Court Date

Yay!!! We finally have a court date! I received the phone call on Monday afternoon, and we are scheduled for Monday, May 31st. Our caseworker has told us that we only have a 50/50 shot of passing the first time, but I am trying to be optimistic. In order for us to pass, we need to have a letter in our file from the Ministry of Women's Affairs (MOWA) in Ethiopia. Our agency has NO control over this, so we just say lots of prayers. Also, the bio mom has to make the journey and be present in court. Again, this is a source fo much prayer. Please join our family in praying that all these things are in place, and we are able to pass the first time. Thank you!!

outblessed

Two of our friends are adopting from Ghana right now. They were having a huge yard sale today to help raise money for their adoptions. I decided that it would be fun to go to the yard sale and buy a few little things to help them raise funds. When we got there, my friend Kristie said that she wanted us to have these t -shirts. She wanted to bless us since we are all on this journey together. How sweet is that!?! My son took a picture of us in our new t-shirts although you can't really see the design. You can go to their blog to purchase your own fromGodtoGhana.blogspot.com The t-shirts are adorable, and the family is precious, too!

P.S. We are still waiting on our court date and would love your prayers!

Not much

Dear Sweet one,
I do not have much to report on your adoption. We are waiting to receive a court date for you, and I am praying that it will be this month! We turned all of our paperwork in within 24 hours of receiving it, so we ARE trying! As a matter of fact, your daddy stopped the UPS
truck in the middle of his route to get our packet :). I am suppose to be creating two photo albums (one for you at the orphanage and one for your bio mother). Also, I am working on a letter for her. These are a pretty big deal, and I am very open to suggestions! We can not WAIT to meet you in person! You are prayed for and talked about much in our home!! Missing you so much -
XOXO
Mommy

P.S. Has anyone tried snapfish to make albums?

The Call !!!

Oh, how I have longed to write this post! So, here goes -
I had a call in to Julie (our case manager) on Tuesday about an adoption question. Normally, it takes a day or two for the case managers to respond. So yesterday at 5:30 when my phone rang, and I saw the 971 area code, I was at Dollywood. Not only was I at Dollywood, but I was responsible for 10 children while there. Everybody was waiting for me at the gate to leave the park. I saw the number on my screen, and OF COURSE, I answered. Julie said, "Hi, I got your message, and I am calling you back. But, I also have something else to talk to you about. Is now a good time?". Me - little sob - "Sure, now would be great!". I ran over to the benches where all the kids were waiting for me, explained that it was the referral call, and put someone in charge of Gigi (my 2 1/2 year. old). Julie started telling me about little man, and I had nothing to write with etc., but I completely did not care. I just listened to what she could tell me, kowing the whole time that this little guy is EXACTLY who we have
been waiting for!! I had been praying the other day, and telling the Lord my "perfect case scenario" for the details on our little guy. When Julie started telling me details about him, those details exceeded even my "perfect scenario" (Ephesians 3:20). So, finally we HAD to leave the park because I had to get everybody to church; but, I was still talking to Julie. She just got to hear the tram operator in the background and the crowds of other people. We finally made it to the car, loaded everybody in, and started the 1 hour ride home. I kept checking my phone for Julie's email, and finally received it in the drive-thru line at Taco Bell. The first time I ever laid eyes on our precious one, I was in the middle of ordering 16 burritos ;). We are beyond thrilled and covet prayers for a quick court date, and the Lord's favor to pass court the first time.

2 Weeks

We have been sitting at the #1 spot for the last two weeks. I really did not think that it would take this long!! All that I can say is that this is really H A R D! It does not matter how much I pray, whine, cry etc. the wait does not seem to get any easier. In some ways, the wait is easier when you are number 10 or something because you are not constantly waiting for the phone to ring. Friends who have been through this before said that I just need to make myself busy. Okay, that is worth a try - maybe I will go find a project to do. But more likely, I will sit around and stare at my phone :) Please pray that our call comes soon - thank you!

Hope in the Dark Event

Last night, my husband and I got to be a part of an incredible event called Hope in the Dark. It was amazing!! Mike and Beth Hamilton (he is the athletic director at UT) brought home 3 children from Ethiopia last year. During their journey, they felt the Lord prompting them to do more. So, they started a foundation - the Kalugrace - to "get the word out". For the event, they had the Watoto African children's choir (orphan children from Uganda), speakers from a clinic in Kenya, a film about Blood:Water Mission, and Steven Curtis and Mary Beth Chapman. Yes, you read that right - the Chapmans were there to talk about their organization called Show Hope. I just sat in my chair with tears running down my face half the night. Apparently, I was not the only one moved, because they raised $270,000. And, there was an AGCI family there who received $15,000 towards their adoption - holy cow!! So cool to watch the Lord at work!

It was such a blessing to be able to go and see all the people with hearts for Africa. Not to mention, we got to see a lot of friends from the adoption community (shout out to Lindsey). My heart feels full!!

Update

Okay, so for anyone who is following along, here is the update - nothing. Yep, we have spent a week at the #1 spot, and now I am ready to pass it along to the Keyser family. We were out of town last week at a conference, and I was just sure that we would get the call since it would have been very difficult to begin working on all of the referral/acceptance details; but alas, that was not the case. So, this week we are home with not much going on, and I am READY! Did you hear that, Lord? Now would be a good time :) It is the strangest feeling to know that when the next little guy who falls into our age range arrives at Hannah's Hope, we will get our call. My husband said yesterday that he still does not feel pregnant - HUH?? He said that once he sees our little guy's face it will become real to him. Well, I feel like I have been carrying this baby since late last summer, so I am more than ready. Little man, we have been praying for you and thinking about you, and now we would LOVE to see you!! Praying that we won't have to spend much more time at the #1 spot. We would be overjoyed to pass it to the Keysers. Now come on phone, ring!!