The Weight of the Wait

We received a number today.

It was bigger than I wanted it to be.

I will admit that I did cry on my way home thinking about the reality, weight and wait of this number.

This number means so many things and could be interpreted a thousand ways, but in the end, it is one number.

113. It is prime (yes, the math teacher comes out quickly to analyze this number). It isn't a pretty number that is perfectly factorable or has a square root or even has some great significance.

Today though on May 1, 2013 it is the number we received.

What does this number mean?

112 + 1 = 113

That 112 children (more actually counting siblings) will be placed with their forever families and be orphans no more when we receive our referral.

That 112 families who have been on this journey longer than we have will have seen God's sovereign hand of provision by placing their newly adopted child into their family.

That 112 other families and children will be joined together through God's plan of adoption when God brings our number to the top of the list.

When I think of those meanings of 113, I can focus on God's sovereign plan and that this wait is worth it.

But before I go much further, I confess that the first thoughts that came to my mind on what this number means were, well, different than those above.

113 meant that though I wanted this number to be only a two digit number it wasn't.

113 meant that my perfectly planned timeline for the next 12-16 months may not be what actually works out.

113 meant that though we knew the stories of the wait time in adoption was difficult, that our story may also be the same and that this was maybe longer than I bargained for.

Yep. It is true. My first thoughts were all about me and my plans and the way I wanted things to work out.

As the tears came again unexpectedly, I decided to read Psalm 113.

Praise the Lord that The Word of God is living and active!

This word today, at this time, and even this specific numerical chapter out of His Word was exactly what my heart needed to hear.

I will let it speak for itself.

Miss Mustard Seed Milkpaint class from Abbé Doll

Yesterday I took my very first furniture painting & repurposing class from Abbé Doll.

I took a wooden chair that we got from my Grandpa Call's farmhouse.

I first painted it with French Enamel Blue. I used hemp oil so that the top coat would resist and create a chippy and worn look. I then applied the top coat of Luckette green.

We let the chair dry outside as well as used a hair dryer in some places. We then used a power sander to buff off some of the chipping paint as well as reveal some of the wood.

I finished it by brushing on a thin coat of furniture wax!

I had a blast learning from Abbé and hope to conquer a dresser soon!

Adoption Funding

As our dossier is being shipped across the country to be "authenticated" which is the last step before it will be sent to Ethiopia, we have begun to look into options to fund our adoption so we can continue this process, by God's grace, without debt.

There are two ways you can all help us in this endeavor.

If you love coffee as much as my husband does, you can order coffee from Just Love Coffee and a % of your coffee purchase will go toward our adoption. Just click here!

The second way is for any of you who order from Amazon. If you will click this link and order through the window that opens, a % of your purchase will go toward our adoption!

So read lots of books and drink lots of coffee!!! Thanks!

Chevron!

If you have noticed the background of this blog, you can surely tell that I LOVE the chevron pattern!

My mom asked me the other day if I knew a theme or how I wanted to decorate a kids room. I have some ideas floating around, but do not feel I can settle one a decorating scheme (I like this wording better than theme!) until we know the age and gender of the kid/kiddos who will be joining our family sometime in the year 2014 (hopefully)!

One thing I do know for sure... is that CHEVRON will make it's appearance in this room and this video has me inspired!

Anyone want to help me out??

I love the idea of one line of the chevron continuning around the whole room while just having one wall of the room being the full chevron pattern.

I am planning to do more a two tone pattern similar to these pics below. I'm not quite bold enough to do the rainbow scheme shown in the video. I am interested in anyone's opinion if I should do a steep pattern like the middle picture or a pattern that isn't as steep like the top and bottom picture. Please feel free to offer me your advice/opinion!

Reminders from The Blizzard of Oz

We have had a very mild winters as far as Kansas winters can go, but this winter did not end without a typically unpredictable snow storm which has now been named The Blizzard Of Oz!

This blizzard has afforded me four days off of work and has brought some important reminders that I had forgotten recently. So here are the top 10 things I was reminded of...

10. Unexpected extra time off of work is ALWAYS a blessing and God seems to know exactly when I need this time even when I do not know it myself.

9. It is ok to not be busy all the time. It is ok to spend a day without being productive.

8. I really enjoy cooking and baking! In the midst of the busyness of the school year, I do not take time to cook or bake for enjoyment. I was able to do this and not have to hurry! Pics below!

Made soup from a recipe book from my favorite lunch spot, Tanya's Soup Kitchen!

Homemade chocolate chip cookies with M&Ms! These were the best batch I've ever made!

Chicken Tortilla Soup is the best soup and so EASY to make! Yum!

7. I need to blog more regularly. It is kind of theraputic for me. I am not a great writer, but since I am both an internal and external processor (meet my parents so you understand why I am both), blogging is a way for me to accomplish both ways of processing. I have a few blog posts circling around in my head... hopefully I will make a point to blog a bit more often as things slow down in the next few weeks.

6. This winter has been really busy with working on my master's, working at basketball games two nights a week and working through the adoption paperwork so I am looking forward to the spring more than normal. It took this Blizzard of Oz for me to look back at this winter and realize just how fast it has gone and how much I have been doing. God has been good to sustain me during this time!

5. I am an extrovert, but not as much as I used to be. I'm sure you've all done some kind of personality test to see if you are an extrovert or introvert. I always score as an extrovert but not as extremely as I did in high school or college. It has been nice to be at home and not do much through these snow days, but after a few days I got a bit stir crazy and needed some social interaction.

4. I get the privilege of working with some incredible students. I am so blessed to get to work with high school students and see them grow up and mature. A few of my favorite students stopped by today and "decorated" my yard! They bring a smile to my face!

Making Betty the Baker snow-woman! Amy & Mandy were supervising!

3. I do really LOVE my job. This time away has caused me to actually miss it. At times of great frustration and disappointment at work, it is hard for me to not get lost in the things that minimize why I am there. Being away from my job for these four snow days but six days total has allowed me time to refocus and rejuvenate. I work with some great people and teach some great students (see #4 above)! As a colleague reminds me often, I can't let other people's WHAT keep me from accomplishing my WHY in what I do each day.

2. My husband is a ROCKSTAR! He shoveled our driveway probably six or more times in the course of this Blizzard of Oz and never complained. Aside from his snow shoveling powers, he is a great person to be "stuck" at home with, but it never feels like we are stuck actually. He is patient and understanding as he deals with my many quirks. As we walk this long road through the adoption process, I am grateful he is the one on this journey with me. We have learned much already, have accomplished much, but still have much to learn and a long wait ahead. He makes waiting a bit easier. He is going to be a really good dad too!

1. Snow is beautiful and WHITE! Changes the scenery from dingy brown, dry winter to a beautiful snowy winter wonderland! What a great picture of what Christ's sacrifice does to cover our sins!  Isaiah 1:18 “Come now, let us reason together, says the LORD: though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall become like wool."

Do you Just Love Coffee?

Any coffee lovers out there? Or do you know someone who loves coffee? If so keep reading!

There is a great organization called Just Love Coffee that has set up a way for adoptive families to raise money to help fund their adoption and it is so simple!

We have set up our own online coffee store through their website called The Ingram's Ethiopian Adoption. If you'd like to buy some coffee to help us out, please visit justlovecoffee.com/ingramadoption or you can click on the coffee bean picture on the right hand panel of our blog. All the details are there as well as far as the percentage of the proceeds that will go toward our adoption and how the store works, etc if you are curious.

We thank you for any coffee you drink on behalf of family!

Transition in Thinking

For the past three weeks, we have been working to complete some of the education credits required as part of our home study. These online trainings have been very helpful and beneficial, but I must admit, they have also been a bit overwhelming. One training was through the National Council for Adoption over Inter-Country Adoption and the other was through the International Adoption Clinic at the University of Alabama-Birmingham.

This fall I have also been taking a class on Sunday nights at church taught by our pastor, Josh Black, called Biblical Theology and Interpretation. Josh uses a phrase often, "ratcheting up", in reference to how a theme is threaded and developed throughout the redemptive history of the Bible and ultimately culminates in Christ.

I feel as though these trainings have been ratcheting up the reality of adoption REALLY building our family. Listening to the realities children in orphanages experience now hits closer to home knowing our child will face some, if not all, of these realities. Building attachment and trust will be more important than following other traditional parenting tips such as letting the child "cry it out". Our child, regardless of age when we bring them home, will need to be held and rocked. Who knew that this motherly instinct to hold and rock a baby actually helps children develop and grow?

The Johnson & Johnson company ran the commercials saying "having a baby changes everything." Even though we have not biologically had a child yet nor have we brought home our adopted child yet, but the expectation and anticipation for the time we will be parents has already begun to change everything.

If you walked in our house, you would not see any physical changes (we have not bought a crib or painted a baby room yet). If you observed our daily routines, we have not made any significant changes in how we spend our time.

So what has changed?  I no longer think of myself as just a wife. I am beginning to find myself thinking more like a mom. I can't quite pinpoint exactly what that even means yet, but I know there has been a shift, subtle as it may be. I see Philip as a dad and envision the things he will do with our child and say to our child. My decisions, small or large, now take into account that there will be a child joining our family.

I am realizing that we don't just become parents when we arrive home with our child. We have become parents in our decision to go down this adoption road. God didn't become our heavenly Father the day our hearts turn to him in salvation through Christ. He has ALWAYS been our Father as he initiated our adoption as sons into his family and gave us our eternal inheritance. We did not choose him, but he chose us before the foundation of the earth.