Getting Ready to Fly

Tomorrow our baby girl turns 6 months old and one week from tomorrow we get to hold her. This momma is SO ready to meet our precious Ethiopian princess & I know her daddy is too! We would very much appreciate prayers for our trip and for our children at home. Here are some specific prayer requests for each day we are gone.

Please pray that our children at home will remain healthy, do well on the achievement tests they have while we are gone, and will have a great time with their grandparents

April 15-16-We fly to Addis Ababa Ethiopia. Please pray for safe travel.

April 17th-We tour Debro Labanos Monestery. Please pray for safe travel and opportunity to share God's love with those we meet.

April 18th-This is the day we have been waiting for! We drive to Durame to spend 2 hours getting to know our daughter. Please pray that we have a good visit with her and have a peace about leaving her until embassy.

April 19th-We travel back to Addis Ababa for orientation with the lawyer. Please pray that we would be well prepared for court the next day.

April 20th-We attend court to officially adopt Sophia according to Ethiopian law. Please pray that all the necessary paperwork is in our file and we pass court

April 21st-We have a meeting with our Compassion child, whom we have been sponsoring for 6 years. Please pray that we have a good visit with him.

April 21-22-We fly home. Please pray for safe travel and a sweet reunion with our children at home.

Thank you all so much for your prayers! We know that "...The effective prayer of a righteous man can accomplish much." James 5:16. We will be updating our blog when we get home with specifics about our court trip so stay tuned!

3 years today....

We walked into an office in Guangzhou, China, and met our daughter. It's amazing to me how quickly three years have passed and how blessed we are to have her. She lights up every room she enters and brings joy to even the hardest hearts. So many times people tell us how lucky she is to have us, what most don't realize is that we are the luckiest ones of all.

Happy "Gotcha-Day" to our sweet daughter and to us--who are blessed to be loved by her.

Three years ago today

Today

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.

Welcome Year of the Rabbit

This past week was the beginning of Chinese New Year 2011; the year of the rabbit. I don't know all the traditions that go along with Chinese New Year or the meanings behind them all but this year we did a few things to make it special for her and us.

One of the things we did was make up Chinese New Year goodie bags for her preschool class. When I picked her up from preschool she was so excited to have shared some special gifts with her class. It was the first time since we brought her home that she was visibly proud to be Chinese. Chinese New Year goodie bags, $30, pride in being Chinese, priceless.

The other thing we did this year is go to the Families with Children from China's Chinese New Year Celebration. The Lion Dancers were pretty cool--although Eliza was scared of them and would not go near the costumes. They had a live band playing Chinese instruments. It was beautiful to hear and made Toby and I miss China. It amazes me how much of your heart can be left in a place so far away. The food was wonderful too, although Eliza would not try any of it.

Lion Dancers

One of the guests at the FCC celebration was the Chinese Ambassador from San Francisco. It was very sweet to hear him talk about how loved all the adopted children are. I hope he can share that with the people of China and maybe, through that, Eliza's birth parents will somehow know how loved she is.

Eliza's version of Chinese food--fish crackers

When you can't work the chopsticks, sword fighting with Daddy is the next best thing!

It's Time to Dance...

One of my favorite passages in the Bible right now is in Ecclesiastes:

"There is an appointed time for everything. And there is a time for every event under heaven--A time to give birth and a time to die; A time to plant and time to uproot what is planted. A time to kill and a time to heal; A time to tear down and a time to build up. A time to weep and a time to laugh; A time to mourn and a time to dance."

I am so pleased to let you all know that IT IS TIME TO DANCE!!! Today we saw the sweetest face for the first time; the face of our daughter. Our little Sophia was born on October 11th which makes her 3 months old and she is one precious little bundle.

It was just last Friday, while I was dusting the highchair, that I felt a definite change in my heart. Instead of looking at the seat we meant for Savannah to fill and feeling sadness for the things we would never do with her, I felt hope and joy for the baby who will fill that chair. I know now that God had prepared my heart for the good news to come.



Guess what we are looking at! Sorry, no peeking! We can't show her picture online but if you see me I would be happy to show you.

Counting My Blessings

Today an old hymn keeps playing in my head. You may have heard it, "Count your Blessings" by Johnson Oatman Jr. Here are the lyrics:

When upon life’s billows you are tempest-tossed,
When you are discouraged, thinking all is lost,
Count your many blessings, name them one by one,
And it will surprise you what the Lord hath done.

Refrain:
Count your blessings, name them one by one,
Count your blessings, see what God hath done!
Count your blessings, name them one by one,
*Count your many blessings, see what God hath done.
[*And it will surprise you what the Lord hath done.]

Are you ever burdened with a load of care?
Does the cross seem heavy you are called to bear?
Count your many blessings, every doubt will fly,
And you will keep singing as the days go by.

When you look at others with their lands and gold,
Think that Christ has promised you His wealth untold;
Count your many blessings—wealth can never buy
Your reward in heaven, nor your home on high.

So, amid the conflict whether great or small,
Do not be discouraged, God is over all;
Count your many blessings, angels will attend,
Help and comfort give you to your journey’s end.

I am thinking that today is a great day to get out of the "funk" I've been in and do some counting.