status

First of all...have I shared this picture with you yet? 

Those of you that have ordered shirts or given donations have already gotten it, but I thought I would share it with everyone else too.....

(you can enlarge it by clicking on the picture)

I can't wait to take that same picture again. Only with a precious little one in that seat.

So..........our status???

Still. trying. to. finish. our. house.

Yep. Believe it or not, that's it. Mitch is working hard and trying to get it done quickly, but his free time seems to be limited lately. Realistically, it will probably be another two months before it's done. Which means another two months before our home study. Which means another two months before this whole process can really get up and running. In all honesty, it is hard sometimes to know that we could already be 4 months into this process if it wasn't for this crazy project we started two years ago, never knowing what all it would entail. Ugh. 

But, in the end, I know it will be worth it. 

We will have a bigger house to be able to fill with more kids!!! :)

In the meantime.....we are still doing fundraising and praying fervently for our child. Please continue to pray for her, and us, as well.

AND.....please watch this video. It's about 8 minutes long, but it is worth it. It is a perfect reminder of God's true plan for the orphan and fatherless.....and any one of God's children that is hurting and in need. 

Be strong....and courageous....

I stumbled across this video today. And cried. So many things touched my heart in it. Take a few minutes and watch it please. I know it looks like a cartoon and has the possibility of being cheesy. But watch it, it's worth it.....















Hope is Fading – Orphan Sunday from Allan Rosenow on Vimeo.


Now, we will not walk up to an orphanage and "choose" a child.  That's not really how that works most of the time. There won't be a little big-eyed girl waiting by a window hoping she is pretty enough for us.

But, the symbolism of this video is correct.....

We, as privileged Americans (and yes, that means us...who are by NO means wealthy), have a choice. We have a choice to either help save an orphan from a love-less life,

 or choose to pretend they don't exist. 

When God spoke to us about adoption, as scary and intimidating as all that was (and still is), we could have said no. We had that choice. No one was forcing that upon us. There was all of a sudden this big, scary cliff and we could either choose to jump....or choose to turn around and head back to a safer place.

There are times now that I can't believe we chose to jump. My husband is not a jumper. He might make it down the cliff eventually, but he does so by scaling the rocks with ropes and harnesses and helmets. But, this time...he jumped. We jumped. And the funny thing about a cliff is (are you tired of this metaphor yet?) that there is no way to get back up. You make the decision to "jump" and your journey becomes God's and not yours.

So, I want to encourage you today that if God is speaking to your heart about adoption or foster care (which my sweet friend knows a lot about and can give you info if you are interested), even if it's just a whisper......please, don't ignore it.

Here is your cliff. You can choose to jump and rescue a precious life or you can choose to turn around and head back to your nice and comfy existence. I know it's scary. I say that in the midst of the scary. But, I also know that there is a reason God has softened your heart to that and what He wants from you is obedience. That's it. He will carry you through those scary moments. He will figure out the hard stuff. (I am telling myself this as much as you!!)

There are 147 million orphans in the world. One less doesn't seem like that big of a deal. But, I want you to do something. I want you to watch that video again and picture that sweet little big-eyed cartoon character as your daughter. Or your son. Does it break your heart more to picture your little one, who you adore and dote over.... all by themselves.....waiting?    Waiting for someone to love them?

Caring for orphans is a reflection of what God has done for you and me. He has rescued us from a pit and has adopted us as heirs in the Kingdom of God.

It is the heart of God that we care for the fatherless....the orphans.....

The helpless put their trust in you. You are the defender of orphans . . . . Lord, you know the hopes of the helpless. Surely you will listen to their cries and comfort them. 

Psalm 10:14, 17

Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.

James 1:27

God's heart is also for you, dear friend. He will not leave you.

Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid, do not be discouraged. For the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.

Joshua 1:9

Joshua 1:9 happened to be Sam's memory verse a couple of weeks ago from church. Memory verse for a 2 yr old, you say? Yeah, that's what I thought too. But, one day in the middle of HEB, he started quoting the first part of Joshua 1:9. He now says it all the time. It is just about the cutest thing ever and I love how he says/yells "be strong and dageous.........joshua.....joshua...9 9 9!!!!" But besides the cuteness factor, it also seems like God was trying to figure out a way to make me hear it over and over again. 

And maybe you too????

So, I know this was kind of a "soap box" post. But, I felt like God was telling me to write it. Even if it is just for one person out there considering adoption or foster care. I hope it was encouraging to you. 

Be strong and courageous!!!!!!! :)

Update

Well, we got our fancy schmancy, cost way too much, computer back today. The hard drive had failed and had to be replaced. Which means LOTS of data was lost....well, maybe. We are going to attempt to send the old hard drive to some 'magic people' who claim they can recover lost data from damaged hardware.
I know that may not seem like urgent or important news, but really, all of Mitch's work related invoices, budgets, bids, etc...plus ALL the pictures I've taken over the last year and a half could all be lost forever. We would both be heartbroken. But, we are hoping for the best.

So, like I said before, I lost my super organized spreadsheet of tshirt orders when my computer decided to get sick. So, if I am a little slow getting your tshirt to you, please be patient with me. I promise it will get there and never mistake my slowness for lack of appreciation for your donation and support! We are so grateful for those of you who have been more than gracious to us. God continually shows me His mercy and providence through the most unlikely people. And I am amazed at the obedience those people have showed in doing what God has asked of them to help bring an orphan home.

So.....

update on the process....

We were advised by our agent at our agency (which is All God's Children International....I don't think I have ever mentioned that before) that we can't move forward until our addition on the house is completed. The first step in this whole process, after the application part of course, is the home study. And they want to see our "home" finished. So, Mitch has been working his booty off nights and weekends to make progress on it. And he has made leaps and bounds compared to just a month or so ago. He is awesome.

Our goal is to be completely finished by Christmas (inside and out) so we can have our home study in January. Once that is completed, the long paper work process begins. Then once that is done, we wait for an official "approval" from our agency and the Ethiopian government. Then, we wait. And hopefully that won't be long, but it will more than likely be at least 6 months before we get a referral for a child. Then the travel planning begins.....then.....she can come home!!!

Wow. Does that seem like forever to you too? Sometimes that part can just be so discouraging. But, I have to believe that it is all in God's timing. Cause I know for sure that that is not my timing at all. I have to remember that there is a work God is doing in our hearts during this season of waiting.

So, please continue to pray for us. For an abundance of time for Mitch to finish the house. For an abundance of finances to make it possible. For patience for this pretty impatient mama who is ready to get this ball rolling. For our children's hearts. For God to help us reassure them that there is enough love in our family for them and another little one. (I told Addie tonight that she was my favorite little girl, and she said "what about when the new little girl comes??....."). Pray for our fundraising efforts and that some ideas we are hatching would come to fruition and be successful. But most of all, please pray for that sweet child out there and her mama that will either have to make an extremely hard decision soon, or maybe already has.  And pray protection over that sweet little one's life and heart.

Thank you for your love and encouragement. It is so good to hear sweet words from people who believe in what God is doing. There are days when life seems overwhelming, but when I receive an email or a comment or a kind word I am reminded that we are not doing this alone, and God restores my heart.

I love you all.

Uh oh

Our computer is sick. Very sick. It is currently in the Mac hospital and may need a new hard drive.....which means everything might be lost. Everything. Pictures, files, business stuff. So scary. And sad.

In the midst of all those files is my list of shirt orders and addresses. I have a stack of shirts sitting here and have no idea what shirt goes where.

So....if you have ordered a shirt and have NOT received it, please email me and let me know. I want to get you your shirt as soon as possible!!

I have much more to tell you but am currently updating this using my phone.....little bitty screen, tired eyes. No more writing tonight.

Will hopefully be back on soon on a bigger more legible screen soon!!

Love you all. Thanks for following us. Even through these boring posts. :-)

Joy after Sorrow

Three years ago today, my beautiful sister-in-law passed away from a short 5 month battle with cancer. She and my brother had been married for 10 years. Her boys were 3 and 7 at the time. 

She was so loved. By everyone. She was one of my best friends. We spoke every day. She was hilarious. One of the funniest people I have ever known. She was constantly playing pranks and making me laugh like no one else.

(like stealing my camera when I wasn't looking and taking an incredibly unflattering picture of herself just for me to find it later when she wasn't around)

I miss her terribly. Every day. Her death was one of the hardest things I have ever gone through. My life was not the same after October 15, 2007.

But, I see her still in her little boys (who aren't so little anymore) and I know she would be so proud of them. They have these gigantic hearts and beautiful smiles. I adore them.

Through the birth of Sam and this whole adoption process, my heart has been broken to think that she will never know them. Or hold them. Or spoil them like she did the others. I know she would be so supportive of our journey and would have traveled it with us.  

Today is sad. But, God is good. 

He has blessed these sweet boys with a new mom and myself with a new sister.

Cindy and Chris got married a little over a year ago. She is a wonderful wife and mom. She adores those boys and has helped nurture their sweet little hearts to love the Lord.
And she couldn't be more excited and supportive of our adoption!
How blessed we are to have her in our lives!

She has been planning a book sale to help raise funds for our adoption expenses!
So, PLEASE If you are going to be in the Frisco area on October 30th, go out to Old Orchard Park and buy a book or two.....or 10!! And help spread the word!!!

God is good. He brings new promises with each new day.
And He brings joy after sorrow. 

When we finally get to bring this new little one home, I know she will have an incredible aunt here to love on her, and a precious saint in Heaven rejoicing!!

This must be read

You need to read this.

Not just if you have a few minutes.

Not just if you're bored and have nothing to do.

You have to read this.

It is one of those things that everyone needs to hear and see.

Everyone.

And that means YOU.

This is a girl (who is actually a friend of a friend, etc) who recently moved to Haiti with her four children and husband to BE the change.....

Reality is a Weighty Thing

And then, please....share your thoughts with me.
I would love to hear if God spoke to you through this.

I hope God stirs your soul like He did ours many months ago.

There is a hurting world out there.

We can't sit by while it happens.

for my heart

Do not be afraid, for I am with you; I will bring your children from the east and gather you from the west.

Isaiah 43:5

God, write these words on my heart.
Reassure me that the obstacles of this world
 will not deter your greater plan.
You will bring the child whom you have chosen from the east,
As you are gathering us, and those we love, from the west. 
You have already ordained all these days ahead.
All we have to do is trust you.
Please forgive the moments 
when I doubt my heart or my strength or my sanity.
For I know these things are not of you.
Daily remind me that this story originated in your heart,
not mine.
And you will finish the good work that you started.


I can't wait.

one less

Some things I want to clear up.....

Why didn't you choose domestic adoption or foster care?.....plain and simply? Because that is not what God called us to. We are simply being obedient to what God specifically spoke to our hearts. We fully understand there are children here in America who need homes. And I can't explain to you why God didn't speak to our hearts about that. I think He burdened our hearts many months ago with a world vision and reminded us that if we limit ourselves to only having a heart for America (which we totally do have a heart for the hurting and lost here, by the way) that that we would be limiting God's heart to only 5 % of the world's population. We realized that God's heart is limitless and ours should be as well. We also recognize that a child in Ethiopia does not deserve a family more than a child here in the US does. But for whatever reason, God did not call us to that. And that's as best I can explain it. 

A sweet girl that I don't really even know, just someone I have been "introduced" to (over email) who has adopted two girls from Uganda, made an excellent point to me that reminded me of the bigger long term picture of these children from International adoption (wow...that was a really looonnngg sentence).

She said " I like to think of all the people the Lord calls to adoption and how His intricate plan works together toward His ultimate plan for all of us. Imagine a family in Texas adopts from Haiti, one in New York from Uganda, and one in Canada adopts from Ethiopia....and those kids become adults who can affect peoples lives with their adoption stories....and even more, because their parents followed their hearts, their kids are where God wants them in order to fullfill His ultimate plan. It's incredible to think what God has in store for our kids!" 

We want to be obedient to what God called us to. For whatever His reasons, this is His plan for our life.

Do you have a child already "picked" out?.....No. But I fully believe God does. In this application process you specify what you would be open to....girl, boy...0-12 mos, 1-3, etc. We would like a girl under 12 mos, but we are pretty open to a girl from 1-3 as well. We are currently praying through being "open to siblings". Please don't hold us to that. God hasn't spoken directly about that, but we are both fairly open to it.  Once we get through all the paperwork with the agency here and the government in Ethiopia (probably another 6 months or so) we are put on a waiting list. Then as we move down the waiting list, they notify us of our status. Then we will get a call one day that we have a child (or two...yikes!). They send pictures and we start planning our trip. 

So, no. We don't get to "choose" the child. But, I feel very confident that that child (or children) is already "chosen". I can't wait for that call :)

Is Mitch on board with this whole thing? Like completely sold out like you are?.......Yes. But, I am not going to speak for him. As much as he hates to write, we have been encouraged by others that it is important for him to share his heart as well. So, look for a post from him soon!! 

We have raised over $5,000 y'all. That's so exciting and so affirming that we are doing the right thing. My evenings (and late into the night) have been full of sewing and sorting and writing thank you notes. And it is such an honor to do it all. Thank you so much for your support. Even if it is simply prayer that He has called you to, we need it and appreciate it.

I wanted to share this video with you (and I am so frustrated with blogger lately, it won't let me enbed any videos! Ugh, so you have to go old school and click on the link). Many of you may have already heard this song by Matthew West about adoption. This is his explanation of how the song came about (along with the song). It reminds me that even though this process is long and difficult and sometime wrought with opposition, in the end, there will be one less (maybe two less) child (children) alone in the world.

                                                         http://vimeo.com/15064039

one of my favorite days ever

Today was amazing. 

The weather was uncharacteristically autumn-like here in central Texas. 

I got to spend the morning shopping for shirts with my favorite little 2 yr old. 

Had lunch with an amazing friend and her 3 cutie pie boys. 

And then sewed 25 Africa shirts for 7 hours with my front AND back door open, breeze blowing and music playing.

One of my favorite days ever.

Here is a sampling of the shirts I made today. (They will be on their way to you shortly!!) 

If you haven't ordered one, please consider it! 

(it's what all the cool kids are doing this season... ;)  )

Loved every second of sewing those shirts.

 I had grown to kind of despise sewing things for money over the last year. 

But this..... this feels totally different. Those 7 hours hunched over that machine were 7 hours spent in prayer over that little girl. And I loved every second of it.

Thank you for allowing me to do it for you. :)

Small request (as if you haven't already done enough)

Hello friends!

I just wanted all of you that have ordered shirts to know that I did get your orders, I am working on them, and I will get them to you as soon as possible. We opened a bank account specifically for our adoption fund, so trying to set paypal up with that bank account has proved to be more trouble than I thought. So, if you are wondering why that transaction is still pending, it's because Paypal likes to make everything difficult and we are waiting on our bank to be "verified". :)

BUT more importantly, I want to thank you from the bottom of our hearts for supporting us. I want to hug each one of your necks every time I see a new order! Makes me so excited!!

I also kind of have a thought, and want to see if you would indulge me......

I was thinking how sweet it is that this little girl has this huge family that loves her already. And that they are buying homemade shirts to support us in bringing her home. Will she ever know this? (this is where my idea comes in.....bear with me...).

Would those of you that have bought shirts, or are buying them, consider taking a picture of yourself or your child in the shirt and emailing it to me? I would love to be able to show her someday all the people that helped us bring her home. What a precious thing you all are doing, and I don't want it to ever be forgotten. I know those shirts won't last forever, but we will never forget your generosity and I want it to be part of this little girl's legacy. What a blessed one she is already!

So, if you get the time....email me a picture! It doesn't have to be fancy, just a regular ol' snapshot will do! My email is oureyesareopened@yahoo.com

Thank you all! Love you!!

Now, off to work. Got lots to sew........

overwhelmed

And no, not in the "what have I gotten myself into?? this is crazy and these fundraisers will soon completely take over my life and my life was already pretty darn close to crazy as it was".

Nope. Not at all like that.

Overwhelmed like "Wow. We have some unbelievably incredible people in our lives who love and support us and who love the Lord and are willing to sacrifice some things in their life to help us follow God's will for us. This little girl is already blessed beyond measure".

Being overwhelmed with love and being humbled by other's generosity is WAY better than being overwhelmed with life and the exhaustion of it all.

Mitch and I are truly blessed to have all of you in our lives. Truly.

Soooo..........you are NOT going to believe this. We are now already more than halfway to our goal of $7,000. Yep, you read that right. Crazy awesome.

Now, do you see why we are overwhelmed?!

first steps

We sent the first step of the application off on Sunday night. Within two days I have gotten two emails and a packet in the mail! Looks like I picked the right agency, eh?

While the application is going to take us a while, we have learned that once we turn it in we only have 90 days to sign the official contract and send in a check for over $7,000. Yikes. That means we have a little over 3 months to raise $7,000. That's a little scary. But, God can handle it.

So, to kick off our 90 days of fundraising (one of my friends coined it "90 days to 7K"...cute!) we are selling shirts! Super cute (inspired from another adopting family trying to raise money) handmade shirts for women, boys, girls, and babies. (I would totally make them for men too, but somehow, I don't think they would ever get worn.....). I somehow figured out how to sell them from the blog, but this is all new to me. So, if you buy one in the next few days, would you mind emailing me also to let me know your exact order so I can double check these paypal people?? I'm not sure what to expect and I just want to make sure I'm getting the right stuff to the right people!!

I made a few today for a friend (who has already helped me market some!! Thanks Meegs!) and her little girl. I also made one for Sam just to see if I could make one "manly" enough so boys wouldn't mind sporting them either.

They all will have a button over the place where Ethiopia is because that is where our hearts are right now.


----sidenote.....I just can't seem to stop thinking about our someday soon daughter. I am constantly scheming ways to raise money or cut our spending. Every purchase now seems so frivolous and silly. I shared this with a friend recently and asked if she thought I would be consumed with this forever or if it would somehow balance out. She assured me that it couldn't possibly balance out. My heart is longing for this child and I feel like I am already her mother...wherever she is. I'm just so eager to bring her home.

So, anyway, please consider buying a shirt! I promise they are super cute and I am going to experiment with lots of different fabrics but will probably stick to gray and white shirts to keep it pretty neutral. Email me if you have any questions about them or special requests. I will try my best to accommodate them!

Oh.....and I totally have my next fundraiser already planned in my head. And it's gonna be a blast. Stay tuned........

net worth

So, first of all....I added a "donate button" over there on the right side of the screen. Ugh. That was difficult. Yes, I totally know that this will only happen with the help of others, and several people have already asked if I was going to do that, but it just makes me feel a tad uncomfortable. We have never been in a situation where we really needed to ask for help. It is truly humbling.

Second. We worked on our application some last night. Everything was going great until....we got to the financial part of it that asked us our "net worth" (assets-liabilities). I had still been on this excited-can't-wait-to-get-going high the last week and all of a sudden I came crashing down. Let me tell you, as blessed as we are compared to the other 98% of the world's population, our net worth?? Not so impressive. Who knew?

So, then I couldn't sleep last night. All the fear that had been held off by my excitement and emotion surfaced. Never in my life have I laid in bed at night and thought about my "net  worth". Who does that?


 I worried that our "net worth" wouldn't be enough for the agency and they would deny us.
 And then, because I totally let the devil in with that one little doubt, a gajillion other came flooding in.......
what if it takes us 5 years to raise enough money?
 I can't wait that long!
What if I'm choosing the wrong agency and we get swindled or enter into some crazy world of corruption in Ethiopia? (it happens, people..)
What if they refuse to even begin the home study with us until our house addition is completely finished?
I have NO idea when that will be!


This morning, the worry continued as soon as I stepped outside and saw our mess of a property. I just kept thinking "our addition is our biggest hindrance right now. It's costly and will more than likely make us fail a home study which means the process for adoption will be that much longer"
Where was the steady faith and trust I had not even 24 hours ago? Lost with one question...."what is your net worth?". So stupid.

Then this afternoon, I had this small moment of clarity and revelation. (wow..typing all this out makes me realize how manic I really am. Poor Mitch.) Anyway....back to my itty bitty moment of clairty....we started this addition 18 months ago. We had to stop a few days into it when we learned that our foundation had to be leveled. We then learned that the money to fix our foundation was going to be a ridiculously huge amount. We stopped mid construction. We waited and saved and finally 6 months later fixed the foundation. We had to move out of our house for a month. When we moved back in we had now exhausted all the money we were planning on spending for the addition. So we waited again.....and waited.....until finally about 5 months ago, we got to start it again. It is slow going. Like sssslllloooowwww going. Anyone that lives in our neighborhood knows (and probably hates) how long it has taken us to just get this far.

So, why? Why has this (what we thought was going to be easy and quick) addition taken so long and been so ridiculously difficult?

(enter my revelation)
Maybe, because we were trying to expand our kingdom. We needed a bigger house to make our lives more comfortable. With all honest and good intentions, (I mean we do have 3 kids and a 1500 sf house and all..) while we were doing well with Mitch's business, we felt like we deserved to have a bigger/nicer home.  But, did we? Maybe those "good intentions" were not God's intentions? Maybe,  God was waiting for us to finally align with His will and plan for us and open our eyes to the world and say yes to adoption. Maybe He was waiting for us to try and expand His kingdom and not our own. Hmmm...

Well, now our eyes are opened. We have said yes to adoption, what we believe is His plan for us. A part of our family's story. But, what does that mean now?

Could it be that maybe the addition will be finished now? Easily and without crazy cost and time issues? I don't know. Maybe. Maybe not. But, I have to believe that if God funds things that are in His plans, and that it is His plan for us to adopt, and if our addition is going to hinder our adoption, that He will figure out a way to solve that problem for us. Somehow.

Please pray for that. Pray that we can finish in a crazy fast way. That there will be a corner of a bedroom finished and waiting for a sweet little girl around the world to come and live there. My heart aches for that and I want it to happen with as little hindrances as possible.

Thank you friends for traveling this road with us. Makes it seem a little less bumpy. :)

amazing

Not even an hour after posting our announcement yesterday, a precious friend from high school wrote me and told me her and her husband want to pay the application fee for us.
Shut. up.
Incredible.
It totally reminded me that God has got this covered. And what generous friends I have. So very grateful.

Here is the link to the cost breakdown of the adoption if any of you are interested. It's crazy and scary and is kind of burned into my brain. BUT.....I am not fearful, it will happen.

I also wanted to share something with you that was maybe the "get off your butt and get going" moment for me. Please take a few minutes to watch it....it might be that moment for you too?? :)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=duyL9UjLrdM

(for some reason I can't embed it in blogger right now...but click on the link and watch it!!

our adventure has begun...

Warning......VERY long post. Very. But, stick it out. It is worth it :) 

I can vividly remember sitting in our college minister's office in May of 2000 next to Mitch. He was going to be marrying us in a few months and wanted to make sure that Mitch and I were on the same page before he did. We filled out questionnaires and personality tests, we discussed our answers and expectations of our marriage. What we wanted and didn't want. How long we wanted to wait to have kids, and how many kids we wanted to have. And, surprisingly, we were on the same page for most things. We wanted to wait at least 2 years (preferably 3) before we even started trying (I was only 21 at the time...) and then we would have 2 perfect kids nicely spread apart....and then be done.

Well, not many of those things that were discussed in "pre-marital counseling" happened quite the way we envisioned. Cause, well.....they were our plans.

We got pregnant with Brody only a little over a year after getting married. Then when he was 9 months old (and I was on birth control.....warning! warning! it is possible!!) we got pregnant with Addie. Then, we thought we were done (Brody was 5 and Addie was 4) we were surprised with a pregnancy....then a miscarriage....then another pregnancy.....then another miscarriage (all unplanned).

We had given up. No more we thought. Brody and Addie are perfect and enough! Then shortly after we made that decision (hahaha), Sam came into our lives and rocked our world. I always thought two kids couldn't possibly be that different than three.....I was wrong. It got super crazy around here. And super perfect. My three kids are unbelievable. And I love that they are mine. But, I really was done this time. I got so sick with Sam and didn't have easy pregnancies the other times around either. So, no more pregnancies. No more babies.

Then..............

God started moving in my heart. He led us to sponsor a child through Compassion International. He showed me how tender my own children's hearts were to the suffering of other children around the world. He led me to this blog and these posts where I followed a woman's journey into the depths of poverty and despair to show me a world beyond my own. He led me to this book through this sweet friend and showed me that the life I had convinced myself I needed and deserved, was not the life God intended for me. For any believer. Our small attempt of living the American Dream was not our desire anymore. While reading that book this last spring/early summer, the thought that had briefly danced through our heads earlier in our marriage reappeared.......adoption.  I thought about it all the time. God had stirred in my heart and that was it. I was ready. God had spoken to me and said that adoption was in our future. I didn't know how. I didn't know if that meant helping someone else adopt or us adopt ourselves, but I knew that I could never look back.
Now.....Mitch on the other hand. He wasn't quite as convinced. He's always the logical one. The one that speaks reality to me. The one that remembers that we have this half-done house right now and three kids and a limited budget. But, he is also the one that never says no to a calling. And not that long after God gave me a peace about it, He gave Mitch one as well.

So.........

This brings us to today. After much prayer and lots of talking, we are beginning the long process of international adoption. We are applying to adopt a little girl from Ethiopia!!

Questions????....

Why a girl? I can't explain that one so much, except that that is our desire. And I just think Addie would be the most incredible big sister to a sweet little girl ever!

Why Ethiopia? I have done lots of research on needy countries and their stand on adoption and their relationship with American adoption agencies. I have read lots of blogs and articles about international adoption. And God kept bringing me back to Ethiopian statistics (there are over 5 MILLION orphans in Ethiopia, 10% of children die before their 1st birthday, only 28% of children have access to drinking water, and it goes on and on). And more specifically God brought me back again and again to pictures and videos of a specific orphanage with just the most beautiful children you have ever seen. So, our hearts said "Ethiopia". And that was it.

How much will it cost?
It will probably cost us somewhere between $28,000- $35,000. Yep, that's not a typo. And if you know us, you know that's cRaZy money. Insane. BUT......I know that God will fund something that is in His plan. And that's what adoption is. HIS plan. One of the biggest moments I had while reading "Radical" was this......we as believers are meant to do more than live out the Christian's version of the American dream. We are God's plan for spreading the gospel to the nations. We are God's plan for taking care of the widows. The homeless. And the orphans. And there is no Plan B.
So, I know that God will provide this. I don't know how. Looking at the cost layout of everything (which I will try and post another day) is scary. It's intimidating. BUT, we don't have to pay it all at once. There are a million different steps and each step requires a different amount.

What's your plan for the cost?
Prayer. Hardy, life-changing prayer. And as hard as it is for us to say this, donations. Lots of them. We have some ideas for some different fundraisers that we still need to work through. But, right now, we are just praying. I want God to show us what to do. I know that He wants to be praised in all of this, so it will not be any of our doing.....cause that's the way He works, to keep us humble. I can only imagine how evident it will be that we had nothing to do with the $30,000 it will take to bring our daughter home, and I am excited. Acutally giddy might be a better word. And I don't ever use that word. Ever. I can't wait to see it all unfold.

What can you do to help us bring our daughter home?
Pray. Please pray. Pray for wisdom. Pray for Mitch to have the time and finances to finish our addition. (We have to have it done for our home study that has to take place later on in the process). Pray for faith and patience. If I could, I would fly to Addis Ababa right now and bring a child home. But, I know that that is not God's timing. This could be a long road, or could be a surprisingly short one. But, I want to remain faithful and patient throughout the process.
Suggestions. Do you have any? Can you help us think of ways to raise money? Do you know of foundations that support or give scholarships to adopting families?
Donations. Yes, friends. We need your help. It is so hard to ask for this. Seriously. We don't do this. Like ever. But, if you can, in any way, help us bring our daughter home, please do. Even if it's $10. That is $10 closer to saving our child from an overflowing orphanage in an impoverished area and bringing her to our arms.
Spread the word.  We are going to need as many people as we can get to back us in prayer and financially.


We are so crazy excited about this. ALL of us (well, maybe not Sam, cause....well, you know. He's 2).
We are eager to get started. First step is to finish the application for the Ethiopian program. We have started it, and will need $250 to send in with it. We are not even close to having that yet. But, we will. God willing.

I will be posting on this blog frequently. Please become a "follower" (it's not always a bad thing ) and check back for updates on our progress and for specific needs you can be praying about.

I am so stinkin excited to start this journey. And I'm most excited about the fact that we are not doing it alone.  I think when she (whoever she is, wherever she is) finally comes to her forever home.....she will have a huge family. :)

Thank you for bearing with me and reading this novel of a post. There was just so much to say. I love you all.