Looking Back, Part II

Last January is when my husband and I began to seriously pray about adopting a child into our family. Initially God laid it on my heart. D is a good man and he began to pray honestly before God about it. It wasn't what he had thought about for our family. It would mean giving up some of our dreams about the future. It would be a financial stretch, to say the least, and since he is the provider in our family that burden would fall on his shoulders. One of the many things that I love about my husband is that he greatly desires to walk in obedience before God. At one point he made a list of all the pros and cons of adopting...he read me all the blessings that could happen because of it. Then, he read all of the hard things about adopting. After each of those obstacles, he had written "So what?" At that point my heart melted because I knew that God had laid the adoption on his heart also, and he was going to obey:) I'm so very thankful for this man!

Looking Back, Part I

What a fabulous gift that God has given us in allowing us to travel in January to bring home our little princess! As I knelt down by her toddler bed last night, I was simply overwhelmed at how God has brought this adoption about in our lives. I thought I'd share a bit of the beginning of our journey with you. It was last January that God began to fan into flame in my heart the desire to adopt a child. I had thought about it when my kids were very young, but had not acted upon it. In January, my husband was preaching on the book of James at our church. I began to read James to our kids at home. After I finished reading James 1:27, my daughter looked right at me and said, "See! I told you we SHOULD adopt!" (She's been praying for a sister for years!). During my own quiet time with God's Word, He showed me II Corinthians 5:14-15..."For Christ's love compels us, because we are convinced that one died for all, and therefore all died. And He died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for Him who died for them and was raised again." I kept thinking and thinking about that verse. I asked myself, "Am I just living for myself?"..."Could we as a family love and care for a child who has no family?" The next step was to talk with my best friend,my husband,about it. We were on a date at Outback. He looked across the table and gently asked me, "What are you thinking about?" I smiled as I replied, "I'm thinking about what it would be like for our family to adopt a child." Without blinking an eye he said, "That is so not what I thought you were going to say!" Needless to say that was the first of many significant conversations concerning adoption!

Last night as I remembered that II Cor. scripture, I was looking at a picture of "B". My heart was so grateful that God helped us to obey Him last January! He has special plans for our little girl!

Thank you to all of you who are praying for "B" and for our journey to go to her! We are very, very thankful!

WooHoo...We're Going to Africa!!!

"The LORD has done great things for us, and we are filled with joy!!!!" Psalm 126:3

We got THE call today:) The kids and I were sitting in the family room reading from Luke 1:57-80 and having a good discussion about John the Baptist and how he was preparing the way for Jesus when the phone rang. The answering machine picked up and we heard, "This is Christy from All God's Children...". Suddenly, we were all running for the phone!!! Almaz called AGCI to let us know our tentative travel dates...we need to be in Ethiopia by Jan. 11! We are SOOO happy! We're thankful to God for allowing us to adopt little "B" into our family! I can't believe that I will be seeing her sweet face in a little more than 3 weeks:) Thank you to all of you who are praying for us. And for those of you who have children at Hannah's Hope I would be happy to let you know how your children are. I really appreciated all of those who did that for us, and now I can do it for you! Just let me know!

"Many, O LORD my God, are the wonders you have done. The things you planned for us no one can recount to you; were I to speak and tell of them, they would be too many to declare!"
Psalm 40:5

Pretty Shoes for our Pretty Princess

Sis and I had so much fun yesterday picking out these little shoes for the princess! How stunning to think that precious "B" could actually be wearing these shoes in a month! That's what we're praying for:) The excitement continues to build in the house...everyone is ready for the darling to come and be home with us! Hopefully we will hear good news next week!

The Court Date Comes to a Close

Thank you to all of you who prayed for our little girl and our court appointment in Ethiopia today. I have a sense of peace. I know that God is in control of all things! But...I'm so excited about possibly traveling next month to get B!!! All God's Children said that we should be able to hear something about our court date next week. In the meantime, we're having a great time checking out all of the other Ethiopian adoption blogs out there! I was thrilled to find a family that has a mom and dad ALMOST as old as us! Plus, their children are 14, 11 and 8...very similar to us. I don't know why that made me feel really good to find their blog...it just did! Thanks again for praying for us!

Preparing for the Princess!

We've set up the bed for the little princess! Everyone is very excited. Our youngest son recently said, "I can't wait until B. gets here. I'm going to read her 'Chicka-Chicka-Boom-Boom' so she can learn her letters.":) This was quite a statement coming from him because reading is not one of his favorite things to do!! Sis and I spent time today on the computer looking at hair-care products for the princess...plus, admiring all of the cool, little beads and snaps for her hair!

I must admit that the night we put up the toddler bed and I was alone in the room, I had a moment of uncertainty. A moment when I thought, "Am I the right mom for this precious child?"..."Am I too old to be doing this?"..."Is it right to take her away from Ethiopia and transplant her half-way around the world?" In that moment I had to fall to my knees and pray to my Father who knows all things. He has called us to this journey and He will enable me to do what He has called me to do! There is tremendous peace in that for me.

We have a tentative court date in Ethiopia this Thursday, December 11th. This will be the time that the Ethiopian government will look over all of our documents and decide if we can adopt B! Please pray with us that things will go smoothly and that we will receive our call shortly for our travel dates. We are praying that we will be traveling next month to Ethiopia to meet her and bring her home! Thank you, thank you for praying!!!

Light for the Journey

"The people walking in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of the shadow of death a light has dawned." Isaiah 9:2

When I think of darkness I remember the time this summer that we went hiking at a state park. There was a cave that you could explore on the trail. The path through the cave appeared to be a short distance, so we decided that the five of us could navigate our way through, even though we had no flashlight. We began the journey, with Don leading the way and myself at the end of the line of 3 adventuresome kids. We went into the cave with high spirits, but it didn't take us long to realize that it was a bit hard to make our way through in the pitch darkness. The cave was dark, had many twists and turns and was very narrow and confining in places. At this point, it wasn't as much fun as we thought it would be:) Then, we remembered that I had my camera so I passed it up to Don who proceeded to "light" up the way by using the camera's flash. With the "light" we were able to see where we were going and began to laugh again! Getting out of the cave was no longer difficult and we eventually emerged into the warm sunshine.

I've been reading passages from Isaiah as we prepare to celebrate Christmas - celebrating the fact that God actually became one of us!!! May you find joy and peace in Him this month as you reflect on this scripture:

"...Jesus said, 'I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.'" John 8:12

A Wonderful Surprise and a 6th Grade Sleepover!

First...the 6th grade sleepover...last night there was a very special event at our church for the junior high girls called "Get Real". It was an awesome program for the girls put on by some women and senior high girls from NCC about friendships, modesty, purity and living a life for God that is counter-culture to our society! We had a blast together...dancing, laughing, eating, talking, hula-hooping, etc. Afterwards, some of the 6th graders came to our house for a slumber party...more laughter, talking...less sleeping:) Who needs sleep anyway? I'm so thankful I could spend time with these girls who I work with on Sunday mornings. Having them in our home was a terrific experience...Sis was loving it! The only people not happy about the whole thing were her brothers:)

Here's the wonderful surprise part...when I got home late last night I found out that our agency, All God's Children, had sent us more recent pictures of our little darling!!! Just when we were filling a bit discouraged yesterday, God sent us hope! Wish I could share the pics with all of you...she is simply adorable:) Her hair is growing back and she has the sweetest smile! Looking at the pictures stirs something deep in my heart and our desire to bring her safely home grows and grows! Thank you to all of you who are praying for our child!

We also learned that 6 families from AGCI are traveling this weekend to Ethiopia and 8 families are traveling in 2 weeks. Hopefully that means we'll get our turn soon! I have to admit that my first thought was why do they get to travel to their child and we don't, but it's all back to that huge matter of trusting God in all of our circumstances. I believe with all of my heart that His timing is perfect:)

Simply Waiting

God's Word says to be still and know that He is God (Psalm 46:10). It also says to trust Him with all of our hearts and not to depend on our own understanding...we're to acknowledge Him in all of our ways and He will make our path straight (Proverbs 3:4-5). Right now we're in a long, quiet period of simply waiting for news on how the adoption process is going in Ethiopia. We're longing to hear news about when we can travel to bring home our African princess, but there is only silence. It's a time of trust that God will bring her home to us when He desires to do so.

In the meantime, we're doing the day to day things...trying to live life to the fullest, although sometimes I don't feel that I do that very well. A highlight for me this week has been the chance to read aloud "Johnny Tremain" to the whole family (...Don was a even a little disappointed because I read some to the kids while he was at work). It's a great story and I love to find a book that ALL 3 of the kids enjoy hearing!!! It's a special book to me because it brings back memories of when Bub was in 3rd grade and I read it to him...at that time he said, "Wow! This book has changed my life!" (I'm not making that up!) When I asked him what he meant, he explained that it was a book that gave him a love for history. Now, he's a teen and his favorite genre of book is still historical fiction!

It's a time of wonder as I see the kids growing up around me...what a pleasure to be their mom! Can't wait to bring our newest little daughter into our family circle!

Jumping rope!

Aaaahhh, the fall weather is truly upon us...gray skies, barren trees, cold winds. Doesn't sound good, does it? But to be honest, this time of year thrills my heart. It's something about knowing God's provision, His care and His steadfastness. It's about the hope that I can have when things look bleak. I'm studying early American history with my youngest son and we've been reading books recently about the pilgrims, Squanto and about the hardships of living in the wilderness. It reminds me to be so thankful for all that I have, and it reminds me of God's unending faithfulness!

We were very excited yesterday to get a personal update on our little African princess from a family who were in Ethiopia last week adopting their child! How amazing to think that they were just with her...that they were able to play with her! They told us that she has a musical laugh...can't wait to hear it! We also found out that she loves to jump rope!!! Here's the cool thing...we were just jumping rope as a family 2 nights ago! It's one of the things that we do in the winter when it gets dark at 6p.m. and we can't run around outside! We were laughing last night at dinner, imaging little "B" being able to probably jump rope better than any of us :) Hopefully we'll find out soon! In the meantime, we're praying for our travel dates to be in late December or early January. Thank you for joining with us in prayer for this!

Simple Joys

Simple joys in a crazy world. We're trying to remember to enjoy the simple joys that God gives to us every day. We went hiking with the kids last week on a glorious, fall day...how refreshing to admire the beauty that God has made. Being out in nature fills up something deep inside of me!

We've also started a Monday night family ritual of a campfire & smores after dinner! We laugh together, think of family memories and sometimes, sometimes my husband sings for us:) Then, the kids play on the hammock or trampoline in the dark...usually no one gets hurt! It's just peaceful to be together. I'm so grateful to God for all that He has given us.

We're anxiously waiting for news on "B"...we were hoping for some pics of her from a family who is in Ethiopia now getting their precious baby, but their blog today said they weren't allowed to take pics of the orphans. It's disappointing, but I know that soon, by God's grace, we will be traveling ourselves to get our daughter! Thank you to all of you who are praying for her!

A Bump in the Road

We know that the "adoption" road is sometimes filled with surprises and unexpected "bumps". We learned yesterday that the Ethiopian government has recently decided to begin implementing a new "adoption" safeguard for their orphans. They want to assure that all adoptions are carried out ethically for the orphans' sake. Another government agency, called the Central Authority, will now also have to give the go-ahead to all of our paperwork, along with the Ministry of Women's Affairs. After our paperwork clears both agencies, THEN our court petition to bring "B" home will go to the courts. Here's the heartbreaker for us...we just found out today that our original court date was set for Oct.27th, this past Monday!!! If the government had not changed its regulations, we would be traveling in November to get our little African princess! Aaahhh...it's so hard to think that we could have been traveling soon. We just want to take care of "B":) The good news is that our court date has been rescheduled for mid-December. That means we would possibly travel in early January. Please pray that our court date will actually take place at that time! We do know that God's timing is perfect, and we are trusting in Him. What else can we do? He is in control:) God determines the times set for us and the exact places where we should live...Acts 17:26. That means He will bring our daughter home when it is His time.

Wonderful surprises and pink casts!

On Saturday, I was overwhelmed as my sister & close friends had planned a "Celebration of Life" party for Hannah's Hope and our little African princess! It was absolutely wonderful to be surrounded by so many of my very favorite people all in one place!!! One of the biggest surprises was that my college roomie had driven 2.5 hours just to attend - I burst into tears when I saw her! Another big surprise was that my mom and dad came to join us! It was a great time of encouragement for me as people wrote special notes to us, brought gifts for "B" and the orphans in Ethiopia, and shared generously with us. The highlight for me was the "All God's Children Adoption" table, filled with books and literature on adoption. May God use that material to lead other families to adopt:) Thank you, thank you to all of you who played a part in the planning of the event or who attended! It truly was a fabulous celebration for which I am very thankful!

And now, about the pink cast...Sis was playing with her cousins & Dad at the park during the event and broke her wrist! I was sad for her because she would have LOVED to have been at the celebration. I met Don at the hospital. Sis was really brave. She had almost passed out on the way to the ER and Don said she asked, "Is this like the pain Laura was in?" (Our friend who is now with Jesus because of cancer). Don answered, "Yes, but worse." Sis replied, "Then I can do this." :) The drs. and staff were great. They set her arm, but had to give her an extra dose of medicine to knock her out. Coming out of her drug stupor was the VERY worse part for her...she kept asking, "What's...wrong...with...me!!!" We had a long night at the ER, but during that time we also had sweet moments together as we comforted Sis. I'm so thankful for the love that we share. Now, Sis is learning to adjust to life with "one" arm - she's doing pretty well! But, she's already looking forward to the day that the cast comes off!

Good news!!!

Should I call this good news or "God" news! The good news concerning our adoption is that there is some movement in processing the adoption documents in the Ethiopian government right now! There were 40 families from our agency, All God's Children International, who are like us...all documents in Ethiopia and just waiting for travel dates. We found out on Friday that 3 of those families have travel dates in early November, so that means things are beginning to happen!!! We are so excited about traveling to get our daughter, and know that it will be sometime this fall/winter. The anticipation is part of the adoption journey, I suppose! I know that God's timing is perfect, so I have complete confidence in Him that we will travel when He wants us to travel. Thank you to those of you who are praying for us!

The other exciting news is that some very good friends of ours are going to adopt a little girl from China!!! We spoke with them back in the spring about our adoption, shared our excitement with them and they felt compelled to pray about it for their family! We didn't realize that they were praying about it, and now they've shared their good news with us!!! We are thrilled for them and we are thankful to God for the small part that He allowed us to play in bringing this precious Chinese daughter home to her forever family! That means that our sweet African princess and this China doll can have the security and love of a family! It reminds me of Jesus' words in John 14:18..."I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you."

Perspective

We had the privilege of sharing lunch with Pastor Peyot, Sangeline and baby Pednika this week. Peyot is a pastor in his native land of Haiti. Don met him years ago on a mission trip! How wonderful it was to see him again, and to meet his wife and baby daughter! Of course, all of us, especially Sis, had fun holding Nika and playing with her! I kept imagining the fun we are going to have when we are finally able to bring "B" home:)

As we were eating together, Peyot was sharing about the poor economic and political situation in Haiti right now. It's been especially hard there because of the hurricanes - many families' crops were destroyed. Then, he told us about a time that he was unable to feed his wife and children for a week. He talked not of his hunger pains, but of the pain of watching his family suffer from hunger. As he was speaking, my mind was racing as I thought: I have so much! I've never seen my children hungry. I've never experienced this level of suffering. "B"'s mom in Ethiopia experienced this. Oh God, please help me to not become so concerned with the little irritations and inconviences in my selfish life. Please let me remember this moment. By God's grace may I get beyond myself.

A New Creation

"Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!" II Corinthians 2:17.

Yesterday, my friend, Laura, took her final breath here on earth and now is in the very presence of Jesus!!! A stunning thought! She had been very ill with cancer, but had a tremendous amount of peace in the thought of going home. And now, she is no longer in any pain and she is COMPLETELY and FULLY alive in Jesus Christ! I can picture her warm and brilliant smile as she is worshiping God even right now!

The hard part is saying good-bye to her while we are here. She had to leave behind her loving husband, her 2 boys and her baby girl. That's where the pain is. Pure, undiluted pain. But I know that God is in the midst of the pain. He is faithful. He is the only One who can give us REAL hope. Please pray for this family. "The LORD is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit." Psalm 34:18

Hiking and Waiting

We spent a beautiful fall afternoon at the state park with the kids yesterday! I like nothing better than to walk hand-in-hand with my honeybun in the stunning creation that God has given us! The trees are just beginning to turn colors, and the weather has turned cool...perfect for sweatshirts! I'm grateful for the change in seasons that reminds me of the different seasons of our lives. Right now we are patiently waiting to hear the news that we can travel to Ethiopia to bring our newest little daughter home. The Ethiopian courts reopened on October 1st and our agency told us we could get the "call" in 2-5 months. We're praying that it's sooner than later, but God's timing is perfect!!! We did get a whole disc full of new pictures of our African princess - WOW! She's such a cutie! The pics really help to encourage us as we wait. It's amazing that she's halfway around the world, but already so close to our hearts...it's truly a God thing!

Picking Apples

We continued our family tradition of picking apples at Anderson Orchard last Friday. Our very first year, our oldest was only 1 year old and now he's 13! It's always such a wonderful experience to go in the fall and explore the orchard together. It's one of our youngest son's very favorite things to do. The day before we went he asked me if it was okay to be as excited about picking apples at the orchard as Christmas Day! YES! It was a glorious September day - blue skies and warm sunshine! We went way back in the orchard, harvested Jonathan and Golden Delicious apples, then played hide-n-seek among the trees. I surprised the kids, AND my husband, by hiding way up in one of the trees. Later, we feasted on a picnic lunch ( including delicious, fresh-picked raspberries) by a small lake at the end of the field. Before we left, we all had to enjoy true "apple slushies". We are looking forward to taking our precious African daughter to the orchard with us next year!

Oh my goodness!

These are the words that I kept repeating this morning as Don and I stared at some new photos of our precious little daughter! Some friends were just at Hannah's Hope to bring their daughter home and they took photos for us!!! My heart was racing as I gazed at my sweet baby's face! How can I already love her so much? It is truly a miracle from God our Father! I dashed up the stairs to awaken our kids with the words that we have new photos of "B". They jumped right out of bed and crowded around the computer to see the pics! They are as excited as we are!

In other news, we recently were able to make a care package and send it to AGCI for "B". They received it today and it is on it's way to Ethiopia!!! The nannies at HH will read the photo album that Sis and I made of our family and "B", so that when we arrive to bring her home she'll already know us! I'm sure she will still be a bit shocked to find out that her parents have blue eyes and white skin, but the album should help with that! We're so thankful to God for bringing this little girl into our lives!

Waiting

We are patiently waiting for the time when we can travel to Ethiopia to get our little African princess. Just looking at her sweet photos makes me wish I could hold her! Another family from AGCI is in Ethiopia this very week to bring home their daughter from HH. They are keeping a daily blog which is thrilling to read! Plus, they promised to take pictures of "B" for us!!

We fed the homeless the other night in downtown. It was little buddy's first time...he was a bit hesitant about going with us, but he really got into once we were there. His title was "pudding boy" because he passed out the pudding cups. It was such a good experience for all of us! When Don and I were back home, he shared that "B" was probably homeless for a time in Addis Ababa. It made me sad to think of that for her. I'm so thankful to God that we are going to be able to bring her home in a few months!

A Jar of Change

Our children are all very excited about the whole adoption process, but it's been a bit hard for our youngest. One weekend recently, he and I were able to spend some time talking about it one on one. I was able to reassure him that he would still be able to have time alone with us and that we had enough love in our family to love this new little girl. The next night I was talking on the phone and something caught my eye on the floor. It was a quarter. As I rounded the corner I saw my little guy's "change" jar dumped on it's side, almost completely empty. Then, I opened the cabinet where we're collecting change for our adoption and it was filled to the top with his coins. It was such an unexpected surprise! He had just quietly given his approval to the idea of our family's adoption...what a gift from God. I'm so thankful to God for the ways that He works!

The Aroma

We are in the process of collecting little things for "B"s bag to send to her. I was happy tonight to find a cute, tiny black baby doll! We have a soft, pink blanket for her and are taking turns sleeping with it so that she can smell us and not be afraid when we come to take her home. Don was preaching on Sunday morning from II Corinthians 2:14-16...that God leads us in triumphal procession in Christ and that He spreads everywhere through us the fragrance of the knowledge of Him. We are to God the aroma of Jesus among those who are being saved and those who are perishing. I want to smell like Jesus to others! May God work in me to do that!

One month ago

One month ago...it was July 9th. This was the day that our little Ethiopian princess was brought to Hannah's Hope by her family. I can't imagine the pain and grief of that day for her mother. What led up to that day? What was she feeling? When did "B" realize what was going on? I'm so thankful to God for the love her mother showed by taking her to a safe place to be fed and cared for. I'm also thankful that God is allowing our family the privilege of being a part of this precious one's life. So today, I'm thinking of a mother half way around the world...praying for her as she grieves the separation with her daughter...feeling the connection that she and I have as we both love and treasure this small, sweet girl. God has great plans for "B"!

Shopping for an African-American baby doll

Sis and I have been to 4 or 5 different stores looking for a tiny, black babydoll to send to our princess in Ethiopia. Out of all the dolls we've seen in the past 2 days ONLY one was black and that baby was too big for the care package we are preparing to send. I'd never really noticed the discrepancy before. I know that adopting this sweet child is going to open our eyes to alot of things that we didn't notice before. Please, God, teach us! We wound up buying a cute little mama sheep holding her little lamb...it's soft and will be perfect for her small hands!

Beginning a blog

Okay, we've been convinced that we need to set up a blog after reading all the wonderful adoption blogs out there! We want to share our own journey to our little Ethiopian princess with our friends and family. Today was such a happy day. Sis and I spent the afternoon shopping for our little princess - what a thrill to be able to buy all of those cute 2T clothes again! Then, to top it off we were able to see more photos of our princess from Hannah's Hope! Wow...that was thrilling to see her sweet face in more photos than the four they sent us. We even got to see her on some video coverage. I just want to get there and bring her home!!! God is so good to give us this opportunity to bring her into our family. Everyone is excited! Well...it's very late...we've been on the computer way too long looking at all the blogs . I have three kids to get to bed along with two great girls spending the night, what am I doing writing on this blog. Got to go.. God is so good...