Tuesday, September 30, 2008

Our Weekend in Photos....

This was our "camping cabin"...so very cute and cozy :)
The view from our cabin.....not bad :)

Quite possibly the nicest bathhouse I have ever seen.....

The inside of the nicest bathhouse I have ever seen....

Day One....Great Smoky Mountains....one of many beautiful trails.....



We were being adventurous...this was a little "off" the trail

Day two....






I really didn't mean to get into the river (trust me, the water was freezing), but the rocks were pretty slick and I just kind of slid right in :)






Thursday, September 25, 2008

Travel Update.....

We received our travel packet via email a few days ago.....so very exciting! We do not have a tentative travel date at this time, but we should be receiving one in the next couple of weeks. We have been told to expect to travel around the middle part of November. Also, we will not know our exact court date, we will only be notified once we have passed. But, our tentative travel dates should help us judge that, as we will be traveling 2-3 weeks after we pass court! So, we are estimating that our court date will most likely be somewhere between October 13-31...again, pure speculation!



This weekend Zack and I are going on a very mini vacation to Gatlinburg, TN. It will be wonderful to spend some time together in the beautiful Smoky Mountains! Most likely our last trip together before Caleb arrives! I am so very blessed to have such a Godly husband. I know he will be a great father as well! We both know that allowing Christ to permeate both of our lives, and our lives as a married couple is the key to being the parents God wants us to be. Please pray for us as we seek to do this more and more!

Friday, September 19, 2008

Finally....Before & After Pics of the House!

As promised, before and after pictures of our house! It took a lot of hard work, but we are very pleased with our home! Of course, there a few more "finishing touches" but it is beginning to feel like home. Thanks to everyone who helped us, whether it was moving, painting, stripping wallpaper....we couldn't have done it without you!

Living Room Before

Living Room After

Den before
Den After (still working on finishing touches)
Master Bath before
Master bath after
Guest Room before

Guest room after
Master bedroom before
Master bedroom after
Bathroom (no before pic....sorry :)

Kitchen before (I think this was the greatest transformation :)


Kitchen after




Caleb's Room :)


A very special pillow with his Ethiopian name


Monday, September 15, 2008

A Song for My Sons....(well, son for now :)

I just love this song by Sara Groves...."A Song For My Sons". Well, it is just "son" for us now, but this echoes my heart to a "T' as far as what I want for Caleb. I found this video on You Tube....I don't know who these people are :) but it was the only thing I could find with this song :) So, just listen to the music and read along with the lyrics ;)







This is a song for my sons for when they understand it
You know how life is full you know we couldn't plan it
Your dad and I prayed for strength and understanding for things we couldn't see or comprehend



This is a song from my heart, a small refrain to hold you
For times when we're apart and I can not console you.
I can't say your life will always go like it should
But I can say that God is always good



And when the cold wind blows like I know it will
And when you feel alone like I know you will
And when the cold wind blows like I know it will



Don't let your love grow
Don't let your love grow
Don't let your love grow cold



This is a song for my sons for when they understand it
You know how life is full you know we couldn't plan it
Your dad and I prayed for strength and understanding for things we couldn't see or comprehend



This is a song for you to carry in your pocket
Take all our love with you and all the paths you walk in
Be honest with yourself
And don't forget to pray and read your Bible everyday



And when the cold wind blows like I know it will
And when you feel alone like I know you will
And when the cold wind blows like I know it will



Don't let your love grow
Don't let your love grow
Don't let your love grow cold





The first time I heard this song was after receiving Sara Grove's CD at a youth ministry conference Zack and I went to back in January. I was standing in line to talk to Sara Groves about Africa, because as many of you know, she has a passion for that country. While I was standing in line, an older gentlemen behind me asked me if I could help him open up the CD he had just purchased....he wanted Sara Groves to sign it. We all know how pesky the plastic wrap on CD's can be, so we stood in line for several minutes talking while I attempted to open the CD for him. During the course of our conversation, I was able to tell him about our adoption (we were just a week or two DTE at that time :) and he was delighted for us! Right before it was my turn to talk to Sara, he handed me another CD. "This is for you," he said. How cool! I thanked him and quickly began trying to open my CD :) Once I made it to the front of the line, I was able to tell Sara Groves how much I admired her music and all about our adoption. The best part....she signed the CD, "To Caleb....."

Monday, September 8, 2008

A Mother's Heart.....

This weekend my mom and I (Zack had to stay in London for a youth event), along with our friends Karen and Chad Bowman had the great opportunity to attend an America World Adoption Seminar just outside of Frankfort, Kentucky. These seminars are intended to provide more information about adoption and American World to prospective adoptive parents, and I and the Bowmans attended to share our adoption experiences with the prospective parents...so cool!

I have talked a countless number of times with family and friends about our adoption, and even after receiving our referral, I have not gotten very emotional while talking about our precious little guy! Well, maybe I should rephrase that...I have shown emotion...joy, excitement, anticipation, love...but I have never cried. That is what I am getting at. So, I had no reason to think that I would have trouble talking to the small group of prospective parents at the seminar. Well, I was wrong. Karen and Chad shared first, and did a great job explaining how the Lord led them to adopt, how the paperwork process worked, how the wait has been, etc. Great job Bowmans! Then it is my turn. When I started out, my voice was a little shaky, no big deal, maybe just a little nerves. Well, the more I spoke, the worse it got, until finally, I could not even talk! AHH! I was thinking to myself, "What is going on here! You are a blubbering mess!" I mean, I wasn't sobbing or anything, but I did have to stop for 15 seconds or so (it felt like forever) to regain my composure, as I couldn't keep talking through the tears.

The part that was the hardest for me was when I tried to talk about Caleb, and when I tried to talk about God's faithfulness to us through the entire process, and when I tried to talk about the miracle of adoption. It was just too overwhelming! I think, somehow, maybe for the first time since we received our referral, I came to a more complete realization of our journey over the last 14 months..... the understanding that God had given us this precious child, the understanding of just how much He has provided for us, the understanding of what a beautiful picture adoption is of .... It just kind of hit me like never before, right in front of everyone...great timing :)

I am very excited to say that two couples indicated they were interested in adopting from Ethiopia! And one of those couples was interested in adopting siblings! Praise God! Prayerfully, that will mean more children being united with more parents. Beautiful!

Wednesday, September 3, 2008

A great weekend!!!!





We had a great Labor Day weekend. We had fun registering (as you can see from the pics above) and I also had a chance to reunite with some good friends at a baby shower. We also made lots of progress on the house, and we should be moving in within a week or so! (before and after pics coming soon!).


The highlight....well, we got another video clip from our friend KP Moles! It is wonderful! Caleb is sitting in a walker just looking at the camera. He was a little sleepy, but KP managed to get a smile or two out of him. My favorite part is when KP and her husband tell Caleb, "They're coming soon buddy, they're coming soon." Brings tears to my eyes every time! Just a couple more months, baby, and we will be there! Thank you God!