9 months

Today marks 9 months waiting for our referral.  Trust me, I am so ready to be done with this "paper pregnancy"!  I want to see this baby's face!  It has been hard not to become discouraged lately as things in Ethiopia have slowed down.  Several things have come up that is effecting abandonment cases, as well as families passing court.  It would take me a while to explain it all!  Basically for us it just looks like the wait will be longer than we expected (not like that hasn't already happened!).  However, we trust FULLY in His timing!  It is a very real possibility that we might get caught in court closures and not be able to get our child until late fall/early winter.  My heart can barely go there without breaking into pieces.  We haven't lost all hope because we know our Savior can move mountains!  We believe the time appointed for our child to join our family is nothing short of perfect!  Today I NEED to rest in that.

little sweethearts

Phil and I found out a few months ago that another family that attends the same church we do was adopting from Ethiopia.  I was so excited!  Our church is large, so we kept missing meeting one another.  They recently returned home with their 3 new children and Phil got to meet the oldest, a beautiful girl, last week.  Today we ran into them at Kohl's of all places.  I was able to meet the mother, and the two youngest.  They were two of the most handsome little boys I've ever seen.  Oh my, they stole my heart.  As soon as I saw them, I almost burst into tears.  I didn't want to completely freak them out though!  That emotion came out of nowhere and I was not expecting it!  I had tears welled up in my eyes the whole time we spoke.  I touched their beautiful brown skin, stroked their hair, and fought more tears.  It brought so much joy to my heart to see them.  They are from where our child is from and I can't tell you how much that meant to me.  At the same time it was hard, because my arms ache to hold our child!  I can't get those sweet little Ethiopian faces out of my mind...and I'm hoping to see the face of our own little baby SOON.  

you MUST read this!

America World and Children's Hope Chest are doing some amazing things to help severely malnourished babies in Ethiopia.  Our agency's transition home has recently began to take on more malnourished babies and they need this special formula!  Go here to read this!

*edited to add:  PLEASE scroll down and also read about Tom's recent trip to Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.  It is POWERFUL.  We will be walking those streets in just a few  short months.

what a ride!

Adoption is such a roller coaster ride in so many ways.  Things change constantly, you never know what's going to happen, and most of all...the emotions!  The last month or so has been that kind of ride to me.  Last week I was feeling especially down.  There really was no reason why, just feeling like, "This is never going to happen, is it?!".  But I am happy to report that I'm coming into this new week filled with hope.  I can see God's hand throughout our whole journey, and I know and have faith that He would never leave us now.  I know His timing is perfect, even if it's not what I thought it might be (why do I think I can figure it out anyway?).  I know I can trust Him.  He is after all my own adoptive Father!

"he predestined us for adoption as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will"  Ephesians 1:5

follow-up on Monday night

Amber and I just wanted to update you all on how the Chick-fil-A fundraiser went.  

Well, it was awesome!  The place was packed for 3 hrs straight and we got to have a lot of really good conversations about adoption, God's calling of a disciple, music, etc.  I even got to talk with 2 families who were greatly considering adoption themselves.  One other conversation was with a guy who just got back from a military deployment...IN ETHIOPIA!!!  It was really encouraging to hear his stories about the wonderful community over there, the beautiful people, and the presence of God specifically in these orphanages.  

As far as the funds go, we made $433 from the purchases, and $250 in our donation bucket.  So, all total, we made almost $700 toward our adoption with this one day fundraiser!!!  It was amazing!

Thanks so much to all of you who came out and bought food, helped serve guests, helped clean tables, stuck around to make me feel cool, etc.  It really was a great night and I am so grateful for God's faithful provision of not only money, but great community as well!

Click here to download a coupon for the Chick-fil-A fundraiser event.  

A Challenge:  anyone who is willing to eat all 3 meals there on the 20th (breakfast, lunch, and dinner - all with coupons) will get a free signed copy of my CD "To Find You" and a free To Find You T-shirt!!! No joke. (you will just need to show your receipts that night to claim your CD & T-shirt - shirt sizes limited)

For more detailed info on the event, check our facebook page.  

THANKS SO MUCH  for all the kind support!

fundraising

We are so excited to let everyone local know about our fundraiser through the Centerville Chick-fil-A .  If you present a coupon any time of day this Monday, April 20th, 20% of your purchase will go toward our adoption!  You can pick up a coupon at any of the Apex gatherings this weekend, or we can email it to you to print out.  You must have the coupon in order for it to work.  Also, Phil will be there from 5pm-8pm playing music!  We are so excited about this opportunity to share with people about our adoption and give them a glimpse of the One who brought us here.  So if you like Chick-fil-A as much as we do, come out and see us!  

We were so excited to hear of a few more families receiving their referrals today!  So amazing for them, and we are thankful that each one brings us closer to ours!  We are still praying for an April referral!