Book worth the read......

I recently read the book: The Ministry Of Motherhood--Following Christ's Example In Reaching the Hearts Of Our Children. By Sally Clarkson

It's a really great read!

Mother's so often get caught up in the hustle and bustle of everyday life that we forget that being a good mother is a ministry that makes an impact for generations to come. This book was such an encouragement to me as a mother of two biological children and soon to be 2 adopted boys.

This book has inspired me to be more intentional in my day to day routines and to appoach each day as if working for the Lord.

I especially loved the section on teaching your children the same way Jesus taught his disciples.

So if you are looking for some encouragment and inspiration, I highly recommend!

For family and friends....

The Kitchen Is Not My Office: Supporting and Understanding the Adoptive Family

I just read this amazing blog post. I wanted to share it with our network of family and friends. Our family is going to be changing dramatically over the next few months. I know that there is no way I could ever put into words exactly what we will need our how you can help us through all the adjustments. The truth is----we just don't know.

Every child is different. We have gone through the all required trainings ( and some that weren't!) All we can do is pray that God is already preparing their hearts for our family, and preparing our hearts for their arrival.

We are so lucky to have such a supportive network of friends!

 I know that many of you will be eager to meet them and help out once they are here. So check out this blog post on understanding and supporting adoptive families, it's a really good read!

Almost there....

"Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you"
                           --  Matthew 7:7

Pride often gets the best of us. No one likes to share their needs, and everyone likes to look like we have it all together.

When we began this process, it felt crazy to be sharing with people that we needed $31,000 that we did not have. But at the same time we knew we were called to adopt, despite all of the discouraging math! I expected people to assume we were insane and move on with their busy lives.

We decided to share our need anyway and a funny thing happened.

People that we didn't know that well a year ago, came forward and said: " You are called to adopt and we feel called to help you! What can we do?"

They started planning secret meetings ( that we weren't invited to! Ha!) They reminded us on a weekly basis that they were praying for us and they did! They mourned our losses with us, and rejoiced when we found new hope in two beautiful little boys. They had our backs!

I am not sure that we could have made it through this process without the love of good friends and family.

Fundraisers started happening! Kids had lemonade stands, friends planned rummage sales, bought coffee and kept praying!

    Most recently our church family planned a benefit dinner and silent auction on January 26th. We were floored when we found out that we had reached maximum capacity in the family life center!  Over 260 people bough tickets and we were amazed when most of them showed up! It was such an amazing night. We couldn't believe all of the wonderful donations, and we were delighted to see new friends and old!

We left the dinner rejoicing! It was so amazing to see everyone come together to show love for our boys and for our family. Adoption can be such a lonely process but there was so much love in that room! Our cups were overflowing. We went home completely at peace with the feeling that God had given us a precious gift---love. We didn't talk about money when we went home that night, we just talked about all of the conversations we had with friends and family. We were so encouraged.

We went to church this morning knowing they would be announcing the total for the dinner during the service. We had no idea what to expect. We both agreed that we had such an amazing night that it didn't really matter.

But God decided to knock our socks off instead! We were told that the total for our adoption dinner was...........$11,327.18!!!!!!!!  

We both melted into a pile of tears!  It was like the Lord just gave us the biggest bear hug and said " Listen kids, I've got this!!!!" But that's not all........................................

Another friend had given us $750.00 that was not included in the total. She had shared our adoption story with everyone who got a Christmas card from their family. WOW! This pushed our total up to $12,077.18!!!

BUT THAT IS NOT ALL.....

When I was leaving church I checked our mailbox and found $500 cash from an anonymous giver with a note that only said: God Bless Your Family. Someone stopped us and asked to buy tshirts....another $100.  Someone from the Methodist church wrote a check for $200......the list goes on.......

$13,000 is alot of money! The words "thank you" will never express all that we are feeling today. God is so trustworthy.

    A friend almost tackled us after the church service today!

    He was so excited for our family.

 I looked right at him and saw the tears welling in his eyes and I started to realize the magnitude of this blessing. Not just for us, but for everyone involved. Our friends are experiencing the joy of caring for an orphan. They love these boys too!

They are invested.

 If we wouldn't have shared our need we would have robbed them of the experience.  I have had so many people look at me with tears in their eyes and say: " We just can't wait to meet these boys, we can't wait to hug them. " We just want to love them."

I believe it.

God is moving.

Hearts are changing.

Two orphans will have a forever home.

We are left to say again that we are blessed beyond measure. I wish we had a better word than thank you.....

Thank you seems so small.

We love you.



“A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.” John 13: 34-35

What a ride....

Adoption is pretty crazy.

We had no idea when we began this journey that we were strapping ourselves in for a pretty LONG rollercoaster ride. There have been unpredictable twists and turns, and we have cried and wanted off this ride at times.

But, we are sensing more and more that every twist and turn was for a purpose. God has been present every step of the way. We can't pretend to understand everything that the Lord has done, but we do know that it is all for our good and it will all be for HIS glory in the end. We have had to seek Him constantly, and that is NEVER a bad thing.

For a year, we prayed for a little girl that we thought would become a part of our family. Getessa became a household name for many in our church, and circle of friends. This child was prayed for daily. The life of an orphan became real to us, our children and those closest to us. 

Those prayers were not wasted. God only knows the protection that this afforded her. I can't wait to one day understand the fullness of His plans.

A friend of ours came to Christ after hearing about Getessa.

We made new friends, who wanted to follow us on this journey.

There were countless blessings along the way, all that point to a more perfect plan.

We were so sad when we knew that the door was closing for us to bring her home. We still pray for her daily. Her picture is still on our mantle and it will stay there.

We are more determined than ever to follow God wherever he is leading.

Our adoption agency asked us if we would consider TWO brothers. We were one of the few families on file that was open to adopting a child of either sex up to the age of 7. They had two brothers that they were trying to keep together, and thought it might be worth asking us to consider them.

We were intimidated at first. We had not thought of adopting siblings.

How much would it cost? Could we afford it? Could we parent 4 children?

We prayed, and prayed, and prayed........and prayed.

Our agency sent the complete referral, and we prayed some more.

We found that the only excuse not to do this was the additional $5,000 in costs it would add to our adoption. 

A child's life is worth way more than $5,000. Money could not be the reason.

We prayed some more. We talked about it to our kids, and they were on board.  Willing to share with two more.

As we talked, we felt that this was double the blessing.  We could bring these boys into a loving home, where they will hear the name Jesus on a daily basis. They will be together, and they will be loved.

WE can love them. And we will....

We hope that you will continue with us on this journey as we follow the Lord's lead and prepare to welcome two more smiling faces into the Schmidt family.

We press on.....

"Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything." James 1:2-4



       Friends, we got devastating news today. The Ethiopian Government has placed a ban on adoptions from the southern tribal regions of Ethiopia. This means that Getessa is not available for us to adopt at this time. We are heartbroken, and mourning. We still intend to proceed and adopt another child from Ethiopia because we are committed 100% to orphan care. It is with a very heavy heart that we are moving on at this point. Our paperwork is in order and we will continue on this journey knowing that God has a perfect plan in all of this.

The process will continue but the Lord has closed the door for our family to bring Getessa home at this time.


While we are grieving the fact that the fate of this child seems so uncertain, we will press on. We will press on because as we grieve, we are able to do it as a family.

We think of all of the orphans in the world who will grieve their losses alone. With no one to care for them, or share in their grief. Children in desperate need of love. So we will press on through the pain---because it doesn't compare to what children all over the world go through everyday alone.

We are wounded but we are not destroyed.

We will press on. We will continue to trust in God's plan for our family.


Matthew 17:20

"For truly I say to you, if you have the faith like the grain of mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, "Move from here to there," and it will move, and nothing will be impossible for you.