How do you go from "We're thinking of..." to "We're adopting!"

Tonight, while at a friend's for dinner we were asked a question- one we haven't been asked before! The question was...

How do you go from, "we're thinking of adopting"....to...."we're adopting!"

Exactly one year ago is when we began this journey...so it is only fitting that this question was posed to us tonight. One year ago I had just finished my first ten mile race- a goal I set to shed the baby weight of Little Miss. One year ago I stumbled across Radical at a local bookstore- and I still hold one friend accountable for that purchase =) One year ago, I thought Little Miss would remain the baby of this family (well- I guess I was right about that!) One year ago, I became so discontented with my dead faith that I chose to do something about it...and handed my husband Radical so we could all go down together.

For us, deciding to adopt was a rather quick process...Was adoption on our radar at that time? Not really- well, not at all- but we were willing to leave the door open for whatever God had in store for us. What I know now is that when God calls you to something- and you choose not to answer- He will NOT stop calling. And it will all happen just as quickly as He would like it to...for us that was about a seven day span. Sure, you can disguise it, bury it...try to negotiate with Him...but when He is seeking your obedience- His presence will be undeniable... And you will unknowingly walk into church one day to see James 1:27 and a picture of an adorable little Ethiopian boy plastered across the powerpoint screen and turn to each other, eyes wide, and say "I think He means now."

This entire journey has really been a faith walk. I- in particular- have had my doubts, frustrations, and questions on this faith walk....but one thing has remained consistent...God has been faithful to me, to us, to our boys, to our family. Even when I claimed "How can anything good come out of a five month wait for a court date?"- God was ready and willing to meet me where I was. I have learned during this process- it's okay to be honest with God- He can handle those doubts and frustrations...but what won't change is that He already has it worked out, He already knew our emotions before we felt them- so He isn't likely to be offended. So yes, we started this faith walk with a running start...we staggered in the middle...but we're trusting till the end that our faithful God will reunite our family very soon.

There is no doubt in my mind after meeting our three sons...that the day in which we decided to adopt...the day in which we saw the picture of their beautifully handsome faces waiting for someone to say "Yes"...was the same day God invited us to grow closer to Him. 

The Days In Between.

Oh, how I wish I knew how many days would be in between...and then I think...oh, how I am glad I don't. We get asked very often WHEN we will be going back for our children...I promise you, as SOON as we can we WILL go. This is totally and completely out of our hands- and that's not easy to accept- but the person whose hands it truly lies in knows best- so we will leave it to HIM.

What are we doing while we wait? Oh, you know, everything that one would need to do to prepare for three more people to move in. We were so completely and surprisingly blessed by our neighbors we GAVE us a set of bunk beds their sons have just grown out of- so we will spend this weekend painting and preparing the bedrooms our boys will sleep in. I have been going through clothes this weekend that were passed on to us and purchasing some to fill in the gaps. In my desire to be super organized I am spending time working on a meal binder to HOPEFULLY make meal planning easier for our enlarging crew- we'll see how that goes!!

My husband and I now laugh about the personality quirks of our three new additions...joking about instances that happened in Ethiopia...we laugh about what it will be like when all five personalities are mixed together...and how there will be a slight competition for who the messiest eater will be at family meals....

But, the majority of the time I find myself looking at the date on the car dashboard and thinking- really- only 8 days have passed since we passed court?!?!?!? I try to tell myself to enjoy these moments of what we know as normal before the "new" normal descends....the problem with that- I have MET these three children, they are now MY children...and they are not here...making all that once was normal- no longer normal.


So, that is where we are now...the days in between.

We PASSED!

We are so excited to share that we have officially passed court and are the PROUD parents of three more children =) We are so excited to welcome three new BIG brothers (our boys in Ethiopia are ages 9, 6, and 4) to our family. We have been able to skype with the boys since returning home and it has been an absolute joy to be able to see their adorable faces in this interim period. Speaking of seeing adorable faces, for right now we are opting to share their pictures privately and will soon decide how to proceed with the blog from this point on. We know that older children can be sensitive to having their entire lives shared (rightfully so!)- so we are considering the best option for continuing to share our journey with all of you! But- we did want to share our big news!!

So, what comes next? Well- we wait on several things...a court decree, passports, birth certificates, and medical evaluations...then our case will be submitted to embassy and within about a week or two we will hear how they plan to proceed with our case. Sometimes they require more information and sometimes they clear you to return to pick up your kiddos! We are praying with hopeful hearts that we will clear and be able to bring our children home by late June/early July =)