The Stroup Family: All You Need Is LOVE

Merry Christmas

2010-12-26T13:45:00.000-08:00

Merry Christmas from our family to yours!

Our Christmas this year was absolutely wonderful!

Sunday Love.

2010-08-01T11:14:00.000-07:00

Goodbyes

2010-07-21T15:36:00.000-07:00

Sawbonna! (Hello!)

Today was another wonderful, blessed day in Swaziland! Again, we started off waking up at about 6-6:15 to be at breakfast and head out to our church at about 7:45.

When we were pulling up at the church, all the village children came running down the hill to meet us. Man, I love that sight. All these children running to meet and greet people they just met two days ago, and probably the only white people they have ever seen. The joy, the love, the openness they all have... I LOVE AFRICA!

Anyways, today was our last day at our church. I kept repeating to myself, "Take it ALLL in. This could quite possibly be the last time you EVER see these precious kids that you have fallen in love with in two short days... don't miss a wink." Needless to say, today was a day that I will never forget. And I don't think I can, either, because I have about 800 pictures from the day; each picture with its own background story and beautiful memory.

Our days have consisted mostly of bonding. Bonding with the moms, teenagers, toddlers, babies, gogo's, and all the community people. Bonding is most important, creating relationships with the people in our village, even if nothing else gets done, is all that matters. And bonding is definitely what we did. We did build and plant them a garden and teach Bible School to the children, but most of our time was consumed in making relationships... which made it so much harder to say goodbye.

My heart is just so overwhelmed here. There is so much to take in during the day; so much that I store in my journal in my heart and hope to never forget; so much, that I just wish I could have had a camera crew to follow every step of the way so that not a single breath could be forgotten. From the looks in the children's eyes, the deep sadness dwelling in them cutting a hole right through me, to the times of joy where I feel I could fall on the ground and laugh for hours with these new friends while they make fun of me because I can't say a word right, for the 20th time, to hearing them worship, in that tiny, stick church building. There were so many times today that I just wanted to freeze time and sit there forever. so many memories that flood to my mind when I close my eyes... in just 3 days I have done more and learned more and lived more than I ever have, and just thinking about it and reflecting on my time at the small 33' X 33' stick church makes me wants to cry. The ugly cry.

I just have to pray that God come speak to me. That He come sort out all my feelings of sadness, anger, longing, love, confusion, and joy. I am so angry that I had to leave these people. I could have stayed for the rest of the summer, no lie. I am angry at the circumstances they live in. The poverty, the death, the disease, the hunger... it just doesn't make sense to the human eye. But what is even more confusing is their joy and their faithfulness. When they praise God, they sing whole-heartedly, holding nothing back. When they talk and live, they have so much joy. And I find myself thinking, "Joy from what? These people, from the world's eyes, appear to have nothing, yet they have EVERYTHING. How can I get some of this joy?" I have yet to find out... for I am NOT finished, I am not letting go. I will not forget them, and I know the Lord has plans, great plans, for them as they continue to live with such joy and faithfulness.

Back to the goodbyes. We started the morning off by hanging out with the children for a while, the boys played soccer, I taught the teenage girls how to play volleyball (which they thought was the COOLEST game in the whole wide world), and Mrs. Burns and the garden team finished up the last of the planting of the garden. After that, we handed out clothes to the children, moms, and grandmothers. That went very smoothly, and everyone was so grateful for their new treasures: underwear for child, an article of clothing for child, bar of soap, article of clothing for mother/grandmother, underwear for mother/grandmother. Since when have I been so ecstatic about a used shirt or underwear or soap? Lots of evaluating the life I live has been done and is being done.

After we got finished with handing out our goodies, we bonded again... at least I did. That is pretty much ALL I did the WHOLE time. We shared lunch with all the people there, which they were also grateful for.

In the afternoon, two groups headed out into the community to pray and visit the sick. Very hard. Very heart-wrenching. No words can describe what it is like to walk into a room with a person dying of AIDS. They don't understand what AIDS is and what it can do... but we do, and my heart aches for them.

There is more about today, some praise-the-Lord only-God-can-do things, but it is past midnight, so that will have to wait.

Destination: Africa. Day 2

2010-07-19T14:36:00.000-07:00

Sarah here.
Hello from Africa! We are safe and sound in Swaziland. I plan to post my daily journals of our Thursday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday traveling, but for now, I will start with today. It is almost 11 pm (Swazi time), and I am running on very little sleep, so bare with me.

Monday
July 19, 2010
Destination: Jesus Is the Answer Church in Swaziland, Africa

Today was our first day of serving the people of Swaziland. We started off the day waking up at 5:30 to shower and make it to breakfast by 6:40. There are 300 people on our Heart for Africa trip, so we were put into teams of about 10 each (we are the largest group with 23 people, Stroups, Burns, Pastor Thomas, a group from Atlanta, and a group from Taiwan), and larger groups, called waves, to split up breakfast times. There are 3 waves (teams 1-10, 11-20, 21-30), and we are in wave 3... which is the best because we have the latest breakfast! And it also means that we have the shortest commute, wave 1 travels about 2 and a half hours each way to their church, wave 2 travels about 2 hours, and wave 3 travels about an hour. Our group, though, has an incredibly short commute; we only have about a 20 minute drive to our church.
So, moving right along, we ate breakfast, which was really good. The juice, though, wasn't as good... we had some sort of guava juice and lemonade-looking, but NOT tasting, juice.

Then we headed to our church. Being at the church and loving and living with the people of the surrounding area was indescribable. I love this country!
So much happened today, so many stories to tell. Each person, each child, each house had their own story, but they will have to wait for another day because it is 11:30 PM Swazi time, and I have to wake up at 5:30 tomorrow morning.

Our first day was a huge success, and I have 629 pictures (yes, 629 pictures from JUST TODAY!) to prove it... which also all have their own story to tell. I am too tired to go through and pick out my favorites...
I hope to post a real journal tomorrow and a few videos I shot today of all the children and women singing "Jesus Loves Me" and breath-taking songs in Siswati (not sure how to spell that).

Goodnight! Or good evening to those back home!
Love,
Sarah

Sunday Love

2010-07-04T13:52:00.000-07:00

A Time To Dance...

2010-07-03T21:25:00.000-07:00

a time to weep,

a time to laugh,

a time to mourn,

and a time to dance.

Ecclesiastes 3:4

I love this recent conceptual photo shoot of Sarah on pointe. The elegance of pointe and the rustic atmosphere of our 100 year old barn mixed perfectly for these exceptional treasures. I just had to share!

Bridal Shower and Faith Like Potatoes

2010-07-03T09:59:00.000-07:00

6/26/10

Happy Monday! On Saturday, a few friends of mine and I had a gorgeous bridal shower for one of my good friends, Cindy Ford's, son, Josh's, soon-to-be-bride. It was a beautiful shower! Six ladies from our neighborhood, seven including me, hosted the shower.

The Hostesses and Bride (L-R): Nancy, Me, Julianna (bride), Lorrie, Jamie, Becky, (Kristi and Jerrie not pictured).

I was so amazed at how beautiful the shower was! There were gorgeous flower arrangements everywhere, only china and crystal was used for serving, the cake was beautiful, and Becky's house accommodated everyone very well!

Between the seven of us who hosted the shower, we have twelve daughters ranging from twenties to two (Ella)... so we have LOTS of showers ahead of us!

_____________________________________

After I came home from the shower, the kids swam, I laid out by the pool, and we enjoyed our (VERY HOT) Saturday afternoon.

The weather here has been SO HOT that all we can do is either swim or stay inside. I don't think it has been below 95 degrees for most of June, and it is hot ALL DAY LONG... from 8 am to 8 pm it is humid and in the 90's.

____________________________________________

Then, it was designated Family Movie Night. We watched Faith Like Potatoes.

BEST.

MOVIE.

EVER.

It is about a family who works and runs an orphanage in South Africa. I missed the first 15 minutes of the movie because I was popping popcorn, so I'm not exactly sure how it all started... you'll just have to see for yourself!

I cried, I laughed, I bawled, and I held on for dear life to see what would happen next.

This is a great example of what can happen when you just have faith.

*I hope you had a good Monday! And for your next movie night, be sure to watch Faith Like Potatoes.

Sunday Love

2010-06-27T11:08:00.000-07:00

A 4 Year Old's Take

2010-06-16T19:10:00.000-07:00

I was sitting at the computer and Joe came up to me to tell me that Grace needed a towel.
Not letting a moment like this pass,
I swooped him up, gave him a big ole hug, sat him on my lap,
and said
"Oh, Joe, let me see that handsome smile!"

He responded with a huge smile
full of joy and pride
and then a look of confusion engulfed his face
as he said
"My hands don't smile; they wiggle!"
and proceeded to wiggle his fingers!
The way his little mind works just entices me!
Hand-some has a whole new definition
in the mind of my silly 4 year old!

I love that little bundle of joy and love!
He is smart, loving, compassionate, caring, hard-headed
and a real-life giggle box!
I love to listen to him laugh
and his funny remarks, like the one above,
are sometimes just too cute not to share!

I love you so much, Joe!!!

truest love...

2010-06-09T21:38:00.000-07:00

For you created my inmost being;
you knit me together in my mother's womb.

I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
your works are wonderful,
I know that full well.

My frame was not hidden from you
when I was made in the secret place.
When I was woven together in the depths of the earth,

your eyes saw my unformed body.
       All the days ordained for me
       were written in your book
       before one of them came to be.

Psalm 139:13-16

...is our Savior's love for His children!

Boys Home, Birthday, Recital, OH MY!

2010-06-07T21:03:00.000-07:00

These two handsome boys just got back from the beach.

They left Sunday (May 30) to spend a week with Mimi and Papa (Greg's parents) and cousin Harrison.

This was their first time to go on a 'big trip' all by themselves, and they were certainly missed! I am not sure how much they missed us, though.

A whole week of relaxation?

quiet?

freedom?

quiet?

fun?

quiet?

beach?

quiet?

tanning?

and, uh QUIET???

I don't know if they realize how good they had it!

They had a FANTASTIC time going to the beach (almost every day!), drinking smoothies by the pool (the highlight of EVERY Florida trip, I might add), and biking around the area. They rented bikes for the week, and rode their bikes ALL OVER!

John and James have definitely come back a bit more tan and proud of their newly appointed freedom.

But they were so excited to see Joe and Ella and the girls again... and vice versa!

Ella looks pretty happy to have James home!

------------------------------

The boys came back Saturday... which was a pretty important day for a certain 12 year old in our house!

James turned the big 1-2 on June 5th!

Sarah, Anna Grace, and Joe made James a birthday sign to greet him when he got home!

I am so proud of the young man James is becoming!

He is sweet and loving toward his brothers and sisters.

He is creative and smart... and loves to build or take apart ANYTHING!

He is my go-to-guy whenever I need something fixed or repaired.

And, most importantly, he loves and follows God and cares about everyone around him.

I know that God has some wonderful plans for James,

and I am so grateful that I get to witness it as it happens!

-----------------------------

And for his birthday, James got to go see his sisters' dance recital!

Sarah and Anna Grace's dance recital always falls on the weekend of James's birthday... and this year was not any different...

EXCEPT it was the first year that we made John and James go!

Sarah (14) has been dancing since she was 5 years old,

Anna Grace (8) since she was 4,

and the girls and I thought it was about time for the boys to see what goes on beyond the dance practices, makeup, and costumes.

Overall I think it went well (taking John and James).

And Sarah and Anna Grace did a wonderful job!

That was our Saturday! We are so happy to have John and James back home; James celebrated his birthday Sunday with a cake and a new bike; and another successful dance recital is under our belts!

SUMMER!

2010-05-23T07:38:00.000-07:00

I meant to post last week about the kids getting out of school... but, as you can tell, I didn't.

Part 1:
Sarah (14) got out of school last Tuesday, May 18. I am so proud of her and how she blossomed this past school year. Last year she decided that it was time to go to a bigger school; the four oldest went to a private Christian school (which is an AMAZING school, don't get me wrong), but in the junior high grades, classes get a little small. So for eighth grade Sarah went to the public junior high school. She was a cheerleader, on the A honor all year, and never let down her guard for God. She LOVED her eighth grade year, and I CAN'T BELIEVE SHE WILL BE IN HIGH SCHOOL NEXT YEAR!!!
I didn't get any pictures of her last day of school because she went out to eat with a lot of her friends right after she got out.

Part 2:
John (13), James (11), and Anna Grace (8) got out of school last Wednesday, May 19. I am so proud of them, too! We LOVE their school- they learn about God in every subject, and the teachers are so kind and helpful! I snapped a picture of them before they left school...

I don't think James was too excited to pose for pictures... he was ready to leave! :)

All four older kids (plus John's friend Jordan).

Anna Grace LOVED her 2nd grade teacher! She had a great year!

James also loved his teacher! She was very funny and loved all her 5th grade students.

I didn't get a picture of John and his 7th grade teacher. He was just ready to leave!

Part 3:
Luckily (so that I will remain SANE), the little two are still going to preschool twice a week. It is nice to have JUST the older four to do fun things on Wednesdays and Fridays... sometimes a break is NICE.

We have had a wonderful start to our summer... filled with movies every night, sleeping in every morning, and playing outside and inside. So far, so GREAT!

My Thoughts Monday

2010-05-17T06:31:00.000-07:00

My Thoughts Monday is a day dedicated to sharing what is on our minds. Join me each week to share what has been weighing heavily on your heart and mind.

This week: I've had all these thoughts about adoption (and why people don't 'get it') swirling around in my head for days. I finally sat down at the computer and emptied it all out into this poem.

Just because you do not see me
Just because you do not see me, doesn’t mean I don’t exist
Just because you do not love me, doesn’t mean I do not wish
For someone just like you to come into my life
Make me apart of your world, tuck me into bed each night
Some people think this place I live, is fine for me for now
But the real truth about it is, I struggle just to wonder how
How can this dirt, the pain I feel each time the misery comes
How do I erase the filth, the hurt, the pain so deep my mind just runs
Runs to a happy place where family is near
So kind so loving so complete so wonderful and dear
Where are you now why aren’t you here, I cry myself to sleep
Waiting for a mom and dad to come and rescue me
God says he took us as His own we are now His daughters and sons
But will you take me into your home and for me this battle won.
I struggle why no one seems to care to see the pain I feel
The physical and emotional that is so very real
I am the same as your sweet child that God brought from your womb
I need the same love and care the hugs, and the laughter too
So just because you do not see does not mean I don’t exist
It just means I am struggling alone still with my only wish
The wish for a mom and dad to hold me close each night
Not let another person come and in my world bring fright
I need a protector, love, teaching, comfort, someone to hear
All the dreams the passion, desires that God has been so clear
So clear that we all need a family, a home, a place that every child desires
A place to grow to sing to dance to celebrate and admire
The way I’ve grown and have developed into the beautiful child I have become
Because you came for me and out of the darkness I can finally see the sun.
So thank you mom and thank you dad for showing me God’s love
The kind that lasts forever and into His arms I will finally run
Not run away from my fears but into His family I will go
Because you loved and showed me the God you also know
So on this day we can celebrate, the past, the pain is gone
And so for me, but not for others this battle is finally won
I now know the true meaning of Jesus because you showed His love, and no longer will I roam.
You sacrificed your life your dreams and you gave to me a home.
I will never be perfect but you didn’t care and took a risk
And you decided that just because you didn’t see me, doesn’t mean I did not exist.

Never. A. Dull. Moment.

2010-05-14T18:39:00.001-07:00

A Friday night wouldn't be complete without a trip to the ER, now would it?!

Let me explain:
Greg, John, James, and John's friend Benjamin were playing basketball this evening, enjoying the hard-to-come-by nice weather. The basketball game got intense, and as John was making his way to shoot a lay-up, James "got in his way" and fell into the grass... and he happened to fall on a rusty nail. Now if anyone can get hurt by the ONLY nail in our WHOLE yard, James can... and James DID. I will spare details and pictures, but when he showed came inside to show me, there was a hole down the side of his leg long-ways, about 3-4 inches long. OUCH!!! So Greg and I took him to the emergency room to get checked out, left Sarah at home to hold down the fort, got in to see a doctor quickly (which is an ER miracle), and James got the full treatment- complete with an x-ray to look for any metal left in his leg, an alcohol rinse to clean the incision, some strips to hold his 'owie' together, and a Tetanus shot. We are SO thankful that that is the all that happened. It would have been much worse! And, we are home and safe now... and trying to avoid any confrontation with rusty nails.

_____________________________________________________________________________

***On a lighter note, I thought I'd give you a little glimpse into our week (in no particular order):

This is what our driveway currently looks like. There is a shoulder being added on our street... and so we have tractors, piles of gravel, and cones decorating our front yard:

Current FAVORITE toy: dirt bike.

John was nice enough to let Anna Grace have a try at driving, too.

Sarah's school performed The Sound of Music last weekend. The Jr. High is known around the community for their amazing performances and this one was no different.

Our newest additions- 9 furry balls of cuteness

Happy Mother's Day, Mom

2010-05-09T19:18:00.000-07:00

Mom,
It is impossible to thank you for all you have done. From the hundreds of times you have brought my ID to school after I've forgotten it to all those times I "borrow" your clothes and jewelry, you have proven to be THE BEST mom in the ENTIRE WORLD! AND Although I may deny it, my friends are right... you are pretty cool. Most of my friends don't have 5 little siblings or know all about orphans worldwide, but, thanks to you, I do and I wouldn't change it for the world!!!! Thanks for everything!

And here is your Mother's Day present...

Your Baby Girl
I'm no longer a little girl
As you can plainly see,
But that doesn't mean
You matter any less to me.
You may not be able to hold me
Or sing me lullabies,
You may not feed me dinner
Or tuck me into bed each night.

For I am quickly growing
Into a lady not a girl.
But don't let that fool you,
I am still your baby girl.
As I start a new adventure
Into high school I will go
I will need you more than ever
Though I may not always know.

There are times when I am happy

And there are times that I am mad,

But you have always shown me

To look at the fullness of the glass.

You've taught me many lessons
From manners to having fun,
But how to love my Savior
Is the most important one.
Your words and your wisdom
Have taught me a whole lot,
But it's how you've lived your life
That you have truly taught.
Your love for your family
Your passion for the poor
Your dedication to care for orphans
Your way of always giving more
Is more powerful than words
More meaningful than any gift
The way your heart bleeds through
Is your teaching in its pure bliss.

So every year as I get older
From your baby girl anew
Someday when I'm a mother,
I hope I end up just like you.

I love you, Mom!!!!

Love,
Sarah

Ella On the Move

2010-05-05T19:31:00.000-07:00

My name is Ella and I LOVE to play HIDE N SEEK!

Hmmm... where should I hide???

Here I go...

You can't see me!!!!

BOOOO!!!!!!!!

One Step. One Mile. One Child at a Time!

2010-05-03T19:25:00.000-07:00

Last weekend was the Nashville Country Music Marathon. We had a team of 32 runners, and it was a HUGE success!!! We started out with a goal to raise $10,000 to provide adoption grants through Room for One More... we EXCEEDED our goal!!! AND THERE IS STILL MORE MONEY COMING IN even a week later! (currently we are up to $10,155) To speak for our team, we are SOOOO thankful to each and everyone who participated in the run with the Running for One More team! From organizing t-shirt sales, collecting donations, writing thank-you's, purchasing a t-shirt or sponsorships to running the 13.1 mile half marathon, we couldn't have been more blessed! But most importantly, we were able to share the plight of the orphan to everyone as we ran in our Running for One More shirts!

The day was wonderful. It was nice and cool, which was perfect for running! We made it past the finish line just before the rain hit.

I wasn't able to get a picture of our whole team as everyone left the marathon sight quickly to beat the rain, but here are some pictures I was able to get:

Bottom right corner: Becky, Angela, and me at our church getting ready to leave for Nashville on Friday the 23rd.

Top right corner: Becky, Angela, and me at the Nashville Country Music Marathon and Half Expo on Friday night

Top left corner: Becky, me, Tracie, Chantelle & Eric at the Expo on Friday night.

Bottom left corner: Becky, Christen, and me at Greg's parents house right before we headed off to the race.

Below: A collage members of Team Running for One More passing the 11 mile marker of the Half Marathon.

Below: A few of us after the race.

I had a wonderful experience, and, surprisingly, ENJOYED the 13 miles! Crazy, I know! The past 3 months of training and building lasting relationships and "talking adoption and orphans" have all been a very memorable experience and I plan on continuing! I didn't just train 4-5 mornings a week at 5:30 AM to just quit! We (Running for One More Team) are even talking about a race here in Cape in November... so if you live nearby, mark your calendars for November 6! Dust the cobwebs off your old running shoes and get yourself to the gym to join us in November!... more on that LATER!

And you know I can't end without some Ella cuteness... so here you go:

Ella and Joe hanging out at Mimi and Papa's (Greg's parents) house last weekend in their Running for One More tees!

Together we have made a difference... One Step. One Mile. One Child at a Time!

John's Confirmation

2010-05-02T17:15:00.000-07:00

May 1 John got confirmed into our church, La Croix United Methodist Church. At the beginning of January, about 50 seventh and eighth graders from our church committed to taking the steps to becoming a member of La Croix. They, including John (13, 7th grade), have gone to weekly confirmation classes over the past 4 months learning about the Christian faith, Methodist beliefs, memorizing the books of the Bible and various Bible verses, and participating in mission projects. They also had to attend and take notes from a certain number of church services and youth group meetings.
Last year Sarah went through it, and this year John went through confirmation. To me, it is a giant step of my babies growing up and serving God for their own. The confirmation service is a very emotional time as each child gives their testimony at the Confirmation Banquet, and during the actual church service they all stand in front of the congregation and take their vows of becoming members of the church... but the most emotional part is when each parent gives a blessing to their child during the church service. Going through the confirmation experience just last year with Sarah, I was prepared with John. I was prepared for the tears and the heart-wrenching blessings.
The weekend was wonderful. Confirmation is a big deal in our church, and I am so glad I got to witness John take such a giant leap in his relationship with Christ. It truly is a blessing.

John, Preston, Emily (cousin), Sam, and Parker at the Confirmation Banquet, May 30

John (navy/white stripe Polo) at the Saturday night church service taking his vows

Greg & me giving John his blessing at the service. In the background, some of the other Confirmands

(plus a beautiful shot of the lady sitting in front of Sarah blocking the camera's view)

John and Pastor Thomas, a great friend of our family's, after the service

And, of course, all the gorgeous faces of adoption (minus Anna Grace) that were playing after church!

We finished the night off with a party at the cousins' house!

(Emily is John's age and got confirmed also)

Kids' Table

Gorgeous dessert table

This was a night to remember, and I wanted to make sure to document it!

Running for One More

2010-04-08T14:34:00.000-07:00

A Race against Time for 13 Year Old Boy from China

CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo., April 5, 2010 – Thirty-two runners are teaming up with local charity Room for One More to run in the Nashville Country Music Marathon & Half Marathon April 24, 2010. Room for One More is a non-profit organization dedicated to help orphaned children find forever families, encourage foster-parenting, and support orphan care worldwide. The sponsored runners will be Running for One More to raise funds specifically for adoption grants to help offset the financial cost of adoption for approved families already in the adoption process.

One such family, the Yagers, is in a race of their own to bring home a 13 year old boy from China. They were in the process of adopting 3 year old Drew when they heard about a 13 year old boy who only had a couple months before he would age out of the adoption system. In China this means he would no longer be eligible for adoption anywhere, would be returned to the streets, and never know the love of family. Now they are running against time to raise the additional adoption fees for Jaxon before he turns 14 on May 1. Since that decision, they've done extensive fundraising to cover all of Jaxon's expenses, yet they still need $6800.

This is one example of what motivates these 32 runners. Running a half-marathon is no short distance, but it doesn't seem too far when the result is changing the lives of children like Drew and Jaxon – helping to give them a loving family, security and a chance for a better life.

All donations and sponsorships to Room for One More for the Nashville Country Music Half Marathon will go directly to help children come home. Your support is greatly needed. Please help us bring Jaxon and the many other children like him into their forever families! Together we can make a difference one step, one mile, one child at a time.

Anyone who wants to get involved, sponsor an athlete, "Run for One More" themselves or get more information about orphan care and adoption please go to our website: www.roomforonemorechild.org. We can each do something, whether it is donating, adopting, fostering, mentoring, visiting orphans, or supporting families who are taking orphans into their own homes.

Room for One More is a local non-profit organization providing adoption information, crisis assistance, adoption grants, orphan seminars, and awareness and information for foster care and special needs adoption.

Ways to Get Involved:

• Run with us

• Donate online (http://www.roomforonemorechild.org/)

• Purchase a Running for One More t-shirt (http://www.roomforonemorechild.org/Store.aspx)

Happy Easter!

2010-04-04T21:15:00.000-07:00

Happy Easter

2010-04-03T18:55:00.000-07:00

Matthew 28

After the Sabbath, at dawn on the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to look at the tomb.
There was a violent earthquake, for an angel of the Lord came down from heaven and, going to the tomb, rolled back the stone and sat on it. His appearance was like lightning, and his clothes were white as snow. The guards were so afraid of him that they shook and became like dead men.
The angel said to the women, "Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. He is not here; he has risen, just as he said. Come and see the place where he lay. Then go quickly and tell his disciples: 'He has risen from the dead and is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see him.' Now I have told you."
So the women hurried away from the tomb, afraid yet filled with joy, and ran to tell his disciples. Suddenly Jesus met them. "Greetings," he said. They came to him, clasped his feet and worshiped him. Then Jesus said to them, "Do not be afraid. Go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee; there they will see me."

While the women were on their way, some of the guards went into the city and reported to the chief priests everything that had happened. When the chief priests had met with the elders and devised a plan, they gave the soldiers a large sum of money, telling them, "You are to say, 'His disciples came during the night and stole him away while we were asleep.'If this report gets to the governor, we will satisfy him and keep you out of trouble." So the soldiers took the money and did as they were instructed. And this story has been widely circulated among the Jews to this very day.

Then the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus had told them to go. When they saw him, they worshiped him; but some doubted. Then Jesus came to them and said, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age."

Spring Fever

2010-03-21T19:52:00.000-07:00

We are impatiently awaiting beautiful spring days in our household. You know, days where Joe and Ella can freely roam outside without shoes or a jacket... THAT would be nice! But instead, we rotate between beautiful, sunny, 65 degree weather to rainy, stormy, 35 degree weather. Come on spring!

It was rainy all day long today. Freezing cold outside, pouring down rain, and muddy. BUT, yesterday was BEAUTIFUL! I'm talkin' sunshine and about 65 degree weather! Sarah, Anna Grace, Joe, Ella and I ventured downtown and Greg took John and James to baseball try-outs. We definitely took advantage of the beautiful weather. We walked up and down the railroad tracks and walked around by the river, and Greg and the other boys met us for lunch and a fun photo-op.

We walked by the river.

(Gorgeous, isn't it?)

and I took advantage of every photo opportunity :)

Joe and Grace jumped off the ledge...

And Ella watched them.

It was a little chilly by the water, so Ella huddled up.

More photo-ops... complete with their hair blowing in the wind

He will now oblige to getting his picture taken.

He's pretty darn cute, if I do say so myself :)

We also wrote our names in the dirt.

SIDE NOTE: Joe is learning letters and how to spell... He is fascinated when he learns to spell a new word! (He can spell all his siblings names, too)

The boys met us after try-outs.

Just in time for family pictures!

We found this saying on the river wall and couldn't just pass it by...

everybody jump!

I took a few more pictures by the wall, and then we headed to lunch.

This little nook was found on our way to eat... it was the perfect size for AG.

Lil Miss waiting for her BBQ sandwich

After lunch we got ice cream

and I snapped a few more pictures before we headed home.

Needless to say, we enjoyed our sunny Saturday afternoon!

Some random tidbits:

The concrete wall inspired me, our new theme for this blog is: All you need is love.
In the process of the new blog "design" everything vanished... poof... gone. And with it went the hit list, music, follower gadget, and everything else on the sidebar. So, if you were a follower of this blog, you will need to add yourself again. We are starting fresh. Tonight.

Update on the Country Music Half Marathon:

Marathon training is going great! I am now up to 8 miles!!! I will have an update on the Running for One More progress and fundraising later this week... that is a post in and of itself!

One last picture:

Blessings and Happy Spring!

Shari

Guatemalan Rockstars!

2010-03-06T14:11:00.000-08:00

Music Music Music!
Joe and Ella share a special bond... and that is that they both LOVE music!
Joe plays the piano with his daddy ALL of the time. He really enjoys it... and he is REALLY good! He is good at listening to the different sounds of each key. Joe also likes playing guitar. He will use anything that is remotely close to a guitar- a stick, a violin, a hanger- as his guitar.
Ella is also VERY musical! We got used to finding Joe in the piano room, but Ella has started to catch on, too. She loves to sit on the piano bench and press the keys. She has a great ear, too, because it really sounds good when she "plays" the piano! She's also into singing right now. Her favorites are "Old McDonald" and "Jesus Loves Me". She walks around the house (or store or restaurant :) singing "Jesus loves me this I know. For the Bible tells me SO!" So precious!

{PSALM 150}
1 Praise the LORD. Praise God in his sanctuary; praise him in his mighty heavens.

2 Praise him for his acts of power; praise him for his surpassing greatness.

3 Praise him with the sounding of the trumpet, praise him with the harp and lyre,

4 praise him with tambourine and dancing, praise him with the strings and flute,

5 praise him with the clash of cymbals,
praise him with resounding cymbals.

6 Let everything that has breath praise the LORD.

Praise the LORD.

*Joe is in a "no pictures" stage and refuses to have his picture taken, so Ms. Photographic gladly stepped up to take his spot. :)

A Stroll Down Memory Lane

2010-02-28T15:47:00.000-08:00

days ago I took some time and looked through all of my posts. I found out that my first post was 2/21/08... WOW! Time has FLOWN by! I can't believe that it has been over 2 years since we started Ella's adoption. I remember the day we got the call to adopt her just like it was yesterday.
As I looked through post after post, I was reminded of all the feelings that disappeared the second Ella was placed in my arms for forever. The aching, the longing, and the dreaming as I waited for my baby to come home. I am reminded daily how faithful God is and that His timing truly is PERFECT!
The road of adoption is full of bumps and detours. It is by NO MEANS easy, BUT the outcome is incredible! The moment your baby (toddler, child, teen) is placed in your arms is indescribable. At that moment, all the pain you have gone through disappears. All the nights I stayed up praying, longing for my baby girl are worth it; the million trips to the post office to next-day all of our paperwork are worth it; the many phone calls, emails, and meetings with congressmen, the DNA lab, and lawyers- ALL worth it! Nothing goes as planned, but God shows up and is with us EVERY STEP of the way.
I can see God's hand in Ella's adoption. It is simply a miracle that she is with us today. When we committed to adopt Ella on December 6, 2008, we knew that it would take a miracle to get registered by December 30. All the papers and appointments that normally take months to complete had to be done in less than 30 days. And on January 16, 2008, when many families were told news that no adoptive parent wants to hear (they were not registered, and their adoption would not be completed until adoptions opened up again), we were blown away and praising our Father for the approval to adopt Ella. This was just the start of the troubles that we faced as Guatemalan adoptions were closing. They put many new steps in place and made the process harder and harder, but God stayed faithful and brought His daughter, Gloria Esmeralda, to our family. We met so many wonderful people during our adoption journeys, both from the U.S. and Guatemala. Because of every little thing, we are where we are today- a wonderfully blessed, crazy family of eight-, and for it we are forever thankful.

I will never forget those 10 and a half months of waiting for Gabriela Marie. I had to surrender every single day to God. During those 10 and a half months (and the 7 and a half months with Joe), I saw God in a way that I had never seen Him before.

So, as I looked back through my archives, I was reminded of God's greatness... and of the feelings that I went through. I found a poem that I wrote almost two years ago in March.

Dear Ella,

Today's a day we wait for you,

Not knowing actually what to do.

We cannot stand the time without you here,

We want to hold you close and near.

But we must wait and trust our God above,

He's covered you with so much love.

So wait we will, and dream about the day,

You'll be home with us, home to stay.

You have so much family loving you,

Mama, Daddy, sisters, brothers, aunts, uncles, grandparents, Great Papa, too.

We love you though we have not met,

The love for you grows deeper yet.

Love, Mommy

As a family, we have changed a lot. And, sweet Ella has changed too. She is a social butterfly, waving and saying "Hi!" to everyone she sees. She talks up a storm and loves to sing! She's always walking around singing "Jesus loves me, this I know, for the Bible tells me so!". Isn't that what it's all about? She knows that we love her, but, most importantly, she knows that Jesus loves her!!!

Some people may praise US for changing ELLA'S life, but really it was ELLA who changed OUR lives.

Room for One More is on a roll!

2010-02-08T18:00:00.000-08:00

We have made lots of progress with Room for One More!

1. The "Help ONE in Haiti" bracelets are IN! They are available at the website under "Urgent Needs" (http://www.roomforonemorechild.org/Urgent%20Needs.aspx) They are $2 for one or $18 for a dozen!

2. The Running for One More Nashville Marathon run is in high gear! 20+ people have signed up already to run the race with us and many more have pledged to come out and support us or buy a t-shirt even if they aren't running! We are training, planning, and fundraising! People from all over have agreed to run with us! If you want to join us as we raise money for adoptions and have a great time in the process, go sign up (http://roomforonemorechild.org/Side%20Story.aspx)!

We are having a contest for the Running for One More t-shirt design! You can be a part of our fun by voting for the t-shirt! Go here to vote for the design (http://www.facebook.com/note.php?note_id=298570651851)!!!

And, last but not least, ROOM FOR ONE MORE HAS OFFICIALLY JOINED THE REST OF THE WORLD! As of tonight, Room for One More is on Facebook! Become a fan of RFOM so you can know about our latest news! You can look at pictures of families and add your family picture to our Forever Families album! CHECK OUT OUR FACEBOOK PAGE AND BECOME A FAN OF ROOM FOR ONE MORE! http://www.facebook.com/pages/Room-for-One-More/293254198951?ref=nf

Surviving Snow and the Flu!

2010-02-08T17:41:00.000-08:00

To begin, I never followed up on the Nashville trip. We had a blast! Six out of 8 of us made the trip (the oldest boys decided it would be more fun to stay home and play in snow with friends than go to their sister's cheer competition). Six of us in ONE hotel room! The snow was beautiful!

I've been abandoning my blog lately, but now it's time to get back! The past two weeks have been filled with snow and the stomach flu. I THINK (hope) we are all over the stomach flu. Greg and Sarah are the only ones who made it out without being hit by the bug! Lucky!
We have also had lots of snow (at least for where we live). Our big snow storm about a week ago gave us 8-10 inches and since then it's snowed on and off. We love snow and snow days in the Stroup household! Every time we hear of a possibility of a snow day, we are on our knees praying! Tonight the weather channels are calling for 3-6 inches. So we are getting our snow boots and warm clothes out and stocking up with lots of hot chocolate and chicken noodle soup! We love us some snow days!

Two cutie pies posing for the camera while they wait for big sis to cheer!

I think it's been a while since I've put some Ella cuteness on here! We love her SO MUCH! She is talking up a storm now and loves her older siblings!

Pose!

Sarah got creative with the camera! I love this picture of Ella!!! Pure Sweetness!

I'm officially back! I JUST now finally got my new camera to cooperate with my computer so there will actually be some pictures on here now!

SNOW OUR WAY!

2010-01-29T07:41:00.000-08:00

We live in ice central. The past three years we have had HUGE ice storms... causing school to be out for a week and no power. With every weather channel calling for bad snow storms coming our way, what do we do? WE HEAD TO TENNESSEE for a cheerleading competition, of course! Our oldest, S, has a cheerleading competition in Nashville this weekend, so we have packed our bags, loaded up the kids, and gotten the car ready! 6 out of 8 of us are headed to Nashville for the weekend! (the oldest two boys decided that they would rather stay with friends and play in the snow storm than go to a boring cheerleading competition for the whole day... I don't blame them:) ) It's snowing like crazy outside and supposed to get worse as the day goes on. We just plan to drive slowly and carefully. We'll make it when we can; we aren't rushing!
The little ones are excited! They get to go visit their cousins in Nashville while S (14) and AG (7) and I hang out with 18 cheerleaders! Nashville is probably our favorite place to be! Greg's whole family lives there, and it's such a beautiful city! S and I love the shopping, too!
The blizzard (as the kids call it) doesn't stop our family! We are headed out the door... with a few extra outfits in case we get stuck in Nashville (Nashville is supposed to receive a snow storm, also) and lots of movies to watch on the way!

I'll take lots of pictures and, if the camera and laptop cooperate, I will try to upload a few while we are in TN!

I hope everyone stays safe this winter!
Blessings,
Shari

Help ONE in Haiti!

2010-01-23T13:58:00.000-08:00

Most everyone has heard of the earthquake in Haiti so I'm not going to go on and on about what happened. But, I am going to tell you what I am going to do to help the devastated people of Haiti.

There is not one minute that goes by that I do not think about the millions of people who have been affected by the earthquake. I am constantly praying for the hurting people and the wonderful people who are going to Haiti to bring hope. My heart is overflowing with compassion and hurt for the hopeless people of Haiti. I mean, seriously, what would you do if your home got shaken to a rubble and everything around you was hectic and hopeless? What would you do if you were stuck in the ruins of your city, pleading for someone to come save you, but certain you would die right then and there? What would I do if everything that was familiar to me got ripped away and I was left with nothing to cling to? To tell you the truth, I don't know what I would do. I would call to my Father in heaven, but I would be a mess. I would pray that someone would hear my cry and bring me hope... hope in the form of food, shelter, and water... Hope in the form of life. I would pray for Jesus to show up and save me.

Even though I personally haven't been hit by an earthquake, I need to be hope to people, just as I would want if I were in their place. In truth, "Each one of them is Jesus in disguise" (Mother Teresa). Each child, each mother, each criminal is Jesus calling out to us. We are being called by our Savior to go and help our neighbor in great need. We need to see Jesus in the face of the hurting people of Haiti.

This is why I want to (need to) do something to help the people of Haiti. Jesus is in the face of the starving, He's in the face of dying, He's in the face of the little boy and girl who lost their mom and dad in the earthquake.

I want to go to those children and tell them they will be okay. I want to hold the grieving little girl in my arms and tell her everything will be fine. I want to hug the frail mother of 4 kids who lost them in the disaster and tell her that her kids will be okay..... but I know it's not going to be. It's not going to be okay; it's just not. But, through God's Word, we can show the people of Haiti that there is HOPE in the midst of death and destruction.

Through Room for One More, we are going to show the true Hope to the people of Haiti.

We are selling bracelets that say "Help ONE in Haiti". If you want to buy one, you can go to the website, roomforonemorechild.org, and purchase one. They won't be up on the site for a week or so because I just ordered them today, but if you want to purchase one in advance, just leave a comment and I'll save one for you.

EDITED: Bracelets are $2 each.

"Help ONE in Haiti" bracelets

They say "Help ONE in Haiti" on the front

and "roomforonemorechild" on the back

They are red rubber bracelets with blue writing

(the colors of the Haitian flag)

The bracelets are $2 each

Buy one (or more) and show your support for Haiti

100% of the sales from these bracelets go to straight to an orphanage in Haiti.

"The King will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.'" Matthew 25:40

Training Has Begun

2010-01-21T13:48:00.000-08:00

The new running shoes are out of the box and into the gym!

Day 1: Half Marathon Training has officially begun!! Let me tell you, I would NEVER be doing something like this if it weren't for helping orphans! I haven't run in a long, long time. It is going to take a lot of persuading myself to wake up at 5 AM several days a week. With 6 kiddos at home, that is the ONLY time I could find to get the training in... What did I get myself into? Lots and lots of coffee will be a necesity now until April!

Who wants to join me? As I said yesterday, we have roughly 15+ people joining us in this crazy race. We are adding more and more people everyday! Also, if you want to come but don't want to run, we would LOVE it if you want to get a t-shirt and cheer us on! Trust me, I will need some support and so do the 163 million orphans! We all have a voice and a cheerleaders, but the children whom we are running for do NOT. We will be running and raising awareness for the millions of children who don't have someone to support them or to love them.
Just go HERE to sign up!!!!

I have a giveaway in the works.... so check back later tonight or tomorrow to see what I'm planning!

Running for One More!!!

2010-01-20T19:34:00.000-08:00

I am officially crazy! I just signed up to run a 1/2 marathon! The good part: I will be running to fund adoptions!!!

Here's the gist- A group from Cape, about 15 as of now, are going to run in the Nashville Country Music Marathon on April 24. We will be raising funds and awareness for orphans and adoptions. AND we get to wear some pretty cute turquoise t-shirts! If you want to join me and about 15 other crazy, orphan-loving, God praising, marathon training people, email me (sharistroup@charter.net) or go to the Room for One More website: roomforonemorechild.org.

Oh, and while you're there, go ahead and check out the new and improved Room for One More website!!! It's all up and ready to be of good use!!!

roomforonemorechild.org

Happy New Year!

2010-01-01T10:26:00.000-08:00

Love, The Stroup Family

While You Were Sleeping

2009-12-03T14:54:00.000-08:00

Sometimes I feel helpless. As if the need is so great and I am so small. I know that is not true, but I also know that I need to act.... NOW! I can't put it off any longer; there's no time to waste.

Backup with me for a second.... I was listening to our local Christian radio station and the Casting Crowns song, "While You Were Sleeping," came on. Have you heard that song? If not, I have embedded it at the bottom of this post so you can listen to it. :) As I was listening to the song, I felt that God had played it for me to listen to. There is a part in the song that says,

"And we're sung to sleep by philosophies

That save the trees and kill the children..."

Really? Has our nation come to be that ignorant? There are so many extremists who fight to "Save the Trees" and "Prevent Global Warming," but they are missing the big picture. While these people are rioting about saving trees and paper, HUMAN LIVES are being LOST! What if people cared about their brothers and sisters as much as they care about "Saving the Planet"? What if all the energy of fighting a natural cause that won't change was put into fighting for lives? Do you know how many lives would be saved if that happened? Sometimes I feel like YELLING at the ignorant, self-loving people of our nation, but then I stop and realize that I am one of them, too.

What am I doing right at this moment that is benefitting the cause of the orphans? I keep waiting for that "perfect opportunity" to come where I just "get" what I am supposed to do, but, as I wait, CHILDREN are DYING. As I sit here, trying to figure out what to do, childrens' lives are being spared... Childrens' lives that I could be PREVENTING if I wasn't sitting here trying to map everything out.

I DO serve the orphans. I advocate about them on a daily basis and am working hard to get Room for One More up and running so we can start to fund adoptions, but I KNOW there is more to be done. I am not super woman, and I can't fly in and save all 147 million orphans, but I can do MY PART... and you can do your part.

I am just torn apart by the Casting Crowns song. Their lyrics have hit me hard, and I'm trying to organize my thoughts. All I know now is- something is going to come out of this... and it's going to be BIG. We are going to blow the stakes out of the water and we are going to make a BIG difference... I am just going to think and pray about what that is going to be now. Will you join me?

This next verse of the song makes me want to cry. I am so sad at what our nation is turning into; we are getting less and less Christian by the minute.

"America, what will we miss while we are sleeping?

Will Jesus come again

And leave us slumbering where we lay?

America, will we go down in history

As a nation with no room for its King?

Will we be sleeping?

Will we be sleeping?"

(While You Were Sleeping, Casting Crowns)

I don't want to go down without doing something to better His kingdom. As a nation, we are missing all of the signs saying "Come to me; I will save your people and get you out of your recession," but as Christians, we can see those signs from our Father. The question is- What will WE do about them? Will we be sleeping and miss our chance? OR Will we turn our words into action?

THANKSGIVING MIRACLE!!!

2009-11-26T05:30:00.000-08:00

Find the Hollis's blog HERE

I just checked the Hollis's blog. This is what Melanie said:

"Most of you know by now, our family decided three years ago to forgo giving presents to one another during the holidays. Instead, we reach out and raise money for orphan ministries.

We just finished going through the book, "Crazy Love" by Frances Chan with our kids and decided this year, we wanted to be CRAZY for Jesus! He is so crazy about us, we wanted to share His love with everyone throughout the year, but especially during November and December.

Lydia took "CRAZY" to a whole new level, however, when she approached me (while her dad was on a mission trip in Africa) and asked if she raised $20,000.00 before Thanksgiving, could we adopt a little orphan girl, Darya, who has Down Syndrome in Eastern Europe. (A friend of ours adopted a little boy from the same orphanage and reported that Darya gets no attention at all....no one speaks to her or holds her.)

THAT WAS 8 DAYS AGO! Being a sensible 41 year old, I told Lydia she would never be able to raise $20,000.00 in 8 days.....she is only eleven. She didn't hear me. Instead, she asked again, "But if I do raise the money, will you adopt her?" I responded yes, if she raised that much money in 8 days, we would know God is in it and would travel to adopt Darya!

Tonight, I would like to report that Miss Lydia has raised $26,550.00 and the donations are still coming in. It just so happens, we have good friends who have been planning to adopt a little one with Down Syndrome through Reece's Rainbow, but lack of funds has delayed them. Not anymore, everything above $20,000.00 goes to them.

So, friends, you have been a part of a double Thanksgiving Miracle. Not only will Darya have a home ....but through your gifts, another little angel will be given hope for a family tomorrow too! God is so great, isn't He?

Lydia will be on the local Fox Morning Show tomorrow at 6:45am. I will try my very best to post it to the blog, because I know so many want to see it.

"Rejoice in the Lord always, and again I say REJOICE!" Phil. 4:4"

The Darya Project

2009-11-25T10:09:00.000-08:00

I recently came upon a family, The Hollis Family. They are a great inspiration to all of us who think we have crazy lives. They have two children with Down Syndrome + 3 other kids. One of their children was born with a heart defect, stomach defect, and Down Syndrome. Her name is Hope and she has encouraged many people with her beautiful smile. After birthing Hope, they adopted an adorable red-headed little boy, Charlie.

Their 11 year old daughter, Lydia, has fallen in love with a little girl from the Reece's Rainbow sight. Her name is Darya and she has Down Syndrome. Melanie (the mom) told Lydia if she could raise $20,000 then they could adopt Darya.

The truth is, many, many children in Europe who have Down Syndrome suffer a terrible life. They are often sent to mental institutions where they lie in a bed most of their life. They are pretty much just left there to die. They don't have anyone to love them or tell them "I love you!" These children live terrible lives, with just enough food to get by. Most of them die before they hit 1 year old. Now tell me-- Isn't that just horrifying?!

Well, the Hollis family is willing to change the outcome for one precious little girl. Isn't that what it's all about?- caring for one child at a time??? Darya has spent most of her life in a crib with little interaction... but soon that will change.

Lydia has faithfully accepted the challenge her mom gave her. Lydia set out last Tuesday to raise $20,000. In the past week, she has raised over $13,000 out of the $20,000.

Lydia has not only set out to raise the $20,000, but her goal is to raise it by Thanksgiving... TOMORROW!

We all need to have faith like a child. Lydia never thought, "Oh, this might be too hard. Raising $20,000 in just over a week is almost impossible!" NO! She believes that God is going to provide the money by tomorrow. There is not ONE doubt in her mind.

So, I have a question for you... Will you join Lydia? Will you donate on Darya's behalf?

This is more than bringing a child home. This is proving to all non-believers that OUR GOD IS BIG! He can move mountains, and HE can raise $20,000 in 8 days! Everything is possible with God!

Are you willing to be a part of this Thanksgiving Miracle?

A Part of Who We Are

2009-11-21T18:27:00.000-08:00

As we are nearing Ella's 2nd birthday,

I have been reflecting a lot on Ella's {and Joe's} birth country and birth mom.

It is easy to forget about their heritage

and the huge, most unselfish decision their birth mother made to give them up.

Not because we don't appreciate it

and not because we aren't grateful for it,

but because they are a part of us...

and we don't see them any different than Sarah, John, James, or Anna Grace.

Joe and Ella are just as much my kids as my four biological children are...

the only difference is-

the four older ones were born from my belly,

the two younger ones were born from my heart.

They "weren't born under my heart, but in it."

We love Guatemala.

Everything about it.

From the gorgeous hills and scenery to the beautiful people,

Guatemala is fascinating country.

Someday, when Joe and Ella are old enough,

we will travel back to Guatemala as a family

and share their heritage with them.

Someday, they will appreciate the choice their birth mom made.

Someday, they will notice that they look different than me.

Someday, they will start asking questions.

But, today, they see no difference.

They don't see any difference... and I like it that way.

There is a difference, though.

We don't forget it, but we embrace it.

Because of adoption, we are:

closer

stronger

more faithful

and richer in heart.

We are an adoptive family... we are a transracial adoptive family.

Some people may not understand why we chose to add to our family by international adoption.

but it is a part of our family.

It is what sets us apart.

It is who we are.

And, just as we are adopted into God's family, it is our job as Christians to advocate and care for the remaining 147 million orphans who continue to wait for a mommy and daddy to bring them home to their own family. We need to stand together and fight to make orphans history.

Is it a big task? Yes.

Does it seem overwhelming? Yes.

Is it impossible? NO.

Anything is possible with God. God is bigger than our biggest problems; including the orphan crisis... ESPECIALLY the orphan crisis. God is bigger than the orphan crisis.

I am just an individual who is stepping out to do my part to defend the cause of the fatherless.

I get so encouraged when I look around the blog world at all the other individuals who are also taking a stand. I look around and read about all the people who are doing unthinkable things to care for the orphans.

As I look around at everything that is being done to save the orphans, the unattainable number of 147 million, seems a little more attainable. I witness God's mighty power are I watch the selfless work being done by others.

He sees each and every one of the 147 million.

He knows them by name.

He knows their hurt and hears their cries.

He cares about each and every orphan around the world.

I'm Back

2009-11-21T14:52:00.000-08:00

I am positive no one reads my blog anymore... and I have deserved it. I am a terrible blogger! I can just not bring myself to sit down at the computer and write out a post. Bad, I know. I was going to participate in the November Blog Posting Month: 30 Posts in 30 Days, but, as you can see, it's not working out for me. It was a far stretch for me, so I have decided to make a more attainable goal-- One post a week. I know that doesn't sound like much, but I am hoping it will bring me to post more.

My computer broke, so that hasn't helped either. With the computer went all my pictures! I am in the process of uploading all my pictures onto my laptop... so hopefully I can update with new pics soon!!!

***Lots has been going on around here! We've been crazy busy but lovin' life!

That's all for now!

-Shari

The Many Faces of Ella Marie

2009-11-06T12:09:00.000-08:00

Staying with my promise to myself, I am working hard to post every day. Today's post is all about spunky little Ella. She is 11 1/2 months old, weighs about 20 pounds, and has curly, jet black hair. Not to mention her personality gets bigger everyday!!! As of October 18, she has been home for ONE year! Can you believe it? I sure can't! It seems like she has been here a lot longer than just one year, yet it feels like we just brought her home yesterday! (confusing???)

Ella has grown so much in the past year! She has done a great job trying to catch up with her older brother, Joe. She is now working on talking. She says quite a few words, but with 5 older siblings, she has to keep up!

Well that's all for today! Have a blessed week!!

-Shari

30 Posts in 30 Days

2009-11-01T14:38:00.000-08:00

I admit it, I have been a terrible blogger. The truth is, I kind of just gave up on blogging and decided to just move on, but that was hard. I have continued to read blogs and follow the journeys of fellow adoptive families, and, while I was reading a blog, I came across a perfect chance to get back into blogging. So apparently November is National Blog Posting Month (correct me if I'm wrong) and to celebrate it, you are supposed to write a post each day of the month. I am not going to promise, but I will do my best to post each night about our latest happenings in the Stroup household. It also helps that I just got a new, professional camera that makes me want to take pictures of my kids every minute of the day. :)

So without further ado, here are some pictures to catch you up on the Stroup Happenings:

Big Bro's

AG and her friends!

As I have mentioned before, Ella and Joe are partners in crime. They (mostly) enjoy playing together and following each other around. I snapped this picture at Sarah's school during "Halloween in the Halls."

Our junior high cheerleader

Summer vacation to Destin, FL.

Catch Up

2009-07-31T13:35:00.000-07:00

While I was uploading photos from our recent trip to FL, I found some adorable pictures that I never posted. They are just too cute not to share!

Joe & Ella: Partners in Crime

Action shot

After we met the Outmans at the airport, we stopped at the mall to do some shopping and ate lunch at our all-time favorite restaurant.... Chick Fil A. They had a little kiddie table in the food court. It was the perfect size for AG and Ella.

This is the crew that met Phelix, Phisher and the rest of the Outman Family at the airport. It was such a blessed day to see those two precious babies come home to their family that has faithfully waited for them for the past year.

Inspiring Video

2009-07-12T18:32:00.000-07:00

I have been following the Johnson's journey to Lucy Lane for a while now. If you haven't visited their blog yet, you have to! They are such an inspiring family- bound to make a difference for orphans. They just brought little Lucy home from Ethiopia the middle of June. She is the cutest baby! Seriously- PRECIOUS!

Anyways, the point of this post is to share this inspiring video of the Johnson family's adoption journey to bring home little Lucy Lane. It brought me to tears. This video is truly inspiring... makes me want a little girl from Ethiopia! ( in my dreams :)

Well here you go:

WARNING:: very touching, be prepared to cry... LOTS

Happy 4th of July!

2009-07-04T20:32:00.000-07:00

We are thankful for so much this 4th of July. I remember last year's 4th as we were disappointed to have to celebrate 4th of July without Ella. This year we were so excited to celebrate the 4th as a complete family! This is Ella's first 4th as an American citizen!!!

We had a great day, filled with love, thankfulness, and fun! Here's how we spent our 4th of July 09:

We started off our day taking a little trip to St. Louis to welcome the Outman Family home from Ethiopia with their twin boys! It was great to see Phelix and Phisher for the first time! They are absolutely precious!

While the girls went to St. Louis, the boys stayed home and went to the fireworks store (the highlight of the summer!) to purchase some more fireworks.

After we met the Outmans, we stopped at the mall for some quick shopping and lunch, and then we headed home!

Then we were off to a family friend's house to swim, play, eat dinner, enjoy homemade ice cream, and shoot off fireworks! There were 3 families and 13 kids (ages 1-16). All the kids played together great and had a ball shooting off and watching the fireworks!

We had a great day, FULL of fun! Happy 4th everyone!

Ella Cuteness!

2009-06-30T13:12:00.000-07:00

Well now that I have told you how we have spent our summer so far... I believe it's time for some Ella cuteness and updates!

Ella is now 19 months old, and weighs in at 19 lbs. (just realized that her weight and age are the same :) She is cute, silly, and so sweet! She has a spunky personality and loves to be in the middle of whatever is happening. Her hair is getting so long and VERY curly... we all just love it!

She is talking a TON... she says mom, momma, daddy, Sarah, John, James, Grace, Joe, up, out, baby, please, thank you, uh-oh, kitty (she loves to chase the kittens around), more, love you!, bubble, hey, no no, yeah, yes, ... and she is learning new words hourly. She also likes to growl. Her favorite thing to say is JOOOEEEEEEE... She loves to play with Joe and yells his name all the time.

Some of her tricks/funny things she does include:

she says CHEESE!!! whenever I turn my camera on

she will feed us and then say OW! when we bite it off her hand (just like Daddy always does to her)

she says YEA!!! and claps whenever she or someone else does something she wanted

she gives hugs and kisses on cue and she will come over and hug/kiss you all the time!

she will plug her nose and stick her head under water when she is in the pool... she loves to swim in the pool!

she follows Joe everywhere... They are partners in crime!

enjoy some Ella cuteness!

Bathing Beauty!

She is so silly!

Ella fell asleep in her chair at the kitchen table! She was sound asleep... too cute!

(above & below)

Have a great day!

Shari

Sweet, Sweet Summertime!

2009-06-30T12:26:00.000-07:00

I've been a very bad blogger, but I promise, once I get caught up, I will be a much better at updating y'all on our latest happenings!

We are totally lovin life in the Stroup household! Being a family of eight is so much fun- never a dull moment in this house. We are having a great summer! Lots of staying up late, watching movies, swimming in our new pool, baseball games for the older boys, dance practice for the older girls, hanning out, building forts with the little kids, and going to the lake every chance we get!......and of course trips to Andy's Frozen Custard to get a little treat on a hot day!! That's what it's all about, right?

Starting off with the trip to the hospital and ending with the latest happenings, here are a few pics of what we have been up to:

(above) Ella's night at the hospital. Although she had an IV in her hand and an oxygen monitor taped to her toe, she still smiled for a picture! (and YES she even wears a bow at the hospital!!!)

Ella hung out with Bianca and Solie at our annual church picnic! She loves little Solie!

On June 5, James celebrated his 11th birthday at a local Japanese restaurant where they cook your food right in front of you!!!

On the same weekend as James birthday (much to James's dismay) the older girls, Anna Grace and Sarah, had a dance recital! They did amazing!

Anna Grace was a flower girl in our pastor's daughter Stephanie's wedding. It was a beautiful ceremony and we wish the best for Stephanie and Mike!!!

We went over to a neighbors house for a Father's Day Cookout. Ella enjoyed her ice-cream cone poolside!

Our little(st) bathing beauty! Ella loves the pool! She likes to swim around with the older kids holding her. She will even plug her nose and stick her face under water!!!! She will be swimming in no time!

Just last week we went to the lake! We left the little kids at home and enjoyed a nice (worry free) time of skiing, wake-boarding, and tubing!

Our beautiful little Guatemalan Princesa!

Welcome Home Video

2009-06-27T10:26:00.000-07:00

I know, this video is about 8 months late, but better late than never, right? Sarah, my oldest, just made this video of our pick-up trip to get Ella. She did it all by herself and showed it to me this morning. I love it! It made me cry. It reminds me of the day when I held Ella and knew I never had to let her go. Gotcha Day is such a miraculous, surreal day. It was a day that I will never forget.

Well, enough talking... here's the video! I hope you like it!

(it's not the best quality... I had to change the format because it wouldn't upload from iMovie)

I promise that I will post recent pics of Ella! She is growing so fast. She gets cuter and sillier each day!

Home

2009-05-27T08:58:00.000-07:00

Ella and Shari are home. The steroids really helped and she is feeling a lot better. Thanks for your prayers!

Please Pray for Little Ella

2009-05-26T16:09:00.000-07:00

***UPDATE*** This is Sarah again. I just got back from the hospital (I stayed to help mom with Ella). The results from the CT scan are in. There is no abscess between her spine and jaw area. That is really good news because Ella was really hungry and she couldn't eat until we knew if she had to go into emergency surgery or not. Ella is doing really good. The IV is kicking in and she is a lot more active and is smiling! Her croup is still kinda bad, but the steroids are helping a lot. There was a major difference in how she felt within the three hours that I was there! Ella and Mom will be home tomorrow morning.

Thanks for your prayers! We really appreciate them!

Hey ya'll! This is Sarah here (Ella's oldest sister). I wanted to ask you to pray for Ella. She has had really bad croup the past few days, and my mom took her to the hospital today. They did some x-rays and found something in around her spine. The doctors decided to keep her in the hospital for the night so they could watch her and make sure everything is okay.

She just had a CT scan (I am not sure how to spell that :) done and they are going to put her on an IV to get some steroids into her. Hopefully everything goes well and the CT scan reports are fine!

Please pray for Ella to get better soon because she just feels terrible. Please pray for my mom because she is going to stay overnight with her. And please pray for our family, especially Grace and Joe (the little ones), because its hard not having mom home.

Thanks for you prayers! I will post pictures tonight hopefully after we go visit her at the hospital!

Long Time, No Post

2009-05-26T16:07:00.000-07:00

Hey everyone! It's been so long since we have posted anything. A lot has happened and we can't wait to show ya'll some pictures. Ella has grown so much! We will post pictures in the next few days!

Have a great week,

The Stroup Family

Winter Wonderland

2009-02-08T20:37:00.000-08:00

It has been so long since I have posted. I guess life has changed way more than I was expecting.... but, in a good way. Ella is growing and changing too. I will post some new photos in a couple days so you can see what a beautiful little girl she is and what a wonderful personality she is developing. She fits right into our family of eight! We thank God daily for all of our wonderful blessings and marvel at the way He has brought these two Guatemalan sweethearts into our lives.

We have had such a wonderful winter with SNOW DAYS off school, hot chocolate with marshmallow of course, chocolate chips cookies, a warm fire and lots of friends over to play with. Life is amazing and we are so thankful for each and every day for none is to be taken for granted. God's Blessings on each and everyone reading this post and May God Bless your life abundantly in the coming new year! Which reminds me, I will also try and post our Christmas card, it is pretty cool!!!
Hugs and Kisses, Shari

2008-11-11T15:21:00.000-08:00

I was going to write about Room for One More, but my great friend and partner, Chantelle, says it perfectly.

Here is what she posted about Room for One More

Hi everyone! We are sooooo happy to announce the official launch of Room for One More. It has been a very long process to get to this point, but as of next Sunday, we are full steam ahead.
The idea for Room For One More started when a group of us (Shari Stroup, Shelly Nall & myself) starting some very long conversations. We are all adoptive moms and we all have such a heart for adoption. I remember countless conversations where we would all say some of the same things.
* I wish people could grasp the crazy huge blessing it is to be an adoptive parent
* What if every solid family/single woman/man in America chose to adopt ONE child?
* Why don't more people adopt?
* Why are there not more resources available to people interested in adoption?
* Why don't we do something about it?????????????
And the list goes on of course. I want to say, I realize not everyone is meant to adopt, though in my crazy mind I can't imagine why when I look at Bianca's little face...But I have had wise people tell me this so I trust it!
After many many of these conversations Room For One More was created...This is who we are:

A group of women drawn together by a passion for orphans. We are each adoptive moms and are committed to make a difference for orphans in the world. Room for One More is a place created to inform, counsel, educate, and help raise funding for families interested in adoption. We are passionate about this mission and eager and available to help those in need!
For those of you locally who follow the blog, we are having our first event Sunday Nov.16 at Cup-n-Cork in downtown Cape from 3-5pm. The month of November is Adoption Awareness Month, and in honor of this Room For One More is sponsoring an Adoption & Orphan Awareness Open House. There will be several adoptive families there available to talk to people about adoption. We will also have resources and information available for people interested in learning more about adoption. We welcome everyone to the event! We would love to see our friends and families show up to learn more and spread the word.
Here is the thing...I am here to help people...in many ways, but one of them is through adoption...I have a huge heart for adoption and I am so excited beyond words to help people exploring adoption...And it can be confusing at times!
I believe there will come a day where adoption is very common and most families choose to adopt a child in addition to bio kids....It will not be a last resort, but a common choice. And I see people already moving toward this. God clearly calls us to look after orphans, no doubt about it. I love the idea of seeing people step up, and once they do realizing it is the biggest gift they could ever receive...

Room For One More website is being built currently (THANK YOU ELEMENT74) I will post it as soon as it is finished.
T-shirts available!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Much Love!
Chantel

Halloween Ballerina

2008-11-11T15:16:00.000-08:00

Happy Halloween! Ella was a ballerina/princess for her first Halloween. Her shirt says, Every day is a tiara day! We think so, too.

Sweet Home Gabriela

2008-10-24T19:12:00.000-07:00

This is Ella's room! We tried to bring in some Guatemalan flare. Ella doesn't really like to sleep in her bed though; she prefers Mom and Dad's bed or Sarah's bed. :)

Ella looks up to Anna Grace

Anna Grace and Ella are playing in Ella's room!

Ella loves her rocking chair.

Time for lunch!

(this picture is for you, Mimi!)

Bath time!

Sisters in the car! Ella likes her new car seat... sometimes.

We are settling into life at the Stroup house wonderfully. Ella is a great addition to our now family of 8. We just had our first family picture for the church directory with our complete family. Will post those pictures later..... All 8 were looking at the camera!! Most everyone smiling!

Ella's Homecoming! 10/18

2008-10-22T16:10:00.000-07:00

Let's go home!

We got a ride through the Guatemala Airport.

Ella did great on the plane. She was very busy! :)

John and Greg met us at the St. Louis airport! It was a very big surprise! Our plane got in at 10 PM, so we were very tired.

The girls at the airport. Our great friends Chantelle and Eric Becking met us at the airport too. Chantelle made us a sign. We love it!

Getting Ella's Passport 10/16

2008-10-22T15:53:00.000-07:00

Cutie Pie!

Say Cheese!

Ella's passport

Peace, love, rock & roll. Thanks Chantelle for the adorable shirt!

More Embassy Day Pics 10/15

2008-10-22T15:42:00.000-07:00

Ella and James hanging out at the hotel

Ella and Sarah

cELLAbrating Ella's Embassy Day with ice cream!

Yahoo!!!!! It's Official!

2008-10-15T10:02:00.000-07:00

Yahoo! Gabriela Marie Stroup!

Celebrate!

Guatemalan Cowgirl!

Blowing kisses to Daddy, John, Anna Grace and Joe!

Going out to lunch.

New hairdo by Sarah

Embassy Day!

2008-10-15T09:58:00.000-07:00

Good morning, Sunshine, its your Embassy Day!

All ready to go!

2008-10-15T09:33:00.000-07:00

HERE SHE COMES.......

Ohhhh Ella with Mommy, James and Sarah

Ella Marie Stroup

Headed to Guatemala!!!

2008-10-14T19:42:00.000-07:00

Leaving St. Louis 5:00 AM in the shuttle at the airport. Rise and Shine and Give God the Glory Glory...... This photo is after a 2 hour trip to St. Louis at 2:30AM!!! Sarah, Shari, James and our good friend Shelly who came with us!!!!

Sarah and James all checked in ready to go!

American Airlines taking us to pick up our little girl

Guatemala Airport

We have arrived! Do we have enough luggage????

PINK!!!!!!!!

2008-10-09T16:02:00.000-07:00

SHE IS COMING HOME!!! We Have PINK! Pink Pink Pink!!! We are so excited to bring our sweet baby girl home! "Let them give thanks to the Lord for His love and for the miracles he does for people". (Psalm 107:8) We thank God for this amazing journey of faith, patience, goodness and love. The adoption journey is one that will live in our hearts forever and be a testimony to our children of God's love. As we bring this sweetheart home, we are thankful and reminded of God's great power and mercy and hope. We started this adoption right as the government was closing the adoption process with zero guarantees that we would be able to bring Ella home. Jesus said, "I tell you the truth, if your faith is as big as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, Move from here to there, and it will move. All things will be possible for you." We have held onto that faith and that hope! And now our sweet Ella Marie is coming home. Thank You God.

Guatemala or Bust

2008-10-07T17:57:00.000-07:00

It's a match! Ella's DNA is on its way to the US Embassy. I am dreaming PINK! We should be hearing soon.

"PRAISE the LORD , GOD our SAVIOR, who helps us every day". Psalm 68:19. God has truly helped us through this journey. When I would get discouraged, He would pick me up, when I would get anxious, He would gently remind me that His timing is ALWAYS perfect. When I would be so very thankful, He was always there to give praise to. God is Good All The Time and His Love endures forever! I am so thankful for such an amazing and loving God. And also thankful for such supportive family and friends who have walked with us through this journey of faith, compassion, mercy and grace. THANK YOU!

Our Prayers Have Been Answered

2008-09-29T17:04:00.000-07:00

Thank you to everyone who went into prayer that we would hear that Ella would get her new birth certificate on Friday........ She must have gotten it on Friday, because they called us today and YES WE HAVE IT! WE ARE OUT OF RENAP. THANK YOU GOD. He answered our prayers! There is so much power in prayer when Christians come together In His Name. Jesus said , Also, I tell you that if two of you on earth agree about something and pray for it, it will be done for you by my Father in heaven. This is true because if two or three people come together in my name, I am there with them. (Matthew 18:19-20)

THANK YOU TO EVERYONE WHO CAME TOGETHER IN PRAYER FOR ELLA TO GET HER NEW BIRTH CERTIFICATE. SHE IS ALMOST HOME!!!

New Pictures of Sweet Princesa Ella!

2008-09-25T14:06:00.000-07:00

New pics of our sweet baby girl! She is getting so much bigger and so beautiful each and every day and the wait is getting harder each and every day. We are so blessed with such amazing children, we need our sweet angel Ella to come home and join her Mom and Dad and brothers and sisters that love her so much. It is hard to write what is on my heart as I see these sweet pictures because my heart is breaking that she is not here. But I know that God is good and He is faithful and she will come home, maybe not on my timing but on His. Oh God please let her come home soon, we miss her too much to wait. I know the wait is worth it and she is being well taken care of, but we want to take care of her here.

Please pray Ella get her new birth certificate TOMORROW - FRIDAY so we can proceed with the process and go and pick her up!!!!!

When I am discouraged because Ella is not home yet, I must remember that she is coming home and keep my faith in Jesus!!

Jesus said, "Don't let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God, and trust in me." (John 14:1)

I leave you peace, my peace I give you. I do not give it to you as the world does. So don't let your hearts be troubled or afraid. (John 14:27)

So do not lose the courage you had in the past, which has a great reward. You must hold on, so you can do what God wants and receive what he has promised. (Hebrews 10:35-36)

I prayed for this child, and the LORD has granted me what I asked of Him. (1 Samuel 1:27)

Here are the new pictures of sweet Ella taken on September 11... notice the earrings!!!

Rain Rain Go Away Come Again Another Day, Little Joe Wants to play rain rain go away!!

2008-08-29T07:47:00.000-07:00

Long title. We are sitting her just watching it RAIN. It is actually good for the dry grass here in Southeast Missouri. It is just pouring! Bianca will need those rain boots on today!

PRAYER REQUEST: I have a prayer request I would like to send out. It came from my friend Amy, explaining that we really need to pray for the families that are still in PGN in the Guatemala adoption process without the birth mother interview. The interview MUST take place by August 31. The interviewers will stay open Saturday and Sunday to complete these appointments. Please pray that All birth mothers complete this interview so the cases are not delayed further and can proceed. "When I call on Jesus, All things are possible" That song by Nicole C. Mullen always goes through my head when I think of a prayer request and little Joe singing !!

Out of PGN!!!

2008-08-21T17:47:00.000-07:00

OUT!!!

This is one happy girl!

Thank you Jesus!!!!!!!! Wow He is so amazing and so faithful. God's timing is so good!! I was just talking with a friend today about Ella getting out of PGN this week, and that we needed to claim it and pray.... right then our 2 year old son, Joe, who by the way is Ella's biological sibling started singing "When you call on Jesus"..... Oh my goodness, we just paused and celebrated and prayed the three of us, that When you call on Jesus, all things are possible and that it is possible with God that Ella can get out of PGN this week!!. We had so much fun praying. Mom, Miss Irene and Joe. Oh my goodness we got the call tonight that she is OUT!!!! Thank you God, and thank you for answering our prayers today and that the inspiration came from this sweet 2 year old little Guatemalan boy. Somehow he knew in his spirit right then and there we needed to pray and stand on His word that all things are possible for those who believe.

Thank you God for blessing our family!

I am BRILLIANTE!!!

2008-08-17T15:57:00.000-07:00

I have won a blog award!!! Cheri over at harrisquest.blogspot.com has given me this special award. She actually gave it to me a few weeks ago, but I wanted to get all of Ella's pictures up first. Thanks Cheri!!!

This award comes with some rules so here they are:
1. Put the logo on your blog.- Check
2. Add a link to the person who awarded you.- click on the blogspot above
3. You must nominate 7 fellow bloggers for this award.- check below
4. Add links to the recipients.- check
5. Leave a comment so the recipients know they have received an award.- check
6. Copy and Paste and answer the questions

A. Attached or Single? Attached
B. Best Friend? I have too many way awesome friends it is hard to pick just one!
C. Cake or Pie? Pie
D. Day of Choice? Friday
E. Essential item? Bible
F. Favorite Color? Yellow
G. Gummy Bears or Worms? Gummy Bears
H. Home Town? Jefferson City
I. Indulgence? Chocolate
J. January or July? July- my birthday month!!!
K. Kids? 6
L. Life isn't complete without? Jesus
M. Marriage date? February 12, 1994
N. Number of Brothers and Sisters? 3 sisters
O. Oranges or Apples? Apples
P. Phobias? Anything that goes in circles
Q. Quote? "One adoption may not change the world, but it will change the world for one child."
R. Reason to Smile? Spending time with my husband and our amazing kids and watching how much they have grown in God's love and their understanding of Him.
S. Season of choice? Fall
T. Tag 7 People. See below
U. Unknown fact about me? I really want to learn how to play the electric guitar
V. Vegetable? Snow Peas
W. Worst Habit? Being late for everything!
X. X-Ray or Ultrasound? Ultrasound
Y. Your Favorite Food? Pasta
Z. Zodiac Sign? I don't like these things so I am not going to answer this question.

Now for the 7 people I am going to award. Well I think I am one of the last people to receive this award and a lot of my blog friends have already been awarded the Brilliant Weblog award, but here are a few of the blogs that I follow that have not received the award:

Ella Marie Boutique, my clothing blog ellamarieboutique.blogspot.com
Chantelle and Bianca and soon to be sweetie pie from Ethiopia adventuresinbianca.blogspot.com
Lindsey and sweet Eliana thewheelerjourney.blogspot.com
Courtney and Stella astaringuatemala.blogspot.com
Leah and Baby Gabre adopthope.blogspot.com
Katie and her twins Arianna and Brayden nyblomfamily.blogspot.com
Darci and Lucia mcmurraymania.blogspot.com

I am sorry if I left anyone out. If you would like for me to put a link to your blog just leave me a comment!

MORE PICTURES!

2008-08-15T11:06:00.000-07:00

Scroll all the way down to see all of the pictures I just upload. There are a lot of them!

Ella's foster mom and her son with us. We had a very hard time giving Ella back. We really bonded. Sure, Ella's foster mom loves her sooooo much and takes great care of her, but we were missing her!

It was hard for us to give Ella back.

In the Guatemalan airport. Our flight from Guatemala to Houston was about 30 minutes late and we barely made our flight from Houston to St. Louis.

There is that plane. The plane that was going to take us away from Ella. The plane that we were dreading. The plane that was going to take us halfway home.

Can't She Come With Us?!?!?!

2008-08-15T10:58:00.000-07:00

Ella rode on Sarah's suite case. It was so funny! She rode on it around the room a while, all the way down the hall to the elevator, and in the elevator. She loved it and when Sarah tried to get her off she held on tight so that we couldn't get her off!

More cuteness!

Cutie in her jammies and in her diaper!

2008-08-15T10:56:00.000-07:00

OVERLOAD of collages, I know. It is just so much fun to create these things! Especially when I have such a cutie to create them for!!! Ella is just so adorable!!! I can't wait until she comes home!!!

A Pretty as a Gerber Daisy

2008-08-15T10:50:00.000-07:00

We bought the most beautiful gerber daisies on the streets in Guatemala. We have smoe friends in Guatemala so we got some flowers to take to their house for dinner and just had to keep one flower for pictures.

Last Day with Ella

2008-08-15T10:45:00.000-07:00

I just downloaded Picasa. It is a great way to download lots of pictures. These pictures are of Ella the morning we had to go home.

Ella in her jammies!

2008-08-15T10:41:00.000-07:00

Last FULL Day in Guatemala

2008-08-10T06:21:00.000-07:00

Our last full day in Guatemala flew by. We left Guatemala on Tuesday, but I have been so busy I am just now getting the time to post some more pictures. Ella is so adorable!

Ella has the smallest feet! Look at her foot compared to Sarah's!

Tired girls.

She loved Sarah!

Look at those painted pigs!

Our breakfast spot.

She just lights up a whole room!

Ella Marie Boutique

2008-08-04T20:05:00.000-07:00

We are selling clothes to raise money for adoptions and orphanages, 1 in Ethiopia and 1 in Guatemala. Check out the website at ellamarieboutique.blogspot.com Please visit our site to see more styles and sizes.

Here are some of the clothes modeled by none other than Ella Marie herself

A Day in Antigua

2008-08-03T21:18:00.000-07:00

Good Morning Sunshine!!!

The cutest outfit ever!!!

This is the market we shopped at.

Sisters

Happy Birthday Sarah!

Look who we found in Antigua!

We got to meet Lindsey and Eliana

We had a great shopping day

Time to go to bed

Hanging out in the Baby Lounge

2008-08-03T20:55:00.000-07:00

Yesterday we spent the afternoon in the baby lounge at the Marriot. Ella loves the Jump a Roo!

She even ate her lunch in it!

After the baby lounge Mom and Ella were very tired!

Guatemala Pictures Day 2 and 3

2008-08-02T15:19:00.000-07:00

Princesa Guatemalteca

Look who came to see me! Mommy and Sarah

Ella is 8 months old!

Check out this hairdo Sarah put in my hair!!!

Sleeping Beauty

Look at me crawl!!!

Mommy and Me!!!

Emailing Daddy!!!

2008-08-01T12:34:00.000-07:00

WE ARE IN GUATEMALA!!!

2008-08-01T12:12:00.000-07:00

I always thought how wonderful it would be to post pictures with us actually here with Ella, so we finally made it. Sarah, my oldest, and I are in Guatemala spending 6 days here and it is amazing. God has already opened doors for us to talk with people interested in improving adoptions. We are making lots of great contacts, having fun and getting to spend precious bonding time with our sweet baby girl. Please pray that we get to bring her home soon to join our family.

Ella Marie 8 months old

NEW PICTURES OF OUR BABY!!!

2008-07-14T19:08:00.000-07:00

We just got new pictures of Ella this morning. She is so cute and growing bigger. :-( We are planning a trip to see her in about 2 weeks and I can't wait! She will be 8 months the end of this month. Prayerfully she will come home within the next month, but with Guatemalan adoptions getting more and more difficult it is up to God and His perfect timing. We have found that He has everything perfectly planned and He will find the perfect time, but it is just hard waiting for Ella and missing more of her life everyday. We love her so much and can't wait to see her in person.

Here are the pictures.

Meeting with PGN Today

2008-07-07T06:53:00.000-07:00

New Background!

2008-07-06T16:57:00.000-07:00

Check out the new background! I really liked the old one, but I wanted to freshen it up and get something new. I found this awesome site from my friend's blog. It is a really cool site where you can get some pretty awesome backgrounds for free!

Slideshow of Gabriela

2008-06-23T15:09:00.000-07:00

Make a Smilebox scrapbook

Ella Update

2008-06-20T08:13:00.000-07:00

We have had the birthmother interview and heard that it went well!! Praise God! Just found out today that we had a kickout in PGN for a previo. That is okay, that means they are looking at our case. A kick out to me, means prayerfully the next time through we will be approved! Once again we will wait and trust! We have five beautiful amazing children at home that are keeping us extremely busy during this time. They too cannot wait for their sweet baby sister to come home and join our family. I never dreamed that we would be parents of six children! Praise God again, they are such amazing gifts from our Lord and we love them all dearly. It is funny, the first two have blonde hair and blue eyes, the next two have brown hair and brown eyes and the next two have brown hair, huge brown eyes and tanned skin. Who knows the next could be from Ethiopia have brown hair, brown eyes and brown skin. We just love them all. We would love to learn more about adoptions in Ethiopia if anyone has any information. If not for ourselves personally, for an adoption ministry that I with three amazing ladies would like to start.

That's all for today. I really love reading all the different blogs with many inspiring adoption stories and taking the opportunity to share some about ours. God Bless you all!

Waiting For Ella

2008-06-09T20:11:00.000-07:00

Waiting is hard. Waiting patiently is even harder. But, often doing God's will sometimes means waiting patiently. While we wait, we can love God, serve others, and tell others about Him. It is hard waiting for Ella to come home!!! We miss her, we love her and we want to hold her and care for her. But, we know that God's timing is perfect. How do we know that? Because He will meet all our needs according to His perfect schedule and purpose. Delays may make us think that He is not answering or is not answering the way we want. But, if we wait, trust, believe and hope God will conquer all. "For in this hope we were saved. But hope that is seen is no hope at all. Who hopes for what he already has? But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently". (Romans 8:24-25)

I just read an interesting explanation of faith. Hebrew 11:1-3 says, " Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see. This is what the ancients were commanded for. By faith we understand that the universe was formed at God's command, so that what is seen was not made out of what was visible". hmmmmm... Something to think about. The footnote says: Two words describe faith, sure and certain. These two qualities need a secure beginning and ending point. The beginning point of faith is believing in God's character - He is who He says. The end point is believing in God's promises - He will do what he says. When we believe that God will fulfill His promises even though we don't see those promises materializing yet, we demonstrate true faith.

For me, I have learned to trust God's timing from my own life experiences. Once I was looking for a solution to a problem for many many months going on my own path. Finally God whispered His plan and it was far better than anything I could have ever dreamed of. The timing was perfect, the plan amazing and the people He chose to do the project completely hand picked by Him. Sometimes God shows us how His amazing plan is far superior than our own, and other times we just have to wait and trust and know that He is in control. Thank you God!

April showers bring May PICTURES!

2008-05-26T13:17:00.000-07:00

We have received a ton of pictures recently. In order of the pictures, there are pictures of Ella from April 18, 2008, that we received on May 7, and more pictures of Ella taken April 23, 2008, and we received them the same day.

here are the pictures from the medical taken April 18:

here are some of my favorites (out of 36 pictures) from April 23:

Happy Mother's Day

2008-05-11T20:38:00.000-07:00

Mom,
Thank you for always being a wonderful mom. I am so lucky to have such a loving mom who is always there for me whenever I need it. You have been so loving to John, James, Anna Grace, Joe and me and I can't wait until Ella gets home so that she can see how much love you have for her. Through both the adoption with Joe and now the adoption with Ella, you have shown so much perseverance, patience, love, and determination. You have had to go through the hard longing wait, the praying so hard that they will come home soon, and the aching in your heart to hold her tight and never let her go. You have such great love towards all of us kids and I know that even though Ella is not here you have an astounding love for her too.
As I grow up I realize more and more how much you care for me and love me. You would do anything for me or John or James or Anna Grace or Joe or Ella, and I hope someday that I will be the same to my kids.The most important thing is that you are such an incredible example for me of what a Godly woman is. You have shown me the truth of the Bible and continue to lead me in the way of the Lord. I really appreciate that. I want to follow your example of the love and compassion you have toward everyone- tall, short, fat, skinny, black, white, tan, red hair, blonde hair, brown hair, or even purple hair. You have a love that only a Godly mother can have, to want to care for all of the orphans in the world. Even if they look different than we do, you don't see any of that, you see their heart and who they are in God's eyes, and I hope someday that I will be able to do the same.
I know that whenever I need something that you will always be there with open hands, and that you will listen to me, even if it is just a silly little problem, and you will help me pray and find a solution to my problem. You would do that to anyone.We will always have our little quarrels, but that is just because we love each other.
I just want you to know that I love you more than words can explain and I will always look up to you. Although this note might be nice, there are not enough words in the world to explain how much I appreciate you.

Love,
Sarah

Our Baby Girl!

2008-04-12T16:36:00.000-07:00

ImageChef.com Poetry Blender

New Pictures!

2008-04-12T16:04:00.000-07:00

Ella is four months old!

The Grand Weaver

2008-03-17T13:54:00.000-07:00

We are one step closer to bringing Gabriela Marie home forever. Her big brother, Joe, had his two year check up recently and he is getting sooo big. He is healthy and looking forward to meeting his baby sister Ella. We might need to plan a trip soon so we can hold her. Adoption is an amazing journey. You must be strong and faithful. Leaning not on your own understanding, but on the wisdom of God. All children are gifts from God and treasures from heaven. We are thankful for the opportunity to share this journey of life with our children, the ups, the downs and the in betweens.

Ravi Zacharias has written many Christian books. One I am now reading is The Grand Weaver, How God Shapes Us Through the Events of Our Lives. He asks the question, are the threads of our lives accidentally tangled or intentionally arranged? It is common to believe that great events such as a death or a birth are guided by the hand of God. Yet we can easily drift into feeling that our daily lives are not sovereignly directed, but are simply the product of our own efforts. This book brims with stories that show us otherwise. From a chance encounter at a cricket match to a beloved father's final words before dying, from a random phone call to a line in a Scripture reading. Dr. Zacharias reveals how every detail of his life has been woven into its perfect place. Then he encourages us to examine our backgrounds, our disappointments, our triumphs, and our beliefs in a different light, explaining how they are all part of the intentional and perfect work of the Grand Weaver.

I do not think it was by chance that we adopted Joe 19 months ago and now his biological sibling is to join our family too. God knew before they were born they would both be a part of our family and their older brothers and sisters would joyfully welcome them. We do not remember life without Joe and we are so anxiously awaiting Ella. Our children are so accepting with unconditional love. Their hearts are true testimonies for all to see. Jesus loves children and when asked who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. Jesus called a little child to stand among them. And He said: " I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Therefore whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. " (Mathhew 18:2-4).

2008-03-15T09:22:00.000-07:00

Dear Ella,

Today's a day we wait for you,

Not knowing actually what to do.

We cannot stand the time without you here,

We want to hold you close and near.

But we must wait and trust our God above,

He's covered you with so much love.

So wait we will, and dream about the day,

You'll be home with us, home to stay.

You have so much family loving you,

Mama, Daddy, sisters, brothers, aunts, uncles, grandparents, Great Papa, too.

We love you though we have not met,

The love for you grows deeper yet.

Love, Mommy

Ella Update

2008-03-15T08:50:00.000-07:00

This has been an amazing journey of faith, trust and hope. Getting all the documents completed so quickly is in itself a miracle from God. Getting the I171H the next day is impossible without God!! "I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength." (Phillipians 4:13). God does give us strength and perseverance right when we need it! Thank you God.

March 14, 2008 - DNA samples are in North Carolina at Lab Corp. Wahoo!! A step closer to getting Ella home! We want her home right now, but God allowed us to adopt Ella and the timing is in His hands.

"Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding;
In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight."
(Proverbs 3:5-6)

"The Lord has done great things for us, and we are filled with joy." (Psalm 126:3)

Glory, Glory, Hallelujah, Gloria!

2008-02-21T17:21:00.000-08:00

Our adoption process began (again) when we received a call on December 3, 2007, from our agency director asking if we were sitting down. Her next question was unexpected, but also exciting. She told us that our adopted son's birth mother had just had a baby girl and did we want to "try" to adopt her. Try was a big word since both US and Guatemala governments were in the process of shutting down all adoptions in Guatemala, and even if we said "yes" immediately, there were no guarantees that we would be able to adopt this beautiful baby girl. We prayed about it and of course said YES, we would like to add this biological sibling to our family of seven. The blessing of Joe having four siblings and now adding his biological sister is truly a blessing for all of us.

Her given name is Gloria Esmeralda which is the reason for "Glory, Glory, Hallelujah, Gloria!"(by my good friend Francine). So now the amazing race began to get all the paperwork in order and registered before the closing of adoptions, which by the way was in exactly 27 days! She had to be registered with the existing Guatemalan government by December 31. By the grace of God and He putting wonderful people into our paths, the paperwork needed for the registration was completed in record time! It truly was a miracle to get everything completed so quickly and all the hard work from so many amazing people, we are so grateful.