It's Been a Long Time

We have been waiting for many many months since we received our referral in October 2015.  We have run into many problems with our case and it has taken a while to get those things sorted out. As many of you know there has been a suspension on Ethiopian adoptions as of April 21, 2017.  We have advocated to the Department of State and Congress to assist in completing all pending adoptions.  As of right now the country of Ethiopia has said they will complete all of the pending adoptions as of April 21, 2017.  We are hoping and praying that our adoption is able to be completed in a timely manner.  We have also received news that our adoption service provider has had to downsize their staff due to low resources.  I may be planning a trip in the fall to go and try to wrap our adoption up and speed things along in our process to bring Willow home.  Throughout this time we have had to pay orphanage fees that provide care for Willow in her orphanage and we also need to raise money for travel expenses.  We are paying $250 dollars a month for Willows care which is hindering our ability to use our resources for travel costs.  We need to raise around $10000 for travel.  If you feel led to give we greatly appreciate the help. The link to give is on the right side of my blog. We also need prayer that the state of things will continue and everyone in process will be able to get their kids home.

This adoption has been so so difficult for our family.  This process has taken 5 years so far and we still aren't to the end.  Someone shared this with me today and it was able to quiet my heart during this storm. To know that Willow is loved by the Lord far more than we love her and that HE is watching over her every step of this process gives me peace.

I never could've envisioned in my wildest dreams how hard our adoption journey would be! And, the Lord sweetly reminded me of how HARD and UGLY and PAINFUL our adoption was by Him. THIS is the favor of God. That we might share in the suffering of Jesus and get a teeny tiny glimpse of the magnitude of our adoption by God. And, now we get to share in an inheritance with Jesus Christ! Because of all that pain and ugly, we get the BEST beautiful of all time! So, we look to God and ask that He have mercy on our adoption process and continue to make something really beautiful.

Referral Day

I know I haven't blogged in ages, but there really hasn't been much going on in our adoption for the past few years.  We have just been waiting and waiting and waiting.... you get the picture.  Our lives are very busy and full of blessings right now.  We are recently in the process of relocating to Camden, AR where Casey is pastoring. Last Tuesday was a normal Tuesday or as normal as things can go with 4 crazy kiddos 8 and under, but then the phone rang and I saw my social worker's phone number and knew that she had no other reason for calling us except to give us the call we have been waiting for for over three years.

Let me back up a bit. We had been waiting at the top of the list for about 2 1/2 months so by this time we were weary of waiting and pretty much told ourselves it wasn't going to happen anytime soon so "Get over it!"

....so I answer and she asks the question that I know means "I have a referral for you" (because I have read way too many referral blog posts by friends) which is "Is Casey around?" and I freaked out!  I asked "Is this it? Is this really it?" She said yes and I said Casey was at work, but she said she would conference him in.  He answered and she told us a little bit about our sweet girl.  She said she'd send us her file and would call back in a few hours for our answer.  He raced home because I wanted us all to look at her picture for the first time together.  We set the laptop up and realized we had a large file that needed to download.  So we waited and waited for what seemed like an eternity but was maybe only 10 minutes.  We all gathered around and saw the most beautiful baby staring back at us.  We knew she was meant for us and every hour, month, and year of waiting had led us to this day and this sweet baby.  Our social worker called and, of course, we said we would accept the referral.  

What's next you ask?  We will wait patiently, or not so patiently, for lots of paperwork to be submitted and then in 5-6 months we will travel to Ethiopia for court where she will legally become our daughter and then we will travel again about a month later where she will have an embassy appointment and we will bring her home.  We are praying for smooth sailing and that we wouldn't have any huge delays. 

How can you help? You can pray for us that everything will go smoothly. That the Lord would watch over her and keep her safe and secure until we can get to her.  Pray for her transition. Her little world is about to be turned upside down.  New people, new language, new country, new smells, new family.  It's all very hard on a little person who has known nothing but uncertainty and sorrow in her short life. Also, we still have a home to sell in Louisiana and a home to find in Arkansas. Prayer for both of these matters would greatly appreciated. 

We still have to raise about $11,500 for our travel for both trips and to update our home study since we are moving to Arkansas.  The Lord has been faithful to provide the money for two simultaneous adoptions so we know He will provide this last bit.  We will be doing several fundraisers in the next few months.  We are having a new shirt designed which is going to be super cute, so be looking for that.  We also have a way to send donations through our blog over on the right-hand side where it says Help Bring Our Children Home.  Just click that and it should be straightforward on what to do next.

We aren't allowed to share particular details about our little girl or share pictures until after we have been to court, but we will share as soon as we are able.  Thank you to everyone that has been so supportive through all of this.  We are so thankful for you!

a post of randomness

So this month we moved one spot last month. We are number 

66

We have been on the waiting list for 9 months so far.  It's looking like we still have a ways to go as you can see.  We are hoping that the referrals start to come a lot faster now.  We are trusting the Lord's timing and enjoying Eden and our boys. 

Eden is three months old today and is doing great.  She is starting to smile and hold her head up.  She is trying so hard to coo at us.  She sleeps most of the night now and takes a 4 ounce bottle every three hours.  She likes her groceries a lot.  She still hates tummy time and only wants her pacifier when she is hungry.  She is the easiest most laid back baby we have ever had.  Thank you, Lord.  

Pray with us for those at the top of the waiting list who have been there for a very long time that they would get the call that they are so desperately wanting. 

Thanksgiving and Christmas are already here which is really crazy.  I haven't even started Christmas shopping yet.  

On another random note the low for today is 27 degrees!!! Really?? I thought we lived in Louisiana.  

We are still selling tshirts and bracelets and necklace charms so let us know if you are interested for Christmas gifts.  I am all about buying handcrafted gifts this year.  Gotta support the small businesses and the uniqueness is awesome. 

Catching up

          So our new number for Ethiopia is

We moved one spot last month which is more than we thought we would move.  

The big news at our house is that we brought our sweet Eden home from the hospital. We have been home in Louisiana for a week. It was so good to be able to bring our sweet girl home. There were times when we didn't think this whole adoption would happen, but we knew the Lord was in control and are so thankful that he saw fit to add this sweet blessing to our home. She is so sweet and easy.  We can't get enough of her and are enjoying every sleep deprived minute with her. ;)

Our agency has said that when she is 6 months old if we are comfortable receiving a referral that they are fine with us moving forward with our Ethiopian adoption. They have said they think it will be about 9 months before we get one. We are totally fine with that and are praying that we can raise the remaining 11,000 that we need to complete the adoption. 

I'm not going to lie when I think about raising MORE money I start to hyperventilate a little bit.  More money? We have to raise more? I'm going to be brainstorming over the next few months on how to best do this and come up with some new fun fundraisers that everyone should enjoy.  In the mean time we still have Ethiopia t-shirts, bracelets, and puzzle pieces left to sell, so feel free to let me know if you want one.  We know that the Lord has called us to adopt both Eden and Willow so we will rest in knowing He will provide for Willow when the time is right.  He has done the impossible right before our eyes so many times with our adoption of Eden and we are so thankful and continue to anticipate what He will do with Willow. 

Here are a few pictures of Eden for your viewing pleasure.

                                   

Jude holding her for the first time

                                      

The first time Carter met her

The boys getting to see her for the first time

Getting to leave the hospital