Keep Praying!

Once again, it's been a while!! It has been a LONG, SLOW YEAR in Ethiopia as far as adoptions are concerned!! We took some time in the winter (after months and months of no movement) to pray and re-evaluate our heart behind adoption and our heart for Ethiopia. We wait for nothing anymore, so of course people ask us all the time- can't you just switch to another country or do you really believe it will ever happen? So, after a while it is easy to start doubting. There have been many days that I have just wanted to throw in the towel and be done with this and days that I have spent HOURS researching other countries and their "policies" and days that the longing is so intense that I want to jump on a plane...but in the end we both felt the Lord telling us to just press in, and keep walking down the path that He has called us to- no matter how long it takes. I had the sweetest reminder the other day. I was reading about creation in Genesis and was so overwhelmed at all of the details that God has given to meet our every need. The way He made everything that works so perfectly together- from the plants that produce food and the animals and the rain...all of it to take care of US! I spend so much of my time feeling anxious about our baby girl and if her needs are being met in the orphanage and trying to calculate when we will get her and how that will fit into our life....and just by going back to a Bible story I have been reading since I was the age of our boys, I was reminded of His sovereignty. Of course He knows what He is doing and He hasn't forgotten about the orphans across the globe. He created them and loves them far more than we ever can. Simple truth that God is teaching me during this journey. Can't wait to share it with her one day! Thank you friends for sticking with us during this! Your prayers, texts and words mean more than you will ever know!!!

A Little Discouraged....

It has been a while since I have written an update, unfortunately because we haven't had much to update on our adoption. For us personally we are in the most difficult place we have been in since we began this wild journey 19 months ago! We still feel confident this is the road the Lord has put us on, still see our boys child-like faith where they never go a day without praying for sister yet never doubt if she will ever enter our family, still have a longing that goes DEEP (deeper than I ever dreamed I would feel just being in process) and a strong connection to a baby girl that may not even be born yet. We trust God's timing and purpose in this, we really do, but we would love anyone to join us in praying for movement in Ethiopia!! Please pray for the children who are waiting for their forever family that they would feel God's loving arms and have a great awareness of His presence in the midst of their loneliness. And please pray for us that we would not lose sight and continue to wait with hope! A quote we recently heard says, "Our willingness to wait reveals the value we place on the object we're waiting for." -Charles Stanley We know she will be worth the wait and can't wait to share the Lord's goodness with her one day!

Roller Coaster Ride

Whew, adoption is such a roller coaster ride!! So, we had a fabulous summer as far as movement is concerned and between July and August we moved 25 places! Then rainy season hit...and between September and October we only moved 1 place! Crazy. We are #53 on the list and we continue to wait not having any idea when we will be matched. The unknown is really the hardest part. I have a million questions and think and dream about her constantly! I wonder is she already here? What does she look like? Does she like to cuddle? Is she a good eater/sleeper?  Is there someone who kisses away her tears, holds her close when she is afraid and tucks her in at night? If she's still in her mother's womb I wonder how her mom is feeling? What is her family situation like? And we pray for her precious mom whatever the situation will be.

However, it is so sweet to be able to rest in the One who knows all of the answers! He not only knows but He cares deeply about her. About her mom. About us. "Your eyes saw my unformed body; all the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be. How precious to me are your thoughts, God! How vast the sum of them!" psalm 139:16-17. Thankful for this Truth that gives great hope in a difficult time. 

Praying for an active month!

Movement!

We are thrilled to announce that we moved 9 places last month!! We had started to get really discouraged and honestly start to question if our adoption would ever become a reality. We are now #70 on the list!!! We are so humbled and grateful for the support our friends and family have shown us! Each month so many precious people text me on the first when we find out our new number. It makes us not feel so isolated on this long journey that does feel extremely lonely and overwhelming at times! I cannot wait to share that with our baby girl one day and  let her know how many people prayed for her YEARS before she became a Boddy!

Please continue to pray for movement in Ethiopia and for protection of our baby girl and her birth mom. We are trying our best to trust God's timing and not miss all that He has in store for us during this season of waiting. 

"Beacause of the Lord's great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail.  They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.  I say to myself, "The Lord is my portion; therefore I will wait for Him."  Lamentations 3:22-23

Waiting is hard

We knew that this adoption journey would be hard but I never knew waiting would be this tough. We got our new number on the "wait list" yesterday #81. Sigh. We started out as #93 in January if that tells you how fast we are moving. The first of each month we get our update. We find ourselves eagerly anticipating what our new number will be, begging the Lord for movement, trying our best to remember HE KNOWS and HIS TIMING is PERFECT, yet each month as we check our email 50 times before it finally comes, we are overwhelmed with disappointment.
When we finished the paper chase and officially started waiting, people would ask me how they could be praying. One thing I would tell them is to pray that we would wait well AND with hope. I'm realizing one reason this is so difficult is in our culture we don't wait for anything. Our world is so fast paced and we get annoyed if we have to wait for more than 30 seconds for our computer to turn on. So, having to wait years on a child we already feel so connected to is a bit difficult. Some days the longing I have to meet and hold my baby girl is almost unbearable.  We really don't know much at this point- we don't know how long we will wait, how old she will be or if she is even conceived yet but we do know without a doubt this is exactly what God wants us to do. Please pray we would not lose sight of that and join us in asking God for movement in Ethiopia!

A sweet friend shared this verse with me..."I wait for the Lord, my soul waits, and in His word I hope." psalm 130:5

our adoption journey...

we don't really use this blog anymore but thought it would be the best way to share our story! enjoy:)

For those of you who may not know and are interested in our adoption journey, here is a quick summary on how it all began.... 

For as far back as I can remember, I knew that adopting would be part of my story. I have always been fascinated by orphanages and hearing adoption stories.  Chris has always had a heart for adoption because both of his siblings were adopted domestically. 

Our first year of marriage we were able to spend part of our Christmas break at an orphanage in Haiti.  If you have ever been to another country or exposed to children in those environments, you know you come back and are never the same. You can't be. Their dusty little joyful faces and the way they clung to us and reached up to us will forever be etched in our minds and hearts. Needless to say, we fell in love with the people of Haiti and desperately wanted to bring a baby home from there! Unfortunately, because Of our age and how long we have been married, we did not meet the Haitian governments requirements. So, we waited because we were sure this was where the Lord was leading. Insert 2 biological kids, 21 months apart here! After catching our breaths a little we started the process for Haiti. But, after over a year of waiting for them to change their policy we started feeling led to move forward with something. We said we would pray for a month and start researching other countries. It's a pretty overwhelming task because the numbers are astounding. Our eyes fell upon the number 4.6 MILLION ORPHANS in Ethiopia. We knew we could no longer have an empty bed in our home and see that number without moving forward. We started the paper chase in July and are now officially waiting! We will probably be waiting for a year or longer.

We have requested an infant girl (0-2) and we pray every day for "baby sister." please join us in praying for protection for her whether she is in the womb still or already in an orphanage....we are praying for extra arms to hold her close and rock her....for her birth mom to be protected and brave and whatever her story is that she would come to know how loving and gracious our God is! Thank you for caring enough to read this! More to come....

"Defend the cause of the weak and fatherless; maintain the rights of the poor and oppressed. Rescue the weak and needy; deliver them from the hand of the wicked." psalm 82:3-4

Family Getaway

The thought of going on a major family vacation somehow wasn't appealing this year with a 5 month old and a 2 year old, so we opted for a short little getaway instead. We went to Pine Cove's family camp down in Columbus.

First I will tell you what we did NOT do....We did NOT do any laundry, dishes, bills, cleaning, cooking, yard work or errands. Instead we....snuggled

laughed

watched a sunset

"helped" daddy gather firewood

roasted hot dogs and s'mores

through dirt and sticks in the fire with sweet buddy Aaden

got dirty


really dirty

wore boots every day...even with pajamas

paddle boated with daddy

and snuggled some more.

How great to be able to step back from the business of life and focus on what really matters. family.