Archive for category Events

Referral!!!!!

Jul 25

Posted by Suzanne in Adoption, Events, Family | 9 Comments

Yes, we received our referral call on Friday!! What a surprise! We didn’t think it would come that soon! AWAA called to offer us siblings: a boy-4 years old and baby girl-3 months old! God had put almost those exact ages on our hearts when we applied! They are beautiful—”button cute” as Michael says! We can’t post pictures or any more information yet till we pass court and they officially belong to US!

Because of Ethiopian court closures in August and September during the rainy season, we probably won’t get a court date till about mid-October. But my good friend, Deanne Mott, is already over there with her girls for a month, so she can love on them for us while we wait! And I have been to the Transition Home and have seen how well the nannies care for and love on the children, so I am confident of our babies’ care until we can bring them home. After we pass court (which is not always on the first try), then it will take another 1-3 months while they gather paperwork for the Embassy and we go back and bring them home. We are hopeful to have them home before Christmas! (What a cold winter welcome they will receive!! )

We have a lot to do between now and then, including me (Suzanne) trying to finish a 75-page MA thesis on God’s Heart for the Fatherless in Scripture. Please pray for 3 things: diligence and supernatural quickness on the research and writing, health and emotional comfort for our kids while they wait, and funds to continue to come in for the rest of the adoption. We are amazed at God’s grace and intimate hand on our lives through this whole process, and we pray He is glorified through it all!

Here is a picture of us showing our other 3 kids the photos of our new additions:

Puzzle update, family trip, & 4th of July

Jul 5

Posted by Suzanne in Adoption, Events, Family, Fundraising, Puzzle Updates | No Comments

We met our match! Lifesong for Orphans had offered us a matching grant up to $2000 and we have received more than that in donations, so Lifesong will be granting us an extra $2000! Thanks so much to all who are supporting and praying and to Lifesong’s generosity! Here is our updated puzzle….do you see it starting to take shape??

7-2-10

We won’t be updating the puzzle for another 2 weeks because we will be going on a family trip to OK. The first part of our trip will be 4 days at New Life Ranch’s Family Camp. We are excited to spend some time at the camp I worked at one summer almost 20 years ago! (Hard to believe I’m that old, I know!) There are ropes courses, zip lines into the river, archery, horseback riding, hiking, as well as family worship times and a late night outdoor movie. We are looking forward to some family bonding time away from Wi-Fi and cell service! Soon, when our other kids come home from Ethiopia, Erin, Liam, and Maura know that there will be a bit more attention on our new kids as we bond and learn to communicate with them. So we thought it would be a good idea to spend some quality time with them now as extra reassurance of our love for them and each other. After family camp, we will go on to visit my family in OK for a few days and then head back home to Lincoln.

We hope you all had a blessed 4th of July! The kids had a great time decorating their bikes and riding in our local parade, ending with the fire truck hose down, of course! These are great memories to savor! (Please excuse the iphone photo! And, shhh, don’t tell photographer Michael–he would be appalled! Be sure to notice the hero cape on our youngest–she FLEW that day!)

Father’s Day and Puzzle Update

Jun 20

Posted by Suzanne in Adoption, Events, Family, Fundraising, Puzzle Updates | No Comments

We had a great Father’s Day today! Among other things, we celebrated with Frosty’s at Wendy’s because they were donating $0.50 to the Dave Thomas Foundation for every Frosty purchased this Father’s Day weekend! Dave Thomas started Wendy’s and has a great organization that helps find permanent loving homes for children in foster care.

Here’s Michael’s new adoption/Africa t-shirt purchased through Ryan and Ashlie Fulmer’s adoption fundraiser. (Pic taken with iphone ) Ashlie is in Ethiopia right now with her baby boy Easton!

And here is our weekly puzzle update! Every piece of the puzzle represents $10 that has been donated toward our adoption since we sent letters out in May. Getting closer to Africa…..!! (Click on the puzzle button at top right of the blog to see past updates.)

6-20-10

DTE today!! (“Dossier to Ethiopia”)

Apr 9

Posted by Suzanne in Adoption, Events, Family | 3 Comments

The long awaited important DTE date has come: 4-9-10! Usually our agency, AWAA, sends the dossiers over to Ethiopia via FedEx, but in the email we received this morning they informed us that our paperwork will be hand delivered by some of their staff who are traveling there this weekend. I love the idea that it will be handed over to the orphanage staff by loving, praying hands!

We are so blessed!! I even got to do the DTE Dance with our friend and mom-in-the-adoptive-process, Deanne Mott, since she happened to be here when I got the email! Woo Hoo! Now to work on fundraising……

Milestones and Anniversaries

Apr 5

Posted by Suzanne in Adoption, Church, Events, Family | 3 Comments

As with most families, it’s been a big week for us. Besides the usual Easter activities and traveling to visit family, we have had a few other milestones. Since we have been so busy, I am cramming it all into this blog entry. ☺

Last Monday, Mar. 29, was our 14th wedding anniversary. We celebrated by going out for dinner at Jack & Jo’s in Mason City. We cannot recommend it enough! It is well worth the short 20-minute drive from Lincoln. John Means, the owner and Donald Trump of Mason City, showed us around his newest project—a building space across from the restaurant in which a chiropractor’s office and art studio will be located.

We also celebrated the long anticipated day of mailing off our “dossier” (9 months worth of paperwork, background checks, notarizations, autobiographies, medical forms, and a chunk of money!) to America World Adoption Association. They will double check it all, bring it to the US Embassy in DC to be certified, and then mail it off to Ethiopia! After it gets there, we will be put on a waiting list for a sibling group (boy 3-6 years and girl 0-18 months) and will wait on God’s timing to bring us together with them. We are officially in the 2nd trimester our paper pregnancy! We will be doing some fund raising and a lot of reading during this stage, but it will be a little more relaxing than the other 2 trimesters.

The Sunday before we mailed the dossier, we brought those important papers to church. Our elders prayed for us and for our paperwork, for the mother of these children, and for God to bring them to us to raise in His perfect timing. We are so thankful to be able to share this with our congregation so that they can be on this journey with us. They will have a big part in helping us to raise them in the Lord, and we can’t wait to share with our children how may people have been praying for THEM! In fact, when we got home yesterday, we had a card in the mail from a home care group that has been praying for us, many of whom we don’t even know personally! I love the community of God!

That Sunday was also memorable to me because it was Palm Sunday. It reminded me of the Easter Sunday just before our firstborn Erin was born. We had a very scary previous week in the hospital during my 29th week of pregnancy, being told Erin was going to be born and all the dangers that come with premature births. The doctors then ended up sending me home, very surprised that I had gotten better, thinking they may have even misdiagnosed my condition. They told me I could go home on bed rest and that I could attend church on the following Easter Sunday. I will never forget the overwhelming emotions I had as that service began with a rousing, organ-led “Christ the Lord Has Risen Today!” I knew I had come home from the hospital because of the prayers of the saints and I knew, to my very core, that Christ was indeed ALIVE! Incidentally, the doctors had not misdiagnosed me, and Erin was born by emergency c-section (along with a surprise emergency liver surgery for me) the following Sunday at 32 weeks. I know that because of the prayers of my brothers and sisters in several states, Erin was given a couple extra weeks for her lungs to develop, and He sustained and saved both of us from other possible devastating complications.

The song gift that God gave me this monumental Palm Sunday 2010 was “Hosanna” by Brook Frasier. I have always loved her spirit for the poor and lonely. The line in the song that has always grabbed hold of me is “Break my heart for what breaks yours.” I know it breaks God’s heart for there to be hurting and lonely people in this world, especially the vulnerable orphans and the oppressed, and I know it is our job as Christians to do whatever part God has called us to care for them in His Name. Lord, “give me your eyes” and “break my heart for what breaks yours.”

So 14 years ago I married my best friend, 10 years ago we had our first child, and this week we sent off the paperwork for our little Ethiopian blessings. This is a good month for anniversaries.

Erika Holst’s “Wicked Springfield”–get it signed on Thursday

Mar 22

Posted by Michael in Events, Friends | No Comments

Our friend, former neighbor, and Abraham Lincoln historian Erika Holst had her first book, Wicked Springfield, published last month. She’ll be signing copies at the local library on Thursday evening–I’ve put some details on my photography site. Hope to see you there!

So I went to this women’s conference…

Mar 16

Posted by Michael in Events, Us | 6 Comments

I–Michael–attended my first women’s conference this past weekend, the Hearts at Home annual conference in Normal, IL. As detailed on their web site, Hearts at Home

…believes that motherhood is a valid profession. From beginning to end, our events professionalize the career of motherhood. We want to make it worth your time, because for most moms, spending a full day away from home isn’t always easy. Our speakers, workshops, and exhibitors are all selected for their high quality and pertinent information.

I didn’t attend as a participant but rather as a photographer. Suzanne has been attending for the last several years and, by coincidence or providence, we happened to cross paths with Mark and Jill Savage at a marriage retreat last fall. Jill is the CEO of Hearts at Home. Over the past several weeks, we’ve been conversing with Jill and some other staff members at Hearts about assisting in various ways with the event. One thing led to another and Suzanne found herself on stage speaking to 4,500 women on Friday (I’ll let Suz tell her side of the story) and I was photographing the event on Saturday. You’ll find a brief post and some photos over at my photography site.

What was remarkable to me about the event was a) how well organized it was and b) how moving it proved to be. I suppose I shouldn’t have been surprised at the organization of the day; after all, they’ve been doing this for well over a decade. But it’s an event that’s run almost entirely with volunteers and what they do is truly impressive. I’ve attended some other conferences (that, by the way, cost significantly more than the registration fee for this event) that did not run nearly as smoothly as the Hearts at Home conference. Kudos to Jill and her staff and volunteers.

I was also unprepared for the emotional impact the event would have on me. I alluded to this on my photography site. As I was making photographs during the worship segments led by Christy Nockels, I wanted to join in with the singing. As I ~~listened to the speakers~~ made photographs during the workshops, I wanted to take notes. Later in the day, I told Jeanie Fields, the marketing director for Hearts, that I couldn’t imagine a husband not wanting his wife to attend this event. It’s that good.

We’re grateful for the good work God is doing through Hearts at Home and would encourage all wives and moms to attend this terrific event. To get a look at what took place on Saturday, here’s a brief slideshow for you (if it doesn’t show up, just refresh the page).

Save the Date!

Feb 12

Posted by Suzanne in Adoption, Church, Events, Fundraising | 2 Comments

We are officially hosting our Mother/Son fundraiser event on Mar. 20 at Lincoln Christian Church, 6:00. It will include dinner and various games, including playing Wii with your son!! More details to come…..

BTW, we finally got our USCIS appointment to get our fingerprints scanned in St. Louis in March! Immigration needs these so they can send us an I-171 document–the last thing we need for our dossier (international papers) to send to Ethiopia! Baby steps….

Sent papers to USCIS, bittersweet

Jan 13

Posted by Suzanne in Adoption, Events | No Comments

Don’t get me wrong, I’m SO excited that we have taken the next step! I wanted to shout it to the lady at the post office desk and wondered why she didn’t ask me about the huge smile I had on my face when I mailed our papers to immigration!

But today is a sad day–the day after the huge earthquake in Haiti, the country that could least afford the devastation and loss that occurred last night. Michael and I have both been to Haiti twice, once before we met and once soon after we were married, and it is near to our hearts. Haiti makes Ethiopia’s economy look middle class. They barely have hospitals and medical personnel, barely even roads and reliable transportation, and now there is no way for the help to even get to the hurting. Please pray. I’m sure you are. Please give. Find an agency you trust and give so that they can help in whatever way possible. We are all in this together and we need to help each other out.

Father/Daughter Dance Success!

Nov 23

Posted by Suzanne in Adoption, Events, Fundraising | No Comments

A great time was had by all at the Father/Daughter Dance last weekend! The decorations were lovely, the food was yummy, the music was fun, the girls were gorgeous, and the fathers were reminded how special that father/daughter bond is.

It was a dreamy night for the girls, and I was so proud of all the dads on the dance floor. They were even out there attempting the Macarena and the Hoedown Throwdown! You won’t see that every day! I think it was an evening that will not soon be forgotten. In fact, we have been asked to make it a yearly occasion, so watch for it, along with a Mother/Son event in February.

The event raised money for three families’ adoptions, but it also helped to raise awareness of everyone’s role in caring for the “fatherless.” We are so thankful to all who attended and those who are praying and supporting us in other ways. We LOVE that you are on this journey with us!

The Gowin Family

Our journey together