Meanwhile, Back at the Farm...

It's that time of year again. My favorite time of year- FALL. Time for our trip out to the farm for the pumpkin experience.

Try getting these two to look the same direction at the same time and you will understand why light was the least of my worries at the moment...

Curly loves animals. She was feeling pretty brave to get this close to the goat, and I think for good reason. Not long after the photo, Mr. goat came out of that hole pretty far... could scare the pants right off Miss Curly and nearly did.

They got to climb through a long tunnel (read large pipe) suspended in the air. It was fun for both of them, though Curly was too fast to get many photos of. Smiles LOVED the tunnel!






Then...well, then I think I forgot my brain over with that tunnel and got into a cow train with Smiles since he was too small to ride in it himself. It was a bit tight.

And then...


it started raining (actually down-pouring in wonderful Northwest style) on our way back.

I don't think you can actually tell from the pictures the severity of the rain, but I tell you it was some hard rain. My lap looked like I had stepped straight out of a pool when I got out. That's WITH Smiles sitting on it! All that said it was one of the most fun things I have done with Smiles and we both couldn't stop laughing. Curly was laughing right along with us in the car in front of us.

So...we needed something dry for a little while after that. Off to the "corn room" it was. They have a very fun room at Maris Farms that is filled with corn kernels. There are rubber ducks hiding in it so the little ones can search for them. Quite fun if you ask Curly, and Smiles was pretty interested this year too.

As you can see, the corn was good at soaking in the wet from our clothes with it's dry coating of dust. It actually worked quite well.

Smiles found a duck. That was fun and looked so tasty too.

WHAT!?! Sister stole his duck!!! That mean sister...she had to give it back. Can't have a fun day without a little issue between siblings, right?

He is quick to forgive her. You know that sunshine comes out of her...well, nevermind...he got his duck back.

(You can see where Smiles had a coat to protect him and where he didn't with the rain soaked pants.)

Now for little brother's revenge. He got to bury her in corn!

(She really looks scared, doesn't she...)

Mom helped Smiles finish the job.

Yep. Totally frightened out of her mind...I'm sure of it Smiles.

She asked to be painted with a pig, so that's what she got.

Then Smiles got to drive her on a tractor (don't worry, it doesn't really move).

He loved that. He never gets to lead.

I think we need to teach them about looking AT the camera for these shots...hmmm...

And then came the pumpkin picking. We adopted a rule from a mentor mom (who happens to be a good friend's mother) my first year of MOPS. Her rule was that the kids could get whatever pumpkin they wanted, but they had to be able to carry it to the car all by themselves. Love that rule. Except this year...

Maris kind of failed us. Their pumpkins were way too HUGE. We looked and looked, and they have tons of pumpkins, but we couldn't find one that she could pick up.

Luckily she was content to get the kind Smiles gets. The small ones. She got a small pumpkin and a gourd since she could carry both of them.

We weren't going to carve this year anyway, so it worked out just fine.

Curly with her pumpkin, and Smiles with his.

Happy Harvest friends!

If you would like to see last year's trip to Maris, click here.

His Hands

Make an on-line slideshow at www.OneTrueMedia.com

What's New?

Well, I haven't updated like I should have, though lots of you know what is going on with our adoption through other means.

We finished all the US side of things as far as paperwork goes, and last week mailed off our dossier (paperwork for the government in Ana's country). That means that it will be received (if it hasn't already...I need to check on that), translated, and submitted to their government. Then we will receive a travel date. We are hoping that will be sometime before the end of the month...but God's timing is perfect =).

That's where we are in the paperwork part of the process. Now our focus is packing and finances.

So, I want to say- Praise be to God for the ways He has provided so far. We needed $24,000 at the start. We are left only needing $7,000. How huge is that!? Keeping my eyes focused on that is encouraging.

I have been reminded and told that I can't just close my eyes and wait for Him to deliver the rest as well. We have known He would provide. Yes sir that is true indeed. I have to confess though, that my follow through with prayer for that specific area has been lacking though. Since I trusted that He would provide...I only prayed it here and there. Not like I should.

This week: "You do not have because you do not ask." James 4:2

Oooookaaaay....I guess you've got me Lord. We had some conversation. As usual, He was right. So, our prayers have reflected that. We have changed the error that the Lord brought to our attention and listened to the verses that tell us to ask. To ask persistently. (Did you know there are quite a few of those? Who knew!)

Then also...ummm....well, I had a harder time listening to Him about another area, so He had to bring in the hammer. You know, when He has to hit you over the head with it in such an obvious way that you can't blame Him for not making it clear. It's all on you after that. He used some other folks to basically tell me that I am being foolish and selfish by not sharing our needs.

As I am sure most of you know, it is hard to ask when something is for yourself. Even if it's for a really good reason. I have no problem with letting people know about the needs of others when it comes to their adoptions, but I know I am not the only one that has a hard time doing it for our own. It feels uncomfortable. I avoid getting into numbers in any way other than sharing what the Lord has done. And seriously, that's a good thing to share too. It's amazing what the Lord has brought to us! I don't ever want to forget that. I don't want you to forget it.

But God also said, share your need. Don't rob others of the chance to be blessed by giving. (Ouch.) He knows where to hit me because this year I have been growing in the area of generosity a lot, and have learned the JOY that it is to give. And to rob others of that joy...(though I still argued that there are lots of places for people to give...He didn't even give me a response to that one though)

So, uncomfortable as it may be for me, I feel that I need to share our specific physical need. God has given us close to $17,000. That's awesome stuff! We only need $7,000 more before we leave. If I'm honest with you, that number still feels really big when we only have like a week and a half to receive it (bank stuff means we need it two weeks before travel) ...but I shouldn't feel that way. God's been so faithful. And actually, my faith has been raised recently. Amazingly raised. And now that I feel that I am being obedient to the Lord, I feel even more confident that He will provide somehow. He is God.

I am asking that you pray specifically for the amount that we need and for it to come in the next week.

Now, I must also say that I feel so blessed to have blog friends and readers that I can ask for prayer from and know that it will come. So many of you have been a great blessing to our family and I thank you for ALL the ways that you have blessed our family.

And lastly, on a slightly different topic, when we leave we will be posting to Ana's adoption blog. We are going to change it to a private blog for the time while we are out of the country. If you would like to be able to view it while we are gone please e-mail me with your e-mail address or leave it in the comments. (You won't get an invite until we are close to leaving.) Then you can follow us through the process while we are there. I do plan to write there more than I have here recently. I might have a little more down time =).

HA! I also forgot one large thing. We have been trying to figure out this whole time who "child number two" is. Well, the questioning is done there as Handsome and I found out a little over a week ago that we are expecting in late May.

...sorry I forgot such an important detail...

Isaiah 58

True Fasting

¹ "Shout it aloud, do not hold back.
Raise your voice like a trumpet.
Declare to my people their rebellion
and to the house of Jacob their sins.

² For day after day they seek me out;
they seem eager to know my ways,
as if they were a nation that does what is right
and has not forsaken the commands of its God.
They ask me for just decisions
and seem eager for God to come near them.

³ 'Why have we fasted,' they say,
'and you have not seen it?
Why have we humbled ourselves,
and you have not noticed?'
"Yet on the day of your fasting, you do as you please
and exploit all your workers.

⁴ Your fasting ends in quarreling and strife,
and in striking each other with wicked fists.
You cannot fast as you do today
and expect your voice to be heard on high.

⁵ Is this the kind of fast I have chosen,
only a day for a man to humble himself?
Is it only for bowing one's head like a reed
and for lying on sackcloth and ashes?
Is that what you call a fast,
a day acceptable to the LORD ?

⁶ "Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen:
to loose the chains of injustice
and untie the cords of the yoke,
to set the oppressed free
and break every yoke?

⁷ Is it not to share your food with the hungry
and to provide the poor wanderer with shelter—
when you see the naked, to clothe him,
and not to turn away from your own flesh and blood?

⁸ Then your light will break forth like the dawn,
and your healing will quickly appear;
then your righteousness ^a]">[a] will go before you,
and the glory of the LORD will be your rear guard.

⁹ Then you will call, and the LORD will answer;
you will cry for help, and he will say: Here am I.
"If you do away with the yoke of oppression,
with the pointing finger and malicious talk,

¹⁰ and if you spend yourselves in behalf of the hungry
and satisfy the needs of the oppressed,
then your light will rise in the darkness,
and your night will become like the noonday.

¹¹ The LORD will guide you always;
he will satisfy your needs in a sun-scorched land
and will strengthen your frame.
You will be like a well-watered garden,
like a spring whose waters never fail.

¹² Your people will rebuild the ancient ruins
and will raise up the age-old foundations;
you will be called Repairer of Broken Walls,
Restorer of Streets with Dwellings.

¹³ "If you keep your feet from breaking the Sabbath
and from doing as you please on my holy day,
if you call the Sabbath a delight
and the LORD's holy day honorable,
and if you honor it by not going your own way
and not doing as you please or speaking idle words,

¹⁴ then you will find your joy in the LORD,
and I will cause you to ride on the heights of the land
and to feast on the inheritance of your father Jacob."
The mouth of the LORD has spoken.

I Can't Sleep

Dearest friends, I cannot sleep tonight. I cannot sleep because I am joyful, yet at the same time I am struggling. There is more going on in this mind than I am able to hold and I decided it might help to release to you...stop holding little things back.

Let's start with the joy, that's the fun part. We received our United States Customs and Immigration Services approval for our adoption today in the mail. That's a huge step and means we are not far off from travel...we could be traveling in four weeks! On top of that, we had an issue with the social worker's license that would be expiring at the end of this month and he hadn't received his new one in the mail yet. I got word tonight that he mailed it to us yesterday...that's another praise to God. By all means, He is working right now.

I have felt very much as though I am in His favor right now. I don't know how else to describe it, but the last few days seem like everything that comes has either been good, and if it hasn't been, then it seems that these things have melted right before my eyes. Faster than my emotions could respond, any issues were gone.

Yet at the same time I cannot forgo sharing the faith issue that I am having. I feel like a walking contradiction. I trust, though I have trouble trusting. I KNOW, yet I lack sufficient faith. Does anyone understand what I mean by that? I feel like it is impossible...like I am crazy in myself and that this can't be possible because it is opposing, yet I know that things are never "normal" with God and that someone out there MUST know how I feel because...well, because there just has to be.

I KNOW that God provides for His good ideas, even if He doesn't always provide for "our good ideas". I KNOW that this was HIS idea. I stated that I want to follow Him so fully that if He doesn't follow through I am in DEEP trouble. And I do, but then the follow through comes...and that is hard. We are down to the wire. We have very little time left and I am desperately trying to hold on to my faith that He will follow through.

And let me stop myself to PRAISE Him. Because it is no small thing that God has provided the amount of funding that He has thus far. We have raised $8,429.25 in just a few months. That is awesome, wonderful, amazing, GOD. He has been here. He is walking with us. He is holding our hands.

God has opened doors when they needed to be opened. God has made connections where we needed to make connections. He gave us patient and gracious people to work with when the paperwork hassles came and we had to redo things 6 times. God has walked each step.

So...what's wrong with me? Why do I have trouble trusting when He has proven faithful every step thus far? When He has never left me high and dry? I know I'm human...and I have never had to trust Him this much before. It's hard!

Are we getting two kids, or just one? Because if we are getting two, then we have a big jump to make still. If we are getting one...well, we still have a big jump to make. And I don't know how it's going to happen.

Adoption grants and loans are mostly for people with agencies...in fact, I haven't found any (other than one that we missed the cut off for the quarterly application process for) that don't require an agency. The country we are working with only does independent adoptions. There are things that you can do after you get home...that will give you funding when you are home with your child...well, that won't help us. We have some funding help through Handsome's company (Target- love Target), but we have to figure out how to front that money. Do we have that laying around? Uhhh...nope.

So, I'm sorry to vent to you all. I have tried not to share the hard stuff with you too much because I mostly want you to share in the joys with us. But tonight. Well, tonight I need to ask for prayer. Mega prayer. Prayer for my faith (and Handsome's too), prayer for our child(ren) in another country, prayer for ALL the stinking things I have to get done before we can go that are driving me MAD. Prayer for wisdom on a couple of very big things that we haven't figured out yet. Would you pray? I KNOW and don't have any trouble believing in the power of prayer, I KNOW that will help. I know that is what we need. I know it will ease my mind. I know that my burden will be lifted by the prayers of my brothers and sisters in Christ. I believe that I may have tried to carry my burden alone for too long and that we were given the body of believers for many reasons.

I would say it's about time that I shared my burden with the family that God has given me through His blessed sacrifice. Your prayers are desperately needed right now, and I thank you for each and every one.

Mommy is Mean

But sister is a good distraction.

The Fair. By Curly.

"HEY CURLY!"

"What?"

"Do you wanna go to the fair today?"

"...."(Just kidding, she really wanted to go. A LOT.)

"Did you have fun when you went to the fair?"

"Yeah! It has lots of cows at duh fayer! And ice cream too!"

"Who did you go with?"

"...NOT Daddy..."

"Oh, that's too bad. Daddy had to work, didn't he..."

"But Uncka Nick (Brody) comeded wif us. And Gwama too."

"And I makeded a horse fing. Uncka Nick hewpded me."

"We eated ice cream too. Der was milking a cow near der...milk is from cows tummy fings."

"Smiles didn't wanna go wif da goats doe. I fink he was scareded."

"Ponies are my favorite. But you can't ride dem at the fair! I want to ride dem."

God's Word

Isn't it interesting when you realize how God's Word is truly alive! He speaks through His written word, just as He speaks by the Spirit. It's amazing.

I have to be honest with you. While most of the time I have been blessed with faith to trust in His timing and that He WILL provide as He has said He will, it can be a little difficult. Most of the time I have little thought of the financial status of our adoption (which I PRAISE Him for because I am prone to worry and stress over little things, let alone the big stuff). From time to time though, as we get closer to the end of the wire...things can get a little hairy. Not like freaking out or developing an ulcer, but thoughts of questioning come in. Some of those questioning thoughts are produced by conversations with people who either directly or indirectly question my faith. Usually well meaning, just not as supportive as needed. Just being honest here.

So tonight I was feeling a bit discouraged. I KNOW that God said He would provide for our adoption. I KNOW that He is faithful to follow through. I KNOW that He wants to grow my faith by waiting and forcing me to trust in HIM and nothing/nobody else. I KNOW that if I am faithful to wait upon Him, He WILL provide. And really that's what I want. I want to live the kind of life that requires me to trust Him. A life where if He doesn't come through for me- I am up that creek with no paddle and three holes in my boat. That's what I want. That's what He is giving me.

But, while I want that in my heart, my head is not so easily connected with that. So...sometimes I question myself. I question whether or not I heard Him correctly. I question whether or not He really cares enough about my little life to follow through without forgetting. I question whether my faith is enough.

And guess what? It's okay. Cause it's not about me at all. Following Jesus is NEVER about what I can do. It's always about what HE can do. My life is about bringing Him glory, nothing more. So...do you think it brings Him more glory if I breeze through every challenge I come to? Or does it bring Him more glory if I have some trouble and have to call on Him even for the faith to continue trusting Him? You guessed it. In my weakness HE is strong.

So, because of His compassion my daily reading spoke in big ways to my heart. He always has a way of speaking through the planned reading too. No need for flipping around folks, just keep going with the normal reading. Earlier today I read Matthew 13, so tonight I decided to read a little more and was in Matthew 14. Here is a recap of what was said:

v. 17- The disciples said to Jesus that they only had five loaves of bread and two fish when Jesus asked them to feed 5,000 men and their women and children. He told them to bring the food to him, and there was more than plenty to feed them all.

HE IS ABLE TO PROVIDE EVEN WHEN THERE ISN'T MUCH TO WORK WITH.

v. 28 starts the story of Peter walking on the water. Sometimes I feel like we hear the stories so much that they can loose their potency. Peter asks to be called out on the water. Jesus calls Him. Peter walks out. BUT...

"But, when he saw the wind, he was afraid and, beginning to sink, cried out, 'Lord, save me!' Immediately Jesus reached out his hand and caught him. 'You of little faith,' he said, 'why did you doubt?'"

Peter could have kept walking on the water if He had focused on Jesus and kept his eyes off of the wind and lack of calm. But also notice how Jesus was right there the whole time and the moment Peter lacked the faith necessary, Jesus saved him. Immediately. He also confirms that Peter's doubt is what caused Him to begin to sink. Doubt is a dangerous thing. Thankfully my Jesus is here to lift me up when I fall. He sends me His words when I am starting to doubt and He encourages me when I need it. Sometimes He lets me go until I reach the point of breaking, but I know he is always there to catch me.

Daddy Calls it Torture...But He Looks Like He is Having Fun

Sometimes Curly likes to play with necklaces.

Sometimes Curly likes to play with her brother.

Sometimes she likes to play with both.

Sometimes Smiles thinks its great fun!

(In my humble opinion you HAVE to click on that last picture and really look at that face! How adorable!)

Mom's Laundry Soap

So, I had a busy night last night. We made blackberry jam with the berries we picked yesterday at Nana's house. Then I made zucchini crisp, which I shared the recipe for earlier. And finally, we ended the evening with a batch of homemade laundry soap.

My mom found this recipe on the internet and I have been using it for quite some time. Only...I have been reaping the harvest of her work =). Last night was our first batch made by my own hands. It's quite simple, so lets get to it. I have been very pleased with how well this laundry soap works by the way. Better throw that in there.

Laundry Soap

1 cup washing soda

1 cup Borax

1 bar Fels-Naptha soap (found in the laundry soap aisle...for locals, Fred Meyer carries it)

And 5 gallons of water (not pictured...I think you can figure that part out)

First you want to grate the soap with your cheese grater. You put the grated bar of Fells Naptha soap in a pot with 1/2 gallon of water and melt it on low. (I am not patient and don't like to wait around, so I let it get pretty warm on medium high first and then lowered it to medium low.) You want to melt the soap all the way.

While that is melting, put the remaining water, hot or very warm, into a container big enough to hold 5 gallons of liquid. Put your washing soda and borax in there with the water. You will end up with four and a half gallons in for now. When the soap is melted fully with no chunks in it, add that to the big container with the borax and washing soda. Stir it really well until you feel it is equally mixed together.


Then comes the fun part. You have to bottle it up. I like to use old liquid laundry soap containers that are saved, the ones without the button are best. You want a pour spout. Bottle up the soap in whatever containers you have, or you can leave all of it in a 5 gallon bucket and just use it from there every time. It's just easier to store it all and use it in a few smaller containers.

In actuality, I used what I had. I used two large liquid laundry soap containers (the kind with the push button spout), two empty milk jugs (which I also used to measure out each gallon of water), and 1 pour spout liquid laundry soap container. I figure that I will just refill my 1 good container with the other soap as I use it up.


Why is it better to have a pour spout? Well, after the soap sits and cools (overnight) it can get a little clumpy. You will need to shake it when you use it and the clumps get stuck in the press button style.

Use half a cup per load of laundry. Simple as that. It may sound a bit long written out, but I assure you that the process is not very hard once you do it.

WHAT Crisp?!?

Because of so many of our friends requested the recipe for a certain dessert, I decided to post it for you.

Back before Handsome and I were married (we were dating), I lived with my good friend Brie. One day she came home with a delicious smelling crisp that I was about to be all over....that is, until she told me it was zucchini crisp. Then I was a little skeptical. Crisp is for berries and peaches after all- NOT for vegetables.

But alas, I was wrong. And I tell you that if you like apple crisp, you will surely like zucchini crisp. It's tasty stuff.

I'm not sure it's the exact recipe that Brie brought home, but it's the one that I've used for years now. Here it is for your baking pleasure:

Zucchini Crisp

CRUST:
4 cups flour
2 cups sugar
1/2 tsp salt
3/4 lb butter (3 cubes)

FILLING:
6-8 cups peeled, seeded, chopped zucchini
2/3 cup lemon juice
1 cup sugar
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1 1/2 tsp cinnamon

Combine the flour, sugar, and salt for the crust. Cut the butter in until crumbly. (Our family secret for cutting butter in: use a cheese grater to grate the firm butter into the dry mixture, then work it in...I do use my hands. It works really well!)

Press half the dough into the bottom of a 13x9 inch pan and save the other half. Bake 10 minutes at 375 and then let it cool.

In a saucepan, cook the zucchini in the lemon juice until tender (about 10 minutes); add sugar, nutmeg, and 1 tsp of cinnamon. Simmer that for 1 minute and then add 1/2 cup saved pastry mixture. Simmer until it thickens stirring constantly. Let that cool.

Pour zucchini mix over the crust. Add 1/2 tsp cinnamon to the remaining pastry mix and sprinkle over the top.

Bake at 375 for 35-45 minutes or until lightly browned.

And that's your zucchini crisp! Enjoy.

A Glimpse into a Conversation with My LORD

Holy. Holy. Holy. Holy is the LORD God Almighty.

I've heard those words a thousand times. My voice has proclaimed them...knowing that they are true, yet aware that I don't grasp what that means. Yet somehow today they are different. Different than they were last night. Somehow I feel a little smaller in Your wake, yet more aware of the uniqueness of Your love for me.

And how messed up is that?!? It makes no sense that it takes YOU reaching out to me...You opening up my eyes to YOUR love...it takes that to cause me to love You. It's totally mixed around, backwards, cooky. I should be the one trying in vain to get Your attention. And this little speck of dust (yet that's not even small enough in comparison to the difference in our size)...well, you shouldn't even be able to see me without some type of aid for Your eyes. YET, You love me. You know all about me and feel about me as young love caught up in the moments of fresh anticipation of each moment spent together. And that feeling stays...it's not temporary, it's forever.

I can't understand that. And it feels WRONG to even write that. But You said to, so I will.

You spoke to me, about me specifically. You told me how special my smile is to You. You said that you made that a special part of who I am. You designed it special for You, to bring YOU joy. You told me that You were proud of the way you created me. And I fully understand what that means. It doesn't mean that I had any part in the things that You are proud of. You look at YOUR work and see the parts untainted, the being that YOU created. And just as my smile had nothing to do with me, the parts of me that have been cleaned up are the work of Your hands. All the good parts of me are the work of Your gentle hands, shaping me into the woman that You would have me be.

I've heard people say that You don't care about the details of what I do everyday. You have a main purpose for me, but the way I decide to do that is of no matter to You. I don't know if I agree. The more control I give to You, the more pleased I am with the results. Maybe I have more work for You to do than others. My once wretched heart that still thinks in the old ways more often than I would like might have been worse off than some. All I know is that I want to give You more. I don't always know how to do that, but You even use the moments where I fail to tell me something. You knew and know where I will not follow through. You speak to me through it and give me millions of chances to try again.

Lord, who is like You? Really. I get that statement! Nobody is like that. You have got to be CRAZY! You are not right in the head or something. But that tells me that I am not right in the head, because I was made to be in Your image and I should be like YOU.

And then, when You show me your love I start to feel so special to You that I have no comprehension of how You could really love all of Your children like that. Seriously. How can one ever hold enough love that strong in their heart? Your heart has to be as big as the heavens themselves. You must just be one huge heart, that's the only way I can even fathom You coming close. Yet I still can't. I guess that's why I get a little jealous from time to time about Your love. It's like I really don't believe that You can love very many people quite this much. My faith is to small for You. And then I get a little jealous because I want to hold on to what You showed me and I fear that it will be split when shared with more people. Yep, I fear that if someone else discovers that You love them THIS MUCH, then it will take away from the depth of Your love for me.

But that's not true at all. That's the opposite of the truth, isn't it. The more I share Your love, the more it multiplies for me. At least, I see more of it then.

Is there someone specific that You wanted to read this Lord? That You wanted me to tell that the way You love my smile and created it to bring YOU joy is the way You love special things about them...and that You want to tell them specifically about what part of them is made special?

I know. Just like You know that I like to finish the questions that You have answered at the moment that I start to speak them. You're just awesome like that God.

...then sings my soul, My SAVIOR GOD to thee...how great thou art. HOW GREAT THOU ART!

A Few Honest Words

I know I haven't been around a lot, but I wanted to share this post with you today.

This Mom is part of the Ukraine chat group that we have on Monday nights and she shared well some of the feelings that I have. I thought it would be simple to just send you there. I haven't known how I wanted to write it out because it comes out kind of...not pretty when I have tried.

We are nothing special. We are the ones who are blessed by the calling that the Lord has given us. We know there will be difficult times, but the ways we have been and will be blessed are far greater than those times. Do not view us as what we are not. We are not any stronger, braver, loving, or financially prepared than you or anyone else.


He spoke. We said yes.


That's the simple truth.

The quote that she put at the end of her post is one that has also been going through my head often since reading it. I figure it makes a good opportunity to also share with you a link to THIS BLOG. Katie is the kind of crazy that I hope to be. Truly, I hope that one day people look at my life and the first word that comes to mind is crazy. So fully submitted to my Lord that there is no explanation other than abiding in HIM. This young woman (20 I think) has left her life here for one far different than the one she probably imagined. I urge you to take a look at some of her past entries and support this ministry. The decision to do so was an easy one for our family and might be for yours as well. Not because of how special Katie is, but because we know that God is clearly seen there. It's about HIM, and that is visible.

(This post is a good one to give you a run down of the history...)