Beach and Baby

Last week I was able to take a quick vacation with my dad, mom and brother (and Hosanna, of course). It was so special to spend time with them, just like the old days! Three of us got totally cooked on the first day, so we spent the rest of the week under the canopy or inside. It rained all day the last day we were there, so we played a board game just about all day. It was a very relaxing trip. We ate lots of seafood and ice cream! One of the best things was being in the water. I have always loved water; the pool, the lake, the beach, the bath. Being pregnant, the water was even better! It took away all the little aches and pains of pregnancy and I slept like a baby! I came home dropping hints to Matt that we really need a Y membership. We will see if he gets the hint!
Me and my family!
Hosanna and I soaking up some sun!

After our beach trip, mom and dad made the journey to Louisville to help us with the nursery. Actually, the main task on the agenda was to get the garage organized so that we could clean out the house some to make way for baby! While I was relaxing at the beach, my wonderful husband was busting his tail painting the garage and moving the office from one room to another. I was so proud of all of the work he did! And it allowed us to get so much more done while my parents were in town. When we got in town on Friday night, my great friend Marisa brought us a yummy dinner and helped us paint the nursery (Matt had already cleared the room and taped it off). We finished in about an hour, so spent the rest of the night playing that favorite board game of mine! On Saturday, the men put the crib together and spent the whole day building shelves in the garage. Mom made curtains for the nursery and I… I’m not really sure what I did! Everything turned out just perfect! We are almost all ready for Miss Hosanna to make her grand appearance! Speaking of Miss Hosanna, she is a chunk! We had an ultrasound this week and she is already 3lbs! Yikes! My doctor said that she is around the 90%! My hope is that she just went through a growth spurt and won’t be a 10lb baby! The doctor did say that everything is looking great and we are praising the Lord for that!
Matt and mom painting the nursery.
The lovely curtain mom made!
Matt working on the garage.

Hosanna Belle

This is her! Our daughter. We already love her so much! Everyone told me I would forget about the sickness and they were right. The more I look at her, the more my love grows for her and I realize it was all worth it! We are 24 weeks today and she is moving around like crazy! It’s very cool to feel her from the inside, but even cooler when Matt or I can feel her kicking our hands on the outside. She’s our little miracle!

Before the end of the school year, my wonderful colleagues threw me a surprise baby shower. It was fabulous! Of course I cried as soon as I walked in the door! I thought I was headed to another ole meeting, but it wasn’t! We ate yummy food (a cake from Pie Kitchen!), played games and opened many gifts. Everyone was so gracious! Hosanna received many wonderful things. We are so thankful for everything that was given to us. My class also gave Hosanna a very special gift, a basket full of board books. I sat down just today and read through many of them. So thoughtful! I know we will spend many hours reading those books to Hosanna over the years.






Quick Adoption Update – I am planning on redoing our paperwork this week for our new agency. Some documents we are able to reuse, but many have to be redone due to expirations and changes. Our hope is to have all of the paperwork done this summer and receive a referral this fall. That would hopefully put us traveling sometime within the first six months of 2010. We are going to be patient and let the Lord work out all of the details. We know his timing is best!

Now That I'm Feeling Better

First I would like to apologize for having not posted anything in almost two months! Sorry! Shortly after my last post the morning sickness hit hard! And it wasn’t just morning sickness, it was ALL DAY. I would literally get up, go to work, come home and crawl in bed. I was SO sick and miserable. I could hardly keep anything down. I was on nausea medication that would help sometimes, but not always. The meds also made me feel depressed and just not myself, so I stopped taking them about a week ago. I started taking vitamin B12, which seems to be helping and I’m starting to feel more like myself again. Praise the LORD! I have had four sick-free days in a row! I am praying the sickness is slowly passing and will not return!

In pregnancy news… we are now at 16 weeks! We got to hear the heartbeat a couple of weeks ago and will find out what we are having on May 5th (if Baby cooperates)! It’s fun to hear what people think we will have. Matt and I both think it is a girl. Mom and my brother both think it is a girl too, but dad had a dream that is a boy. We will see!

In adoption news… we have a new agency! This agency is local, which we love. We have been able to talk regularly and have met with them once. Both of the ladies we have talked with have been so very kind and understanding. I feel very confident that the Lord has led us to them. I must say though, our meeting was a tad emotional for me (hormones, I guess). I went into the meeting thinking we would only need to change a few things in our paperwork and be good to go, but that isn’t the case. I became very overwhelmed when talking with them about all of the stuff we are going to have to change in our dossier. But, it is going to all be just fine and work out in God’s timing. Right now I’m just trying to focus on finishing up my last 7 weeks of school and then I can devote more time to getting everything together.
Speaking of work, I’m retiring! Wow, that feels weird to say. After this school year is over, I will be a stay-at-home mom! Although the decision was easy because we have always wanted this for our family, I know I will miss my job. My school is such a great place with great people. It is so bittersweet. I am thankful to the Lord for the time he did allow me to work there.

No Words

Speechless. In awe of God's grace and blessings. Below is a journal entry I wrote about a month ago, the day after we found out we were pregnant. (Yes, we are pregnant!) It is a simple walk through the last 6 months of our journey.

Lord,

Your timing is perfect. I believe that. But that doesn't mean I understand it. We tried for 2 years to have a child of our own. You used that time to prepare us for and lead us to adoption. We prayed. Prayed some more. And began the adoption process. We were thrilled we had been called to adopt. Amazed by the process! Life-changing. Received a referral. Over-joyed. Fell in love with 2 boys in Ethiopia. Thought we were a family of four. Devastated to have to end our relationship with our agency. Lost our referral for the boys. Broken-hearted. Peace from You. Began looking at new agencies. Decided we might go with one. Days later found out we were pregnant. What?! Excited! Worried at all the possibilities. Talk and pray. Talk and pray. What are we to do now. Decide we are still going to adopt. We are called. Our hearts are in Ethiopia. Two of our children are there. Can't go with new agency because we are pregnant. Search for a new agency. We don't understand but we TRUST. WE trust in an almighty God who knows what is best for us. A God who is using this life to make us more like Christ. May we not forget this and glorify You in every decision we make. Guide us Lord!

We are seeking the Lord's guidance daily. We know he has the perfect agency for us that will lead us to our children. We can't wait to get the ball rolling again! Please pray for us as we make this decision about our agency. Please pray for our 3 children, that the Lord will protect them, grow them and bring them into our arms safely.

Agency Update

We have been without an adoption agency for over a month now. The Lord has been so merciful during this time and has truly healed our broken hearts. All along we have had such a peace about our decision but of course have been sad about the boys. The Lord has reminded us that they are His children and he knows what is best for them and for us. We are so thankful for this truth! We pray the boys have a loving family to go home to quickly.

As for us, we (Matt actually) have spent hours searching for new agencies to explore and compare. We had it narrowed down to two we liked and then for various reasons the Lord led us away from those. We have spent the last couple of weeks focusing on three different agencies and like them all. There is one we feel more drawn to and Matt will be meeting with them tomorrow (they are local). Please pray that God will give us clarity in choosing the agency He wants us to use. The agency that will help us bring our children home!

Never Been Tagged...

Until now! I have seen tags on blogs, but have never been apart of one before. A friend, Tiffany (who was actually one of my youth leaders growing up and God has since crossed our paths), tagged me to post the 4th picture in my 4th folder from my pictures. Here it is! This picture is from Matt’s work party this fall. We went on a dinner cruise on the Ohio River. This picture is of downtown Louisville. It isn’t really an exciting picture, but it reminded me of the time Matt and I have been here and how much God has blessed us during our time in Louisville. Although we are away from family and friends whom we miss terribly, we love Louisville. We both have jobs that we love, a church family we love, and dear friends we love. I wouldn’t trade our time here for anything! We have grown so much as a couple during our time here. Thank you Lord for gentle reminders of your grace and blessings!

The Power of Giving Thanks

(Written 12.19.08)
After it happened I asked myself how I would even begin to explain it all on the blog. While I know I can’t retell every intricate detail, I will try to share how the Lord has shown himself to me through it.

Just 3 short days after our last post our world was turned upside down. Matt and I had to make the most difficult decision of our lives to date last week. With many tears and much heartache, we have prayerfully decided not to go through with the adoption of the two boys we thought were already ours. We had already named the boys Emmanuel (Manny) and Judah (Jude). We had our Christmas cards ready to be mailed with their precious faces on them. In our hearts and minds, we were a family of four.

This decision, however, had nothing to do with the boys. With that said, we are choosing not to share details of how we came to our decision on the blog. We want to honor the Lord in how we communicate our story and feel that sharing the specific details over the Internet would not be God-honoring.

So you are probably wondering how the title of this post fits? Let me explain. A wise friend suggested that I start reflecting on the Scripture references and notes from previous sermons given by our pastor. I decided tonight would be a great night to start. I shuffled through the ever-growing pile of papers on my dresser and pulled out the first bulletin I came to. When I read the date on it, I almost put it back. This bulletin was from a month ago (if that tells you how high my pile is ☺)! I read the sermon title (also the title of this post) and figured I should probably stick with it. The key verse for this sermon was Ephesians 5:20 which says, “Giving thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.” ALWAYS and FOR EVERYTHING. Ouch. As much as this trial hurt, I decided to dwell on what I could be thankful for. So I began my list…

Thank you God through Jesus Christ:
• For my husband who has been so loving and encouraging during this difficult time.
• For truth being revealed and the wisdom to follow it.
• For friends that are praying for us and love us.
• For adoption.
• For the generous gift from a friend just the day before the trial began, thus reminding us throughout the trial that adoption is Your will for us.
• For family loving us and wanting the best for us.
• For Kenesa and Melkamu (the boys’ Ethiopian names) and the joy they brought to our hearts for months.
• For heartbreak because it brings us closer to You.

Although it has been a devastating week, we have such a peace and so much to be thankful for. Thank you Lord!
Our adoption experience has been amazing and it is very obvious to us that the Lord has orchestrated every detail of our story -- even the trails we have been through this week. We are still adopting, and are waiting on the Lord to show us the next steps we need to take. Please pray for clarity in our upcoming decisions. And most importantly, please pray that the Lord will protect those two precious boys and give them a long life of joy in the Lord.