bodner003

"Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us." (Hebrews 12:1) I hope you had a wonderful weekend. Seamus had the privilege of being involved in a mission project with our youth group, called the 30-hour Famine. He came home hungry and tired... and a little cranky... shh, don't tell him I said that ;-) but I know his soul felt refreshed! I spent some great time with my 3 little friends, just relaxing and doing some fun things together. This next weekend is a big one for us! Saturday morning is our Adoption Doughnut Day and that afternoon is our final home study meeting. If you haven't ordered doughnuts and would like to, just shoot me an email ( lauraloman@yahoo.com ). I ordered a little extra so I can put your name on some of those if you let me know. Y'all. We are in the thick of things right now. We...

I marvel at the questions I receive from so many of you about our adoption, the country of China, the process itself, our motives, and countless other curiosities. I rejoice in your questions because it shows that God is stirring in each of your hearts. I am thankful that you are impacted by this ministry. Christ, so perfectly, places burdens on our hearts as He calls us to fulfill His will and become more like Him. "And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord's glory, are being transformed into his likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit." (2Cor.3:18) I am humbled that hearts are changing through this process. I give all thanks to Christ! I'd like to share some information about China and the need for adoption itself. I'm not going to disclose specific information or my opinions about Chinese government, policies and procedures, and information that could jeopardize our adoption in any way. The facts...

Our home study went very well last night... from my perspective anyway... let's just hope the social worker thinks the same. ;-) It was the first part of 4 visits and we worked our way through some important decisions and information. I had an unusual peace yesterday going in to the visit. I'm sure most of that was because of prayer... Thanks friends! It was clear to me that she was not there to judge us. Rather, her goal is to ensure that we are prepared for an adoption and to help us get prepared in areas where we may need assistance. We were able to share our faith and our family with this precious lady and be open and honest without feeling threatened. We are thankful for the home study process because we see this as another support link, one that can offer a wealth of information to us who have never before experienced the adoption process. She will be revisiting 3 more times, 2 very casual visits and one last visit on May 4th (Adoption Doughnut Day!) ...

I have been itching to post an update and am thrilled to be sharing another piece of our story with you! Writing is my outlet and I find great joy in keeping up with this blog. I am thankful for the means to share my heart with you. We have been officially welcomed in to Lifeline's agency. We have been assigned a case worker (precious lady named Logan who we met in Birmingham) and the official process has begun! We have been given a (very large) manual to read, with a whole lot of papers to sign and information to gather. Y'all. If you don't like signing your name, don't consider adopting a baby. Phew! And this is only the beginning. On top of the reading, signing, and gathering we have scheduled our first Home Study meeting for next Friday, April 12th! The home study is performed by a licensed social worker and consists of a series of interviews, family interaction, home investigation, lots more paperwork, gathering of documents, and more fun than we can b...

"Jesus replied, 'If anyone loves me, he will obey my teaching. My Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our  HOME with him.' " (John 14:23) OH! The momma bird came back, y'all! My one fern is going to look ugly for awhile with no water or fertilizer but it'll be neat to see those babies take flight one day!