financial support we've recieved. So many steps of faith from others that I don't take for granted. Times when someone has gave, sacrificing maybe their coffee that week, or a few meals out. Times when someone said "God just would NOT leave me alone about this" and gave above and beyond. Times when someone has donated, and donated again, and donated a third time just to get us there. Even a donation that propelled us to that last bit from someone who barely knew us, but was touched by a little girl that needed a home. And someone who puts countless hours in marathons to bring orphans to their families. Thank you! From the bottom of our hearts, THANK YOU! She is coming home, not because of us, but because of the church that stepped up! Lets keep it up church, by saying yes to adoption, to reaching out to the lost and hurting communities, to missions, and neighbors, and love. It's all there, waiting for us.....just ask Him where he wants you. 

And Lastly big news? Our Dossier was accepted, we in turn accepted their proposal, and we are OFFICIALLY matched with our little girl and awaiting a court date! The finish line is IN SIGHT. As soon as we know our travel dates we will let you know! Will you partner in praying with me for the final steps?

1. That we would recieve a court date quickly? (before christmas would be amazing, but God's timing is perfect....just soon!)

2. That our kids would be surrounded in love and comfort while their Mommy and Daddy are bringing their sister home? They have never been away from us both for so long before (about 2 weeks)

3. That we would not encounter delays in country. A possible government shutdown could create issues at the American Embassy and thus arriving home.

4. Pray for our daughter as she transitions to the radical changes she will soon experiance. That we would bond, that the language barrier would be easily sorted out, and that she would feel LOVED and at HOME as part of our family.

5. That this story, along with so many others would spark change, in the way we live, our perceptions of the world, and the mission God has for us...wherever it is!

Thank you friends! From the bottom of our hearts, thank you! We cannot wait to introduce you to the new Bradford family!

Sincerely, Dale and Carrie

Disneyland and Jam

I have been gearing up for a big post with lots of big news!! I may have more information by the end of this week so I am waiting just a little bit longer......but I have so much to tell you. SO MUCH TO PRAISE GOD FOR. One of the most amazing transformations in my heart through this adoption, was the practice of always having praise on the tip of my tongue. He's done so much BLATENT obvious blessing in this adoption that it would be impossible to attribute it to anything else! And he has been telling me, now do that with the rest of your life too. Maybe I'll look a little extreme because of it, but he has been whispering to me over and over, you need to have my praise on the tip of your tongue ready to pour out in all things. Do not be afraid to praise Him for what he has done in your life, from the redemption on the cross, to the cup of coffee you had with Him this morning. He is delighted in your devotion. I promise you it will transform your life.

In the mean time, I came accross this wonderful story from the man that did so much fundraising for our girl. I am blown away by this girl's heart (ksl.com
http://www.ksl.com/?nid=148&sid=26978024#oLGozlsm9v5pSem0.03)
 at the age of seven! And it wasn't even her family that adopted! I'm telling you, this has a ripple effect. Oh, that our kids would see the amazing privilage it is to be the hands and feet of Jesus and pursue it, even if it requires sacrifice! How free, peacefilled, and joyous their lives would be if they learn this! Of course there is the balancing part of teaching this, without the type of pressure that can lead to resentment, but I guess thats why that cup of coffee with Jesus every morning is so important. Anyway, I hope this encourages your heart today. And my heart, is dancing....cause we are in the HOME STRETCH of Mama soon! Please pray with us!

Cry, Do Happy Dance, Tell Everyone How Good God is.......Check!

There is a lot of Praisin going on at the Bradford house tonight. Cause sometimes, God just shows off all His goodness. Sometimes you just get goosebumps, cause it's all Him and as I stand back, and watch him move in my life, my family's life, my daughter's life........really do I deserve to have My Daddy's touch so close, so big? The Master and Designer of our Universe?

No, I don't........but He calls me His own. He cares about my family. He is delighted in our obediance even when others would prefer us be spending our time in other ways. And He cares VERY much for this precious girl. 

So today, we get a little bit closer to being fully funded, and we realize that if we don't get our Federal Approval soon, we may not be bringing her home before Christmas. "Andrea" knows we are coming, and how hard must each day be? Expecting to finally have a Mama and Papa, and yet no one comes? So the Hubby and I praise God for his work, and agree to start praying fervently for our approval to come soon. We aren't supposed to get it for another month. It takes two months they said. But we know God has been all over this adoption, we trust his plan, and so we ask for him to do something big. We hang up. He goes back to work, I go pick up my oldest from school. And my phone notifies me I have an e-mail. 

Congratulations, You have your Approval............one month earlier than expected......not even an hour after praying. 

Cry, do happy dance, call hubby, hug kids, and thank God. 

Oh friends, He is so good. Good today, because He loved us enough to let us see his hand at work. Good yesterday, when we were uncertain, because he was there beside us. Good five years ago, when painful trials led to radical changes in the things we focused on, or more specifically WHO we focused on. Cause He was there, and He used that for our good. 

Praise Him today, trust Him today, and be brave enough to ask Him today. He has good plans for you. :-)

Much Love,

The Bradfords

Happy, Happy Birthday!

Blowing out the candles for their sister!

We made a traditional cake from her country
in honor of our girl.

Yesterday was our sweet girl's birthday. I had so hoped to have her home before then, not wanting her to spend one more birthday without a family.......but such is the nature of adoption. It takes time, and a lot of work! Our last report, with the words "Mama Soon" keeps me busily notorizing papers, writing essays, and praying like crazy. I can't imagine what she must be feeling, knowing her Mama and Daddy are coming yet every day no one turns up. We are SOO close! I only have 2 documents left to finish up our dossier! Unfortunatly we are still a bit short on funds. Will you pray with us, that God would provide the last little push? We are SOOO close to being fully funded that it's terribly exciting and scary at the same time. Thank you again for following our journey. We are so very blessed by every word of encouragement, ever prayer, and every bit of financial support.

Sincerely, Dale and Carrie

PS- We have picked her middle name. :-) When we are able to tell you her first name, we'll announce it.

RODS Racing

I just wanted to high light a ministry today and bring a little awareness to them from my blog. This wonderful ministry is the biggest earthyly reason we are able to bring our "Andrea" home. They have worked so hard for so many orphans over the last year, all inspired by their precious son who has Down syndrome. He works so hard through out the year and even when its exhausting and painstaking he pushes forward to bring one more home. Finances are by far the biggest obstacle in adoption, and his understanding of this, and deep desire to help those little ones who have a bleak future without adoption is such a blessing! We all have something to do while we are here, so find your passion and attack it with gusto! If you would like to read more about RODS racing you can follow the link HERE. What a great ministry to support of you are looking for something to bless. Enjoy looking at those cute faces on there!

Off and Running!

I am so excited to have news for you in this long overdue update! First of all, I want to thank everyone that came out to Juju Berries to support our adoption! I thought a few friends would come and we'd enjoy a little icecream but I was completley blown away by the amount of people that came in for icecream that night for us! Many even told us they were having their icecream before dinner, just so that they would have time to squeeze it in! :-) Sounds like a good plan to me. We were there for three hours and we never had a moment where there wasn't someone enjoying a sugar high for us. We again are so grateful for the wonderfully supportive community that has invested in us and our little girl.

Secondly in big news, OUR HOMESTUDY IS DONE!!!!!!!!!!!!! Whew! I feel like I could do a victory dance through the streets. Though it took much longer than expected we are beyond excited to be moving foward finally and are extremely grateful to all the hard work our social worker put in. When we signed our homestudy her and her husband let us know that they had prayed over our family that morning and that really touched us. Prayer is the biggest part of this process, and we are so thankful for all of those who are covering us in it. So now that the homestudy is done we feel like we are off and running! We submitted our USCIS application on friday and await their approval while we compile our dossier. Once both are done, we send it off to our girl's country and then we will be meeting her finally! This time is the most crucial time in fundraising for us. In a very short amount of time we have to raise the remainder of our adoption costs. God has provided exactly what we needed just in time so far and we know he is faithful to do the rest. We are extremely blessed by any little bit that you may feel led to send our way. Any amount donated will go towards dossier costs, fasciltator fees and legal fees. If you would like to donate find the paypal button located underneath the "thermometor" on the right. Between your generosity and our own savings over 15% of our adoption has been paid for! Once we recieve travel dates, all our remaining expenses are covered! This time in between is our crucial time for funding. Please pray with us that we will not encounter any delays as we raise the funds and finish the paper work. She is ready for her Mama.

And third, is the best news yet! We got a wonderful update (and some BEAUTIFUL pictures that I desperately wish I could share with you!) on our precious little girl. This sweet family is there right now meeting their own son for the first time. I am so happy for them and cannot wait to be in their shoes. She has been kind enough to spend some extra time with our little girl and give her some extra love from us. Apparently she is quite the chatter box and top dog of the orphanage. She is playful and made sure to instruct the other children when they were out of line! She is anxiously waiting our arrival and was walking around saying "Mama soon, mama soon!" Oh my heart completely aches to make "Mama soon" mean "Mama now". Regardless I am SOOOO grateful for this update. When we first started our adoption process we had learned that "Andrea" was barely speaking, with just a few syllables here and there and seemed to be struggling some. Each update since has been better and better. She is getting better services because of our committment, and this last one it seems she is just flourishing. Personality plus, and happy as a clam waiting for her Mama. What a good God we serve, to provide for her in such amazing ways, even before we've met her! 

So how fast can this Mama run? Lacing up those Nikes now, and with some help and support these next few months, we will be sprinting straight there!

Icecream for our girl!

A Little Bit Closer!

We had an amazing turn out for Little Miss as we hosted a big rummage at our home during our town's Rummage Days. We were so blessed by all the donations to our rummage and the amazing turn out! It was the biggest we've done and we've done a rummage every year! Normally our street doesn't get a lot of traffic and often we are the only rummage on our road. However, this year their were 3 other rummages right around us drawing in more traffic and we had so many items we had to go back for more tables! 

What a blessing!

  The best part was watching the kids really get excited about being a part of bringing their sister home. We baked together treat after treat and then they set up their own table and became awesome little salesmen! Tricia sang, danced, and bounced around saying "want to buy a cookie?" and everyone was smitten. :-) Brayden with his perfect charm carried around his money box accepting payment for the cookies. Truly, they were a huge help for their sister and I am so blessed to watch them learn a lesson in selflessness through this. A few people asked if the money was for them and with out missing a beat they told everyone it was to help bring their sister home. It never seemed to occur to them that they could have spent the money on themselvesand when the suggestion came up, they weren't interested. 
  It was afterall, for their sister. 

The highlight of my weekend was watching these two

We are still selling Kwagala Jewelry!

When we first announced that we were adopting, some expressed concerns about the impact that it would have on our biological kids. What about their rooms and personal space? What about their toys? What if we can't buy them as much stuff cause there is another child? What impact will a special needs child have on her "typical" siblings? Will they feel left out cause there is another child who may require a little extra attention? Some of the questions surprised me. Some of it seemed worth considering. After all this will have a tremendouse impact on our family. This wasn't just Dale and I's decision. This will forever alter how our entire family operates. I've been watching the impact a special needs child has on families for most of my life, and certainly in depth for the last ten years. And I have watched countless families adopt, and have been privilaged to story after story of the impact, the long term effect, both good and bad on families. 
Overwhelmingly, the lessons, the love, the effect on those around them is so GOOD! How many countless people have I seen serve God whole heartedly because they were inspired by someone they loved? How many children have I watched show extended compassion and grace to others because they have a special brother or sister that taught them more about grace than they ever learned in Sunday school? To learn to share, to value human beings above things, to see God's mercy and workmanship in the life of another? All first hand, in your own home? Those are the things my children are trading their extra toys and space for. 

Is it worth it? You betcha, and I say this confidently with every fiber of my being!

(Which by the way, Tricia is beyond thrilled to be sharing her room, and has been begging us to set up the bunk bed since she found out she was getting a sister.....and Brayden has been asking us to adopt a boy too so that things can even out, hehe. He even has a name picked out!) 

So today I am blessed to share with you what God did this weekend. What my kids learned.
 And where we go from here! :-) 
This weekend we raised a total of $642.44 including $55.60 from the kids' bake sale!
I am so proud of their hard work. This money will go towards our USCIS application, then onward to finishing our Dossier. We were about to sign our homestudy, but unfortunatly CIS asked for more info so we have to gather a few more documents. That is ok, we know adoptions are filled with delays and we trust that God has great purpose for each and every extra day of document gathering and fundraising.
Next up on the agenda? An ICECREAM fundraiser! 
You know you want to participate in that! :-) 

ORDINARY HERO

We have a Fun new fundraiser going on for Our little Andrea and I think you guys will love this one! These items are seriously SO CUTE and there is something for the whole family. Head over to Ordinary Hero and start shopping. When it's time to check out click on the Affiliate Drop box and enter my name "Carrie Bradford" and we will recieve part of the proceeds for our adoption. They also award monthly grants to affiliates!

We now also have a site set up to make your donations tax deductable. If you are not interested in making a purchase here, check out

 Funding Forever Families 

and you can make a donation that is tax deductable and will go directly towards adoption expenses. You can also create your own page and join my team to help get the word out. Another fantastic way to support if a donation is something you cannot do at this time. And if you cant give, under the donate button there is great opportunites to share so share away!
We are blessed by every little bit truly!

Ethical........

I only have a short minute so I will post my thoughts on these later this evening. Here are two women bringing up some pretty loaded topics and I have loved reading them, and the tight feeling it creates in my chest as I try to act and think with the wisdom from above instead of this world. (James). I'll link them here, both well said and now we have to start thinking....what does that mean practically.

First http://jenhatmaker.com/blog/2013/05/14/examining-adoption-ethics-part-one#.UZLMw9gH9FY.facebook

then read http://lalalablackbird.blogspot.com/

Baseball and Blessings

Our Star hitter

The Mets team

Brayden's fan club

Practice swing....which usually involves a 360 degree spin

First bat!

Hard to believe its almost May. We haven't had very much "spring like" weather with the exception of extreme amounts of rain, so today's 75 degrees felt like it came on rather suddenly. We are so ready for it though. Today we went to a "practice" game for Brayden's little league team! It was precious watching all the kids with the cute often too big uniforms, and best efforts at a real game. Brayden definatly has his own style of doing things on the ball field....its funny, it works, and I'm certainly glad to have a family that doesn't take itself too seriously. The only bad thing about today is the inescapable feeling that we are missing someone who should be sitting in the stand next to us. She was sound asleep (hopefully) while we were batting and cheering but I am so anxious for there to be 5 Bradfords during these times. Again, how do you miss someone you've never met? But it's how we feel and we just keep clinging to those pictures :-).
We have started on that tremendously tediously huge stack of paper work called our dossier, our homestudy should be ready for review this week, all our classes are completed, and the USCIS application is staring at us waiting for the fundraising to catch up! The ball is rolling!

Remember our $2000 goal. Well we are only $800 away from that first goal! Unbelievable how much God has provided. We have prayed 5 very intentional specific prayers through the process of this adoption thus far and God has answered EVERY SINGLE ONE. He has just been rocking our socks off as a dear Aunt would say and I am overwhelmed by it. In order to move forward we really need to start tackleing that goal again. Last saturday between your generous donations and our savings we were able to send off our first big chunk with our contract in the mail. It was a scary, yet an AMAZING feeling, but there is much yet to do.

So today I am listing our next sale. I do still have some lovely beads left if you are interested in those to help support our adoption. You can read deatils about them here. But I am adding some beautiful 8X10  prints for sale designed by two very talented Graphic Designers that compliment the journey God has taken us on quite nicely. I am looking forward to hanging one up in my own home. I will be selling these prints for $10.00 each. Will you consider helping us move forward with one of these purchases?
Thank you so much! Really, $7,000 is not a lot in the world of adoption.....I am blown away by how MUCH God has provided. I trust him to get us the rest of the way there! Leave me a comment if you would like to make a purchase. Thanks!

Next American Idol......;)

New Pictures!!

I gotta say, this weekend I was just really wanting to see her big time. What a blessing to find these and more in my e-mail this morning. I think by far the hardest part is not the  paperwork, or fundraising, but simply the waiting! It's so nice to see her bundled up in her little snow suit and boots. The irrational part of me keeps picturing her in that little green sundress in the middle of winter and thinking she needs to be warm! I remember obsessing over Patricia's temperature when she was born. I still always check their arms and heads to make sure they are dressed just right to go outside. And I can't go to bed without popping in, watching their chests rise and fall, and making sure the blankets are just right. Not knowing if someone else is doing those simple things for her is just super hard! But it keeps this Mama a praying Mama and I am grateful for that. According to our facilitator she is doing SUPER well. Lots of improvement in speech/language development, and she is participating wonderfully in all the activities especially the ones that involve music! We, as a music obsessed family LOVE that. We are discussing the possibility of making Dale's guitar a carry on so she can get to know her real Daddy right away. We are feeling very blessed today at the Bradford household, and thank God tons for inviting us on this journey. 

We have been studying James in bible study right now and it is evident James had a big heart for the poor and those in need. And throughout scripture it is clear God has a big heart for those without. In my lesson this  morning it led me to Proverbs 31:8-9.

"Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves, for the rights of all who are destitute. Speak up and judge fairly; defend the rights of the poor and needy."

I pray that all the areas of my life, my job, my ministries, the way I care for my family, and treat my neighbors will reflect that I care about the things that are close to the heart of God. 

And so onward waiting! We are coming to jam out with you little girl, as SOON as we can!

And the Winner is.........................

And the Winner of the Kindle Fire HD is...........

Sandra Shaw!!!

Our second place Prize goes to

Constance Reger

and finally our third place Prize goes to

Bonnie Emerick

We raised a total of $710 towards bringing our sweetie home. What a blessing. Yes, we didn't reach our goal, and that is OK! We are VERY grateful for any amount raised towards bringing our girl home and we know God is in ALL the details. He doesnt have to prove anything to us.....He asked to obey and that is all we need to know to step forward in faith. Keep your eyes peeled for somethings we will be selling to finish out our goal. 

And congratulations to the winners! 

The Grand Prize Spotlight

 

 

As I sit here enjoying a cup of hot cocoa, and reading a great novel on Carrie's Kindle, I realized we had not yet went into detail about our grand prize!

 

 

As many of you know we are giving away a Kindle Fire HD, but one thing we haven't mentioned is included with the Kindle is a Kindle PowerFast wall charger.  This will allow you to charge your Fire anyplace there is an outlet. So feel free to leave the laptops at home! Below are the details on the Kindle Fire HD and PowerFast charger straight from Amazon's site.

 

Kindle Fire HD Specifications:

1280x800 HD display with polarizing filter and anti-glare technology for rich color and deep contrast from any viewing angle Exclusive Dolby audio and dual-driver stereo speakers for immersive, virtual surround sound World's first tablet with dual-band, dual-antenna Wi-Fi for over 35% faster downloads and streaming High performance 1.2 Ghz dual-core processor with Imagination PowerVR 3D graphics core for fast and fluid performance Over 23 million movies, TV shows, songs, magazines, books, audiobooks, and popular apps and games such as Facebook, Netflix, Twitter, HBO GO, Pandora, and Angry Birds Space Integrated support for Facebook, Twitter, Gmail, Hotmail, Yahoo! and more, as well as Exchange calendar, contacts, and email Front-facing HD camera for taking photos or making video calls using Skype, Facebook, and other apps Free unlimited cloud storage for all your Amazon content Kindle FreeTime - a free, personalized tablet experience just for kids on the Kindle Fire HD. Set daily screen limits, and give access to appropriate content for each child

 

Kindle PowerFast for Accelerated Charging Specifications:

• Official Amazon 9W, 1.8A adapter charges Kindle Fire HD 8.9" in under 5 hours, Kindle Fire HD 7" in under 4 hours, and Kindle Fire in under 3 hours
• Optimized for Kindle tablets: PowerFast is a 9W charger and will charge your Kindle tablets faster than the white 5W Kindle charger will. (Note Kindle e-readers will charge at the same rate regardless of if you use a 5W or 9W charger)
• Designed for use with the black micro USB cable included with the new Kindle Fire or Kindle Fire HD devices.
• What's in the Box: PowerFast Charger & quick start guide
• Adapter's prongs conveniently fold for storage and travel

Carrie and I have been so blessed with the generosity we have witnessed thus far, and know that God will continue to move in enormous ways to bring our little girl home! We have a week left to go in the fundraiser and we still have 1500 dollars to raise in order to reach our goal of 2000 dollars.  Wow the fundraiser has been going on for a week and already God has blessed us with 500.00, and we are confident he isn't done yet!

In addition to the Kindle Fire, is the build a bear 25 dollar gift card, and the beautiful jewelry donated to us by The Paper Rose. If you want to know how to enter into the giveaway you can click here for more details. After you enter into our contest don't forget to visit this site for even more chances to win!
Again thank you all who have donated, and Carrie and I can hardly wait to have Andrea sitting between us on the flight home!



1 Week Left!

Dale is already picturing the excitement the new kindle owner will get when he/she is able to sit down with a piping hot cup of tea and a favorite book. Hopefully the winner will have sense enough not to wear their sunglasses while reading and choose a cup of adequate size....however, the thought is there!

Speaking of the giveaway.....we are $1500 away from our goal! Wow, we are so grateful for the generosity you have shown us and are so excited we are closer to bringing our little girl home! There is one week left so if you haven't had a chance to enter our little giveaway now's your chance. Please visit http://brad4dadoptionjourney.blogspot.com/2013/03/kindle-fire-hd-giveaway.html for information on how to enter. And don't forget to visit http://lagringajoya.blogspot.com/ for even more winning opportunities!

A closer look at the giveaway..............

Of course I would love to show you the very cool Kindle HD, but I am keeping it safely

hostage in its origional packaging so it's nice and new for the winner.

Since this is all about a sweet little girl, it stands to reason a prize should involve a fun

trip with your own little sweetie.

Perfect phrase for this adoption, and a beautiful set from The Paper Rose. She comes up

with amazing things this crafty friend! Check it out for yourself.

How to enter?

 Our goal is to reach $2,000 and we are so grateful for your prayers, donations and involvement! To enter simply click on the paypal link on the right (underneath the thermometer). Donate, then comment on here whether or not you donated. Be sure to include whether or not you shared on your paypal button so that I can give you your extra entry! If you share on facebook, please direct people to comment on the origional post so that I can keep track of the entries. If you post on your blog (which counts too!) please instruct people to leave comments on my blog! Thanks so much for helping bring her home!

Also be sure to check out Sweet Blessedness for an oppurtunity to win even more!

Kindle Fire HD Giveaway

Here it is....our first big adoption give away! Our goal is to reach $2,000 and we are so grateful for your prayers, donations and involvement! To enter simply click on the paypal link on the right (underneath the thermometer). Donate, then comment on here how much donated. Be sure to include whether or not you shared on your paypal button so that I can give you your extra entry! If you share on facebook, please direct people to comment on the origional post so that I can keep track of the entries. If you post on your blog (which counts too!) please instruct people to leave comments on my blog! Thanks so much for helping bring her home!

Sovereignty

It has taken me a couple of days to gather my thoughts, cause honestly I am just in awe. The Lord has left me speechless, which is not a bad thing for me ;-).

Jesus has done a lot of beautiful things in my life. He has extended to me a great deal of grace. He has loved me tenderly, and he has been firm with me as a parent to their temper tantrum throwing child. About four years ago, he grabbed ahold of me, and rescued me from a sadly luke warm life. Since then he has been teaching me two lessons over and over. I guess I wasnt getting it!

The first was redemption. He showed me what his redeeming love looks like in me. What it looks like in others. He taught me how to tune out lies, and listen to his truth spoken over my heart. This is a lesson on who I am. Defined only by God's grace. Anything that might be called "righteous" in my life is only through his power, and only an expression of thanks to him. My defining characteristic though is that I am HIS. My successes and failures only matter in the light of his mercy.

But he has also been teaching me a lesson on who He is as well. HE IS SOVERIGN. Absolute power, and in complete control. He knows every intimate detail of every situation, past, present and future, and he knows the results. He understands the pain, the loss, the effects of sin, as well as the victory, the love, and the grand story of the cross and resurrection. 

Sovereignty means I trust him wholly. It means I trust his bigger vision when something terrible happens that I am powerless to change. It means I trust his ability to change it cause he is able. And it means I trust his decisions even when he doesnt intervene.

It means I am learning to take the scripture that he works all things to good of those that love him very seriously, because I see how he has used some of the yuckiest circumstances in my life to do some of the best work in me.

I am now standing looking back having seen both sides of his soverignty and can I just say he has to be praised!

I have some areas in my life that He has not "fixed". They are broken. And they hurt, and my heart is broken, but he has granted me a surreal peace in resting in his presence. Waiting and praying. Through this he has radically changed my relationship with him. I would not take back one single moment I have shared with him through this for all treasures of the world. I am at long last, grateful for the yucky stuff, because of what he has worked out to my good.

And yet, I thought I was going to enter another season of just trusting him through the unresolved yucky, and I was in pain.

First we lost dear Megan to a situation reaking of political filth. Then God showed us Andrea, and he attached her to my heart in a way that I was not expecting. I've never met her, yet it feels very simliar to the anticipation of meeting my sweet children when I was pregnant with them. No one could reverse that love, even as we had to wait to meet them and love them. But our homestudy hit road blocks that I feared would stop the adoption. On top of that, we learned that Andrea may be transferred to an institution very soon, and there was nothing we could do to stop it. The orphanage she is in is nice. It is no home with a Mommy and Daddy, but it is better than some of the horrifying conditions I have heard and read about. But the mental assilym? Often children dont live long after the transfer to such places because of the horrid care. What would happen if we couldnt go and get her? And what would the affects be, even if we could but she had to live THERE while waiting for us.

Let me be clear......God DOES NOT NEED ME to rescue this child. He can absolutely rescue her any way he chooses and he loves her far more than we ever will be able too, even after we've spent a lifetime loving her as her mommy and daddy. But I was broken, cause he had asked US to be his vessels. Why stop now? Why all the confirmation, the beautiful changes in hearts, and great provisions if it was all to stop here anyway?

And the icing on the cake? Our Pastor this sunday preached a sermon preparing me for this very thing. Trusting him even when nothing makes sense. Trusting him through yucky. I fell apart. Really? I get it Lord, I promise I really do, but this isnt about me, its about Andrea. So there it was, the alter, three feet in front of me, waiting for an epic cry complete with snot. (I'm not a pretty crier......lovely infront of the church :-)). I begged God on her behalf. I cried. And prayed for his intervention. I also told him, I would trust his soverignty, whatever the outcome. And two dear friends prayed with me. Ironically, one whose had two succesful adoptions, and one who had an adoption fall through of a precious boy I know she loved fiercly. What perfect warriors to pray with me. And can I just say, prayer mattters, its powerful.

And you know what? He heard my prayer and ANSWERED!!!! I could absolutely explode. Our homestudy is just fine and back on track with confirmation from our in country representative. She encouraged me above and beyond, and said charge forward. On top of that she met with the Central Authority in Andrea's country and made a request. That she remain in the orphange until we can come and get her. And you know what they did? They honored that request! They are keeping her safely sound in the orphanage for an extra year, just to give us enough time! And God answered every prayer I spoke at that alter within three days. I can think of no better way to end this post than praising his works with scripture. I hope this will bring encouragement to you today, whatever you may be facing.

Psalms 105:1-5

Give thanks to Lord, call on his name;

make known among the nations what he has done.

Sing to him, sing praise to him;

tell of all his wonderful acts.

Glory in his holy name;

let the hearts of those who seek the Lord rejoice.

Look to the Lord and his strength;

seek his face always.

Remember the wonders he has done, his miracles,

and the judgements he pronounced.

Happy World Down Syndrome day. Celebrating the life of our blessing, Andrea, today!!

Why?

Probably the question I have been asked most through this adoption is "why Special needs?"

I had a kind, but sad moment today and it broke my heart. Her intentions were abosultely pure, and I am grateful for her sincere thanks to me. But she was missing it. Her eyes saw just far enough to disability, but did not see the person I see.

Today we went out to see a cute play with the kids I work with, followed by lunch at a hamburger joint. The kids all sat quietly and respectfully through the play. They giggled at all the right spots, and couldnt stop talking about it afterwards. We had a nice lunch together and all took a deep breath of rest, not having to focus on math worksheets, spelling lessons, and sensory routines. We watched H's (I'll leave their names out) eyes light up and a grin spread from ear to ear as she was handed a chocolate shake she had patiently waited for. She may be non-verbal, but her delight was extremely evident. We chatted  with A &A about the funny moments of the play and how they couldnt wait to go home and tell their parents and grandparents. And little miss G stubbornly refused to eat because she was sad she had to leave her friends behind. ha! sounds like a typical kid to me. C, who happens to be blind, held the doors for all of us like a true gentleman. If I'm not mistaken he did it without being asked.

As we were leaving an older lady looked at me and what must have seemed like quite a crew and with sadness in her eyes said "God bless you ladies for what you do."

I wanted to say "no they are a blessing to me", but I felt awkward and simply thanked her. I didnt want to make her feel bad for what was clearly meant to be a compliment. But my thoughts are true. I am not saying there are never any  tough days. There certainly are. But the beauty of my job is I get to work with both the Special Needs kids and the regular classroom and tough days are tough days, no matter where they take place. Teaching 5th grade Math is not suddenly the easy road. 

What makes me feel this way is these children are human beings first. Made in the image of God. And quite often their desires, delights, and personalities  shine far more brightly and give us a glimpse into the soul. A dear pastor friend said to me once "nothing gives you a better glimpse into the character of God than a child with special needs". I whole heartedly agree wtih him. When I hear C 'galloping' down the hallway doing his "glee engine" as a previous teacher used to call his laugh, I am refreshed by the unbridled joy that fills every crack and crevice of that school. How many kids or adults can laugh that way without thoughts of  life's pressures, or  fear of what others will think?

I love my job for the endless suprises it brings. How, without fail, each kid exceeds my expectations over and over again. I cherish the memory of C (who is "non verbal" and many are shocked to find he can read) reading a book outloud to his 4th grade class at the end of the year. I love watching G, from a new school, painfully shy and with autism....all things that should make finding friends a real challenge, giggle and laugh with three very close friends who she boldly invited over to play at her home recently. When a child who shouldnt be able to read dives into a Dr. Seuss book. When a boy who doesnt speak asks his mom for a cheese burger at the drive through......pausing to say hamburger with cheese in case she wasnt sure what he wanted. When a child in a wheel chair gets to play basketball in front of cheering fans. When a succesful speaker at our school tells us he graduated high school at a 2nd grade reading level and still went on to complete college. When a young man, my dear sweet brother, is proud of his two part time jobs that should have been too much of a challenge.

And the days when they don't meet my expectations. When sounding out a word we've gone over 100 times is painful at every step. When the child who can read, and speak when he shouldn't, cant finish a sentence on paper. When you wish you knew what that puzzle piece was so you could make the connection. I cherish those days too. They force me to pause, slow down, and focus on what matters here and now, instead of the fast paced, goal oriented society  we live in. They force you to stop and smell the roses.

So why are we adopting a child with special needs? I tried to express my reasons to someone recently, and all she could say was "but they need help. Thats who they are, they need so much help."
Again, I was sad........are we all missing it? Maybe after a lifetime of surrounding myself with this, my view is jaded. But I suspect there are others out there who agree with me. Who wouldn't want to surround yourself with someone who reaks of unbridled joy, or someone who has a work ethic that most succesful CEO's dont have, or always exceeds your expectations, or forces you to slow down and enjoy life and stop worrying about what people think. Or even someone who asks for help. We all need a little help. I hope we all can be brave enough to ask for a little help.

Pictures

 

While waiting for our sweetie to come home I thought I would share some adorable pictures of her that I have recieved. They make me all the more anxious to kiss her little fingers, brush her pretty hair, and just plain snuggle her up!

 

 

My favorite picture of Sweet Andrea

 

 

With her bestie!

Love her!! Cannot wait to hold her

 

                                     and last but not least, Little Miss was apparently a celebrity
                                    when she was almost three on the cover of a book about children
                                      with Down Syndrome. Seriously how precious is she?




          

Closed door, Open Window

We have been waiting on pins and needles for quite some time trying to find out what will happen with our sweet Megan in Russia. We went from talking to agencies, talking to our government, talking to families who were there right now, fighting to bring their babies home with all their might. And we've prayed and prayed! What I have been learning in prayer and in bible study this month is God is absolutely ABLE and He is power. Not that He has power, he simply IS power. He is however, also sovereign  Which means he sees the grander picture far more clearly, and he is good. Which means I may not always get the results I want, but he gives the answers we need.

 So now we know, the door for Megan is fully closed. She absolutely deserves a Mommy and Daddy, and we are broken for her loss as she will not likely be adopted within country. However God has granted us some peace regarding her  situation in Russia. We were blessed to have discovered through our adoption agency that she is in a nice boarding school (not an institution), receiving good services and good care surrounded by kids her age. We even found out she is an orphanage favorite so God is providing her with love. We are committed to continuing to pray that God will find her the forever family that she deserves through a compassionate Russian family. She will always be on our hearts. And we trust God and his heart for the orphan. He knows the number of hairs on her head and loves her way more than we ever could. We trust that he is providing her that love.

We have however, been informed by Reece's Rainbow that it is time to let her go. We are still committed to adoption and the plight of the orphan and have once again asked the Lord to direct us to his plan for our family. Would we have ever found her if Megan had not opened the door for us? God's ways are perfect and we are overwhelmingly excited as he planted the sweetest, most beautiful little girl right in our laps and has provided financially for her tremendously! We are overwhelmed by the affirmation and confirmation he has give us in what seemed like such a dead end! May I introduce..............

.

Andrea

We have lots to share about her, including her beautiful Traditional name, but for now we will leave you with this! God bless you for praying with us and walking with us. This journey has barely begun. As always, we can't wait to see what God does!

Beads for the Bradfords

I am so excited to announce our first fundraiser for our adoption!  I am particularly excited about these beauties because they support more than just bringing our sweet one home. God allowed me an amazing oppurtunity to visit these ladies and let me tell you they really blessed me! If you've never heard of the Kwagala Project let me give you a little snipit of what they do......

"Our mission is to provide vulnerable young people in untenable situations with options and give them hope for the future. We work in poverty-stricken areas in which young people are often driven by force or desperation into prostitution, and strive to help them discover their own self-worth and God-given potential so that they may thrive, dream, achieve their goals and eventually carry hope back to their communities." - Kwagalaproject.org

Oh gracious were these ladies living out REDEMPTION. And what a conviction for me, to see the genuine joy filling that home, and yet I tend to complain so much about my own stresses. I love it when God displays his presence in people, which in turn makes more room for Him in my own heart. I am honored to continue involvement with Kwagala through our own adoption. It's amazing how God weaves our passions and callings together to glorify him in a thousand different ways, all with one purpose: love. Which is what Kwagala means; love.

So back to the fundraiser. As part of a financial support for their ministry the women at Kwagala make this beautiful beaded jewelry from paper (yes that's right, paper!) and coated in resin. I am excited to be selling them to support our adoption. Even with Russia's recent announcement we are fully committed to adopting a child with down syndrome and praying fervantly for God to make a way for Megan. Our homestudy is almost complete and we are charging ahead and trusting God to take care of the details, even if it wasn't exactly what we expected. We know he has a plan for our family and a future for Megan. We pray those things line up, but we will adopt regardless if that door closes or not and continue to pray for love and family for Megan.  Here are few pictures of what I have but I have lots more than what is pictured!

Prices are as Follows:
Valentine's Day Special!
        -a necklaces and coil or 3strand bracelet in a matching set for $25.00

Normal prices
       -Necklaces $18.00
       -Coil or 3 Strand Bracelets $10.00
       - Sincle Strand Bracelets $5.00

The colors I have are Black, White, Orange, Hot Pink, Soft Pink, Ivy Green, Blue/Green, Blue, Sky Blue, Purple, and yellow.

I also have in the past used some of the beads to make earings myself, but wont consider doing this unless I recieve confirmation of interest in the earings. If that is something you would like please leave a comment letting me know!

If you are interested in supporting our adoption in this way please use the paypal link attached to the fundraising thermometer on the  righthand side. I can ship these items and am  happy to get you an estimate on shipping. If you make a donation, please let me know your order in either the comment section or leave a comment on your paypal donation. If you are not local and need it shipped you can leave me your address through paypal as that is secure. If you prefer not to make purchases over the internet that is perfectly fine! Just send me your email and I will send you my address so that you can mail a check. What a lovely Valentine's Gift this would make for someone special, and a beautiful story to go with it!

Thank you so much for your amazing support of both this ministry and our adoption. As beautifully stated on Kwagala's website
"How lovely to think that no one need wait a moment, we can start now, start slowly changing the world!" - Anne Frank.

Truly, I just cannot wait to see what God does!