BLESSED

The girls from my care group at church hosted a baby shower for me and it was full of BLESSINGS. They gathered blessings from family members and close friends to compile into a beautiful Blessing Book that is now on my coffee table. To make matters more emotional, they read these blessings aloud during my shower, followed by a prayer time.

Okay, I was a mess. I cried as my grandmother and my mother shared their testimony of adoption. Then a friend started reading a blessing written by my father. I started to melt into a puddle on the floor. This progressed with other readings from siblings, parents, close friends. Wow.

I've know for a long time that God has graciously blessed me with precious family and friends, but this was almost more than I could bear. I am so unworthy of God's goodness toward me. The Blessing Book will be a treasure to me for years to come. It goes so much further than the tangible goods brought to the party.

Don't get me wrong. We needed those baby items, and many were kind enough to bring humanitarian aid items as well. God faithfully provided for our needs. But, again, the Book will continue to bless me and my children for years to come. Thank you to all who were involved. I love you dearly, and thank you for your kind words of love, affirmation, and BLESSING! Here are some pictures.

3 Weeks and Counting!

My cuties!

Oh yah- a man after my own heart!

Grace saved up and bought some new outfits for Felicity off Craig's List. So cute!

In 3 short weeks, we will have our courtdate over in Ethiopia! We are so excited to see what God will do! Please keep praying that we will pass on the first date. We know that God is working on our behalf behind the scenes and that brings us such peace. His will be done!

IF we pass court, we could be travelling 2-4 weeks later. That means we could be travelling next month. Wow! After more than a year of waiting, we are within reach. I see the light at the end of the tunnel. Well, on the one hand it is the end of waiting and on the other hand it is the beginning of a new season. There is MUCH to come. This waiting has just been a small part of our family's journey. We want to get our hands on these little ones and help them feel loved, nurtured, and part of a forever family.

My mom is coming this week and my sweet friends are throwing me a baby shower. I'll share pics soon.

Update on our babies

We received another update yesterday and I just wish I could post the pictures. They are adorable! Malachi's hair is growing and he is just too cute for words. Ava is sleeping in her picture, but just as precious as always. Here is the update :

“M. is a sweet little guy. He loves his roommates and room. He has the most rowdy room we have! He doesn’t really add to the rowdiness, but he does seem to enjoy it. He is a big teddy bear. He likes to sit in my lap or be close to the caregivers. He is doing great. A. is doing wonderfully. Today, when I stopped by she was sleeping, but yesterday I saw her outside with her roommates. The caregivers tell me she is eating and sleeping very well. They also said she is “very vocal”, which I think translates to “she cries if we don’t hold her."

I cannot wait to get my arms around these two. It is hard to explain what it feels like to be so far away from someone you love, but have never met. My love grows for them every day. I find myself talking to their pictures in that wierd baby voice we all get while snuggling little ones. They have become part of our daily conversation, and a part of every prayer. I've pulled out clothes for little man and I stare at the shoes wondering what his chubby little feet will be like. I love hearing that he is a big teddy bear. That just melts my heart. If Ava likes to be held, she'll be in good hands around here. When my friend Becky was here, Grace and Thatcher held Jack all the time. Matter of fact, Thatcher hauled a little rocking chair downstairs and brought his blankie for Jack one evening just before bed. Here's the picture.

In the meantime, we are staying busy. Grace is so creative and is always building something with her brother or for her brother. I can't keep up with all of the creations.
Grace will be testing soon for the IOWA here in VA. This keeps us home-schoolers on our toes, which is always a good thing. I'm a little nervous, but we've worked hard this year and she has "soaked" up so much information. She is thrilled about George Washington and Abraham Lincoln right now. It comes alive to her when we read the stories. I love homeschooling because it leaves plenty of time for all of her creative moments, and she and Thatcher are really becoming good friends. It's such an answer to prayer!

River Dance

A friend of mine was recently in town (love you Becky) and saw Thatcher do his River Dance. She suggested I post a little video of him doing it for all of you. It really is so funny! Every time we turn on music, he does his River Dance and then he and Grace waltz around the room together. We found an African Playground cd which is the background music for his little show. I can't believe this is his last month as a 4 year old. My little buddy is growing up way too fast! I went in to his room the other day and he was hammering a picture of our little man Malachi to the wall with a thumb tack just above his bed. When I chastised him for hammering without my permission, he looked at me with those big blue eyes and said, "I just want to be able to see him Mom." How can you argue with that? So now it's hanging above his bed, not framed, not centered, not planned - but precious, and it is Thatcher's little reminder every night before bed that he has a brother coming.

Update

Last week we received an update on our little ones. We have decided to name them Malachi and Ava (while keeping their African names as middle names). I will refer to them by their new names, for security purposes.

“Malachi is doing well. He was a little shy around me. He stood very still and serious when I took his picture. I got out a pen and paper to try to get him to smile. I drew some and then gave him the pen. He looked at it as if he didn't know what to do with it. Then he started drawing. He smiled a couple times but never near the camera. Ava is very strong. She has quite a grip and can take all of her weight on her legs. She can stand with some help for balance. She rocks on her hands and legs, looking almost ready to crawl. The caretakers can get her to smile and laugh but she was very serious with me. She did not seem at ease when I held her although she did not cry or seem scared either. She is very alert and watches everything.”

Weight: Malachi (2 1/2) 34.6 lbs
Ava (almost 7 months) 15.8 lbs

We are thrilled with the updates. The pictures attached showed Malachi with some hair growing in. Such a cutie. And they are both as chunky as ever! We also heard back from a family that took over a care package for us. They will be sending us a disc of pictures soon. We can't wait!!! We just want to get our hands on those babies and love on them. We're so thankful that the travelling families have been doing this for us. There are several families with court-dates tomorrow and we'll all be praying!

Piper on Adoption

A friend of mine posted this link on her blog and it was such a great video clip by John Piper regarding adoption. I just had to share it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZgNXQ2CazUg

COURT DATE!!

We have a court date! It is Monday, April 27th. It is more than 2 months out, but we trust God's timing. As my mom said, it's one more phase of our LONG labor. We started this journey approximately a year ago. It's hard to believe that much time has gone by. And I must say, the Lord has been faithful every step of the way. We are so excited that God is adding to our family, and we know it will be worth the wait. I was praying early this morning specifically for Malachi, and at the end of my prayer, cried out to the Lord regarding our court date. He drew my attention to I Sam. 15:22- "Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice". At times, it feels like I'm sacrificing quite a bit. All the time worrying, all the time planning, praying, questioning, yearning, WAITING. But I found hope in this verse. My obedience to the Lord is better than sacrifice. I may be giving up some things, but it doesn't compare to my obedience. The Lord wants me to walk in faith, and trust Him regarding these little ones. He wants us to move forward on this journey, even though we don't know what the next step holds. We must obey. That is what He cares most about. And so, we continue to wait and trust Him.

Let's see, if all goes well at our court date, we can "hope" to travel in late May. Please continue to pray with us, that our court date will be successful, that the birthmother will show up and relinquish the children, and that we can travel in May.

Here is a verse that my sweet sister shared with me earlier this week:
Isaiah 58:11
The Lord will guide you continually, and satisfy your soul in drought, and strengthen your bones; you shall be like a watered garden, and like a spring of water, whose waters do not fail.

Doesn't that verse bless you? I hope so.