Friday, June 6, 2008
DRIVE THRU DIFFERENCE
Today Steph and I were out shopping and running errands. We kept hearing about "Drive Thru Difference Friday" on the radio and thought it would be fun to play along! The idea is to bless the person behind you in the drive-up lane by paying their bill. I've heard about it for a while but never seemed to be in the right place to do it. Today was perfect. We stopped at DQ on our way home. We had to wait a few minutes to insure that someone would actually be behind us. Then she came...a middle-aged woman driving a Lexus. I suppose it doesn't matter what kind of car she was driving, but for some reason, we thought it was kind of funny. As we approached the window, I felt sneaky, like I was going to do something...underhanded?? Steph and I were both kind of giddy. We were wondering who she was and what she was doing. What if she was on assignment from her office to pick up lunch for everyone?? Did I have enough money?? The girl who took my money gave me a strange look when I asked if I could pay for the lady behind me. Of course, it was totally fine with her! I don't think the woman behind us ordered much because I got a lot of change in return. As we slowly drove away, Steph and I tried to catch a glimpse of what happened next. Unfortunately, we couldn't really see much. I'm sure that our friend behind us was confused, but happy to think that someone today was looking out for her. It doesn't really matter who she was or how she reacted. Steph and I had a great time "blessing" her! There is something really good about giving something away without any expectations or strings attached. I need to do it more often. If you haven't ever made a "drive thru difference", do it sometime. It will do your heart good!
Wednesday, June 4, 2008
BIOMETRICS
Today Allen and I had our fingerprints taken (once again!) and one of us passed with flying colors!! That is the good news. As expected, my fingerprints did not scan well and I will be making another trip to the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Support Center sometime in the future. I watched the screen as the tech scanned each finger. The numbers that kept popping up were in the 50% range. However, the readout for both of my pinkie fingers was 0%. The woman helping me informed me that I would no doubt fail the FBI test and would receive notification of a new biometric appointment sometime in the next few weeks. The second biometric scan is automatically approved so I am anxious to just go and get it over with. Arghhhhh! This is so frustrating! I did make a few phone calls and sent an email to USCIS explaining my situation. I asked for another appointment in the near future. We'll just wait and try to be patient. (By the way, Allen's fingerprint scores were well into the 70% range.)
Meanwhile, our remodeling is almost finished. The carpet will be put in tomorrow. The bathroom tile, sink, toilet and shower are in and working!! On our way home today, Allen and I stopped by HOM to purchase a bookcase and two beds for the boys. The furniture will come next week sometime. I will post some pictures soon so you can see the (almost) finished product.
Meanwhile, our remodeling is almost finished. The carpet will be put in tomorrow. The bathroom tile, sink, toilet and shower are in and working!! On our way home today, Allen and I stopped by HOM to purchase a bookcase and two beds for the boys. The furniture will come next week sometime. I will post some pictures soon so you can see the (almost) finished product.
Tuesday, June 3, 2008
BEN AND PHYLLIS
Twenty years ago, Allen was in medical school. Lindsay was just a toddler and I was working part time at Bethel. Allen and I were always interested in raising our family in a small town, so when the opportunity came for Allen to study with rural physicians in Marshall, Minnesota, we jumped at the chance. We moved to Marshall for 9 months during Allen's 3rd year of medical school. It was a great program and Allen learned a lot! The biggest challenge was to find housing as we prepared to move back to the Twin Cities for Allen's final year of medical school. We were on a waiting list for married student housing, but we could see that our names were not going to reach the top of the list by the time we needed a place to live.
One weekend, we came back to the Twin Cities for a visit. We visited our home church in Roseville and were reconnecting with some of our friends there. Ben and Phyllis were a wonderful couple who seemed to take a special interest in our lives. When they heard that we were in need of temporary housing, they immediately offered to share their home with us until the student housing was available. They didn't have to think about it for even an instant! Their generosity was overwhelming but after some thought, we decided that it would be the best option for us. Our plan was to live with them for 4-6 weeks and then move into student housing. Well, it took 4 months before our name was called to move into university housing!
We learned so much about generosity and grace during our time with Ben and Phyllis. Our "home" was downstairs where there was a pull-out couch, a sitting area and a small kitchen. It was just what we needed and we were so appreciative! We would often go upstairs to share a meal with them or just talk at night. They took us under their wing and treated Lindsay like she was a princess. They never made us feel like we were a bother. I've never seen anyone work so hard at sharing their time, resources and encouragement with those in need. I was amazed at their gift of hospitality. They both had demanding jobs and would be up early on Saturday and Sunday morning preparing a meal for a group of people they had invited. It was fun to live with them and was bittersweet when it came time for us to move.
I remember trying to think of a gift that we could give them for the gracious hospitality they had shown us. Two problems - we had NO money and they really didn't need anything. The best thing I could come up with was to make them a cross-stitched Christmas ornament. It seems sort of stupid now, but it was really the best I could do at the time. As Allen and I talked about this more, we came up with another thought. When someone gives to you sacrificially, maybe the best way to repay them is for you to demonstrate that generosity to yet another person. We vowed that we would someday do something special to help someone else in need.
I can't say that we have decided to adopt because of these friends. However, nothing would make us happier to think that our adoption is in some way a tribute to the generosity and compassion that Ben and Phyllis have shown to so many people, including us.
By the way, we are still in contact with Ben and Phyllis. They are very involved and supportive of the Children's Shelter of Cebu and of course, are very excited about our news. Although we don't see them often, I know that they are consistently praying for each person in our family. They continue to work hard at sharing the things God has blessed them with those in need. We have been so blessed to know them!
One weekend, we came back to the Twin Cities for a visit. We visited our home church in Roseville and were reconnecting with some of our friends there. Ben and Phyllis were a wonderful couple who seemed to take a special interest in our lives. When they heard that we were in need of temporary housing, they immediately offered to share their home with us until the student housing was available. They didn't have to think about it for even an instant! Their generosity was overwhelming but after some thought, we decided that it would be the best option for us. Our plan was to live with them for 4-6 weeks and then move into student housing. Well, it took 4 months before our name was called to move into university housing!
We learned so much about generosity and grace during our time with Ben and Phyllis. Our "home" was downstairs where there was a pull-out couch, a sitting area and a small kitchen. It was just what we needed and we were so appreciative! We would often go upstairs to share a meal with them or just talk at night. They took us under their wing and treated Lindsay like she was a princess. They never made us feel like we were a bother. I've never seen anyone work so hard at sharing their time, resources and encouragement with those in need. I was amazed at their gift of hospitality. They both had demanding jobs and would be up early on Saturday and Sunday morning preparing a meal for a group of people they had invited. It was fun to live with them and was bittersweet when it came time for us to move.
I remember trying to think of a gift that we could give them for the gracious hospitality they had shown us. Two problems - we had NO money and they really didn't need anything. The best thing I could come up with was to make them a cross-stitched Christmas ornament. It seems sort of stupid now, but it was really the best I could do at the time. As Allen and I talked about this more, we came up with another thought. When someone gives to you sacrificially, maybe the best way to repay them is for you to demonstrate that generosity to yet another person. We vowed that we would someday do something special to help someone else in need.
I can't say that we have decided to adopt because of these friends. However, nothing would make us happier to think that our adoption is in some way a tribute to the generosity and compassion that Ben and Phyllis have shown to so many people, including us.
By the way, we are still in contact with Ben and Phyllis. They are very involved and supportive of the Children's Shelter of Cebu and of course, are very excited about our news. Although we don't see them often, I know that they are consistently praying for each person in our family. They continue to work hard at sharing the things God has blessed them with those in need. We have been so blessed to know them!
WHEN ARE THEY COMING??
"When are they coming??" I get asked this question several times every day. Believe me, I wish I could give a date and start making plans! If you know me at all, you know that I am a calendar freak and love to know when and where I am going (at least six months out)! We were told that it often takes about four months after receiving the referral from the Philippine adoption board. That happened at the end of April...which would put us near the end of August. That does not account for long delays in paperwork or unexpected roadblocks that might come up. On the other hand, (except for the fingerprint fiasco) the whole thing has been moving along more quickly than we might have expected.
This week we will be sending paperwork and legal documents (sent from the Philippines) to begin processing the immigration piece of this process. If you remember, we are heading down to the US Customs and Immigration Services in St. Paul to get our biometrics taken tomorrow morning. This is also part of the immigration paperwork that has to be processed and approved. To be honest, when I talk with our adoption counselor about all the hoops we need to jump through, I still get a bit confused. So basically, we just do what we are told as quickly as we can and wait for the next assignment. It is the "hurry up and wait" drill. Having said that, it is very good that we are now talking about customs and immigration. This step can take up to 90 days, but recently, it has taken some families closer to 60 days. We'll see. I would like for our kids to come sooner than later, but I also believe that God's timing is perfect, and either way, it will all work out just fine. We are still very hopeful that they will be here for the start of the school year. Thanks for your interest and keep posted! As we get closer to the "pick-up" date, we'll have a better idea of specific dates.
This week we will be sending paperwork and legal documents (sent from the Philippines) to begin processing the immigration piece of this process. If you remember, we are heading down to the US Customs and Immigration Services in St. Paul to get our biometrics taken tomorrow morning. This is also part of the immigration paperwork that has to be processed and approved. To be honest, when I talk with our adoption counselor about all the hoops we need to jump through, I still get a bit confused. So basically, we just do what we are told as quickly as we can and wait for the next assignment. It is the "hurry up and wait" drill. Having said that, it is very good that we are now talking about customs and immigration. This step can take up to 90 days, but recently, it has taken some families closer to 60 days. We'll see. I would like for our kids to come sooner than later, but I also believe that God's timing is perfect, and either way, it will all work out just fine. We are still very hopeful that they will be here for the start of the school year. Thanks for your interest and keep posted! As we get closer to the "pick-up" date, we'll have a better idea of specific dates.
Sunday, June 1, 2008
COMMENTS
Several of you have found it difficult to comment on my blog. We have adjusted the settings to make it easier for you to let me know what you think. I love getting comments, so if you have something to say, please do. Hopefully, it will work better now.
CARIBOU COFFEE
One morning last week, I was in the drive-thru at Caribou when I noticed some familiar looking people inside of the store. It was Pastor Bob and Jarad (the senior pastor and youth pastor at our church). As I looked more intently, I could see that it was the entire pastoral staff from First B. There were about six or seven of them and I immediately had warm, fuzzy and happy feelings as I watched them interact with each other. I wanted to run in and give them all a big hug and thank them for what they do. (Just so you know, I didn't.) Allen and I feel so blessed to be a part of a church with such great leaders. They each have special gifts and passions. They each have different strengths and weaknesses. But I have no doubt that each of them is committed to the call that God has given them. My family has been touched in one way or another by their efforts. As we add to our family, I am SO thankful for the staff at FBC. I know that they will love and accept each of them no matter what. I know that they will walk alongside each of our kids to help them know and love Jesus. These people are a HUGE part of our support system and I am so grateful that they are a part of our lives.
PADDLE, PEDAL AND RUN
Yesterday morning our family participated in a triathlon. Sounds impressive, doesn't it? Well, it was lots of fun and a great thing to do together. If you sign up as a team, it is very doable (even for those of us who aren't as in shape as they should be)! The race consists of a paddle around Spectacle Lake (about 1+ miles), an 11 mile bike ride and a 2+mile run. Bjork joined our ranks so we could have two teams of three people. I love the race because it is good for a wide range of people. There are several serious athletes and those who just want to get some exercise and have a good time. I was assigned to the biking portion of the race. Lindsay and I biked the 11 miles together. Unfortunately, Lindsay's bike was not working very well. Every time she would go up a hill, her gears started to shift on their own. It made riding very awkward and it definitely slowed her down. I felt badly for her but really... it was to my advantage and allowed me to sort of keep up with her! Considering that I have not ridden a bike since last summer and that she is 25 years younger than me... I think I did quite well! I'll post a few pictures to share. It is a fun, local event that happens at the beginning of June every year. Think about getting a group together next year. We plan on being there. We may have 3 Mork teams!!
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