HIV 101

So, when was the last time you were educated about HIV and AIDS? Fifth grade? Yep, for me. Honestly. My knowledge of HIV hasn't really changed since I had the fear put in me in 5th grade sex ed class. And really I guess I don't know more about it because it's not really a big issue here. I know other continents are being wiped out by it, so you'd think I'd want to steer clear of that, right? BUT HIV 101 isn't what it used to be. We definitely did not consider HIV+ to be something we'd be willing to take on with our adoption. Everyone asks us, but we have little kids... Well, I've recently learned that that doesn't make sense and I couldn't be happier. So I thought I'd share a few things with you just in case you need a HIV refresher course.

• HIV has never been spread in a household setting. (That was a game changer for me.) You can't get it from eating or drinking after each other, bathing together, sweating. Not even messy toilet seats that unfortunately DO happen occasionally with potty trainers under my roof. Not through scraped knees. None of that normal family stuff. Not in school either.


• It's only transmitted through sex, sharing needles, and mother to child.


• Once they are on ARV medication, the HIV is virtually undetectable.


• They are healthier than HIV negative kids because of the drugs they take.


• You don't have legally have to share the information with the school or anybody if you don't want to.


• Their life expectancy is into their 70's.


• It's actually maybe not a big honkin' deal after all.

I didn't know that. I sorta feel like an idiot. If you think I'm an idiot too, that's OK. Please don't beat me up in the comments section. I'm learning. That's the point, right? I'm just sharing because you may be considering adoption and maybe HIV is on your radar (or maybe it's not). But it's always good to learn something new.

New Week, New Family

Hey Everybody,

I hope you had a good weekend. Man, you guys are impressing me to no end lately! Your generosity is astounding. Seriously astounding. Every day when I get the total update from the family of the week I find my jaw dropping. Anyone who saw it would laugh. Really, you guys are awesome. We have obliterated the thousand dollar goal for two weeks in a row now. Amazing. So enough about how awesome you are (and your hair looks really good right now, by the way). Let's move on to our newest family. Say hello to the Bowmans. *Hi Bowmans!*

Karen is mom, and she's informed me that they have no family pictures of all of them together. :) Know the feeling?! We understand. So here's Mama Karen and their little sweetie, Natalie.



Natalie is three years old and was adopted in 2009 from Ethiopia. As it goes with kids, it takes you a little while to settle in, but before long you're thinking about another one. They're addictive little suckers, aren't they? And honestly, just look at Natalie. Yeah, I know.



Oh, and here's Dad, Chad and Natalie. Daddies and daughters are so cute.



So back to Natalie needing a sister. The Bowmans believe God's plan for their family is to be entirely built by adoption, even though infertility is not an issue for them. And I think that's really cool. Not just of them, but I see that of many people lately. And I love that adoption is becoming commonplace enough that we all have this unique story and tapestry as to why and who and from where. Anyway, so they figured it was time to have another and have made the unique decision to adopt a child older than Natalie rather than younger. Most agencies discourage adopting out of birth order, but as we all know, God has different plans for each of us and "the rules" don't always apply 100% of the time. The Bowmans feel that older children need to be adopted as well and they're willing to break the rules a bit to give an older child a home. They're adoption will probably roll a lot faster than many because they are adopting older. The lines aren't quite so long. So let's just bless this family and this adoption and help get Natalie's big sister home with as little financial stress as possible so they can focus on their family.

Wanna know more about the fabulous Bowmans? Here's their blog. So you can follow along with this whole process. Here's a great post that Karen wrote about their decision to adopt an older child. And here's a little hello video. Ready to give? Blast that Paypal button. Go!

family update: the mowens

today we’re checking in with one of the previous Give 1 families. remember the mowens? they adopted little jacob in may. when they were in ethiopia to finalize the adoption, brad (the dad) spent a lot of time playing soccer with the older boys at the care center. they got to know a boy named isaiah who was 10 years old. they talked to the in-country staff about him and found out he had a baby brother named kaleb. but the mowens were told the boys were not adoptable at the time. they were saddened by this news, but they were determined to adopt again.

when they returned home with jacob, they started the process of having their home study updated. it look longer than they expected, but they trusted God’s timing. when it was finally updated, they immediately looked at their agency’s waiting children list. i’ll let tara mowen tell you the rest: “I about fell over to see THE BOYS that we knew and loved on the computer. We were told that they might not ever be adoptable and HERE THEY WERE. I sent Brad a text message about checking the waiting children list, and I quickly got a phone call back from Brad. He was sobbing saying ‘They are our sons. They are really on the waiting children list.’ God's perfect timing- they were paper ready THE SAME WEEK we were approved!!!!”

since accepting the referral of isaiah and kaleb, the mowens have been faced with the challenges of affording not one, but two adoptions… within months of completing the process for jacob. they needed to raise a lot of money, and they knew they would need to do something drastic. so they sold their house! seriously. they cut their housing expenses in half and used the equity for the adoptions. and get this, their house sold the day after they accepted the referrals.
they are eagerly awaiting their court date, which is Dec 21. but until then, they are hoping that God will continue to provide, just as he has through this entire miraculous story. they need to raise more than $20,000 for travel and other fees. if you want to give the mowens the best Christmas present ever, send your gift to:
Lifesong for Orphans
Mowen Adoption #2363
PO Box 40 / 202 N. Ford St
Gridley, IL 61744

(even better, your gift is tax-deductible, so you can squeeze in another deduction before the end of the calendar year.)

we are in awe of the mowens and their incredible faith and fortitude. but as tara mowen said, “…if there is anything we have learned in this process it is that God is bigger than anything we think might get in the way!”

Seems Familiar.

I love this illustration and it's one of my favorite verses ever, though I'm pretty well positive CS Lewis doesn't get to take the credit for it. He said a lot of wise things, but this one sounds familiar... :)

Anyhoo, I thought I'd let you know how the week is going with our Family of the The Week, the Daigles. They have raised, at this point, around $500 (*update. make that well over $700!) towards their adoption and are so happy about it, guys. But I thought maybe we could go a little further and pray for them during their adoption as well. So I asked Mama Daigle what areas she could use prayer in and here's what she said:

Pray for our kids! This would include praying for our new little guy, wherever he is, for safety, provision, health, all of the things you are praying for your little ones. Also be praying for our four dudes 'back at the ranch.' This will be a big change for them as well. Pray for them to be ready when the big changes start coming.

Pray for patience. We just got off the conference call with AWAA-Ethiopia. It was the kind of information I love...processes, details, flow-chartable kind of stuff. I love the details and I am typically obsessed with the How's and Why's. I'm the kind that needs patience.

Pray for funding. I'm cleaning an office building twice a week and keeping a friend's child. All of those pennies are adding up. Pray that God keeps providing ways to add pennies in the bucket!

I would love it if we could just stop what we're doing and go to God in prayer right now on behalf of the Daigles and all their boys, the birth mother of their soon to be son, and the authorities that help make this adoption possible. And if you haven't given to their adoption yet, there's still time for a few more days. Click right here to donate to help bring Micah home.

Fair Trade Christmas

My friend, Jenn came up with this awesome pinboard that deserves it's own post. You see, a lot of our kids are coming from a far off land where children aren't cherished, they're cheap labor. And their work is dangerous. And it needs to stop. How can you change it? Vote with your dollar. Here are a few choices when you're looking for Christmas gifts.



And I know it's more expensive sometimes. Hear me out, I know. But it's worth it. I'm starting to make some changes in my own life. If you're interested in learning more about fair trade and child labor click here for an interesting article that smacks you upside the head and sort of helps puts things into perspective.

What's in Your Bag of Tricks?

Hey guys, me again. For today's little installment of Peaceful Parenting I'd like to open a discussion. I want to know what's in your bag of tricks. The truth is my bag is sparse. It's often large, often forgotten, and usually feebly packed. SO when attempting a peaceful venture out in scary public, what do you bring to smooth the journey?

New week, New Family...

And this week we are welcoming the Daigle Family to our happy little blog.



Aw, look, there they are. ALL BOYS, ladies. Count em. One, two, three, four, and FIVE on the way! I'm giving her extra $ just for sheer courage and enthusiasm. Would you like to hear a little more about the Daigle's adoption? Come watch their video over here or visit their blog here. We busted a THOUSAND dollars last week with the Martinez Family. Want to see if we can do it again? Hit that donate button!!! ***insert rowdy imaginary applause and battle cries***