Fireproof....and January is coming SO quickly!!

This afternoon, Stan and I went on a date...we went to see Fireproof, a movie that's been out I guess about a week and a half now... It's put out by the same church in GA that made Facing the Giants a couple of years ago. Fireproof is the story of a firefighter and his wife who face serious difficulties in their marriage....It's the story of how God brings redemption and healing to their lives. I've gotta say.... this may be the best movie I've ever seen in my life. It's VERY well-done, considering that it was made by a church on a budget of only 1 million bucks... The majority of their actors were people from their church....but it was EXCELLENTLY done. It clearly presents the Gospel...and it is being shown in theaters all over the country. Soooo.... I HIGHLY encourage you to go see this movie - if you're married, or if you want to be... :) If you see no other movie this year, SEE THIS ONE. Let's support it.... It's WAY more than worth the 8 bucks to go see it.

A quick update on our progress toward becoming a licensed foster home... We have had a few home visits now, from the organization that is sponsoring us as foster home. They are helping us to get prepared to have our home inspected by the state. Our most recent visit was from Amanda, our family services coordinator. Our NEXT visit will be a final survey by her, and THEN comes the inspection by the state of KS, which will probably take place mid-late November. After that visit, assuming all goes well, we will receive our temporary license, and then a permanent one once all of our paperwork has gone through whatever departments that it has to go through at the state level. We will probably hold off on beginning to take children until early January, because we are traveling for both Thanksgiving and Christmas to be with family, and we don't want to have a child newly placed in our home and then take him/her out of town, as we feel this will be added trauma/transition for them.

In the coming 6 weeks or so, Stan and I have TONS of paperwork to do, and LOTS to do to get our home ready. It has to be childproofed to the MAX - WAY more than you'd ever do for your biological children. Knives, sharps, toxic chemicals (and it's AMAZING how many things are toxic - toothpaste, shampoo, etc, etc....), etc, all have to be locked or stored 6 feet off the floor (which, in our little apartment, is a feat in and of itself!). Blind cords have to be up out of reach, outlets have to be covered, etc, etc.... And of course, there's the procuring of all the furniture that we could possibly need for 2 children between the ages of 0 & 8. Today, we went to Nebraska Furniture Mart and got a great deal on a crib that converts to a toddler bed. Holy cow! We bought a crib. I can't believe it - - it feels surreal. A couple of weeks ago, I snagged a highchair at a garage sale. We are now still in need of a number of things... I'll try to name a few: A twin bed...a crib mattress (and sheets, etc, etc...)....a car seat.... and then the other things we won't know if we need or not until we know how old the child(ren) are that we'll end up having in our home.... some of the "iffy" things include: a stroller....a changing table.... a pack-n-play.... I could go on....

Anyway.... if you think to pray for us in all of this, please pray for financial provision for all the things we need, for wisdom to know what purchases to make in the next 6 weeks and what to wait on (we have to have beds for the children before our state inspection in mid-November--one down, one to go.), etc, etc.... There are so many unknowns - it's so hard to know how to prepare. We really need the Lord to lead us.

Okay! So that's where we're at currently with this whole process! We are both still excited, and still hanging onto the Lord, trusting Him to give us what we need to walk all of this out the way He wants us to. Thanks to all of you for your friendship and prayers and support... We love you guys!!