Israel 2010

( Green is where K worked last summer, Orange for A)

Can you believe that we are already starting to get things together for another Israel trip this summer? I can't believe how the time has flown and how different our lives are from this time last year.
This years trip will be very different than last summers since they will not be digging at Tel Gezer. Dr. Ortiz is taking a year off to publish some findings and compile everything from the last couple of dig seasons. However, Dr. Mitchell is taking a group over to survey the entire Tel. The survey team last year found some really neat artifacts, such as the BOUNDARY STONES!! I can't remember exactly how many have been found but they say " Here marks the boundary of Gezer". They are large stones and they circle the Tel. The survey team also has found olive presses, tombs, beads and tile floors. The survey is very important in that it tells us how the occupants utilized the surrounding land, how far out thier borders went, how they intereacted with neighboring tribes and specifics as to how they buried thier dead (tombs).
The trip is from June 3-28...so about 25 days, a little over three weeks. Adam and I are hoping to fly out on June 5th and come back on the 26th so that I only miss three weeks of work. I am hoping to get one of those weeks paid (please, oh please!!).
Our expenses won't be quite as much as last year since we will be considered staff this time. Adam as an assistant and me as (insert cool position.....they are still figuring that out). We will more or less just have to pay for our plane tickets.
Thats about all I know right now....of course, this could all just happen for Adam if we get our child before then. We are meeting with our new agency tomorrow to make sure that planning this trip won't hinder our adoption. We want to make sure that they won't look down on our a) being gone for three weeks, without communication (except for the blog) and b) how much money we are spending on the trip...they like to know your income and see how you budget to make sure you can financially take care of and provide for a child. We also will know a better timeline after tomorrow night so if there is any chance that we could be parents by June then you better believe I will kiss Adam at the airport and stay home with our kid!!
We are trying to arrange a layover in Rome this summer, but were given a thumbs down since staff normally go in one big group flight....oh well, i was really hoping to have another "locked in a famous place's bathroom" story :).

We sang this song in Chapel today and I was reminded of the sweetness Christ brings to our life and the satisfacation we have in knowing that He has always been, is and will be victorious!!


Be Thou my Vision, O Lord of my heart;Naught be all else to me, save that Thou art.
Thou my best Thought, by day or by night,Waking or sleeping, Thy presence my light.
Be Thou my Wisdom, and Thou my true Word;I ever with Thee and Thou with me, Lord;
Thou my great Father, I Thy true son;Thou in me dwelling, and I with Thee one.
Be Thou my battle Shield, Sword for the fight;Be Thou my Dignity, Thou my Delight;
Thou my soul’s Shelter, Thou my high Tower:Raise Thou me heavenward, O Power of my power.
Riches I heed not, nor man’s empty praise,Thou mine Inheritance, now and always:
Thou and Thou only, first in my heart,High King of Heaven, my Treasure Thou art.
High King of Heaven, my victory won,May I reach Heaven’s joys, O bright Heaven’s Sun!
Heart of my own heart, whatever befall,Still be my Vision, O Ruler of all.

Chugging right along

Just wanted to give an overall update of our lives over the past month.



Adoption- we switched agency location in January. We don't want to be misleading or point out splinters but the classes we attended at this particular location were not Christ-centered. Therefore, we are now going to classes that are offered by our same ageny in Arlington. We felt the need to switch based on the idea that if the people who were leading the classes could be our case workers then we wanted out. We chose this agency based on the fact that they had a christian owner and background, we knew that what drove thier agency was the very same thing that drove us. However, one bad apple can ruin the whole bunch. We know that this was all God's providence though and we are going to be able to pick right back up where we started with the Arlington office.

We have thus far completed three of the eleven required classes; First Interview/Orientation, Child Development and Communication. We have been exposed to quite a lot just in those three meetings. Its a very emotional process as you are shown what young kids go through and how they are taught to view the world. We have left all three classes thinking "what in the world are we doing" and praying that God would renew our strength to go back and listen to the harsh reality of being a foster child or coming from a broken home. We are diligently praying that God would put a wall of protection around our child as they are either already in foster care or will soon become part of it.
There are happy endings for lots of these childrens but it makes me wonder how anyone can adopt a child without having Christ as thier biggest motivator. I constantly revel in the fact that I am going to be able to show a child, who has probably lived without hope, the hope in Jesus. Families without Christ will be able to offer children shelter, food, and consistentcy but Adam and I will show and tell our children that Christ can offer them more. He can offer them a better life and a hope that washes away all past suffering. AWESOME.

We are also gradually cleaning out our entire home. Moving from our 3 bedroom, 2.5 home in Tennessee into our quaint little seminary duplex already required two yardsales. However, we went to work this past Sunday and cleaned out a full closet for little Harvell and also got the second bedroom ready for a new bed and dresser. We already have a desk and we are working on a customized activity table.

On changing homes we have decided to stay put (for now). We realized that while a townhome may offer us more space, I think the idea of having our cats would be more beneficial. If we get our kid and they hate us, hate the food i cook, hate our home....hopefully they will love the cats and love the idea of having thier own pets! We overheard some foster parents saying how much pets and children connect and how most of time its an instant bond. Since Elvis and Priscilla are both very loving I think they give our child insight into the loving environment we hope to create.

Thats all for now....this weekend coming up is a big weekend for Adam and I ...will post more on that after its over.

Adoption Update

We are speeding right along towards the start of our family.

We had hoped to get a lot done over the break but all the traveling and catching up with family and friends was also a priority. However, on the loooonnng drive home we finished all of our paperwork. Now we just have to make some minor adjustments to our profile concerning my job and our insurance ( both of these changed after our initial meeting with the agency).
Tomorrow night we will attend our second class on Communication. From there on out we will take at least one class a week until we are finished with the course. Next Saturday (the 23rd) we will spend 8 hours at the agency learning about psychotrophic medications and the effects they can have on children and behavior.
We also started to look for another home. The seminary has townhomes that would fit a family better and are also farther back from any busy roads. We will need to get our homestudy done there so we are hoping to transfer in March or April. Bad news though...can't have pets in the townhomes. Therefore Elvis and Priscilla will be going to live with my parents...just until we are able to have them again.
We are also official Texas residents!!! We had to get our tags changed and new license made but we did it. Adam took both of our cars to get inspected and once they passed ( toya needed some work done) we got our new tags. Can I just say that Texas takes thier vehicles, tags, inspections seriously and they are pricey!!! It will be worth it though in the long run.
Another item checked off of our list is where to attend church. I am ashamed to say that we have lived here since August and had yet to find a church home. We went to several, both near and far. Two of the churches we went back to hoping to fall in love the second time. Finally,we realized that the most important thing ( to us) was to find a church with a wonderful childrens ministry and a focus on small groups. ( Brother Reggie, if you read this please know when we left Heritage we knew we would never find another pastor like you ....and we haven't yet :))
We prayed about it, talked to older and wiser friends and finally settled on a church. We have actually been to this church about 4 times now, with friends, or to special events but we really felt comfortable there this past Sunday....things just clicked. We are hoping to take a membership class soon and join the church so that we are growing and stable when little Harvell(s) comes along.

** I was talking with Adam on our drive home from Christmas about how no one really brought up our adoption to discuss with us...it was always he or I that mentioned it first. I thought that maybe people just forgot or maybe had a problem with the trans-racial part of it. However, Adam said that people were probably shy to bring it up b/c they might have thought that I am not physically able to have kids and that's why we have decided to adopt. Well, the truth is I have no clue if I can have a kid....and it doesn't matter to me either way. We just know that right now we are being called to adopt children. God may later give us a heart to have our own and if we can, we will.
I know infertility is a very sensitive subject though and in no way do I think it shouldn't be handled with sensitive words. I just wanted friends and family to know that we dont' have a clue as to what the future holds for the structure and the image of our family so please give us parenting advice, tips, strategies, frugal ideas....anything!!!
Also if you know of any good books to read, we have already looked into "Family driven Faith"and "Adopted for Life". We have also read the "Idiots Guide to Adoption"--very helpful (Jessica, if you haven't read this yet I would advise it...good for International and Domestic Adoption).