Lessons in Waiting

Wait for the Lord; 

be strong, and take courage; 

wait for the Lord

Psalm 27:14

It has been awhile since I wrote an adoption update. We have been patiently waiting, slowly heading down the waitlist. I believe we started somewhere around 40 and we now sit at 25 or 26 (I honestly can't remember!). There has been many things that have changed in the process since we adopted our little miss 4 years ago. The biggest change in the process is the waiting. 

In all honesty, we are okay with waiting. We didn't go looking for this process and have complete trust in God's timing for this. There's always the little voice in the back of my head that says we should emotionally disengage because there is always the chance that the country will close entirely to international adoption. There is also the part of me that wants to halt all fundraising efforts because of that too. We don't want people to give and sacrifice for something that may never come to pass. We do, however, still fall back on all the big and little things that led us to this point and can not erase the knowledge that God has been faithful as we've delved into this journey. 

I was recently challenged by my wise, wise friend (KS - you are a pillar of wisdom/faith/sacrifice in my life) to maybe..just maybe...let go of all of the little voices in my head, get God's people on their knees, continue fundraising, pray fervently for a change of heart in the gov't powers that need to sign document for the kids languishing in orphanages, and watch our mighty God work. So, my friends..I choose option C. 

Here's what I'm praying and hoping you will join with us:

1. The Ethiopian regional governments will start following through on processing paperwork
2. Adoptions coming out of Ethiopia (and everywhere) will be ethical and God honoring
3. The families waiting..and waiting...will be given strength and hope for a future for their kids waiting in orphanages
4. God will move and the process will begin to move in replace of the S L O W crawl that it has been
5. That He will protect the life and heart and soul of the little one who will eventually join our family
6. That God will continue to be faithful in our waiting and that we can honor Him while in this process

We are so thankful for your partnership with us as we seek to honor a calling we feel so strongly. Praying you and yours are blessed as you walk along with us. 

~ Laura

No Ordinary Heroes Here

What a week! 

We decided to do a little fundraising through Ordinary Hero www.ordinaryherostore.org to help with freeing up some money for travel costs. What we didn't realize was how many people were willing and sacrificially helped us win an amazing grant! It was extremely humbling to see friends and family step up, not out of excess but out of desire to help. I pray that my heart is as generous when I am asked to give.  

We can't begin to thank you enough for the contribution you made to our Ordinary Hero account and your efforts in helping us with the grant. If you hadn't heard already, we WON the $1000 grant. This is in addition to the affiliate percentage that we received from each and every purchase. In 7 days time you all helped to raise over $1200 + the $1000 grant for our account. We are humbled and grateful. It seems that we keep putting the fleece out there (so to speak) to make sure this is the path God wants us on, and then stuff like this happens. God is so good and so faithful. What a testament to the community of support our family has surrounding us. These results shocked us and we are, Lord Willing, not going to need to do much more fundraising! Amazing!

Just so you know, the donations purchased ranged from soccer equipment, donations to the OH life center (which they let adoptive families stay in FOR FREE when they travel for court or embassy), and donation combos for Ethiopia kids. My favorite is this: 1 donkey, 2 '1/2 sheep', 10 chickens and 8 sheep. That's a lot of livestock!! You guys ROCKED this contest and have changed the lives of so many people in the process. 

We covet your continued prayers for the child God has chosen for us. Pray for her heart, her soul, protection over her welfare and birth family. I've started up our blog again to keep you apprised of any changes. We don't expect there to be much of any news for quite some time as we anticipate a long time of waiting. Our days will continue to be filled with sporting events, work, school, church, running, family time and the routine that is with kids at home. We are blessed that each of you are a part of our family. 

Thank you again. 

The Winners!!

My cute assistant drew the 2 winners!

Stephanie & Fire Mom

Look for your codes in your inboxes!!

Merry Early Christmas!

Our Big 2 Year Old!!

Today is a big milestone..we've officially left the "baby stage" and have moved up in the world to toddler land. Our Little Miss is 2!!! She'll always be
our baby, no matter how old she gets but we celebrated today with some of the people who Maleah loves...

So, on this special day, I choose to write about our sweet girl.

Dear Maleah,

I can't believe you are a big 2 year old today! This time with you has gone by like a blur. You are such an amazing little treasure.

From the first moment we knew you were ours until today we have soaked up every second of being your parents.

I love being your mommy.

I love the hugs and kisses you give me, the high pitch squeal you save for me and your daddy.

I love that you adore shoes and having your finger and toenails painted. I love that you love your hair bows and being "pretty" and all things girly!

I love that you can't wait to pray, that you love to sing, that you loudly proclaim that "Jesus is coming", that you, my sweet angel, were a direct gift from God...specifically chosen for our family.

We love you more that words can say. You have changed my life.

The experience of becoming your mommy, of knowing your story, of loving your birthcountry, of briefly touching the footsteps of life before you were ours; all of these experiences have made me a better person. A better mommy. Just better.

I can't wait to see what you learn in the new world of being 2. I'm so blessed to be your mommy for the ride.

Love you sweet pea,

Mommy

Christmas Card Giveaway!!!

Well, it's that time of year again...

Christmas Cards!!! I am a freak about Christmas cards. I am terrible at Thank You cards, sympathy cards, Birthday Cards...but I do love me some Christmas cards! I might even give you all a sneak peak at the great photos I got of my kiddos last weekend in our mini photo shoot...just maybe....in a few weeks :) (Ok, I caved..here's one of the "outtakes" from our photo shoot) We use all the cards we get and make a friends and family photo board. Makes us feel like we are closer to all the people we live away from.

I absolutely loved our Christmas card from last year. It was all about Counting Our Blessings..which we have TOO many to count. I always use Shutterfly for our cards. If you've never checked them out for cards, you are missing out!

Here is some ideas for classic Christmas Cards, or there are these amazing photo Christmas Cards.

If you're looking for some great gift ideas for grandparents, they always love pictures of their photogenic grandkids!

Best part about all of this is they are giving me 2 codes for 25 FREE CHRISTMAS CARDS!!!

So, here is the deal - Leave me a comment if you want to be in the giveaway with your name and blog address or email. I will put all your names in a little box and have my dear sweet cherubs angelically pull out 2 names. You have until November 15 to enter!!

Alright...Ready, Set, GO!!!!!

One of the Reasons...

There are times, many more since having 4 kids, that I wonder why I blog. But, I received this email earlier in the month. This is one of the reasons why...

......I remember running into you at the Children's Museum the day after (or something) you got the picture of your beautiful little girl. God had already done something big in my heart a long time ago about adoption, but has now been completed it in my husband (without my doing) and may be asking us to act on it (I believe...we are sitting on it a little more as we gather info). I would LOVE info on how your process was and I would love to move forward ...and with Ethiopia in particular. I also would love any pointers in this process....any warnings. We are feeling led to adopt a boy. We have a lot to peice together still. I have peeked on your blog from time to time and have prayed for your family. I rejoice in what God has done in your family and through your family. You can tell your baby girl that her beautiful face (and your story) was one peice of God's speaking to my husband and I....

That's why I share our story, our pictures, our life. If it is the catalyst for spurring the change in another family's life, then it was all worth it.

One Less...One less!!

Big Sky Country

Maleah on the way home from the airport...traveling makes a girl tired

Just got back from a little girls vacay with my lady. Little Miss and I took a little trek to Montana with dear friends Sarah and her sweet Bereket. We visited Kit & Sarah and their Teags (Teagan) and our little ones. These are friendships that were formed through our shared experiences in Ethiopia, this is family to us. There were 4 other families that traveled along with us to Ethiopia that are our family too...they just couldn't all make it to Montana.

I have a lot of pictures of our time there but I'll try to keep it to a reasonable amount :)

Maleah took quite the liking to Kit (aka "tickle")

Sweet, mature beyond her years, Naomi

Beautiful Bereket

Bereket, Teagan, Maleah

Maleah loved their plasma cars

I have so much more to share...but time allows for this to be it for now. I love these ladies. I love these precious kids. I am a better person for having them in my life.