what-what??

Holy moley!! Could we actually be moving forward?!?!?!?

Yes, it appears to be so....

woop woop!! :)

We had our official "Informal Meeting" on Monday with Bethany (aka Adoption Agency).

All went amazingly well. I didn't spazz out or embarrass myself once, although I did tear up at one point but that's because I'm just too darn emotional when it comes to all of this baby jazz! :)

Stuart and I have been around the world and back again with our hearts leading the way, trying to find the country our baby is pulling us to.. Honestly, we still don't know where God is taking us but we have the utmost Faith that He knows better than us. And He will bring our family together, if we have to travel to the ends of the earth to find them..

Our hearts are pulling us in one specific direction, one that is so different than where we started but that's part of the adventure, I suppose! You never know where life will take you.

For us, we started in China and who knows?... maybe China still, only God knows, right?.. then we were led to Korea and now after all of this time and energy and love that we've developed for that country... well now our hearts have moved us toward Africa, specifically Ethiopia.

I know... what??!?

Honestly, I don't know where this came from any more than you.  We do support a little girl in an S.O.S. Children's Village in Zambia. But other than that, we have no ties to Africa... and yet, how immense is the love that we suddenly and overwhelmingly have for a place we never dreamed of even traveling to.. Its crazy and unplanned, and yet unexpectedly perfect.

We don't know if Ethiopia is where our baby will be born but in this journey of building our family, as we've set out on a somewhat selfish endeavor.. well, our lives have forever changed.. truly. The world has suddenly become so much bigger and yet so much smaller..

I believe, wholeheartedly, that there is a reason and a purpose for everything.

Stuart and I have always thought that this adventure was simply a quest for our baby... now it seems as though God has additional plans for our family. Whatever that may be, I don't know. The research that I've done on the different countries we've been led to for adoption has opened a world of need and questions that I simply cannot forget about once we have our baby in our arms.. We will have that moment but then what?... Everything that we've learned and the deep places of my heart that have been touched cannot have only been for us. There just has to be something more...

What is that scripture??

"...once our eyes are opened,

we can't pretend we don't know what to do.

God, who weighs our hearts and keeps our souls,

knows that we know, and holds us responsible to act."
(Proverbs 24:12)

And I guess, we will do our best.. wherever that leads..

       

As we stand right now, we are meeting with Bethany again next Thursday, the 4th. This meeting is really to prep us for the formal application process and the homestudy-extravaganza.. haha. After Thursday, I guess we'll officially have the ball rolling!

We'll keep you posted on any happenings as they occur!!

Thanks so much for checking in and for still caring! ;) lol