Court Date!

We have a new court date of August 19th!

100%!!!!!!!!!

After some recent donations and CD sales...we are currently at 100%!!!!! Truly this is a miracle from Him! We started out with little to no money for our adoption, and He has provided EVERY SINGLE PENNY. I am sitting here humbled and amazed. We are a classic example that if you step out in faith, even if it makes no sense (Like, an adoption is how much?! We can't do that!), He is faithful to complete it!

Because we have met our goal, the price of the CDs will be going down to $5 each plus shipping to empty out the small stock we have left. However, we are headed out on vacation and will not be able to fill any new orders for the next week or so. We will get the paypal issues with the new price straightened out when we return.

We are anxiously awaiting news of our next court date. We will keep you all posted on when we hear. In the mean time we have a few new photos of Silas and even a video to keep us company! Seriously, this video is 30 seconds of adorableness. I can hardly stand it. We also have more families taking photos for us in the coming weeks, so I can't wait for that! My heart takes much comfort knowing that one of my best friends, Kate, will be there next week to love on him! They are going to pick up their son and will see Silas and take some pics for us. I just know that she is going to hug him, kiss him, and love him just as I would! She can pass on the message that we love him so much and can't wait to come for him.

A fellow adoptive mom, Kathy, recently posted on her blog about how her heart has changed through the course of their adoption. She talked about how when their adoption began, the focus was on an orphan. Here is an excerpt of what she said next:

"Our adoption is no longer about an orphan. It is about our child. Something has transformed in my heart....Elijah is no longer an orphan, he is just our child. He belongs to us. So, this adoption is now about bringing our child home...the child that was chosen for our family and planted in our hearts."

It's so true! I have another child and his name is Silas. And now I am advocating for him. He is our son, in the same way Gibson is our son. I feel like this is a concept that many people outside the adoption world have a hard time grasping. But let me tell you, this Momma's heart is full out in love with this boy that I've never even held.

It's the miracle of adoption. And it gives me just the tiniest glimpse of the way that my own Adoptive Father, in His sweet mercy, loves me.

we wait on...

We got a call today that we did not pass court. There is something wrong with one of the documents for Silas. The judge closed our case while this is being fixed. We now will have to appeal and get a new court date. It could be two weeks or more before we receive a new court date. Please pray for a swift resolve and for us as we are sad today about the news. We do have great hope, however. We know this is not a surprise to God and He will bring Silas home exactly when he is supposed to be here!

edited to add: We now have found out that MOWA (the ministry of women and children's affairs) in Ethiopia is taking two weeks off for training. Seriously?! This means there will be no new court dates issued during that time, and when they do resume normal business, there will be quite a backlog of families waiting. This means it could push our case back even further. We are praying that the Ethiopian courts DO NOT close from August-October this year! If they do indeed close, there basically would be no chance for us to get a court date, pass, and get through in time. We need a miracle! Please pray for our sweet Silas, and all other families involved in these hang-ups. I'm not sure what I would do without the hope of Jesus today!!!