The updates on the family

The past months have been going by rather fast. We have relocated to a more healthy environment, (our last house had a lot of mold problems and it was effecting the children) until we eventually go back to MO. I have received most of my supplies to start my new business adventure to help with the funding of our adoption. in fact you can go to our website and purchase raffle tickets to win a sterling silver necklace at www.walkinginfaithforadoption.com I am very excited about my new business. I have been praying a long time about this and have had set backs but now God willing I can move slowly and carefully ahead. I hopefully will get a web page just for my products but for now I am going to have it through our adoption page.

The Family has been getting more active in the last few weeks and we have been having family adventures. One of the most recent ones was learning to gold pan. since we live in the beautiful mountains of the sierra Nevada's gold is rather a norm here. So Richard and I took our kids to Columbia for a fun Gold panning lessen and to have a little fun trying our "luck" panning in the tubs that they had set up. I have added some pictures for your enjoyment.
After Columbia the next days that Richard had off we took a drive up in the mountains and had fun gold panning and splashing around in the water. Malinda and Elijah both have fully grasped the idea of swimming. With the help of arm floats they have been swimming around and paddling from one side of the bank to the other side of the creek. ( it was a very mellow creek) During this time we have grown closer as a family and I have realized that kids are rather fun to just watch. I have noticed that a lot of people have gotten so rapped up in racing the clock so to speak and forget the little things in life that are so precious.

yard sale!

Today we are having a yard sale to help raise funds. It is our first one that we have ever tried to put on. I must say they are a lot of work! I don't know how many more that i will want to do in our life time, the turn out is not very good. Oh well, the little that is coming in is a lot better then nothing! :)

Another thing that I have been working on and am very excited about is my power mall. I buy things online and who doesn't? I am getting a % back on what I buy and that will help a lot too. I hear about other families that are getting to meet there children and bring them home and it makes me want to try even harder to bring in the funding and move our adoption along. if you would like to check it out, the link is www.christyspowermall.com you can open up your own power mall 100% free and buy from stores that you normally do on line. I just bought my daughter her birthday present from a Christian book store I cant wait for her to see it, it is a pretty neck less that has a cross pendent inside a circle of colored stones.

my new adventure

Today I am writing because I am wanting to share with you a exciting opportunity that I have found and love using for me personally is what is called My Power Mall it is 100% free and all you do is sign up and shop at stores like you would usually on line but the wonderful thing about this sight is that you get a percentage back! It has helped me in my fundraising, and lots of other families that are fundraising trying to raise money to fund there adoption. If you would like to help or check this out click on the link that I have provided, that is the link to my mall and you can sign up from there. I have loved this because I tend to shop online a lot and I love getting stuff for my children and now I am getting a percentage back. I hope that you are not thinking that I am trying to “sell” you any thing; I am just excited about my new venture!

new adventure!

As you know my Husband and I are in the adoption process. Funds is a problem for us. but through prayer, I believe I have found a way to raise the money for the adoption. it will take a bit of time, but I have my church, family, and friends praying for me. I am rather excited, but scared at the same time. I am venturing out into the business world wich I am not used to. as most of you know I am a stay at home mother. This buisness will let me stay with the children, but also I will be able to expand with out jeperdising my family time. I will post more as my adventure unfolds. thank you for your prayers!
Christiana

the Power of words

Yesterday while sewing with my Daughter at my side watching all that I did and asking all the questions a 3yr old can. Out of no were she looked at me and said "mommy" "I love you." and I realized that was the first time my daughter has ever said those words to me. As I was pondering on those simple words I realized it does not take much for us to say those words, but for a young child to come to the place were she understands the concept of words so simple as I love you is a powerful thing.
Do the children in the orphanages know the meaning of I love you and know the true concept? I realize that the things that I take for granted with my children and what I can say to them, is yet another privilege that we don't ever stop and think about, that it would change a child's life forever. I can not wait to tell my Ukraine children those simple words, spoken from a little child's mouth with such impact. "I Love You."

My wish

As I go about my day I think about what more I could be doing. I could be hugging two more children besides my own. What two children? My Ukrainian Angels. Who are the Ukrainian angels? They are the two children that God has waiting for me. I have dreams of a little girl whose parents died in a fire with a little brother who can not speak. He is four, she is six. They do not know the love that I know and have always known I see there faces and my heart cries for them. I pray that God protects them from the pain that they will or have gone through. I do not know if they are the “ones” that God has planned for us but I see them and I am burdened for them.
Children are so innocent and so helpless. I want to bring them home to me so I may protect them and show them love and mercy, and most importantly of all, tell them about the one who loves them the most. Jesus.

Walking in Faith

Walking in Faith for Adoption- Aprils fundraising

this is the flier that was posted in my communities newspaper, I walked 100 miles in one month. It was extremely hart at times especially when it was raining but I stuck with it and made it through. and I thank God for the amount that I was able to raise with the communities help!

Dear Community, My name is Christiana Barkley. You will see me walking around town this month, wearing a T-shirt that states “Walking in Faith for Adoption”. Why? My Husband and I plan to adopt two children from the Ukraine. We have had this on our minds since before we were married, but have been waiting until we were financially ready, and we believe that time is now. We have two healthy children of our own and are now ready to take on the love of two more children. We feel that God has led us in this direction and would like your help to make this dream a reality.
You might be asking your self why we are not adopting from the United States. Although it would be cheaper to adopt from the U.S., after looking at all the countries that we could adopt from including the U.S. we felt led to the Ukraine and strongly feel that God has children waiting for us there.
After contacting various adoptions agencies throughout this process, we have decided to use Bethany Christian Services of Modesto, CA. After passing through their pre-screening system, we proceeded to seek counsel on many different aspects of adoption, such as cost, time, home and financial requirements etc. We found out that this process in it entirety takes one to two years to complete and the cost is exorbitant. It is in fact between $38,000 and $45,000 to adopt two Ukrainian children. Though my husband has a good carrier, this is far more money than we have set aside for adoption.
I have spent a lot of time in prayer asking God to give me direction in raising the necessary funds to make this possible. I am creating everything from hand made purses, teddy bears with “Faith for adoption” T-shirts, to making cookbooks with family’s secret recipes. I realize now that although these ideas are good and will help the process, it’s not nearly enough to significantly help my cause. There are loans you can take out for the purpose of adoption, but I have not yet convinced myself that making payment on a child is the right thing to do. So one night while reading my Bible, 2 Corinthians 5:7 stuck out to me. “For we walk by faith, not by sight.” And Proverbs 16:9 “A mans heart plans his way, but the Lord directs his steps.” So one of our steps is for me to do just that... Step in faith, or in other words walk. Hence; “Walking in faith for adoption.” Our goal is to raise $10,000 in the month of April. How, you might ask your self, can we raise that amount of money? I would like to tell you, I plan on walking 100 miles in the month of April, three miles every day and 4 miles a day for the last ten days of the month, and finding several different sponsors for each mile. My goal is $100 for each mile.
There are 35 local churches and 42 businesses I have visited and spoke with about sponsorship and I have not found all the sponsors that I need, but every penny counts. From $1.00 to any amount you feel led to give per mile would be greatly appreciated!