Monday, June 27, 2011

Submitted

We got an email from our amazing social worker Kristin today! We were submitted to the U.S. embassy this morning! We now wait 3-5 days (or a little longer) to see if they approve us or need more paperwork. Hopefully, they will approve us and then give us a travel date. We hear (not sure if it is true or not) that embassy dates are currently 3 weeks out. So, we shall see. I know one thing....Russ and I will be on the first flight out if they will just give us a date soon!! Can't believe we are one step closer.

Praising God for moving and working. His promises are true and we are clinging to that.

Please pray for all of the families that are still waiting. There are many that are still waiting to pass court...some that traveled before us and some that traveled after us. Others are waiting for referrals. These have become dear friends to us and the waiting and not knowing is hard. Also praying for people to be called to adopt from Ethiopia...adoption is not the final solution to orphans in Ethiopia but it is part of the solution for now.

Thanks for being in this with us.

Sunday, June 26, 2011

Happy First Birthday Lucy Samrawit!

I must confess...I have been anxious about this day for a while. Knowing that she would not be home to celebrate her first birthday with us has been hard. But, we decided this week we wanted to celebrate and be able to show her JUST HOW SPECIAL she really is...not just to us but to many!

On Saturday, we were in Oxford, MS for a wedding. We were free all day so we ate lunch with friends before the wedding. After eating, The Ward's pull out the sweetest cake! Sawyer, their 2 1/2 year old daughter sings Happy Birthday to Lucy and then they give us the cutest painting and card!





Today we woke up to a new picture of Lucy. Our friend Carrie is in Ethiopia so she went to the guesthouse to sing happy birthday to Lucy and get a picture of her. Such a joy to wake up on her birthday and be able to see exactly what she looked like!!! I knew Carrie was supposed to be sending it so when my eyes popped open at 5:30 am (which they NEVER do), I immediately looked at my phone! Russ and I just laid in bed staring at the pictures. It was one of the best gifts we have ever been given :)




This afternoon we had a few close friends and family over to eat cake. Definitely not the way I had pictured today but it really was a great one! I can't say I didn't shed a few tears but I know we are so close to getting her home. Praise the Lord for that!!!





Blanket made by her Coco (my mom)




We are so thankful for the way people love us. We love that all of our friends and their children have prayed for Lucy for two years. We love that our families simply cannot wait to get her home. Today was truly a day of celebrating her birth.

Lucy, you are one loved little girl! We cannot wait until the day comes when we are together--the day God has had planned since the beginning of time. Happy First Birthday!! We love you so much!

Tuesday, June 14, 2011

Exciting news!

It has been almost two weeks since our daughter (for the past year in our hearts) LEGALLY became our daughter on paper. We are still awaiting an embassy date. Our agency has to submit our paperwork to the embassy and then the embassy will give us a date. I am praying to be submitted this week or next (REALLY HOPING THIS WEEK)! Once submitted the embassy has to review our case and give us a date. I have seen this happen within days. Praying that is the case for us!!! I would love to be on a plane within the next 2-3 weeks!!! We want to get our sweet girl home and let her have some one-on-one time with us before December.

Why December you ask??

Lucy is going to be a BIG SISTER!!! We are due in December and couldn't be more thrilled. We should hopefully find out if it's a boy or girl in the next few weeks!! We knew God was calling us to adopt our first child and are so excited about this being the next step for growing our family.

It is NEVER boring at the Polsgrove household!!! I will keep you updated on the progress of Lucy and Baby #2!!!

Thursday, June 9, 2011

Peace and Chaos

I have a hard time staying focused. It's true. Anyone who's ever talked to me knows this. I sometimes get distracted and you might as well be talking to a wall because I didn't hear what you say. I'm sorry if this has happened to you. I'm working on it. I promise.

The thing is, there are certain things I've always been able to zero in on. They're usually solitary pursuits. Running. Reading. Writing sermons. Even cleaning is easy for me. If I'm alone and I recognize something needs to get done, I can do it pretty efficiently, until recently.

You all know this, but this year has been filled with euphoric highs and devastating lows.

We left to get Lucy, YAY!!!!!
We had to come back without her, oh crap.

It could be just a few weeks, YAY!!!!!
It's been four months, oh crap.

We're going to have a second child, YAY!!!!!!
We're going to have a second child, oh crap.

Throughout all this, one of the things that has been hardest for me has been the few areas of my life where I've always maintained focus have just spilled out everywhere.I constantly feel like I'm trying to reign in 1000 marbles on a glass table. This became evident to me this week when I looked at the calendar and realized I had scheduled myself to be in two places at one time. This is the second time I've done this in a month. When I realized what I had done, I got super depressed. I felt guilty. I felt like a failure. These probably seem like extreme reactions, and they probably are, but when you suddenly find yourself struggling with things that used to come naturally to you, it's unsettling. It's especially frightening when I realize I'm feeling all of these things before my children even arrive.

We feel like we are as ready as we're ever going to be for this new phase of life. It looks like it won't be long before this new phase of life happens, and that's good news. I'm sure when it comes there are days I'll be pining for life before children, but I'm ready for a progression. There are all types of emotions that come with waiting for something you've been longing for. Anticipation and fear and excitement for the unknown can sometimes paralyze you. That's what I think I'm feeling right now. I feel paralyzed and limited because at any moment my reality could change. It's like asking an 8 year old to act normal on Christmas Eve. I'm clearly incapable of going about business as usual.

I guess what I'm trying to say is, when you group the anticipation of what's to come along with the constant good news/bad news of this year, I can't do anything but get on my knees and pray to God. I keep hearing him say his grace is sufficient. I've read that passage over and over before, but I'm just now knowing what it means. Before I can be ok with having children, I have to understand that Jesus is all I need. He is going to make these things happen, but it all belongs to him. My daughter is not my own, she's his. Our high school students don't belong to me, they belong to him. My wife and family and house don't belong to me. They're his. Christ really is all that you need.

Sometimes the most worthwhile lessons are the hardest to learn.

Russ

Wednesday, June 1, 2011

She is OURS!!!

We got the call this morning! Lucy Samrawit is officially ours!! We now have to wait to get our embassy date...but praying it won't take too long. We will post more later but we are just so excited!!!!! Praise the Lord!!!!



We cannot wait to get our hands on her!!!!