Update on our Family

I received an update on my Ethiopian daughters yesterday. We'll call them Kat (her middle name will be Kathleen) and DiDi. We absolutely love updates!! This one was extra special because we got to hear from Kat. She is 7 and is anxious for her American family to come and get her. WE are VERY anxious to go and get her!! DiDi is only 3 and does not quite understand what is going on. I know she is loved at the foster care center and am prepared that she will have a hard time leaving. I love them both so much already!


Today we are in Oklahoma City on business, visiting relatives, and having a much needed mini vacation. We are going to eat lunch at the Ethiopian restaurant. I already contacted Tara for some recommendations-thanks Tara! I can't wait to try the Queen of Sheba platter! We're taking my husband's grandmother with us. I think it will be a fun experience to share with her.

Thank you to all who have been praying for us--the people I have met in the 'blog world' have been a God send! We believe that the rest of the families whose cases are still open in court will hear good news next week. It will be a much appreciated, long-awaited blessing! So...keep praying!

A new week...

I thought this would be a long weekend, but it's been wonderful. We've kept busy, thanks to family and friends. We had a great day at a friends lake yesterday. The kids had a blast! It was great family time. It's hard to find a time that we can all be together--especially with 4 kids between the ages of 3 and 18! I'll post pictures of that fun excursion later.

Please pray for us as we go into another week with our file still open in the Ethiopian courts. So many feelings to deal with!! I think it's taking a toll on our kids, too!

Proverbs 3:5-6
"Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight."

They Hatched!

Here's a not so cute picture of our new baby cardinal. Yes, the babies hatched out of their eggs two days ago. I was so hoping that this would be a sign that we were going to pass court yesterday, but no such luck. That would've been a really cool story, though!

We're still waiting for our turn to get the call that says, "MOWA has issued an opinion on your case and you can travel to get your girls!" OK, we're not waiting quite so patiently anymore--John calls a couple of times a day to see if I've heard anything. It's torture! I know that God is in control and His timing is perfect, but I'm still having a hard time not feeling anxious!

I am very happy for the families who have heard that their cases have passed court and that they can travel. I am especially happy for the children who will get to come home to their forever families soon! Praise God for that!

I will leave you with these pictures of my mom and dad cardinal. I can tell they're nervous about me hanging out and taking pictures--I wish I could let them know that I love their little babies and would not do anything to hurt them! Hmmm...do you think God's trying to tell me something?! (o;

Waiting...

I thought I'd share a picture of the most patient mom in the world. This is a picture I took of a mommy cardinal who built a nest and laid her eggs in a bush only a couple of feet from our backyard deck. I think she did this puposefully to remind me to be patient in the wait for my 'babies'. She knew she'd have to build her nest close to our house and at eye level because I'm not very observant and would never have noticed her otherwise. It is amazing to me that she nested here because we have a full grown boxer who roams our backyard, a cat (declawed) who lounges in the area, and 4 children plus friends who frequent the playground and trampoline back there. Let's not forget about the crazy lady with the camera! Just further comfirmation that she did this for me (after all, it's all about me, right?)!!

We are very excited to hear that the Gladney agency families paperwork is moving again!! We pray that 'things' will go quickly and we will be travelling to get our girls soon. Until then, we will sit and wait...patiently, of course...I did learn from my new cardinal friend--her sacrifice was not in vain!

Summertime

Since we haven't really had any new adoption news lately, I have been really bad about posting. I thought I'd try something new and add a video....(see below)

Can you tell what our favorite pastime has been this summer? Yes, we LOVE baseball! Especially when one of the players is our favorite 12 year old in the whole world. We're also kinda partial to the coach (in case I haven't mentioned it, my superman husband, John, is one of the coaches!) Emma gets really excited about going to baseball games. She is officially one of the Red Sox cheerleaders. "I didn't know baseball teams had cheerleaders", you might say....well, ours does, and they're awesome!

Our 2 oldest kiddos went to Salt Lake City, Utah this week on a youth trip. I'm sure they're having a great time and growing in their relationship with God, but I sure miss them. They won't be home until Saturday, so they'll miss the 4th of July festivities...boo hoo! I suppose I have to let them go and grow up sometime!