Newest Fisher Family Members

Updated: The photos finally posted! Enjoy!

Well...I was going to post a photo of our newest family members, but at this point in time, that function does not seem to be working properly on Blogger. So, suffice it to say that our two newest family members are Tigger, Jr., and Ebony, both of the feline variety, and both with interesting stories to tell. But, alas, the stories will have to wait until such a time as I can post the photos! Check back soon!

Unbelievable!

UPDATE: Saturday night my sister found out that her boys were granted their visas, along with 20+ other children from the orphanage...praise God! Now we need to pray that they get safely transported out of Haiti and reunited with their forever families. Also, pray for the caregivers of these children. While they are extremely happy to see these children leave the country, there is little time to prepare themselves emotionally for the exodus of so many children at one time. These children have been loved and cared for by these dear caregivers for a long time, and the bonds are great. In many instances, the caregivers will continue on in country to care for the many other orphans who will now take the place of the adopted ones. May God bless them for their sacrifice of love!


Sorry I have been so quiet on this blog as of late. It just doesn't seem right to write frivolous posts when so much death and destruction is happening in our world. The earthquake in Haiti has touched our family in a very tangible way, as I have two little nephews there in an orphanage who need to get out. My sister Stephanie has been in the process of adopting little Ian and Alec for over two years. She has made several visits there, the most recent of which was this past fall with my mom. Just last week she found out that the boys had been granted their visa appointment at the U.S. Embassy which was the final step before they could come home. The appointment was scheduled for next Tuesday, January 19. And then came the earthquake...UNBELIEVABLE!

As I type this, people in the upper eschelons of our government are working hard at trying to get special humanitarian parole status for children who already have mommies and daddies waiting for them here in the United States but are just lacking the necessary paperwork...which now may be lying under tons of rubble at worst, or in dead computers at best. The orphanage where my nephews have lived their short lives has a wonderful director who has been working around the clock to get some of the kids out. Miraculously, she was granted 12 visas in one day, but she wants 12 more. Please pray that our government will see fit to get ALL the children out of that country who have families waiting for them. It could take YEARS for the Haitian government to get itself back together enough to continue the paperwork for some of the families who are in earlier stages of this process. And in good times, the process already was taking years...

My heart aches for the children who have already known such devastation and now are having to live through more. My heart is broken for the thousands of children who are now left orphaned in addition to the thousands who were already orphaned. I thank God for the compassionate people who have given their lives to advocate and care for the "least of these" in the name of Jesus. If you would like to read my sister's blog, please visit http://www.iansadoption.blogspot.com/. If you scroll down her righthand sidebar, she has links to other blogs where you can follow the stories of adoptive families and ministries in Haiti and other adoptive families in the US and around the world. But most importantly, pray without ceasing for this situation to be handled quickly and efficiently so the children can be spared further heartbreak and suffering.

God is good all the time...and all the time, God is good.

Goodbye, 2009...Hello, 2010!

This past year has just flown by in our household. As I reflect back, I'm grateful for the busyness, as it has caused time to go by quickly, but I'm also sad that the time has gone by so quickly...does that make sense? With going back to work this fall, this blog has not had the attention I would have liked, and I am long overdue on lots of photos, but I will try better in 2010. As we anticipate a new year, I'm excited about what it might hold for our family (maybe we'll meet our daughter Sophia this year?!), and yet a little hesitant about what the future might reveal. But through it all, my God is in control, and in Him I can trust and rest. So, may God bless you and yours in 2010, and...

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Overdue Vacation Pics - Part Two

After visiting the Lego store and other fun places at Downtown Disney, we decided to find somewhere to eat dinner. We headed over to Pleasure Island, another section of Downtown Disney, which has a variety of restaurants and shops. (Interestingly, it used to have nightclubs, but they are all closed down and they are making it all more family friendly!) We ate at a new restaurant there called Paradiso 37. It was by far our priciest meal of the week, but we enjoyed the interesting flavors of the Americas! After dinner, one vehicle loaded up with the men and half the children, while my mom, sister, Jonathan (our bodyguard who always stayed half a block away to make sure we didn't dampen his style!), and I stayed to shop around a bit with the toddler duo of Nathaniel (age 2) and Juliana (age 3). We had a lot of fun...enjoy the pics!

Nathaniel and I enjoying dinner

my sister and her clan at dinner

the toddler duo contained...for the moment!

my sister, my mom, and I having a little fun

(photo courtesy of Jonathan!)

grandmom and Nathaniel riding the "choo-choo"

my all time favs...Pooh and friends!

the toddler duo...free at last!

Overdue Vacation Pics - Part One

A few weeks ago (although it seems like a lifetime ago now!) our family, my sister's family, and our parents took a week long trip to Orlando, Florida, for a mini family vacation. We rented a beautiful house with a pool that more than accommodated all 14 of us (that would be six adults and eight kids!) and ventured out and about each day to various area attractions. The first night we were there we went over to one of my favorite places in Orlando, Downtown Disney. The following pictures are from the Lego Imagination Center there...more pics will follow from other things we did that night and later that week, but I have so many pics, I need to chunk them into groups to keep the posts semi-manageable! Enjoy!

the wall of single Lego bricks you can buy by the pound

I love the sky behind these two pics of the boys!

my happy two year old!

attempting to climb a mini climbing wall

cousins working together on a Lego creation

one of the few decent pics my teen allowed...and he's actually helping his brother!

Benjamin's finished product...he wanted a picture to remember!

Dave and the younger boys enjoying the beautiful scenery and weather!

Our Advent Tree

A few years ago I expanded on the tradition of an advent calendar by creating an advent tree for our boys. I found these ornament boxes and immediately thought that they would be great for hiding little goodies for the boys as we counted down to December 25. The boys take turns opening one box each night to find the treat inside. From our almost 15-year old to our 2-year old, each of the boys enjoys this tradition. When I have something that doesn't fit in the box, I put a paper with a clue to the item in the box, or, this year, just a number that clues me in to my "master list" of items. They wait expectantly as I go to our "back room" and rummage around to find the item that the number indicates. Usually I have four of an item so that each child gets something, but sometimes, the treat is for the entire family (e.g., a new DVD). This tree is in addition to our regular tree and sits in our dining room. It's a lot of fun and something I look forward to planning each year for that little something extra that makes the Christmas season fun and memorable!

our advent tree

What I am Thankful for...

This photo was taken in Florida a couple of weeks ago. When I have a spare moment (ha!) I will post about the trip, but I didn't want to let November come to an end without posting what I was thankful for...God, my family, and having all the necessities (and little extras!) that we need. Life is good!