Well, after 9 months, I guess I will update ya'll

Above: our littlest one sitting in big brother's lab for Algebra II lessons. She picked up his calculator as a phone. She loves homeschooling too!

Now for the update that has been long overdue:
We were diligent and obedient to the Lord's call on our lives to adopt a child. It was an amazing journey, but one that feels like a miscarriage. God provided all funds needed to take classes, pay the initial agency fees, complete a home study and all the paperchasing that goes with it. God has truly blessed us.

As the beginning of summer unfolded it became clear that the adoption process was to stop. Rhea had the worst year with his business in 2009. We made it and 2010 looks much better though. the other factor for stopping was that we were still trying to work through my health concerns. Both of these issues were considered 'risks' to take in the paperwork part of adopting from China. Rhea stopped the process and although we mourned, we are healing. We still desire very much to have more children whether by birth or adoption and we have a homestudy ready to go if God so chooses to bless us through adoption. We are very open to what He has for our family.

In the meantime, I have been enjoying the blessings He has put in our home. We are homeschooling for our eighth year. God also placed other changes and losses in our road for 2009 and though a lot of it was confusing and surprising, we are grateful for God's clarity and pruning in our lives. Our family is stronger and closer after living through 2009. I am honored to be the wife of a man with such high integrity and honor. I am proud to serve as his helpmeet. We are excited to see what 2010 holds for the Robisons.

Finally, I will not be closing this blog, but moving to other subjects. The title and website will remain, because Rhea and I have "Room for More Kiddos" and continue to pray for more. I am currently in remission with my Graves Disease. Praise God! God's healing has humbled me too this past year. He used a great team to bring me to where I am and I will happily share with you who they are in future posts.

One of the things we have found is that gluten is not my friend, or my husband's or my eldest child's. So, I have worked diligently the past few months modifying our family mealtime favorites to gluten-free recipes. So, by request of several friends, I will share those as well.

My husband has decided to not make this blog private at this time. If he sees a need to in the future, I will let you know. Thank you again to everyone who supported us through prayer and generosity through the last year. Remembering everyone's part in our journey to adopt helped my heal from the loss. Blessings to you and get ready, the next post will be food related, YUM!

Yard Sales, eBay, & Papers, Oh My!

We decided to do another 2 day garage sale. We didn't have much to contribute as we purged closets for the last sale, but we put out a message to our homeschool group for donations. We also went to garage sales in our neighborhood last weekend and offered to come get their leftovers for them when their sales were finished. So, we spent last week preparing for the garage sale this week. We had several friends and their kiddos come help with sorting, set-up, selling, and clean-up. It is such a blessing in itself to see children pitch in their time and little muscles to help us adopt a child. We were overwhelmed with kindness of friends and neighbors as we approached our sale yesterday and today.

We set a goal of $500. Guess what? In 2 days, God provided our adoption fund with $502! Praise His name!!

I continue to eBay A LOT. In fact, I am neglecting my new love of photography and need to dust off that camera this weekend and snap some photos of my kiddos. I pray you all have a wonderful Memorial Day as you recognize & celebrate the lives of those who gave their lives to keep our country free!!

We STILL wait for the clearance from CO for the HS. I hear it should be mailed this coming week?? C'mon form!! USCIS is next and we have the money ready now! Thank you Jesus!

Still Waiting, but some GREAT News

We are still waiting on one little piece of paper from Colorado to be HS ready. Yes, we have passed the three week mark : ) I am using this time to prepare for another garage sale and do some more eBay fundraising.

The great news??? Our friends Greg and Cara are FINALLY on their way to Haiti to pick up their 2 boys! Go take a look....**
**update** Greg and Cara will be waiting a bit longer. The visas were not released. Keep praying!

It's About Time to Go Private

As we approach becoming HS ready and are already seeing different situations happening on the Ch*na adoption front, my dear husband would like our blog to go private. Leave a comment or e-mail me if you would like to receive an invite. We'd love to have many of you continue to follow our journey as we take each baby step that will lead us to that plane that will take us to our child. I will take this blog private soon. We have 2 kiddo birthdays this weekend and family joining us to celebrate. I hope your spring weather is as beautiful as it is here in TX!

We are still waiting on that form from Colorado. Other than that the agency contacted us today, and they are ready to approve our Final HS once that form shows up! The form should take another 3-4 weeks. We missed a signature and the forms had to be returned. They should be back in our hands on Friday. Baby steps, but steps : ) God is good!

So, as we wait, I keep practicing with my camera. I am so sad that the end of my photography class is drawing near. It has been a wonderful class! I hope you guys have great spring weather like we are here in Texas. It is amazingly beautiful!

All Things Bright and Beautiful

All things bright and beautiful,
All creatures great and small,
All things wise and wonderful:
The Lord God made them all.

Each little flower that opens,
Each little bird that sings,
He made their glowing colors,
He made their tiny wings.


The rich man in his castle,
The poor man at his gate,
He made them, high or lowly,
And ordered their estate.


The purple headed mountains,
The river running by,
The sunset and the morning
That brightens up the sky.


The cold wind in the winter,
The pleasant summer sun,
The ripe fruits in the garden,
He made them every one.

The tall trees in the greenwood,
The meadows where we play,
The rushes by the water,
To gather every day.

He gave us eyes to see them,
And lips that we might tell
How great is God Almighty,
Who has made all things well.

Cecil Alexander (1848)

A Setback Anyone?

The e-mail we sent to our agency today:

Dear M,

I am writing to inform you that our HS rough draft will not arrive to your office today as originally discussed. We were informed yesterday that one thing had been overlooked when gathering the needed paperwork. Rhea's child abuse clearance was not obtained from Colorado. We will have the necessary paperwork needed to complete this request Thursday from our SW's office. After obtaining the forms, Rhea will fill them out, sign, get them notarized, enclose a $30 cashier's check and mail it all to Colorado.

We have been told that the turn around time will be 4 weeks. Once our SW receives the completed clearance, she will update the rough draft and submit the HS to you for approval.

Best regards,
Rhea & Shannon