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!