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!!

Waiting . . .

Still no news on the referral end of our adoption. There haven’t been any new referrals for weeks. It's a little frustrating, but we are handling it fairly well.  I think the toughest part is planning and not knowing when we will get a referral and when we might travel, etc.  I know it's part of the process and part of our being obedient, but that's been one of the toughest things for us. (not to mention that there's a little girl on the other side of the world waiting for a family!!!)
There is hope though! Three representatives from our Agency are currently over in Ethiopia right now helping to sort out some of the problems and complete paperwork for children who have not yet been referred. (which could include our "E").  The main delay, it seems, is a shift in focus on reviews and the placement of children from the orphanages that have recently closed. They are trying to determine the status of these children, which has resulted in the delay of new referrals. Please keep these children in your prayers -- they've been ripped out of one orphanage and put into another.  Some have already been referred to families -- so it has to be a confusing situation over there. 

We typically get emails every Thursday from our Case Manager. I wait, very patiently, for those emails to come every week just for a glimmer of hope that things are picking up. I know I could call our Case Manager or email her for a status update, but I really want her to concentrate on moving things along for those who are in process, not tend to a whiny parent to is tired of waiting :)   I do wonder, however, if they know how I hang on every word of those updates? Our last email said that one representative remains encouraged and hopeful that things will get moving again “soon.” Yay!.. but ummm, what exactly does ‘soon’ mean?  Webster describes it as “within a short period after this or that time, event, etc.; before long; within the near future.” (Great, that doesn’t really help me).

I guess to us, soon means in God’s timing. I must admit, it’s getting harder and harder to wait and I feel like I’m getting older and older (ha ha)… but I know that after everything is final and when we look back, we will see God’s perfect timing in our referral, our trips, and finally bringing E home. It’s hard for us to understand now, but it will all make perfect sense some day.

For those of you who know me, you know I am not very good at plucking the perfect scripture out of the Bible – but yet I always seem to find them. God always has a way of bringing them to me. It’s no coincidence that I was looking at something else (in reference to 9/11) and found this scripture. It spoke volumes of encouragement to me.

We don’t yet see things clearly. We’re squinting in a fog, peering through a mist. But it won’t be long before the weather clears and the sun shines bright! We’ll see it all then, see it all as clearly as God sees us, knowing him directly just as he knows us!


But for right now, until that completeness, we have three things to do to lead us toward that consummation: Trust steadily in God, hope unswervingly, love extravagantly. And the best of the three is love.  1 Corinthians 13:12-13 ( Msg)

Then, that same day, as I drove in my car, another revelation through a song (God likes to speak to me in the car – usually through a song!).

John Waller – Yes

Ask, it shall be given to you
Seek, and you will find
Knock and the door will open
and that's a promise

He said He'll finish the work He started in you
Your needs He will supply
He'll never leave you
nor forsake you
and that's a promise

It's a guarantee
it's a beautiful thing
He delights to keep His word

God says YES to His promises
Take Him at His word
Yea, you can believe it
God says YES
to a child-like faith
when we claim
everything He died to give
God says YES

 I'll keep you all posted IF we hear anything this week. 

Our Case is going before the "Board"

Now that we've completed our 72-question Support System Plan and turned it into our Case Manager, our case will now go before our agency's "Board" for consideration of when we can become "active" again.  The norm is 6 months after a baby is born.  Faithlynn will be 24 weeks (a.k.a. - 6 months) next week, or officially 6-months via a calendar on August 10th.  Our case should be going to the board within the next 2 weeks.  Keep us in your prayers as we are hoping to become active again by August 10th.  

I'm not exactly sure what the "Board" does, except maybe just review our case, maybe look at some of our answers and makes sure that we are ready to move ahead with another little one.  Our Case Manager said this is just normal procedure when a person is on-hold and becomes active again. 

After we are on the active list again, next will be our referral.  Last time we spoke to our Case Manager, he said we'd go to the top of the list for Referrals, since our original dossier date in country is February of 2010.  So, as soon as a little girl comes up that matches our information or age request ... that will be our little "E".  We have no idea how long that could take.  Maybe days... weeks or months... praying it's sooner than later!  We are getting so excited! 

We just got back from the beach and it was really hard to look out into the ocean knowing that there's a little girl, across that ocean, waiting for us!

Soon!

And, in all of my 30+ years going to the beach, I have never witnessed a rainbow on the beach. This year we did!  I was actually a double-rainbow...but you can't really see that in this pic.  It was awesome!



God's Promise



I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you. 

John 14:18

Back in the Fast Lane

Do you see Africa in the clouds?

Well, things are beginning to take off again on the adoption front.  (Ethiopia, however, is still predicting adoption paperwork and approval to slow WAY down).  But most of our road blocks are beginning to be cleared. 

• We've sent our request to the USCIS for a fingerprint extension appointment.  Waiting for that to come back; This will be at no cost to us!  Praise God!
• We've contacted another home study provider who is coming on Tuesday to redo our home study at HALF the cost of what our other provider was charging for our update!  Praise God!
• We have our physicals on Tuesday, which will knock out our home study requirements and our dossier update requirements.
• We have most of our references back for our dossier update.
• We resubmitted our state clearances and received our local police clearance letters for our dossier.
• Touched based with our notary so she knows all the stuff that's going to be coming her way!

So, things are moving along again.  I did touch base with our case manager to get his thoughts on Ethiopia adoptions and asked if he thought they might stop completely.  Of course, he doesn't have a crystal ball, and said it was up to us, but he thought things were going to continue... just at a slower pace. 

So, as we knew when we started the process, International Adoptions are always risky and unpredictable.  I know some people are bailing out of the Ethiopia program and moving their paperwork to adopt from another country.  We're staying In..... we think E is worth the risk.  The fat lady hasn't sung yet!!

One Year Ago

One year ago, we went for our USCIS fingerprints and had been on the “official” wait list for 5 whole days. We were so excited and things were moving so fast. We fully expected to have our little one from Ethiopia by Christmas of 2010.
Fast forward one year. Wow. If you would have told us last year that in January of 2011 we’d be awaiting the arrival of a baby (not from Ethiopia but from my tummy), I would have thought you were crazy! Never, Never, Never in a million years would I have thought this was possible. Never would I have thought we’d be getting a nursery ready for 2 babies (one from my tummy and one from Ethiopia). If you would have told me 5 years ago that we would have 4 children, I would have laughed at you! You know when you go for a job interview and they ask you what your goals are and where you think you’ll be in 5 years…??? Well, I never saw any of this coming. I would have said you had the wrong chick! Ha!

I can’t explain the changes that have taken place in our life over the last 5 years, and specifically, the last 18 months. Well, yes I can. It’s all God’s doing. A good friend always tells me that if you can logically explain things, then it wasn’t a God thing. So many things in our life today are God things. Honestly, it’s pretty neat to look at our life over the last 5 years and see how God has stepped in and taken over the reins (mostly because we got out of His way and allowed it). I honestly do not know where we’d be today if our path didn’t drastically change a few years ago. (well, yes I do.. let’s just say, broken home, broken marriage, broken-hearted kids and lots of heartache… which is why we are so passionate about marriages too.. but that’s a different blog and different story)

Everything still seems surreal. Waiting has been hard, especially knowing that we have at least another 6 months until we can get a referral for Baby E. Waiting for Baby Faith has been hard too. Oddly hard. I don’t remember being so anxious and impatient when our boys were born, but I think we were in a different spot. We were busy.. trying to make a name and life for ourselves and just getting by. Things are different now. Priorities are different; we are older and wiser; we don’t really care what people think anymore and we are ready to slow down and embrace this little girl. One good thing is with Baby Faith, I know where she is (in my tummy), I can feel her move, see her move and know she is nearby. I can talk to her and she can hear me and she’s part of my daily world, and, I have a ‘general’ idea when she will arrive.

I can’t imagine how hard it is going to be after we know Baby E’s face, but have to wait to meet her and then wait to bring her home. She won’t be a part (physically) of our everyday world. We won’t be able to tell what she’s doing, how she’s doing, won’t be able to talk to her and she won’t be able to hear us. It’s going to be very hard, and I empathize with everyone out there currently waiting for your child(ren) to come home!

So again, as much as I’d like to have it all figured out and have a perfect plan and explanation for everything that’s coming in our future, I revert back to 2 verses in Proverbs (since I love Proverbs):

In his heart a man plans his course, but the LORD determines his steps. Proverbs 16:9 (NIV)

Many are the plans in a man's heart, but it is the LORD's purpose that prevails. Proverbs 19:21 (NIV)

Can’t argue with that!

First Check from JustLove Coffee!

We just received our first check in the mail for $22.00 from JustLove Coffee! How cool is that? We just registered our store on November 27th and have already received a check.  Very good service!  If you purchased from us… THANK YOU SO MUCH! We purchased some as well to try, and it is AWESOME! We especially like the Fa La La La La Holiday Blend Coffee. We are not, by far, coffee connoisseurs, but this coffee hits your palate strong then has a sweet and almost holiday-ish taste.. it’s very smooth… almost hard to explain unless you try it. (add a little candy-cane creamer and it is yum-meee). 


For those of you who are local, we are planning a Holiday Open House on New Year’s Eve from 3 – 6 p.m. to sample some of the various coffees from JustLove Coffee Roasters. Please feel free to stop in and enjoy some coffee, cookies, and conversation! We’d love to see you!


If you still need some gifts, there’s time to purchase before Christmas, but you need to hurry! It took about a week after we placed our order for it to arrive. Besides coffee, there is also apparel, mugs and sample packages available on-line for purchase. Here's our link again, or you can click the icon to the right of the blog.   http://www.justlovecoffee.com/BaxterFamily6


Thanks again to everyone who helped us out this month! Hope you enjoy the coffee!

P.S.  If you are an adoptive family looking for a fundraiser -- this one is an excellent one to try!

One year in process!

This week we passed our ONE YEAR anniversary of beginning the adoption process. I’m not sure how I feel about that, which is probably why this is going to be a babbling post, but this is why we started our blog in the first place… to document our journey and thoughts on Bringing E home.


Let’s do a quick recap of One year in process….

• 10 months waiting for a referral . . .

• But the last 4 of them being “ON HOLD STATUS” . . .

• Due to Biological pregnancy (that was previously considered not-medically possible). . . but

• Baby Faith due in February 2011. . .

• CWA placed us on “Hold Status” until Baby Faith is 6 months old. . .

• Will become on “Active status” again in August of 2011 and will get a referral soon thereafter!

Changes/issues that have arisen in the past 12 months:

• CWA unjustifiably investigated for unethical adoption practices in Ethiopia.
• Thought: what doesn’t kill you will make you stronger! CWA has definitely come out on top.
• Ethiopia changes procedure requiring adoptive parents to travel to Ethiopia 2 times – once for the court hearing and then again for the embassy appointment. (thus doubling travelling fees). 
• Thought – get to meet and bond with Baby E earlier, and soak in the culture of her birth country … not to mention get a dry run of travelling once without baby.. so we will be experts for trip #2! 
• Time frame between court hearing and embassy appointment creeps into 4 – 6 months due to ongoing investigations and embassy-required paperwork, etc.
• Thought: New time frame has just changed to 6-8 weeks or sooner! Also, adoptive parents and any bio parents are now appearing in court on the same day! 
• Adoption Tax Credit is extended to 2011! 
• Thought: hope we get to bring E home by 2011! 
• Surprise Pregnancy with some slight complications!
• God is good and has blessed Baby E with a sister to grow up with!
• CWA is good in that we were able to go on “Hold Status”… we will go back onto the Active List after our Bio baby is 6 months old.. and then will be one of the first ones up for referral (since our dossier will be the oldest!) 
• Keep in mind – some adoption agencies contracts state that if you become pregnant (even if it’s a miracle from God) during the adoption phase or referral phase, your contract is null and void and you lose everything!

And, even will all of this, and everything that has transpired in the past 12 months, we are more thrilled and more excited to bring Baby E home. We are not discouraged, we are not giving up, and we will continue to wait upon the Lord! We continue to get questions from people who think just because we are pregnant we will put this “whole adoption thing to rest…” Ha ha ha… they don’t know us very well… do they?

Did I think one year ago that this is where we would be?? Heck No! But, it’s not my plan, and I’m kinda diggin God’s plan right now. He knows what’s best for us. Things are going to be crazy around here for a while, but what a super-double blessing He has lined up for our family.

Here are some quotes from my posts throughout the last year (before we knew that our path would be changing so dramatically)… funny to read them and see how everything has come full circle, and lined up so beautifully, for purpose and for reason. We can see God’s hand in everything and every twist and turn our path has taken over the last year. But, we wouldn’t have it any other way!

“. . . but I guess it goes back to the whole trust and peace aspect of trusting God in this journey. He is the one who first placed this on our hearts, so He is the one who will help us grow and learn patience and peace through all of this. I must admit, I wince and pout (if truth be known) every time I see a change coming that's going to mess with MY plan, but guess what... it's not MY plan :) . . .”

“. . .I think in a world of instant gratification, it's easy to lose sight of the grand plan of things and get caught up in one little detail or set back. But we have to remember, all those little things and set backs were already figured into the grand scheme of things, unbeknownst to us. These little things are not changing our path or His plan for us or for our family-- He already figured them into the 'package deal.' . . .”

“. . . It's all apart of the plan -- the growing, the stretching, the maturing of our faith. The trusting that things will work out -- perhaps not as we have planned in our human minds -- but exactly how He has planned for it to happen . . .”

Baby Faith in 4-D

Ok, at first I wasn't sure what I would think of a 4-D view into my womb to see our sweet baby girl before she was born.  It's kind of like an invasion of privacy or spoiling a surprise.  BUT, holy cow.. I really like 3/D/4D Ultrasounds.  We saw the most wonderful views of our little one today.  We saw her open her eyes, yawn, and even sucking her fist and  playing peek-a-boo with her hands in front of her face.  The best thing is it's all captured on a CD that I can watch over and over again.  It's really neat to see her and her sweet little face.  We can already see how she looks like a good combination of both of the boys!  Of course, we think she's the most beautiful thing in the world.. but we're not biased at all :) 

So, you'll have to tilt your head slightly and have an idea of what you are looking at. (sort of like an optical illusion of the old woman vs. young woman)  BUT, here is a picture of baby Faith in 4-D.  In this photo, you can see a side view of her face!  You can see one of her eyes, which is closed, her cute button nose and part of her sweet upper and lower lips.  The blob up to the right of her face in the picture is actually her arm and hand.  She was trying to play peek-a-boo with us and the ultrasound tech and we were trying to snap a shot before she put her hands back in front of her face.  She's gonna be a stinker! 

It won't be long until she is here and then we can start our journey to get her sister in Ethiopia!    Makes me a little sad that we won't have a sneak peak into E's world before we meet her, but God already knows who she is, where she is, and when she will be coming home to her forever family.  So, we will just wait and hold on to that hope that she'll be here soon to meet her baby sister and 2 big brothers! 

8 Months Waiting

Tomorrow marks 8 months waiting for our precious E.  Even though we know our wait is going to be much longer, I'm still counting the months.  One month gone means one month closer to getting her, right?    It's still bittersweet for us... as we are ramping up and getting things together for Faith, it also makes us sad that E isn't here yet.  But, as we are buying one crib set for Faith, we are also buying one for E.  I want E to have her very own too... I don't want E to think that we have forgotten about her.  I think about her all the time.  As Faith is starting to push and nudge me in my belly and let me know her opinion of things, I also wonder if E's been conceived yet, and if she's making herself known to her momma too.  Since the girls are going to share a room at first, I'm torn if I should use the giraffe theme that we started for E now, or wait until E is close to coming home.  But, that would mean we'd have to redecorate in a year.. not sure I want to do that either.  So I think for now, we are going to blend them in but still save a few things for when E comes home. 

Faith will know from the beginning that her baby sister (or big sister) will be joining our family soon.   It will be handy to have two girls so that toys and clothing can be shared, as well as friendship and hearts!  I'm sure God had all of this planned out from the beginning.

Because we have to wait until Baby Faith is 6 months old until we can become 'active' in the adoption again... we are looking at ELEVEN... yes 11 long months of more waiting before we are matched with E.  Then it could be another 4 - 6 months until we bring her home.  But, I plan on counting each one of them down.  One down means one closer.

We are hoping that E is home for Faith's 1st Birthday Party in February 2012.  But, it would be really nice to have her home by the end of next year... especially since our adoption tax credit will expire on December 31, 2011.  But, tax credit or not, she will be worth the wait and worth every penny spent!

Baby E, Meet Baby Faith!

We are thrilled to announce that we are having a Girl!  So, Baby E will not only have 2 big bros to look after her, she’ll also have a sister to play and grow up with.  2 boys and 2 girls in our family.  We couldn’t ask for anything sweeter!  Girls in the Baxter family are rare gems.  E & Faith will join with Baby Josie and Big Girl Ryane.  Can’t wait for the tea parties!  Now I know why I have been compelled over the years to collect tea sets!  Little did I know that I would one day use them for our daughters.  Thank goodness for our friends (you know who you are) that have girls that have softened Brad’s heart over the years to having daughters.

While we were having our ultrasound (which was over 2 hours!) baby Faith was playing hard to get.  She would not change positions so that the tech and doctor could get a good look at her heart or to determine if she was a boy or girl.   She did give us the thumbs up a couple of times… which has special meaning to Brad.  When the boys were little, Brad would always give them a ‘thumbs up’ for extra reassurance if they were scared or unsure about something.  It’s always been a ‘sign’ in our family that we use… so you can imagine our excitement when we saw this on the ultrasound screen several times! (now true, she was probably getting ready to suck her thumb... but maybe not!) 



Hey Mom & Dad.. all is cool in here.. no worries!



Knowing that I was a nervous wreck that entire day hoping that everything checked out on the ultrasound, it was like she was saying to us, “hey mom and dad… quit worrying… I’m giving you reassurance that I’m ok!” Yet another miracle from God!  Total peace came upon me at that moment. 

Finally after some pushing and poking of my stomach, baby moved and we were able to determine that we were having a Girl!... what a little stinker!   I hope E and Faith like pink because after all the footballs, baseballs, basketballs, camo and GI Joe gear around here... I'm ready for a little pink!  (not that I don't TOTALLY enjoy my boys... you know what I mean)!!  But, I must admit, I have a PINK football jersey! 


I can't wait for these 2 girls to finally meet.  What a sweet moment it will be. 

A Room with a View (kind of!)

This was my view for 6 days last week. Unfortunately, I found myself in the ER and was then admitted for 6 days to our local hospital in the cardiac unit. Keep in mind I had never been in the hospital except to deliver 2 babies.. and that was like a drive-thru. I think I was only there a day and ½. So quite an experience for me.  All is well, though. Baby seems to be doing ok – he/she is a strong little bugger. I was admitted for a heart condition that decided to rear its ugly head now that baby is aboard and giving me increased blood volume. I have an ‘electrical blip’ that decided to make my heart beat at over 200 beats per minute. Fun stuff. If I wasn’t pregnant, it would be simple to treat, but because of baby, they had to be careful of what meds and how much they give me. It took a while to work out the bugs, but I’m home now and on semi-restriction for a few more weeks to make sure I am stable. (thank goodness they’re not checking my mental stability.. ha ha..). The baby seems to be withstanding my issues very well. I was able to hear the heart beat each day in the hospital and received another ultrasound to watch him/her kick and dance around in my tummy. We go in a few weeks for a Level 2 Ultrasound to make sure everything looks ok… and hopefully we will be able to find out if we are having a boy or a girl.


The nurses and staff at the hospital were wonderful. We had a lot of fun in the 6 days that I was there. I was stuck on that floor and not allowed to leave, so we all became pretty good friends. I was the entertainment on the floor since most of my respective roommates were born in the 1920s and 1930s.

On a serious note, what a tragic place to be when you are of sound mind and body and are aware and can hear everything going on. The stories and situations people are faced with… the priests and ministers that come in to try to save the unsaved ... the fear, the heartache and the uncertainly for so many people. Truly heartbreaking.

Although, while we were there, we were also able to show a little bit of Gods light to others. One day my hubby brought me in some flowers. I noticed he was carrying 2 sets of flowers and I asked him about it. He bought flowers for my 1st room-mate. She was an elderly widow who seldom received visitors. He thought they would brighten her day. While she was out for a test, he put them over on her table. She was so tickled when she came back and just couldn’t think who might have given them to her. I couldn’t help but think of James 1:27 (Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.) She was lucky enough to be moved to another floor, and that dear little lady held on to those flowers with all of her might as they wheeled her off the floor. It was a tear jerker for sure.

So anyway, sorry for being away from blogger world for a while, but I am back for the time being. Thanks so much to everyone for their well-wishes and prayers!

Baxter Family 6 !!

For those of you who have wondered if I dropped off the face of the earth -- nope I’m still alive. I’ve been very sick the last month or so and just haven’t had the energy to do anything. I apologize if you think I was ignoring you! The good news is I’m not contagious and it’s not life threatening. Any guesses? Well, contrary to what doctors have told us, apparently it IS POSSIBLE for us to have another biological child. We are pregnant! Due in February. We’ll call our belly-baby, Baby F. (Faith, if it’s a girl!)

For those of you who don’t know our entire ‘story’ we have 2 beautiful bio boys (ages 11 and 14) but a few years ago Brad and I were told (even as late as this April) that it was "medically impossible" for us to have any additional bio children, unless we went through some fertility stuff. We were ok with that since we had 2 boys and didn't feel we wanted to do the fertility route.  We thought if God had planned for us to have any additional bio children, then it would have happened. Hmmmm...  When we met with our Endocrinologist today, he just smiled and said, "well, congratulations! . . .sometimes these things happen." I’m hoping he knows this is a God Thing.

Come and see what our God has done, what awesome miracles he performs for people! 

Psalm 66:5

We are still in a bit of shock but it was so much more real when we saw his/her precious face on an ultrasound. I didn’t find out I was pregnant until I was about 9 weeks (since pregnancy isn’t something that we were thinking was possible).  I just assumed something was drastically wrong with my thyroid again. So you can image our surprise when the little test turned positive. Actually I went and bought a few more tests of different types and took all of them! Same result!

Now it is starting to sink in and we are getting excited for E & F to meet. I wonder if they may have the same birth month; or even the same birth day? Wouldn’t that be awesome? I’m not sure what God is up to yet, but I think it will be neat for the 2 kiddos to have each other to grow up with, play with and share with.

 

I doubt at this point that E is born yet, so we will continue to pray for her and her birthmother, as always. We are still at bit sad that we won’t get E on OUR timing and terms, but we are rejoicing for this little one in my belly, one who we thought would never exist! Truly amazing. . .

Some people think my life is like a train wreck right now…. But I must disagree. Right now my life is a Beautiful Mess… full of purpose and life. I’m learning that God sometimes brings things into your life (good and bad) to teach you something and mold you for His purpose and for His glory. Sometimes surprises and unexpected events can turn people from God but I choose to allow it to draw us closer and to trust Him more.

What happens to E and the Adoption?

Funny.. some people think that with our latest news that we would just stop the adoption and not pursue. Oh, they are so wrong….. Although, after talking to our Agency today, our worries were confirmed. We have to put our adoption “ON HOLD” until our Baby “F” is 6 months old. At that point we will be ready for our referral and can continue the process from that point. (Keep in mind if things had progressed as normal, Baby E would have been home by next summer)… So our hope is to have Baby E home by Baby F’s 1st birthday (But that won’t be until February 2012!) While we are so happy that God has blessed us with Baby F, we are heartbroken that E will have to wait. We know God has a plan and his timing is perfect and all of our children belong to Him. But our flesh is struggling oh so much. Our case manager said we can petition the Board for an exception, but they rarely grant them. They make the 6 month ‘rule’ so that we can properly bond with our newborn before bringing in another child. Makes complete sense, and once E comes home, she’s going to need a lot of our attention too.

After we become ‘active’ with the adoption again in August 2011, our case will be reviewed by the Board again to make sure we still fit all the parameters of the adoption. After we are deemed ‘fit’ we will most-likely get a referral pretty quick, since we essentially will have been waiting for 18 months. (Our Dossier DTE date is 1/22/10). Before all that happens, we will have to have our home study amended and will have to apply to the USCIS for a one-time extension that will hopefully get us through the adoption.

Let’s just pray that no delays or country stuff happens that would keep us from E permanently! So far all the changes that Ethiopia has made seem to be in the best interest of the child, so we pray that those changes will continue to the positive!

Things we’ve learned in 3 short weeks!!

• With God, all things are possible.

• Our ‘plan’ and God’s plan aren’t always identical (that’s a shocker) .

• Our timing and God’s timing aren’t identical either.

• We are finding peace with our new ‘plan’ with each passing hour.

• Doctors are not always right!

• God is giving E a playmate for life. Someone to grow up with and play with. Sort of like our boys had each other.

You never know what turns are ahead, but as long as you trust and press forward, things will work out the way He intended them to. We have a long haul ahead, but we can do it.

Blessed is the man who perseveres under trial, because when he has stood the test, he will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love him. James 1:12

 

5 months waiting

Well, another month has flown by, but not for a moment have we not thought about having “E” home with us. We talk about it all the time as a family. We know that each day that passes is one more day closer to her.

Baseball season is over so now that our busy-ness is over, we can slow down, rest and wait. (at least until the fall sports start). We just returned from a little escape to the beach. We literally left from our last ball game to travel to the beach. Wow… what a little sunshine, fresh air and rest can do for the soul.  Amazing!


So, for the summer, we plan on hanging out with the boys, enjoying them, enjoying our families, and just slowing down and enjoying the ride. . . all while knowing who is in the drivers seat :)

Questions with some fun

I must say, we have been getting a few more questions and looks of concern from people when they find out we are adopting. It’s comical, really. I totally appreciate people who don’t understand why we are adopting. Adoption certainly isn’t for everyone and I’m sure we have some difficult time ahead of us. Questions from people are entirely natural and actually I welcome them. It’s not like we decided overnight to adopt and didn’t think about it, pray about it, and weight the options.  So questions from friends, and even stangers are normal.  It also gives me the chance to tell about the miracle of adoption and how God can plant a seed in anyone’s heart for a child (either naturally or through adoption). . . sometimes when you least expect it.


So, with that said, here is a list of some of our latest questions. Now  -- I must make a disclaimer -- I think adoption is as very serious thing....not for everyone, not for the weak at heart... but at this point in the game, we are starting to chuckle at some of the questions we get, so please don't be offended by any of my answers or the bit of sarcasim in my tone -- it's all in good fun!  :) 

“Why would you want to do that?” (well, that’s a long story, but basically because we can – we have room in our hearts and our home for another child that has no home, and because God placed it in our hearts) 

“You know the baby will be black, right?” (Nooo…. Really? - smile, smile)

“Why don’t you just wait for grandchildren, if you like babies?” (Ummm… yeah, I just smiled at that one)

“Is this a church ‘project’?” (Uhh.. no, this isn’t a “project”, it’s a life we are talking about -- our daughter - our family)

“Isn’t that really expensive?” (First of all, how do you put a price on a life?   And, in the grand scheme of things, it’s not any more expensive than the car you drive, and our we'll have our daughter (God-willing) a lot longer than you will have your car) :)  

“Why did you pick Ethiopia?”  (another long story (you can refer to older post) but bottom line, they have the greatest need – skin color didn’t matter to us, nor the stigma that goes with children from Africa. I think in the end, Ethiopia picked us.)

“Don’t all those babies have AIDS?” (no, while it is true that many children are orphaned because of the AIDS epidemic, most of the children are safe from the disease. Others, however, are not so lucky, and there are many wonderful families that adopt these beautiful babies).

“Aren’t you afraid you are going to get a sick child?” (No, screenings are performed to the best ability that the country can do (which is sometimes minimal).   Many times some of the children are a bit malnourished and behind a bit and need some special TLC, but bottom line is there are no guarantees in any child (bio or adopted). We will get what God feels we can handle).

“Why don’t you adopt from your OWN country.” (We get this one a lot.  We don’t feel strongly either way over US adoption verses International adoption. All of these children need forever families. We did feel funny, however, creating a ‘pick me’ book for a mother to look through and pick our family for her baby, over a couple who has no biological children.  So, in the end, we decided with Ethiopia since there is such a great need, the children are confined to orphanages (not foster families), and many people pass over Ethiopia because of the stigma of disease and skin color. We just felt Ethiopia was the place and I think it was a personal choice for us.. and again, I think Ethiopia picked us).

When will you be ready to throw in the towel – i.e., get tired of waiting and just give up. (NEVER).

What do your boys think about it?  (they are thrilled beyond words and can't wait for their little sister to come home!)

My personal favorite (when someone finds out we are adopting) is the blank stare, the blink of the eyes or scrunching of the face, and then changing the subject like they didn't even comprehend what we said... makes me giggle. 
 
Ohhh, how I can imagine the questions once little E comes home.  It's all good though. . . I'm sure she will melt through the hearts of some of the toughest critics. 
 

Adoption Yard Sale Success!

Our Adoption Yard Sale was a SUCCESS, I would say!  The rain held off, we had a great variety of items for sale, and we had plenty of eager shoppers.  We were truly blessed by everyone that came shopping, everyone that helped, everyone that donated items and baked goods to be sold.  We couldn't have asked for anything better.  Brad's brother Bryan and his wife Tracy had a separate moving sale in another town.  We were speechless when we received an envelope full of cash from them -- proceeds from their sale! 

I wanted to list a few little glimpses of God in all of this because it was all His works:

• 
  
  Someone called me (that didn't know us) and donated a truck load full of items -- lots of good stuff that went quick.  They heard from a friend of a friend that we were adopting and having a sale and wanted to donate items to us.
• Other relatives and friends of friends who donated items to us for the sale.
• Many friends, family and coworkers who donated items for the sale.
• Friends and family that came to help us price everything! (I had dreams about price stickers!!)
• A friend donated a hand-made bag and 2 jewelry sets for our raffle.  (see picture ).  Nancy's Jewelry can be purchased by visiting ww.glitzandglamourjewelry.com   It's beautiful!
• Brad's brother & wife donating proceeds from their sale to us.
• People that came to the sale, not to necessarily buy items, but to hand me a $20 bill towards our adoption.
• People that I don't know (but are friends of a friend) who baked items for our bake sale.
• People who we don't know  (but are friends of a friend) who gave us their giant canopy for the day, in case it rained.
• A little girl in our neighborhood who came 2 separate times to buy a bag of peanuts.  (I'm pretty sure she doesn't even like peanuts) :)
• Both sets of our parents, who showed up bright and early to help set up, direct shoppers, help shuttle the boys to their games, and were there for general support! 
• A friend made me a shirt with a giraffe on it that says "E"... Wait upon the Lord.  Love it!! 
• A friend, near and dear to us, that stuffed a stack of $20's in my hand before leaving!
• Prayers from friends and family that couldn't be here on the actual day, but were here with us in spirit!
• AND LOTS of FRIENDS, FAMILY and NEIGHBORS who stopped by to support us!  Love you guys! 

So, are you ready for the grand total?????   The grand total (which i still have a few coins to count up yet)... was over $1500!!! YES, $1500.   We could not believe it!  This will buy E's one way ticket home!  How cool with that be... to purchase a one-way ticket home for our angel. 

Thanks so much to everyone who helped in any way shape or form. 

We have about a trailer-full of items remaining that we will be sending down to the Relay for Life Yard Sale next weekend.  All proceeds from that sale will go to the Relay for Life Team and the Cancer Society.  I encourage you, if you are local, to check out the sale and show support.  It will be at the intersection of Gettysburg Street & Golf Course Road on June 4 and 5. 

 Big Brother DYLAN, the raffle boy :)                 

ADOPTION FUNDRAISER - YARD SALE TOMORROW!

Keep us in your prayers tomorrow for our Yard Sale!  The weather is calling for pm showers.  Hopefully it will hold off until around 4 p.m. 

We are completely overwhelmed by the generosity of folks who have donated their time, talents and items towards our sale.  We have such a nice variety of things!  Someone could completely set up a house with our sale! 

I'll report and post pictures later!