February 2014

February was a short, but busy month for us!

For those of you new to my blog, I post collages every month. I don't post them because I think that you desire to know the silly details of our family life. I'm honestly sure that you could probably care less :) Instead, I post them because this here little blog will one day be printed into a book for my family to keep and these collages help me sort of "scrapbook."

 

So, as some bloggers say it:

"It's all for the sake of the blog book."

 

Our February 2014

Top Left: Happy Birthday Lee!! 27 years old. We had a "morning date" at Another Broken Egg :) It was lots of fun. Of course we had cupcakes too!

 

Middle picture: Valentine's Day! Lee did so good :) We had a limo, dinner and he took me to buy cowgirl boots.

 

Far Right: Easely Amused with coworkers!

 

Left again: Miller's first trip to the Dixie National Rodeo. He LOVED it!

 

The boys in cute hats! This winter has been miserably cold, so we might as well have fun with some hats!

 

Chip's baby dedication! Chip Henderson is our pastor in the photo. They let big brother Miller join us for prayer :)

 

And lastly, Miller's long awaited quilt came in!!

 

Just for fun... here was our collage from LAST February.

 

 

 

Don't blink, ya'll!! Time flies by!

 

The realization of how fast time passes is a blessing.

It helps me keep my eyes on eternity because the Bible tells us that we are "but a vapor." We are here today and gone tomorrow.

Don't let life slip by.

One day, whether you're a believer or not, you will come face to face with Jesus.

 

Be ready.

 

 



Awaiting His Promise

We are still here :) still waiting. 

The last few blogs I have displayed my weariness. And today I am happy to say that God has met me in my weariness. 

Don't get me wrong... I am still READY to see Malachi's face, but I am clinging to some things differently today. 

Miller is a sponge. He soaks up everything anyone desires to teach him. 

He gets so into the stories! 

So we've been learning about Noah's Ark. 

One day I was listening to Miller re-tell the story and he said "mama, I gotta go get my hammah and build dat boat! Pow. Pow!" (As he bangs on some toys). 

And it was in that moment I felt like God said, "I told Noah to build a boat. I promised the rain would come.

But Abby... You do understand that the rain didn't come for YEARS?! 

Like... LOTS of years. 

But Noah kept building. "

Then the story of Abraham and Sarah flashed in my mind.

God promised them a son, Isaac.

But that promise was not fulfilled until 25 years later. 

God has promised us a son from Africa.

I will be honest and say that it's hard to walk out that promise. 

Most of the time I feel like God is not going to hold up His end of the promise (like during the threats of Ethiopia shutting down).

I also am VERY tempted to take matters into my own hands like Sarah did when she told Abraham to have a son through Hagar. 

But God is telling us to wait. 

So waiting we are :-) 

I have been reading the Circle Maker. 

It talks about how to pray.

In one of the chapters, Mark Batterson re tells the story of when they were praying for a drummer for their church. 

Here is the paragraph from the book:

"We must have asked God for a drummer two hundred times. We just kept repeating the same request over and over again like a two-year-old toddler: Give us a drummer, give us a drummer, give us a drummer. Then one day, it was like God finally got tired of the broken record and said, if you want a drummer, why don't you go get a drum set? We had never thought about actually taking a step of faith as if God was going to answer our prayer. Why? Because we want the answer before we exercise our faith!"

Can I be honest? Unintentionally over the last few months I have turned my eyes away from any sort of purchases that would remind me of Malachi. 

Why? Because I was afraid that God wouldn't fulfill His promise and then I would be stuck looking at stuff that reminded me of it constantly. 

I realized how HARD it is to have tangible reminders of Malachi when I thought Ethiopia was shutting down. I would walk through my house and see various reminders. One particular day I walked past our countdown wall and my devastated emotions wanted to rip it down. (I refrained :-)) 

Then I opened the cabinet to get a plate and the first one I pulled down was a child's plate with Malachi's name on it. I quickly put it at the bottom of the pile because I could not bear to look at it. 

And that night, I plugged my phone in and there sat this stone. 

A reminder of the covenant that Lee and I made with The Lord 3 years ago now regarding this adoption. 

So... I withdrew. 

I didn't want another. Single. Reminder. 

Then as I read what Mark Batterson was saying, it was as if God whispered: 

"Abby, why don't you live like I'm gonna answer your prayers?"

So. I'm happy to say that I'm no longer turning my head to reminders. But instead I'm embracing them. 

Lee's sister had this map of Africa framed for us way back at the beginning of our journey. I had planned to put it in his room. 

Two days ago I was changing some decorations in my living room and I noticed this map tucked away in Chip's room. I grabbed it quickly and it looked PERFECT in this spot!

Right. Smack. In. The. Living. Room. 

Let me tell y'all! Only God. 

Three months ago I wouldn't have been able to look at that everyday. 

Last night I purchased this coffee mug. 

"Buna" (boo-na) is Amharic for coffee. Amharic is the language spoken in Ethiopia. 

In a traditional Ethiopian coffee ceremony, coffee is made in a Jebena (coffee pot) and popcorn is also served. 

The back of the mug has a Jebena, some coffee beans and popcorn. 

We drink coffee daily during our quiet time. This mug will definitely get used!! 

God has promised us a son. 

3 years have passed. 

But, His faithfulness never ends. 

We eagerly anticipate the day when it is fulfilled. 

January 2014

 

 

I swear life is just flying by.

 

January came and went (I am kinda thankful because I hate hate, hate, hate  cold weather. God placed me in the South for a reason :)

 

The month of January for our family:

 

• Ethiopia adoption whirlwind with threats of closure. For those of you unaware, Ethiopian adoptions remain OPEN at this time.
• Miller went hunting with his daddy and they killed a doe. For most of you this is just a nasty picture of a deer, but for my son... it was one of the best days ever! He literally still talks about it.
• Our two boys are bonding daily! It's fun to see them actually begin to "like" each other! Future best friends right there.
• Lee and I built our first table.
• It snowed. It stuck, but it wasn't thick. Miller is still a little too young to fully appreciate the snow. Honestly, I'd rather be inside cooking for my boys for when they come in from the cold!
• Chip turned 4 months! Don't blink.
• Miller loved snow ice cream. He called it "wee-wicious."

 

 

On the adoption front:

Still waiting.

There has been some movement in our agency in the past month or so. We have moved up a few spots (yay). However, it looks like we still have a very long way to go.

Ethiopian adoptions are proceeding as they were before "word of a shutdown."

The Ethiopian government continues to strive to make adoptions ethical and efficient. Unfortunately, we are just caught up in a lot of the change that is taking place.

 

I will be honest. We are weary. Would you pray for us?

We long to have Malachi home.

We think about our adoption every. single. day.

Seriously.

 

We trust God's timing. But it's hard.

I have told several people lately that sometimes we KNOW the Truth, but our emotions don't necessarily line up with the Truth.

So we choose to keep walking in the Truth despite our emotions.

And I'm so thankful for my sweet friends who pick me up when my emotions overtake me just a little bit :)



Good News from Ethiopia!!

So, for the past few weeks.... this is kinda what I have been walking around looking like!



 

Seriously.

If you've been around me, you understand this picture!

 

I have been ANXIOUSLY waiting on word from Ethiopia regarding the status of International Adoptions.

Regardless of my emotional status, God has still been on the throne, and He still is.

I am learning that.

Adoption is hard, ya'll.

It is completely worth it. But it's hard.

God is using this journey to draw us closer to Himself. He is using this journey to prune us. He is growing us in ways that I never thought possible. He is stretching me WELL beyond my comfort zone. And He is constantly drawing me to my knees.

For that... I am thankful.

 

So today, I was standing in the kitchen and Lee came running through to house screaming..

"Abby, Abby! Where is your phone?"

My heart skipped a beat for a moment, then he spoke again.

"I just saw on the AWAA facebook page that we have an email about Ethiopia!"

 

So I quickly found my phone.

 

And there she was. The long, awaited email about the status of Ethiopia adoptions!

I read the email out loud so Lee could hear it too.

It felt as it I was releasing 500 pounds of weight off my shoulders as I read it.

I cannot express through typed words the emotional roller coaster that adoption is.

I have been SO, SO blessed to be surrounded by fellow adoptive moms who constantly encourage me, cry with me, pray with me, fast with me and simply journey with me.

 

And I have been surrounded by you who do the same even if you don't completely understand everything that I am feeling.

So thank you sweet, sweet friends!

You guys are the hand and feet of Christ... here... daily... with us!

 

Here is part of the email that our agency sent us today!

------------------------------------------------

We are thrilled to share positive news from Ethiopia.  Earlier today Minister Zenebu, along with other high level MOWCYA officials, met with agency network representatives.  In this meeting it was clearly expressed by Minister Zenebu that she does not plan to work to stop adoptions, but desires to focus on eliminating bad practice and continue to invest in good practice of Ethiopia adoptions.  She reiterated that neither MOWCYA nor the Ethiopian Government plan to shut down adoptions within Ethiopia, and went on to encourage agencies to continue their work as normal.

 

We know this news comes as relief for many adoptive families in process.  America World will continue to work on behalf of Ethiopia’s orphans and vulnerable children to place them into Christian homes.  We expect MOWCYA will likely hold more meetings in the weeks to come and will continue to keep families updated with any new information.  We are seeing several regions issue clearances for children to be adopted and are hopeful more will start soon.

 ---------------------------------------------------

 

 So, like the email says, we expect that Ethiopia will continue to pursue making adoptions ethical and attempting to eliminate corruption.

I anticipate change to continue to happen within the process of adoption. We have already seen lots of change in the 2 years we have been in this process. After all, when we first started they told us we would be home with a baby in 2 years or less :) We are now a little over 2 years in the process and still waiting, waiting, waiting.

 

But sweet boy is WORTH THE WAIT!

 

Please keep us in your prayers as we wait on God's perfect timing!

 

 

"being confident of this, that He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus." Phillipians 1:6

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

No News

This may be my shortest post ever. 

As promised, our agency sent us an email today. 

No News. 

Apparently a meeting is planned for next Tuesday, but our agency said they do not anticipate any decisions to be finalized on that day. So we continue to hold loosely to timeframes. 

Court and Embassy appointments in Ethiopia have proceeded as normal. It seems as though everything within the adoption realm is continuing to process as normal. So we continue to wait! 

We are praying our boy home!!! 

Adoption Update... or lack of one.

Hey guys!

A few weeks ago I posted THIS regarding our adoption. At that time, we anticipated to hear something from the Ethiopian government within approximately 10 days.
Well, 10 days have come and gone.
Still no word.
Our agency (America World Adoption Agency) has been awesome about keeping us constantly informed on things that they are hearing. However, nothing official regarding the status of Ethiopian adoptions has been confirmed.
So we wait.
And we pray.

Our agency had an Ethiopian research paper (that was apparently discussed in the initial meetings) translated and they emailed it to us. It was a whopping 44 pages long and difficult to read because of translation.
However, I trudged through it and I am thankful I did. It really gave me great insight into what the Ethiopian officials are concerned about regarding International Adoptions.
I am praying for reform.
I am praying against complete closure.
I ask that you join me in praying on behalf of the true orphans of Ethiopia.

Also, I have been on the phone with both America World and our Home Study Agency (New Beginnings).
You see... a lot of our paperwork is beginning to expire and needs to be updated.
I want to be diligent about keeping stuff up to date, but I also want to be a good steward with our finances. Particularly since Ethiopian adoptions are "questionable" right now. So after many discussions with both agencies, we have decided to let certain documents expire and we will simply update them one more time when we are near a referral.

I am slowly beginning to gather the mounds of paperwork that we will need for our home study update. FYI, most people do not have to gather a bunch of stuff simply for an update, but since we have both switched jobs, health insurance, etc and had a new baby.... we have a lot to update.

Our home study is something we will update regardless of Ethiopia's adoption status.
Why?
Because we plan to adopt, and to do that from any country (U.S or international) we will have to have an updated home study.

Thank you guys for checking in on us and for praying for us!

I am so sorry that I have dropped the bomb with blogging.
I absolutely love to blog and to talk about our adoption.

However.

I. Am. Exhausted.

Chip is 4 months old. The first 2 months home, I felt like I was running on adrenaline because that was the only way to survive. I was "out of the game" because I was on maternity leave.
So I didn't have to stress about work or socializing or anything like that.
I just had to function in my household.

But now.
Chip is 4 months old and life is demanding us to pick up the pace.
To get back in the game!

And some days, I feel like I am running with people who have been training for a marathon.
I simply cannot keep up the pace!

I will get there. We are just adjusting still :)
It takes time I guess.

So with that being said... I am going to try try try to do a better job blogging and keeping you guys up to date on our adoption.
Our agency plans to send us an email on Thursday regardless of an official word from Ethiopia or not. We will hold loosely to timelines.
So please just continue to pray for the Ethiopian officials as they make huge decisions on behalf of millions of orphans in their country. Yes, "millions"
That research paper I was telling you about listed the specific number of orphans in ET last year. It was almost 4 million!! To give you a visual for that number.... in 2010, the population of the entire state of MISSISSIPPI was like 2 and 1/2 million.
So... yeah. A LOT of sweet babies!

Lee and I were writing some scriptures the other day and I came across this one:

"being confident of this, that He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus." Phillipians 1:6

We are learning to trust.

 

Urgent Prayer Request for Ethiopia

I have debated sharing this until I know more details, but like one friend put it "I've decided I'd rather have you guys praying with me than praying alone."

So here it is.

The day after Christmas, my adoption agency's Facebook page exploded with news about meetings that had taken place in Ethiopia.
The meetings were held by government officials. They discussed different "issues," with adoption being one of the topics.

Here is the article that was released:
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Ethiopia: Stakeholders, Public Has to End Foreign Adoption

BY ZERYHUN KASSA, 26 DECEMBER 2013
The House of Peoples' Representatives and the Ministry of Women, Children and Youth urged stakeholders and the public to undertake integrated work to totally stop adoption of Ethiopian children by foreign families.
In a press conference, House Speaker Abadula Gemeda and the Minister Zenebu Tadesse told journalists that stakeholders should work closely to end foreign adoption.
Abadula urged the importance to give priority to use local means to raise orphaned children rather than giving them away to foreign families.
He suggested the importance to establish and support local NGOs which raise orphaned children with the close collaboration of the public.
He urged stakeholders and the public to support these initiatives and protect children from any kind of abuse.
The Minister Zenebu on her part said the government is working hard to end foreign adoption and facilitate situations to raise the children within their community.
Over 9,000 children were adopted by foreign families during the previous years, in a yearly basis, she said.
Through various activities carried out over the past years, number of children adopted by foreign families reduced to less than 1,000 in 2005EC.
She attributed the success to implementation of various laws and increasing knowledge of the public."

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Skipping all of the political jargon, the meeting adjourned with the notion that a strategic plan would be presented after approximately 10 business days.

Plan about what?
We aren't exactly sure, but many government officials desire to completely shut down international adoption from Ethiopia. There are lots of reasons why this is being petitioned.

Is adoption reform needed? Absolutely.
But to completely close down international adoption will be devastating for orphans in that country. There truly is an orphan crisis in Ethiopia. Many of the orphanages in Ethiopia are completely dependent on international adoption. The result of this would be for kids to grow up in overcrowded orphanages.

Parliament will give an official word (hopefully on Jan 13) on whether or not they will sign a bill for the closure of international adoption.

"Emotional" doesn't even begin to describe how I have been the past week. It's been r.o.u.g.h.
Very rough.

We have been praying, praying, praying. Praying for our adoption in part, but mainly praying for the country of Ethiopia that we have grown to love. We are concerned about our adoption, of course, but even more we are concerned about the lives of the orphans of Ethiopia.
I do not doubt for one moment that the Lord will provide another way for us to adopt. After all, this is His story, we are just walking it out.
We have said from the beginning that adoption is unpredictable (especially international adoption), so we have said since day one that we would keep going in one direction until God changes that direction.
Whatever His will is, we are open.

So we wait.

This week has been hard. Lee has been awesome! Covering me with prayer and encouraging me. He is so determined. He doesn't doubt like I do. One day, I literally couldn't walk through the house without crying because everywhere I turned reminded me of Malachi!

And Jesus.
Well... He has shown up and showed out!

Seriously. This journey is tough, but just this week in the midst of it, Jesus has given us the privilege of witnessing extraordinary things take place! Things that I can't even wrap my mind around. Touches of heaven that are more than I can explain. More than I can comprehend!

I have much to say. But it's late and this blog is getting long. Maybe I can write another one tomorrow.

Just please pray! And if you know someone adopting from Ethiopia, send them some love! We need it! These are our babies!


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