It's all part of the journey...even a yard sale!

Who would think that SO many complete strangers are now a part of our journey to bring our daughter home! 

I planned on having our yard sale months ago, put the word out to friends and donation of items came rolling in!  TONS AND TONS!  We were blessed week after week leading up to the sale, of items bring brought to church to load up in the back of our Squatch (that's the name we gave our giant family van). 

Our family locally and out of state donated some really great things.  Just blessed over and over. 

I started praying some time ago that the Lord would bless our Adoption Fundraiser Yard Sale days. 

We are in OHIO.

It's Spring.

Enough said.

ALL day Wednesday (the day before the sale) it RAINED and RAINED.

But ya wanna know what God did?

for the next THREE days of our sale...

IT WAS SUNNY!!!!

Guess what it did the day after our sale?  you guessed it RAINED!

He is sooooo good!

The girls worked hard on getting signs ready

My Grandma has been busy making Scrubbers and Kitchen Cleaning Cloths for who knows how long!

 

I've been crafting sets of elastic headbands and Non-Slip Active Headbands

The girls worked so hard in making earrings

 

And the girls and my nephew baked and baked!

My Mom and Dad were THE BEST HELPERS EVER!

I couldn't have been able to do this with out them!

So here's the sale.....

 

I was so busy keeping things going, that the only time I had to take

pics was when there was a rare slow moment.

We had sooooo many friends stop by and support us, even bringing us MORE items to donate!

Totally blessed my socks off!!

I think the best part about having the sale was being able to share our story with old friends, new friends and complete strangers.

I loved seeing over in the corner of my eye, my nephew pass out our prayer cards to people as they came up to the table to check out. He was so thoughtful!

So many generous donations! We were selling stuff like hotcakes!

AND we still have left over!!!

So in a couple weeks, we are doing this all over again!!!

Call us crazy!

My sweet friend's neighborhood is having a sale and we are joining in at her place.

I'm not sure if she's gonna know what hit her!

When I think back about the 3 glorious days, I keep going back to sharing with a sweet neighbor how clear God has made it for us to ACTIVELY PURSUE our daughter.  This sweet friend is not on FB, she hasn't seen what we've been up to and in the Winter we seem to hibernate around here.

We shared some tears and hugs. I got goosebumps all over again sharing the "not coincidences".

I loved recounting with her ALL the things He has done.

It's all a part of our journey to her....

 

oh...and in case you are wondering how the sale went...I had a conservative goal in my head.  Guess what God did???  HE over DOUBLED it!!! About enough to pay our next agency fee!!!

WAHOOOOOOO!!!!

 

 

~Amber

http://adopttogether.org/therohrers

 





 

Sometimes it's God just throwing Barbie Clothes at Us

I've been burdened lately by so many people I love that are going through some tough stuff.  Some seem to be choosing the tough, most are just in it and can't see why. 
Either way, as a child of God, He has a plan wayyyy bigger and better than we can see.  So I'm reminded of this post from my "blog archives".  We see our situation as an annoyance and completely frustrating, asking God *why*.  But MAYBE He's just throwing Barbie clothes at you. It's all about perspective and trust.
In the Spring of 2010....

Here's the mini adventure that my boys, my niece and I had yesterday afternoon.

 It's been really nice here, the back door sliding screen has been open ( no bugs yet) and as many times as I have closed it behind the kids, I have found it open again.

  For a while I've been blaming them

 "SHUT THE DOOR"!!

 But I did witness the wind blow it open, so I'm not sure *who* left it open yesterday afternoon.

  But it became the invitation to a visitor into our home.

  At one point I walked into the kitchen, saw the door again was open and a little bird quickly flew out from the floor of the dining room.

  Just a couple minutes later I walked in to my bedroom, which is down the hall, and a bird took a dive bomb flight around my head!!

 So I did freak out a bit (or alot a bit), but once I knew it was a bird, I was laughing (ok after a small scream and a quick run OUTTA THERE!).

  I ran to find the kids and called Nate.

Poor Nate, I think he gets weekly calls about something he really doesn't want to deal with while he's at work.

 (i.e. there is water in the laundry room from a unknown source, there is water coming out from under the sink spilling onto the kitchen floor, the garage door won't shut, the Wii isn't working...THERE IS A BIRD IN THE HOUSE!)

 

  Each time he is so calm and patient with me, it's quite amazing actually.

 

 So the call yesterday consisted of my announcement, then his matter of fact and calm response, "I'm in Columbus, just open up a window".

 

At that point the bird flew into Emma's room and the 3 kids ran in after it...so did I.

 

  I thought we should try to keep it in there since her room has 2 windows. I shut all 4 of us in there, I know, I know BRILLIANT!

I opened up the windows and the screens and thought for sure immediately the bird would fly right out thanking me along the way

...uhh...no...this required alot more time out of my day than I planned.

Logan became the "chief blind-holder-upper" on one window, Clayton and Kate one and only job was to stay in one place, and NOT SCREAM (that was enough responsibility for them).

 

  As I sat on the bed for a minute to come up with a *brilliant plan*, I noticed my niece Kate had something white smeared all over the crown of her head, oh great...the bird.

  "um, Kate, hunny what do you have in your hair?"

 She matter-of-factly said " well we were playing outside and I put yogurt on my head to pretend it was my brains coming out"

Yes, she is smack in between my boys and two big brothers. enough said, totally understandable.

I stationed myself at the other window, holding up the blinds. Ok, so NOW it will just fly right out. I mean you can feel the breeze coming in, hear the other birdie friends calling it out, and see the trees just inviting it to COME THIS WAY.

But no, it decided time and time again to fly right into the mirror on the back of Emma's door. REALLY?? the mirror ( no it was not clean, there was no way it was looking like the outside, it was flying into FINGERPRINTS) was more appealing than TWO open windows??? BIRDS ARE DUMB, really dumb!!

After a couple more attempts at the mirror, it flew up onto my vintage baby clothing collection hanging on her wall. I was getting frustrated at this point, I don't have time for this.

  Oh at this point I remembered I had lunch in the oven, and the timer had gone off some time ago....NICE! perfect.

In my position, I didn't have many options. But I did think I needed to get him to FLY. Cause he was perched up there for what seemed like forever!!

 

Looking around I saw what might just work...Barbie clothes!!!!

 

I grabbed a purple satin evening gown and flung it towards Tweetie, hmmm not heavy enough to go the distance. So I grabbed Prince Charming's 3pc suit ( now realizing both Barbie and Ken are naked somewhere...hmmm..what are they up to?)

I didn't want to throw something that would hurt him, just get him to MOVE! It worked!!!

 

The adventure was over, he flew right out Logan's window.

 

So last night as I was getting into bed, I noticed that Tweetie did indeed leave a mark for us to remember him by. As I (oh, I mean Nate) cleaned up the mess it got me thinking...

Aren't we like that bird??? That DUMB BIRD.

 

 We get ourselves into a situation and God DOES provide a way, or multiple ways out, and yet we see a mirror (looks good) and bang our head into that over and over, get mad at the situation, hear our wise counsel encouraging us to make a good choice, and yet again we choose to fly into the mirror!

 

 Then our Father, who doesn't want to harm us, wants us to make good choices, He wants us to see that we can trust Him and what He has planned is PERFECT.

 Safe.

 And when it's the right time He may just have to throw *Barbie clothes* at us.

  Something to MAKE us FLY!!!

Is He throwing *Barbie clothes* at you?????

 

~Amber

http://adopttogether.org/therohrers



It costs HOW MUCH???!!!

We have had many friends and family members ask us "why in the Sam Hill does it cost so much?"

And yes, that's an exact quote.

So I thought I would share a little bit about how this whole International Adoption process works.

Specifically China.

Specifically Special Needs.

Specifically through the agency we have chosen.

Here's a cost breakdown, and where it all goes.

And yes it still makes my head spin no matter how many times I look at this.

Agency Application       $200

Agency Program Fee     $2500 

Home Study Fee (we use a local agency to complete this)   $3900

     this includes the home study, and post adoption fees that have to be paid up front.

Let's pause....

I also hear "what in the Sam Hill is a Home Study?"

A home study is requires for all adoptions, domestic or international.  And even though we already completed a home study through our county/state, yep, we have to do another one.

We should be all studied up for this then!

We are assigned a case worker that is in charge of our collection of needed documents like...

* birth certificates

* marriage license

* medical documents

* safety audit

*fire inspection

* child abuse clearance

*proof of residence for last 5 yrs

*FBI & BCII Fingerprint clearance

*cultural training certificate

*reference letters

* employer letters

*financial statements

*guardianship agreement

*autobiographies

* and on and on and on....

 

Back to the fees....

Dossier preparation     $450

One more question "what in the Sam Hill is a Dossier?" (pronounced doss- e- ay)

This is another collection of paperwork and this collection has to go through a process...

Notarized locally, then checked by our County Clerk, then sent to our Sec. of State, then sent to the Ch.Embassy, then back to us, then to our adoption agency, then to Ch.

Hence the term "Paper Chase"

There are fees for each piece of paper to move along these steps starting w/ the State.  And we have to pay a courier service to hand deliver them to the Ch. Embassy.

Back to the fees....

Second Agency Program Fee      $2350

Ch. Children Services Fee           $1275

Post Adoption Fee (due before we can be matched)   $1000

Third Agency Program Fee         $1950

Post Adoption Translation Fee (due before we can be matched) $360

Travel & Accommodation Fee        approx $4100

Ch. orphanage gift                      $5000

Child Physical & visa fees               approx $400

Various In Country fees             $1600

If my math is decent, this adds up to $25,000+

 

Ok...I hope

that I don't scare anyone who *might* be thinking about International Adoption soon.  Because those numbers mean squat to our God.  HE FUNDS WHAT HE FAVORS!!!

We wanted to be completely transparent with you with what HE will need to take care of through this journey.  We need your prayers!!! 

We are asking the Lord to bless the company the Nate works for.

We are asking the Lord that our fundraising efforts will be fruitful.

We are asking the Lord to light a fire in the hearts of our friends and family to consider adoption.

We are asking the Lord to

Flat Out

Knock Our Socks Off!

We are asking YOU to join us in our journey to bring our daughter HOME!

We can't wait to see what Our Lord will do!!

To Him be the Glory!!!!

 

ANY gift is generous in His eyes and ours.

http://adopttogether.org/therohrers

 

 

~ Amber

http://adopttogether.org/therohrers



 

 

      



Home Study Shome Shudy

Well things are not moving along like we would like for them to.

Actually it's kinda a stand still right now. Boooooo!

And I don't like it!

 

As part of the international adoption process, one must complete a Home Study

This is done through a 3rd party agency for us.

Things were plugging right along.

The closest agency to do this was not too far South of us.

BUT

there were crickets chirping.

and more crickets

Until finally my daily emails and phone calls produced a response we sure didn't see coming.

This 3rd party agency is STOPPING their service of International Home Studies.

DONE.

Soooo...we go shopping.

And phone call after phone call produced nothing but voicemails being left.

Please someone answer your phone or call back soon.

Please.

Finally a voice, who said "I know we are the closest thing you have, but honestly, don't choose us, we just can't help you right now."

I appreciate her being honest.

An email response from another, much further away was a punch in the gut with their fee schedule.

Not expecting that.

Ouch.

And so here we are...what to do.

Pray.

Wait a bit.

Pray some more.

And then a dear friend with out knowing what the details of today were all about ,

sends me a pod cast to listen to about what???

PRAYER.

And then a very new friend sends me an email with a Big 'Ol Picture of our (praying for) daughter's face with the words under her picture

"Praying for _______"

Ok, so it's NOT about me, or us, or this Home Study.

It's about HER, who ever she is.

So I've refocused on praying for HER.

 

Here's the thing.  Does our enemy want us to pray for her...nope.

Does he want this process to go smoothly or quickly...nope.

Big Jerk!

BUT GOD...

But God has her in the palm of His hand

But God has this whole stinkn' Home Study process in His hand

One might say that the enemy is trying to mess this all up, and that's why there are days like this and more to come.

Maybe.

But I say that I really don't want to give him ANY CREDIT.

I want to commit each part of this process to God to where the enemy has NO PART IN IT WHATSOVER.

So there big jerk.

God has got this!

 

 

~Amber

http://adopttogether.org/therohrers





The need to brighten things up

My family and close friends know that I've always got some project going on.

And by going on I mean sometimes my ADD issues cause the "on" to be on and on and on.

There's my confession.

So when we bought this house almost 7 years ago, there were certian things about it I just had to change.  Our entry way drove me bananas.

In 1971 the rod iron and clay tile flooring was hip.

And often these vintage items still look good 30 plus years later.

We've got an open entry way with THIS going on...

And let me point out a few things..

Yes, there are bulbs out in the light (classy)

The white patch in the wall next to the stairs going down, is where a hole is where a railing used to be.  I think it was busted out with in a month of being here!

I wish I would have taken a video of one of the kids shaking the railing, it's a wonder no one fell over the side, it was hanging on by a thread! And I think it was under "legal" height by like 12 inches. (ok maybe not 12, but alot)

And yes, the 75% off rug from IKEA there has a "water" stain on it.  Lovely.

Check out the grout on that tile! WOW!

But what is really lovely is the "ragged" effect all over the wall.

Soooooo....

I think at some point I just need to blame Pinterest, it's all her fault (it's a her... come'on, recipes, clothes, crafts, home decor ideas...it's a her)

And then poor Nate got involved, soon after he heard me banging the 10 ft ladder around the chandelier (maybe he would change the light bulbs now)

Yep,it worked!

So we painted the whole thing a very light khaki

Then started marking out the stripes.

The laser level was stinkn' awesome, that is until I lost the tack in the back of it. Not so awesome after that. Oh, and having a wall that bows, that's not awesome either.

And the people that say that PAINTERS TAPE DOESN'T BLEED...

big fat liars!!

So we spend the big bucks and got the frog tape stuff most of the way through...ughhh.

And mid way through the stripes we had the railing replaced.

Let's pause for a minute with all this fun stuff and let me tell you about the painting for real...

Painting stripes will be something

I

Will

NEVER

Do

Again.

EVER!!

IT IS TORTURE!!!

Let me make this clear...

NEVER AGAIN!!!

But look at this pro!

All of a sudden he wanted to make sure the edges were PERFECT.

Well ok

I'm not going to stop you.

Because after HE completed this...

he is now the pro at stripes!

SO here's the finished entry...

And thank you dearest daughter for bombing my pic

Ignore the random socks on the basement floor.

We loved the look of wood on the floor, but wanted tile, so we found this at Lowes and LOVE IT!

 

Carpet still needs replaced, but when we decided to pursue our daughter in China,

the carpet didn't seem to matter anymore. 

So that will be a "after China" project.

 

More project posts to come soon...

 

 

~Amber

http://adopttogether.org/therohrers



 

 

 



There's a Risk to Choosing to Love...

Choosing to love another soul is RISKY! Watch out! So we have options...
1. don't love and don't care.
2. kinda love, but still selfishly hold on to your heart.
3. Love with EVERYTHING YOU HAVE!!!!!

Love is a choice, and picking #3 is scary sometimes. What if, what if, what if????
I used to struggle with living IN the "what if's", which pretty much made me useless. It all comes from fear, and fear is NOT from the Lord. So living in the "what if's" to the point where it consumes you...well that is sin.  There I said it.  The S word.
Living in the "what if's" separated me from God.  That's what sin is.
So I confided in a mentor.  I shared with her that I struggled with being consumed with the "what if's".  And she shared with me that she had been there herself and then she was challenged with this...

Philippians 4:8 "Finally brothers, Whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable - if anything is excellent or praiseworthy- think on these things."

So here's the deal.  I started that day asking myself "is it true?"  "is it pure?" NO??  Well then Amber WHY are you thinking about it? WHY is it consuming your thoughts?
So I gave over my thoughts to the Lord! I learned how to LOVE with out worry! So now it's SUPER EASY!!!
Uhhhh NOPE.  Not super easy at all!
So I'll ask one more "what if" question. "what if it WAS super easy to love?"
Well then that would change a whole lot of stuff!
If true unselfish love was easy, then why would we need God?
Then Jesus's perfect unselfish act of love wouldn't have much value. It would have been easy for Him.

WE CAN'T TRULY LOVE WITHOUT CHRIST!

So right now I'm choosing something that is risky...I might get my heart broken...I might get attached to her.  I might be disappointed in how this whole adoption thing plays out. What if, what if, what if??? ( here I go again with the what if's, darn it!)
I've had dreams about adopting a daughter from Asia for as long as I can remember.
When you've dreamed about something for so long, and now it's REAL.  It's kinda freaking me out!
And there's where the "what if's" start sneaking in.

You might have heard how head over heals we have fallen in love chosen to love this precious one, or maybe I've trapped you and shoved pics of her in your face from my phone, or texted them to you at random times (sorry 'bout that).  I'm gonna be honest here and tell you ( just you, not everybody) that when I see pics of her, and even hear her name, I get shaky inside! I pretty much fight(or give in to) tears every stinkn' time! I will be kind and not share with you that Nate might just have the same responses.  Might.

So it was TOUGH to hear from our agency that having her placed with us will be a flat out miracle. It just is not looking like it's possible. Did I say tough?  How about a punch in the gut. How about the feeling of your heart falling out of your chest.  Yep, that's more like it.

And then there is Nate.
The eternal optimist...he always has been.  Not one person that knows him would argue that.
I love that about him. He is continuously challenging me to let it go and let God have it.
But with her, I hear him call her *ours*.  I see him tear up over her pictures.
I hear him pray for her.  But he always closes his prayers with "your will Lord, not ours"
In everything thing we have heard, she won't be *ours*.

But let's go back to "whatever is true". 
What I know is TRUE is that she is His. And we are His.  And if HE wants us to be her forever family, the HE WILL and CAN make that happen!
So we continue to choose to love her with risk that she may never be in our arms.
And so there was the night after we heard it's just not looking like that will ever happen.  Well, we had a rough night, lots of tears, lots of praying for peace.

And the next morning I woke up to my verse of the day which JUST SO HAPPENED to be...
"Whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable...think on these things." Phil 4:8
I smiled when I saw that was my verse of the day, I texted it to Nate. "Amen"

When I got home from work that day, I got on fb to see if her foster home had posted any pics of the precious kids that day.
I pulled up their page.
And this was the pic that was posted. And yes, that's HER (sorry, not showing full pics of her face)

Enough said.

~Amber
http://adopttogether.org/therohrers

Chinese New Year ~ Celebrate!

What a special day!  A day that for the past 30 some years of my life (ahemm) went on like any other day.  How many of us celebrate the Chinese New Year? It was a first of us. And it will now be a day we will celebrate for the rest of our lives.  I love that!
We want her to know her heritage, the traditions, the culture.  It will all become a part of our family, because SHE will!

I remember as a little girl my favorite day of the month was when my Dad's National Geographic magazine would come in the mail.

I would get out a blanket and a pillow and spread it out on the floor in the living room of our military base housing home.  I would read it cover to cover, over and over.  I loved learning about other lands, other people.  I wanted to go there! I wanted to try their food, celebrate their holidays.  I've had a fascination with other cultures for as long as I can remember! I love the world God created! He's so creative! I'm thankful my parents encouraged us to learn about our world outside of our little one we lived in.  We always supported missionaries, invited them into our home, and prayed for their field.

When we shared with our friends who recently adopted their son from China, that we were ready to move forward with our adoption of our daughter, we were invited to celebrate the Chinese New Year with them and other friends who are also adopting.  How exciting!!

I've done a bit of reading about the CNY celebrations and preparations.  It's fascinating!  I've also been reading in the Old Testament about what the Lord required of His people to prepare for the Passover.  I've thought alot about that.  The cleaning, the color red, banners over doorways...
So thankful that to come before our Lord, we no longer have to go through an extensive ceremony.  He is completely and totally WITH us! We have access to Him at all times.  Thank you to His Son for removing the complicated space between us and our Father. 

The CNY for us was pretty emotional, all good though :)
I brought dessert. And there is a little problem with that.  The Asian culture is not nutso on desserts, pretty much a complete contrast to our Western culture.  We are obsessed with sweets!
So I tried my best and came up with this masterpiece...

Let me explain the method to this madness...

Red.  It's *good luck*

So I made Red Velvet Brownies.

Rice Pudding.

So I made Chocolate Rice Pudding with Dark Chocolate & Red Chocolate Chips, blended with whipped cream

Fortune Cookies.

So I crushed them (after paper fortune was removed)

Layered it all up, and there ya go!







Now...I so very proudly shared my slightly crazy recipe with a sweet friend who lives in Asia. And she very graciously said "nice try".  I had the red part right, and the rice.  And that was it.  Everything else is NOT Asian.  oops.  :)

We enjoyed music and the little ones danced. 

 

Her house was blessed with decor that was brought back from their trip to bring home their son.

And we had TONS of super yummy food!

The little girls and the big girls got their precious time together

 

My friend MADE her own fortune cookies!!! And seriously they tasted amazing! But the best part about the cookies was what was inside.  She placed simple words for the children to learn in the Chinese language.  Mostly numbers and short words.  I did hear one of the boys though say that they would like a new fortune cookie.  He was not pleased with the word he had in his ..."LOVE"...ewwww!

The adult's table had our own special fortune cookies.  She shared with us and the other two couples that are adopting that she prayed over each one of these "prayers for us"

And so then the tears came.

Each one SO special for each one of us.

 

See the necklace...more tears as she gave each Momma one.  And that's what is says in the Chinese characters at the bottom corner of the necklace "Mother"

LOVE LOVE LOVE it!!!!!!

We talked about how NEXT Chinese New Year will be sooooo different for us and two other couples who weren't able to come today.  FIVE more little ones will be with us next year!! Praying for more families we know that are being prompted to move forward!

This little guy will have some new friends soon!

 

This picture will look soooo different next year!! We are praying for each one of our journeys and the the Lord will bless the precious little angels waiting patiently to join their forever families!

 

 

~Amber

http://adopttogether.org/therohrers