Stuff

Lots going on this month in our home. Jackson is due to arrive anyday so we are waiting patiently. I think we are ready we have all of the essentials. I am so thankful for wonderful friends who have recently had little boys and were willing to pass on clothes and essentials. We have tried to keep our focus on B and on Belgium in the meantime.

I have been working diligently to get rid of lots of stuff that we will put in a yard sale in April or give to Goodwill. It feels so freeing to get rid of clutter and things that are collecting dust. We have turned Bryan's music room/office into a Belgium planning center. We have our Belgium maps on the wall, a huge yearly dry erase calendar(with lots of plans on it), and our personal information we send out to our partners. I like to go and open the closets and drawers now that they are clean and organized. It makes me happy(I know I am a nerd). We are planning to take our house off the market and put it up For Sale By Owner so that we can hopefully get it to move with a lower price. We are also setting aside one night per week to work on our French. This is something we are being told by teammates who are currently there that we need to continue to work on here as much as we can. They have also told us to be walking and exercising as much as we can so as soon as it warms up a bit we plan to walk every evening with the kiddos to get use to a faster pace that includes lots of walking rather than driving. I am exciting about having some quality family time at the end of the day where we focus on eachother and get some exercise.

We have another meeting with the adoption attorney tomorrow about B so hopefully we will have some good information and an idea of what that process is going to look like.

I realize this blog is all over the place, but that is our life this month. It is a little crazy but I wouldn't have it any other way. When I start feeling weak or anxious I lean on my savior and he is my strength. I can read my Bible or have some quiet time and feel better so quickly. I know the battles I feel that we are fighting are really not ours to fight and I am so thankful for a loving Father who is holding us tightly in these uncertain moments.

Thank you God for blessing me so much even when I am so undeserving!

Happy New Year!!!

Well it is officially 2011. It is a huge year in our household as we will prepare to move across the ocean to take light to a spiritually dark area. We began this process in May of 2009 and what an experience it has been so far. We are so blessed to have experienced and learned the many things we have thus far. There is still so much to be done and to prepare for. We just celebrated our 4 year wedding anniversary on December 30th and God blessed me with such an amazing man to share my life with me. We have spent most New Years Day packing up our Christmas decor for a final time in the States and planning our final months here. It is crazy how emotionally attached you can become to stuff. We have heard this from friends but as I begin to pack away Christmas ornaments a little part of my heart was sad. Do not get me wrong I am so thankful God has chosen to send us and we are happy to go, but I would not be human if I wasn't a little sad about certain things. We are preparing to shed another layer during the month of January and sell and discard lots of stuff in our home. If you come by to visit you should see a big difference soon lots of stuff is leaving soon.

The sale of our home is going slower than planned so we have come up with a game plan and timeline for this process as well. If we have to rent we will but this is a last resort so please pray for the sale of our home before May 1st.

For those of you who do not know we have temporary custody of a precious 18 month old(B). We got her in July when she was only 12 months old and we are working to adopt, but only God knows the outcome. Yes it is a risk but if we were unwilling to invest and love on others because we were scared of getting hurt we could miss out on some of the best moments in life. We know that God's plans and timing are much better than our own. We know he has a divine plan in our lives and in this precious girls life and we will praise him no matter the outcome. Our prayer all along for children is that God would bring the children that he had planned for us all along into our home. In September we were contacted by another birthmom who was 5 and 1/2 months pregnant with a baby boy. She wanted us to adopt her child. After talking with her and prayer and trying to figure out if we could handle all of the responsibilites we realized that God doesn't give us more than we can handle and he had obviously opened this door for a reason. The ultimate reason may not be for us to adopt her baby but we are willing to walk through the open door and step out in faith. Baby boy is due January 24th but our BM is showing some signs of pre term labor. We plan to name him Jackson Christopher. We have to have both adoptions finalized before we can apply for our visa so prayers are appreciated in this area too. :)

Some people I am sure think we must be crazy with two adoptions going on and moving to a foreign country all in one year. I say we have crazy love for a God who is more faithful than we could ever imagine he sacrificed everything for my sins. My happiness revolves around commiting my life to him. Don't get me wrong we have moments like any normal person does where we are concerned or anxious but we find peace in knowing that these are not our battles and God is in complete control. If you let him he will blow you away. When I was a little girl I had an idea of how I wanted my life to be and my life is nothing like I had planned for myself, but there is nothing like feeling like you are walking in God's will.

This year my resolution is to be bold and intentional about everything. I know I have so much to learn about our savior, and I want to draw myself closer to him and grow my relationship with him. I feel like such an infant in my walk with God, but I do know one big thing and that is that I trust him with every ounce of me and I want to live a radical life for him.

Wishing your family a happy and healthy new year!!!
Souhaitant votre famille, une bonne et heureuse année nouvelle!

Cassi


James 1:27
Religion that God our Father 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.

Proverbs 31:8-9
Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves; ensure justice for those being crushed. Yes, speak up for the poor and helpless, and see that they get justice.

Matthew 28:16-20 (New International Version, ©2010)
The Great Commission
16 Then the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus had told them to go. 17 When they saw him, they worshiped him; but some doubted. 18 Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”