You can go over here and read how to BUY COFFEE for your house or your office or your friends and family or total strangers this holiday season. Regardless it will actually produce funds that will go towards our adoption expenses.

You can thank Amy Taylor for us by visiting her post here and then buy some JAVA!!!

If you wanna help us with our adoption funding and find a piece of art for your home. Search no further. Just check out the picture below and then go bid on it here. It’s made by a friend of mine, Randy Lipsey and is hosted on another friends site, Amy Taylor. Yeah for talented and creative friends.

Today was the first time in over a year that I taught in what some affectionately call, “Big Church.”

I call it teaching in “Main”- short for the “Main Service.” I mentioned I was teaching in “Main” to one our adult volunteers and he asked me if he should be praying for my flight. Guess I need to give a little clarification between “Main” and “Maine”.

Anyway, if you want to give it a listen, click here and download it or whatever.

Embedded in it is a testimony or story from a gal in our church, Susan. It’s about how Jesus met her in a really tough spot. It’s worth the listen just for that story alone if you ask me.

I love Cosmos. Love it. They had just opened shortly after my arrival here in San Diego about 4 years ago and I literally just drove down this street and said, “I need a local coffee shop, there has to be one around here.” And walla, there it was. Right under a beautiful tree. From Jesus.

I’ve been frequenting it ever since.

We’ve hosted 2 or 3 christmas parties here for our student ministries staff. I come weekly. I have most meetings with students or staff or my anyone I can talk into it here. I love their java and their breakfast bowls and their tuna melts. I would move to La Mesa, just so I could walk to Cosmos and work. It would be worth it, except that we like my kids school. Minus that. I’d do it. I just saw that cosmos opened up a “satelite” site. They need one in Rancho.

Mostly cuz I bond with kid #1- TJ- on Wednesday morning and my lovely wife on Mondays. I wanted a local coffee shop to frequent. But cosmos can’t be found in Rancho. I have tried 2 different places, and I’m now stuck with something well, less than Cosmos. The one bagel place only lasted about 3 weeks before I cried foul. Now we’re at another coffee grounds place. Here’s what I would tell my local coffee grounds place if they cared to listen:

1. MUGS: Have “here” cups. What’s the point of staying and drinking your coffee if I can’t enjoy it in a nice mug.
2. REAL PLATES AND UTENSILS: um, please don’t serve me breakfast or lunch on styrofoam and plastic ware. Even starbucks has here cups and plates and they are as big as McDonalds or something. I want to feel at home. Styrofoam is lame.

3. PERSONAL SERVICE: yeah, you don’t have to know my name, or even my drink (though most do since I’m so predictable), but at least be personable, like my business makes yours possible. Smiling is good.

4. PROVIDE A JAVA REFILL. Like fill a cup of coffee for a reduced rate or a free refill. Just don’t charge me full price for the second cup.

5. LOCAL ART. It’s nice to have a local place feel local.

6. MUSIC. Put on some tunes that don’t make me wonder if I accidentally stepped into the java filled elevator.

7. SHADE. Places to sit outside in the shade are nice. My coffee will keep me warm.

8. TAB: Um… I wanna billable tab. How stinkin cool would that be?! Hardware store meets bar meets cafe. “Put it on my tab.” I pretty much would never drink another cup of coffee anywhere if I had a tab. Nope, Cosmos doesn’t have one. But yep, that’d be sweet.

Well, it’s been way too long since I’ve blogged. I got slammed with school and a bunch of other stuff. A slew of blog posts are coming soon I think. We’ll see. But at least this one for starters.

SHANNON IS AN ADDICT: yes, my wife is a blog reading addict. Warning to the adoptive families of the world: If you speak english, have a blog, and are adopting a child from a foreign country… then my wife is stalking you and taking notes. This is her chosen method of meeting with people to learn from their experiences. We don’t talk to people, we just peer in their public windows. 🙂

HOME STUDY INTERVIEWS ARE DONE: Well, we filled out some papers and wrote this really big check and then this lady named Darcy came to our house twice. She looked around a little, asked some questions of us and our kids, and now is going to type up some report. Her biggest concern is that we are too poor on paper to have 5 kids and she thought immigration might flag our report. HAAA! Welcome to pastor/substitute teacher pay. We’re not rich enough to adopt. 🙂 Somebody better tell God- he doesn’t seem to believe it. Anyway, once the report is typed up, then it goes through a series of “tag you’re it” people and then they use it in Uganda to say we can parent kids.

KIDS ARE MERGING ROOMS. Tyler and TJ have officially moved in together. TJ’s old bunk has now become a double bunk with the world’s longest mattress. It’s two twin beds that by the grace of God, fit in just perfect. But if you want to change the sheets, better get a crane and a bowl of wheaties cuz they are crammed in there. Now I need to build Tyler a dresser and find a solution for Becky, Billy, and Jake for desks. Here’s a pic of my kids in the monster bed, the now expanded and messy desk below, and tyler experimenting with gang signs evidently.

MONEY IS COMING IN. We have started receiving some checks. Last week someone donated the largest check we have ever received from a non-direct family member. Lots of people have given sacrificially and the stories and e-mails of how this has happened are such an encouragement and have brought us to tears more than once. Thank you to all of you. If you’re praying, spreading the word, using your talents, or cutting checks of any size- you are with us in this journey we call adoption. THANK YOU!!!

SPEAKING OF TEARS, HERE’S OUR KIDS READING OUR BOOK: We’ve been told that Becky wants a pink bike. Billy.. get this… Billy’s biggest point of excitement is that his bed in the picture has a pillow. Kid wants a pillow. I swear, it’s taking every bone in my body not to just fill his bed with pillows so when he comes home he can’t even find the mattress. I might just buy him a new one every month. I love new pillows. We’re going to get along just fine- especially if he loves new cushy socks too. (notice them praying over my kids here too. So thankful for a God-fearing orphanage)

GOOGLE EARTH SAYS IT IS 9427 MILES: That’s how far it is from my front door to the orphanage. I need like Mrs. Incredible stretchy arms. It was fun to show our kids at dinner last night though. What a crazy satelite world we live in! Bet the peeps who dreamed up satelites never dreamed I could access data from it at my kitchen table or on my iphone.