25 Reasons Why i Love my Wife

I don't post on OUR blog very often. For some reason, Rachael doesn't refer to this as HER blog like everything else in our life!! Surprising. My favorite quote early in our marriage from the mouth of my children's mother: "What's yours in mine, and what's mine is mine." She of course, was joking, but it's funny (that's the joke part) how she still needs help with her car, her camera, her bed, her house. It's a good thing I'm such a nice guy (and humble too).

Because of my wife and all the joy and light she brings into my life, I wanted to write 25 lovely/amazing/inspiring items about my bride:

Numero Uno...She is beautiful ALL OVER. And I'm talking purely external beauty here. I'm not gonna lie, this is the first thing I noticed before asking her out in college. She has this crazy awesome brown curly hair, and matching brown eyes. Her petite frame is perfect for my height i.e. she is tiny and nestles right into my body. She is "fit as a fiddle" (don't exactly know what that means but heard it once and it sounds sexy). She has these cute little ears that ... I'll just stop where I started with her ears, because it only goes downhill (in anatomical direction), and this is a public blog. (If your curiosity is piqued, read Song of Solomon chapter 4 in the Bible.)

Two - She likes shoes. She picks out cute shoes. I love her shoes.

3) She's better than most dudes in pole-vaulting!!! She wasn't just a "I-can't-do-anything-else-so-maybe-I'll-try-pole-vault" athlete. No, she was strictly assigned to vault because of her skill, and subsequently was a 5-time All-American athlete, winning numerous Div-I events. And the kicker is...she never touched a pole in high school! Ridiculous.

Quattro...Rachael does this "sick" exercise at the gym where she raises her straightened legs so that her toes touch the very bar she is hanging from! And all of this after she has cranked out about 30 pull-ups. Dudes in my high school couldn't even do 1 pull-up (sad), and I can't touch my toes!

5) The Sugar Loves (Ray) has such a connection with our son and we haven't even seen his face yet. It amazes me how her heart longs for our baby boy.

Six - She does this thing while getting ready in front of the mirror when she kind of pushes up the back of her hair while pursing her lips. It's so subtle and cute. Love it.

7...She let me get Macy, our dog.

Ocho: Rachael never complains that she doesn't have new clothes to where. I know that as a girl she would love to have stylish clothes, but she is very frugal with what we have.

Nine: She types faster than Pam Beasley

10) Mercy/Encouragement is her spiritual gift. Rachael feels deeply for people, on their behalf, even when they are doing destructive things in their own life and don't care. Rachael writes so many people with notes of encouragement, and I usually don't know about it until somebody says, "Tell your wife that her note was so encouraging." And I'm like, "Oh, I didn't know she wrote you anything, but I'll tell her you were blessed by it." She loves encouraging people.

'leven - Saturday mornings belong to me and Macy because Ray sleeps in 'til 'bout 'leven. In fact, she slept until 4 p.m. on the day of our first date! She deserves it though, because she gets up at Dawn's crack every weekday.

12...She will be the best Mommy in the world. She's so creative and passionate.

13) If she doesn't like something, she'll tell you. I appreciate frankness because life is too short to pretend.

ForTeen: Even though it's weird that I entertain myself by myself, she lets me have fun without chiding me for it. And sometimes she joins in by singing vibrato to some commercial's lyrics (like Subway's "Five Dollar Foot Longs"). Hilarious.

15) Rachael is organized and tidy. She likes the house to be clean, not a clean freak though...thank goodness.

Sixteen...She has such a sensitive heart. She thinks that our dog has feelings. Macy takes advantage of this, because while she doesn't have feelings, she does have a brain. And she knows

that she can exert her will over my wife's. The hierarchy of authority in our house according to Macy: Boss - Jon, Second-in-Command - Macy, Bottom of the Totem Pole - Rachael.

17. She has three automotive categories: car, truck, motorcycle. If you asked her what kind of vehicle she drives, she'd likely say "a blue car."

18) She lets Macy sleep in the bed if I gave her a bath earlier that day.

Nineteen: She loves Jesus more than me. This makes her love for me more real, substantial, and deep.

20. Because of her love for Jesus, she has a heart that longs to be good Mommy.

21. She loves people more than anybody I have ever met, and longs for them to know Jesus.

Twenty-two: She has a heart for orphan children that beats in tune with God's heart.

23) She is not afraid to go ANYWHERE if that's where God leads...ANYWHERE.

TWenty-Four...When she says something that she knows is funny, she tries to hold the laughter in, but it inevitably comes gushing out in a matter of seconds. I love that.

25. Simply put...she's the Sugar Loves.

Stalking My Phone Has Officially BEGUN!!!

I am officially freakin' out and the actual phone stalking has begun!!! I logged onto our adoption group tonight to find incredible news! Four baby boy referrals went out today! That's three more than they originally anticipated for this week. They had still been in November dossiers (remember they hand out referrals in order of when you sent your dossiers), and I knew girls who had their dossier sent Nov. 14th and 21st. Well, they got their referrals and I was ecstatic. But then, when I clicked on one of the referral announcements, I saw that one of the referrals that went out today was for a family whose dossier was sent DECEMBER 1st!!! I saw that and just started to cry. I can't explain the flood of emotions... excited, anxious, a severe longing to see his little face! Jon was sitting on the other couch, very confused as to why I suddenly started to cry. Then when I said the last referral out was December 1st he totally got it! Holy smokes we are only two days away from that! (That doesn't mean two days away from referral though). So what does this mean? It means we are sooo close! The adoption world can be crazy and unpredictable, so the time between December 1st and December 3rd can be weeks, but it can also be days. So just to be sure, my phone will be by my side every second next week!!!! How on earth am I going to sleep tonight? My stomach is FULL of BUTTERFLIES!!!!

Our 3 Month Update!

Wow...I can't believe we have arrived at our 3 month mark on the waiting list. These last three months have gone by faster than I thought! We got our update from our agency on our process and where we stand at this point. Before I share, let me explain a few things so it makes more sense.
Our referral is when we find out which baby is ours! We get his picture and all his info! The dossier is the compilation of all our paperwork that gets sent to Ethiopia. Once that is sent, we are officially on the waiting list. The date our dossier was sent was December 3, 2008. They give referrals out in order based on your gender and age request and the date your dossier was sent. So, for example, we would get a referral before someone who had their dossier sent on say, December 10th for a baby boy. So here's the latest news from our agency!!!!

You are getting closer (How I've waited to hear those words!) We expect to make at least one referral of an infant boy this week. That will bring us to within one referral of starting on December dossiers. There were a couple of dossiers sent on the first day of December and then at least three that went on the same date that yours did.
When that happens, all things being equal and babies healthy, we look to the
family whose application was filed earliest first. Since you did your
dossier so quickly, others may have filed applications before yours. When
the time comes we will check that out. So, you are close, but not there
yet.
Merrily

Sooo....that's where it stands right now. Again, I am amazed at the peace that God has placed in my heart. I cannot wait to be our baby's mommy and I know that God loves him way more than we ever could, so at that, I rest knowing that all is well. We are praying for a March referral so that our chances are higher of getting through court before it closes in August. Please pray with us!!

This Could Be Our Month!!!

This could be our month!!!! This could be the month that we finally get to see our sweet baby boy's face and hear his name! Our agency said a referral was possible this month! I get so excited every time another month passes. After school on Friday, I changed our classroom calendar to March and I got giddy! Maybe this month! And if not, we're at least another month closer. We will know some more up to date information this Tuesday on our 3 month update! Today is Sunday, so our agency is closed, but you know that when Monday morning comes my phone will be within arms length all day, every day! Although I won't start getting too jumpy yet... I'll at least wait until I hear our update news. Even still, I'm surprisingly peaceful. :)
P.S. Not sure if I like this plaid blog background. But I'm getting really sleepy and tired of playing around with it. So it will have to do for now! :)

Here's a letter I wrote to our son. I cannot wait to see that little face!

Dear Baby,
Right now, in Ethiopia, it is 5:35am. Maybe you are still sleeping. Maybe you have already greeted the new day with a smile. Right now, we’re getting ready to go to sleep. We can’t wait to know your face and know your name. I can’t wait to hear your Ethiopian name. It gives me goose bumps just thinking about it! It's already March! I can't believe it has been over 5 months since we started our journey to you! The time has gone by relatively quickly so far. This could be our special month! This could be the month forever etched on our hearts and minds! My heart aches for you, longs to be with you. I’m trying so hard to be patient, to rest on the truth that God is in control. I want to know you are safe, that you are healthy. Know baby boy, that even from afar, before we know your face, we have recognized and celebrated your precious life. You are loved; first by God, and second by us. Your life will not go unnoticed as we wait to bring you home. Most days, I feel peace. I feel settled in my heart that all is well and you will be home soon. But other times, I long so badly to hold you and smother your little face with kisses that it physically hurts. Not a day goes by when I don’t think of you. Not a day goes by that when my alarm goes off at 5:30 am that I don’t envision waking to your beautiful face and spending all day with you. I can’t wait to love you and teach you about Jesus, and love you some more, and just enjoy every moment with you. I know you will probably be scared at first…you don’t know us, haven’t seen us before, haven’t heard my heartbeat, haven’t sensed my presence. My hearts aches, even now, for those moments of fear and uncertainty that will be in your heart, now matter how little you are. But we will be there for you, for whatever comes, and however long it comes. We will not leave you. We have waited so long for you. We cannot wait to meet you face to face. Until then, I go to sleep tonight, dreaming of you, and I will wake tomorrow wishing you were right here with us. Soon baby, very soon.
Love,
Mommy

A New Judge!!

I have been super busy lately... lots of things going on, teaching, grad. school started again, church life, and so on. But, when I came home from work today, I received exciting news! Another judge has been assigned to court in Ethiopia! We have been praying and praying for this! Originally, when we first started the adoption process in September of 2008, the wait time from referral (when we know who our baby is) to our court date in Ethiopia (when he is legally ours) was about 2 months. Lately, the process has slowed way down and the wait for a court date has been around 4 months!!! Whoa. We were told that if another judge was seated, it would help move court along quicker. So we've been praying and praying and praying! We received the news today that a new judge has been assigned and court should start to pick up! I am so excited for our fellow adoptive families who will probably have their little ones home sooner than expected and so excited for those of us who still wait, knowing that in the end, the process may not be quite as long as recently anticipated.
Please pray with us as we long to be through court before it closes in August for the rainy season. God is good... HE himself IS good. God is not my definition of good... He is altogether GOOD. So I sleep tonight, resting on the truth that my God is good and he is watching over our Ethiopian babe. Soon baby... very soon.