Another Bad Day

I am feeling very discouraged today. I just have this terrible sense of dread that Nathaniel will never come home. DRC is dragging their feet and there is nothing I can do to get the legal process moving. Meanwhile Nathaniel just keeps getting older and older. Who knows what is happening to him in that orphanage. I want him home where I can make sure he is safe. Where I can hold him and love on him. I can't seem to stop crying today. We have been trying to adopt now for 8 years. This is the closest we have ever gotten to actually getting a child. But all we have are pictures of him. It seems like it will never really happen. Maybe we were wrong and this isn't God's plan for us. Maybe everyone who warned us against adopting were right. We have his room all prepared for him. The crib is set up. I bought a Winnie the Pooh sheet set for it. I have the walls decorated with pictures of Winnie the Pooh. I have a rocking chair next to his bed. I had dreams of rocking him at night. The room is beautiful but it is missing the most important item; my beautiful baby boy Nathaniel. Blessings, Melissa

Resurrection Day

Today is Resurrection Day, the day we celebrate that our Lord is risen. So happy Resurrection Day. He is risen. Hallelujah, He is risen indeed. Blessings, Melissa

Maundy Thursday

Today is Maundy Thursday when we comemorate Jesus and His disciples eating the Passover meal. The former pastor of our church would have a Maundy Thursday service every year, but our new pastor does not. So, we decided to have our own celebration at home with our family. My dear husband, the head of our home and the priest of our family, presided over our service. He first read Luke's account of the Lord's Last Supper, then he prayed for us, and then he served us crackers and grape juice. It was beautiful. I think if we make this an annual event I would like to light some candles and sing a couple of hymns.
The point of doing this was to remember our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ and to teach our children about His death, burial and resurrection. Brandon knows and understands what Jesus did for us, and we have been trying to teach Desiree. We want her to understand what a solemn but at the same time joyous celebration Easter really is.
After our little service, we had a fun family night. We played Uno. It was Desiree's first time playing. She is old enough to know her colors and numbers so she could actually play. And she had a blast!!
I hope you have a wonderful Easter celebration and remember the sacrifice Jesus made for us.
Blessings,
Melissa

Desi's schoolwork this week.

Since it is Passion week, we are learning about Jesus' trial, crucifixion, death, burial, and resurrection. We are trying to teach Desiree that Jesus is what Easter is all about, not a fictional bunny.

Blessings,

Melissa

Peaceful Day

Desiree LOVES to spend time with Brandon. Whenever he is in his room, she will politely ask if she can come in too. While he is reading, writing a story, or listening to music, she will quietly sit and play with his cars or Legos. She doesn't ask him to join her. She is content simply to be in the room with him. As a mom it blesses my heart to see them enjoying each others company. Especially since at the ages of 4 and 14 they don't have very much in common. One afternoon this lasted for 3 blissful hours. No arguing. No yelling. No crying. They are in Brandon's room right now. He is writing a story on his computer and Desiree is playing house with some of his cars. "The big ones are the parents and the little ones are the babies," she tells me. I love these quiet, peaceful days when they are showing love to each other because I know that all too soon these days will be gone. Brandon is 14. In just a few short years he will be all grown up and leaving home. I hope Desiree makes lots of memories of these calm, peaceful days and always remembers the love they have for each other. Blessings, Melissa

New Pictures

We FINALLY got new pictures of Nathaniel. He is just over a year old. Still no news on when he will be coming home.

Blessings,
Melissa

A Rant

OK people time for me to rant. I have been reading alot lately that some people want to end ALL international adoptions. ALL. Their reasoning is that a child loses it's birth culture and a country committs social genocide through international adoption. First of all, only 1% of all international orphanes ever get adopted, domestically or internationally. And second, is it better for a child to grow up in an institution only to age out with no support system, no family? Statistics show that most of these children resort to prostitution(male and female) or some other crime to get money to live. And they often abuse drugs and alcohol to numb their pain. And some children with medical special needs often move from an institution for children to an adult institution and stay there for the rest of their lives. Yes, it is true a child may lose their birth culture through international adoption, but they gain a FAMILY! God's plan is for children to grow up in families, not institutions. Another argument is that most of the children available for international adoption are special needs kids and most adoptive families want healthy babies. Not true! People who choose international adoption know what children are available and still willingly choose it.And "special needs" can mean many different things. When we were trying to adopt from Ghana, we were interested in a 12 year old boy whose only special need was that he was a 12 year old boy! But Ghana stopped all international adoption. So what happens to that boy when he ages out of the orphanage at 16? Even Nathaniel was considered special needs because he is a boy. I cannot bear to think what would happen if we couldn't adopt him. Yes, it is best for children to remain in thier birth families and countries if possible, but because we live in a fallen, imperfect world it is NOT always possible or what is best for the child and adoption is a GOOD alternative.

Blessings,

Melissa