IT'S A......

Welcome back from summer! Most of you know, we take off for the summer. We are hardly here physically, but also, we needed some down time as a family. With the completion of our dossier and it securely delivered to Haiti, we took the summer off from fund raising and just enjoyed one another and God's amazing beauty in Big Bear!

Sept1 came quick in my opinion, we started up our home school year and were waiting with prayer for the news on our match from the orphanage. Sept. 6th was a tiring day for me and I just was ready to get dinner made so I could go to bed....Around 5pm we got a call from our adoption agent to go to our computer because she had someone to introduce to us! Kevin was driving up just at that moment. I screamed to the kids, "Go get your dad quick!!" We were all screaming and jumping, trying to get the computer up and ready to open any email that might be there. I ran upstairs, fell face down on the carpet...with tears I apologized to God for my lack of faith, for my lack of patience....His timing is perfect. I hurried back downstairs and we paused to pray: to thank God ahead of time for the His perfect match, to thank Him for His leading, and to give us His wisdom.

We opened the email to be formally introduced to our new son, Jacques!! 

I am still in awe of how God works. He has chosen us to be Jacques new family and yet he seems like he was born into our family. Our love for him was instant. Deep, true love. I heard that it happens, and I didn't worry about loving the child that God had for us. But to experience how fast and deep you can fall in love with another human that didn't grow inside you, well it's just a God thing. It's true love. It's designed by God for His glory. All glory to God! We are truly blessed that God chose us to be Jacques' family. I still don't know how to quite put it into words. I was saying that I am amazed by God, but He IS amazing. I think I am amazed that God allowed us to be a part of adoption. 

 All your prayers and love have been amazing. We have had balloon bouquets, new baby cards, flowers....all the things that help make this seem a little more real. Thank you to all of our friends and family for your encouragement, love and prayers. We still have a ways before Jacques can come home to live with us. We were blessed with the news that we were accepted into IBESR (their social services) and received our case number!! Now we are praying for a miracle to get out of that office in less than the normal time (3-9months). After that we will be able to make our 1st of 2 visits. We will meet Jacques, love on him, spend time with him and have our first court date. 

Here is a video of Jacques singing Jesus loves Me in Creole and then English!! 

Thank you again for your love!

Choosing Joy and Living with Truth,

Kevin, Zsanae, Ashlyn, Kason and Jacques!

Chick fil a Fundraiser This Thurs June 28th!

Please join us Thursday night, June 28th, from 5-8pm at the Crossings Chick-fil-a in Corona. Enjoy some yummy food and fellowship while you help to bring home Bebe Miller from Haiti! Chick-fil-a is donating a percent of the food sales to our adoption fund. Also they will have the $1 free food spinner wheel and we will receive 100% of those donations! Please bring your friends, neighbors and family. We will be blessed to see you all and will have fun spending time together!

HE is Greater!!

Wow, a lot has been going on lately with the adoption. To catch up family and friends, our Dossier (all legal papers, documents, and home study) are finalized and were mailed off to Haiti!!!!!!!!!!!!! Can you believe that?!?! Super exciting! This does not mean that we can sit back and just wait now, no...There is much to be done while we wait. First of all: we PRAY. We continue to pray for all the people in Haiti, GLA and those precious children. We pray for our child specifically, even though we don't know who they are, we know God knows, and that whomever they are, they are HIS child first!

We have been busy filling out applications for grants now. That is almost as time consuming as the Dossier. :) We are extremely blessed by everyone who has donated to us for our garage sales...This morning I had one, and there is a funny little story to it. Well, last night to be quite honest, I was tired. The last 2 garage sales didn't go that well and I was wondering if my time of this fund raiser had ended. A sweet friend prayed with me last night and asked God to bless, then her daughter prayed this morning and asked God again to bless...Well in my  time of little faith, God showed He is always Greater. With just a small thing, like a garage sale, I felt the sweet tenderness of my Lord blessing me with a swarm of people this morning. Every face was joyful and kind. We sold tons of stuff, met some new friends, and were able to bless another ministry in the process.... He is SO GOOD ALL THE TIME. Lord, please forgive my lack of faith.....Thank you God that you are Greater!

Heritage in Adoption

I was reading in Matthew this morning and looking at Jesus' genealogy. I was thinking of how our new child will have two families to trace back through (biological and adoptive). Kevin and I will help this child with their history as much as we can, however, we really have the greater goal of sharing with this child their heritage in our Lord. Genesis 1 tells us that we are made in the image of God. He created us perfectly with a plan to live for Him. Psalms tells us He knew us and formed us in our mother's womb. John tells us that God sent Jesus to live a sinless life, die as a sacrifice, to be raised to conquer death for all eternity. All this is because of LOVE. I want this child (and all my children) to know God LOVES them! They were created with a purpose birthed from LOVE. 

We all have the opportunity to be adopted, we need to except the invitation into the family. We are cherished and LOVED by the Creator Himself! Incredible. I can't wrap my mind around it. As a family, we are blessed to be able to experience the adoption process in a different way as we adopt from Haiti. 

Thank you to all who have been a part of our adoption. Exciting news! Our translator was amazing and she translated all of our documents in a shorter time than she thought. We got them back on Saturday!! Then today all the documents went to the Haitian Consulate in Chicago to get legalized. When we get those back, which should be by end of next week???? then it is off to Haiti!! The next step is to be matched with our child!! 

We are having a huge community garage sale May 19th, so if you still would like to clean out and donate to us, we are appreciative of any donations. We are so blessed by all who have donated to us and bought from us. 

Praise Praise! I lift my voice in Praise Praise!!

Hello to you all! I am so sorry it's been a while. Many of you are asking where are we at in the process....well I think we just passed crazy and are now onto something new....God has been amazing (because He always is) showing us something new at every turn. Showing His love in so many faces and hearts. Teaching us and refining us through the adventure. 


So to catch you all up: I have to share with you all the miracles and more miracles. Breathe, ok many of you know that I am helping with the IE first ever REVIVE women's crusade, plus adopting, plus homeschooling, plus praying about what to share at the women's retreat workshop. April has been crazy...but crazy good! 
We needed a 3 sentence letter from our bank (the largest bank in the US) and they couldn't do it. They couldn't think outside the box and create a letter that wasn't already produced as a form. I went all the way up to corporate California Manager who apologized that they couldn't do it. As I was in tears, forgetting that my God is BIG, so many of you prayed for me. Our adoption agent, Amy also sent over such a sweet, powerful prayer. By the next morning, our cute little bank that we opened our adoption acct. with, was able to write me the letter and have it notarized all in the time it took for me to do my deposit! AMAZING!! Within a couple of hours, my sweet sister in Christ, Kim F., spent her day running around with Kevin and me to get papers notarized: the psychologist, two referral letter friends, Kevin's boss, 2 different doctors, and then it was off to the Sheriff's station for the second time to get our clearances notarized. Kim and Kevin hit a few blocks from the enemy however, my God is BIG and had a plan for that day and the enemy couldn't do anything about it! With literally less than 1 minute to spare, the last notary was complete!!!!!!! Thank you to EVERYONE who helped us out that day!


So just today we got our Home Study in the mail. I filled our I600A form and have contacted all our translators. Next week we go to LA and get everything State Authenticated and then once the translation is complete, we will send it off to the Haitian Consulate in Chicago.  I have heard that it is a fast turn around, so that means when we get it back we send it off to Haiti and wait for our announcement email!! 


PRAYER REQUESTS:


-Please pray for GLA, that God will provide for their every need, that the babies will grow strong and healthy, that the love of Jesus will shine so bright from there and continue to impact the Haitians!
-Please pray that I will remember His will, His timing, His leading. I can get so freaked out over small delays. (Example, I am ready for translation first week of May, but they aren't ready until May 15th) 


Thank you to everyone that has helped by donating items for us to sell. Thank you to everyone that has purchased items! We are so blessed that you all are a part of our adoption. 


James 1:27 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.

hmmmm....another sweet baby girl or a cuddly little guy? Either way, I am way blessed mommy!

WHAT'S NEW:
Well, it's been a while since we have updated. We have been very busy with paperwork, doctor appointments, evaluations, documentations, etc. Wow, this is a new kind of busy. Knowing that our Bebe is on the other side of all this preparation makes it all okay. 


We do have a huge prayer request please. Last week the Prime Minister of Haiti resigned after only four months if office. He is the one to appoint the people at the IBESR (which is like our social services). The future will depend on who fills this position and what their beliefs are regarding adoption. Also UNICEF and Hague are getting involved. From my understanding the concern is that Haiti is not stable enough or have the financial means to support a Hague run system. This comes at a crucial time for families in the adoption process. 


PRAYER REQUESTS:
We ask that first of all, God's will be done. He is in control and the mover of the hearts of kings and leaders. Second, for our trust in God whatever He chooses. We strongly feel He has guided our family to Haiti and we are moving forward in faith and trust. Please pray for my heart (Zsanae) especially. I can get so scared that my child is there without a mom or dad now, and knowing what could happen just emphasizes that. I need to completely surrender all to God and take one step at a time. I need to remember to have His joy always whether good times or bad. Thank you for joining us in this part of the journey. 


WHAT'S NEXT:
So in the next two weeks we will hopefully be done with our home study and completing our dossier. It then gets translated and sent to Haiti's IBESR. After that is approved then we are matched with our child!! It's getting closer!!!

ASHLYN AND KEVIN JUST WENT TO THE FATHER/DAUGHTER DANCE. HE LOVES LETTING HER KNOW SHE IS A PRINCESS OF THE LORD!! 

Garage Sale Items and Date

GARAGE SALE THIS SATURDAY!!

Our wonderful friends have been donating some incredible treasures for our adoption fund raising. This Saturday I will be having a garage sale from 7am-10am. Please feel free to forward this to friends who also like to treasure hunt! 

Some items:

• antique wooden high chair
• pack and plays
• jog stroller
• tool box
• hand drill
• books, movies, puzzles, games
• tons and tons of clothes (all ages and sizes!)
• bikes
• couch
• elliptical
• ab machines (2)
• and much more!!

More exciting news coming next week!!

God bless you all and have a joy filled day!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

We pray that you all had a beautiful time celebrating Jesus' birthday and bringing in the New Year with the love and hope that we have in Him alone! After eight crazy fun weeks of fundraising we wanted to give everyone an update and a huge THANK YOU! The Lord has worked through you all and we are now 1/3 of the way to our overall goal and have the amount of money needed to pay the Haitian lawyers. Praise God!

Many have asked how much it is to adopt from Haiti and wondered, "Just where does all that money go?" So, I thought I would share with you the break down of the funds so that you are aware. 

The total cost of the adoption is $17,000. Because of new Haitian laws, you are now required to go through an agency to adopt, this increases the price. Most of the world operates this way regarding adoption, Haiti was one of the last countries to allow independent adoptions. So, $6,000 goes immediately to the Haitian lawyers who take it through their "social service system".  $6,500 goes to the orphanage to cover the costs of medical and caring for the child. Many have major medical needs at the beginning. Everything in Haiti costs more because they have to import almost everything. The remainder $4,500 goes to the adoption agency. 

So there you have it. Again, thank you to everyone who has been a part of our journey so far, it's really just beginning. We appreciate you all.

This was our family on Christmas Eve and we pray that next year you will see another little face!

Merry Christmas to everyone! Thank you to every single person who has lifted our family in prayer, who has donated to the garage sales, who has bought from the garage sales and bought the adorable onesies! Every person has helped be a part of our adoption process and I can't tell you how overwhelming the love is.   

A special thank you to Jessica, Irene, Norma, and Anne for all the work they put in making the most DELICIOUS tamales! It was an extremely successful fund raiser. We are so grateful to all who participated. 

We pray that as Jesus' birthday celebration begins, you know His everlasting love for you. 

TAMALES! TAMALES! BLESSINGS COME WITH TAMALES!

Hello All! Welcome to the Christmas season!! Wow, this is the season of loving on others and have we been loved on! Truly blessed beyond comprehension from all our friends! I wanted to update you all on an amazing fundraiser that my sweet sister in Christ, Jessica is putting on for us. 

First off, it must be said that Jessica makes THE BEST tamales ever! They are one of my favorite foods, and I so look forward to December when she blesses our family with her 

yum-y-ness! This year, as a way to help us fund raise, Jessica has donated her time and talent to make tamales for $18 per dozen. This Friday, Dec 9th, Jessica is hosting a class on how to make the best tamales ever! With the help of another sweet friend, Irene, we will be busy in the kitchen all day as we prepare your orders! 

So many of you have pre-ordered your tamales and we want to thank you with all our hearts! It is so exciting to see how everyone is playing a part in caring for the orphans (Isa. 1:17) Please know that we are writing all your names down and how you have participated in this child's life. We want them to know how loved they are, before we even knew who they are!

Blessings to you this week as you are obedient to the call that God has placed before you!

Welcome to the journey!

I have never "blogged" before and don't really read blogs. However, with our latest adventure that God is leading us on, we thought this might be a great way to share our experience with friends and family across the world. This first entry is just a brief explanation of how and why we are where we are right now!


2011- The Beginning of Something New.
The year started off with God giving us a family verse Isaiah 1:17, "Learn to do good. Seek justice. Help the oppressed. Defend the cause of orphans. Fight for the rights of widows." We did not know where God would lead us this year, but having a heart's desire to follow Him wherever He took us, we just prayed and did what He put in front of us. 


At the beginning of the summer, Kevin shared with me that God was speaking to him regarding adopting a child into our family! For those who know me well, know that this has been a desire of my heart since I was young. I was crazy excited to say the least! With prayer and passion, we have researched different ways that God would have for us to fulfill this calling. 


Haiti.
Our church has been traveling to Haiti since the Jan 2010 earthquake. Our family was very touched by the Haitian people. I have to admit, I didn't know anything about Haiti, but after researching, reading stories, learning their history....well, it led to our family falling in love with the Haitians. 


At the end of this summer, a dear friend told us of an orphanage in Haiti: God's Littlest Angels. I immediately checked out their website and blogs. Wow!  It was evident right away that these people truly were living out God's call on their lives. They love the Haitian people. They help build homes, they are a NICU, orphanage, school sponsorship program, help to those in need, and they most importantly share the love and hope in Jesus Christ! Wait, they are living out Isaiah 1:17!! Super exciting. 


The Next Step.
After prayer and talking with our children, we feel like God is leading us to adopt from Haiti, specifically from God's Littlest Angels. We have done the "pre-adoption" paper work. We are now moving into another phase of watching God do His work. Haiti has a new President this year and with that comes some changes with the adoption process. We now have to go through an agency (which is a good thing for the children, but an added cost to adoptive parents.) You friends have just been overwhelming and amazing! We have several sweet brothers and sisters in Christ that are setting up some fund raising events for us! (I cry every time I mention it, the love is so awesome!) We know that our God is big and can do this in a heart beat, but as my sweet friend reminded me: "Zsanae, this gives others a chance to bless and do what God has placed on their heart. Don't rob them of that." (Again, tears of the overwhelming love are streaming down my face right now!)


This blog will be used for the following:

• Sing the praises of our Lord!
• Update family and friends regarding the process of bringing our child home
• Listing fund raisers and items for sale 
• Asking for specific prayer
• A place for you to ask questions or give suggestions

The journey so far has taken me to a place where God has more of my heart than ever before. I pray that we all journey further up and further in to His Great Presence! 


We love you!
Choosing Joy,
The Miller Family: Kevin, Zsanae, Ashlyn and Kason