Quick Update

First let me say "Happy National Adoption Month!"  This is a great time to celebrate all of the families that God has completed through adoption!  Every child deserves a family.  Please take a little time to pray for, support, and encourage those you know whose lives have been touched by adoption.

In our own adoption journey, we are waiting for news of when we can go back to Poland to bring our boys home.  Our Homeland Security Citizenship and Immigration clearance is expiring this month, so I sent off paperwork to renew our clearance. This is just a formality and keeps our form-filling-out skills up to date. We are hoping to return to Poland within the next few months. Please pray that this happens soon!


    Although it is worth every cent to get our boys home, adoption is an expensive process.  Also, I plan on staying home with the boys when they get here so that I can take care of them. To help supplement our income, I have become a Plexus Independent Ambassador!  I started drinking Plexus Slim to help me lose weight and get healthy for my boys.  It worked so well at controlling my cravings and making me feel better that I decided to sell it so that I can help my friends and family get healthy too! 

It’s so simple. No shakes or special food needed. Just one packet of Plexus Slim {kind of like a crystal light single serving packet} mixed with water. Drink it in the morning and go on about your day. Super easy!
No matter how much you're looking to lose, or just maybe you want to maintain, Plexus Slim is for you. There are many customers who take Slim just for the energy and health benefits. Plexus Slim helps keep blood sugar, cholesterol & lipids at healthy levels. It also reduces your appetite and decreases your cravings for carbs, sugar and junk food. Plexus Slim has no caffeine, no stimulants, and is natural & gluten free.

If you would like to help support our adoption and feel better too, you can check out the products on my website http://www.plexusslim.com/sandrabeach. 

 God decided in advance to adopt us into his own family by bringing us to himself through Jesus Christ. This is what he wanted to do, and it gave him great pleasure.

                                                                       Ephesians 1:5     New Living Translation (NLT)

Beach Boys Registry

   

 We are so grateful for all of the clothes and toys and books we have received so far!  My good friends from work came over last week and helped sort all of the clothes that were so generously donated. We have clothes and jammies for each boy covered!  What a blessing!  The only thing is the oldest boy will be needing sizes 6 and 7 soon.

We are still in need of a few things and so many of you have asked how you can help.  I went and registered at Target for the things we still need.  You can view the registry here.  I put the "expected arrival" as March 1, 2015.  I added shoes just so you would know what sizes we need.  We will take shoes from anywhere, used or new!  We need shoe sizes 7 through 12.  We are also in need of hats and gloves that can also be used or new from anywhere.

Thanks so much for your help!

“Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? 26Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they?

 27Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life^e ?

28“And why do you worry about clothes? See how the flowers of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. 29Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. 30If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you—you of little faith? 31So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ 32For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. 33But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. 34Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own. 

Matthew 6:25-34

Meeting the Boys

      I am so glad we were finally able to make this trip!  We've been waiting for too long to get our hands on our boys and kiss them and hug them!  It was a quick trip, but a good one.  Everything went really well and we had a great time.
     We got to meet the boys on Monday.  We first had to meet with the orphanage director, the doctor, psychologist, and a few other orphanage workers.  They asked us questions about ourselves and gave us information on the boys.  We had a liaison from the adoption agency with us that helped us through the process there in Wroclaw and translated for us.  Some of the Polish people speak some English, but not much.  After the meeting, we were able to meet with the boys in their room and play with them.  We brought a small toy for each one.  They were shy at first, but soon became the active boys that we had heard about.  We spent a few hours playing with them before it was time for them to go to lunch.  We were able to spend time with them again Tuesday and Wednesday morning.  On Wednesday we took them out to the playground. It was great to run around and have fun with them.  They are very busy little boys! 
       The oldest boy is very smart.  We taught him 3 English words before we left.  He enjoys going to school, singing, and laughs easily.  The middle one loves having books read to him, pretend cooking, and digging in the dirt.  The youngest loves dumping all of the toys on the ground and imitating his brothers.  He doesn't talk much, so speaking English will be his first language.  The other two speak only Polish. 
      I was able to get their height and weight and clothing and shoe sizes.  I can now go through and sort the clothes that have been donated to us. They wear the sizes we expected so we should be able to use most of the clothes we have.  I just need to figure out if we have enough shirts and pants in each size.   I also traced their feet so we can get the correct shoes for them.  The oldest two boys asked for shoes that light up!  The little one's shoes kept falling off.  I can't wait to get him some shoes that fit.  They are also in need of hats and gloves.  For those of you that have asked, I will be registering at Target in the next few weeks.  If you would like to help out, we would really appreciate it!
      I really wish I could show you all the pictures that I took of the boys because they are so cute!  Since I can't post those, here are so pictures of us around the town in Wroclaw, Poland.  It is a beautiful town!

Eating Polish Perogies

Kevin and a Wroclaw Gnome

Me and some Gnomes

Fountain in the Market Square

 

Town Hall in the Market Square

 

 

     It was really hard to leave the boys, knowing that we wouldn't be seeing them again for a few months.  As hard as that was, it was even harder seeing the little boys and girls that didn't have mommies and daddies coming back for them. The orphanage has soft beds, warm food, and nice caregivers but that doesn't replace a loving home with parents that love them.  I'm so glad that three little boys will no longer be orphans soon.  I can't wait to see what God has in store for their lives.

 

 

“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 a hope and a future” – Jeremiah 29:11

 



 

 

4,590 Miles

   
      We're going to Poland!  In two weeks we'll be traveling to Poland to meet our little boys!  We will be able to be with them for a few days.  This is just a short first trip.  We will then come back and wait a few months before we go back and bring them home for good.   Please pray for us as we continue this journey!

The Lord will keep your going out and your coming in from this time forth and forevermore.        Psalm 121:8     

 

 

Getting Closer

  We received our approval to travel from Homeland Security!  I thought we were going to have to have our fingerprints taken again, but they hadn't expired, so we were able to skip that part.  Our agency has been working with Poland to finalize our requirements.  We need just one more quick form (it's always one more thing...) and then we should receive our travel dates.  At this point it looks like we will be taking our first trip at the beginning of September.  I will update you when we have final arrangements.   Please be praying for this initial meeting to go smoothly and for our funding.  Thanks so much!





“Do not be afraid, for I am with you; I will bring your children from the east and gather you from the west… Bring my sons from afar and my daughters from the ends of the earth.” – Isaiah 43:5-6

Not Yet

I want to thank everyone for the prayers, clothes, toys, and well wishes. We are overwhelmed by your generosity!  Kevin and I are working on getting things together for kids when we bring them home.  Unfortunately it will be a while longer before we are able to go meet them.  We found out at the end of last week that we will be delayed for a bit.  Since we had our home study updated, we have to get our biometric fingerprints taken again.  This is a lengthy process that includes sending our revised home study off to the federal government, then waiting for a response with an appointment and then waiting for a letter of approval.  This can take up to two months. We are praying that it won't take that long this time since it is an update to the original approval.  We will let everyone know when this process is done and we finally have approval to go to Poland.  Thanks again for praying with us!

God Sized Opportunity

Since we received the call, we have been busy as bees!  I just want to start out by saying thanks so much to everyone for the well wishes, support, clothing, and offers of boy's stuff!  We have such great friends and family!  We couldn't do this without you.

In the past few weeks we have updated our fingerprints, homestudy, and child abuse clearances.  It seems like we had just finished doing all of that, but it had been a year and some things needed to be resubmitted. 

We are still finishing some of these things, so we do not have our first travel dates yet.  We are hoping to go as soon as possible, but it is all in God's timing.   We can't wait to meet our sons!

As we are preparing for the trip, I am working on applying for grants.  I was just going over the costs we have paid so far, the upcoming costs, and our current savings amount.   We are very, very short of what we will need to bring three boys home.  This is where God comes in.  If I were only relying on what Kevin and I could do, I would be having a small panic attack right now.  But we know that we cannot do this on our own.  These are God's children and if He wants us to care for them, then He will supply all our needs.  This is by far the biggest God opportunity that I have ever experienced.

Here is where you can help us.  Will you pray with us that God meets our needs?   I know that He owns the cattle on a thousand hills, so this is nothing to Him!  Please pray that the funds I apply for are granted.  Please pray that God uses this opportunity to show that He still moves in ways we could never imagine.  Please pray that these little boys will be able to come home soon.

I can't wait to see what God is going to do! Thank you!


Now to Him who is able to do far more abundantly beyond all that we ask or think, according to the power that works within us, to Him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations forever and ever. Amen.    Ephesians 3:20-21

3 Less Orphans

Chip takes his new job very seriously

Yesterday Kevin and I accepted a referral for 3 children!  We are very excited!  When the agency called and asked if we would consider 3 little ones, our answer was a very enthusiastic yes!  I cannot reveal much information about them or release any pictures of them until they are officially ours, but I can tell you that they are absolutely adorable. 

We are currently updating paperwork.  It seems like we just finished the paperwork, but now our home study, medical forms, and fingerprints have to be updated.  When that is complete, we will receive our travel dates.  In a few weeks, we will be going to Poland for a few days to meet the little ones.  We get to visit with them and get to know them a little bit.  We will then come home for a few months, and go back when we have our court date.   I'm sure the time will go fast and slow all at once!

Some of you may have questions about their history and how they came to be orphans.  We appreciate the interest and concern, but we will keep the children's information private.  It is their story to tell and if they want to tell it someday, they will.   Until then, please keep them in your prayers as they deal with their changing circumstances.

Our heads are swimming as we now get to prepare our house for 3 more!  We are working on getting rid of some furniture and moving in some twin beds.  We also thinking about clothing and toys and everything that goes with 3 growing kids! All of this just got very real.  They are no longer a hope and a dream, but live little human beings.  Pray for us as we make this transition and start to prepare!

Tonight we are thanking God that there are 3 less orphans in the world.

"And whoever welcomes one such child in my name welcomes me." 

                                                                    Matthew 18:5