What a Difference a Year Makes!

First of all, I just have to say a huge THANK YOU!!! We are so blessed to have such amazing friends like ya'll! Your comments, emails, texts, gifts and phone calls have been such an ENCOURAGEMENT to us over the past few days! I can't even tell you how much they have meant to us!

And most of all, I want to thank you for your PRAYERS!!! I was telling my friend, Lauren, today at the gym that I literally can FEEL your prayers! I can physically feel that we are being prayed for, and we can't thank you enough for lifting us up in prayer! And I am loving all the amazing Bible verses that ya'll are sharing with me! There is so much strength and power in God's Word!!!

I don't really know any major updates on the situation in Ethiopia. Everything we have been hearing is encouraging, and I know that our agency will be participating in a call with the U.S. Department of State in the morning. Please continue to PRAY for the whole situation!

God has been teaching us so much over the past several days. We know that He has the perfect plan and perfect timing for bringing Caroline Faith home. It is so neat to remember that exactly one year ago today, I sent an email to Kristi (Lucy Lane's mom) to ask her if she knew anyone in our area who had adopted from Ethiopia!!

I still have the email saved that I sent her one year ago, and here are a couple of sentences from it...

"...we haven't even started the adoption process at all. I think, honestly, I am still scared and unsure...but praying about it everyday!"

And now here we are today...


What a difference a year can make, huh?? :)

One year later, we are right in the middle of the most amazing journey with the Lord that we have ever experienced in our lives! We don't know how long it will take or what it will look like, but we have full FAITH that He will lead us to our daughter in Ethiopia.

I had a pretty emotional day yesterday, and I am going to be really honest with ya'll about something that God showed me. I thought that I had completely given our daughter to God. I thought that I had completely laid our journey to her at the foot of the cross. But yesterday, I realized that I had not done that...not completely.

There was still a part of me that wanted to "control" this journey and have her home in "my timeline". I thought I knew what was best...and having her home by Christmas of 2011 sounded like a pretty good plan to me!

Well, this journey has nothing to do with my plans our my timeline. It has everything to do with GOD, His plan, His timeline, and Him being glorified in this journey.

Yesterday, I reliquished any control I thought I had and gave EVERYTHING to Him...including Caroline Faith. She is His child. She is in His arms. We love her so much, but He loves her MORE. He knows what is best for her and for our family. And I trust Him. I know that His plans are way better than mine. We want Him to be glorified every single step of this journey!

Today, God has truly renewed me. I have felt so much peace, so much joy, and so much hope. It has all come from Him!

Our agency has been pretty busy with all of this going on, so I am not sure when we'll get our official March number. Even though I usually don't post our unofficial number, I just couldn't resist today!


Yep, we are unofficially #47!!!! And since we started off at #93, that means we have reached the halfway point on the waitlist!!!

We are rejoicing that even in the midst of uncertainties, God is moving us closer to our daughter! And we are trusting that we will get to her...in His perfect timing!

"The Lord is not slow in keeping His promises..." 2 Peter 3:9