My big birthday is this weekend (I’ll be 40.. but shhhssh… don’t tell anyone) and my hubby has asked me over and over what I wanted for my birthday since this is a special one (yeah, it’s special alright – I will officially be “over-the-hill”). My reply for the last 3 months has been the same – I want a referral! I want to know the face of our daughter! That’s all I want, selfish or not….a referral! Thankfully, I received an early birthday present (thank you Jesus).
But, it made me think …how simple, yet wonderful, my life has become.
When I was younger (like in my 20’s :) ) I swore, and probably vowed to my friends at some point, that when I turned 40 we would all be celebrating with a lavish, crazy vacation somewhere – like maybe Vegas or a tropical paradise. We were going to save money, spare no expense, live-it-up, etc.
You know what, I’ve been to Vegas a couple of times and I’ve been to several tropical paradises and it was fun and all, but the only wonderful, crazy and humbling trip I’m interested in taking in the near future, is one to meet our daughter (and believe me, it's not going to be a 'vacation' or a paradise!). And, God’s been pretty good at making me save money and spare no expense. . . to go and get His daughter and bring her home.
I feel pretty good right now and am looking forward to being a mommy of 4 …over-the-hill or not! Honestly, I can’t imagine doing anything else or being anyone else than who I am now. (and it only took 40 years and lots of mistakes along the way to figure that out). I’m certainly not perfect, but I strive every day to live the life God has laid out before me and seek Him to show me the next step.
As far as extravagant trips . . . I think the next extravagant trip our family will probably be taking will be to Disney World! And you know what . . . I’m perfectly content and OK with that.
Showing posts with label referral; baxter adoption. Show all posts
Showing posts with label referral; baxter adoption. Show all posts
Sunday, September 18, 2011
Tuesday, September 13, 2011
REFERRAL DAY!!!!!
I have waited so long to type those words!! REFERRAL DAY!!!
All I can say is He did it! No, God’s not our personal Genie, but HE has come through in a big way here at the Baxter home. We have been praying for a referral by September 11th, and HE DID IT. Why September 11th you ask? September 11th is the Ethiopian New Year, and Faithlynn’s Dedication date at church. We really wanted to celebrate both of these events knowing the face of our Baby E while surrounded by friends and family, even though it's such a somber day in America.
Just when Brad and I were at one of our weariest moments, God showed up to remind us who is in control! (There is so much depth behind this story, but I will save that for another post!)
We received our REFERRAL for Baby E at 2:51 p.m. on Friday, September 9, 2011. We will never forget it!
The call when a little something like this:
I was upstairs rocking and resting with Faithlynn dreaming about our sweet little E and losing hope that we'd have a referral anytime soon…Brad was outside getting things set up for her Dedication after-party having his own heart-to-heart with God. . . My cell phone rings and startles me from a peaceful rest. It was my mom to go over some Dedication party details. After speaking with her for a few minutes, my call-waiting beeps. I thought it was one of our boys calling to say that football practice was cancelled. I hit ‘answer’ on my phone, and then looked at the number . . . AREA CODE 828…
Surprisingly, I didn’t get too excited, because this couldn’t be THE CALL. Referrals were at a standstill! I answered and our Case Manager said hello.. and there was an odd silence on the phone. She said, I want to tell you about a little girl. . .
Time literally stopped… I don’t exactly remember how I made it out of a rocking recliner, down 2 flights of stairs and outside to find Brad, all while holding a sleeping baby and a cell phone, but I took one look at Brad, he looked at me as I pointed frantically to the phone (still while holding a sleeping baby), and we both lost it. God heard us. He really heard us, our cries, our weariness! It was totally surreal, and we will both never forget it. Brad later told me he asked for a miracle at 2:45 pm that day… the call came at 2:51 pm.
Our Case Manager told us about a sweet little girl who is 14 months old who needs a forever family. She thought perhaps she might be ‘too old’ for us and said we didn’t need to look at her information, if we wanted to wait for a younger child. Are you kidding me?? God hand-picked this little girl for us… I can’t imagine saying no.
Here’s what we can share publically -- A little girl – 14 months old – sweetest – face – ever! Biggest eyes and longest eyelashes ever! She is 7 months older than Faith. We can’t post pictures of her until after we would pass court, but I have plenty of them, and can show you in person and let me warn you… she will melt your heart!
We are still in awe and time still seems to be standing still. All I can say is that the wait has been hard, but it has also prepared our hearts for the next journey of waiting again…for paperwork…for court…for travel and for the embassy appointment. We were told to protect our hearts because sometimes referrals fall through, children become sick, adoptions stop, etc., but it is so hard. We are trying to look at this like a pregnancy – it’s hard to wait and things are uncertain, but the reward is so worth it in the end!
I will post later about the events leading up to our referral and about our first delay (post-referral). Please continue to keep us and Baby E in your prayers. We need to get her home quickly… she needs a forever family now!
Celebrating and praising God in a big way!!
All I can say is He did it! No, God’s not our personal Genie, but HE has come through in a big way here at the Baxter home. We have been praying for a referral by September 11th, and HE DID IT. Why September 11th you ask? September 11th is the Ethiopian New Year, and Faithlynn’s Dedication date at church. We really wanted to celebrate both of these events knowing the face of our Baby E while surrounded by friends and family, even though it's such a somber day in America.
Just when Brad and I were at one of our weariest moments, God showed up to remind us who is in control! (There is so much depth behind this story, but I will save that for another post!)
We received our REFERRAL for Baby E at 2:51 p.m. on Friday, September 9, 2011. We will never forget it!
The call when a little something like this:
I was upstairs rocking and resting with Faithlynn dreaming about our sweet little E and losing hope that we'd have a referral anytime soon…Brad was outside getting things set up for her Dedication after-party having his own heart-to-heart with God. . . My cell phone rings and startles me from a peaceful rest. It was my mom to go over some Dedication party details. After speaking with her for a few minutes, my call-waiting beeps. I thought it was one of our boys calling to say that football practice was cancelled. I hit ‘answer’ on my phone, and then looked at the number . . . AREA CODE 828…
Surprisingly, I didn’t get too excited, because this couldn’t be THE CALL. Referrals were at a standstill! I answered and our Case Manager said hello.. and there was an odd silence on the phone. She said, I want to tell you about a little girl. . .
Time literally stopped… I don’t exactly remember how I made it out of a rocking recliner, down 2 flights of stairs and outside to find Brad, all while holding a sleeping baby and a cell phone, but I took one look at Brad, he looked at me as I pointed frantically to the phone (still while holding a sleeping baby), and we both lost it. God heard us. He really heard us, our cries, our weariness! It was totally surreal, and we will both never forget it. Brad later told me he asked for a miracle at 2:45 pm that day… the call came at 2:51 pm.
Our Case Manager told us about a sweet little girl who is 14 months old who needs a forever family. She thought perhaps she might be ‘too old’ for us and said we didn’t need to look at her information, if we wanted to wait for a younger child. Are you kidding me?? God hand-picked this little girl for us… I can’t imagine saying no.
Here’s what we can share publically -- A little girl – 14 months old – sweetest – face – ever! Biggest eyes and longest eyelashes ever! She is 7 months older than Faith. We can’t post pictures of her until after we would pass court, but I have plenty of them, and can show you in person and let me warn you… she will melt your heart!
We are still in awe and time still seems to be standing still. All I can say is that the wait has been hard, but it has also prepared our hearts for the next journey of waiting again…for paperwork…for court…for travel and for the embassy appointment. We were told to protect our hearts because sometimes referrals fall through, children become sick, adoptions stop, etc., but it is so hard. We are trying to look at this like a pregnancy – it’s hard to wait and things are uncertain, but the reward is so worth it in the end!
I will post later about the events leading up to our referral and about our first delay (post-referral). Please continue to keep us and Baby E in your prayers. We need to get her home quickly… she needs a forever family now!
Celebrating and praising God in a big way!!
Friday, August 5, 2011
We have been re-activated!
Yay! We have been reactivated... meaning we are now up for a referral! We saw the phone come up with an area code that began with "8" yesterday, and Brad said it must have been a sales call... THEN I remembered that CWA area code begins with 8! I said "It's a North Carolina number... Answer it!!!!" We both dove for the phone! HA!
Oh how my heart is happy. We have a phone call today with our case manager to find out more and what to expect. I think there are a few familes still ahead of us, but we are close to the top for a referral, since our paperwork was submitted in January of 2010. We did get an email yesterday saying that referrals are S-L-O-W... so I'm not sure that means time-wise. But honestly, after being in this process for almost 2 years, I think I will be able to wait a few more weeks for a referral. Praying that it's not a few MONTHS.
Oh how my heart is happy. We have a phone call today with our case manager to find out more and what to expect. I think there are a few familes still ahead of us, but we are close to the top for a referral, since our paperwork was submitted in January of 2010. We did get an email yesterday saying that referrals are S-L-O-W... so I'm not sure that means time-wise. But honestly, after being in this process for almost 2 years, I think I will be able to wait a few more weeks for a referral. Praying that it's not a few MONTHS.
But those who wait on the LORD shall renew their strength; They shall mount up with wings like eagles, They shall run and not be weary, They shall walk and not faint. Isaiah 40:31
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