Our Family Blog

2016-04-08T17:51:00.001-04:00

We thought it might be time to update everyone about our adoption status. No, we haven't changed our minds. In fact, we are chewing at the bit to get things rolling. Unfortunately, we have no solid news to report. Things move fairly slowly in Haiti and this is not out of the norm. God is in control and it will be in His timing alone and I wouldn't want it any other way. I do know this...we are one day closer to hearing the name of the child God has chosen for our family. It could be a week...it could be a year, but we feel confident it will be perfect. We are in the process of updating our home study and after that we have to update our immigration paperwork. We want to be ready for that call. So pray that we can get the work done that we need to so we can be ready when the time comes.

We will keep everyone updated as soon as we hear anything concrete. Thank you for your prayers in advance. We are blessed with amazing friends and family.

“Those that Wait Upon the Lord.”

2014-12-29T18:03:00.001-05:00

We wanted to update all of our praying friends on our adoption process. God is good all the time, and all the time, God is good. The AWESOME news is that we finished our Dossier (a fancy word for tons of paperwork)! We received a call from our caseworker that the Dossier has been sent to Haiti! Praise God. The paper work was really overwhelming at times and then we had to redo some documents several times over. Then all the documents had to be County certified and then State certified. So to have this Dossier finished takes a big load off our backs. We are all very excited to bring home a new family member or two but we knew the waiting process would be hard. We found out that it would be a year or more before we would receive a referral for a child. We had hoped it would be only 6 months. But we gave this whole adoption thing to God from the start. We have always prayed that our Father would send us the child He has chosen for us from the foundation of the world. We rest in the confidence that God has called us to this and He will fulfill His will in all of this no matter what the outcome.God can make this happen in 3 months if He wills.

This doesn’t make the waiting any easier and I know at times, it will be hard to be patient since we are all SO very excited to bring a new child or children into our home. So I ask that you pray diligently for the Mabry family.

The other news we received is that Haiti has once again changed things regarding adoption. We had been told that our child/children would come from Rivers of Hope Orphanage in Haiti. The powers that be (in the adoption world) have changed it to where the child could come from ANY orphanage in Haiti. Once again, the precious Holy Spirit reminds me that He cannot be restricted to just one orphanage in Haiti and so we rest in confidence that God will choose the child that we are to raise as our own. There is so much peace that comes when you stop worrying and rest in The Lord.

Pray friends. Pray for Patience, Peace and for the Perfect child or children for our little family.

“Those that Wait Upon the Lord.”

2014-10-20T20:09:00.001-04:00

We wanted to update all of our praying friends on our adoption process. God is good all the time, and all the time, God is good. The AWESOME news is that we finished our Dossier! We received a call from our caseworker that the Dossier has been sent off to be translated! Praise God. The paper work was really overwhelming at times and then we had to redo some documents several times over. Then all the documents had to be County certified and then State certified. So to have this Dossier finished takes a big load off our backs. We are all very excited to bring home a new family member or two but we knew the waiting process would be hard. We found out that it would be a year or more before we would receive a referral for a child. We had hoped it would be only 6 months. But we gave this whole adoption thing to God from the start. We have always prayed that our Father would send us the child He has chosen for us from the foundation of the world. We rest in the confidence that God has called us to this and He will fulfill His will in all of this no matter what the outcome.God can make this happen in 3 months if He wills.

Pray friends. Pray for Patience, Peace and for the Perfect child or children for our little family.

Want to Adopt Together?

2014-05-18T15:11:00.001-04:00

So, we wanted to share a little bit about the non profit organization that is helping us fund our adoption. It is never our intention to beg for money from our friends. However, this is a clear and easy way for people interested in helping fund our adoption to do so. “Adopt together” does not pocket any of the money and all funds donated to the Mabry’s goes to our adoption expenses alone. We have a projected expense of $33,000 for our Haiti adoption and that seems to be the going rate for an international adoption these days. So, we could use help. We are trusting God fully but we know that He can use friends like yourselves to bless His work. We believe we are following God’s leading by adopting. We would love to share with you more in person about how God has moved in us and we believe He has guided every step thus far.

First, we could use your prayers. This is the most important thing all of you could do for us. There are so many unknowns as we take this journey, so we covet your prayers.

Second, we could use some financial help. We are not asking for astronomical amounts of money. We know times are tough on everyone right now. We will be doing special days like “$10 Tuesdays”. Any little bit will help us achieve our goal and bring this child to their forever home.

We will also be doing fundraisers with Chick fil a and a yard sale with all proceeds going to the adoption.

We want to leave you with a verse. God commands that we take care of the widows and orphans. We aren’t all called to adopt, but we are all called to take care of orphans. Here is one way you can do just that. James 1:27 – “Religion that is pure and undefiled before God, the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world.”

We are blessed with such wonderful family and friends. Thank you all for joining with us on this amazing journey. We are so excited to share it with you all.

To contribute, just visit www.adopttogether.org and search for Mabry. We have been told it is very simple.

Love you all, Nathan, Rachel and kids

Discomfort with Comfort

2014-03-02T17:35:00.001-05:00

When is the last time you considered how "lucky" you were? Of course, if you believe in a sovereign God--and I do--then there is no such thing as luck. So, let me rephrase the question, when is the last time you considered how blessed you were?

Odds are, if you're reading this, you were born in America to at least a middle class home. You may not have been born into opulence, but you've probably lived a comfortable life never lacking food, clothing, or shelter. If you're reading this, you have access to the Internet, potentially across several devices.

It is unlikely that you would immediately consider yourself wealthy, but a certainty that you are (consider www.globalrichlist.com).

Do you ever feel guilty about how "blessed" you are? What is it in you that deserves such a blessing?

But really, are you even blessed?

Consider what Jesus says blessing is--Blessed are the poor in spirit...they that mourn...the meek...they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness...the merciful...the pure in heart...the peacemakers...they which are persecuted for righteousness' sake...Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake.

Are you blessed? Is this what you think of when you think of blessing?

Lately, there has been a restlessness in our souls--a discomfort with our comfort. We have been, as we always should be, seeking God's Will. Personally, I don't believe that God's Will is an elusive mystery that we must constantly search for in hopes of receiving some sort of sign or special revelation. I believe that God's Will is entirely associated with His moral will, which is revealed completely in His Word; but at the same time, I believe that God does give us desires according to His greater plan when we seek Him. Namely, "Delight yourself in the Lord, and He will give you the desires of your heart." I don't understand this verse as pointing to some form of prosperity gospel. Rather, I understand that as we seek God, as we delight in Him, He puts desires in our hearts.

Well, God has planted in our hearts the desire to adopt.

This is not something that has happened suddenly, it has been something we have wrestled with for quite some time. We have examined our lives and felt like we had things pretty good, as far as the world's standards are concerned. What has brought us to this reality has been perfect peace in seeking what God wants for us. To that end, we believe that before the foundation of the world, before all time began, God has set aside a soul (or souls, we're open to sibling groups) that will be born to other biological parents and subsequently orphaned only to be adopted into our family. We will rejoice to call this child our own, as no different from our biological children. Just as God has lavished His love on us, so we want to lavish His love through us on this child.

This is an exciting adventure. There will be struggles. There will be challenges. There will be questions (on our part and from others). But it would be wrong for us to quench this God-implanted desire in favor of our comfort. We covet prayers and appreciate all of the positive words of encouragement. We invite you to be a part of journey as we continue to share His story through our story in the coming months and years.

A Very Special Calling

2014-02-26T20:00:00.000-05:00

For all who are led by the Spirit of God are children of God. So you have not received a spirit that makes you fearful slaves. Instead, you received God's Spirit when he adopted you as his own children. Now we call him, "Abba, Father." For his Spirit joins with our spirit to affirm that we are God's children. Galatians 4:4-6

Adoption. Lately, that word has become very special to me. As I have studied the Bible, God has been revealing to me my adoption in Him. Not only did He make me but He chose me by adoption to be His daughter – one of the great marvels of my God. He rescued me from certain death and separation from Him forever. He reached down to me in all my wickedness and selfishness and brought me into the righteousness of His dear Son, Jesus. I am not sure where my life would be if He had left me to my own devices. Praise His name. He called to me and in the words of a dear friend, “dragged me to Him.”

And anyone who welcomes a little child like this on my behalf is welcoming me. Matthew 18:5

God has saved and called Nathan and I to do the same. We are pursuing adoption in the depraved country of Haiti. This is not going to be a quick and easy process. It is very costly. It is very time consuming. It is very emotional. But, it is a total surrender to our Father and complete obedience to Him. We couldn’t be happier. We are all in.
We are asking for prayer warriors as we begin this long but exciting process. We have always said, “If God has called us to it, He will equip us to do it.” We have faith that God is working good through all this and will provide and sustain us through all the unknowns.
In the coming months (or years, as there is uncertainty in the length of this process), we will be sharing our adventure and opening up the option for others to play a part with us through prayer, finances, or other creative ways. Stay tuned….

A Day at Hidden Valley Fruit Farm

2011-10-29T11:22:00.001-04:00

We spent a warm Saturday at Hidden Valley Fruit Farm. It was such a special time with just our family.

Josiah took this great shot.

Ooey Gooey Caramel Apples! Our kids first

A Siesta Key Sunset

2011-10-29T11:16:00.001-04:00

Our trip to See Winter

2011-10-29T11:11:00.001-04:00

We were blessed to be able to see “Winter” from the movie Dolphin Tale. We went and saw the movie while in Sarasota and then found out that the Clearwater Aquarium was only an hour from where we were. So, we went by there on our way home from Siesta Key. It was such a great experience. The story of Winter is so inspiring.

Winter is getting her physical therapy.

One of Winter’s prosthetic tails that she wears a few times a day.

They also rescued a blind turtle whom they have to feed by hand. This especially touched my heart.

Home School Fun

2011-10-27T22:08:00.001-04:00

Big Tree Plantation

A couple of tree huggers

Siesta Key Trip

2011-10-27T22:04:00.001-04:00

My little beach bum

Kids loved the Ocean. We can’t wait to go back next year.

Silly boy

Look at that white sand. Ahhhhhhh!

Dinner at Phillippi Creek

Disney World

2011-10-27T21:58:00.001-04:00

Josie was on cloud nine at Disney World. She just wanted to stay by the castle all day. She kept asking to go back and see it again and again. Can’t wait til we go back.

Dumbo ride

To Infinity and Beyond

Nathan wanted a pic alone with Rapunzel but the kids just wouldn’t leave. Right after this was taken, Rapunzel asked Nathan to give her the smoulder. He did it quite well.

Disney was incredible!

Swim Lessons

2011-05-10T19:19:00.001-04:00

Josie and Layla took swim lessons together. They had a lot of fun and have gotten to be such great little swimmers. I am so proud of these precious girls.

Mother’s Day with Granny

2011-05-09T12:32:00.001-04:00

We had a great Mother’s day at Granny’s with my brother Duane and his family. We ate KFC and she made cookies for dessert. We laughed and talked for hours. The kids put on puppet shows and dressed up in Granny’s hats and scarves. Great memories made.

Layla and Josie girl

Cousins (this picture really shows their personalities)

Josie writes her name

2011-05-09T12:13:00.001-04:00

I had a very special Mother’s Day this year with a card from my kids to start the day off. This is the first year that Josie was able to write her name on my card. She is younger than my other two were when they could write their names. Maybe homeschooling is starting off right.

Entertrainment Junction

2011-05-07T21:33:00.001-04:00

We had a blast at this really fun place!

We did a scavenger hunt through the train displays.

A-Maz-N fun house….so cool!

Fun Mirrors

Easter 2011

2011-05-07T21:28:00.001-04:00

Easter baskets

Gorgeous Kids! (if I do say so myself)

A powerful painting for our Easter Drama

Best Buddies

Mother Daughter banquet at Ashland

2011-05-07T21:18:00.001-04:00

Missing some very special people!!!!

Not sure…….Love my Josie girl

Flying Pig Weekend

2011-05-07T21:14:00.001-04:00

It’s only a day away……

They had to pose with the pigs.

Our annual picture by the balloon pig.

Reds Game #1 (2011 season)

2011-05-07T20:57:00.001-04:00

Not great seats but I loved it!

Josiah’s first Reds game EVER!

They lost but we still had a great time. Go Reds!!!!

A Big Kings Island day for Josiah

2011-05-07T20:53:00.001-04:00

Vortex – 6 loops

Beware of the Beast

Flight Deck

Josie got to ride some too!

Mani – Pedi with Annie

2011-05-07T20:48:00.001-04:00

Annie’s First Pedicure

Drying her nails

The finished products. Fun fun time with my girl!

Our baseball star

2011-05-07T20:41:00.001-04:00

Josiah Mabry - #5

Big league chew

First Day of School

2010-08-28T12:54:00.001-04:00

Here they are: Ready for their Big Day!! Annie started 2nd grade and Josiah started Kindergarten. Have a great year kids!

Got our bags all packed and we’re ready to go!!

Growing up way too fast!

“A Daughter may outgrow your lap, but she will never outgrow your heart.”

Open House – August 23, 2010

2010-08-28T12:42:00.001-04:00

Josiah and Mrs. McVey

Big bus rider now

Annie and Mrs. Carson