Lost Paperwork.....Really!?!

Riley's first day back to Preschool!



Nathan before Christmas



Josh learning to snowboard:) Apparently Santa figured I was too picky with the camera I wanted and decided I needed to pick it out on my own:) Hopefully I will figure out what camera I need/want soon,and the quality of pictures on this blog will improve;)

Well this waiting thing is getting difficult now that the holiday's are over :0) We have been praying that we would received Addison's referral this month, its not looking like it will happen. We had our agency FOI contact the CCAA to see if her paperwork was there, of course it wasn't! So then we talked about whether or not we know if the orphanage has truly started her paperwork back in September. They were not very keen on contacting the orphanage. I have been in contact with Keith at Agape house and he believes that her paperwork is lost!!! As this is the second time they have seen the paperwork take this long to be done and in the other families case it was sent to a different government office? I'm not sure what this all means, but I am sure it means it will not be January for referral:( Keith has offered to have someone contact this other government office and the orphanage, however we haven't heard from him since Jan 2nd. I know we are exactly where we are suppose to be, and I want this journey to be God's will and not our own selfish will. I am struggling with all of it. I have taken to claiming some of God's promises to us....

- He uses all things (including the "bad" things) to work towards the good of those who love Him, and have been called according to his purpose.

- He will not tempt us with more than we can bear.

- He is with us always

- God IS for me!

- In our weakness His strength is made perfect

- He gives strength to the weary.

- He will give us peace beyond understanding.

So I am claiming some of these and the many other promises God has made to us! It does give me strength and makes me want to persevere towards whatever God's plan is for our family

I regularly watch past messages at http://www.lifechurch.tv/ Pastor Craig Groeshel is a powerful and passionate speaker. His New Years message was epically good! I think it was called "One Thing" basically it was about choosing One Thing you would like to see God do through you this year. the questions were...

1. What one thing do you desire from God this year? - Psalm 27:4

2. When it comes to your relationship with God what one thing do you lack? Mark 10:21-22

3. What one thing do you need to let go? Phil 3:13-14

4. What one promise do you need to claim? Psalms 56:9-10

Hence the claiming of promises in my life right now:) It was a powerful message and easy to watch and follow as it was about 30 minutes long, I would encourage everyone reading this blog to check it out! I know I have my one things figured out for this year:0) There are many many messages archived on their website. I find it a great way to "feed" myself.

Well we are back into the full swing of school routine this week as Riley is now back in preschool.

She is being assessed by early intervention for some speech things that have popped up in the last year. We hope to get her some help, if she needs it. Riley started stuttering about a year ago, we think its more a nervous thing, but it will be good to see what the professionals say;)

Joshua is really glad the weather has warmed up so much so he can play outside during recess! He had a blast at his snowboarding lessons and has been hitting us up to buy him a snowboard so he can go to the park and practice :)

Nathan enjoyed his first private swim lesson, although during Gym last week was practicing shooting basketballs and shot one and his leg cracked!!!! He panicked and was in instant pain, they called me and he remained home for a few days. We chose not to see a MD as he has a rod in that femur and was able to cough and move a bit without too much pain. I'm not sure if it was a micro fracture or what? We will see when he has his Xrays in Montreal in March. He is now back to school and has started walking short distances again with a walker.

Howard is back to work, things are usually a little slow in his field for the first few weeks of January and then things go mental in the oil patch through to April when we finally defrost up here in the frozen North:0)

I am really focusing on my physical health ( like almost everyone else in January) I have been really enjoying the Clean Eating and Oxygen magazines they have a great kick start routine and some super healthy recipes to follow. So our family is back on the meal planning program! I have been also looking around for a car seat and stroller for Addison, I believe we have narrowed it down to the ones we need. We still need to paint her room and find a dresser. I would like to start buying some clothes for when we travel to bring her home, however we will probably need summer stuff so there is nothing in the stores other than sweaters and jeans. Oh shucks I guess I will have to visit Etsy, Matilda Jane, and Ebay:p I have also been keeping busy with the Families helping families ministry I oversee, we have had a few families in need of meals due to health problems. I would love some freezer meal ideas from anyone who has some yummy ones! I am getting a bit bored of the ones I have been making:) So hopefully I can continue to keep busy enough that this wait for Addie won't seem so painfully slow! I hope you have a great week!

Congrats to those of you who got your T.A. (travel approval) today! Happy packing!