Welcome to the McKee Family blog! The purpose of this blog is to journal family memories & milestones, advocate for the orphan, & glorify our Father in heaven...
McKee Family
Habakkuk 2:3 "For the vision is yet for the appointed time; it hastens toward the goal and it will not fail. Though it tarries, wait for it; for it will certainly come, it will not delay."
Our first Science experiment, that was surprisingly easy and effective! Measuring density. Thank you Apologia Science!
I took Alex and Ansley to get their visa pictures taken this week. One more step closer!
And while we were at Walgree*s we checked out the goods. I actually had this exact same "perfume" in middle school! It says: "If you like Georgio, you'll love Primo." It smells terrible.
Trying to keep our little nudist happy while we do schoolwork!
Homeschool P.E.
Free Publix advertising.
Me and my new little nephew; Liam James... 1 week old and at his cousins football game! He was the star of the show!
Al's first home football game of the season. We lost;(
My big boy
Baseball season is back in full swing too. Aidan got sick mid-game and had to sit out. (check out little dude to the right! So typical of 1st graders!)
This was priceless. We had the big zoom lense on the camera, so it's blurry and you can't see it, but they are actually holding hands.
Tuesday's day of fasting was great. I woke up on Wednesday morning with a sense of renewed peace and clarity. I'm not going to get myself worked up over things I can't control. If we don't get every single assignment accomplished every day, OH WELL. I decided we may just have to school year around for a while. At least until I feel like we have some sort of rhythm and routine; which may never happen. Things are a bit hairy around here. We are doing ok, but it's just a new season of big changes. Not just for me and Matt, but for our whole family. I have 1 teenager going through you-know-what and 1 tween on her way. I have a busy 7 yr old and a preschooler. I'm not good at integrating Averleigh into our school days yet. I'm doing my best, but it's not easy with all the interruptions. She goes to Mom's Day Out 2 mornings a week and that is a lovely thing.
My "plan" all along has been to homeschool Ashlyn for many reasons. # 1 is for bonding purposes. But I am feeling lately like she may be very bored and misplaced at home with us all day long. Maybe it makes more sense to enroll her in the ESL program at the public school. I feel like the sooner we can get her speaking and understanding English, the better off she'll be. I have no idea how to teach anyone English. I also want for her to feel some normalcy. She is used to going to school every day.
If Abby's bonding happens quickly, I will enroll her in Mom's Day Out with Av. There is also a special ed. school down the street. I just want my girls to have the very best start in their new lives with us.
I'm praying through these decisions. We obviously won't know what we're doing for a while. Thankfully, we will be coming home during the holiday's, so it will give us some time to get adjusted and decide what we're doing after Christmas break is over.
We may just bury our heads in the sand for a while and decide next fall:)
This day has been needed for such a long time. I pray to the Lord daily...sometimes minutely:) but fasting is not something I have ever really done... well. I have many things that I'm taking to the feet of Jesus today. Many personal things, but also for people around me in battles of their own. This world is full of needs; big and small. The Bible says to "Cast your cares upon Him, for He cares for you". I am casting alot of cares upon Him today and waiting very expectantly for His answers. The biggest personal need right now is for $26,000 to find it's way into our account; somehow, some way. We only have a few short weeks until we travel. We are not currently fundraising. We had that huge garage sale at the beginning of our journey and that wiped us out. It went on for 5 long weekends. I also feel like we put the word out there to everyone we knew that our financial need was great. I don't want to go begging again. We are not in dire financial need. My husband makes a good living. But this is the beginning of our slow season.
Will you please pray that some big business comes our way? All it would take is 1 million dollar buyer or listing and we'd be set. Matt does have this one listing that's been on the market forever. It's over-priced at 2 million and has had maybe 2 showings since he listed it a year and a half ago. The owners are personal friends and wonderful people. They believe God has a buyer for them in the price they desire to get for it, even though Matt has been very honest and realistic with them. However, far be it for us to argue with people about what the Lord is telling them to do. Our God is great big God and nothing is impossible for Him.
Would you pray for a buyer for this home to come along?
There are some awesome prayer requests over at "A Place Called Simplicity".
Please take a few minutes to click on her link in my sidebar and pray for these brothers and sisters in Christ.
Here's the pictures I've been waiting all weekend for! I can not tell you what a relief it is to get these. I just needed to see her face. The updated pictures we receive from the orphanage are always so... I don't know how to explain it... They just never seem to be clear pictures of her. I can never see "into" them... As weird as that sounds. Every time I get a picture of her, I am longing to see this girl:
And I know she hasn't looked like this in 4 years. But this is the picture that stole my heart. Her countenance in this picture is breathtaking. So precious, isn't she? She's... my daughter.
Today I finally got that picture I've been waiting for...
Isn't she sweet?
And here's a cute one with her friends...
"Peace!" Coincidental that that's my prayer? Nope.
I am so thankful for these pictures. Logan said she was sweet and happy; laughing and having fun with her friends. She only got to spend a few minutes with her. No video:( Oh well. We will be there soon enough.
Matt and I are mentors to 6th grade boys and girls on Sunday nights at youth group. I LOVE LOVE LOVE my 6th grade girls. I have been teaching them since they were in 4th grade. They are AMAZING. Our youth group is AMAZING. I feel so incredibly blessed to be a part of what the Lord is doing in the lives of our junior high and high-schoolers.
As I sat there tonight, listening to Bob (youth pastor) teaching from the book of Acts & 2 Timothy, I realized that I needed his sermon as much as these kids do. Tonight we talked about the power of the Holy Spirit in our lives and I realized that in my fear, I have been denyig His power in my life.
2 Timothy 3:5 says...
"...in the last days...men will hold to a form of godliness, although they have denied its power."
I don't wanna be that guy.
If you haven't read my post before this one, please do so. We need prayer for peace and for God's great hand of provision. We still have a lot of money to come up with before we go to China. November is coming very quickly and we are about $25,000 away from the end of the tunnel.
It's been one of those weeks... or two. I'm starting to feel the weight of all that is coming. Dr. Oz says that taking long deep breaths, holding it in for 4 seconds, and then releasing it works wonders for stress. He obviously doesn't live in Florida, or he'd drown from all of the humidity. It's that time of year when I LONG for Autumn. Only problem is, we really don't have one here. Growing up in Tennessee was THE BEST. How my heart longs to smell the burning leaves and crisp breeze... not to mention the colors of the trees.
Anyhow, there has been a "thickness" in the air these past few weeks. So many friends are struggling with their adopted children. All I hear is how hard it is. I am a mental planner.I like to play senarios out in my mind and work them out. Like, how would I handle this and that should it arise. What if it's SO much harder than I've anticipated? But then there's also the possibility that it'll be better than I could've ever hoped for. I've even thought, with how much I've been mentally torturing myself, maybe (hopefully) it won't be as bad as I've braced myself for. Maybe this is the hardest part. probably not, I know. But just maybe...
I can't even begin to tell you how many conversations I've had with the Lord regarding these adoptions. I've never been more nervous about anything in my life. At the same time, I am ready and excited and I am trusting that His promise to never leave me is true.
On Tuesday, Linny at "A Place Called Simplicity" is leading a day of prayer and fasting. I'll be there!
Would you join me?
If you have been following our journey, would you consider taking this day to fast and pray for us? I will be praying for other things as well, so if you have any requests, please do share them and I will pray for you too.
My specific requests...
PEACE.
*Peace in my heart.
*Peace in my home.
*Peace in Ashlyn's heart, for all the change that's coming her way. That she will like us immediately and feel safe and loved and SPECIAL & CHOSEN.
*Peace in Abby's heart; that she will trust us and not be afraid of us.
*Peace for Matt, who is feeling the financial pressure BIG TIME.
*Peace for Alex, to trust us as his authority.
*Peace for Ansley to not take it personal if Ashlyn doesn't jump right into being her BFF.
*Peace for Aidan to not feel misplaced or left out while we go to China without him & Av.
*Peace for Averleigh as she meets her newest siblings; that she will not feel threatened by them in any way. That she will be ok sharing me.
*Peace in our marriage as we get ready for the biggest adventure of our lives; that we would be unified in all we do. That nothing would come between us.
I'm in the book of Isaiah right now. I have been somewhat confused, yes, but also encouraged by all that is in this great prophetic book.
"For the mountains may be removed and the hills may shake, but my LOVINGKINDNESS will not be removed from you, and my COVENANT of PEACE will not be shaken, says the Lord who has compassion on you." Isaiah 54:10 "Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name; you are Mine! When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they will not overflow you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be scorched, nor will the flame burn you. For I am the Lord your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior... Since you are precious in my sight, since you are honored and I love you, I will give other men in your place and other peoples in exchange for your life. Do not fear, for I am with you; I will bring your offspring from the east and gather you from the west..." Isaiah 43:1:5 "For I am the Lord your God, who upholds your right hand, Who says to you, 'Do not fear, I will help you.'" Isaiah 41:13
AND MY VERY FAVORITE:
"Do you not know? Have you not heard? The everlasting God, the Lord, the Creator of the ends of the earth does not become weary or tired. His understanding is unscrutable. He gives strength to the weary, and to him who lacks might He increases power. Though youths become weary and tired and vigorous young men stumble badly, yet those who wait for the Lord will gain new strength; they will mount up with wings like eagles, they will run and not get tired, they will walk and not become weary." Isaiah 40:28-31
Last, but not least...
Some of the gals from our agency (Lifeline) are in China right now with medical teams. Would you believe that out of ALL the orphanages in China, one of them went to Ashlyn's orphanage?! She was only able to meet with her briefly because Ashlyn was in school most of the day, but she did talk to her and get some pictures. She also passed on an email to the orphanage with a letter from us to Ashlyn and newer pictures. She was hoping to get some video of her too, but I don't think she did. I'm just waiting on her to email them to me and then I'll post them:)
God is so good.
My newest little nephew: Liam James
I LOVE BABIES!!!
For the past four years or so, Matt and I have been volunteering with a bunch of friends from church at Disney's "Night of Joy". I can't tell you how powerful it is to hear Christian music playing on the stages and down the streets of the Magic Kingdom. Seeing Cinderella's Castle all lit up with "Third Day" singing love songs to Jesus on it's stage is just "magical". This year we were stationed right on Main Sreet, so we got to hear Lecrae and Third Day perform. They were awesome! In case you were wondering what we do? We sell T-shirts. It's a very important job:) we get to be with peopel we like too, so it's not really a job at all. It's great fun.
Matt's good friends from College, the Giles'. We worked with them Friday and Saturday night and had a blast.
Me & Alex, waiting at the Grand Floridian for the monorail. See how tall he's getting!? He got to go watch Lecrae and hang out with his friends all night long.
Me & Matt sporting the new T's
Me and my sweet friend Christie
I didn't do a very good job taking pictures of everyone. All I had was my iPhone and it doesn't work in the dark. I took some videos, but haven't uploaded them to iTunes yet. Anyhow, it was another great year.
On another note...
Last week was our first official start of the new school year. Things went way better than I had even hoped for. There's always some tweaking that needs to take place, but all in all, I am happy with my choices and things went pretty smoothly. I highly recommend a website called "Chore Monster" as well, to all of you looking to buckle down on delegating chores to your little monsters:)
"Miss Enthusiasm" had a terrific first week! She even did extra math lessons!
This awesome guy has been a trooper. I'm so proud of him. More to come in another post about him.
This sweetheart woke up on the first day of school not feeling so well, so I let him go back to sleep for a bit. Then when he woke up, he was feeling great and ready to get to work.
Averleigh started "school" the week before the big kids, so she wasn't at home for our first official day. She goes Tuesday and Thursday mornings to the little church across the street and her BFF, cousin Jacob is in her class!
She was so excited and so proud.
Av & Jacob
Shy girl
Making new friends
Then there was the crouching dragon at my door. I had a tough time last week keeping my fears subdued. Fears for all that's coming down the road. The unknowns. But I'm beyond that now. I spent alot of time in prayer with Matt. It's going to be ok.
We also got a check in the mail from by BFF and her hubby on Friday. They asked if they could contribute to our adoption fund after we found out last week that we still have $26,000 to go. It was a bit of a shocker. This is all just travel expenses! Please pray for God's great hand of provision on us. He will make a way, I know.
Then God did something really special for us. I will share it with you as soon as possible...
We just adopted her from a couple in our small group. She's the sweetest thing. She's 8 yrs old. She's pee-pad trained; hasn't pee'd on the carpet yet! She's very smart. AND SHE DOESN'T BARK OR RUN AWAY!!!! The kids are smitten. (Really, it's Matt, but don't tell him I said so;)
After 3 dogs, 2 cats, & 1 guinea pig (who we still have), I think we've finally found the perfetc fit.
We are giving it 2 weeks before we commit, but we really like her. And boy, does this girl love her some car-rides.
Have you ever noticed that almost everything in life has a "flip side"? It reminds me of Newton's 3rd law of motion... "For every action there is an equal and opposite reaction".
I'm just thinking of the things I romanticize...
1.) Like marriage. It's such a gift. Such a blessing. A beautiful reminder of Christ and His love & provision for us. I can't imagine going through life without my husband. How lonely that would be. Marriage is so rewarding.
2.) Like homeschooling. We are so blessed to have this freedom. It allows me to be the boss of my time, money, and what my children are learning. AND it allows me the gift of being with them in a very purposeful way. Homeschooling is so rewarding.
3.) Like getting pregnant & giving birth. Is there ANYTHING more wonderful? I don't think so. growing belly, picking out the name, finding out if it's a boy or a girl, feeling the baby kick for the first time, hearing the little heartbeat, seeing the sonograms, holding the baby for the first time, seeing that precious face... I could go on and on... I love it all. Pregnancy is so rewarding.
4.) Like raising a family. It's the biggest marathon of life, isn't it? I never thought I'd ever be a marathon runner. But I'm still runnin'. It's an amazing rush. Raising a family is so rewarding.
5.) Like taking a new job. The anticipation of income, learning a new trade, the possibilities for success, the new friends and comrades... Work is so rewarding.
6.) Like ordering curriculum. I love books. LOVE them. Especially new ones. I love stacking them up and I love smelling them and I love getting them in the mail by the boxes-full. :) Weird, I know. Books are so rewarding.
7.) Like adopting. Seeing "that face" for the very first time. Receiving preliminary approval. Daydreaming about what they are like. Daydreaming about what life will be like with them in it. Coming up with a name. Dreaming about the plans God has for their life... The day they say "yes" to Jesus...Thinking about what it will be like to meet them for the very first time... How it's going to change our family for the better. Adoption is so rewarding.
8.) Like getting a new dog. Dogs are always a good idea, right? They ALWAYS love you. Dogs are so rewarding.
All of these things are so dreamy & romantic, aren't they? But there is a flip side to all of these things...
1.) Sometimes marriage can be really hard. Sometimes my husband isn't always my knight in shining armor. Sometimes he lets me down. Sometimes he makes me really mad. Sometimes I'm nothing like the wife I dreamt I'd be. I hate that.
2.) Sometimes (most of the time for me) homeschooling can be very very VERY hard. Sometimes I'm not prepared. Sometimes my kids don't want to do the work. Sometimes they complain. Sometimes they goof off. Sometimes they don't "get it". Sometimes I don't get it! Sometimes they interupt me. Sometimes I'm rushed for time. Sometimes we don't get it all done. Sometimes everyone is grumpy, including me. Sometimes I don't want to get up in the morning and do it all over again...
3.) Pregnancy was really hard for me. Long periods of "all day & night" sickness with all 4 babies. Lots of weight gain (40 pounds every time). Muscle aches, headaches, body aches, sleepless nights. Then there were the 4 c-sections & recoveries. I have no complaints about anything beyond that. My babies were amazing. Good sleepers. Good eaters. Very healthy.
4.) Sometimes raising a family can be very hard. Folly is bound up in the heart of every child. It takes a lot of patience and love and discipline to do a good job training them in righteousness. Sometimes I can be very lazy, impatient, and unloving. Sometimes my kids take advantage of my grace. Sometimes they argue (alot) and complain (alot) and don't clean up after themsleves (alot). Sometimes I look nothing like Jesus to my kids. I really hate that.
5.) Sometimes the new job turns out to be just as unfullfilling as the last. Sometimes it's hard to get along with those new friends and comrades. Sometimes the pay isn't as good as it first sounded. Sometimes the learning curve is harder than anticipated. Sometimes the boss turns out to be a not.so.nice.person.
6.) New curriculum is many times more appealing sitting on the shelf:) Sometimes it's so confusing! They are all different and so wordy! Just tell me exactly what to say and which page to find that on please! And for heaven's sake, just keep it simple!!! I don't need 20 different choices in phonics games! :)
7.) ADOPTION... I have been hearing a lot of hard stuff lately. Too much hard stuff. I've been buried in denial for the past several months and the light of day is really bright. I can't open my eyes yet. It's too much to consider. What if she's crazy? What if she hates us? What if she wants to hurt my kids? What if she drives us crazy? What if I have no affection for her? What if we regret it? There is a serious hard flip side to adoption and so many suffer in silence. Will I be silent? Will I share too much? Will we be judged like so many others? Will we be ignored or lonely like so many others? What Lord? What will our story look like? Will we make it to the new normal?
8.) Another story for another day:)
So that's what was brewing in my head today as I was doing my dishes in complete silence... ALONE IN A QUIET HOUSE. I love quiet. I love being alone. It's getting ready to get louder in my house and I'm getting ready to lose most of my alone time. Maybe forever.
The flip side of that is that I will hopefully look back on my life knowing that I gave it my all. I left no stone unturned. I said "yes" even while I was shaking in my boots. So unworthy. So inadequate. So imperfect. Yet... Somehow, He makes all things work together for His good. ALL THINGS to those who love Him and are called according to HIS purpose. AndHe rejoices over us and He relates to our sufferings. He's such a good and gracious and longsuffering God.
A letter from my best friend, Tracy, in response to an email I got from a fellow adopter. The names are changed to protect their privacy...
We are here for you every step-no judgment, just love, prayers and
understanding.
I
had another thought after reading what "Betsy" wrote, that still, even if they
don’t experience significant changes with "Katie", that it is STILL better that
she has a family than not. No matter what, that she still had the family life
experience. That is what God desires for all people, that is the way he designed
our earthly lives, to have an experience of having lived in loving community.
And
for the rest of us, to share in that hurt and struggle that damages so many who
haven’t had that experience gives us a glimpse into why we should be SO thankful
for our circumstances in life and not take them for granted. It is
important. More than we can know.
In
all, all of the mess, when we are stretching for God’s will to be our will and
courageously taking the steps to do it, we must have confidence that His grace
will carry us through and transform everything.
We
love you dear, dear, no DEAREST, friends.
I love her perspective. Maybe adoption isn't about me and Matt. Maybe it's just about Ashlyn and Abby. Maybe it's about Jesus leaving the entire "found" flock for that one lost sheep.
Regardless, the one thing I pray for the most? For the Lord to work a miracle in the hearts of our girls. That He will make room in their broken hearts for Him. That I will love them fiercely as I do my own.
