Oh my!

So, after my ranting and raving yesterday, I thought I'd post something to make you laugh. A friend sent this to me and I have to say I thought it was so funny, mostly because it sounds just like the place I go to. Does it sound familiar to you, too?

(Remember to scroll down to turn off background music.)

Enough (and VERY off topic!!!)

WARNING: This is not your sweet, warm-fuzzy-feeling kinda post. If you're not in the mood to read it, then please come back another day.

Oh my gosh! Is it just me or is everyone else getting just as tired of the mud-slinging, dirty-laundry search going on in these elections? No. I know it's like this in every election, but this one has been going on for almost 2 years now! It's crazy!

You can't watch national news now without hearing even the most minute details about Sarah Palin's personal life. WHO CARES?!!!!!!! For the New York Times to spend their money and energy on finding out that Palin's newborn son, Trig's second middle name — he's officially "Trig Paxson Van Palin" — was indeed intended as a pun on the name of the rock group Van Halen and its stars of that same surname, Eddie and Alex. WHO CARES?!!!!!!! My Amanda was named after Boston's song, Amanda. Do I see the world writing about that? WHO CARES?!!!!!!!!!!!

So what if she didn't tell the world she was pregnant with the baby until she was 6 months along? So what if she has preached and supported abstinence and her 17 year old daughter is pregnant? WHO CARES??!!!!!! At least this 17 year old has the intelligence to realize that this child is a blessing and she is giving her baby LIFE! I am so very thankful to our three children's birthmother's for having said, "Yes" and having had the courage under what I'm sure were very difficult circumstances to allow them a chance at life. That is a gift that could never be repaid.

Are we as mother's responsible for every action that our teenagers do? If so, then there are a huge number of mothers out there doing a VERY CRAPPY job! Myself included! My two older sons are wonderful boys and I am very proud of them, but did they go through their teenage years without a blemish? HELL NO!!!!!!!! My first gray hairs were brought on because of my beloved, sweet first born. All we can do is raise them instilling values and morals and a foundation that we believe will allow them to grow to be adults filled with honesty, intergrity and compassion for all of God's creations.

My insides still churn when I think about Obama's comment when he was addressing a campaign rally in Pennsylvania. He vehemently stated how he felt that our children should be educated about contraception and then proceeded with this utterly, disgraceful statement as he referred to his own 6 and 9 year old daughters, "I am going to teach them first of all about values and morals. But if they make a mistake, I don't want them punished with a baby". PUNISHED? PUNISHED? UGH! That makes my blood boil. Does he have ANY idea how of many mothers in this world would give whatever they have to be able to love and parent a child? Biological or not. Does he know how many women cannot conceive and are waiting, sometimes for years, after spending thousands and thousands of dollars and heartache after heartache, to be able to cradle a child in their arms which they can call their own? Does he have any idea of the guilt and heartache that comes along with having aborted a child to only years later find out that you are unable to conceive one?

Politics have always been a dirty arena and as I've mentioned before it's something I don't usually stand on my soapbox about, but holy cow...enough already!! Sarah Palin is quickly becoming an icon in my eyes, many thanks to the media. She is an involved mother with a special needs child, a wife, and yet has continued to lead the state of Alaska with an 80% approval rating. Does that not count for anything? I can't freaking get dinner made, the house cleaned and the kids looking pristine all in the same day. And trust me, my approval rating most days around here is nowhere near 80%! Her experience in foreign policy may not be what everyone desires, but she's got everything it takes to stand up to those that do have the experience and yet blunder their way through.

Early voting starts in our county on October 20th. Guess who's gonna be first in line? Yes. Yours truly. I'm done, cooked and finished with these elections! It's not about being a Democrat or a Republican. It's about where your values stand and where this country needs to be. This is the greatest country in the world and our moral values are being shot to hell daily, beginning with the murder of the most innocent. We have our own infanticide going on here and those with the powers that be just "don't get it!". "Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing, but underneath are ravenous wolves. By their fruits you will know them..." Matthew 7:15

Totally digressing now, I've been a bit tired of seeing the same blog template on my blog for a while and I've been wanting to change it. But today when I opened it up to post this and read my scripture at the top, "Blessed is the nation whose Lord is God, and the people He chose for His inheritance" - Psalm 33:-12., it made me realize that if we all put God first and foremost, we wouldn't even be discussing these issues. So, for now, the template remains.

I am now stepping down from my little soapbox and since I have the luxury of calling this MY blog, I have moderated comments for this post since I do not care to hear about every liberal opinion out there, especially when it comes to whether a child has a right to live or not. I will gladly receive and answer your private emails if you wish to share your thoughts.

P.S. - I feel better! :)

URGENT PRAYER REQUEST!!!

Prayer Warriors,

This beautiful family is in China right now with a very sick little girl who has been hospitalized in Kunming. Her parents have not been able to hold her and literally met her on Gotcha Day at the hospital. The conditions in the hospital are dreadful and little Susannah is in dire need of getting medical help in the U.S. Please pray specifically that the Lord open every door for her adoption paperwork, passport and visa to be expedited as soon as possible. In addition, please allow her to arrive home without any further complications. God truly has to move mountains for all of this to occur, but we KNOW and BELIEVE that NOTHING IS IMPOSSIBLE WITH GOD!

This family is holding on to every bit of strength and faith that they have. Please take a moment to read their story and send them some words of encouragement. It is a desperate feeling of being all alone when you are in a far away country and you're struggling with your child's needs. I can't even imagine what it must be like when your child is so sick. You just want to get them home!

You can read their story and leave comments/email them HERE.

Two years ago today....

The first picture we ever saw of our beautiful daughter.

God moved through what we thought would be impossible in order for us to receive an amazing phone call. Here is an excerpt from this post, detailing how He orchestrated every moment leading up to the one when we found out that Lu Feng Qin, our Anna Grace, was forever ours.

On September 4, 2006, which by the way was the birth date of our very first referral for our little boy in Belarus, I came across a beautiful little girl on the list of an agency that I had not heard too much about. So, I emailed the agency and asked them if I could review her medical info. Two days later, I got this email back:

"Hi Ohilda,Thank you for your inquiry on little Qin. She is just darling. As of this weekend, we have at least 6 families seriously interested in pursuing her adoption. I believe her forever family is very near.We would love to work with you in the future."

So, I was bummed, but sort of expected it. She was beautiful, young, and clearly....too good to be true. But, as we all know, with God nothing is impossible. On Wednesday, September 13, almost 10 days later, I got home around 5 pm and had this email in my inbox:

"Hi Ohilda,I tried to phone you today, but couldn't get through. Qin is available and I wanted to speak with you to see if you might still be interested. You can be DTC on the anniversary of the date that your last travel approval was signed. My guess is that you are just fine to submit an LOI for Qin. I'm attaching Qin's medical for your review."

I was pretty shocked to say the least, and the first thought through my mind was that something was terribly wrong with her, although it was listed as her special needs being sooooo manageable. I pick up the phone and call the agency. They tell me that the family that was reviewing the file was a NSN family and when they inquired about her SNs and that she may need a possible surgery, they changed their minds. So, I said..."How about the other 5 families?" I could understand 1 or 2, but 6? The woman on the other end responded with, "I'm not sure what happened, but it seems that every single one of those families had a circumstance that they could not adopt right now!"

That was ALL GOD to me! He cleared six families out of the way to lead us to our daughter. So, we took the baton and ran. We started calling doctors, doing research, and speaking to families that had dealt with this SN.....which was amazing to us since it really IS no big deal. She is perfectly healthy and beautiful to boot! So, the next night at about 11 PM we finished up the last of the paperwork to petition for her and faxed it over to the agency. On Friday, September 15, at 12:54 PM, I received an email saying that she was ours!!!!

That's the whole story! I had been praying for God to open doors and make it really obvious when it was our child....and once again, he hits us like a lightning bolt. :)

(Please remember to scroll down to turn off background music).

Anna Grace's announcement video.

Hurricanes

Please join me in prayer for my family in Cuba that was devastated from Hurricane Gustav and was completely wiped out of everything (what little they had) with Ike. The devastation in such a poor country is horrific and Cuba has denied assistance from the U.S.

I also want to lift up my wonderful friends from Texas and the many other states that have suffered from Ike's wrath. Having lived through Andrew, I know the feeling of loss and devastation well. If you were blessed enough not to lose your possessions, you may still be dealing with all the remnants that hurricanes bring including loss of power, water and the many conveniences that we take for granted daily. May God continue to keep your families safe and may your recovery be quick.