And The Winner Is...

#1- Taste of Mcalester restaurant giftcard pack - Kelli B.
#2- $100 ThirtyOne shopping spree - Ann C.
#3- For the guys tool package - Pat W.
#4- $50 party pack for Snoman's Delite - Dave T
#5- Set of 2 rocking chairs - Jennifer W.
#6- $100 Walmart/Amazon giftcard - Don C.
Grand Prize- $500 - Dave T.

Thank you for donating, sharing, and most of all praying! 

Give Away Update

UPDATE:  We have made $650 leaving us $4,350 to raise to meet our goal.  Thank you to everyone who has donated and shared!! 

Our goal is to raise $5,000 to use towards our travel expenses.  We have made $485.  We have FIVE days left in our give away.  We need your help!!  Please donate and share about our give away, but most of all please pray for us!

You can donate by clicking on our Reese's Rainbow link on the side of the blog.  Please leave a comment with your email address so I can enter you for our give away.  Thank you for being part of Isaac's story!

Pumpkin Patch Give Away

We are having a give away to help raise money for Isaac's adoption. There have been several generous people and businesses that have made this possible. There are four prizes that are available to "local" (McAlester, OK) people, but two of these prizes plus the grand prize are available for everyone.

The fine print: You may enter by either donating or "sharing" the information about our give away. Tickets cost $5 or you can buy 5 tickets for $20. You will be entered for free every time you "share" about our give away. You can share via facebook, your blog, twitter, your best friend, or second cousin. It doesn't matter with who, just "share" it! You MUST leave a comment with your email address on this blog post of what you did to be entered. I approve all messages before they post so I will remove your email before your comment is posted. I won't have any way of knowing that you blogged about it if you don't tell me :) You can make a tax deductible donation to be entered to win by clicking on the donate button on the right side of the blog. Don't forget to leave me a comment with your email address so I can make sure you are entered.

Now for the fun stuff. As of right now there are 6 prizes and 1 grand prize. Every entry will be entered for the grand prize and your choice of one of the other prizes. Drawing for all prizes will be on Oct. 27th. Thank you for helping us bring Isaac home!!

GRAND PRIZE: $500

Prize #1: (local only) "A taste of McAlester" includes the following gift cards:
$50 RibCrib
$40 Western Sizzlin
$15 Pete's Place
1 Regular Dinner at Ball BBQ
1 Italian Dinner at Gia Como's
$20 Charlie's Chicken
Est. value $150

Prize #2: $100 worth of Thirty-One products

Prize #3: "For the Guys" (yes, women can enter for this too) includes:
12 piece GearWrench Socket Set
7 piece GearWrech Nut Driver Set
Microfiber and Cotton Rags
Sponge
ArmorAll
12 Quart Pail
Est. value $125

Prize #4: (local only) Snocone Party Pack
$50 gift card to Snoman's Delites

Prize #5: (local only) 2 Rocking Chairs

Prize #6: $100 gift card to your choice of either Target, Walmart, or Amazon

Also, you can be entered to win one of these super cute pumpkin chimineas just by buying a pumpkin from The Great Pumpkin Patch. We will be giving one away every Saturday through Oct. 27th. We are located on the corner of 6th and Wyandotte.

Lessons From The Pumpkin Patch

First of all, the pumpkins have arrived and we are open for business.  God has a way of using everyday circumstances to teach me.  We were scheduled for delivery at 9:00am Saturday morning. We spread the word and told everyone we knew.  We found out Friday evening that the pumpkins had been loaded late and they would be in McAlester at 5:00pm.  I got off the phone and proceeded to get in touch with everyone that I thought might be planning on coming.  Friends were sending texts, Mat was emailing, and I worried.  It's what I do.  After telling everyone the pumpkins would be there at 5:00, the semi-truck carrying the pumpkins pulled into town at 3:30.  Once again texts were sent and people started piling in to unload pumpkins.  We were blown away by the number of people that showed up to help!

I am not a patient person.  I worry and fret and accomplish absolutely nothing by doing so.  Often times God speaks to me through Philippians 4:6-7.  "Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. 7 And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus."  I cling to that verse. 

Adoption can be hard.  Life can be hard.  But God's Word tells me not to be anxious about anything.  I am overwhelmed by God's unfailing love.  He loves me enough to allow "the peace of God, which transcends all understanding", to guard my heart and mind in Christ Jesus.  I fully expect that when this month becomes overwhelming and I start to do what I do best, God will whisper ever so softly.

Orphan Love Mud Run

Saturday, we participated in the first annual Orphan Love Mud Run.  There is an incredible group of families in Ada, OK that has started an organization called It's A Child's Life.  They put in an enormous amount of time setting up for this run.  It was awesome! 

Our friends, Lloyd and Kelli Belt are adopting Addi May from Ethiopia.  They also participated in the run.  Elizabeth, Kelli's sister-in-law also ran for Addi.  Here we are after the run.  We are not nearly as clean as we look.

Friday evening, the families that make up It's A Child's Life hosted a meet n' greet for the adoptive families that were participating in the run.  We had a great time getting to know some families that are walking the same path we are on.  We met a family that is adopting 2 babies domestically.  We met families that are adopting from China, Ghana, Ethiopia, and Haiti.  I knew it was going to be a great evening, but really I had no idea how it would touch my heart!

Saturday morning we headed back to Ada prepared to run in the mud.  I was NOT prepared for what I experienced!  When you are training for a 5k Mud Run do not train on a flat surface!  That seems like common sense, but seriously I went about this all wrong.  Kelli, Elizabeth, Mat and I started together in the second group.  It did not take long until I could no longer see them.  I had been jogging (mostly walking) what seemed like forever when people from the third group started passing me.  I realized at that point that it was going to be a long morning!

Even though I didn't run the entire track I pushed myself to do things I really didn't think I could do.  Several times during the morning there were no other people around and I had some great "thinking" time.  I thought about how this run was similar to our adoption.  The majority of the track was uphill.  There were times that I thought I couldn't take one more step.  I wasn't sure the race would ever be over.  There are days that I feel like Isaac will never come home, that I am climbing an uphill track that will never end, but just like I crossed the finish line yesterday I believe that Isaac will come home in God's perfect time!

I had made it about 3/4 of the way through and I was feeling discouraged.  I was tired, alone, and I wasn't sure I could keep going.  What felt like out of nowhere a lady ran up from behind me and the rest of her group caught up within just a minute.  They asked if I'd like to finish the race with them.  They gave me the encouragement I needed to finish the race. One of the last obstacles was climbing down and then back up a steep embankment.  I was nervous to say the least, but as I started climbing down my new friends were cheering "Necia, Necia, Necia" over and over. 

I made it down and back up and went on to finish the last obstacle.  I had to swing on a rope to try and miss the mud pit.  I didn't make it.  I actually bounced off a bale of hay and landed awkwardly at the edge of the pit.  I waded through the mud just for fun :)  At that point I really didn't think I could get any dirtier.

I almost forgot to add that I swam across a pond.  I DO NOT normally swim in ponds, but I made an exception.  I will definitely do this run again, but next time I will train a little differently.

Waiting Child Wednesday

It's time to introduce you to two young men that have captured my heart.  If we could adopt more than one child at a time these are the two we'd bring home. 

Meet Sammy.  Oh my goodness.  Isn't he adorable?  I'd scoop him up in a heartbeat!  Sammy will be 4 in September.  He needs a family to rescue him!

There isn't a lot of information listed about Sammy. Will you step out in faith and make Sammy part of your family?  This is the information listed at Reece's Rainbow. 

Date of Birth: September 2008
Gender: Male
Eyes: Brown
Hair: brown
Character: calm

APERT SYNDROME

Sammy is growing so fast! Medical info coming soon! Small families and married couples only, please.

Another little boy that I've fallen in love with is Nico.  Look at that red hair!  He's too cute!  He's just waiting for someone to make him part of their family. 

Once again there isn't much information listed for Nico.  Here is the information listed on Reece's Rainbow. 

Birth Date: May 2010
Gender: Male
Eyes: Blue
Hair: red
Character: calm

Diagnosis: Down syndrome

More pictures available

If you'd like more information on either of these boys please contact me or anyone at Reece's Rainbow.  Please pray that Sammy and Nico find their forever families soon!  They will be such a blessing!

Waiting Child Wednesday

Each Wednesday I will introduce you to 2 or 3 (maybe more) waiting children.  There are so many children that are waiting for families.  Most of us have heard the statistics.  It's sickening.  Please pray for these children.  They deserve a family.  The statistics are big, but God is so much bigger!! 

First, there is Hallie.  She is listed with Holt Intl.  Could she be your daughter?  Hallie will be 3 next month.  From Reece's Rainbow:  This special little girl was born at 36 weeks and weighed 5.34 lbs at birth. She was born with cleft edges of both lips, for which she received surgery in June 2010, and agenesis of all five fingers on her right hand. Also she had heart surgery to close a VSD. She has retinopathy of prematurity and has slight pale optic disks of both eyes as well as a deep sacral dimple of her spine. In May 2011 she had surgery to receive a feeding tube. She receives nutrients through the feeding tube 3 times a day and also is able to eat snacks throughout the day on her own. Earlier this year she was transferred to a care center where she could receive more regular therapy to help her meet her full potential. She currently receives physical therapy two times a week and is now able to walk on her own, as well as transfer objects between her hands. She is able to say a few words (such as Mom and Dad) and also use body language to express her wishes. Her housemother reports that she is able to understand simple instructions. It is also reported that she has a good relationship with both her housemother and the other children. She is not shy with strangers and is happy to greet others with a smile. She is described as an active and bright little girl who can be stubborn at times. In September 2011 she was reportedly 23.7 lbs and 31.6 inches tall and was at a 15 month developmental level. 

Hallie also has a $5,000 Special Blessings grant from Holt and the fees have been reduced. 

Next is Jenna.  Isn't she beautiful??  Jenna is also listed with Holt Intl.  Jenna turned 3 in June.  From Reece's Rainbow:  This beautiful little girl was born at 40 weeks and weighed 7.48 lbs at birth. She was hospitalized for 3 days in July 2009 for gastroenteritis. She has been diagnosed with sunset eyes and microcephaly, and is reportedly unable to see. Since being transferred to a care center that could provide her with regular therapy sessions her development has greatly improved. She is now able to sit, stand and walk with support.

If you would like more information on Hallie or Jenna you can contact Erin.  Please pray that their families find them quickly!  Pray, share their profiles, donate to their grants.  Please do something.

Fernando

I have the privilege of being a Prayer Warrior through Reece's Rainbow.  Reece's Rainbow is a non-profit organization that advocates for orphans with special needs.  They are truly incredible!

This is Fernando.  He is 5 years old.  Isn't he adorable?  You can read more about Fernando here.  Could Fernando be your son?  Please pray with me that Fernando's forever family finds him quickly!

Dear Isaac

Dear Isaac,

I found your profile 9 months and 11 days ago.  I knew instantly that you were meant to be mine.  There was no doubt.  Andrew and Olivia had spent the night with Boppa and Moe and I decided to look through profiles.  I remember seeing your picture and thinking how cute you were.  As I read through your profile it was done.  You were my son. 

Your dad had been in the shower during this time.  When he walked into the living room I asked him if he wanted to see a picture of his son.  Of course he thought I meant Andrew.  I showed him your picture and watched for his reaction.  He smiled and said he thought we should do whatever we needed to do to make you part of our family. 

Sweetheart, it has been a long 9 months and 11 days!  I miss you so much.  It amazes me how much I love you.  You might not be here physically, but you are so much a part of our lives.  Moe tells everyone about her new grandson.  Andrew and Olivia are frustrated that you can't come home now.  Andrew asks constantly how long it will be until you are here.  They argue about whose bedroom you will sleep in.  When Olivia says her prayers she thanks God for both of her brothers.  I check my email entirely too often hoping to get a new picture or update on how you're doing.  Sweet boy, you have taken up permanent residence in my heart and until I see you in person that will have to be good enough.

When we committed to bringing you home I had no idea what this journey would entail.  There is still a long road ahead of us and there are so many unknowns.  I trust God to bring you home in His perfect time.  Just know that each of us love you more than words can describe.  Hang tight little one.  We're coming.  I love you!

Love,
Mommy

I Want To Be A Martial Artist

Andrew and Olivia have started taking Tae Kwon Do lessons. They had been in class about a week when were driving and Olivia said "Mom, I'm a martial artist so I can tell people about Jesus". One of the principles they learn in class is that as a martial artist they are supposed to help people. Olivia took this to mean that to help someone she is supposed to tell them about Jesus.

The next week during Andrew's class, his teacher asked what do martial artists do. Immediately Andrew says "they tell people about God". Andrew's teacher told him that he liked the way he was thinking. They went on to talk about other things martial artists do, but these conversations have stayed with me.

Since then I've thought a lot about their answers. I love their innocent hearts and that they want to tell other people about Jesus. I love that Olivia thinks helping someone means that we tell them about Jesus. I pray that they continue to have a heart for the Lord and always want to help people by telling them about Jesus.

I want to be a martial artist!

June WBC

We got Isaac's WBC last month.  I love getting these.  It gives us a glimpse into his life.  We learned that he can now walk by himself.  He can bang two cubes together, put two blocks in a cup, and waves bye-bye.  He is now 13 months developmentally and his actual age is 17 months 8 days.  He weighs 21.3lbs and is 30.11 inches.  We are thrilled with the progress he is making!

I was looking back at a progress report we got in May.  It says that he stops doing something to hear "don't do it" and then starts doing it again and that he wiggles his body when he hears music on the TV. 

As of April he was being fed 2 T. of rice with soft side dishes such as seasoned laver (seaweed), steamed egg, tofu, ham, and fried fish twice a day.  His snacks are made up of soft cookies, bread, steamed sweet potatoes, peeled tangerines, oranges, sliced strawberries, and apples.  He gets formula in his bottle, but is also starting to drink water from a cup.

We sent our first care package last week.  I hope he enjoys everything.  We didn't get pictures last month, but hopefully we will get some new pictures this month.  Thank you for following our journey!

Sno Cone Success

Mat and I want to thank everyone involved in making our Sno Cone fundraiser a success.  It was incredible.  We raised $720 in sales and donations.  That is A LOT of sno cones!!

Kelli got brave and even let us make sno cones.  And of course when you spend 9 hours in a sno cone stand you have to eat a sno cone or three.  Mat's favorite was one he named Sour Christmas Tree and my favorite was the Cheesecake with Chocolate Cream.  Seriously, it was delicious!  If you're near McAlester you really need to go try it. 

                                            

Snowcones!!

We have been humbled by the love and generosity of others yet again.  Our dear friends Lloyd and Kelli Belt own Snoman's Delites at Tandy Town shopping center.  They are going to donate all proceeds from this Saturday, June 16th from 12-9 to our adoption. Lloyd and Kelli are all too familiar with the different aspects of adoption.  They are in the process of adopting "Addi May" from Ethiopia.  You can follow their journey here.  We are surrounded by people who are living their lives as the hands and feet of Jesus. 

Mother's Day....

Greetings all,

        This is Mat, Necia's husband.  I have taken over her blog for Mother's Day to share my appreciation for her.  I have never met anyone with a heart like hers.  She loves with all of her heart, and would do absolutely anything for those she cares about, without any thought to the personal sacrifice required. Necia would go to war for anyone she loves.  She has such an amazing heart for the 'little guy.'  This is one of the reasons she so loves orphans.  I am so grateful and inspired daily by her selfless love.

      Necia is both a dedicated mother and wife.  She works tirelessly at the things that so often go unnoticed.  I often forget to tell her how much it means to me that she takes care of all of the little things that go along with everyday life.  She does this while still making time to read to the kids, fix boo boos, and get all of those snuggles.  It amazes me.

     More important than any of that, I thank the Lord that he gave me a wonderful woman of God for a wife.  Her love for the Lord is incredible.  Her dedication to God inspires me to be a better man and to seek Him more.  She is an amazing prayer warrior.  I leave the house daily knowing that she is praying for all aspects of my day.  She is the perfect partner in raising the kids in the ways of the Lord, and is very much a Biblical wife.  I thank her and I thank God for providing me with such a wonderful partner to go through life with.

Necia, I love you .
          Mat


P.S. - Don't kill me for posting this.

We survived!!

We all managed to survive the garage sale fundraiser we had last weekend.  We were so blessed in many ways.  We really felt GOD working in all aspects of the event.  We are so grateful to all of our friends and family...and a few strangers who donated items to sale.  As you can see below, there was no shortage of generosity.

There was also no shortage of help.  We had friends and family volunteer to come out and spend part of their weekend helping.  We all know how valuable and precious that time can be.  We started the sale at 6:30 in the morning on Friday, and we had customers for the next 12 hours without a single break in business. Saturday was not quite as busy, but it was still great.  We were exhausted, but it was also a ton of fun.  We were able to raise over $2,100 dollars for Isaac.

One of the highlights of the weekend was how involved Andrew and Olivia wanted to be.  They really wanted to help bring Isaac home.  What better than a nice old fashioned lemonade stand?

Now one thing is for sure.  We have some natural born sales professionals.  It doesn't hurt that they are so cute, or that they had a shamelessly sweet sign. This was the one time that I didn't mind them not taking no for an answer. There were several conversations that went something like this:

    Lemonade! Fifty cents! You want some lemonade?
                   
                No thanks. Not right now.
   
    Lemonade!  Its for my bubba. Just fifty cents.

               Not right now. Thank you.

     Lemonade! [takes Isaac's picture to customer] his name is Isaac.  We want him to come home.
            
               Ok. I would love some lemonade.
  
    Ok. but you have to pay for it ok?

It really wasn't fair, and some may say that we took advantage of their cuteness to manipulate people into helping. Guilty as charged.  If it gets Isaac home sooner, I don't feel bad about it at all.  Especially, when I see how bad they want him here.  Olivia went into her room and took all of the dollar bills out of her money jar, about 6 months worth of savings and told us she wanted it to go to Isaac.  Could not have been more proud of her.  All together they turned $5 worth of lemonade into over $60 dollars.

We still have miles to go before we can bring him home, but we have seen GOD provide so much for us in this process that we have no doubt that HE will provide the means.  We look forward to seeing how HE does it!


Praying For All Things,

Mat and Necia

Chip In

Two posts in one day.  This one is a little harder to write.  We've decided to add a chip in link to the blog.  We set our goal to be $8,665.  That is half of the country fee.  Our goal is just less than 1/4 of our total adoption cost.  We ask that you prayerfully consider donating.  Please pray that God will continue to provide financially for our adoption.

All Things Isaac

I realized that I haven't "officially" announced that Isaac is ours on the blog.  We got the call February 2nd while setting up for our first garage sale.  Since then we've gone into bring Isaac home mode.  We had a fantastic garage sale that weekend that brought in $2,300 in sales and donations.  WOW!!  Praise the Lord!!

We had our homestudy visit last Thursday and I feel so silly for worrying about it like I did.  It couldn't have gone any better.  We should be homestudy approved next month!

I'm finding it hard to balance my emotions between wanting time to hurry up so that it's time to go get our boy and wanting it to slow down so I can savor every moment with Andrew and Olivia. 

We knew in our hearts that Isaac wouldn't come home this year, but I guess we were hoping that maybe just maybe he'd be home by his 2nd birthday.  Outside of a miracle (and I do believe in miracles) he won't be home this year.  So until I see him in person I will hang on to what I do have.

                                                This is the first picture we saw of him.

                                    This is the most current picture we have.  He's 15 months.

Prayers Needed

I received a phone call this afternoon from our adoption agency saying that they are going to let us review Isaac's file.  This is huge!  She said if we decide to move forward then we will be going before the committee in the next couple of weeks.  There is one other family that will be going to committee.  This causes me great anxiety!  I have tried not to think about the possibility that we won't be chosen, but now that we are just a few weeks away it is in the front of my mind.  I have known that adoption consists of a roller coaster of emotions, but my goodness nothing could prepare me for this. 

Ok prayer warriors, I need your prayers!  Please pray for our family as well as the other family while we wait for the committee's decision.  Please pray that God's perfect will is done and that I am able to accept whatever that might be.  Please pray that Isaac knows that there are two families that long to make him part of their forever family.  Finally, please pray that God receives glory through this process!