Priceless!

Ooooo--it came! Today, I received my free copy of Tom Davis's new book, Priceless. I am already busy reading, but I was able to put it down just long enough to post this! Oh, you are all going to love this book. It is intense so far, but it presents a message that so many of us need to hear. Child trafficking is just all around. This week, I heard about this very thing that happens in my own city--right here in the midwest! How can this be? Anyway, more on this later. For now, I am going to whiz through this book! Book review to come shortly! (Notice the Simply Love T, the box of my new Toms shoes in the background. I was sad because my new Junk Posse earrings are covered by my hair! I love being a walking advertisement for items with a cause!)

Recitals and Field Days

Field Day was last week. Jackson ran the 50 yard dash.
He was huffing and puffing!

He won first place! It must have been the fire on his shirt.

Sydney ran the 200 yard dash. It was a long jaunt!
She won 2nd place!

Sydney also had her spring recital last week. She has done a great job this year!
It is fun to hear her improvements.

A Week of Firsts for Raegan

This week was a full week for Raegan. First, she decided that she wanted to learn to tie her shoes. After showing her one time, she did it! Since then, she has worn her pink cons nonstop. (See below. . .)This accomplishment must have given her confidence because she then decided she wanted to learn to ride her bike--without the training wheels! So, here, Daddy is taking off the wheels.
One, two, three!

I Won!

Priceless Book Giveaway! from Tom Davis on Vimeo.

I am "Julie"! #54! Oh, I am just giddy right now. Tom Davis wrote a new book, Priceless, that is due out in June. He held a contest where he gave out two free copies. These are not just any copies. They are the first two! (Well, he has the first.) Anyway, I know what I will be doing next week! (Reading!)

Thank you, Tom Davis! If you haven't become acquainted with Children's HopeChest, I strongly urge you to check them out. They do great things for the fatherless. (Sponsorship, help churches partner with orphanages, etc.)

2nd Medicals!

On Tuesday, we received Isaiah's 2nd medicals! This is very important because it was a missing piece of his paperwork. Now that we have it, our agency will submit our case to the Ethiopian courts and wait for a court date! Our case worker did warn us that we may have to wait a bit because of several factors.

1. Before receiving a court date, we also must have a birth certificate issued by the orphanage.
2. Ethiopian elections are next week which may slow everything down.

So, please continue to pray that we will get a court date before courts close in early July.

Isaiah is One!

I had some mixed emotions as we celebrated Isaiah's first birthday yesterday. I am so glad to know him and be able to acknowledge his day; of course, I am also sad because we can't celebrate it in the normal way. Nevertheless, we had ice cream in honor of this adorable little boy on the other side of the world!

So Close!

Look at these adorable, slobbery hands!
We are getting so close, so keep praying that those court documents all come in, allowing us to beat the rain delays. There was word this week that the courts may close in July, so we may have less time than we think.

Mother's Day

I never thought chocolate poptarts would bring me to tears, but they did. Let me explain. After helping our neighbors lay sod in the afternoon and then Saturday celebrating with friends and family that night, Chris and I collapsed into bed. Chris asked, "What do you want for breakfast tomorrow?"

"Well, we are out of eggs and bread, so I guess toast," I barely answered as I drifted off to sleep.

After rushing to get ready for church, I came out to the kitchen expecting to have to get breakfast going for everyone when I spotted this amazing, lovely sight: {Tears} The kids had done this all by themselves. For me. They were so excited. Does it really ever get any better than this? I felt loved.

Referral Celebration!

Saturday night, we held an ice cream party to celebrate our referral where almost 60 people filled our home to celebrate with us. As a treat, they were some of the first to get to know his name!My mom, new nephew, Chris, Rusty & Lesli, and Paige.

Rusty and Lesli first introduced us to adoption as they adopted their son from China two years. We are so glad they did because it stirred our hearts!

We are so thankful for our community of friends who came to celebrate with us!
This is my new friend, Brenda. She and her husband are on the waiting list to adopt a little boy from Ethiopia! They are #5 right now! We can't wait for them to get their good news!I think Heidi was much more excited to be in the picture than her sweet boy! :)

Lesli, me & Robin. Boy, I hated to have to white out Isaiah's face.
Hopefully, I'll be able to post it soon!
Steven & Holly, Lesli and Hannah (Les was everywhere!)

Stacey & Sandy

I wish I had pulled out my camera a lot sooner. There are many who were there that I didn't capture on film! We were busy scooping ice cream, and I was just having so much fun that I forgot until Brenda reminded me! But, I am so glad that everyone could come. It was such fun!

What comes next?

This week has been full of lots of little celebrations! Here, we got to go for ice cream with Uncle Brian. It has definitely been a fun week. Thanks to all who have joined us through e-mail, phone calls and other contacts. :)

We were able to get his medical information evaluated, allowing us to send in our acceptance form for the referral!

Many have asked what is next. When do we get to go get our little guy? The short answer is we don't know. Best case scenario: in four months. Worst case: a lot later! Right now we are praying for a court date before August. Ethiopian courts close from August-September for their rainy season. Therefore, we would have to wait until October for our first trip. If we could get a court date before the courts close, we could make our first trip this summer. The second trip would follow about 2 months later. This is what we would obviously choose. You can pray with us that our agency is able to gather the needed paperwork for this to happen.

In the meantime, we are going to continue to celebrate knowing our little guy. Tonight, we will reveal his name at a Referral party! I hope you all can come. For those who can't, I'll try to post again soon!

It is Time to Give Thanks!

For the past few months, I have been clinging to God's promises of strength and mercy. Boy, it has been hard. But today, He answered our prayers!

So, "I will give thanks to the LORD with my whole heart;
I will recount all of your wonderful deeds.
I will be glad and exult in you;
I will sing praise to your name, O Most High." Ps. 9:1-2

We got a very special call today. I was eating lunch with my mom in a noisy diner. I got a call and finally realized it was Sue from CWA. Our caseworker is in Ethiopia, so I had never talked to Sue before. She started to tell me about a little boy. . . I tried to write things down, but it was very hard to hear and focus!

We were all so happy!

You can tell I was a fountain overflowing with joyful tears!

We quickly finished lunch and headed straight to Chris's school to tell him. Luckily, it was his planning period, so I was able to tell him in person! (More happy tears!)

After seeing his sweet, sweet face, I rushed to get Sydney and Jackson out of school so they could see him, too. Jackson was there first, and he was so excited. He had a big grin when I told him we had found out about his brother. When Sydney got there and heard the news, she burst into tears. (Like mother, like daughter!) We rushed back to Chris's room and they got their first look at their future brother.

Yes, it is time to sing praises to you, Jesus!

Jackson is 8!

This weekend, we had a birthday extravaganza for Jackson! First, unrelated to his birthday, Chris and Jackson went camping with our church's boy's club. They had a fabulous time running through tall grass, fishing, camping, etc. On Saturday afternoon, eight friends came over to celebrate with Jackson. We had a great time doing old-time favorites like freeze tag, tug-of-war. . . . . .and balloon popping.

Then, our family members came over Saturday night to celebrate with Jackson's choice of dessert: Cheesecake! Here's our new little nephew! Raegan & Sydney are sitting with Aunt Carolyn & Great Grandma.

Jackson and Toby

Sunday morning, Jackson's "real birthday", Jackson got his breakfast of choice: Chocolate Pop Tarts! I'm not sure how this qualifies as breakfast food, but I guess it is o.k. for one day a year! Happy Birthday, Jackson.
We are so glad God chose you for our family!
We love you!