please pray

Just heard this morning that the officials in our baby's region are making an announcement early next week. They had put adoptions on hold in that region for the past several months. They are going to let the orphanges know if they can proceed with court dates early next week. Please pray for these children and that the decision will be favorable. I hate to think that the children may have to stay in a transition home longer and not be able to go home to their forever families. We did get a weight update on our little one....she is 9.7 pounds at 3 months. Please continue to pray for her health. She seems very healthy....just tiny. She needs our love and formula! Merry Christmas everyone...

REFERRAL!!!!!!!

Finally, after 7 1/2 months, we received a referral on December 1st. She is a beautiful 3 month old little girl. We have waited to do our post until we sent our acceptance papers back to our agency. All five of us are thrilled and can't wait to hold her in our arms. Now...we have to settle on a name for this precious little one. We feel like God has chosen her for our family and we feel so blessed. Thank you for your prayers. Please continue to pray as our agency will go to court for us soon. We will most likely travel in 3-4 months. What a wonderful Christmas present......

NUMBER 1 !!!

Found out yesterday that we are now number one on the waiting list for a baby girl. Our agency even knows which orphange has waiting baby girls right now...the probem is all action is on hold right now for that orphanage. Pray that changes soon and then we can get a referral. We would love to see her face before Thanksgiving, but we are not sure that will happen. Please check out one of the blogs that I follow called "ethiopia or bust". I have an Africa necklace from junkposse jewelry that I love and whenever I wear it, others always ask about it. There is a heart right where Ethiopia is located. Amy on the blog "ethiopia or bust" has pictures of more of the necklaces by this great artist. Christmas is coming and for those of you who have a passion for Ethiopia, you may want this on your list. Keep us in your thoughts and as soon as we get the "call", we will let you know.
Count your blessings this Thanksgiving....

coming soon???

We have found out that we are number 2 on the referral list for a baby girl!!!! We have also heard that any day CWA could be receiving paperwork in the mail that would contain referrals for many families. We are hoping to hear something very SOON! Please keep us in your prayers as we await this referral. Pray for our baby's birth parents, her health and our readiness for this big and great change in our lives. We'll let you know as soon as it happens.....

make a statement

Yes, we are still waiting. Yes, we are trying to be patient as we have hit the 5 1/2 month mark. Yes, we are hoping that the original time frame of 6 months will apply to our family since new families are being told 7 to 9 months. We know that God is in control of this adoption beginning to end. We know that He clearly asked our family to go on this journey so we have no choice but to trust His timing and plan. As I have always said, we do have a lot of distractions which helps our family. In the adoption blog world, there are so many things that you can buy, but I have recently found something worth sharing. Check out www.147millionorphans.com. I now have a link at the top right hand corner of this site. I love cool t-shirts and you will find lots of cool and comfy t-shirts on their site. All members of our household now have at least one of these shirts. The best part is that the money raised from the selling of shirts goes to feed orphans in Uganda. Buying one shirt is equivalent to providing one meal a day for a week to an orphan. The other great part is you can help increase other's awareness of the orphan crisis in the world. I have had on the baseball shirt today that says on the front "147 million orphans" and on the back it says "feed 1". I think so many people don't realize how many children are suffering and need our help. Also check out ordinary hero under blogs that I follow. Amazing stories! Just wanted to share.... We'll keep you updated. Pray for a phone call in October. :)

waiting...waiting...waiting...

So many of you have asked for an update, but really nothing has changed. We have been on the wait list for four months now. Some days it is easier to wait than others. I think that we all thought by the end of summer or early fall, we may have a referral. I know that we all thought we would travel by the end of 2009. Now it looks like we may not even have a referral by the end of this year. Currently, our agency says that the wait for a baby girl referral is 8-9 months. If that is true for us, then our referral will come in December or January. Last spring, the wait was about 6 months. This whole experience is such a journey of faith and you know that you can't rush God's perfect timing. The anticipation is just difficult at times. Once you have committed to adoption, you are ready to live it. I know that God has valuable lessons in the waiting so I pray that He is molding and preparing us during these months. Mark keeps saying that he would rather wait now instead of waiting so long after we see her face. Once we receive a referral and accept it, then we have to pass court before travel plans can be made. For some families, the time between referral and travel is weeks and for others, it can be months. We ask that you continue to pray for our family as we wait, trust and try to be content.

on our way to the top!

Just had an update today that we are now NUMBER 11 on the waiting list!! Just a few weeks ago, we were number 18. It was very encouraging news. Our children screamed with excitement. With the courts closing soon, we aren't sure how that may affect things for us. For now, we will celebrate that we are moving up quickly and be thankful for those seven families who have received referrals for their babies recently. :) That means less orphans in Ethiopia and that makes our hearts happy. Check out "bringing home lucy" in the blogs that I follow for a sweet story about a family's adoption. The mom just met their little Lucy yesterday and the pictures say it all!!

just waiting

People keep asking for an update so here it is. Unfortunately, there is not a lot of news. We are still in the waiting pool and the last we heard, there were 17 families "ahead" of us who had requested a baby girl. Courts close in Ethiopia for August and September so we don't really expect a lot to happen until the fall. This morning, Brynn woke up and the first thing she said is "when is our baby girl coming?". She said she had to come before Brynn turns 10 which would be next March. I pray that it doesn't take that long, but we know it's out of our control. We did hear wonderful news this week that a friend of our's got a referral for a precious little boy. For now, we are going to have a wonderful summer and treasure the blessings we already have. Please just continue to pray for our little one and for the process. Mark and I know that the hardest "time of wait" will be once we see her face and then have to wait to pass court and get our travel plans. We promise to keep you posted as things happen.....

it arrived

Just wanted to let everyone know that our dossier has safely arrived to Ethiopia. It is being translated and we are officially on the wait list. Yeah!! The average wait for a referral is about 6 months for a girl, but we know that it's not up to us. We had a wonderful benefit dinner last night for Acacia Village which is a wonderful project we are supporting in Ethiopia. Learn more at www.acaciavillage.org. Again last night, we saw pictures of beautiful children from Ethiopia and even had the chance to meet a 2 year old little boy who was adopted from Ethiopia into a NC family that already had three children....just like us. The boy is precious and it was so warming to see him relate to his new and forever family. Adoption is an incredible thing and I am so thankful that our family gets to live this adventure. As I hear news, I'll be sure to pass it on. Please keep us in your prayers. With love....

out of our hands

Yesterday we sent the dossier to CWA and then they will send it to Ethiopia. We each said a prayer over it and went to our favorite UPS store again to send it. I'll let you know when it arrives in Ethiopia. Keep praying for our little girl and for us adding to our already busy family. It's out of our hands now and we know God is in control of this journey.

dossier keeps traveling

Now, our dossier is in Washington DC to go to the State Dept. and the Embassy of Ethiopia. It should be back to us by Friday and then we'll send it to CWA and they will send it to Ethiopia. It's hard to believe that it is almost there. For so many months, you are busy getting documents done and re-done and organizing paperwork and now we are almost to the waiting stage. This is when we really don't have any control and we just wait. Most days, I have a peace about waiting and trusting God in this process. Sometimes I do get discouraged when people make negative comments but I am learning to have tougher skin. I know we are taking a huge step of faith, but we know that many blessings will come from this. Thank you for your prayers and support.

it was found

Our document was located and should be on its way to our house. Yeah!! Instead of putting the information in the computer under my name, the lady who did it (and is on vacation today) put it under J.Mark. My name was on the cover sheet so everyone says that is the name that should be in the computer. We have also got to start using only one name for Mark. This is why you shouldn't call your child by their middle name. Sorry to my in-laws...you know I love you anyway. :) It's on the way even though UPS hasn't scanned it yet. We should get it tomorrow. Thanks for your support...

problem

As I am writing this, I am so very frustrated. Please if you read this today, say a prayer that our documents are found. I sent our dossier to the state department on Tuesday evening using an overnight service. The state department signed for the envelope on Wednesday morning and they even show where the lady in the authentication office signed for it that day, BUT now they cannot find it anywhere. This morning, I just called to ask how long it would take for them to send it back to us, and then I find out it is LOST!! This is our original copy that needs to go to Ethiopia. I thought I was taking extra precaution by sending it overnight and being able to track it. It made it to the building and even the correct office, and now it is lost. I just asked the lady over the phone to keep looking for it. I hope they find it today. I'll let you all know. Thank you for your thoughts...

one step down...two to go

Yeah!! Our dossier was approved this time and I just sent it to the state department for authentication. We should receive it back by Saturday or Monday and then we will send it to Washington, DC. We will pay a courier to take it first to the state department and then to the Ethiopian Embassy. Then it will go back to CWA and they will send it to their people in Ethiopia. I have never been so concerned about a document before. I feel like we have poured our hearts and souls into these papers and I want them protected. I really think the dossier may be to Ethiopia within two weeks. I'll keep you posted.....We keep wondering if she has been born yet. This is just such a walk in faith.

patience.....

I did send the first copies of our dossier to our agency a few weeks ago and guess what....we had done some things incorrectly and were missing one document that I thought the agency provided, but our home study provider got it for us. About the time that I found that out, the girls and I were getting ready to leave for New York with my mom for a few days. After you do so much work, it is heart breaking to find out you have to do some of it over, but I decided to just step away from it for a few days. Yesterday, I sent the new copies for approval so we are hoping that this time everything is done correctly. If so, then the next step is to have each document authenticated in Raleigh, then our dossier will go to Washington for approval and then finally to Ethiopia. We had hoped to have everything there by the first of April but now we will hope by the end of April. We did recently find out that now the wait for a girl referral is about 4 months...when we started the wait was about 6 months. Honestly, we just don't know when it will happen. Ethiopian courts also close in August and September. My concern is that we will get out referral and see her face and then it will be September and we'll just have to wait for courts to reopen to move forward. If that happens, we just have to trust that it's all part of the plan. We did have a wonderful time in NYC and the boys had fun at some of the NCAA games. Thank you to my mom for giving us a wonderful trip that we will never forget!! We hope to hear good news on Monday that all of our paperwork looks good....if not, just keep praying for our patience.

in the mail!

Today, I sent our dossier (the large amount of paperwork that eventually goes to the Ethiopian government) to Christian World for approval. Once they approve it, the package will be taken by courier to Washington and authenticated by our government. The next stop will be Ethiopia!! We are hoping that our complete dossier arrives in Ethiopia by the end of this month. And then the waiting will truly begin. Right now the average wait for a girl is six months, but we know that God doesn't follow schedules. We just hope that our paperwork is complete and that those papers and pictures will respresent who we are and how much we want to love the baby God has chosen for us. With all the paperwork, of course, we are also sending large amounts of money. It's amazing how we have such a peace about the large amounts of money that we are having to send. I guess when you know you are doing something you are suppose to do, you just don't question what it takes to get there. Please continue to keep us in your thoughts. We are still thinking about taking Macall with us and need to make a decision soon so she can start getting her shots. Let me encourage you to take a few minutes to look at the blog that I follow called "the journey". You will be completely inspired by this 20 year old beautiful girl who has devoted her life to orphans. It's amazing!!

oops

The youtube video is no longer there. You can view this project at acaciavillage.org.

second home visit complete

It happened quicker than we thought it would...we had our second home visit yesterday. This visit was more intense with deeper questions, but I feel like it went well. Digging deep like that just makes me realize how much I love Mark and how thankful I am that he is my partner in this journey and life. Now we will wait to get our homestudy draft from her and as we wait, we will get all of the additional paperwork ready. We feel so blessed that each step has gone smoothly and pray that this will continue. Yesterday, we also had the wonderful opportunity of going to lunch with the lady who lives in Ethiopia and oversees the Christian World program there. As Mark said, she is one of those people that when you are in her presence, you feel like you are in the presence of God. She and her family have devoted their lives to mission work and rescuing the babies of Ethiopia. It is very likely that she will have contact with our baby which is incredible. We feel honored that we had a chance to meet her and hear her amazing stories. So many children would have died if she had not intervened and then loved and nutured them back to health. Please take time to view the Acacia Village video from youtube.com. She sees the need for this project so clearly everyday as she cares for these abandoned children. Mark and I had decided that we would not take our children with us to Ethiopia to bring home the baby. After meeting with her yesterday and asking her opinion, we are praying about taking Macall with us. She said that one day as the baby grows up and has questions about her heritage and birth country, it will so powerful if Macall can say "I went there and saw this...". Please pray about this decision.

wednesday went well

Thank you to all of you for your thoughts on Wednesday. Especially, thank you to our children's teachers for your thoughtfulness and excitement for our family. I love our school and Wednesday was just one of many days when I am reminded of why we choose for them to be there. All of the teachers were doing whatever they could to make the afternoon go well for us and taking time during class to pray for our family. I love each one of you! We did have our home visit and it went well. Our home study provider is so nice and easy to talk to and she has lived this same journey as she has two adopted daughters. They actually came with her that day since her babysitter cancelled, and our children loved playing with them. She will come back again next week and then we will work on getting our dossier completed. The dossier is a huge amount of paperwork that is sent directly to Ethiopia. I feel like we have a lot of it completed, but I have grown to expect delays and surprises. Hudson said the other day "once we do our homestudy, can we just go get her in two weeks". The hardest lesson for all of us will be learning to be patient. In one sense, you want to be prepared, but then you are afraid to do something too soon (like setting up her room), because that may make the wait seem even longer. I'll keep you posted as things change.

upcoming home visit

The kids are home today and it's been a fun relaxing morning so far. Just wanted you all to know that we have our home visit this Wednesday which is a big step in the process. All of us have to be present and once it is completed, we'll be able to get more of our paperwork done. We hope to have everything to Ethiopia by March. As I am reading other blogs, I can get discouraged with time lines, but I know that ultimately, it is out of our control. My friend, Julie, recommended that I read There Is No Me Without You by Melissa Fay Greene and I can't put it down. It's a great book for anyone who wants to better understand Ethiopia and the orphan crisis. Thank you for all of the encouraging comments. Think of us on Wednesday and we'll let you know how it goes.

our story

Mark and I have always been open to adoption. While we were dating, his mom, Janice, started working at Bethany Christian Adoption Services. One of my favorite things to do was look at pictures in her office of all the babies and ask about the stories. Even when we were just dating, I was drawn to adopting. I even wondered if we wouldn't be able to have biological children since I felt such a strong connection to adoption. As all of you know, that was not the case and God quickly blessed us with three beautiful children. As they got older, I did keep wondering about adoption and always was very interested in adoption stories. As Macall's last birthday approached, she said that all she wanted for her 10th birthday was a sister from another country. When Stephen Curtis Chapman's precious daugther was killed on May 21st (Macall's birthday), God really started pushing us to look deeper into adoption. Going on his website was such an inspiration for adoption. China didn't seem like an option for us since the process now took 3-4 years. As we looked, Mark learned about an incredible missions project in Ethiopia called Acacia Village. Acacia Village will be a much needed orphange for children that will also house a medical center and educational center for mothers and children. Mark had always said that he would one day do medical missions in Africa. Through Acacia Village, we learned that there are 4.5 million orphans in Ethiopia. We were astounded!! At the same time, we kept asking God to give us signs if we were meant to adopt. All I have to say is don't ask God unless you are ready to hear the answer. From a dream my mom had about an abandoned little black girl to the people next to us on the beach this summer that had adopted from Uganda, the signs were pouring in. Macall and Brynn prayed every night that we would adopt a baby. Every sermon seemed to be directed at us and seemed to scream "you need to adopt". Brynn started saying so matter of factly, "this is what we are supposed to do, let's just do it!". It's funny how God can use everyone and everything to speak to you when you are trying to make a decision. In the middle of June, Mark left church one day and said, "we need to do it...let's do the paperwork". Well, that's when I slammed on the brakes. I had thought about adopting for so long and then fear just stopped me in my tracks. I started trying to convince myself that we were content and that three was enough for us. I spent the whole summer in a tug of war with God. I could go one to two weeks "ignoring" adoption and His calling and then for a full week, I would be bombarded with adoption. When the children went to school in August, I found out that two of the teachers at our school were in the process of adopting from Ethiopia. Before that, I had never heard of anyone that we personally knew that had adopted from Ethiopia. It got to the point that I would just laugh out loud at all the the things that were happening. Mark just let it go for a while, but all along, he knew what we were meant to do. He was just waiting on his stubborn wife. One night in September at church, the fifth grade girls were going to hear about some missionaries. I was there as their leader, but I had already decided that I had heard this story and I would just spend the hour relaxing. I was wrong!! Van Wade shared a great story that night about Jim Elliot and his friends. Two points brought me to my knees. Their group simply obeyed what God was asking them to do (was I doing that?) and God does not ask you to do something for Him and then not give you joy (being a mom is my favorite thing in the world...why would He not give us more joy through another child?). I got in the car and said that I was ready. As we rushed in and tried to get the kids to bed, I couldn't find Mark and I was getting frustrated. I found him at the computer quickly filling out the first paperwork for Christian World Adoption before I could change my mind. That first night, I really didn't sleep. Once we told our families, there was an unbelievable peace that I hadn't had all summer. I knew that adopting from Ethiopia was what we were meant to do. Since September, that decision has been confirmed over and over. Right now, we are finishing up our paperwork and hope to have everything to Ethiopia by March. CWA says that the average wait for a girl is 6 months, so we are hoping to bring her home in the fall or winter. Macall, Brynn and Hudson are thrilled and we hope that this is life changing for them. Many of you ask why we didn't request a boy. We just felt like it would be a girl and we are trying to keep Hudson's special spot as the only boy. He's so laid back about the process, but he did say yesterday that he thought the girls should move to the third seat of our car and he should sit by the baby to help take care of her. For now, just please pray for the baby and for her birth parents. We want to always honor them and can't imagine what they may be enduring at this time. Macall thinks she will be born in April so we will have birthdays in 6 consecutive months. No matter when she comes into this world, she needs our prayers. Ethiopia is the third poorest country in the world and babies usually have no prenatal care and once she is here, she may not have milk. God is bigger than all of that and we know He has a plan for her. Thank you for your love and support!

creating my blog

I am officially starting my blog today with the help of my friend, Kelley.  After being asked frequently about our adoption from Ethiopia, we decided that we needed to start a blog to keep our family and friends updated.  In my next post, I'll start at the beginning of our story.  Thank you to all of you who are praying for our family during this journey.