SHE'S HOME!!!!!

I can't believe that after almost 2 years of this crazy journey, there is a little girl sleeping in her crib upstairs while I write this. We have been to the other side of the world (twice) and back again! Unreal. BUT TOTALLY WORTH EVERY MINUTE. Last time I updated this blog we were waiting for an important document to be submitted to the U.S Embassy in Ethiopia. It took 2 weeks for that document to arrive, but when it did they immediately sent us the email we had been waiting for. We had "cleared" embassy and could go pick up our daughter! The day before we got the email I was very discouraged. We were not sure if the letter needed had even been written, let alone translated and then delivered to the embassy. By that night, I had no choice but to give this whole thing over to God. I had struggled with that a lot towards the end. I just wanted her home and was simply tired of waiting. But that Wednesday night I felt peace that I hadn't felt in awhile. I was ready to wait longer. Little did I know, we wouldn't be waiting much more! Thursday morning, Dan and I dropped the kids off at school and ran some errands. In weeks past, I would have been checking my email non-stop to see if the embassy wrote us. That day, I didn't even think of it. I happened to check the time on my phone and saw there was email. Still not thinking anything. BUT THERE IT WAS!! The greatest surprise ever! We quickly contacted our travel agent to get us some flights and so began the craziest day ever! We rushed around like wild people making babysitting plans for the kids and throwing clothes into suitcases. Everyone stepped up to help us get to Ethiopia as fast as possible. My parents took the boys, Dan's brother drove us to Washington, D.C. that night, and my friend Kiyah hooked us up with a hotel room in D.C. ! We flew out first thing Friday morning. Less than 24 hours after we read that awesome email. :) 

We arrived Saturday morning in Ethiopia and got to pick up Jordyn right away. She was definitely scared of us at first, but it was comforting to know that we would have her with us the rest of the week to start bonding. :) I could spend a whole blog post telling you about our week, but I will just try to sum it up quickly. Our first couple days were great and we were having a ton of fun getting to know Jordyn better and the other couples (and their kids) that were at the guesthouse. Then, Jordyn and Dan got sick, Jordyn projectile vomited in the U.S. Embassy (a statement perhaps?) and then I got sick on the last day. We were totally overwhelmed thinking about the 17.5 hour flight from Ethiopia to Washington D.C. Overall, the flight went way better than we expected. However, we were greeted with a canceled flight home when we got to D.C, one more outfit left for Jordyn (thanks blow out diapers) and one more bottle worth of formula. I was praying that God would seriously multiply the formula like He did the loaves and fishes, remember? It was a crazy time at the airport and I seriously felt like I might collapse from exhaustion and feeling sick. It was a tiring week in Ethiopia and I just wanted to get home. God showed up (as always) and gave us the strength to keep going. My dad drove down to D.C. to pick us up because we would have had to go to another airport in D.C. to get a flight out. In the end, it was nice not having to get on another flight and I was able to get more formula out of my luggage for the ride home.

We were originally planning for family to meet us at the airport to welcome home Jordyn, but since our plans changed they met us at our house and it was more than perfect. We pulled into the driveway and saw our three boys run up to the car. They didn't care one bit about seeing us. They wanted to see their new sister that they had prayed for for almost 2 years. Finally, she was home and sleeping peacefully in her car seat. They have been loving on her ever since.

I have to say that God has answered so many of our prayers with the transition home. Jordyn seems to be transitioning really well and so are the boys. Thank you Jesus!! So many of our friends and family have helped us out so much by making us meals, cleaning our house, taking our boys so that we can rest, and just sending encouraging texts and emails. I am SO THANKFUL for all of you. More than you probably know. This is when the real work comes in with adoption and Dan and I feel so much support from you. I am blown away and thankful for the body of Christ rising up and helping us.

I can't wait for everyone to meet little Jordyn. She is a happy little girl full of personality. She can definitely hold her own in this house full of boys. ;)   I feel so blessed that God chose us to live life with this precious little girl.

Time to Move Mountains

Today has been hard. I feel like we have been running a marathon for almost 2 years and we are running the last mile up a steep hill. I am tired, physically and mentally.

We got news today that the birth mother of our daughter cannot be found. This is important because in order to clear us to travel, the U.S. Embassy needs to interview her one final time. Our agency has been working hard to look for her, but with no success. A police search may need to be done, but that will just prolong our wait.

My heart is so heavy today and I need God to carry me through this one. I know that Jordyn will be with us soon, but at this point, I am tired of waiting. My prayer today (and tonight) is for a miracle. I am asking God to soften the hearts of the Embassy workers and allow them to clear us tonight based on the paperwork and former statements they have from the birth mother.

This morning, I received this discouraging news from our agency and a few minutes later the song, "Mine to Love" started playing while I was doing a return in J.C. Penny. I seriously almost lost it and I think the cashier would have been a bit confused. So, I saved the cry for Starbucks with my sister-in-law and brother-in-law. Seemed to be a better time for a public cry. ;)

           ("You are the answer to every MIDNIGHT PRAYER...we have all been waiting on you...")

                                        OK.   Where is my tissue box?????



I am on my knees today and asking God to move the mountain in front of us. Please pray with us today and if you are up in the middle of the night, please pray again!!! The embassy is open from 12:30am-10am EST. We are not the only family experiencing delays, so please be in prayer for all of the families that are just waiting anxiously to bring home their children. We are ready and they are ours to love!

Did you ever see the movie "Blood Diamond" with Leonardo DiCaprio? Dan and I watched it the other night. I hadn't seen that movie in years. Anyway, he is talking to a journalist and she just seems shocked by his response to the way things are going in Africa. To him, it is just the way things are. And to be expected. He just says to her, "TIA." This Is Africa. I am taking TIA and changing it a little. Now it means, This Is Adoption. Unpredictable. But, it is the way it is. I knew that from the beginning, but I am not sure you can fully prepare yourself for it.

I will keep you posted on any news that we receive. Thank you!


I may have already posted our video of meeting Jordyn, but I just wanted to watch it again. In case you did too, here you go. ;)

Embassy...oh Embassy.....

Not much has been going on around here as far as our adoption is concerned. To bring you up to speed....

• We took our first trip to Ethiopia in July for a court date of JULY 31st!! (She is officially ours!)
• We came home and waited for paperwork to be completed in order to get submitted to Embassy. (paperwork took 5 weeks to be completed...one week added for passport mistake)
• We were "Submitted to Embassy" on September 4th (the U.S. Embassy in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia has our file and after they review it, we will "clear" Embassy and be allowed to bring Jordyn home.
• The U.S. Embassy is pretty backed up right now with files as well as training a new staff, so we have been waiting for almost 4 weeks at this point for them to review our case. (In the past, this process took 1 week. UGH!!! Embassy.)   :(  

We are REALLY missing our little girl!!! This past 9 weeks has been longer than we expected, but I am thankful to have received a few pictures of our daughter along the way. She is in such good hands at the transition house, but it is time for her to come HOME.

There are several families that are in the "post court" waiting period. Pray with me that God would open doors for ALL of these kids to all come home quickly!!! We are HOPING and expecting for our file to be opened THIS week. Please pray that happens and that the last steps taken by the U.S. Embassy are uneventful. We would hope to bring her home in the next couple of weeks!!!

Also, please keep Jordyn in your prayers as coming home with us will be a very new and possibly fearful experience for her. She is close to 11 months old now and has only seen us a handful of times. I am praying that she feels our love and just knows that we are Mom, Dad, and big brothers right away. :)

Update....Venting....Praying

I'm not really in a "writing mood" right now. (so maybe I shouldn't even write...my grumpiness may shine through). It has been 5 weeks since we passed court and were in Ethiopia. Last week, I was hopeful that we were going to be "submitted to Embassy." In adoption talk, that is an awesome step that means you are SO CLOSE to "clearing" Embassy and getting the OK to travel and pick up your child. Confused?? :)

Once you are submitted, you are a few weeks away from traveling! We were asked to review some documents last Tuesday before submission (which only happens on Wednesdays) and we came across a mistake on Jordyn's passport. (so sad) So we weren't able to be submitted like they planned and like we hoped.

I was anticipating good news today...that the passport was corrected. But I also need to be realistic and know that things take time and creating a new passport may not happen in less than a week. As of right now, (3:30 am in Ethiopia on Wednesday morning), it doesn't look like we will be submitted again. I also just learned that next Wednesday is a holiday in Ethiopia, so the Embassy is closed. (Really hoping that they will let the agency submit files on a different day).

We could have been submitted at week 4, but now it looks like it may be week 7?? And then a few weeks (3-4) after that to clear embassy. Totally discouraged and just need to not be so focused on this timeline. :(

BUT I WANT HER HOME!! WE MISS HER!!!

If you think of us, pray that all of this would work out and that we would get to travel sooner than I am mapping out in my head. I had a dream the other night that we went to get her and she was the size of a 2 year old. I guess even as I sleep I am sad about how much we are missing each day. She is growing so fast and we aren't getting to experience it.

"Yordanos"

Soon, I will try to take some time to sit down and document our first trip to Ethiopia. In a nutshell, the trip was amazing. The flight over there felt brutal, but was all worth it when they handed us our baby girl. She was much chubbier than she seemed from the pictures and at first I thought that they handed me the wrong baby. :) oops! But as soon as I looked at her eyes, I recognized them! She is one of the happiest babies I know and loves her daddy (and mommy) already. But definitely Daddy!

 

 

 

She is now 8.5 months old! Time is just flying by. It has been 2.5 months that we have known about her and have called her Eliana Nardos. Eliana, meaning "God has answered." This is what I wrote about the name Eliana a couple of months ago...

 

"As we waited for the past year and a half, I couldn't help but think about our daughter's birthmother. At the time, I knew nothing about her. I still don't know too much. But I was confident that because she chose LIFE for this little girl, she loved her. I also couldn't help but think that at some point she prayed for this little girl. And possibly asked God to take care of her and to give her a family that would love her unconditionally. And GOD HAS ANSWERED that mother's prayer with ADOPTION."

 

 

And Nardos is the name on her birth certificate. The name that she has been called since she was born.

 

The first few days of our trip we called her Eliana a little, but mostly Nardos and Nardi (as her nannies like to call her). Very cute. Well, I LOVE the name Eliana and I LOVE its meaning even more.....but one night while we were there, Dan turned to me in our room and said, "I'm just not feeling "Eliana" for her name anymore." And for some reason, and I didn't know why, I wasn't either.

 

 

The next morning, we visited our baby girl, went to lunch, and then drove 2 hours to Adama to visit her orphanage that she lived in before being moved to our agency's transition house.

 

 

While at the orphanage, we had a chance to meet our daughter's birthmother and to sit down and talk with her for a bit. I'm not sure you can prepare yourself for a moment like that. But I am glad that we were all able to talk and can provide our daughter with more information later in life. 

 

Let me pause and just back up a bit right now. Many of you know that we chose Eliana as her name after we received our referral. The other name in the running was Jordan. We have a little theme going on in our family right now. We call our kids, "The Old Testament Crew." We have Caleb, Joshua, and Aaron right now. Dan and I would often say that if we had another boy, we would name him Jordan (because Dan has a hold up with naming girls BOY names) :)  But he still loves you if you do that.  ;)   Anyway, then, as we waited for a referral of one or two children we said that we would do Eliana and Jordan if we received a sibling set. When we were called about one child, we still debated both names, but went with Eliana because I still loved it and its meaning. Jordan was great, but just went with the theme....no meaning behind it at the time.

 

 

OK, back to Ethiopia and the birth mom conversation. Dan asked her why she named her "Nardos." She, through a translator, said that she didn't name her Nardos. That was a mistake. She named her "Yordanos" but someone wrote it down wrong. We sat there, having no clue what that meant. So Dan asked, "What does Yordanos mean?" Our translator turned to us and said, "It means Jordan." I immediately burst into tears. How could two mamas, who live halfway around the world, who love this little girl more than anything, both have had the same name in mind for her?? How could we not name her Jordan?? Had God been slowly preparing our hearts for this? It just seemed odd that the name I LOVED weeks earlier, just didn't seem right when I met our little girl a few days earlier.

 

As we ended our conversation, her birth mother told us that she had been praying for and wanted Yordanos (Jordan) to grow up in a family that loved Jesus. Here is where Eliana still fits because, oh my goodness, GOD HAS ANSWERED. I have been praying hard for this woman for almost 2 years and at that time felt like she was praying for a family to love her daughter like she wishes she could. And He definitely answered. Adoption is hard. Meeting our daughter's birth mother was harder than I could have imagined. But God is good all the time and he is going to redeem these lives and make beauty from the ashes of tragedy and hopelessness.

 

Our trip to Ethiopia was life-changing, emotional, and absolutely wonderful.

 

We are now waiting to hear that we can bring her HOME. The wait will be 2-3 months. I am praying that it is no longer than 2 months. In the meantime, we need to set up her nursery, buy some girl clothes and toys (and whatever else girls need, AHHH!!!!), and practice saying her new name:

Jordyn Eliana :)

 

 

 

 

 

 



Time Crunch PRAYERS

So it has been more than a month since I have updated on here. It doesn't feel like much has gone on in the past 5+ weeks, but behind the scenes I am sure there is a lot!

To catch you up, we received our referral of a beautiful 6 month old girl on May 24th! Since then, we have received several photos and a few videos of her from our agency and families that have been willing to take pictures of our girl while they are visiting their own child(ren). (LOVE this adoption community!!!) We watch those videos every day and it is really bittersweet. I love seeing her smile and watching her grow, but it is also a reminder of how far away she is right now. Oh how I wish that I could scoop her up and kiss her cheeks right this moment!! In the meantime, I know she is being well taken care of and loved on by many.

So, we got our referral the end of May and 17 days later our case was submitted. This basically gets the ball rolling. After that, we wait for a preliminary hearing. This is a birth parent/relative interview. (We do not go to Ethiopia for this). The estimated timeline to wait for your "PH" is 7-13 days after submission. Right now, we are on day 22 of waiting for this step. :(    To say I am discouraged is an understatement. I always anticipated delays and bumps, but I really thought that they would come later.

 I don't think I would be so impatient about this, but the Ethiopian courts are closing for the rainy season in the beginning of August. This puts us on a major time crunch. We need to have our preliminary hearing, wait for the courts to say everything went well, and that they have scheduled a court date for us. This would be considered trip #1! We would fly to Ethiopia, meet Eliana, and then go to court to officially become her parents!! If we don't get through these steps before the beginning of August, then we will have to wait until the courts open sometime in October!!

Right now, there are a couple of families that received referrals a couple weeks after us, and they have their preliminary hearings tomorrow. This makes me more anxious about getting a date! Ours seems "overdue." ;)

I have been talking to God a lot about this. And I KNOW in my heart that if we don't get to Ethiopia this month, that we will survive waiting until the rainy season is over to meet our little girl. I KNOW that he will take care of us and her during that time and that one day this wait will just melt away. I KNOW that He works everything out for our good. We may be able to encourage other families that have a similar delay....I KNOW that. I just need Him to work on my heart about being OK with all of this. :) Just being honest. It will be a hard summer/fall....

So, if you would pray for us, we would greatly appreciate it. Here is how you can pray:

1. Pray for Eliana Nardos as she is waiting. Pray that God would prepare her little heart for all of the changes ahead in her life.

2. Pray for us as we wait. That God would begin to prepare our hearts for whatever "timeline" he has planned for our story.

3. Pray that if it is His will, we will hear about a preliminary hearing TODAY and that a court date would SOON follow, so that we could travel in JULY to meet and adopt our little girl.

Thank you for taking the time to pray for our family!!!

I have to order a "disc" for Eliana. But for now, she is still represented on my necklace by the Africa and Hope disc. :) (I can't wait to post a picture of her on here when we pass court!!!!)

But here is just a glimpse of her little feet!

These boys are ready for their little sister to come home! This morning, they decided that they wanted to change her middle name. So, we are praying that Eliana Cat-Woman Videon would come home quickly! ;)

Referral Day!

I really want to type up our "referral day" so that I don't forget and so that I can share it with Eliana when she is older. Even though she isn't home yet, it is the day that we finally saw the face of the little girl that we had been praying about for so long. I am still in shock!

Let me back up a little though. The month of May has been a hard month of waiting for me. I think it's like when you are pregnant and just want to meet your baby. But I just didn't know AT ALL when that was going to happen. We were #9 on the waiting list and there were quite a few people "on hold" ahead of us. So we knew we were closer than 9. But things had been going so slow the last few months that we were preparing ourselves to not hear anything until June or July. The thought of August was when I stopped thinking. ;)

On Thursday, the day before our referral, I was putting away cold weather clothes and switching to spring/summer (finally!). That task was long and boring and I just kept thinking about our little girl and wondering what she was doing and really just longing to know more about her and to see her face. I had about 4 loads of laundry ahead of me and in a desperate moment I shot an email to our adoption agency. I asked Lesley if there were any kids' paperwork getting ready that she knew of (just for some hope!) and that if there weren't, that she could feel free to tell me to get back to doing laundry! :) She assured me that there were no kids that she knew of and to get back to my laundry. :) I laughed....I totally just needed her to tell me not to hold my breath. But I did tell her to feel free to interrupt me doing laundry at any time. ;)

That night I told Dan that I would love if when you are in the "Top 10" or even "Top 20" of the waiting process, they would send you a "Top of The Morning" email each morning that simply says, "Good Morning. Today is NOT your day."   That way, I could read it when I woke up, and go about my day without jumping every time my phone rang. :)

Well, it was now Friday, May 24th. Dan and I (and the kids) ran to Target that morning to get a few things and then came home to get some work done around the house. I knew that my case worker, Jennifer, was going to be doing her monthly phone call that afternoon to check in, but in the back of my mind I was just really hoping that she would tell us about a child. At some point, I looked at Dan and said, "Hey! I never got a "Top of the Morning" email today. Maybe today is our day?! ;) " Totally joking, but still hoping.

We were going to a film screening that night for the documentary, "STUCK" and I realized that I didn't have butter to make brownies. I ran to ShopRite and was driving home, ready to call Jennifer myself. For some reason, I just needed my  "Top of the Morning" email from her that day.  It was close to 3:00 and torture that she hadn't called yet to check in. :) I just needed her tell me to wait longer!!

A few minutes after getting in from the store, I walked into the kitchen and Dan was handing me my ringing cell phone. I didn't even hear it ringing. I also didn't recognize the phone number, but assumed it was Jennifer. (Mind you, I have both Jennifer and Lesley's phone numbers in my phone). I was also aware that Jennifer would do my monthly calls, but Lesley makes the referral calls. I answered the phone and heard, " Hi Lauren, this is Lesley." MY HEART SKIPPED!  I hope that I said hi back. Not really sure. Then she said " Are you doing laundry right now? ;)"  I wanted to scream!! :) But I tried to keep my cool for a minute and just said, "No, just got back from grocery shopping. So just as much fun." But I really wanted to say, " YAY!!!!!" because I knew what she was implying!! She then said, " I have something for you. " and I think I said "Really?!?!" about ten times and she said yes ten times. I then called down to Dan, who was  downstairs, and told him that he needs to come upstairs because today is a really good day. Lesley told us that she really did have no idea the day before when I emailed her....the referral of our daughter had just come in an HOUR before!! :) We put Lesley on speaker phone and I just couldn't stop telling her how amazing this was and I couldn't believe this was happening. Finally, I stopped talking. (Thank goodness....Dan was ready to hear about our daughter and I couldn't stop talking.) ;)

I don't really remember how she told us about her. She may have asked if we wanted to hear about her? OF COURSE! She told us all that she knew about her and then told us that she sent us an email with her picture. My brain stopped working and I said something like, "It's in an email? How do I get that?" Lesley told me to go to my computer. HA! We went, had trouble getting the email, but then we opened it and I shouted, " I LOVE HER!" the same thing I shouted when I was shown Caleb the minute he was born. I couldn't help it either time. Such an amazing moment that I will never forget.  As Lesley told us more about her and went over her medical documents and birth certificate, I tried to focus, but I just couldn't. I finally saw her face and was in love. She is 6 months old right now and has big beautiful eyes. Lesley told us that we could hang up and talk to each other to decided if we wanted to move forward and accept the referral. We asked her if we needed to hang up or if we could just accept her right now! So we did. :)

The adrenaline from that moment on was insane. I couldn't think straight and just wanted to climb up to the roof and shout to everyone about our little girl!! We were supposed to bring brownies to the "STUCK" film screening, but I couldn't stop shaking. So I decided that I would just show up with her picture instead of brownies. Way better than brownies. :)

We told family right away and then ran to CVS to print a bunch of 5x7's and an 8x10 that I carry around! The strangers I met at the park the next morning were very excited for our news. ;)

I can't wait to hold our little girl, but just having her (life-size) picture on hand is helping. :)

Thank you for all of your prayers and support as we have waited for this day. We still have a bit more waiting until we can bring her home. But I am praying that there are no speed bumps along the way and that Jesus would hold our baby close until we get to her.

GOD HAS ANSWERED...

Someone asked me the other day if we had always wanted to adopt. I laughed and said, "NO!" I had seen close friends of mine adopting and thought that it was such a nice idea (and so "nice" of them to do) and that maybe (BIG maaybe) Dan and I would do it some day. Dan would once said something like, " Some days I have a hard enough time loving my own kids. How could I love someone else's?" II love kids in general, but I totally understood what he was saying. We were obviously not feeling called to adopt at that time in our lives. ;)  So anyway, as I was answering this friend, I said that I never really thought about us adopting.

 A few years ago I began learning about modern day slavery and sex trafficking and my heart began to break for all of these things that break God's heart. I was reading my Bible with fresh eyes and saw how much God loved those that we might consider "worthless." He wants us to be their advocates on this earth. I was asking God to just show me how he could use Dan and me. To be honest, I was sad that I couldn't just hop on a plane and go help all of these people that I was reading about in Cambodia, India, Africa, etc. I wanted so badly for God to use me, but I felt like "being a Mom" was holding me back. And then the Holy Spirit nudged me and basically said, "Your family is your mission right now. I will use you right where you are." That thought led Dan and I to the thought of adoption. "Family" is our mission right now and there are countless kids that need a family. We didn't think that we "SHOULD" adopt.....God gave us a strong desire to adopt and a peace that I can't even explain. It was literally the easiest (and biggest) decision we had ever made. So with all that said, GOD HAS ANSWERED our prayer of "how can you use us?" with ADOPTION.

As we waited for the past year and a half, I couldn't help but think about our daughter's birthmother. At the time, I knew nothing about her. I still don't know too much. But I was confident that because she chose LIFE for this little girl, she loved her. I also couldn't help but think that at some point she prayed for this little girl. And possibly asked God to take care of her and to give her a family that would love her unconditionally. And GOD HAS ANSWERED that mother's prayer with ADOPTION.

He has been weaving this story together so beautifully and I feel so blessed to be used by him and to be able to love on our sweet Eliana Nardos Videon. :)

Eliana \e-lia-na\ pronounced el-ee-AH-nah. It is of Hebrew origin, and the meaning of Eliana is "God has answered".

We love you, Eliana. You are an answer to the prayer of two mamas that love you.

May Wait List Number....

If you had asked me last May where we would be in our adoption process in May of 2013, I would have confidently told you that we would have our child home at this point. Our dossier hit Ethiopia in April of 2012 and we were given a 6-9 month referral wait. So, January 2013 marked 9 months of waiting and we were pretty far from the top of the list. The change in wait time was definitely discouraging, but in a way it was expected. International adoption is unpredictable....so expect the unexpected!

So of course, today is May 1st  2013 and even though we are still waiting, I am resting in the TRUTH that God's timing is perfect in our adoption (and everything else for that matter) and we can still be  joyful while we wait. :)

Well, we got our new number today and we are officially in the single digits my friends!


Our family is #9 this month!! Getting closer each month. :) Love it!!  Continue to pray for all of the kids that are waiting to be matches with families. Their world have been turned upside down and lots of changes are ahead for each of them. I know that my kids don't really like change that much. So pray for their little hearts as life changes for them.

Due Date

Let's talk about where we are currently in the adoption process. Imagine with me for a moment that you are pregnant. Newly pregnant. YOu go the doctor, she confirms that you will be adding to your family, but she has absolutely no idea when you will meet this little one. Well, I shouldn't say NO idea. More like, she gives you an estimated timeline. It's anywhere from 6 months to 24+ months (and that can and probably will change along the way). WHAT?!?!?! Yup...that's adoption. Especially international adoption.  I definitely took my due date for granted when I was pregnant. Having an end in sight was awesome. ;)  But right now God is really teaching me to trust him with his timing. If He wanted us to know who our child was already, than He would have made that happen. I may feel overdue....but really, I am right where he wants me to be. 

After having our dossier in Ethiopia for a year now, it really could be any day or another 6 months. Pray for us as we patiently wait for a referral and more importantly, pray for the child that God has for us and for all of the other kids just waiting to be a part of a family. 

(I know I haven't updated this blog in a few months, so just as an FYI, we are #12 on the waiting list and will find out our new number on May 1st. However, we are pretty sure that we haven't moved any spots this month. While you are praying...pray for movement!!) 

Thanks for supporting us in this journey! 

Waiting....and a new number!

I love the beginning of each month! Our new wait list number is 14!!! A little bit closer. :)  

So now we do what we do well....wait.  Even though we began the paperwork for adoption over a year ago, I don't feel like we have been waiting all that long. I mentioned in my last post that we had a lot going on in 2012, so it really just flew by. But now, we have no paperwork to do, no seminars to watch online, and no required readings. With "nothing" to do, I think that from here on out, the wait may just get a little more intense. ;)  

Also, when we do get our referral call (saying that our agency has matched us with a little love bug!) the waiting isn't quite over. We will get to see the face of our child, know more about them, but we will still be waiting to MEET this cutie. The wait for that (I believe) is one to two months. After that, we come back home (can't imagine how hard that will be) and wait another few months to return and bring our child home. I say all of this, just to give you a  simple "waiting timeline." I know that I didn't know about any of this when we
started. (Well, technically I did because I have it all in my notes from when I called our adoption agency, but totally forgot until NOW!).

Anyway, lots of waiting. But I have committed to enjoying this wait as much as possible. Kind of like whetn you are pregnant. You get to think about the little one that will be a part of your family soon, but at the same time, in those last months/days, you try to cherish the last months and days before things change. I remember sitting down one night when I was pregnant with Aaron and thinking, "Wow, I am so looking forward to this next month with Caleb and Josh before this next baby comes."  (Little did I know that I would go into labor the next morning. Oops!)

So, while we wait, we decided to have a little fun. This is a sneak peak at our adoption maternity pics. ;)  We have been praying for and thinking about this child for so long...I can't wait to replace that chalkboard with a little person!!!!

The whole crew anxiously waiting!

Because kissing is just fun. ;) 

New Number!!

Things have been moving right along with our adoption. I can’t believe that we applied one year ago!! We sent in our application on Jan. 10^, 2012. I have to say that it has been a busy year and really hasn’t felt like we have been waiting that long. But now that things have slowed down, and we are settling into our new house, I have a feeling that “waiting” might be a little harder in 2013.

Well, the beginning of every month brings us a new number. I am excited to say that we are in the teens!!! Number 17! I thought that December was going to show little to no movement, but 9 children were matched with their forever families and we actually moved 5 spots. YAY!!!

Now, we just wait for a phone call from our adoption agency letting us know that they have a little one for our family!!! I seriously think that I might just fall over when that phone rings. (Let’s just pray I’m not driving).

Recently, we also received news that we were approved for a $2,500 matching grant through LIFESONG FOR ORPHANS. Our goal is to raise this and more by February 11, 2013. As our “wait list” number gets smaller and smaller, the reality of the cost gets bigger and bigger. If you feel led in any way to support our adoption financially you can give a tax deductible donation through Lifesong for Ophans and they will match your donation dollar for dollar! Pretty cool, right?!

There are two ways. Donate online HERE or by check. A check should be made payable to Lifesong for Orphans and indicate preference Videon / #3022 adoption on the memo line.

Send check to: Lifesong for Orphans PO Box 40 / 202 N. Ford St Gridley, IL 61744 7b.

*100% of all funds received by Lifesong for Orphans go directly to cover adoption costs. Nothing is taken out for administrative costs.

I know that not everyone feels led to help financially.. .but what I would LOVE is for your prayers. Prayer is so powerful and I know how BIG our God is. Here are some things that we are currently praying about:

1.      Finances- upcoming referral fee and then the flights to Africa for Dan and me (twice) . J

2.      Our biological children- that God would prepare their hearts for their new sibling! They are excited, but I know that whenever a new sibling comes there can be mixed emotions. ;) Also, pray that God would prepare them for when we are away.

3.      The birth mother- I pray that she would find salvation if she doesn’t already have a relationship with Jesus. I pray that she would be blessed for choosing life for her child.

4.      Our child that we don’t k now YET J - pray for health, safety, and attachment at home

5.      Smooth Process- like any adoption, it is likely that there may be bumps along the way. Please pray for a smooth rest of our journey!!!

6.      6. And finally PATIENCE while we wait. J

Thanks you so much. We covet your prayers more than anything else. I am confident that God will provide anything else we need along the way. 

New Number for November :)

So....I get an "F" for keeping up with this blog lately. Too much has been going on and I just never sit down to write. We moved at the end of September into a fixer upper. (I will have to add pictures soon). But the lime green carpets will not be missed! So we have been fixing it up (SLOWLY). So many of our friends and family have helped us more than we could have ever asked them to. THANK YOU GUYS!!!! So, the house is coming along, yay!! And the adoption is also moving along! We are now #30 on the waiting list and hoping that that number quickly decreases. :) We are praying for the child God has for us and getting a little bit more anxious each day!!!! Every day is a day closer to when we get the call about our newest member of the family....

UPDATES!

There have been so many nights that I have wanted to sit down and update this blog, but of course, life got busy and other things (like sleep) took precedence.  So, now that I have a few minutes to spare, I will do some updating!! We are MOVING! We have thought about moving for years, but finally decided to do it now while we have 3 kids instead of waiting until next year when we have 4.  J   Maybe a little less stressful? Maybe not, ha! So our summer was filled with getting the house ready to sell, showing the house almost every day for 3 weeks, some headaches after inspection, finding a new house (with some headaches), and finally we are in the packing stage!! We have 2 weeks left in this house and it is very bittersweet. We love where we live, we love our neighbors, but we are also excited to start the next chapter.  Be praying for us over the next two weeks. The house we are moving to is an “updater” and we would love to fix it up before moving in. This would be a lot easier if we didn’t have 3 little “helpers” around. But I have to just remember that it will get done….but it might not be right away. AND THAT’s OK!! J  

On the adoption front, we have some updates too. First, I have to just say that I LOVE LOVE LOVE our adoption agency. They truly care about our family and are praying for us often.  If you want to adopt, I highly recommend Lifeline Children’s Services. (ok, done with the plug).  I do love them though.  Anyway, at the beginning of every month we get our wait list number. Every month we move about one or two spots. This month we moved 6 spots! We are now number 34. Very exciting! We also got a call a couple of weeks ago from Lifesong for Orphans letting us know that they got our request for a matching grant / Both Hands project and they will be getting back to us soon. Another thing to be praying for!  They can also set up an account in our name that makes it possible for people to give tax deductible donations for the adoption.  Very cool.  The actual adoption is still far away, but with moving and updating the new house, I am sure that time is going to fly by.  I just can’t wait to meet this little one! 

March

One afternoon in March (I want to say the 28^th?), I was cleaning the kitchen for third (or hundredth) time that day and stopped dead in my tracks. I am not sure how to explain it, but I had this overwhelming feeling that something important just occurred in your life. Were you just conceived and forming in your birthmother’s belly? Or was it your birthday? Did you just lose your family to a disaster, poverty, or HIV? Were you abandoned on this day? There was no way of me knowing at that time, but I had to just stop and pray for you and whatever might be taking place.  A few days later, I was again in the kitchen when my mom called. She said that she just had to call because she had this feeling that our child was just born or conceived or that something big just happened. My heart stopped.  Could the last week of March 2012 be monumental in your little life? Whether it is or not, it was an eye opening time that reminded me to continue to pray for you and whatever you may be going through each day. Your brothers pray for you each night that “Jesus would bring you food if you are hungry,”  “hold you if you are crying,”  “and that Jesus would take care of your boo-boos.”  I couldn’t say it any better. We are anxiously waiting to know more about you and welcome you into this family. In the meantime, I am confident that Jesus is filling your belly, rocking you to sleep, and healing all of your wounds. We love you.