COURT DATE!!

Our court date is January 20th! Yay!

Please be praying we pass court the first time...that we can travel in Febuary, and that our little boy is safe and comforted by our BIG GOD!

Thank you prayer warriors!

We are in Sunny California!!

It's been awhile since I've written...We've been planning for our month long trip to California. It's really difficult to pack for a trip that is a full 4 weeks. We had to pack bills for our trip which was really wierd...we turned our water off and put a hold on our utilities like cable, trash and phone. It is an odd thing leaving home for a month. Although I was (and am) really excited to see faces I haven't seen in awhile I was also sad to leave a place I have grown to like, perhaps even love...Our new home.

While we are here in California I am going not going to worry about blogging...I will still pop in to update everyone on any news we get regarding our little boy but other than that I am going to enjoy my family, friends, and the precious season of Christmas.

I pray all of you have a wonderful Christmas full of Joy, Peace and Love.
MERRY CHRISTMAS! :D

Becca

Pitterpatter Art...

Pitterpatter Art found me and I love it!! I found this amazing blog
http://pitterpatterart.wordpress.com and I just love all of the awesome creative stuff Laura makes. I just recently purchased a "Big Sister" shirt for Emmy and a Africa shirt for myself. I found an awesome Africa shirt for Charlie too. She has so many other things I want too like a great canvas of the names of Jesus. It's beautiful. That is going to have to wait till after the adoption is complete.

So go check it out...great stocking stuffers (shirts) and other great gift ideas! :D

Have a great day!

We got our REFERRAL!!

I would also like to announce that we recieved a referral for a beautiful baby boy who is about 7 months. We accepted his referral and can't wait to hold him.
Praise be to GOD!! :D

Stay tuned for more information and prayers. We need them desperately!!

Psalm 10:14

"Lord, why are you so far away?
Why do you hide when there is trouble?
Proudly the wicked chase down those who suffer.
The wicked set traps to catch them.
They brag about the things they want.
They bless the greedy but hate the Lord.
The wicked people are too proud.
They do not look for God.
There is no room for God in their thoughts.
They always succeed.
They are far from keeping your laws.
They make fun of their enemies.
They say to themselves, "Nothing bad will ever happen to me.
I will never be ruined."
Their mouths are full of curses, lies and threats.
They use their tongues for sin and evil.
They hide near the villages.
They look for innocent people to kill.
They watch in secret for the helpless.
They wait in hiding like a lion.
They wait to catch poor people.
They catch the poor in nets.
The poor are thrown down and crushed.
They are defeated because the others are stronger.
The wicked think, "God has forgotten us.
He doesn't see what is happening."
Lord rise up and punish the wicked.
Don't forget those who need help.
Why do wicked people hate God?
They say to themselves, "God won't punish us."
Lord, surely you see these cruel and evil things.
Look at them and do something.
People in trouble look to you for help.
You are the one who helps the orphans.
Break the power of wicked men.
Punish them for the evil they have done.
The Lord is King forever and ever.
Remove from your land those nations that do not worship you.
Lord, you have heard what the poor people want.
Do what they ask. Listen to them.
Protect the orphans. Put an end to suffering.
Then they will no longer be afraid of evil people."

I just finished this book today. It was heart wrenchingly sad and yet somehow full of hope. If you start this book please finish it as hard as it is. It will bring you some peace. This book tells a story...below you can watch a trailer that will explain a little more. I highly recommend this book. But expect a change in the way you think, pray, and live.

We're going crazy here at the Beal house!! We're going crazy because we can't believe that we could get a call with a referral so soon! I know what you are thinking..."Slow down Becca, it could be a month or more. Take it slow and don't get ahead of yourself." I understand what you are saying and I know you're trying to save me from anxious feelings and heartache if it doesn't come soon...but I just keep thinking there is a CHANCE it could be soon!! AHHHHHH!!!!! We're so excited!

All this to say I feel a little like this...

CRAZY EXCITED TO SEE OUR BABIES SWEET FACE!! :D

We'll to pass time I will update you on some things we've been up to. We've been exploring Bend quite a bit since being here. We've had two friends visit and we are really loving our new home and city. Below are pictures from the past week. We have a snow storm in our backyard, ice skating for the first time, couch sports, and pictures from Traditions at Sunriver Resort where we got to ride a horse sled, drink yummy hot chocolate, see Santa, and do fun crafts and face painting.













I hope you all had a great Thanksgiving and we can't wait to update you when we get a referral!! It will be an amazing day...then we wait for our court date and approval.

Thanks for your prayers!
Beal Family :D

P.S. We have our homestudy update Saturday December 5th. Will you pray with us that our background check goes through smoothly and quickly? We really don't want any delays! Thanks!

ON DECK!!

We got our "ON DECK" email which basically lets us know we are expected to get a referral soon!! It could be one month to three months. It's kind of a long range to be waiting for "THE CALL" but this is the next step and we couldn't be more excited!!

Please pray with us that we will recieve a court date soon after and that we will pass court the 1st time. 60% of people pass the first time. 40% need a second court date. This could all postpone traveling to pick up our baby. We'd appreciate your prayers.

Most important we ask for your prayers for our family. Baby, Emmy, Charlie and I...

For God's comfort, love, and grace to fall on our sweet child waiting for his/her forever family. For our child's family...peace and comfort to FALL ON THEM.

For our family to be at peace with God's timing and with His sovereign plan in all things.

We are excited at this new place we are at in the adoption...we want to rejoice in all things!! Thanks be to God the Father for this beautiful gift!! :D

Update on our projected referral time...

I checked our agency's blog today and learned that the wait time for a referral is now at 4-6 months. This is 1-3 months SHORTER than it was previously. We are excited about possibly getting a referral in DECEMBER!! Crazy...but it could also be Febuary. We'll wait and pray and see. :D

We still have to update our homestudy which is happening in early December so hopefully nothing will be postponed or delayed. Our agency has confirmed our adoption will not be delayed because of our moving but I am still anxious about everything falling into place. I know even set backs will play into the child God has destined for us...trying to remember this if there are delays. :D

I would like to ask for your prayers. Would you pray that we would be prepared to see our child? We will recieve a picture and a page or two of information with our referral packet. Within 48 hours we need to accept or pass on this referral. We want to hear God's voice...we want the child HE has ordained for us. Please pray with us that we will know if we should accept or pass on this first referral. When we see that little face (or faces) we would hear God's voice, not ours. Thank you so much.

Once we accept a referral we then are issued a court date (in Ethiopia). Once we are issued this court date we will then need to wait to hear if we PASSED court or not. In the case that we PASS court the first time (only some 60% pass the first time) we will then fly to Ethiopia in a week or so.

If we do not pass court we will wait for our new court date and wait to see if we pass then. This process can go on as long as it needs until the judge is satisfied with our paperwork. Please also pray with us that we will indeed pass court the FIRST time. I can't imagine having this picture of our child and knowing He/She is around the globe just waiting for us to take them home!! My heart breaks just thinking about it. I know God is sovereign and continue to pray my head and heart would agree in this and rest in it. :D

Thank you again for your prayers!!
Love the Beal family.

How rich are we?!

Grieving losses to come...

As I've written before I've always wanted to adopt. Since I was young. I am so blessed to be in the process and thank God for choosing us to be parents to this little one coming our way. It's been an amazing process, and an amazingly DIFFICULT process. There are so many emotions that overwhelm me at times. The past month have been rather uneventful (with adoption news) as I (we) were simply focused on all the details that go into moving out of state. That alone is difficult and a process but add to that all the emotions of moving away and it gets even harder. Now throw a double scoop of adopting an orphan in one of the poorest countries in the world and you have one emotional person.

God is preparing me for this sweet child to come into my (our) life. It is good...but it's hard.

I LOVED being pregnant. I loved it!! I loved feeling Emmy inside me...moving, kicking, living in me. It was amazing. Although I had a hard labor, in a sense, I loved that too. Minutes after giving birth I knew why people do it over and over again. Looking at Emmy's newness was beautiful. Her skin, eyes, hair, lips, every part of her was perfect and new. I instantly was close to her and connected. She had been with me for months. Although it was all still strange to me I was close to her. She knew my sounds, my body, my heart...she knew me.

Tonight I realized I was sad. I didn't really know why and then it hit me. As I looked at pictures of Emmy from birth on I realized I am grieving all the things I will miss with my second child. I will miss not carrying him in my womb...feeling the kicks. I will miss seeing her first breath. I will miss some of his firsts. She will not know me as mommy right away. To him I will be just another caregiver. I will look at him or her as daughter or son and he or she will look at me as a stranger...a foreigner with a foreign tongue. I will have to teach him to trust me instead of it being automatic at birth. I will have to work at comforting her. I will not know which ways he likes being held...or how she likes to eat.

I am also grieving the loss of a child for a mother far away. I am so blessed to be a mother...so blessed to raise Emmy. I can't imagine carrying her for those months and then her not being in my life. I can't imagine having to make a choice that involves losing a child. I don't know if my second child's family is ill, is in prison, is alone, or too young to take care of our little one. But whatever the reason I am grieving for them. I am praying that they would know that Jesus is their savior...that He alone can save them and bring salvation. I pray for them often...that God would comfort them.

Although I am grieving I am also rejoicing. I am rejoicing in that God choose us to be parents to our little orphan. Our little orphan who will be an orphan no more. Who will have a FOREVER family...who will have a last name! Who will have a mommy, daddy and sister who love him. We have prayed for them(Lots of prayers). We have waited for him. We have grieved over her. And how we long to hold him or her.

I also realized I WILL experience firsts...someone may have experienced it with them before us, but it doesn't matter because to us it will be the first laugh, smile, or crawl. It will be the first bottle, food, or bath. To us these will all be firsts. As Charlie put it..."It will be different but in the same familiar way." Simple statement but so true.

Although I am grieving losses I am rejoicing in the recieving of this precious child!! :D

Frosty...

It's getting Frosty here in Bend Oregon...this is what I woke up to this morning.



Definitely not used to seeing frost on my house or our bbq! :D It was all over the walkway and our car. We had to chip the ice off our car windows. All this to say we are still adjusting. :D

This next picture is of Emmy in her new school uniform. She is in Pre K this year and is loving it. I am all for uniforms but I was uninformed of the uniforms until the day before! So I was caught off guard and scrambled trying to find some. Mondays and Fridays they wear regular uniforms but on Wednesdays they have chapel and wear their chapel uniforms which is shown below. It is so cute! She was being silly so I couldn't get a good picture of her but you can see the cuteness still!



If you all could continue praying for us with the new transitions and with adoption. The soonest we could receive a referral is in two months (could be sooner but most likely not). It could also be another four months. We are so excited to see a picture and hear our son or daughter's name and story! I can't contain myself some days. I want to just see our child now!! :D

It's a different feeling than when I was pregnant. I was anxious to see what Emmy looked like but I also was nervous about giving birth. I knew within a week or two of my due date I would see her sweet face. It was hard but nothing like this. I have no idea when I will get a call and have a sweet picture and a story waiting in my inbox. Crazy right?!

I feel like all the hard labor (paperwork) with the adoption is done and now I wait...which is hard but not in the same way. It's more helpless than difficult. I feel helpless. I feel out of control. I feel uninformed. In the end this sweet child we are waiting for will be ours (God's), and I will one day feel a sense of "ownership", but as of now I feel like an outsider, helpless and unsure of anything regarding OUR child. It's an odd feeling that I can't quite explain. But I know once I see our child and know he/she is mine, the peace and closure will come. Maybe not right away but I will feel like "mommy" to our 2nd child one day soon...I will have all the responsibilities, rights, blessings, privileges, and FUN I do with Emmy. I can't wait!!

So will you pray with us? For us? For our child? Pray for the waiting children around the world...waiting for a forever family to love them as their own!! :D

Thank you!

Happy Halloween!

We spent our first Halloween in Bend Oregon (of course) now that we are living here. It was a great night. We've been in town a total of 7 days and have been invited to two events at my sister's friends houses. We've met alot of people and have enjoyed our time getting to know our new surroundings and our new neighbors! Our second day here our daughter climbed under our backyard fence to play with our two neighbor girls!! It was a hilarious sight and something we were looking forward to Emmy having. A fun childhood full of neighborhood friends, and kid friendly neighbors.

As I started saying tonight was Halloween. Emmy had a great time trick or treating and although it was cold...pretty stinkin' cold, we all had fun drinking our soup/wine/coffee/etc. while watching all the kids trampling along in their costume. We really are enjoying it here in Oregon and slowly getting used to the idea this is our new home. We still are missing so much about So. California, most of all our families and friends we left...but we know we will stay close to them.

Well enjoy the pictures and we wish you a HAPPY HALLOWEEN! :D

Next week we'll have more on the adoption...we have to update our homestudy now that we are here in Oregon. More to come!

It's been awhile...

Sorry it's been so long since my last post!! We've had a lot going on. We have moved to Bend, OR since my last post. It's been such a weird reality to try and grasp. All my "things" and my family are with me in our new house but it still feels like vacation. It's really a strange new feeling. I've moved to a different house but never to a new town. I've always lived 20 minutes from Long Beach, CA and I've always still had the same friends...I've made new friends along the way but still always had the old ones.

Moving from your hometown is so different as those of you know who have experienced that. I don't know my surroundings, and I don't know many people. The stores are different, the weather, the people, the norms, and the dress codes even! :D Everything is so new. With the weird and hard realization of all the new and strange adjustments surrounding us comes a wonderful sense of new also.

For those of you who don't know we just came out of a long three years of my husband going to school full time and working full time. When he finished we had hopes of doing so many things. We had hopes of changing bad habits, and changing certain norms we had developed. For us I could see how that would have been hard to change our normal routine in our hometown. With this move to Oregon we have a new fresh start. We both have such strong desires to stop certain bad habits, or to start great new ones like learning to play the guitar, reading more books, start new ministries. We've already seen a fresh new start at the church we are going to attend. We are new to everyone here and there are no expectations on us! :D
It's a great feeling, but also an uncomfortable one. We love our life in Southern California and will miss it dearly!

We are just thankful for this new, fresh start and look on life. We pray during the waiting stage of the adoption that we would let God work in us for the better. To mold us and shape us to grow closer to the woman and man God wants us to be!! (And little girl He wants EMMY to be!)

Thank you all for your prayers! :D

Love the Beals

Wating children...

Most of you have asked us where we are at now...well we are officially waiting. What's that?! What'd you say?! What do we do while waiting? Well we, um...well see we just...it's easy cuz we can, ummm....I don't know actually. What do we do while waiting?

We've been praying and we've been praying some more. Yep and still a little more praying. :D

During the waiting period we recieve "waiting child" referrals. It's a list of children that are just "waiting" for someone to adopt them. These sweet faces are waiting for a forever family. A family to open their arms and hearts to love them. Most of these children have a disease...HIV perhaps, TB, or Hepatitus. Some of them are waiting simply because they are older and most people pick the babies. Some might have deformities. Whatever the reason...they too are waiting. We have a lot in common.

I pray for these children...we pray. We pray for God to speak into our hearts if one of these children are supposed to be ours. We pray for God's comfort. We pray for families to come forward...and if it's us that we would come forward. But most of all we pray for their salvation. Their little precious lives to collide with God Almighty...and that they would accept His gift of salvation. That they would have an eternal Father.

It's been extremely hard for me to be faced with these children and not cry everytime I see their faces. For me not to be mad at anyone I can blame for letting this happen. I feel helpless when I (we) have so much at our disposal and could help in so many ways...but I don't know where to start but to support orphan ministries, pray, and pray some more. My heart is heavy for these children. For the 147 MILLION CHILDREN who are orphans. It's an overwhelming thought...it's a staggering number.

But God is bigger than that number...so much bigger. He is caring for these children. He loves them.

I can continue to pray and ask God how He wants me to help. I can continue to pray for these children. I can continue to encourage others to step out in faith and ask God how they can make a difference in these children's lives. I can Trust God is Sovereign and is moving mountains in these children's lives. Trust...

Will you pray with me for these children?

Blessings to you my friends! :D

Coffee Fundraiser

Hi friends! All of you have supported us and loved us through this journey. We thank God for you so much. God works in mighty ways and He has provided everything we've needed for this adoption to come to fruition. With many of you supporting us financially, God providing more work for Charlie, and with us cutting back majorly on our finances, God has provided more than HALF of the cost of the adoption. Remember in the beginning we only had the application fee and start up fee. Not even 10% of the cost of the entire adoption! :D God is good.

Since we still have to raise about 20% of the total cost, we have signed up with this amazing organization called JUST LOVE COFFEE ROASTERS. We will soon have a webpage where you can buy coffee, shirts, hats, coffee mugs, etc. and the proceeds will go toward our adoption fund set up by JUST LOVE. We have set a goal to raise $4000.00.
The coffee is from Ethiopia (coffees birthplace) among other regions. So you know it's going to be good coffee!! :D The other part of their organization is that they are fair trade certified. Fair trade aims to help producers in developing countries and promote sustainability. The idea is to help them move towards economic self-sucfficiency and stability in these developing countries.
www.justlovecoffee.com
The founder of JUST LOVE is Rob Webb and here is his story...

"Rob Webb knows coffee. When Rob was two years old, his father started Webb’s Coffee Service, which blossomed into a full-blown refreshment service supplying businesses in Nashville, TN and the surrounding areas, and is now run by Rob.

Rob Webb knows the adoption process. In the summer of 2008, Rob and his wife Emily were called to adopt from Ethiopia. After much prayer and discussion with their first two children they started their adoption journey in August 2008. During the flurry of paperwork and preparation, Rob & Emily read books not only on adoption in general, but specifically on Ethiopia. Learning that Ethiopia is the birthplace of coffee caught Rob’s attention, and after reading about the living conditions and wages of the average coffee farmer, he was compelled to take action. What developed through his reading and his trip to Ethiopia to unite with his daughters was a realization that he could combine his expertise and longstanding desire to roast his own coffees with his desire to help others. Just Love Coffee Roasters was born! Roasting Fair Trade Specialty coffees, Just Love uses proceeds to help an Ethiopian orphanage and families adopting not just from Ethiopia, but from anywhere in the world."

When our webpage is up and running we will give you the information. If you love coffee (or can find something for you other than coffee and or a gift for others) and want to support us this is an opportunity for us both. If you enjoy the coffee and support the cause tell others about our webpage and help us spread the word.

Thank you!

Moving?!

Emmy's first day of Preschool. Such a big girl!
At a her cousins birthday party.


Some of you may have heard that we (The Beals) are moving. Well it's true. We are "planning" on moving October 27th. It's soon...truely a bittersweet time for us. We have been praying for 3 years that God would show us where He wants us to "Land". Well this summer God moved...He opened a few doors for us to move to Bend, OR. Charlie will be able to keep his job which is huge...the adoption will not be affected which was our main concern...we will be able to live a simpler lifestyle...we will be able to save more money...and since we LOVE Oregon and all it has to offer we are excited to raise our children in a place like Bend.

Will you join us in prayer for this major transition in our lives?

We are also praying that God would open doors and open our hearts to possibly adopting an older child as well as a baby. We are considering a child Emmy's same age or a little younger. Will you pray with us as we decipher what God's plan is for our family. We want to help take care of the ophans...we want to provide a family for a child most people pass on...we have enough love for an older child...BUT is this God's perfect plan for our family? Is this Him putting this desire in our hearts or is it Charlie and I just feeling sad/guilty for these sweet children who need a home? God does not need us...He makes things happen. These children will not be without love and without a home. God WILL move. We don't want to get in His way. Pray with us God would direct and guide us in this decision. Thank you prayer warriors!!

We will keep you updated...

It's hard waiting...

It's been really hard waiting. Praying and waiting...trying to pass time. Emmy has been praying much more for "a baby" and she has been communicating in her own way it's hard for her to wait...she just wants "a baby" now (me too!).

Well today a big package came and Charlie said very excitedly "Emmy help me open this...it's a surprise for Momma." I didn't know what it was but I knew Charlie was making the package more exciting for Emmy because he is a good Dad and knew she'd have fun opening it and playing with it's contents. Well Emmy proceeded to say "Is our baby in there?!". As Charlie and I tried to contain our laughter we noticed that she was genuinely hoping our baby was indeed in this box that the UPS guy brought. It was so sweet, cute, sad, and hilarious. We talked to her and let her know that she would know when the baby was coming. :D

I write this story so you can know how to pray for us. It's so difficult knowing our sweet baby is so far away and that we can't bring him/her home for awhile. It's going to be a long journey still and that is hard to deal with. We need prayer for patience and for trust in God's unfolding plan. Pray for Emmy's sweet little heart to see God's faithfulness and goodness at the tender age of four years old. Thank you so much for your prayers. We couldn't get through this without them!! :D

Blessings...

I have to believe...

(This song was posted on a blog I follow...I needed to post it here. What a great reminder in the midst of these crazy transitions in our lives. There is alot going on. All of which are unknowns...to us that is, not to God.) :D

I have to believe, He sees my darkness
I have to believe, He knows my pain
I have to lift up, my hands to Worship
Worship His name

I have to declare, that He is my refuge
I have to deny, that I am alone
I have to lift up, my eyes to the mountains, thats where my help, it comes from

He said that He’s forever faithful
He said that He’s forever true
He said that He can move mountains
If He can move mountains
He can move my mountain, He can move your mountain too

I have to stand tall, when the wind blows me over
I have to stand strong, when i’m weak and afraid
I have to grab hold, a hold of the garments, the garments of praise

He said that He’s forever faithful (oh i know it)
He said that He’s forever true
He said that He can move mountains
If He can move mountains
He can move my mountain, He can move your mountain too

I have to sing praise, when the hour is midnight
He unlocks these chains, that bind up my soul
my sin and my shame He has forgiven, and made me whole

He’s got everything under control
I have to believe

Lord I believe, help my unbelief
I have to believe in you
I have to believe

DTE 8/7/09

Our dossier was recieved by our family coordinator and she said everything looked good!! Yay! We don't have to do anything else before it's authenticated and mailed to Ethiopia. They will mail our papers to Ethiopia on 8/7/09. This is our DTE (date to ethiopia) and they use this date to determine our family waiting number. We have a number but they don't share it with us for confidentiality purposes. I don't exactly know why but our DTE is what we base our wait time on. So by 1/7/09 we could possibly have a referral. It could also be as late as 4/7/09. We are just praying that the child God has for our family would be healthy and safe. That God would work in the hearts of the judge to look favorably on our papers and that we can bring our child home soon. I didn't know how I would feel during this time but I can tell you I am more anxious than I was while expecting Emmy.

It's funny how we can fool ourselves into thinking we are in control and that although I trusted God with Emmy I really felt like I was somewhat in control because I had her with me at all times...in my belly. ;D My second child I don't have with me at all. Not even in the same state, let alone same country. He/She is pretty much as far away as you could get from another person. Are you sensing what I am going to say next?! {grin}

God is teaching me (us) to trust, TRUST in Him and His goodness. He was watching over Emmy and protecting her from unknowns and He is watching and protecting our sweet Ethiopian prince or princess from unknowns...and I (we) need to rest in that. And I do!! Most of the time :D

If you want to know how you can pray for us over the next 5-8 months (could be longer I guess...) I will write our prayer requests for you. Thank you so much for all your support. We appreciate you!

1. Pray for peace. Trust that God is taking care of every detail.
2. Pray for finances...we are joining a fundraiser soon where you can purchase YUMMY coffee straight from Ethiopia (Coffee's home country) and proceeds will go directly to our adoption. Details to follow! :D
3. Pray for wisdom as to where God wants us to land (live!). We've been praying now for approximately 3 years as to where God wants us to live. Pray for clarity.
4. Most importantly pray for our future child & emmy. Pray for our newest to be in the hands of God and to be healthy and safe. Pray God would comfort him/her and all the orphans of the world. Pray for Emmy to continue in her knowledge of Him and to enjoy getting to know the Father.

Thank you!! :D

We've been approved!!

We have been approved and have recieved our 171-H form in the mail today!! I am so excited. We just need to mail our Dossier to Virgina tomorrow or Monday and we will offically be waiting (expecting!). Thank you all so so much for your faithful prayers, we could not be more excited! God is good...the theme for my life! :D

My friend just had a baby and gave me an announcement and the verse she used was,

"The Lord has done great things for us, and we are filled with joy." Psalm 126:3

I am praising God with this verse today...He has done great things for us and we are filled with JOY!

May your week/weekend be filled with God's joy...

God is yet again faithful...

I know I already mentioned "the BIG deal" but I need to elaborate...
God is so faithful to provide. Charlie got the BIG deal we'd been praying about. The commission from this deal will pay for more than half the adoption!!!! We have yet to get a deal even a 1/8 this big in the 7 years Charlie has worked at Containment Corporation and now we get it??!! Why do I continue to worry, doubt and fret? I know God has shown us that He wants us to adopt...why do I worry? He will provide for the journeys He takes us on. It's as simple as that.

I also checked our agencies blog and the wait time for a referral is now 6-8 months for a boy and 9-11 months for a girl. This is about a three to four month LESS wait. This could change at anytime but that is the current trend. I can't wait to meet this little one God has placed in our hearts and lives!

God also provided this chapter in Psalms for us to rest in...God is good. :D

Psalm 146

"Praise the Lord,
Praise the Lord O my soul
I will praise the Lord all my life
I will sing praise to my God as long as I live.

Do not put your trust in princes,
in mortal men, who cannot save.
When their spirit deparst they return to the ground;
on that very day their plans come to nothing.

Blessed is he whose help is the God of Jacob,
whose hope is in the Lord his God,
the maker of heaven and earth,
the sea and everything in them-
the Lord, who remains faithful forever.
He upholds the cause of the oppressed
and gives food to the hungry.
The Lord sets prisoners free,
the Lord gives sight to the blind,
the Lord lifts up those who are bowed down,
the Lord loves the righteous.
The Lord watches over the alien
and sustains the fatherless and the widow,
but he frustrates the ways of the wicked.

The Lord reigns forever,
your GOd, O Zion, for all generations.

Praise the Lord." (italics mine)

PRAISE!!

Just a quick update...We just found out that Charlie got the "BIG DEAL" we'd been praying for to come through. He gets commission on this "BIG DEAL" and after taxes it's going to pay for more than half of the adoption. YES...MORE THAN HALF!! We do indeed serve a mighty God who has resources beyond our imagination...if He wants something to happen...it'll happen. No need to fret, no need. TRUST...it really is a theme I am learning. Thank you, THANK YOU for your prayers!!

Happy 4th Birthday Emmy Grace...

I am not a pro at the blogging yet so these pictures posted backwards. The picture at the bottom of the post is first and the picture at the top is last. Sorry!! :D
We had a great day yesterday celebrating our sweet Emmy's birthday. She is four years old!! I don't know how that happened...honestly. She is so sweet, loving, funny, kind, caring, and just adorable. She has lots of questions and lots of love. We just love, love, love being parents to such a beautiful girl inside and out. We are so blessed by our sweet Emmy Grace. Thank you Jesus for our sweet little surprise you blessed us with four years ago!! :D

The day was a blast as you can see.

Queen Mommy and her princess

The staff at Ariel's grotto singing Happy Birthday to Emmy...she was embarrassed.

The King with princess Ariel

Emmy got to dress up and meet the real Ariel!

Emmy magicially transformed into Ariel at Disneyland

Emmy picked It's a Grind for her birthday breakfast...Chocolate milk and a bagel. :D

On Vacation...

So we are in beautiful Central Oregon (BEND, OR to be exact) for our family vacation, post graduation getaway trip! We are having a blast and love, love, LOVE it here.

Random thought I will share with you...this morning I went running on this beautiful trail two minutes from my sisters house. It's much harder for me to run here because of the altitude, yet at the same time the beauty distracts so perfectly you don't need an ipod and find yourself continuing past your normal stopping point because you want to keep seeing the beautiful views!! It's awesome. I stopped at this one part and stretched and just enjoyed the view. I was praying and just in awe that God spoke into existence this beautiful, marvelous world with just His words. He so beautifully fashioned each and every animal, plant, flower, mountain, river, rock everything with His strong powerful words. He took such care and detail to create it all for us to ENJOY! What a beautiful thought. This led me to think how God has and will beautifully fashion my life. He already has the plan and He is step by step putting together what He wants for Charlie, Emmy and I. He will carefully plan, and create with such detail what His best is for us. I need to TRUST HIM. (Do you see a pattern here?!) Trust in His timing, His plan, His grace to save me when I go off His path. He is good.

Please pray for peace in our hearts as we are getting closer questions arise, doubts, fears, excitement we can't contain, and such a longing for this sweet child to be in our arms. Pray for the ORPHANS around the world. Pray that God will ensure justice for these children without a parent/family to stand up for them. PRAY to our mighty God to rescue the fatherless. That they would know they have a heavenly father...

Thank you faithful prayer warriors! :D

Waiting...and Praying.

So sorry it's been so long since I've written. It's been a crazy two weeks.

First Charlie finished School!!!! This truely deserves a page full of exclamation points but these four will have to do. {wink} We are so proud of our Charlie for accomplishing this major milestone. Although it was a rough 3 year ride we are at the end looking back saying THANK YOU JESUS for helping us all through this. Truely it is all by the grace of God. Thank you everyone for your prayers.

Second, I finished all our our paperwork for the adoption!!!! Yet again I need a page full of exclamation points. Agh...It was alot of work. It really really was. I have to be honest and say I am having some doubts...worries...concerns. Emmy and I went to LA today to get our state certification done and I was praying the whole time. I was just overwhelmed with everything. How are we going to get $7,500.00 in a couple weeks, what if our child is sick, how long will the referal process take, should we bring emmy to ethiopia, what if I get pregnant and we have to stop the process, what if the adoption is haulted, what if we don't pass court over and over like so many others, etc.

Well if any of you have driven to LA, cars like to cut you off often. During my many visits there I have learned this. Well once again a car cut me off. On the bumper was a sticker that read "Jesus es mi paz." I was so comforted by this sticker even if the driver was an idiot. {Joke} Jesus is my peace....I repeated this man times. Alone in HIM I will have peace and rest in His plan for our family. Whatever it looks like. All I can do is trust Him...and I will.

Well we leave this Friday for Oregon for two weeks and we could really use your prayers as we start this new journey of no school and no adoption paperwork. We really are praying for God's guidance to show us where we should be living, and what we should invest our time in while we wait for our little Ethiopian prince or princess. :D We would appreciate prayer for our 171-H to arrive quickly also. Thank you everyone!