Christmas Miracle

Today we found out that we have a court date, January 12th!!!! This is amazing because two weeks ago several families received court dates into the middle of February and we were not on the list! This was a huge disappointment because this meant, we thought, that we were likely looking at a MARCH court date, 4 months after our referral... the kids would be nearly 7 months old...I was SO disappointed AND wondered why we would not have been scheduled with the group in February, was something going wrong with the adoption? To make things worse the CHI offices in the US were closed for two weeks over Christmas and new years so we didn't expect to hear anything more until after January 5th. Fortunately our case worker checked her work email and emailed me the news so that we can prepare and purchase tickets:)

In any case God was working...The court date is on their 5 month old birthday. I can't believe we somehow have this court date, in 2 weeks! I wonder what the workings to make THIS happen were, I may never know.

We have so much to do to prepare as we will plan to leave around the 8th of January to be there for the court date. Purchasing tickets, packing, getting all the documents in order, making travel plans.... My last week of work is this week (I was beginning to question this decision, but now I am SO thankful) so after that I will be planning like crazy.

If all goes well with the court date on the 12th this we will travel back to the states about 3 weeks later. We are praying now for a successful court date as several seem to be getting rescheduled of late. I am so happy and thankful today. What a wonderful extended Christmas present!

It has been snowing A LOT this month. Here is a picture of Sean and I last week on a walk around our neighborhood.






and here is one of my sister and I at our house in front of the tree on Christmas:)







I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas, celebrating our Savior's birth. Merry Christmas!

DNA tests

Yeah! We have two very healthy boys waiting for us:) We got the results back from our DNA test just to make SURE they were HIV negative, and they both are. Thank you Lord. This for some reason is a big relief for me. I am so anxious to hold those sweet babies! Now we just need to pray for a court date and a successful one at that. We are planning to travel in early January to be there before the court date.

Happy Thanksgiving!

I came across this today

and remember what an encouragement it was to me three years ago when my friend Ashley sent it to me in the mail. At the time I had no clue how God was going to put my family together! I had been trying to get pregnant for over 2 years and was very frustrated. She got it from a class she was in, I'm not sure who said it but its so encouraging if you are waiting:

"If God bids us to wait, He has a purpose. He wants to reveal Himself to you. If He had come when affection dictated, they would have missed all the blessing. Therefore wait upon the Lord. His delays are not denials. Divine love permits pain. God knows what kind of pain to bring into our lives to change us. He is planning..."

It is so fun to read this now and see how God has worked!

Referral Accepted

We accepted the referral the other day and our paperwork just arrived in Ethiopia this morning. I keep looking at these darling faces and I just can't wait to hold them. I'm still not sure how I'll do it but my heart is overjoyed. I am so overwhelmed with the wonderful responses from people! I am humbled and so thankful for the outpouring of love in anticipation of meeting these amazing kids. I think God must have a very special plan for them to have so much happen to them so early in their lives, and to bring them all the way here to grow up! I can't wait to be a part of it.

I was looking back today (I have the day off) over the past year and all the steps that have brought us this far and all the ways that God has affirmed our path. I feel such comfort and love knowing that He is in control even now before I can be with the babies. I think I will make a story book of the journey for each of the kids. It is something that will keep me busy before we travel! I just hope that it will be smooth sailing from now until we can bring them home but there is no certainty in that. So I have two big prayers right now:
1) For a court date ASAP so we can hold those babies and get them home!
2)That the DNA HIV tests that we are ordering show us for sure for sure that there is no HIV. (they stopped doing the better test in September so we had to order it specifically. This is only for our peace of mind)

I was feeling quite overwhelmed on Tuesday thinking about all I need to do and pack but I am feeling better now, knowing that I cannot possibly prepare for everything so I will pack as best I can and get the rest once I am in Ethiopia. It will help their economy anyway:) In terms of preparing stuff here I do need to figure out what essentials I need for when they arrive, such as car seats, a place to sleep, some bottles, formula, basic clothes and diapers because my shower won't be until I get home with the babies. I want to have some things ready but most things will be able to wait a week or two I hope?

Anyway for those of you that read this, thank you! I'm not use to this blogging thing yet and sometimes I wonder who would be interested but it is nice to record my thoughts never the less:)

It happened...

Yesterday at 9:13am I got a call from Children's Hope. It was Erin who has worked with us since early in the process. Sean was already on the line (she had called him first at work) and then she told us the WONDERFUL news. After over 11 months since our paperwork was in the country, and a couple of weeks ago, changing our referral request to expand the ages because we had given up on two little ones, we were referred identical twin boys. They are not even three months old. They are very cute and I just can't believe God's provision. Last Monday I asked other families at our agency to pray for sibling referrals, as there hadn't been any in SO long (since July). Since then there have been TWO since a week ago Monday, one for the family that had been waiting a year, and now yesterday for us. Thank you Jesus! This is the best Christmas present ever!!!
After the phone call we received pictures and background information over email. They are so precious-big healthy looking cheeks, big brown eyes, a full head of hair...I couldn't be more thankful!
I was so excited yesterday but between phone calls to family and friends I had to see clients and it was a bit difficult to focus. Last night I had a hard time sleeping, I started thinking of all the things I need to do to prepare for two infants and I was beginning to feel very overwhelmed. How will I go to the grocery store? How will I feed both of them if they are hungry and crying? Oh I have so much to learn but I have never been so excited to meet these two little people. I feel like the luckiest girl in the world. Today I will receive their official packet in the mail, try to have a pediatrician look over their medical histories, prioritize things for the next month, probably call Erin at CHI, I have a million questions... Thank you for all your prayers. This long wait has been SO amazingly worth it. I hope we can travel soon, all I can think is that I want to hold these babies and squeeze their cheeks!

yes we're still waiting

Its been awhile since I've posted so just wanted to write a quick update. There haven't been any referrals in like 8 weeks? Crazy but I know the courts are closed and this is kind of "vacation time" in Ethiopia. So, nothing to report. I continue to wait on the Lord and trust his timing-some days I do a better job than others:) We are staying super busy though this summer-every weekend seems a bit crazy. Last weekend Sean and I were both home so we decided to hike up to camp Mier (sp?), which is base camp on Mount Rainier. Next week Sean is planning to hike up to the top so we went to 10,000 feet (the top is 14,0000)...oh my goodness I have never been so tired! Definitely the hardest hike I've ever done-All day hike up, then we slid on the snow almost the whole way down on our behinds! When we were closer to the bottom, we kept noticing the kids-how far do parents push them...when will we be able to bring our kids to do a bit of hiking?
This weekend is my friend Natalie's wedding:) I am a bridesmaid and quite excited. On Saturday after the wedding my mom, Sean and I leave for Bend Oregon (6 hour drive) to join a family reunion there...We have people staying at our house either for the reunion or the Mt. Rainier hike for the next 10 days...busy busy...but thank goodness as it keeps my mind occupied during this grueling wait!
I can't wait to report who are dear children will be-I keep hoping it will be my next post but there are no guarantees in this adoption process!!!

Thank you for all your prayers~
Rachel

A better day!

Our CHI friends who have been waiting for siblings since December got their referral TODAY!!! YEAH This gives us much hope that our request is possible. We are so happy for them. Visit their blog at http://lisaandshawnsethiopianjourney.blogspot.com/

There were 4 other referrals of babies as well! I keep singing the childrens song
"my God is so BIG so strong and so MIGHTY there's nothing my God can not do".... its stuck in my head today....

a little dissapointing

So the good news is that there were two sibling referrals in the past week, the bad news for us is that neither of them went to people who had waited longer than us, so our name is not closer to the top:( I guess we and several other families are requesting two young children or at least asking for siblings where one of them is under 12 months of age...so the wait continues and I am trying hard to stay busy. I am constantly reminded that this process of adoption is unique. I can't plan, like my friends who have had kids naturally, for 9 m0nths. I can hope tentatively for a time line but it could still be months till we get a referral and that is a gloomy thought when you've wanted a baby for so long. So how do I not get discouraged? I go through stages of staying busy, of trying to enjoy these "last months" of being married without children, of working on projects or growing my practice or knowledge in my career field...but I feel like I've been trying to do these same things for such a long time...first when we were trying (2003-2007) to get pregnant and now I can't help but feel some of those feelings of hope deferred again...I'm almost scared to hope too much because I'm afraid of being disappointed again. Soloman was right, hope deferred makes the heart sick. Sometimes just feel like alright, enough waiting, I'm ready to get this mom stage started...So the struggle continues-indulgence of thoughts focused on myself.
Hope deferred makes the heart sick but desire fulfilled is the tree of life. Proverbs 13:12

I am much better off being thankful, focused on the enormous blessings of all God has given me-those areas that I have hoped for and received in abundance! To name a few; a wonderful husband, friends and family who love me, my own practice, and now the amazing miracle of going through the adoption process with the hopes of becoming a mom to two kids who are born in ETHIOPIA! Who would have thought???And only in this time in history is something like this possible. Only with my husband's incredible faith, believing that this could all come together back when we decided over a year ago to start this process have we moved forward. And only through God's provision that we have been able to save the money we have to afford a step like this. It is a very unique and special privilege to be here to be waiting for my dear babies to be at a place in their lives that I can step in and be their Mom and Sean can be their Dad. I SO want to see my sweet husband with these kids. He will be such a good Dad. I get sad and impatient because I am so excited. I am excited about the dumbest things, bath times and taking walks and playing at the beach and making meals and teaching them. I think about it all the time, how my life will be different once they come..my visions are probably still a little romantic, unrealistic but maybe that is okay, part of the process that brings you to be a parent. I know there will be hard times once they come too but I think am learning that having children is not a right but a gift, not a stage of life but privlege for a short time. No child is mine to possess but God's whom I am gifted to raise on His time, not mine. I'm praying for you sweet babies! I hope you sleep well tonight.


Isaiah 40 says that those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength! His ways are higher and better than mine! What peace this brings:)

Yeah today was a sibling referral! I hope it was someone ahead of us...I'm thinking it was which puts our name a little closer to the top. There seem to be a lot of referrals for individual kids but few for siblings and I know we are asking for two very little ones so I find myself asking "will this really happen" or "should we change our referral request"??? We think and pray about this but right now we still feel like our request is possible so we must just continue to be patient...so I will keep praying for them and wondering where they are and what they are doing and who is caring for them. There are some really beautiful blogs out there of families who have gone before us and it is encouraging to look back in their blog history and see that they also had to go through a long wait time. I will put them on my blog so you can see them if you would like to. It is easy to get discouraged and think, "will this ever happen", "will I ever get to be a mom?" but I have to trust that it will happen at the right time. Maybe the babies God wants for us aren't ready to be adopted, but I think about them every day and I hope every week that more sibling referrals will come in and that maybe someday soon we will get that call...

Why siblings? For us we know that we want more than one kid and going through this adoption process is SO long that it seems logical to get two kids at the same time. I also really like the idea of our kids having a biological connection in this world, and a sibling to grow up with. My fears are that I will have less individual focused time with each kid but for the most part I have peace about this and will just have to roll with the punches life brings. When I picture our kids I never picture one but two, I may be crazy for wanting them to come at the same time but this is always what both Sean and I have felt from the beginning, that there are two babies who will be ours.

Anyway I thought I would share some of my thoughts. Sean is in the Philippines this week. Another new country-he's up to thirty something, getting close to 40 countries now that he's visited! I am already starting to think about adopting another baby from Asia after we get these two! I better see how I adjust to being a mom first!

Sean and I just returned from India. It was a great whirl wind trip-Long plane rides but a great week in a very different place. We had several days to relax, enjoy the beach and the tourist sites near Chennai and one day of visiting work that World Vision is doing with AIDS victims, at an orphanage and at a site that works with woman who have the horrible disease. We were able to talk with them and hear their stories, wow. It reminded me of my humble place in this adoption process. When I get impatient that we have not gotten a referral yet, I need to remember the families that are having to give up their kids due to insurmountable circumstances. They may be experiencing their last days with their children before having to give them up forever. In any case God is teaching me that his ways are higher than mine and I must trust this process that is in his hands.
I am now back here in Bonney Lake, Sean is getting ready for his next trip and recovering from a nasty flu he had over the weekend. I have reopened my practice as the wait for siblings is currently quite long and our possible move to India has been canceled. Interestingly I really liked India and I wouldn't have minded staying a little longer:)

there have been a lot of referrals lately....

our name must be getting closer to the top:) Although I know we are asking for very young siblings, a difficult referral so I am trying to prepare myself for more weeks, or at least days of waiting. I can't help but think about my 30th birthday coming up and how nice it would be to have a referral around then. I am shutting down my practice now and preparing to be a full time mommy, at least for awhile. Sean is spending much time in India and it looks like I will likely go and spend time with him there if we don't get a referral first:) So many things up in the air, an exciting time...my friend said the other day it sounds like you are starting the roller coaster ride about now...and it feels like it. It is hard to terminate with my clients...it is hard to shut down my practice for a life that is so unknown to me right now, but I couldn't be more excited at the thought of being a mom to these precious little ones in Ethiopia. Those are my random thoughts for the day...sorry I'm not posting more, I will plan to once the referral comes in!

Still waiting....

I believe there were eight referrals last week so that brings our name further up on the list. We hope to have information soon, but as I said in my last post this is the waiting period...my friend who recently brought her baby home said, the most like pregnancy, but for me it is a strange time as we aren't doing a lot to prepare. There was a lot to do when we were gathering paperwork and getting basic baby stuff but at this point we are waiting until we know who the kids are before we move forward any further. I am trying to enjoy this time with Sean, I know it will be a transition to double our family and we really enjoy our lives right now...we both love our jobs and are so happy in our home in Bonney Lake.
It was fun last weekend to be with my two new nephews Caden and Dane:) It was good baby practice and SO fun for me~!
I'll write more when I hear anything!
Blessings,
Rachel
Our God is Good. His plans and timing are best. We wait with excitement and joy trusting our family in His hands!

adoption update

I wanted to write a post to let you all know that we are now in the stage of waiting so I don't anticipate writing a lot until we get a referral and begin planning our trip to Ethiopia. The paperwork arrived a little over a month ago in Ethiopia and they say it can be a 3-9 month wait for a referral. The referrals at this point have come much quicker than this but I try not to get my hopes up. I definately feel excited about being able to plan in more detail for our babies to come home-I have one of the rooms pretty much ready (a baby room) and am waiting to see how 0ld the other child will be (and whether they will be a boy or girl) before decorating the second room. I went shopping last week with my friend Natalie who is excited for me to register but again I am waiting for the details of our referral:)
Next week I am meeting with a pediatrician that was recommended. We need to decide on a doctor before we get the referral as they will look over the children's medical history and advise us to bring medications for them if needed. I am also getting the proper imunizations for traveling to Ethipoia next week as well.
We are also tossing around ideas about the amount of time we will spend in Ethiopia-It looks likely that Sean will be traveling ALOT this next year so there are many unknowns. We are hoping to go to Ethiopia for several weeks in order to 1:Spend more time with the people there, absorbing the culture more fully, 2: To meet our children when they are as young as possible and 3: To be there for the court date in Ethiopia to avoid having to readopt them in the US (a regulation in the US that requires-the parents need to be present for the adoption to be valid in the US).
Besides that, we are praying and thinking about our little ones daily, reading "There's No Me Without You" (a book about the beginnings of international adoption in Ethiopia) and talking about how much our lives will change in the next year. A year of New Beginnings.
I am also very reflective on Gods goodness, his Grace in our lives over the past several years as we have gone through the pain and loss of a miscarriage and then infirtility. His plans are SO much greater than I could have ever planned or imagined. I reminded once again, His grace is sufficiant, His love complete, his timing, perfect. So as I wait now, I can look back and see how he has lead us in the past and be confident that He is now leading us, and our children, now as well.