Adoption Adventure To Africa

Letter Written

2010-08-11T20:13:00.000-07:00

Although this may seem personal to include in a blog post, I thought the letter we wrote to M's birth-mother shares our heart, not only for Malin, but for our girls as well (minus the husband father part of course).

April and I want to write and let you know our hopes for our son Girma-Malin. We believe that the Lord has brought Girma-Malin to our family that that He has a great plan and purpose for his life. He is a beautiful child and as we raise him we have several things that we will be praying for him.

First, we want Girma-Mallin to grow up and love Jesus with all of his heart. We are praying that he will make the decision to put of all his hope and trust in Jesus at a young age. We will teach him to pray, read the Bible, and we will take him to church every week.

Second, we will teach Girma-Malin to love other people. We believe that people are more important than possessions and we want Girma-Malin to have a genuine concern for others. We will teach him to help the hurting, sick, and hungry and will encourage him to make a difference in the life of other people.

Third, we will teach Girma-Malin to grow up and be a good father and husband. We are already praying for his future wife and we want him to work hard so that he can provide for his family. The United States is a great place of opportunity and we want to teach him that he should work hard not only so he can provide for the needs of his own family, but also so he can help others in need.

Finally, we will be praying for you as his birth-mother. We know you made a difficult decision and we want the best life for you. We are praying that God will guide and direct you to a personal relationship with His son Jesus and that the blessing of God will be on your life.

We are grateful for the opportunity to meet you.

Sincerely,

Dustin and April

This letter bring me to tears and we look forward to sharing it with her in just a few days.

Meeting M....

2010-07-10T12:35:00.000-07:00

Hey everyone! Just a quick post about our day for those of you at home wondering how things are going!

This morning we had breakfast with new friends and met our driver at 9:30 to take us to the "toddler house." After a crazy ride (all rides in ET are crazy), we arrived at a huge gate. Our driver honked the horn and a guard came and opened the door. We entered the "compound" with two other families (one had met their girls the previous day so they filmed our arrival and meeting) and were taken to a small room. We stood outside the door as a sweet ET woman led an adorable 5 year old girl out the door to meet her mom. I already started crying!

Then they said, "Girma - mommy, daddy" and he came out into the open - we both lost it! He was carrying a big yellow balloon and had the biggest smile on his face! We cried of course and the "new mommy" in me stepped in and I tried to pick him up - ha - big mistake! He didn't like that - we've been laughing about that all day. We played with him for about 6-7 hours today and are getting to know his little personality - which is so sweet. After bath he walked right up to me and climbed into my arms and took a little nap! Dustin spent a lot of time with M playing in the water! He LOVES playing in the water with his little hands.

We have taken a lot of photos and video of our time together and cannot wait to share with all our friends when we return later this week!

Please pray for our court date on Monday to go smoothly and for us to continue to bond with M. God has given us some great couples to travel with and we literally spend all our free time with our new friends.

Leaving on a jet plane....

2010-07-01T17:32:00.000-07:00

We could not be more excited than to announce that Dustin and I are heading to Ethiopia! Hooray! We will be one of the very first "pioneer" (as they are calling us) families to travel twice to Ethiopia. The first trip is to meet our new little man and appear in court to ask permission to be his mommy and daddy. We cannot wait! We are anxious about leaving our little guy behind after meeting him, but know the Lord is there with him and can provide him all the things he needs while he waits for our quick return.

Our second trip is estimated to be 3 - 5 weeks after our first. My best girl friend, Ashley, will be traveling with me on the second trip while D keeps our girls at home. On our second trip we'll have the great opportunity to meet M's family.

I hate to write such a quick post, but things are busy busy around here as we prepare for our quickly approaching trip!

Please pray for safe travel and for our girls while we are gone. Neither has spent this much time away from me nor have I spent this much time away from them. I am a little anxious to say the least.

frogs and snails and puppy-dogs' tails

2010-05-23T16:40:00.000-07:00

On Monday, May 17th, we received a call from our case worker with the exciting news that, "it's a boy!" I was putting the girls into the van to take them to school when the phone rang with an out of town area code - I knew this was it! I answered the phone and as soon as I heard her voice, I lost it!

He is about 2 years old and is beautiful with big eyes and a sweet face. We will share more about him at a later time, but for now, we'll call him M since our other kids have M names too!

Please be praying for our little man as he waits in an orphanage until we are allowed to travel and bring him home forever! We will have to travel to Ethiopia twice due to a new adoption law that just went into effect about a week before we received our referral.

God has been so good as we've worked to get together money for our second trip! He totally blessed our yard sale on Saturday where we raised almost $1000.00! Amazing! Who makes that much money at a yard sale? It was definitely the Lord.

Our girls are very very excited about their new little brother. They carry their photo books of him everywhere and shows all their friends their new little brother! It has been so neat to see such little girls be so excited about our adoption! They will truly be great big sisters!!!

I'll try to post more as soon as we are made aware of more travel info and details about our plans to bring him home!

Thanks to everyone who has helped us and prayed for us as we've been in the process for over a year and a half! God is good, faithful and continues to teach us so much through this process!

Yes, We are Here

2010-03-12T19:11:00.000-08:00

It really has been a long time since i've posted! Yes, we are here and still adopting from Ethiopia! A post is coming soon!

april

Really....

2009-12-07T18:00:00.000-08:00

Has it REALLY been over a month since I've blogged last? A lot has been happening at the Schadt house - as this seems to be such a busy time of year for us with student ministry, Mom 2 Mom, adoption fundraising and just taking time to spend as a family. We REALLY are enjoying all the many blessings in our life - one reason why I feel like I haven't sat down and taken the time to write. So here is a quick update on the fam...

God has REALLY blessed our socks off with our fundraising. It is REALLY amazing to see God provide for our adoption. So many people are helping and praying for us as we get much closer to be matched! D and I had a REALLY great conference call today with our agency and we could be matched at any time. That is REALLY awesome!!

We REALLY had a great time visiting some of our very favorite friends in West Palm Beach, FL. The Shields have truly walked through life with us - serving in college ministry together almost 10 years ago, were in our weddings, experienced the birth of our first two and their third child/children and had served for years at Highvew with them. They are such a blessing!

Our girls are getting REALLY big. MK just had her 4th birthday and got her ears pierced and they are REALLY pretty. She is such a sweetie and we love her so much. MJ continues to be REALLY funny as the comedian in our house - i think she might even be funnier than D. That girls REALLY loves life a lot and puts her heart into everything she does - and I mean everything!

I have REALLY enjoying my current read, Crazy Love, which is challenging me in my walk with the Lord and how I live out my faith.

I hope to be able to blog more in the comings weeks. I will REALLY try!

Even Better...

2009-10-27T11:20:00.000-07:00

Wow - I feel like I've had a whirlwind of emotions the last couple of days. It all began Thursday when I started worrying about our adoption fundraising - God quickly used MK and her scripture memory to remind me of His faithfulness to provide for our needs.

That same day, we had requested that Louisville Orphan Care Initiative (LOCI) reconsider our matching grant application. We were not approved when we first applied back in April of this year. I knew it would a total miracle for them to reconsider us and actual approve us. Once again, I began praying and had called a few friends and asked them to pray also. (I am so thankful for great friends who I can pray with - what a blessing).

As I was packing the girls in the van this morning to run a few errands, I got a call on my cell phone. I looked down and it was an out of town number. I knew it was Lifesong for Orphans calling. I thought to myself, this response is way to quick, i'm sure they were unable to reconsider our application and the answer is no. I answered the call and just about fell over with what she had to say.

LOCI approved us for a $1500 matching grant!! (We raise $1500, they give $1500) Unbelievable. I began to cry as I told Christi the entire story about MK's Bible verse, praying for God's provision and what a HUGE blessing this grant is to our growing family. Our fundraising deadline is December 22, 2009. We prayed and sent out 30 fundraising letters to friends yesterday. We're excited to see the response.

God continues to teach me about His faithfulness and how He cares for those who follow after Him. The journey He has our family on is truly an adventure.

Unbelievable...

2009-10-22T13:38:00.001-07:00

This afternoon, I experiences the goodness of God is a way I never thought possible - bringing me to tears. As we continue with our adoption, we are still $5,000 away from our $13,000 fundraising goal. I know the Lord always provides when He calls us to do something way bigger than ourselves, like the cost of an Ethiopian adoption.

I was just standing in the kitchen, adding up what we still needed for our adoption fund to be complete when out of nowhere - and I mean nowhere - MK ran into the kitchen yelling, "MOM, do you want to hear my Bible verse I learned at school today." This is very rare that she tells me anything about school, so of course I said yes. Then she said this, "Mom, my Bible verse is Philippians 4:19, My God shall supply all your needs." I about fell over in wonder of how God used my sweet little Makenzie May, only 3 years old, to speak TRUTH into my life and that yes, God will supply all our needs. I cannot wait to see how He chooses to provide for our adoption and am thankful for Highview East Campus Mother's Day Out and MK's teacher, Mrs. Diedra.

Here is a video I took of MK saying the verse, to make sure you all know how awesome our God is and how He can use our little ones! God is GOOD!

We Finished!!

2009-10-19T06:23:00.000-07:00

Praise the Lord - we finished the race and had an amazing time. We appreciate so much everyone's prayers and encouragement and especially all the donations toward our adoption. We didn't quite make our fundraising goal, but we know the Lord will continue to provide as we proceed with our adoption.

For those of you wondering about the race - it went great! The weather was FREEZING - literally. Despite the very cold weather, I had a PR, 3:43:07 - finishing 12 minutes faster than my last marathon in 2008. I sadly missed qualifying for the Boston Marathon by a little 2 minutes and 8 seconds. Bummer - but I had a great race. Dustin is trying to convince me to run the Memphis Marathon in December to try to qualify again - I'll keep you posted. He's promised to be my "coach" and get me through the last 4 - 6 miles, the most mentally challenging part of the race for me.

Dustin and I had so much fun having a night away. We did some outlet mall shopping and got some new clothes, had a yummy dinner at Outback, made our way through the Indy ghetto (i don't think we've ever been out of town where at some point we get slightly lost and end up needing to get gas while driving through a "rough" part of town - ha), and had a blast running the race.

We're currently in recovery stage and getting ready for a weekend of camping - yes camping. It's our new favorite adventure as a family. We're going with another family from church this time which should be interesting. We'll have 5 kids, 5 years old and under. I'm sure this will be hilarious. We'll take lots of pictures and try to post them after we return.

Thanks again, really, for all your prayers and encouragement!

Less Than a Week - Hooray!

2009-10-11T18:37:00.000-07:00

I cannot hardly believe it - we are less than 1 week away from our MARATHON day! Hooray!

First, I am so proud of Dustin who somehow manages work, family, PhD research (should graduate May 2010) and training for a marathon. Unbelievable. Just a true testament to the saying that says, "you make time for what you WANT to make time for." I'll say it again, I AM SO PROUD OF HIM.

On a personal note, this has been a challenging training season for me. I've had a few tough run, but have learned so much as I've struggled through. D and I have done the majority of our longest runs on our own which is a challenge in itself because there is no one to cheer you on or tell you to keep going , you can make it. Instead, it is very quiet, just the sound of my feet hitting the pavement, for hours. With that said, running continues to teach me so much about my faith and walk with the Lord. I give God all the glory for my success and am so thankful for this great gift He has given me in running. As strange as it sounds, God uses my runs (especially long ones) as a way to empty myself and rely on Him. I'm so thankful for time alone to pray, think and listen to a sermon or two. God really uses this time to grow me, stretch me and trust Him my all my cares and struggles.

We are excited to be leaving on Friday (a day early) to enjoy some free time together - not something we experience too often these days. The race is Saturday morning and the weather forecast is COLD with a high of 43 - but at race time, the weather will be in the 30's. This is great running weather, if you've been training in it. We'll have to see how our bodies respond to the cold.

I must also give a quick "shout out" to some of my favorite running friends and Highview members who are also running in the race - Josh and Shannon Albertsen and Jimmy and Rachel Tipton. Couples that run are few and far between it seems, so we're thankful for these friends who love the Lord, their families and running!

I'll post again soon - probably right after the race if we survive and don't turn into human popsicles - ha!

If you remember, please pray for us!!

Sarah Palin Runs with a BOB

2009-09-30T14:20:00.000-07:00

For those of you who know me, you know I love BOB running strollers. I should really be a retailer out of my home - ha - considering I've helped a few handfuls of people get theirs. I was reading in my Runner's World magazine today about Sarah Palin being a runner, even doing a sub 4 marathon a few years ago. Even better though is a picture of her, Trig and yes, a BOB Ironman stroller. Here she is and a great article that is the most read article, ever, for Runner's World. Pretty cool!

Sarah with her BOB Ironman

This Will Make You Think...

2009-09-13T11:39:00.000-07:00

I love this blog post from a fellow blogger - I know it will challenge you to reconsider this passage of scripture and see it in a new light.

Here is the post copied from Tom Davis' Blog.

"An Orphan's Faith"

"We have a great team in Uganda right now, led by Greg McElheny and Vince Giordano. I just received an email from one of our team members, Ben Savage, from Cincinnati Ohio. I had to share it with you. Please join me in prayer for this team as they visit carepoints throughout the Teso Region over the next few days. I hope to update you with more stories as they come to me.

"Today I walked into a world unlike any other that I have experienced.
I arrived two days ago with a team from Children’s HopeChest to visit
orphan communities in the hopes of creating connections between our
world of plenty and their world of want. As we drove through the
towns, I witnessed a bizarre mixture of beauty, despair and hope. The
landscape was truly astounding. There were many imaginative and
hardworking people who had used what little resources that could
muster to create businesses that were showing signs of success. The
next sight I would see would be a child naked, in a ramshackle mud hut
with no one to care for them.

In this strange stew of images we pulled into Rapha Community School,
a community that is sponsored by a church in Florida through
Children’s HopeChest. We were greeted by 150 children in white shirts
and orange smocks. The children were not exactly what I expected.
True, their situation was more dire than any I’ve seen, but the
children shone like the sun. Their smiles were bright and filled with
pride and dignity. The children greeted us individually and thanked
us for coming. I only wish my children acted this respectfully.
After we toured the community, we were escorted to their schoolroom.
The room consisted of a small map of the world, a few old posters and
rough hewn benches.

The children sang a welcome to us. They danced and recited Gods words
to us. I was challenged and changed by all of this. And then there
was Sarah, who read Matthew 6 aloud. Sarah, who, from all earthly
perspectives should be disabled with despair for her future spoke of
faith. She is an orphan who has depended on God to deliver food,
shelter and all other earthly needs. She had suffered loss and pain
that people in my community would have spent countless dollars on
therapy to recover from, but today Sarah spoke to me of faith. She
read

“Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will

eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more
important than food, and the body more important than clothes? Look at
the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns,
and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more
valuable than they? Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to
his life?
"And why do you worry about clothes? See how the lilies of the field
grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon
in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. If that is how God
clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is
thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you, O you of
little faith? So do not worry, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What
shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?' For the pagans run after all
these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But
seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things
will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow,
for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of
its own.” Matthew 6:25-34

To hear a lovely child of God with a gleaming face recite those words
to me was the high point and most devastating moment for me. The
thought that Sarah, who has good reason to worry about tomorrow would
unassumingly speak those challenging words to us fairly contented and
well fed Americans destroyed me. That we worry more about the news
from Hollywood than the desperation found around the world was nothing
short of life changing. While our culture is so consumed with anxiety
and fear, here was little Sarah exemplifying faith and courage. She
read the words but I could see that she felt them too and that she
felt them deeply.

I have always loved that passage and thought about it as a cute
phrasing of my simple faith. But today I heard it as a life mantra
that was spoken from the core of this small framed girl. It was the
throwing down of the gauntlet. And the question that confronts me now
as I sit in my Ugandan hotel and Sarah sleeps in her mud hut is “What
will I do to respond?” I have been blessed - not so much that I am
rich in my own community necessarily, but I am insanely rich in a
global context. I have also been exposed to enough of the
difficulties that these communities face that I can no longer hide
behind ignorance. Do I truly believe that these children are more
valuable than my cable television? I am the “I want my MTV”
generation. As Africa burns I live in comfort and ease while I CAN
make a difference in the lives of others but will I choose to? What
sacrifice have I been willing to make to help fulfill God’s promise of
care to others? I will live differently from this day forward.
Have mercy on me God, though I truly don’t deserve it. I have for too
long ignored your call to love those who are broken and abused. Help
me capture and hold onto the conviction, sorrow, and joy reflected in
Sarah’s eyes today. And thank you for showing me a picture of your
heart through these broken but not forgotten children in Rapha. I am
devastated and changed. Thank you, sweet Lord."

Adding Up the Miles

2009-08-31T14:15:00.001-07:00

Well friends, believe it or not, we're up to 17 miles this coming weekend on our marathon training. All is going well - really well to our surprise! No injuries, only a few blisters and D has lost a toenail or two (maybe that is too much info - but hey, that's part of it). After this weekend, we only have 2 more major long runs left, a 20 mile and a 23 mile - all of our other runs will be 10 or under.

D and I spent yesterday at the Louisville Ford IRONMAN which was AMAZING to say the least. There are a few pictures below. We worked 2 volunteer shifts, the first as bike catchers and the second as finish line catchers. Our first shift was spent taking bikes from racer, encouraging them and getting their bikes to their proper bike rack location. Our second shift was spent at the finish line. It was like nothing I have ever experienced. We got to meet racers at the finish line, put their IRONMAN metal around their neck, get them a drink, medical help (if needed), their picture taken, a t-shirt and hat and get them to the convention center 2 blocks away. Now tell someone who just finished an IRONMAN to walk 2 more blocks - ha!

I had the opportunity to meet some great people from around the world - along with their families and support teams. Everyone has a story of how they got there and why an IRONMAN. One man, from Quebec, broke his skull last year after a accident on the bike portion - he came back to finish what he started last year. His trauma nurse from University Hospital that had taken care of him the year before was there to cheer him on! I met many moms and dads who were cheered on by their spouses and children. Just ordinary people who wanted to accomplish what seems to be the impossible - a 2.4 miles swim, 112 mile bike and a 26.2 run.

I LOVE IT!

Oh my, I think we have some issues....

2009-08-20T10:02:00.001-07:00

I have come to the conclusion after MK's Cubby Bear experience last night, that we have some church issues to work through with MK. These are real pictures that she colored all on her own - the bottom one is one colored at church, the top one is what she colors as home. All her church pictures are a disaster - ha - all her pictures colored at home are beautiful and perfectly colored in the lines. Holy cow - I think we may need some help here - she must be feeling a little "hostile" at church after comparing the pictures!

Adoption Update - 9 Weeks left to Raise $1485.00

2009-08-18T17:18:00.001-07:00

Last week, Dustin and I had a great conference call with our case worker. We've officially been waiting for 5 months and the time has flown by. Our case worker believes we will have a referral (matched with a child) by Spring 2010 - she mentioned March. We are encouraged that she thinks it will be early spring. Also, we have made the decision to only be matched with one child. After much prayer, research and discussion, we've decided that the very best option for our family right now is to grow our family one child at a time. We are positive we will be down the adoption road again in the future.

With that said, my focus on fundraising efforts has seemed to disappear - until now. Dustin and I set a goal to raise $2000 before October 17, 2009 - the day of the Indy Marathon. We've made it a fourth of the way to our goal with only 9 weeks remaining. If you are able to help us reach our goal, you can do so online at through First Giving. It is greatly appreciated!

We are so excited about what lies ahead for our family and are waiting patiently, enjoying MK and MJ to the fullest. Life is good!

Happy to Have Him Home

2009-08-10T12:27:00.000-07:00

I must say, the Schadt girls are so happy to have D home and back on Louisville time. We've gotten to spend some great time together as a family with a fun trip to Jonathan Creek for D to speak one night at a camp and some fun times here around our great city.

Here are a few pictures of our recent trip to Bernheim Forest, one of our very favorite parks to visit. The girls officially went on their first hike where they both actually hiked - no being carried by mommy or daddy. MK told us to watch out for beavers, they live in caves, eat popcorn seeds and are very big and scary - we never saw one thank goodness! Ha!

7 Amazing Years...

2009-07-28T19:19:00.000-07:00

Dustin and I just celebrated our 7 year anniversary yesterday. My parents (their idea, I didn't even ask) came out to our house to watch the girls and even treated us to a nice dinner at J Alexanders - one of our favorites! Thanks mom and dad, you really are the best.

We cannot believe seven years ago, we officially started our life together. God has been so good to us - we never dreamed of life being this amazing. I've said it before, but I'll say it again, "there is no better place that we would rather be than where we are right now."

We love each other, we love our family, we love our friends and we love our church. Life is so good!

Training Begins, Registration is In!

2009-07-21T17:43:00.000-07:00

It's official, we're registered and fund raising is going great! We would really appreciate your $20 donation to bring our little one/s home forever - just click on the link to the right to help us make this happen.

Our 13 weeks of training begins this week with a 6 mile run - I know - that doesn't sound so bad.
Dustin and I are looking forward to investing in our marriage as we run our "long runs" on Saturday mornings. It's a great time to talk about anything and everything, since all we have is the pavement infront of us. No ipods of course!

We continue to pray for our little one/s, for safe training (no injuries) and God's provision for our adoption. He has already blessed us in so many ways and continues to teach us about His faithfulness to those who seek after Him.

I want to leave you with a hilarious movie of MK - trying to say her Bible verse for the week Proverbs 10:8a "The wise of heart accepts commands" - she just can't get the words our right.

Dustin - so creative!

2009-07-07T17:23:00.000-07:00

Wow - we are missing Dustin a ton. Luckily we've been able to talk with him most days via IChat. Dustin's younger brother Nick is letting us borrow his laptop since he has a camera built in - my laptop is older and does not have one. The girls have LOVED seeing Dustin on the computer - they push each other out of the way to try to kiss the screen - hilarious! This morning he sent us a little video message - he was so creative and the girls went crazy over these kids saying their names. I seriously think MK played it over 1oo times - no joke. Here it is -

Dustin's Video

Check This Out

2009-07-05T17:57:00.000-07:00

I admit, with Dustin out of town, I've spent a little time online doing some shopping - not that I buy things often, but when I found this item on Etsy.com - I had to have it and the proceeds support a village in Ethiopia.

When I returned home from the lake this evening, this was in my mailbox and I LOVE IT!!! I'm sure you'll see me sporting it all the time now - MK said, "I wants one too so I can show everyone I have a new little brother or sister in Ethiopia." After that comment, I'll probably end up ordering her one too! Check it out by clicking the picture below. It will link to the artist's page.

My Current Stack of Books....

2009-06-27T17:29:00.000-07:00

“No matter how busy you may think you are, you must find time
for reading, or surrender yourself to self-chosen ignorance.”
- Confucius -

I love this quote and had to include it in my post tonight - especially because life seems to busy right now. I appreciate and admire my husbands love for reading and the fact that he always has a stack of books with him to read. We've almost been married 7 years and I too have acquired this same love for reading and learning more. Tonight at a party my friend quoted Charlie "Tremendous" Jones who said,

"You're the same today as you'll be in five years except for the
people you meet and the books you read."

With that said, I thought I would share my current stack of books that I'm reading through -

Word of Life, One Year Daily Devotional w/ Commentary - I use this for my daily Bible study - MK also has one for ages 4-6 that goes through the same passages
Feminine Appeal - Carolyn Mahaney
Raising Kids for True Greatness - Dr. Tim Kimmel
Grace Based Parenting - Dr. Tim Kimmel
The New Eve - Robert Lewis

I highly recommend both books by Tim Kimmel, especially Grace Based Parenting - Dustin and I have both been challenged to think a little differently - leading to many great discussions - I encourage parents to read this together.

Run with a Purpose...Ethiopia

2009-06-17T19:00:00.000-07:00

Running - we love it - so when D and I started talking about our next big race, we decided to make this run all about our adoption. Along with running, WE LOVE AN ADVENTURE, so we've decided to run another marathon together. Seven years ago, we ran our first marathon and here we are again, except this time it is with an even greater purpose - raising money to bring our little one(s) home next year. Our goal is to raise $2000.00 by asking for 100, $20 donations.

Here is the info:

Race - 14th Annual Indianapolis Marathon
Date - Saturday October 17th, 2009
Team - Dustin and April Schadt (if you want to join us for the full or half marathon, we would love the support)
Distance - An amazing 26.2 miles
Goal - $2000, via 100, $20 donation

Our training begins right after Dustin's return from the Philippines.

All of the money raised will be managed by Lifesong for Orphans. If you would like to help us reach our goal, you can donate via our Firstgivings page, cash or check (make out to Lifesong for Orphans, with Schadt #804 in the memo line). Any cash donated will be turned into an official check and mailed weekly to Lifesong.

Thank you for your encouragement and support as we begin our exciting marathon training schedule. We'll spend many hours, pounding the pavement, thinking and praying for our new little one(s).

God is Good

2009-06-17T18:32:00.000-07:00

Wow - Dustin and I have been overwhelmed by God's goodness and His people's generosity. About 8 weeks ago, we started our first fundraising efforts through Lifesong for Orphans. After receiving a matching grant from Highview Baptist Church 's adoption ministry, we sent letters to friends and family sharing our adoption story, asking for their support. The response was amazing. Often, we found ourselves in disbelief of how God has provided. We know these families have sacrificed to help us bring our little one(s) home in the next year. In a little over 6 weeks, we have raised over half of our goal. We are so greatful for so many people who love us and are so supportive of our adventure to Africa through adoption.

2009-06-02T14:54:00.000-07:00

I first apologize for not posting in almost a month. With all this beautiful weather and the sun shining later at night, my usual two hours of time (7 - 9 pm, yes, our girls did go to bed at 7) to get things done around the house and blog has come and gone it seems. My goal is to get them in bed no later than 8 to bring a little more structure to the Schadt home - it's just hard to get them off the bikes and in the bath when they are having so much fun.

We do not have any news on our adoption, but our so excited that we have 2 new families that we just love, going through the process with our same agency. We may get lucky enough to travel together, but if not, we'll at least get to meet the children while the other families are still waiting. This will be a great opportunity to love on their new kids, take gifts and lots of pictures while still in Ethiopia.

It is so exciting to see this new wave of young families beginning the adoption process. For the most part, we only know couples who are a little older than us with older children who decide to adopt. It is amazing to see how God has used our church and its passion for adoption, both internationally and domestically, to lead these new, young families to take on this amazing adventure of adoption.

At this point, no news is okay with us. We just celebrated MJ's 2nd birthday which means MK is officially 3 1/2 and oh so big. They are the greatest gift the Lord has given us and we are enjoying them so much! Please check back again soon as I post about something new and exciting Dustin and I are taking on in an effort to raise some money while we wait - and pass the time. And for those of you who are wondering, all is going well with the 100 push-ups. We got a little off track when we all came down with strep, but we're back on the schedule and hope to share that we can both really do 100 push-ups!

But mom...

2009-05-10T17:45:00.000-07:00

Today was a great Mother's Day - MK told me this morning, after fixing her hair, "Mom, you're the bestest!" It made my day! There is nothing better than being called the "bestest."

What really got me this evening was when I put MK to bed a few minutes ago, I told her what our plan was for tomorrow (she always wants a run down of what our day is going to be like). I told her we were going to look for her a new bathing suit for houseboat camp. Her comment was, "But mom, we need to save our money for our new little brother or sister in Ethiopia." I know she has heard me say it a few times, but it sounded so sweet for her to say it when talking about buying her something new.

Assigned a Case Worker

2009-04-30T18:47:00.000-07:00

We're excited to say that we've officially been assigned a case worker within the Ethiopia program at Wide Horizons for Children. We have a call scheduled for the second week of May to get to know each other a little better.

Some info that we did find out is that at any given time, Wide Horizon's has between 120 - 170 families adopting just from Ethiopia, with 80 - 90% of families wanting a child under 18 months. Our original desire was for a toddler, between MJ and MK's age, but our agency said since they are so close in age, we would end up "twinning" one of our children. With that said, our wait will be longer than we originally anticipated. The good news is that once Macy turns 2 years and 5 months (Oct. 09), we jump into a different age group of child (19 - 36 months) which can significantly shorten our wait time. Our agency wants our adopted child to be at least 10 months younger than MJ so they are not "artificially twinned" - aka - not in the same grade in school.

We know it is all in the Lord's hands and we are keeping very busy with MK and MJ, student ministry and for added fun, D and I are doing a 100 push-up program together. In 6 weeks, we should both be able to do 100 real push-up's without stopping. Pretty awesome! We'll let everyone know how we are progressing - D is way ahead right now, but I'll get there!

Hooray - It's No Longer MIA

2009-04-17T13:01:00.000-07:00

I just told Dustin this morning after writing the post on our CIS (Immigration) approval being MIA that we would probably get it in the mail today.

Well guess what? WE DID - Amazing! God's timing is so good and I love His little surprises like this one today!

I rushed right to the bank and faxed it to our agency. This document means we can be matched with a child/children. Hooray! What a great surprise on this sunny Friday afternoon!

CIS is MIA

2009-04-17T05:30:00.000-07:00

With all our paperwork in to our agency that we're responsible for, we're still waiting for our CIS approval which is approval from US Immigration to bring an "orphan" - our new little one - into our home. We had our appointment with immigration back in January, submitted our application and were fingerprinted - our home study was submitted to them in mid-February and we're still waiting for them to send us our approval. They usually take 45 - 60 days - so daily I RUN to the mailbox to see if it has arrived - coming back empty handed.

We cannot officially be on a waiting list for a child until we have this document. We'll keep everyone posted and we'll celebrate when it finally arrives! Once this paper is in to our agency, our wait begins.

We'll be waiting for a child born after March 29, 2008 - as Macy gets older, our age range grows - so we're expecting by the time he/she comes home to be between the ages of 1 and 2 years old. Oh - we're also approved for twins - which would be an amazing surprise! We'll just see what the Lord has for us!

Waiting and enjoying our little girls - April

A Little Bit of Our Story

2009-04-12T18:27:00.000-07:00

Psalm 68:6 says, “God sets the lonely in families.”

We're excited to share with you what God is doing in our family through the miracle of adoption. First we must say, God has been good to us in so many ways. Dustin continues to work on staff at Highview Baptist Church. Dustin loves his work and we love being a family in the ministry. We’ve been married 7 years this summer and have had the joy of bringing two beautiful little girls, MK (3) and MJ (2 in May), into this world and enjoy them immensely.

In December 2008, after spending some time with close friends who have adopted internationally from both China and Ethiopia, we both felt God leading us to share in the miracle of adoption. Before we were married, we knew adoption was in our future. We had talked about it often over the years and now the time has come. God’s timing is perfect and we are confident in God’s calling and plan for our family to adopt. As we prayed for direction, we both felt strongly about Africa, specifically Ethiopia, for many reasons. We will be adding a toddler into our home forever in late 2009 or early 2010. We hope to be matched with a child by the end of this year, traveling in 2010.

Just so you know, as many have asked, does this mean we won't have anymore children biologically? The answer is no. We would love to have one more in the future. Because I have very challenging pregnancies and have already had 2 c-sections, we decided a break for me would be best for not only my health, but for our family. We desire to have a large family and know God already knows our little Ethiopian Schadt -we just can't wait to see his or her little face too.

Welcome to Our Adventure

2009-04-10T07:20:00.000-07:00

God has led our family on a great adventure, one that will take us to a place we would have never imagined - but isn't that how God usually works - giving us great opportunities to participate in the amazing things He is doing. We're excited to share with you what God is doing in our family through the miracle of adoption. Begin this journey with us to see how GREAT our God is and how He uses us, just an ordinary family, to accomplish something amazing in the life of a child that HE loves and knew before he or she was born.

To our little Ethiopia child - you are known by God....

Psalm 139: 13-17

¹³ For you created my inmost being;
you knit me together in my mother's womb.

¹⁴ I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
your works are wonderful,
I know that full well.

¹⁵ My frame was not hidden from you
when I was made in the secret place.
When I was woven together in the depths of the earth,

¹⁶ your eyes saw my unformed body.
All the days ordained for me
were written in your book
before one of them came to be.

¹⁷ How precious to ^b]">[b] me are your thoughts, O God!
How vast is the sum of them!