Archive for July, 2010
Posted on July 27, 2010 by The Tapestry Team
As I am typing this, our beautiful daughter is sleeping in her crib just a few feet away. Holding her in my arms as she nestled down for rest, I began to reflect on where we were a little over a year ago.
Spring of 2009 held very different thoughts and emotions than those we are experiencing now. Spring, the time of new life and renewal, had been disappointing. After the initial excitement of deciding to adopt from Ethiopia, completing our paperwork, and beginning our wait, our agency informed us that our wait time would be double what we initially thought. Our Spring looked bleak as we settled in for more waiting. While I am not a sentimental person when it comes to holidays, Mother’s Day hit me with a vengeance. I was shocked by the intensity of my emotions that day as I felt so helpless and sad. We were later to find out that our daughter was born only days before that Mother’s Day. That Spring had brought an amazing life into this world; so far away in Gondar, Ethiopia, our daughter had been born! God’s timing, as always, had been perfect.
Read the entire story by Carmen Scroggin from the Summer 2010 issue of the Tapestry Newsletter.
Posted on July 22, 2010 by The Tapestry Team
On Saturday, Setpember 18, from 6:30 to 8:30 pm, Tapestry is throwing a party to celebrate five years of ministry. This evening will include dinner and great stories, videos and more for the adults, as we look back at what God has done among our community of families and dream about what lies ahead. We also have lots of fun and games planned for all the kids.
Tapestry only “turns 5” once, so you will not want to miss this celebration. The entire evening will be free of charge and childcare and children’s activities will be available for ages 0 to 12 with advanced registration (at least 48 hours before the event).
More details to come soon, but go ahead and mark your calendars now.
Posted on July 19, 2010 by The Tapestry Team
As my daughter, Sveta, and I sat looking at the precious few photographs we have from her early childhood, we both enjoyed studying the familiar features of her sky-blue eyes and smooth olive skin. We laughed about the many changes in hair color, length and style. And as she remembered the story behind one of her kindergarten portraits, I listened carefully to every detail she could recall.
One photograph, however, captured my heart and held my attention. She was too young when it was taken to remember the slate grey and turquoise sweater she wore, or the occasion of the photo; however, she had many memories of the special person holding her close, their faces almost touching. Her birthmother looked beautiful in her jewel toned sweater and neatly applied lipstick. Her eyes and skin tone looked so much like those of the girl now sitting beside me on the bed. How old was she? How much time had passed? Where is she now? Does she think about …?
Read the entire story by Cheryl Macdonald from the Summer 2010 issue of the Tapestry Newsletter.
Posted on July 12, 2010 by The Tapestry Team
Tapestry will host its annual family summer fun event at Bedford Splash Water Park on Sunday evening, July 18, from 6:30 to 8:30 pm. This annual event is tons of fun for all families and is a great chance to swim and play at Bedford Splash.
The water park has pools, water slides and attractions for all ages, and best of all we will have the entire park all to ourselves. Everyone is invited and you don’t need to register — just show up. Best of all, the event is completely free. Limited concessions (i.e., snacks only) will be available for purchase, but families are welcome to bring their own snacks or a picnic dinner. Life guards will be on duty.
For more information about the venue and directions go to www.bedfordsplash.com, or email us at tapestry@irvingbible.org. We look forward to seeing your family next Sunday night!
Posted on July 6, 2010 by The Tapestry Team
Carla Barnhill wrote a very informative article in the July 2010 issue Christianity Today that captures well how God is working through local churches across the country to serve, educate and support adoptive and foster families. In fact, she points to what is happening at Tapestry at Irving Bible Church as a good example of how churches can become involved in many different ways to serve the needs of children and families touched by adoption and foster care.
“From megachurches like Saddleback Church in Orange County, California, and Christ Community Church in Franklin, Tennessee, to small congregations like First Baptist Church in Cambridge, Minnesota, U.S. churches are launching orphan care ministries, most of them lay-led. One such ministry, Tapestry, began in 2000 when a few adoption-hopeful couples at Irving Bible Church in North Texas began meeting. Launched by Michael and Amy Monroe, Tapestry has become a cultural juggernaut at Irving Bible and in the wider community. It helps adoptive families wade through the endless amounts of paperwork, home visits, and assessments, and, after a child arrives, provides education and connects families to support groups.” — Churches Adopt Adoption, Christianity Today (July 2010)
Read the entire article and join with us in celebrating what God is already doing in so many local churches. Also, if your church is interested in starting an adoption, foster care or global orphan care ministry, check out some of the resources we have on the Tapestry website or send us an email at tapestry@irvingbible.org. We would love to help you and your church get involved in whatever way God is leading.
Posted on July 2, 2010 by The Tapestry Team
Missy Leventhal recently wrote a very honest and insightful post on the Hope for Orphans blog. She talked openly about the importance of realistic expectations in the adoption journey, and how she had to adjust the unrealistic expectations she had created while waiting for the adoption of their daughter Abigail from China.
“For me the depths of my expectations did not help me with our transition, and it took me months to figure out that the disconnection I was feeling with her was due, in a large part, to my unmet and unrealistic expectations. As I’ve come to understand my own heart more through much prayer, educated myself with some great books like The Connected Child, and surrounded myself with other godly adoptive families through our church’s adoption ministry (Watermark Tapestry), I’ve learned that I must evaluate and adjust my expectations so that they are more realistic. I must love my daughter for who she is and for how our God has created her, rather than try to make her into something she’s not. This is not a new concept to me, but it is one that took me being very intentional to really change my heart.”– Missy Leventhal
Missy focuses on an issue that all adoptive and foster parents must focus on — both before their child arrives and after — if we want to truly love our children in ways that build strong and lasting connections to help them become all that God intends for them to be.
Read Missy’s entire post here, and you can also read an article on the same subject by Dr. Karyn Purvis and Michael Monroe entitled Adoption from the Inside Out. It’s never too late for us as adoptive and foster parents (and parents-to-be) to start this all-important process of examining our motivations and expectations, and allowing God’s truth and grace to bring them more in line with what He has called us to.
