Walking In Our Faith

Have the flu? If not, beware. It may be knocking on your door next. I understand that this flu virus is being shared across the country. It's not fun...it's really not fun to watch your little one be sick and definitely not fun as a momma to be sick. There is one advantage...reading. Being forced down, and having no energy, I spend the time that I am awake reading. I have to share this fantastic book I am reading right now - it is called "Parenting is Your Highest Calling and 8 Other Myths" by Leslie Leyland Fields.  Here is the description of the book:
Is Parenting Supposed to Be This Difficult?

As a mother of six, author Leslie Leyland Fields knows firsthand the insecurities and questions that come with rearing children. In this provocative book, she explores with refreshing honesty the myths that can lead to unrealistic expectations and distract us from God’s purposes for our children and for us. These nine myths include:
• Children make you happy and bring great fulfillment.
• You will always feel love for your child.
• Your success as a parent can be measured by your child’s behavior.
• There is one “right” biblical model for family life.
• Good parenting will result in happy children.

Through a close look at God’s own life as a parent as well as stories from real-life families, Fields highlights the transforming biblical truths that release parents from the grip of mistaken assumptions. Fresh, provocative insights will lead you to a deeper understanding of God and yourself–an understanding that lifts the weight of guilt and fear and frees you to love your children as God intended.

I highly recommend it. Really.

We are doing better on our adoption front. God has given us great peace and we are so thankful. We are able to move forward in confidence and we know a special little girl will have a family soon. Our decision was EXTREMELY difficult - but God has shown us several times that we made the correct decision. Thank you, Lord for your compassion.  We are so excited to wait for our call...and we are right back where we were before - we don't lose our spot, we just remain where we are and wait for the right child. Our agency doesn't work on a numbering system. They focus on matching a child with a family according to the needs of the child and the families requests and openness. We did adjust our request to help with the age range we are waiting for so that helps everyone in the process. Our degree of openness is as open as we can possibly be and leaving it up to God. 

We have been able to shift our focus to our friends who are/were waiting for their embassy appointment. We are so excited for them! They are travelling the end of January and will bring home their two boys the first part of February! We have really been connecting with this family over the last few weeks and it's awesome! We are leaning on each other, praying around the clock for each other...we are in this together with God as the head!

Here's some information on how things are going in the adoption process as a whole - we aren't to this point, but our friends are so we have been able to walk this part with them.  Some quick background on the process. We are waiting for our referral call (THE CALL).  After accepting the referral, the agency petitions for a court date. The court date is the first time we will travel to Ethiopia where we will appear before the judge and God willing, the adoption finalized. Then we return home and wait to be invited back for our embassy date. This is the second trip and when we will bring our child home. This is the appointment where we go to the Embassy and receive all the paperwork, birth certificate, travel documents, etc... for our child. This is the US governments final approval of the adoption.

Things are a little slow for embassy appointments right now - there has been some corruption "shenanigans" going on with adoptions in Ethiopia and the Ethiopian Government and the Embassy have really been tightening the belt on adoptions making sure every thing is on the up and up. Every single file is being investigated right now by the Embassy and it's slowing the process down. Ask me, and I think this is good. We are soooo happy we are with our agency too - they are ensuring that every single adoption is transparent; they research and dot every I and cross every T.  There is not a question about the validity of a child being an orphan...our agency creates a life book that the adoptive family receives when they go for their embassy appointment and to bring our children home. The life book documents everything - we have seen one - it's incredible and such an awesome thing to have for the future. It's a piece to our child's past - it explains so much.

We are really looking forward to our first trip...whenever that may be. We won't have a lot of time to spend with our child - we actually will be able to meet our child in a group setting (we will not be singled out to our child as his/her family). Why? Because it can be difficult for our child and attachment could begin immediately and then we leave for a few weeks...and that doesn't help you get started on the right foot with trust, etc... We will be able to get to know the country while we are there on our first trip. We are really excited about that. We want to be in the culture as much as possible, soaking up every single opportunity and every little bit so we can keep it alive and infuse it in our home and in our family.

That is just a quick update. This post has been sitting waiting for me to finish since the 15th and it has been nagging me to finish. Sorry it wasn't more exciting...I think it was supposed to be 5 days ago, but that's the flu for you!  Have a blessed day.