Life is GOOD!!

On October 30, Phillip and I journeyed to the GA/FL game in Jacksonville. For those of you who don't know, Phillip is a HUGE GA fan. Me...don't really care. But I offered to go with him and he jumped at it! Although, the end result wasn't what Phillip had hoped for, we had a GREAT time. Even I got into the game.



Waiting outside the stadium amid the chaos



Inside the stadium!!

November Update!! 

We have been rejoicing around the Herrington home. On November 6, 2010, Emma prayed and asked Jesus to be her boss and savior. What a glorious time. We were able to pray together as a family. She came to us and said, "Today's the day!" We have been encouraging her and making sure she understands. Her words to me, "I get it mom!" I love that girl!



We had a wonderful Thanksgiving. Busy...but good. We spend some time Saturday with my Granny B and Aunt Pat. We don't get to see them much so we enjoyed our visit.

My sister flew in from Chicago and spent a few days of one-on-one time with Emma. Emma had a blast.

They really are two peas in a pod...

We are hitting the Christmas season full force. Our calendars are full and our stress levels are high! However, we are committed to the true meaning of Christmas and will make sure that shines throughout all our activites.

Jack Update:

He's doing well. The orphanage has remained Cholera free and are taking lots of precautions to remain that way. A team from Jacksonville was at the orphanage the week of Jack's birthday so they celebrated with him and a few others that had birthdays that week. Pictures are supposed to be coming :)

We are just waiting, STILL. Due to the elections, paperwork seems to be at a standstill. We are hoping to at least find out what stage we are in before Christmas. However, we continue to be confident of the road God has us on. Even in the times when I'm discouraged, saddened and frustrated, I'm reminded that God is in control.  Keep praying!!! We are anxiously awaiting Jack's arrival.

We are headed to Haiti December 27-January 3. We can't hardly wait. The only thing that would make the trip AWESOME would be if Emma was with us but she's not ready for a trip that this yet. Maybe one day, she and Jack can go to Haiti together to offer the only true hope!! We will be traveling with a team of 10 from our church. Pray for our team as we continue to prepare for our journey.

But wait...if we were able to bring Jack home with us...that indeed would be the best trip ever. We are not counting on that but we are praying specifically for that. We are more and more reminded every day how big our God is. He is way bigger than some paperwork. If he wants Jack to come home with us in January...it will happen!!



Happy Birthday Jack

Happy Birthday Jack!

 Today Jack turned 3. We hoped he would have been home for this birthday but not yet. There will be many more celebrations with him later. There will be a HUGE one when he finally gets to come home.

Life goes on

Well, I must say that blogging is not my strongpoint. Sorry to those of you who wait for an update. Our life is crazy busy and I don't always find the time to blog. So...today Emma and I were having a PJ day while Phillip hunts the GREAT WHITE DEER but Emma decided to join him this afternoon. So, I have a little quiet time and I thought I would try to update a little.

Phillip had a great time in Brazil. He made it back without any sickness (WooHoo) and and partnership with a village there. Hopefully our church and another church in our area will try to make several trips a year to the village. I will try to get him to post on that trip. I know I will not be able to do it justice.

 

Emma had her first dance show of the year. We went to a local retirement community and performed for the nursing home residents. She did great. She is definitely more interested in jazz than anything else. She is loving dance. She like to move it...move it. Waiting to see what God has in store for our girl. She is indeed one of a kind :)

She also is developing a love of exploring. She wants to know how everything works. Yesterday she was analyzing the fire pit...notice she has on her BB gun goggles and her old bath robe. We just had to laugh. She is so FUNNY. Thank you Lord for reminding us everyday just how wonderful life is. We are so thankful for a healthy daughter who find life and love in everything. May we follow her example as we live out our lives everyday.

 I know what you are really looking for is an update on Jack. Well...no news is good news is our philosophy. We haven't heard anything in several weeks but Haitian communication is not timely or consistant.

I just found out today that Jack has a sponsor in GA. I was able to send him a facebook message today and we briefly communicated. So thankful that someone took his picture and sent him little gifts throughout the year. Here is a recent picture of him receiving one of those gifts. Maybe when he gets home, we can take him to that church and let them meet. The world is so small and God continues to remind us just how small the world is.

I'm sure you have heard of the Cholera outbreak in Haiti. Please continue to pray for this country. We heard from the missionaries at the orphanage this morning and they are all ok. They are taking the necessary precautions and inventoring all medications. There have been cases in a village called Arachaie which is about 15 minutes north of  the orphanage. There also has been one confirmed death in Cabaret which is about 5 minutes south of them. Please pray the children will remain healthy. I'm so thankful for the full-time missionaries that are now at the orphanage. I'm confident that God has give them the ability to handle all these situations . Thank you for praying!

We must Go!!!

Phillip leaves Live Oak at 2am (yes...am) Thursday to head down the Amazon River in Brazil. He will be leading other members of our church on a 10 day mission trip. They are excited about arriving and seeing all the God has in store for them. Please remember to pray for him and the rest of the team.

This will be Phillip's 5th trip to Brazil. He deeply loves the people along the Amazon. I'm excited to hear the stories when he returns of all that God did and is still doing. Pray that the team will be able to find that "significant contact" that will continue to make a difference long after the team returns to Live Oak.

He will be greatly missed here but I understand the command to GO! Who am I to stand in his way of what God has commanded us to do! We must GO...

For more information on the ministry and what God is doing along the Amazon River Basin, visit http://www.amazonvisionministries.com/

I'll post favorites when he gets back :)

Thanks for praying!!!



I'm still here...

Well, it's been a while. We have been really busy around the Herrington home. Finishing all our summer activities, getting ready for school. Wow, the summer flew by.

On August 23, 2010, both Emma and I went back to school. Emma started 2nd grade and I started working again at the Primary School and on finishing my college degree. It's been quite an interesting few weeks. Emma and I both having to get back into a routine and finding the time to do homework. I'm excited about my school. 15 years ago, when I started college, I would have never thought about going into the field of education. I knew I wanted to be in business and that's the route I began. However, God had other plans. Now I know without a doubt that I want to make a difference in the lives of children. I want to see them succeed in the little things in order for them to have enough confidence to succeed in the big things.

Enough about me...Emma is off and running. She seems to be adjusting well to 2nd grade. There is a huge difference between 1st and 2nd and we were not quite ready for all that. Things are improving week byweek. We have a great teacher and she is making new friends. She started back dancing and loves it!! It does help that her best friend is in class with her. We have been told that Emma has lots of rhythm and we need to point that rhythm in the right direction. Between drums and dance, she should be able to use her rhythm. Awana started back last Wednesday and we were so ready. This is Emma's last year as a Spark and her goal is to finish the book and receive the Sparky award :)

Jack Update:

We were told last week that all was ready for submission to the IBESR. There was some road blocks due to proper identification of his family and such. We still aren't really sure about all of that but know that his picture was delivered with proper paperwork needed for submission. Pray that all is processed quickly without hestitation. We are headed back to Haiti in December with a team from our church. We are super excited to get to see Jack again (unless of course Jack is home by then...which would be awesome). We are praying that if Jack isn't home then that maybe we can bring him back with us. We don't have any idea if that is even possible but our God is bigger than any government and in His time, Jack will come home. 

 Keeping praying that we will keep our eyes on God during the wait. He continues to remind us in the little steps that He is in control. May we not loose sight of that. We have days when we are frustrated, days when we are discouraged, sometimes even days when we are angry at the system. We have been alienated by some, talked about by most, encouraged by some and ignored by some but through it all, we remain confident in Him that we are following in obedience to what God has commanded us to do!

Our son is waiting on us and we are waiting on him. Our love for Jack grows deeper and deeper with every day. Emma is so in love with her brother (that she has never met) and the compassion that continues to develop in her is amazing. That, in inself, is enough for us. Thank you Lord that You never cease to amaze us! 

Yes, this is my son on the right. And yes, he is doing what you thing he is doing.
I was told he was teaching the new kid how to take care of business!
I have a lot to learn about boys! It's going to be real interesting around the Herrington house!
But I wouldn't trade it for the world!

From a blog I follow: Just a few thoughts that reminded me again today (one of my frustrated days) that this is all way bigger than me and my emotions :)

While we wait for the perfect timing...

they hope they can wait another day.
While we wait for more money...
they wait with nothing.
While we wait for a bigger home with enough room...
they wait for room in our hearts.
While we wait for others approval...
they wait with any dignity they can find.
While we wait for the ideal child....
they wait knowing they are not.
While we wait trying to decide if we can manage another...
they wait trying to manage on their own.
While we wait to see how much we have to give to them...
They are waiting to give us even more.
While we wait for God to provide...
He waits for us to take the first step...
We must NEVER use 'waiting to hear from Him' as an excuse for not doing what He has ALREADY commanded in the bible for us to do... proclaim the truth, care for orphans, serve others, be His hands of justice for the poor, and show compassion.
So, what are you waiting for??
From Building the Blocks Blog

We Vogel...do You?

Ahh! We just returned from our annual two week camping trip at Vogel State Park. It was a great time of refreshing and renewing. Emma, being the "shy" kid, spent the entire two weeks meeting new friends, riding her bike, and spending time at the "beach".  Some nights we would have to walk around the campground to meet all the families of the kids Emma had met. She loved every minute of it.

We have often said that Vogel is a verb. That confuses a lot of people. Vogel State Park is nuzzled in the North GA mountatin and you can just chill. There are paddle boats, putt-putt course, playgrounds, streams, beach...No schedule...we LOVE IT.

The stream right in front of our camper...

We eat breakfast around 11am...that's right, everyone around else was fixing lunch but we were frying up bacon...yummy. Most of the time we skipped lunch and would just have snacks at the beach. Then my wonderful husband would cook us up something on the grill. He is a master on the grill :)

She's such a funny girl :)

People have asked me what we did for 2 weeks. Well the answer is, we Vogel. I highly recommend it.

Isn't this beautiful !!!

My favorite girl!

Almost every year, we head to Cleveland to the famous Cabbage Patch Hospital. Every year, we leave without one. Except this year...Phillip finally caved in and agreed to let Emma adopt a baby. It was quite an experience. We walked around the "hospital" to let Emma find just right one and then began the adoption process. Oh my...she had to raise her right hand and everything...Here is Emma with Kara Elizabeth...

Jack Update:

There is no real new news on our adoption. All we know is that they are still processing paperwork...granted we are not sure who they is :)

We are learning a lot about ourselves through this process. We are also learning alot about God. Thank you Lord for the constant reminders that You are in control and You walk this road with us. Keep us focused on You. I pray we walk each step in obedience with You. Here are a few pictures sent to us by the last team that went to Haiti...remember to visit http://www.jbahaiti.org/ to see what's happening with the ministry.

There are 45 other children at Cabaret Baptist Children's Home in Bercy, Haiti. They are all beautiful children. They all just want someone to love them. Many need sponsors to help with daily needs...all of them need loving families. What is your part? Are you willing to help care for these? What can your family do to make a difference in the life of an orphan? I encourage you to pray and ask God how He wants to use you and your family to impact the life of a child?

Need a good read? I HIGHLY RECOMMEND:

Adopted For Life: The Priority of Adoption for Christian Families and Churches

 written by Dr. Russell Moore. This is NOT a how-to book on adoption. This is not just for those who are considering adoption. This book caused me tears, laughter, and a deeper look at my own relationship with Christ. I am still processing some of the things God showed me in this book.

One reviewer states: As a church, we're called to be at the forefront of adoption. This book would be a good place to start for anyone who wants to know how he or she can respond being an adopted child of God. Not everyone is called to adopt. But we're all called to participate. As Moore writes, "The Father adopts children, and we're called to be like Him. Jesus cares for orphans, and we're being conformed into His image. If you're in Christ, you're called to be involved in this project somehow."

I would be happy to allow you to borrow my copy...however, I've already loaned it out. You will have to get on the list :)

So...you wanted me to tell our story

After many requests from friends, I will attempt to tell you our adoption story, the short version. It has been quite a journey of faith and waiting...


In January 2008, I had the privilege to go to Haiti with our church on a medical mission trip. However, I have no medical experience. I didn't even realize it was a medical trip until our packing day one week before the trip. I guess God covered my ears during all the discussions of medical aspect because He knew I would decide to cancel my trip.

People seemed so afraid for me to take this journey. Haiti was SO dangerous or so people thought...never once did I feel uncomfortable or scared. Thank you Lord for your presence. Phillip wasn't sure about this trip. It was my first international trip without him and he too was concerned about the safety of me going to Haiti. But, he heard my earnest desire to go to Haiti and knew I would not go without full understanding that I was supposed to. My parents were not real thrilled with the idea but supported me fully. Anywho...

We when arrived in Haiti, on Monday, we unpacked our bags and settled in. We got everything ready for the medical clinic that was to begin on Tuesday. Then, we journeyed downstairs to the children's quarters and started loving on kids. Oh My Goodness...all they wanted was for you to wrap your arms around them and hug them. Think about your own kids and how much you love on them daily...these children have no one to love on them or tell them how special they are. I still remember the smiles and yearning in their eyes like it was yesterday...

On Tuesday, we began the medical clinic. Since I have zero medical skills, I got the privilege to work in the Pharmacy. I do know how to count...so I could be used here. However, after an hour or so, the missionary brought in a limp, lethargic little boy that was severely malnourished. She handed him to me and said I was his mommy for the week. He was completely my responsibility. My thoughts...no, not me. I don't do babies. Not me, I didn't come to babysit for the week. No, not me...I don't have a nurturing bone in my body. I don't have a lot of compassion...he doesn't speak English...he is too sick...my list went on and on in my head.

But, what's the key to being on mission?  Flexibility...so I took this boy in my arms and IMMEDIATELY fell in love. I spent the rest of the week taking care of this little boy. The aunt told us that his name was Jackenson but I called him Jack Jack and it stuck. Some of the other team members called him Peanut because all he would eat was Peanut Butter. The orphanage still calls him Jack Jack.

When Monday came back around and it was time to leave, emotions rose up in me that I had never felt before. Fear set in for the life of this little boy. How would he make it without me making sure he ate. Sadness overwhelmed me. I had fallen in love with this little Haitian boy and the thought of leaving him in a country with no food and no family caused great heartache. I've never been known to be real emotional but this day I was completely overwhelmed. It was a long ride from the orphanage in Bercy to Port Au Prince. I think I cried the whole trip.

Of course, when I arrived back home, I began to pour my heart out to Phillip about the necessity of going to get Jack Jack and make him part of our family.
However, Phillip was not even close to that. We had spoken of adoption before but God hadn't brought Phillip to that place yet. I cried out of sadness. I cried out of anger. I cried out of frustration. I cried out of fear.

Phillip and I went through some very tough times as a couple due to us being in two different places. After several months of frustration on both our parts, we agreed to pray about this separately. I promised not to bring up the subject of adoption again. We agreed to pray and come back together and discuss when we both had spent lots of time with the Lord about it. My prayer was that God would either change my heart or bring Phillip to the point where I was. But I knew that we had to come together on this decision and we had to be willing to move forward with whatever answer we received.

Well...needless to say God began to speak to both of us separately. In November (10 months later), Phillip went to the Florida Baptist Convention. All he said when he got home was that everywhere he turned, he was hit in the face with the positives of adoption. We said there were booths all over the convention dealing with adoption. All I said was, "really." I still didn't push the issue.

We also received a call one Saturday afternoon asking us if we would be interested in adopting a little Hispanic baby. The parents were both under 15 and wanted it to go to a good home. Phillip and I discussed it and to my surprise, he said for us to do the research and meet with them. Well, as you can tell, that situation never worked out but I'm convinced it was just a stepping stone for us.

Since my trip in 2008, I had a sense of urgency to get back to Haiti. I fell in love not only with Jack Jack and the other kids but also with the people of Haiti. They so much needed to hear about the only real hope. I went through many arguments with God as to why I didn't have the opportunity to return to Haiti. Our church sent three other teams during my season of waiting and the trips never worked out for me to go. Well...now I know :)

God continued to work in both Phillip and I and we came to the understanding that adoption was the way we are to expand our family. Phillip says that we did not choose adoption; God commanded us to do it and we have no choice but to follow Him in obedience.

We started the paperwork in January. I remember Phillip waking me up in the middle of the night and telling me we had to go get Jack Jack. I don't do middle of the night so I was completely out of it. I really didn't get it. But he shook me to wake me up, looked me in the eyes and said, "We have to go get our son." Tears began to fall (they are falling now) and we began to pray for God to lead us each step of the way.

There are way too many God moments to mention but an ah ha moment...
January 12, 2010--massive earthquake hit Haiti (as if you didn't know that)
January 12, 2010--Phillip turned 35
Haiti's #1 requirement on the adoption checklist is that one parent must be 35. Of course, I married an older man so Phillip just met that requirement :)
We didn't even realize this until a week or so after we filed our paperwork. Thank you Lord for one more reminder that we are taking the right steps.


Well..
In March 2010, Phillip and I both were able to lead a team to Haiti to help rebuild from the earthquake. Needless to say, this trip was full of emotion for both of us. This would be Phillip's first opportunity to meet his son and my first reunion with Jack Jack since January 2008. My prayer was that my emotions would not get in the way of what God wanted us to accomplish on this trip. The purpose of the trip was not the adoption...it was to be used by God to bring hope to a nation of hopelessness. However, Jack Jack was just an added benefit. We stayed at the orphanage where Jack Jack lives. We were able to spend every evening with him. We were able to rock him to sleep at night. I'm not sure he had been rocked to sleep since I was there in 2008. We were able to love on him and God confirmed in our hearts that we were on the right road. There was an immediate connection between the three of us and Jack Jack would look for us when we came in the gates from our day and run to us. He would reach his arms up for us to pick him up and give us a huge smile and stare into our eyes with those beautiful dark eyes of his own. Oh My goodness...I'm weeping as I write this...

We are moving on in our process. Our dossier is already in Haiti. Our facilitator is hard at work moving our paperwork through the necessary steps. We are anxiously awaiting Jack's arrival at our home. We are currently working on his room. He will have a nice "boy" room to come home too.

Thank you so much for your prayers with us through this process. Though the waiting is hard and at times frustrating, we know God's timing is perfect and we will wait on Him through all this. We know that God will watch over Jack Jack. I know that Jack Jack gets at least 2 meals a day (which is more than most in Haiti) and gets some interaction while teams are there.

We can't wait to introduce you all to our son, Jackenson Pierre Herrington. But you can call him Jack!

A little catch up work...

It's been a while but a few things have been happening...

June 13 we headed to Orlando for the Southern Baptist Convention.

We stayed at Disney's Fort Wilderness. Upon arriving at check-in, we were greeted with a big HOWDY by the staff. My darling Emma looked at me and said, "I could never work here because I will NOT say HOWDY." We just busted out laughing...she keeps us in stitches. Tuesday evening our dear friends from seminary, Jim and Beth Collins and their children, came to campground and we grilled burgers and swam. It was nice to catch up with them. 10 years has been a long time :(
Wednesday am we decided to head to Typhon Lagoon to cool off. We had about 5 hours until the rain came in but we had to head back to convention anyway.
Thursday...long day. We arrived at Magic Kingdom at 8am. We watched the opening and then headed straight to Space Mountain (before line got too long.) Emma loved it so much that we rode it again that night.

We had a wonderful day at the Kingdom. Even though the crowd was large, we were able to do all that we wanted. Thursday night we had reservations at the Hoop De Do Musical Revue.  Oh My Goodness...it was AWESOME.  We haven't laughed that hard in such a long time. Emma was completely engaged and laughing out loud...

After dinner, we headed back to the Kingdom to close it down. We watched the parade and got back to the camper around midnight...exhausted of course. GREAT FAMILY DAY!!!

Friday we packed up and headed home...Boo.

But I left for CENTRI-KID camp on Saturday...not much time to process Disney because we left the church at 5am. That's right...am. Whoa! I'm not the morning person but we made it. Had a great week of camp. Thank you Ms. Debbie and kids for a great week.                                                                                             

We did hear from our adoption agent today. There have been a few problems with Jack Jack's family and their lack of official identification. This comes from a country where Jack was born in a mud hut with no doctor, there are no jobs, no food, etc...but the family needs "official IDs." Our faciliator is working with the family to make sure this is taken care of quickly. Keep praying God continues to move our paperwork...Here's a new pic of Jack Jack we downloaded from the ministry's website. I can't wait to get my arms around him again...