In the midst of quiet...

It's quiet at my house right now!  This past week has been busy with Christmas and friends and everyone home from school and work...it's been hard to find a quiet moment.  But this morning, JT and Anni are off to a soccer clinic and Abbi and Averi are still sleeping.  Otis, our new puppy (yes, we're a little bit crazy!) was up at his normal 5am, but he's settled in to his crate with his bone and is quite content for the moment.

In the midst of quiet, I've been thinking over all that the next weeks will hold for our family.  We were very aware this Christmas, that next Christmas will look very different.  It's exciting, overwhelming and a tad bit sad all wrapped up together.

At work we recently took a strengths test - my result is that I'm "paced" - timing, flow and ample opportunity to plan are all very important to me - shocker! :)  In light of that, I understand how important it is for me to quickly find a new flow each time I encounter change - a new "normal".  

I'm under no delusions - I know our home is about to be turned inside out and upside down, but I'm praying that God will give us the wisdom and insight to quickly find a new normal, a flow that will work for our new expanded family.

I know many of you are praying faithfully for our family - we appreciate that so much!  I would ask that as we get closer and closer to bringing our little ones home that you would pray specifically for God to pour His extravagant grace on our home - that it would fill each crack and each gap and that each of our hearts would be saturated with love for one another - the kind of love that believes the best and has incredible hope in the story God is writing for our family!

We sent an email to the Embassy in Kinshasa yesterday asking for an invitation to travel.  We just need them to say the word - "come".

Merry Christmas 2012

 

Merry Christmas from our family to yours!

Adoption Update

We've been updating what's happening adoption-wise on Facebook, but I haven't done a good job of keeping the blog up-to-date - sorry about that.

It's been a busy month and we're definitely making great progress!  Here's where we're at -

We're waiting for Immigration Approval - they told us we should hear something within 1-4 weeks.  We're sitting at just under 2 weeks right now. So we're hoping we'll hear something any day now!

We go on Wednesday to get our Yellow Fever vaccination - this is needed before we can get permission to travel into DRC.  

We have been super hopeful that we would be traveling before the end of  2012 to bring our little ones home, but on Wednesday we got word of some serious unrest in The Congo.  I won't go into all the details, but a rebel force has taken over a city called Goma and are threatening that Kinshasa (where J and A are) is next.  The Embassy in Kinshasa is alerting Americans to leave Kinshasa - which we assume means that they aren't going to be giving permission for any other Americans to travel in.  Our Director hasn't heard anything concrete from our lawyer, JB, on this - so right now we're just speculating - which we really don't like to do.

Bottom line is that this conflict could certainly hamper progress with our case, but we're choosing to be positive and hopeful.  God certainly isn't surprised by what's happening in DRC right now and we'll trust that His mighty hand will protect our children and guide our progress towards them.

30 Days of Thankfulness - let's call this Day #17 through the end :)

We were able to spend Thanksgiving with our family in MI this year.  So thankful for the opportunity to catch up with everyone!   We have been blessed with an amazing family!  

Let me give you a recap:

LOTS of eating, LOTS of shopping (Grandma T and Abbi made it an all-night, all-day event), LOTS of talking and laughing, LOTS of kids, which of course, means LOTS of noise and most importantly, LOTS of love!

30 Days of Thankfulness - Day #16-20

Ok, so I'm behind again.  It's certainly not because I'm not thankful each and every day - we just have been so busy, it's been hard to find time to post.  So I'll do a little catch up today. :)

The last few days I've been so thankful for and proud of our daughters ~

Abbi took part in her high school's Miss Warrior Pageant and did a fantastic job!  Averi had her Sports Banquet and was awarded for her dedication to being the very best cheerleader she can be (despite a less than stellar situation with her squad) and Anni auditioned for and won the part of Midge in her upcoming school play, The Adventures of Robin Hood.  

Love, Love, Love them!

30 Days of Thankfulness - Day #14 and #15

As temperatures have dipped quite low lately, I'm so thankful for a warm home - for the ability to turn up the heat, turn on the fireplace and pour a hot cup of coffee.  There are so many who don't have this ability.  I'm reminded not to take it for granted!

I'm also thankful for JT's employer that allows him to take mornings off for running adoption errands - like today's biometrics appointment! :)

30 Days of Thankfulness - Day #12 and #13

We definitely have adoption stuff to be THANKFUL for - we now have our CONA and Adoption Deeds translated and we received the kids new birth certificates (they should be translated by the end of the week).  Our Director is working on our "Invitation to Travel" letter and we'll be applying for our Visas soon.  We're also scheduled for our Yellow Fever vaccinations this week - although I'm not sure that qualifies as something I'm necessarily thankful for! :)

We're incredibly thankful for God moving His mighty hand!  And for our Agency working so hard on our behalf!  We're also beyond thankful for all of those who are praying for us!

We literally just got our translated Birth Certificates - WooHoo!  Another thing to be super thankful for today!