booked!

Our flights are officially booked...and it feels GOOD baby! We leave on Sept. 12 and return on the 19th. I can't believe we will be boarding that plane in 2.5 weeks. After over 2 years, the moment is finally upon us. My arms are so ready to hold this little boy!

But I do have a very long to-do list to attend to before that can happen. :)

WE PASSED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Introducing Silas Yegermal Wing:

The first photo we saw of him on June 5th:

Our latest photo of him:

Yes, he's cute!!! Our tentative travel dates are September 12-19. I cannot wait to go get this little guy!!!

*special thanks to the Clovers, Redds, and Zeunes who took photos/care package and loved on our little boy!

Closer to Me

I LOVE the band Future of Forestry. LOVE. Their last album, "Twilight", is awesome. They just released an EP in the Spring titled, "Travel". I can't wait until September when the next EP, "Travel II" is released! This song from "Travel" is stuck in my head and in my heart right now. Just longing to be near to Jesus!

I wish I could feel all the strength of your peace
Inside me, building love endlessly
I wish I could fall in a sea of your light
While the brilliance around me, watch it chase away night

Closer to me
Oh, I want you to be
Even closer to me

I wish I could feel just the warmth of your breath
Around me as I lie on my bed
I wish I could taste of your sweet ruby wine
As you lift me to heaven, to the place where we shine

Closer to me
Oh, I want you to be
Just closer to me

For the day I await
'Cause my heart knows I've found you
And I'm still looking for you
For the day I await
'Cause my heart knows I've found you
And I'm still looking for you

Court Closures

We just received confirmation today that the courts in Ethiopia will be closing on August 22nd. They will likely reopen sometime at the very end of September or beginning of October.

Just a reminder...our court date is August 19th. Please be in prayer with us that we PASS on this date! If we do not pass, we would not get another court date until October. And well...I just can't think about that right now!

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!!!