There must be a reason...but, I don't know what it is

Our social worker has decided not to approve us for a simultaneous adoption.  She thinks, generally, that simultaneous adoptions are ill-advised.  Frankly, I think she is a bully who has abused her discretion while on an incredibly long power trip.  Releasing that precious boy's file was one of the most difficult things I've ever done.  I do not understand why God chose this path for us.  But, we will continue to praise Him, to seek His guidance and to be thankful for the blessings that are Bobby, Abby, Maisy and Moxie.  Please pray for us in this difficult time. Praising Him in the Storm, Amy

She was always "Moxie"

Sometimes I fret about not being able to see waaaaaaaaay far down the path God has set before me.  I battle, just about every minute of every day, my Martha instinct to be constantly busy,doing stuff, fixin' stuff, bossin' stuff....  I want to be like Mary, learning at the Lord's feet.  Just loving him.  Way too often, I do something else.    Then I recall my favorite scene from the Book, "Prince Caspian" by CS Lewis.  In the scene, little Lucy has told her siblings that she will follow Aslan, even if none of them will go with her.  And so, Lucy goes, after her Master.  While she has her eyes on Aslan's majestic stride, she fails to notice that the ground beneath her feet has vanished and she is walking on nothing but Faith.  I strive toward that kind of faith.   So, when a friend from our travel group back in 2009 sent me an e-mail to scroll down and see "Christina", I worried and fretted and talked it to death whether this chubby cheeked darlin' with a nevus on her forehead and scalp and several others on her body was our "Moxie".  I nagged the Lord.  I put my faith in the deceptive director of an agency that promised us "Christina's" file and never produced it.  I worried.  But, I could never call that baby girl "Christina".  Had I listened, had I trusted God, had I given up control, I'm certain that the process would have been easier.  Because, I know, beyond a shadow of a doubt that she has always been Moxie, and that The Lord, who redeems and restores, has known this story all along.  Oh, to keep my eyes on Him and walk in faith.   Blessings, Amy

We have Returned!!!!!

Helloooooooooo Everybody!!! Remember when I said we'd go back to China for another baby girl?  Well, we are.  We were DTC a week ago last Friday.  On the 19th of this month Maureen Selah Root, aka "Moxie", turned 18 months old.  She has a nevus similar to Maisy's with no eye involvement, though, and several nevi on her body.  She is a doll baby and a half!!!!  And, would you believe she is from Jiangsu Province just like Maisy?  That's just cool!  I would put a picture of her up right now, but, I'm not positive I'm allowed to do that since we only have "pre-approval" and not super duper Jedi approval.  As soon as I have Obi Wan's approval----then everyone can see what a precious punkin' our Moxie is!  One of my favorite things about her is that she "competes for toys" or so says the orphanage report.  Oh yes, she has a glint in her eye.  I think my baby girl is a scrapper.  She'll fit in just perfectly with her sisters and brothers. Brothers????  Brothers!!!!???  "Was that a typo," you might ask.  Well, SURPRISE!!!! We are bringing home a brother!!!!!  Our sweet boy has a serious, life-threatening, heart condition.  He will be 7 years old in August.  That's not an exact birthday because the SWI had to guess at his age.  He has been on our agency's (GWCA) waiting child list for awhile.  As soon as I saw him I was captured by his adorable little face.  Seriously, he is the cutest little boy in China.   I kept praying that "someone" would adopt him.  I couldn't believe that "somebody else----definitely not me, Lord" would not want to bring this adorable little muffin into their family.  I think the Lord probably marvels at my thickheadedness on a regular basis.   But then, everything changed when I saw the little fellow's face on my new friend, Sonia's, blog.  Sonia was advocating for this little one known as "Ivan".  I cut and pasted (sorry if I wasn't supposed to do that) Sonia's plea for "Ivan" to Ben.   Ben was baffled.  I have that affect on him.  I talked to him but I didn't really say "EVERYTHING".  Instead I got on a boat headed AWAY from Ninevah.  After all, we were already DTC for Moxie.  I'd always said, in no uncertain terms, could I adopt a child with a heart condition and LORD, WE DO NOT HAVE THE FINANCES TO PULL OFF A SECOND SIMULTANEOUS ADOPTION.  So I left it at that.  Earlier in this adoption we had requested the file of a 13 year old boy just minutes after his file was locked by another family.  We had, in our minds, passed the test.  Good Christians.  Good.  HA. HA.  WHATEVER. God had different, and much, much better plans.  So, I'm in the kitchen, it's last Sunday.  The NewsBoys are singing "Strong Tower" and every single hair on my the back of neck stands upright.  I felt like an electric current was going through me.  I kid you not, The LORD, spun me around and walked my little feet right over to Ben and used my mouth to say, "Ben, I believe this little boy is ours.  I want to bring him home.  So, you better be able to give me some good reasons why we shouldn't."  (I'm pretty sure that last sentence was me and not the Lord).  Naturally, the Lord knew what Ben was going to say.  I was just relying on Ben to say "N0".  To stop me in my tracks.  To remind me of all the reasons why WE CAN'T DO THIS CRAZY THING!!  He didn't.  He said, "I don't have any reasons.  I'll pray about it."   Then, Monday morning, as I was getting out of the van to go to work, Ben said, "Do whatever it takes to bring him home.  This morning God led me to John 14--'Let not your heart be troubled', so that's our answer.  I love him.  Let's bring him home."  Glory to God!   So, we began to share our hearts with people whom we know to be prayer warriors, walking the walk.  And with every step the Peace that Passes Understanding has come, too. I have talked to the cardiologist.  We have requested our social worker write us an approval for a second child.  We have increased our deductions on our W-4s to bring home more on the paychecks.  Yesterday, if it was gold and not a wedding ring---it got sold to melt.  We will be having a yard sale.  Ben and I have both been able to work lots of overtime in an effort to sock away money for Moxie's adoption, but Patrick, yes that's what we will name him, Patrick Judah, came as a blessed surprise.   So, we are short.  We have set up an account under "Root Family adoption" at our bank, Bank of Oklahoma, and I will be putting a chip-in on this blog.  If you have ideas for some mighty quick fundraising, I'd love to hear them.  Most of all, we need the church to rise up and help us with the Ransom to bring our babies home.  We are committed to following the Lord to bring both Moxie and Patrick home, together! I use to think that the term "ransom" was slightly dramatic.  But, really, what else is it?  Ben and I did not seek the help of any other person to bring Maisy home.  We just saved money and sacrificed "stuff".  But, we had a lot longer span of time to do that.  I have learned, in this short amount of time, that dignity isn't worth squat.  As a FreeWill Baptist I can tell you that it is more difficult to have your feet washed than to wash someone else's feet.  So, I am humbled before the Lord.  Jesus Christ died naked on a cross for me, not only bearing my guilt, but sacrificing the dignity that was his in his total perfection.  So, I stand before you humbled.  Ben and I have sewed seed in the past, and continue to do so, but now we need to harvest.  If you are able, and feel led, would you consider helping us bring our children home, together. And please, please, lift us up in prayer.  Pray that our children would be in the constant presence of angels watching over them.  That the Lord would protect them and have favor shown to them as we strive toward that day on which the ransom will be paid. Joy Unspeakable to You and Yours, Amy