Wednesday, November 28, 2007


A couple of days ago, my two year old woke up from a dream frantic. He kept saying, "Mommy the baby is crying, her tummy hurts, she's screaming". I asked him what baby? What does she look like? He told me,"the brown baby mommy, we need to rescue her, we need to take her to the doctor." This went on for hours. Over and over filled with passion and genuine concern he kept saying, "mommy the brown baby is screaming, we need to rescue her, go to the doctor, mommy, her mouth is broke from crying, we have to give her pj's". My son asked him where the baby was and each time Lukas kept pointing east. He was very upset we didn't rescue her. Throughout the last two days he keeps bringing it up. McKayley thought he might be talking about the african-american baby doll we have, so we clothed her, gave her some"food" and gave her to him. He loved on the doll for a while, then said,"mommy when are we going to rescue the brown baby that's screaming.
His dream, the urgency in his voice has definitely left my heart feeling unsettled. In reality there are millions of babies with tummy aches, screaming, needing to go to the doctor, and that need to be "rescued".

Saturday, November 24, 2007

Pictures of Thanksgiving

The kids worked hard all morning on decorations. They made a huge welcome home banner for their daddy. I should have taken a picture of it. They put their whole heart it.







I am so happy it was a cold day and we could light a fire. There is something so warm and cozy about a fire.

My true love! He was home for 16 hours and we enjoyed every minute of it.


Wednesday, November 21, 2007

In the Spirit of Giving- Long but please read

In my adoption quest, I have been blessed to meet and learn about some amazing organizations following God's call and ministering to the people in Africa. There are two in particular that God has laid upon my heart to help in any way I can. When I first had contact with Addy's Hope it was when I found Marion and Emmanuel. I told Hollyann(the heart and soul) of Addy's Hope that if I could help in anyway to please let me know. We did a little promo work for them but more importantly God spearheaded the building of Marion's House(which could not of happened without your prayers and generous outpourings) Thank you all so much.
Just as God led us to Addy's Hope to Glorify him, I feel his leading me to help another organization. I have been impressed by Orphan Children Rescue.
They minister to the people and orphans of Uganda. David and Jamie live in Kampala with their children. They have a wonderful blog at http://orphanchildrenfund.blogspot.com/
I received an email from them yesterday. They are trying to help 100+ people have access to clean water. Here is their email:

Orphan Children Fund Christmas Island Project


Happy Holidays from Uganda. This year for Christmas we have decided to
do a project to help the community of a nearby island. Jamie wrote
about the island briefly in one of her blogs. We can see this island
from our house and David and Jesse have been out to it twice to visit
and see what was happening there. They found the people to be VERY
poor and basically shut off from everyone since they live on an
island and their numbers too small to attract any attention from the NGO's that might be able to help.
There are about 100 adults and 25 children living there. The
live in mud hits with trash as the roofs. (See the pictures on our
blog site www.orphanchildrenfund.blogspot.com ) There are no schools,
stores, doctors or clinics on this island. Because of the poor living
conditions, the mortality rate of children under 5 is unusually high.

They are currently drinking the lake water and disposing all of their
sewage and waste into the lake. You can see from the pictures how
green the water is around the island. What we want to do for them for
Christmas is this: A water purification project so that the entire
island can have clean drinking water, a Christmas dinner with meat,
presents for all of the children and some needed essentials and a bag
of beans and rice for every family. There are a few urgent medical
needs that we would like to take care of as well. I will post the
specifics on the blog. We have already approached them about this and
the entire community is so excited and thankful for the help. They
have never had any organization or individual help them before.

We are asking for donations to help complete this project and
celebration/gifts for these needy people. If you would like to
contribute please send your donations IMMEDIATELY to Orphan Children
Fund 5753 Republic of Texas Austin, TX 78735 for checks and by
credit card or debit card you can go directly to the web site at
www.orphanchildrenfund.org/donate.html.
Please specify on your checks and also when you donate online that it is for the

"Christmas Island Project." We will be posting pictures of the people,
the island and their living conditions as well as their stories that
they are writing for me on our Blog. Please look for them this week at
www.orphanchildrenfund.blogspot.com. Please send any correspondance to info@orphanchildrenfund.org
Happy Holidays,
David, Jamie, Makinzi, Kaci and Jesse McKenzie
Orphan Children Fund US 501c3 EIN# 11-3786751
Ugandan NGO #6112
If you have received this message in error or would like to be taken off of our email list please send a message to info@orphanchildrenfund.org


I know many of you are trying to finance your own adoptions and the upcoming Christmas season right now, but if you would help by committing to lifting these people up in prayer I know God will be able to work miracles.

I would also like to add for every dollar donated, We would feel privileged to match your donation. So, for example:if you or someone you knows gives $50, I will match that $50. Please Email me if you have any questions. And remember no amount is too small. Your .50 cents could be turned into a dollar and do alot in Uganda.

Small print here: I wish I could give thousands to this cause. However due to family budget constraints we will only be able to match up to a total of $1500.

Monday, November 19, 2007

The call of adoption

Now, I know why so few people adopt. 1. You have to be called to it. 2.It is definitely one of the hardest journey's a family can make. 3. It is a complete walk of faith

It is with a heavy heart I share that the kid we have grown to love, who was to move in at Christmas, will not be joining our family. My heart is broken and I have no words to explain all the emotions that are building up inside. I have to trust in God's plan for everyone involved. I have faith just as the death of Marion and Emmanuel's return to his village worked out for God's glory. I also have faith that God's hand will again work in a way to glorify Him.

So, in less than a year, we fell in love with three kids, birthed them in spirit, and had to say, "goodbye". But I don't regret a minute of it. Because; 1. Even through it all, my desire to adopt has grown. 2. God is my strength and I am learning to rely on Him more. 3. My faith has deepened.

Sunday, November 18, 2007

A budding Artist

What do think of the new look of my couches?

You can click on the picture if you really want to appreciate the design.



The funny thing is, I really don't care. I know that sounds bad, but let me explain. Every purchase we make for the house is a thought out one. We usually plan. We have never had a credit card. So, everything we have, we save for. I have been married for almost 13 years and just bought my first set of dishes last year (thanks to a generous gift card from my sister-in-law) Thanks Leah. I'm not the type to buy clothes unless they are deeply discounted. Again thanks to Leah, my children had clothes for the first 6 years. She worked at Gap and was constantly blessing our family. We have been mostly broke our whole marriage- the kind of poor that we used to look at each other and say, "do you want mustard w/ your bread or ketchup? Our life has dramatically changed in the last few years, thank you Lord! I think if he would have blessed us with what he has back then, it would have been a disaster. We learned to be grateful, to rely on Him, how to stretch a dollar with kids, ride public transportation, paint house numbers on curbs so we could eat, be content without matching dishes, wear what we found at Salvation Army, eat what we had (which at times was nothing), use cloth diapers(out of necessity), live in a town (Los Angeles) that valued possessions and looks above all else, and still be okay. We gave all we could, we were good stewards of what we had. Today for us is different. I can buy what I need at the grocery store, go out to eat, afford haircuts, buy new dishes, cloth my kids, choose to use disposable diapers if I want, build a skate park in my yard to reach out to kids, etc.... For the most part we are still good stewards of our money. One look at us and most people would never think, "Wow, that couple owns a growing business with 45 employees, pays out over $200,000 in salaries a month." We drive cars that get us from A to B, live in a beautiful but ( modest house considering what other people might choose) dress in deep discounted and yes, sometimes hand me down clothes. Instead most of our money goes to the wonderful people that works for us, (I hope one day to pay them even more) Our ministry we are starting, our church, travel(my passion) and various charities. No, I'm not trying to pat myself on the back. I'm simply stating, God has given us great dreams, not filled with new cars and big houses, it's filled with people. People we love from our office manager, graphic team, photographers, unknown "skate punks", orphans in Africa, foster kids in America, the lady at Walmart that the clerk just told her card was declined, our family, and people that we pray God puts in our path for His purpose. Anyway, back to the couches. They were our first non thought out purchase, we bought them just because we liked them. They cost more than anything else we have bought. From the moment we brought them home, we had buyers remorse, they broke after the first month and now our youngest decided to decorate. It's funny, I know this sounds weird, but the I'm glad they're gone. It's a great reminder of God's control in our life- possessions are nothing, his love is eternal. We knew right after we bought them, it was a mistake.

So if anyone knows how to clean them, I sure would love to give them to a family. I don't want to give them away wrecked. They need to look awesome. I want them to look better than new and be a blessing to a family.

I really hesitated even posting this. Sometimes written words can get lost in translation. I pray you read this as my heart intended. I am not trying to brag. God just laid upon my heart to share. I know with the Christmas season approaching, I am guilty of the busyness of it all. What's the best gift for him/her, decorating, getting things just right. We all have the best intentions, we mean well, we are truly trying to give. But what about our heart? Some Christmas's we simply had "nothing to give" But there was no guilt. No," I wish we could do this or that." We gave of our heart, that was all we had. (grandparents provided everything else). I guess, I'm just trying to remind myself that NOTHING can take the place of God's gift to us. So, if your in a position to do "nothing for people" this year, then DO SOMETHING. If it's volunteering somewhere, giving what you have, or praying for God's peace. And if you have something to give, then give it! If it's money, time or simply your love then give it freely. Nothing truly belongs to us. As we enter this, "holiday season" then I pray may we enter it as servants. Servants for the Lord.

Monday, November 12, 2007

Home again, Home again

We are home! And no, I will not be performing another "doing the dance". After just watching it, I think there will not be another public performance for -THE REST OF MY LIFE!- Sorry to disappoint my fans out there. LOL

We had an amazing time in Los Angeles. But since I've been awake for 36 hours and counting; I will write about it later.


The kids enjoying craft services. (all you can eat snack and drink tables set up on a movie set)

Thursday, November 8, 2007

Doing the Dance

I'm doing the dance. It's the dance that comes out when you are just sooooo excited. I think everyone probably has a " doing the dance," dance. It's Adam's goal to find ways to bring out the dance. It's something I have no control over. Sometimes just having McDonald's fries can get the dance going. And there are "dry" dance periods, where nothing can get the "dance" going. A "doing the dance" can not be forced our bribed into motion. There are no certain moves to it either, your body just takes over. My dance is actually a combination of, "crazy white girl meets funky chicken at the disco".


WARNING! Watch this at your own risk! It is extremely embarrassing!


Adam, my love this dance is for you

Tuesday, November 6, 2007

Entourage

I laughed so hard when Adam told me this, I just gotta share.

Adam said one of the Stand-in's on the film, a sweet Russian man was so thankful to be a part of the film that he brought gifts to the set for Ken and Adam. Apparently, the man asked Adam if he drank. Those of you who know Adam; know he has never drank in his life. Anyway, Adam told him that he didn't. This didn't stop the man from wanting to bestow two bottles of imported Russian vodka to the both of them. Adam again graciously told the man, he really appreciated the gesture, but he doesn't drink. In response the man replied in a thick Russian accent, "no, it is okay, it's for your hotel room, you know for your entourage".

Entourage?
I'm still cracking up.


So now they have two bottles of vodka on their dresser for their "Entourage".

Saturday, November 3, 2007

Tears of Joy

Adam called a few minutes ago. He was beyond excited. They started filming today. He sounded like a kid. I loved hearing him try to explain how awesome everything looked. This has been a dream of his since he was a little boy. I guess the reality of him actually being in LA and making a movie hit me. I started to cry and then sob. I hid it from him on the phone, I didn't want to ruin his moment. Years and years of work, prayer and dead ends and never giving up has made my man what he is. My hero! He never tires of doing what is right and following the path God has laid for him. It was the realization of my husband's dream and the triumphant sound in his voice that turned on the tears of joy.

Thursday, November 1, 2007

National Adoption Month


A read some heartbreaking info about children all over the world on Jennifer's blog; an inspiring adoptive momma http://www.xanga.com/foringerfamily

November is national Adoption month. Please join me in prayer on behalf of the millions of children needing someone to love and care for them.

Living with a Dreamer



I started looking into flights to Los Angeles for Thanksgiving. Ouch! We were hoping to fly out to visit Adam. He has officially been gone for 4 days. Only 36 or so days to go. The cheapest airfare I found so far is around 500 per person, then multiply by 6 people. It just doesn't make sense to spend that much money for 4 days. Considering he will be preoccupied making a MOVIE! We miss him like crazy! We are so proud of him for following his dreams!