Names....

"We learned that orphans are easier to ignore before you know their names.

Emilee-referral picture 2006, 2 1/2 years old

Jac-referral picture 2006, 1 1/2 years old

They are easier to ignore before you see their faces. It is easier to pretend they're not real before you hold them in your arms.

Emilee-Summer 2010, 7 years old

Jac-Summer 2010, 5 years old

But once you do, everything changes."
David Platt

If you hear the call to adopt, please answer.

Please.

Prayer warriors...

We need you to storm the gates of Heaven for our case. I cannot and will not say more. Just please, please bring what God lays on your heart, back to His throne.

And if I can ask one more prayer request, please pray for our young man in Guatemala. His heart is struggling. Massively. He needs to feel the love of his Father's arms wrapping around him and giving him hope again.

Hope....

From Troy and Tara's blog....

“Hope and despair are not opposites. They are cut from the very same cloth, made from the very same material, shaped from the very same circumstances. Most of all, every life finds itself forced to choose one from the other, one day at a time, one circumstance after another. The only difference between the two is that despair shapes an attitude of mind; hope creates a quality of soul. Despair colors the way we look at things, makes us suspicious of the future, makes us negative about the present. Hope, on the other hand, takes life on its own terms, knows that whatever happens God lives in it, and expects that, whatever its twists and turns, it will ultimately yield its good to those who live it well. When tragedy strikes, when trouble comes, when life disappoints us, we stand at the crossroads between hope and despair, torn and hurting. Despair cements us in the present; hope sends us dancing around dark corners trusting in a tomorrow we cannot see. Despair says that there is no place to go but here. Hope says that God is waiting for us someplace else. Begin again.”
(unknown author)

Waiting...

We did find out a little information on what the hold up has been in our case. Another speed-bump that is affecting many of the cases that are in process. The good thing is that it is not anything specific to our case. The bad thing is we're in a holding pattern for now.

Please continue to pray for our kids' hearts. They so badly want to come home. It's hard for them to comprehend this wait. Our translator is doing what he can to keep in touch with them, and we are talking to them through our sponsorship program. My biggest worry is that they will lose hope. So please pray for that they will stay strong, that their hearts will stay tender, and that God will hold them close.

:)

Happy Birthday kiddos. All the love in the world to the two of you!

Pursuing....

My mom had this on her Facebook profile and I thought it was so beautiful, that I needed to put it here. To remind myself that this life is a journey and that the end will be victorious.

"Lord God, guard my course and protect my way as I pursue a righteous, victorious life in You." (Prov.2:8)

We are surviving over here. Watching our daughter in this much pain has been horrific. Neither Rod or I are sleeping well. Daddy especially is struggling as his natural instinct is to protect his baby girl. I find myself silently crying many times throughout the day. I HATE to see my child hurting like this. We know...we KNOW...that God has a plan in this and that HIS will is best, and we are trusting that.

Tomorrow is the kids' birthday. I really thought they might be home for this one. Now I am praying they DO come home. I am good at compartmentalizing this part of my life and I find that I am once again doing that. I don't even know what to think anymore about the whole adoption.

Please just continue to pray. I'm sorry that this blog has not been a place of joyous and uplifting thoughts lately. We are drawing in and pulling tight as a family. We are learning to lean heavily on extended family and friends. We are finding ourselves questioning God while at the same time, trusting Him more.

It's a tough journey, this life is. But we are focusing on what really matters and believing that God carries us through it all.

"Lord God, guard my course and protect my way as I pursue a righteous, victorious life in You." (Prov.2:8)

...

We have a lot going on here right now. Not adoption related, but related to the fact that our daughter's wedding was called off by the to-be-groom. :(

We are taking time to just be with our daughter, to hold her and to support her on this journey she never asked to take.

Please continue those prayers.

I'll pop in as soon as we can breathe again.