Five Years

It's been a while since I've posted anything. Things have been quite busy lately. As of Friday, April 8th, KC and I have been married for 5 years. In some ways, it seems like it has been so much longer!! We have been through so much these past five years - but those are thing I wouldn't change for the world. God taught us some BIG lessons in those tough times and we are the now wiser. Not in the sense of "knowledge" per-say, but in that we talk to God about everything! We consult Him before making any decision, no matter how big or small. Right now, we're praying about some things concerning the adoption. Some are big, some are small, but we need His guidance no matter what the size. We don't want to step out of His will. So, help us pray about the adoption. We've taken a step back to look at the bigger picture God has for our lives, and to be honest, we're excited and nervous about it. But He has called us to do some things that, as I've said before, were things that never entered our thoughts before now. But He knows we can do this, so we will.

Also, we just wanted to give an update on the Ethiopian adoption process as a whole. I know we told you about the Ethiopian government through the MOWA (Ministry of Woman's Affairs) re-organizing their department and the process of approving adoptions. They had originally stated that they would be dropping their adoption processing's from around 50 a day down to 5. Well, we've found out that the Ministry has finished re-organizing their staff and has begun processing a lot of the delayed adoptions at "full speed". They do not believe that their processings will drop down to 5 a day anymore. They will be reduced from 50 a day in an effort to pay closer attention to the documents, etc., but it doesn't look like it will be a drastic reduction as originally thought. That is a HUGE blessing! We knew God told us we were to adopt from Ethiopia for a reason. We feel like we know why, and we know it will all happen in HIS time - not ours. As much as I'd love for this whole process to go by rapidly, I realize that we still have a lot of $$$ to save. So, I'm not worrying and I'm no rushing. Our daughter is there somewhere, and we'll meet in due time.

March 26, 2011

Well hello everyone!! It's been a few weeks since I've updated, but that's because we haven't heard anything yet. We should be getting a call from Gladney next week. As I mentioned before, she wanted to give KC one month at his new job to see what he'd be making so Gladney would have a better idea of our annual income. Well, KC has 2 people lined up to go to orientation on Monday. If they show up, he'll get paid. So, we're praying they show up! After that, we'll have a bit of an idea of what his monthly salary will be, and Gladney will be able to give us our next step in this process. As soon as we get a call, we'll let you know.

Now on to what else is going on with our family. We're waiting to see if Caedmon will get to go to the pre-k at Elmdale Elementary - the elementary school KC and I went to. We'll know more about that on Monday. The boys are getting so big and each have their own personalities! It's so funny, because now Oliver will fight/argue back with Caed when Caed starts picking on him. We're already having to break up fights in the van! Yesterday, Caed was teasing Ollie, so I told them both to look out their own window. Caed would look over at Ollie and make a funny face and Ollie would yell "CAED! WIN-OW! NOW!" lol. So, I had to tell Caed to look out his window and tell Ollie that I would talk to Caed. Ollie said "Ok. Sowee". Lol. KC and I were laughing so hard! It has begun.  ;-)

KC and I's anniversary is coming up in two weeks!! On April 8th, we'll be married for 5 years! In some ways it seems longer, and in others, it seems shorter. If that makes any sense. haha. I can't believe where we're at 5 years later: two rambunctious boys AND dogs, KC working from home, and we're on the path to adoption.  :)  I can honestly say, I never imagined this. But I wouldn't change where we're at or what we went through to get to this point. When you go through a rough spot in your life, you can either have pity on yourself and question God, or, you can thank God for the things that make you stronger and wiser. We're both after all the things we've gone through. And I thank God that He knew that we would come out of those things on top. I'm not saying it wasn't hard, but knowing we can make it through and that God will be on our side will make all the other trials that will come our way much easier. Just because we're riding the top of the wave now, doesn't mean that we won't go under again. We're just better equipped to handle it. That's why all the preachers tell you to keep up with your prayer life. You pray hard when you're going through a trial, but taper off when the skies become sunny again. Then, when another trial hits, you're unprepared. If you stay prayed up, through the good AND the bad, it'll make it easier to go through the bad and you'll even learn a lesson or two through it. You'll know that God is still taking care of you and that through Him, YOU CAN MAKE IT! I'm doing my best to continue in my fervent prayers that I made when life was tough. It's hard, but well worth it.  :-)

March 15, 2011

Well, I really don't have any updates yet. We're working on getting some paperwork that I know we'll need for the homestudy. We are supposed to get a call from Gladney in the next week or so to find out our next step. But in the meantime, I've done something that most people probably wouldn't recommend. Haha. I bought Santi her first outfit. Gosh, it seems so much more real now... using her name, buying her an outfit... calling her "our daughter". I was at Gap the other day getting a pair of khaki's, when I saw the most adorable tutu/skirt. I so wanted to buy it, but resisted. Well, yesterday I went back to buy it because I told myself it wouldn't be there in a few months. I reasoned, justified, and bought. Lol. And not just the skirt either - I bought a top and a blue jean jumper. I'll post them below. I told KC that this could get very addicting! Haha. But I am doing my best to refrain from buying anything else. For now, the outfit will hang on a special hanger in my closet so I will see it everyday. It will be a constant reminder that somewhere in Ethiopia, God has our daughter waiting for us. I'll pray for her everyday - that she's safe, happy and that she knows that somewhere, someone loves her tremendously. I don't know how old she is, or if she's even been born yet. But I do know that she's ours. I'll pray that the annointing that is on her brother's lives will also be on hers. I have not even met her and I already love her with all my heart - with the same love I have for Caedmon and Oliver. She is our little girl. Not born out of my womb, but out of my heart.

As soon as we hear anything else from Gladney, I'll be sure to post it as soon as I can. I'm excited about this journey as I'm sure many of you are as well. Anyway, enough mushy talk: Here's the cute clothes!!  :)

Some News...

Well, we received some, well, interesting news concerning Ethiopian adoption. After talking with a few couples from church, we found out that Ethiopia is cutting their foreign adoptions from 50 a day to only 5. !!!! They are doing this in an effort to weed out any "unscrupulous" behavior/practices. This is good in the sense that they are doing all they can to make sure the adoption is legal in every sense and that no one was coerced into anything. On the other hand, it's bad because there are millions of orphans waiting for their "forever home". So, this is something that could delay an already lengthy process. And since we are just in the beginning stages, it could mean a very long wait. But KC and I are not worrying nor are we dwelling on this. God told us we were going to adopt from Ethiopia and that is exactly what we are going to do. He will either teach us to have extraordinary patience, or He will show out. I am content to accept whichever path He will have us go down. It could be very easy to let this dishearten us, to let the enemy creep in and tell us that this is unattainable; but God has blessed us in so many ways, it's impossible not to trust in Him and the promises He's made us. So, I am going to do my best to fill my time with productive things and to not dwell on the things that may look like set-backs. As someone from church said, "Every delay, every bump, every snaggle in the process is ordained by God. We're following His timeline; not ours." I would wait forever to make sure that she was the one God chose US for.  

Here is a link to an article about Ethiopia cutting back on foreign adoptions:
http://communities.washingtontimes.com/neighborhood/red-thread-adoptive-family-forum/2011/mar/11/ethiopian-adoptions-may-be-peril/