Not called to adopt? This is one way YOU can help "care for the orphan."

 Our Matching Grant Support Letter:

Dear Family and Friends,

Over two years ago, Earl and I, after a time of prayer and research, said “yes” to the call to adopt internationally. We had no idea the amount of patience we’d need, the amount of time it would take, or the amount of money it would require from start to finish. All we knew was God was telling us to say “yes” and we were to be obedient. We began the preliminary paperwork for Bethany Christian Services, a local and national adoption agency, and were approved. We met the strict qualifications for a Haitian adoption. We completed our application for one of the crèches (orphanage) that our agency works with and were accepted. After some delay, change in Haitian adoption laws, and change in requirements, our Home Study was completed and approved to continue our journey. While at a slow speed, God’s given us green light after green light, keeping us on the road to go.

Over 40 times in the Bible the word “orphan” or “fatherless” is mentioned. James 1:27a says Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans… To “look after orphans” is an instruction from God that may be carried out in differing ways by His people. Our instruction to “look after orphans” is to actually, physically, look after an orphan through adoption. We feel led to adopt a male in the age range of 6 months to age 3. We look forward to the day in the near future when we are matched by the Haitian government with our son. In the meantime, we pray, we complete what seems like an endless amount of paperwork, we pray, we take and attend classes, courses, and webinars to prepare ourselves for parenting a child that may come to us through a traumatic start or with a health issue, and we pray some more.

One major area of adoption that has required much prayer from us, is the financial aspect of adoption. The cost of an international adoption, and in particular a Haitian adoption, is overwhelming! God has provided the necessary finances needed for the first handful of fees, thus far, through our family budget cuts, our savings account, the selling of Haitian jewelry, ornaments, and baking vanilla, yard sales, recycling beverage cans, from time to time an extra job, and a few personal donations given to us by friends. Our estimated total cost, from beginning to end, is in the $40,000 range. We recently, have been blessed to be awarded an ADOPTION MATCHING GRANT by Promise686, to help raise more of the money needed to hopefully fund the rest of our adoption fees. Promise686 will match dollar for dollar everything that is contributed by churches, corporations, family, and friends. They will match up to the first $4000! Any amount raised above the first matched $4000 will also go directly toward our fees; meaning 100% of any donation received will go directly to bringing our little guy home. Would you prayerfully consider “looking after orphans” by donating to our grant? Your gifts will be tax deductible and you will receive a receipt from Promise686 for your tax purposes. Promise686 (www.promise686.org) is a non-profit adoption and foster care ministry dedicated to expanding God’s Kingdom by helping to bring the fatherless into Christian homes.

There have been times in our thus far adoption journey that we have been told “it’s risky,” “it’s humbling,” “it’s hard,” “it’s painful,” “it’s life-changing.” All I can think of when I hear those phrases, is how my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ chose to do something risky, humbling, hard, and painful to change MY life, to adopt me into His kingdom.  God decided in advance to adopt us into his own family by bringing us to himself through Jesus Christ. This is what he wanted to do and it gave him great pleasure.  Ephesians 1:5 NLT. I praise and thank Him for my spiritual adoption. We will praise Him and thank Him through every twist and turn of this earthly adoption of a precious boy who needs a family. My friend, we humbly ask you to join and support us in our risky, life-changing, hard and painful (at times,) yet gloriously powerful journey. We will praise and thank Him for the people He calls to join us in our journey.  Here’s how you can support us:

1.       Through Prayer: Please pray for the adoption officials and government in Haiti, that they would be quick, efficient, organized, fair, and family-oriented in their practices and officiating of their positions and the laws. Pray for the director and care-givers at our child’s crèche. Pray that there would be ample provision for all of the children in their care. Pray our son gets the time, attention, love, and his needs met in a way that might be similar to how they’d be met in our care. Pray for our hearts, including our daughters’, Willow and London, as God grows us, changes us, and prepares us for the future addition to our family through adoption.

2.       Through Financial Support: Please consider making a tax-deductible donation to our matching adoption grant, through Promise686.

1.       Make checks payable to Promise686, Inc.

2.       Please indicate Edmunds Adoption on the Memo Section of your check.

3.       Mail your payment to:

Promise686, Inc,

4729 Peachtree Industrial Blvd, Suite 100,

Berkeley Lake, GA  30092

4.       You can give online to our account at http://www.promise686.org/family-grant

*Note: per IRS guidelines, Promise686 maintains complete discretion and control over the use of all donated funds, but intends to honor the donor’s suggested use.

       

Thank you for investing in the Kingdom through prayer and finances-it will be an investment with an eternal return! We look forward to when we can share with you our child’s name and picture. As I update my blog from time to time, you can follow our journey at: www.sunshineedmunds.blogspot.com.

Blessings,

Earl, Sunshine, Willow, and London Edmunds

My friends, adoption is redemption. It’s costly, exhausting, expensive, and outrageous. Buying back lives costs so much. When God set out to redeem us, it killed him. Derek Loux

New Addition to the Family

No, it's not our little guy from Haiti! I know, I know, a cruel title. We have a new dog. A Morkie named Milo. He just came to be apart of our family yesterday. We adopted him from sweet friends of ours from church. Here's Milo riding in my lap, on the way to a swim and dinner party.

3 weeks ago we had to put down our 11 year old male Boxer, Fosse. He had a brain tumor and his condition was worsening. It was a hard day for all of us. 2 years ago around this same time, we had to put down our 12 year old female Boxer, Annie. She was sick with intestinal cancer. She was our first born fur child, so it was extremely hard to make the decision and to say goodbye. :-(

Needless to say, after 2 sad losses, we are excited about adding our new little fur child, Milo, to our family. He is already enjoying his new home, sitting in laps, sleeping in our bed, and being spoiled by the girls. God knows just what we need, when we need it.

Time Line Gets an Update

A new post is coming soon. So many things to write...so little time. ;-) I did take the time to make a quick update of our timeline. No, don't know who the child is yet. Not quite at that stage of the process. There's a lot of paperwork to do. That's what this summer will be spent doing. Hmm, wonder if I can do all the paperwork poolside. That would at least make it pleasant.  Well, take a look at our timeline. God is providing funds for us in so many ways. He is so good. Can't wait to blog about it!

Who am I?

I am nobody yet I am somebody! I am a wife, a mother, a daughter, a sister, a friend, a grand-daughter, a daughter-in-law, a sister-in-law, a teacher, a co-worker, a business owner, a dance teacher, a working citizen, educated, a reader, creative, a person who will pick up trash off the side of the road and pick items that can be recycled out of the trash, lover of the arts, dog lover, raising chickens lover, sweet tooth advocate, encourager, leader, and passionate. Most importantly, I am a Christian!! I love Jesus!

I was working on the other pages of the blog and staring at our adoption journey thus far. Then itemizing the dreaded list of fees and Satan crept into my mind and asked me, "Who are YOU to adopt a child?" "What makes you think you're strong enough? Smart enough? Have enough money?" My answers: Well, at times I might not be strong enough....it's hard! I might NOT be smart enough. Enough money?...God will provide for us...He already does! But, I DO know who I am to adopt....I am a CHRISTIAN and God has called me to. I am obedient to His will. I am compassionate to this great need and know without a shadow of a doubt this is a journey we are to take. My heart breaks for the 144 million orphans worldwide. Get thee behind me, Satan, you can't have me or my thoughts today. You may not whisper insecurities in my ear. God's got my back! I serve a MIGHTY GOD!

Who are you today? What is God calling you to do? What does Satan whisper in your ear to distract you from God's call? Who will you listen to?

Show me the right path, O Lord; point out the road for me to follow. Lead me by your truth and teach me, for you are the God who saves me. All day long I put my hope in you. Psalm 25:4-5

Recap, Update... and well, basically Welcome Back!

I don't want to forget the blessings, lessons, joys, funnies, trials, tribulations, and the everyday ups and downs God has for me.....soooooo the blogging begins again.

What have we been up to since the last post? Well.....
November 2011: began the preliminary paper work and informational meeting to adopt a little boy from Haiti. (Will eventually write a post on answering God's call.)
Also began planning a mission trip to Haiti to serve with Mission of Hope Haiti.
December 2011: Christmas Festivities
January 2012-May2012: Busy Busy Busy Busy: work, school (girls), church, activities, life, fundraising for the mission trip, etc
April 2012: Spring Break to Disney World. A sweet treat from my Step-Dad and Mom!!
May 2012: Dance Recital 2012: The Fruit of the Spirit
June 2-9, 2012: Mission Trip to Haiti with Earl and 5 other friends. (Worthy of its own post/posts too.)
June 2012: kicked adoption applications and paperwork into gear.
July 2012: received word that we have been approved by one of the creches in Haiti that our adoption agency, Bethany Christian Services, works with. (Haven't yet heard from the other.)
July 9-13: The girls attended Music Camp at Snellville United Methodist. I helped out as well. They performed the musical Camp Wise-n-Up!
July 14, 2012: Earl and I celebrated 11 years of marriage!!!!!

The girls were in the musical Camp Wise-n-Up on Friday night. The musical is based on various Proverbs. One of the songs is called No Worries. This morning, I woke abruptly, before my alarm went off. Which for this night owl to wake BEFORE the alarm rings is rare!!! :-) However, this morning, I woke abruptly and wide awake....singing in my head the girls' song, No Worries. The words are : The name of the Lord is a strong tower. No worries. No worries. The name of the Lord is a strong tower. No worries. No worries. Call on His name when you're afraid. Run to Him, He'll keep you safe. The name of the Lord is a strong tower. No worries. No worries. He will never let you stumble. He will never let you fall or crumble. While you're asleep, even then He keeps His eye on you. All who stop and listen will find His safety to be given. Freedom from harm, even in the dark the Lord is there.

Now, I would not classify myself as a "worrier," but I am human and there are times, things, issues, circumstances, that I do stress and WORRY about. One area of concern has been the adoption FEES! While I know without a shadow of a doubt God has called Earl and I to adopt a little boy from Haiti and that He will provide for us, there are times when I look at the list of fees and the dollar sign that it all adds up to and my eyes glaze over and my faith waivers a bit. While we have some fundraisers coming up and the energy and motivation to accompany them, there has still been that little demon of worry sitting on my shoulder. Sooooo, God got real personal with me this morning. He woke me with that little song playing in my head, sent me to my quiet time with him, where I opened up my devotional for today and the first sentence was, DO NOT WORRY ABOUT TOMORROW! ( I love Sarah Young's devotional Jesus Calling.) ....Throw off this oppressive burden with one quick thrust of trust. Anxious thoughts meander about and crisscross in your brain, but trusting Me brings you directly into My Presence. As you affirm your faith, shackles of worry fall off instantly.... Matthew 6:34, 2 Corinthians 12:9, Psalm 62:8

Well, how could I not concede and say, "Ok, Ok, God, I get it! I lift my hands to you. I give you the worries of the adoption fees. I give you the anxiousness that comes with the 'hurry up to wait' part of the adoption journey. The call is from You, so I give all the details back to You."

Just like the little song says, The name of the Lord is a strong tower. No worries! No worries! Thank you, God, for teaching, reaching, and speaking to me.

Do I have to?

I don't wanna! No, don't make me! I don't want to take down the Christmas decorations. It took us forever it seems to get them out and put them up. Will you talk bad about me if we are that crazy family that just leaves the decorations up all year? Our tree can just be decorated year round for MLK, Jr day, Valentine's, St. Patty's, Easter, Mother's Day, End of School, Father's Day, Birthdays, Independence Day, Back to School, Grandparent's Day, Thanksgiving, and then again for Christmas. Why not? Hmn...wonder what Earl will think?!?!?

Let's Get Started

I have always enjoyed journaling. Although, I haven't journaled much since having kids. Who has the time right?! Apparently some do, since there are many many parenting blogs out there. I thought I'd try my hand at blogging now that the kids are 6 and 3 and I might now have 2 thoughts I can string together to make sense. :-) So, who knows what general randomness I can share.

Christmas was wonderful! The girls were very patient with us and actually let us sleep in. Which was good because we had quite a late night preparing for "Christmas Day." We began the morning by making a present for Jesus. We each made a paper heart for Jesus and hung it on the tree. We sang "Happy Birthday" to Jesus and then prayed. Then, the girls opened their gifts from Santa. My tiny blonde only wanted tutus for Christmas. So, I...I mean Mrs. Claus... made her 3 tutus: red and green, hot pink and purple, and light pink and white. Santa also had a pink and purple Pinkalicious shirt in her tutu box. She was thrilled....especially about the pink and purple tutu. The First born opened a box to reveal a Wii system. She was ecstatic! She said, "It's what I've always wanted!" (Praise God for friends who share! A friend gave Earl the Wii for free, even though he offered to pay for it, because her daughter had 2. What a gift!) Frankly, we could have stopped there, because those 2 big gifts were all they were interested in. Eventually, they opened their other gifts of clothes and accessories.

My Mom, Sister, Bro in Law, and Mema came over for lunch and gifts. It was a wonderful time with family. It was a wonderful weekend with family because we went to visit Earl's family on Friday. We celebrated Christmas Eve with my family. Christmas Day was spent with family. Tonight, we visited and exchanged gifts with my Dad. Besides Jesus, isn't that what Christmas is all about, Family!

Now, it's time to clean up the mess, pack up the decorations, and start getting rid of all the excess pounds from the holiday goodies. ;-) Oh and Laundry....the dreaded laundry!