Praise the Lord! Today we were submitted to Embassy. We are so excited to finally reach that next step. From this point we are hoping she will be home in the next 3 weeks or so. Embassy is actually closed tomorrow and Monday for Memorial Day. Then they are not doing interviews until next Thursday. We are pretty sure that means we will wait at least until June 3 to leave. The up side to that is that Dan's brother is getting married on June 1 so we won't miss the wedding. The down side is Amelia won't be at the wedding.
So now we just wait to be cleared. Once we are cleared we will get an interview date and go get our girl!
If you'd like to pray with us here are a few specifics:
1. Pray for a quick and smooth Embassy process
2. Pray for Amelia as she is waiting to come home and has a huge transition ahead.
3. Please pray for finances to come together. Airfare has skyrocketed, and because Amelia is now older than two we have to purchase a ticket for her as well. We know God will take care of it, but this is more than we had prepared for. Please pray that this will not be an issue and all the financial needs will be met.
4. Please pray for our family as we prepare to travel and adjust to a new member of our clan.
Thank you all so much for your prayers and encouragement. We are so excited to bring home our daughter. God is good.
Thursday, May 23, 2013
Monday, May 20, 2013
What happens in Ethiopia stays in Ethiopia
Last week we got a phone call from K (the girl at our agency who is handling our case at this point). It seems that the Embassy has had a stash of tests, and finally they are willing to share. So Amelia was going to get a skin test on Friday. But as is the way our adoption has gone on Friday the clerk wasn't in the clinic. Almost funny at this point...almost.
We were supposed to hear today if they were able to give her the skin test. We got a call this afternoon that they still don't know if she was given the skin test. I am hoping that she did, but sometimes what happens in Ethiopia stays in Ethiopia. As long as all goes according to plan we should be submitted on Thursday to Embassy. Once we are submitted we have no idea how long the wait will be, but it is another step. It could be very fast, but it could take several weeks. We are praying it will be quick though. This momma is so ready for to have her home.
This is how we think Amelia feels about having to wait so long to come home. :)
We were supposed to hear today if they were able to give her the skin test. We got a call this afternoon that they still don't know if she was given the skin test. I am hoping that she did, but sometimes what happens in Ethiopia stays in Ethiopia. As long as all goes according to plan we should be submitted on Thursday to Embassy. Once we are submitted we have no idea how long the wait will be, but it is another step. It could be very fast, but it could take several weeks. We are praying it will be quick though. This momma is so ready for to have her home.
Not my will...
I love to sing worship songs. It is my favorite part of gathering as the body of Christ. It is beautiful to see God's children all singing out his praises. To me it is a simple glimpse of Heaven. We went to our church service Saturday evening. As I sang along to the songs I was overwhelmed.
We sang songs about what Christ did on the cross for us. When I think about the cross I am flooded with emotion. Joy because of what it means for me. Because of the cross I am forgiven, loved, and adopted. But also gratitude because of what it meant for Jesus. He endured the most horrendous death so I don't have to. The magnitude of that is beyond my comprehension. The longer I am a follower of Jesus the more the beauty of the cross sinks in. The truth that God's only son came to earth to show us how to live, and then died so we can live eternally. That never ever gets old.
The last song we sang is one I really love. However, one of the lines says "Here we stand our hearts are yours not our will but yours be done." It is repeated several times. The impact of that line is so much harder right now than it has ever been. I am so ready for my girl to just be home. I don't understand the hold ups and the errors that are keeping her from our family. I don't understand the timing of all of this. But I do believe God is sovereign. I do believe He has already given me more than I deserve. I do believe He has a good plan for our family.
If I truly believe in what Christ's sacrifice on the cross means to me then I must let go of my own control. I have to be willing to say "not my will, but yours be done", and really mean it or I am putting my will above Christ's grace on the cross in my life. The hard reality is that even if Amelia never comes home (which we believe she will soon), God has already shown me so much more grace than I could imagine or could ever deserve. I am thankful to be his child. Even when I don't understand his timing.
We sang songs about what Christ did on the cross for us. When I think about the cross I am flooded with emotion. Joy because of what it means for me. Because of the cross I am forgiven, loved, and adopted. But also gratitude because of what it meant for Jesus. He endured the most horrendous death so I don't have to. The magnitude of that is beyond my comprehension. The longer I am a follower of Jesus the more the beauty of the cross sinks in. The truth that God's only son came to earth to show us how to live, and then died so we can live eternally. That never ever gets old.
The last song we sang is one I really love. However, one of the lines says "Here we stand our hearts are yours not our will but yours be done." It is repeated several times. The impact of that line is so much harder right now than it has ever been. I am so ready for my girl to just be home. I don't understand the hold ups and the errors that are keeping her from our family. I don't understand the timing of all of this. But I do believe God is sovereign. I do believe He has already given me more than I deserve. I do believe He has a good plan for our family.
If I truly believe in what Christ's sacrifice on the cross means to me then I must let go of my own control. I have to be willing to say "not my will, but yours be done", and really mean it or I am putting my will above Christ's grace on the cross in my life. The hard reality is that even if Amelia never comes home (which we believe she will soon), God has already shown me so much more grace than I could imagine or could ever deserve. I am thankful to be his child. Even when I don't understand his timing.
Sunday, May 12, 2013
Mother's Day
It's Mother's Day. It really feels like most Sundays in May. We went to church this morning. We came home and had leftovers. Dan was sweet to heat things up and hand them out to the boys. He cleaned up so I could catch up on the latest Grey's Anatomy on Hulu. The boys are resting and Dan is at soccer. So I have a quiet minute.
I have had eight Mother's Days as a mom now. I realized that this is the fourth Mother's Day that we have been waiting for Amelia. Half of my mothering career has been spent waiting for one of my children to come home.
This week we found out about yet another possible hold up. Because of an error on our daughter's passport we were delayed. The delay caused us to not be submitted before her birthday. All children two and over have to be tested for TB. It is just the way our story seems to go that when they went to the clinic to get her TB test done they are out of the shot. They have no idea how long it will take to get more of them in. Our agency is requesting that the Embassy will accept a chest Xray. If we hear back we may be submitted to the Embassy on Wednesday. Otherwise we have no time frame. If it wasn't awful it would be almost funny. We seem to have issues with each step. The agency said they have never seen this happen before. We are praying that this is over soon. We are pleading with God to bring out daughter home. Only He can. And His word says He will.
I'm so thankful to be a mom. It is the best job in the world. My boys make me laugh every day. I love that I get to wake to their sweet faces and be with them all day. I love watching them grow, teaching them, and taking care of them. I love hearing all their thoughts, stories, and jokes. When they laugh it melts my heart. They are precious gifts. But all of that doesn't take away how much I long for their sister to be here too. I want to rock her to sleep at night. I want to dress her up. I want to kiss her boo boos when she falls down. I want to have tea parties and buy pink soccer cleats. I want to teach her to sing her ABCs, and count to 10, and build puzzles. I want to teach her that Jesus loves her. I want her to know how much we yearn to have her here.
I am excited for next year. I am so looking forward to having all my kids together. I can't wait to snuggle all four of them together. I know God is good and He will bring this adoption to completion. I know we will have her home soon. Please keep praying with us that we are able to hold her here in our arms soon. We are so thankful for all who are praying with us.
I have had eight Mother's Days as a mom now. I realized that this is the fourth Mother's Day that we have been waiting for Amelia. Half of my mothering career has been spent waiting for one of my children to come home.
This week we found out about yet another possible hold up. Because of an error on our daughter's passport we were delayed. The delay caused us to not be submitted before her birthday. All children two and over have to be tested for TB. It is just the way our story seems to go that when they went to the clinic to get her TB test done they are out of the shot. They have no idea how long it will take to get more of them in. Our agency is requesting that the Embassy will accept a chest Xray. If we hear back we may be submitted to the Embassy on Wednesday. Otherwise we have no time frame. If it wasn't awful it would be almost funny. We seem to have issues with each step. The agency said they have never seen this happen before. We are praying that this is over soon. We are pleading with God to bring out daughter home. Only He can. And His word says He will.
I'm so thankful to be a mom. It is the best job in the world. My boys make me laugh every day. I love that I get to wake to their sweet faces and be with them all day. I love watching them grow, teaching them, and taking care of them. I love hearing all their thoughts, stories, and jokes. When they laugh it melts my heart. They are precious gifts. But all of that doesn't take away how much I long for their sister to be here too. I want to rock her to sleep at night. I want to dress her up. I want to kiss her boo boos when she falls down. I want to have tea parties and buy pink soccer cleats. I want to teach her to sing her ABCs, and count to 10, and build puzzles. I want to teach her that Jesus loves her. I want her to know how much we yearn to have her here.
I am excited for next year. I am so looking forward to having all my kids together. I can't wait to snuggle all four of them together. I know God is good and He will bring this adoption to completion. I know we will have her home soon. Please keep praying with us that we are able to hold her here in our arms soon. We are so thankful for all who are praying with us.
Friday, May 3, 2013
We have been keeping super busy around here. Partially on purpose. Trying hard to keep our minds off of missing our girl. Partially because it is Spring and we are enjoying all the fun of the nice weather. So, you ask, when are we going to pick up our sweet girl? That is an excellent question. To which I reply we have no clue. :)
We are waiting for all of her paperwork to be ready so that we can be submitted to Embassy. There was a mistake made on her passport so they had to send it back to be fixed. We just laughed because that only makes sense for our case. So we are praying we will be submitted on Wednesday. Once we are submitted we will then wait about 2-4 weeks to travel to go pick her up. Please join us in praying that all the paperwork will be ready so we can be submitted next week and move closer to getting our daughter home.
We are waiting for all of her paperwork to be ready so that we can be submitted to Embassy. There was a mistake made on her passport so they had to send it back to be fixed. We just laughed because that only makes sense for our case. So we are praying we will be submitted on Wednesday. Once we are submitted we will then wait about 2-4 weeks to travel to go pick her up. Please join us in praying that all the paperwork will be ready so we can be submitted next week and move closer to getting our daughter home.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)