Ethiopia, here we come!

We leave for Ethiopia in just over a week to go pick up our girl!! We are ecstatic!! This has been a long, long journey- one that brings tears to my eyes every time I think about it. We saw Lucy Samrawit's picture for the first time in September. I never would have dreamed it would have taken this long to clear court and embassy. But, it did. I would love to say I have been patient through every trial but that is not the case. Some days I have been filled with peace but then made it through others kicking and screaming.

I will say I have learned so much about God's nature....He has been so faithful during this time. I haven't understood every twist and turn or delay but I can say His promises are true. This adoption journey has brought on a whole new meaning to "lean not on your own understanding" and we have totally had to rely on His truths.

We are in a state of thankfulness right now. Tomorrow we find out if Baby #2 is a boy or girl. 1 week later we leave for Ethiopia. 1 week later we arrive back in the United States with one of the most precious gifts we have ever been given.

Please continue to pray for others still waiting to pass court and embassy. There are lots of mountains that are having to be overcome. We know God can level the mountains, break down the bars, make the rough places smooth, and make the crooked places straight. Please join us in praying that for these sweet families and precious children.

Thanks for loving us for the past two years we have been on this crazy ride! We are so thankful.

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.

A long week

What a week!!! Many of you have heard of some recent changes concerning adoption that MIGHT take place in Ethiopia. Essentially, to reduce unethical practices and corruption in Ethiopian adoption, MOWA (a committee in Ethiopia that approves adoptions) has decided to significantly reduce the number of adoptions that take place each day...effective March 10th.

We do not know how this will affect our adoption...most likely it won't affect much except maybe the length of the wait. We shall see. Please pray for the children in Ethiopia. Adoption is in no way the perfect solution to 5 million orphans in that country but it does help. Reducing the number of adoptions will increase the length and number of kids that are in orphanages...which breaks my heart! But I believe the governments heart is for the children and so I am praying they come up with a solution that will ultimately help all the children.

My heart is broken about what all of this means for the children in Ethiopia, for how it will affect our adoption, and for all of the families that are waiting on their children to come home. While my heart is crushed, I am hopeful in God's plan. I believe He is just setting the scene to do something UNBELIEVABLE. I dreamed a couple of nights ago that I was speaking (which is HI-LARIOUS considering I just don't do that) to a group of people and I told bullet-point after bullet-point of disheartening things that happened in our adoption. Investigations, number of adoptions reduced, etc. The list went on and on. But then at the end I said
"BUT THEN GOD..." That's right BUT THEN GOD. I distinctly remember seeing the dot dot dot. I don't know what the dot dot dot is or how God will do it but I know that God is preparing something amazing. Clinging to His promises that He will work ALL for GOOD.

While I have dealt with bitterness, uncertainty, anger, and brokenheartedness, God has met me each time. He knows my desire is for her to come home quickly but I have reached a point that even with all of the uncertainty, I rest that this is the story He planned and if He planned it...I don't even wish to change it. I simply cannot wait to see His plan unfold. I wanted the story to be over when we traveled to Ethiopia to pick her up several weeks ago. As good as that story would have been, God is writing a better story, one that I couldn't have written even if I had tried.

Please take a minute to sign this petition that will go to the Prime Minister of Ethiopia. Click HERE to link to it :) Thanks for loving us.

***UPDATED- I just read where they hope to have 250,000 signatures to send by Saturday and right now they only have 10,000. Please send this via email, twitter, and facebook to all you know.

Amsterdam

Hey Friends! I am going to try and re-cap our days in Ethiopia. I will do a post a day, sharing pics and entries from my journal for that day....sorry if this is boring...just want to have a record of our time :)

January 29, 2011

We spent a day in Amsterdam on our way to Addis Ababa. In my journal I had written these highlights of Amsterdam.

- Small hotel room- 2 twin beds pushed together

- frites with cheese ( Cheese sauce was NASTY)

-canal tour- being so sleepy I could barely keep my eyes open

- Rembrandt museum - prodigal son drawings

- scones and coffee at cafe

- going to lobby for Internet to email to let everyone know we had made it

- being so excited but so nervous about arriving in Ethiopia

- sitting in the oldest pub in Holland- with an overwhelming awareness of being gone- the unknown we were about to experience

CHEESE...... my favorite food!!!

Rembrandt Museum

We had a wonderful day and night in Amsterdam. But the entire time I was so aware of the fact that this was not a normal vacation. Our purpose was different. We would meet our daughter in 2 days. We didn't know how long we would be in Ethiopia. The details of our journey were unknown. We prayed for a miracle...that God would move our case quickly so that we could take placement of our daughter in Ethiopia.

****Happy 8th month anniversary to our sweet daughter. We never dreamed we would be apart from you when you turned this age but we will be together soon. We love you!!!

longing

We have been home almost a week....and we are missing our sweet girl! We will eventually blog about our time in Ethiopia....this week we have been battling jet-lag! Getting on the plane in Ethiopia without her was so hard. But, we know she is in good hands....hoping the day we go back to get her will be very soon.

19

We leave for Ethiopia in 19 hours ......AH!!!!!!!!! I have no expectations for this trip but to see God work. I just had 15 women pray over me and for us....and I know God has big plans.

I am experiencing many emotions but most of all I am excited. Thank you God this day is finally here.

Done

I simply cannot believe we leave for Ethiopia in 2 days!! This does not seem real. The waiting has been so hard and long and now if feels like it went by so fast.

As we have said, we are going to stay in-country between court and embassy which can be anywhere from 3-6 weeks. But, there is a delay right now so our journey is unknown. There are a million different scenarios as to how the next 2 weeks will go. I am ultimately praying that our case is final on February 4th. But, I also know God is calling me to something more. He is calling us to pray for His will and to be content with the way He sees fit to complete this adoption journey. This makes me nervous as I type this but I know God is good and that He has worked out every detail of our adoption the past 2 years.

I believe the complications will be cleared up soon...I am believing GOd can do that. But I am also believing that He knows best and will work everything out to bring this to completion.

My friend gave me the book Calm My Anxious Heart by Linda Dillow. I am only on chapter 2 and it is so great! Here is an excerpt from the book that really spoke to me.

" I need oil," said an ancient monk, so he planted an olive sapling. "Lord," he prayed. "it needs rain that its tender roots may drink and swell. Send gently showers." And the Lord sent gentle showers. "Lord," prayed the monk, "my tree needs sun. Send sun, I pray thee." And the sun shone, gilding the dripping clouds. " Now frost, my Lord, to brace its tissues," cried the monk. And behold, the little tree stood sparkling with frost, but at evening it died.

Then the monk sought the cell of a brother monk, and told his strange experience. "I, too, planted a little tree," he said, "and see! It thrives well. But I entrust my tree to its God. He who made it knows better what it needs than a man like me. I laid no condition. I fixed not ways or means. 'LORD, SEND WHAT IT NEEDS,' I prayed, 'storm or sunshine, wind, rain, or frost. Thou hast made it and Thou dost know."

So, join me in praying for God's will...concerning the timing of our adoption being final, the time we will spend in Ethiopia, and us being able to bring her home! So hard for me to let go...and just trust...with no set way in my head as to how it should go. But I am tired and honestly have no control over this so I am letting go. Can't wait to see how God works.

ps--for you crazies....someone is living at our home while we are gone :)

Giving Birth

I saw this video on Kristy's blog...so touching. Makes me so thankful that our sweet baby girl survived and for her first mom.

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I can't wait to be in this country....9 days til we leave!!!!!

Solid Rock

Life is crazy right now. I have a million questions swirling in my head as we prepare to leave for Ethiopia. We leave in a little over 2 weeks.....ah!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

As we thought about the fact that we would travel twice...once to attend court and once to attend our embassy date...we began to feel that we were to stay in country between the 2 dates. We sought wise counsel, prayed about it, talked to our employers, and the answer was an overwhelming YES that we should stay. Typically the stay would be around 3-6 weeks but there are some delays right now so it is unclear as to how long we will be there.

Questions that run through my head:

How long will we be in Ethiopia, will Russ have to come back before Lucy and I can, what if we don't have enough money to live in two places, what if the delay is LONG, what if the finalization of our adoption is delayed and we have to just visit Lucy at the foster home versus her staying with us, what about my job while I am gone, what are Russ and I going to do with a BABY with no help (aka..mom's to help), I hate to leave our dog for that long (YES, this has crossed my mind...who would have thought I would even think about a dog when I am going to get my child.....I don't even like dogs), what if something bad happens here while we are gone AND THE LIST GOES ON AND ON.

So, now that you got a glimpse into my crazy head.....let me tell you what is keeping me sane.

The fact that I will see our little girl in exactly 3 weeks. God is providing me with a calm and peace. He keeps showing me that staying is the right decision...an adventure that I have always desired. Now that the time for it is here...I get scared but I know I would regret the decision if we chose to come home. Now is the time....everything has fallen into place. We are blessed with AMAZING employers who support our decision....amazing family and friends that are making this happen......we are fully able to go to Ethiopia with the sole purpose of LOVING on our daughter. What a privilege.

While nothing happening right now is bad....I do feel like we are experiencing the torrents of rain and wind that this verse talks about. And honestly, we want to give up. But we know we are anchored.

Matthew 7:24-27

"Anyone who listens to my teaching and follows it is wise, like a person who builds a house on solid rock. Though the rain comes in torrents and the floodwaters rise and the winds beat against that house, it won't collapse because it is built on bedrock. But anyone who hears my teaching and ignores it is foolish, like a person who builds a house on sand. When the rains and floods come and the winds beat against that house, it will collapse with a mighty crash."

Everything inside of me just wants to collapse...but I will not. I am holding on and going to enjoy this amazing journey without regret!

Saw this video this morning from Pete Wilson -pastor of Cross Point in Nashville.....

MORE: Series Launch Promo from Cross Point Church on Vimeo.

Love this quote from the video...."The opportunity of a lifetime must be seized in the lifetime of the opportunity. "

And that is just what this journey is....the opportunity of a lifetime.

Melkam Gena!!!

Wishing my sweet baby girl a Merry Christmas! Today Ethiopia celebrates Christmas ! They use the Julian calendar which has them celebrating Christmas January 7th instead of December 25th!

Babe of My Heart has great info on Christmas in Ethiopia so click HERE to read more. We will be making Doro Wat (Ethiopian Stew) to eat today to celebrate:) Less than 3 weeks before we leave!!!!! Time is flying by!!!

30 days

30 days until we leave for Ethiopia!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I CANNOT believe it is this close. January 27th cannot get here fast enough. We are so excited about spending time with our daughter and getting to explore Ethiopia. My heart is beating fast as I write this. Reality is setting in....this is not a dream....we are actually going to SEE our daughter for the first time in 34 days and when we come home .....she will be with us!!!!!

AH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

FedEx and Reality

Monday, Russ had a conversation with his co-workers about praying for the adoption. He didn't ask them to pray for a courtdate.....he asked them to pray that we would have a peace no matter when it happened.

I decided this week was THE WEEK that I would truly ASK God for a courtdate. In fact, Monday night I was talking to some friends telling them this. But, I also desired for it to be His timing not ours. I was beginning to feel balanced....truly wanting it but trusting as well.

Well, God's timing for us to receive a courtdate was Tuesday, December 7.

I was working at a co-workers house...knee-deep in paperwork trying to get a printer to do what I needed it to do. She told me my phone was ringing and I almost just let it ring but she met me in the hallway to hand it to me. I truly was NOT THINKING it would be our agency. When I saw 817.....I knew!!

FEBRUARY 4th is the day!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I left to go find Russ at the church....just knew he would be in staff meeting and I could rush in and surprise him. I had it all planned out in my head....soundtrack music playing in my head as if we were in a movie. Well, he had already left to mail our paperwork to update our fingerprints. When I finally got him on the phone.....we realized I had forgotten to tell him to SIGN the paperwork before he mailed it. We were both frustrated and all I could say was ..."you will be sorry in about 5 minutes." He headed back to FedEx.

I showed up at FedEx and had him open the piece of paper where I had written down two dates. Jan. 30 and Feb. 4. The date we have to be in-country and the courtdate.

We then had our own little celebration in the parking lot of FedEx...which is completely appropriate since we have spent so much time mailing off adoption documents :)

We are praying about staying in-country versus coming home between the two trips. Right now we are thinking we will stay. We have been blessed with flexible jobs and would LOVE to bond with our baby girl in Ethiopia. Anyone else have a courtdate around this time and staying???

We are beyond excited...and maybe just a little freaked out. I feel as though I just got pregnant and am going to deliver in less than two months. The reality of it not just being Russ and I anymore is setting in ....but we are so ready.

Still Fighting

I continuously talk about this verse.

Psalm 46:10

"Be Still and Know that I am God."

It is written on the wall in our upstairs room. The room that allows me to "get alone." It is also on our daughter's nursery wall....

The adoption process is a hard one. I have struggled for the past 6 months it seems like. I struggled waiting on a referral. Then we got our referral and I was good (for like 1 week). Then I struggled again waiting on our court date. I felt like I had lost the "fight" in me.

You see, in our adoption, I have realized I need a good balance of fight and stillness. To me, the two contradict each other.

I have let my heart be in the process but then at times, left it out in the cold so that I could handle the process. I have engaged in the process yet at times pretended like it wasn't happening so I could handle it all.

But this past week...something happened. I found my "fight" and determination to continue on in the journey to our little girl. I had grown weary but have been renewed.

I also realized that I was focusing more on the first part of the verse. The key is in the second part. KNOW THAT I AM GOD.

I am trusting in that part. God is providing us with unbelievable peace right now....to which I am so thankful.

“I am sure God keeps no one waiting unless that is good for us to wait.”

- C.S. Lewis

Praying for a courtdate soon :)

The Best Day Ever

Two sweet women were traveling to Ethiopia to go to court for their children.  I emailed them both and asked them to take pictures of our sweet baby girl.  I even sent a package for one of them to take to her.  They both emailed us LOTS of pictures of her and even VIDEO.  She had the hiccups in the video and oh. my. word.  it was the cutest thing I had ever seen.  I didn't know whether to laugh or cry as I watched.  This is real.  She is real.  God is more real than ever.

How crazy is that??? A picture of us is with her now!!!!
Thanks Renae and Brenda!!!!

The night Russ and I decided to adopt from Ethiopia ....I was up late searching blogs...pretty much freaking out.  We knew it would be a girl and we would name her Lucy.  That night was the night I came across Lucy Lane's blog.  God used her video to confirm that we had made the right choice. 

I had the amazing opportunity to meet Lucy Lane (and Kristy) and am so thankful for the insight she gave.

Well, now Lucy Lane has been home for 1 year and they have the cutest video to celebrate her first year.  Check out the end of the video where they have pictures of all the families that decided to adopt because of her video and story.  We are honored to be one of those families!!!! 

Lucy Lane Gotcha Day - One Year Later from kristi johnson on Vimeo.

I cannot wait to have our video of our Lucy's first year home!!! 

Still waiting

We just received an email saying that CIS got our addendum to our homestudy today.  They also said they couldn't give us a timeframe but hope to have it completed by the END OF THE WEEK!! Oh, how great that would be.  Please pray that we get that paperwork back so we can go on the official waitlist.  Thanks for loving us!!!!

Dark to light

I have said this many times but adoption is hard. The ups and downs.  The getting your heart and mind excited because everything is going well (and quick) and then having to hold back because you experience a tough time of waiting.  It is extremely emotional...something you can't quite explain.  I have never experienced so many emotions all at one time.


We are still waiting for our CIS paperwork to come back.  Right now the current wait is around 60-90 days from the time your paperwork is turned in correctly.  Remember, this is the paperwork we must have to finish our dossier (in order to get on the waiting list).  We got a letter last week stating that we needed to correct something on our paperwork.  We will fix that, send it back in, and hopefully it will be correct.  


My heart broke last week when we found these two things out....that our paperwork was done wrong AND that the wait was so long.  Russ reminded me that there will be pauses in this process and that this is really our first one.  


It has been harder since we made the realization that she could be born (or about to be born).  Now, we don't know this because we do not have an actual child picked out but....we just feel it.  The waiting has been so much harder since we thought of this.  My heart aches for her and for her sweet mom in Ethiopia.  Something hard is going to happen to this mom and that makes me so sad.  Pray for her mom...that she would experience and know God's love. 


I think of the both of them daily.  I cry often and my heart physically aches some days.  But, I know God's plan is perfect.  His timing is perfect.  I do trust him completely in this.  I feel like I am walking in the dark right now but I know there isn't really a dark when you trust in Jesus.  Times of unknown but still there is light.  And the great part is that the two main characters of this story are sources of light: the "One" true light and little Lucy "bringer of light."


Psalm 139: 11-12


"If I say surely the darkness will hide me and the light become night around me, even the darkness will not be dark to you; the night will shine like the day, for darkness is as light to you."

Yard Sale

I must just tell you that right now my house looks like a junkyard....but hopefully, all of this stuff will get us one step closer to bringing our baby girl home. God is providing for us in ways I never could have imagined. I am sure hard times will come but right now we are in such a state of peace about this adoption. I am writing this down and telling the blog world because I know there will be a day that I need to be reminded of this. Since beginning this adoption we have traveled through many states of emotions. But, today we are excited and trying to do all that we can to bring her home.

Email me at annapolsgrove@gmail.com for more details on the sale. I will keep you posted on how it goes.



Yard Sale will be September 26, 2009 at 6 am!!!

Surprise....

Well, for most of you it is probably not a surprise but....we are in the process of adopting from Ethiopia. We are so excited and thrilled about getting our little girl home. We are at the very beginning of the process which takes about 18 months from start to finish. God has worked in amazing ways and we know that He will continue to do so. We look forward to telling her story on this blog. Please pray for God's favor to be on her and us throughout the entire process. We randomly picked our blog title out several years ago, but it seems that for the next year we will definitely be exploring, dreaming, and discovering... and we couldn't be any more excited about it!!!

love,

Anna


You can go here to check out our agency!!

African Children's Choir

I got a text message from Russ. It read..."want to go on a date Friday night?" I thought maybe that meant dinner or a movie. Then it said "To see the African Children's Choir." I could hardly breathe I was so excited. So Russ and I went on a date to see the African Children's Choir in Tupelo last month. The African Children's Choir was started by Ray Barnett and was started to give hope to the hundreds of thousands of children orphaned in Uganda. I did not realize what all being in the choir did for them. They are taken out of their unbearable circumstances and given a chance to better themselves. They are even given an education.

I had heard them sing before at a leadership conference...even purchased their CD. So, needless to say, I was very excited to see them in person. Russ and I got there early just to get a good seat. And I must say....they were PRECIOUS!!!! The best part was a video they showed. It was of previous choir members talking about where they came from and what being a choir member did for them. Then they told what they had become...doctors, lawyers, teachers, bus drivers, etc. At the end of the show, the little kids in the choir came out, introduced themselves and told what they wanted to become. Such great examples of hope!

After the concert, we were invited to hang out with a few of the choir members. We got to meet and hang out with three of the sweet little boys. Red light, green light has never been so fun!!!