Keepin' It Real....

May has been a long month. I guess I did skip right over our 22 months and we are a week out from 23 months.  Today was the first referral in over a month and it was also the first referral for a family that was behind us on the list. (It was a boy referral and the  family had waited 22 months.)  I sure am hoping that there aren't too many referrals behind us....cause that is kind of a poopy feeling.  (Hence the title "Keepin' It Real").  So we remain at #10.

Here is some good news:  the process after referral seems to be moving along quicker.  Of course this can be one of the major variables.  The normal process is birth parent interview, then usually court date would be scheduled 4 weeks after (if everything was in place and the birth parent interview went well).......but I know of 3 families who had a birth parent interview and then were needing to be in Ethiopia within 5-10 days!!!!  {That is NOT much notice, people!}  But that is also so exciting because if we "hypothetically" get a referral at the beginning of June and have our birth parent interview 4-5 weeks later, that means if things move as quickly as they have been we could be in Africa at the end of July!!  THIS IS OUR PRAYER!  Please continue to pray on Chloe's behalf.

We have A LOT going on with our family. Baseball, baseball rain outs, rescheduled baseball and throw in some dance recitals, bible bowl trips, church camp, prepping for VBS (oh yeah, I am interim elementary children't minister for the summer!), swim lessons coming up, etc. So the business of summer will surely be a good distraction and keep me focused instead of a blubbering mess for whatever stage I'm in.  I now have a 5th grader, 2nd grader, and a Kindergartner.  Say WHAT???!!!

                    

We had a wonderful 3rd Annual Love 2 Run 4 Love on Mother's Day weekend.   Due to some amazing sponsors (especially jacobyco---who donated the tshirts), we made about $4200.  Three different families will benefit from this and 5 different orphans (The Kramel's, The Douglas', and us).  My friend, Dianna Kramel celebrated her first official Mother's Day (although in her heart she's been a mama for a long time).   God provided a gorgeous day with wonderful weather and amazing friends and supporters.  So grateful to each and everyone of you! 

 



I have been reminded in May to take nothing for granted, to hug your loved ones often, to say "I love you!" when telling your kiddos good bye, and that we must continue to pray.  I've attended 3 funerals in May (well one is this weekend--but he went to Jesus in May).  One was after a long battle of illness, one was a shock even in the midst of a continued storm (thinking things were turning around for the better) and one was so tragic there was no way you could even imagine it coming, ranging from a 77 year old to a 2 year old.  {Sidenote:  I was blessed to see the 2 year old's celebration of life memorial service via a live stream---which was just so moving.  Blessed by this family's testimony and faithfulness in the midst of brokenness and I haven't even met them in 'real' life. If possible, please watch this small segment where the pastor shares some thoughts on adoption, both literally and our adoption into Christ's family.  It is worth the watch!}  The entire service is long as you might expect so you can just skip to 1:19:20 or so and find it. His entire message starts around 1:10:10.  Click HERE to watch.

Ethiopian princess.

 

My jr high and high school BFF, Christy got to meet up at Nick's wedding.  :)





My best friend and I on a much needed R&R in downtown
 New Haven, MO on the river.  I highly recommend it!
Thanks Missy for loving on our kiddos!

But I have also had a few praises this month after praying for years for some of them.  We were able to witness 2 weddings (one renewal).  Chris got to be a groomsmen for a dear, dear friend who now works with some of our closest, bestest friends (a bit jealous, but trying to get over it and yes I know 'bestest' is not a word).  The three funerals were all people who loved Christ and are with the angels in heaven.  One family is on their way to Ghana right now to meet their 3 children and stand in court to say "yes" to being their forever family after 1 1/2 years of waiting.  Already mentioned my friend Dianna, who the day after Mother's Day learned about the day she would meet her son and has already been to Ethiopia and back, passed court and is waiting to go back to get her sweet son {seriously, people the lashes on this boy are breathtaking!}, one of my best friends that I have been praying for the last 5-6 years recieved a good prognosis on her reoccuring brain tumor.  It is so good for the heart when you see prayers answered, even after such long waits.  It reminds me of 1 Peter 4: 12-13 from the Message: "Friends, when life gets really difficult don't jump to the conclusion that God isn't on the job---instead be glad that you are in the very thick of what Christ experienced.  This is a spiritual refining process with glory just around the corner."  It is good to see God's answers.  It is good to see growth during the refining process (even though we don't like it) and I KNOW that God is on the job.  He always has been.  I'm just waiting to turn the corner!

March Madness according to the Strickland's

March was a busy month in our household......

Chris' bracket is falling apart and I'm  not holding out for a big win there---

(other than that  there is nothing about basketball in this post (sorry))

 

March 17th---Eden Dawn turned 10 years old!!! Can you even believe it?

She got her big girl Bible and some yummy Los Cabos on her bday

 as well as a 9 other crazy girls at our house for a sleepover (on the 15th).

   I'm on the Board of Directors for Hannah's Refuge---a non-profit long term safe house for women and children.  We held our first trivia night and it was a huge success....but with a late night (Eden helped sell bake goods) here and the night before---I began to be sleep deprived.  :)  For more information on Hannah's Refuge go HERE.

 

March 24th  Palm Sunday, Winter Storm Virgil came by and dropped the biggest snow fall in years to the STL (10+ inches)---so it was a snow day for us. Sunday church was cancelled and then no school on Monday.  (Welcome Spring???)  We opted for mini-snow people rather than one big snowman. 

March 26th--Chris and I celebrated 14 years of marriage.  I love the man more every year.  He is so good for me and to me (and our growing family)

 

Speaking of growing family.....March 28th there was a referral (Big Woohoo right here!) which made our new number #15.  Even more exciting than that, were hints that we might be higher up the list for a toddler than we thought.  Bottom line:  Any day, week, or month is still an option to see her face.  (Others have made it to month 26 and we will be 21 months waiting in 1 week!)

 

March 31st---He IS Risen!!!  Celebrated Resurrection Sunday at FCC.  I love my family and our church family.  Do pray that Eden will fit this dress made by my friend Cynthia Frame because we have a matching outfit for Chloe. :/ (Insert Wes King's song:  "We Thought You'd Be Here By Now")

My kids make me smile!!!

Melkam Genna! (+ 18 months waiting)

 

Well a year and a half on our agency's waitlist.  It was 2 years ago on Jan 3rd that we sent our application and started this process officially.  And it has been 18 months since we've just been waiting.  About 12 more months than we ever imagined.  8 months at that time was a decent wait.  But none the less, we will continue to wait until God puts her in our lap and we see her face for the first time.

We are getting closer and that gives us lots of HOPE.  We got Chloe a bunch of Christmas ornaments and hair bows this year to let her know we were thinking of her at Christmas.  Today (our 18 month mark) is actually Christmas in Ethiopia (Melkam Genna!).  Such a rich history of Christianity in Ethiopia.  Legend has it that King Balthazar was from Ethiopia and was one of the magi who presented frankinscence to our Lord when they came to worship the newborn King.  I keep learning bits here and there about this wonderful land that we already love and that will be a part of us forever.  Every family that travels comes home with a deep love and appreciation for Ethiopia's people and culture.  I can't wait to have our turn!

So unofficially we are #

 



Please pray that we can move to the teens soon.  Or for there to be the perfect toddler girl for us.  Although there is quite a wait for girls in front of us, I am not sure about the ages that they are requesting.  We could be #5 for a 2-3 year old girl. I do know someone who received their referral at 19!!!  Others have received them in the 20's and even low 30's. 

Anyways, even though I get down a bit---I have been so blessed with words of hope and encouragement this past month, especially at Christmas and from our pastor.  I know God's timing is perfect and I will rest in that.  But continue to pray, because I do believe in miracles.  I have faith that we will meet her sooner than later!  Our kids are so ready to meet their sister.

9 months and.......still stretching (& a Giveaway!)

Eden came 9 months + 2days.  Eli came at exactly 9 months.  Tobe joined us1 week shy of 9 months.  Chloe???  Well maybe she is stubborn (isn't that what we say when they cook longer than we want them to?).  Maybe she is not even an orphan yet.  Maybe she is.  All I know is that we have been waiting and praying for 9 long months.....and right now my specific prayer is that we don't have to wait 9 more!  I am one of those lucky moms that made it through three pregnancies without any stretchmarks.  Quite ironic that the stretching would occur in the "paper-pregnancy" and on the 4th child we bring into our home.  I am definately having lots of stretchmarks this time around.  So this month our number (#38) stays the same.  :(

The families at the top of our wait list for a single child have been waiting 17-18 months at this point.  Surely there day is approaching.  This week?  This month?  The last single child referrals were all boys in Nov. & Dec. and they had only waited between 9-10 months!  Actually it was a year ago (March 2011) that the major slow down occurred, which limited the number of cases the court would see each day.  Couple that with stricter requirements (which is a VERY good thing) to prove orphan status, and you have multiple reasons for our "longer than we thought" wait.  Honestly, when we first started I was sure we could be referred a toddler within 4 months, and even most infant referrals had occurred between 6-7.  Also, girls are being referred less than boys right now.  I can't be 100%, but there is an unofficial wait list and I believe #1-16 are either waiting on girls or siblings. 

Friends, it is getting tougher.  There are other situations that break our heart.  There is poverty, broken families, and evil.  We want to adopt a child who truly needs adopting.  I know God has the right little girl for our family to help watch her blossom into His creation and into the gift that she is.  But please pray against the evil schemes of Satan, that we might be matched with a girl who needs a forever family, and for all those that are in this process.....some opening their hearts and homes and being vulnerable to being hurt by the system or lack there of.  Ethiopia is a beautiful nation, with beautiful people that needs a lot of beautiful and bold prayers lifted up.  Would you join us?  And pray for us as we continually are being stretched in many different ways. 


Speaking of stretching.....it is time for our giveaway.  Besides being one of my best friends and perhaps the most excited about Chloe coming home besides Chris & I is my friend Missy.  She ran 30 miles for Chloe last year and raised over $2000 just by doing so, she gifted Chloe a book "God Found Us You" (a special book about adoption) very early in our adoption process, and I know that her and her entire beautiful family are prayer warriors on Chloe's behalf.....Well besides being a personal trainer, she also sales Skinny Wraps.  These are detox wraps that tighten, tone, & firm any trouble area.  They also have products like Stretch Mark & Moisturizing Cream which "packs a powerful combo of botanicals to help restore the skin's youthful glow, while balancing skin tone to minimize the appearance of stretch marks and other skin scarring."   So if you have those bad stretch marks, then maybe this is the product for you. 

So if you have always wanted to try a wrap without having to buy one.....here is your chance!  Missy & I are giving away ONE body wrap.  You can read up on them and other products here: https://melissagerdel.myitworks.com/Home



3 ways to enter: 1) Leave a comment about how or what area in life you are being stretched.
                   2)  Become a follower of my blog and leave a separate comment that you did so.
            3) Share the blog & giveaway on facebook and leave a separate comment that you did so.

I will randomly select a winner on April 15th at 9:00 PM.  Chris & I, along with Missy & Andrew, Cassie & Eric, and Dana & Seth will be running a couple's marathon that morning (ok--marathon relay) ---so maybe by that time I can post the winner and highlights from race day!

You Are My Sunshine Giveaway

Today marks our 8 month waitiversary.  Ughh!!!  I honestly didn't think we would have to wait 8 months to meet Chloe, but the way things are looking we may have to wait 8 more months.  (Let's just pray we don't, shall we?)  The good news is we have a new waiting #:

**I sure wish we were "steaming" along the track to seeing our daughter in Ethiopia.**

So to commemorate our 8 month wait, we would like to do a give away.  And I am going to add some sentimental facts along the way.  March is a big month for Chris & I.  March 26th will mark 13 years of marriage after an almost 8 month engagement.  Now, if you will humor me for a moment, I would like to take you back to that day.  Those of you who know my hubby, knows he can sing.  And it had been a topic of conversation during those 8 months of whether or not he would sing to me on our wedding day.  He had told me several times he would not, b/c he didn't think he would be able to make it through a song without crying and that he would be too nervous.  So there I was in the bridal room/bathroom actually getting my wedding dress on or doing my hair, not sure which, when there was a knock on the door.  Surprisingly, it was Chris and a few singing groomsmen.  Now Chris was being super traditional and did not see me at all that day till I walked down the aisle (not even one pre-ceremony picture), so instead he and his friends sang to me acappella from the hallway.  The selected song you ask?  You Are My Sunshine.  Now, don't get me wrong.  It is a very sweet song and there were a bunch of "Awwwws" coming from the bridal room, but I didn't think it super sentimental.  Then I actually caught my mom crying.  Now, for those of you who know my mom, she's anything but sentimental.  Not lovey, dovey. Does not wear her emotions on her sleeve (or whatever that saying is).  My mom goes on to say how she use to sing that song to me when I was a baby.  I had no idea.  Of course I had heard the song, but I didn't know it was my lullaby. My mom was a teenage mom.  She had me the fall of her senior year, so to imagine this teenage girl singing "You Are My Sunshine" to a little infant: now the song was doubly sentimental.  (Chris also had no idea!) Btw, Chris singing "You are My Sunshine" was just a teaser and he surprised me by singing to me during the wedding ceremony too!

       Back to March.  Another special day in March will be 10 days from today when my now 8 year old, will in fact turn 9.  I cannot believe it!  Our first born child will be 9. We call her our delight, that is what Eden means.  Paradise, Sunshine.  We had several lullabies for Miss Eden, her dad is still musical.  But one of the first was "You Are My Sunshine". (Hoping I will actually post a song in the coming days of Chris singing this along with "Eden's Song"--stay tuned.)  How different to sing it as a mama.  "You are my sunshine.  My only sunshine......You'll never know dear how much I love you."  Those words ring true for every mama in whatever circumstance.

       Fast Forward 2 and half years to the 8th month of 2005.  It is in the heat of summer and I give birth to my first son.  Eli has from the very get go, been able to make us laugh and smile, truly adding a bright factor to our days.  We do in fact call him "our sunshine", because he was born in August.  We did sing the song to him as well, sometimes I jazzed it up (thanks Aunt Christina) with some claps and faster tempo, but the sentiment is just the same.  "You are my sunshine.  My only sunshine.....You make me happy when clouds are gray." We also sing to him, "You are the apple of my eye, You are the sunshine of my life" (Stevie Wonder).  Mom singing it gets some good laughs.

     Fast Forward 2 and half years to the 8th day of February 2008.  We give birth to our Tobiah.  Our Valentine baby (his due date was Valentine's Day, but the dr. let him come early).  At this point in time, we were pretty sure we were done "birthing" children.   He is such a cuddly valentine and although he is my winter baby, and even though we called Eli "sunshine", we couldn't help but sing him the same lullaby.  It was just kind of automatic for us.  "You are my sunshine. My only sunshine.....Please don't take my sunshine away". No matter how many children you have, each of them (first daughter, first son, second son, second daughter, etc.) means the entire world to a mama's heart.

    Fast Forward to now.  8 months waiting for our blossom.  Chloe means 'to bloom'.  And of course what do you need to bloom?  Sunshine.  I can't wait to sing her the song.  So of course it is a lovely song if you sing the chorus.  After looking up the verses, it is a little more downcast. (Now if you read all the verses, it is very clear it was written for a lady friend from a guy friend, but none the less this first verse is erie as our wait gets longer.)    "The other night dear, as I lay sleepin', I dreamed I held you in my arms. When I awoke dear I was mistaken, And I hung my head and cried.....You are my sunshine. My only sunshine."

  Now to the "my only sunshine".  You know how Christ came down and died for each and every one of us?  And I believe that just like the parable of the lost sheep, he would have done it for only me or only you?  That is the sentiment I get when I sing "my only sunshine".  I love each of my four kids in such a way, that for each of them I would do anything.  A parent's love is that great, where you at times can feel that "only" kind of love.  The Abba Father has shown that kind of love to all of His children.  I pray and hope that my kids can experience that kind of love multiple times over, from their earthly parents and from their Heavenly Father.  Amen! (Yes, I just agreed with my self).

Now to the 8th month giveaway.  I am giving away this beaded sunshine wind chime. The orange beads are beautiful and makes the chime very unique!

And my dear friend is going to create a similar (but not exactly the same--i.e. there may not be any blue and white stripes, you'll just have to wait and see) custom Happy Sunshine T-shirt for your little "sunshine".  This was actually taken off of someone else's blog who does AMAZING stuff, but who is also taking a little break---so I can't order from her right now.  Faith, also an adoptive mom who is super crafty is the one who is going to make it.  So if you win, you can tell us the desired size and before the sunny days of summer, we will get that off to you!  Fun, right?!

How to win?  You can have up to 3 entries.

1.  Become a follower of Strickland Sentiments and leave a comment saying you did so or that you already are one.  :)

2. Leave a seperate comment about a lullaby you sang to your "sunshines".

3.  Share on Facebook and leave a comment saying you did so.

***The winner will be randomly selected on March 17th.  You have until Midnight on Friday (16th) to make your entries.

7 Month Waitaversary!

7 Months since being on our wait list.  We sit at #41.  No referrals in the last 2 months.  Actually minus one wonderful month (ok--5 1/2 weeks) from Oct. 31st-Dec 8th there have been no referrals while we have been on the wait list.  So all that to say we may have a long line ahead of us......

Well here is the deal....I have just copied and pasted 3 paragraphs from another friend's post.  Why reinvent the wheel?  :)

"When we signed on last January things were moving smoothly and relatively quickly with adoptions in Ethiopia. In the past year things have changed in nearly every part of the process. Things are not moving smoothly or quickly at this point and we are uncertain what the future holds (aren't we alway though?) There are MANY children and babies in Ethiopia who need loving homes. I believe there are many people at work both here in the United States and there in Ethiopia who want to see that happen and happen the right way. But being in the middle of the process while changes are made and bugs attempted to be worked out just isn't pleasant.

We know God was in our decision to choose this country and even this agency. So, we will wait... and trust.

I am thankful for the reminder that our trust is not in a timeframe, an agency, a process, a government, or even our own plans. Our trust can only reside in God, who is both loving and all-powerful to work His purposes."

Amen!  Thanks Stephanie.  The truth of the matter was that when we started in January we were seeing 6-7 month waits....meaning I could have/should have already had "the call" by now, especially for a toddler.    But coulda's, shoulda's, and woulda's don't work in here in adoption land.  My dear friend who got her referral in November waited 10 months and "shoulda" had a court date by now....here she sits waiting another 3 months before even getting to meet her little guy (and at least 3 other adoptive moms). 

I think I am doing pretty good with the wait.  People from church continue to ask how things are going and my response is "slowly".  But ask me in 3 more months and it might be a different story.  There are some sweet families that have been waiting (in Ethiopia program) for 15-16 months for a single girl.  I actually appreciate the questions, because that means they haven't forgotten this journey we are in.....Lord knows there is not a day (or hour?) that goes by that we don't think about it.

Even this morning, Eden ran in to ask Tobe, "Do you know what tomorrow is?"  His reply?  "Chloe's coming home?"  Awww.  Eden chuckled and then said, "No it's your birthday!" He was thinking of her coming home over his own 4 year old birthday.  Man do I love my kids.  I sure do hope she comes home while he is 4.  It may just break his 4 year old heart. 

Stay tuned....because tonight a winner to the coffee quilt raffle will be drawn!