Insurmountable...

That is how this journey feels...insurmountable.

We are parents to 3 young and very active little boys.
I am a stay at home mom.
We live on a single income.
My husband is a pastor and we are very involved in our church.
Our house is running out of space.
We are so busy.
There is no way we can raise the $25-$30,000 we will need.
We want to do a CD to help raise funds...when do we find the time, or the money to do a CD.
Most days I have trouble keeping the three children we have out of trouble.

These are just a few of the reasons this journey seems insurmountable...impossible even.
These are just a few of the reasons that I wanted to just give up yesterday. To just tell God that this is too hard, that there must be someone else with more time, more money, more patience, more love.

So yesterday I feel at His feet, pouring out my heart. Confessing my unbelief and fear. Explaining to Him how this is just not possible, at least not for now. I imagine He probably laughed a little at me trying to explain to the God of the universe what things could and could not work!

But then I felt it.

In spite of my unbelief, my fear, and my worry He gently reached down and quieted me with His love. Reminding me that YES, He is the God of miracles. That YES, He is the God that parted the Red Sea, the God who gave Issac to Abraham and Sarah when it seemed time had run out. I do not believe in coincidences. I believe that I am reading through Deuteronomy where Moses reminds the new generation to remember God's mighty works for a reason. I believe that moneysavingmom.com chose to write about orphans on that day for a reason. I believe that it was not by chance that I clicked on a blog I had never clicked on before and read these words...

We had mountains of fear and so many questions.
At times the process seemed insurmountable
We were the very busy parents of three boys, we own a business,
we had roles in our church, our school district, our community.
We had taken my Mom in who had a terrible accident and she lived with us for nearly 8 months.
Really it seemed there were just too many things going on all around us to
even consider adopting.
ENTER GOD.
There is so much more to the story of hurdles and roadblocks that happen in adoption.
I am asked daily why it is not easier to adopt and now I have a clarity that I lacked two years ago...
My answer to that question now is this...
Perhaps the process of adoption is challenging in order to challenge us.
Do we have a faith that is giant enough to see us through.
Will we turn and run the other direction when the situation is not going as we
have planned? Will we trust, pray and share our thoughts and fears with others?
Will we develop a community within the adoption world who will help squelch our fears with their own stories?
You see God not only wanted us to bring home a little one who needed a family from Ethiopia but
HE wanted to change and rearrange our hearts. That was the grand plan!
So even the BLURRY days were days of purpose.

I tell you all this to encourage you to keep pressing forward.
Adoption is not a simple task but it is not meant to be.
Wear a smile each day knowing that if adoption has chosen you well you are richly blessed and
should be pinching yourself with anticipation and excitement. For you have so much ahead that God wants you to experience. You are chosen and we are chosen.
After all we were adopted into God's kingdom.
Enjoy the moments and remember that clarity might just come later in the
calling.

I love that God is so patient with me and that again and again and again He reminds me that it is He who has started this good work in our family and that it is He who will bring it to completion.

I am so thankful for the encouragement He sends me along the way. Just this week my sweet friend Kay wrote a whole blog about miracles where she used Psalm 77:15. Believe it or not as soon as I finished reading that post I opened a book from about a year ago and what falls out??? A note written in my own handwriting with Psalm 77:11-15 on it! This may not mean much to you, but for me it was God whispering to me once again.

So the theme verses for this adoption will be...

Psalm 77:11-15!

I already have it hanging on the frig as a constant reminder!

Please continue to pray for us and thank you so much for your encouragement!

Big Steps

The adoption process is full of steps. Some big and some small.
*There is the initial step when you decide to say "yes, God we will do this"
*the research step when you learn about countries and agencies,
*the application step,
*the homestudy step,
*the Dossier step (a huge amount of paperwork that has to be done just right),
*the fundraising step (how will we pay for this Lord?),
*the referral step (so exciting),
*the travel step,
*the coming home step (can't wait for this one)!
And those are just some of the major steps in the adoption process!

This week we will take a big step. A leap or faith really. This week we will mail off the first BIG round of paperwork and the first significant sum of money to our adoption agency.

I am excited, nervous, humbled, and completely in awe all at the same time. This is by far the biggest leap of faith our family has been called to take up to this point. Really there are not words to describe the rush of emotions as we get ready to take this next step.

What I can tell you is that we NEED and covet your prayers. We are thrilled that you are on this journey with us and we can't wait to sit back with you and watch God work.

So...in about 18 months or so the Lorick family will become a family of 6 complete with a sweet little sister from Ethiopia!

PS. We chose a name for her this summer...I will reveal that later this week!:)

You + Me

I have come to a conclusion...


Nathan's genes + Jenna's genes = CRAZY


Pretty cute, if I do say so, but crazy none the less.

I often wonder if our friends are secretly making mental notes about how NOT to raise their children after they have spent some time around the Lorick crew. Or our poor friends who only have one child...I am sure they decide that one is enough after sharing a meal with our crazy clan!

No seriously...we do have 3 wild little boys. Wild as they are, I am thankful. I am thankful that there is never a dull moment in our home. I am thankful that I have never heard one of them say "I'm bored" because they have the most wonderful imaginations and are able to come up with all sorts of games and imaginary lands. At least once a week I will find a suitcase somewhere in the house because Kaden and Karter are planning a trip to Mexico or Africa. I am thankful that they love life and love to experience it to the full (just watch Karter eat and you will know what I mean)! I love that ordinary toys come to life in the hands of my boys. I love that family bike rides are really horse races or journeys to far off lands in the imaginations of my wild little ones.

And just in case you don't believe that our littlest member of the crew is CRAZY like his brothers here is some proof I have been gathering...

As you can see he enjoys his food just as much as Karty!

A daring little monkey he is...

Forget the stool, I'll just sit on the table. By the way crayons aren't half bad Mom!

He gives new meaning to the phrase "eat my dust"!

He can climb on anything

Get in and out of anywhere

And most days I find him pulling out something I have just put away!


Call them what you may...as long as you remember to call them "OURS"!

We love you sweet, and CRAZY "K-crew"

The First Day...

So if you read my last post you know that I have been wrestling. What you may not know is that I have been wrestling with the decision of weather to home school Kaden or send him to public school.

Being a mom is so hard...especially when you have more than one child and when you are trying to make decisions about each of their futures. As moms we all want what is best for our children individually as well as collectively. The trouble comes when what might be best for one child is not what is best for the other. So after my most fierce wrestling match thus far, we decided that Kaden would go to school and that I would spend the next year spending some special time with Karter and Kolson.

So today was Kaden's first day of Kindergarten! I thought I might cry or feel guilty that I was sending him to school instead of being able to juggle everything at home but truthfully I felt peace. I know that God is sovereign and that I can trust Him to watch over and protect our sweet boy!

Our Kindergartner...


The only tears today came from this guy...


He was so sad when we left Kaden in the gym that he just kept crying and saying..."I don't wanna leave my bubba here".

And the verdict...
Kaden came to the car beaming and saying that it was so fun! The little boys and I had a great time dancing and reading and playing games.

All in all...a great day!

Wrestling Moves

So my boys have some great wrestling moves! All three of them are 100% boy so it is no wonder I find them in positions like this all the time...


And on any given night around bed time in the Lorick house you might find ALL of the boys in my house wrestling on the floor in Kaden and Karter's room. It is one of my favorite sights to take in. Daddy and his boys being just that...boys. I hope it is something the boys will remember always.


But lately I have been doing some wrestling of my own. However, mine has not been near as fun! I have not been wrestling with any particular enemy but rather with one that is relentless and always with me...my anxious thoughts.

I have wrestled to the point of tears and even a breakdown that led to me showing up at a friends doorstep in a total wreck (thanks Kathryn:). I have listened to opinion after opinion and I have even listened to the voice of wisdom coming from many who are far more wise than I. But in the end it has come down to a simple prayer...

Lord, you say that word will be a light unto our feet and a lamp unto our path so I am praying that your word, not my thoughts, opinion, others opinions, or even my desires, just your word will be what lights my path.

That same day the Lord led me to Psalm 13 where I found verses like 2 "How long must I wrestle with my thoughts and everyday have sorrow in my heart?" Of course that one led me to more tears as I realized that God already knew. He knew the battle that was going on in my mind as I wrestled with my anxious thougts. Verse 3 says "Look on me and answer, O Lord my God. Give light to my eyes or I will sleep in death." While this was not a life or death decision I was starting to become very overwhelmed my the decision and all my crazy thoughts. How comforting it was to just let scripture speak I didn't even have to say anything.

But...the best part of all came at the end of the chapter..."But I trust in your unfailing love: my heart rejoices in your salvation. I will sing to the Lord for He has been good to me."

After a summer of studying Ruth and reading verses like this I am so aware of God's love for His people, for me. His love is truly unfailing. He is FOR me. He is FOR you.

While this has been such a challenging and uncomfortable last few months as God has been opening my eyes to what is important to Him and showing the things that need to leave my life it has also been one of the sweetest times. Most days I feel like there is a whirlwind swarming all around me as I am trying to seek and do His will but in the midst of that whirlwind I am also seeing, maybe for the first time, how much He loves me.

I am praying that if you are wrestling with anything that you will take the chance to look up and to just see how much He loves you. How He has been working from the beginning of time, piece by piece, person by person to bring a savior into this world for you. Take a moment to stand in awe and rest in His love!

You're Invited

You may be like me...you may have a heart for Africa and want to do more. Or you may be like I used to be...wondering what all the fuss is over Africa. Either way I am inviting you and your family to be a part of a FREE event where you will have to chance to see first hand the need in Africa, the precious people who live there, and maybe even learn what you can do to be a part of bringing hope where it is desperately needed.

I am inviting you to The World Vision Experience: AIDS. You can read below for more information and then I encourage you to watch a couple of the videos about the experience.

As a visitor to The World Vision Experience: AIDS, you will be taken through a 2,500 square foot interactive exhibit that takes you on a "virtual journey" through an African village to personally experience the lives of children affected by AIDS. This FREE tour will guide you through one of four children's stories of tragedy and triumph by using stirring audio and captivating photography. You will gain a new perspective on the greatest humanitarian crisis of our time... AIDS
Here are a few links that may be helpful to you and that you can use for your marketing.
Trailer video: http://www.worldvisionexperience.org/video_trailer.asp
Promo video: http://www.worldvisionexperience.org/video_preview.asp
For the more information about the experience, you can visit www.worldvisionexperience.org


It is being held at Springcreek Church in Garland during the week of
September 18-26. You can reserve FREE tickets any day between the hours of
9am -9pm...although I did notice that times are already starting to fill up!
Talk about a date night with a purpose, or a family outing that changes lives!

See you there!

Back Logged...

So this summer has been a crazy one! It has been filled with sweet moments with my husband in Orlando, fun times with my boys in San Antonio, the arrival of my new niece Addison, and so much more! There have been fun moments and those that were not so fun. God has also spoken so much to me this summer. I heard a sermon this summer where the pastor said that sometimes the only reaction we have to truth is silence. I think that is why my blog has been so quite this year...so many fun moments and so much truth that I just can't even put it into words.

But for memories sake I did want to post some of my favorite pictures from our time in San Antonio!

Helping Nonnie water the flowers!




I finally made a pie crust that stayed together...with my mom's help of course!

A day at the zoo!








The Children's Museum...our first and LAST visit...fun but CRAZY!






A trip to the Sweet Shop...a whole store of cupcakes!!:) The boys really enjoyed them...especially Kolson!



And of course lots of time was spent loving on this sweet girl!



Although Kolson wasn't too excited about that.


Fun Times!!