I saw a lynx!

I saw a lynx! For the first time in either Venetie or Stevens, one of the Arctic's mammals was hanging around our house. The lynx was walking down the road in broad daylight like it didn't have a care in the world, less than a football field away. I spotted it while running between the back door of the school and our house. I threw open the door and started yelling to Alice and the kids to come to the front door, then realized that it would be out of sight, yelled at them to go to the window. We all watched it saunter on down the road until it went out of sight. So cool! Like the northern lights or the hot springs near Fairbanks, it's these little things that will turn into the awesome memories of living in Alaska when we leave.

Now, the power going out when it's -60 and staying out for 3 hours will also stick in our memories, but for other reasons. After 3 hours without power, the trailer was getting cold, but not unbearable. The village generator had run out of oil and the generator house was so cold that all the extra quarts of oil had frozen. The school generator house's heating unit was also out, unbeknownst to me, and it took a portable generator, heater, and about an hour and a half to get our generator warm enough to run. Then, as luck would have it, the generator was overheating every few hours, and it took some time to figure out that problem. Another day in paradise!

On a plus side, the -60 temperature was a bit of a surprise, as we've been spoiled on temperatures right around 0 for most of January. With the sun coming back at about 5-7 more minutes of daylight a day, it's starting to feel more and more like spring here. We could always dip back down to extreme cold in February, but we really feel like the worst of the winter is over.

In even better news, we're nearing the end of our adoption journey. In fact, we intend on leaving Stevens in a short 5 weeks to begin heading to the lower 48 and then to Africa to complete the adoption. 35 days left! When we finally leave, we will have been in the village, and off the road system, for 200 days straight! We haven't seen a stoplight, a Wal Mart, a Starbucks, a police car, a grocery store...you name it! For 200 days! How have we not gone insane?

If things go as we plan, and they probably won't, we will drive on down to the lower 48, fly to Africa, come back and visit with family before heading back to Alaska in August, meaning we'll have 5 months away from village life. Then we'll begin what will likely be our last year in the Bush, and this time we're definitely coming home for Christmas! After 200 days of living between the school and the 20 yards to our trailer, we have a lot of excitement coming to us in 2013!

Going to Town!

Tuesday, July 17th

Leaving Stevens

Our pilot told us the flight to Fairbanks should be "nice." His idea of nice must include anything short of a zombie apocalypse. The flight was the bumpiest we’d ever experienced. Turbulence was tossing the plane around like it was dancing (at least that's what Alice told Arwen). Flying in winter is much nicer. The air is too cold to move! Or something like that. I’m not sure on the exact science.

This is a video of our take off. Our airport is a gravel strip and although take off was bumpy this was by far the smoothest part of the trip. You can also see the whole of our village from the air.

Our first stop (after Taco Bell, yum!) was a dentist appointment for Alice to take care of some issues she’d been having with her teeth. Turned out the issues were pretty big. She needed her wisdom teeth removed! I thought most people got that taken care of when they were in their late teens, but Alice likes to do things differently. 

The appointment was scheduled for the next day, so we headed to our hotel outside of town. On the drive there we spotted three moose! This was the first one.

Wednesday, July 18th

The price of wisdom

We weren't sure if we had just been lucky to spot three moose the previous day. We got our answer leaving the parking lot. A moose slowly crossed the entrance in front of us. Three more were spotted before we made it to town. Each one we saw made us comment, “Wow, that one is huge!” Note to reader: 90% of adult moose in Fairbanks in July…are huge.

Alice had two wisdom teeth on her right side removed (the left are coming out next month). The rest of the trip she spent with a swollen jaw and an upset stomach, unable to eat. The pain medicine she was on made her physically sick. We went back to the hotel (no moose this time!) and she "relaxed" (threw up a lot) while I took the kids around the resort.

First, we stopped at the natural hot springs. While you have to be over 18 to get in (the water gets over 100 degrees), they were able to put their hands in the water. They had lots of questions.

"What happens if a duck gets in the water?"

Then there's a duck in the water.

"What happens if fish get in the water?"

Then I suppose there's a fish in the water.

I'm not sure what their confusion was. We went to the playground to play, and they watched a lady feed some ducks. The ducks that hung around the resort were a highlight of the trip for them. Earlier that morning, three white ducks had followed us all the way from our room to the parking lot looking for handouts, which the kids thought was hilarious.

Thursday, July 19th

A busy day

While there was no moose at the entrance to the hotel, we saw seven moose in the span of 30 minutes on our morning drive to the fingerprint appointment. Alice, of course, was on the verge of throwing up the entire time. The federal courthouse where we had to go was pretty intimidating; empty your pockets and remove your shoes kind of place. Dead quiet, too, which is not cool when you’re bringing four kids along. We had threatened them with certain death (not really, but close) if they made any noise, and the three older ones were perfect. Arwen started to whine while we were waiting, which is dangerous because she has a good set of lungs on her. She settled down well enough, though, and we didn’t get kicked out.

The guy who did the fingerprints was really nice, even if we kept messing things up. You know, they ask you to sit down, fill out this paper and wait for them, but the paper says to turn it into the receptionist when you finish. So, I go to turn it in and they politely remind me to sit down and wait for them (duh). Then I missed the piece that says ALIEN ID NUMBER (or SSN). I got skipped while Alice went first. When it’s finally my turn, the guy asks me to take my earrings out. Yeah, I’d need pliers for that. He must have noticed the deer in the headlights look on my face, because he let me keep them in.

Thankfully, though, everyone was, in true Alaskan form, very polite and pleasant. We found out that they only come up to do fingerprints from Anchorage every 2-3 months. We had contemplated rescheduling the appointment to try and get it for August when we will have in-service, but thankfully we didn’t. We might have been waiting until October for the appointment!

Oh, and Alice only throw up once in the bathroom. YAY!

After the fingerprints, it was time to get Alice some new meds that didn’t make her vomit. Of course, the dentist had the day off. We were able to call his home and leave a message. We waited and were about to give up and head to the hotel for a nap when he called back and called in the prescription to Wal-Mart.

Wal Mart Pharmacy. I’ve had some experiences there. This time was no exception. Apparently, they don’t check their voice mail for call-ins unless someone insists that a prescription should be there. Insists three times. Oh, you’re not going away? I guess we’ll check our voice mail. Oh, sir, yeah, apparently the message was on the voice mail! Who would of known!

Alice, of course, was siting in the car with a swollen jaw deciding between pain and nausea. Yeah, one of those days.

By the time we got the medicine, we didn’t have time to drive back to the hotel before meeting up with our awesome Fairbanks friends B. and K. We took care of some other business; our home study got one of those annoying pink slips from the USCIS and our case worker drafted an addendum that I express mailed to Missouri. Hopefully that will take care of it.

Still, we had two hours to kill with the wife in pain and still nauseous and the kids bored. We grabbed a giant sub, crackers and juice and parked at a hotel, of all places, that had a lot of grass. The kids sat in the back of the rental Suburban and ate, then me and the kids ran around the grass in the on-again off-again rain. They had a blast and were soaked. Alice slept in the car. She spent most of our trip sleeping in the car.

Finally, it was time to head to our friend's house! We had a great time meeting our friend B.’s wife K. for the first time and eating homemade pizza and ice cream. I got to play a mindless fighting game on the PS3 and we watched a Monster’s Inc. in Blue Ray magic.

Blue Ray, by the way, is amazing. Don’t watch it unless you are planning on buying a player and new movies, because it makes DVDs seem outdated.

We left their house around 11pm and stopped at the grocery store for some snacks before heading back the hour and a half drive to the hotel. It took over two hours. Seeing moose in the bright light of the morning is pretty cool. Seeing the dark forms of three giant moose in the hazy twilight of Alaska’s summer midnight sun on a narrow, tree-lined road is not so cool. Especially when I was fighting fatigue. I drove 20 miles under the speed limit. Unlike probably any other state, every car we passed was also doing well under the speed limit. Hitting a moose with your car is not like hitting a deer in the lower 48. That would be like saying a garden snake is like a python.

We survived and finally had a day to relax and take the kids swimming in the pool (twice).  I got to swim in the natural hot spring pool. It was probably close to 100 degrees and extremely relaxing.

Friday, July 20th

We make good on a promise

This day had only one goal: swimming. We had promised the kids that we would take them swimming when we were in town. Macy and Arwen love swimming. Arwen was yelling at me in her half-gibberish, half-intelligent language for a while before I realized she was saying "I'll do it myself!" She didn't want me to hold her in the water. Later, in another fit of independence, she demanded being placed in the water without her floaties. I let her head go under water for less than half a second before pulling her up. She asked to have the floaties back on.

I will do it myself!

Macy went all over the pool with her floaties, and even was brave enough to try swimming some without floaties, which lasted until she swallowed too much of the water. Molly Clara was brave enough to get in the water, even if she freaked out a little bit, which is a huge leap forward. Usually she just runs around the pool refusing to get in and then throws a fit when we leave because she didn't get in. Gavin did excellent playing in the pool without his floaties.

Macy helping Molly to swim

We went swimming twice, hit the playground again, and hit the activity center up twice for ice cream treats and coffee. We also had a light dinner; Alice was able to eat a bite of clam chowder. Both of us got in the hot springs this day.

Saturday, July 21st

Guerilla shopping

You should know what guerilla shopping is by now. It's when you drop $700 in mostly-grocery shopping in a short amount of time because you know it will be three weeks before you're back and since we've already paid for the charter, we have to take full advantage. We filled two carts at Fred Meyer's (aka Kroger back east), checked out, and then I went back for a cart of fruits and vegetables. We also hit the farmer's market, the health food store, the chinese restaurant and Starbucks before running out of time and catching our 5pm charter back into Stevens. Thankfully, this time it was a smooth flight and Alice was able to keep her food down.

Back home! We hadn't left the village at all since mid-April, and haven't been out of Stevens for a non school-related trip since December. We head back in mid August for in service and the beginning of the school year! 

Midnight Sun Video

(copied and pasted from our adoption blog)

This past Wednesday was the Summer Solstice. To pass the time while we waited, and since there are basically 24 hours of daylight here just south of the Arctic Circle, we decided to let the kids stay up all night until the technical sunrise, which was at 2:30 am (the sunset was technically at 1:26 am). The kids had a blast playing toys, games and watching movies, as well as having a midnight pancake breakfast. We thought all the kids would konk out before 2:30, but everyone except Arwen made it!

2 of the kids slept until 10am and the other 2 slept until noon the next day. We suffered groggily  until 8pm and thankfully got back on a normal bedtime schedule.

Since most of our friends and all of our family are in the lower 48, we put together a video showing the progress of the sun over the 24 hours, using an outside Lego house as a prop. Check it out!

Bantha for Father's Day

It's been sitting in our freezer for more than 3 months, a huge chunk of Musk Ox meat, or, as we like to call it, Bantha. Last night I pulled it out and told Alice we were having it for dinner today.

She, predictably, said over her dead body.

I said I'd cook it anyways.

In what can only be described as a sprinkling of pre-Father's Day magic, she relented instead of boxing my ears in (confession: my wife can beat me up). We were having Bantha for Father's Day!

Now how do we cook this thing?

The chunk of meat, by the way, was over a foot long, about 8 inches high and 3 inches wide, with only a small bone inside. It didn't fit in the Crock Pot, so I grabbed my trusty hunting knife (I don't hunt, but it's been lucky enough to cut up moose, caribou and musk ox so far) and sawed the meat in half, then dropped it on the skillet for some quick searing.

Photo found here

We have two windows in the house, and there is no direct airflow between the two. Within minutes, the trailer was filled with smoke and all the fire alarms were going off. Alice yelled at the kids to hit the ground, and Macy and Molly run to the furthest room (which, coincidentally, was the least ventilated) and drop down under blankets to avoid the smoke. I, of course, am enjoying the pandemonium that my bantha meat has caused and keep the meat on the skillet. It gets worse, and they all run outside, which lasts 10 seconds before the mosquitoes chase them back. No escape.

24 minutes of searing later (3 minutes each side of the two 4-sided blocks), I squeeze the chunks into the crock pot with water and the game mix and set it for 10 hour low. We let it cook for almost 24 hours.

By the time it was ready, we had been smelling delicious game for a whole day and were ready to dig in. The bantha had fallen off the bone and shredded perfectly like BBQ sandwhich meat. It ended up being a fantastic meal, coupled with baked potatoes and baked cabbage. Thora got a plateful of fat and meat, which, after looking at us worriedly a few times to make sure we weren't tricking her, disappeared instantly when Alice and I turned our backs.

The rest of Father's Day was awesome. Being in the Bush means you have nowhere to go, which can cause a panicked feeling a lot like claustrophobia, but also means you spend a lot of family time together. We played Legos, did magnet crafts, played 2 rounds of Disney Trivial Pursuit and Uno Moo, and a round of Mario Party 7.

The day was a pretty good reminder of why it rocks to be a Dad.

Alice won this awesome adoption shirt for Father's Day. You can get one here.

O you of little faith

Last night someone called to ask Joe to pick him and his family up at the airport today. They were coming from Anchorage in our usual visitor's/pastor's place. J. is still in the lower 48 trying to fundraise for a fancy new boat to bring him up the river to Stevens Village... the one he rents isn't very nice it sounds like. 

We get up this morning and start getting dressed for church. I don't express it out loud but I don't want to go. This is the first time I have not wanted to go to church in the village. It's usually so very nice to meet someone new and to make new friends. Lately, though, I feel like a circus side show. These guys have never been to a remote village before (like the last family he sent in his place) and in fact the guy doesn't even preach on a normal basis. He is a sunday school teacher. I started to wonder if they just thought of us as an attraction rather than people who needed the fellowship. I felt guilty about this of course and prayed that God would help me deal with the bitterness and open my heart to the message he came to share. *By the way- everyone He has sent has been wonderful to us and I enjoy their company very much. I was just in a funk today... read on.*

Some village homes- viewed from the church doorway

The walk to church was simply lovely. The air was warm but the wind was blowing so the mosquitos didn't swarm. There was slight cloud coverage so it felt more like dawn than noon. It gave the feeling of just waking up while camping... everyone slowly emerges from their campers/tents and gathers around the smoldering camp fire remains from the night before sipping their instant coffee or water. You know, the feeling of togetherness. Of family. Which in turn made me long for my family... and made me slightly more bitter. Alaska is so amazing... and sometimes lonely. 

When we got to church we were the only villagers there. So it was our family of 6 and the visitor's family of 7. The power had not been turned on. The man who usually does it was out of town but had lined someone else up to come out and hook it up. He never came. So we had service by the light through the windows. It was a bit of an awkward start with just us four adults singing and a bunch of wee ones belting out the tunes... I think we sang 2 songs before we called it quits. Then it started raining and we had to close the door, blocking out further light. Onto the message!

The darkish church building

It wasn't one of those move you to tears kind of sermons. In fact, it was a very simple message. He talked about faith. It just so happens that I have been struggling with faith in certain areas. Great! Now I realize just what a boob I had been to God and myself this morning... but He was going to be kind to me anyhow and tell me what I needed to hear. He covered verses like:

Philippians 4:13- I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.

Psalm 78:24- He rained down manna for them to eat; He gave them the bread of heaven.

Numbers 20:11- Then Moses raised his hand and struck the rock twice with the staff, and water gushed out. He talked about never being good enough and how we have to have faith that God can do all things. 

It made me think of Romans 8:28- And we know that in all things that God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.

Afterwards, we had a really good time talking with the family and I was so glad they came! One of their daughters had made flower hairbows and handed them out to the girls. Another daughter painted the girls finger nails! They were a really nice family and the message, like I said, was perfect for me.

The thing I have struggled with most lately is how we are going to fund the travel to Uganda. With the 6 of us going and 7 (or 8) of us coming back it's really adding up. It seems like an unreachable goal. I have no idea how we will do it. I know we can't... not yet. It would take at least another year before we could afford that. Lucky for us we have God. He can do it. And that's where I tack on "if He wants to." And I am not good enough. Why would He work miracles for us when I am nobody special? I am sure there are better people out there... someone who deserves a miracle. I can think of at least 2 of my favorite people now who need a miracle and they are far better than me. I know you are probably rolling your eyes at me. Joe does it too. O you of little faith (Matthew 8:26).

So my goal this week is to work this out within myself. To have faith! Whether we succeed in getting the remaining funds or we don't I KNOW God is working for the good of us. This has a purpose and it is a good one. Oh see?! I am getting better at it already.

3 more children showed up at the very end... just in time for candy and tag

This was our first time seeing a squirrel in Alaska. It was quite small and seemed to be living in this house.

New page on adoption blog

Our adoption blog is coming along nicely... well the design is lacking but we will work on that over Christmas break. Anyone do blog design for cheap?!


We added a FUNdraising page to that blog. YAY! Go check it out and share it with your friends, fam, and strangers if you'd like ;)


Joy Transferred 

New blog

http://joytransferred.blogspot.com/

That link will take you to our new adoption journal/blog. We'd be glad if you guys would also like to read that. We are VERY early in the adoption process but, if things move forward with the guys Joe mentions over there, they could move FAST!

Enjoy, friends

Yes Man

Have you seen the movie Yes Man? Recently Joe and I have decided to become ‘Yes Men for God’. When He asks something of us, no matter how hard, impossible, or just plain ridiculous it seems, we say yes. Adopt. How in the world are we going to be able to afford that?! Just trust Me. Alright if you insist. (This is when we started taking the steps towards adoption. Now our hearts are broken for what breaks His.) Move. What where?! Just do it. Alright if you say so. (This is when we applied to mission schools in Tanzania, Ethiopia, and Taiwan. We were keeping our eye on some schools in the Murfreesboro area. We have also applied to Alaska… again.) When it all seems too hard and my heart feels weighed down I remember the story of Moses and the Israelites.

Dueteronomy 8:2, 3, & 5 “2 Remember that the Lord your God led you on the entire journey these 40 years in the wilderness, so that He might humble you and test you to know what was in your heart, whether or not you would keep his commands. 3 He humbled you by letting you go hungry; then He gave you manna to eat, which you and your fathers had not known, so that you might learn that man does not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord. 5 Keep in mind that the Lord your God has been disciplining you just as a man disciplines his son.”

I know we are becoming better people because of these choices. I have been feeling joy like I have never known before, but it doesn’t mean things are perfect. My heart aches more than I can explain. I am tired of taking the steps, waiting for things to fall into place. I am tired of just praying and waiting! I want to take action! I want to GO! But... alas it will not happen on my time :(

1 Down 163 Millionish to go...

Mr. Samson Jude Couch is home!
Oh we are so blessed to have the "Poppy Dip" family in our lives! In the short time we have known them they have been quite an inspiration and just a fantastic family altogether! Last night we (accompanied by Joe's sis and her fam) went to our first airport greeting... it was amazing watching a family come together that way!  They were of course exhausted, coming off a 20+ hour plane ride and adjusting to a 9 hour time difference, but obviously excited to be back home! We can't wait to get to know our new friend. Pop on over to Sallee's Poppy Dip blog for pictures of the now larger family. Hopefully their story will inspire more families to adopt...

Covered in Hope and a Cloth diaper review

The ABSOLUTE BEST cloth diaper on the market!!

This is a post ALL ABOUT cloth diapers. Weird, Alice, you may say, why would you post about your obsession on the adoption page? Well, because my other love (Ethiopia blogs) is what brought this post to life. I happen to be stalking Kristie’s blog and it’s hard to miss the recent posts about cloth diapers. Kristie has started a movement called Covered in Hope. She is gathering cloth diapers to send to Ethiopian orphanages for all the sweet babies and toddlers there. I am told that these amazing children either A: don’t wear pants (or underwear) and use the bathroom on themselves and wherever they may be sitting, B: use a disposable diaper… though these are very expensive and clean ones are hard to get in an orphanage, or C: use a worn out old cloth diaper. Although I have never seen this first hand, I have heard the stories and seen a few pictures. The point is they need diapers and we have PLENTY of them here. Literally, sitting here in my house. A whole laundry basket full to be exact! I have been holding on to these waiting for the right moment to post them for sale on the diapperswappers website. Arwen recently went up a size in diapers and since I was looking for a new brand/type, I gathered up the diapers and got ready to sell…then I read Kristie’s post announcing CCI needed cloth diapers. CCI?! That’s the agency we want to use! (We recently met the director, Sue, at an adoption fundraiser and knew right away that this is exactly the kind of person we want to help us bring our boy/s home.) So I quickly text an email to Mrs. Sallee Couch, whose family is using CCI and going to be picking up their Samson any day now! It’s true they are very much in need of diapers. So I saved 4 of our most expensive diapers (in order to sell for cash to buy Arwen a few more diapers) and boxed up the rest for Sallee to take to Ethiopia. In this box is every size and type of diaper I can think of. Some I love, some I hated, and some I never tried. If you cloth-diaper your babies, you know how hard it is to part with these little poop pockets. If you have not, here is my honest review of the diapers we’ve had.

After much thought and consideration Joe and I decided cloth diapering would be best for our family. Molly was still in diapers/pull-ups and diapers are expensive! So we (when I say we I mean I) did the research and settled on Thirsties AIO (all in one) with pockets for our first go around. When we got these diapers in the mail I was so excited and overwhelmed. “What if I was no good at cloth diapering… and a million other what if’s?” So I tried one on Molly… she wouldn’t take it off because the fleece insides were “sooo cozy.” Saweet! So I bought more in Molly’s size so I had someone to practice on. This time opting for Fuzzibunz pocket diapers with microfiber inserts. She absolutely LOVED her cloth dipes. I think in switching from disposables to cloth, she potty trained quicker. I made her some fleece undies to make up for taking the cozy dipes away, once she was ready. (Fleece doesn’t absorb wetness so it helps the babes stay dry.)

When Arwen arrived we used a mix of the XS Thirsties AIO with pockets, Thirsties covers with unbleached Chinese cotton prefolds (which were just laid in the covers), fleece covers with the same prefolds (that were either pinned on or snappied), and a few homemade AIOs I purchased on etsy. The little chunker was born 9lbs 12oz! We were expecting her to be tiny like her sisters, who wore preemie clothes for at least a month. Needless to say, she didn’t get to wear these very long! So we moved up a size and switched brands. On to FuzziBunz pocket dipes! The smalls lasted FOREVER and the pockets were especially great for adding an extra hemp or microfiber insert for overnight and long car rides. Also, they dried much quicker than an AIO. You see putting the covers, the parts with elastic, in the dryer lessens the diapers life span and when you spend so much time and $ on a diaper you want it to last! BUT the microfiber eventually started to hold smell. For the cloth diapering mammas now wondering… Yes, I tried Charlies soap and it ‘burnt’ the babies bum… Yes, I rinse before I wash and use a final vinegar rinse… No, I didn’t use bleach, fabric softener, or put diaper cream on the baby ever… and yes, I tried stripping them twice! They just didn’t work for us (actually they worked for about 7 months before we had issues). So I tossed the stinky ones out and started to explore other options. (We tried the medium of this brand but they were oddly bulky and loose, which was surprising, because the smalls were so trim.) In the meantime we went back to pre-folds and covers. They work wonders but are bulkier than we liked and not near so soft as some. Next, we tried Thirsties medium fleece fitteds with Thirsties one size covers. Some covers had snaps and some had Velcro. I soon realized how much I hated Velcro! Everything sticks to the tabs… even when they are fastened down for washing and the fitted just doesn’t keep her as dry as I would like it to. Next, I tried a Thirsties size 2 pocket diaper. It has a pocket at both the front and the back so you don’t have to un-stuff it before you throw it into the wetbag (we have tried drawstring, zipper, and open bags… we settled for some purchased on etsy with zippers and a strap for hanging). But it too has a microfiber (and hemp snapped together) insert so it didn’t last long. Then, there was the BumGenius One Size diaper that I converted from Velcro to snaps. The poop just rolls off the inside of this diaper and I stuffed it with hemp inserts but still it just wasn’t what I was looking for. We thought the colors were kind of dull and boring. That’s when I found BerryPlush/Jamtots AI2 diapers! The amazingly soft bamboo and hemp insert snaps into the delicious covers! It not only was the softest diaper I have EVER come across but it held wonderfully, didn’t stain easy, didn’t hold stink, had incredibly fun colors (like leopard and Dalmatian print), had snaps that snapped on the sides, you could reuse the cover multiple times and it fit great! Well, for a while anyway. Arwen started to hang out of the size smalls and the mediums were just too bulky. They were great for pictures, wearing with babylegs or under dresses but just not ideal for wearing with jeans. This all went on for months while we lost faith in cloth diapers. We started putting Arwen in disposables and her bum paid the price. Around her first birthday, I again went in search of the perfect cloth diaper… and found it! It’s a wonderful AI2 diaper with bamboo inserts with a hemp doubler, if needed. It doesn’t hold stink, doesn’t leak, the bold colors are amazing, and the medium fits her thighs and waist perfectly at the 2nd snap (there are 3 adjustable snaps) and they are the trimmest yet! Really! They fit much like disposables without the diaper rash. So here’s to Fishnoodles, the most impressive diaper on the market! Thank You!

Fishnoodles in black. LOOK HOW ADORABLE!

Fishnoodles in a lovely bright blue! Look how TRIM it is!

AIO on infant made by lady on etsy

Prefold with a snappie holding it in place

Fleece cover over the snappied prefold

Crazy baby wearing Thirsties one size cover over a prefold

another view of the cover plus prefold

Berryplush/Jamtot AI2 in Leopard print

SMALL PART of the diaper stash soon to head to Ethiopia!

November is Adoption Month...

...and SixSeeds is celebrating. They have lots of fun interviews with adoptive families on their website including the Couch Family and are generously giving away $2 for every comment left! Saweet ay?! SO head on over here to learn a little more about the Couch Family and to help them bring home little Samson!... Then you can read the rest of the posts and help those guys out too.
Who knew Tony Dungy was an adoptive parent? Awesome!

Got Plans?

If not then I know where you should go! There is an adoption fundraiser happening and we will be there! Check out the Adopting Miracles Fundraiser webpage to see if this is something you might enjoy... and heck even if you don't think you'll enjoy it you should donate to get a chance at an ipad! 

What is a Lifebook?

I have been reading everything about adoption I can. I recently went through the books the library has and picked random titles. The one I am reading now is “Lifebooks Creating a Treasure for the Adopted Child.” I have only read about half of it but it got me thinking. This would be a nice thing to make for our adopted children… including Gavin. He is at the age now where he is asking lots more questions and they get tougher and tougher. I almost always feel like I haven’t explained in a way he can understand or that I have said something I shouldn’t have. I think we all need something consistent to refer back to (especially because I am so scattered brained). The funny thing with Gav is that he knew he was adopted by Joe and he never seemed to care… then all of a sudden one day it was like he finally heard what we were saying and had a million questions. (That caught us off guard!) So maybe all this time he just didn’t understand what we were saying?! Anyway I am brainstorming ways to make this Lifebook thing work for him too. But it's already difficult. I have to deal with my feelings of guilt or insecurities in order to make this work... no one likes doing that. I want to put in child friendly facts and pictures… but when do you tell/add the not so pleasant details? Sometimes it feels like there isn’t another family in the world quite like ours or maybe I just need to get out more ;) Has anyone here made a Lifebook?

Have you got it?

So I am addicted to learning more about adoption and have read just about everything our library has to offer... that's not saying much. They hardly had a thing on adoption and even less on international adoption. And most of the stuff I did read wasn't worth it (some writers are just so darn negative). ANYWAY I was hoping some of my blog readers could help... I bet some of you have great books or magazines on Adoption (specifically International adoption but domestic is great too as we have one son that has already started asking questions I have great difficulty answering) that you would be willing to let me borrow ;) Please let me know if you do!
Alice


February 2011 update: I found a good book about Lifebooks and am now making one for Gavin. I am now reading Attaching in Adoption and LOVE it! And while Fields of the Fatherless isn't quite what I was talking about it is a great book!

Praise God

Sallee and her family got their referral! Praise God! Another child will be home with his forever family soon. We are filled with so much joy for them! Congrats Couch family!


Our adoption journey has hit a huge speed bump... sooo we may be moving back to the Alaskan Bush next school year if things plan out... and if that is really where God wants us. At least for a few years anyway... then I hope to head back to the road system but who knows! God works in mysterious ways ay?!

Step One: Secure Teaching Job (CHECK!)

Finally, after over a year of searching, I was offered a professional position at a rural school south of Clarksville, TN, teaching economics, personal finance, and one other to-be-determined class. The job came just in time, as finances were starting to get extra tight with our tax refund money finally dwindling away. For our family, this means no more does Dad have to work afternoons and overnights; a regular M-F, 9-5 job with holidays off....it's going to be good for all of us. For the adoption, this means we meet the minimum requirement for income for Ethiopia; not by much, but we're there! We are in the process of getting ready to move in the next 2-4 weeks, but as soon as everything settles down we will be sending our application into the agency we choose!!! And then the journey really begins ;-)


We were lucky enough to be invited to a African Fellowship, a get together for families who have adopted from Africa or are, like us, thinking/in the process of adopting from Africa. This gave us a great opportunity to talk with parents who have been through the whole process already, and to see some really amazing kids. I couldn't believe that some of these adopted children had only been with their families in the US for less than 6 months! They seemed so well adjusted, it really did a lot to ease some of my anxieties I have.


God is good, He has given us the go ahead with this job to start the process, and we really look forward to seeing how He handles all the obstacles that are in our way between now and the end!

Update: We were a bit off on the minimum requirements and will have to go back to the drawing board.

A Gotcha Day Video

The interviews are pouring in and the applications for jobs are going out. I just have to work on being less like Jonah. I will go where God wants me to... but I should do it with a good attitude too. Other than that there is nothing new to report. So here is one of those amazingly moving videos we all love so much! Enjoy! 

Maleah Vandergiessen from Jay McKenney on Vimeo.

4 yr olds work for God also

When we started this adoption thought process both Joe and I thought we would adopt babies or at most a baby and a toddler no older than two. I have to say that that didn't last long for me. I felt God pulling me a different direction. I want an "older child." When I voiced this thought to Joe he looked at me like I was crazy and said absolutely not! So I didn't bring it up. Instead I started praying that if this was what was to be done then speak to Joe's heart as well. If not then change my mind. We have to be in this together! Much later I stumbled across this blog post   and decided it was time to bring it up with Joe again to see where he stood. I quoted a line from the blog post linked above "...a child is never too old to be adopted." I looked at our children and said to Joe, "Now tell them they're too old to have a family. Macy I'm sorry but you are too old to be loved." Macy turned to him and said, "But Dad we are just kids!" Ha! So I wasn't the one meant to convince Joe at all... God used our 4 year old daughter to do it. Amazing. Well that got the ball rolling in a new direction for him. I then stumbled across the movie, War Dance, and decided to give it a try. It seemed interesting enough. (It is a must see for anyone who is trying to understand why we want to adopt from Africa. Watch it.) I have a "feeling" we will no longer be looking to adopt babies ;)

Update on progress: Joe has news about a new job option that he will be posting about soon. I am in the process of experimenting with my sewing talents to make something people would love to buy to help fund our adoption. Right now most things are just ideas. If any of you have ideas on fund raising let us know. Hopefully we will get started on those things soon! 

Where God is leading us

So last night I was reading a blog written by Sallee, whom I met at Macy's Ballet class. She had written about a give away so I clicked on this link and ended up watching this video. Those 15 minutes have changed our lives. Our 5 years together have gone something like this: we will have 3 kids and then maybe we will adopt, to we have 4 kids and one day we will adopt, to we have 4 kids and must start our adoption journey now! I have felt that lately God was leading us in this direction with more force than usual but last night He spoke directly to my heart with full force and I know that NOW is the time to get started. I know that NOW being the time won't make sense to anyone else. We have 4 children already, Joe doesn't have a "real" job, we don't own a home, and we have never had very much money but who are we to question God? Nonetheless I have in fact questioned Him on this one. Really? Me? Where will we get the money? Why?! Can I really do this? The answer to all those is simply Faith. We must have Faith and Trust in God. So here is where we are today... We have chosen to go international. Due to our ages and the number of children already in our home we don't have a large selection of countries so it looks like we will be adopting from Ethiopia. We for sure want a boy possibly 2 and in fact would like to adopt them both at once if it's possible. The first step is for Joe to move up jobs from pizza hut delivery boy to teaching. There are new teaching postings every day now that the schools are getting their contracts in. He has an interview with the DCS in Shelbyville soon and although it's not exactly what we want God has a plan. If this is what God has planned for us then let it be so.
We really need encouragement, guidance and prayers! So please pray that Joe gets a better paying job soon and for God's guidance. Somewhere (possibly not yet conceived) our child is waiting. I want to get to him as soon as possible!

...once our eyes are opened we can't pretend we don't know what to do. God, who weighs our hearts and keeps our souls, knows that we know and holds us responsible to act. Proverbs 24:12