Celebrating Twice

16 years + 1 year & countingToday we are celebrating 16 years of marriage. I can't even begin to share how much Jeremy means to me. We've had some hard times but I have to say as long as I'm going through them with him, I'm OK. We have always come out OK. This whole process has been one of those difficult things but we have done it together and I'm so thankful. I love going through life with him. I could probably gush about him until everyone is rolling their eyes and gagging so I won't. I am just truly thankful for the man that God has blessed me with.
Today is not only the anniversary of our marriage, it is also the one year anniversary of our papers being approved in Colombia. So we officially have been "waiting" for our children for one year. We are happy about that. Every day that goes by brings us one day closer to holding them in our arms. We can't wait!In the last couple of months we have had our home study amended, edited and sent in. We have traveled to West Virginia to have our fingerprints done bio metrically again. Not sure why they expire... really doesn't make sense to me, but it had to be done so we did it. So home study is done, finger prints are done, anniversary is here and now we just get to wait again... mostly. I received a letter from homeland security today stating that our home study was missing a couple vital bits of information so we'll have to get that corrected and sent in but really shouldn't be any big deal.

So while I am thankful for every minute... every second I have with Jeremy.... I/we are so looking forward to our precious little children coming home. We thank the Father every day for keeping them safe and well cared for until we can see their sweet little faces. As always, we are so thankful for your prayers, love & support!!!

Home Study

We have a follow up/updating home study on Monday. It is with the same agency but with a new lady. So hoping that all goes well. Working on a few other bits of paperwork for updating as well but other then that, nothing much going on.

Jeremy is in the busy session on his business and we are very thankful for that. We also leave for vacation toward the end of June so we are really looking forward to that.

More Paperwork

I guess we get to do some more paperwork. It will be a year of waiting in July and some of our papers will expire. My agency told me to go ahead and get started on updating them in May but I decided to get started in April instead. You just never know how long some things will take. We get to have another home study visit, update our medical & financial records, do more finger printing and some other things. It shouldn't be too bad.

Jeremy and I have been really praying over the finances for the adoption and just keep praying for God's favor. In the last few weeks, out of no where, we have had a couple friends send us checks for the adoption. What a blessing and a encouragement from God that He has not and will not forget us. The adoption and all the finances are in His hands. One of the checks was exactly the amount that our home study revisions will cost. God is SO good. I so appreciate how He uses people to bless others and can tell them exactly what is needed.

Some exciting news about Jeremy's business... Enigma Productions. Aaron (Jeremy's business partner) & Jeremy have moved into a building in downtown Radford. It has been recently renovated and is really cute. Just perfect for the guys. They are having a Grand Opening on Saturday, April 17th at 10:30am. There will be a ribbon cutting ceremony and little party after. Hope you can join us! It is so great to see where the Lord has taken them. To see them step out in faith & get this building! It's very exciting!

As always, we appreciate your prayers, love & support!

Grateful

As each day goes by and we continue to wait, I am grateful.
Grateful for the time with my husband.
Grateful for the love that we share.
Grateful for the love that is growing for our children.
Grateful for the time to prepare.
Grateful for the friendships we have.
Grateful for the continued blessings from the Lord.
Grateful for the hope that we have.
Grateful for our God that loves us enough to chose us for this purpose.

So Much....

to catch up on...

Middle of October to Middle of November my parents were here and remodeled our kitchen... incredible amount of work but SO amazing now. Thanks Mom and Dad! What a tremendous blessing this has been for us. We are almost completely done now.

The kitchen before…

During remodel…

Dad working hard...

Mom making things "pretty"...

For Thanksgiving we were able to get away for the week with The Forresters, The Pendergrasses & The Palmers. We had a great time and even got a little snowed in. Jeremy and I ended up losing our keys at the end of the trip and it was a fiasco but God brought us through but not without a little struggle on our part.

Us at the falls in Maryland for Thanksgiving…Aaron & I carving the turkey…

Thanksgiving dinner…

This is about what Sparky has been looking like for the past couple months. He has a hurt knee and has been milking it for everything he is worth. Can’t go up stairs or jump so is getting carried and getting very, very spoiled. This is him in my electric blanket. Poor guy.

Christmas tree shopping took place when we returned from Thanksgiving. Jeremy and I went to the tree farm with friends but ended up going to several lots before finding our tree. We need a pretty small one so we had to shop around. Everything have been decorated for a while now and beautiful.

Our partially decorated tree... Not sure why I didn't get a picture of the finished product...LOTS of Christmas baking & cooking in general has been taking place at the Pegg home. With the new kitchen, I just can't resist! It is so much more fun and so much easier to spread out, make a mess and clean it all up.

So much room to spread out...

Lots & lots of fudge...

We are having a major snow storm as we speak. We haven't had this much snow since we lived here. They are calling for 14" and I think we just might get that. May get snowed in for the weekend... guess I'll have to do some more baking!
On the adoption front... it is still just waiting. We don't have to update any paperwork until May so we just get to sit back and relax until then. We continue to pray that the kids will come very soon. We appreciate your continued prayers.

Merry Christmas Everyone! I pray that you are all enjoying it and remembering all the blessings God has given us, including the precious birth of his dear son, Jesus.

Happy Birthday!

PS: Happy Birthday to my favorite Father In Law - Duane!!! I hope you have a wonderful day today and know how much you are loved from this side of the United States!!!! Love you!!!

The Long Wait

Hmmm.... I'm not sure which is longer.... you waiting for me to post something new on my blog or us waiting for the kids. I'm kidding obviously but at least you don't have the problem of trying to keep up with my blog! : ) Anyway - once again I must apologize for no updates.

On August 27th (our Anniversary), a letter was written in Colombia approving us and our paperwork to become parents of Colombian born children. We actually didn't hear until several weeks later but it is just like God to have something special like that happen on our Anniversary. You gotta love the way he works. So what this means is we are "officially" waiting for our children instead of our paperwork. Yippee!!! There is still much to do but at least we are much closer!

What is still to do? There will be more paperwork to keep updated as we go and paperwork to prepare to take with us to Colombia. There are still a lot of funds to raise but we are trusting God for every penny. There is another bedroom to prepare. There is Spanish to learn. There are books to read and parenting dvds to help us prepare. But most of all... there are prayers to go up for protection and blessings on our children as they wait and that they will be able to come home as soon as humanly possible. They say the wait is about two years. Lord, please speed up that process!

So for now we wait, prepare, get things in order, etc. God is just making us better people in the wait and I'm so thankful for that!

I will have updates soon on all the activities going on at the house! Parents are here, walls ripped out, dust everywhere, a new kitchen coming soon! Thank you Mom and Dad for this HUGE blessing. We truly appreciate this gift!

15 Years...

...ago today, I married the man of my dreams. I can't even believe it has been that long. Seems like the time has gone by so quickly. I am so thankful for the wonderful man the Lord blessed me with. He is everything I never knew I wanted... everything that I needed and more!

Every day he makes me feel special. Every day he makes me feel loved. Not every day is a great day but I know at the end of it, he will still love me. I'm not sure you can ever really know what it is like to be treasured by someone until you are. Jeremy is such a treasure to me and also makes me feel the same. His gentleness amazes me, his laugh makes me smile, his amazing blue eyes melt my defenses, his voice soothes me, his love captures my heart.

What a blessed woman I am! Jeremy - you are and always will be my favorite boy ever. I love you more than words can say!

Missed you today! Hurry home so I can beat you at Tony Hawk! : )

Translation

I got word from our agency that our paperwork has all been translated. They are now in the ICBF office. We/they don't know how long they have been there but at least we know they are there! So that is good news. Now we just need to pray that they get approved very quickly through this office so that we can be in the waiting stack for our children!

It isn't a lot of news but at least it is good! : ) Thanks for praying!

SORRY

I'm sorry to those of you who read this blog. I haven't been good at keeping it updated and I'm sure that doesn't make you want to read this. I will try to do better at keeping this up to date.

First off - there really isn't any new adoption news. We are still waiting to hear from our agency that all our paperwork has been translated and that it is all OK. Once we hear that, we will officially be in the "waiting" stack for our sweet children. Other than that, there really isn't anything exciting to share.

I do want to give you all an update on the fundraisers that took place for us over the summer. I have yet to give the results of these and I apologize for the delay. There are so many of you who have helped us throughout this process and we are SO thankful!

Thank you Kim & Paul for selflessly sharing your anniversary with us and raising over $500 to help in getting our kids home! We were so blessed that you would remember us in this way! You have been a great inspiration in our lives growing up and again now as we see you love each other and us through your marriage! We are thankful for all of your friends who gave!

Thank you Kathryn & Wayne for blessing us with the yard sale fundraiser! Their goal was to raise about one plane ticket for us and I think we more than accomplished that. We were able to raise around $700! It was a great success! Thank you to all of you who donated items, helped set up, tear down, make goodies and hot dogs and chili! It was so much fun spending the day with you!!! Thanks Mom & Dad for helping with this too! We felt so loved!

Thank you Jamie (my sister) for blessing us with all proceeds of your sales in June with your Mary Kay business! She was able to raise about $125 for us! Thank you sweet sister. I love you dearly and can't wait until you can be an auntie to my kids! They will love you as I do.

More than anyone though, I have to continue to thank God for helping us through this process. The journey is long and can be trying at times but as his word says, he never gives us more than we can handle. The truth in that statement though is we really don't need to "handle" it. He's got it and our part is just giving it over to him. As we continue to do that and wait for our precious children to come home, we constantly thank God for all of you who have loved us and are continuing to support us through the wait.

Hope for Mazey Yard Sale

If anyone is available to stop by, we'd love to see you....

YARD SALE FUND-RAISER
SAT. JULY 18, 7 AM-2 PM
6487 NEW RIVER RD.
FAIRLAWN
Below 11 West
Huge Multi Family
clothing, furniture, books, misc.
items. Hot dogs & drinks.

Directions: Head toward Dublin on Rt 11. Go past Sheetz, turn left on New River Rd where C&L Campers is. Follow New River Rd to 6487. It is a white house.

Thank you Kathryn & Wayne!!!

Sweet Ellie Girl

Our sweet Ellie girl passed away on Saturday night, Sunday morning. She was such a sweet & mild mannered dog. Thankfully she went in her sleep. She had been sick for a couple months & wasn't getting any better. Unfortunately, we were not with her. We were on vacation & a friend was looking after her. We felt so bad to not be with her & that someone else was with her when she passed. We are so thankful for how he handled it & also the vet. The emergency vet really blessed us but picking her up from the house for us (since we were several hours away) & allowed us some time with her to say goodbye.

We'll miss you Ellie girl. Sparky misses you too!

"Mary Kay 4 Mazey!" Fund-Raiser

I know many of you already have MK beauty consultants or maybe don't use Mary Kay at all but I wanted to let you all know about this. A blessing from my sister, Jamie...

"My Mary Kay 4 Mazey!" Fund-Raiser

Dear Friends, Family & Valued Customers,

As some of you know I recently began my own Mary Kay Business. One great advantage of doing this is that I have the freedom and versatility to conduct my business as I wish and it gives me great opportunities to enrich women's (peoples') lives and hopefully make a difference in some way.

As many more of you know my brother-in-law and sister, Jeremy & Pamela Pegg, are in the process of adopting children from Columbia. They have been extremely blessed by many personal donations already, but they still have many expenses to look forward to. For more detailed information about the Peggs, visit Pam's Blog at http://hopeformazey.blogspot.com/. (this is not a hyperlink)

I would like to give all of you an opportunity to be a huge part in blessing these "Parents-In-Waiting"!

For every paid order received, from June 8th until June 25th, My Mary Kay Business will donate all the profits to Jeremy & Pam for their adoption expenses. You simply get fabulous, on-trend products that you want and need and My Mary Kay Business will donate to The Peggs on your behalf.

Check out the many tips, ideas and hot, new trends in skin care and color on my personal website, http://www.marykay.com/jamiekgeorge/default.aspx. Even more New Products and Promotions will be introduced on June 16th. There's something for everyone whether it's for Yourself, a Father's Day gift, Graduation, a Bridal Party Look, a Birthday gift, a Vacation Treat or even a Christmas gift if you're really on-the-ball!

I will be placing orders on the 16th and 26th for this fund-raiser. I accept Checks, Visa, MasterCard, Discover, American Express & Cash (in person). If you are local, in the Portland Metro Area of Oregon, we can arrange for pick-up or delivery of your purchase. The out-of-town purchases will be mailed to you. This is an opportunity only available through me, your Independent Beauty Consultant, and is not an official Mary Kay company-wide campaign or promotion.

Thank you so much and I look forward to participating with you in Mary Kay Ash's "Go-Give" spirit!

Sincerely,

Jamie K. George

Mary Kay Independent Beauty Consultant

503.710.8780

jamiekgeorge@marykay.com

http://www.marykay.com/jamiekgeorge/default.aspx

Kindness of Friends & Strangers...

Last you heard we were under the gun for making a large payment to our agency for the completion of our dossier. The payment was actually due today & I'm so happy to report that the entire check is in the hands of my agency & God provided every penny that we needed!!! God is SO good. We didn't even have to figure it out, we just kept praying & trying to leave it in His hands. He already had it worked out for us. For those of you who have supported us in prayer, with financial gifts or buying a t-shirt... words can't even express how thankful we are. Thank you for allowing God to use you to bless us through this process & for helping us get that much closer to bringing our children home!!!

With that said, I want to share with you the kindness of strangers. I'm not really even sure the story other than they are friends of a dear, dear friend. In the last two weeks we have received checks from two men that we don't even know. One with a beautiful adoption story of his own... his sister was adopted from Korea. The other, I have to admit, I know absolutely nothing about. He just mailed a check & that was that. Both of these gifts brought me to tears as did almost every check we received from all of you!

This got me thinking... who does that? Who just drops a check in the mail to someone they don't even know. Obviously these two men do. I have always considered myself to be a pretty generous person & honestly, it is hard being on the receiving end during this season of life. It is humbling but it is also really a wonderful thing. To know people are out there who are willing to give when they hear a need, to reach out to people they don't even know. I want to be more like that.

Who does this remind you of? Jesus did just that... his entire life on this earth! He consistently gave with no expectation, knowing no one would ever "deserve" what he was about to give them. He gave the ultimate gift knowing many would never even acknowledge it. His love was perfect! Perfect love casts out all fear. I had some fear surrounding this payment. I received perfect love in the kindness of strangers, all of our friends & family. I never needed to be afraid of what God had in front of us. I just needed to trust that he would completely take care of it & stop trying to control the situation myself. I know I'm a stubborn person & sometimes things have to slap me in the face before I get it. I'm so thankful the Lord has patience with me & understands my humanness.

Ways you can be praying...

• usually takes about 2-3 months to translate the dossier, pray this will go much faster
• learning Spanish
• that our trust in God would not waiver through the remaining expenses (travel, in country & post adoption expenses) that is more than we have paid for everything so far
• we would continue to have peace through this process & can handle the things that are coming
  

Thank you, thank you, thank you... so much for loving us!!!

How much do you really want to know...?

Since my last post several things have happened. We received our invoice for the sum of money that is due at this point. We have a 15 day time line to pay this. We have really felt like it is not up to us to figure it out and God has really shown up. So many people have dug deep and given to us freely. You know who you are and we couldn't be more thankful! Even people we don't know. God is amazing in his provisions!

We also received our travel packet. This is full of information on the next steps of the adoption. I must admit, I began ready this booklet on Friday morning before work and got really overwhelmed and a bit discouraged. I really thought the paperwork and most of the stuff was done but I found out it isn't. Uggh. I got home from work and proceeded to read this 58 page document entirely. Every detail, everything written out. I finished with more questions. Yes, it answered many questions I had but left me with quite a few too. I guess reading something can't really even come close to experiencing something. I was hoping this packet might put some of my fears, anxieties & questions to rest. It did for a few things but also raised a few more. There were details about preparation for our trip, our stay in Colombia, information for after we return, additional reading materials and forms. Details about what to expect from the children, our need to learn Spanish... etc. The list goes on. All this to say... I can really use your prayers. I want to have joy and peace in this whole process. I'm very excited about being closer to getting the children but I feel like a thousand road blocks just got put in front of me. You know the saying... "knowledge is power?" Well I now have more knowledge about international adoption than most people and I'm not really feeling all that powerful. I am relieved and thankful that my God is with me through it all and my dear, sweet husband. I couldn't do this without them.

This is really a faith journey. I feel my faith being put to the test daily, almost minute by minute. The funny thing is is that God is so faithful. I have no doubt that he is going to provide for EVERY need we have, he is going to see us through all of this ... my faith doesn't seem to lack in my God. I just tend to have trouble relinquishing control even though he has proven faithful. I tend to question myself through these things. Sometimes I'm not sure if it is OK to feel the way I'm feeling. I guess it is probably normal but sometimes I feel so hung up on it. I know that God can handle my frustrations, my fears, my failures, my doubts... sometimes I just don't handle them so well.

"Each of us must decide where we're going to put our energy when the battle grows fierce." "God, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which You have called me heavenward in Christ Jesus (Phil. 3:13-14). Help me to forget all past failures - or even achievements - and to focus on pressing forward with You now."

The BEST Kind of Wait!!!

The post that I've been waiting for... we now have our dossier submitted to Colombia!!! What does this mean? All the paperwork that was needed is completed. We now have a rather sizable payment to make but God has been SO faithful and we know he is going to provide it. So now we wait... not on papers, not on deadlines (with the exception of this payment due) but for OUR CHILDREN!!! Could be up to 18 months but we are praying for it to come much more quickly. We hope that you will pray with us too! We have lots of things to do while we wait... learn some Spanish, read books on parenting, fix up their bedrooms, pray in the finances for the in country and traveling fees and just have fun together.

Speaking of fun... we just got back from Knoxville TN yesterday. We traveled there for a wedding that Jeremy shot. Joanna and Aaron were able to come too! We had a great time walking around downtown, trying new restaurants, window shopping & going to the movie. It was a fun little getaway.

I'll keep you posted as to what comes next. We will be receiving a package in the mail soon that will tell us about traveling and what things will look like when we go to Colombia!

Hmmm...not what we hoped for

We received word yesterday that we did not get the grant from Shoahannah's Hope. We are disappointed but still believing God will be faithful to provide the remaining adoption fees. We are doing our best to be prayerful and patient as we have a large sum due in a few short weeks.

We also received an email from our adoption agency that two papers need to be redone for our dossier. One was too old and the other had too much information. So we will have to get these notarized and apostilled again. Hopefully this won't take too much time.

Not the best news today but this is where we are at. Trying to stay as positive and patient as possible. Trying to hear from God about what is us trying to take care of it and what is allowing Him the time he needs to provide. That part of waiting is a part I really don't care for. Hmmm... Any words of wisdom? I'd love to hear them...

Knowing & Trusting...

Have you ever been so excited about something that it makes you feel sick to your stomach??? That's kind of how I feel. Tomorrow we will submit our dossier (adoption paperwork) to our agency. I can't even tell you how relieved I feel to finally have our paper work done! It has been a long haul but I couldn't be happier. We received our final papers in the mail yesterday all authenticated so we are good to go! No they go off the agency, then they go to Colombia for translation & approval... so now we wait.

Do you ever wonder why you even expend the energy to get anxious? Well today I did. I have been a bit anxious about the finances that it will take to submit these papers and just not sure where it would come from. Don't get me wrong, I KNOW God provides & knows exactly where it is coming from but sometimes I just can't shut my brain off to just trust. Today I got to talk to my dad for a while & he & Mom had already felt lead to send us some money for this part of the process. What a blessing! Poor Dad... I started crying on the phone! If you have ever been on the other end of the phone when I'm crying, it isn't pretty... I can't talk at all. Dad thought he had lost the connection with me then realized I was crying. Anyway - thank you so much Mom & Dad for being sensitive to the Holy Spirit! I can't tell you how blessed we feel!

We are still waiting to hear back from Shoahannah's Hope to see if we will receive a grant. Please pray that they will find favor in us. We are hoping and praying for this! We continue to covet your prayers and are so thankful for all our friends and family! We so appreciate your support!

Spring Fever...

Does anyone else get inspired by spring and the sunshine? Last weekend I went to some of my favorite nurseries just to look at all the beautiful flowers that I wish I could plant now. It is still a little too cold here for planting but looking gets me excited!

I am feeling better so we got to work on some things around the house. I picked up a load of gravel and Jeremy spread it in the driveway. I got a few junipers for the front yard and some black mulch. I love black mulch... I think it helps the plants really pop out. I weeded some of the garden and back yard, then the front yard, planted the new plants, took up all my periwinkle that wasn't doing too well at spreading and changed some things.

I replanted the periwinkle in my pots by the front door and just got things looking better. Looking forward to doing the hanging pots but those will have to wait for some more consistent sunshine.Today we finished tearing out the floor in the upstairs hallway. It looks so much better already. We need to decide if we will paint it black like we did in the bedroom or do something different. But at least now it is all prepped and ready for whatever we decide to do.
Anyone have any good ideas?

We are now getting ready to relax, eat some chili and enjoy the Red Sox game! Go Sox!!!

Last, but certainly not least.... Happy Birthday Caleb & Alethia! I can't believe they are two today. Jeremy and I love them so much and are so thankful they are part of our lives! They called me today and it is so fun to hear them talking! I hope you both have a wonderful day!!! We love you!!!

Happy Easter everyone! I hope you feel the love of our beautiful Savior & are able to reflect on all He has done for us!!!

Mailing

Other than being home today sick, things are very good. Today I am mailing off all the papers that need to be authenticated (apostilled) in the state of Virginia. Once we receive these papers back, we are finished with our paperwork! Pretty amazing. We then mail them to our agency for approval and translation, then on to Colombia. Very exciting!!! This is where the process gets fairly expensive. We continue to thank you for your prays and support for this process.

Jeremy returned this last week from a short visit home (Oregon) to see his brothers, Mom, Dad and other family members. We also have a new niece (Jake's) that Jeremy wanted to see. Her name is Ember and she is beautiful. I'll share pictures with you soon...