Saying my goodbyes until Wednesday. My suitcase is packed and there is food in the house for the kids and hubby..... that is after I got groceries.... put them all on the check out thingy ... and then realized I forgot my wallet and had to run home and then back to the store to pay for them !!! OH MY. It's been such a bad week! lol! A friend of mine has stepped up to the plate and is watching all 9 of my kids in addition to her 6 on Monday! I think I owe her a lot of chocolate huh?! LOL!
The update on the prayer request is that our bank couldn't give us what we want w/o ordering it which would take about two weeks ... not going to work. So then I called our tenant and she dug up what money order receipts she could find and Incredible Husband picked them up after work. We are waiting to see if what we were able to supply will be sufficient. I'm not sure what God is up to, but man, I wish it would be over soon! LOL!
Given how our week has gone ... we'd love some extra prayers for safety and health while Baby I and I are gone!!! I'm flying into Sioux Falls, SD and my family lives in Sioux Center, Iowa (about an hour and a half away). If any of you live around there... let me know tonight!
Thanks for your prayers, encouragement and support this past week!
They mean a lot to us :)
Way # 13
ENCOURAGE them to press on
Sponsor a child, support them financially, and encourage them through your letters. Visit VisionTrust.org to learn more.
Become a mentor or tutor to a teenager in a foster group-home.
We NEED the bank to be able to provide us with a year's worth of copies of our deposit slips to prove our rental income (paid via cashier's check - turns out it's a bad idea to have your renters pay this way when you are trying to buy a house- note to self and all my readers) ... or we will lose this house.
Seriously.
Trying not to throw up.
It's gotten very complicated (thanks to our old mortgage company) and because this house now has a FHA number attached to it and therefore that appraisal is in the national computer -thank you Mr. President (they were going to make us repair the roof, etc out of our own money before they would close us) ... we are pretty much being forced to do a conventional loan (with 5% down). In order to this type of loan, we have to have a certain debt to income ratio ... which we don't have without this rental 'income' (which really isn't income b/c we lose $38 a month on it ... but I digress... what do I know? LOL).
Incredible Husband is going to stop at the bank on the way home.
Pray for favor ... please pray for favor.
I have this lovely sick, hollow feeling stomach this morning ... I'm stressed, my kids are stressed, and our home isn't as peaceful as it usually is. All of their stuff is packed and I'm being forced to unpack it as they need something to do! I am leaving tomorrow for Iowa and will be gone from them until Tues.... this causes them more anxiety in many of them. I feel so badly for THEM. I am taking Baby I though as none of my Iowa side of the family has ever met him - including my grandma. I was reminded this morning of something. My other grandma (dad's mom) died when Mr B was about 13 months old. She hadn't met him either until she was on her deathbed. I remember introducing our first son to her as she lied there unable to do anything... when I said "Hi Grandma ... this is Mr B!"... she smiled and mouthed a toothless "Hi sweetie". Still makes me cry.
I apologize for all of the venting this past week ... but it's real life in our house right now... and well, I try to be pretty transparent on this blog. Lucky you :)
It's a long story, but the short of it is that we have to start ALL OVER!!!!!!!!!
You know it's bad when I start crying on the phone! lol! It's very complicated, but we are having to pull out of this mortgage company and have to start all over with a GOOD mortgage person that (God willing) can close it in two weeks... straight FHA (it's fast, but we won't get our repairs done- sigh).
If only God had answered our prayers to pay cash for this house .... sigh.
Crying buckets of tears of FRUSTRATION right now.
It also looks like I'll be in Iowa Sat-Tues for my grandma's funeral. More on that later ....
Off to find some dark chocolate and hide in a closet to pray some more.
(ps we are home).
From a friend of mine who is currently adopting two children from this beautiful place!
"I am helping to advocate for a 10 year old girl who desperately needs a forever family! She currently lives in St Vincent and The Grenadines in the caribbean. St Vincent and The Grenadines are beautiful islands to visit, but don't have much opportunity for the future of their young people. This little girl has lived with her birth mother until recently in a less than desirable situation. Please contact me at jennifer.dunlap@sbcglobal.net if you would like further information. Please feel free to pass this along if you know of someone who may be interested. More information is available. Note: I will be away from the computer on Friday, Nov 13th and I will get back to you asap on Saturday the 14th. God Bless!"
Way #11 & 12
PRAY for the families caring for them!!!
This one gets counted twice because it's so important!
Foster and adoptive families are under consistant spiritual attack from the enemy- especially before an adoption and/or finalization of a new child.
(personal note...
*Little L spiked a really high fever last night ... no other symptoms, but not feeling well. We will be headed home soon.
*Little Miss K's adoption finalization is on Mr B's 10th birthday ... Nov 24th!
*we are waiting for the appraiser to contact the mortgage company today. Assuming that converstation goes as planned, we should be cleared to close straight FHA. One of you blog readers (thank you again!) put us in contact with an FHA consultant in another state. He did research on our lender and was able to advise us to close this out asap with a straight FHA. A few people have emailed saying that God wanted to provide the things that were going to be included in this part of the loan through the people of "the church". May God get all the glory ..... however this turns out.).
Hahahahaha... NOT.
I'm about ready to cry .... I am so stressed out.... so while we wait for pizza and my kids are enjoying some PBS on the bed.... you all get to hear me vent :) ... because we need prayer, a miracle, and just plain for God to intervene in all of this!
We were expecting our "clear to close" today and close next week on our FHA 203K loan (it's a fha loan with a "rehab" portion to it so we can fix it up, make repairs, etc). It's been that way the whole time. Well, today ... the day this was all supposed to be "done" we are told that we need to hire a FHA consultant (1500 FEE) because it's a short sale home even though the repairs/changes are less than 35k. WHAT??? This is an upfront fee we would have to pay for a person to go out and say "yep... these things would add to the value/would be great". NO WAY are we paying this "suprise fee" which will also delay our closing AGAIN. The mortgage company won't pay it (ya know ... that would be too common sense for good customer service since it was THEIR mistake) .... so where things stand right now, we are going to have to drop to a standard FHA loan ... which means that we will have to pay out of pocket to fix the roof, repair two walls, and get that hideous green CARPET out of the KITCHEN.... when we have money to do those things. This also means that the contractor hired from our church will lose all that business. I'm just sick. Seriously... sick to my stomach. :( . We could also just start from scratch with a new mortgage company but apparently we'll have the same issue with the consultant (that no one told us about) and it'll take us 4 more weeks to close.
Pray for us ... pray, pray, pray. Nothing has gone smoothly and I'm sick of all of these things that are trying to get our eyes off of Jesus..... I'm so 'icked out' that we are having to deal with such an ungodly company....... and I'm dreading vacuuming my floor a million times a week b/c we have carpet in the kitchen and dining room (that whole 10 kid thing!)! OH ... and it looks like I will be leaving for Iowa as early as Friday ... we did find flights for 430 and then driving 5 hours with my cousin so that's probably what I (and Baby I) will do. I'm going to have to just suck it up and find a way to pay it so that I don' have to spend two extra days away from the family during our ... do I dare say it?... MOVE!
There is so much on our plate right now ...
Signing off,
K
Well because God knows I hate to be bored ... I got a call tonight that my grandma is on her deathbed and is expected to die very soon. She's been fighting for so long and she's septic now and isn't expected to make it much longer (maybe not even through the night)
:(.
So... we are still going on our little overnight trip (Wed-Thur)... but I will very likely be leaving after that for the LONG drive to Iowa (as tickets are 1,000- yikes) with my sisters and parents. She's a believer and we know where she is going... but it will still be a sad time to say goodbye to someone I have loved so very very much my entire life.
Please keep our family in your prayers during this very chaotic next two weeks!!!
OH! and Miss M fell and she fell so hard that she completely knocked a top tooth (not loose) out! She is in a lot of pain :(
Incredible Husband has to go out tomorrow for work and we decided to come along! His company pays for the one hotel room and he has enough points for the second room our family requires - to make it free! :)!
We NEED A BREAK!!! ... so swimming and pizza on the bed .... here we come!!!
... and after we get all 10 kids to sleep in a hotel room (HA! not an easy feat let me tell you!) ... Incredible Husband and I will be able to commandeer one of the beds and sleep in a BED ... together! WooHoo!!! LOL!
Way # 10
SPONSOR a child from Reece's Rainbow this Christmas season!!!
Click HERE to find out how and WHY!
Matthew 9:37-38, "Then said Jesus unto his disciples, The harvest truly is plenteous, but the laborers are few; pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he will send forth laborers into his harvest."
Do you sometimes hanker to be doing some great work for God? You feel as though you are wasting your life in your home. You would love to serve the Lord in some harvest field. Yes, it is true, the harvest is great and the laborers are few. But why are they few? Because mothers have not understood God's purpose
Are you looking for an easy path in life in life or do you have a heart to serve God as a missionary? Dear mother, you are already a missionary. God has chosen your specific mission field for you. It is your home and family. You are employed by God to train laborers for His harvest field. You don't raise children and then send them to Bible College to prepare for service. You train them for God's service from the time they are little. They should be ready to labor in the harvest field when they come forth from your home.
Is a missionary's work easy? No, it takes sacrifice. Is motherhood easy? No, but it will be worthwhile. It takes everything you've got--all your resources of time, energy and strength--but you will influence nations. It takes sacrifice--many mothering days are exhausting and overwhelming--but you will receive the fruit of your labors and an eternal reward. It will take committed prayer and intercession, but your prayers will be answered. Remember, you are not on vacation; you are on the mission field!
Maybe God has only given you one laborer to prepare for Him--that His is plan for you. Maybe he has given you six, or even twelve! Wow, would twelve be too many? Jesus trained twelve disciples who impacted the world. How would you like to train laborers who "turn the world upside down"? (Acts 17:6)
What kind of laborers does God want us to faithfully prepare for His service? The following is my vision for our children, grandchildren and future generations. I believe He wants us to prepare children who are...
Baby lovers
Blessing imparters
Bible believers
Bible obeyers
Committed laborers in God's harvest
Courageous overcomers
Demon destroyers
Diligent workers
Evil haters
Faithful servers
Fearless soldiers
Freedom fighters
Fruit bearers
God fearers
God lovers
God pleasers
God worshippers
Gospel preachers
Holy Spirit empowered witnesses
Home lovers
Israel supporters
Jesus fanatics
Justice keepers
Life choosers
Light shiners
Liberal threateners
Obedient listeners
Parent honorers
Responsible citizens
Sharp arrows
Tomorrow's leaders
Truth bearers
Truth keepers
Truth lovers
Truth preservers
Truth seekers
Persecution endurers
Prayer warriors
Righteousness lovers
Uncompromising disciples
Valiant conquerors
Wisdom getters and
Zealous servants of the Living God
Love from NANCY CAMPBELL
PRAYER:
"Thank you, Lord, for showing me my mission field. Help me to serve you faithfully and to raise prepared laborers for your great harvest field. Lord, I am open for you to give me all the laborers you have planned for me to train. Amen."
AFFIRMATION:
I am a full-time missionary, recruiting and training laborers for God's harvest field.
Way #9
GIVE sacrificially to them.
Support reputable orphan care organizations on an ongoing basis.
Contribute generously to an adoptive family to help offset their costs.
Orphan Sunday from Christian Alliance for Orphans on Vimeo.
It's ORPHAN SUNDAY today!!!!
Way #8 ...
Go to a church who supports orphans (at least for today)!!!!
http://www.orphansunday.org/
