One Sought Me

"When is Fireman Sam coming?" asked my boy while we were expecting the fire marshal to come for his inspection yesterday.  Fire Marshal Terry arrived in the mid-morning to do a walk-through, educated, and inspect for fire safety in our home.  Although the children spared Terry their impressions of a fire siren, they did play well together and helped in being tour guides through the house.  Terry asked the children questions like: "What would you do if you see a lighter or a match lying around?" and "Where is your family meeting place if there would be an emergency inside the home?"  Breathe in. Hold it. The kids answer correctly, wheww, release breath!  No, it wasn't too bad and the kids were very interested in learning more about fire safety in their home. Todd and I are very fire safety conscious.  We had a kitchen fire in our previous home, and we also witnessed our neighbors home burn to ashes in a matter of minutes.  It was absolutely terrible a...

Wow, looking at our expenses proposed for the next steps in our adoption sent us into a spin of a discussion lasting well into the a.m. morning hours.  It was awesome!  Todd and I were sharing our fears of coming up with these costs and what risks we were taking at swallowing this chunk of money.  We challenged each other with some intense and deep searching questions like: "If we'd have to give up xyz in order to afford this, would you?" and I'm not talking giving up my sweet tea at McDonald's, I'm talking bigger.  But there wasn't anything we could do to convince each other to give up.  We tried to target each other where it hurt the most to get the other person to scream "uncle" (that's what we used to say in tickle fights when you quit!) to no avail.  There wasn't anything that could compare to welcoming a child(ren) into our family and ultimately following what God has called us to do.  We are reminded: "Don’t store up treasure...

We may as well get the prayers a rolling as this week is going to be rolling at the speed of light!  Could you pray for us?  Here is what we have going on in the next 8 days: Fire marshal home inspection, Todd and Erin's physical exams and vaccine updates, all 4 of the kids physical exams and vaccine updates, meeting with our case worker, sanitary home inspection, finger prints and background check, and...our spunky daughter #2, we call here "Buggy" is turning 5!! Thank you for lifting us up in prayer during this busy week! Can I just say how different Todd and I can be when considering where we place our worry?  Todd is not a needle person.  He is most worried about the doctor's appointment and any shots or blood draws required.  Me on the other hand, I'm thinking, "What does a sanitary inspection mean?" I know the health department has to come to my home and browse around!  That's enough to make any homemaker squirm.  I'm thinking Q-tip swabs...

This song by Audio Adrenaline hits deep in our hearts!  Take a listen!  Audio Adrenaline's song  lyrics for Kings and Queens :    Little hands, shoeless feet Lonely eyes looking back at me Will we leave behind the innocent too brief On their own, on the run  When their lives have only begun These could be our daughters and our sons And just like a drum I can hear their hearts beating I know my God won't let them be defeated Every child has a dream to belong and be loved (Chorus) Boys become kings, girls will be queens Wrapped in Your majesty When we love, when we love the least of these Then they will be brave and free Shout Your name in victory When we love, when we love the least of these When we love the least of these  Purchase the MP3 download through this link!

Just wanted to give a big Welcome and THANK YOU to my facebook friends for stopping in at our blog about adoption!  We just announced our adoption from Ethiopia on our personal facebook page, so we're hoping you all stop in often to follow this incredible journey!!! If you aren't a facebook friend you can follow "one sought me" on facebook too!  Look us up!  Thanks again friends! We put 3 clues on our personal facebook page to invite friends to guess our news!   "Clue #1: It involves travel."  Many people guessed missionaries or Disney!   "Clue #2:  Passports are required. " "Clue #3: There will be 2 tickets one way and 4 (hopefully) on the return flight." Yes!  Good guessing! And you are all mostly right- missionaries? Yes! just bringing 2 kiddos (we hope) home to serve them here and teach them about Jesus in the U.S. :) !!! We're adopting from Ethiopia!!! Please keep us in your prayers as we are 98% completed our home study the...

OOoooh, what perfect timing!  As every Saturday morning goes at the Vogtman household, Daddy takes the kids to the local bakery for dough-nuts and mommy gets to lazy around in a quiet house for a few minutes (that's the idea anyway, but I usually go along for the ride).  Everyone was loaded up in the car, but before heading out the road, we needed a quick stop at the mailbox. Buggy just had to drop off a letter she had made for a friend, and as Todd opened the mailbox, well, I think he smelled the package before even seeing it!  It was our delivery from Just Love Coffee.  Off to the bakery and back home for a taste of both baked goods and coffee on this frosty winter morning! Well, I have to say...it's REALLY VERY GOOD!   We hope you give a try too!   Go to our storefront here , buy some coffee, and Just Love Coffee gives $5 a bag to help support our adoption!  Thank you!  Read our post about our Just Love Coffee storefront by clickin...

Why international adoption and not domestic for our family? International, domestic, and trans-racial adoptions along with foster care are all crucial in helping children's current conditions and offering them a more promising future. Each type of child care has it's unique set of gains and loses for all peoples involved: the birth parents, the child, and the adoptive parents.  Each adoptive parent has to weigh out the gains and loses and chose which type of adoption or child care is right for them. While we can't claim that one is more noble of a cause than another, Todd and I perceive the needs of an international orphan as much more dire than those in our country's system.  Given that our country has a welfare system in place, though flawed, it still ensures that children are provided with free quality education, meals at school and/or through food programs, medical assistance, and foster care programs.  Third world children are in an entirely different situation...