"Life Ain't Always Beautiful"

No words needed this week ... Bret and I both agree that Gary Allan's lyrics in this song pretty much sum up how we're feeling these days.

                        

Still no referrals for the past 5 weeks. We're really missing our "referral high" we hope to celebrate some good news really soon.

Please continue to pray for us, our daughter, her birth family, and all waiting children and their families.

Please do not forget about our brothers and sisters living residing in the "Horn of Africa". They are plagued by a horrific drought situation, food insecurities and an unstable political climate. In addition to your prayers they could really use your financial support. Please click here to learn about ways that you can be part of the solution.

Please DONATE TODAY! 

Down the Long and Winding Road

As of Tuesday, July 19th we have been on the wait list for:

Mammaw (Dorothy) Walker

8 Months!

I am blessed to have such a great mother-in-law. Dorothy will be traveling with us on our second trip to Ethiopia. I love her and her willingness to push her own boundaries and expand her comfort zone for both us and her grand-daughter. I can't wait to see the two of them together, it just melts my heart thinking about it.

We celebrated our 8 months being on the wait list on the last day of our staycation. We went to Nolin Lake for a long weekend and it was wonderful.

Our lake house get-a-way nestled in the woods. Yes, that is our minivan and no, we don't have kids YET but we love our minivan.

 What a sight! A mamma deer and her triplet fawns in front of the house.
Lots of wildlife sightings!

Our corgi Gracie loved swimming and fetching her frisbee off the dock.

Chilling 

     Us, prior to turning into lobsters.

No referrals from our agency for almost a month now (ugh!). It's frustrating but for the most part I have "turned my frown upside down". I have an odd peace with the wait right now and I am enjoying it. A few years ago when I was struggling with God's plan for our family I discovered "Truth for Life" with Alistair Begg and I listen to him on my drive into work in the mornings and now I listen to him on my iPhone too - there's a Truth for Life App (love it!).

On July 12th Alistair gave a great sermon entitled, "Who is Doing What?" and it gave me new found hope. The sermon was simply a reminder that, "HE is constantly at work inside of us giving us the energy and strength to struggle, labor and strive through difficulty (i.e. the wait). HE is constantly at work within us giving us the will and power to do what pleases HIM the most".

Some days the longing for her can be so intense that it truly feels like a heartache but Bret and I both believe that we are following God's plan for our life and her life. We felt called by HIM to embark on this journey and sometimes we forget that the same one who placed us on this journey, is the same one that will give us the strength to finish it and see it through. We are placing our faith in HIM and laying our aniexty at HIS feet.

For now we are enjoying the present and continuing on our journey, humming Darius Rucker's lyrics, "it won't be like this for long", along the way.  This too shall pass and if God is for us, who can be against us?

Continued prayers appreciated.

Much Love,

Truckin'

Bret and I had a great 4th of July weekend! We went kayaking on the Elkhorn, a really beautiful place close to home.

We fished,

swam around and explored.

We love our Old Kentucky home!

Weeks when referrals don't come all we can do to keep our sanity is try to keep ourselves busy and remind ourselves that she's just not ready for us yet BUT when she is we'll be there for her forever and ever. So for now we're focusing on getting the house ready for her by doing home improvements and making our home more child friendly. I'd love to start on her bedroom but we're holding off until we get our referral or between trips, we haven't quite decided. We're almost done with her bathroom though which I'll share when it's complete (we're really close).

Please continue to keep us, waiting families and waiting children in your prayers. I know other waiting families are struggling with the wait too. We hold all of you close to our hearts!

At the current rate that referrals are being given out we're starting to think that our referral window has changed to August - October. Only God knows what's best for us and our little girl but part of us thinks that getting a referral later than we anticipated might be a good thing. Ethiopian courts close for the rainy season August - October and court dates aren't given out during that time (although thankfully referrals are still given out). So, if we're blessed to get our referral in July then the earliest possibility of us getting our court date would be sometime in October and then we'd have to wait to travel for our court date. 

Either way we still have a long way to go before she's home. There's a chance that she could still be home in 2011 but if not, I would say early 2012. In the end none of this will matter, all that we'll care about is that she's home and all the pain that comes with waiting will melt away. We're looking forward to that day more than you could ever imagine! 

A Rainy Summer Day

This past Sunday my brother and sister, Kelsy and Killian came to visit us and stay the night to join me on a canoe trip on the Green River the next day.

Iconic 300 Springs located on the Green River.

Late Sunday evening my work called off the float trip due to impending bad weather. The kids were bummed (wouldn't you be? look at that beautiful picture!) but luckily they still got to stay the night. I got to work from home the next day (thanks Terry!) and enjoy their company.

Kelsy kept herself busy doing Naomi's hair while I worked:

 

 After a long day with the kiddos I had to lock them up for a while: 

Just kidding!!! 

The kids thought this would make a funny picture and it did. I love the look on Wally and Gracie's faces.

The dogs love when the kids come to visit and so do we. We're blessed to have them in our lives. Growing up as an only child I use to pray every night for God to bring me a brother or a sister (well, I did until I was a teenager at least). Twenty-seven years later HE answered my prayers! 

Just proves that HE is listening. Even on days when you think your prayers fall on deaf ears remember that HE is listening, it just has to happen in God's timing, NOT OURS (a good reminder, for this very impatient blogger). 

1 Year

One year ago today, Bret and I submitted our application to adopt from Children's Hope International's (CHI) Ethiopia Adoption Program.

Bret and I showing off our adoption application on June 30, 2010. 
Standing in front of a Mike Black original panting. 
Checkout his work at http://www.mikeblackart.com/

Officially making the decision to adopt from Ethiopia was a very significant time in our lives. Looking back, I remember our days being filled with excitement, hope and nervousness ... we fought through our fears and overcame our inhibitions to embrace our faith and our love for one another through adoption.

I remember it well. We were getting ready to leave for a big family vacation with my parents, aunts, uncles, cousins, sister and brother to Myrtle Beach, S.C. We decided to mail our application the day before we left, thinking the vacation would keep our minds occupied while our application was being reviewed. I think this would have been a good idea, if we hadn't spilled the beans about our decision to adopt with our family during our vacation, we were just too excited to keep it in!

As soon as we hit the road home to Kentucky from Myrtle Beach we got a call from CHI's Ethiopia Program Director telling us that we had been accepted into the Ethiopia Adoption Program. WE WERE ELATED! She emailed us paperwork to get the process started and we were so anxious to get the ball rolling that we started and finished the paperwork on the drive home. 

We've come a long way in A YEAR. We've grown so much spiritually and emotionally. I can honestly say, we are thankful for each and every thing that has transpired in our lives to lead us to the place we stand today, waiting for our daughter. 

This year we're sitting out the family vacation (have fun everyone, we'll miss you!) and instead focusing on saving money and vacation time for our two trips to Ethiopia and our maternity leave . We do have a nice staycation planned on Nolin Lake (in a just few weeks) which we're really looking forward to - it will be a welcomed change of pace.

Maybe, just maybe we'll have a referral photo to stare at by then : )

Praise The Lord! A New Number!

We are now number:

Two referrals were given out TODAY!!! One referral was given out for a 4 month old BABY GIRL, the family waited 7.5 months, we've been waiting 7 months and 1 week. The second referral was given out for a 13.5 month old baby boy who's family waited 7 months. We know numbers 1-5 on the wait list are waiting for siblings BUT we know nothing about numbers 6-11 on the wait list (hopefully they're waiting for boys ... right?!).

If you're thinking that I sound a little obsessed, you're right, I am. The wait is weighing on us and we want to see our daughter more than you know. We feel in our hearts that our time is near and that feeling is stirring up a desire to see her that much more. We pray for peace and patience everyday, please continue to lift us up in prayer. It means the world to us!

Have a wonderful weekend!

A Day of Celebration

Today we celebrate being on the wait list for:

7 MONTHS

My mom Schivon celebrating the 7 months of waiting that is now behind us.

The last families to receive referrals with our adoption agency waited within the 7 month range so we are hopeful that God's timing is near. As each new week approaches we are optimistic. Please continue to pray for us to have strength and faith as we wait to see the face of our sweet baby girl for the first time.This is our daily prayer.

In addition to today being our 7 month wait list anniversary, today is also Father's Day and although Bret is not "officially" a father yet, he is in his heart. So to honor him and his dedication to our baby girl, I got him these special gifts:

This shirt that says, "Dad" in Amharic (the official language of Ethiopia).

AND a picture frame for his desk at work to put "her" referral picture in.

Happy Father's Day to all the other waiting and adoptive dad's out there. You are all very special men and your children and wives are blessed to have you!