Wednesday, March 30, 2011

It's been awhile...

Alright, so it's been awhile since I've posted anything.  It's been sort of a weird time for me - nothing horrible, nothing spectacular - just weird. Lots of "processing" going on - for me that is almost a full-time job.  It's quite consuming!  So after all this processing, here's where we're at...
1.  The MOWA in Ethiopia is now known as the MOWCYA - here is the latest word from our adoption agency...after a time of transition, this newly named Ethiopian agency should be able to process more letters than they were previously processing.  Great news!!  God is so faithful!
2.  We are about 1 month out still from getting our paperwork sent to Ethiopia.  Once again, we're waiting on ME.  There are times when I just can't seem to get it together.  I still have a couple pieces of paperwork that need to be notarized and I need to complete our family picture pages and then I just will need to double check everything.  So we're almost there!  Pray that I'll get it together sometime soon and get this handled!!
3.  Our family is eating healthier.   I've reconnected with Trader Joe's and I'm loving it!!  As I told the girls, "God gave us 1 body and He told us to take care of it" - so that's what we're trying to do.
4.  My mom and dad are coming for a visit!  We're so excited to have them come.  They were supposed to come a month or so ago, but because the recovery from my mom's surgery didn't go quite as planned - their visit was delayed.  We're so thankful my mom is doing better and they are able to come south for awhile!
5.  It takes pride to be anxious - I'm not wise enough to know how my life should turn out.  I LOVE that!  I love that God's plans for me will always be better than my own!!
6.  Garren Janes and his family are still in my daily prayers.  See the link to Pastor Geoffrey's blog in my sidebar.  The faith and strength of this family is truly amazing and it points straight to God - which is exactly what each of our lives should be doing.
7.  "How much larger your life would be if your self could become smaller in it"  G.K. Chesterton          

8.  "God intends for each of us to live for a greater glory and a greater story, than our own."  Dan Allender
I'm so grateful that I can be a part of God's bigger story - my prayer is that He will write the pages of our family's story in ways that we could never have imagined!

I think that's it for now.  I'll add a few pictures just for pure enjoyment!




Anni - our soccer girl








Anni and Averi in Hilton Head playing mini golf.  We were missing Abbi, she was at home taking her driver's training class.




While in Hilton Head we got to hang out with the McCrumb family (our "cousins" from Maine) - such a great family, we always enjoy getting together with them!

Wednesday, March 9, 2011

Praying...

There has been word that the MOWA in Ethiopia is talking about cutting Ethiopian adoptions by up to 90%.  I think we can all do the math and understand what that would mean for the many families who are in the process of adopting right now - including ours.  We are being encouraged not to speculate or to be anxious, but simply to pray!  So that's what our family is doing.  We don't know what the future holds for Ethiopian adoptions, but we do know the One who does.  We're trusting Him today!