So check out our first carrot!
June 18, 2009
Happy Eleven Months!
Happy Eleven Months! It hasn't been all happy, but I can honestly say I'm more at peace with the waiting. Due to multiple circumstances, we are looking at the possibility of a fall/late year travel. We don't know when we will get a referral and it could be soon or months. The reason for the late year travel is because the courts close in Ethiopia for a rainy season, and adoption cases aren't heard. I'm surprisingly okay. I didn't even realize that today was 11 months until my 11 month adoption buddy reminded me of our special day! So, as of now, we are almost the longest waiting family for a girl with our agency. No stressing here!
So check out our first carrot!
So check out our first carrot!
June 17, 2009
Updated Garden Pictures
The garden is doing fabulous! Peas are almost done. Carrots and onions are growing and should be ready to harvest in about a month. The 13 tomato plants are just starting to show their fruit. I can't wait! Remember, my goal is to can a year supply of tomatoes and salsa! Green beans are almost ready. The spinach is done and broccoli is almost done. Peppers are just starting to sprout. My sunflowers are as tall as Miles now! It's so beautiful! I love it!
Full Garden June 2009
Roma Tomatoes
Carrots, Onions and Peas
Tomatoes
Broccoli
Full Garden June 2009
Roma Tomatoes
Carrots, Onions and Peas
Tomatoes
Broccoli
Sunflowers
June 16, 2009
Feeling Pretty Good!
I'm feeling pretty good. I've pretty much come to terms that we will not get a referral or travel anytime soon. Yes, we are still on the top of the list, but due to many different reasons, we will probably be looking at travel in the fall. It's still possible to get our "call," but the courts will be closing down for two months for the rainy season. Honestly, I think I am good with it. It took a lot to let go of that, but it's done and I feel good.
June 8, 2009
I've Got a New Attitude!
Or at least I'm working on it.
I have found myself to be bitter lately. Bitter about loosing my father, about the unknowns and forever waiting in the adoption world and just plain bitter. I've been clinging to a verse that speaks of my heart:
Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but a longing fulfilled is a tree of life. Proverbs 13:12
The deferment of our adoption has made my heart sick. It has made me sick. I long for our daughter, that's no secret. Parents in the adoption world just get it. Especially those with long waits, like longer than pregnancy...lol. For those who haven't experienced adoption, it's like knowing your child is in another country and you can't get to them. This hope of adding to our family has been a constant anticipation. I set myself up for "the call" everyday.
I recently picked up my One Year Bible, that I've been reading for three years, and found a scripture that I had written on an index card. I completely forgot about it. And God knew I needed it.
Consider it nothing but joy when you fall into all sorts of trials, because you know that the testing of your faith produces endurance. And let endurance have its perfect effect, so that you will be perfect and complete, not deficient in anything. James 1:2-4
If your like me, I have to break this verse down by sections and apply it to my life. "Consider it nothing by joy when you fall into all sorts of trials," tells me that I need to find joy. I used to be such an advocate of adoption. I wanted everyone I knew to adopt. Recently, I have found that I'm the last person in the world that should be encouraging people to adopt. In fact, I don't wish this pain on anyone! But this verse is telling me to find joy when I fall into all sorts of trials. Lord knows I'm in all sorts of trials, so I need to find joy. How? I'm not really sure, but I'm a work in progress. Like Steve Harvey says, "Don't trip, He ain't through with me yet!"
"Because you know that the testing of your faith produces endurance." God also knows that my faith has been tested. I haven't lost it, nor will I ever. God has done too many things in my life for me to loose my faith. This has to be the first time that my faith has really been tested. Yes, those are two different things. I love my Lord and know He has called us to adoption. I know in my heart that He knows what is best for us. I just don't understand His ways right now and it's been testing me, making me question His will. So this verse is saying that the testing of my faith produces endurance. Wow. If I can endure this! So the testing of my faith isn't such a bad thing. It's growing me.
"And let endurance have its perfect effect, so that you will be perfect and complete, not deficient in anything." I need to endure this part of my journey. It's hard, man it's hard. But this verse is telling me that if I let it run its course and endure and have its perfect effect, that I will be perfect and complete, not deficient in anything! Wow. I can't wait for that day!
This past weekend message at our church hit home for me.
I urge you to live a life worthy of the call you have received. Ephesians 4:1
It made me think. Am I living a life that exudes my calling? What is my calling? Well we know, we KNOW, we were called to adopt. There's no question there, but am I encouraging others to adopt with my current attitude? No, I'm not. Am I becoming more Christ like with this journey? No, I'm not. As Christians, we need to be on a path of constant change and progression towards a Christ like life. Our spiritual lives should not sit on a shelve. We need to take risks and grow. My spiritual life has been on a shelve. My heart has ached and instead of finding joy, I've wallowed in my agony. But, I have realized it and am determined to change my attitude. I truly to want to give a good name to adoption. I do want it to be an amazing thing that everyone has the opportunity to experience or help with. We, as Christians, are called to love and care for orphans. And I am choosing, today, to do it with joy!
I have found myself to be bitter lately. Bitter about loosing my father, about the unknowns and forever waiting in the adoption world and just plain bitter. I've been clinging to a verse that speaks of my heart:
Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but a longing fulfilled is a tree of life. Proverbs 13:12
The deferment of our adoption has made my heart sick. It has made me sick. I long for our daughter, that's no secret. Parents in the adoption world just get it. Especially those with long waits, like longer than pregnancy...lol. For those who haven't experienced adoption, it's like knowing your child is in another country and you can't get to them. This hope of adding to our family has been a constant anticipation. I set myself up for "the call" everyday.
I recently picked up my One Year Bible, that I've been reading for three years, and found a scripture that I had written on an index card. I completely forgot about it. And God knew I needed it.
Consider it nothing but joy when you fall into all sorts of trials, because you know that the testing of your faith produces endurance. And let endurance have its perfect effect, so that you will be perfect and complete, not deficient in anything. James 1:2-4
If your like me, I have to break this verse down by sections and apply it to my life. "Consider it nothing by joy when you fall into all sorts of trials," tells me that I need to find joy. I used to be such an advocate of adoption. I wanted everyone I knew to adopt. Recently, I have found that I'm the last person in the world that should be encouraging people to adopt. In fact, I don't wish this pain on anyone! But this verse is telling me to find joy when I fall into all sorts of trials. Lord knows I'm in all sorts of trials, so I need to find joy. How? I'm not really sure, but I'm a work in progress. Like Steve Harvey says, "Don't trip, He ain't through with me yet!"
"Because you know that the testing of your faith produces endurance." God also knows that my faith has been tested. I haven't lost it, nor will I ever. God has done too many things in my life for me to loose my faith. This has to be the first time that my faith has really been tested. Yes, those are two different things. I love my Lord and know He has called us to adoption. I know in my heart that He knows what is best for us. I just don't understand His ways right now and it's been testing me, making me question His will. So this verse is saying that the testing of my faith produces endurance. Wow. If I can endure this! So the testing of my faith isn't such a bad thing. It's growing me.
"And let endurance have its perfect effect, so that you will be perfect and complete, not deficient in anything." I need to endure this part of my journey. It's hard, man it's hard. But this verse is telling me that if I let it run its course and endure and have its perfect effect, that I will be perfect and complete, not deficient in anything! Wow. I can't wait for that day!
This past weekend message at our church hit home for me.
I urge you to live a life worthy of the call you have received. Ephesians 4:1
It made me think. Am I living a life that exudes my calling? What is my calling? Well we know, we KNOW, we were called to adopt. There's no question there, but am I encouraging others to adopt with my current attitude? No, I'm not. Am I becoming more Christ like with this journey? No, I'm not. As Christians, we need to be on a path of constant change and progression towards a Christ like life. Our spiritual lives should not sit on a shelve. We need to take risks and grow. My spiritual life has been on a shelve. My heart has ached and instead of finding joy, I've wallowed in my agony. But, I have realized it and am determined to change my attitude. I truly to want to give a good name to adoption. I do want it to be an amazing thing that everyone has the opportunity to experience or help with. We, as Christians, are called to love and care for orphans. And I am choosing, today, to do it with joy!
May 26, 2009
The Hyman Compound *Sarcasm Attached*
I dream of living off the land, that's no secret. I joke and tell people that we are going to buy a lot of acreage and call it the Hyman Compound. Brandon would kill me if he knew that I was blogging about this...lol! It has a lot to do with our frugality, and some to do with just being self sufficient and not relying on our grocery stores for food, our city for water, electric, and gas, and etc.. I would love to just be. I could knit or sew our own clothes, farm and can all our food. Hide chickens under my deck....lol!
To get some practice for our life of self sustainable living, we garden. We had a 4x20 garden in Corpus Christi, Texas that was nice, but this one is even nicer. Since we live over a cave, we built a raised cinder block bed. I posted about this in the fall. We laid chicken wire, landscaping cloth, and mulch before we laid the blocks. Then this spring we spent a fortune filling that bed with quality soil. We have onions, carrots, peas, tomatoes, broccoli, green onions, zucchini, bell peppers, green beans, romaine lettuce, spinach, jalapenos, strawberries and some herbs. I grew most from organic seeds, and we will not be adding chemicals or pesticides to our garden, but instead will use a natural approach to feed our plants and keep pests away. So far the coffee grounds are working excellent! It is so exciting to see everything come to life.
We also have four blueberry bushes that a pesky little rabbit or two nawled on and are coming back to life. We actually saw the rabbit trying to bite at the fencing to get to the plant...crazy!
And some of our sunflowers.
More pictures are to come, as our little beginnings of the Hyman Family Compound grows.
To get some practice for our life of self sustainable living, we garden. We had a 4x20 garden in Corpus Christi, Texas that was nice, but this one is even nicer. Since we live over a cave, we built a raised cinder block bed. I posted about this in the fall. We laid chicken wire, landscaping cloth, and mulch before we laid the blocks. Then this spring we spent a fortune filling that bed with quality soil. We have onions, carrots, peas, tomatoes, broccoli, green onions, zucchini, bell peppers, green beans, romaine lettuce, spinach, jalapenos, strawberries and some herbs. I grew most from organic seeds, and we will not be adding chemicals or pesticides to our garden, but instead will use a natural approach to feed our plants and keep pests away. So far the coffee grounds are working excellent! It is so exciting to see everything come to life.
We also have four blueberry bushes that a pesky little rabbit or two nawled on and are coming back to life. We actually saw the rabbit trying to bite at the fencing to get to the plant...crazy!
And some of our sunflowers.
More pictures are to come, as our little beginnings of the Hyman Family Compound grows.
Month 10 Week 1 Day 1
This week is the week. Seriously! Our timeline is crunched and getting a courtdate before the courts close is becoming slim. This week is the week we find out who our daughter is! I guess I should go get dressed and put some makeup on incase that call comes huh? LOL
May 22, 2009
My Daddy
Many of you knew that I lost my father a little over a month ago. He was honestly the world's best father. I had a Daddy that loved me, and told me all the time. He was proud of me, and always told me I was beautiful. He always believed in me and supported me through whatever I wanted to do. He loved Brandon like a son and was crazy about Miles. My dad is at peace. I can't wait to see you again Daddy! I love you!
Forever Daddy's Princess,
Elisa
Click the photo to see video
My Daddy
Forever Daddy's Princess,
Elisa
Click the photo to see video
My Daddy
May 19, 2009
Prayers are working...
Today, it was announced that there were more referrals. This puts us at #2 for girls. I am so elated. I am so hopeful . Thank you God, this has given a renewed spirit. Thank you. Holy Cow, can it be this week? That's what I am claiming! AHHHHHHH!
May 17, 2009
10 Months Waiting
Waiting. How many times have I typed that word over the last year? Who knows? During the last week, I have really begun to do some soul searching. Honestly, it hasn't all been pretty. I have questioned why us? Why has this journey been so painful? Why do things keep getting put in our way? Why aren't our prayers answered? Yeah, that's the ugly.
My spiritual journey has been filled with waiting. Moments of doubt, but that longing has always been fulfilled. My needs and most wants have always been met. Not always in my time, but in due time. I think we have passed due time. I wouldn't know, because this would be our first time passing it. I say that sarcastically. We really feel like God has had favor in our lives. Real favor. We are tremendously blessed with a good income, homes, vehicles, friends and family, our marriage, Miles, our salvation. We have our Father's favor. But why not in this area? In other areas of my walk, I have had some pretty amazing stories of how things have come to pass. I look back and remember all the complaining I did, the frustration I felt, and then when it finally happened, I reflected and felt humiliated for the lack of faith I had. I had faith for big things, but didn't think that God would worry about the little things, but He does.
This journey, by far not little, has to come to be. This has been the longest we have waited for one of our requests to be met. We know that we were brought to adoption and we know that our daughter is in Ethiopia. How much longer do I need to consume with this? Seriously! In the adoption world, you always hear, "When you hold your baby for the first time, all those days of waiting just disappear and you just forget how horrible it was, not knowing." Well right now, I say "yeah right." I know there will be a day when I get to say that, although I'm not sure I will. I just can't wait to join the "we have our child" group, and quit the "we are still waiting" group. I love my waiting family, you know who you are, and I know you know how I feel and can't wait to join that group too.
Our daughter has a birth family. Our blog started praying for her and her birth family. Our daughter is coming to us through a tragedy in her life. It would be selfish of me to want that part to happen. I don't want that for any child. However, it exists and it's real. I know that she has been born and probably is already in an orphanage or our agencies transition home by now. She may have already lost her mother. I don't yet know her situation and may never share it. Our strong desire to have her here is to give her that love and provide for her needs.
So I'm claiming this week! This is the week that we find out who our daughter is. It HAS to be! So, our prayer request list returns. I hear people say, and I am so guilty of this too, that they are praying for us, or will pray for us. We often say this when someone is faced with a difficulty, illness or something. To fill that awkward silence, we say "I'm praying for you," or maybe we do mean it genuinely. But how often do we really do it, how often to we really pray for them? I am challenging myself to act on this. When someone needs or requests prayer, I am working on stopping what I am doing and praying right then. For my praying friends, I challenge you to do the same.
Please be praying for:
My spiritual journey has been filled with waiting. Moments of doubt, but that longing has always been fulfilled. My needs and most wants have always been met. Not always in my time, but in due time. I think we have passed due time. I wouldn't know, because this would be our first time passing it. I say that sarcastically. We really feel like God has had favor in our lives. Real favor. We are tremendously blessed with a good income, homes, vehicles, friends and family, our marriage, Miles, our salvation. We have our Father's favor. But why not in this area? In other areas of my walk, I have had some pretty amazing stories of how things have come to pass. I look back and remember all the complaining I did, the frustration I felt, and then when it finally happened, I reflected and felt humiliated for the lack of faith I had. I had faith for big things, but didn't think that God would worry about the little things, but He does.
This journey, by far not little, has to come to be. This has been the longest we have waited for one of our requests to be met. We know that we were brought to adoption and we know that our daughter is in Ethiopia. How much longer do I need to consume with this? Seriously! In the adoption world, you always hear, "When you hold your baby for the first time, all those days of waiting just disappear and you just forget how horrible it was, not knowing." Well right now, I say "yeah right." I know there will be a day when I get to say that, although I'm not sure I will. I just can't wait to join the "we have our child" group, and quit the "we are still waiting" group. I love my waiting family, you know who you are, and I know you know how I feel and can't wait to join that group too.
Our daughter has a birth family. Our blog started praying for her and her birth family. Our daughter is coming to us through a tragedy in her life. It would be selfish of me to want that part to happen. I don't want that for any child. However, it exists and it's real. I know that she has been born and probably is already in an orphanage or our agencies transition home by now. She may have already lost her mother. I don't yet know her situation and may never share it. Our strong desire to have her here is to give her that love and provide for her needs.
So I'm claiming this week! This is the week that we find out who our daughter is. It HAS to be! So, our prayer request list returns. I hear people say, and I am so guilty of this too, that they are praying for us, or will pray for us. We often say this when someone is faced with a difficulty, illness or something. To fill that awkward silence, we say "I'm praying for you," or maybe we do mean it genuinely. But how often do we really do it, how often to we really pray for them? I am challenging myself to act on this. When someone needs or requests prayer, I am working on stopping what I am doing and praying right then. For my praying friends, I challenge you to do the same.
Please be praying for:
- Our referral of our daughter THIS WEEK
- Our daughter's health, and that her needs be met
- For the Courts in Ethiopia to resolve the abandoned child issue quickly and effectively
- A court date before the courts close this summer
- Our renewed faith, that our hope is restored, better attitudes
- The families whose children's cases are on hold, resolve their cases quickly and comfort those families
May 14, 2009
Dreaming
So you all know about my dream last Sunday. See post below. Basically, I dreamt that I snook in the HOH to get a peek of some new arrivals. Doctors were measuring her. Well, we know that those tests are now taking 3-5 weeks to get back. So, let's assume she's been there for 3 weeks. We could get our referral call tomorrow, or next week. Since we are approximately #3 for girls, I really think it's possible. I dreamt about her and I know it! No more complalining coming from me! Just call, FedEx the papers, I'll FedEx them right back with a fat check, and then we wait some more. But to know who are daughter is, it's just so impossible right now to say that. We love her, cry over her, pray for her...and we wait, UNTIL NEXTWEEK!
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