Puzzle Progress

Well, thanks to all of you, our puzzle is coming along quite nicely!  At least we all have faces now!  It's hard to not just finish it.  I so want to put all the pieces in to see the finished product....just like I so want to see what our family will look/feel/be like once our son is here with us.  But, the future is not for us to know, which is usually for the best, which is what God always has for us...His best.  Waiting does not seem like a very active thing to do, and those of you who know me, know that I am very active!  I want to be doing something....anything....to fix the situation.    So, I am doing the best thing I know to do- pray and ask others to do the same!!  God's timing is way better than mine anyway:)

We are soooo grateful for those of you whose names we have added to the back of a puzzle piece!  So blessed that you are a part of our lives and want to share in this adventure with us!!   I have made a piece for everyone who requested that I do so, and for anyone who has told me at some point in our adoption journey that they are praying for us (not sure if I remembered everyone!) Several of you got to write on your own piece (that option is still open for those of you that live nearby:) And I have been also trying to write on a piece for those of you that have generously donated to our cause either by purchasing coffee, giving money, or donating much needed items for the ministries we will be visiting while in Ethiopia.  However, as you can see, there are still some pieces that need names on them- your names!  My memory is not the best anymore, so if you have told me at some point that you are praying for us, or you are willing to start now,we would love to have your names on a piece.  Please just stop by, or message me by FB or e-mail and let me know.  

Our current and most urgent prayer request is that our case be submitted to the US Embassy tomorrow (which is really tonight on US time).  So, we would covet your prayers regarding that immediate issue!

I can't wait to play with this puzzle with Biruk!

 Will you be a Piece in our Puzzle of Life?

I was reminded this weekend after a visit to our precious friends, The Ewings, just how intertwined our lives are with friends, family and loved ones.  We went there to love on them and help support them as their son battles brain cancer, but in return, we were the ones who felt so loved and encouraged by them....I love that our lives are so interconnected with others... at times it makes life stressful and chaotic and I just want to retreat to my own little world, but much more often, it makes life fuller and richer and much more exciting!  I love praying for others and lifting them up to God's throne of Grace.  I love knowing people well enough for them to tell me what they need prayer for.  Most of all... I love it when others pray for me!  (selfish I know) It brings me peace when God followers offer to pray for me because I know the prayer of a righteous man (or woman) is powerful and effective and when those who say they will pray- really do- God moves....


So- here is what I am asking-to those who are willing- will you join with me in praying for the pieces of our family to all come together?  So many of you have asked when we will be returning to Ethiopia to bring home our son, and our answer is still, to our frustration, "we don't know."  But God knows and I know the Word says that God sets the lonely in families.  And I know that right now a piece of our puzzle is still in Ethiopia.  When we visited our son at the end of July, we spent our days at the transition home with him (something I still want to blog on soon).  One thing we found is that our new son loves puzzles!  We spent a good hour or more working on a 1000 piece puzzle and he loved it!  He was so proud every time he found where a piece went.  So I got a puzzle made from one of the pictures we took while there.  It is only 100 pieces so it won't take long to put together, but what I want to do is borrow and idea I saw on someone else's blog.  I would like for anyone who is willing to join us in prayer for our family to write their name on the back of one of the pieces.  You can do this in person at my orphanage shower next Saturday ( Sept. 30th from 2-4 pm at Sheila Key's home) or you can send me a message via e-mail or Facebook and I can write in on for you.  That way, every time we play with the puzzle, I can talk to Biruk about all the people who are part of our lives and who helped to pray him home. I will post a pic of the puzzle as it progresses.

I told little Levi Ewing as I held him on Saturday, that some day, he would get to meet Biruk, and I knew that Biruk would love him, because he loves little kids even though he is 8 years old.....and Biruk would smile his big grin at Levi and Levi would smile his chubby grin back and their lives would become intertwined.....just like the rest of us.

Order in the Court!

Lots of people have been asking us recently where we are at in our adoption process, so I thought I would finally update my blog and fill you all in!  We received our "official" referral on June 6th, almost one month ago.  I put it in parentheses because we had already verbally agreed to adopt this little guy back in the beginning of Feb. and have just been waiting for his paperwork to all get completed so they could refer him to us (if that makes sense). Since that time, our paperwork, along with his, has gone through a few more steps and has now been presented to the court.  So, we are currently just waiting for a court date!  The issue is, however, that the Ethiopia courts close from sometime in August to early October for the "raining season."   It would be oh so nice if there truly was "order in the courts" and we could travel before they close.  However, knowing how third world judicial systems work- that is going to be in God's hands!  We know His timing is always perfect, and we will be traveling to the other side of the world and meet our son in due time. Until then, please be praying for him to continue to learn English and us to continue to learn Amharic:)

Lucky Number 23

My mom's lucky number was 23.  Good things were always happening to her involving that special number.  I don't think my mom really believed in "luck" and neither do we.  We know that "every good and perfect gift come down from the Father above."  But we also know that Father sometimes does things just to make us smile because He loves us so much.  So it is only fitting that today, March 23rd 2012, a little over a month after my mom's passing, we got the most amazing news that our Ethiopian son got transferred to our adoption agency's transition home!  Now this might not seem like a big deal, but believe me- it is!  When I get a chance, I will blog our whole story with him so far, because it is amazing! God has worked out every detail in His perfect timing (much to our dismay sometimes while we were waiting).  But for now it means that he is in a more "home" like setting and will start learning English and math.  And most of all it means that he now knows that someone has chosen him, wants him and is looking forward to having him in their family- how "lucky" can you get???