Birthday Plus Immigration Update

Happy Birthday to my gorgeous husband :) He is 26 years old today and feels like an old man! Someone at church pointed out that they weren't even married by age 26--he said "I got married at 19!" So anyway for his birthday, I got him some running clothes, some gel rehydration packs, and (drum roll, please!) an entry fee into the Fort Worth Cowtown Marathon in February of 2008! He's always wanted to run a marathon, and I know he can do it!

Anyway, in the mail today, we got an update from immigration. Apparently our file had a "deficiency." Doesn't that sound depressing?! Poor file! I myself would never call it deficient, as hard as I worked on it! But I guess they wanted actual copies of our Child Abuse Registry Check, which was supposed to be in our homestudy. So, no big deal, I mailed them off today. It actually encouraged me that, hey, at least they're working on our stuff right?! So it shouldn't be too much longer...

We're heading out tonight to celebrate!! (the birthday, not the deficient file..) We're going to eat at a restaurant of Blu's choosing, going to Mardel's, and then heading back here to play some tennis minus a 2 year old and 10 month old! Yay for free babysitting from the preacher's wife! :)

Still waiting for a medical update on Samuel and some new pics. Last I heard the internet was down in Liberia. I'll keep you posted!

How?

"I just don't understand how I can miss someone so much...that I've never even met." ~ (Facing the Giants)

Our Little Boy

We are SOOOOOOOOO excited to announce that yesterday, we accepted the referral of little Samuel. Samuel is 5 years old, and on October 21, 2006 (my birthday) he swallowed a liquid form of bleach that he mistook for a bottle of water. The last information our agency received (Feb 07) stated that Samuel weighed 20 pounds and was 37 inches tall. That is just 2 pounds more than our 10 month old! Samuel is currently living with his birth mother, but it is our understanding that he will be moved as soon as possible to a hospital or to the guesthouse for better care. We have been told that the process should take approximately 4 months to get him back here.



We have been praying about adopting Samuel for about a month. Several things along the way pointed us in this direction, but we still just weren't positive. We kept thinking that it would be a huge sacrifice for our family. However, yesterday Blu came home from his New Testament class and shared with me a Scripture that was read that spoke to him.

2 Corinthians 8:13-15 (Contemporary English Version)
I am not trying to make life easier for others by making life harder for you. But it is only fair for you to share with them when you have so much, and they have so little. Later, when they have more than enough, and you are in need, they can share with you. Then everyone will have a fair share, just as the Scriptures say, "Those who gathered too much had nothing left. Those who gathered only a little had all they needed."

We were faced with the truth that God has blessed us and given us the ability to meet this little boy's needs. And in return, we are going to be so blessed by his life!! We no longer think of it as a sacrifice!! We are going to come out ahead in the end!

In the next few days, we expect to hear an update from our agency regarding Samuel's medical condition and new pictures. Please be in prayer for our Samuel, that he will hold on until we get there. Please pray for his birth mother, who is making the ultimate sacrifice in giving up her son to save his life.

Just some pics to make you (and me) smile!

Caedmon did his first "craft project" at home today! We made a rainbow fish! But, I have to tell you, my son cannot stand to be dirty! His favorite phrase is "I NEE PAY-PUH-TOW-UH!" (paper towel) So I had to have a rag handy so that every time he put some tissue paper on the fish he could wipe the glue off his hands! The other day, Blu took him outside to play in the sprinkler for the first time and he liked it until he realized there was wet grass on his feet. He started yelling "DUH-TEE!!! DUH-TEE!!" and that was the end of the sprinkler...



Cambree is 10 months old today! She adores her big brother and lets him drag her around the living room by one leg. She rarely cries, and her new thing is to flap her arms in the air when she gets excited! (when Daddy comes home!) She pulled up to stand for the first time today!

Glad?!

Did I say I was GLAD that I had to wait? I don't remember saying that.... *sigh*

Still waiting...

So we're still waiting on Immigration approval, still waiting to hear back about a special little boy, still waiting...

I realized last night that I'm glad I've had to wait. If all of the answers had come right away, then why would I even need God? I would have done everything in my own strength. But this time to wait has enabled me to call on Him, to seek Him so much, and then finally, to come to a point where I can REST in the fact that He alone is in control, He knows what's best for our family, and His will WILL be done.

I'm glad He has made me wait...