A MATCH MADE IN HEAVEN

Much to our shock, we already have a match.  PRAISE THE LORD.  HIS FINGERPRINTS HAVE BEEN SEEN THROUGHOUT THIS MATCH.
We received the news last week that we were matched with a dear birth mother.  I have had the chance to speak with her.  She has already found a place in my heart.  Please pray for her and her journey.  Pray for our relationship to grow.  Pray for trust.

THERE ARE THE DETAILS WE HAVE THIS FAR:

1.  We are having a GIRL.
2.  She is due October 28.
3.  We will be traveling to Arizona to be there when she is born. 
4.  We will need to stay in Arizona for a couple of weeks until we are legally allowed to leave.

PRAYERS:
1.  We are praying for wisdom, peace, and guidance through this time.
2.  We are praying for continued love and trust to develop between us and the birth mother.
3.  As always, we are praying for this little one.  She is dear to us.  We have been praying for her for a long time. 
4.  We still need to raise the rest of the fees for the adoption.

http://adopttogether.org/elliott/

 

5.  We are praying for people who have frequent flier miles to donate some to us to help pay for the plane tickets.

6.  I am praying for guidance on bottles and formula.  I have never used them.  Any advice is appreciated. 

7.  Praying for our family to grow together in love.

FEAR AND TRIATHLONS

Fear.

It is a horrible thing to over come.

It grips you.

It robs you of joy.

It steals opportunities from you.

Today, I had the chance to overcome...a chance to look it in the face and say ENOUGH.

I am afraid to get into murky water due to the fact that I witnessed a 5 year old drown when I was about 8 or 9 years old.  The event is so real in my mind that it is as fresh as if it happened yesterday.

I also can't swim.  I do the breast stroke with my head out of the water.

But I overcame by doing a short triathlon today with some of my friends while my husband competed in a larger tri.

RIGHT TO LEFT-KATHRIN, ANDREA, AND ME

In order to keep my focus as I faced my fears, I wrote the names of the heart babies who fight daily to overcome the obstacles they face .  Mattie fights daily to breath correctly yet he does it with a smile on his face.  Mattie, I ran for you, little one.  Keep fighting  so one day I can see you run.   

On the other hand, I wrote "Angel" to represent the little girl I saw drown in the very water I swam in today.  It was for her that I swam.

ANDREA AND I RUNNING IN FOR OUR SWIM.



I DIDN'T DROWN.





ON THE BIKE AND SOLID GROUND.



ANDREA JUST HAD A BABY.  YOU GO GIRL.

  

KATHRIN FINISHES.

FINISH LINE AT LAST

ANDREA COMPLETES HER TASK

THE GIRLS AFTER THEIR FINISH

BRYAN FINISHING HIS BIKE

MY SWEETIE JUST FEET FROM THE FINISH

THE ELLIOTT COUPLE AT THE FINISH TOGETHER.

BRYAN AND HIS FELLOWS AT THE END OF THE JOURNEY.

 

 

SO DO NOT FEAR,FOR I AM WITH YOU; DO NOT BE DISMAYED, FOR I AM YOUR GOD. I WILL STRENGTHEN YOU AND HELP YOU;I WILL UPHOLD YOU WITH MY RIGHTEOUS RIGHT HAND.

ISAIAH 41:10 

Help Us Celebrate

August 16 marks the 15th year of Caleb's life. 

We love and celebrate all of our children's birthday, but there is always an edge of gratitude for Caleb's.  There were days in his life that we didn't know if we would get to hold him, watch him grow, and love all that he is due to a birth defect called Transposition of the Great Vessels. 

 Caleb would love nothing more than to have others celebrate with him by helping in our adoption.  We are asking our friends and loved ones to donate $15.00 to honor Caleb and the blessing he is to us all(you could even move the decimal around if you would like:) Join in our celebration by  making a tax-deductible donation at http://adopttogether.org/elliott/

Caleb is always looking for a new way to earn or raise money for our adoption.  He will be thrilled to have people give on his behalf.

Happy Birthday Caleb:)



Denied But Not Defeated

On Saturday, I walked out to get the mail hopeful that we would receive information about a matching grant.  Much to my dismay, We were denied.   I ran to my room, locked the door, and cried. 

My ROCK tried to get into our room just as the sobs were flowing.  Once I told him why I was loosing it, he remained stable and sane...an act I had not succeeded at. 

We prayed and continued on our day.  The next morning the Lord gave me Mathew 6:33-34.  It states:

But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself.  Each day has enough trouble of its own. 

Please pray for peace as we wait on the Lord.  We don't know how we are going to come up with the remaining funds.  What I do know is that we are trusting him.  It is my job to seek his kingdom and let him do the rest.  If the Lord speaks to any of you on how we can work on the financial end(fund raisers and such), please email me at isaiah61min@yahoo.com

My Joy

3 John 1:4

I have no greater joy than this, to hear of my children walking in the truth.


My Sweet Liberty Joy accepted the Jesus Christ as her Lord and Savior this week. 

It was a joy to hear my husband read the Word of God and to witness the power of prayer as he prayed over her.

Joy filled my heart as I felt the power of the Spirit,

as I witnessed the tenderness of a father's love,

and as I observed my sweetie's excitement flow from her every being.

It was a JOY to have all my children gathered around to show their support.

JOY was present as I witnessed the love of Godly grandparents.

Liberty, you are

my JOY.



A Solution

There are no unwanted children---only unfound parents.

 

(I can't find where I found this quote to give credit.)

ABORTION FACTS IN THE UNITED STATES:

Number of abortions per year: 1.37 Million
Number of abortions per day: Approximately 3,700

This is one of the reasons that Bryan and I have chosen to adopt.  If there were no more abortions to ever take place again, what would happen to the children who had no one to raise them? 
Where would the 3,700 babies that are born a day go? 
We look at ADOPTION as a solution to ABORTION...the next step to being pro-life. 

http://adopttogether.org/elliott/

Kid's Tri

A little over a year ago, Bryan and I decided that we needed to take our health...our weight seriously. 

So...I called my nephew who was a personal trainer to come over twice a week and

kick us into gear.

It changed our lives.  We became a family who works out together.

I became the personal trainer that I always dreamed of being.  I train my family and I love it.  One of the things we train for is

TRIATHLONS.

TODAY WAS THE KID'S TRI.

We started out with Hosanna.  Being only 5, this was her first tri. 

She had to swim

25 yards.

The biking was 1 mile long.

Our little Itsy ran 1/4 of a mile. 

Much to our surprise,

HOSANNA WON 3RD PLACE.

Libby was in the 7-10 year old division.

She had to HUGE task of swimming 100 yards,

biking 2.5 miles and

running 1/2 a mile.

Libby placed 15th in the girls division.

Caleb was the first of my crew to jump into the water for the 11-14 year old division.

Grace took her plunge next.

They had to swim

150 yards.

My inspirations had the task of biking

4.5 miles and

running

1 mile.

Grace placed 5th in the girl's division.

Our "heart defect" child, the one we didn't know would make it through open heart surgery at six days old, WON

1st PLACE.

I am proud of my beauties:)