Thanksgiving is always a time to reflect, to remember, and to express gratitude. We did just this over the weekend, as we reflected on just how much God has blessed our family. He has blessed us in so many ways, of course one of the biggest blessings being Caleb :) The joy he brings to our family is indescribable! We could never have imagined just what a gift he was going to be to us all.
We also remember with thankfulness a year ago at this time...We knew our court date was coming up soon- December 2. I can not explain to you the anxiousness, excitement, fear and anticipation I felt in my body every single waking second as we waited for our court date to arrive....it was the most intense wait I have ever experienced! Anxious to hear news, excited to think about the prospects of passing, fear of not passing and further delays and anticipation for all that was ahead of us. Of course, we were not the only ones waiting to hear- several other families had court the same week, so we were all sharing these feelings!
December 2 came and went, and no news! I did not think we could wait a second longer! December 3 came and went, and still no news!! Worry consumed me as we were not sure why we had not heard any news concerning our court date. December 4th came. A few families heard their news- some was good, some was bad. It was almost lunch time and we had still not heard any news. I was slowly beginning to fall apart. I was at work by myself that day, so I went back into the back room, got down on my knees, and prayed for the Lord to bless us with a successful court appointment so that we could bring home our son. When I came back into the office, I noticed a missed call. Sure enough, it was from AWAA. I wanted to collapse in fear because up to that point many unsuccessful court notices had come via telephone (as our first failed court notice had come). With shaking hands I dialed my voicemail. What I heard elated me! It was the travel coordinator for AWAA telling us we had passed court and to call her asap to confirm our travel arrangements!!! Praise the Lord! I will never forget that moment.
We have come such a long way since that phone call. I truly can not believe that this week will mark a year since we passed court and that our baby will be turning two years old. And soon he will have been with us for one year! We have so much to be thankful for.
As I mentioned in a recent post, we have been seriously contemplating another adoption, and we feel God has made a few things more clear to us. The first is that he desires we adopt again from Ethiopia. The second is that he desires that we trust him and his calling in terms of the child that he has for us-more on what this specifically means for us in a later post. The third is that we not rush the process. We are in a time of transition in terms of careers and residence, so we don't forsee it being beneficial to begin a homestudy anytime soon, as much will likely change in the coming months :) We may, however, begin collecting our dossier in the coming months....no plan is set in stone as of yet.
One thing we know and are thankful for: God has used adoption in our lives to show us more of Himself and who He desires us to be.
We also remember with thankfulness a year ago at this time...We knew our court date was coming up soon- December 2. I can not explain to you the anxiousness, excitement, fear and anticipation I felt in my body every single waking second as we waited for our court date to arrive....it was the most intense wait I have ever experienced! Anxious to hear news, excited to think about the prospects of passing, fear of not passing and further delays and anticipation for all that was ahead of us. Of course, we were not the only ones waiting to hear- several other families had court the same week, so we were all sharing these feelings!
December 2 came and went, and no news! I did not think we could wait a second longer! December 3 came and went, and still no news!! Worry consumed me as we were not sure why we had not heard any news concerning our court date. December 4th came. A few families heard their news- some was good, some was bad. It was almost lunch time and we had still not heard any news. I was slowly beginning to fall apart. I was at work by myself that day, so I went back into the back room, got down on my knees, and prayed for the Lord to bless us with a successful court appointment so that we could bring home our son. When I came back into the office, I noticed a missed call. Sure enough, it was from AWAA. I wanted to collapse in fear because up to that point many unsuccessful court notices had come via telephone (as our first failed court notice had come). With shaking hands I dialed my voicemail. What I heard elated me! It was the travel coordinator for AWAA telling us we had passed court and to call her asap to confirm our travel arrangements!!! Praise the Lord! I will never forget that moment.
We have come such a long way since that phone call. I truly can not believe that this week will mark a year since we passed court and that our baby will be turning two years old. And soon he will have been with us for one year! We have so much to be thankful for.
As I mentioned in a recent post, we have been seriously contemplating another adoption, and we feel God has made a few things more clear to us. The first is that he desires we adopt again from Ethiopia. The second is that he desires that we trust him and his calling in terms of the child that he has for us-more on what this specifically means for us in a later post. The third is that we not rush the process. We are in a time of transition in terms of careers and residence, so we don't forsee it being beneficial to begin a homestudy anytime soon, as much will likely change in the coming months :) We may, however, begin collecting our dossier in the coming months....no plan is set in stone as of yet.
One thing we know and are thankful for: God has used adoption in our lives to show us more of Himself and who He desires us to be.
