life as of late

FAMILIES THAT BOWL TOGETHER STAY TOGETHER. we do pray too.

Card reads: A donation has been made on your behalf to help educate the orphaned children of Foyer de Sion. Happiest of holidays! www.foyerdesion.org james 1:27

Jones and his twin in his dance class....CRAZY look alikes!

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Life has been busy at the Badger house, blogging among a long list of other things haven't been a priority. The kids are great-- I am amazed we haven't had a hospital stay with LuLu since July. We haven't had such a long stretch at home since she was diagnosed at 2 months. Knock on wood. Knock on wood. Knock on wood. It would be great to stay home for the holidays! She has had crazy labs (and a lot of blood draws because of it) but she is such a champ and unfortunately doesn't know any different. She probably thinks all her friends go to the hospital just as much as she does. We are on the eve of her 3rd birthday and are just so grateful for her and that she is here with us, a special part of our family.

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Jonah continues to amaze me. He is kind and smart and funny. He makes me laugh everyday and is so loving. I am mourning the loss of him being a "little boy" but that is life. It doesn't stop for anything and I'm trying to just enjoy where we are. Preschool is great and he is learning to read quite well. He's been taking a break dancing class that he loves. His instructor "chacho" is one cool dude and quite the dancer.

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James has continued to stay VeRy busy with work. We feel fortunate. Besides giving him credit for being a phenomenal builder I also believe God is providing ways to afford our adoption. When we officially decided to go forward, knowing it was what we were suppose to do to grow our family- I told God he'd have to help with the $30,000 part. And he is. I have been very busy with my Etsy shop selling my growth charts. I'm able to set aside that money 100% for our adoption, every little bit helps and thus far I've been able to meet our financial deadlines by myself. With every chart I make I feel a little closer to our child.

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When we started the adoption process from Ethiopia in July, it was an expected wait time of 12-18 months. There have been some setbacks and slow downs on the government side in Ethiopia. I was heartbroken to hear news of this from our agency in October, wait time is now 3+ years. We were also given the option of switching programs where there are shorter wait times or even to be in dueling programs to see which produced a referral first. We felt very strongly when we began the process that we were in the right place. There is a little Badger in Ethiopia and we need to wait for him. We knew going into the adoption world, especially international adoption that there would be set backs, hang ups, heartbreak and the need for a great deal of patience.

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James and I have decided to stay where we are and wait it out, however long it takes. My heart is sad for the children who already have the odds against them in every way. Now every child there has a slimmer chances of finding families, of being adopted. It is very discouraging to see wait times of over 3 years which in turn less people will be inclined to adopt from Ethiopia. We will be waiting for a toddler with a preference for younger. It's not possible to get newborns and the younger the child you want the longer you will wait.

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The only silver lining for us with the longer wait is that we now feel like we have the time, energy and resources to jump into our cause in Haiti. We love those children so much and want to be involved in their lives and well being for the long haul. We have chosen to focus on education as that is the best thing, short of a family that we can give them. I have some amazing friends who want to be involved with me in setting up a non-profit to raise money for their schooling, aleviating the orphanage of this financial burden and working in harmony with their director in Haiti and their board here in the states. We decided to get the ball rolling this month with a Christmas Card fundraiser and I've been so uplifted by the support and kindness of others. This will be an annual fundraiser that I hope will grow with each passing year. We created a card for purchase that is given as a Christmas gift instead of a real "gift". (I mean a regular often meaningless gift) 100% of the money goes towards their schooling which is all private in Haiti. (95% private to be exact) We have sold over 500 cards and have secured their schooling for the next 6 months and into the next school year as well.

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This has eased my heart, which has been heavy and will continue to be a comfort as we wait for our little Badger. My heart is with the orphan and I'm so grateful for the experiences that have made it so. I've never really had a favorite scripture but now I do. James 1:27, Advocating for the orphan will be a life long commitment for James and I. I'm grateful to have a husband with such a big heart and to be surrounded by amazing people that want to help "the least of these" too.

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Well, that was long...congratulations if you didn't give up and made it to the end. ;) Happiest of holidays!

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love, lizzie and the badgers

(consider this my Christmas card as we aren't sending one out....we have a different card in mind this year;))