Movement in the midst of uncertainty

Needless to say this month has been one filled with a lot of emotional ups and downs. When we first heard the news that MOWA (Ministry of Women's Affairs) in Ethiopia was going to drastically reduce the number of adoptions processed, by perhaps 90 percent, we knew that it could now be years before we bring our daughter home. We took a deep breath, didn't panic and prayed like crazy. Thankfully, our agency, All God's Children International, has done such a wonderful job of keeping us updated and informed that we didn't feel like we were left in the dark for very long. There is still uncertainly as to how events will unfold over the next few months, but we are staying faithful and are filled with hope. For the latest updates, you can visit http://www.adoption.state.gov/ or http://www.jointcouncil.org/ The USCIS (United States Citizenship and Immigration Services) will facilitate a meeting in Washington D.C. on April 6th regarding Ethiopian adoptions and are allowing adoptive families to call in. Hopefully I won't be working that day and will be able to participate. Of course, we are praying over what these potential changes might mean for our family, but, above all we are in constant prayer that the decisions made by the government serve the best interests of the children and families in Ethiopia.

Brooke has put herself in charge of designing our new numbers and this month she wanted me to make the number out of shamrocks. I hope that drawing a few shamrocks on the number will suffice! We are happy to be moving up the list and are now 47th on the girls list. Our parameters are 20-54 months. We can't wait to meet her!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Creeping slowly along

We received our new number the first week of February. We now hold the #58 spot. Brooke formed the number out of candy Valentine hearts. For some reason I had been counting on January being a big month for movement, but that wasn't the case. We were disappointed at first, but it amazing how peaceful we do still feel regardless of how slowly things are moving. There is a song that keeps playing over and over in my head. It is "While I'm Waiting" by John Waller. The lyrics are so perfect and sums up how we are managing the wait.

I am waiting......I'm waiting on You, Lord.....And I'm hopeful......I'm waiting on You, Lord

Though it is Painful.....But patiently, I will wait

I will move ahead, bold and confident....taking every step in obedience...While I'm waiting I will serve you....While I'm waiting I will worship...While I am waiting....I will not faint....I'll be running the race even as I wait.

I'm waiting....I'm waiting on You, Lord...And I am peaceful....I'm waiting on You, Lord....Though it is not easy....But faithfully, I will wait....Yes, I will wait...I will serve you while I am waiting....I will worship while I am waiting.

And that is what we are doing.

Our New Number

As of January 6th we are 60 on the waiting list! We love hearing what our new number is each month and we wait in eager anticipation. The kids and I made the number 60 out of the donut holes I had bought them the morning after we heard our new number. I have a feeling that January will be a big month! Hoping and praying at least!!

An experience with Ethiopian cuisine

Getting ready to enjoy our meal at The Blue Nile
Digging in with no utensils. My kids were in heaven! An excuse to eat with their hands like they like to do !

I have been wanting to take the family to an Ethiopian restaurant for awhile now. I thought it would be a great way to kick off the New Year since 2011 will be the year (God willing) that we bring our new daughter home. The morning of January 2nd was an interesting one. As Matt and I woke up we were pleasantly surprised to look out the window and see the most beautiful pink and orange sky out our window. We have been in this house six months now and I don't ever recall seeing effects from a sunrise from our bedroom window. Our bedroom window is just not positioned for us to enjoy them. But for whatever reason this morning, the view was beautiful. My first thought after enjoying the color and thanking God for the day was of our daughter in Ethiopia. 2010 was quite an interesting one and I had to rely more on God for patience and to surrender to His timing than ever before. And with God's help I think I did an OK job. Which is, perhaps, why that morning I felt especially impatient, eager, and a little anxious. We have been in this adoption process for almost a year now and I am ready to embrace our daughter and love her. I know that we still have a long way to go in this journey, just as I know that on the morning of January 2nd it was no coincidence that God allowed us to see his beautiful artistry in the sky as a reminder to trust Him and delight in His magnificent ways in 2011 just as we did in 2010. Feeling renewed from that promise, I told everyone that we were going to eat at The Blue Nile that night to experience some Ethiopian food.

I thought the kids would grumble but they were willing and even eager. We ended up ordering a combination plate that included Doro Alicha, Key fit fit, fasolia bekarot, and cabbage. This was pretty much seasoned chicken, lamb, and beef with berbere sauce and onions and other seasonings topped with a hard boiled egg. I also ordered a vegetarian dish that was fresh carrots, potatoes, string beans, and peppers cooked with tumeric, seasoned and spiced. The whole meal is served on a big tray of injera which is a flat, tangy, crepe like bread made out of teff, wheat and corn flours. They also gave us extra injera that you tear off and scoop up the food with. So there are no utensils. I really enjoyed all of it. At one pint Matt had to ask the waiter for a fork so Brooke could eat the egg. You could tell he was disappointed because he thought we were cheating, but when Matt told him she just wanted it for the egg he was fine with that. When he came back and saw how well we were doing without utensils he smiled and gave us the thumbs up. Matt was very impressed that I ate at this restaurant. It wasn't quite in a strip mall, but it wasn't someplace I would ever suggest to go into. Matt knows I do not eat ethnic food located in a strip mall. It was all of those years of living in Houston listening to Marvin Zindler on the nightly news telling us what is "NOT on the Menu." It was always SLIME IN THE ICEBOX and it was almost always at a restaurant at a strip mall. Since then, I don't do strip mall restaurants. Yes, I am weird! Anyway, I have found myself craving the flavors of the food and want to go back. Better yet, maybe I need to try to cook some of it myself. It was a great way to top off a day filled with promise and hope.

The quote in my devotion book today reads - God's guidance in the past gives us courage for the future. Yes, it does.

What is on my bedside table

Here is just a small sampling of the books I have been reading over the past year. Matt and I have been trying to educate ourselves as much as possible on all aspects of adoption, as well as Ethiopia and its culture. Some books I have already passed on to others, while some have been returned to the library. These are the ones that remain for now. One has nothing to do with adoption, but is about confronting your fears. That one has been invaluable to us. One is a novel that takes place in Ethiopia, while another is about a couple opening a women's hospital in Addis Ababa. That one is titled The Hospital by the River by Dr. Catherine Hamlin and the stories are still so fresh in my mind. This beautiful couple dedicated their lives to women suffering the catastrophic effects of obstructed labor. The degradation that these women experience tears at my heart and I can't stop thinking of them. One story that is told is of a young woman who arrived at their hospital with a sign around her neck which read, 'Dear Doctor Hamlin, Princess Tsehai Hospital.' They discovered that it had taken her 7 years to get to the hospital because that is how long it took her to beg for bus fare.

This week as I get frustrated when my computer isn't fast enough, the red light is too long, the Christmas shopping lines are too long, I think of that girl who waited all of those years at the chance to be healed from her suffering. I would love to be able to visit that hospital. Even though I have zero medical training, I would just love the chance to hold the hands of those young girls and women, and comfort them as they are waiting to be healed.

Reading about the waiting these women experience puts our difficulties of waiting for our future daughter into perspective. We long for the day when we meet her, but I know that all of this waiting is for a purpose. I am reminded of a verse that has always comforted me. I first heard it my senior year of high school when my gymnastics coach presented of us with plaques with this verse engraved on them, Isaiah 40:31 'but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings with eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.' We certainly draw strength from that hope.

As of December 9th we are currently 66th on the girls list.

Collecting donations for Hannah's Hope

Brooke in front of the Hannah's Hope donations collected at her party.

The home where our new daughter will come from is named Hannah's Hope. I am not sure how many children are currently living in Hannah's Hope, but in the past I think there have been around 60 kids. They range in ages from infants to school age children. It looks like such a loving home that also serves as a church and school, and I am so thankful that our daughter will be able to transition there before we bring her home. I have really wanted to do something for Hannah's Hope for awhile, but couldn't decide what. Then, as I was planning Brooke's birthday party it hit me. I suggested to Brooke that instead of gifts this year for her party why don't we ask her guests to bring a donation that would benefit the children at Hannah's Hope. Brooke, being the giving hearted girl that she is, loved the idea and didn't hesitate one bit in saying yes. I contacted our agency and they told me the biggest need is diapers, formula, clothes, and shoes. It was so exciting the day of her party as her guests brought in the donation items. I can't wait to ship it off and more than that I can't wait to someday soon meet the children in Hannah's Hope.

Also, we found out this week that we are 71st on the waiting list! We are excited to see we are moving up! I am starting to have adoption dreams which are sometimes pleasant, but one I had this week was scary. In my dream while I was feeling scared, God was speaking to me telling me to have faith and pray to him for peace. I love that He comforts me even in my dreams!

On a Waiting List!

This is a picture of all of the receipts I collected from mailing important papers and documents over the last few months.

On September 9th we were placed on a waiting list! Hooray! As of Sept. 9th we were 91st on the girls list and as of today, Oct. 7 we are 81st! It was a very happy day to get that call last month after so many months of preparation. The kids and I were curled up on the couch watching Little House on the Prairie when we got the call (yes go ahead and make fun- I make them watch my favorite childhood show - luckily for me they like it!). The kids could tell by my words and reaction that we were finally on a waiting list. They started silently jumping up and down so I could finish my conversation. It was very exciting! Matt had to work late that night and when he got home and saw our smiling faces he knew something was up. The kids had fun telling him the good news. Two days later though we experienced a dark cloud over our happy mood as we were told that because of changes regarding Ethiopian adoptions that the wait times for a referral had significantly increased. This was very difficult for us to hear and we had to let it soak in. As I have said through this whole process God's timing is amazing because just a few days later our family had the opportunity to go see Steven Curtis Chapman and family in concert. The Chapman family are big encouragers of adoption having adopted three girls from China (one was tragically killed in 2007) and they shared a lot about adoption and their story. We loved listening to his music and their story and immediately felt encouraged knowing that even though the wait could be long, it will all be worth it. Another highlight of the night was hearing Steven Curtis Chapman sing "I Will be Here" which was the song Matt and I had sung at our wedding.



So I have been hit with a barrage of encouraging verses in the last two days and just have to share them. Matt and I are huge Glee fans and look forward to watching it every Tuesday night. We couldn't wait to watch it this week as we knew Finn found faith in grilled cheesus! The episode's focus was really on Kurt though, a non believer who was searching for something to believe in. He finally found something and sang a tribute to his dad with The Beatles song, "I Want to Hold Your Hand.'" This is one of my favorite Beatles songs and I immediately put Kurt's version on my ipod. Interestingly, the title of my devotion this morning was Hold My Hand. It talked about when Joshua took over the leadership of Israel, Moses reminded him of God's help in tough times. Deut. 31:8 Moses said, "The Lord, He is the One who goes before you. He will be with you, He will not leave you nor forsake you; do not be dismayed." Then Isaiah 41:13 encourages us with these words from God: "I, the Lord your God, will hold your right hand, saying to you, 'Fear not, I will help you.'" This encourages me because I know during these uncertain times and days ahead as we wait, we can hold God's strong hand. Then the verse on my daily devotion calendar reads, "I have set the Lord before me. Because he is at my right hand, I will not be shaken. Therefore my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices; my body also will rest secure." Psalm 16:8-9

How thankful we are to have God's hand to hold as we wait!