Lori Florida

We've got a large bill looming as soon as our homestudy is written up.  We've got about a third of the $10,500 waiting in the bank.  Our heads are confident that God has sent us here and so He's got His storehouses ready....but I'll admit that I've got some butterflies that appear in my stomach if I think about it too long!! One of my favorite ways to deal with stress is with a cup of coffee.  So smart, I know, add a caffeine jolt to the butterflies already flying like drunken sailors through my gut!  I've found some new coffees that I love for  a whole bunch of reasons at Just Love Coffee Roasters. Just Love Coffee Roasters is a company that hand-roasts some amazing coffee from around the world in an effort to care for orphans.  I've been enjoying one of their Ethiopian coffees recently - delish!    They are working to address the bigger economic problems that have caused the huge numbers of orphans in countries like Ethio...

We are currently enjoying one of our summer Florida family traditions, also known as "the couple-day swoop-in between trips."  We do 2 foot piles of laundry, pull 2 foot weeds, take 2-few naps and then pack up again for the next adventure! Our first trip this summer was a big one - missions trip to Brazil with our church's youth group.  We took a team of 27 to work with our very dear friends and missionaries, Dave & Jan Santos, in Sao Paulo.  One of the coolest parts was being able to take 4 of our 6 kids along with us this time. (The two without yellow tees got to vacation with their doting grandparents while we were gone!!) The team of teenagers was great, the ministry was amazing and the other leaders and missionaries were some of our best friends.  It was a great way to start the summer. I always look forward to arriving back at home. To my routines.  My dresser drawers.  My couch and ottoman.  My ministry and my life.  But e...

I can't tell you what an encouraging week this has been.  I'm bursting with stories to tell. It's also been a busy week.  Each night, by the time I'm in the same room with the computer I'm so tired that any story I might write would need a translator to be understood.  But I'm finding that when I'm too tired to even tell about it, God keeps working - it's just amazing to watch. Sunday, Scott preached a great sermon about adoption.  The topic was obviously prompted by what's happening in our life right now.  We've been feeling the need to dig deeper into the theology of adoption and really try to get our heads around what God has done for us as His adopted children.  Adoption is such a beautiful picture of our relationship with God....but that is a topic for another post, it's too big to handle here.  After the service, we had some great conversations around our small group table with friends sharing personal adoption stories.  And...

"Bring the whole tithe to the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this, says the Lord Almighty, and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that you will not have room enough for it...Then all the nations will call you blessed, for yours will be a delightful land." Malachi 3:10 & 12 It's time to start publicly praising God for opening up His floodgates for this adoption.  Thursday, after the school pick-up rounds were made, we made our usual stop at the mailbox as we drove into the neighborhood.  I always flip through the stack and open anything interesting while I'm sitting there.  That day a card caught my attention.  I opened it, jumped, felt my breath leave me and started crying all at once as a check fell into my lap.  The kids instantly got quiet and Trev leaned over to ask what was wrong.  "Nothing's wrong, everything's right!"  I said as I held up the check.  $2,0...

Here's where we are right now.  Scott & I have met our social worker, Kim, at her office 3 times to spend 1 1/2 hours talking about ourselves.    She asked the questions and we rambled, probably giving her more answers than she really needed.  The questions ranged from, "Who was the first one to bring up adoption?" to "What are the strengths and weaknesses of your marriage?" to "Describe your home growing up..." to What does your usual weekly schedule look like?"  That last one took a while to answer...which schedule is our usual one?  Soccer, beginning of school, kick-off of ministries fall schedule?  End of school field trips & programs, track & rugby, get-ready-for-a-missions trip spring schedule?  Or the school's out, sleep in, camping and summer camp schedule?  This past Monday was the BIG homestudy meeting, the one where Kim came to us, at our house, to meet the kids and interview them.  Which meant having a clea...

If you know us, you know that we love Brazil and Thailand.  We take missions trips there, our friends are missionaries there, our hearts are there.  As adoption has been hanging around the corners of our minds, we usually thought it would lead us to Asia. I spent some pretty serious effort trying to figure out a way to adopt through our missionary friends' ministry to orphan Akha tribal children in Thailand a few years ago.  We've grown to really love those people.  Found a closed door there (for now!) and kinda put the adoption thing on the shelf again hoping something would change with the Akha situation. Last November, God started putting adoption on the front page of both Scott & my minds again...this time it seemed to be in bold print.  The "Why A Family of 8 is Adopting" is another big story that will need to be a separate post.... "Ethiopia,"  that was a word and a place I hadn't even considered until a social worker calle...

Our Spring Break family adventure this year involved a moment of humor for my boys, at my expense.  It's one of the services I provide for my children....an occasional, up-close-and-and-personal view of Mom in a ridiculous situation, and then the freedom to laugh and point with impunity.  Here's the short story:  It was our second horseback ride of the week.  The day before the entire family had enjoyed a leisurely walking ride through the Michigan woods.  This time, it seemed like a good idea to sign up for the Walk & Trot ride to look for a few more thrills.  The girls were too young for the trotting, so they were gonna head one way while the boys headed another, each group of kids with a parent.  Through a series of unplanned events, I ended up with the boys and Scott with the girls.  I think he was secretly disappointed, hoping for some action with the fellas.  I was excited, I always like a chance to keep up with the boys with some...