TRAVEL DATES!!

So I am sure most of you have heard, but if not, we will be flying to Eastern Europe on January 4th-11th to meet Nate!!  Months of paperwork, FBI background checks, fundraising......and we made it this far!  Now, if you will remember, this it only trip #1.  We will return in 4-6 months to bring him home for reals.  This trip, we will meet him and spend roughly 4 hours a day with him.  We recently got an updated report on him.  Sadly, not much has changed since his last report 1 year ago.  He still weighs only 17lbs.  Yes, 2 1/2 years old and weighs 17lbs.  So, basically he is the size of a 12 month old.  He functions at a 12 month old level as well (still crawling, still drinking out of a bottle).  But, we all know that will change drastically once we get him home!  Praise God!  You know, it dawned on me the other day when we got this report, that God knows me pretty well.  I know.  Not really a shocker.  But really.  I am not one of those moms that is really a "natural".  Being a mom doesn't come easy for me.  I do not just love all children.  (I know...terrible).  But, I do love *almost* all 12 month olds.  That age is my absolute favorite.  Well 12-18months.  So, it really is no surprise to me, that Nate is exactly at the size and stage he is supposed to be.  I have an idea that I will most likely fall in love with him pretty quick....as I do with most infants that age.  Yep.  God has HIS hand in this.  And, I am loving seeing HIS plan all unfold.  This has been the wildest, craziest ride of our lives, and it's only beginning.  But to be able to see how GOD perfectly maps this whole process out...WOW!  Just wow.  I could complain that it's taking too long, or that he is not where I want him to be developmentally.  But why?  God has this all planned out perfectly.  So, we will just sit back and enjoy this ride. 

In the next few weeks, you can be praying for us.  Pray for us as we prepare to travel.  Pray for Jack and Chandler as we leave them.  Pray for Nate.  Pray for the Lord to prepare our hearts for him as well as his for us.   Pray for safety in travel. And for peace while we are in a country with government problems (lots of protests going on which can be scary!).  Pray for patience.  And of course pray for Clay and I in our marriage....I am sure things like this can be stressful on the marriage.  Thank you for your support, prayers, and encouragement. 

We hope to be able to update often while we are gone and show you pictures of Nate.  Some orphanages do not allow photographs to be taken.  So you can pray for that as well.  ;) 

One Year

One Year.  Yep.  One year ago this weekend, Clay and I decided to answer God's call to adopt.  Obviously, the topic of adoption was something that God started stirring in each one of our hearts at a young age.  And, for me, I have had a draw to Down Syndrome individuals for as long as I can remember.  But, the sequence of events that occurred the first weekend of November 2012, brought all those pieces together.  It was Saturday night, and I was reading my friend's (who at that time I had never met in person) blog.  Misty was advocating for a sweet little DS boy who lived in Russia.  He was on the Reece's Rainbow website and she was his "Angel Tree Warrior" - something RR does every Nov/Dec to advocate for their orphans.  I read her blog.  I cried.  I worked up the courage to show it to Clay.  He liked it, but didn't really say much.  We went to bed.  The next morning, unbeknownst to us, was Orphan Sunday at church.  We sat down, they showed us a video, and I lost it.  I knew, Clay knew....as I have told you before, it was then that we knew it was time to answer God's call for our lives.  To push aside our fears and step out in faith.  Something that we had never done before.  So, here we are, one year later.  If you have followed this blog, you have followed us on this journey so far.  We first saw Nate's 5 month old baby picture on February 14th and officially committed to him (aka paid our first huge amount of money - so scary at the time!) 1 month later in March.  Fast forward to this week, one year after we answered God's call: we got the best news we have heard since this process started.  Our dossier was approved!!  We received our verbal referral!  We are waiting on the legal issues now of a written referral (should be about 3 weeks) and with that will come our travel dates.  Yes.  You read that right!! TRAVEL DATES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!   We should be meeting him late November/early December.  That is this month, y'all!!!  

My mind is spinning when I think about meeting him for the first time.  I guess it's like when I was pregnant with Jack and Chandler.  I would day dream about what they would look like, how we would bond, their little personalities.  And, then, fear would set in.  So.  Pretty much the same here.  I daydream often about Nate.  What does he look like now?  Will he look like the pictures we have?  Will he come to us immediately?  Will he look us in the eye?  Will he be able to walk?  Or eat regular food?  SO many questions.  And, I will be able to answer them before the end of this year!  But, then fear sets in.  This is for real!  We will have 3 children soon.  One of them with special needs!  Can we handle this?  And, I am quickly reminded of some advice that a man gave me at the very first information meeting I went to about adoption last November....."Fear is NOT from the LORD."  And then all these other sayings come to mind: "God does not call the equipped, HE equips the called."  HE EQUIPS THE CALLED.  Yes.  HE will be the only way we get through this.  He will supply us the patience, energy, love, grace, joy, understanding, forgiveness....that we need to be parents to Nate.  We can do this.  And we will.  Because, if we do not, our sweet little Nathaniel Luke will become another statistic.  Another child that dies in a mental institution.  Sorry for my bluntness, but that is a fact guys.  He will die if we do not go get him.  So, when I am being selfish and all about ME, I am reminded that God asks us to die to ourselves so that we can LIVE FOR HIM.  There are like 50 verses in the Bible talking about this.  For real.  Google it.  "Dying to Self in the Bible"......just do it...google that little phrase and see what pops up.  And then my eyes are opened.  Fear disappears.  And, I know that we can do this.  :) 

Run the Good Race!

Well, as much as I procrastinated, the Chosen race still arrived and last Saturday we joined over 1100 other participants in running for the cause of orphans around the world.  While it was a pretty grueling event in alot of ways, (5am wake-up call, aching calves and feet, etc...) we were so encouraged by the support of everyone on our team and others that we didn't even know.  We had over 30 runners join Team DomiNATE!  That far exceeded our expectations, which is one of the lessons God is showing us through this experience...He will provide beyond your expectations if you trust in Him and place no bounds or limits in your faith of what He can do!  Here's a video recap of the event: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tDP8ejTdTws&feature=youtu.be

Jenny finished the half-marathon in 2hrs and 35min (Jenny's time redacted at her request.) even though she was going slow to avoid injury.  I on the other hand was quite a bit slower and still felt like I was injured!  I finished in 2hrs and 59min.  It was really awesome to see families with adopted kids standing along the race route cheering us on and thinking we could be doing that with Nate in a year.  (I was excited just thinking of cheering next year instead of running!)
Jenny and I had both hoped we would hear about our travel to see Nate earlier in the week and then be able to go into the race last weekend with that news and excitement, but God had other plans.  We're still waiting to hear from his government regarding our application and travel dates, but I think God is showing us something in this.  He's preparing Nate and us for the time when He knows we will be ready to join our hearts as a family in the way He intends.  Keep praying for us through this preparation process and for Nate as God prepares him as well.  Pray for Jack and Chandler too.  They have been amazing all along, but we know they have questions and concerns too.

Lately, a thought has been constant during my prayer time and I think it applies in alot of situations in life, but in particular, it is something I need reminding of as we wait in this process.  It's this simple thought:  "It's not always God's will that I understand...just that I trust and obey."  I've been searching and praying for understanding when I need to be praying for trust instead.

Thanks to everyone for the supporting us in the race last week and we're looking forward to sharing any news about our progress with you as it comes.

Love,

Clay and Jenny

The Abundant Life

"And God is able to bless you abundantly, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work."  2 Corinthians 9:8

This is Clay.  I haven't written a post in a while, (Jenny's been doing a great job on that front keeping everyone informed of how things are going and what we're learning on the journey.) but I felt like I needed to share some things that I've realized recently.  I've been overwhelmed lately at God's goodness in our lives and the transformation He has made and continues to make in us as we draw near to Him and seek His will.  In my prayer time this last week, I was thinking about His amazing goodness when the words Abundant Life came to mind.
These aren't terms you hear everyday so I've really been focusing on them and thinking about what they mean to me.

I remember when Jenny and I moved to San Antonio a little over 6 years ago.  We were excited to be back in Texas and even more excited to have family nearby.  As we settled into this new phase of our lives we began to acquire all the usual things that go along with it.  I was doing well at work and so was Jenny, so we bought a house, some cars, and pretty quickly we assimilated into suburbia.  If you had asked me if we were living in abundance at the time, I would have said Yes.  But I would have been answering with the wrong definition. Even though we had so much and had a loving family around us, something was missing.  One night driving home from church, I remember Jenny and I talking about how we'd been in San Antonio for a few years and didn't feel like we had any friends.  It was one of those moments where you don't realize how lonely you are until you actually say it.  We had no one other than family that was in fellowship with us and similarly, there was nothing in our lives beyond our work and family that we were connected to.  It's not like we intended this to happen, it just did.  We kept to ourselves, didn't engage people on a personal level and pretty soon, we were living in a way that was isolated and self-absorbed because we had nothing else to be absorbed in.  Thankfully, God has begun to show us what true abundance means.     

In the last two years, we've gone from a sense of isolation and loneliness to being a part of a community of people that care deeply for one another and we've begun to build rich relationships that go beyond surface level talk of weather and sports.  As this has happened, I've also seen the impact it has had on my children and wife.  They've grown through their relationships with others and it's made my relationship with each of them more fulfilling and meaningful as a result.  ALL of this...is part of God's plan in preparing us for the "Good Works" that he has prepared in advance for us to do (Ephesians 2:10).  God can change us on His own if He chooses, but throughout the Bible, we see how God's preference is to use others and our interactions with them to develop new qualities and strengths in us that He will put to use.  I know that Nate will benefit greatly from these relationships and our community as we bring him home and introduce him to everyone and I'm excited to see how God uses him to teach each of us as well.

As I sat back in a lawn chair this weekend and watched my kids play with church friends and neighbors and listened to the laughter of people standing and sitting all around my driveway, I felt a profound sense of peace and gratitude to my Heavenly Father for showing me how truly rich He will make us as we follow His way.  I may not always have a house, a job, a car, or my health, but I have so much abundance in the friendship and love of my fellow brothers and sisters that everything else doesn't seem to matter that much.  That's the kind of priority shift that I needed and it is one that's truly transformational.

Praise God!

Finally!

Whew.  We did it.  We finally submitted our dossier.  So, it was only about 2 months later than we expected.  I am quite sure we could have hit more bumps in the road and it taken longer, but possibly not.  ;) I feel like we hit quite a few.  The latest is one that just proves that when you make a decision like this, you immediately enter into spiritual warfare.  It has been obvious from the beginning.   And, Satan didn't stop this past month!  Amazing story to show just how good our God is.  So, we had been waiting for a very important document to come in the mail - when we began this process they told us it can take 30-90 days to complete this part of the adoption.  And, of course, when we passed the 90 day mark, I wasn't really surprised since everything has taken SO long for us.  But, I was a little worried because we knew we had been approved and were counting on this document to come in the mail.  8 days after approval, it still had not come.  So, I just assumed it was lost in the mail.  Great.  Well, 2 Sundays ago, we got to speak in church about our adoption.  That was pretty cool.  Afterward, we went to lunch with Clay's parents and when we pulled into the driveway, we saw this man standing at our front door.  He came up to the car, holding THE DOCUMENT, and said, "This came in the mail to my house this week.  I live 3 neighborhoods over and, well, it looked kind of important, so I just thought I would bring it to you."  I am guessing the U.S. immigration logo at the top tipped him off.  :)  I immediately started freaking out.  And crying.  He probably thought I was crazy.  But oh. MY. GOODNESS!!!!  He could have thrown it away.  Or sent it back.  But, he didn't.  He took the time and effort to hand deliver it to us!  What a blessing!  God is good ya'll.  He is watching over this.  Even when the enemy is pulling out all the stops.  So, that document completed our dossier and now it is on it's way to our agency social worker, who will mail it to Eastern Europe next week!!!  So, what does this mean???  TRAVEL DATES ARE NEXT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  WE GET TO MEET HIM!  Again, I am not going to try to guess when.  Okay, yes I will....maybe late October/early November????  Who knows.  Who cares.  We are traveling to see OUR SON in the next couple of months.  Awesome!

Every day this becomes more real.  And, every day, I love him a little more. I know I have said that before.  But, it's true.  Last night was a pretty amazing night.  We met with a couple of other families from our church who have adopted.  It was so encouraging for me.  To listen to their struggles.  To hear how real and raw all of this can be.  And when I expressed concern and honestly feel like I am not "cut out" for all of this, I was encouraged to hear that yes, I was.  God has called us to do this.  Therefore, HE has equipped us.  We are ready ....we just have to be willing to ASK GOD for HIS help in getting through it.  I cannot even begin to express what an incredibly HUGE blessing our church family has been to us since this process started.  Last night, one of the Dad's prayed for Nate.  (Yep...that's his name.  For real.  Nathaniel Luke Richey.  Nate.  Done deal. At church someone called him "Nate-dawg" and that was all I needed to hear!  He is gonna be one cool cat.....or dawg I guess I should say.  Spiked hair.  Handing out high-5s.  Yep.  Nate-dawg.) And today I got a text from a friend from Life group who is running in the Chosen race telling me how bad it was training this morning, but that she had prayed for Nate during her run.  Life Groupers, Crossbridgers.....you all have blessed us beyond measure.  Clay and I will never be able to fully express how much you all mean to us.  We truly love you as family.  And are so thankful for all of you.  Thank you for praying over us and with us.  Thank you for praying for Nate.  And thank you for already loving him. 

So....a couple of housekeeping items.....fundraisers coming up -----
(1) September 7th 4pm-8pm  BBQ/Silent auction 
(2) October - garage sale!!  Give us your junk....but maybe wait a few weeks if you can! We like to park our car IN the garage! 
(3) October 26th - Chosen Marathon

Email me if you have any questions about how to participate in these!  jen_flahive@hotmail.com

And that will complete our fundraising.  I really feel like God has been telling me to stop after that.  I know HE will take care of the rest.  I have faith in that.  We are $15k short right now.  Wait, $14k short...we had an amazing church family give us a check for $1000 a few weeks ago.  It's all good.  If you know me, you know I am a money worrier.  But, I have absolute and complete faith that we will get the rest of the money to bring Nate home.  It's all good.  :)

Polluted

"Religion that God accepts as pure and faultless is this:  to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world."  James 1:27

Polluted by this world.  Interesting term.  And interesting that I keep seeing this over. And over.  And over. Lately.  Yeah, yeah, yeah.  We are adopting.  Orphans, widows, blah blah blah.  But the last part of this verse struck me today.  And, it was after watching a video (yes I will share it with you at the bottom of the post!).  And it opened my eyes.  Ironically, after a very in depth conversation about the exact same thing with Clay last night.  Gotta love how God works when HE is trying to tell us something, right!  ;)   I guess I should tell you a bit about the conversation.  It started because our 10 year anniversary is coming up in a couple of weeks.  10 years.  That's kind of a big deal these days....pretty sad, but it is.  So, I remember for oh, like the past 9 years saying that for our 10 year anniversary we would go on a Mediterranean Cruise to Greece and Italy.  That was always the plan.  Well, we all know what has happened to OUR plans lately.  Out the window.  So, we are opting to take a 24 hr trip to Austin and stay at a hotel that we found on Priceline for cheap, then go out to Vintage Villas where we got married and make a date of it. Not quite a 14 day cruise.  And, then he leaves for Hawaii the next week for a conference at work.  And am I going with him?  Nope.  Why?  Well.  We have 5 (4 round trip and 1 one way - praise God for that ONE WAY ticket!!!  Whoohoo!) international airplane tickets we will be paying for in the next year so, that isn't exactly in the cards for us right now.  And, I am just going to be honest.  Because, well, I am already being told we are crazy for adopting, so since you already think I am a nut job, what do I care.  So, in all honesty, I was upset that I was not going to Hawaii too.  I mean, wouldn't you be?  So, that has been going on in the Richey family.  No fighting ....just discussions.  And last night we were discussing the WHY of things.  WHY do we, as Americans, want more.  Why do we want to drive the Lexus instead of the Toyota.  Why do women want a $400 purse?  Why do I feel sorry for myself that I gave up pedicures every month since we started this adoption...and now I only get 2 a year.  Why do I feel sorry for myself that we typically only eat out once a week since the adoption started.  Why do I feel like buying a new dress will make me feel pretty.  Why do I want to get chemical peels and facials and get rid of my "pregnancy spots" on my face? The list goes on.  But, basically, I have come to the conclusion of all of this.  Because I have been POLLUTED.  Polluted by this world.  Pretty sad.  I guess it's something else I can blame my parents for.  Totally kidding Mom.  Hahaha!  But, I would have to say that oh, probably 99% of Americans think this way.  They want MORE.  After all...it IS the American Dream.  But, lately, I just don't care.  Ok.  I still care.  But, I am TRYING not to.  I told Clay recently, I just want to move away.  Get out of this bubble we live in and go make a difference in the world.  And, what are we teaching our kids?  Anyways, just some thoughts I have been having.  Wondering if anyone else thinks of this stuff.  But.  I wanted to share this video.  It'll make you think.  If it doesn't, may God have mercy on your soul.  Kidding.  Maybe.  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8mVI-jDbtUI&feature=youtu.be

Oh...adoption news....NONE.  Still waiting.  Hope to submit our dossier soon.  But, I have been saying that for a while now.  Ugh.  Waiting on one last set of fingerprints to get approved and then we can submit.  And then it's more waiting.  :)   Growing patience is something I am getting pretty good at these days.  And resting in knowing God's perfect timing is better than any plan I could make!  Praying for our sweet boy.  Oh...and BTW.....might be a name change.  I just can't get used to "Nate". I am calling him "Matthew" again....I think we will know his name once we actually get to meet him.  You can call him what you want.  I will know who you are talking about.  ;)

Where are we?

 


So, it's been a while since a blog post.  We have had some progress the past 6 weeks with the adoption.  In terms of where we are in the process....we are hoping to be able to mail off our dossier in about a month???  Obviously, we cannot control the timing of anything, that is just a hopeful goal.  Still a few more things to do (and wait on) until we can do that.  BTW, the dossier is basically just your life in a big stack of paper.  Your medical history, financial, history, home study...and the list goes on.  Once we submit that, it goes to our country to be translated and then we should get our travel dates in about 8 weeks.  So, we are hoping to travel to meet our little guy in October/November.  Again, we have no control over any of this.  And the country were our son is, actually has a nice long 1 month government holiday in the middle of all of this, so that could push things too.  But, one thing I have learned in my life is that, while I may not understand, is that God's timing is much better than mine!  So, we wait patiently.  And in the midst of it all, we pray that our little one is safe and healthy and being taken care of and maybe held and loved on a little.   I think for me, that is one of the hardest parts of this process.  I don't know what his orphanage is like.  I don't know how often he gets taken out of his crib, or held, or gets a diaper change!  But, I do have faith that God is watching over him.  And I pray often that he would know that he is loved.

So, what else?  Where are we in the financials you may wonder.  So,  big news!  The race brought in a great amount of money!  Thank you to all of you who participated!!  It was so much fun to see our friends and family out supporting us!!  So, up to this day, we have made about $10,000 in fundraising or personal donations!!!!  Wow!!  Isn't God great!!!  That leaves another $15,000 to go!!!  We started this process in March....guys!  That is only 3 months!!  And we have about 9 months to make up the rest!!  We can do this!!  We are planning to participate in the Chosen Marathon this fall....so if you are a runner (or know runners!) we would love for you to join Team Richey!!  We will also do another garage sale in October.  So, we will gladly take your stuff for that.  There are other things in the works (ok.  Maybe not in the works.  I have been a little blah on fundraising lately.  But, soon, we will get going on those and let you all know!)

Right now at church we are studying the book of James.  Our study this week was James 1:1-12. 
^"2 Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters,^[a] whenever you face trials of many kinds, ³ because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. ⁴ Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. ⁵ If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you. ⁶ But when you ask, you must believe and not doubt, because the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. ⁷ That person should not expect to receive anything from the Lord. ⁸ Such a person is double-minded and unstable in all they do."

"¹² Blessed is the one who perseveres under trial because, having stood the test, that person will receive the crown of life that the Lord has promised to those who love him."

Read those words again.  And again. This whole process is hard.  But, God tells us to consider these trials "pure joy".  Those may not be my words of choice at times  ;)  but I do think it is making me stronger.  And that, is pure joy!  I love to see growth in myself.  I love to watch the Lord open my heart and my eyes to those in need.   A few times I have made references to "the old Jenny" and "the new Jenny" when I talk to Clay.  Now, I am a work in process.  Always have improvements to be made and this work in me is never completed.  But, I am working daily to be the type of person that God intended me to be.  One full of grace, love, and joy.   And, some days are better than others.  The days I have worked all day and come home and have to get dinner on the table and am just exhausted.  Those are the days I stumble.  Or, the days I have been home all day and the kids are driving me nuts.  But, if we ask God for the wisdom and HIS strength, then we can persevere.  

So, this is a little subject change.  But, it's been on my heart.  The other night, Clay and I were talking.  He had read ahead for next week's study.  James 2.  I am sure you may have heard "Faith without works is dead".  Have you?  Here ya go...

"¹⁴ My brothers and sisters, if a person claims to have faith but does nothing, that faith is worth nothing. Faith like that cannot save anyone. ¹⁵ Suppose a brother or sister in Christ comes to you in need of clothes or something to eat. ¹⁶ And you say to them, “God be with you! I hope you stay warm and get plenty to eat,” but you don’t give them the things they need. If you don’t help them, your words are worthless. ¹⁷ It is the same with faith. If it is just faith and nothing more—if it doesn’t do anything—it is dead.
¹⁸ But someone might argue, “Some people have faith, and others have good works.” My answer would be that you can’t show me your faith if you don’t do anything. But I will show you my faith by the good I do. ¹⁹ You believe there is one God. That’s good, but even the demons believe that! And they shake with fear."

Ok.  I will start with saying.....Just because I am adopting a kid doesn't mean I don't have to do other things.  So, I am not exempt.  But, it's been weighing heavily on my heart that I have several friends who call themselves Christians, but let's just say don't exactly act like that.  "Faith without works is dead."  Think about those words.  So, do you really think that when Jesus comes back for us, do you think you will be saved?  I am not judging. I don't know the answer to that.  Only God does.  And, I am the first to admit that I lived 22 years as a luke warm Christian.  But, I will tell you what I told Clay the other day.  I do not want Jesus to come back, and our friends not get to join us in heaven. So, this is me, asking you, my friends, to just think about your life.  Where are you spiritually?  And, let me just say, going to church every week and checking off that "box" isn't gonna cut it.  I know.  Bummer right?  Compare it to anything in life.  Let's say working out, going to the gym one day a week and not eating right....you will never get that body you want. 
Again.  Not judging.  Just want to put a little bug in your ear.  Start thinking about it.  Praying about it.  What does God want you to do next?  Not sure?  Ask HIM.  HE will let you know!

Now, a couple of pics from the race!

 

Humbled

Wow!  What a crazy weekend.  The garage sale fundraiser was a huge success!!  Thank you to each and every one of you who donated goods, came out to help with set up/manage garage sale, and just stopped by to say hi!  We are so blessed by your help!  A huge shout out to our Life Group.  SO many of you guys stopped by or helped.  We love each and every one of you guys and are so thankful for your placement in our lives during this season.  So, before the garage sale, I really had a feeling that we were going to have a good result.  And did we ever!!  We made exactly what our goal was!!  Such an encouragement of God's faithfulness!  My eyes have been opened so much to what happens when you "LET GO AND LET GOD" as the saying goes.  We have seen God's provision, and I am certain that we will continue to until we reach our ultimate goal of $25,000 to bring our little munchkin home!  Every day I fall more in love with him.  And every day, I grow impatient to get to meet him.  We are still so far out.  And things seem to be moving so slow.  Clay has been traveling nonstop lately.  Which basically puts a lot of the stuff we can do on hold.  But, I do know that God's timing is perfect.  And he has this whole process perfectly mapped out for us.  So, I will *try* to relax and continue to LET GOD. 

I continue to be amazed by people during this process.  I will admit, before all of this, I really had gotten a bit of a negative attitude towards people.  I had lost faith in mankind.  But, man have my eyes been opened.  A few weeks ago at church we had a family that we do not know very well, come up to us and hand us a check for $500.  They, too, had adopted, but still!  That is no small chunk of change!  Saturday at the garage sale, a family from our life group gave us a check for $200.  What a blessing!  An old friend from my old playgroup not only gave us a ton of stuff for our garage sale, but also a check for $100.  And Sunday, I got a text from an old friend that I used to work out with every morning at Crossfit.  We haven't seen each other in several months.  She had texted me a while back and said that for Lent, she was giving up her cheat meal every week.  And she wanted the money she would spend on it to go to our adoption.  WOW!  So, I met her yesterday and she gave me $100 for our little guy.  Really!?  Tonight I got an email from a friend from nursing school telling us they wanted to send money.  I am completely humbled by each one of these people.  God is using them to show me His faithfulness and provision.  I feel so blessed to know each and every one of these people.  But, it's not just those who have given us money.  It's those who have prayed over us.  Said encouraging words, or just been there to listen to us talk about our little guy.  We are so thankful for our support system.  Thank you, all of you, who pray for us through this walk.  We love all of you and hope that we can one day be there for you the way you have been for us. 

John 15:12-15 “This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends. You are my friends if you do what I command you. No longer do I call you servants, for the servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all that I have heard from my Father I have made known to you.

Exciting news - Short and sweet!

Another NON- adoption blog post!  But, this HAD to be documented.  And, since I am not a journal person, or a blogger  (this doesn't really count does it?), I will document it here!  Last night in the Richey house was a big one!  Tuesday nights I am not home because I am busy making people want to puke at Crossfit Endurance classes (yes, I find pure joy in this!).  So, unfortunately, I missed the biggest thing to happen at our house yet.  But, I got the full report when I got home.  Last night, our sweet sweet Jack made a decision that will change his life forever.  He and Clay were in his bed for his normal nighttime routine, and he told Clay "Daddy, when I die, I want to go to heaven."  He wasn't asking how this happens, he wasn't asking questions about it.  He knew.  He knew without a doubt that he was ready to make that decision.  That would change his eternal existence.  The topic had come up a few times before, and Clay and I just thought to ourselves, he is too young.  He doesn't really understand.  So, we answered his questions, but never acted on them.  Well, last night was different.  And, Clay knew.  So, Clay pulled out his handy Iphone Bible app, and went over Romans 3:23 with him.  And then they prayed together, and Jack accepted Jesus Christ as his personal Savior!  I was in tears when Clay told me about it.  This is what we long for in life....our children...the little creatures that we love most in this world, to decide to follow Jesus!  What an awesome thing!  We just kind of have a feeling that Jack is going to take after his namesake and go into the ministry one day.  We could be wrong.  Just a hunch.  He has such a pure view.  I love how innocent children are.  They are not yet corrupted by this world we live in.  So innocent.  So simple.  So pure.  One day we will have that pure life again.  Can. Not. Wait! 

Giving HIM the Glory

So I will start with saying this blog post isn't really about adoption.  Whew.  Nice change huh?  ;)  It's about something I heard today at church that got to me.  And, the funny thing is, I have heard this about a million times throughout my Christian life.  But.  Today it just made sense.  Sadly, it made sense because this is the first time in the 22 years of being a Christian, that I was actually READY to hear it.  Sad.  Why do we do that?  If we don't want to hear something important we just block it out, ignore it.  So, I will just get down to it.  The thing that got to me was when Pastor Kirk said, "you have to be willing to DIE to live your life for Jesus."  Yeah, yeah, yeah.  Heard it a million times.  So why was it different today?  And, let's think about this.  Am I willing to give up everything I have for God?  Really?  Because if the answer is no, then, well, things, they gotta change!  Why do we get SO caught up in ourselves.  In our lives, our kids, our house, our clothes, our next meal, where our kids go to school (ugh- always a dilemma for Jenny!).  Why are we so selfish.  Kirk explained it perfectly.  Because we are imperfect beings.  We are sinful.  It is human nature to be selfish.  To not want to give up everything for others.  And, the American way of life does nothing but encourage that thought process.  So does that excuse us?  NO.  Read this verse from Matthew 10:38-39
"If you refuse to take up your cross and follow me, you are not worthy of being mine.  If you cling to your life, you will lose it; but if you give up your life for me, you will find it.”  What?  For reals?  You mean, I have to give up MY plans, MY hopes, MY dreams for you, God?  No way.  I can't do that?  Well.  I mean, we kind of are.  We are starting to.  All of Clay and my plans for our future have been thrown out the window to follow God's plans for our lives.  And are we better off?  HECK YES!  I could write a whole other blog post on how we have been blessed just the past month with living our lives for HIM.  But, I have a confession.  So, we are definitely doing that on the adoption front.  But, are we doing it in other aspects of our lives?  Hmmm.  Good question.  Kirk shared a verse today about doing things "without grumbling".  Oh.  Uh oh.  If you know me, you know I am a "grumbler".  ;)  Darn.  Have to stop that too.  So, is this easy?  No.  Will we stumble and fall.  Yes.  Do we need to worry about all of this?  NO!  Now, read this other verse from Matthew 6:31-33, "So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’  For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them.  But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well."  Ok.  Maybe I can do this.  Stop worrying.  Stop focusing on things that don't matter.  Focus on GOD.  You know, I will share a little inside view of the Richey house just to give an example of this.  A couple weeks ago, when we were signing paperwork to be sent to a certain Eastern European country, we realized that soon after the paperwork gets there and is cleared, we will need to send another $8000 to our agency.  What?  We just sent $3500.  Well, Jenny had a little meltdown.  Ok.  A huge meltdown.  Freaking out about where the money would come from.  Clay (who hardly ever worries about things - especially financial) says, "we will just take it out of savings."  Yeah.  Sure we will.  When I disagreed calmly...ok.  Not calm.  At. All.  Clay says, "Jenny.  This is not our money anyways.  We are going to use this money for God's purpose.  He will take care of us.  He will provide.  What do you need the money for anyways?"  Um.  I don't know.  Rainy day funds are nice to have.  But Clay was right.  God promised us in Matthew that He will provide if we are living for Him.  And you know what?  In some ways, it is so freeing to just let go of all the "plans".  To just enter life like you are some awesome ride.  To go out and live each day to better yourself and others.  To give it all up and hand it all over to GOD.  So, that is just what we are going to do.  Will it be easy?  No.  It will be hard.  Did I share that verse from Galations 1:10 on the last post?  If so, then I am sorry.  But I just love it.  So, here it is again, "Am I now trying to win the approval of human beings, or of God? Or am I trying to please people? If I were still trying to please people, I would not be a servant of Christ."  Yes.  Stop worrying about what others think.  Cause, when it gets down to it, that is what prevents me from doing things I know I should go out and do.  Right?  That or just laziness.  So, what's your excuse?  I am sick of making excuses.  It's time to get real.  Will it be easy.  No.  Will I always be successful.  No.  Some days you may see me and you may just laugh that Jenny can't handle things.  Well, that may be true.  But, I am working on it.  And, God knows my heart.  And He knows yours.  Let's do this together.  Let's give HIM the glory. 

Meet HIM

 SO.  The big news as most of you know.....we officially have a son.  Gosh, that sounds weird.  ;)  Due to country restrictions, we cannot tell you his name or what country he is in.  He is in Eastern Europe.  He will turn 2 in June.  And, we have about 12 months before we get to bring him home.  Isn't he the sweetest thing?  I laugh that they have him in a Mickey Mouse shirt.  When I show Chandler his picture, she calls him Goofy.  Seems appropriate to a 3 year old, I suppose!  12 months before we bring him home.  In some ways, I am relieved.  More time for me to get past this fear of a 3rd child!  But, when I get past the ME...then it becomes about him.  And then, more about HIM...and serving HIM.  At our last adoption meeting at our agency, the lady told us, "adoption is not about you.  It is about the child."  So, so true.  God has asked us to give up our plans and take in this child.  This awesome, perfect child.  I get so sad thinking about him sitting in his crib, alone, with no mommy or daddy to sing to him or kiss him or love him.  No big brother and sister to play with him.  He is almost 2 and still drinking out of a bottle!  No real food yet!!  Boy, are we going to fatten that kid up!!  ;)  We have been chosen, hand picked by GOD to raise this beautiful child.  How blessed are we?  And, it's true.  This is about him.  It has nothing to do with us.  We have pledged to *try* to forget about ourselves in this life.  It is now about him, while serving HIM.  We have had so many people tell us "I am glad there are people like you out there....I could never do that."  Be careful what you say!  I would have said the same thing a year ago!  LOL!!  I read the most amazing verse this week: Galations 1:10 "Am I now trying to win the approval men, or of GOD?  Or am I trying to please men?  If I were still trying to please men, I would not be a servant of Christ."  WOW!!!  Pretty awesome.  And pretty true.  Being a true servant of Christ is no easy walk in the park.  But, again, we knew that.  It is an absolute honor to dedicate our lives to God's will.  We are thrilled to welcome this child into our family.  12 months.  Oh.  12 months and I get to hold him.  And rock him.  And love him.  He has never experienced love.  Break.  My. Heart.  But he will.  He will know that he is loved.  Not only by his family, but by his heavenly Father.  And it makes my heart melt to think that one day, he will know of Jesus' love for him.  And, that my friends, is redemption. 

So, what happens over the next 12 months?  Lots more paperwork.  And more background checks.  Tomorrow is our home study.  So say a prayer for us!  Am I worried or nervous.  No.  Not at all.  Our social worker is super nice.  And honestly, we are super awesome so why wouldn't we pass!!  Totally kidding!!  ;)  But, it will be nice to have that checked off of our list!  And what else will be going on the next 12 months?  Fundraising!!!  The photography fundraiser was a hit!!!  We made $1000!  Thank you Shannon!!  Our garage sale is coming up in April, so if you have anything you want to get rid of, bring it over!  We would love to sell it for you!  Our goal is $1-2k!!!  Ok.  Maybe just $1k.  ;)  And the biggest most exciting fundraiser!!!!  We have been asked to be a sponsored family in the ONE LESS race  in Boerne!!!!!!  http://www.onelessrace.com/default.html  Check it out!!  This is a HUGE deal guys!  And we would love for all of our friends to participate.  We are so blessed by this opportunity.  We are also thinking about doing a dinner/auction.  But, we need some things to auction!!!  If you have any ideas or are a business owner and would like to help out, let us know!

So, that is it for updates for now.  Feeling super blessed and thankful.  I read a quote on pinterest this week that made me laugh:  "God gives us only what we can handle.  Apparently, God thinks I am a bad ass."  LOL!!!  Yep.  Praise HIM for the ups and downs this process brings us.   It is only making us stronger. 

God WINS. Every. Time.

Wow.  What a week.  Traveling husband.  Sick kids.  And just that over all stressed out feeling of knowing there is so much to get done, and no time to complete it all.  And when you are down, what do you think Satan is going to do?  Yep.  Kick you harder and push you down further.  Cause that's how he rolls.  Alot has happened with us lately.  And this week was the biggest punch to the gut I have gotten - so far.  In some ways it was a great week on the adoption front.  But, on Thursday night I had a complete meltdown.  One of those meltdowns where you question "Why!!  Why God are you doing this?  Why did you call us to do this?"  Because, as I have said before, our life is *easy* by so many's definition.  Why would we change that?  But I saw a little thing on Pinterest this week that I should share : "We must be willing to let go of the life we have planned, so as to have the life that is waiting for us."  Hmmm.  Saw that on Tuesday.   Posted it to FB.  Kept thinking about it.  Fast forward 2 days and meltdown and questioning of God.  Fast forward 2 more days to Saturday.  Spent our entire day in a meeting with our adoption agency learning about all sorts of things, but mainly about how hard adoption is...after the kid comes home.  How do deal with all the emotional baggage they may have.  How to parent.  How to parent your biological children that are coping with the change.  And more, oh let's say, stressful topics.  So, again.  Thinking to myself, "why are we doing this?  What was God thinking by asking this of us!?"  And then it hit me.  I remembered something that my dear and most awesome friend, Shannon sent me in an email recently : "It's your job and Clay's job to thank God for the storm. Thank Him that he's allowing you to go through this storm. Thank Him that he thought so highly of you to choose you for this journey."  Wow.  Did I mention that I freaking love that girl!  She is amazing.  :)  He promised us hard times.  In fact my first blog talked about that.  So why am I surprised?!!  LOL!!  God chose us.  He is asking us do to his work.  We can do nothing but say YES.  And, once again, confirmation came today in church.  Have I mentioned that I love our church.  Our pastor is beyond amazing.  Perhaps it's because he too is a Baylor grad?  Nah.  He just knows exactly what to say when we need to hear it.  Ok, God does, but God uses Kirk perfectly.  Today he talked about "cat theology" and "dog theology"...and how cats and dogs are like different kinds of Christians.  Are you a cat or a dog?  Cats are all about ME.  They don't get excited about other people.  They focus on themselves.  Dogs - well, they bounce off the walls when people come around.  They are excited to see people and want to please them.   They do things for others.  God wants us to be like dogs.  We have to put others first.  And get excited about it!  Live with purpose and don't worry about how it will work out.  If God is asking you to do something, then go out and do it.  And HE will take care of the rest.  Whew.  The confirmation we needed to keep on plugging on.  (And yes, I am horrible at explaining things and Kirk's version was awesome while mine is terrible I know!)  But, it is just proof again that we are on the right track.  And all the doubts, concerns, stress from people continuing to question us (ugh - can't you people get a clue!!!  STOP asking us if we have thought about this.  I refuse to have that conversation any more.  Did I say that outloud?  Sorry.  It's my blog and I can say what I want.), are just going to continue to LOSE.  GOD wins.  HE is in control of this situation.  We are letting HIM control our moves, decisions, plans.  HE wins.  We are taking the backseat and following HIS lead.  And, it is just plain awesome to be on this ride. 

So, news for you guys.  Yes.  We have some.  Lots of some.  Maybe we will tell you one day.  LOL!  But, for now....we have picked the country.  Definitely going with Bulgaria.  Easy travel, cheapest, and some pretty darn cute kiddos!!  Pretty cool.  Also, please pray for next Saturday.  Pray for nice weather and no more cancellations b/c we are doing our Photography fundraiser!!!!  YAY!!  Did I mention that I love you, Shannon!?  ;)  We are working on a couple other fundraisers too (golf tournament, garage sale, tshirts, dinner/auction) so we will keep you posted as those come around. 

The Called

Well hello there!  Before you ask, I will tell you...nothing much to report!  Still plugging away at doctor's visits, blood work, referrals, financial information, pictures of the house and ourselves, reading books and writing reports, and education hours.  WOW!  This adoption stuff is involved!!  Yesterday when I was cleaning the house to take pictures of every room for the home study, I found myself a little annoyed.  But, quickly, my heart changed.  And I was excited.  When I completed that task, I was one step closer to bringing our child home.  And, that, my friends, is how I am choosing to look at this process.  I feel like I can't get to him fast enough....even though we don't even know who "he" is yet!  I love how God is preparing us daily for this adventure.  Clay's devotional was so fitting last night.  And, next week I start a weekly Bible study at church that will stay in line with what we are doing.  We truly do feel the calling to change our lives.  And you know it's funny.  We have had some people question us.  And I completely respect that.  But, you guys have to understand something here.   We did not choose this.  We are not qualified to do this.  GOD chose this for us.  And we are just listening to HIS request.  Believe me, the easy life of having only 2 children and everything mapped out, is way tempting.  But, we cannot go that road when we KNOW GOD has chosen this road for us.  I heard something very interesting last week and again today.  "God does not call the qualified.  He qualifies the called."   WOW!  That is right, we are not qualified to do this.  But we do know that we are called.  And the amount of change we have seen in our lives since November when we answered the call, has been amazing.  We see GOD like we never have before.  He is working miracles in our life and we are so blessed by HIS grace.   I think Clay and I lived so many years as "luke-warm" Christians, that is just became our norm.  But, oh my.  Were we missing out!!  If you are floating through your life not making GOD your priority, then I challenge you to change that.  Now, I am not saying you need to go out and adopt a kid.  Or fly to Africa and become a missionary.  But, spend time with GOD, and he will reveal HIS purpose for you.  Clay and I have found our purpose.  And my heart jumps with joy at the thought of living out that purpose to glorify GOD. 

I want to say a HUGE thank you to my friend Shannon for the photography fundraiser.  Also, thank you to all of you who signed up!  We will be contacting you soon!!   I am as always amazed by people and their support.  We are in the works of planning LOTS of fundraisers!!!  Clay is hoping to put together a golf tournament in April.  We also plan to do a dinner/auction sometime early summer.  We want to sell tshirts and are designing those as we speak!  And we also plan to do a HUGE garage sale in April....so if you have things you want to get rid of, bring them our way!!!  We will gladly sell your junk!!!!  ;) 

So, we are hoping to have the homestudy completely done by March.  We still have not found out who our kiddo is, but (for this week!) we are looking at Bulgaria and Lithuania.  Both countries have fairly easy travel and are cheaper (compared to others!).  Both countries usually take 12 months or less.  It is crazy to sit here and think our little guy could be here a year from now!!  But, the crazier part is knowing that he is out there, an ocean away, all alone without a mommy and daddy.  And we already love him.  And I just cannot wait to see what he looks like!  But, GOD will reveal that to us in HIS timing.  So, until next time.......

Fundraiser and news.

So, what's new with us?!  Alot, actually!!  We finally received our packets from our local agency and are in the process of collecting all the documents to get our home study  in full swing!  Very exciting!!!  And, a tad over whelming!  ;)  I am sure most of you heard about the whole ban on Russian adoptions.  That came as a big disappointment to us.  Just a week before we heard of the ban, Clay and I had actually, finally agreed on the cutest, sweetest little boy in Russia.  We still can't stop thinking about him!  So, you can pray that if this child is meant to be ours, God will open some doors to make that happen.  At this point, we are starting the home study process (which will take a few months), and if at the end of this process nothing has changed in Russia, we have decided to go with the Ukraine.  God knows where our child is and he will reveal that to us in His time!

So, what else??!!   It's FUNDRAISING TIME!!! 

I am beyond excited to announce our first fundraiser for our adoption.  I want to start with a huge thank you to God for blessing us with the most amazing friends.  I always knew I loved this friend, but today, when I got her email offering us 100% profits from this fundraiser, I was in complete tears.  At her love, encouragement, and just complete willingness to do this for our family and future child.  So, are you ready?  This is not some lame fundraiser!  This is pure awesome.  Drumroll please.......

On Saturday, March 2nd, at a location to be determined in the San Antonio area, the talented and awesome photographer, Shannon Lafayette, of Shannon Lafayette Photography, will be offering her services for 45 minute mini photo sessions.  She will offer times every hour from 9am until 4pm.  The cost will be $150 and you will receive a full resolution, completely edited CD of 10 of your favorite poses.  This is a great deal guys!!!  If you want to check out her website to see how talented she is, go for it!!  And then email me or respond below and let us know what time you would like.
www.shannonlafayettephotography.com  So, if you have been wanting some cute family shots, or maybe that special shot of the kids, this is your chance.  A great deal for a great cause!!