One of those mornings.....we all have them!

This morning was a rough one! The kids were both dragging their feet getting ready for school---doing just about anything to avoid actually getting dressed. You moms know what I am talking about!!!

My stress levels were rising, and the kids were complaining every step of the way.

Then, I notice that there was homework unfinished! Homework that a certain child ( I will not mention names) said was finished the day before.

I could feel my blood pressure rising!

Then I remembered I had washed their winter coats right before bed. But I forgot to dry them!!!!!  

My head almost popped off---right then and there, in the middle of the kitchen and our morning messes!

 I am certain that I am not going to win any mother of the year awards any time soon!  It seems like on rushed morning like today I hear the voice of doubt loud and clear.

It says:
What are you going to do with two more kids? You think this is hectic? Just wait, you are going to fail---and your family will fall apart.......and everyone is going to be miserable.

Luckily, I know that I am not the glue that holds all this together.

Tom, isn't either. Although, I am so glad we are in this together.

My Heavenly Father is the glue that keeps all this together. We have stressed mornings, bad moods and messes.....but our life is not defined my them, or the lies that Satan tries to tell us about ourselves.

I know that the Lord did not bring us this far to abandon us now! He is the God who meets us in our messes, and loves us anyway.

Friends--if you are hearing that voice of doubt, I just want to encourage you to silence it! Stand firm in the knowledge of who God made you to be. He did not promise us perfection, or that everything in our lives would be easy---but He did promise to walk with us through our messes!

   So here’s what I want you to do, God helping you: Take your everyday, ordinary life—your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life—and place it before God as an offering. Embracing what God does for you is the best thing you can do for him. Don’t become so well-adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking. Instead, fix your attention on God. You’ll be changed from the inside out. Readily recognize what he wants from you, and quickly respond to it. Unlike the culture around you, always dragging you down to its level of immaturity, God brings the best out of you, develops well-formed maturity in you. 

Romans 12:1-2 The Message

God was with me this morning in my messs, and I am so thankful that his mercies are new every morning!

I am trusting that...

He will be with me as I learn to parent two children who are not my own.
He will sustain our marriage through it all.
He will give us the strength to meet the needs of ALLof our children.
He will not abandon us in our times of trouble.

He did not bring us this far to leave us alone now.

We will stand on His promises. We will trust in HIM and we will not listen to the voice of doubt.

Our God is the glue that holds all this together. Not me.....and I am OK with that. He's a better driver than me anyway!

Have you seen me parallel park? Yikes!

Update and Celebrate....

We getting closer to the end of our adoption journey and we are so blown away by the love and support that has been shown to us.

Many people have been asking how close we are to reaching our goal. This is a tricky one, because as soon as we think we have a good answer some unexpected cost comes to light and our goals take new shape.

This is the way with international adoption....

       For example: Our boys are staying in a foster home ran by our agency---not in the orphanage. They were actually living there when we accepted the referral. The other day I was looking over our contract and it says any family that chooses to have their children stay in the agency foster home are subject to a $250 a month charge per child.  
        When we began this process with "G" that did not apply to us, and it was not something we made note of mentally.   Now we have two children living in the foster home, which means we are subject to that charge x's two!   Our options are, to make them move our children back into the orphanage, breaking their bonds with current care givers and move back to where they will potentially receive less care.

Or pay the fees.

We will pay the fees. And not because we think this is fair---but because we know it is in the best interests of our children. They should not have to face another loss. In the long run, when they will need to bond with our family this is the best choice.

But you get the idea---the numbers change. I don't like it.  It's really hard to face all the financial uncertainty.

But one thing is for sure........God knows EXACTLY how much we need! There is no surprising him.

Which leads me to the celebrate....

Today, we got a call from Lifesong for Orphans. They said that they chose our family for one of their matching grants!!!!

We were so excited!!! We are so grateful that we were chosen.

Here's the details:

Between now and April 12th Lifesong for Orphans will match donations up to the amount of $2,500!!!
You can make a tax-deductible donation through Lifesong and we will get 100% of the proceeds.  They will match each donation dollar for dollar up to $2,500! How amazing is that?!?!?!?!?!

How to make a donation:
Make checks payable to: Lifesong for Orphans put Schmidt #3375 Adoption on the memo line
                        Send to:              Lifesong for Orphans
                                               P.O. Box 40/202 N. Ford St.
                                                      Gridley, IL 61744


Thank you to everyone who has given, and prayed for us along the way. Thank you for your patience as we try to navigate the muddy waters of international adoption. We are almost there.....and this definitely will help!!! 

God is not unjust; he will not forget your work and the love you have shown him as you have helped his people and continue to help them. 
   -- Hebrews 6:10