update on our ministry to orphans!

We found out that there is one big orphanage (I don't know the proper terms, they no longer call them orphanages) in our town with teens ages 14 to 18. We are guessing though that there are probably some younger than 14. Then there is also an orphanage in a smaller village about 10 minutes from us. So, today we went to Timisoara as we were told to do, to talk with the Doamna Directoara of Timis county. We went with another American couple. They have a church in Timisoara and are also interested in ministering to orphans. We did not talk to the head lady but someone helped us. We found out we have to type out a "cerere" or a request form and it has to be very specific, where we want to go, what we want to do, who will be helping, how often, etc. It has to be official and have an association stamp. Fortunately God moved Baron to form an association and we are in the process of doing that now and it should be done in 3 more weeks. We have been told there simply aren't many orphans left and there aren't many children's homes run by the state. They have called them other things besides orphanages in hopes to hide the problem. We are determined to minister to these kids though and the best way to find out about other kids is to get into the places we know about and then you find out by word of mouth about the other places. She did mention the "baby hospital" for the children under 5 which we have been interested in but until now have not found anyone willing to talk about it. So, please pray that when we put in our request that we will be granted access. We will put in our request in 3 more weeks. We are also working on our paperwork for adoption this week (I hope) and hope to get it turned in next week.

This is what the word sweetness looks like!

Oh if only they were always this sweet! I don't think anything is sweeter then pictures of babies asleep, snuggling with their blanket and teddy bear!

Toothless at last!

Spencer is 7. We wondered if he would ever loose any teeth...he did!

Even Super Heros have to do their homework!

"Spider Man, it's time to do your homework!"

Dog Food

Mom Please Feed Me!!


Well, This morning I am noticing that there are pieces of dog food under the table and on the kitchen floor. Maybe if you have an inside dog you might think this is not so weird (and our dog is a messy eater) but our dog is outside only. Our big bag of dog food sits on the floor next to the refrigerator...within reach of some little hands...Then I started to notice that the dog food on the kitchen floor was wet...like someone had been tasting it. Yes, I believe that little Nate has been trying out the dog food but, I don't think he liked it so that is a good thing. I have also noticed that he finds the boys little toys laying around and pops them in his mouth so I have told the boys if I find a little toy on the floor it is going in the trash so watch out! Oh the joys of raising children! I always look forward to seeing what they will come up with next!

The Mom Song Sung to William Tell Overture with Lyrics

I thought this was funny...can anyone relate?

Adoption

I should be getting the kids up an ready for school but...that can wait a few more minutes! I just wanted to let people know that we have started the adoption process. We will put in our paperwork this month and then every Monday in November we will take a class in Timisoara. Then we will wait for approval after a home visit and psych evaluation (hopefully Baron and I won't be labeled psychos). Then we wait. We are not sure if we will try to get involved in finding our children yet or not. Supposedly the list of kids is short and list of parents is long but that is just b/c no one in governement plays an active role in finding out kids situations. There are many abandoned kids but usually by the time they get around to declaring them adoptable they are like 10 or older! It is very sad...they want children to stay with blood relatives at all cost even at the cost of the children living a better life and getting an education. Pray that we will be assigned a social worker who actually cares about the children and is compassionate. We will keep you posted on our progress...we wait expectantly on God!