Timing....Gods timing never ceases to amaze me. I love knowing that he has everything under control.
We met our Sons for the very first time on Easter Sunday 2011. That day will forever be etched into my heart. Three days later we were declared their parents forever and ever. Eight weeks later we were home.
We met our Daughters for the first time on Easter Sunday 2012. This day, too, will forever be etched into my heart. As with the boys, we were declared Mommy and Daddy forever and ever three days later. Four weeks later we were home.
In only the way God can, he was weaving our family together without us ever realizing it. What we didn't knowat the time is we also met our Daughter on Easter Sunday 2011.
Friends and Family, today I rejoice in telling you that we are embarking on our third adoption journey in as many years. We are going to get our Daughter in Ethiopia.
Beautiful "S" came to Sele Enat, the same orphanage our Sons were at, a few months after our Sons arrived there. She was very ill and required medical treatment for some time before she stabilized. We got to know her. We played with her, loved on her, and ultimately fell in love with her.
When we embarked on our second adoption we inquired about "S" and were told she had been matched with a family. We were so happy for her, but sad for us, as we had fallen in love. But as is Gods will we were meant to find our beautiful girls, and they were meant to come home with us at that time.
When we returned to Ethiopia in April 2012 for the girls we brought Oz and Ahbie with us. One of our first stops was to return to Sele Enat. As we were visiting with the children, many familiar faces were still there from our prior years trip, there she was. Imagine our surprise in seeing her, as we had been told she had a family and we assumed she would have been gone. We quickly found out she did not have a family when, as I was standing there, she came up to me, tapped me on the arm and asked me if we had come for her, were we her family?
I have had many a heartbreaking moments, but none quite so deep as this.
It took Jimmy and I only moments after we left to know, without a doubt we were coming back for her, no matter what it took.
After we had been home for several months and felt the transition for everyone was going well we reached out to our agency to see if they could reach out to the agency she was with and have her placed under their care. We were delighted to know we had their support, as our situation is not the most ideal to most looking from the outside in. To clarify, we have adopted four older children in less than two years and were now looking to bring in a fifth older child. Despite this they supported us and promised to follow up.
It took almost one month for the agencies to coordinate and for our daughter to be placed under their care, so that we could move forward.
Sadly, the day after we were told of this wonderful news we lost our home to the explosion. One of the first things I said to Jimmy when he arrived at the hospital was "what about "S"? and he assured me that there was no way in this world we were leaving her there and we would find a way to bring her home.
As we are set to close on our new home within a couple of weeks I have started the whole paper chase process all over again. We have to update our home study, new dossier, all new documents, fingerprints, and on and on and on.......
But in a strange twist of fate we are on the same timeline as we were with our boys and our girls, and I wont be the least bit surprised if come Easter Sunday we are in Ethiopia embracing forever our beautiful Daughter.
Thanks be to God....Amen Amen and Amen
