Puzzle Update #3

It has been 2 weeks since our last puzzle update. Here are a few pics I snapped of Evan the other night as he worked hard to put together the pieces all of you bought.

The table was covered in puzzle pieces so he had to move to the stove top

See the time...11:36 p.m. Determined to find the pieces

Yep, they all look like THIS.......

I bet you are ready for an update though right????

Ok here it is:

102 NEW PIECES were donated by some AMAZING people this week!!!! AHHHHH!!!! So excited to add that many pieces to our puzzle. We are getting closer guys. This brings our total to 215 pieces (we are almost halfway there). We know it can be done. So many people have graciously stepped up. We could not do this without all of you and God's provision.

With 215 pieces already bought with some wonderful names on the back, we still have 285 pieces to go. Can you help us complete our son's puzzle? If you would like to know how your money helps support our son's adoption, you can see a previous post HERE on the cost of our adoption. You can donate/buy a puzzle piece(s) for $10 per piece by clicking on the paypal button below below or sending a check to:

Evan McGinty

PO BOX 1171

Mandeville, LA 70470

If you missed it and want to see what this puzzle fundraiser is about, you can view the post about it HERE.

Here is our updated picture. You can actually start to see the outline of Africa coming together...YAY!! I wonder if we can complete the rest of the water by our next update?

THANK YOU TO THESE AMAZING PEEPS WHO DONATED:

Miss Jesse Hoyer

Jennings Family

Englehart Family

Hano Family

Ms. Angie Burgess

Koenig Family

Rebecca Graham

Collins-Rickels Family

Butler Family

Fersch Family

Maw Maw & Pere' Pere'
Anonymous Family

AND THESE AWESOME FOLKS WHO DONATED BY BUYING COFFEE THROUGH OUR JUST LOVE COFFEE FUNDRAISER:

The Loman Family

David & Emma Loyless

Spring

Today is the FIRST day of Spring.....YIPPIE!!!! It has been so gorgeous here this past week.The weather has warmed to the high 70's and the sunshine has been pouring out. Despite the massive amounts of yucky pollen everywhere, we have been making it a point to get outside a lot more, and it totally can change your attitude. There is just something about breathing in the fresh air, seeing God's beauty in nature and feeling the sun kiss your skin. I LOVE IT!

The kids have been enjoying picking flowers as we go on our walks around the neighborhood. There is color and vibrance around every corner, where a couple of weeks ago, there was none. Even the  bushes on the side of the ditch are singing of His glory.

His walking stick is bigger than him

Sweet sisters (runny noses and allergies in 5, 4, 3, 2....)

While I highly dislike the pollen that comes along with Spring, I love the blossoming of flowers, the warmer weather, the birds singing (except before I am out of bed), and the feeling of newness everywhere. Especially with Easter right around the corner, I am reminded of new life. Isn't it so neat how God gave us seasons to reveal himself?  I love this song by Nichole Nordeman that describes that so beautifully.

 Things have been sleeping, dead or dormant all winter and suddenly new buds pop up and bloom into beautiful radiance. I can't help but be reminded of how Christ gives NEW LIFE! All week this verse has been coming to mind:

"Therefore if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come. The old is gone, the new is here!"

-2 Corinthians 5:17

I am so thankful that through my adoption by Christ, I am made new! I am thankful that even though I was dead in my sin, when I accepted him as my Savior, he bestowed beauty and new life to me. I am truly a new creation in him. What a beautiful visual the Spring season is of this. I love that God sends little reminders through something as simple as azaleas on the side of the road to remind me that He makes all things new, He is a breath of fresh air, and He is the giver of life.

Seasons........whether it be the change in weather or the seasons of our life, they are all for his glory! Yet, what a loving God, who uses them to share his beauty and creativity with us, and to refine us into the image of His son. Hope you're embracing this season!

The Call

This past week we had our Orientation Interview over the phone with our agency. This is basically a short interview of Evan and I and an introduction to the process for an Ethiopian adoption. I had scheduled it via e-mail with our Ethiopian adoption assistant the week before making sure to plan it during our kid's nap time because it was an hour long interview and talking on the phone with 3 littles in the background is almost impossible. I am the kind of person who LIVES by my planner. However somehow I forgot to write this down, I guess thinking that it being in my inbox of my e-mail with the other 50 e-mails was good enough. After all, I wouldn't forget something so important.

Over the weekend, I had the privilege to head to Baton Rouge for an AMAZING women's conference with a sweet group of ladies from my church. It was a wonderful weekend that I really needed. It was refreshing for my body and my spirit. I got to relax, enjoy time with my friends, get poured into spiritually, get challenged, have some fun down time and really just breathe! I came back home feeling so refreshed!

Well, I guess I got a little too refreshed. Mondays are our family day, as Evan takes off, since he works on Saturdays. We were out and about doing our typical Monday routine, grocery shopping and running errands. We decided to stop at Cafe Du Monde for a little treat of beignets. This put us behind nap schedule which I usually NEVER am ok with, but it was family day, the kids were behaving and I was ok with that.

On our way home Evan's phone rings with an area code that we do not recognize. I look at it and say "I think that is the same area code as our agency.....weird." Nothing sparked a memory. Then Evan says "Isn't that interview thing coming up soon." Huge gasp, eyes wide open and pit in my stomach feeling enter. "Um yea...like NOW" I belt out. I felt HORRIBLE! We had to call our sweet lady up and I admitted that it slipped my mind and we would be home in 15 min with kids in bed for nap. She was very understanding and we were able to get back on the phone with her, pen and paper in hands, kids down within 20 minutes.

Let's hear it for the "Adoptive Parents of the Year!" I felt like such a failure. How could I forget that? The truth is, my life is a whirlwind most days. People always ask me, "How was your week?" Honestly, most days I can't remember what my week was like so I respond "I think it was good. I don't have anything to complain about." I am convinced that with every child you lose more and more brain cells. All of my days blur together in a mixture of play dates, diapers, housework, story time, playing dolls, laundry, homeschool, church, small group etc. This is my season of life. While it may be chaotic and most days I look like I have just rolled out of bed because I rarely wear makeup, get out of comfy clothes or take my hair out of ponytail (please pray for my husband), it is right where I want to be. I used to dream of being a stay at home mom and owning a mini van folks...I know, I'm that "weird" girl. I am ok with that.

I love that I get to spend all day with my kids, playing with them and pouring into them. Oh trust me, sometimes I am scratching at the walls to get out, but I know this is my ministry right now..my kids, my family, my home. Are we adding another child into chaos? Honestly, yea some days it is pure chaos. But I can guarantee you this, despite the craziness that comes with so many littles, there is one thing I have no doubt over. That this child will be sooooo LOVED! Even though this momma may FORGET stuff or not be at her best some days, I love loving on my babies. Having one more baby in the house is going to be crazy, but that is one more baby that we get to love, and in this house, there is lots of love to go around.

I am not perfect and any of you who know me can certainly say "Amen" to that (just don't say it too loud ok). While I was in horror that I forgot such an important phone call, I realized that I am only human. I make mistakes. I forget things sometimes. Will I be more on my A-game after that little incident? Uh yea..you bet! I am visualizing them writing on our adoption chart "Forgot about orientation interview...STRIKE 1." I doubt that is the case...I hope!

I love blogging and I decided from the get go that I was going to be real on this blog. So, I thought I would share my failure with all of you guys. Some days, I feel like I am losing my mind, I am not on top of this as much as I want to be and the McGinty house is CRAZY (sometimes in a good way sometimes in just a crazy way). Here is where you are probably asking yourself once again "Why are you guys doing this? Why are you adopting now? Why not wait till life calms down a little?" To that I say this:

God has called us to this and we are stepping out in faith to answer that calling, knowing it will not be easy. Life will never calm down. Despite how old my kids get, we tend to fill our calendars to the brim. There will always be an easy excuse. When I think about those babies who I fed on the side of that mountain in Haiti or the ones who I held at a feeding, I can't imagine looking into their helpless little eyes and saying "Let me just wait till I have my act together a little more. Let's just wait till life calms down a bit, till my biological kids are a little older."

While some days I fail on my own, I know that God is good and HE has this thing in his hands. He will fully equip us to answer the calling (even if sometimes we forget to answer the literal call from our agency..oopps!)

Remembering

Recently I had a conversation with someone very dear to me about the grace of Christ. This person is a new believer, meaning they have recognized their sin, that Jesus was sent to earth and died on the cross to wipe them clean and they now have new life in Christ through the Holy Spirit. It is very exciting for me to see the change that has happend in the heart and life of this person, as I have prayed over them for a long time.They aren't merely stating a belief but being transformed by the good news of the gospel. One of the recent discussions that we had was about forgiveness.

They had a hard time comprehending that once they accepted Jesus as their Savior, and truly repented of their sins, they were wiped clean, spotless. They asked me how many times they needed to ask for forgiveness. If it was a sin to ask over and over again. This lead to a great conversation and a deeper understanding of what Christ did for us. I explained how once you believe and accept Christ as your Savior YOU ARE CLEAN for all of your past sins, all of your current sins, all of your future sins! When God looks at you, he sees Jesus, totally spotless and perfect. While we don't need to ask for forgiveness for our PAST sins over and over, it is VERY important to REMEMBER where we were before Christ. To be able to see our great need without him in our life and what he has brought us out of, is so important. To be filled with grief over what our status was before Christ, but to use that to push us forward to want more of him and to live that out. There is NOTHING we can do to achieve "good" status with God, NOTHING! It's ALL him, all his doing. Pouring out his love and grace and forgiveness on his children who stand arms wide open, ready to drop the weight of this world.

 I used to be VERY ashamed of my past, and with good reason. I have done some things that I know broke God's heart to the core. There are things that I want wiped clean from my memory. But I finally got to a point where I realized that remembering where I was before I TRULY let God take over my life, makes me all the more THANKFUL for HIM. I praise him even more knowing how desperate I was before him, seeking to fill voids in my life with stuff and people that would NEVER be able to fill me. REMEMBERING shows God's glory, power, mercy, grace, and love all the more. Because he has caused the change in me, he has filled my soul and my heart with a joy that is so deep and satisfying. It makes all of that stuff in my past look like rubbish.

I was reminded again this morning why REMEMBERING is such a good thing. I was reading in my 100 gifts Devotional and loved this from Ann Voskamp:

"But if I am grateful to the Bridge Builder for the crossing of a million strong bridges, thankful for a million faithful moments, my life speaks my beliefs and I trust Him again. I fearlessly cross the next bridge. Trust is the bridge from yesterday to to tomorrow, built with planks of thanks, Remembering frames up gratitude. Gratitude lays out the planks of trust. I can walk the planks-from known to unknown-and know He holds. Remembering with thanks is what causes us to trust - to really believe."

LOVE THAT!

So, when I look back at my life, at all the bridges that God helped me cross, I burst in thanksgiving with the recognition that only HE could have gotten me over those bridges, that I would have fallen through a crack if it had not been for Him. I can rest in KNOWING that I can trust Him. The awesome thing about God is that he doesn't change. Just like I could trust him years ago, I can trust Him now. He has only proven himself more and more trustworthy in my life. I have SEEN his faithfulness, even when I wasn't always faithful to him.

When I have my moments of question as to if we can REALLY handle adoption, I can look back and remember those bridges that God helped me cross. Some of those bridges were beat up, rickety, cracked and swaying bridges over some scary rough waters below, but HE got me over them, sometimes with some really hard lessons along the way.

REMEMBERING how he has never failed me (even when he didn't listen to my plans and sometimes I fought him on it), I can FULLY have faith that He can get our family across this bridge of adoption. I know that this bridge is one he WANTS us to cross and so we give thanks and we trust that one day we will be on the other side of this bridge, remembering and giving thanks for yet another one that he got us over. Sharing another testimony of his goodness and his provision. PRAISE GOD for remembering!

Puzzle Update #2

It has been a week since our last puzzle update. This week really knocked our socks off as God continued to remind us that our provision is coming from him. That he's got this. 500 puzzle pieces is not too big for him. Not sure why I ever thought it would be....hello, we're talking about the guy who created the world in 6 days. We were blessed by everyone who gave this week. This week included an anonymous giver, friends I haven't seen in years, people we have never met, family and new friends. THANK YOU so much to everyone who gave towards our adoption. I also have to recognize my husband who is working hard to put this thing together. All of the pieces look exactly alike (yea, we didn't really think that through when we ordered it) and he has worked hard to figure out how they fit together (I gave up after 2 pieces). So here are the results

This week we added 94 pieces to our puzzle....94!!!! We were able to add the entire border and a few extra pieces to our puzzle..woo hoo!!!!

That puts our total at 113 pieces. That means we are over 1/5 complete with our puzzle! 

That also means that we still have 387 pieces to sell. 

We would LOVE to have the puzzle completed by April. Our homestudy is scheduled for the first week in April and this fundraiser will totally cover the cost. Would you consider buying a piece or pieces to help us reach our goal? Remember that pieces are only $10 each (that's a fast food meal). We will write your name across the number of pieces you buy, so that once the puzzle is framed between glass, we can flip it over and show our son everyone who helped bring him home. 

I heard that some people were having trouble with paypal, so if you would rather donate through a check, you can mail it to us here:

Evan McGinty

PO Box 1171

Mandeville, La 70470

Be sure to put "adoption puzzle" in the memo and a note with what name you would like written on the pieces.

A BIG thank you to the following people who gave this week. You guys are so A-MAZING!

Stacey Carver

The Loman Family

The Windom Family

The Hayden Family

Anonymous

Jenny Casey

Nicole Chotin

BeeBe Frye

The Holloway Family

The Coriell Family

The Collins Family

Crying out today

As I am doing this online education and reading material, the ugly side of adoption is really getting to me today. I mentioned in a previous post how you may never fully know what kind of behavioral issues, psychological issues and physical issues your child may have due to their circumstances before they come home. I am reading stories of children who were physically abused, sexually abused, left in their own feces, staring at blank white walls all day, not being held or touched and it is making me sick. Infants who were strangled and almost suffocated and I want to scream and cry. I am not saying that this happens to every orphan, but it is reality and it DOES happen.

Today my heart is heavy for my son. I HATE not being there to protect him and cuddle him from his first breath. Not being able to stare into his little eyes and tell him that his mommy will love him forever and take care of him. I know that time will come, but in the mean time, I am scared. I am scared of what may happen to him before we get to him. I am scared of someone hurting him. I am scared of him not feeling loved. As a parent, you want what is best for your child, to never let them know the bad and the ugly of this world. He may not even be born yet (I'm not sure). He may be in his birth mother's belly right now being formed by the hand's of God. I don't know where he is right now or what he is enduring or what he will endure once he is born, but today, I am struggling with it. I don't like the unknown when it comes to my children. I don't like not being there to comfort. I don't like the thought of harm or neglect coming to one of my babies.

I also KNOW that fear is not of God. That he wants me to fully trust him, to give my anxieties and my requests over to him. I know that his hand is on our little guy.

Philippians 4:6-7 "Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus."

 I just feel a DEEP need right now to cry out to God and ask him to PROTECT our son. Will you pray that with me today please. Pray that no physical harm or abuse is brought upon him. Pray that his little mind and heart are protected. Pray that he has a good caretaker in the orphanage who holds him, tends to his needs and interacts with him. Pray that his nutritional and medical needs are met. Pray that even while he is in the womb (if he is not born yet) that he will be growing strong and healthy.

Thank you friends for taking time to cover our little guy in prayer. For standing with this helpless momma to call out to our Maker on behalf of a son she has never met. He knows him, he knows his situation, he knows my heart and he knows the plans he has for him.

Jeremiah 29:11 "For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."

If you have not watched this video on our "Why Adoption" tab up top, I encourage you to take a look at it.

Connections

We started this adoption process about a month ago and I am blown away by all that has happened in this first month. We have raised over $800 through fundraising and donations..holy smokes...you guys are amazing! God is def showing me that he's got this and he's using all of you to do that..THANK YOU!

One of the coolest things that has happened this month are all of the connections that I have made with other adoptive families. We went into this process not really knowing anyone in our close circle who had adopted or was in the process. I had met one family (who just got their baby girl from Ethiopia a few months ago..praise God!) when they came to speak at our church on Orphan Sunday back in October. I had made sure that Evan was in church that Sunday just in case God wanted to lay a little something on his heart. God did use their story to touch both of our hearts. When we were looking into adoption, I sent the mom a message with lots of questions, because trust me, there are always LOTS of questions throughout this. She has been a great resource and even connected me to a few others who were in the process of adopting and that live in our area. Another friend on facebook connected me with 2 other families who are looking into adoption and were keeping up with our blog. My case worker connected me with a family who is waiting to be matched with their daughter and using the same agency as us. My mother in law connected me with a friend from her church who has adopted. Needless to say, A LOT of connections have been made over the past few weeks.

It has been so wonderful to get to know each of these ladies and their families through e-mail, phone conversations, FB messages, and soon to be lunch and dinner dates. I feel like we have this whole new support community around us to encourage us and that we can be an encouragement to. God knows that this momma needs that. I need connection, to know that someone else has been there or is going through this with me. It's so neat to see how he is providing in a way that I would have never thought to ask. He is giving me relationships with other believers who are walking this crazy and exciting adoption road too. God longs for us to be in fellowship with other believers because he uses those relationships to help us grow.

1 Thessalonians says:

¹¹ Therefore encourage one another and build each other up."

Proverbs 27:17 says:

"As iron sharpens iron,

    so one person sharpens another."

I am looking forward to encouraging each other and being sharpened by these folks!

I am loving hearing these families stories of how God has spoken to them and laid adoption on their hearts. Every story is different and in some ways very similar. Those stories will never get old. I get goosebumps with each one that I hear because I know that God is moving and stirring in the hearts of his children. That believers are stepping out in faith, making sacrifices, loving the least, and being the hands and feet of God. That even when it is hard, there are people who are fully trusting his calling. It continues to give me hope that we CAN make a difference, that this will happen, that one day we will all have our children home with us. I look forward to the day when we can gather together with all our precious kids and look back at this journey and remember how God got us through this and used our relationships with one another to support, encourage, challenge and love one another.

A special shout out to all of my NEW adoption friends!  I am humbled and excited to answer the call with you!

Puzzle Update #1

We were so excited to launch our puzzle fundraiser over the weekend. If you missed it, check it out HERE. So far 29 puzzle pieces have been sold..woo hoo!!! That means we still have 471 pieces to go. Will you be the next piece(s) of our son's puzzle? Help us get the word out!

 Here is our first picture update. I know it doesn't look like much right now, but I know the heart behind each one of those pieces and we are so grateful to each of you.

THANK YOU TO:

The Yarbarough Family

Aunt Jessica & Ryleigh

Grandpa

Nanny & Grandpa Ricky

The Allen Family

The Shoemake Family

The Davis Family

The Corley Family

Tim & Kim Haws

The Shasteen Family

Aunt Lou Lou, Jonathan & Audrey

Melanie Davis

Uncle Danny

Dee Dee & Poppy

Granny & Paw Paw Monkey

Kallie & Bryan Vallecillo

A "Piece" of the story

Have you ever been part of something BIG? Even if you were just a PIECE of it, didn't it feel AMAZING? I think it is human nature to want to take a stand for something, to make a difference, no matter how big or small. Well, I want to invite you to be a part of something BIG by doing something small!

Like I mentioned before, it is going to take a village to bring our son home. So, we are starting a fundraiser that will help us get one step closer to our son while letting others take part in his adoption story. So, here is the deal:

We designed and ordered this 500 piece puzzle of Africa with a little heart over Ethiopia.

We will be "selling" each puzzle piece for $10. When you buy a puzzle piece, we will write your name/family name on the back of the puzzle piece. As the pieces are sold, we will begin putting the puzzle together and showing picture updates on the blog. Once we sell all 500 pieces, we will have the puzzle completed and we will frame it between 2 pieces of glass to hang in our son's room.

I get butterflies in my stomach when I think of flipping that frame over one day, when he is old enough to understand, and showing him the names of everyone that was a "piece" of bringing him home to his forever family. How cool is that? So, what do you say? Would you be a "piece" of our son's story?

You can buy as many pieces as you'd like (we will write your name across however many you buy, so the more you get, the bigger your name). Just click on the donate button on the top left of our blog (If you do not see it, it may be because you are on a mobile device and need to click "View full web version" at the bottom of your page). Once you donate, send me a message on FB or an e-mail  at angiemcginty@gmail.com to tell me what name you would like on your puzzle piece(s). Feel free to share our blog with your friends and family who you think may want to take part. I don't know 500 people, so I am unsure how this is going to happen, but I know it can be done!

We are so excited about this fundraiser, as it will be a reminder to us that we are not in this alone and that our little guy is being covered in love and support already. We THANK YOU so much ahead of time for your contribution. Be sure to check back into the blog periodically for puzzle picture updates.