Another Update on Isaac

Today has been such a confirmation of God's love for us, His sovereignty and how He is moving in so many ways that we cannot see. This morning we received an update from Natalie. I mentioned in the post below that an adoptive family had taken a blankie, letter, and photo to Isaac for us. Well, I was busy working away, when I received an email from the adoptive mom. It was just what I needed for today. I've copied it below.

"First let me say your little man is the sweetest thing. We saw him on Wednesday the 20th. When we got to the foster care house he was being held by Travis downstairs, like he was ready and waiting for us to get there. I recognized him right away and pulled out his gift. I gave him his blanket toy that he grasped onto right away and the other hand had the picture. I read him his letter and his little face just lit up. Travis said that they would start calling him cutie pie for his big sister. I held him for about 20 minutes and he never stopped smiling. He has such a sweet spirit and you could tell he knew he was loved. I held onto him until they made me give him back! I hope you enjoy the pictures."

She sent us lots of pictures. It meant so much that she held him and loved on him awhile for us (and that she read him the letter).

An Update on Isaac

We just received an email from Natalie, our case worker, with an update on Isaac along with a new photo. In the photo, he is holding his new little blankie that we sent him via an adoptive family who was traveling to pick up their son. It is so nice to get an update on him. We're still waiting on a court date. Here's what Natalie sent from Gladney's in country representatives:

“Isaac is definitely a people person. He loves to play and laughs out loud at funny faces or funny noises. On his own, Isaac is a mild mannered little man who is sweet and fairly quiet. His little doggy blanket says “lovable” and it suits him perfectly!”

We are so anxious to hold our little man and hoping that he will love us holding him.

A Big Sister's Longing

I'm at a complete loss as to what to say to Ciara these days. We've done our best to explain to Ciara that God has a plan for our family and that He will bring everything about in His timing. But she is having such a hard time. All week she has been practicing how she holds her baby dolls and making sure that she is holding them the way she should hold baby brother. She has asked daily since we got our referral about when he will be coming home, but this morning, I saw a glimpse into her little heart that has totally broken mine. I was buckling her up to take her to preschool this morning. Big tears welled up in her eyes and she asked me, "Mommy, when is it going to be time for baby brother to come home?" I didn't realize until this morning just how full of love her heart already is for Isaac and how much she wants him to be home. She talks about things that she wants to teach him or do with him everyday and is very excited, but I had no idea how much she is longing for him. Please lift her up today in your prayers and ask that God would minister to her little heart and help comfort her. Please also pray that He would give us wisdom in how to explain things to her and support her while she waits for her "Cutie Pie" to be in her arms too.

One Month and Holding...and Trusting God

Today is the official one month mark that we have been waiting for a court date. We do not have any news to report, as we have not received any. One of the families who recently traveled did email us some pictures of Isaac, which were a welcome sight. We are trusting that everything will come about in God's perfect timing, but as I've said before, it gets really hard and then it gets harder. For about a week and a half, I didn't even go into Isaac's nursery. I still haven't been in there except for a brief period on Friday night. I sat in the rocker and thought about when the day actually arrives that I can hold him and rock him. I was then on the verge of tears and so I'm avoiding the nursery again. Ciara asks daily when Baby Brother will be home. We keep telling her that God has a plan for our family and that He will bring Baby Brother home in His timing. Ciara has said that she is ready now. We are too, but there is more waiting to be done, more lessons to be learned, and more time to grow closer to our Heavenly Father.

We are preparing to cook our first Ethiopian meal on our own. We have grown to love Ethiopian food so much, but it is quite expensive, so we're hoping to become expert chefs. We found a new international market in Garner that has many of the spices, red lentils, etc. that we need at really good deals (no berbere, however), so we've decided to have a feast this weekend. It would be nice if we had something to celebrate (a court date), but we're just going to have fun cooking together. I'll be sure to post a photo our our feast.

Lessons for a Social Worker, a Mommy, and one of God's adopted daughters

This week has been really, really hard. On Sunday afternoon, we had a wonderful opportunity to attend a birthday party/get together for the Mestas' one year old twins. There were a number of families there who have adopted from Ethiopia, including two families who just returned last Wednesday. We got to meet the Martins who just returned with their little Felicity. On Monday, I received my sling that I have been so excited about. I have not been able to find a carrier that seems at all natural, but I love the sling that I ordred from http://www.sleepingbaby.net/index.php. Also, on Monday, Sean and I went to get our taxes done so that we can pay our final payment (due before the court date) for the adoption. We also have pretty much finished the nursery (I'll post pictures later) except for hanging the curtain, hanging one model airplane, and putting the photos in the frames (we have to get more pictures of Isaac and photos of our trip for that). All of these are wonderful things and have been very exciting, but now I just feel we are ready. We plan to finish putting up the siding on Sean's shop this weekend (it is really easy and pretty fast by the way and a lot cheaper than having someone do it). I'm also making really good progress on finishing up the home studies, post placements, and addendums that I have on my plate to finish ASAP. Up until this week, I have pretty much just been chilling out and not having any problems (except for brief fletting moments) just waiting on God to say, okay, it is time to go. This week, however, I have struggled just about hourly. It reminds me very much of the revocation period with Ciara's adoption. Yesterday I had to pull myself together before going into the bank and this morning as I opened up my laptop and saw Isaac's face, I had to pull myself together again. I have always told people that nothing in my life has grown me in my walk with the Lord, like Ciara's adoption. I think I've hit the point in this adoption where God is ready to grow me up some more. For that, I am thankful. One thing that I am understanding so much more clearly is how hard this time period is for my families that I work with. Before, I've felt that I understood pretty well the emotional roller coaster that families experience and to an extent, I think I did understand more than someone who hasn't adopted. Now I understand so much more clearly how hard the wait for a referral is, and then how much harder it gets to wait to receive your child after you have their little faces ingrained into your mind. For my families that I am working with, I can tell you that this experience is helping me to understand how much more I need to be a prayer warrier for each of you. I know that without asking, many of you are lifting us up in your prayers and we are very grateful for that. Please continue to pray for us and that our hearts would be sensitive to what the Holy Spirit has for us to learn during this time. Please also pray for Isaac. I really am not anxious about the care that he is receiving. I know that the staff takes excellent care of the babies and that more importantly, God watches over him every minute of every day. A family who is leaving today has graciously offered to take Isaac his little blankie, our photos, and a letter (I know he can't read it--it was really for me), so he should receive that sometime in the next week. We hope that he will love cuddling his little blankie (the lady at the post office about cried with me when she realized what I was sending, to where, and why).

"Like cold water to a weary soul is good news from a distant land." Proverbs 25:25

We received a special gift this morning--an update on Isaac. Below is the email that we received from Natalie. Gladney's in-country representatives sent the update to her. I did change his name as we are only supposed to post non-identifying information.

"Isaac is simply a normal little boy! He is innocent, and apparently, very adaptable. Isaac is progressing nicely, and starting to investigate himself and his surroundings. His hand is the main point of interest right now, and he is easily entertained by it – for now that is!
Current Weight: 11.68 pounds”