Our adoption journey...and so much more!

Blogging again! Long overdue post...

2011-11-29T23:16:00.003-05:00

Have needed and wanted to share this little bit of info for so long....
For those of you who know us well or read the last blog entry, you know that we were adopting a little girl from Ethiopia with special needs when both my husband and I began to feel God saying "not now"....we stopped things and my heart was broken and full of a million emotions but I just kept trusting in God....
WELL...sometimes God asks us to do hard stuff and we never find out why (until heaven of course) but sometimes....He lets us in on the WHY so that HE GETS THE GLORY! And how glorious HE IS....
So early Feb we said Yes to adopting that sweet little "M"...but by early March heard "No she's not yours" and I didnt understand but followed what I knew God was saying...the next 4 weeks I was crushed spiritually and emotionally and so full of doubt....But on April 1st the orphan advocate (Kristi) who'd told us about her in the first place let me in on some details...
Because we had said Yes and then No, making her available again for adoption, she wrote a small blurb about her on her blog www.weloveourlucy.blogspot.com which caught the attention of a couple who didnt even know Kristi and had already signed with another agency but KNEW she was meant to be theirs!! So long story short- had we not carried her in our hearts for that month and been obedient in saying "Yes" to her and then to saying "Ok not yet"...this couple would have never heard about her and or made it through the hoops they needed to go through in order to get to their precious daughter! Even better...While I was overjoyed about that news I still wondered and prayed for her especially while hearing about hold ups and changes to the Ethiopian system...well in October baby "M" was really on my heart and low and behold if sweet Kristi didnt let me know that she had made it home and is with her forever family now!!!
I've heard it said before "Obedience always trumps worse case scenario" and its so true!!!
WHEW WEE GOD IS GOOD!
OK determining to get back at this blog thing and post pics soon! :)

¡Vamos Let

2011-07-20T08:01:00.000-04:00

Where You go, I'll go...

2011-03-10T18:21:00.002-05:00

Where you stay, I'll stay....
Sometimes God asks us to GO... to make that step of faith and follow His calling...

Sometimes God asks us to STAY knowing that He has things for us to do right where we are both internally and externally....

In the past few months I have felt God asking me to do both. I was hesitant to share all this, but I feel like God is glorified in it so I should share....

To Go: To say "yes" to a special needs adoption, a precious waiting little girl...My hubby, reluctant at first, who had once said "I definitely can't do special needs" after praying for days said "OK, Lets go ahead with her...our life is not our own". It's not about us, what makes us comfortable, it's about what God wants -
So we began the process to bring her home...check ups at the Dr, gathering documents, notarizing papers, our home study, even put her pictures around the house....
But at some point in those weeks, something shifted in me and later I would find out my hubby too...

TO STAY: It was the week after our home study had been done, we were waiting for our agency contract to arrive, but I wasn't excited. I pushed those feelings aside, praying against what I thought had to be Satan's attempts to steal my joy and instill doubt - but as I continued praying, I felt an inner nudging, a deep whisper "not yet".....HUH?!?!
After avoiding a serious talk with my hubby, the time presented itself to ask him what he had been feeling and praying, and his words were identical to what I'd felt -
So after praying and crying on the couch together, we realized it'd be wrong to keep going knowing where we both stood.
** It is so easy to get caught up in other influences around us, and what others might think, but it is GOD we must seek in ALL things! This is one of the hardest things I've ever had to do. Listening to God isn't always easy and doesn't always seem to make sense But we have peace and I am thankful.
"My Sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me" John 10:27

**2 days after our heart wrenching change in plans, we heard about the changes taking place in Ethiopia to the adoption process...Was God sparing us future devastation and further heartbreak by changing our hearts...Did God want to see if we would say "yes" in the first place??? I don't know for sure - But I do know God gives and takes away and it's all for HIS GLORY.
He is growing us and while it wasn't time yet for us, I pray it is for another family very soon! We are praying for baby "M" while she waits and all the other children waiting...
We wait in expectation...
"Wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord" Psalms 27:14
And for now in this season, God calls me to mommy the 2 boys I do have and teach them to listen to Him...and to remember that God sees anyone who does not know Him an ORPHAN...

Now just to lighten it up a bit....

Praying

2011-03-09T09:05:00.002-05:00

Oh there is so much to be praying for...right now our hearts are aching for the many children and families that will be affected by the changes taking place in Ethiopia.
The Ministry of Womens Affairs in Ethiopia -who along with the courts- have to approve adoption cases, are planning on cutting the number of cases they submit to the courts each day from around 40 to 5.....a 90% drop!! Children will be tied up in the system for years and families will be waiting for so much longer. I don't know specifics but articles say this is to investigate futher the cases that involve corruption and this will be effective March 10th.
The heartbreak and devestation this could bring makes me sick....so many of our friends are waiting for their children to get to come home - Please join me in praying for this country, the waiting children, and the waiting families.
There is so much I don't know, but I do know our GOD is in CONTROL!
I was encourage by this verse in my bible study, hope it encourages you too...
"I will contend with those who contend with you, and your children I will save"
Isaiah 49:25

R-E-A-L

2011-01-28T16:54:00.002-05:00

This is real...what my days are really made of!!

In case you haven't learned yet, our Micah has LOTS of ENERGY! LOTS!!! And our Tyler...well not so much!

So my daily challenge is to find ways for Micah to let all that energy out without hurting himself, someone else, breaking something, or finding something that he can do lots of damage to (like my father-in-laws laptop! Sorry Noni & Grand-dad!). I fail miserably often, but there are days when things go smooth - Today however was not one of them......

THis is poor cookie monster covered in baby powder...I left the bathroom open while I went to change for work and those few minutes...well you see.

Since this was the 2nd major mess of the day and wasn't too bad too clean up, I managed a picture of the mess...Micah was unavailable for a picture as you can imagine :)

WELL HAPPY FRIDAY & KEEP IT REAL! :)

*I think satan knows God is stirring around here...so I have a feeling hard-pressed times are just beginning

It's been a while!!

2011-01-26T18:19:00.002-05:00

So. since I don't have any words of wisdom or much time before something spills or somebody gets hurt I thought I'd just load a couple pictures from lately...we are doing great...just trying to stay sane in this awful weather that keeps us inside entirely too much!!

Tyler is still sweet and goofy...getting a touch of the "terrible two's" a few months shy of turning 3 - just being rotten and not wanting to share too much! BUT HE STILL HAS HIS PACI (or BeBe as he says)!! (I KNOW! I KNOW!) Oh well...he was destined for braces anyway!
Some of Tyler's quotes lately
"Mommy, Cookie (the dog) told me bubbie hit him!"
"Mommy, you take off my sock and I wuv on you" ( I take off his sock and he gives me a big hug! Ha!)

Here is our new puppy that acts more like a cat! He sits in the window and nips at us alot! Hoping it is just his puppy phase....the boys love him though and the poor dog can't get any peace! He was trying to enjoy some time in the window and here they come!

They got caught cuddling! I was so happy! Now I know they love each other...but usually they are picking on each other and taking toys or whining that the other one is bothering them! But I came in the living room and caught them hanging out like this! :)

And of course....Micah and his mischief....yeah he has discovered he can fit in the dryer! I know it was wrong to take a picture, but really, how could I not?!

And sometime in between all there I started a new craft/painting project...I painted the world on an already pretty blue glass plate from the DOLLAR STORE! I love it and it's out on our kitchen table. Here is Micah displaying it for me :)

"Let us not love with words or tongue but with ACTION and in TRUTH!" 1 John 3:18

Well, that's all for now... I hope to get better about blogging again, but cant make any promises!

God is stirring stuff up around here but not sure exactly WHAT! When I know for sure...yall will too! :)

christmas card

2010-12-06T14:55:00.001-05:00

Year In Review Christmas 5x7 folded card

Make a statement with custom Christmas cards at Shutterfly.

View the entire collection of cards.

All I really want for Christmas

2010-11-15T21:40:00.002-05:00

I remember about this time last year hearing this song for the first time...I was in my car, in a parking lot and I began sobbing uncontrollably! This time last year, I was excited for Christmas, but the ache for Micah to be home with us was getting to be ALOT. My heart was so heavy and then I heard this song about a child's wish for Christmas is a family....a family!! Not an ipod, ipad, iphone, kindle, yadda yadda yadda.....A FAMILY!

I'm more excited for Christmas this year then I have been since I was a little girl (I'm begging Matt to get the decorations out already) and I know it's because Micah is home and I get to live Christmas through his eyes and see how that Baby born so long ago in a dirty manager, transformed our lives and brought us to this place of celebrating the birth of our Savior AND celebrating His work in us and through us so that one of His children would have a family for Christmas this year and the rest of his life!!!

I hope and pray that in the hustle and bustle of this time of year, you can stop to pray about what God may be wanting to do in your life in order to give a family to a precious child out there without one...listen to this song and soak in the words....

My baby...

2010-10-30T23:48:00.003-04:00

...isn't a baby anymore!!!!!!!!!!
Can yall believe how BIG he looks????!!!

Just a little picture for all of you who have supported our adoption from the start! Your love, prayers, and yes even your money...have helped bring us to this special place!!
Thank you will never be enough.... but I hope the smile on his face at least makes you smile!!

Moments like these.....

2010-10-13T18:04:00.003-04:00

While I was cooking dinner tonight I let the boys out back to play - and I glimpsed up and saw that "kodak moment" going on and after a few pictures (of course) it got me thinking....

Moments like these....

~Make my heart swell up with joy, so full I think it could burst

~Make all the hard moments totally worth it

~Make me take a deep a breath and say "Yes God, this WAS right, You were right!"

~Make that 22 hour plane ride (twice!) seem like a breeze!

~Make our tight wallets seem like no sacrifice at all

~Make me glad we didn't charge the battery on that car!

~Make my heart continue to ache for those who don't have parents loving them all day and brothers to push them around in the backyard

~Make me keep asking God how He wants to use us more

Fall, Thanksgiving, and Pumpkin Patch

2010-10-03T08:45:00.005-04:00

"Give thanks to the Lord, call on his name; make known among the nations what He has done"
Psalms 105:1

How very thankful we are. Each day we are reminded of all we have been given, while some days are harder than others when you have 2 around the same rowdy age, those days never trump the amount of thanksgiving and praise we have for God who has brought to this place in our lives....

Big smiles and laughter daily,

(Tyler thoroughly enjoyed the 3 laps around a pin on this big pony, which was $4!!)

Lots of loves and hugs,

The time we get to spend all together is never as long or as often as I would like, so when we do have a day without anything planned we try to really make the most of it! The pumpkin patch was a blast and the boys really enjoyed it and we didn't even have to spend alot of money! They just love to be loved....though daddy did splurge and buy $7 pumpkins! (They were the biggest and the brightest...I think) haha.

Fall of course gets us all thinking about Thanksgiving, but this year thanksgiving has reigned in our hearts even more so than usual! How thankful we are to have Micah home with us this year, last year my heart was aching for him to be home (and I didn't even know him yet!) and this year he is HERE! He will be at the big table chowing down on mashed potatoes and stuffing!! What a beautiful site it will be!

But even more than that is what the verse above says "make known among the nations what He has done." We are realizing more and more this is what we are called to do, make God's goodness known all around us and to all the nations.... so while I hope people see our adoption story of Micah and are moved to action, I hope even more that people see we are moved to action because we have been adopted by God, by the death and resurrection of Jesus, and made children of God, heirs with JESUS to the Kingdom of God!

So now... we pray about how God wants to use us to make the nations know all He has done....!

Long Overdue....

2010-10-01T21:37:00.003-04:00

A new post is long overdue and I have had this idea for a photo-shoot with Micah since we came home and 5 months later, I got the urge at the spur of the moment today....I put Micah in just his diaper and let him play with the large Ethiopian flag we got at the market while we were there....He was on the move but was able to get a few cute ones of the rowdy little thing!

ENJOY...

Goofy Boys

2010-08-24T21:56:00.001-04:00

They make me smile....hope this makes you smile too!

To Micah's Ethiopia Mommy

2010-08-11T21:17:00.003-04:00

It is easy to get caught up in Micah Tirfe being home and everything going so smooth, that I just forget about all that happened in order for him to get here. Yes it feels like he has been here forever, but the truth is - he hasn't and a woman's pain has been our gain....Adoption is hard when you get past the surface, when you think about all the things that happened for one family to experience such joy. I don't want to pretend that he just magically landed here - I don't want to belittle all that his Birth Mother went through and sacrificed for him to have the life he has now - I never met her but I pray I get to one day. She has pictures of us and we have pictures of her, but that's about it - So in an attempt to get my feelings out and on paper, I wrote this poem for her....I pray it helps other mother's out there make sense of their feelings and make the decision never to forget the women who chose life for their children, our children and made the ultimate sacrifice for them.

"For Demekech"

~ I can't help but wonder how you must be feeling inside tonight
~Are you sad and lonely, just longing to hold your baby tight?

~My heart aches for you and at times it feels hard to breathe
~Especially when I think about the day you had to leave

~You acted out of love, to save your baby from pain he would endure
~And we'll honor you, by loving him-that you can know for sure

~There's moments when he looks at me and I see you in his face
~Oh how I pray God comforts you and you feel covered by His grace

~I have so many questions and I'm certain one day he will too
~Yet, even if they never get answered, we'll always cherish you

~There is so many things I want you to know, so many things to say
~It's my prayer that God gives me the chance to share it all with you one day

~I can never repay you for the love you gave him from the start
~But I will always carry gratitude for your sacrifice in my heart

~I pray you never feel guilty for the choice you had to make
~For only you could know what was best for him and all that was at stake

~I long for you to know he's happy, healthy, loved, and really doing very well
~To explain the precious gift he is to us - there's just not enough words to tell

~One day I hope to find you, to see you face to face
~To convey our love for you and the son we share, in a long embrace

One last thing I want to share that I haven't yet --- Micah's Ethiopian name of course is Tirfe (tear-fey) - well we had Micah picked out before we knew his Ethiopian name - and then when we heard it, it just fit "Micah Tirfe". Micah is a biblical name and means "profit of God" -- Well when we are in Ethiopia we find out that his birth mom was asked why he was given the name Tirfe and she replied "I liked the name - it means "my profit"....pretty sweet huh?! Only God could line that up... amazing

My little Trooper!

2010-08-11T16:36:00.003-04:00

Micah had surgery on Monday morning...not just any surgery, surgery on his "little boy parts" and they had to make incisions in his abdomen AND scrotum! (OUCH!!) But he is running (kinda) around and keeping up with Tyler now just 2 days after as if nothing really happened.
It was really hard that first night and it actually felt like we had taken 2 steps back as far as bonding because he would look at us with this blank stare...but I'm now thinking/hoping it was just the medicine because once we got home he totally turned back into the little boy he had blossomed into! Thanks be to God for everything going smooth!!!
Enjoy the pics of his new haircut!

Hidden Treasure...

2010-08-07T21:50:00.004-04:00

I found an awesome antique-looking trunk/chest at a yard sale today and I LOVE it!! It was a bargain and I have wanted one for a long time! But before I brought it in the house to fill it with quilts...I had to display my biggest treasures in my new treasure chest!!

Pictures of Thursday in Ethiopia

2010-08-06T21:53:00.003-04:00

Day 6 Ethiopia - Thursday

2010-08-06T21:12:00.002-04:00

Oh my goodness - there is just so much to digest from today and it's only 2pm.
Matt started his morning not feeling well, but went out with Jodi Stivers to meet an Ethiopian man whom Jodi had met at a men's retreat with his church a while back, for breakfast and a short tour of the capital city here. Micah Tirfe woke up early so he and I hung out in the room and once he was asleep in the little sling I had him in around 9:15am we went downstairs to meet everybody before going to the Bezetha (sp?) Children's Home Association at 10 - which is where Micah T was before arriving at HH in December. The children's home was actually alot better than I had expected it to be. The children were all sitting at tables and smiled and posed for us as we took pictures of them. We got to take a tour and see the baby room, school age boy and girls rooms and there was even a "special class" as they labeled it for children who needed more closer care. It was amazing and heart breaking. The women and men who work there are unbelievable. They have no washer or dryer and wash all those children's clothes (around 70-80 children) by hand. As we finished the tour we came across an Ethiopian man talking to the Stivers and soon learned that he was the founder of the orphanage! He was so kind and spoke of the Lord and praised him for the families that those children, who were once at this home he'd founded, had now. He asked us to keep praying for them and talk about how him and 2 other staff members from Hannah's hope had just visited the villages where our children were from in southern Ethiopia about a week ago. He too spoke of the miracle of each of their lives. He told us about their need for a washer and dryer and we took up a donation to try and help them get started on saving for them. I also learned that Almaz works with that orphanage or home because the man who runs it is so very trustworthy. She is very picky about what orphanages she works with - Sabrina, another mom on the trip, prompted me to ask Samuel (the man who founded the home) about the scars on Micah's eyes and so I did...
He said in the place where they are from, if they think something is wrong with their eyes (or anything for that matter), they will cut them because they believe the shedding of blood brings healing. So as a little baby his eye lids were cut in 3 places on each eye - We had seen these scars in pictures and speculated about what they may be from, but actually hearing it made me really get choked up - not just for how horrible the thought of him being cut, also it was happiness because I knew what happened now, - I will now have an answer for him - though it's not a pretty one, its an answer to a question he will have one day - He is going to have so many questions one day and I actually have an answer for one of them now.
I have gone through the papers Almaz gave us yesterday and they are priceless - they piece together so much of his little life. He has been through so much, yet is so happy and full of life.

Matt began puking not too long after we got back from visiting the children's home and Micah T went down for a nap so they are sleeping as I write and try to take all this in.
Alot of the families leave tonight - Micah T's 2 favorite boys are in that group too. It will be sad to see them all leave, but hopefully we will meet up again with the Stivers soon.
We still have all of Friday and Saturday and then board our 1st plane of 4 about 3 am Sunday morning. I hope we will soak in the next 2 days with Micah here, just us 3, with no real agenda and no where to go. I'm praying they lead to even more bonding.
I like it here, but I just can't wait to be home with Tyler too!!
Later in the evening.....

This afternoon was rough - but in the early evening, Tate, the mom of the little girl who has been in the hospital all week asked me and another dad on the trip who is a doctor to come look at her little girl who they had discharged from the hospital- to see what we thought about putting her on the looong plane ride home. She looked good and we told them to go - otherwise they wouldn't be able to get a flight home for another 3-4 more weeks!
I showed her how to do a neb treatment and a nebulizer machine that Almaz thought had been blown (due to the outlet/voltage issues) began to work again - We blew one up while trying to show her how to use it and then we tried the one already thought to be broken as a last resort and Almaz said a quick prayer out loud as we turned it on and it was this tiny, huge miracle to hear the loud humming come from the machine!! We were all amazed at God's provision! This helped me get out of the slump I was in this afternoon and see how good I have it!
Going to bed! Can't wait to see Tyler!!

Day 5 in Ethiopia ~ Wed

2010-07-14T14:38:00.003-04:00

We got back from our last trip to Hannah's Hope about an hour ago, Here is the whole crew - they were an absolutely AMAZING group of people! Love you all!

The last trip to HH was emotional. We went to meet Almaz and get the children's passports and she opened up her heart to us, sharing that she wished there was no need for adoption in Ethiopia- but the fact is, there is and that she is not there working all the time just to give families children - she is there working because children need families! I was very impressed with her - she is stern & organized but so soft and tender too

Her heart for all the children is amazing.

We took another tour of HH, this time all out - went everywhere!

Love this painting as you walk in the "baby building".

We saw Micah Tirfe's room and bed one last time and I even was able to sneak in a little time with Andrea's little man (who is home now! Check them out at http://www.babeofmyheart.com/)

He was so cute and smiling at their family picture!

Some more special mothers tried to kiss Micah T. and he turned into my chest again - I couldn't believe he was already feeling that safe and comfortable with me. But we were able to give out plenty of hugs and kisses to all those wonderful women and men too! Micah was taken such good care of there - I can't say enough good things about HH!

We got back to the hotel about 2:30 and Micah Tirfe fell asleep on my chest :) Him and Matt then napped for over 3 hours!

I had had 2 too many Ethiopian espresso's at the bar that morning so there was no nap in sight for me! So I skyped with family and tried to send Andrea the pictures of her little man.

I miss Tyler soooo much and can not wait to see him!!

After the nap we got ready to go out for the cultural dinner. It was a lot of fun but all the people and noise kinda made Micah act nervous and crazy! He'd be happy one minute then reaching out to strangers the next, then back to us then back to other people in our group - he was all over the place! But over all it was a great time!

Check out the food platter that 3-4 different families shared! YUMMY! ha!

Matt chowed down and so did Micah!

This is Micah with Danny, one of the drivers - he is wonderfuL!

And here is Was dancing with one of the performers! It was sooo cute!

It's a good thing they took that long nap earlier b/c we didn't make it back to the hotel until after 10pm and then there was more family to skype with and Tyler too of course!

I am surprised at how well Micah expresses his needs - It has not been hard to tell when he is sleepy or hungry - It is so funny b/c we packed all this baby food and bottles and he won't have anything to do with it!

He sure does love Ethiopian food but had his first taste of french fries today, and oh my he loved them!

I am so thankful for all the AGCI staff here and their obvious love for the children. Even strangers here love on all the children. It is really sweet.

Tomorrow we will go to the orphanage where Micah was at before going to HH - I'm praying it's not scary for him and am bummed that the Stiver's leave tomorrow!

Day 4 Tuesday

2010-07-11T23:04:00.004-04:00

Today was another jam-packed day! First though - Micah Tirfe slept ALL night long! From 9:30 last night to 7 this morning! Matt walked the floor with him again until he fell asleep in his arms.

This is what we woke up to...

We began at 9am going back to Hannah's hope, this time to drop the children off to play while we went shopping. (It is against the law to have adoptive parents out on the streets with the children they are adopting - well that's what we were told) I was uneasy about leaving him and hated it, but Almaz the director assured me he'd be fine -

He was fine for the most part, but cried when we left - though we saw them take him to his "special mother" and he stopped as we were pulling out onto the street. As we drove away we saw him get down and play with the other children.

Shopping was crazy! Negotiating prices is not my thing and the beggars were breaking my heart- It was definitly hard but I am so glad I went. We got alot of thing for the boys and our family. Then they took us all out to eat lunch together...

Once we got back to HH to pick up Micah Tirfe he had just woke up from a nap and was a tad hesitant to come to me but then I got out the goldfish (yeah bribary) and he reached his little arms up to me.

We saw the bed were he had been sleeping and hugged and kissed one of his main special mothers - it was good!

As we were leaving, another special mother came to hug and kiss on him and actually turned into my chest - that felt good that he was already feeling safe enough to turn to me.

He is so shy and serious, yet loudy and playful. He is wonderful.

We also were given a CD of pictures of him with his birthmother after the court appointment back in Feb. I haven't gotten the chance to sit a look at them yet - waiting for a quiet moment!

After hanging out in the hotel room for a while, Shannon (http://www.shannonforthisseason.blogspot.com/) called to see if we wanted to meet them in a big conference room at the basement of the hotel to let the kids run around - So we did and the hotel staff was nice enough to let us eat dinner down there and we a had a mini birthday party for Micah and let him blow out a candle on a little debbie cake! :) His first birthday was 2 days before we made it to him so it was nice to celebrate with our new friends and his old friends!

We skyped again with Tyler once we got back to the room and the boys showed each other their bellies! It was sooo cute and they played pee-pye too :)

We are now showered and heading to bed! Tomorrow we go back to Hannah's Hope to get final paperwork and go out for the cultural dinner!

2010-07-09T12:00:00.000-04:00

Still here!

2010-07-09T11:50:00.002-04:00

It just hit me the other day, that I had not even finished writing about our week in Ethiopia!!!
We have been home almost 3 months now!! Sorry to have been so slow and seemingly dropped out of the blogging world...which I pretty much did!
It's funny because we started this blog to help me make use of my time and keep me from going crazy during our wait in the early phases of this process, and now here I am chasing 2 boys around the house while I try to type this inbetween messes and boo-boo's!
Time?? What is that and who has it?!
By the time they crash at night, all I want to do is spend a few quiet minutes with Matt and relax!!!
Soon and very soon, I hope to finish the week of our trip and give highlights of our last few months home!!

Day 3 - Monday "gotcha day" and embassy appointment

2010-05-17T21:06:00.005-04:00

4-19-10
Well, what a day!! SO much was crammed into it, just one night - a few hours actually after landing here in Ethiopia! Usually we would have arrived Sat night and met our son on Sunday with plenty of time to play with him before scooping him up, and then have the US embassy appointment on Monday...but, today because because we all arrived late due to the volcanic ash - we met our son over just a few minutes before scooping him up and then heading right to the embassy!
Starting at 6:10am Matt and I woke up late- we needed to be fed and ready to go over the final paperwork at 6:30 am! So our day started in a rush to get ready, then we met up with other families at breakfast and went to the lower level of the hotel to go over the final paperwork with Almaz. This was when she told us we'd be picking up our children quickly - no time to play and ease into some kind of transition - just pick them up and get back on the bus to make it for the US embassy appointment at 9:00am.
On the way to Hannah's Hope, Almaz looks back at us and says "Tirfe will have a hard time with this" - So we prayed right then for his little heart to connect with ours...
When we arrived, it was crazy - we waited for parents of older children to get off the bus first and meet them and so while we waited to be called off the bus, we stretched out the windows to get our first glimpses of the REAL him!! Once they told us to get off I tried to blow bubbles and show him a ball quickly, but then Almaz just kinda put him in my arms and shooed us back on the bus! He began to cry when I took him this sad little scared cry that only intensified when we got on the bus that came along with these big crocodile tears. I just held him close to my chest - I'm sure he heard my heart beating out of my chest and I began to hum various songs - about the third song "Jesus loves the little children", he stopped crying and for a little while just layed there with his head on my chest, gripping my shirt, still as he could be.
Not long after he sat up and we tried a few things to get him to warm up and when we played "pee-pye" we got our first smile! It was amazing! Still on the road to the embassy, I was able to give Tirfe (Micah) to Matt and Matt held him and Micah petted his whiskers and Matt held him through the whole time at the embassy appointment. The appointment wasn't as scary as I felt like it was going to be and once we were done, we were playing with Micah as we waited for others and Matt got Micah to laugh! Then on the way back to the hotel, he fell asleep in Matt's arms.
He woke up when we got to the hotel and was nervous again when we got to the room, but we played with Leggos on the bed, fed him goldfish and Cheerios and let him play with our cell phone. After that he was ready to go back to sleep and I was able to get him to lay his head on my chest and we all took a nap - he slept on my for almost 2 hours - it was precious time!
Once he woke up we "skyped" with mom and Pam and most of the family and he just really began warming up! He blew kisses at the computer, waved and laughed some more! He'd get down and run around the room and run right back to us :) It was a great afternoon!
About dinner time we went to the restaurant at the hotel to get a menu and ran into our newest best friends who were from KY too! He invited us up to their room to let the boys play and so we ordered our dinner through room service and all hung out together. Their son is 4 and Micah loves him and always lights up when he sees him - they just played and chased each other laughed - It was so great because Micah would get down and play and always run back to us! We couldn't believe how quickly he knew he was ours :)
Once we got back to the room it was going on 9pm - we tried a bath, but it scared him, so we gave him a baby wipe bath, put new pj's on him and Matt walked him around the room until he fell asleep - He is in the middle of our bed sleeping as I write! God is soooo good! Tomorrow we will get to go spend time at HH and go shopping at a local market!

(Tuesday coming soon!)

Filling out the remaining paperwork EARLY Monday morning

My super excited/nervous face as we are on the way to get our boy!!

First glimpses of Micah from the window of the bus

Our first meeting- I joked that in my mind, there was music playing and birds chirping and the whole nine yards...but actually it was super quick, I was fumbling for anything to get him to warm up to us and yes he cried and cried hard, but not for very long, just minutes really!

Holding him close during our first minutes together as mommy and son...

Matt packing him up the stairs of the hotel to our room after the embassy appointment...

Playing with daddy and his Legos

And then the smiles and laughter began to come naturally!!

Day 2 Sunday 4-18-10

2010-05-11T21:48:00.005-04:00

Here we are with ALL our luggage in the Ethiopian airport!!

Getting ready to get our travel visa.....
~

Sunday evening 8:10pm (Ethiopia time) ... 3:10am back home
We have arrived in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia!!!!

(Now at the room....)

The plane ride seemed sooo long but God gave us the strength to endure it!

After getting off the plane, we had to go right to the visa line so we'd have a travel visa. It wasn't as scary as I thought it would be, plus we had so many families who had no clue just like us, with us! Then the sweet Browns who got through the visa line before most of us, gathered our luggage for us and we went out to meet Johannas, the AGCI coordinator - all 7 of 8 families on our trip were on our flight so we got to go through it all together! We are in room 103, it is nice and has Internet, which is of most importance so we can skype with Tyler!!

Off to go unpack and sleep it is now almost midnight here and we have to be up and ready to meet the woman who runs it all over here at 6:30 in the morning!! Our boy will be in our arms in a matter of hours!!!

The water heater in the bathroom :)

Our nice big bed...this was definitely not "roughing it"

Can you see our air conditioner?? Yep, that fan :) It was cool at night though, so it was actually just fine!! So sad that we were comfy in our hotel room and less than a block away, people were living on the streets...oh more to come....

Day 1 of travel 4-17-10

2010-05-11T20:49:00.007-04:00

Better late than never...Slowly I hope to type out what I journaled during our trip to Ethiopia to bring Micah home...
4-17-10 Sat. Morning

Well we are a little behind! We were supposed to leave for Detroit then on to Amsterdam and to Ethiopia yesterday, BUT a volcano erupted in Iceland and changed everything! The ashes from the volcano caused problems in the sky and cancelled our flights along with many others and closed several airports! After a full Friday afternoon that was suppose to be spent flying, but was instead spent at my kitchen table on the phone, crying, while trying to find new tickets...we finally did - by the grace of God!
We were originally told we wouldn't get to Ethiopia before Tues morning, causing us to get to Micah 2 days later than planned and make us miss the originally scheduled embassy appointment for Monday morning. However, our travel agent tried one more last thing as we were letting that new plan sink in - and called us back with a new option that would get us there by Sunday night, flying from Indianapolis to DC then to Ethiopia with a small stop in Rome....WE WERE THRILLED!
Many other families are flying into DC also and we will meet them there for the big long flight to Ethiopia. (see picture of some of the group below)
I'm not sure how our week will go now, but I do know we will be holding Micah on Monday!The time is finally here- we are on our way!!
The hardest part so far was leaving Tyler last night!! We had to get up at 4 am to make it to Indianapolis on time, so Tyler stayed the night with Angela (my sister in law) as originally planned. We heard from her this morning that he had a good night and I know he will have a fun week. I just can't wait until we are all home and together!

Sat. evening 4-17-10 8:20pm
We are finally on the plane that will take us to Micah Tirfe!!! 15 hours on this plane is ahead of us, but he is worth every minute!!

- (unknown time)
We are now in Italy!!! Still on the same plane that we boarded in DC but stopped for more fuel and soon we will be on our way! 5 1/2 more hours until we are in Ethiopia!! Praising God!!

This is the tiny plane from IN to DC

Us in the IN airport with our luggage...

Me clinging to my scripture book, homemade by none other than Contagious Cristie! (www.contagiouscrisite.blogspot.com) It kept me calm on that scary, tiny plane!

At the DC airport now, admiring the plane that will take us to our boy!!

Only 2 couples from our entire travel group aren't in this picture and only 1 couple wasn't at the airport! It was a blast to meet everybody before we were worn out from that looooong plane ride!!

This was a site for sore eyes when we sat down on the very plane that I wasn't sure we'd ever get on!!

(more of our trip coming soon!)

Home!

2010-05-03T10:48:00.003-04:00

We've been home one whole week today! Crazy to think about, because it seems like it has always been like this!

Tyler and Micah are getting along really good, sure they fight for the same toy and get rough when they're sleepy, but nothing at all out of the ordinary!

Micah seems to be attaching to us good too, daddy is his favorite for sure though! :)

My days are filled to the brim it seems, but there are more and more moments where they are off playing together quietly and I am slowly getting more laundry and dishes done!

Each day brings somthing new and I am constantly laughing at them!

I hope to soon blog about each day of our trip in Ethiopia, God showed us so much and I want to share it all!

Hello from Ethiopia!!!

2010-04-24T07:20:00.002-04:00

Introducing Micah Tirfe Walter!! This was taken the day we got to pick him up!! I can't believe how well he has done with us, the first 10-15 minutes he wasn't so sure, but soon after he was smiling, laughing, and now at the end of the week he runs to us and giggles and seems to really understand that we are his parents!!

Sorry this post is so late, but the Internet just got to working really good here.

Our flight is at 4am Sunday morning (east Africa time) - with the 7 hour time change we will arrive at our last airport in Indianapolis around 10:30pm then a 3 hour drive home. Please pray our way home is safe and Micah does well...it is 4 planes all together and around 19 hours of travel time not counting the drive home for a boy who has never been in a car seat!

God has been so good to us and I am so thankful for all of you who have prayed and followed this journey, though our time in Africa is coming to an end, our journey is JUST BEGINNING!!

volcanos, virus, vrooom!

2010-04-16T08:07:00.003-04:00

Oh My! What a day/night this has been and is going to be!

First we get word last night that a volcano that erupted in Iceland is causing major ash issues and so planes can't fly or it messes up the engines! So alot of flights are cancelled! We checked on ours and right now we are still not cancelled, but other families have been and so we just don't know how the week will play out. We are supposed to be there Sat night and holding our son by Sun afternoon, but with delays, there is just no way of knowing what will happen! Right now we will just start our journey as planned! I feel like this is Satan's way of trying to steal our joy and allow anxiety to creep in but I refuse to let it happen!!

On top of that, Matt has been up vomiting all night!! Since 1 am to 6 30 this morning! He is asleep now and I'm just praying he feels much better when he wakes up! I don't do flights very well so I need him to be recovered so he can help me! :)

Our first flight is this afternoon around 3pm to Detroit, then to Amsterdam, then to Ethiopia
I hope be hearing the VRROOOM of the plane engine that will take us to our son very soon!!!

Thank you all for praying for us during this wild journey that is really just beginning!!

Getting ready

2010-04-13T16:18:00.002-04:00

When I was packing some things today, I couldn't help but try on the baby carrier one last time! There will be a sweet little boy in there in just 5 days!!!!!!!!!!

As the time gets closer to leave, it is definitely getting me more torn up when I think about not being with Tyler for a whole week. He will be having a blast with both sets of his grandparents and will probably barely realize we're gone, but we will miss him sooooo much!!!

I made him a little goodie bag for everyday that we are gone, just filled with something little each day...balls, bubbles, cars, stickers, and for the day we leave when he will stay the night with his 3 cousins he is getting 4 little water guns! :) Aunt LaLa and Uncle G will love me for that one :)

My favorite day is the Friday we come home, Matt picked out a little plane for both the boys and Tyler will get his that day so he'll know we are on our way home with his little brother!! Can't Wait!!

Tyler's countdown

2010-04-13T16:12:00.004-04:00

We started this countdown chain for Tyler about 2 weeks ago and it strung across the majority of the fireplace...but now it takes up less than half of it with only 10 days until we are all together!! (5 days until we are holding him) We are trying to talk about "brother" as much as possible and Tyler understands as much as his little 2 year old mind can, which at this point, may be even more than we understand!! :)

Slacking!

2010-04-11T17:26:00.002-04:00

I have been slacking on blogging due to everything else going on around here! But after my last shift at work tonight (before I am off for maternity leave) I will do some posts I have been wanting to do! And hopefully we will get to update our blog in Ethiopia!!!
By the way....only 7 days until we are holding our sweet new son!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Tenative travel dates!!!

2010-03-23T21:56:00.003-04:00

We should be holding our sweet boy on April 18th!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Just 2 days after he turns one! We should actually be on the plane to Ethiopia ON his birthday. Looks like he will get his first birthday party in Ethiopia!
AMAZING!

I want to write more but am too tired! Will have to do more later!!

Mini-Micah update

2010-03-21T19:16:00.001-04:00

My sweet friend Cristie (who was #1 when we were #2 waiting for a referral, and ended up sharing the same referral day) is in Ethiopia right now and got to see our little Micah!
Here is the little bit of info we got today from her (she knows I will need a 5 page report when she returns) but this is wonderful for now!

"Micah was the first child we saw when we entered the gate! He was in Almaz arms. He played outside with all the toddlers with soccer balls. What a doll! Very affectionate, loves all the kids. He's tiny too! What an awesome day! What a special place! Can't wait to share EVERYTHING with you! xxoo"

Awesome huh!? Though we weren't able to travel together like we'd hoped to, God made CERTAIN that she met our little man and would be able to bless us with an update! :) How precious that he, out of so many children, was the ONE child that the director Almaz chose to pack around for a little while! :) God has smiled on us once again! I am so thankful for Cristie and now she will be able to prepare me VERY well for that wild/amazing week we have ahead of us!
Hopefully we will hear this week when we will be traveling!

In case you haven't heard....

2010-03-18T00:01:00.003-04:00

WE PASSED COURT!!! MICAH IS LEGALLY/OFFICIALLY OURS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

It's been a long journey to this moment, but all worth it and out of love from our Heavenly Father!

We don't know about travel yet but would love to be holding him soon....very soon!

There is said to be an embassy appointment on April 5th, meaning we'd be holding him on Easter sunday, should we get to go that week, though that would be quick and unlikely, I know our God is ABLE! :)

On another note, Cristie (#1) is heading to Ethiopia tomorrow! Or today by now I guess :) And she will be holding her sweet Evan on Sunday!! Praise God!

The sweet cherry on top is she will get to see Micah, hug him and tell him that his PARENTS are coming!!!

Thank you Lord!!!!!!!

And thank you to ALL of those who are continuing to follow our journey and pray along with us!

ALMOST OFFICIAL

2010-03-15T14:50:00.003-04:00

Ok so hears what we heard today from our agency....

the MOWA letter we have been desperately waiting for had still not arrived but MOWA said that it had been sent....SO they are not rescheduling us for another week or 2 (Praise God for the mercy he poured out on us through that judge) because the staff over there apparently feels good about it arriving tomorrow.
Once that letter is there, the judge can make it official and say Micah is ours!!!!
We also heard we won't fall under the new laws where families must travel twice before bringing their child home!!!
We are almost official now! Praying that the letter IS THERE TOMORROW and we are OFFICIAL and we will be bringing sweet Micah home next month!!!!

Also my sweet new BFF Cristie (#1 www.contagiouscristie.blogspot.com) made me a book of many wonderful principals/characteristics of our God with verses to back them up and I will finish this post with the one that stuck out the most to me last night and today

*I must not view His love through my circumstances, but instead view my circumstances through the lens of His unconditional love.*
"Praise be to God, who has not rejected my prayer or withheld his love from me!"
Psalms 66:20

Round 3!

2010-03-14T23:41:00.003-04:00

Our 3rd court date is tomorrow! Well actually tonight while we sleep since Ethiopia is 7 or 8 hours ahead of us!
We are praying, along with 2 other AGCI families who are having the same hold up as us, that the MOWA letter is there, we are approved, and will be traveling soon with no further delays!
I will post as soon as I hear somthing...the first court date we heard that day, the second court date we heard news the next day, but hopefully tomorrow we will hear news and it will be amazing news!!!
Trusting in the God who works out everything for our good and His glory!

Devastated

2010-03-09T13:12:00.003-05:00

We did not pass court again today...the same reason as last time, the MOWA letter did not make it. Other families with this same court date are having the same problem, I do not understand and we weren't given any answers as to why...it plain stinks and stinks bad!
Our new court date is in just a week though, the 15th, so I am asking for prayers all day everyday! Each day without him is a day too long!
On top of that bad news, the US embassy in Ethiopia are implementing more changes to how they will investigate every adoption case further after the court appointment, which could lead to another delay....pure devastation.
Micah turns 1 on the 16th of April and we wanted so bad to be holding him before then, plus Tyler is 2 on the 29th of April so we wanted to all be together for those events, but it just may not happen now....Oh I am so sad.
BUT I do KNOW that God acts only out of LOVE, He is LOVE so he can only act in LOVE, so while it doesn't feel like it now, He is loving us and He loves Micah and one day we will all be together. PLease pray for peace and strength for us as we continue on this bumpy road....and for this next court date to be a success
Third times a charm right!? RIGHT??!!!! RIGHT???!!!! :)

No news yet!

2010-03-08T16:35:00.002-05:00

Well...still no news from our agency!
I am taking that to mean that they haven't recieved any news from Ethiopia, our case worker has been with us the whole way and I know she would have called already if she knew anything.
I am at total peace though, beyond peace really, kind of like a little excitment for somthing I can't explain!
All I can do is hope that the delay is working in our favor (I have seen God turn so many delays and detours into glorious outcomes!)....like perhaps they are waiting until the official court decree is done and sent to the US embassy, which would mean we'd be ready to travel and SOON I hope! :)
Only God knows and for now that's all I know! :)
I will keep everyone updated! Thanks for all your prayers and please keep them up!

ROUND 2!

2010-03-06T21:49:00.002-05:00

Well I am asking any who read this to pray for our second court date, this Sunday night! We are longing for good news on Monday that Micah is officially ours!!
We wanted to get to travel for the March 22nd embassy appointment but it is very unlikely now, I am not limiting my God, just letting you know what we have been told by our agency. While you're praying, you coud pray that we bust any deadlines in paperwork and that all our documents are sent to where they need to be very quickly and we actually are holding our Micah on March 21st....I am living moment by moment in the peace that my God is bigger than any deadline, bigger than anything my heart throws at me, and that HE ULTIMATELY KNOWS EVERYTHING AND ACTS ONLY OUT OF HIS LOVE FOR US!
He loves Micah MORE than we do (though it seems impossible!) and wants him home with us as much as we do, I take rest in this!
Thank you for joining us in prayer as we fight any delays Satan throws our way to keep us from glorifying God through this adoption, a real life testimony to the adoption of US by our HEAVENLY FATHER!
To HIM be the GLORY!

Rescheduled :(

2010-02-22T14:42:00.002-05:00

Well this isn't the post I'd hoped to be writing, but we didn't pass court! Instead we are rescheduled for March 8th , exactly 2 weeks from now.
I know God is showing me that I must mean what I say when I say "I trust Him" and I do...it isn't always easy, but I do trust Him and I know He can turn what seems like detours in my "perfect plan" into GLORIOUS OUTCOMES for HIS PERFECT PLAN. He has shown me this time and time again and so I rest in His grace. He has carried us this far and will continue to.

I am reminded of the story mentioned on Sunday of Shadrack, Meshack, and Abindago (didn't look up spelling!)....when asked if they would serve the idol before them, they said "No, God will save us, and EVEN IF HE DOESN'T save us, we still won't serve your idol!"

So I am challenged and growing and learning to say YES to God...EVEN if things don't go the way I want them to, I will praise Him and thank Him for acting out of Love and "working all things together for the good of those who love Him."

I am reminded of how Tyler acts lately when getting his diaper changed...he wants to run and throw a fit when he knows he needs to be changed and cleaned, how will I respond when God wants to change and clean me? The diaper changing process is sooo much smoother when he submits and lets me clean him up instead of fighting me....I hope I no longer run from God but submit and allow Him to change and clean me!
(Maybe that's not the most glorious example but hey, that's my life right now!) :)

Tomorrow Night!

2010-02-20T21:41:00.002-05:00

Tomorrow Night is THE Night!!
So our court date is Monday the 22nd, but because Ethiopia is about 8 hours ahead of us, then tomorrow night while we're sleeping a judge will be going over all our information and Micah's information and asking questions and then deciding if we are officially, legally, Micah's PARENTS!
To really think about it all is too much for me, all I can do is put it in the hands of the Ultimate Judge and pray He moves the hearts of all those involved so we are named Micah's parents officially and we can begin planning to travel!!!
So if you are reading this, I ask you to pray tonight on Micah's behalf, our behalf, for his birth mom, for the judge and all other persons involved so that we will hear we PASS COURT and can move forward. Should we not pass this time, we would be rescheduled for another date and hope to pass again...but I can't think about that! We may get to know on Monday the results, but it could take a few days.

Lord,
Only you know the outcome on Monday, I give you my anxiety and lay my desires at your feet asking you to help me trust You through it all. I ask that all the documents arrive, no papers are lost, that Micah's birth mom makes it safely and is at peace, that all questions are answered correctly and that when it is all done, we hear that we are legally Micah's parents. You know we have been his parents for a long time now in our hearts and we ask that now it will be made official! Thank you God for that sweet little boy, and though he has no idea what will be going on and how it will all affect him, I pray you prepare his little heart for all the overwhelming love that is headed his way!!!

Mark your calendars!!!!

2010-02-09T21:56:00.003-05:00

We have a court date!! February 22nd!! Whooo!

I guess you could say we're excited :) OF COURSE WE ARE!
We really didn't wait THAT long for the news of our court date, but it just felt that way since we had to wait for lab results before we could move forward in the process.
Should all go smoothly, and nothing changes (which we all know isn't always the case) then we could be traveling for the March 22nd embassy appointment. Meaning.....
Our precious Micah would be in our arms the day before! March 21st could actually be our "gotcha day"! I still can't believe we have come to this point....the waiting just might end one day! I can see the light! :)
So we are asking for continued prayer over this process, lots of things have to go right for a court appointment to "pass" meaning Micah is LEGALLY our son...
*approval from the Ministry of Women's Affairs has to have arrived at court by our appointment
*approval from Central Authority (similar to a child protection agency who makes sure all is right with Micah's relinquishment) has to have arrived by our appointment
*Micah's birth mom has to make it there for the appointment and it is said to be about an 8 hour bus ride for her to the court
*His birth mom has to answer questions correctly and have correct ID
~Once all this takes place and we are given the news that we "PASSED" we start travel plans!

WHEW! ALOT TO PRAY ABOUT! I know those of you who read this will earnestly pray on sweet Micah's behalf and my heart is overjoyed to know that we serve the ULTIMATE JUDGE who makes all things right!!
And in case you are wondering, Cristie (you know my new BFF #1 whose son is in the same room as our in Ethiopia) has a new court date on Feb. 17th...just 4 days before ours! We aren't sure about how that will all play out in our travel plans, but I ask you pray for their family to pass their court date too! Should we get to travel together it will be amazing...should they get to go before us, she will have extra luggage full of hugs and kisses for special delivery to our Micah! :)
Our God acts only out of His never ending, unlimited LOVE FOR US!
Thank you God!

This time last year...

2010-02-09T00:08:00.002-05:00

I thought I would share with you the journal entry I have read over and over again during this past year...it is has helped me through hard days and encouraged me when I needed it. It is a prayer I wrote to God almost exactly a year ago. Since right now I have had to fight the "poor me's" over not yet having a court date so we can be one step closer to our Micah, I thought I needed a reminder at how far God has brought us in just a year's time and maybe it will encourage others and above else bring glory to my God...

Jan 28, 2009
God,
I want so badly to hear YOUR voice...to hear you say clearly to me that my desire to adopt is from you, not something I have selfishly dreamed up to make myself happy or attempt to fill some void that I may have. I ask Lord that you will make clear to me your desires. I know that Matt is not at the same point as I am on this..he is unsure about it and doesn't understand. I can not ask him to bring another baby into our lives unless he is clearly with me on doing so. So I pray Lord that is it be your desire for us to adopt a child, that Matt will let me know. I know his faith is in You and You are powerful and your mighty Spirit can ignite passions in someone with a fierce blaze. So I pray that will be what happens...that Matt will be drawn to you and when he is where he can hear you and feel you, that you will make it known to him that we are to adopt.
I long for it all to happen soon, very soon, but I know that if I try to run things it will get all messed up, so please guide me Lord, speak to me so I can hear what you want me to do, let me know it is word from You and not myself.
As I felt when I learned I was pregnant with Tyler...feeling the power of having something growing inside me, feeling like I would do anything for this child inside my womb, like I had been given a priceless treasure to carry for a while, is how I feel now. I feel like a child is growing in my heart. He or she may not even be born physically yet, but in my heart there is a baby growing and I will do anything to get to it, to bring it safely into our home. Please guide me Lord, you know my heart and my soul, please search them and make them ready for what You have in store. May this baby in my heart cause me to glorify you and lead others to You. For now I will continue to trust in you and that You will let me know what is next and when the time is right, may I speak to Matt about these things at Your ordained moments. God you know my desires, may they be in accord with Your desires! For all this is in the name of Jesus Christ,
Amen!"

Isn't that special!!??
Things that stick out to me...
~First -I kept asking God to make sure it was HIS desire and not MINE! Well, if I had know that adoption was such a refelction of God's adoption of us, I would have known that no desire that wonderful could have ever been born from my sinful self...I knew all along it was God's desire, I was just scared to admit that for fear of really HAVING TO OBEY!!
~Second - around that same time frame, I began small and frequent, not high emotional conversations with my husband about these desires and I didn't know it at the time but he began to pray for God to change his heart and give him a desire for adoption! How amazing and what a lesson...how often do I ask God to CHANGE MY HEART?! I so often find myself asking God to change HIS plans and make them into what I want, but my precious husband knew where to start and began asking God to change him into what He wanted him to be instead of praying "God please get Angie off my back about this stuff! She is crazy!" :)
~Third - When I began praying about our future son...I know now that he in fact wasn't born yet, actually his birth mom was about in the stage of her pregnancy when she should have been feeling him kicking and growing alot more (5-6 months along) it is no surprise that this is the time I really began to feel him growing and "kicking" in my heart! He was born in April of 2009 and in May of 2009 we began the process not knowing it would be January of 2010 before we knew he was!

This has been a sweet reminder as to how much God has held us in His hands during this whole process. I hope it is also an encouragement to any other moms or dads who feel that tug to adopt or do something that seems crazy and are waiting on the heart's of their spouses to feel the way they do...you can trust that God will move in them at the perfect time.
I am convicted for having the "poor me" attitude! I serve an AMAZING GOD who works out everything for His will and our good, what is there to be doubtful about!?
I can't wait for a year from now...Only God knows what kind of crazy post I will have to blog about! :)

praying for news!

2010-01-31T22:30:00.006-05:00

We are praying for news about a court date! We are longing to be in the next step! It is so crazy how you wait and wait for that referral call...only to wait some more!! It is blissful torture!
Even Tyler is praying...tonight as I was getting ready to put him to bed, his little head that was laying on my shoulder, popped up as I said "Let's say our prayers"...and he said "CICAH!" (which is how he says Micah) It's like he was reminding me to pray for him! :) Too sweet.
We are hoping to hear early this week that our court date is 2 weeks away or less! That seems crazy, but I know our God is bigger than any paperwork trail or international goverment court system! He knows we desire to hold our son and play with him and snuggle with him and hopefully laugh and smile with him! If our court date is in the next 2 weeks, we have a good chance at going to Ethiopia by early March, which is my hope!
My new BFF Cristie (you know #1) has her court date for their Evan on this Wed. night (our time)...so we are praying for them and hope the timing works out so get to meet our sweet boys on the same day since we learned about them on the same day!
I love knowing that my hope is in God...I can rely on Him and don't need to worry about all the many, little things that need to happen in order for our court date to be successful and travel to happen soon....He knows our desires and longs to be gracious to us! Thank you Lord! :D
We will post news as soon as we get it!!!

answered prayers...

2010-01-22T17:50:00.003-05:00

So we were waiting for Micah's last HIV test to come back...they called us about him on Jan 5th and with each passing day I grew more and more discouraged when no news would come. We couldn't move forward until we knew the results because lots of changes to our paperwork would have to be done if it had come back positive. Our case worker was wonderful and kept us informed alot. First their wasn't enough blood samples to run the test...then the lab ran out of supplies and got backed up! During those 2 weeks God taught me a hard lesson but a necessary one:

Only HE can satisfy!

No lab result, no speedy process, no hourly updates...non of that can satisfy me, there will always be worldly things that I long for...but if my satisfaction is not in HIM ALONE...then I will never truly know HIM!

So by the morning of Jan 20th....I was wiped out. I began to sob to God on my way home from work that morning..."God I know only you can satisfy me, only YOU... and I trust your timing...as hard as is it right now...it is sooo hard...sooo hard...every day that passes with no news is one less day that he's not home with us"...it was a long hard pill to swallow but I was able to say "I really trust you Lord and I am satisfied with whatever and whenever the news comes"....to say it and REALLY believe it was wonderful though hard.

I went to bed at 9am feeling refreshed...by 11; 15am our case worker called...Micah results were in and his test was negative!!!!

I sprang out of bed and asked her to alert the Ethiopia staff, the press, whoever needed to know, that we were READY TO MOVE FORWARD!!!!!!
Later that same day, Cristie (the #1 family who we received our referral with) got the news that they had a court date set already! It is set for Feb 4th!!! That is so close!!! I am so excited for them and it gives us hope that we too might get a court date a few days after that! We actually found out that all the families (about 6) who received referrals around the time we did have already been given dates...so it shouldn't be long until we do too!!
It is hard not to be frustrated that our wait was extended, because we too could already be assigned a court date, but I know God has his perfect reasons and will give us the court date we need! He is bigger than any hold up or detour and "works out everything in conformity to the purpose of his will!" (Eph 1:11)

Our prayer is that we will hear of a court date soon, that it will be by Feb 8th so we can make it into the early March travel group and on the perfect day for everything that has to happen in order for us to pass the first time. (Birth mom has to be present with correct identification, documents from other gov. agencies have to be at the court by that date too).
God is in control and I am praying against any of Satan's attempts to cause us fear or anxiety....
Thank you all for praying with us too!!!
Hope to have more updates and answered prayers to share soon!!
To God be the glory!!

The big brother :)

2010-01-14T14:37:00.002-05:00

I haven't posted many pictures lately but here you go....
Enjoy :)

Fighting Impatience

2010-01-14T14:06:00.002-05:00

So I feel like I am waiting for the referral call all over again...but this time, thank the Lord, I have a sweet face to stare at as I wait.
It is no suprise to those who know me that I am IMPATIENT! I get irritated easily over things that mess up my "flow"(whatever that may be! ha!). So what does our God, who has a great sense of humor I might add, ask me to do? ADOPT! One of the things in this life that requires more patience than anything else I know of! He planted that desire in me years ago, and this last year really reved it up and here we are following in obedience (though it can be painful) smack dab in the adoption "process". We waited what seemed like eternity for our BIG CALL...it came just last week and I was READY! Ready to get the paper work signed, notarized, shipped, make phone calls, print pictures, bring it on! But what now has the Lord asked us to do???
WAIT SOME MORE!!! HOLY COW!!!! So....here we are....waiting for the last of Micah's blood tests to come back before we can even send off the paperwork I was so eager to finish and make it official!

I am re-reading "Future Grace" by John Piper, but skipped back a few chapters to one that I really needed to re-read again!!
Faith in Future Grace vs. Impatience
Lots of you who read this are waiting yourselves and so I hope this encourages you as it does me and reminds you of how good our God is!

"~Impatience is a form of unbelief. It's what we begin to feel when we start to doubt the wisdom of God's timing or the goodness of God's guidance....
~Patience is the capacity to "wait and endure" without murmuring and disillusionment- to wait in the unplanned place and endure the unplanned pace ...
~Patience is the evidence of an inner strength. Impatient people are weak, and therefore dependent on external supports- like schedules that go just right and circumstances that support their fragile hearts. Their outcomes of oaths and threats and harsh criticisms of the culprits who crossed their plans do not sound weak. But that noise is all a camouflage of weakness. Patience demands tremendous inner strength...
~the glorious might of God (referred to in Colossi ans 1:11) that we need to see and trust is the power of God to turn all our detours and obstacles into glorious outcomes...
~The key to patience is faith in the future grace of God's "glorious might" to transform all our interruptions into rewards."

So this may be a detour and interruption in my mind, but by faith in my God, I know that this wait will only bring about a glorious outcome!
Thank you God for strengthening us as we wait and for bringing about a glorious outcome, even when we can't see it...my faith is in You!

Prayer request

2010-01-12T17:47:00.002-05:00

So it has been a full week since our big day last week when we got to see the sweet face of our Micah T.
The sad thing is, we haven't been able to officially say "yes, we want to be his parents!...yes, get our paperwork movin'! yes! yes! yes!" Though that is EXACTLY how I feel!!
See, he has one last blood test to be done....and our agency wants us to have ALL the information possible before we make it official. WELL the lab is out of the supplies they need to run this test so here we are waiting again!
I am asking all of you who care enough to even look at our little family's blog, to please pray that the lab gets their supplies, runs the test, and gets the results to our agency QUICK! The mommy in me wants to fly over there, scoop him up and say "who cares about labs....he is ours!!"
It doesn't quite work that way though, so I am clinging to my God and resting in his Truth....

"In him we were also chosen, having been predestined according to the plan of him WHO WORKS OUT EVERYTHING IN CONFORMITY WITH THE PURPOSE OF HIS WILL, in order that we, who were the first to hope in Christ, might be for the PRAISE OF HIS GLORY"
Ephesians 1:11-12

I know in the big scheme of things, God is working this out...conforming it to the purpose of His will and it will all be for His glory!!!
Maybe if it weren't for this hold up, we would be given a court date where his birth mom couldn't make it or other important papers wouldn't have had time to arrive....

Yes Lord I trust you, please strengthen us as we wait. May the blood work come at the perfect time and with the perfect results!!!

waiting to exhale....

2010-01-08T22:42:00.004-05:00

These pictures aren't even recent but they describe how I feel the best...plus Tyler is just super cute in them!

Since receiving our referral on Tuesday, we have been in a whirlwind of phone calls with our agency, paperwork, and printing Micah's pictures so they can be all over the house!

I think about him and his precious birth mom (who gave him life and us the chance to love him and provide for him and most importantly share with him our love of Jesus) all the time!

I am picturing how much messier this house will be, how much more wet the bathroom floor will be at bath time and just how much louder it will be with a two year old plus a one year old by the time we are home! It will be crazy bliss!

We are almost ready to turn in everything to make our referral acceptance official and then we wait for news of a court date...then the court date...hopefully pass first time...wait for travel dates...then get on a plane and get our sweet Micah!! While I'm on cloud nine, we are really just holding our breath while the rest of this process unfolds....waiting to exhale :)

I can't thank God enough for allowing me and Cristie C. to go through this together...it has definitely made this whole thing even more wonderful!

Cristie~ I hope to be on the plane heading home with you and with our boys asleep in our arms looking at each other with huge smiles on our faces....still high! ;)

Our REFERRAL story...

2010-01-05T21:40:00.014-05:00

Here is our day in pictures...below I explain it all........

Posing with Cristie after we laugh and cry over sharing this day together...

At Cristie's rushing out the door after our call came....Cristie you held that pose the whole time!

On the phone with our agency learning about our new son, are we excited or what!?

Daddy is in AWE!

Wishing I could kiss the real thing!!

WOW! So today the call ACTUALLY came!!!! WHAT A DAY!!!!

I will try to start from the beginning....

So many of you know that the family who was #1 lives here in town and me and her (Cristie) started chatting and giving each other support over this looooong wait until we saw our sweet son's faces.....WELL today we had planned for me and Tyler to go to her house and actually meet for the first time - imagine my surprise when she calls me at 1:30pm to say "we got our call!!" So I still went over at 3pm and got to jump up and down screaming and rejoicing at seeing the pictures of her precious son.

I knew then I was now #1!! I hoped that our call would come in the next few days........

When a friend of Cristie's came over to see her baby too, we went back to the computer to drool over his precious face and my phone rings....

Now remember we were also expecting to get a call from our agency with our monthly update so I look at Cristie and say "it's the agency!!! BUT it's probably just our update"

I
WAS
WRONG!!!!

Our case manager starts with small talk asking about our Christmas... and then lays it on me "Well I have good news!!"

Me: "AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!"

This woman who I just met now sees me jumping up and down and screaming in her house like a wild monkey! It was amazing!

I tell our case worker that I am not far from home and my husband is there so I will call her right back .....I then scramble for my things and another one of Cristie's friends shows up and takes a few pictures for me and we are off to the house - only a few blocks away!!!!!

A friend of Matt's had stopped by to see him and so we left him to keep Tyler occupied while we took the phone call!

He is the most adorable little 9 month old and I can just tell he will fit in perfectly here! Him and Tyler will be so close!

We can't share his Ethiopian name which we are keeping as his middle name, but we will name him Micah! His initials will be M.T.W. just like his daddy's! :)

Family poured into our house to see our newest edition and later we got to go back to Cristie's so she could see our son.....God is amazing isn't he!?

Next we have to complete some referral paperwork which will take a few days...then we turn that in and our paperwork goes to Ethiopia. Then we wait to hear about a court hearing that will take place in Ethiopia and declare Micah officially ours....after that court date is when we wait to hear about the Embassy appointment where we get the clearance to leave the country with him and that is when we pick him up!!! Hopefully by March we will be holding him, but that may be pushing it!! I am praying we will get him before he turns one and Tyler turns two!!! April will be one big month of celebration!!!!

Now I am off to process this crazy, wonderful, amazing day!

Lamentations Ch 3 and mini-update

2010-01-04T21:11:00.002-05:00

"Because of the Lord's great love we are not consumed, for his compassions NEVER FAIL. They are new every morning; GREAT is your FAITHFULNESS. I say to myself, "The Lord is my portion; therefore I will wait for him".
Lamentations 3: 22-24

Our pastor read a part of this on Sunday morning and oh what sweet words to my soul they are!
This wait until we see our son has been hard, and though each day I pray "please let today be the day we see his face," God isn't answering my prayer directly, but He is giving us the grace to endure the wait. And since I know God is love, then I know all that He does comes out of his love and so though this wait is agonizing at times, I choose to believe that it is for our best and only out of love. (He IS love so how can he NOT act out of love!?) So I am not consumed by the enemies attempts to cause me to doubt this whole process though he has tried many times to lead me to do so. I cling to this verse knowing God has compassion on me and knows what it is to wait for his Son to return to Him... and his compassion will never fail! His faithfulness is new every morning! It is the Lord who gives me my portion....He is everything I need and will always give me everything I need....so here I am with the grace to endure the wait...and I will wait for him.

The only news I really have on the adoption, is that the transition home Hannah's Hope where our future son will be until we can get to him has moved to the new location and they seemed settled in last week! I hope this means that if our son is not already there, then they are now ready and able to take him in and many other children waiting for their families. Between the holidays, the transition home's move and the back up from the court closure in the fall, things have been soooo slow, but I hope now everyone is reved up and ready to get more babies home!!! Praying that this week my new sweet friend Cristie, who is #1 and just a few blocks away recieves her phone call and then we are next! We also should be getting our monthly update from our case manager in a day or two...I will have to keep myself from thinking it is our referral call when I see her number come up on the phone!!

And for your enjoyment, a picture of my little cowboy.........

( I have been playing with my camera and finally got my first decent picture on the completely manual setting!)

James Chapter 1 -persevering

2009-12-31T01:46:00.004-05:00

"2Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, 3because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. 4Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. 5If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him. 6But when he asks, he must believe and not doubt, because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. 7That man should not think he will receive anything from the Lord; 8he is a double-minded man, unstable in all he does. "

Oh how I needed to read this Truth today (or I guess yesterday now)!
While this waiting may not seem like a trial to some....on some days it certainly can be. I have honestly not been thinking about it too much with the holidays and Tyler being a non-stop monkey, but these words today really made me see where I stand in God's eyes.
I shouldn't be pouting or disappointed or DOUBTING....God is in control and this time is helping my faith to develop perseverance so one day I will be complete before my God, and He's the reason we are doing this...so HE is what ultimately matters!"

God's word is amazing....this verse really came alive to me when we were facing a whole different kind of trial. When I was 35 weeks pregnant, my twin brother's wife was 22 weeks pregnant, and my other sister-in-law had just given birth to twin girls who were fighting great at their premature age....excitement was everywhere! Then my brother and his wife call and in a matter of 24 hours they went from thinking something was wrong, being ambulanced to U of L, given hope that the baby may make it, to having to give birth to their perfectly formed, but just too small 22 week old son...it was the most devastating, heart wrenching, faith testing thing myself or family has ever and hopefully will ever experience.
The next few days after I was left with my huge belly and bouncing baby inside me feeling so guilty for the life I still had growing inside....my brother and his wife had moved to a tiny town to help grow a church in the youth and children deptartmet and where living their lives for God...so in my warped mind they shouldn't have to go through trials because they were pleasing God... but God's word doesn't say "if you live for me you will have no trouble or worries"
It says
"WHEN you face trials...." not IF.
God knows we will face trials in this broken world, but His mercies are new every morning, and weeping may last for the night but joy comes in the morning!
My brother and his wife, a year and 2 weeks after loosing their son, gave birth to a healthy, happy, spunky, little girl who is most definitely a joy!

While this trial of waiting seems long and harder some days more than others....I know Joy will come in the morning...the perfect morning God has picked for us...and until then, I will keep diving into the Truth in hopes of one day being complete before my God...yeah for perseverance!

James Chapter 1

2009-12-31T01:46:00.000-05:00

little update...

2009-12-20T23:34:00.002-05:00

Ok...I haven't posted in a while but there hasn't been much time with Christmas coming up sooo fast...which I am still not done shopping!!! But I wanted to give a little adoption update for those of you who check in from time to time to see whats going on....
I THOUGHT since the week of Thanksgiving that we were at #1 (unofficially that is) see our agency sends out updates every 2 weeks that tells how many referrals were made...and I have been stalking those very closely and we should be at #1...but apparently one of the referrals must have fallen through or somthing. This whole time I have only connected with families either way ahead of us in the process or behind us in the process...never knowing anyone who was with-in 1-2 spots of us on the list...until tonight!!
The family who really is #1 ( making us FOR SURE #2) joined our agency's yahoo group and shared how she is also waiting at #1 and waiting for her little boy referral....Well I was bummed for all of 5 seconds because.....they live in our city!!!!!!! This whole time I have not known but ONE family who was even in our state and now I "cyber-meet" the family who is 1 spot ahead of us and they live near us....God is amazing! It is exciting to meet people close to you on the list because more than likely you will be traveling together and meeting your children at the same time and all that. But we not only will be doing that....but also have the oppertunity to let our boys stay connected!!! They may be in the same crib right now while half way around the world, their mama's are in the same city!!! Can you belive that!? I am pumped! :D
So while it is now extreamly likely that our call won't come until after Christmas or even the new year...I am OK with it because I feel like I can relax more. What amazing proof that God is weaving all this together....he knows our son, knows when we will know him, and when we will bring him home!
So I am going to enjoy this time basking in the all-surpassing knowledge of our God and when the call comes....well the call comes....and the whole world will know about it!!! :)
Sorry to have gotten anyone's hopes up since me thinking we were #1 may have made other families think they were a spot higher than they were....but I know I had it right according to information given to us, I just was out of the loop somewhere! Either way, referrals will be coming soon I know it...and in the perfect time for all those precious children and their waiting forever families!!
Merry Christmas!

Our Christmas Picture

2009-12-11T09:30:00.002-05:00

Here's our family picture this year...I love the chaos in trying to get that great picture with our little man and oh the joy when we finally get one that's good! :)
I can't help but feel someone is missing....when he does arrive, there will be more family pictures taken than anyone would care to see!!!
Merry Christmas!

Oh this wait....

2009-12-11T09:20:00.002-05:00

is really starting to get to me! Each day is a rollar coaster ride....one minute I'm fine, "Yes God, we will wait, You are in control"....the next minute...."Please let it be today God!!" I am in constant surrender....which I am sure is right where God wants me :) I have always been "a control freak" as my sweet husband would say :) And now here I am thrusted in to one of the most UN-controlable happenings one could go through in life! God is funny like that!
I want to post this link for all the waiting families
http://www.cmt.ca/Artist/TheWilsons
This family just adopted a little girl, they are artists who are now on a show on CMT about their life as they struggle to make is big and raise their family too. They wrote this song 'Mine all Mine' once you go to the link, on the right hand side, half way down you will see the song so you can hear it...it is wonderful!
We are heading to the big town of Gaitlinburg TN today! This is the 3rd year now my husband's Dad's side of the family (very large) all get together in a big 12 room cabin for the weekend and celebrate Christmas the whole time! There's lots of stuff to do in the cabin itself but it is just nice to have a place we can all fit and be together in one place, so it will be a good distraction.
I must say I would LOVE for our agency to call before the day is up!! Friday is there paperwork day...so they won't be returning phone calls or emails, and I have heard families getting calls on Fridays....so I hope it's today and we can have another thing to celebrate this weekend!!
Have a wonderful weekend!!

God must be up to somthing!

2009-12-09T00:30:00.003-05:00

I can't help but wonder...."What in the world are you up to God?" :)
My hubby has been home alot off and on the past 2 weeks...making for many days that seemed like the perfect time to get our awaited phone call...BUT no call. We even heard news that the transition home will be moving to a bigger and better place the end of this month, so I was afraid they'd hold off on referrals until after the move and the new year! A sweet friend informed me she heard other wise from her case worker though, who said they were confident that referrals would be made this month...so yeah! I am hopeful! God must really have a special and amazing moment waiting for us...We are praying that he is being comforted during so many transtions and testing and that his papers arrive in order and all together so they will be ready to be given to us!! (soon!) I am not really as anxious as I once was...after 2 weeks that dwindles :) but am finally at that place were I can just say ahhh it will happen when God wants it to!
God gave me this verse today
"Be joyful ALWAYS. Pray CONTINUALLY. Give THANKS in ALL circumstances for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus" 1 Thess.
So...it's not just when I FEEL joyful and not when I NEED somthing that I should pray and I should be THANKFUL even while I WAIT!!!! Thank you God....you are teaching me so much!

My sweet Ty

2009-12-07T16:57:00.004-05:00

So I am really getting into the Christmas spirit now! The past couple of years I haven't felt that special spark you feel at this time of year...but this year I am and I love it! Tyler is at the most precious age and he is so curious and it will be so fun to see him with gifts and santa and all that good stuff! My aunt got him this adorable outfit so we started posing for pictures early! :)
I have felt guilty about being so consumed with hearing news about our future son that I felt like I was missing what is right in front of me!...this wonderful cutie!!! I love him so much and he will be my only child for just a little while longer...so while I am aching to see our new son and start the process to getting him home with us...I will cherish Tyler more and enjoy the individual attention I am able to give him!

Still...

2009-12-02T20:38:00.003-05:00

Hangin' in there!
I keep hearing over and over again...
"Be still and know that I am God"
Psalm 46:10

Since Monday....

2009-11-25T10:10:00.003-05:00

WE ARE NUMBER ONE!

Now we wait some more...with even more anticipation knowing we really are next....our baby boy is out there...we are here, ready and waiting for that phone to ring!

Oh and happy Thanksgiving!...I am sure tomorrow will be too busy to blog! Hopefully though, I will have a HUGE reason to make a new post :)

I can wait...

2009-11-17T13:49:00.002-05:00

WHEW I have to get this out...
Last night I was convicted in the most precious way,
I was reading a blog post from another waiting family (Thanks Amy) and she had wrote about her child's birth mom, it was sweet and heart wrenching.
While I pray for our future son's birth mom several times a day and have cried when thinking of her many different times, I have not REALLY GENUINELY been thinking of her lately and what she may be feeling. I have been so caught up in waiting for the call about our son that I have simply just thought only of us and our excitement...when on the other side of the world she is experiencing pain and sorrow. We don't have to know specifics to know that she is in a horrible situation if she has to, out of the deepest love one can have, give her child over to another. I can not fully grasp this, but I am forever thankful that she carried him and loves him and is acting out of love for his behalf.
So right now she may be having her final days with him...I can see her nursing him and wishing things were different. (One sweet day there will be no more poverty, illness, orphans, or sin). She may be sick and with the only strength she has left, is holding him in her frail arms for small precious moments. I no longer am wishing the days away, praying for the phone to ring, but instead praying that our son's birth mom is getting the most precious time she can have with her son. God please comfort her and let her know and feel the love You have for her and her son and the love we have for her and her son.
Should you read this, please pray this with me.
Our call will come when it's suppose to, until then, I CAN WAIT!

My little man enjoying the weather

2009-11-16T20:58:00.003-05:00

These are a few pictures from the impromptu photo shoot Ty inspired me to do today! He was playing in the leaves and looking so cute I had to grab my camera! :)

Oh how I cherish that crinkle over his nose when he smiles real big!

2009-11-16T20:00:00.002-05:00

I read this on a blog I love to follow of this amazing, young, powerful girl...this is just a portion from some of the most wonderful things she writes, which all stem from her life in Uganda. You don't have to know her story to understand this piece. You can follow her at www.kissesfromkatie.blogspot.com

We are but a vapor. I think we know that we could die tomorrow, or worse that our children could, but do we really KNOW it? You know, LIVE as if we know in our hearts that we are just a breath, that we will wither and fade like the grass and the flowers... I know there are days when I don't. I am not meaning to be morbid, simply realistic. Because I know that if I lived like I really KNEW this truth, if I treated everyone as if they were David and might be taken tomorrow, I would love better. I would hug my children tighter and hold them longer. I would tell people thank you more often and I would tell God thank you more often. I am thankful that as I care for sick children often, this is something I am reminded of often, and I pray that it would change the way I life my life.Francis Chan wrote, "How we live our days, is how we live our lives." I had to read it several times as I let it soak in. Because it is true. So often we find ourselves waiting for a specific moment, a specific call, something special. For what? How we spend our days... that will be our LIFE. Because today could be it. If Jesus came back today and said, "Let's go!" would we be ready? Would we be doing what we want to be doing when we meet Jesus? People say to me often, "You are so lucky that you found your calling, that you know your purpose in life." This statement boggles my mind. I AM so blessed to live the life that I do. But it isn't rocket science. God did NOT part the sky and shout out to me, "Katie! Serve my people." I read it in His word. You can too. We can all see as plain as day that Jesus says the number one commandment is to love the Lord and love your neighbor. I happened to move to Uganda and love those neighbors, but that is not the point. As believers, we should already KNOW our calling; it is to love the Lord and love our neighbors by caring for them in whatever broken state they are in. When He said that "the poor will always be among us" I don't think he meant that as an excuse not to worry about it but as a reminder that there is ALWAYS a neighbor, no matter where we are, in a worse condition than we are. I can only believe that God created us to make this world a little better. That he designed us in love to show that love to others. I just don't know what everyone is waiting for.

Romans 15:13

2009-11-15T15:19:00.004-05:00

May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.

I am so thankful for this verse God lead me to today...and it stirs up with great understanding the prayer in my heart...

"God my hope IS in YOU, and I pray that you will fill us with joy and peace as we trust in you and your perfect timing to reveal the new son you have chosen for us. YOU know him, YOU know where he is, YOU know how he is, and YOU know when we will know all this too, and that Lord is enough. May our hope overflow by the power of the Holy Spirit...my hope is in YOU!"

Getting ready....

2009-11-14T17:33:00.003-05:00

Even Tyler is doing his part to get ready for his new "brudder".
He started to give the baby doll the bottle all on his own, it was sooo cute! I have slowly started cleaning up the extra room that will become Tyler's "big boy room" and am going through clothes and saving all the clothes that are too small for Tyler now....It's nice because I don't have to be sad that Tyler has outgrown so many clothes since we will get to use them...soon hopefully!
I am preparing myself to not get our referral until after the first group of families to travel get back home since the courts reopened, which they won't be back until the end of Novemeber. So by early December surely we will know who our new son will be! God knows how badly I long to see his face before Thanksgiving though...so we will see! :D Untill then I am doing my best to stay busy...the house has been kept clean more lately then ever before! :)
I might not post much until the call just because not much is changing, but oh when the call comes....I will be posting like crazy!!

WAITING!!

2009-11-11T19:01:00.002-05:00

OK so we know we are now unofficially #2!!! This is so exciting but it's like that last month of pregnancy that goes by sooo slow! I am enjoying where we are right now but I just want to see our sweet boy's face! The call about him could come any day now, but there are alot of children at the transition home where he will be, due to court closures over there, so they aren't able to take in as many orphans as normal until more families are able to come and pick their children up to go to their forever home... which I just found out that there is a group of families going the 2nd to last week of November to bring their children home...SO definitely by the 1st week of December we should know who he is..............BUT I WANT THE CALL TO COME NOW!!!
Oh I am doing my best to be patient...my impatience isn't out of unbelief in God but out of pure anxious excitement! The whole world will know when the call about our boy comes!!
Please keep praying for his health and happiness and comfort as he experiences so many new things soon and for his birthmother as she faces somthing no one should have to face.
Until then....we'll be WAITING!

Our adoption agency called today....

2009-11-04T17:35:00.003-05:00

But it wasn't THE CALL!
That's Ok though, I know God's timing is perfect! So anyway she was calling to give us our monthly update and tell us our new number....
She (Christy) said we were officially (this is important to remeber) #4! In case you are wondering...I posted we were #3 a little over a week ago (unofficially). This is because when we were at #5, in the Bi-weekly email update they send out it showed there had been 2 boy referrals during those last 2 week....so yes were really were #3 just UNOFFICIALLY.
The difference is that the families who have recieved a referral or have been matched with child, haven't yet sent in the contracts/fees/etc that make it an OFFICIAL acceptance (which is how they base the official waiting list numbers). Theres more....
Christy also said "families ahead of you are currently in the refferal process so that number will be changing very soon" ~ I don't remember if she said "all the families...a few of the families or some of the families" but I definitley heard familieS (PLURAL) so...(with the help of my smart sister-in-law) that means we should AT LEAST BE AT #2 unofficially ( if we're at #4 that if more than ONE family -like she said- is in the proccess or has received a referral then we're surely at #2) ...which means we could get our call any day now!
Am I over analyzing??? :) I can't help it! This is our SON I am talking about not just some number!!!!
OH yeah and at the end of the call she said, "I hope to be calling you again very soon!"
And I replied..."OK! We'll be ready!!!"

This weekend!...

2009-11-01T21:25:00.014-05:00

Saturday we FINALLY got our USCIS (immigration) approval!!! "It has been determined that we are able to furnish proper care to an orphan"!! WHOO!! We applied back in July so I was getting nervous since it was taking so long...but now we are definitly ready to recieve our referral! All of our ducks are starting to really be in a row! :)

Then it was time for Trick or Treating! Our little man was a doggy or "woof-woof" as he says :)
And oh he is sooo cute! He loved the candy!!!!!

Here he is all hyped up from the candy once we got home...I think he went to bed at 11...normally he is down by 8:30 or 9! He was sooo wired it was hilarious!

Then Sunday (today) we had a luncheon at church that was headed up by some sweet sweet ladies in our church. One of them has seen us literally grow up in the church so it was a full circle thing for her. The other, has only known us a short time but it was her idea to do this for us...we are so blessed! This was in the bulletin...

I thought it would be good for people to see pictures and facts about Ethiopia since so many people are still unaware of the orphan crisis so I made some posters to put up...

This next sign was outside the door with the donation box. I thought the box was such a great idea and worked perfectly! (these ladies had it all under control!)

These wonderful women (and many more) made this luncheon possible!!! During church I was actually figuring numbers up in my head thinking "well if we max out our credit card (our very first one that we opened for the adoption), along with the money we have saved so far...we ABSOLUTELY would need $800 just to make the referral possible "Please God let us raise $800"...travel would have to wait but we would have time to come up with that....well lets just say that God TRIPLED my request!!! He truely is the the God "who is able to do immeasurably more than all we could ask or imagine" (Ephesians 3:20)

Thanks to these ladies and our wonderful church family for letting God's grace be shown to us through them!!! TO GOD BE THE GLORY!!!

So behind!

2009-11-01T21:03:00.008-05:00

Well I am so behind on "blogging" that I am not really sure where to start!

I guess we have just been busy doing the day to day thing and by the time bedtime rolls around...I am ready to collapse, not blog! But anyway alot has been going on....Tyler's been sick but is finally better, I wrecked my car on Monday on the way to his Dr appointment...it was crazy and deserves a whole post by itself but I will just say that God was completely with us the whole time! I had to write everything down when I got home because over and over during that time frame there was just one thing after another where I was just like "wow God is right here with me"...we swerved really bad and I lost control on a busy road yet no other car was involved, the police were very nice, played with Tyler and even called to verify my insurance since the only paper I had was expired...we came inches away from a light pole, but instead took out a sign that collapsed when I hit it...a back window was blown out but not a speck of glass was anywhere near Tyler...moments after I got home both my brother and my cousin called to offer me their cars for as long as I needed it.......I know there is more but thats the highlights. God protected us completely and while Satan may be trying to discourage us through this, we won't let him. Actually God is turning it out for our good as always, someone is already interested in buying the wrecked thing (our insurance won't cover enough for us to fix it) and so we will have more money to put towards the adoption... here are some pictures of the damage :)

Besides that...I can not get this baby I have never met off of my mind! I kept thinking of Tyler's ultrasound pictures the other day and how exciting it was to get those first glimpses of him and how I can't wait to get our first glimpses of this baby ~growing not in my womb, but in my heart...so I tried to paint our newest son his own "ultrasound image".....

We are also getting ready for the big call...when we will actually get our first glimpse at this little boy God has hand-picked for us, so the video camera is sitting on the mini-tripod in the kitchen, just waiting to catch us on the phone when we get "the call"!!! This week we should recieve our "number call" but I am hoping that the number call will actually be the call about our little boy! I can't wait!!!

Here is some pictures of Tyler putting away change in the piggy bank we have for his little brother! I thought it was soo cute to see his little hands "feeding the piggy" so I had to get a picture of it! I was cheering every time he put change in...saying "yeah Brother!!" He loved it!

Coffee + Adoption Fundraiser = perfect!

2009-10-26T12:27:00.002-04:00

http://www.justlovecoffee.com/TheWalters

Please check out our online coffee store!! A wonderful man who has also adopted, started this great way of helping families raise money for their adoptions! $5 of every bag of coffee sold will be given directly to us each month! 100 bags = $500!! That seems so easy!!! I have tried the coffee myself and it is much better than the off brand I buy! :D It is great actually, I tried the Ethiopian brew of course :) but there is many others to choose from.
I know we may seem a little over the top with asking for money and fundraising, but I hope and pray others aren't annoyed or overwhelmed by our efforts to bring home a sweet little boy....$20,000 is alot of money most people pay that for a car over a course of 5 years...we are expected to come up with that in just months! All I know is "where God guides, He provides!" When this sweet baby boy is brought home I will know and I hope everyone who has witnessed this journey will know that it was all by the work and power of our ALMIGHTY GOD!
TO HIM BE THE GLORY!!

We just might be......

2009-10-24T22:09:00.002-04:00

#3!!
I am blown away at the thought of being #3!....10 spots ago we started this waitlist thing the first week of August....and at this rate, we just might know who our baby will be in the first week of November! I can't say for sure we are #3 but, I knew of the family at #1 getting their referral last week...but then we got our bi-weekly update from our agency in an email and it said there had been 2 boy referrals....so that would put us at #3! I don't know any of the families ahead of us now so I am totally clueless for at least 2 weeks. We should get a phone call with our official number the first week of Novemeber, but at the least by Friday the 6th we will get another email update....or our big call could come... only God knows what will come first!

I am glad to be home tonight with our little boy who has croupe...he is coughing and acting pitiful. I thought I had to work but got called off! Yeah! Last night we didn't get much sleep so I need the rest tonight! We already had Tyler in a steamy bathroom so hopefully he will rest well.

Getting to be with my sick little boy makes me think and pray for an AGCI family who recently learned their baby boy (only a few weeks old and still in Ethiopia) is sick and in the hospital there with pneumonia...they just learned about him a few weeks ago and now just heard he is sick...I can't imagine how it must feel to not get to be with him knowing he is sick! We are praying for her and her little baby and I ask you to do the same...you can check out their story at
www.knowingnobounds.blogspot.com

well I better get some rest in case the croupe monster rears its ugly head again tonight!!

2009-10-24T21:49:00.002-04:00

I was tagged! Cute little Whitney (mommy to baby boy in Ethiopia see Pratterbox.blogspot.com) tagged me to do this! The "tag" challenge was to respond to each of the following questions with a one-word answer, then tag 6 other bloggers to do the same. I am horrible at these things but here goes!....

1. Where is your cell phone? Table
2. Your hair? Flat
3. Your mother? Pure
4. Your father? goofy
5. Your favorite food? fries
6. Your dream last night? Didn't
7. Your favorite drink? Diet Pepsi
8. Your dream/goal? Heaven
9. What room are you in? Living
10. Your hobby? Photography
11. Your fear? Cancer
12. Where do you want to be in 6 years? Here
13. Where were you last night? Home
14. Something that you aren’t? patient
15. Muffins? chocolate chip
16. Wish list item? Babyboy
17. Where did you grow up? Here - Lexington
18. Last thing you did? Baked
19. What are you wearing? Scrubs ( might have to go in to work :( )
20. Your TV? Football (Go Cats!)
21. Your pets? Huskey
22. Friends? wonderful
23. Your life? Amazing
24. Your mood? curious
25. Missing someone? the little boy I am waiting for! (couldn't help it had to use more than 1 word)
26. Vehicle? tired
27. Something you’re not wearing? socks
28. Your favorite store? Walmart
29. Your favorite color? Pink
30. When was the last time you laughed? morning
31. Last time you cried? afternoon
32. Your best friend? hubby
33. One place that I go to over and over? Bed
34. One person who emails me regularly? Mom
35. Favorite place to eat? moms and mother-in-laws......good and free!!

so I didn't exactly keep it to one word! But I am just proud I got it done!

about to go to bed...but then...

2009-10-19T23:57:00.002-04:00

I checked our adoption agency Listserv "chat/forum like thingy" and..............

the couple at #1 got thier referral!!!!!!!! So happy for them!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Which also means..........................

WE ARE NOW NUMBER 4!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
NUMBER 4!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
WHOA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
So excited!!
I have recieved so much good news lately it is just crazy....God is so amazing, I am so glad I can rest in him and his perfectness!!!!
Can I say it again..............
NUMBER 4!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Ok now I really gotta go to bed!!!!

Have to share this....

2009-10-15T17:32:00.002-04:00

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=duyL9UjLrdM

This is a sweet video from one of our AGCI families. It gives lots of footage of the transition home (Hannah's Hope) where the children go before we get to them. You will see the sweet "special mommies" and how much they love and care for our children - praise God for those precious women!
ENJOY!

Oh and there was another referral today of a baby girl...we don't move up any, (since we are on the boy list) but that's ok! I am so excited there is still room for children at HH since court has been closed I have began to assume that it will be a while before more referrals will be made...so there is still hope for moving up to #1 sooner rather than later. Some may think I am crazy for being so ready to get our next child, since we have a 17 month old too and they will be so close in age...but when you feel it in your heart and know that your baby is out there....there is no other feeling than I WANT HIM NOW! Until then we are resting in God's perfect timing and praying he gets to Hannahs Hope soon!

It's Fall...for sure!

2009-10-14T14:49:00.005-04:00

It's Fall! I have been slackin' on doing posts!

All of a sudden it was fall here in Kentucky and in between the rainy days there have been some awesome fall days....The day at the pumpkin patch was one of the rainy days, but we made the best of it! Earlier this week we had an awesome fall day and found pretty leaves so I decided to put our new wait list number on it! 5! FIVE! That seems so close....but so far away too!

There has already been one family who has passed court in Ethiopia now that they are re-opened! PRAISE GOD! So hopefully more will pass soon...travel and bring their babies home...and make room for more babies...hopefully ours!!! :)

Over the past week or so I have been overwhelmed with how much God provides for us!

I read in 1 Peter how God's grace is made evident through us....us! We may be the grace of God to someone today....and oh how people have been the grace of God to me lately. He really is capable of more than anything we think or imagine!!!!!

Also please be praying for 2 children we learned of from Hannah's Hope (the transition home ran by our agency) that are hospitilized for pneumonia. There mommies can't be with them now and I can't imagine how heart breaking that is! Plus you don't even get regular updates on them! Naomi and Baby Z are their names, thankfully these 2 litte girls are under the care of the Great Physician!

Spirit of Adoption: Dr Moore's msg from Together for Adoption

2009-10-06T22:21:00.000-04:00

Spirit of Adoption: Dr Moore's msg from Together for Adoption

This was one the messages we heard this weekend at the Together for Adoption conference...I really suggest listening to this one!

WHY?......

2009-10-04T21:37:00.004-04:00

I have needed to get this in writing for a while now, but have not really had the words....so many people want to know WHY. "Why do you want to adopt?" "You already have a child of your own." "Why do you have to go to Ethiopia?...there are so many children available here"

These questions stir somthing in me...I just wish I could spit out all the feelings I have and all the scriptures and background of our life that lead us to this point, but it is hard for me when I am in that moment. This weekend we went to a 'together for adoption' conference and we were flooded not with information on physical adoption of orphans but spiritual adoption, our adoption by God through Christ. This is an exerpt from a book Adopted For Life written by one of the speakers there this weekend Russell D. Moore ( I really recommend the book!)

"Not everyone is called to adopt. No one wants parents who adopt children out of the same sense of duty with which they may give to the building fund for the new church gymnasium. But all of us have a stake in the adoption issue, because Jesus does. He is the one who tells us his Father is also "Father of the fatherless" (Psalms 68:5). He is the who insists on calling "the least of these" his "brothers" (Matthew 25:40) and who tells us that the first time we hear his voice, he will be askin us if we did the same."

To me is it simple...I heard God telling me that we were to adopt more clearly than I have heard anything in my life before. I knew the desire was from God and when I told Matthew about it and watched his heart also grow in the desire I knew it was from God and that was that...we were adopting! But it isn't easy to make that very clear to everyone and especially to those who don't seek God daily. So I hope this makes it more clear....
Scriptures tell us that God has adopted us, He didn't just reconcile us to Him, he took it further and called us his children....
Romans 8:15-16
"For you did not recieve a spirit that makes you a slave again to fear, but you recieved the Spirit of adoption. And by him we cry, "Abba, Father". The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God's children."
Galations 4:4-7
"But when the time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under law, to redeem those under the law, that we might recieve the full rights of sons. Because you are sons, God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, the Spirit who calls out, "Abba, Father." So you are no longer a slave, but a son; and since you are a son, God has made you also an heir."
Ephesians 1:5-6
"In love he predestined us to be adopted as his sons through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will - to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves"
This weekend's conference helped me realize even clearer that the reason we have the desire to adopt is because God has adopted us! Adoption is at the very heart of God and the more you know God, the more you too will know and desire the spirit of adoption.

Now...WHY ETHIOPIA?
Again, it is simple to me, once we started really researching adoption, Ethiopia is where I was always drawn to - We looked into adopting here in the US, but Ethiopia was always on my heart. When I compare the orphan here in the US to the orphan in Ethiopia...there is no doubt that the conditions in which a child must live in here in the US is still far better than the conditions a child lives in Ethiopia. That is not to make light of the the need of orphans here! Also there are far more couples willing to adopt a child here domestically then there are couples who are willing to cross oceans and even racial lines in order to adopt.
Some statistics:
U.N. estimate of the number of orphans in the world today: 145 million
Number of children in the foster care system in the United States: Approximately 500,000
Number of children in the foster care system waiting to be adopted: Approximately 130,000
Of those 145 million worldwide, 5 million of them are in Ethiopia! Ethiopia has one of the largest numbers of orphans in the world. It just makes sense to us, God is leading us there, we are willing to face the diseases and uncertainties and racial differences... Of the millions of orphans worldwide I don't think the argument or comment should be..."Well why there and why not here?" but rather to see that it is a child who once had no parents, had no love, had no one to rock them to sleep at night that will now have all of that....who cares where they come from...what matters is that there is ONE LESS ORPHAN!!
I hope I have not rambled too much...trying to really put into words and facts what seems so simple and true to me is hard but I think it needed to be done!

Anxiety....

2009-10-02T10:24:00.003-04:00

"Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will gaurd your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus". Philippians 4:6&7

Oh how grateful I am for sweet scriptures such as this one...peace that transcends all understanding... this what I need.
We are headed to the 'Together 4 Adoption' conference in Nashville TN this weekend and I am so very excited. It will be a time for my husband and I to be alone together, just us, which I think all couples, especially those with children, need from time to time and it will be an amazing worshipful experience as we hear from others who have adopted and learn all that God wants us to learn about this amazing plan he has for us! However I am anxious at the same time because we are leaving our little boy here for the weekend. He will be with my mom who he loves and she treats him like a little 22 lb king! But it is still the longest I have ever been without him...from Friday afternoon to Sunday afternoon...I know he will be fine but satan has a way of creeping fear and anxiety in, yet this morning with this scripture I am battleing that and praying against it with faith that God's peace that transcends all understanding will be gaurding my heart and my mind in Christ Jesus! How amazing!
So I am off to finish packing and headed to TN...while Tyler is off to Memaw's and may even go to the Lousieville Zoo tomorrow! I know God will make this weekend an amazing one!

My little man is 17 months today!

2009-09-29T17:49:00.015-04:00

SO! My little man is 17 months old! I can't believe it, I remember when he made a big deal over every WEEK..."he is 2 weeks old today!" Ahh the time goes by SO fast! He has turned

into quite a little show off :)
He is absolutely so fun these days!

Here he is enjoying some playful snuggle time with his
"older woman" sweet Ms. Kyla!
They have really come to be good friends and it

is sooo cute to watch them play and interact
together now! I love it!

He is even.....

practicing his "sharing" though it is with our huskie :) They enjoyed Cherrios Saturday morning while watching animal planet! haha!

Now I have him playing with a rubber duckie "family of 4" in the bathtub! He lines them so neatly and sweet and then one by one knocks them off! :D

Did I mention he has become a show off! He LOVES making his "Da-da" lift up for a dunk on our

little goal in Matt's UK room (soon to be Tyler's big boy room.) Matt would lift him up and Tyler would turn all the way around to make sure I was looking at him with my camera ready...nice pose huh!? :D

Well I hope you have enjoyed the many faces and moments of my sweet little man...he is growing up sooo fast, I can't savor enough of each sweet moment when he lays his head on my chest or calls out "mama" first thing in the morning....the love a parent has for their child is so amazing, yet it is a small comparison to the love God has for us! How grateful I am to raise and love this little boy, in hopes of showing him that he too is a beloved child of God.

My heart explodes with love for Tyler and I can not imagine how I will feel when I have TWO sweet boys! I can't wait and am so excited for Tyler to have a brother to grow up with and share so much with....oh yeah it looks like we really are #6 :)

HAPPY 17 MONTH BIRTHDAY TO MY SWEET TYLER BOO!

Oh my...

2009-09-25T17:25:00.002-04:00

So we might be # 6 now! My head is spinning :)
I am off to work tonight...my Joy will sustain me through the long 12 hour shift!
"They Joy of the Lord is my STRENGTH"

2009-09-24T21:22:00.007-04:00

So... it looks like Tyler is not so thrilled about being carried around in my home-made baby sling :) I hope his new brother will be! This one was kinda small for him...but I wanted to try it out! Anyway on to....

My oh so precious parents :)

My dad came over to look at our dishwasher which wasn't spinning the water out, we found nasty yellowish water in the bottom of it...gross! BUT thankfully he was able to figure out where the clog was and now the dishwasher is up and running! I have to admit that washing the dishes by hand the "old fashion way" was kinda fun. It took me back to washing dishes as a kid...my dad would wash and I would dry :)

Also my mom got to pick up her "Love for Ethiopia" shirt! :) Too cute - she had a hard time posing for a picture by herself so dad had to jump in!

I am feeling random, but want to end with this..........

"Because of the Lord's great love we are not consumed, for His compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness. I say to myself, 'The Lord is my portion; therefore I will wait on him" Lamentations 3:22

Tyler in his CUTE overalls!

2009-09-23T23:15:00.001-04:00

Thought I should add some pictures! Haven't posted any in a while!

I just love my little man!

AHHHHH!!!!

2009-09-23T22:36:00.003-04:00

I am getting SOOO excited!!!! More referrals (more families were matched up with children) were made this week!!! We are for sure #7 now...but the there has also been the hint that maybe the new unknown #1 family has recieved their referral too.....we could even be #6!!! AHHH! I will stick with 7 for now though! WHOA!!!!
AHHH I just can't wait to see the baby God has for us!!
Matt, Ty and me were wrestling/snuggling on the couch tonight and I said "oh I can't wait until we add our 2nd boy to this pile!!!" It may be sooner than later!!! I just hope the courts in Ethiopia re-open and get back in buisness before things slow WAY down...so far so good!
let me say it again............
AAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Baby Slings!

2009-09-20T22:12:00.003-04:00

Ok! So I have now added baby slings to the list of crafts that I am plunging myself into to help raise money for the adoption. So now there is...
-baby slings ($15)
-t-shirts (either with Africa in a heart or Ethiopia in a heart or the rustic Ethiopian flag)
-fitted shirts with the Africa shape on them in various fabric patterns
-piggy banks
-ornaments
I refuse to let my list grow any further, because I am starting to get carried away...I guess this "wait list" period is getting to me! The crafting distracts me and helps to raise money...both are wonderful and much needed!
Email me if you are interested in anything!
awalter060405@insightbb.com

Crafts for Cash continued...and more

2009-09-18T00:09:00.002-04:00

So I have discovered that the slideshow I made of pictures of the crafts I have been working on to raise money for our adoption wasn't working all the time. I think something was wrong with the website where I made it...SO I posted pictures of them all in the side bar. See my previous post "Crafts for Cash...well kinda :) " for the prices. I also added the paypal button to help make paying for the items easier and just in case some one feels led to donate to our adoption!
God is really motivating me to step out in faith and try to raise money and see what He can do!
I read in a book the other day that had adoption advice and someone wrote some words of advice that where so big to me.....
"God is not bound by geography, timelines, politics or finances ~ God hasn't asked you to walk this path alone. Not only will He remain with you each step of the way, He has prepared many warriors to go into battle with you. You'll be amazed at who He uses to meet your needs"
I read this at the perfect moment when I needed to be reminded of this the most, His grace is enough!

In case you can't see the slideshow...

2009-09-17T14:26:00.003-04:00

I posted a slideshow on the sidebar of the crafts I am trying to sell to raise money for our adoption but some people can't see it for some reason so here is the link to see them all...
http://s788.photobucket.com/albums/yy170/awalter060405/

Crafts for Cash....well kinda :)

2009-09-13T23:02:00.005-04:00

I really just thought "Crafts for Cash" sounded catchy :) We will accept any form of money, not just cash! :)
Seriously though, our time on the wait list has really been moving along and so I have been overwhelming my brain with ideas for raising more money since it appears we will be needing it sooner rather than later! We are waiting to hear back about grant money, but we will still need to raise alot of money on our own even if we are awarded grants. So I have put my energy into making crafts that are inspired by adoption and will hopefully be somthing that others, including those not directly involved in adoption would like....I posted a slide show of most of the things but here is a description
1. T-shirts $20.00 ~I have discovered Iron-on! There are 5 designs I am sticking with to keep from going over board
a - worth the wait ~ very cute on a onesie (see picture in slideshow)
b- the shape of africa inside a heart (see picture of logo in slideshow)
c- the Ethiopian flag -rustic looking (see picture of logo in slideshow)
d- shape of Africa solid black with the words "adoption rocks" and heart over Ethiopia in pink (sorry no picture, I will add one soon, but trust me it is very cute)
e- red heart shape with Ethiopia on the inside of it in white letters (picture also coming soon)

2. Piggy Banks $7.00 ~ I loved decorating the piggy banks and thought it'd be a great thing for couples to purchase not just for themselves but for them to give out to other family members

3. Africa shape fabric shirts $20.00~ These vary some and depend on availability of the shirts I have, but my cousin Brittany was so kind to model for me (see slide show) So I can do a large Africa shape in the center or a smaller one to the side like seen in the picture of me (in the pink).
I can also add a heart over the country of your choice

4. Onesies $7.00 ~ They are the same as the shirts - you can choose from either one of the logo's I mentioned like "Worth the Wait" or I can put the Africa shape on the onesie too! Very cute - I hope to add a picture of my son modeling one of the Africa fabric shaped onesies you see in the pictures

5. Ornaments $5.00 ~ I love these! The phrases so far...
-Our Heart's in Ethiopia
-Waiting with Love (along with Africa shape and heart over Ethiopia)
-Forever Family and your family's name

* I hope somthing appeals to you! All the prices include shipping!
Email me ~ awalter060405@insightbb.com or Facebook me if you are interested in anything or have any questions!

Labor of Love

2009-09-09T21:48:00.002-04:00

As we creep closer and closer to finding out who our baby is and prepare to actually go get him and bring him home, there is sooo many things to think about and to do and to pray about and at times I can get really overwhelmed with it all...but tonight all I can think about is "baby E's" (as Aunt La-La has nicknamed him) birth mother.
If we are only a few months away from finding out who he is, then she may be only months or even weeks away from delivery...or maybe has even already delivered him. What is she thinking? Does she touch her belly in hope? Is she sick and facing death? Is this child the only thing keeping her going right now? Is she young and scared? It hurts to imagine her, but I must. I pray she is comforted. Regardless of the details of her situation, she has to be sad.
"Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted."
Matthew 5:4
This verse brings hope
I am praying for baby E's birth mother to be comforted. Please pray with me

Not much to blog about...

2009-09-04T23:22:00.003-04:00

I feel like life has been pretty "usual" lately. Nothing too exciting or new to really need to blog about...but then I think that is a horrible way to think...God is doing big and great things in our lives each and every day.
As far as our progress in our "wait" we are already up to #9! Wow! That is 4 spots up in just a month...things will be a little slower this month, but then I am sure they will speed up again in mid-October. In the mean time we are waiting to hear about grants we have applied for and I am brainstorming ways we can make and or raise money for the remaining expenses...I have alot of ideas, but not too many that will make it very far. There will be more to come about that soon...once I have more things in order.
I have been drawn to the need to dwell on God's commands lately. Lots of times through out my days and weeks, I think about the adoption process and how crazy it may seem to others and even to myself at times and then I begin to allow doubt and fear to creep in...I have struggled with doubts related to everything about the adoption more than any other experience we have gone through. God has shown me that this is because it requires more faith and obedience than anything else we have ever done and this ultimately brings Him more glory, so satan has to do his best to make me have doubts and fears in hopes of leading me to doubt God and loose faith. But I won't let satan do that. I know God has called us to do this and we will obey...we will rely on our faith in God and bring Him the glory He deserves while doing so! He has brought us this far, and I KNOW He will continue to guide us through this process and in everything else we face.
"being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ" Philippians 1:6

2009-08-25T22:05:00.002-04:00

Tyler was clapping over his new shirt as we said "Yea! Brother!" Nevermind the drool oozing down or the smudge already on it from the fruit loops I gave him just minutes after he put the shirt on!

I love my boys and can't wait to have my other one!

2009-08-20T20:39:00.002-04:00

I am sitting alone tonight, very rare, Ty is in bed early and Matt is eating dinner with a friend. I can't help but think about how much I love these 2 boys in my life and of course long for the one who is not with us yet! God has blessed beyond anything I could ever imagine!

Things this week have made me really look at where we are and what we have and what is really important. It is so easy to loose sight of love and what really matters, satan is really at work...trying to distract me with discouragement and worry...but God is far more powerful than anything satan can send my way. This post is just helping me to refocus on what's real and here right now and rest in God's future grace. He has brought us this far and always brought us through any trials we have been faced with...so I can rest easy that He will continue to lead us, and provide where he guides. I can't wait to blog about my THREE boys!

Pressure's on..and OH my GOODNESS!

2009-08-18T08:17:00.002-04:00

So I am feeling like the pressure is on to actually keep up with this blog we started since we are now telling people about it :0 Yikes. I can already tell that I am not a very good blogger, but hopefully with time I will get better! Also I don't know how to get cute things on here like so many others have...anybody with easy suggestions on how to go about adding things...just let me know!
and now the OH MY GOODNESS.............
I have already gotten behind on this blog, but 2 Monday's ago, on August 3rd we found out that we were officially #13 on the adoption wait list! Whew! I was super excited to just be on the list and no longer "waiting to wait." So I was thinking we might move up one or two spots by next month....but NO....here it is 2 weeks later and already 3 families ahead of us have been matched up with their new baby boy's.......meaning......we are already unofficially #10!!! I can't believe it! Me and Matt's heads are spinning. I know it slow down in Sept. with the court closer and all...but wow 3 spots in 2 weeks, CRAZY!
I can not wait to see the little man God has picked out for our family! WHEW this adoption ride is an emotional one, but I love it!!
Well hopefully I will have this blog juiced up soon with cute things to look at and more pictures!

Catching up to now...waiting to wait

2009-07-24T02:28:00.003-04:00

While we are just in the beginning of this whole adoption process....there has already been so many ways I have seen God at work. Once we sent in our pre-application, we were then pre-approved the next day! From there we had to move on to the more lengthy and detailed application, and just a few short days later we were officially approved for 2 countries - Bulgaria and Ethiopia. I had always been drawn to Ethiopia while researching adoption and the different agencies and now that we were approved for that country, I knew it was were God was leading us to. From there we started the orientation packet, more forms to sign and fees to collect. We didn't know where the money for these initial fees would come from and as doors seemed to be shutting, a large one opened and were able to get what we needed to move forward with the next step. During this time I kept worrying about the money part of it all and God kept giving me this verse Philippians 4:19 "and my God will meet all your needs according to His glorious riches in Christ Jesus" And he met our needs. God is good!
So we then moved on to getting the forms done and collected for the dossier and starting the home study....I was a mad woman with a check-list...watch out. I wouldn't let a day go by with our some sort of "to-do list" until everything was collected. These past few weeks have been spent waiting for the home study to be written (13 pages about us..whew) and then approved by our agency....we our currently waiting for the final home study report to arrive so we can send it in with our dossier paper work and be put on the waiting list for an infant boy!!
Just the other night I was fighting back the feelings of discouragement about how long the wait for the home study approval was taking, when my phone rang....it was approved in the same day it had been resubmitted with the necessary revisions! I was literally jumping up and down! God has been faithful to remind me that He is the one in control and I am to trust in Him and His perfect timing! So now here we are ....waiting to wait

Ephesians 1:5

2009-07-22T23:10:00.002-04:00

"In love he predestined us to be adopted as his sons through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will"

How awesome is that! God was the first adoptive parent, He is who began this whole adoption thing in the first place! Adoption is in the heart of God and so I know this is how it has come upon my heart. I am adopted by God through the death and resurrection of Jesus.

And so begins our adoption journey....I can not think back to the exact moment when I knew I felt the call from God to pursue adoption, I think it has always been something God has had in my heart and grew little by little until I could no longer keep the desire inside. However once I was married and the idea of starting a family started coming up, I remember starting to research adoption and different agencies, this was back in 2007. At that time I was only 21 years old and most agencies required for the parents to be at least 24! This didn't stop me from requesting the free information packets they offered and watching the dvd's that came with them. I remember watching the dvd's and just crying and crying, hoping that one day I would have a story like the families on the dvd. In September of 2007 we learned I was pregnant. It was wonderful, those 9 months were full of more ups and downs then I think my entire life has had, but God was there the whole time.
Our son Tyler was born April 29th 2008 and is one of my life's greatest joy's, I do not deserve the happiness he brings me each day. It is amazing. Becoming a parent changes you in more ways than you can ever prepare for. While deep inside I was still holding on to a desire to adopt, I thought that through the birth of a biological child, the desire to adopt would fade...I was wrong! God is funny that way I guess.
I don't remember the date, but I remember the exact moment when my heart busted with such a longing to adopt a child that I knew it was God laying this on my heart, burdening me so heavily that I could not ignore it or keep it buried any longer. I was rocking Tyler to sleep, standing near his crib in the dimly lit room, I could see his face resting between my arm and my chest and the look of pure peace on his face moved me so deeply. All I could think about was how peaceful and content he was safe in my arms, and how there were so many other children out there alone, maybe crying themselves to sleep, never being rocked or sang to...I knew that night, that I could no longer go on as if this desire wasn't there. And so I prayed and I cried and I prayed, I needed guidance on how to bring this up to Matt in a way that he would know I was serious, not just talking about what I wish could happen.
Slowly I began weeding adoption into conversations, talking to him about other families who had adopted, showing him the dvd's I had received 2 years before...and continued praying. I know he must have thought I was crazy, and I'm sure he probably still does, but one night I really told him all God had been saying and putting on my heart.
It was harder than I thought it would be revealing these raw desires I had, but I know he saw that it wasn't something I had just come up with on my own, but rather that God was at work. His reaction wasn't negative, but not really as positive as I had hoped. All he could really say was that he would have to pray about it. I knew I couldn't press him on this, this was way beyond anything I could ever convince him of.
In the mean time I began researching agencies again, this time with new excitement and passion. Little by little I showed Matt what I had seen or read or thought was good about this agency or that agency and tried to let him know about the process as I tried to figure it out too.
And then one night when I thought I had found the agency God was leading us to, I showed him the pre-application, it wasn't long or overwhelming, just basic stuff....and he said "go for it." I remember saying "really?" and being the man he is, he said "I wouldn't have said 'go for it' if I didn't mean it." Once Matt was on board, the devil began to work on me...filling me with new doubts about 'could we really do this, and what about the money!?' But a sister in Christ who had been down this road many times reminded me of the lies Satan will try to tell us when we are in line with what God wants, I shared these doubts with Matt and also what this sister in Christ had said. Then, we filled out the pre-application one night in May sitting on the bed...and oh it was just the beginning!