What?? We could be going to Ethiopia soon?!

Okay, so you know how we have been asking y'all to PRAY that we would receive word about a court date before the courts close in Ethiopia???  Because if we didn't then we would have to wait until the fall???  Well......

Yesterday morning our case worker called and said they have scheduled the first court appointment in Ethiopia for our daughter's case!!!!  It will be next Wednesday.  We won't be going just yet but if that appointment goes well (and oh, PRAY THAT IT DOES!) we will have our adoptive family court date scheduled pretty soon after that!!!  Our case worker said it could literally be within a few weeks!  Seriously, we could be in Ethiopia seeing and touching and holding our daughter within a few weeks!!!!  

This week we also sent off for our Ethiopian travel visas.  We filled out some more paperwork, headed over to Goin' Postal, and sent everything off.  We have to receive these in order to travel to Ethiopia.  We are working with a service that hurries things along and returns paperwork like nobody's business!  They are apparently crazy fast!

Also, in about a week Brian and I are going to get all of our fun vaccinations for our trip!! Ick....I'm trying not to think about that but if it gets us closer to our Lucy R then I'm doing it!

We are SO thankful for this amazing news and so thankful for all of your prayers!!!!  Continue to pray for our journey!!  Pray for our little Lucy R and us!  Pray for all of the funds that we need for our travel too!

What is her name and Happy 2 months!!

Many people have asked what our daughter's name is.  I felt like I should just dedicate a whole post to the subject! :) Also, today our baby girl turns 2 months old!! We can't wait to be with her to celebrate all these milestones and special moments with her!!

Since we started our adoption journey we have considered lots of different names but honestly we haven't thought too much about it until here recently.  We always knew that we really wanted to know her birth name first and then decide.  However, all along, Isabel wanted to name her sister Lucy.  When she was 3 or 4 she would always name her babies Lucy and when we asked her what she thought we should name her sister she instantly said, "Lucy."  We always liked the name but again, we never really thought more about it.  Over the past 3 years we have thrown different names around and looked through baby books but nothing ever really jumped out but Lucy would always come back.

In late April, while I was journaling and praying for our daughter, I really felt the Lord lead me to pray for her name (We later found out that this is the time that she was born).  I prayed that we would know the name that He had for her.  As I started writing, Lucy kept coming to my mind again.  Fast forward to May 31st.  That was the day we got the call and heard our daughter's birth name.  We feel strongly about keeping that name because it connects her to her culture and her birth family.  We are not allowed to share that name online but once we heard it and what it meant we loved the thought of putting Lucy with it.  Lucy means light.  The Sunday after we got the call, our pastor began the sermon on 1 John and what it means to "be in the light."  Brian and I both looked at each other and said, "Lucy....light."

When you combine her two names it means "Light born in the rain."  A Light shining through and leading her.
I also read Ezekiel 34....it is all about how the Lord will seek out His people, His sheep.  He will search for them and find them.  In verse 16 it says, "I will seek the lost, and I will bring back the strayed, I will bind up the injured, and I will strengthen the weak."  Later in verse 26 it says, "  And I will make them and the places all around my hill a blessing, and I will send down the showers in their season; they shall be showers of blessing. 27 And the trees of the field shall yield their fruit, and the earth shall yield its increase, and they shall be secure in their land."

Way back when I attended the first Created for Care retreat in 2011, I participated in a really special worship and prayer time.  I went from station to station praying and asking the Lord what to pray for and poured out my heart to him.  I prayed about everything.  We were just starting our adoption journey.  I came to one station where we were asked to paint.  I picked up a brush and before I started I said, "Lord, what is it that you want me to know?"  I heard the word, "Flourish."  I said, "Flourish?  Like to grow and bloom?" "Yes, your family will flourish."  So, I drew a seed, then a plant, then a tree with leaves and branches and roots.  I have kept the drawing and over the past 2 years this word has come to mind so many times.  Once at church, our pastor said, "Today I feel like the Lord has give me the word "Flourish" to remind you all that God wants you to flourish and grow.  He is blessing you when you don't even know it."  

What started out as a seed....a whisper in my heart to adopt, has grown and grown.  The growth hasn't always been comfortable and at times it has been painful but we are seeing the fruit.  
With the Light and the showers of blessing, we receive the gift of a precious little girl and count it as a privilege and honor that we could watch her grow and flourish into the beauty that He created her to be.

Lucy  "R"

 

The Call!!

I can hardly believe I'm typing this post!!! It has been 18 days since we got our Referral Call from our adoption agency! We are still pinching ourselves and just staring at her sweet little pictures over and over again. The picture above is right after Isabel and I saw her pictures for the first time together. I wanted to share how it all happened on Friday, May 31! For a good while now I have been checking my phone various times during the day and making sure that my phone is always turned on right when I leave school. We were #3, then #1, then #2 so we really had no idea when it could be. So, on Friday afternoon Isabel and I were heading home after a long week at school. We were listening to music and very close to home when my phone rang. I picked it up to see that a case worker from our agency was calling me! I didn't get TOO excited at first because it wasn't our regular case worker.  It was actually the very first case worker we ever had at AGCI.  We had just participated in a webinar session with our agency and she was leading it.  She had e-mailed me the day before to see if I had any additional questions and so I thought maybe she was following up about that.  Well, I WAS WRONG!!! :)

She said, "Hi Angela.  Are you busy?"  I told her no, that I was just driving home from school.  She said, "Well, I called to talk to you about a little girl."  Right then, I completely choked up.  Seriously.  I couldn't speak!!  I cried and said, "Are you serious???"  She said she was very serious and wanted to know how far away from home I was.  I was super close.  She told me just a few details, had me call Brian, and then told me to call her back when I got home.  I hung the phone up, looked in the rear view mirror at Isabel, and screamed!!!!!  She grinned the biggest grin EVER!!!!!  I said, "Do you know what that was about?"  She smiled and said, "My sister?!?!"  I said, "YES!!!" and we both screamed and laughed together all the way home!!!

I called Brian right away.  He was at work but he answered.  I asked if he was busy and he said no.  Then I said, "Are you ready for this??  I just got a phone call from AGCI and they want to talk to us about a little girl!!"  He was shocked and said, "NO WAY!!"  I assured him that I wasn't joking and I shared with him the little bit that I knew.  Brian wasn't able to leave work but he was able to be a part of the call.  We were able to have a conference call and hear all of the details and even see her pictures at the same exact same time.  Isabel was amazing and found something quiet to play in her room while we listened to our sweet baby's story and learned more about her.  She is absolutely adorable.  When we got the call we found out that she was only 6 weeks old!  We were so surprised about this because our parameters were 0-4 years old.  We felt for sure that we would receive a referral for a toddler.  We are sooo blessed.  We are amazed at all of the details and how the second we saw her little face, we knew....she is our daughter.  She is.

After the call, we had a lot of work to do.  We had 48 hours to contact our International Pediatrician and review details with him.  Then, we completed and notarized documents for our referral acceptance and completed a plan to help us be prepared when we bring her home.

The next week we found out that our case was submitted to the court system in Ethiopia!!!  Our next step is waiting and PRAYING for a court date!!  No one is sure about the exact date of the court closure in Ethiopia....maybe July 6th or maybe August 6th.  We are hoping that we will get a court date soon so that we do no have to wait until October. :(  Pray for our family and other families that are waiting on court dates!

**DISCLAIMER**
While I SO wish we could show you all our baby girl's picture, we cannot.  We would never want to do anything to jeopardize our case or our agency or the relationship they have with Ethiopia.  So, we both carry her picture around with us and if you ask, we will be HAPPY to show you in person.  We will not be sharing many details and definitely not any pictures online until AFTER we bring her home.  Thank you all for understanding and being patient and gracious with us.