HAPPY 9th Birthday ISAAC!!

Today we celebrated Isaac's 9th birthday! I can't believe how the years are passing by so quickly! We feel so blessed to have had another year with such an amazing little boy! I am so thankful for him and so proud to be his mom! Isaac, we love you so so much!

Over the years he has grown so close to his cousins...they are more like brothers and sisters to him...he absolutely considers them his very best friends.Along with having them here to celebrate with him, we also got 2 new videos of his brother today!I think he had a great birthday

We got the call!!!

We got the call this morning!!! We expected an update on our case, but not our actual travel approval and embassy appointment!!! We are so excited that God has chosen to finally let us go get our sweet boy! We were crying, laughing, jumping up and down and just praising and thanking God for this amazing gift today! It feels like a dream....I can't believe that we are actually going next week! I feel as if God got both of us right where He wanted us....in total submission and trust in Him....and then He said...ok, now you can go. What cherished lessons we have learned that can't even be put into words!
We will leave next Wednesday, Thursday or Friday and we should have that handsome little boy in our arms by Sunday the 22nd for sure! That is my birthday! Won't that be the most amazing gift?!!
Ok, off to look for flights and make arrangements for a place to stay when we are there!
YAY!!!!!!!

My purpose in this post is honestly, mainly for me...to journal and keep a record, of what I feel was something amazing that God did in my life this week. If you choose to read on, and you are encouraged, then this time I spend typing this out will have served a double purpose! (:

We had VBS this past week at church, and I went into the first couple of days bogged down by all the tension and sadness concerning the adoption. On the outside I was smiling for the children, giving all I had into the lessons, and asking God to give me the ability to set this stress aside, and enjoy this week, telling these children all about Him! This would be the first time several of these children had even ever heard who God was! "Seeds" were going to be planted in their little hearts, and I had a responsibility to present our God in a way that would be pleasing to Him!
The first day was about Gideon leading the Israelites against the Midianites-how God helped them win the battle against this HUGE army in such a unexpected way......the lesson was, that God is undefeatable and no matter how things may "look", just trust in Him....
I randomly pick each morning either Oswald Chambers for my devotions or Joni Eareckson Tada......It usually depends on my mood- if I want to "dig deep" I go with Chambers, and if I need something a little more light and encouraging I usually will read Joni's. Tuesday morning was Oswald Chambers......There was one paragraph that got my attention that seemed to apply to my situation right now, but I just read the suggested reading in Luke that went along with it and prayed and went about my day. I have to admit....my mind was still in a fog and I wasn't focusing or giving God the proper time or attention He deserves at this point.
So Tuesday night was the exciting story about Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego and the fiery furnace! The kids loved this story and we were all so enthusiastic about this great miracle that God had done! The lesson was that God was unmatchable, and how once again He showed His power when these men put their trust and faith in Him!
Wednesday morning I decided to check out Joni's devotional....it comes to me every day by email automatically. The title of the email and devotional was "Chosen for the Furnace". I thought "oh that is funny...this is what we were just teaching the kids last night!" I read it and read the scripture and it was all about being chosen to suffer, what you do in that time of suffering, and what God has to offer through His Word to comfort you in these times of suffering. I thought it was ironic, but I even said to my mom that night when I told her about it..."I don't feel like we are suffering.....not compared to others in the world or these three men that we read about in the bible....."
Then Wednesday night was the story of Paul and Silas. They were thrown in prison and bound in chains because of their outward faith and testimony for Christ. While they sat in prison they never stopped praising God. God caused the earthquake which broke their chains, but instead of running away, they remained there and continue to witness to the guard who then gave his life to Christ because of their testimony. The lesson was that God is uncontainable!
Ok, so Thursday morning I opened up my email again to find the title of the devotional "Bolts and Bars". It was all about the "chains" that may be confining you in your life.....and what Paul had to say in Philippians about his time in prison and confinement..... how it enabled him to speak the Word of God even more fearlessly and courageously to those he came in contact with. God definitely had my attention now! I felt like 2 days in a row was not just by chance! My eyes were now open and I went back and pondered the scriptures and devotionals that I had read the past couple of days.
Thursday night was about Elijah on the mountain top looking to hear God's voice in his time of need and trouble. He expected to hear it in the wind, the earthquake and the fire....but ended up hearing God's voice in a whisper. The lesson was, that God is unpredictable. If we are "still" and just "LISTEN" we might just be able to hear what He is trying to "say" to us.
Friday morning's devotional was about Gideon! I am not kidding! That was our story at VBS from the first night! Joni asked "What battles are you facing in your life....whatever they are, draw encouragement from Gideon and the Lord Jesus...... and press on!"
It then dawned on me that all week long, God was trying to speak to me in a "whisper" through His Word! All throughout this adoption process, He seems to have spoken to us in a "wind" or "earthquake" or "fire".....He has provided so many things in so many ways that have been so clearly, undeniably huge, that I think I was probably just expecting something like this again. These devotions and stories and scriptures all tied together this week was not an accident, it was God speaking to me through His Word and showing me His power, His comfort, and His faithfulness. I immediately prayed and thanked Him for allowing my eyes to finally be opened to what He had been trying to show me all week! How did I get so privileged to have God's Word available to me at all times.....and why do I take it for granted so often?! It is so much more than just a book with stories in it or a list of do's and don'ts......I think that we forget that sometimes..... I will strive now not to just pass over and put aside a verse or a passage that I think may not apply to me ..... 2 Timothy 3:16 All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness. I will strive now to make sure I am paying attention when God is trying to gently "whisper" to me.
So as this week approaches, we have the anticipation of possibly finding out whether or not the head of the US embassy in Ethiopia is going to grant Hailu his visa or not. There are high hopes of a particular individual meeting with her, and we are hoping that when things are explained in a proper way, she will understand the situation and clearly allow things to move forward and give him his visa. I don't want to go into all the details yet publicly, it is too fragile of a situation and I don't want to risk getting anyone upset. We are praying that God's will be done!! This lady has the power to change everything right now.....but she doesn't have ANY power that God does not give to her. He WILL get all the glory for whatever happens this week......His perfect plan will unfold exactly the way he intends it to. I am excited to see how He is going to work this all out! Stay tuned!

Not much to say....

There isn't much to tell, other than we know now that the document has been submitted to the embassy for review. It remains to be seen whether or not this particular document will be acceptable to them. If not, we will have to continue to wait until something is created that WILL be acceptable. We have our amazing, wonderful, friend at Todd Platts (our state rep) office working with us now to try to expedite the decision. Today she reached contact with the embassy in Ethiopia, but there was still some confusion on their part, so tomorrow we are hoping some things will be cleared up. Since Ethiopia is 7 hours ahead, there is only a short window of time when they can be reached during their office hours.
I am feeling confident and absolutely at peace with however God chooses to work this out, but I am feeling sad at the same time. It is so hard to explain how I am feeling, because it is so strange to even me at times when I think about how much I love Hailu, when we haven't even met him yet. God has put this intense love in our hearts for him.......he is our son.....I miss him.....I want to hug and kiss him, laugh with him, play with him, teach him, comfort him......I want him home.