Family

***A good way to know it's been too long since a blogpost..... when you forget what your blog was called so you then must google it.  You then click on the first result you see only to find another family's picture on the blog named "our eyes are opened".  Suddenly, you become completely convinced someone else hijacked your site. Wha??? How dare they?!! Oh.....wait.....that's not my blog.  Clearly, it's been too long.***

So, now that I have rediscovered my blog name and address, I can proceed...ahem.


Ugh. I'm sitting here scratching my head trying to figure out where to even begin this post. So many things have been happening in our hearts over the last few months. We have been able to witness God doing some things we never thought possible. And we have been stirred to do more than we have ever before in our lives. The last few months have been exhausting. Both emotionally and physically. I really can't even start to explain everything, because I am afraid I would a) end up boring you and you would quit reading before the really good part, b) I would not be able to find a stopping point, there is just too much to say.

So, I will skip straight to the good stuff (and by "skip" I mean tell you a really long story)......

We were moving right along with finishing up our home study and beginning our immigration approval. Because of Mitch's business, our taxes got a little complicated and our financial part of it was taking longer than I would have liked. Amidst the waiting for a portion of that to be completed on someone else's end, I began hearing more and more about some corruption happening among the orphan care/adoption process in Uganda.

To make a long story short, this is what the current situation is:

When Ethiopia slowed their adoptions down (quite a bit) a while ago, many families (us included) decided that maybe they should look else where to adopt. Many families went other places, but many have started looking at Uganda. Perfect! Awesome! There are lots of orphans in Uganda. Lots. But, here's the deal....most of those orphans are above the age of 3. Or they are sibling groups. Or HIV+. But that's not who people want to adopt. Most US families want babies. And, honestly, there aren't many of those.

So, here's the ugly part.... where there is a demand, the supply will always rise to meet it. Even if that means unethically. Impoverished families are being talked (coerced even) into relinquishing their children, specifically babies and toddlers, because westerners (even good-hearted westerners) want them and there is money to be made. These families don't realize they may never see their babies again. That they will leave the country and never come back. Ugh. Makes my heart sick.

Now, this is not the norm. But, it IS happening. I have basically annoyed our agency to death asking five million questions about their policies and what they do to ensure that their adoptions have NOTHING to do with this. They have some really good things in place to prevent this, and I trust them. But, there was still this nagging at my heart.

Mitch and I were called into adoption because we wanted to love a child that had no one else to love them. To give them a family and a place at our table. We wanted them to feel the love that only a mother and father have for their child. We were not called into adoption because we wanted a cute little baby. We were not called into adoption because we thought, as middle-class Americans, we could give them a "better life" than what they had in Uganda. I'm pretty sure there are a million families in Uganda that have dirt floors and one shirt each and they still live lives of joy and love. But, there is the big difference....that word....."families".

God asked Mitch and I to adopt to give someone a family. And we knew that we wanted no part of a child being coerced away from theirs. But, what did that mean for us? Where were you pointing us God??

Wellll......after talking and praying and submitting.......we called our social worker and asked her to change our home study to say....gulp....sibling group.

Yes, that's right. We have officially lost our minds.

Now, we did limit the sibling group to just two....because I'm pretty sure MItch would walk right out the door if we had 6 kids. But, we both felt like, after much reading and research, that most sibling groups get over-looked for adoption. Why? Because bringing home two kids, that are two different ages, with two different problems is probably one of the craziest things you can do. BUT....this made us know that because it wasn't the most popular choice, that maybe it was the right one. That these were the kids that needed a family. That by choosing this, we were not being part of the problem, but an actual part of the solution.

There are many many many cons on the list for adopting a sibling group.
#1-The price goes up. A lot. Do we have that money? Nope.
#2 - #15 - Ummm....Hello?? FIVE kids. I will possibly lose all sense of myself. I will most likely lose all privacy. And I will definitely lose my sanity.

But, the pros list just outweighed the cons every time.


Now to be clear, our home study now says EITHER one child under 4, or a sibling group under 8. There are truly still some abandoned baby/toddler/preschool age children, and we know they need a home terribly too. We don't believe that we know every single thing about the way things are happening over there. We know there are lots of legit adoptions of little ones taking place, and praise the Lord for that. But, we also know we can't hide our heads in the sand and pretend we haven't heard the things we have just because we would prefer a younger child. We will still be very thorough when we get a referral. We will ask the tough questions, making sure this child is a true orphan, whether it is a single child or a sibling group.

So, all that to say, whomever we get a referral for, we know it will be God's choice.  I can't tell you the peace I feel in that decision. God has brought us down a long, curvy path over the last two years. And I am learning why each and every day. His sovereignty is perfect. I'm not sure why we ever doubt it.

Warning: Shameless Plug...

Do you want to help us bring our child(ren) home? Do you want to help the Baker's and the Menn's complete their journey as well?? Well, then sign up for our race NOW!!! It's going to be an amazing time and you won't want to miss it!!

Register HERE!!!

Ready to Rock

Sam was sick this week. His fever started on Saturday night and lasted until Wednesday morning. He was puny and coughy and SUPER grumpy. But he got lots of snuggles, warm bubble baths, trips to the doctor, and medicine. When his asthma acted up so badly that he couldn't catch his breath and started gagging and eventually threw up all over his bed, we were there to clean him and his bed up, give him water and his inhaler and tuck him back into bed.

So, why am I telling you all of these gross things??...

Well, one point during this week when he was burning up and sitting in my lap, I had a moment when I thought "our other sweet boy... (side note: have I mentioned I'm pretty sure God has showed me a little boy in our future?) could be getting colds, or bronchiolitis, or a stomach bug, or what have you. And who cleans him up? Who rocks him when he has a fever? Who takes him to the doctor? Does he HAVE a doctor to go to? Does he go to sleep by himself and wake up by himself?"

My heart ached for him (or her....only God knows) and where ever he may be. I don't know this child's plight in life. I don't know who's care he is under right now, if any. But, I do know it made me extremely eager to bring him home. So we could change his sheets and give him medicine when he needs it. And hold him in our laps, rock him and give him comfort. Man, I ache for that as much for him as I do for myself. Although my arms are very busy right now, there are times they just feel....well, empty. Something is missing. Someone. I am eager for them to be filled. With a healthy child, or a sick and puny one. Just one that needs a mama to love him.

If you are wondering where exactly we are in the process.....
We are days away from our home study being submitted and approved. Our social worker is finishing it up. Then, immigration approval/finger prints. Then, our referral for our child. Then dossier is submitted to Uganda. Then court date set. Then travel. THEN....we can bring him (or her) home. And rock. And snuggle. (by the way....by nature I am not a very "snuggly" person per say. So if this makes you want to roll your eyes and even become a little nauseous, I understand and in most cases would be right along side you. But it is what it is. Snuggle. There..I said it again.)


I found this video today about a book that was written for adopted children and adopted children's siblings. It looks adorable and hits home for this mama this week. It's already been ordered and I can't wait to get it....

2nd go-round

Almost a year ago, we began work on a project that would take us down a path we had never been before. One that included creating logos, printing tshirts, soliciting sponsorships (oh my how that one was hard), marking courses, buying medals, organizing race bibs (what?), coordinating volunteers, buying orange hairspray, blowing up bounce houses, and many other random jobs that we either had never done before or had never thought we would ever do in our lifetime.
But, wow. The payoff. God used that little "project" to show us His provision and power. He said "Here. I have a vision for you. Now go do it. And just at the moment that you doubt that you can pull it off, I will step up and finish it for you. And it will be fun. And it will help bring your child home. And then you can help others bring their children home too."

Don't know what I'm talking about? Read this post. 

Well, here we are again. One year later and God's vision is still clear. One Less was born in God's heart to bring orphaned and abandoned children home to their forever families. Because adoption is expensive. And the last thing in the world I believe God wants is for families to give up on the idea of adopting because they "can't afford it". Because of course you can't afford it. I don't know many people that have an extra $25,000 lying around (well, none to be exact).

But, I do know quite a few people with generous hearts and obedient spirits that want to help bring children home. And I do know quite a few people who just like to run. :) Soooooo, without further adieu....

new logo  coming soon

One Less is returning! 

Mark your calendars people...Saturday May 12, 2012
at Joshua Springs Park and Preserve!

We will have a 3K walk/run, 3K kids run, 5K run, and new this year by request...10K run!! 

For those of you that ran last year, you know that the course is partially paved and partially a trail run which means it is not your ordinary boring road run. It's way better. :)

 The course lets you experience the best parts of Spring in the Hill Country: flowers, green grass, giant trees, a lake, and lots of cute baby deer (how could you say no to that?).

Oh, and did I mention the bounce houses, free food, face painting, and music? It's a party.

And this year...the party is gonna be bigger. I have dreams of doubling the size of 2011....of runners. Of sponsors. Of money raised. God can do it.

Because...we have another family adopting in Boerne folks. Which means another waiting child. And another set of eager parents. (details about them coming soon)

So, we've got to bring our A game.

But, we can't do it alone.

 So...Are you in? As a runner? Sponsor? Volunteer?

Let me know! And share the info!

Registration will begin soon!!

Growing pains

Do you ever sometimes mentally look back on how far you've come in *blank* years and think..."wow. I was an idiot back then." or "how did we make it through that?" or "I am so glad we are in a different place now" or even the occasional "man, I miss those days"?

I have done this a lot over my adult life. Each year brings growth, whether through joyous times, or painful ones. Each year I've been taught different lessons. Sometimes (most of the time) the hard way. But each year we keep growing. Changing. Evolving. Into something new, different, perfected. There are slower years where you feel like you are just grateful to have made it through.  And then there are years when you feel like you are a completely different person than when you started and don't even recognize your old self.

These last two years have seen some of the biggest changes ever for me (us). God has done a mighty work in my (our) heart(s). (Okay, so from now on, I will use the pronoun "us".  Because really, God has taken both Mitch and I on identical journeys. And the other way would get annoying.) He has brought us to a place of repentance for a life lived completely selfishly. Chasing a dream that was never meant to be ours in the first place. He has enlightened us to things that we had a blind eye too for way too long. He has brought us redemption and hope by creating new desires in our hearts for things we never even gave a moments thought several years ago.

But, he has also burdened our hearts for our hurting world and will not relinquish us from the thought of it. Everywhere we have turned over the last two years, God has pointed us in the same direction. The impoverished. The hurting. The orphaned.

 From books that we've read, to conferences, to sermons, to movies, blogs, events, etc. And God has said the same thing. Over and over and over. "What are you doing? Why did I make you? To further your kingdom with crap? (yes, I am sure He said crap) To pretend like it's okay with me for you to live your life in a safe little bubble and not really care about the hurting? Because if you really cared, then you would be doing something about it.  It's time to rise up out of your slumber and get to work. There is too much to be done for you to make excuses anymore."  (He went on like that for a while, but I will spare you the details).
So, here we are two years down the road. Still learning. Still trying to figure out exactly what we are supposed to do about all of that. He is continuing to show us things. Every day as a matter of fact.

But, there is one thing He has made clear to me through it all: "wherever I'm calling you to be or whatever I'm calling you to do....bring some peeps with you. As many as you can."

Who, me? Yes, you. Because the harvest is great and the workers are few. Because there is no Plan B in our world. We are it. In small ways or giant ways. It's not an option. It is a mandate. Help the poor, the orphaned, the widows, the homeless, the enslaved. Bring justice to them. THIS is true religion.

I want so badly to wage a war. Right here in Boerne. I want like-minded and like-hearted people to be beside me crying out "Ugh! What can we do to make this better?! What is our role and when can we get started?!" Anyone interested? :)

Is God working on you in similar ways? Do you have a little tiny ember in your heart for the impoverished and don't know whether to blow it out or let it burn the house down? Because in all honesty, blowing it out is much easier. But who wants a dead heart?

Do you have the passion, but need some more information about what you can do to help?

Well...there is an incredible film made by some well-known world ministries (like Compassion, and world hunger fund) called 58:. It shows some really terrible things about the impoverished around the world, but also shows some really amazing things the church is doing about it. It is a life-changing, world-altering movie. You will leave with some pretty unsettling images burned into your brain and an ache in your heart. That is good. That is the Holy Spirit telling you "I have showed you this. Now don't forget it. And do something about it."

What? That sounds like the funnest movie ever, Katie?!! How in the world do I get to see something like that?

Well....it just so happens you're in LUCK! Me and a few on-fire friends of mine are having a screening of this movie for the whole wide world (or just the area of Boerne, to be exact).

It will be this Saturday night at 6pm at Hill Country Crossfit (my new fav place to be...besides my bed of course). We are wanting a packed house! But, would settle for just a select few that God called as well.
HCCF was so gracious to open it's doors to us and will have some snacks and drinks for us during the movie.

Here is our flyer:

Want to check out the film ahead of time? Watch this trailer....


58: THE FILM Trailer from LIVE58NOW on Vimeo.

COME. Watch. Be inspired to do something outside of yourself.

 Who knows what the coming year will bring....but I know that when I am in January 2013, I want to be able to say "wow. I only thought I knew you God. Thank you for showing me so much more." Do you want to be able to say the same? God wants to show you something. I promise you won't be sorry.

Invasion of privacy

It has been three months since my last post. That's like 10 years in blog world.

The idea of blogging has become more and more odd to me in the last year.
Like I think our lives are so interesting that everyone wants to read about it. Now don't get me wrong, I love to read blogs. I love to read about what God is showing other people and how I can glean from that. (I also like to look at blogs that have nothing to do with anything spiritual at all....sshhh.) But, the Fickeys? Really? Generally NOT interesting.

And when I do think things are possibly interesting enough and actually sit down to spill my guts, are you getting this false sense of who we really are? Is who we sound like we are on this blog really who we are in real life?

Sometimes yes. Sometimes no.

Sometimes we have an unending faith and trust in God's provision and amazing things happen like in this post. But sometimes Mitch and I have knock down drag outs in the middle of our kitchen because the stress of not being able to pay our bills overwhelms us both.

Sometimes I can see the truths God has revealed to us and the path it's led us down and it makes my heart excited that God has entrusted us with these things. But sometimes I wonder how difficult it would be to fit all of us in a hole in the ground and hide for a few years until everyone has forgotten about the declarations of faith and obedience we made. Because that would be way easier than actually following through with these plans.

I could go on with those "sometimes" forever. But, my point is, we are not blog-worthy. We are a normal family who is poor most of the time, occasionally selfish and mean, very silly and immature behind closed doors (and with some choice friends who love us regardless), we get the whole parenting thing wrong a lot, and still have a VERY LONG way to go in our spiritual walks. Very.

Which leads me to the reason for this blog post: What if you couldn't hide your flaws behind awesome blog posts and adorable pictures of your kids looking precious and happy on face book? What if someone planned on walking into your house in three days to take a good look around in every nook and cranny of your home? Looking for metaphorical skeletons and what not. And then what if they proceeded to take each one of your kids aside and ask them questions about your parenting? Like "how do your parents....(gulp)...punish you?". And then after that, sat you down and asked you a million questions about your childhood and your marriage, etc? Sounds like the easiest stress-free Saturday ever, right?

.....Our home study visit has been scheduled for this Saturday, Dec 10 at 1:30. All of those above things will be on the agenda.  We are excited/overwhelmed/nervous/just plain scared.

People keep telling me, with the most precious and sincere hearts, "you guys will do great. ...your family is perfect.... nothing to worry about....you are wonderful parents." But here's the thing. That is not even a little bit true. Yes, we love our kids a lot. Who wouldn't? They are adorable. (most of the time). But our family is not even close to perfect. We yell. A lot. We punish. A lot. My closets are disastrous. My drawers are even worse. And we have this kid, named Sam, who speaks his mind and has zero filter. So the chance that something could go wrong are not as slim as some might think.

But, I have to keep faith that God wants this for us. And that this social worker is not out to dig up dirt on our family and keep us from adopting. And even though I keep telling myself that over and over and over, there may or may not have been at least 2 days dedicated to completely cleaning and purging my house (including said closets and drawers) and there may or may not be some bribing happening of the littlest one to assure he is on his best behavior.

So, please pray for us this Saturday if you get the chance. (and love us at all??). We will need it. And also, please refrain from bringing by donuts and fireworks for my children that morning.

Once the home study is done (and approved). Next step will be filing paperwork with the US government for immigration approval, then fingerprinting, then passports, and then.....the wait list. I have been asked a lot recently how long the wait will be for a referral. And honestly, I have no idea. It could be 6 months, it could be 2. We chose not to specify boy or girl or a specific age (just 0-3 is all we said), so that could mean a shorter wait time. But, like I said, we really don't know any of that yet.

For now, we will just be trying to make it through Saturday.

I will update you next week. Keep praying my friends. :)

Finishing the Race

This year has been a long road. We have saved and sewed and sold and planned and prayed and felt defeated and prayed some more and then were blessed abundantly. I have read several times that the road to adoption feels like a marathon. It is long. And hard. And there are times you want to give up. But, I guess anyone that has ran a marathon knows, it is so worth it when you cross that finish line (or so I hear...) .

So, even though we are so much closer to being fully funded than we were a week ago, we still have a few thousand dollars to go. So, here is our next fundraising effort..........

CHOSEN....Marathon for Adoption

Chosen is a half and full marathon in Gruene on October 29 and is an incredible way for people to fundraise for their own adoptions and also a means of bringing awareness to adoption itself!! It's really cool and this is how it works......

- Mitch and I are both running the Chosen half marathon. We have created a "team" called "Team One Less" (original, I know).  If you are a runner or even a marathon walker, then if you sign up to run under our Team name, your registration fees go to us! If you get your friends to run with you, they can sign up under our Team name as well and their fees go to us too! Now, I know that some of you have signed up or are planning to sign up for the San Antonio Rock n Roll marathon in November. And I know that race is really fun and all. BUT....this race you would be running for a reason!! To help us bring our child home!! (have I played the guilt trip up enough? Or should I keep going?....). Oh, and this race is quite a bit cheaper. AND it is in Gruene which is a super fun town. AND we are really fun people. AND we can wear matching shirts. (oh no...I think I went too far....)

- If you are NOT a runner/walker, then we have a way for you to help too! Click on the link above for the race and then go to the donate tab. There is a way for you to make a donation using paypal to our specific team (TEAM ONE LESS....don't forget to put that part) which is also tax deductible!! How easy is that?!

We are really excited! It will be both of our first half marathons. Mitch will fly through it no problem. They might carry me across the finish line on a stretcher. But, I WILL cross that finish line :)

So far we have a few precious, faithful friends committing to spend the next several weeks training and then running alongside us in October. We are so grateful for their support and love!! It's not too late for you!! You still have time to buckle down and train! 13.1 miles is easier than you think (or at least that's what I am telling myself right now...)

Will you run with us too? Or help support our Team? Or will you pray for us to cross that finish line? :)

Let me know if you plan on signing up!!! The more the merrier! We can CARRY each other across!!

God is a-mazing

Shut. the. front. door.

I pressed "publish post"on my last blog entry and two minutes later walked out the door with the family to meet some friends for dinner.

We came back from that dinner with $10,000 towards our adoption. Yes, I just said that.

Our precious (and unnamed...by their request) friends felt God's leading to help us and were unbelievably obedient. They hadn't read my post. They hadn't asked how much money we still needed. They knew a little bit about where our hearts are right now. But more importantly they knew that God had called them to action. And they obeyed. Big time.

I wish I could shout their names from the rooftops giving them honor for their obedience and love.
But they are choosing to allow us to give God all the glory.

We have some really good friends. And I know God is pleased with them.

And we now have an almost fully funded adoption account. For real. Nothing stopping us now. Get outta our way dumb Satan. We don't have time for the likes of you.

God is amazing. And we are grateful.