Bring Home Alayna

This is a family that I have been following through their blog for about a year. They are amazing, have such hearts to give a home to children. God has brought a new baby to them, due to be born in the next couple of weeks. Please consider giving to help with the adoption expenses. You can read about the adoption here.

Drawn from Water

Please read below, click the link, do as the Lord leads. These kids need our help.

The rubber hitting the dirt (not much pavement in Jinka)

I debated if I should make this post into a whole stand-alone post or quietly add it into another of the posts here…. And honestly am still debating in my head which is the best way to do it. But here goes nothing.

We are having a hard time with money. The costs of running the orphanage and working on getting the children adopted despite being in a inexpensive country are high and we do not have enough supporters. We had a good push at the beginning of people who donated but that has dropped off and we are getting dangerously low on money.

I need to stop right here and say that this is a very hard post to write. Everything in me is telling me to stop and delete it and hope for the best but I know that I made a commitment to these kids to help support them and right now that means being humble and asking that people like you help support them and our effort to get them into families. So I am going to keep rolling on here and hope that it works.

Our costs are extremely low by western standards; we support 10 children and 7 full time staff for less than the cost of one couple with no children in to live a modest lifestyle in America. Yet we are still having a hard time getting the money together to make that happen. The other thing is that now with the plan to find families for the children our cost are going up.

Ok I need to stop and just let you do what you feel led to do. We have a neat little donate button up above that you can click and the rest is up to you.

Also, I have said this before and am saying it again because so many of you have helped out in this way and it works so good. If you have a blog please post about us so that we can spread the word.

And let me be the first to say thank you, thank you, and thank you!

Levi Benkert

Please click here to donate.

Little 'Lana

Words cannot express how in love we are with our little 'Lana. She is beautiful, happy, peaceful, and indescribably precious. Her eyes are so expressive, and she has long, beautiful, curly eyelashes. When you look into her face, she responds with the most uninhibited, happy grin that you've ever seen. I hope we can capture it on camera sometime. Everyone who meets her is instantly in love.

We are still in need of $2,000.00 to finalize Alana's adoption. Would you please consider a donation of any size? You can use the link to the right and donate securely through PayPal. Thank you so much!

An Exciting Opportunity!

Drawn From Water is a ministry that is rescuing babies from being killed by their own tribe. CLICK HERE to read more about them and to see the exciting news - the children are going to be made available for adoption!

Drawn from Water from Drawn From Water on Vimeo.

We Have Room

This one too!

Promo for "We Have Room" Documentary from David Watson on Vimeo.

The Blind Side

I HAVE to see this movie!

Praise Report and Prayer Request

Click on picture to see entire album:

2009-08 Tayan

We want to praise God for the healthy delivery of our son, Tayan Glenn Swagerty! After five hours of relatively easy labor and an intense half hour at the end, he was born 9 lb. 3 oz., 21.5 inches, at 9:34am on Sunday, August 9. We are so glad that God started the labor naturally before our scheduled inducement. Tay is simply a joy, very peaceful, and eats like a horse! He also looks a lot like his namesake, "GoPa" Glenn.

We also ask for continued prayer for Michelle's recovery. Several hours after the birth, Michelle started hemorrhaging. She lost a good deal of blood. The doctors and nurses were considering a transfusion but decided not to after things started to turn around. Thanks to the diligent prayer covering and the skill of the medical staff, she was released the next day to recuperate at home. Paul and Laura are caring for Michelle, Tayan, and Alana at home while our older children are cared for by other family members.

Daddy Paul asks that you please be considerate of our children's little ears regarding what you may have heard or think you know about what happened to their Mommy last Sunday.

Thank you again and again for all your prayers and love during this pregnancy and birth.

Waiting to be Delivered

I have been thinking a lot the past week or two about the parallels between waiting for a baby to be born and waiting for Jesus to come back. In the case of birth, I have to be in a constant state of readiness. Bags are packed and contingency plans are made to be ready to head to the hospital at a moment's notice. At the same time, my daily life has to be lived: children cared for, meals made, relationships maintained, etc. There is this constant tension between what is right now and what could be at any moment. It can be wearying, and not only on me. Our whole family is feeling it. We are learning in the process to enjoy the moments we have while always anticipating what we know is coming.

Today has been a good day. Our work for the week done (amazing!), we just had fun together. Nothing big, just playing and laughing and loving. Going to the park this afternoon, reading together, taking a walk after dinner. But every now and then one of the kids would look at my large belly and say, "I wish Tayan would come out right now." "Me too," I responded. When we were putting him to bed, Cedar said, "I want Tayan to come out so I can see if he has red hair like me." Me too, honey.

As we sat on the back porch this evening, the kids sucking the last of the juice out of their popsicle sleeves and wishing they had more, we started daydreaming about the joys we look forward to in Heaven (i.e., never-ending fountains of popsicle juice or - my favorite fantasy - of chocolate!). I know that I don't long for eternity with the intensity that I desire to be delivered of this baby. I don't know how I could stand to live with that level of longing all the time. But I also don't want to become complacent and content with this present world.

So when I read these words in The Message today, they struck me as very appropriate.

"... I don't think there's any comparison between the present hard times and the coming good times. The created world itself can hardly wait for what's coming next. Everything in creation is being more or less held back. God reins it in until both creation and all the creatures are ready and can be released at the same moment into the glorious times ahead. Meanwhile, the joyful anticipation deepens.

"All around us we observe a pregnant creation. The difficult times of pain throughout the world are simply birth pangs. But it's not only around us; it's within us. The Spirit of God is arousing us within. We're also feeling the birth pangs ... yearning for full deliverance. That is why waiting does not diminish us, any more than waiting diminishes a pregnant mother. We are enlarged in the waiting. We, of course, don't see what is enlarging us. But the longer we wait, the larger we become, and the more joyful our expectancy.

"Meanwhile, the moment we get tired in the waiting, God's Spirit is right alongside helping us along. If we don't know how or what to pray, it doesn't matter. He does our praying in and for us, making prayer out of our wordless sighs, our aching groans. He knows us far better than we know ourselves, knows our pregnant condition, and keeps us present before God. That's why we can be so sure that every detail in our lives of love for God is worked into something good" (Romans 8:18-28, emphasis mine).

Amen! Come, little Tayan. And come, Lord Jesus!

Fun Day

Here are a few more pictures of our afternoon at the water park.

40 Weeks Plus 2 Days

Our life has been rather on hold for the past couple of weeks since we really expected to have delivered this baby by now! (Our previous three were all delivered by 39 weeks, so naturally we thought Tayan would be too. His estimated date of delivery was August 5.) So today, since we are still waiting, we decided to make this a fun day for our family. No chores, just play! Here we are at Lonetree Park meeting Daddy for lunch and water play.

Snapshots from Today

Brand-new diapers drying in the sunshine ...

... and Rainbow proudly showing off her gap-toothed grin. She pulled it out all by herself after dinner!

Silly Faces

This is how we're entertaining ourselves this morning while we're feeling a bit under the weather.

Beautiful Alana

'Nuf said.

Happy Independence Day!

From the Swagerty kids:
Thunder, Rainbow, Crown, Laughter, and Mr. Tree



God bless America!

Placer County Fair

And, last weekend, we went to the Placer County Fair! I'm not sure what makes me think I can still do all this. I was pretty tired from the walking and the heat. But we made memories, so I'm glad that we went.

2009-06-26 Fair

Trip to the Zoo

We went to Folsom Zoo a couple of weeks ago while my cousin was still with us (we still miss you, Cassie!). This is actually more of a wildlife refuge than a zoo. It's just small enough for our family to enjoy without getting too worn out.

Click on the picture below to see the rest.

2009-06-29

Our New Table

Paul (with the help and expertise of our incredible friend, John) is building a new table for our growing family.

This thing is going to be a BIG farm-style table, the kind I've always dreamed of having.

To give a little perspective, Paul is 6'4", and his head is about as far from the edge as his feet are!

I can't wait to serve dinner to our whole family at this table (it will seat 12)!

Mommy and Alana

My Sweet Alana and I love to cuddle

And apparently we sleep in exactly the same position!

My Cuties

Here are some pictures of my two youngest cuties, just because.

Many Faces of Reesa

Here is Reesa at her 5-year-old best, opening presents on her birthday camping trip. (Click on picture to see more.)

Reesa's Camping Birthday