Our son Jackie!

  Josh and I have very exciting news- we have been matched with a young man named Jackie!  Jackie is 10 years old and a country boy at heart.  He loves fishing, rock collecting, and being out of doors- sounds a lot like Josh, huh?
  We had the opportunity to meet Jackie for the first time last weekend, and he has captured our hearts completely!  Jackie has a wonderfully generous heart, and is so smart too!  This weekend, Jackie will be coming to Meadowlark Farms for an overnight visit.  We do not know when Jackie will make the full transition to staying with us, but this weekend will be used to help gauge that transition.  Josh and I are very eager to have our son here with us, but we want the absolute best for Jackie, and we are trusting in the Lord's guidance and timing.
  Currently, Jackie lives at a boy's ranch, where they have lots of animals and lots of opportunities to be outside.  Additionally, the staff at the ranch are wonderful and they are quite attached to Jackie.  Jackie is in the 4th grade, and attends a public school.  When Jackie comes to live with us, he will be attending New Diana school district.    Through the transition, Jackie will be leaving the most consistent environment that he has had since entering foster care. As such, please pray with us for Jackie and for these upcoming transitions in his life.  We know the transitions can be very difficult - how many of us could handle being shuffled from place to place for years, to finally find a place and people that you care about and that care for you, and then have to leave all that and be told that this next set of people you are with are your forever family? As an adult, I have learned to cope with change, but I cannot imagine how difficult it will be for Jackie to have his entire life changed again.  In a world where adults' words have little to no meaning, how is he to trust that Josh and I are committed to him for the rest of our lives? We only know that God is a God of redemption, so Josh and I are resting in that knowledge, trusting Him to work mightily in the lives of His children.
Here are a few pictures from our visit:

 Thank you each for your prayers as our family grows!

The Home Study

Ok, so I know that it has been a ridiculously long time since I have posted anything, but I am going to try to get better : )

With that being said, Josh and I finished our home study today, which is a huge step forward in the adoption process.  For those of you who are learning the lingo of adoption, a home study consists of a written portion of essays (mine ended up being 11 pages, Josh was only 7), as well as an at-home interview and a house inspection (there are certain qualifications your house has to meet).   I was really, really nervous about this step in the process, but it was actually very encouraging!  Our home study was broken up into 2 portions - the first meeting included the home inspection as well as the interview with Josh and I together.  Today, we had separate interviews and then more together interviews.  Both times, I have finished feeling excited and like Josh and I are ready to take on this challenge.  From here, our home study will be submitted for approval, and hopefully we will begin looking at children's profiles in September!

For those of you who don't already know, our adoption is thru a state program called Texas Waiting. These children are in the Foster Care system and are waiting for an adoptive match to be made.  This means that we have the opportunity to adopt a single or a sibling group, a child of different ethnicity, a child with special needs, so many choices!  Josh and I are hoping to be matched with a sibling group (around 3 kids), and are very open to any of the other "options" - we know that God will lead us to our perfect match!

This entire process has been challenging, but I have been told that the next period of waiting is actually the most difficult, especially as you look at profiles, become invested in the children, and then are ultimately told these will not be your children.  Please pray for attentiveness to the Lord's leading and confidence in His beautiful timing.

Cast of Characters

Josh - My hubby.  Most of y'all know him, but I just wanted to post this picture - it is one of my favorites.  This was after we had purchased our land, but before we built the house. I have been extremely blessed with a wonderful husband!

Digne - My horse. He is named for one of my favorite characters from Les Miserables- Monseigneur Bienvenu, the Bishop of Digne.  I got him in the summer of 2011, and am looking forward to finishing his education.   He is some sort of Warmblood, but who knows what type.  He possibly has some Curly horse in him, during the winter his entire coat gets long and curly and he looks like he is made out of velvet!

Cyrus - The Donkey.  We ended up with Cyrus because he was wandering up our road without a home or someone to love him. Our neighbor was actually the one to find him, and called me to see if I knew anyone who he might belong to.  I didn't, but volunteered our cattle pen as a temporary home. At the time of the phone call, I wasn't home, so our neighbor showed up at the house with the donkey in tow to find Josh mowing the lawn, completely unaware of what was going on.  When Josh saw the donkey, he thought to himself- "I bet that's fixin' to be my donkey". He knows me so well : ) Anyway, no one ever claimed Cyrus, so he became part of our family

Scout - Mutt # 1 (the black one).  Scout also came from our neighbors (the same ones that found Cyrus).  More than likely, she is a lab/ border collie mix.  She is extremely smart (gets herself into trouble this way), loves to play fetch, and to try and catch buzzards (she has come really, really close). Wherever we go, she is right there with us, trying to "help".  Scout and I love each other, but she is really Josh's dog.  She thinks he hung the moon, and whenever he's around, I am clearly not top priority.


Ann - Mutt #2 (the reddish/ brown one).  Ann is another stray we adopted.  She came up to our house several times, but ran away as soon as she saw us.  Eventually, she became so malnourished, that she laid down in the grass and refused to move.  I was concerned about approaching her, not knowing her temperament, but when I walked towards her all she did was waggle her big long tail. Her tail has been waggling ever since : ) Ann really is the sweetest dog I have ever met, and she is becoming more brave as she is with us. When we first got her, she knew I was "safe-base", and she would either sit at my feet or hide around new people; recently, she has taken to walking right up to them.  Where Scout is my helper, Ann is my snuggler.  Scout and Josh go on adventures together, and Ann curls up in my lap.


So that's my family that lives on our farm, Meadowlark. 

Country Cuisine: Burundi
Each week, my husband and I pray for a different country, using Operation World as our guide.  This week, our country is Burundi, a small country in East Africa.  To help remind us to pray, I find pictures of the country and set them as my computer background, and I also try to find an authentic recipe from that country.  Burundi is one of the poorest countries in the world, and has a long history of violence, so there are many specific prayer needs.  Check out http://www.operationworld.org/buru for a highlight of these needs.  If you are interested in praying for the nations, I strongly recommend purchasing the actual Operation World Book- it's awesome.  Anyway, onto the food.  This week I made Red Kidney Beans with Plantains - and it was wonderful!  It was a little different than most meals we eat, but Josh and I both enjoyed it. Here's the recipe:

Ingredients:
3 cups prepared red kidney beans (2 cans)
2 Tbsp palm oil (I use Canola oil)
1 onion, sliced
1 plantain, sliced
salt
1 tsp chili powder
2 cups water

Method:
1. Heat oil over medium heat, cook onion
2. Add beans, plantains, salt, and chili pepper.  Cook for a minute.
3. Add water and simmer until plantains are cooked and about a 1/2 cup of liquid is left in the pan- 30 to 45 minutes. 

 So, the picture doesn't do it justice, I promise it was very good (and cheap too)!

Hope y'all enjoy!

Welcome!
    Although I have contemplated creating a blog for quite a while, I have never actually committed.  Now that I have, I am unsure exactly what to say.  However, I do know, that the primary purpose of this blog is to help keep everyone up to date on life with Josh and I (since many of our friends and families are scattered about).  So for anyone who I haven't already up-dated, here is a quick run-down of the major life happenings at Meadowlark.
    First, I have resigned my position at Windridge, and am now a full-time, stay-at-home wife.  Secondly, Josh and I are in the process of adopting. We are going thru the Texas Waiting Program, which is specifically for children whose parental rights have been terminated.  We still need to complete our Home Study, and are working towards doing this. There is no firm time-line for the adoption process, so we are trusting the Lord and His timing.  My hope is that this blog will help to keep everyone aware as we move thru this process, and to serve as a way for y'all to get to know our little ones, once they arrive.