Blessed Be Your Name

The Lord never ceases to amaze me. Today was a day in which we found ourselves in complete awe of what He is doing. February of last year, shortly after we announced we were adopting from Ethiopia, Toby's brother and wife announced the same news. We had never talked about it before that day. A few weeks later, we found ourselves applying to the same agency. Of course we would talk about possibly traveling together and how great that would be, but so many things needed to work out for that to happen. Things have happened along the way that made us feel that the chance to travel together had passed. They had court in February for our nephew, such a cutie too! Last week they were submitted to embassy and were cleared for travel to bring their son home. We thought they were most likely going to be traveling home from Ethiopia the day we arrive for court. Today, we found out they will be arriving in Ethiopia the same day as us and will be there while we are, staying at the same hotel. Only God could orchestrate it so that two brothers, who live 2,000 miles apart, could be in Ethiopia at the same time, to share in the blessings of adoption. We are blessed, amazed, and so joyful! Thank you Lord!

Court Date!!

We are so excited to announce that we have a court date set for April 20th! We are going to Ethiopia NEXT MONTH!!!! This is the trip where we will get to meet Sophia and appear at court to officially adopt her. What a privilege it will be to finally get to see the country that we have fallen in love with for so many reasons. Only six weeks and we will board a plane and fly to Ethiopia where a piece of our heart already resides and, much like China, always will.

Please be in prayer for our upcoming trip. We will only have a few hours with Sophia before we will have to say "goodbye" until Embassy. It is so hard to know how long that separation will last. It seems like everyone who has gone before us has had a different timeline. Some have breezed through Embassy with no problems and others have been faced with one challenge after another. This is where our trust in God is tested yet again. Please pray we will hold onto Him, trust Him, and have a peace that surpasses all understanding. Also, please pray that our time with Sophia will go well and her heart will be ready to meet these crazy American parents of hers.