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!

very excited about three more boys!!

Blessings,

Candra

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)

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!

my adorable 4 day old nephew
...my sister is a trooper and was feeling great !!

2 VERY happy older cousins...
my girls adore babies!

early birthday party for my almost 4 year old
...celebrating with family!

hanging out with my love

the man of the hour opening his present! 

a stretched out pic but the spirit is there
yay for sisters and my mom!

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

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! 

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

The reality of this week...

It has been a great week. An exhausting week. A week full of many emotions.

....We received our court date...meaning that we could travel relatively soon...like in the next 4-6weeks...we'll know more after next week...

...My little princess graduated from preschool...such a good moment...cannot believe she will be in kindegarten in the fall!!

...Our oldest son at home is still working through the beginnings of using an insulin pump...it has proven to be tricky and we are still working for good control...especially through the night...meaning me & Riley are getting up 2-3 times a night...i am so not used to this anymore:)!!! But he is doing awesome and has transitioned so well...

...first piano recital for my beautiful girl...she rose to the occasion and did so well...brings back lots of memories...and first track to meet...growing up:)

...little man is getting sick...he is NEVER sick...sore throat and fever so we are praying that it passes quick...on the positive side he wanted to cuddle in bed with daddy:)

...we are in the process of looking at bigger vehicles...test driving a 15 passenger van tomorrow...it is sort of crazy when your minivan will become the run-around fast vehicle-ha!

...we have just finalized a family for RUN 143...details to come:)

...looking to start renovations sooner than later...a few things to do!

...lovin my job...just need to find time to do paperwork...

...received an update on the boys today and they are growing up...even in a month they look so different and they are so handsome...cannot wait to share more pics with everyone!!

...and I have a day off tomorrow...a wonderful blissful day off...full of things to do but on my own time and no dress clothes:)

Have a great evening tonite....I am enjoying time to be reminded of all the good things that I have been blessed to be a part of this week...

Blessings,
Candra

Acceleration!!!

The process......is speeding up.....

So this is where we are at today...we received our second issuing court date today!!!!! And it is in a week!!!!! And things are moving a lot faster than I had planned!!!!!

As you may notice, there are lots of exclamation points in the last few sentences. And although they are excited exclamation points they are also a bit of a freak out/ this is happening so fast exclamation points. They are conveying a lot of emotion, as you will likely figure out as I keep going...

For those of you who may not have frequented our blog in the last few months, I will give a very brief update- we started the process to adopt from Ethiopia when we moved to our new province late last summer. All of our paper work was submitted in the new year with our dossier taking flight to Ethiopia in early April. This is where it get interesting - we received a a referral April 22. That is really fast- we were open to a lot of situations, which probably played into the quick referral. Thinking it would be a while until we received a court date but... last week we received our court file number and today we found out our first court date.!!! So...that means that early July will likely be our first trip for the second court date and likely just a couple of months or so after that they will come home.....

Breathe. just breathe...that is what has been repetitively in my mind all day. 

And wow...this is awesome...they are coming home!!

And Jeremiah 29:11 has been cycling through right after that:

 For I know the plans I have for you,” says the Lord. “They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope."

They are good plans. They are God's plans. And we get to be a part of His plans for our children- and that includes three of them coming home SOON! Some of you may have received an update letter, some of which I shared in a previous blog. If you wouldn't mind keeping us in your thoughts and prayer, we would by SO appreciative- there is a lot of preparation that comes into bringing 3 older children into our home and we want to give the best to all of our children...

We haven't had a lot of time to implement our plans (which is also probably part of His plan as we are both the oldest and like the element of control:))so now we are holding on for the ride with everything we have got and trusting in God's provision and love for His children!!!

Thanks for reading... 

Love you all-

Blessings,

Candra

And for all my new friends- Ethiopian adoptive families -  ANY info would be helpful on travel, accommodations, things to do, what to bring.....and my lists begin!!!

Prayer

This weekend has been filled with many emotions..Mother's day means many different things now than it did when we had our first child. And I am still sorting through all the emotions that are jumbled up inside me so that will have to wait for another day - when there is more clarity...

But for today, I wanted to update you a little on our adventure of expanding our family from 4 to 7 children. As many of you know (and some maybe not) we accepted a referral of three beautiful boys just three weeks ago- it seems like a lifetime and a moment ago all wrapped into one. We have been amazed at God's timing as there are so many other experiences that have taken place in the last three weeks that have affirmed and encouraged our decision.
Yes, we are crazy in some ways.
Yes in time we will have to drive a 15 passenger van. Riley is definitely more excited than me about that one!
Yes, there are so many things that need to be done in preparation to welcome these beautiful boys into our family.

So tonight, I would like to share with you an excerpt of a prayer letter we will be sending out to people we know (and if you are interested in receiving it, please let me know...). We recognize that we cannot do this alone - that God is before us, beside us and behind us every step of the way. And that the support of our friends and family will be so important.  To be transparent, even though a lot of amazing personal details have been falling into place, this is a huge undertaking and we could really use some prayer.  So if you would you like to pray for our family, please read on...

Here are a few of the specific needs:

1. For the court date & immigration process to move quickly

2. For attaching & bonding - with older children and being in institutional care there

may be noticeable repercussions on how well the complex and difficult work of

building trust, connecting & attaching with us as parents goes. And pray that our 7

kids will all get along!!!

3. Language -  They are all fluent in Amahric, with the oldest knowing some English phrases. Please pray that they will able able to learn a new language as they come home.

4. Provision in finances - accepting this referral meant significantly more costs

($65,000+ just to get them home). In self building a home, we were able generate

approximately 1/3 of that cost. We’ve sensed God’s leading and want to trust that He will

help us steward what we have and also provide for these unexpected needs in

other ways.

5. Home needs - there is renovating to do in our home, rooms to outfit for the boys,

clothes to buy, a larger vehicle needed, etc. Please pray that God might direct us to

find some good deals or donations of furniture!

6. That we wouldn’t get too overwhelmed before the boys even come home. It’s

easy for our minds to run away at times & start to worry about a lot of aspects.

Thank you in advance for your prayers!  If there are any other questions you have, please feel free to get in touch with us!

Blessings, 

Candra & Riley

***You may have noticed on the corner of your screen a donate button. We have had several people wonder if there is an opportunity to give towards our adoption costs. The 'button' is there for that purpose.