God is so cool!

Last Thursday and Friday, Billie was at a missions conference. He met a lady there that is from Ethiopia but now lives in the states. He introduced himself to her and told her that we are getting ready to start the adoption process in Ethiopia. He said that she was so excited!

Her sister-in-law, who also lives in the states adopted from Ethiopia not too long ago. They still have family and friends there that they are in constant contact with. Anyway, her SIL did what would be considered a private adoption here in the states. Just with an attorney in Ethiopia.

Long story short, the lady that Billie met is waiting for her husband to come home from being at the sister's house this past week. He will be bringing the info back for us so that we can look into this option of a "private" adoption.

This lady (sorry, I can't remember her name!) told Billie today that she and her husband have a heart for finding homes for Ethiopian orphans and that they have been specifically praying for an opportunity to help a family find and adopt a child. Looks like we're that family!

This is so cool because it's an option that I would never have thought possible. But seeing as though this family is Ethiopian, they have all kinds of contacts and they're wanting to help us find our daughter.

Just when you think things are going to go the "normal" route, watch out!! God may just pull a fast one on you and make things even cooler than they would've been otherwise!

Perhaps this is God's way of taking away some of the financial burden. There will still be plenty of paperwork and I'm counting on still about a year's worth of wait from start to finish, but we're ready and willing to see where this road will take us.

I'll update as things progress. We're going to walk through this door, as it is confirmation to us that we're doing what we've been called to do.

Be in prayer that God will grant us grace on this journey. (He will literally be granting us EllaGrace!)

This is how you know...

I've seen this on several adoption blogs and wanted to add it to my own! Enjoy!


YOU KNOW YOU'RE AN ADOPTIVE PARENT IF ...

1. The fact that there are 143 million children without a parent to kiss them goodnight has made you lose sleep.

2. You realize DNA has nothing to do with love & family.

3. You can't watch Adoption Stories on TLC without sobbing.

4. The fact that, if 7% of Christians adopted 1 child there would be no orphans in the world, is convicting to you.

5. You spend free time surfing blogs about families who've experienced the blessing of adoption.

6. It drives you crazy when people ask you about your adopted child's "real" parents.

7. You've been "pregnant" with your adoptive child longer than it takes an elephant to give birth.(2 years!)

8. You'd no idea how you'd afford to adopt, but stepped out in faith anyway, knowing He'd provide. (& He does!)

9. You've taken an airplane half-way around the world with a child you just met.

10. You believe God's heart's for adoption.

11. You realize that welcoming a child into your heart & family is one of the most important legacies you could ever leave on this earth.

12. You know what the word "Dossier" means & you can actually pronounce it correctly!

Get ready, EllaGrace...here we come!

We're ready to start our "paper pregnancy"! Through the course of the past few months, our hearts have been moved to consider another country. I guess I should say that Billie's heart has made the jump, as mine was already there!

We have found a wonderful agency and will be applying in the beginning of June. This is a full 2 years before we thought we would be taking this step! The Lord has indeed worked this out for us. Billie and I are in total agreement that this is the time for our family.

The program we have chosen is Ethiopia. This country has been on my heart since the very beginning and Billie told me the other night that this was his first choice too!

So if you're wondering "why Ethiopia?"...it's a simple response that I read on another blog...we're going to Ethiopia because our daughter is there.

Today the girls and I were talking about African and Asian elephants and we were looking at the globe and pointing out the different countries and continents. I pointed out Ethiopia to the girls and asked them what they thought about their little sister coming from Africa. They were all smiles and asked when we would be going to get her! Since they have a very limited concept of time I didn't go into the long process that we are about to start. I just told them that I would let them know when the time came.

Thank you Lord for leading us in this direction! We are trusting Him for the funds to make this possible. We know that we are called to care for the orphans and we're believing that He will make that possible for us!

We will truly need your prayers in the coming months, for they are sure to be difficult on the patience level! (And I'm not the most patient person to begin with...especially when it's something that I really have my hear set on!)

Hang on, EllaGrace...we're coming as fast as we can! We love you!

So loved already...

Tonight, the girls were helping get the table ready for dinner. Lorahbeth was walking around the table telling who was going to sit where. She said, "daddy sits here, JennahKay sits here, AudreyAnn sits here, mommy sits here, I sit here, and EllaGrace can sit right here!"

I love that they love her already! What a blessing!

Brief update...

At this point, there's not really much to report, since we haven't started the process yet. We are currently talking to another agency.

Though we really like America World, they have a few qualifications that we don't meet. So we're still on the search for an agency.

I've spoken with someone from An Open Door adoption agency and have recieved a ton of information regarding their El Salvador program.

That's still where our hearts are being pulled to. We will be trying to get together with a lawyer at my mom and dad's church in Albany after the first of the year. Dad said that he has done a lot of domestic adoptions and would be glad to talk with us.

Though we feel we're being led in a particular direction, we won't close the doors on the idea of domestic adoption. The Lord might change our hearts...

At this point, we're just trying to get all of our ducks in a row.

I find myself getting frustrated sometimes, because I just want to get the show on the road. I know that our girl is out there...she may not even be born yet...and when the time is right, God will lead us to her.

In the meantime, we continue to talk about her with the girls in everyday conversation. They are so excited to have another sister! They tell people at church about their new little sister. We pray for her too, as do the girls in their prayers before bed. Their innocence and love for her is so cool! They don't know her, but know that they love her already!

I'll update more when I know more! This will serve as a "paper pregnancy" journal for our girl, so that she can read this one day and know how much she was wanted and prayed for and eagerly anticipated!

We love you!

Mommy, Daddy, JennahKay, Lorahbeth and AudreyAnn

Here goes nothing...

Well, I guess by taking this step, I'm confirming what I already know to be true. WE'RE ADOPTING!! And I must say, we are all very excited!

Some of you have known that we have been talking about this for some time, but this weekend has made it official.

Billie turned to me the other night on the couch and said, "let's go get our little girl". To which I responded with tears in my eyes, "okay".

So here we are, after having talked about it, prayed about it, researched it, talked to the girls about it and talked to others who are either going through it or have already received their child...what's our next step?

Well...our biggest hurdle at this point is the financial end. That's always the biggest hurdle for anyone! We know that God is leading us to do this, so we're going to trust Him for the details. At this point the plan is to save up a big portion of the cost before we get started. We will not be taking out loans, but will apply for whatever grants we can get our hands on!

Anyway...we are talking with America World Adoption Agency and still have a few questions to have answered before going with them, but at this time they are the agency that we are most excited to work with.

We are feeling led to adopt internationally and if all goes well with AWAA, we will be working with their El Salvador program. We can't wait to add another brown eyed girl to our family!

So please be in prayer for us as a family as we start down this very uncertain road and as we anticipate the growth of our family!