WE ARE LEAVING!!!!!!!!!!

So we got the call this morning after I had given up the hope to travel the first week of May! Kristen called and said we can travel next week!!!!!!!! Our Embassy appointment is May 12th, we will meet our son on May 10th! We will finally after 2 years hold our baby boy! I am still shaking with excitement and overwheming panic! We leave in less than a week, God is amazing how he makes things work! A friend of mine that is also adopting from the same agency sent me the following scriptures last night after I had emailed her that it is God's plan not mine, I have told myself that through this whole journey and was going to keep reminding myself:

"He told them, 'You don't get to know the time. Timing is the Father's business.'" - Acts 1:7

"Many are the plans in a man's heart, but it is the Lord's purpose that prevails." - Proverbs 19:21

So unbelievably true and I can't believe I had not run across these scriptures before this. God's plan is so great and perfect! Oh and more great news, this same friend will also be travelling with us! We will get to hold our baby boys together and meet them for the first time together! God puts the perfect people in our paths at the perfect time.

There is so much to do and literally so little time! Ethiopia here we come!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Idol Gives Back to Ethiopia

Tonight on American Idol David Cooke when to Ethiopia. It was after watching footage of children in Africa on Idol Gives Back in 2008 that we choose the country to bring our son home from, Ethiopia. We could no longer sit and watch the images scroll across the screen of child after child alone on the streets and dying. We would start the best journey of our lives to bring a baby boy, our baby boy Daniel home to his Forever Family. In the information we have learned of Ethiopia while waiting to travel this will not be our last journey. We can not stop at one child, so many need homes, they need love, hugs and kisses and Forever Families. They don't have a mom or dad to tell them they love them, they don't have a mom and dad to kiss them good night, they don't have a mom and dad to tell them Jesus loves them. Babies are taking care of babies, malnourished because they don't have enough food to eat. This is not ok with me, no child should be without a Forever Family or some place to call home! Disease and Poverty are taking over in this country and many others just like it and I for one can not just sit silent and watch. It amazes me how little it takes to help save a child's life, a families live so that child is not alone. $10 can buy Mosquito net for an entire family so they can sleep without worry of getting bit by a mosquito infected with Malaria. $10 is what we spend at McDonald's or Taco Bell without even thinking about it! We don't think about our kids starving or living on the streets because their parents died of HIV. The region where Daniel comes from has a high rate of HIV leading to a high percentage of street kids. We are talking kids 6-7 and possible younger. Think about it. We currently sponsor a child through Compassion International who lives in Rwanda. For $38 dollars a month a child can receive ongoing christian training, educational opportunities, treatment and training to maintain health, development of self confidence and social skills and key life skills and vocational programs. This is $1 a day, one meal that you don't eat out, one new outfit that you just don't need. There are many programs to help a child, world vision is another one. Some families from our adoption agency also started a foundation, visit www.intothestreetsofethiopia.com for more information.

What does God say about orphans? Good question:
Father to the fatherless, defender of widows — this is God, whose dwelling is holy. God places the lonely in families. -Psalms 68:5-6

Pure and genuine religion in the sight of God the Father means caring for orphans and widows in their distress and refusing to let the world corrupt you. -James 1:27

Learn to do good. Seek justice. Help the oppressed. Defend the cause of orphans. Fight for the rights of widows. -Isaiah 1:17

Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves; ensure justice for those being crushed. Yes, speak up for the poor and helpless, and see that they get justice. -Proverbs 31:8-9

There are approximately 5 million children in Ethiopia that are orphans or have lost at least 1 parent. Less than 1/2 of the Ethiopians have access to clean drinking water. More than 2 in 5 children don't finish their primary education. The average annual income in Ethiopia is $220. Nearly 2 in 5 people in Ethiopia struggle to survive on $1.25 a day.

Children should not be living on the streets or starving or dying of disease that can be prevented.

Are you ok with these statistics? I am not. What are we going to do about it? That is the question. We can make a difference all we have to do is try!

Strength

Since I talked to Kristen Monday I have been praying to God constantly for one thing: Strength. Strength to wait for the next call that says you are travelling, strength to not be terrified of what comes next (packing really fast!), strength to make it through day to day, strength for my friends that are still waiting for news to bring their baby home, strength for all who are on this adoption journey with us. Strength is a funny thing. I remember way back when we received Daniel's referral telling Mark "I don't have the strength to make it through court closures". That was 9 months ago! I have tried to pay attention to how many times a day I hear someone say, including myself, I don't have the strength, I can't make it through, I can't do this. Travelling makes me nervous and then adding a 1 year old that doesn't know me and I have never been a mom to a 1 year old before makes me even more nervous, for these 2 things specifically I question "Do I have the strength". Answer is yes and if I don't God will give it to me! It has been that way through every stage of this journey. We always seem to doubt ourselves and our capablilites but with God we don't have to! He will give us what we need, when we need it to get through whatever situation he puts us in. We all have the strength we just have to trust in God to give it to us. God gives us the strength is different ways too. It may come in the form of a friend who is extremely encouraging and offers to come pack for you if you can't do it! It may be a card you read in a store or receive in the mail. For me a big source of my strength is the love of my life, my husband. He picks up the pieces when I can't. I thank God for all the people he puts in my life to help provide me with the strength I need. We could be travelling any day now so I definitely need His strength to not completely freak out when we get that call that we can travel in 5 days (I am slightly OCD and last minute travel plans make me nervous). So basically in all my rambling the bottom line is we are stronger than we think when God is on our side! I came across this verse today, it kind of sums up how I made it through this journey so far:

"When you pass through the waters, I will be with you;
and when you pass through the rivers they will not sweep over you.
When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned;
the flames will not set you ablaze.
For I am the Lord, your God,
the Holy One of Isreal,
your Savior."
-Isaiah 43:2-3

Praying for strength today for all who are waiting!

Travel News..Just a little

I talked to Kristen at AWAA today. Our case is at the Embassy good news, they are still investigating and taking a little longer. At this point there are no red flags that could hold us up, our case is just a little out of the ordinary (honestly didn't think travel would come easy after the journey we have been on). So she said that once the investigation is done we should be good to go. Please continue to pray with us, we are so ready. If the investigation is done soon we can still make travelling in May, possibly even as little as 3 weeks from now.

there is a light at the end of the tunnel and it is getting brighter!

Waiting Some More

Sometimes I feel as if this whole adoption process is a test to see how well you can wait! Every stage in the process seems to have a whole lot of waiting. We are currently in the waiting by the phone for travel information stage. It has been 4 weeks today since we passed court. We have no idea when we will get that call for travel and we have no idea how much lead time we will have before we have to get on a plane. I just keep praying for strength and paitence from God, he knows when we will go I just wish he would share! To me it seems to be the most stressful stage (for an OCD personality like mine), you can't plan anything because you don't know if you will be here. You can't pack because what if it is another 2 months and he grows another 5 pounds (seems to be the trend with him). I haven't really thougth about it or stressed about it to much until this week for some reason, maybe it is a sign that it is coming. For now we are just taking one day at a time, we may be here tomorrow we may be planning to leave! Whatever the timing I know it will be perfect. So many people have commented on how precious our baby boy is and they got to see him and play with him. I can't wait until we can post that information, how cute he is, what he smells like, how soft his skin is, what his laugh sounds like, how wobbly he is while he is walking (pretty sure he is doing that by now), what it feels like when he hugs you, what it feels like when he smiles at you, how exhausted we are when we aren't sleeping, what his favorite foods are, etc. There are quite a few families that are in the same waiting stage we are right now. I am thankful for the support of those families who really truly know what it is like to do nothing but wait, completely out of your control timelines and to keep hearing we don't know anything yet, we will be in touch soon. Makes me want to scream some days! But for now we will continue to just wait, paitently, dreaming of that day we get to hold his sweet hand.

Please pray for the other families also waiting in line with us. Please pray that the embassy investigations move quickly, all paperwork is in order, passports are complete and that we all get the call soon. I would so love to travel with this group of friends I have made doing nothing but waiting!

Good things come to those who wait! Waiting paitently on God is the key!

Easter Weekend

He is Risen! Jesus died on that cross for me, 3 days later he rose from the dead so that we may have hope! Hope in an eternal life with him in Heaven! For thaT I am so grateful. We have hope for a future! Yesterday was a great day celebrating with our family and friends. I can't wait for next year when Daniel will be there to celebrate with us. Here are a few pictures from our Easter weekend:

This is our niece Isabella helping me color easter eggs:


This is our nephew Ray, his suit matched my brothers. It was too cute!


These girls are my cousins Kimberly and Christina:


I can't wait for next year to add my little Ethiopian prince in the pictures. These kids can't wait to have him here either! Praying this week is our week to hear something about travel and to receive his Ethiopian birth certificate. We will then know his birthday (pretty sure it was last week but not positive)! Our little man could already be 1! I need to get packing so we are ready!