Our first contribution

Our dear friends The Hiday's heard our opened hearts and in return opened their hearts to us. Kelli said she knew the moment that I shared with her our adoption plans she had to do something to help bring an orphan home. Knowing that the first payments to our agency and our homestudy were more than we had in savings, the Hiday's offered us a $5,000 loan intrest free. We are blessed to not only call them supporters but also our best friends. Thank you Hiday's for helping by praying and taking a leap of faith. We love ya!

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This year in photo

As this year slowly comes to a close I am thankful for the journey that God has lead us on this year. Here are a few pictures to capture our year.....

The snow storm of 2011-
 I call snowdays little blessings from God for family time, snow ball fights and cookies!

 

This is what happens when you let Saria do your make-up!
Good thing Kelli and Troy love us so much!



Jacob and Daddy lunch date at school



Gene's fluke emergency surgery that ultimately helps to lead us to the decision to adopt.
Some days these memories still take my breath away and remind me how blessed I am to
have such a wonderful husband! God has great things planned for this man! 

Celebration of Kellsie's birthday and Gene coming home from the hospital.

Girls getting ready for Lesa and Ryan's wedding.

My yellowjacket fans!

Kellsie graduates kindergarten :)

Jacob and Saria's trip to DC with Mimi and Papa,
What great grandparents to fly them to DC and help them to see a country outisde of these walls.
Jacob and Saria did have to earn their tickets through essays and research!

Our mission trip to South Carolina to host a VBS...I love God too!

Laurie and I's 2nd/3rd grade group, we had 17 kids and three dedicated their hearts to God-Awesome!



Our football player...what a hansome man he will be



Our little runner...she was fast!

First day of a new school year

Annual Collins Family Vacation
This year we went to the St.Louis Zoo, can you spot us?

Warriors!

Our decision to adopt

Our three one day to be four!



Homestudy Meetings

   So tomorrow is our "first homestudy meeting". I of course, being the organized guru that I am, have all the paperwork paperclipped and tabbed for our coordinator. I am excited and nervous all at the same time. I am so proud Gene, we had to answer 26 really intuitive and refined questions from childhood to parenting and adoption, and he finished them in only two days. For those of you that know Gene, you realize he dislikes, I mean really dislikes to put into writing touchie-feelie thoughts, but he did it and really dug deep! I love my man!!!!  We also started our Hauge training, 10 online hours of information on international adoption. I tell ya, I am going to be one educated girl!

   Tonight however, I am praying for our birth family, who knows; where and what they are doing. Tonight may be the night our birth mother finds out she is pregnant or maybe feels him kick for the first time...maybe tonight is the night he comes into this world....I don't know but I know that our God is there for me and for them too....sending them my love and ultimate respect....
   
     

Thankfulness of the little things too

A bantering of the small things I am thankful for (in no particular order)....
  coffee, nail polish, flat irons, chocolate chip cookies, my husband's strong hands, sticky little kid kisses, warm fireplaces, child laughter, friends hugs, teenage high fives, back rubs, ben and jerrys ice cream, clearance racks, erasers, lightning bugs, sunsets,the lost and found bin, tide pens, fuzzy slippers....Sometimes, it's the little things in life that we overlook every day but yet they remind us who we are and where we are and in that tiny glimps of a moment, that's all that matters...

Beautiful song: Give Into Me

So today I felt like I needed to post this song. Our dear friends Steve and Jenettea Mino sang this song. We are blessed to listen to Steve every Sunday but it was a rare treat to hear Jenetta. Wouldn't it be great if we all just gave in...

Paper here...paper there....

Gene and I have gotten all our documents now. I have been busy this weekend color code tabbing all the homestudy documents and am now onto organizing the dossier documents. I am built for this but even I am a bit on the intimidated side! Thank God he gives me strength (and cofee) Phew- ready...set...gather papers !!!!

We are [paper] pregnant!

We received our first email from our family coordinator filled with all kinds of great files and lists and resources. Of course I live for this kinda thing so now I am all jittery ready to tackle the mound of paperwork that will be our all consuming object until it is completed. Really- who am I kidding- I kinda cheated and already started collecting some of the documents. Ok- to be really honest I kinda cyber stalked various blogs trying to find out what type of paperwork we may need and then I kinda, maybe, sorta, started collecting it first. You may call it crazy, but I call it proactive :)

So now that we are paper pregnant, it's ok I can't fit into my jeans...right! On to my mound of papers....

Opening our hearts even more to trust him.

        This song hit both of us hard.  We heard this song at church when Dennis was performing and it resonated in our hearts. We are trusing in eachother and trusting in our awesome father God.     

Our announcement picture

Finding what is is in your heart

While reading From Ashes to Africa many of their sentiments touched my heart, but I think this one solidified it for me. I wanted to share it with you :

           "Any time art touches your life with tears, whether through a story,
            song, film or painting, it is wise to pay attention to those tears
            because your tears could help you find your heart.
            And if you find your heart, you found what was dear to God.
            If you found what was dear to God then you found the answer to
           how you should live your life."

                 (originally from The Reflective Light by Ken Gire).

Depraived Indifference

http://youtu.be/UWHJ6-YhSYQ