Our Summer in a Flash!

Things have slowed down a little in the Bare household and as a result I have started to miss being connected to our friends and family!  I guess before, I just didn't have the time to think about it! So in attempt to connect, I thought I would show you a glimpse of our summer!

It started with the adoption of 2 furry caterpillars! One was Luke's and one was Hamilton's.  The boys had a lot of fun with them.  They even traveled with us to Ohio for a wedding as one was in a chrysallis and due to come out a moth at anytime!

 

The caterpillar habitat.

On our way to Ohio, it was so much fun to reconnect with an old friend and go to the "Global Mall" where we had some traditional African treats!

 

Here's Luke and Hamilton with our dear friend, Krystan, who got married.  It was so much fun to be a part of the festivities. 

Here's the moth that was Luke's caterpillar!  Unfortunately, Hamilton's caterpillar died a tragic death when it was stepped on by a child who was visiting our house!  I took the squashed caterpillar outside and put it on a plant.  It was gone when we went to check on it.  Hamilton said that perhaps God had taken the caterpillar to His home!

Fun in the water with friends one afternoon!

It was wonderful to have a visit from Papa and Shosho this summer.  Here we are walking at the riverfront.
Hope to connect with you soon!

First Day of School!

H and L on their first day of "real" class!

(We homeschool but one day a week we join with other moms and students for half of a day of school in a classroom setting)

It is such a sweet and fun time for all of us.

H as a pilgrim learning about the Mayflower Compact

H is in a class of all boys! Six boys ages four and five!

Fortunately his tutor is great and has very active participation for learning!

L in his classroom.  He is with 1st and 2nd graders.

Looks like they are having to much fun!

Please Pray!

Hi Friends and Family! I apologize that I have not set up an email list to email this out to everyone. (That is on my list of things to do this evening!) We have been receiving responses back from our letter...Thank you!

If you would please pray for two things today and in the next few days. The first one is to pray that our church would allow us to use them as a "pass through" for monies that people would like to donate to us for our adoption. This would enable people to receive a tax deduction for their gift. This is important as their are several people who are interested in giving but need it to be tax deductible and they need it before the end of the year. Please pray as our church and those in authority there consider our request.

Secondly, we have our phone orientation with Gladney tonight at 8pm. Yeah! This means that we will most likely begin the "paper pregnancy" and start our home study. Please be praying for God's timing in the home study and for a clear mind and energy in the evenings to work on paper work.

Thanks for partnering with us in this. It is wonderful to see God work as a result of prayers!

The Lady on the side of the Road- Incredible encounters with generous people!

I have wanted to blog for 3 weeks to let you know of how incredible people have been to us through this process. Our God continues to blow me away by His generousity and His Spirit living through others to touch us in incredible ways during this process. I have to tell you about one such encounter.

I was putting garage sale signs out several weeks ago on a busy Friday afternoon about 4:30pm. James had listed our garage sale on Craig's List and had mentioned that 100% of our sales were going toward our adoption. So as I was carrying the only sign we were putting out that had our adoption mentioned on it at a very busy intersection. A lady called me from her car. She was turning at the busy intersection I was approaching. She mentioned that she had seen our add on Craig's List and handed me a $20 dollar bill. She said that she had done the same with her son who was sitting beside her in the car. Can you believe it? That I would be carrying that sign at exactly the same time that she was turning and that she saw our add and that God moved her to be so generous to a stranger. It touched my heart in such a big way. My God, you are so good to orchestrate such a meeting! Thank you sweet lady on the corner of North Springs and Clemson! And thank you our God!

Dear friends and family,

Our family and our picture is missing someone! And so, James, Luke, Hamilton and myself would like to humbly ask you to partner with us as we pursue adopting from Ethiopia. Both James and I have for some time felt called to adopt. Over the last year, we have prayed and have asked God to direct our hearts into His will for our family and to give us wisdom as to what adoption would look like for our family. In exploring different options, we feel that God has lead us to pursue adopting from Ethiopia. There are several reasons for this. Ethiopia has one of the greatest needs for adoption, it is one of the more straight forward countries to adopt from, and the least expensive of international adoptions. In addition to these, it has always been a dream of mine to adopt from Ethiopia. Having grown up in Kenya which is just south of Ethiopia, I (Jenny) developed a love for Ethiopia and got to watch several families adopt from Ethiopia. God is so good to give one a spouse who is like-minded. Even though James has not had the same experiences as I, as I have shared my heart with him, God has drawn his heart to Ethiopia as well.
If you know anything about adoption, it is not a simple process. Honestly, we feel that it requires so much more than if we were to choose to have a child of our own. Every step of the way, we are depending on God. It is a tender and emotional process as one considers all of the motherless and fatherless children worldwide that need the tender love of the Father to embrace them. There is a lot of paper work involved in the process as well as the almost forbidding cost. Fortunately, we have an incredibly awesome God whose heart is for the orphan. His word is full of promises for the orphan and those who depend on Him. Proverbs 23:10 says "Don't stealthily move back the boundary lines or cheat orphans out of their property,
For they have a powerful Advocate who will go to bat for them." (The Message).
As a follower of Christ, God calls each one of us to care for orphans and widows. However, not all of us are called to adopt or to work in an orphanage. So as a family, we are asking you if you would care for our orphan? Would you partner with us as we start on this new adventure? So far, this is one of the greatest leaps of faith we have taken. But again, we have an incredible awesome God who specializes in the impossible! How many times in the Bible, has a situation appeared humanly impossible, and yet our God has shown up and provided beyond human expectations? Our desire is for God to receive all the glory as we watch Him move through you and us in this adoption process. It is so exciting to watch God work and we want you to be a part. Our prayer for you as you partner with us, is that your own faith would increase.
There are several ways that you can partner with us. Most importantly you can PRAY. Included is a bookmark with specific prayer requests, we will try and keep you updated throughout the process through email and our blog so you can see how God answers your prayers and new ways in which you can pray. Second, you can HELP US RAISE FUNDS for our adoption. The total cost of the adoption is estimated to be $20,000-25,000. Now, you can see why this seems humanly impossible! Many of you have been impacted by the challenges of our current economy. Our family is experiencing the same and yet we still feel that God is wanting us to continue to pursue adopting. Like Gideon in the Bible, God sometimes reduces our resources so that only God can receive the glory for what is accomplished. In raising the money, we are finding items in our house that we don't need and are selling them on Craig's List and at garage sales. We have had one garage sale and will be having another one in October. Thank you to those who have already donated items for us to sell both on Craig's List and at the garage sales. A friend of ours who does fund raising with local schools has allowed us to work for her stuffing envelopes to help make money for the adoption. Also, I am using my Mary Kay business profits to go toward the adoption as well. James is mowing our neighbors yards for a minimal charge to serve them but also to make some extra money to go toward the adoption. Is there a way that you can contribute? A sweet friend has committed all of her profit from a business that she has to us from August- December. Small things when put together with a powerful God multiplies and creates big things! We are in the beginning stages of the paper work, doctors visits for physicals, etc. Next is the home study which costs $3,500. After the completion of our home study, there are some options for matching tax deductible donations. You can contribute financially. Would you give a financial gift? Would you consider switching to a Mary Kay product instead of the brand that you currently use, knowing that it is backed by a 100% money back satisfaction guarantee, shipped for free and that the profit is going toward adoption? If you currently use Mary Kay items, would you host a party, share a catalog with some friends or point them to my website, www.marykay.com/JennyBare? Would any of you like a custom shade for your home, whose profits go toward our adoption? Go to shadethatlamp.etsy.com to order one. Do you know anyone who would be moved by our cause and want to give toward giving an orphan a home? We are already overwhelmed by your compassionate and generous hearts. Thank you so much! "Pure and genuine religion in the sight of God the Father means caring for orphans and widows in their distress and refusing to let the world corrupt you" (James 1:27). Deuteronomy 24:19 says "If you forget to bring in a stack of harvested grain, don't go back in the field to get it. Leave it for the poor, including foreigners, orphans, and widows, and the LORD will make you successful in everything you do".
Thank you for being the wonderful friends and family that you are. Thank you for joining with us on this very exciting journey. We are so blessed by you.

Blessings to you in abundance,
James, Jenny, Luke, Hamilton and our future baby Bare
*Luke keeps on asking when we are going to get his baby sister....we tell him, in God's time. It is wonderful that he is excited as well!

So J and I are picking up momentum with our adoption. Yeah! We just finished publishing a letter to friends and family.....so hopefully you will be receiving one soon! I will also try to put it here for your viewing pleasure!

I had an awesome talk with Scott at the Gladney Center for Adoption this past Friday. In addition to adoptions they invest back into the country which has huge huge huge value in my eyes having grown up in a third world country. Check out this website:

http://www.adoptionsbygladney.com/html/services/human_ethiopia.php

I cannot keep from crying every time I visit the thought of adopting and the orphans out there that need help and love!

At the train museum with Papa O and Shosho

Train Museum with Papa and Shosho

H's face after following his new diet

Here's H's face after following his gluten free, corn free, and dairy free diet along with taking some natural supplements. I am so glad that I can avoid coating my baby in steroids!

H's Eczema before and after the diet modifications

Here is a picture of H's cheeks at one of the worst points.

Creative Eating: Zuchini Pancakes

As some of you know, H has severe eczema especially on face. This along with some other concerns (ie irritability, colic as a baby and a small appetite) has lead us on a journey for his health. At this time he is corn free, gluten and wheat free, dairy free and a few other "frees". As you can imagine this challenges a lot of our western cooking to say the least! We have given up a lot of things but one thing that we cannot live without is pancakes...I guess my boys got that love from their mom! I have come across this great recipe today and thought I would share it. Of course, it is someone else's recipe that I modified to meet our needs. Whether or not you have special nutritional needs like H, most moms want to get more vegetables in their children's diet so here's a recipe for Sweet Zuchini Pancakes. They were delicious. I just finished cooking the last 2 and the kitchen smells like cinnamon!
http://cookingequipment.about.com/od/breakfastrecipes/r/zucchinipancake.htm

*Keep in mind, I made several changes to the recipe and they turned out delicious! I substituted the butter for canola oil, all the flours (corn and wheat) with brown rice flour and substituted 1and1/2 tsp cream of tartar plus 1/2 tsp of baking soda for the baking powder. I substituted 3/4 cup coconut milk and 1/2 cup water for the milk in the recipe.

End of the Summer Tea Party!

Here are the neighbor girls and the boys. I watched them three days a week this summer. We ended our time with an evangelistic tea party. We made a craft of decorating a gift box and talked about gifts. We talked about how Jesus is a gift to us and we can be a gift back to God. Every child made a small wordless book to go in their box. This book tells the story of our sin, Jesus' redemption of us and our new life when we believe in Him. Luke has already told God that he accepts Jesus' death for his sins and that He wants to be friends with God but all three girls prayed and told God that. K the oldest one, I believe was completely sincere and realized what she was saying. The other two, well, a seed is planted and I know that they know. So then, we ended our little time with a celebration of hot chocolate and brownies and played a game passing a gift around and unwrapping it. What a great culmination to the summer! My desire in keeping the girls was to plant seeds and show them Jesus.

H's Dedication

Sometimes you have to get creative! For us, creative meant that we did not dedicate H at church like expected on Sunday. Instead, we were together with Grandparents for breakfast, scripture reading and quick prayers (the wind was chilly) on Sunday. It was such a sweet and special time and as a mom it will make for a special memory.

We had to get creative because H had been diagnosed with strep throat on Friday and we did not feel comfortable going to church with a sick baby. But we didn't want to miss out on dedicating him. Both my and J's parents were in town for this special event. If you are reading this and you weren't with us, we wish you were there. You are special to us and we treasure your input as we try to raise 2 godly boys..and hopefully and baby girl soon too! J's and my parents- thank you for your godly input, example and support. We love you.

HOPE

So recently, I have thought about trully using this as a blog. That is if I can steal away moments from other things that demand my time to write some thoughts. I have never thought highly of what I have to say. Thoughts like "why would anyone waste their time to read what I have to say" are trully in the front of my mind but somehow I don't know why but I feel lead to write for whatever edification of others it can bring.

So in the wake of this election, my heart has been so heavy. (The thought of Obama as president does not exactly thrill me) James and I have experienced a feeling of oppression for whatever reason. As believers, we definitely fight a spiritual battle. Sometimes we are more aware of it than others. One day, I trully felt like it was me and my God against the world. Do you ever feel this way? That day, I really wanted to go live with the Amish....in my own bubble! I know that that is the cowards way but that is how I felt.

So with all of that in mind God really helped me to overcome these things reminding me that He always walks in victory (I think that is found in Hebrews). He is our source of hope and victory. The God of all the universe has His eyes on the righteous and regardless of the future of our nation, He is our security.

So ironicly, this morning when James and I discovered that Obama and democrats have a lot of the majority, our Bible reading together was entitled "Circumstantial Deceit". It is based off of John 11:14-15. Circumstances don't tell the whole story. How often in the gospels were circumstances deceiving? A storm threatened to capsize a boat, thousands were hungry and God was killed by men, just to name a few. In all of these situations when people stared at the problem they despaired but when they stared at the Truth they found hope. The devotional tells of a story of George Muller who was going to a very important meeting but was on a ship that was stuck in the North Atlantic fog. The captain told George that he would not make his appointment but Muller responded "My eye is not on the density of the fog, but on the living God who controls every circumstance of my life." Amazingly the fog lifted.

"Our human tendency is to feel trapped by visible situations but circumstantial evidence is not the truth of a matter......Those who focused on their problems in the Gospels found those problems to be overwhelming. Those who focused on Jesus found their problems to be illusory. Focus on Jesus. There is no deceit in Him." (taken from The One Year at His Feet devotional by Chris Tiegreen)

So whatever your circumstances are this morning may Jesus Christ be your hope and your joy this day!

Luke's Haircut and Our little helpers!

This is our sweet boy with lots of hair! Love it!

This is all of his hair on the ground!
This is our sweet boy with little hair! Love it! But he looks so much more grown up...=( ! Check out the peanut butter mustache~!
Of course, whatever you do for one you must also do for the other child. So here is a picture of Hamilton's hair. Next time you get peanut butter and jelly in your hair, just make a mohawk out of it!
I thought you would enjoy pictures on the tight ship I (Jenny) run. Here is Luke doing his lunch dishes!

Here's Hamilton vacuuming!
What big helpers they are! Talk about being a productive family....mom is on the phone with Laurie, catching up with a good friend who recently moved, Luke is grating cheese and Hamilton is stirring our dinner, and Dad is on the computer researching flooring for our future home! Never boring in this house! I just hope the desire to help remains in the years to come.

Time in the Mountains

We recently took a trip to the mountains to spend time with the Bare side of the family. Here's Luke picking flowers on Roan Mountain. We went for a little hike one morning.

The Bare men/boys had fun playing in the stream! It was so cold we had to tell Luke that he had to get out because his lips were blue!


As usual, we celebrated the special birthdays this month! We have such a sweet family to celebrate!

Hamilton's Birthday Party

Happy Birthday to Hamilton! In theme with what Hamilton enjoys..."Balls, Bubbles and Balloons" was the theme. We ate boiled peanuts and watermelon in the shape of balls, some of Hamilton's favorites! By the way, if you did not know, Hamilton loves balls. He loves to throw and catch balls. He gets so excited! James and I will have to become sports buffs with this one I think!

The birthday cake was a tower of donut holes. So healthy and delicious too!

Despite his face in this picture, he loved the donut holes!


What made the celebration so special was sharing it with family and friends.

Bubbles!
Our new great neighbor friends! Their son Aiden is 8 months old and the same size as Hamilton. I (Jenny) have really enjoyed getting to spend time with Michelle.
The great big brother. He did great singing Happy Birthday and making sure all the guests had enough food.

Opening some gifts! Yeah! Hamilton squealed at the gift of balls!