We have a date!

S. and I got "the email" from our agency giving us a few dates to come up and visit them. This is basically our last thing to do before we're 100% on the waiting list. We will have nothing left to do on our end! It's very exciting as they will have a small group session to possibly go over how it will go whenever we get to head to Japan, but then we break into single sessions and ask our questions, etc.

The only date that worked for us was the first one and it's coming up QUICK! For those of you that we know in the area - we will send you a message to hopefully be able to meet up!

Surrendering to His plan

I've been talking with my husband a lot lately (it's so refreshing) and the one thing that has come up so much is how much of a planner I am. Everything needs to be planned - I need to get school done by a certain time, I wanted to be single for a certain time, I wanted to have my baby by a certain age, etc. etc. etc.

The more I thought about all of these plans I had made and compared them with what actually happened, the more I'm realizing that I haven't been in tune with what Jesus wants.

Let's step back so you can see what I'm talking about:

I ended an engagement at the ripe ol' age of 18 years old. We weren't together very long, but it was long enough to get together, fall in love, move in, get engaged, and have it all end. It wasn't a great relationship - actually there wasn't any part of it that was good - and so I rebounded hard.

My plan was to go to college, be single, have fun, and enjoy life without any man interrupting it. Everything started off great, I was close to graduating from community college and was accepted into Colo State Fort Collins for the Fall 2003 semester. Life was great and grand and going according to "plan".

But in the end of summer 2002, I went to a friends wedding that changed everything. I met my husband and my world flipped upside down. From then on, my life was a series of "non-planned events". Our engagement and wedding were not as planned, my education didn't go as planned, and now growing our family is not going "as planned".

I do want to clarify, that I am not not grateful for these things happening, it's just something we have noticed.

So lead back in to our conversation...S. and I are finally coming to the realization that we are not here for our own edification. We are here for a bigger purpose and that is to let people know of Jesus' love and affection for us. We may think a husband with kids and a nice house is the path to happiness, but if it isn't what God wants out of your life, then all of that means nothing. I am at peace with life and am ready to surrender to His will.

I found a great site that has online devotionals and this one rang so true to what I was talking about that I thought I'd share it:
"Full Speed Ahead in the Wrong Direction."

MOMS for the 21st Century Act

The bill: http://www.thomas.gov/cgi-bin/query/z?c111:H.R.5807:

The video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZtcQ2BOa8jY&feature=youtube_gdata

Track its progress: http://www.govtrack.us/congress/bill.xpd?bill=h111-5807

Contact: ACNM asks for your support of the MOMS for the 21st Century Act. If you would
like more information, or to sign on as an original cosponsor, please contact
Debbie Jessup (debbie.jessup@mail.house.gov) in Rep. Roybal-Allard’s office. (From midwife.org)

more info: http://www.birthcenters.org/news/breaking-news/?id=95

M.'s One-Too-Many Turkey Meatloaf

As many of you loyal readers know, S. and I have gone super healthy with our eating and have been planning out our meals. I've been keeping a photo log, if you will, of what we've made and eaten on facebook, but want to bring the meals and the recipes here where they belong!

Now, as the name of this one suggests, I made this after having one-too-many drinks, so I unfortunately do not have pictures, but trust me this turkey meatloaf is legit.

Here's the recipe to M.'s One-Too-Many Turkey Meatloaf (keep in mind I didn't measure ANYTHING and just threw it all in a bowl...):

1 lb of ground turkey
2 farm fresh eggs
about 1/4 cup of panko (Japanese bread crumbs)
about 2-3 tbsp of minced onion
salt to taste
and lots of fresh ground pepper (I did like 8-10 grinds)
couple dashes of dried thyme
a few pinches of dried basil

1. Heat oven to about 375 deg.
2. Dump everything into a mixing bowl and mix ingredients with your fingers - it's fun!
3. Put everything into a bread loaf pan.
4. Drizzle a little bit of extra vir. olive oil, some salt/pepper and then lightly top with more panko.
5. Put in oven and bake at about 45 min. but check on it around the 35-40 min mark just in case.
6. Take out and enjoy!

Jesus has a plan

Every so often I'll get a thought in my head that seems much more like something Jesus would do than me. I usually chalk that up to Him banging something over my head to get me to listen.

Since we learned of our little complications, I had an idea pop in my head that I thought was mine. So I talked to S. and then we never spoke of it since then. We wanted to focus on bringing Baby G. home.

But then something happened and that thought popped up again and is even louder and more intense. Now I'm beginning to feel that this isn't "my" idea anymore and that Jesus is asking me to do something for Him and a couple of His children.

"Trust in the LORD with all your heart,
And lean not on your own understanding;
In all your ways acknowledge Him,
And He shall direct[a] your paths."

Proverbs 3:5-6

Please keep us in your prayers.

Breastfeeding an adopted newborn

Through so much research (I really should think about getting paid for all that I do! haha) I found out that women can actually generate breast milk and therefore breastfeed a child even if they did not birth one.

S. and I are actually really excited at the thought of being able to breastfeed our baby as it will create a great bonding experience for us. (Not to mention the great health benefits derived from breastfeeding.)

I plan on switching to an all-Japanese food diet once we get our call to travel and will be taking the natural herbs and supplements to try and generate breast milk. All I can do is hope that all goes well.

For those interested in reading more here are my wonderful resources:

Le Leche League International: Adoptive Breastfeeding

kellymom.com::Adoptive Breastfeeding

asklenore.com - breastfeeding & induced lactation

Aus. Breastfeeding Assoc.: Breastfeeding the adopted child

Circumcision rates & MGM Bill

A day or two ago, I was on a website that had a discussion about circumcision rates in the states. Some of the info was surprisingly good and then there's some really bad things.

http://mgmbill.org/statistics.htm

Michigan & Ohio are numero uno on this list as having the HIGHEST circumcision rates at 85%.

Nevada has the lowest - at 12%.

Additionally, this site also explains whether or not the state still allows medicaid to fund circumcisions.

Out of all of the "red states" (those with 76-100% circ rates) only ONE does not allow circumcisions to be funded by medicaid and that is Missouri.

And of all of the "green states" (those with a 0%-25% circ rate) ALL do not accept medicaid for circumcisions. California was the first to stop in 9/1/82.

What can we do to lower these numbers?

Read the MGM Bill http://mgmbill.org/usmgmbill.htm

And take action! http://mgmbill.org/takeaction.htm