I am not sure if any other experience in my life could be explained w/ the words JOY and SADNESS ... I cried all the way to the agency today and I as sat in the waiting room w/ Lola she gave me the biggest smile I have ever seen, and then another, and then another (and no it wasn't gas) ... It was God's gift to me for being a faithful servant ... Seeing Lola's birth mother and Forever mother together was such a picture of love and honor ... As I stood there I thought this precious child has 3 women who love her deeply all in such a different way ... The peace that washed over me as I left is indescribable ... I wept some more on the way home and just talked w/ God ... He assured me this was the journey He had for me for the past 3 weeks ... He will hold me over the next few days as I think of Lola ... He will heal my heart and it will be stronger and ready for the next calling ...

Lola, you will forever be in our hearts ... Your face is etched on our souls ... And we are so thankful and proud to have been a part of your journey to your mommy, daddy, and big sister !!!

I want to thank all my sweet friends who prayed w/ me for Lola and stood by me as I walked this road once again ... I want to say especially thank you to Scott who allows me to be crazy for the Lord and for the brownies he brought home today (he knows me so well) ... Sweet kisses to Jeremiah, Elijah, Emily, and Maggie for loving Lola like a sister these past 3 weeks ... They give of themselves so we as a family can honor what God asked us to do ...

"Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. DO WHAT IT SAYS." James 1:22

Thanks for direction in our life Lord !!!!!

CLICK HERE ... You have got to go read Katie's first post from Uganda ... My heart just burst w/ love for her, for what she is doing, for her kids, and the way God is using her ... She TRULY GETS IT ... She is doing, acting, and loving on these children who had no hope ... She brought them the hope of Christ and now they in turn are loving others and showing people in Uganda hope and Christ ...

I am overwhelmed w/ how truly RICH they are ... I look around at my world at times and the things I stress over, let consume my mind, or even worry about and it makes me ashamed ... I am wanting in 2009 to stay in the moment w/ the Lord and to make a difference in His name ... I want to love deeper, be burdned for those who are hurting, take action on weekly basis to give someone hope, and to help my children see why God has us here !!!!

Katie, you are beyond dear to me ... You are part of my heart ... I am adopting you as my little sister ... I will walk w/ you as long as you journey and then some ... You have changed my life and I "LUFFA" you so so so much !!!!

If anyone has questions on how to help Katie's ministry please feel free to email me s.oatsvall@comcast.net ... As a volunteer, boardmember, and supporter of Amazima I would be honored to help you HELP THE KIDS OF UGANDA ... Ex. would be to sponsor a child for $300.00 a year, buy a chicken for a family so they can have protein in their diet $10.00/$25.00, purchase paper necklace supplies to help a woman support her family by making jewelry $10.00, purchase a pillow for a child in the program and more ... At Christmas this year Amazima gave each child their very own blanket !!!! I wish I could have seen their faces as they received this gift ...

Please everyone who reads my blog pray for Amazima Ministry, Pray for Katie, Pray for her girls, and pray for the 202 children in her care ... PRAYER MAKES A DIFFERNCE ...

Love to you all ...

Side Note: Lola Belle has captured many hearts and it is understandable ... She has a spirit about her that draws you in ... She may get her new home this coming week ... Please pray for all of us involved ...

I really have a lot of little things to share so I am going to do a sort of update post here of things that have happened or projects I am working on ... EMPTY OUT MY HEAD SO TO SPEAK ... hee hee

1. The Book is coming along ... It is an enormous amount of work and really requires me to work on it when the kids are sleeping (doesn't happen much)... I can't wait for it to be completed and see how God's hand moves it to work for the glory of the Lord ... Hoping to have it ready by Mother's Day ...

2. I am designing a t-shirt to sell to help raise funds for our adoption, but more than that it is a conversation piece ... I believe we have to be talking and acting on behalf of the orphans of the world daily ... Plus it is SO SO SO CUTE ...I just know you are all going to love it !!!

3. I got a tattoo on my Anniversary in December ... I got the Chinese symbol ADOPTED put on my ankle ... It is my prayer that everyone in my family will be ADOPTED in to the family of Christ ... The word ADOPTED has become such a special word to my heart ... It speaks volumes about the ultimate unconditional love given to each of us by God ...

4. We have raised over $75,000 for Katie's ministry in the 4 months since we have meet her ... Katie has taught me to be CRAZY in living out my life for Christ ...She leaves for Uganda on Monday and it will be bittersweet ... I am so excited for her to see her children again, but will miss listening to her talk of how Christ is working in Uganda ... Suzanne and I will continue to share her story w/ others and raise awareness of her ministry needs ...

5. Lola Belle is the most amazing little person ...It has only been a week, but I totally understand her needs: the way she likes to be held, her sleeping schedule, how to keep her awake, and the way she likes to be kissed on her cheeks ... I thank you Lord for the gift of her ...

6. My local friends laugh at my blog sometimes because they think I forget some of the real stuff, so just in case you didn't know ... I yell at my kids sometimes, I spend days in the same clothes, I don't like to cook, My kids are not perfect and totally smart off at me sometimes, I don't like getting up in the morning, I have gone off on rude people before at the YMCA, I get mad when people ask me in front of my girls if they "Are Real Sisters?", I do talk about orphans everyday, I don't like doing craft projects w/ my kids, I don't like cold weather and get a little depressed during the cold months, I am an exercise freak (at least 5 days a week), and so on ... You get the picture I am not perfect, perky, or happy all the time ...Diet Coke and Chocolate do help though ...

7. Friday Suzanne treated Katie and I to massages at the spa ...It was a much needed blessing ... It was fun day of just hanging out and talking since Katie is leaving Monday ... Plus sweet sweet Kim brought dinner to my family and a cute outfit for Lola Belle ... I am blessed w/ amazing people in my life WHO GET IT !!!!

I think that is it ... Not a real great post just some stuff stuck up in my head that needed to come out ...

Have a great week friends ...

I want you to bare with me while I try to explain what the Lord has been revealing to me over the past week ...

When Gracie Lou (foster angel #1) came and left in two days I was blessed and broken-hearted at the same time ... As I held her I realize that she belonged to no one on this earth. Then a week later came Ally Kat (#2, now precious Elly) and having her for 21 days and wrestling w/ the fact that this amazing little creature didn't belong to anyone except the Lord and wondering what I could do about that ... People would always come up to me and ask about her and I would say, "She isn't mine." ... It sort of worked on my heart saying "She isn't mine", but God was showing me a picture w/ Ally Kat of His plan for HER life and that I was just a stepping stone to her forever family ... What a blessing meeting her forever family and being a part of her journey. I learned so much about the Lord ..

Now we have Lola Belle (#3) and last Friday as Scott and the boys were at a basketball game and the girls were playing quietly (MIRACLE), I sat on the couch holding Lola Belle and began weeping at the thought of her not belonging to someone. A person in her corner, someone to fight for her, etc ... I heard God in my spirit tell me, "Why Not You !!!" Then it hit me like a ton of bricks that just because I may not be her forever family that we are her family right now ... It doesn't have to be legal, technical, or approved by anyone ... If Christ were to come back tomorrow then Lola Belle could go to heaven as an Oatsvall, if the agency never showed back up to get her then we would keep her forever. I know both of those are highly unlikely to happen, but God just let me know that Lola Belle could BELONG to us till her forever family is choosen and that she like Gracie Lou and Ally Kat deserve only the best at all times ... They are precious gifts from the Lord ...

SO FOR TODAY, TOMORROW, AND UNTIL WHENEVER Lola Belle is part of our family and we will love and protect her w/ every breathe we have ...

This story is dedicated to Sumini ... A child of Katie's who didn't belong, was overlooked, shunned, ignored, and basically an outcast until God took one young woman name Katie Davis and put her in a village in Africa where she would walk one very sick little girl home to see that she didn't BELONG to anyone ... Katie nursed her back to health and claimed her as her own ... Now this precious child has a mommy who loves her FOREVER ...

I hope that wasn't to confusing, but the concept of BELONGING has been on my mind, heart, and soul lately ... I know I cling to the face that I BELONG to the Lord ...I want Lola Belle to know she BELONGS to us and can cling to that fact !!

Prayers for Katie as she will be heading back to Uganda to be with her family ...

I am not sure I can even describe this precious angel ... I mean how do you put into words what gift a newborn baby girl is ... She has quite a set of lungs on her and she is sleeping wonderfully so far ... She can open her eyes and they just sparkle ... I can't imagine what the birth mother is feeling tonight having left the hospital w/out her child ... I just feed Lola Belle, kissed on her and told her she was loved, and tucked her in bed ... WHAT AN HONOR !!!

We will all pray for healing of the birth mother's heart... We will pray for the preparations of the forever family's hearts ... And I will whisper God's love into Lola Belle's ears all day long ... She will feel loved, protected, and adore until time for her to go ...

Thanks for journeying w/ me again ... I will keep you updated !!!

P.S. Jeremiah can't wait for her to watch him play basketball, Elijah wants her to come visit him in school and meet his teacher, Emily wants to feed her all the time, and Maggie just walks around telling everyone to "SHHHHHH" since Lola Belle is sleeping ... I am so proud of how my children welcome in these little ones for the time we have them ... I see so much of God in them and they teach me so much ...

I finally put away all the baby clothes and blankets, returned the infant car seat to my friend this past Sunday, and have the moses' basket baby bed by the back door to return to my other friend and WHAT HAPPENS ????? Yep, you guessed it ... phone call from my SW about a baby leaving hospital tomorrow ...

Here is where I made the mistake ... I returned all the stuff and said I was NEVER doing interim care again ... God loves to take my words and show me who is boss ...

So prayer warriors, we need to start praying again for birth mom, baby (to be named once I see her adorable angel face), and for the adoptive parents who don't even know they are going to be called and given the best gift in this world !!!!

"Whoever welcomes one of these little children in my name welcomes me; and whoever welcomes me does not welcome me but the one one who sent me." Mark 9:37

WELCOME little one to our home !!!!

2008 brought the Oatsvall's so much change ... Actually, the first 5 months are a complete blur w/ sweet angel girl Maggie followed by job change, school change, sweet Maria going home to the Lord, no insurance- insurance issues, meeting Katie, starting an adoption/orphan care ministry at church, many trips to the airport to welcome home sweet new children, and so much more ... I am thankful for the hardships/suffering/joy/hope because it was during those times the Lord became so clear to me ... So now it is 2009 and many wonder what it will bring and as tempting as it is to try to make goals, plans, and predict situations (I am notorious for this) in reality we are only promised the breathe we are taking right now ... I want to try to live in each day of 2009 as a gift to be unwrapped by the Father ... I want to rely on His grace and strength in this day, in this moment, in this minute!

I will be praying each day for Jeremiah's heart, Elijah's words, Emily's peace , Maggie's surgeries, Scott's job/financial peace, THE BOOK, miracle for Abe, Cade's eye, Joseph/Abigail, Katie's children, Chapman's, Shoahannah's Hope, and all my precious waiting sisters (some babies will be home this year praise the Lord) ...

I will pray that I can be kinder in my words to my children, I can soak up the word of God better this year, I can let God work in hearts instead of trying to push things on people, and I will give and meet the needs of others better this year ...

PRAISING ONE DAY AT A TIME, LIVING ONE DAY AT A TIME, SERVING ONE DAY AT A TIME 4 THE LORD IN 2009 !!!

Love To All My Blog Family ... You have given me so much in 2008 and I know you will stand tall w/ me in 2009 ...