More kids???

Let me just start by saying this post has been ruminating in my heart for some time. But today I finally sat down and took the time to finish writing it and posting.

A few weekends ago, our good friends, KimB and Pushpyar and their 4 kids, and KimB's mom, Kim, who came as an extra set of hands, stayed with us. So we had 5 adults and 8 kids in our house! Thank God it's a big house! :) We had lots of room and everyone had a bed, except Emelyn (who let Mrs. Kim have her bed) and slept on the couch instead. What a lovely time we had catching up with these "old" friends before they leave for India in the fall. Now we didn't get many photos -- probably because there were 8 kids and 6 of them were under the age of 6! Yep, busy!! So here is the one I did get :)

As much as I could, I tried to help them with their little ones (who were such a joy to have around) and I tried to get as much snuggle time with baby Rebekah as possible. It's not often I have a baby to snuggle and I know I have to enjoy it when I can! On Sunday morning, Mrs. Kim had already headed home, and in order to "help" KimB out, I took Rebekah and snuggled her during the song part of church service (I'm such a good friend! lol) Oh how wonderful to hold a little one!! My husband was sitting behind me trying to keep tabs on our busy 2 year old and keep one of our older girls from goofing off. :)

A few days later, we stopped at the local super store to pick up some groceries. As we were walking, my oldest daughter asked us (again!) if we could either have or adopt a baby. My husband and I laughed and told her (again) "We'll see!" Then Garr told me that after seeing me snuggle baby Rebekah in church on Sunday, it made him want to have another baby. He said I looked so happy and content holding her, and he would love to give that happiness to me again. Awwwww.

Alright, let me stop here and say :

NO WE ARE NOT HAVING ANOTHER BABY .... RIGHT NOW.

Ok, on with the story.

We continued on at the store and got into line. Now our family of 6 in line at the grocery store can look pretty crazy, I admit. Normally, I'm loaded up the belt with our items, and the girls are learning how Mommy likes it done! So they help out some too. Daniel is usually out of the cart at this point and he'll find some toys (on those low to the floor, last minute, 'what else can we convince you to buy bc $250 worth of groceries just isn't enough' shelves) and he will just play with the toys while he waits. So then the girls come around and start loading the bags back into the cart and one is usually staying next to Daniel making sure he doesn't take off.

There was a couple behind us who were smiling at our chaos and seemed friendly. At that point I don't have much time to pay attention so I just smiled back and went on with the race of getting the cart unloaded (so we could reload it with bags) before the cashier ran out of room for the bags she was filling. (did that make sense?) However, I did overhear them say to Garr, "Wow, you guys need another kid!"

Ok. I do realize they were trying to be funny, but their comment, said in jest, really hurt and made me angry. I know that what they were really saying was "enough is enough!" Really? Is it enough? Why? By whose standards? America's standard of 2.4 kids? Why does it matter to them how many kids we have if we are supporting them and feeding them and housing them ourselves?

I'm not saying I'm going to have ten kids, but I'm not saying I'm not! Children are a gift from God! And frankly, there are days when I would LOVE to have more kids and there are days when I can't imagine being able to keep up with anymore! But if God called me to take in more kids, I would do it and do it gladly.

Did you know there are 147 million orphans in this world? Can you imagine growing up without parents ... without someone to hold you when you're sick in the middle of the night ... without clean clothes and food ... not sure if anyone really loves you? The thought makes me just want to cry. I think about my children and how blessed they are (even though I won't buy them their own cell phones or ipods) and I think how blessed my life was ... even if I didn't have a lot of material things. My parents loved each other (and still do!) and loved me. How many kids in this world don't get that basic need met? The Bible says "Of all these, three remain : faith, hope, and love. But the greatest of these is LOVE." 1 Cor 13. It also says in James 1:27, "True religion is this: That you care for the widow and the orphan in their distress."

God has given me a love for children. A desire for children. I'm not sure if we are physically going to have more children of our own. I'm not sure if we will adopt children. I'm not opposed to it, but I'm also not convinced that this is the time. HOWEVER that doesn't mean I can't help orphans get home! There are people in this world who are sacrificing SO much to bring these children home, to give them a forever family, to love them and meet their physical and emotional needs! Even if we don't feel called to adopt ourselves, we can still help a child come home.

We have some local friends who are doing just that. They have adopted 3 or their 4 daughters from China. Can I tell you how blessed I am by this family? I see them (in person!) raising their daughters to be kind, responsible, caring people. It's amazing. And now? God is calling them our of their comfort zone (as He so often does!) and they are in process of adopting 2 little boys with special needs from an Eastern European country. If these boys are not adopted, they will soon be put into an institution and no longer be "adoptable." (not a word, but works for me!)

Am I in a position to bring these little boys into my home and care for them? No, not at this time. Can I still help? You bet! And guess what? So can you! If you click on the link to the right, you'll see Potato Bags. I'm making these to help her raise funds to bring her boys home. If you click on the link, it will take you to a page that explains what they do :) If you click on the link "Bringing Nathan home (and Peter,)" it will take you to the adoption company's web-page where you can "meet" the boys and make a tax-deductible donation to help bring the boys home.

I know there are so many great causes out there to give to. But I'm asking you to consider helping this family - helping these little boys come home. I told Jennifer (the mom) that I wasn't sure it was worth the $10 she would make from each potato bag. Really, it doesn't seem like much! But each time we talked about the bags, God poured out His blessing and multiplied the funds in other ways. Our God is a big God and He loves these boys so much!! I know it's His desire for them to have a home and it's our responsibility to help. Even a little bit - God can take and multiply. Please consider helping to give these boys a home.