IT'S A GIRL!

Here's a story, of a lovely lady... (key Brady Bunch Theme song)

YES WE PASSED!

My sweet Buttercup is camping this week and away from our computer.
I get to break the news that we PASSED court.

Yeehaw!

I'm sure she will want to spill her emotions upon her return.

Until then, here's a few more pic's of our sweet new addition









Thanks for all of you who were praying for our family during this time!

Farmboy Brady

JULY 30 - let's try this again

As expected, court was not successful today. We are now scheduled for July 30. One kinda cool bit of news. The courts have postponed their shut down until August 21 to accommodate adopting families and some of the delays that have arisen due to an unexpected government agency closure.

No matter what, God is the one true God, there is no other God but Him. It is said over and over in Scriptures and tonight during my walk I sensed Him reminding me of this awesome truth. And He dazzles. The sky this evening, the stars, the trees, the light, the darkness displaying His glory. Stunning. Okay, if He can handle creation, He can handle this.

I think He wanted me to share.

Court Delay

So I guess this is the best way to hear news. Sitting on the beach on vacation with dear, old friends (well, hey, we aren't OLD, but I mean friends we have had a long time -- you know, since college, some since elementary school, so for 20 to 35 years, hmmmm, I guess that does sound old). Anyways, sweet Natalie calls.

There is an Ethiopian governmental agency that must make an opinion for our case before the court will make a ruling. This agency just closed for 2 weeks, starting last Wednesday (nothing like NO notice), to do a training of sorts, and will reopen July 23. Oh, if they had just waited a...few...more...days. Honestly, why not wait until the court closure for the rainy season? Certainly makes sense to me. And....you would think they would put us at the top of the list of cases needing opinions, but it just doesn't work that way. Natalie is hoping we get a new court date before the court closures. We will see. NOTHING has gone smoothly this go 'round, so I am guarding my heart again.

God allows hardships to those He loves, and promises to help us develop a more Christ-like character as we walk through the hardships. We are awed that He loves us like that and are trying to persevere during this current ache. Isn't there a verse out there saying something outlandish like, "rejoice always" and "in everything, give thanks." Another walk by faith.

adoptive families camping trip

We just returned from a camping weekend with several families who have adopted or are in process of adopting kids from Ethiopia. What a blast. Fifteen families camped, and about 15-20 other families came for an all-day picnic/beach day on Saturday. This group has been a huge and unexpected blessing to us. We have met some wonderful families, many of which I am now regularly in a prayer group with, and do the occasional playdate thing with a few others. We humans are so relational and crave connectedness. I believe that Farmboy and I connect with these families in a deep way because we understand each other without exhausting ourselves and others trying to explain our lives. The attachment, the struggles, the questions, the joys, the passion, the frustration, the fears, the hope -- we connect.

Oh, a sweet moment -- a woman pulled me aside and thanked me for our encouraging blog. They are in the process of adopting an HIV+ child, and were encouraged by some of my words. Hey, I am thrilled if these words do more than just fill a computer screen. This family has not told their family or friends about their decision yet and I hopefully had a chance to encourage her some more that day.

One family in particular my kids adored -- all of them. This family has 6 kids, 2 of them being twin 4 yr old girls recently adopted from Ethiopia. On the way home, each of my kids had paired themselves up for marriage with the kids from this family. Li'l B has no idea what she is in for....


The family minus Farmboy, our photographer. And, yeah, we still have the dog. Anyone want a Beagle?



A glimpse of a few of the families at the gathering.



Kume and one of the twins getting more connected.


Kume and a twin goofing around, maybe....or wrestling vehemently for a place in the jumprope line.


The jumprope line has disintegrated....now it's 4 at a time. Yup, all of the 14 pictures we took were blurry, so this is all you get.


One of the "pairs" working on a creation. Hey, I would be thrilled SOME day.