Saturday, August 27, 2011
Birthday party
August is a busy month here. The first week is our church district assembly. The next week is kids church camp. Jamie (our now 12 year old) has a birthday August17. Anna (our granddaughter) turned 1 on the 24th, and Rons birthday is the 28th. Besides all the getting ready for school stuff, and just enjoying the last bits of summer!
Last night was Annas birthday party, with about 40 people or so attending. A great mix of old friends, church friends, family and new friends. What a wonderful outpouring of love and encouragement for our eldest daughter Katie, and son in law, Brian, and of course, sweet Anna.
I look forward to adding another birthday party to the mix next August, when our sweet Ella celebrates her golden birthday on the 8th.
I am so thankful for the joy and anticipation next August will bring!
Last night was Annas birthday party, with about 40 people or so attending. A great mix of old friends, church friends, family and new friends. What a wonderful outpouring of love and encouragement for our eldest daughter Katie, and son in law, Brian, and of course, sweet Anna.
I look forward to adding another birthday party to the mix next August, when our sweet Ella celebrates her golden birthday on the 8th.
I am so thankful for the joy and anticipation next August will bring!
Monday, August 22, 2011
Hey Grandpa, here I am!
Ron here-
Our new pastor arrived in town today. This was our last Sunday without a pastor and it gave me the chance to share our adoption story (so far) with the congregation. As I was standing at the pulpit and just starting my talk here comes my one year old granddaughter crawling down the center aisle heading for grandpa. It was pretty awesome. So I picked her up and she helped me introduce everyone to Ella (via powerpoint). Great time. God is good. Ella will be much loved here.
Our new pastor arrived in town today. This was our last Sunday without a pastor and it gave me the chance to share our adoption story (so far) with the congregation. As I was standing at the pulpit and just starting my talk here comes my one year old granddaughter crawling down the center aisle heading for grandpa. It was pretty awesome. So I picked her up and she helped me introduce everyone to Ella (via powerpoint). Great time. God is good. Ella will be much loved here.
Saturday, August 20, 2011
Moving right along
Kate here, Ella's 23 year old soon-to-be sister :)
This is such an exciting thing to watch my parents going through! Special needs children have always been close to my heart. From when I was 19-21, I worked with an after-school program that worked with special education programs and the special education school here. Then I worked at two adult homes for people with developmental disabilites for 2 years, right up until I had my daughter. I always thought I'd be the adoption pioneer in my family, so I am so happy to see my parents adding to the family.
One of my favorite things to do through this journey is look at the Reece's Rainbow page on the "Travelling Now" or "Already Home" pages. As my parents work on their homestudy/dossier, it still all seems so far away. It's encouraging to see that it will happen and that things are moving along smoothly. I can't wait for the day when we all go to the airport to pick Mom, Dad, and little Ella up from the airport :)
This is such an exciting thing to watch my parents going through! Special needs children have always been close to my heart. From when I was 19-21, I worked with an after-school program that worked with special education programs and the special education school here. Then I worked at two adult homes for people with developmental disabilites for 2 years, right up until I had my daughter. I always thought I'd be the adoption pioneer in my family, so I am so happy to see my parents adding to the family.
One of my favorite things to do through this journey is look at the Reece's Rainbow page on the "Travelling Now" or "Already Home" pages. As my parents work on their homestudy/dossier, it still all seems so far away. It's encouraging to see that it will happen and that things are moving along smoothly. I can't wait for the day when we all go to the airport to pick Mom, Dad, and little Ella up from the airport :)
Wednesday, August 17, 2011
More progress!
Ron here--
More good progress in the last few days. Fingerprints going to the FBI tomorrow for background checks, 2nd home study meeting was last night, physicals all done. Pieces coming together slowly but surely. It really surprises me that I feel like I miss Ella even though I have never met her.Hmmm........
More good progress in the last few days. Fingerprints going to the FBI tomorrow for background checks, 2nd home study meeting was last night, physicals all done. Pieces coming together slowly but surely. It really surprises me that I feel like I miss Ella even though I have never met her.Hmmm........
Sunday, August 14, 2011
Adoption anniversary
Trish here
Today is August 14, 2011. Back on this date in 1969, my dad adopted my brother and me. I was 7, my litttle brother was 5. I celebrate this day in my heart every year, even after all this time. You see, my dad, Jim Franklin taught me alot. He taught me about baseball, tried to teach me about fishing, a love of guitar music and Tom T. Hall, John Denver, and other old country music singers. In the eyes of the world, I guess he probably didn't seem too accomplished. But I knew better. My dad was a Vietnam veteran, he shared very little about his time there except to say you never let yourself get too close to any guys because odds were, they would be gone before you knew it. He worked hard, he played hard. But he loved easy.
He was a meatcutter for most of his life. Not a butcher, he would say, but a meatcutter. Dad was an avid deer hunter and fisherman. As his family, we ate whatever he hunted because he took pride in providing for us.
My mom and Dad gave me another great gift in this life, together they made my little sister Angela. I call her Enchilada for reasons I don't remember anymore. I always thought the day she was conceived was one of the luckiest days of my life. Not only did I get a precious sister, but a whole another family to love.
My dad died unexpectedly Feb of 98 when his tractor turned over on him as he was moving hay. I still have dreams about him, and when I wake up am so sad when I realize it was just a dream, and I don't get to hear his voice again until we meet again in Heaven. I like to think he and my father in law (who passed away in 90) take turns rocking our first baby daughter, Anna.
I was 7 when we got adopted, and I remember clearly the day before. Dad was explaining to me what a big deal it was, and did I understand this? I solemnly told him I did, Daddy. He said, good then, I need two promises from you before we do this. The first being that I would always cheer for the Cardinals. (I still do) and the second being that I would always love him as much as he loved me. (And again, I still do)
Thank you, Dad, for showing me that you don't have to be there for the creation of the child, that you can love any child. What a wonderful gift.
Today is August 14, 2011. Back on this date in 1969, my dad adopted my brother and me. I was 7, my litttle brother was 5. I celebrate this day in my heart every year, even after all this time. You see, my dad, Jim Franklin taught me alot. He taught me about baseball, tried to teach me about fishing, a love of guitar music and Tom T. Hall, John Denver, and other old country music singers. In the eyes of the world, I guess he probably didn't seem too accomplished. But I knew better. My dad was a Vietnam veteran, he shared very little about his time there except to say you never let yourself get too close to any guys because odds were, they would be gone before you knew it. He worked hard, he played hard. But he loved easy.
He was a meatcutter for most of his life. Not a butcher, he would say, but a meatcutter. Dad was an avid deer hunter and fisherman. As his family, we ate whatever he hunted because he took pride in providing for us.
My mom and Dad gave me another great gift in this life, together they made my little sister Angela. I call her Enchilada for reasons I don't remember anymore. I always thought the day she was conceived was one of the luckiest days of my life. Not only did I get a precious sister, but a whole another family to love.
My dad died unexpectedly Feb of 98 when his tractor turned over on him as he was moving hay. I still have dreams about him, and when I wake up am so sad when I realize it was just a dream, and I don't get to hear his voice again until we meet again in Heaven. I like to think he and my father in law (who passed away in 90) take turns rocking our first baby daughter, Anna.
I was 7 when we got adopted, and I remember clearly the day before. Dad was explaining to me what a big deal it was, and did I understand this? I solemnly told him I did, Daddy. He said, good then, I need two promises from you before we do this. The first being that I would always cheer for the Cardinals. (I still do) and the second being that I would always love him as much as he loved me. (And again, I still do)
Thank you, Dad, for showing me that you don't have to be there for the creation of the child, that you can love any child. What a wonderful gift.
Lots of paperwork
Just burned through our first but probably not last ink cartridge for our printer/copier. :)
Saturday, August 13, 2011
Confirmations!
(Trish here)
It's funny, but I see confirmations everywhere. My youngest daughter, Jamie, asked me once about hearing God's voice. I told her, I wasn't one of the people who heard an audible voice, but rather God gave me signs, I guess some would say. When we first decided to do this, we were at the zoo, and there was a group of Mothers with their down syndrome children. We had adopted the bible verse, Proverbs 3:27 as ours, and next day, when flipping over the verse a day calendar, guess what verse was there? It's amazing the confirmations everywhere, it was such a cool thing to know that God is watching, and listening to our prayers and concerns.
It's funny, but I see confirmations everywhere. My youngest daughter, Jamie, asked me once about hearing God's voice. I told her, I wasn't one of the people who heard an audible voice, but rather God gave me signs, I guess some would say. When we first decided to do this, we were at the zoo, and there was a group of Mothers with their down syndrome children. We had adopted the bible verse, Proverbs 3:27 as ours, and next day, when flipping over the verse a day calendar, guess what verse was there? It's amazing the confirmations everywhere, it was such a cool thing to know that God is watching, and listening to our prayers and concerns.
Thursday, August 11, 2011
Obsessed
Well we are just a little over a month into the process and it seems like my life has been simplified to work, family and adoption....and I really like it. If I am not working or doing family stuff I am working on adoption paperwork or studying Ella's language. It is great to have something so important to focus on. I know there is going to be a lot of waiting in the next several months but I just don't want any delays to be because I didn't work hard enough. :) We are coming Ella.
Wednesday, August 10, 2011
We are on Reece's Rainbow!
Today is a very exciting day for our adoption! We are listed on the New Commitments page of Reece's Rainbow as "Ella for the Clark Family." We have spent so much time looking at the new families on there, excited for them and for those children to find their families. Now we are excited to become Ella's family.
We are making pretty good progress on the process. Our homestudy is underway and we have begun compiling our dossier. It's quite the mountain of paperwork, but more than worth it. It's really worth it when we think about being on the "Traveling Now" or "Almost Home" page of Reece's Rainbow, getting ready to bring little Ella off the plane.
Thank you for sharing in this with us--we are so happy to have such a wonderful group of friends, family, and church family to support us and share in our excitement.
We are making pretty good progress on the process. Our homestudy is underway and we have begun compiling our dossier. It's quite the mountain of paperwork, but more than worth it. It's really worth it when we think about being on the "Traveling Now" or "Almost Home" page of Reece's Rainbow, getting ready to bring little Ella off the plane.
Thank you for sharing in this with us--we are so happy to have such a wonderful group of friends, family, and church family to support us and share in our excitement.
Wednesday, August 3, 2011
The Beginning
Thanks for visiting our adoption blog! Our family is so excited to bring our youngest daughter home. As we move along in the process, we will add a timeline to the blog and more information about what we're going through. Please join us in this exciting journey and keep us in your thoughts and prayers.
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About Me
- Ron and Trish
- In July 2011, we started our adoption story. We are waiting to bring our newest daughter home, and we hope you'll join us in following along on our blog!