It’s sometimes difficult to find time to write as the weather gets nice and a person wants to be outdoors.  Right now it’s just after 0700 am,  the kids are still in bed and my husband has gone to work so here I am, enjoying a coffee and some quite time.

Our family suffered a loss early in the week.  Our cat, Fish, left us after almost 11 years at our home.  We don’t really know how old he actually was.  He came to us as an adult stray, painfully thin with signs of mistreatment and we loved him from the start and he stayed.  I went outside on Monday morning to feed the chickens and he didn’t come out of his little house. He had passed away sometime in the wee hours.  I have to say, I shed a few tears.  I know he was only a cat but he was a faithful friend too.  He was the one who came to meet me when I came home late from work some nights after midnight and rubbed around my legs as if to say ‘hi’ and ‘welcome home’.  He came for walks with us all the time and was so good with our kids and grandkids.  Thankfully Chips joined our family just in time. Rob made a grave and we buried him in the bushes by Niamh’s garden.

Ok! Updates! Some of you have been asking:  Praise items so far:  Our home study is approved and signed off on and completed. Thank You Jesus.  We paid the last of our Manitoba fees on Tuesday last and we are so thankful to have had those finances on hand to do this. Medicals are completed and signed off on.  In fact, All the paperwork we needed to complete for our dossier is with our agency and out of our hands and hopefully will be on its way to Ukraine very soon.

Our plant fundraiser on the evening of Monday 17th June 2019, was a great success! 13 Ladies gathered at Ivy Ridge Greenhouse in St. Anne, Manitoba to make planters to take home and enjoy.  Trish (and her husband who you may remember are in the final stages of adopting 3 beautiful kiddos) gave up her wedding anniversary and brought along 6 ladies from Pansy to support this!  Thank you Trish (and Mike too who freely gave up his evening with his wife so she could come).  Please continue to pray for them as they prepare to pick up their kiddos in the next few days.

Niamh used her artistic skills and had fun creating Alysons planter and at the end of the evening, something happened that made me cry!  Betty-Ann (Mikes mom and Trish’s mother in law) asked Niamh if she could be her ‘Grandma‘! Niamhs face lit up like a candle and I have to say I was taken aback by Betty-Anns’ generosity in how she has such a big heart to share herself. (For a little background, all our parents live far away and although Niamh gets to see at least one grandma each summer, it’s not the same as having one just down the road).  I know Niamh loves her other grandmas and she loves Betty-Ann too. This is just so cool!

On June 21st and 22nd, our Fund Raising Committee, headed by Alyson and Thea, organized a garage sale to raise funds. The sale did amazing! Marion W. took what wasn’t sold at the first sale and made almost the same amount by having another one at her home a few days later. A HUGE ‘Thank you‘ to everyone who helped, donated and came along to buy to support our adoption! Not forgetting Harold and Dave who helped clean up afterwards. We could not do this without all your generosity! It really does take a village! 

Last Saturday evening was ‘The Man or Mouse Challenge”. Alyson initially had trouble convincing 2 victims (aka volunteers) to compete against each other to walk across Lego and live mousetraps, blindfolded to collect bean bags and bring them to a designated area. Loser got a pie in the face! Anyway, Garth Koop and Trevor Esau bravely took up the challenge and the photos below speak for themselves. Garth was a good sport as he took his pie in the face.

Cake Auction to follow and Devon Peters did a wonderful job as auctioneer! Good job I had to work or I may have gained a few extra pounds. Rob took the kids along and they had fun bidding. I had fun baking 2 Irish Apple Pies before I went to work.

Our Fundraising Committee is taking a well deserved break for July and we will resume again in August with what we hope is a Sponsored Bed Push. Keep following for more details coming soon.

Rob and I are rushing to get our home finished. Bedrooms are almost completed. Conor moved into his new one last week. He was SO excited to have a room to himself that he doesn’t have to share and took great pride in organizing his closet. We are exceeding thankful for how God is working all things out. He has a plan that is WAY bigger than ours.

Niamh has her first summer job. Babysitting niece Sophie one day a week. Shes so pumped she gets paid to do this! Before anyone thinks we take a baby on a quad, she’s just sitting on it for the photo:)

As already said, please continue to pray for our kids in the Ukraine, waiting in an orphanage for us to come for them, for the process that there would be no delays and for the finances that they would come in as needed. For us as a family here and that all would come together in a timely fashion. Let us not focus on the things that don’t matter,

As the Apostle Paul said about his walk with Jesus, in the book of Philippians chapter 3 verses 13- 14. ‘But one thing I do, forgetting what’s behind, I press on towards the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus’.