How much do you really want to know...?

Since my last post several things have happened. We received our invoice for the sum of money that is due at this point. We have a 15 day time line to pay this. We have really felt like it is not up to us to figure it out and God has really shown up. So many people have dug deep and given to us freely. You know who you are and we couldn't be more thankful! Even people we don't know. God is amazing in his provisions!

We also received our travel packet. This is full of information on the next steps of the adoption. I must admit, I began ready this booklet on Friday morning before work and got really overwhelmed and a bit discouraged. I really thought the paperwork and most of the stuff was done but I found out it isn't. Uggh. I got home from work and proceeded to read this 58 page document entirely. Every detail, everything written out. I finished with more questions. Yes, it answered many questions I had but left me with quite a few too. I guess reading something can't really even come close to experiencing something. I was hoping this packet might put some of my fears, anxieties & questions to rest. It did for a few things but also raised a few more. There were details about preparation for our trip, our stay in Colombia, information for after we return, additional reading materials and forms. Details about what to expect from the children, our need to learn Spanish... etc. The list goes on. All this to say... I can really use your prayers. I want to have joy and peace in this whole process. I'm very excited about being closer to getting the children but I feel like a thousand road blocks just got put in front of me. You know the saying... "knowledge is power?" Well I now have more knowledge about international adoption than most people and I'm not really feeling all that powerful. I am relieved and thankful that my God is with me through it all and my dear, sweet husband. I couldn't do this without them.

This is really a faith journey. I feel my faith being put to the test daily, almost minute by minute. The funny thing is is that God is so faithful. I have no doubt that he is going to provide for EVERY need we have, he is going to see us through all of this ... my faith doesn't seem to lack in my God. I just tend to have trouble relinquishing control even though he has proven faithful. I tend to question myself through these things. Sometimes I'm not sure if it is OK to feel the way I'm feeling. I guess it is probably normal but sometimes I feel so hung up on it. I know that God can handle my frustrations, my fears, my failures, my doubts... sometimes I just don't handle them so well.

"Each of us must decide where we're going to put our energy when the battle grows fierce." "God, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which You have called me heavenward in Christ Jesus (Phil. 3:13-14). Help me to forget all past failures - or even achievements - and to focus on pressing forward with You now."

The BEST Kind of Wait!!!

The post that I've been waiting for... we now have our dossier submitted to Colombia!!! What does this mean? All the paperwork that was needed is completed. We now have a rather sizable payment to make but God has been SO faithful and we know he is going to provide it. So now we wait... not on papers, not on deadlines (with the exception of this payment due) but for OUR CHILDREN!!! Could be up to 18 months but we are praying for it to come much more quickly. We hope that you will pray with us too! We have lots of things to do while we wait... learn some Spanish, read books on parenting, fix up their bedrooms, pray in the finances for the in country and traveling fees and just have fun together.

Speaking of fun... we just got back from Knoxville TN yesterday. We traveled there for a wedding that Jeremy shot. Joanna and Aaron were able to come too! We had a great time walking around downtown, trying new restaurants, window shopping & going to the movie. It was a fun little getaway.

I'll keep you posted as to what comes next. We will be receiving a package in the mail soon that will tell us about traveling and what things will look like when we go to Colombia!

Hmmm...not what we hoped for

We received word yesterday that we did not get the grant from Shoahannah's Hope. We are disappointed but still believing God will be faithful to provide the remaining adoption fees. We are doing our best to be prayerful and patient as we have a large sum due in a few short weeks.

We also received an email from our adoption agency that two papers need to be redone for our dossier. One was too old and the other had too much information. So we will have to get these notarized and apostilled again. Hopefully this won't take too much time.

Not the best news today but this is where we are at. Trying to stay as positive and patient as possible. Trying to hear from God about what is us trying to take care of it and what is allowing Him the time he needs to provide. That part of waiting is a part I really don't care for. Hmmm... Any words of wisdom? I'd love to hear them...

Knowing & Trusting...

Have you ever been so excited about something that it makes you feel sick to your stomach??? That's kind of how I feel. Tomorrow we will submit our dossier (adoption paperwork) to our agency. I can't even tell you how relieved I feel to finally have our paper work done! It has been a long haul but I couldn't be happier. We received our final papers in the mail yesterday all authenticated so we are good to go! No they go off the agency, then they go to Colombia for translation & approval... so now we wait.

Do you ever wonder why you even expend the energy to get anxious? Well today I did. I have been a bit anxious about the finances that it will take to submit these papers and just not sure where it would come from. Don't get me wrong, I KNOW God provides & knows exactly where it is coming from but sometimes I just can't shut my brain off to just trust. Today I got to talk to my dad for a while & he & Mom had already felt lead to send us some money for this part of the process. What a blessing! Poor Dad... I started crying on the phone! If you have ever been on the other end of the phone when I'm crying, it isn't pretty... I can't talk at all. Dad thought he had lost the connection with me then realized I was crying. Anyway - thank you so much Mom & Dad for being sensitive to the Holy Spirit! I can't tell you how blessed we feel!

We are still waiting to hear back from Shoahannah's Hope to see if we will receive a grant. Please pray that they will find favor in us. We are hoping and praying for this! We continue to covet your prayers and are so thankful for all our friends and family! We so appreciate your support!

Spring Fever...

Does anyone else get inspired by spring and the sunshine? Last weekend I went to some of my favorite nurseries just to look at all the beautiful flowers that I wish I could plant now. It is still a little too cold here for planting but looking gets me excited!

I am feeling better so we got to work on some things around the house. I picked up a load of gravel and Jeremy spread it in the driveway. I got a few junipers for the front yard and some black mulch. I love black mulch... I think it helps the plants really pop out. I weeded some of the garden and back yard, then the front yard, planted the new plants, took up all my periwinkle that wasn't doing too well at spreading and changed some things.

I replanted the periwinkle in my pots by the front door and just got things looking better. Looking forward to doing the hanging pots but those will have to wait for some more consistent sunshine.Today we finished tearing out the floor in the upstairs hallway. It looks so much better already. We need to decide if we will paint it black like we did in the bedroom or do something different. But at least now it is all prepped and ready for whatever we decide to do.
Anyone have any good ideas?

We are now getting ready to relax, eat some chili and enjoy the Red Sox game! Go Sox!!!

Last, but certainly not least.... Happy Birthday Caleb & Alethia! I can't believe they are two today. Jeremy and I love them so much and are so thankful they are part of our lives! They called me today and it is so fun to hear them talking! I hope you both have a wonderful day!!! We love you!!!

Happy Easter everyone! I hope you feel the love of our beautiful Savior & are able to reflect on all He has done for us!!!

Mailing

Other than being home today sick, things are very good. Today I am mailing off all the papers that need to be authenticated (apostilled) in the state of Virginia. Once we receive these papers back, we are finished with our paperwork! Pretty amazing. We then mail them to our agency for approval and translation, then on to Colombia. Very exciting!!! This is where the process gets fairly expensive. We continue to thank you for your prays and support for this process.

Jeremy returned this last week from a short visit home (Oregon) to see his brothers, Mom, Dad and other family members. We also have a new niece (Jake's) that Jeremy wanted to see. Her name is Ember and she is beautiful. I'll share pictures with you soon...

Authentication...

I just thought I'd give you an update on where we are at in our paperwork. We are so close I can see the end in site. We received the final documents we were waiting for last week. Our final sets of fingerprints. We have a couple things yet to be notarized. Once I get these last pieces notarized, I can send them all off to be authenticated. Once I receive all of the paperwork back from authentication, I can submit everything to my agency for review and translation. Once translation is complete, they will send it to Colombia for review & approval and then we get put in the stack to wait for our kids. So we are very close to being done with all the busy work part of it. It feels like it has taken forever to complete and I guess it has but at least we are almost done.

We continue to ask for your prayers for the financial end of this process. We are waiting for word from Shoahannah's Hope to see if we are approved for the grant we applied for. This would be a huge help. They are able to give you a small percentage of adoption fees but anything is better than nothing! We have quite a few things coming up that require medium to large payments.

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