A Long Awaited Post...

My adoption community friends will have to forgive me for not posting this earlier, for they have been patiently (with anxious anticipation) awaiting this post. We have been hustling and bustling ourselves from one side of the state to the other, dealing with flu, and cleaning up the wake of destruction here at home that we just simply had to leave in order to get out the door on time last week. I have also been trying to figure out for the last 3 hours how to make all of my images smaller and without fuzziness or distortion, but have had no luck...so please forgive me for the quality and length of page. We did, however have a lovely time with family this Christmas season. We always put quite a bit of thought into the gifts we give at Christmas, and this one was no exception. Originally we thought we would have many neat Ethiopian gifts to give out this year at Christmas time. Having been through the loss of our referral of "B", that was not to be the plan. So we revamped it for our families with a series of gifts and clues to another gift that we decided to give instead, and this is what we got. For a week we've been calling this operation "The Great Gift Reveal". We explained to my family that each gift had a clue that tied to the final gift. Each clue was specific to the gift that was given to the family member, as well as the final gift. Some of them will not be as obvious to you, as they were also tied to some back story of my family members which I will try to outline. We'll see if you are as crafty at piecing the clues together as my family was. Most of the images below match the actual gift...for some, I had to improvise. :) Again, sorry for the large image size!

Clue #1 (Tied to the book, Crazy Love by Francis Chan): 

We think you'll be "crazy in love" with this present.

Clue #2: We've "traveled the world" to bring you this gift.

Clue #4: Ramses - A king of Africa

Clue #5: This is thought to have come from Africa. 

Clue #6: We're "spicing up life" with this gift. 
- my sister's boyfriend is quite the chef!

 

Clue #7 (Tied to some pink kickboxing sweatpants): 
For your new "itty bitty booty" 
- my sister has been kickboxing for a year now, and has just achieved a major milestone goal of hers- you go Mel!

Clue #8 (A massage gift certificate and wrapped in a pink stocking): 
After this, you'll be the "PINK" of perfection! 
- a nod to one of my favorite Disney movies, Summer Magic. 

 Clue #9 (Tied to a kitchen gift basket): Some "sugar and spice"...now won't that be NICE???? 
- my mother loves Williams Sonoma

And finally,

Clue #10: For the new "itsy bitsy booty"

So, have you pieced it together yet? If not, here is the final piece:

'Tis the season of Christmas and in our household,
Much excitement is brewing which we haven't told.

On top of the blessings of Christmas this year,
We have some great news for the ones we hold dear.

We will soon be expanding our family tree
And would like to announce the referral of 8 week old Baby Girl "E"!!!

So as you can see, our Christmas has been very merry, and we were able to share the Christmas cheer with our family this weekend. My mother was the one who finally pieced it together. Her reaction was great: "You're getting a girl!...You're getting a girl?...YOU'RE GETTING A GIRL!!!" I so wish we'd had the video camera out to catch that, but we didn't know how to do it without making people suspicious.At that point, we passed around our photos of Baby Girl "E". We are super thrilled and completely OVER THE MOON IN LOVE with her! For almost two years now, we have been praying for "Little E" as we have referred to our family addition. And we are anxiously awaiting word of when our court date will be so that we can go and meet her (and smother her in kisses)!  Some of you may be wondering where clue #3 is...sorry, I had to skip that one because it has some personal information that we do not wish to share at this point. But nephew, K, sure did enjoy his Star Wars pillow. :)

For my husband's family, our reveal was quite a bit more subtle, which is very fitting for his family. We gave his mother a digital frame for Christmas, and made sure to include ALL of her grandchildren in the photos. It literally killed me to watch her look through the pictures, but it was worth it. The rest of the family arrived the following day and Eric's sister casually looked at the pictures and walked away, not having seen all of them. Others saw and said nothing. When we (and by we I really mean I) could stand it no longer, we stood them in front of the frame until all the pictures had been revealed...that was fun.

So after shifting mentally from a 7 year old to a 7 (now 8) week old, we are preparing for all things baby. I would be lying though if I did not say I was a little gun shy after having gone through a lost referral already. Please be praying for Baby Girl "E" and that this process would come through completion to bringing her home. Also, at last report she had pneumonia - a very common problem in international adoptions - and was receiving medication for it. Please pray that God would protect her, bring her back to a healthy status, bless the special mothers and staff that are diligently caring for her, for the approaching Ethiopian court and US Embassy paperwork and legal process, and that He would calm our spirits as we go through this next stage of waiting and fundraising.

Happy New Year everyone!

On Becoming Re-Amazed...

For the last several weeks (weekly since my last blog) I have had several posts in draft form while I work out trying to tell you what God has been revealing to me about our journey. He has been EXTREMELY faithful in drawing us to Him through our grieving and next step in the process. Much of that drawing has come through my personal daily study time and through the Sunday messages at church. Each Sunday, in fact has been refreshing, and for those of you who may be on a similar adoption journey (or even if you aren't), I encourage you to check out our church's last series called "Chapter One" here. The November message could not have been a more direct bandage to my heart. In light of the loss of our referral of "B", and what you will hear, you will soon discover why.

God has truly been speaking to me through the wait of our next referral. We did not wait long to go back to the "waitlist", and through this journey of waiting, I have been struck by the number of times the Israelites have been found waiting. Particularly during this Christmas season, as they awaited a Messiah that would not be what they had expected or were looking for. A baby, born in a stable was to become the King of Kings. Our pastor has been encouraging us to become "re-amazed" with this story that we hear every year and know so well. Let me tell you, it has become most encouraging and rejuvenating to my very core.  I so appreciate that God would choose to speak to me in His still, quiet voice. He does not have to do this. He is God. He CHOOSES to, and for that I am truly amazed. So although this is a late post, my prayer for you in this coming new year is that you are re-amazed by the stories in the Bible and the things of God, and that you would also hear His still, quiet voice speak to you daily. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.