Happy Halloween!

We spent our first Halloween in Bend Oregon (of course) now that we are living here. It was a great night. We've been in town a total of 7 days and have been invited to two events at my sister's friends houses. We've met alot of people and have enjoyed our time getting to know our new surroundings and our new neighbors! Our second day here our daughter climbed under our backyard fence to play with our two neighbor girls!! It was a hilarious sight and something we were looking forward to Emmy having. A fun childhood full of neighborhood friends, and kid friendly neighbors.

As I started saying tonight was Halloween. Emmy had a great time trick or treating and although it was cold...pretty stinkin' cold, we all had fun drinking our soup/wine/coffee/etc. while watching all the kids trampling along in their costume. We really are enjoying it here in Oregon and slowly getting used to the idea this is our new home. We still are missing so much about So. California, most of all our families and friends we left...but we know we will stay close to them.

Well enjoy the pictures and we wish you a HAPPY HALLOWEEN! :D

Next week we'll have more on the adoption...we have to update our homestudy now that we are here in Oregon. More to come!

It's been awhile...

Sorry it's been so long since my last post!! We've had a lot going on. We have moved to Bend, OR since my last post. It's been such a weird reality to try and grasp. All my "things" and my family are with me in our new house but it still feels like vacation. It's really a strange new feeling. I've moved to a different house but never to a new town. I've always lived 20 minutes from Long Beach, CA and I've always still had the same friends...I've made new friends along the way but still always had the old ones.

Moving from your hometown is so different as those of you know who have experienced that. I don't know my surroundings, and I don't know many people. The stores are different, the weather, the people, the norms, and the dress codes even! :D Everything is so new. With the weird and hard realization of all the new and strange adjustments surrounding us comes a wonderful sense of new also.

For those of you who don't know we just came out of a long three years of my husband going to school full time and working full time. When he finished we had hopes of doing so many things. We had hopes of changing bad habits, and changing certain norms we had developed. For us I could see how that would have been hard to change our normal routine in our hometown. With this move to Oregon we have a new fresh start. We both have such strong desires to stop certain bad habits, or to start great new ones like learning to play the guitar, reading more books, start new ministries. We've already seen a fresh new start at the church we are going to attend. We are new to everyone here and there are no expectations on us! :D
It's a great feeling, but also an uncomfortable one. We love our life in Southern California and will miss it dearly!

We are just thankful for this new, fresh start and look on life. We pray during the waiting stage of the adoption that we would let God work in us for the better. To mold us and shape us to grow closer to the woman and man God wants us to be!! (And little girl He wants EMMY to be!)

Thank you all for your prayers! :D

Love the Beals

Wating children...

Most of you have asked us where we are at now...well we are officially waiting. What's that?! What'd you say?! What do we do while waiting? Well we, um...well see we just...it's easy cuz we can, ummm....I don't know actually. What do we do while waiting?

We've been praying and we've been praying some more. Yep and still a little more praying. :D

During the waiting period we recieve "waiting child" referrals. It's a list of children that are just "waiting" for someone to adopt them. These sweet faces are waiting for a forever family. A family to open their arms and hearts to love them. Most of these children have a disease...HIV perhaps, TB, or Hepatitus. Some of them are waiting simply because they are older and most people pick the babies. Some might have deformities. Whatever the reason...they too are waiting. We have a lot in common.

I pray for these children...we pray. We pray for God to speak into our hearts if one of these children are supposed to be ours. We pray for God's comfort. We pray for families to come forward...and if it's us that we would come forward. But most of all we pray for their salvation. Their little precious lives to collide with God Almighty...and that they would accept His gift of salvation. That they would have an eternal Father.

It's been extremely hard for me to be faced with these children and not cry everytime I see their faces. For me not to be mad at anyone I can blame for letting this happen. I feel helpless when I (we) have so much at our disposal and could help in so many ways...but I don't know where to start but to support orphan ministries, pray, and pray some more. My heart is heavy for these children. For the 147 MILLION CHILDREN who are orphans. It's an overwhelming thought...it's a staggering number.

But God is bigger than that number...so much bigger. He is caring for these children. He loves them.

I can continue to pray and ask God how He wants me to help. I can continue to pray for these children. I can continue to encourage others to step out in faith and ask God how they can make a difference in these children's lives. I can Trust God is Sovereign and is moving mountains in these children's lives. Trust...

Will you pray with me for these children?

Blessings to you my friends! :D