Leaving tomorrow morning

We're all packed, my practice is shut down, I've prepared some for when we get home all in about a week. It is really and interesting wonderful scary feeling to be doing all of this...God is making/growing our family.
I was feeling a sense of fear earlier this week about taking such a huge risk, going to Ethiopia and meeting the kids before they are officially "ours", knowing we have to get through a court date that is often rescheduled and an embassy date that could also be delayed due to some paperwork expiring soon. I do still feel some of this nervousness but this is normal, a normal feeling to something that is huge both because it is somewhat risky but also because if it does all happen like we hope we will be a family of 4 instead of 2. Anyway I was reading about Jacob in Genesis this week and how he didn't want to send his sons back to Egypt, he especially didn't want to send his youngest Benjamin because he had already lost 2 sons and the thought of loosing another terrified him. Anyway he eventually allowed them to go, all of his sons, to Egypt saying "as for me, if I am bereaved, I am bereaved". He accepted that the risk was great but it was worth it to save his family from the famine in Canon. What he didn't know is that when they returned they brought home not only food and Simeon who was left as assurance, but news that his other son who he thought had died years ago, Joseph, was alive and was running Egypt. What if he hadn't allowed his sons to go?
Somehow this story encouraged me. He was scared but he accepted that the risk was worth it. I think it is for us too-it is worth it to meet them as soon as we can, it is worth it to be in the country for at least a month and absorb the culture, it is worth it to potentially have all that time, just the four of us before we get home and Sean goes back to work.
Anyway here we go! Off to Ethiopia, what an adventure, what a gift to be able to spend time in such a different place, the birthplace of our children.

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