Resolutions with eyes wide open

Please read this post as you consider the upcoming year.

May we acknowledge our need for Christ every day and live to glorify Him.

Naomi

Waiting

A little over 2,000 years ago the Jewish people were waiting. Waiting for their king to arrive. The king that the prophets of old proclaimed would come. He came, many of them did not recognize Him and denied that He was who He said He is. They thought He would be born of human royalty. A prince. He came instead humbly without a place to lay His head. He came to save the world.

For 33 years He walked this earth sinless. Serving the lowly, the sick, the widow, the orphan. Only to die a terrible death. But the story doesn't end there. Three days later, He was raised from the dead just as the prophets foretold. For 40 days after his resurrection He walked this earth once again, seen by a number of witnesses who would later retell the story of Jesus. He left this earth on a hillside, but before He left, He told his disciples that one day, soon He was coming back.

His church is now waiting for His second return. Are you ready? Have you accepted the Gift God so freely gave? The gift of His Son, born in a manger, born to die...for you.  Are you living a life pleasing to the Lord? What have you done with the story of Jesus? Is it just a fable to you? If you haven't accepted Jesus as your Savior, you can do it right now, before it's too late. Choose to follow Him, believe on Him, allow Him to be the Lord of your life and allow Him to change you completely. I promise that He will take you places you never thought possible, if you let Him.

O come, o come Emmanuel.

Adoption Update

Well..........there isn't an update to report...yet. For those of you just joining us on this journey, I thought I would take a moment to fill you in. We were moving along quite quickly on our adoption journey, especially for Haiti, when we had the unexpected and tragic death of our adoption processor. We knew at the time that his loss would probably halt the process for a while. We realize now how devastating the loss of Kiki was to Maison. It's taken some time for everybody to readjust. We are hopeful though that it won't be long until we have some good news to report. The good news that we are waiting to hear is that we have an adoption decree. That is a huge step and once it's completed, the U.S. side of things starts to kick in. I know many of you are praying and please know that we feel your prayers and are thankful that we have so many family and friends fighting this battle with us.

Waiting is hard, but knowing that Lydie and Samson are in a place where they are loved and well-cared for makes the waiting a little bit easier. This is all out of our control. There is comfort in that. God knows our hurts, He knows our needs. Despite the loss of Kiki, we have been so blessed in this process. From making countless lifelong friends, to having our eyes opened to the needs of this world, to having a relatively smooth adoption so far, we are grateful. Every adoption is a miracle. Before the earthquake it was taking Haitian children sometimes 3+ years to come home to their families. The official clock began ticking for us a little over one year ago and we are nearing the end. It hasn't been an easy road for everybody we know. These things I don't understand. Any news we may receive about our process will feel bittersweet because we have dear friends who are waiting too.

We were overwhelmed and overjoyed by unexpected pictures received tonight by Elisabeth who we met at the Port Au Prince airport in March (total God meeting!)

I found this picture of Samson (it's kind of like a scavenger hunt sometimes!) from this blog.

Isn't he cute?

A few new pictures

Thanks once again goes to my beautiful Team Haiti friends who took these pictures on a recent family bonding trip. 

The word is out!

I sent a little sample of jewelry with Stephen today to show his colleagues. He's in a building full of ladies. There was a lot of interest and he has already sold several items!

A couple of my Haiti adoption friends kindly pointed out to me that the thing I thought was a very long necklace is actually Christmas tree garland. That makes a bit more sense!! I'm sure it would be beautiful strung around a Christmas tree!

I don't know how long these items will last, but it's not too late!!

Beautiful Jewelry

If you have had a chance to watch the Apparent Project video, you have seen how the beautiful Haitian Artisans make their beads. They used recycled materials such as cereal boxes. When I received my shipment of products to sell on Monday, I was stunned at the beauty of each piece. Each one is uniquely handcrafted. I'm so excited to be able to help the people of Haiti in this way. The Apparent Project's mission is to provide a means for mothers and fathers to keep their children so they don't have to take them to an orphanage for financial reasons.

These are perfect Christmas gifts! The box I received on this shipment is not for our adoption fundraising. If I have success selling these items, I may choose to receive a box of bracelets to sell in the future.  If you see an item you just have to have, please let me know!  Most of the items comes with a bio on the artist who made it which makes them extra special!

Christmas Tree Ornaments (Stephen loves these! $8)

Small bag for credit cards, passports, etc. $6

Earrings $5 (I have many different colors to choose from)

Key Chains $5

Cross ornaments $5

Child's bracelets $5

Christmas garland $25

Bracelets $5-6

More bracelets 

Short Necklaces $14

Short necklace $15 The artist who made this, Elinord, is a single mother of two who has suffered much in life including being the victim of domestic abuse. She is currently homeless and trying to save enough money to rent a home. She is one of the hardest working women in the Apparent Project program and is extremely intelligent with so much potential!

Short Necklaces $14

Short Necklaces

Long Necklaces $18-$22

Long Necklace (close-up is picture above)

Long Necklace $22 (reaches below my belly button)

Long Necklace $18

Long Necklace

Long Necklace

Long Necklace $18 (Nathan made this. He was orphaned by his mother's death as a boy. His father has done his best to raise Nathan and his two brothers in very harsh conditions. Remarkably, Nathan has been able to finish 11th grade and wants to use his earnings to finish school and go on to university.

I have 160 items to sell so there is lots to choose from! 

Apparent Project

Several of my Team Haiti friends started selling jewelry made by Haitians and provided by the ministry The Apparent Project.  I decided to jump on the bandwagon and start selling the jewelry too! Items from The Apparent Project have even been featured in Vogue. It is a wonderful opportunity to give to the people of Haiti and help our adoption in the process! Half of the proceeds go to the maker of the item and the other half goes toward our adoption expenses.




These make perfect Christmas gifts! If you are interested, please let me know! I will be receiving my shipment early this week.  I will post pictures of some of the items as soon as I can.

Regimens

I am terrible with regimens and schedules and I love to procrastinate.

So why am I signed up for a one-month treatment plan to ease headaches and neck pain?

I am signed up for Living Social (which I LOVE) and when I received a deal for a one hour massage for $20, I was all over that!

I had the best massage I think I've ever had and they offered a free chiropractic consultation. What's the harm in that?

Doc took an x-ray and determined I have a bit of arthritis in my cervical spine. My posture is terrible and my neck and upper back are weak.  He recommended physical therapy, chiropractic manipulation and massage 3 times per week for 4 weeks. Yikes! Thankfully I have good insurance.

Did I tell you I can't stick to regimens?

Poor Stephen. I'm set up for appointments from now until 2012 which means we won't be getting home until 7:30 three nights per week.

I had my first session tonight. I can tell you honestly I haven't felt this good in a long time. We'll see if it lasts. It's probably not normal to experience a headache almost every day, ringing in the ears, and other issues. Instantly after doc manipulated my neck my ears popped and I could hear as clear as a bell! I was in shock!  I had gone to my regular MD before Haiti and he had given me steroids for my ears which didn't do a single thing.

Tonight I sit on my couch, head in alignment, ice pack on my neck.  If history repeats, this will last, mmmmmm 2 weeks.

But, I really do want to be a good little patient. And I do want to feel better. Maybe this is a way to pass the time while we wait for our kids to get here. Heaven knows, I need all the distractions I can get!

New page added

When I discussed my blog with a dear friend, she mentioned that people might be interested in our home remodel we completed a few years ago. I finally got the chance to scan some old photos and organize them and post them. p.s. Google Blogger, you didn't make this very easy.

It's quite lengthy so grab a cup of coffee, or a bagel and enjoy. You can link to it here or at the top of my blog in the tabbed section.

Happy Thanksgiving!!

Ms. Angie

Angie, along with the nannies at Maison is the mother figure to our two children right now. I don't know if I can really put into words the gratefulness I have in my heart for Angie and the nannies. I know she's too humble to talk about herself, but I would like to take a moment to share a few words about her.

When we were planning our trip to Haiti in March, besides meeting our kids, I was most excited about meeting Angie. You see, she named our little boy, Samson.

Samson was the first picture we saw when we received children's files. His name immediately caught my attention. I always desired to have children with strong Biblical names and you can't get more Biblical than Samson! His name was partially what drew us to have him be a part of our family.

Angie inspires me. She lives and serves in a country with unbelievable difficulties. Nothing is easy in Haiti. I've only spent 4 days there, but I came away from there wondering how she does it. I know she relies heavily on the Lord and prayers from her supporters. Would you take some time to pray for her today? This week has been especially difficult as one of the children at Maison went to be with Jesus this week. You can visit her blog here. 

Sitting in the Port Au Prince airport with Kim Harmon from For His Glory and Angie.

This and that

My dear adoption friend, Mandy posted this video from her church. I know you have a busy life, but this is one hour that might just change your life.  Do you know how much you are loved by God? Watch this and find out.





We received new pictures of Lydie & Samson this afternoon. A sight for sore eyes for sure! Enjoy the new pictures!

Thoughts on loss

This post has been coming for a while now and after hitting and killing a beautiful deer with our car a week and a half ago, the Lord prodded my heart that the time was now. Strange, I know.

My family had an opportunity recently to minister to a small community that has suffered tremendous loss. In 2008 an EF5 tornado ripped through the north part of the town followed by an even more devastating flood. Since that time, this small community has tragically lost several of its residents. 

The town is spiritually dead. Sometimes when things happen that we don't understand, we shut God out. People begin to say, "If God was so good, why would He have let this happen?" I love Billy Graham's daughter, Anne's response to this question after Hurricane Katrina. "I believe God is deeply saddened by this, just as we are, but for years we've been telling God to get out of our schools, to get out of our government and to get out of our lives. And being the gentleman He is, I believe He has calmly backed out. How can we expect God to give us His blessing and His protection if we demand He leave us alone?"

Ouch.

During the year of 2008, I was dealing with my own loss. Loss of a dream, loss of loved ones. These words came to me as I was lying in a bathtub one morning feeling like I had lost my sanity: 

I am broken.

With the weight of the world on my shoulders, I come to Him again, Broken.

My Savior needed me to get to this point.  A place where I once again put my faith

in Him.  I cry out to Him.  It feels like He's not listening.  I beg for mercy.  Silence.

Hope is fleeting.  He's teaching me something.  He has to be.

I have turned into something I don't recognize.  An unloving, selfish monster.  Full of

pride, full of fear, full of doubt.  Doubt-an interesting thought.  The One I so willingly

trusted as a child. Why do I not trust Him anymore?  Have the callouses on my heart

caused my unbelief.  My unbelief is laughable if I think about it.  When I look back on my life.

The things he has brought me through, how he's protected me and carried me.  Shameful.

So now I've recognized my wrongs.  I need Him and Him alone.  But He leaves me here.

Why?  I'm tired of being in this muck.  I want to get out.  Day after day I search for answers.

I listen to His word and try to obey.  But my circumstances do not change. I'm sinking deeper

and deeper and wonder if I am ever going to get out.

Then I hear a whisper, "grab my hand."  I think it's been there all along.  The dirt in my

face has clouded my vision.  Now that I think of it, He's been whispering all along as well,

but my head was too focussed on my circumstances to hear it.  I grab on.  I'm in deep so

the pull is hard.  It stretches my body and hurts a little,  But now that I'm out, I can breathe.

He wipes the dirt of my face and sets me high upon a rock.  When my eyes focus I realize this

rock he has set me on is actually the palm of his hand.  He's got me.   My wounds instantly start

to heal.  I lie down.  I want to rest in Him.  He holds me there.  He reminds me of his promises

once again.  He reminds me that those who wait patiently for the Lord will be renewed like the

eagles.  He tells me every perfect gift comes from Him.  He tells me I'm forgiven.  Forgiven.  What

a thought!  I entertain the thought that I don't deserve that gift.  He reminds me who paid the price

for that precious gift.  I willingly take his forgiveness.  He offers me so much more.  He offers me

pure love, peace, joy unspeakable.

I start to wonder, why did I ever leave His side?  Why did I stop trusting Him.  I got complacent.

I was becoming lukewarm.  It wasn't really anything that I was doing.  It was more about what I

was not doing.  I was serving Him just enough to get by.  I let fear get a hold of me so I could not

bring the good news to the lost around me.  Saying all the right things but doing none of the right

things.  I was lukewarm in the flesh.  So He broke me.  He broke me and it hurt.   But now I am

better for it.  Just like when our parents disciplined us as we were children, our Heavenly Father

disciplines us so we can be restored back to him.

I am so thankful I have a God who loves me enough to let me be broken for a while, so I can

see my need for Him, and then rescues me once again.

Written out of a broken and contrite heart.

Tuesday, March 4th, 2008.

Naomi Probert

I pour my heart out to encourage you. God knows your hurts. He wants you to trust Him.  This isn't the easiest post to write. But there is good news! One of the songs that my family sings has this line, "God sees the storm from the other side...He knows the lessons learned and just beyond the clouds He sees clear skies. He speaks peace to the raging storm when peace could not be found, He already sees the rainbow, when we see only clouds." 

I don't know if we had made the decision to adopt if we hadn't experienced this loss. God took us from a place of complacency to a place of listening to His voice and His call on our lives and trusting that He knows best. 

Unfortunately, loss is a very real part of adoption. Babies have lost their mommies. That's a loss I cannot fathom. Adoption is a way to restore something terribly broken.  My prayer is that we can lead Lydie and Samson through the periods of loss they may experience and to let them know that God will NEVER EVER let them go. It's the best gift we can give them, the knowledge of the love of God in this broken world that has denied it. 

Team Haiti

It started with 7 families in March. "Team Haiti"-my lifeline. The people who know exactly what we're going through. Prayer warriors, friends for life. It's a group of adopting families-27 members and growing. All adopting from Maison. Our kids know each other, we know each other. We communicate on a daily basis, offering encouragement to those who need encouragement. We answer each other's questions, we share photos and videos. On family bonding trips those of us who aren't able to travel to Haiti receive word from those who have about how our kids are doing.  I don't know where I would be emotionally without these people in my life. They are all gifts from God.

November is National Adoption Month and Sunday, November 6th is Orphan Sunday. I felt a need to make a video and present it to our home church and ask for people to pray for those currently waiting for their children to come home.  Prayer from God's people activates the Heavens. Would you consider praying along with us?

These families have beautiful hearts. I can say with certainty that none of them feel what they are doing is amazing. They are just answering a call. Please pray for my dear Team Haiti friends.

P.S. Just a little note about the song I chose for this video. It is written by another Haiti adoptive mom Cindy Foote. She is adopting from a different orphanage and waiting just like us. I felt the song was so perfect for this video so I asked her if I could use it. If you have a minute, stop by her place and check out her music or offer an encouraging word. 

One Year Ago Today

Just a short note to commemorate the one-year anniversary of our decision to adopt Samson Pierre and Lydie Fignole (these are/were their last names).  We sat in a coffee shop with two files in front of us and Stephen and I agreed together that we were supposed to adopt them both.

It has been an amazing journey so far and we're just getting started!

As far as any updates, we don't have any. We seem to be in the stuck position at the moment. Several of our adoption friends have heard some very good news that they are out of IBESR now so we are celebrating with them.

We benefited from our friends traveling to Haiti this week by receiving some fresh new photos.

Trying to stay patient,
Naomi

One of a kind

I may get a little weepy here. I apologize in advance.

There is no one quite like Stephen Peter Probert.  Those who know him personally are nodding their heads in agreement right about now.

The man never stops. He may have an energizer battery pack tucked away somewhere and I just haven't found it yet.

He's a handyman. He's renovated our house from top to bottom and just keeps going. It's 10:30 p.m. and I just heard the skill saw running outside.

There's so much I could say about the man I married nearly 14 years ago.  He is my best friend. Although it irritates me sometimes, I am so blessed to have someone in my life who knows exactly who I am.

Stephen wars against the status quo. Sometimes he is misunderstood, but he wants what is best for those around him. He doesn't really care what people think as long as he knows it is what God has called him to do. He isn't afraid to speak the truth and will go out of his way to bless others. He listens intently to the Spirit's call on his life.

Stephen started a new job in July. It hasn't been the easiest transition and many projects around the house remained unfinished because of the unexpected loss of a summer break. Last weekend the weight of it all became temporarily overwhelming. How were we going to get all this stuff done before the kids got here? We had put a lot of pressure on ourselves. We discussed the possibility of having to say no to things, even if they were good things.

God usually has different plans doesn't he? This afternoon I received an email from my aunt who asked if Stephen would be willing to help my uncle bail corn stalks as they were feeling overwhelmed and my uncle was experiencing terrible back pain. Stephen rearranged his schedule so tomorrow he can go help my uncle.

This evening he went to pump gas in his truck and noticed a man standing outside the gas station charging his phone. Stephen asked him if everything was okay and the man told him he had been evicted from his home. He ended up spending a big chunk of his evening finding a place for the man to stay tonight. He also invited him to church on Sunday.

When Stephen made the decision to follow Christ many years ago, he never turned back. His greatest passion is knowing who Jesus is. He makes no apologies about that. It was a blessing to me to watch him live out his faith today.

If there are any single ladies reading this post, let me offer this piece of advice. Don't settle. You deserve someone who loves the Lord with his whole heart. It's the only way he will know how to truly love you.

A couple weeks ago I asked Stephen to share his thoughts on adoption. You can read his story here.


We sure do have a lot of fun together! Of course, no marriage is without it's bumps along the way. I don't want to give you the wrong impression of pure wedded bliss. Those size 13's rarely go where they are suppose to go!  But on the stuff that really matters, I know I hit the jackpot!
















Lydie and Samson, you have an awesome, strong, caring, and weird dad. I know you will love him as much as I do.

Good Things

I can be a bit of a pessimist. I often look at this world we live in with a bit of a ho-hum attitude. My friend Rachel once said, "stop the world, I want to get off." I get that.

Most of the world doesn't live the way we do.  After traveling to Haiti my perceptions changed even more. How can I enjoy this fancy $30 meal when my kids are eating rice and beans tonight?

Several of the blogs I read regularly have been tackling the issue of poverty theology and prosperity and how that all fits in the life of a believer.  I am still working this out in my mind and heart.  I don't know if I'll ever understand why we are so blessed when others are not. Over and over I hear the words from U2's "Crumbs from your Table" in my mind...."where you live should not decide whether you live or whether you die."

What I do know for sure is if we have been blessed, we need to find a way to bless others.  James 1:27 says

Pure and genuine religion in the sight of God the Father means caring for orphans and widows in their distress and refusing to let the world corrupt you.

Is adoption enough? Is it all God has called Stephen and I to do? I don't think so. This is a lifetime calling to see the needs of the world and do something about it if we are able. I just have to pray that God would reveal these things in my heart and be willing to go where He wants me to go.

Yesterday I enjoyed life. And I think that's okay. Ecclesiastes 5: 18-19 says: Here is what I have seen: It is good to enjoy the good of all his labor in which he toils under the sun all the days of his life which God gives him; for it is his heritage. As for every man to whom God has given riches and wealth, and given him power to eat of it, to receive his heritage and rejoice in his labor-this is the gift of God. For he will not dwell unduly on the days of his life, because God keeps him busy with the joy of his heart.

It's kind of funny that I need a Bible verse to validate the fact that sometimes I find enjoyment in life. 

Last week my mother-in-law and I filled this entire truck with walnuts and leaves! Our 90-year-old neighbor who recently moved away gave us this wonderful gift for all the years we helped her out. It's a walnut picker-upper! Technically called a Nut Wizard. God bless the inventor of this little do-hicky. You have saved my life! It's actually fun to pick up walnuts now!

My Mother's Day gift from Stephen was a lemon tree. It's been so fun to watch the lemons grow on it. Earlier this summer a squirrel stole the lemons. So, I have taken all of his walnuts. Take that squirrel!! 

I spent a good amount of time observing this guy yesterday. The last time I saw a praying mantis was probably 20 years ago! They are a little alien-like aren't they?

My sister-in-law has raved about this little joint in downtown CF. I finally got a chance to stop in and see what all the fuss was about. There was a line out the door people! This place is the bomb! Missing in this photo are "Razzle Dazzle" and "Wedding Day." They are in my tummy. 

One of the difficulties in parenting two kids from an impoverished country will be to avoid the pitfall of spoiling them too much. I would feel like a failure if I found them protesting on Wall Street some day because they felt they didn't have enough. 

Thanks for listening. This blog is cheap therapy for me so thanks for letting me lie on your couch and blab. 

Enjoy these latest pictures of our babies (although they are not looking like babies any more).

Lydie & Samson

 (our heritage)