I am usually not speechless...but these days, there is not much else I can do but bow my head and say thank you.
Thank you to God, our Father as He has gently guided us and our family through the windy road of this adoption. And thank you for my husband's leadership and the wisdom that you have so graciously given him, as we navigate the adoption process.
Thank you to our friends and family for all of your prayers...we are not done yet and we thank you for walking alongside us as we wait to bring our boys home!
Thank you to those of you, wonderful friends & mom and dad, who have offered and lent us your help to get our home ready for three more children. This next week we have several people coming to help with renovations.
Thank you to a dear new friend, to whom our stories have come together only out God's answers to our prayers for our children. Thank you for supporting and encouraging us as you run (3for3) for our family and for our boys.
Thank you to my dear sister and her husband who have offered to plan a BBQ in our family's honour in the fall...stay tuned:)
Thank you to those of you willing to pray specifically for each of my children...for prayer buddies at church, for special friends here in Camrose, for grandparents & godparents. It is a tremendous blessing to know our children are covered by your prayers....
Thank you to those of you who have given us unexpected gifts - we treasure them dearly and are blessed by your generosity.
Thank you to all of you for your words of encouragement, for your excitement for our family, for your love for us and for your willingness to walk alongside us. It is sometimes hard to accept help but we know that this is how life should be lived together- Helping/giving and being helped... Blessing each other and receiving it as well. Being in community with all of you is truly a blessing....
Quick update: we are still waiting for a court date...we a praying it will be soon:) But July and August are full and we are going enjoy our summer in our new city!!! love to you all...
Thankful,
Candra
Monday, June 24, 2013
Monday, June 17, 2013
a quick hello
Hi!
Lots happening these days...anticipating...getting ready...praying hard for plans to fall into place..Praying hard for our children...
And I thought i needed a new picture instead of the colorful rice my husband ever so often surprises the kids with! enjoy!
Blessings,
Lots happening these days...anticipating...getting ready...praying hard for plans to fall into place..Praying hard for our children...
And I thought i needed a new picture instead of the colorful rice my husband ever so often surprises the kids with! enjoy!
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| very excited about three more boys!! |
Candra
Thursday, June 13, 2013
The Take Over!!!!
MWAHAHA!!!!
The husband has taken over the blog!
Leave your comments about what I should ask for in return for the blog password - this very classy picture is staying up until Candra gives me one of your ransom ideas!
P.s. - food coloring is an easy way to be a popular dad when cooking....
To be continued.... (Cue the music: Dun dun daaaaah)
The husband has taken over the blog!
Leave your comments about what I should ask for in return for the blog password - this very classy picture is staying up until Candra gives me one of your ransom ideas!
P.s. - food coloring is an easy way to be a popular dad when cooking....
To be continued.... (Cue the music: Dun dun daaaaah)
Monday, June 10, 2013
a little bit of the weekend...
We made a quick weekend trip to Saskatoon this weekend to celebrate my Dad's retirement after 35 years of service! Other than being sick and have significant back pain for most of the weekend (no idea why...), it was so AWESOME to hang out with family and friends and be back in our last hometown!!! Enjoy the pics!
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| my adorable 4 day old nephew ...my sister is a trooper and was feeling great !! |
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| 2 VERY happy older cousins... my girls adore babies! |
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| early birthday party for my almost 4 year old ...celebrating with family! |
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| hanging out with my love |
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| the man of the hour opening his present! |
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| a stretched out pic but the spirit is there yay for sisters and my mom! |
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| celebrating Grandpa!...all the grandkids...right now by the end of the year there will be 11, hopefully 12! |
Enjoy your week...i am hoping to feel better by the end of it!
Blessings,
Candra
Wednesday, June 5, 2013
answered prayer & the state of my heart...
I wanted to update you all on how things have been going around here, more specifically about our prayer requests that we shared a couple of weeks ago. Hopefully to be an encouragement and a example of God's provision! So here is how God has been working in our lives, amidst the quick speed that life seems to be travelling at these days...
...we have been shown some unexpected financial blessings by several people over the last several weeks. There really are no words to express the gratitude that we have - God has been showing me that He is control of this roller coaster and He doesn't forget about the tangibles...
And on a side note, the generosity (more than just the financial) that the we show and give to each other is such a beautiful expression of being in community and "having each other's backs"!! Cool story - I had a friend plan a pie auction to raise money for her friend's family who is heading to Costa Rica (i think that is the right country!) to work on a water project. And God showed up big time with the event raising more than 15 times what they were expecting!!! And the love the family probably felt cannot even be measured...Stories like this need to be celebrated - that a friend who wanted to be generous put it into action and did something and that love was poured out on the family who was going....
...my parents have graciously and amazingly offered to take care of our 4 kids whenever we get the call to head over to Ethiopia. This is a big deal as is - but adding that my dad is single handedly building a house right now and my mom is willing to take on insulin pump care for our son is very cool. We love them a tonne:) Sacrificial generosity and an answer to prayer....
...best friends of ours are coming out to help with renos to our house, as are my parents,(necessary ones like a laundry room- 7 kids and laundry in a walk through pantry is not big enough) and our friends
are coming with their kids...taking vacation to come help us! And we are going to have a blast! hopefully we are right on when we will be travelling so we will be around....:) Prayer answered...
...we found AND bought a vehicle to fit our family with room to spare! And the kids are thrilled! It was the right price with low km (so hopefully will last a long time). Praise God.
If anyone knows anyone who would like to buy a 2007 4 door silver Honda Civic, we have one for sale! When it doesn't fit more than half your family...it is time to part with it!
And personally God has been working on my heart. The state of my heart. If there is one thing that gets me anxious or worried, it is money and finances. We have worked really hard over the last few years to keep a stable and budget and to not accumulate debt. So the past has taught me that there is always enough, more than enough.
Even though we know very well the reality of the costs of adoption and understand that we chose this, anxiety ever so quietly creeps into my thoughts and invades my life. And it shouldn't. It gets in the way of the celebration of God's goodness! God surprised us quickly with a referral for three boys, which means more costs related to their files and to get them home (flights etc.). And then the whole process keeps coming pretty fast!!! Really fast!!!
All of this back story to say that God is working on the state of my heart- to not be anxious or worry but in EVERYTHING...everything...to present my requests to Him. He calls me to live sacrificially and in this situation it reminds me that I cannot and am not in control of each moment of my life. He is teaching me that I need to continually work on the state of my heart. To be thankful. To love big. To be generous. To ask for help from Him. To accept help when offered. And not to worry about tomorrow. And to pray and ask for prayer. I just need to look at the list of answered prayer above to be reminded of all this!
Thanks for walking this journey with us...
Blessings,
Candra
...we have been shown some unexpected financial blessings by several people over the last several weeks. There really are no words to express the gratitude that we have - God has been showing me that He is control of this roller coaster and He doesn't forget about the tangibles...
And on a side note, the generosity (more than just the financial) that the we show and give to each other is such a beautiful expression of being in community and "having each other's backs"!! Cool story - I had a friend plan a pie auction to raise money for her friend's family who is heading to Costa Rica (i think that is the right country!) to work on a water project. And God showed up big time with the event raising more than 15 times what they were expecting!!! And the love the family probably felt cannot even be measured...Stories like this need to be celebrated - that a friend who wanted to be generous put it into action and did something and that love was poured out on the family who was going....
...my parents have graciously and amazingly offered to take care of our 4 kids whenever we get the call to head over to Ethiopia. This is a big deal as is - but adding that my dad is single handedly building a house right now and my mom is willing to take on insulin pump care for our son is very cool. We love them a tonne:) Sacrificial generosity and an answer to prayer....
...best friends of ours are coming out to help with renos to our house, as are my parents,(necessary ones like a laundry room- 7 kids and laundry in a walk through pantry is not big enough) and our friends
are coming with their kids...taking vacation to come help us! And we are going to have a blast! hopefully we are right on when we will be travelling so we will be around....:) Prayer answered...
...we found AND bought a vehicle to fit our family with room to spare! And the kids are thrilled! It was the right price with low km (so hopefully will last a long time). Praise God.
If anyone knows anyone who would like to buy a 2007 4 door silver Honda Civic, we have one for sale! When it doesn't fit more than half your family...it is time to part with it!
 |
| very happy kids & LOTS of space |
And personally God has been working on my heart. The state of my heart. If there is one thing that gets me anxious or worried, it is money and finances. We have worked really hard over the last few years to keep a stable and budget and to not accumulate debt. So the past has taught me that there is always enough, more than enough.
Even though we know very well the reality of the costs of adoption and understand that we chose this, anxiety ever so quietly creeps into my thoughts and invades my life. And it shouldn't. It gets in the way of the celebration of God's goodness! God surprised us quickly with a referral for three boys, which means more costs related to their files and to get them home (flights etc.). And then the whole process keeps coming pretty fast!!! Really fast!!!
All of this back story to say that God is working on the state of my heart- to not be anxious or worry but in EVERYTHING...everything...to present my requests to Him. He calls me to live sacrificially and in this situation it reminds me that I cannot and am not in control of each moment of my life. He is teaching me that I need to continually work on the state of my heart. To be thankful. To love big. To be generous. To ask for help from Him. To accept help when offered. And not to worry about tomorrow. And to pray and ask for prayer. I just need to look at the list of answered prayer above to be reminded of all this!
Thanks for walking this journey with us...
Blessings,
Candra
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