Where He Leads, We Will Follow - Part 1

During this season of The Lord leading our family to something different than we expected - WAY DIFFERENT than we ever expected, we have learned so much about the wonderful organization: New Horizons for Children - an international hosting program for orphaned children from Ukraine, Latvia, and China.

I first learned of New Horizons when my adoptive mommy friend Andrea over at Babe of my Heart  hosted a Ukrainian girl this past summer. It was so fun to watch her host "Princess T" for a summer and how they loved her with such a great BIG LOVE. In the end, they did not adopt "Princess T", but some dear friends of theirs did! Little did I know that God was planting a seed then for what He would have for us in the future.

On January 10th, Andrea posted about a darling 15 year old boy, Edgars, who was hosted in New York over Christmas break and needed a forever family. You can read her post here: Edgars Needs a Family - the moment I read her post, the Lord brought to mind my sweet friends, Jewel and Claude McRoberts. Their family is dear to us and we have walked through life with them over the past 3 years. I can't describe the prompting I felt to share Edgars' story with them - I knew they were currently preparing their hearts for a child from the Foster Care System, I knew they were open to the possibility of an older girl, but I felt like I was supposed to share Edgars with them, but I wasn't sure what God was up to.

Meanwhile, Andrea had mentioned that she had information on other children that were hosted by New Horizons over Christmas break that were not being adopted by their host families and needed forever families. She and I were chatting online the next morning (Friday, January 11th) and she said she'd email me the bios and pictures of the children with NHFC that she was going to advocate for. Adoptive mamas can testify that some children just speak to your heart and captivate you in a way that is different than the rest. I am a mama who advocates for children who need forever families and I look at a lot (read: A LOT, A LOT, A LOT) of photo-listings of waiting children all over the world. I read their stories; I see their faces; and I know their names. But every once in a while, a child pulls at your mommy-heartstrings, and captures your heart, mind, and thoughts. This little boy did that for me:

This is Viktors. He is from Latvia and was hosted over Christmas with a wonderful family in North Carolina. I contacted his host mom to ask how I could help her advocate for him. I told her that I felt like his story spoke to me and I wanted to talk to her about Viktors. We chatted on the phone the next day; just that morning, she and her darling family had taken Viktors to the airport to go back to Latvia. Her heart was broken and she missed him terribly. I cried on the phone with her and I could hear the pain in her voice as she knew her family was not going to adopt him. Oh, this sweet mama would have brought him home if she could. She loved him so well for four weeks. Their whole family loved him, loved him deeply and with no regrets - and he loved them too! I got off the phone and just wept for this boy, and for this family. God intertwined our hearts for the same boy and I was just sure after getting off the phone, that the Lord had put me in the middle of this story for one reason: to help this family take the steps of adoption and to walk the path of adoption with them. I just knew after days of him being gone, that they would change their minds and decide to adopt him. That's what made sense. That seemed perfectly logical - they LOVED him - surely they'd adopt him! But God was writing a different story; He had a plan that is not what we ever would have expected.

I sat one night and read their blog, Barefoot Walks, and just wept for them and for this boy, Viktors, who has captured my heart. It was that night that I asked the Lord WHY had He allowed me to feel so deeply for a little boy in Latvia; WHY did He not want them to adopt him? I had to be reminded that His ways are NOT my ways, and His thoughts are NOT my thoughts. "Lord, I don't know what You're doing, but I trust you. I relinquish my control to You." Those were the words I wrote in my journal that night. I prayed that God would move on Viktors' behalf - a precious 11 year old boy who was back in Latvia at his orphanage. This boy who had love the lavish, unconditional love of a family for four weeks and was back in the orphanage again.

That night, my heart physically hurt for this boy and that seed that God had planted back this summer when Andrea hosted "Princess T" began to grow. I didn't know what it was, but I knew God was up to something and I didn't want to miss it. It feels so good to follow when He leads and to know He's got this all under control.

Stay tuned for more....


~Paula 

A Closed Door

Let's face it, we humans do not like to hear the word "no" when we want something. As a mama of a three-year-old, I can physically see the disappointment on her face when I tell her "NO" to something she wants. I see her slump her shoulders down, hang her head and begin to pout (and when she'd really turning it on, she can even turn on the tears). I have to say, I feel that way too when I'm told no, but as an adult I've learned to respond a little better than that - on the outside at least (while I might still be pouting on the inside just like my toddler daughter).

Just yesterday, we were at my Nana's house with my parents (talk about a house full of spoiling aunts, grandparents, and great-grandparents). If you know anything about my awesome family is that we love to eat when we are together. I think we were there for about 6 hours and Zoe ate for about 4 1/2 of those hours. It's no news to us that our girl loves to EAT - she's certainly known what it was like to have an empty belly and we know she struggles with food (this is quite common for children who are adopted - particularly from orphanages). She had eaten so much that I told her she couldn't have any more food - I really was afraid she was going to make herself sick. She immediately slumped her shoulders down, hung her little head and began to pout.

I brought that sweet girl over to me, held her hands, and looked into her eyes. I lovingly told her sometimes the answer is "yes", sometimes the answer is "no", and sometimes the answer is "not right now". Regardless of my answer, she needs to accept that because I am her mommy and I love her and she needs to obey me with a happy heart. I have to say, the Lord spoke to me in that moment. The Lord reminded me that I don't always accept His "no" with a happy and obedient heart.

The Lord has taken us on a journey over the past few weeks that we've had to accept His "no". It's not easy. It's not what we wanted. It's not the plan we had. I've pouted; I've cried; I've begged the Lord for a different outcome. However, He wants us to follow where He leads with a happy heart. He's made his "no" clear and made a promise that He has something else in store for our family. I've clung to this verse when I felt like I wasn't sure what God was doing:

"I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." - Jeremiah 29:11

I have to say, I thought we were going to adopt from Haiti. Haiti has a special place in my heart, and He used precious children from there to open my eyes to the needs in Haiti - for the poor, for the orphans, for the country as a whole. Haiti has a little piece of my heart and I was just SURE that we would bring our kiddos home from Haiti. But The Lord said "no"; He's closed the door and He's asking us to trust Him. He's reminded us that His ways are not our ways.

"For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways," declares the LORD. As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts." - Isaiah 55:8-9 I've shared this before and just fell in love with this song at the Created for Care retreat last March. As I walk in this season, I am reminded of the Truth in this song. I can trust that He has all this worked out.

Now, if I can just remember to obey with a happy heart because He does LOVE us!

~Paula 

School Photos 2012-2013

A sweet mom in our homeschool group took some great photos for our homeschool community. So fun to have "School Photos" for homeschoolers. Because I'm the director, she took mine too. She did such a great job and I'm so happy to have them!

Paula (aka: Mom)

Robert, age 9

Andrew, age 7

Zoe, age 3 

Robert, Zoe, and Andrew Sloan

~Paula 

Merry Christmas from the Sloans

For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. - Isaiah 9:6 Love, The Sloan Family

Only a Mountain

God asks us to have FAITH. I've been claiming this verse and clinging to the promise that nothing is impossible when we call upon Him:

"Truly I tell you, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you.” - Matthew 17:20 

I catch myself singing this song around the house randomly. It's been an encouragement to me as we continue to follow God and trust HIM in what seems impossible. This is a fun song that's upbeat, and so full of truth that we can command the mountain to move - even when it seems so enormous in front of us. 




Big thanks to American Idol's Jason Castro for this awesome song that this mama is singing all day long!

Empowered to Connect

Michael and I headed to Empowered To Connect in Nashville during September.

We've always loved Dr. Karyn Purvis' book The Connected Child , but to get to go and hear hear and learn about WHY children from hard places struggle with attachment, bonding, food, sensory issues, and lots more was REALLY eye-opening. I love Karyn Purvis and I pretty much want to put her in my pocket!

Show Hope did a  FABULOUS job of putting on this event and the whole weekend was such a great time of learning for Michael and I. Another great thing was that we got to hang out with our friends Lori and Steve who are waiting on Korea's cutest little boy Davis! You can follow their journey to Davis here: The Mini Adventures of Lori and Steve ! Also, we got to meet our friends Julie and Steve for the first time - they came in from California for the conference. (Yeah, this thing is a BIG DEAL!)

Watch this video about what every adoptive parent should know.

Here's another great one - about food and why a child who has experienced malnutrition (prenataly or postnatally can really be an issue for a child from a hard place.





There are a LOT of fanstastic resources available for you at the Empowered to Connect Website. You can watch more videos and get lots more info - what an invaluable resource for adoptive and foster families! These resources were not available for families who adopted years ago and were walking this path without much connection or guidance. Everyday I thank God for the blessing of the Adoption Community and for the resources we have to parent our children from hard places WELL!

Check out the Empowered to Connect website for more resources: http://empoweredtoconnect.org/resources/

#$%@ People Say To Transracial Families - Adoption Funny

This is hilarious, because it is pathetically true. I want to say you'd be shocked at some of the things that have been said to us (and some in front of our kiddos), but this will paint you a little picture.





Let's think before we speak people. We don't mind talking about adoption - as a matter of fact, we LOVE IT, but please be sensitive that adoption is born from loss and some things are private and are not shared with the random lady in the grocery line.

Paula