Baby Africa

welcome

2010-10-16T07:37:00.001-06:00

So late Thursday night we welcomed into our home two year old boy twins... thus I will not be blogging for quite some time!

Just kidding, I hope!

Now I am constantly reminding myself of how Jesus interjected himself into the midst of struggling, hurt, broken people. And how I want our story to mean something... I want to change the world, maybe two little boys at a time. And it might cost me what feels like everything right now. But that is what I want. We don't want to live an easy life, That's not what we were called to do. We were called to bring healing to the broken hearted and to care for the orphan and widow.

What is a little frustrating is that many people (we love dearly) think we're crazy for doing what Jesus asks us to do. But I'm a little raw right now, so I probably shouldn't say that... But I will.

Austin

2010-09-22T09:41:00.001-06:00

In one week I leave for the Together for Adoption Conference. I am really starting to get excited.

I think the timing of this conference is providential. Yesterday we passed our home inspection and our home became certified for our foster to adopt adventures, now we are just waiting on our family to pass! And that meeting is two days after I return from the conference, and then we can accept placement!

I am going to the pre-conference day with Karyn Purvis, who wrote "The Connected Child". Which changed the way I parent, and really challenged me. I can't wait to hear from her.

Plus here are some of the amazing sessions I have signed up for:

- Church Centered International Orphan Care

- I am doing a lunch break out session about Human Trafficking and the Orphan with Tom Davis

- Becoming an Adoption Friendly Church: 20 ways to look after orphans

- HIV/AIDS and the global orphan emergency

- Digging Deeper into the theology of adoption

Plus I am staying with some pretty cool ladies (Jody, Amy, and a mystery room mate who I can't wait to meet.)

And I am hoping to hear some pretty cool music, because we'll be in the Live Music Capital of the WOLRD!

Maybe here, at Shady Grove for unplugged night on Thursday

And the Mean Eyed Ca t Bar, a Johnny Cash fan like myself, for live music on Friday night!

And maybe some others!

Are you coming? Let's meet up!

Treism

2010-09-10T13:01:00.004-06:00

We were at home depot the other day. And the man at the paint counter tried to give Tre a sticker.

He said, "Hey bud, here is a Mickey Mouse sticker!"

Tre said, " I don't like Mickey Mouse, No thank You."

The man was a little shocked, he said, "Well do you have a brother or sister you could give it to?"

Tre begins to ponder that question, and the man says, "That's an easy question you either do or you don't have a sibling."

And Tre responds, "Well, we're adoptidating them! And they live in Africa, and Mai lives in Thailand, and we have friends coming to live at our house too!"

I just pushed the cart away.

It isn't always a simple yes or no answer sir.

News

2010-08-26T15:31:00.001-06:00

So we have some news.

Some big news actually.

News that required me to buy a crib today!

Nope.

Not pregnant. (I'm on a diet, so that would really screw that up!)

We are going to do foster (to adopt) care with a local county.

It's a big deal, that has been brewing for a long time, but we were keeping it under wraps, until now. We finished our classes, our home study has been completed, we have an update and an approval meeting, and then we'll be on the list.

Here are a few details...

- We will be opening our home to two children, either gender. Ages 3 or under. Not necessarily siblings.

- Our adoption from Ethiopia is on hold until we can sell our home. We have not lost any money or efforts, they are simply holding all of our paperwork to send to ethiopia as soon as we sell our home. (This decision was made by our international adoption agency.)

- we think we will be approved around the end of September, therefore able to accept placement sometime in October at the earliest.

- we are very excited to see how God has orchestrated all of this and will be sharing some of the amazing details in the days to come.

down the pike.

2010-08-24T14:01:00.002-06:00

We are working on some exciting things around here, soon I will reveal, but not too soon, because then we might jinx ourselves!

Tre's new room

2010-07-28T12:35:00.005-06:00

So here is Tre's new room. It is not finished, the finishing touches are coming, but I have been promising pics for too long to not deliver!

The room is inspired from the WWII era. His bed is an old bunker

bed that I covered in rope. I made a piece of wanna be nose art from a WWII plane and hung it on the wall.

Over his bed there are old chalks from the airport where his Dad works, they p

lace these around the wheels of airplanes when they are parked.

His shelves are full of pictures of David and I as youngsters, his grandfather's pilot hat, and model airplanes that represent some of the planes that his grandfather (David V. Purvis Sr.) flew.

This trunk I found at an outdoor market, look at the paper I found

inside it! I am going to frame this in his closet!

The gas tank next to is is an old army gas tank, I am hoping to make this a lamp.

This school desk I found at a garage sale, the bottom drawer opens, and it is full of Tre;s army guys. The helmet I found at Army Surplus, it is an old Russian star helmet, worn during WWII!

And my favorite part, is this picture. I found the poster at the Carnegie Science Center on our trip to Pittsburgh. I had it custom framed in the most ornate frame I could find, then lacquered it in this bright red!

There are still finishing touches, but you get the idea now!

Wordless Wednesday

2010-07-28T11:20:00.001-06:00

Together for Adoption!

2010-07-27T08:38:00.001-06:00

Guess where I am going... the Together for Adoption Conference! I am really excited.

Now that I have my degree as a social worker, and we are moving forward on different fronts in our family's path to adoption I am really excited to see how God speaks to me at this conference.

My greatest heart cry is for the orphan. That is why I changed my career path and got my degree in social work, that is why we are hoping to adopt many times. That is why I am helping to start an adoption group at our church. But I know that there is more in my heart. I am excited to be staying with some amazing women, to be surrounded by people who are like minded, and to just see where God pulls me. I am so ready and so willing for this next step, and I feel that this conference is going to be a huge part of the next chapter for us!

Let me know if you will be there too, that way I can meet you!

On a dorky note, I cannot BELIEVE that I am going to get to hear Karyn Purvis for a whole day! She is a hero of mine, and the reason I keep trying to convince David to move us to Texas while I go to grad school under her! (By the way, that isn't working, and it never will, we won't be moving to Texas!)

Unspeakable.

2010-07-25T09:09:00.001-06:00

“I’ve told the Lord I want to be an obedient servant, and He shot back, ‘And are you willing to face grief and pain or whatever it takes for Me to make you that?’ Even though I felt unable, I said, ‘What choice do I have? I know too much to drop the ball now. There’s no turning back.’ I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t afraid. But He has brought me this far and already my joy is unspeakable.”

( Elisabeth Elliot)

Marinate on this.

2010-07-13T09:35:00.000-06:00

Every detail works to your advantage and to God’s glory: more and more grace, more and more people, more and more praise!

2 Corinthians 4:15 MSG

Garage Sale

2010-06-05T16:01:00.006-06:00

From day one I talked about the herd of elephants, our tribe, our people, not just our family's but our friend-family's. The other elephants we need to encourage us, to keep us moving in the drought, the ones who play with us, and cry with us. (It was in this post.) Well this weekend the herd came together and raised over $1300 towards our adoption! Can you believe it?

Some of the people that we couldn't do life without helped out so much, so many people donated to our garage sale, so many people came to help. And we were so blessed. Tears when I think about the love that surrounds us, and waits for our babies to come home to.

One of those people is Laurie. This is Laurie and her husband Bill (who brought us breakfast burritos and smiles so early in the morning!) at our garage sale.

I think Laurie did more for this than I did! She was working circles around my mom and I all day on Friday! She is the lady who cries for my baby's in Ethiopia, she is the one who prays for them, and loves them already, she is the one who I call when I think I can't take this process any longer, she is that one. I stopped by her house on Friday night, after our first day, it was about 8 pm, and she was in bed, I believe it! She worked SOOO hard for our babies. She is one of the ladies who this couldn't happen without.

My mom said it perfectly on Friday morning at about 6:30 am, she said, "I thank God for Laurie everyday, because you need two of us." And that's it, these two ladies support me and love me, they support my family, my husband, my babes, even the ones they can't hold yet. We couldn't do it without them.

Thank you to everyone who helped us this weekend, your support and love means so much to us, and we can't imagine our tribe without you in it!

wait patiently

2010-05-19T10:08:00.005-06:00

So we are doing better around here. I listened to this message today, about not creating an Ishmael, about not seeking out Haggar. And it is exactly what I needed to hear. For me, this is where Satan gets me good, it's my "blind spot" as Jody would say. Haggar is my weakness.

In context, God gave Sarah and Abraham a promise, of children (which is quite fitting in this circumstance) that would create nations. And when they were really old they still

didn't have kids, so they sought out Haggar, this was within the law, to use a maid servant in order to have children if the husband and wife could not have children. And thus, Ishmael was born.

I have always wanted my children from adoption. Growing up I often told my parents I didn't want to have kids, and I meant it. I didn't want to have kids. But I always wanted to adopt. When I was little I remember begging my parents for an older brother, they were confused, until I told them they would need to adopt him. That wasn't part of God's plan for my family then but I know that He has placed this promise on my heart for my family.

But now, as I reach one hundred (Not literally 100 but I will be 26 tomorrow! And, we have been at this process for one year now, and we aren't even done with our paper work, we should be getting our babies soon! So 100 seems appropriate in this circumstance!) My tendency is to seek out Haggar. And in this case Haggar would be seeking other ways to grow our family, the family God has promised us. Culturally it would not be looked down upon if I were to get pregnant, or us go for foster to adopt within our county, or something easier! In fact, it would be just like Haggar, it is culturally expected.

See I feel like Sarah now. Imagine her telling her friends, "God promised us that

I would bear children, not a child but children."

"Sarah, you can't have sex with Abraham any more, you guys might die! Or at least he will have a heart attack or something, we're OLD sweetie, maybe God meant something else, something figuratively?!"

See, I look crazy, like Sarah. And I feel crazy like Sarah did too. But I want to learn from Sarah, and not seek out Haggar, but wait patiently for God to deliver on His promise. Even if it seems crazy! Because at this point it seems crazy, I could accomplish this end result much more efficiently God, and it is within the law, I promise. But God keeps telling us to wait.

God spoke to David months ago. And we have clung to this word in multiple areas of our lives. And we continue to cling to it today in regards to our children and our family. God said,

"You can act and I will wait. Or you can wait and I will act."

So here we are, waiting on the promise of children from nations. And we will wait patiently for God to act. And I promise to not seek out Haggar. Apparently God does not need me to be his associate, He does have it figured out. So I will wait.

As I wrote that this song came on:

hungry

hungry I come to Youfor I know You satisfy
I am emptybut I know Your love does not run dry
and I wait
and I waitso I wait for You
so I wait for You

chorus
I'm falling on my knees
offering all of me
Jesus, You're all this heart is living for

broken I run to You
for Your arms are open wide
I am weary but I know Your touch restores my life
so I'll wait for You
so I'll wait for You
I'm falling on my knees
offering all of me
Jesus, You're all this heart is living for
Oh, I'm falling on my knees
offering all of me
Jesus, You're all this heart is living for

and I wait for you
and I wait for you
and I wait for you
and I wait

I'm falling on my knees
offering all of meJesus, You're all this heart is living for
Oh, I'm falling on my knees
offering all of me
Jesus, You're all this heart is living for

hungry I come to you,
for I know You satisfy

So if you want to know how to pray. Pray for patience and grace. And pray that the closing of our house is supernaturally expedited!

And as we wait patiently for the Lord to act, we enjoy every precious moment we can with our promise I didn't know I ever wanted!

One Step Forward, Two steps Back

2010-05-12T17:13:00.003-06:00

So, we're a little discouraged. Hopeful, but still a bit sad.

We found out yesterday that our file with Gladney has been put on "hold" until our other house sells. Which should be soon, as we have five offers, but with the bank, there is no telling when this could happen! Optimistically, two months and we can "move forward" but by "move forward" we mean, send in our last government form, the I600, which takes approximately three months, THEN we can get everything approved, THEN we will be on the wait list.

I know, I know, all the positive thoughts should go here. But I am just sad, that's all. I was ready to adopt about ten years ago, and we started this process one year ago today, and now, we probably still have another year to go.

I have been trying to stay positive as of late, so on easter I kept thinking, next easter our family will look so different, our babies will be home. On mother's day, I just kept thinking how different I would feel next year on mother's day.

Now I am thinking about what I should have done. If I had known, I would have applied to grad school and gotten my MSW out of the way over the next year, now it's too late. I would have taken the job I was offered, I didn't thinking I would be going to Africa a few times in the next six to eight months!

Now, I am not sure what God wants from me, my son will be in school full time in the fall, I imagined my self decorating new children's rooms and then running around after a few little ethiopians. Now I will be...

I'm sad, the weather isn't helping, or my husband being out of town. But I have a fun few days coming up, but I will still feel a void, we aren't moving forward, we aren't moving toward our babies, I feel like we are moving back, one step forward, two steps back, maybe that is my new theme song.

Quick Update

2010-04-12T21:14:00.001-06:00

Here's the cliff notes, no real time to digest things at this point.

On the way to church Sunday morning Tre had a stroke in the back of the car. Unresponsive, right eye and mouth completely drooped, drooling, and me crying! We rushed him to Children's Hospital where they determined he had a Bell's Palsy, which means an i

nfection of the nerve in his face that controls the muscles. As we continued to wait for other doctors and tests his face began to heal (also the same time church as praying for us:). They went form going to do emergency surgery and giving him an IV while awake (which Children's doesn't like to do unless it's an emergency) to not really knowing what to do because he had healed so quickly. They ended up giving him a dose of IV antibiotics and sending us home. Today I called the nurse's line for follow up as requested. Long story short, they are going to do surgery tomorrow to put tubes in his ears. The face is almost completely normal but not 100% and his equilibrium is off a bit. We are not stressed about the surgery at all. But I sorta think when we get there they will bag it. Either way, please pray for Tre's continued healing and that tomorrow he is even better than today. (Surgery will be at 12:30 MST tomorrow afternoon, unless cancelled!)

This is Tre when we got to the hospital yesterday.

This is him this morning.

And he looks almost normal now.

Sex Cafe

2010-04-09T11:09:00.003-06:00

Part of our heart's for the orphan and the poor has come from this type of stuff. SOme day I want to join hands with these people who are on the front lines to fight sex trafficking, I know my draft number has not yet been called, but I am ready to fight this head on. This stuff makes me sick. And angry.

And it must stop.

Some day I will help to fight in the front lines, but for now I hope to call more warriors, more people who know, to bring awareness to this.

Go read this.

Names

2010-03-28T09:17:00.003-06:00

I am always on the hunt for my babies names, constantly, since about ninth grade actually.

And, I'm not gonna lie, when we found out that Tre was a boy, my only disappointment was that I knew. I had no choice, his name would be David Verne Purvis III. And don't get me wrong, I think it's so cool for him to have that history and that generational honor thing going on. I was disappointed for me more than anything. (Sometimes I am selfish, this might come as a surprise to some of you, but it's true, no pedestals here!)

Another thing thats a bit unusual about our adoption is that we are so open to so many scenarios,w e have no idea what we've got coming. Most family's know that they are going to get an infant girl, or a toddler boy, etc. We on the other hand have no idea! So, I have to come up with at least two top boy names, and two top girl names, so fun! Nows my chance!

Here are some of our thoughts so far, let me know what you think!

Girls

1. Norah (or Nora)- woman of honor

(little side not, if I were Jewish I would totally name my daughter Mae Norah, wouldn't that be funny, but still beautiful?)

2. Makeda- The beautiful Queen of Sheeba (biblical reference), Ethiopian, means vessel. I also LOVE the name Mae, and it's a family name, so we could call her Mae for short.

3. Grace- a classic and another family name (including my middle name)

4. (This one is David's)Zia- light or splendor

UPDATE: Tre jut told us he loves his sister, and her name is Evie. (I like that one too)

Boys

1. Thaddeus- a name I have loved since ninth grade, means parised, or heart, aramaic origins (Ethiopian language), also an apostle

2. Gideon- mighty warrior

We will be adding and subtracting for approximately the next year or so, so hang in there!

Yay!

2010-03-23T21:16:00.003-06:00

The last of our application monies has been sent in! This means that Gladney can finally look at our homestudy, and we will be Gladney approved(insert crossed fingers here)!

For those of you who don't know the process, read as follows. (For our fellow adopting families, skip the next few sentences, it will make you as exhausted and stressed as it makes me:) After we get our homestudy approved by Gladney we can get it approved by Colorado, then we can send in our I-600 application. Once that gets returned (approximately 3 months from date received) we will officially be able to go on the wait list for our babies. Then approximately 3-4 months later we will get our match! Woo Hoo!

Needless to say we are moving forward! Hopefully my next post will be that we are Gladney approved. On another note, please be praying, I will have an interview for a new job soon. This would be provision for our adoption since I had to quit working after my injury last fall and we were relying on my "extra income" to provide for the adoption. This job is only two days a week and would be continuing at my place of internship so there wouldn't be a huge adjustment. If it is God I trust that the path will be made straight and doors will be opened!

Thank you Jesus for providing funds and getting us through this stage! We are so excited to see how you will fill our family up and how you will surprise us, we love you Papa God!

FBI Clearance, check

2010-03-19T22:19:00.005-06:00

Our FBI clearances came today! Yippee! I was becoming a little worried, I thought maybe David didn't get cleared and that was the hold up. (Just kidding, sort of. If you knew my husband before he was seventeen, you understand my concern.)

I also think we will be selling a few things tomorrow via craigslist thus getting us within inches of our last few hundred to have Gladney look at our homestudy! Today has been a good day!

Weathering the Storm

2010-03-11T07:14:00.003-07:00

So not sure what all of you other Ethiopia families are thinking right now. But after a night of prayer, and time with friends we have decided that we are moving forward with the Ethiopia program.

We know we are called to this country for our adoption, and unless God completely shuts the door we have decided to stick with it. Now we are praying for more finances and that all of the field investigations go smoothly. We are especially praying for those families who are waiting on a court date right now, this drastically changes things for them in a quick way. Know that you are in our prayers.

Storms

2010-03-10T14:31:00.002-07:00

Well there has been some disturbing news out of Ethiopia in the past few days. Things that will force us to make some decisions, do we move forward and fight through the storms or do we take this as a sign from God and go in a different direction?

The first storm came yesterday when Ethiopia announced that they would now be doing field investigations on every adoption. What does this mean? It means that you pass court in ethiopia, you become the legal guardians of these children and then the American embassy investigates the adoption to determine whether or not the children are legally adoptable. This not only adds many weeks and months to the process it also presents the possibility that we could become the legal guardians of said children in Ethiopia and then America could not accept the adoption and never grant us visas to bring our children home. Very scary.

Then today we found out that we now have to travel to Ethiopia twice, once for our court date, and then again after our field investigation has been completed to get visas and bring our children home. This will add an additional $6,000-$10,000 to our total expenses as well as the additional things required to leave your children and jobs to go out of the country.

Needless to say we are very discouraged right now. Not sure what our next move should be. We still need $600 before they will even look at our home study, and then we have lot's of waiting before us. Not sure what we will do from here.

Please pray for clarity for us, that God's will will become clear to us over the next few days. Pray for the families who are more immediately effected by this as well, the families who have referrals and will now have to quickly come up with the additional travel expense monies. And most importantly pray for the 5 million orphans in Ethiopia and how this will effect them.

Patience Fruit

2010-03-03T16:30:00.002-07:00

A little bummed, our adoption agency said to expect our FBI clearance to take about six weeks. Tuesday was week seven so I sent an email, as suggested. Here is the reply:

"Our current processing time is approximately 13 weeks. Your request has not been entered into our logs as of today. Please inquire again in a couple of weeks."

Booo! Patience is a fruit of the spirit. i think by the time these babies are in my arms I will have a whole orchard full of patience fruit!

Country?

2010-02-11T10:00:00.003-07:00

The other night we were in a restaurant and the family behind us in a booth had a baby. Tre was chatting it up with them. And he asked the lady, "So, what country is your baby from?" The lady looked a little confused. I explained that we are adopting from Ethiopia and to him he thinks every baby comes from different countries. So she politely said, "she's from America" in which Tre replied, "Oh, that's boring."

He makes me smile big huge smiles, and speaks my heart, even when it shouldn't be spoken!

Saving Eli

2010-02-08T15:29:00.004-07:00

I just finished this book. It was wonderful. My quick review: it is a book full of God's everyday miracles. It helped to encourage me to continue believing God for those miracles, because God will take care of us in this adoption. It is a true picture of God's heart for the orphan. It will encourage you and uplift you during your adoption, I promise!

Gift #1

2010-02-08T15:16:00.003-07:00

My hubby takes me on a date every weekend, it's the highlight of my week. On our family blog I am going to start doing a little piece each week on the different restaurants we've been too. It is fun to rate the foods and atmosphere and such of local places, no chains, I promise. But needless to say, this past weekend we had a great dinner and then we did my absolute favorite thing, we went shopping! Not expensive shopping, but look what we got.

This is the first gift we have gotten our african baby(or babies)! Our first present to them. It is for their room. I will have to wait to get a frame for it, because it's huge, which means money money money! BUT, isn't it darling. (If you don't know why Elephant are so special to us, read this.) David found it, and I started crying when he showed it to me, so he had to get it.

I FORGOT!

Here is another present given to us by my Grandma, one of her favorite lamps. It will be perfect for our baby(babies) room!

Communion

2010-02-07T20:11:00.003-07:00

Look what I got for communion today.

A little Africa straight from my papa God! A little encouragement to me, that He knows where my heart is and He promises to bring our little baby Africa home!

Garage Sale!

2010-02-06T15:53:00.000-07:00

Just so you know, we are planning the bomb-est garage sale ever! All of the proceeds are going towards our adoption! If you know anyone in the Denver area who wants to get rid of their stuff, tell them to email me! Right now I am asking that people keep their stuff till May. But if for some reason they can't I'm taking it. Today I was able to put three beds and a cool trunk on craigslist! All proceeds, strait towards our fees for Gladney! And next weekend I am picking up some more stuff! I have the best friends and family who are helping us out in amazing ways. This process has began to show me how God provides through His people. It is a humbling and amazing position to be in. Spread the word!

Love in the Driest Season

2010-01-31T09:08:00.003-07:00

I just finished this book last night. It was really good. I would compare it to "There is no Me Without You" in that it is a story about a family adopting from Zimbabwe but it goes back and forth from their story, and the political and societal challenges in Africa during their adoption. So when you're done reading, you have read a wonderful story of how God brings families together but you also have more of an understanding of Africa and specifically Zimbabwe during the nineties. Read it, it's an easy quick read that is great.

I will choose to listen and believe the voice of truth

2010-01-29T16:24:00.002-07:00

(The guy with floatie in the pic is me, minus the facial hair and big nose!)

This song came on the radio last night as I was driving home from a great dinner with a wonderful friend. I started crying after the first verse. I kinda feel like this is us right now...

Oh,what I would do to have

the kind of faith it takes

To climb out of this boat I'm in

Onto the crashing waves

To step out of my comfort zone

Into the realm of the unknown

Where Jesus is,

And he's holding out his hand

But the waves are calling out my name

and they laugh at me

Reminding me of all the times

I've tried before and failed

The waves they keep on telling me

time and time again

"Boy, you'll never win,

you'll never win."

We stepped out of the boat, out of our comfort zone and into the realm of the unknown. I just have to remember that that’s where Jesus is, holding out His hand. Another preacher said it this way: (Or at least this is how I remember it, I don’t remember who said it though!)

Peter didn’t start sinking until he looked away. He didn’t start sinking until he took his eyes of Jesus and looked into fear. Fear for him was the wind and rain in the story of Matthew 14. My fear is something different when it comes to our adoption and where we are standing right now on top of the water. I started to sink because I looked into my fear, I took my eyes of Jesus.

But the Voice of truth tells me a different story

The Voice of truth says "do not be afraid!"

And the Voice of truth says "this is for my glory"

Out of all the voices calling out to me (calling out to me)

I will choose to listen and believe (I will choose to listen and believe)

I will choose to listen and believe the Voice of truth

Home study

2010-01-27T08:36:00.002-07:00

Home study is written up! I go and review it today and it has been sent to Gladney for their approval! Now we wait for our I-600 and FBI clearance and then, we're ready! One small step complete!

Pray

2010-01-19T16:15:00.005-07:00

David was contacted today and has been asked by a group of doctors to help them get a plane full of themselves and medical supplies to Haiti. Pray that this works out. I would love to tag along and help get some orphans home who have obtained their "humanitarian parole" status as well as do some crisis intervention and help out in any way I possibly can. Pray~

Mom and Laurie you might be needed for child care!

How come?

2010-01-17T09:24:00.003-07:00

Tre said this to me this morning as we were playing with his rubber snake.

snake (aka- Tre), "Who do I live with?"

me, "You live with Tre at his house"

snake, "Why do I live with Tre?"

me, "Because he's your brother"

Tre (no snake anymore), "How come my brothers and sisters don't live with me yet?"

me, (A bit flabbergasted and not sure what to say, where do you start with a question like that?) "Well, because we have to save up some more money and turn in some more papers and wait some more."

Tre, "How much money mema?"

me, "A lot of money Tre, right now we need about $3,000 before we can do anything."

Tre, "How come?"

me, "I don't know Tre."

Tre, "Will we go pick up my brother and sister today or tomorrow or later?"

me, "It will be later Tre."

Tre, "I'm sad. I want my brother and sister to live with us now."

me (tears welling), "Me too Tre, me too."

Waiting is hard, even for Tre.

My husband, my hero

2010-01-14T12:11:00.003-07:00

I've mentioned this before, but my husband rocks! He spoke at our church a few weeks back, and his message was on rest, and how God's burden is easy. I think this will help almost anyone, but especially those of us who are waiting for our children to come home (no matter where you're at in the process), rest can sometimes be difficult!

So make time to listen to this (click on David Purvis Sunday Dec. 27, 9am. They are all different, but I liked this one the best!), I promise you'll be blessed.

awake.

2010-01-07T03:58:00.008-07:00

Some times I find my self awake at very odd times, and all I can think about are our children around the world. I have to believe that this is a supernatural awakening. A time for intercession, a time for spiritual encouragement, a time to battle. It is at times like this, 3:58 am, that I believe God has woken me in order to intercede on behalf of our children, the ones I don't see every day yet, the ones I can't kiss when they fall down, the one's I can't protect and watch over, the ones I don't feed. It is at times like these when I gather legions of angels to encamp around my children, because I can't. I pray strength and courage over them, I pray protection, I pray an infusion of hope, I pray for people to help them, I pray for food, I pray for water. And tonight I pray that grief would not over take them but that they would find a peace that only God can bring, a hope when all else seems hopeless.

I don't know if other parents find themselves thinking these things but I often find myself wondering what days I am missing out on. Is today my sons 1st birthday? Is tomorrow the day that they arrive at the orphanage? Maybe on Friday my daughter will walk for the first time. I find myself wanting to document my life more thoroughly so that once they are here, I can look back and remember what I was doing on the days that their lives were significantly changing.

I can't imagine a situation where you must trust God more. I try to compare it to things I have experienced, like when we went to Africa and left Tre here. Or the many times I have said goodbye to Tre as they wheel his tiny body into an operating room. But it can't compare. In a situation that you have absolutely no control over what is going on with your children, and more than that you have no knowledge, yet I I feel utterly at peace. I know that God will bring them to us in His timing, that He will protect them and keep them. (I might have to read these word several times over the next few months and remind myself of this!)

This also helps me to question my dependence on God. Why is it that I believe that I must trust God with my children now more than ever? For this implies that once in my arms, I will no longer need His assistance, and yet the opposite is true.

Psalm 91

⁹ If you make the Most High your dwelling—
even the LORD, who is my refuge-

¹⁰ then no harm will befall you,
no disaster will come near your tent.

¹¹ For he will command his angels concerning you
to guard you in all your ways;

¹² they will lift you up in their hands,
so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.

God, I thank you that in You is my dwelling place, in You I take refuge.

I believe that no harm or disaster will come near my children, in their tents, their huts, their paper beds, where ever they might be sleeping right now. Lord I rest in the knowledge that you have COMMANDED your angels to guard my family in ALL of our ways. I picture them lifted up in angels hands. Help me Lord to leave them there, even when I can lift them up on my own.

Check.

2009-12-27T16:40:00.002-07:00

Our homestudy is complete. That is a big step! Now we wait... for the I600 and money! We are hoping to have our dossier into Ethiopia by March! Pray that things go quickly and the money continues to come in super naturally. We are so blessed!

(On another note I had a dream last night that we had three girls, I was crying and so upset in the dream because I was overwhelmed! Oh boy!)

Homestudy

2009-11-28T16:27:00.002-07:00

Tre recently has begun working on his homestudy. He takes big pad of paper and closes himself inside the pantry with several pens. he says, "I am going to work on my homestudy... I will see you later."

I just went to tell he MUST go to sleep, he has been in there for over 1 hour just singing and playing in bed. I open the door, ready to sound very mad. And he says, "Here's the deal Mema, I will close my eyes and sleep, you go work on the home study. When you are done you will come get me and we will go to Blake's house... Say yes sir!"

Can you tell we've been obsessing about our homestudy!

5280's Asylum Article

2009-11-25T17:28:00.000-07:00

I just read this article. Please read it. A Denver magazine called 5280 (a favorite read in our home) did an article about a girl from Ethiopia who moved to Denver. It is the story of a girl, who escaped torture in her homeland and found refuge, or "Asylum" in Denver. I think maybe this article has helped direct me in my next step, I think it is the direction I have been seeking God for. It is that good. There is definitely more to come from me, a movement maybe? I'm not sure, just read the article. And see if God pricks your heart like He did mine.

Purple Purvis Palace Perfection

2009-10-02T08:35:00.002-06:00

Well, we're moving! We need to get ready to have some more babies running around. So we are moving to down town castle rock. And we are so excited. We're moving to a purple house that backs to the park! We can't wait! ALso in adoption world, we've gotten our fingerprints and CBI stuff, we received all of our birth certificates and marriage certificates, we (I mean I!) have completed the autobiography, we're just waiting on our new address!

First Home Study Meeting Complete

2009-08-25T07:59:00.002-06:00

Well, yesterday was our first home study meeting. We met with our social worker at Hope's Promise, our in-state agency. And now we have a LOT of paper work to do.

This is how I feel right now!

The biggest thing that happened was that we realized that we need to move sooner rather than later. After talking with Jennifer we realized that if we move in the middle of all this it is going to cause a lot of confusion in our paperwork and communication with immigration. So, we are moving soon. We are going to take our time gathering the right paperwork that we need as we also begin to move! In case our life wasn't crazy enough. Oh well, God has always provided for us, and we don't think that will change any time soon! We juts got a little kick in the butt, He was saying, let's get a move on it! (Get it, "move on it", cause we'd been hesitating to move! I know, I know... I just crack you up!)

Ethiopia

2009-08-04T08:16:00.003-06:00

Here is a little information about the country where our adoption will take place.

Ethiopia is the oldest independent country in Africa and one of the oldest in the world. The country's Rift Valley is known as the "cradle of civilization." Fossils of the oldest human skeleton, "Lucy," were found here in 1974. Ethiopia is unique in Africa, in that it was never under colonial rule, other than an occupation by Italy during WWII. Ethiopia is split religiously, with official statistics of 35% to 40% Ethiopian Orthodox primarily in the north, and 45% to 50% Muslim, primarily in the South. It shares borders with Kenya (to the south), Somalia (east), Djibouti (northeast), Eritrea (north) and Sudan (west). With an estimated 5 million orphans in Ethiopia and predictions for this number to nearly double in the future due to the AIDS epidemic.

Baby Africa: our adoption story begins

2009-07-27T10:13:00.003-06:00

I work at a local RTC, you can read about why I love it here. My work has kept me from jumping ship and swimming to Africa ASAP to adopt all the babies I can get my hands on. I work with orphans in the "American" sense. I work with kids who are aging out of foster care, in a residential setting. It has taught me so much, made me laugh, made me cry, and helped me hold out on my dream to one day adopt. (And probably kept our marriage together, David wouldn't have been happy if I came home with twenty kids from Africa a couple years ago like I wanted to!) But, the time has come! We have officially begun our adoption. There are still many unknowns and many bumps I am sure but we are so excited to know that now is the time.

About two months ago I sat in a movie theatre surrounded by my american "orphans" and bawled my eyes out, (which thoroughly entertained the six girls I had brought) as I watched "Africa's Elephant Kingdom" on the big screen. It was a movie that so touched my heart, God was speaking directly to me through this film. Here are a few tid bits of what I learned and why it inspired me:

- Elephants gestation period is 20 months. (The average time to complete an adoption from Africa, 20 months.)

- The movie went in depth about the community of adults, not necessarily blood relatives, that it takes to raise an elephant. ( As I watched this part I cried, seeing each of our close friends and family members who will be essential in the development of our kids. Helping us to teach them, love them, honor them, and grow them.)

- It talked about elephant societies being matriarchal, the eldest female must remember where to find water and lead her pack, sometimes for weeks, to water. They rely on this woman to lead them to their source of life in the drought.

- It talked about how the males are the strongest mammals on earth, they like to be alone, but meet up with their packs often, and when they come back, they're greeted with such love and resect, whether they were gone for a few hours or a few months.

- One of the most powerful images in the movie as when an elephant tried to give up. They had been looking for water for "too" long, and this elephant just couldn't go any further. She tried to give up. She laid down in the middle of the desert. But her pack would not let her do it. They all gathered around her and began lifting her up with their trunks, they pushed her along, they dragged her, they "yelled", they cried, they did everything they could until she finally began to walk again.

- It even went into what happens when an elephant dies, how each elephant pays their respects, mourns, and encourages their friends and family members to move on.

I was then watching another documentary, Children of the Dust. And it talked about what happened in the 70s in South Africa with the elephants. In the late 70s they finally began to protect the elephants form poachers. They created a wildlife sanctuary and put all the young elephants who had been orphaned due to poaching into this protected area. The young elephants were horrible, they were fighting, they wouldn't sleep at night, they would just cry and cry all night long, they would try to attack the other animals, and even try to have "relations" with the zebras and such. Finally someone had the idea of bringing in a few older elephants. So they brought in two older elephant couples. ANd within a few weeks the young elephants were behaving like elephants should. They were lost with out parents, they didn't know how to behave or belong and as soon as they were given parents they began to behave like elephants!

Within a couple weeks of one another these two stories about elephants and the way they live, the way they take care of their young, their sense of community and family, all of it had effected me so strongly I couldn't ignore it. Thus, as we begin our adoption we have chosen to use the symbol of an elephant to represent the family we hope to become. A family who is open and welcoming, a family who cherishes their children, a family who encourages one another and won't let any one give up. A family who cries together, a family who laughs together, a family who supports and nurtures children wherever they're at in their development, and most importantly, a family who is interconnected with a community of people who love and care for us and our children, a family who is bigger than just our gene pool, a family who encompasses the world.

Please join us in our journey, as a member of our tribe, to seek out our little ones to cherish!

Baby Africa, here we come.