Normal Life? Yes with 8 children! We are caught up on the laundry (thanks Hosanna!), meals on schedule with salmon, rice and veggies tonight (the children can't wait :)), grocery shopping is all done for the week, Em is working today, Zac is working today, Paul went back to work yesterday and I am back to being the mom, household manager!
It is good to be back home from Newberry. Vacations/getaways are nice, but normal life is nice too. I love that all the kids are great travelers. They all like to read or look at books, so that is a nice quiet activity in the van.
I just had a wonderful breakfast date with my friend Ronda. We have known each other since junior high. She has been married for 4 years now, has a foster baby in her home and has been a great friend to me. We normally get together for each other's birthdays and Christmas. Thanks for the wonderful birthday treat Ronda!
So all in well on the home front. I have the best husband, children in the world and my life is blessed.
Hope you all have a great day! Stay COOL!
Tuesday, July 31, 2007
Monday, July 30, 2007
To God's Country and Back!
We are now back from our weekend in the UP (Upper peninsula of Michigan). We left Friday morning with the six younger children and Paul's parents. We stopped to let the children WADE in Lake Michigan and they ended up soaked! It was fun. We then arrived in Newberry, Michigan. We went swimming in the motel pool. The 4 younger children just had swim lessons the past couple of weeks so they were all confident in the water. Tali lost her little swimming noodle and so I jumped in to keep her above water--that was interesting! We then went out to dinner at Timber Charlie's restaurant. The children did great and we went home to sleep in the motel.
Saturday morning we woke up, had cereal in the motel, went to the beautiful upper Taquamenon Falls and went for a 4 mile hike with the older 5 children. Grandpa and Grandma watched Tali. We then had a picnic lunch and got ready for the Brusseau family reunion. It was a great bunch of people there some families came all the way from Pennsylvania and Florida. Paul did a great job MCing the reunion and Kay did a super job organizing it.
Sunday morning we went to a Lumberjack Breakfast at the old Logging Museum in Newberry and then on to the Bear Ranch. We started to head home, took a dip in Lake Michigan again, bought smoked fish and fudge and got home ~6:30 p.m. So a successful, fun trip and glad to be home again!
Zac and Em stayed home this weekend because of jobs. It is becoming normal to have the older children gone, but it is all part of growing up.
Saturday morning we woke up, had cereal in the motel, went to the beautiful upper Taquamenon Falls and went for a 4 mile hike with the older 5 children. Grandpa and Grandma watched Tali. We then had a picnic lunch and got ready for the Brusseau family reunion. It was a great bunch of people there some families came all the way from Pennsylvania and Florida. Paul did a great job MCing the reunion and Kay did a super job organizing it.
Sunday morning we went to a Lumberjack Breakfast at the old Logging Museum in Newberry and then on to the Bear Ranch. We started to head home, took a dip in Lake Michigan again, bought smoked fish and fudge and got home ~6:30 p.m. So a successful, fun trip and glad to be home again!
Zac and Em stayed home this weekend because of jobs. It is becoming normal to have the older children gone, but it is all part of growing up.
Thursday, July 26, 2007
Trust God and Do the Next Thing
Good afternoon! Today Em and I took off for Detroit to meet with one of her writing friends from Minnesota. We met at Big Boy for breakfast with Libby, Starr, Carolyn, Mrs. Thompson, Em and I. We left at 5:30 this morning and returned ~12:30 this afternoon. Had a great nap, catching up on my mail and then will continue packing for our upcoming vacation to the UP in Michigan.
No new news on referrals. The above quote is from Oswald Chambers and so fits my life. We do continue to trust God for our children here in Michigan and those to come from Liberia. The waiting for the children in Liberia is like a full term lady waiting to have her baby born. You look so forward to seeing that little one(s) and feel like you can't wait--but wait we do!
Some of the questions that I receive from many people in regards to our adoption are:
When will the children arrive? Answer: God only knows
How old are the children? answer: At first we were desiring twin baby girls under age 2, now we will pray for His guidance on the ages of the children. Some people say stick with your original desire of twin girls, others say be open to what God has for your family.
Why is it so expensive to adopt? answer: There are alot of expenses that Acres of Hope have: medical clinics, a staff of 45, feeding programs, schools, care for lots of children, medicines, diapers (you name it for needs for the children), medical care for the children at the orphanage, trips to the embassy in Liberia, paperwork for families and children, etc.
How long does it take to get a child from Liberia? Usually ~12 months. If you compare this to China, it takes 18-24 months, 2 trips overseas and about $30,000 per child, same for Guatamala and Russia. So Liberia is pretty quick and affordable when it comes to adoption. It is still a new program but many have had great adoption experiences.
Why not adopt domestically? There are alot of children who need families here in America. We personally have been called to adopt from Liberia. Liberia has no built in government system (like foster care, family services, insurance) like we have here in America. The cost to adopt domestically is ~$15,000 + per child (this normally includes legal fees, birth mom's expenses, finalization of adoption). If you are interested in adopting domestically, obey God and do it.
How's the adoption going? We are already to receive referrals for the children. We have done all the paperwork, applied to all the right people, so we are just waiting for the right children to come into the orphanage and for Donna to call!
Please pray for God's timing on when we will hear who the right children are for our fam! Thanks and hope to hear from you soon!
No new news on referrals. The above quote is from Oswald Chambers and so fits my life. We do continue to trust God for our children here in Michigan and those to come from Liberia. The waiting for the children in Liberia is like a full term lady waiting to have her baby born. You look so forward to seeing that little one(s) and feel like you can't wait--but wait we do!
Some of the questions that I receive from many people in regards to our adoption are:
When will the children arrive? Answer: God only knows
How old are the children? answer: At first we were desiring twin baby girls under age 2, now we will pray for His guidance on the ages of the children. Some people say stick with your original desire of twin girls, others say be open to what God has for your family.
Why is it so expensive to adopt? answer: There are alot of expenses that Acres of Hope have: medical clinics, a staff of 45, feeding programs, schools, care for lots of children, medicines, diapers (you name it for needs for the children), medical care for the children at the orphanage, trips to the embassy in Liberia, paperwork for families and children, etc.
How long does it take to get a child from Liberia? Usually ~12 months. If you compare this to China, it takes 18-24 months, 2 trips overseas and about $30,000 per child, same for Guatamala and Russia. So Liberia is pretty quick and affordable when it comes to adoption. It is still a new program but many have had great adoption experiences.
Why not adopt domestically? There are alot of children who need families here in America. We personally have been called to adopt from Liberia. Liberia has no built in government system (like foster care, family services, insurance) like we have here in America. The cost to adopt domestically is ~$15,000 + per child (this normally includes legal fees, birth mom's expenses, finalization of adoption). If you are interested in adopting domestically, obey God and do it.
How's the adoption going? We are already to receive referrals for the children. We have done all the paperwork, applied to all the right people, so we are just waiting for the right children to come into the orphanage and for Donna to call!
Please pray for God's timing on when we will hear who the right children are for our fam! Thanks and hope to hear from you soon!
Wednesday, July 25, 2007
Adoption journey
It all began when I received Above Rubies in March, 2005. Nancy Campbell, editor of Above Rubies, had just come back from Liberia and shared with the readers about the need for forever families for the children in the orphanages there. Our youngest child, Talitha, was only a year old at that time, we thought we would have more children through my womb and so I thought, "God bless those families."
We never felt led to adoption. Just thinking we would trust God for our family size with our biological children. Well, the biological children didn't continue to come (to term at least). Talitha Hope was born March, 2003 and lo and behold we get pregnant in October, 2005! We were soooooooo excited! Then on December 23, we were wrapping last minute gifts, getting ready to shop for stocking stuff and I started spotting--this had NEVER happened with the other pregnancies. We went in for an ultrasound and our baby was dying. What a sad horrible experience. But we were so happy to get to see our little one.
We then were blessed with another pregnancy in March, 2006 and really believed all would be fine with this one--maybe even be blessed with twins. So all went well until June 17, 2006. We were returning from the west side of the state and started spotting again. Went in for an ultrasound and discovered a blighted ovum. Pregnancy but no baby to be seen.
We grieved for the loss of our babies, had great support from family and friends and moved on with life and the 8 living children I had with me.
In the winter of 2006, God started stirring my heart in regards to adoption. I mentioned it to Paul, we sat on it until February 13, 2007. We were watching the movie, "Facing the Giants", a super movie about God being God of the impossibilities. The next morning Paul woke up and said, "Start checking up on home studies." God will provide for all of our needs according to His riches in glory. We trust Him for the right children to be brought into our family, the finances to come in.
So here is a rough timeline:
February 14 The beginning of our adoption journey
February events: passport update, check out home study providers, chose Swartz Adoption Attorneys
March: physicals for all the family! Home study begins with Miss Pat, Health department immunizations for Liberia
April: completed home study, huge successful garage sale, applied for Orphan petition, got dossier together, fingerprinted
May:Premier jewelry party with all proceeds going toward adoption
June: I-600A approved, apply to Acres of Hope, sent in dossier--ALL OUR PAPERWORK DONE for now!
So that is where we are for now! We can do nothing else but pray and wait for a referral. Donna Barber is our contact at Acres of Hope, who will be contacting us when the right children become available. Please pray for her and us during this time.
If you have any questions, please feel free to ask me ANYTHING!
After we receive the referrals, we will then wait for passports for the children, finalization of adoption in Liberia and then receive travel dates. Many people want to know when our children are coming home. Of course we don't even know who they are yet and so my quick answer is "God ONLY knows!" So true, eh? Just like trusting Him for our family size, we continue to trust Him to expand our family through our adoption.
Financial information: To adopt 2 children from Liberia, including all the paperwork, plane tickets, EVERYTHING will be ~ $30,000. We have raised over $7000 with the garage sales, jewelry party and donations from friends and family.
Denise and fam
We never felt led to adoption. Just thinking we would trust God for our family size with our biological children. Well, the biological children didn't continue to come (to term at least). Talitha Hope was born March, 2003 and lo and behold we get pregnant in October, 2005! We were soooooooo excited! Then on December 23, we were wrapping last minute gifts, getting ready to shop for stocking stuff and I started spotting--this had NEVER happened with the other pregnancies. We went in for an ultrasound and our baby was dying. What a sad horrible experience. But we were so happy to get to see our little one.
We then were blessed with another pregnancy in March, 2006 and really believed all would be fine with this one--maybe even be blessed with twins. So all went well until June 17, 2006. We were returning from the west side of the state and started spotting again. Went in for an ultrasound and discovered a blighted ovum. Pregnancy but no baby to be seen.
We grieved for the loss of our babies, had great support from family and friends and moved on with life and the 8 living children I had with me.
In the winter of 2006, God started stirring my heart in regards to adoption. I mentioned it to Paul, we sat on it until February 13, 2007. We were watching the movie, "Facing the Giants", a super movie about God being God of the impossibilities. The next morning Paul woke up and said, "Start checking up on home studies." God will provide for all of our needs according to His riches in glory. We trust Him for the right children to be brought into our family, the finances to come in.
So here is a rough timeline:
February 14 The beginning of our adoption journey
February events: passport update, check out home study providers, chose Swartz Adoption Attorneys
March: physicals for all the family! Home study begins with Miss Pat, Health department immunizations for Liberia
April: completed home study, huge successful garage sale, applied for Orphan petition, got dossier together, fingerprinted
May:Premier jewelry party with all proceeds going toward adoption
June: I-600A approved, apply to Acres of Hope, sent in dossier--ALL OUR PAPERWORK DONE for now!
So that is where we are for now! We can do nothing else but pray and wait for a referral. Donna Barber is our contact at Acres of Hope, who will be contacting us when the right children become available. Please pray for her and us during this time.
If you have any questions, please feel free to ask me ANYTHING!
After we receive the referrals, we will then wait for passports for the children, finalization of adoption in Liberia and then receive travel dates. Many people want to know when our children are coming home. Of course we don't even know who they are yet and so my quick answer is "God ONLY knows!" So true, eh? Just like trusting Him for our family size, we continue to trust Him to expand our family through our adoption.
Financial information: To adopt 2 children from Liberia, including all the paperwork, plane tickets, EVERYTHING will be ~ $30,000. We have raised over $7000 with the garage sales, jewelry party and donations from friends and family.
Denise and fam
Greetings
Greetings from the Paul Nelson Family!
Yes, yes we have entered into the blogging world!
We are the Nelsons: Paul, Denise, Zac, 18; Em, 17; Sam, 13; Malachi, 12; Gabe, 10; Hosanna, 9; Josiah, 6; and Talitha Hope, 4. We are in the process of adopting from Acres of Hope Liberia. Our heart's desire has always been to have 10 children and we thought wrapping up with twin baby girls would be great!
Here's where we are at: Waiting for referrals. We have had the homestudy done, the I-600A is in and so is the dossier. So we continue to wait for the right children to be added to our family. We appreciate your prayers and I will add more information as we have it!
Denise and all
Yes, yes we have entered into the blogging world!
We are the Nelsons: Paul, Denise, Zac, 18; Em, 17; Sam, 13; Malachi, 12; Gabe, 10; Hosanna, 9; Josiah, 6; and Talitha Hope, 4. We are in the process of adopting from Acres of Hope Liberia. Our heart's desire has always been to have 10 children and we thought wrapping up with twin baby girls would be great!
Here's where we are at: Waiting for referrals. We have had the homestudy done, the I-600A is in and so is the dossier. So we continue to wait for the right children to be added to our family. We appreciate your prayers and I will add more information as we have it!
Denise and all
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