Waiting for our Cloud to Move

So, September is almost over. Each morning, I wake up wondering if today will be the day we hear about our son. It is a weird place to be. Some days, it isn't that difficult. Other days, I obsess. I just can't help it. I am trying to strike the balance between being excited in a good way and being anxious in a bad way. You get the idea.

This morning, I was reading about the Israelites wandering in the desert where God directed them through a cloud in the day and through fire by night. It struck me that they woke up every morning, wondering if they were going to move or stay. There must have been a lot of unknowns. Hmmm. In a way, it comforted my heart to know that, in a way, we are doing the same. It is o.k. to wake up each day with a little bit of unknown because God knows. And, we trust Him and his perfect timing. So, we will wait for our cloud to move us to the next step in this journey.

I've Never Cried Over Mail!

Let me start by saying I have been making the little trek to the mailbox daily, hoping and praying that our Favorable Determination Letter had arrived. I kept hearing of other familes who received theirs only a month or so after their fingerprints, so I wondered why ours hadn't come. It has already been almost three months since our fingerprints. We need this document in order to be able to schedule a court date after our referral; therefore, it is very important as we draw closer to a referral!

Today, I happened to stop by to get our mail before going to volunteer at the kids' school. I opened the mailbox, not even really looking for the document. To my surprise, there it was, and I burst into tears! I think some of the emotions of waiting just surfaced. I'm not sure how I'll react when we actually get the call. :) Oh well. They were happy tears! We are officially ready!

Notice the Africa t-shirt! I think it was good luck!

Half Crazy

Before. . .

On Sunday, Chris and I (and Adam, my brother) ran the Half Marathon. (Thus, we're only "half crazy"!) It was a beautiful, perfect running day. Chris has been my trainer and encourager all summer as we worked toward this goal. When we started, we had just turned in our paperwork and were on the waiting list, looking to September. I thought it would be symbolic to train for something like this while we waited to hear of our little boy.

So, as I ran, and as Chris kept pushing me to go faster, I kept thinking of this adoption process and how we were already at this point! Boy, it came fast! One of the most motivating thoughts that gave me a boost during the run was thinking about possibly going for a run IN Ethiopia while we were there to get our son. I don't know if I will be able to go, but Chris is definitely planning on it. I actually got goosebumps thinking of it, even while I was sweating my brains out!

At about mile 10, Chris mentioned, "Hey! We could do the Relay in the Wichita marathon in a month." I think I snapped at him. Oops. I shouldn't have, but I really didn't want to think about doing this again at that point.

After

It's funny how things change, because once I was across the finish line, it was all great! I ended up finishing around 1 hour, 46 minutes! Wow! I can't believe I ran that fast for that long. But, I feel like I got a lesson in running with a partner. There is NO way I would have been able to accomplish that without Chris running with me. He pushed and encouraged me the entire 13.1 miles, and I am so thankful! Thank you, honey!!! I hated it at the time, but I am proud of what we did. I ended up getting 8th place in my age group. I even got a little trophy/plaque thing. :)

I may even do this again. We'll see!

Here is a cool tree the kids found to climb.

I love Ethiopia!

We found this video tonight. It is short and sweet!

Pictures of Ethiopia

This couple was in Ethiopia just a few weeks ago getting their little boy! Oh, I just LOVE to see these pictures and imagine what it will be like for us. They did a great job capturing a lot of Ethiopia's culture as well as the process once parents get to Ethiopia.

We have officially been waiting 3 months, 1 week, and 2 days for our referral. The excitement is building!!!

Do you need some shoes?

Are you in the market for some shoes? I wasn't, really. But, I may just get some of these. Click on the picture and read about this great company that wants to contribute to Uganda in a very tangible way. Here is just a snippet of their story. You can read more on their blog.

If you happen to find yourself in Kampala, Uganda, make your way to the Old Taxi Park. From there, grab a taxi van to Matuga. Jump off at the end of the line, and hop on a boda boda to the Cornerstone Leadership Academy. After a (bumpy) ride along a dirt road, you will find yourself in the company of some of the most intelligent and committed young women in Uganda. These women are graduates of the Cornerstone Leadership Academy and employees of Sseko Designs.

Sseko {say.co} Designs was created as a Not-Just-For-Profit business that will help these bright young women continue their education. The Ugandan school system is designed with a nine month gap between secondary school and university. These nine months are intended to allow time for students to earn money for tuition before continuing on to university. However, in an impoverished and male dominated society, many of these young women struggle to find fair work during this time.

Sseko Designs hires recent secondary school graduates for this nine month period to live and work together, while earning money that will go directly towards their university education. These women will not make sandals forever. They will go on to be doctors, lawyers, politicians, writers and teachers that will bring change and unification to a country divided and ravished by a 22 year-long war.

Sseko Designs is a for-profit enterprise that recognizes the power of business and responsible consumerism to support sustainable economic development, which in turn affects a country's educational, justice, and health care systems. The goal of Sseko Designs is two-fold: provide university tuition for these promising young women through a sustainable monthly income, while also contributing to the overall economic development of Uganda.

Although consumerism makes many empty promises, responsible and proactive consumerism has the ability to change lives. Like the lives of Mercy, Mary and Rebbecca.

Every sandal has a story. This story has only just begun, but with your help, it will be a story of hope, success and change. (Taken directly from the Sseko blog.)

I might just have to buy some!

Sorting: Something to Pray about!

Through another blog friend (See 5 by Faith), I found this article written by a mom of a son from Haiti. She talks about how her youngest (biological) daughter keeps pointing out how she matches her sister, but she doesn't match her older brother. It was thought-provoking and reminded me that I need to be praying for wisdom because we are going to be encountering new situations as we become a transracial family. (That is such a weird phrase to me! It sounds so serious.) I want to be prepared and proactive.

Uncle Pat

We had a great time last night with Uncle Pat. Uncle Pat lives in Alaska, and we don't get to see him enough; however, we love him just the same.
He surprised the kids with hand-made necklaces. The girls got girly ones, and the boys got manly bear-claw necklaces. Yes, Uncle Pat was a hit as you can tell by the captive audience he held.

Play Set = Happiness!

Many thanks to those of you who helped us move our play set! Raegan--and Sydney, Jackson and Baby Brother--will be eternally grateful. O.k. Maybe not eternally, but right now they are loving it!
It is so nice to have a place for them to play other than the mud!
We are also thoroughly enjoying our new neighbors. They have fun toys! :) Plus, they are just fun to be around.
This is Jackson with his new friend.

Shots, Shots, and More Shots!

Ouch! I have to admit that I am a complete wimp when it comes to objects having to intrude my body. I have a weird physical reaction where I pass out if I am not lying down. Well, I tried to go ahead and sit up this time. Big mistake. My head started spinning, I felt nautious, and I thought I was going. Luckily, I held on long enough to get myself down on the floor before completely losing consciousness. Whew. It was a close call.
So, we are done with all of our major shots (except the flu shots). I am so thankful for this! Here, the kids are sympathizing with me. Raegan was especially sympathetic because she had to get her shots the day before! Yes, we have definitely had our fill this week.

Another Secret Keeper Girl Date

This time, we decided to do our Secret Keeper Girl Date at home since it was a "Spa Date". We made up some home-made facial materials (peaches and oatmeal, cold cucumbers) and applied it to each other! (Yes, this felt very weird!)We got to lounge on our bed while listening to classical music and chatting about how God views us as beautiful. It is the unique qualities He has given us that makes us beautiful in His eyes. Have I mentioned how I love Secret Keeper Girls?! If you have a daughter, I highly recommend this resource. :)

Finding Something to DO!

Have you ever experienced a time when you kept hearing the same message in several different ways? It is in those times when you finally realize, "I better listen up! I think God is trying to tell me something!" The past month or so has been that for me. In a way, I love it! I love knowing that God is speaking and I am actually listening.

Red Letters by Tom Davis: A great book I've been reading.

Sermons at church, books we read, messages on the radio have all been prompting me/our family to find something to DO. This is such a simple word. But, I feel like I have not been a "doer", and God is moving toward more of one!

A sermon series by David Platt: Just another one of those mediums for spurring on.


Let me explain. There are so many times I read a story of injustice and literally cry. My heart breaks for the innocent victims in the story. But, after I'm done reading, I move on with my comfortable life. A week or two later, I completely forget about the sad story. Now, I feel like I am supposed to do more than empathize with those who have sad stories. Granted, I cannot and am not supposed to do something for all of them, but I feel like God is urging me to find my place in what He has for me.
So, that is where we are. We have had a lot of fun brainstorming different ideas of what we can DO, and we have decided to start with this. We are going to give up eating out for the month of September. With the money we save, we are going to take the kids to pick out formula and diapers that are needed desperately in Ethiopian orphanages. Chris and I will be able to deliver these when we travel to get our little boy. (Oh, I can't wait!)
We would LOVE to have others join us. Even more, we would love to have others just find what God wants you to DO. One blogger family is doing a "financial fast". You can read about it here.
As I am learning more about the world (especially Africa since that is where our hearts are focused right now), I see how blessed we are. Have you seen the post from Share Your Love about Jiggers? Please watch this. (It is graphic, so beware.)

Have you read these articles from Katie about life in Uganda? Please read at least the article from August 26. I will summarize the part that put this all in perspective for me:

In the adoption world, we keep seeing the number, 147,000,000. (That is 147 MILLION!) That is how many orphans there are. Yikes. That is such a huge number. It seems to paralyze us. BUT. And now I am going to copy and paste Katie's words:

"Seems like a big number, huh? It shouldn't, because there are 2.1 BILLION people on this earth who profess to be Christians. Jesus followers. Servants. Gospel live-ers. And if only 8 percent of those Christians would care for just ONE of these needy children, they would all be taken care of."

Wow. We don't have to do everything. Let's try to find something to DO. Start small. Skip eating out for a month with us. Or, find something else to do.