Thank yous, naked babies and more

First, I want to extend our sincere THANKS to those who contributed to both our matching grants with God's Grace Adoption Ministry and Lifesong for Orphans! If you gave to Lifesong, you should have already received a personal Thank You note from us, as those donors' names have been revealed to us. However, all donors to God's Grace are kept confidential and so we must use the most public forum we have available (our blog) to say Thank you. Hopefully, you have received a receipt from both ministries for your tax deductible contribution. And from the bottom of our hearts, we are so grateful for your gifts! Thank you for responding to the Lord and investing in His Kingdom! We have promised to raise all our children according to His Truth, and by His grace we now have the opportunity to share Jesus with three who might not have otherwise known His love. From the beginning our decision to adopt was not about the dollars it would take to do so, but about the eternal investment. For us personally, had we had the finances, we might not have been still long enough to listen to God's call to adopt. We have had to depend on Him totally, and He has blessed us beyond measure. Most of you know we didn't have any funds set aside for any of our adoption journeys, and though I have to admit it was a huge obstacle, God has constantly reminded us of His faithfulness, His unimaginable love and His boundless resources! We will continue to work hard, save pennies and sell our adoption decals to pay our adoption debt, but in the end we know God is faithful, and He hasn't promised the journey would be easy. He has promised that His grace is sufficient for us, and we know that full well. May He continue to bless you as you listen to His unmistakeable direction for your life!

Now, on to a matter of less seriousness, but of great concern for many of our cherished readers ~ naked babies :) I routinely dress the kids once a day, whether it's 7 a.m. because I'm rushing out the door for a deposition, or 8:30 a.m. because we're staying home all day. Usually by afternoon naptime Kaeleb has drooled a bucketload on his shirt or Kambry has dumped most of her lunch on her shirt, or we've had a diaper failure (the box says 26 to 38 pounds so what's the deal!!), so one piece of clothing or another must go. I despise laundry, and if I don't intend to leave the house, I figure why add to the pile. So fear not, my babies start the day fully clothed and end the day fully clothed, but what happens in between is tomorrow's surprise :)

And now for a matter of great seriousness, eternal life. I spent the morning with my dad, and God allowed us great conversation. He still didn't accept the Lord, but we made huge strides in talking about the importance of a relationship with Christ. It's very difficult to watch my dad deteriorate physically and mentally at the age of 61! According to his cancer doctor, he probably doesn't have much time left, and my prayer is that he would sense the urgency in coming to Christ. I appreciate your continued prayers for both of my parents. Have a blessed weekend!