Blessed Beyond Measure

It's been so long since I entered a blog that I decided I must write one today no matter what. So much has happened since I last wrote. The biggest event, of course, was giving birth. Aaron Justice Stroup was born on July 25th and weighed 8 lbs. 15 oz. That makes him six weeks old today. He is a great little guy who seems to know that he's the fifth and fits himself right in to our routine. He has always been a great sleeper at night, which has been a huge blessing for me. Right now he seems to go 7-8 hours between feedings on most nights. He also has started smiling at me and cooing a lot.

We also started school this week. It's going very well. I feel like God has grown me over the summer as far as how I approach teaching. I think that the things he has shown me are helping me to be more patient and better able to help the kids when they are stuck. Rebecca is in fourth grade, Daniel in third and Joel in kindergarten. Daniel started Switched on Schoolhouse this year, which he loves since it's computer based. He watched Rebecca do it all last year and was itching to start school. Joel is "officially" in school now and is quite a concientous worker. He is quite meticulous about his work and wants to get it just right - ahhh, a teacher's dream. I'm trying a new reading curriculum with him this year called "Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons." So far I really, really like it. He's enjoying the lessons as well. It's almost like we're playing a game together and he's learning without realizing it.

I have had many people ask me about how the adoption process is going. Let's see, the last news I gave was our experience at the foster care orientation class. Since then, we've done many of the home improvements that we need to become certified. Matthew worked hard during his time home after the baby. (We were blessed to have him home for ten days!) He set up both Rebecca and Daniels' rooms so that they now have capacity for two kids in each. So if we get our dream of one boy and one girl, we are ready to go. He also installed seven smoke alarms, one in each bedroom, one in the bonus room and an extra one in the hallway. I'm so glad to have the alarms in all the bedrooms. He also built our painting shelves into lockable cabinets, as well as installing Tot Locks in the laundry room where we will be able to keep our medicines and dangerous chemicals. He installed a wire shelf above the washer and dryer so that we can keep non-toxic cleaning supplies easily accessable but still out of reach to little hands. And since he didn't have quite enough to do with all this work and helping take care of the kids, he also touched up all the paint around the house, including our baseboards, which were sorely in need of some fresh paint.

Probably the most exciting news, though, is that we have all the money we need to finish our certification process. About a month ago, we got an unexpected check in the mail that more than covers our expenses. We not only have enough for the fees and such, but we also have enough to but things like cute comforters for the beds and the extra dresser that we need for Daniel's room. Finances have been the biggest determining factor in all this and have also been something that we are looking at to show us if God is opening or closing doors. So far, the doors keep opening. Well, it's more like they are flinging as wide as they can. People told me that if this was what God wanted, the finances would never be an issue. So it's very exciting seeing him do his work.

Now that we have the funds, we really need to get over to the police station and get our background checks started. Maybe we can go over there today...hmmm. Anyway, with that started, there will be some other minor paperwork things to do and the home improvements to finish. But we are pretty close to being ready to start our home study process. Very exciting! We also are scheduled to attend an adoption orientation class, which I'm really looking forward to. It will be similar to the foster care class, but with a focus on adoption, of course. I have been so impressed with how Koinonia really prepares their families. I can't tell you how much of a comfort it is to me to have their covering over us.

One more thing, we still need a 12 passenger van. I think that of all the big vans out there, I would like a Cheverolet Express the most. We're thinking that with our tax return next year we should be able to pay at least a good chunk of money down on one and only finance a small portion of it. Actually, my prayer is that we would find one that we can pay cash for. Anyway, last night I was at a meeting for our home school co-op and was sharing with one of the other moms about how God has provided finanically for this adoption. I added that all we need now is the van and she said that she would have her husband start looking out for one. I didn't even realize that he was in the car business, but I'm very excited at the prospect of having someone we know who is also plugged in to selling cars help us out. I don't know if anything will come of it or if God's provision will come from elsewhere. But I certainly feel God's support through that offer. On a side note, I never realized how many Chevy Express Vans there were out there! But now I see them all the time. Most of them are cargo vans. But the other day I saw a passenger one going down the road. You know, those things aren't small. And there's really nothing cool about driving one around. But I have never wanted to drive a vehicle like I want to drive one of those. :) I can just see myself going here and there in my minibus full of kids. It'll be like a party going down the road! I love having a big family!

Thank you, everyone who is praying. We are blessed beyond measure.

Oh, one more thing. Check out one of my friend's blogs at www.1boast.net. You'll be amazed at their story!