Plumpin' Up Some Babies!

Due to the recent famine in Ethiopia, our agency's baby orphanage (The Wanna House) was flooded with over 70 babies at the beginning of the year! Many of these babies were coming into care very malnourished, underweight, and sick. We have mentioned several times the desperate situation going on and had the joy of sending supplies, as well as seeing some of our dear friends who aren't even adopting, sending supplies too! What an encouragement!

And now, a GREAT addition to the baby care at the orphanage... something called "Plumpy Nut." Many babies in developing countries are dying due to the lack of milk, vitamins, and nutrients their little bodies need. Reporter Anderson Cooper says

Mothers in these villages can't produce enough milk themselves and can't afford to buy it. Even if they could, they can't store it -- there’s no electricity, so no refrigeration. Powdered milk is useless because most villagers don't have clean water. Plumpynut was designed to overcome all these obstacles.

Babies in other countries don't have peanut allergy issues as we do here for some reason. At first, that was a concern among many adoptive parents, but we quickly found out a peanut allergy is very rare in the developing world. You've gotta check out this video. It's amazing! We are so thankful our agency is able to provide plumpy nut for the babies in care. They have seen remarkable improvements in many of the babies and toddlers. There are some babies who are even difficult to recognize now after filling out from the good nutrition! They look totally different! It brings tears to my eyes!

(I stole this title from a bloggin' friend).

Waiting for Another Monday...

Well, here we are... waiting for yet another Monday. It's been two weeks now since we've been told, "you are so close!" Families with their dossiers sent the same day as us for baby boys have already gotten their referrals. So we are next for a healthy infant boy under 6 months! Wahoo!! I'm trying to keep busy and this past week I've had tons of work to do for grad. school. I've relaxed a little on the phone ringing. Now when it rings, I don't expect it to be AAI, so maybe when it is, I will be utterly surprised! But I will say there have been several times where I've heard "phantom phone calls." I stop and think, "Is that my phone? Where is it?" The TV will be on, or music, and I swear I hear my ringtone in the mix. Haha. I even had a dream that AAI called and I kept trying to accept the call and my phone wouldn't let me. The panic I felt in my dream was like the panic you feel when you are trying to run away but you can't. I've been up and down in these two weeks of really waiting, but overall, God has filled my heart with peace and contentment...especially the last several days.

In the meantime, I wanted to share one of my all-time favorite pictures of my nephew Manny (and a few others) who was born in Guatemala and came home on August 26, 2005. This moment is forever engrained in my mind and I will never forget the first time I saw that little face in person. He still makes this same exact expression at his now big boy age of four! Here he is when they first came out of the airplane, all snuggled in the mayan wrap. Sooo cute.

Here's the first time Grandma held Manny. (When I was opening this picture to put it on here, it came up really big, and you could see the lady at the desk in the background. She had a huge smile on her face. There was quite the crowd there to welcome our little guy home).


Manny shortly after coming home. He loooves the bathtub!

Manny all grown up! Wow.. already four!

Starting a Legacy

Happy Birthday to me! So I turned 26 yesterday, March 14th! Whoa. It's funny because I know I am not old, but 26 just feels like I'm "getting old." 25 was such a good number... still seemed young and full of life, although I'll still say I'm both, but 26 just seems like a boring sounding number. Haha. Anyway... it was a good day! Jon got me a flip mino HD camcorder. I loooove it. It's cute and small and super easy to use. It'll be really handy for me to use when the baby is home and just keep in my purse or whatever. We went out for dinner and then had cake and ice cream with some friends.

It's crazy to think how different our lives are this year than last year, when I turned 25. We have been growing and changing in so many ways, really ready to embrace this new stage of life as parents, and discovering where and how God would have us serve in full-time ministry. I wish I had words to describe things. Last year at this time, we weren't interested in having children yet. We've always wanted children, just not right then. Jon was in seminary full-time and I was working. So that was our main reason for waiting to start our family. Then we decided to adopt first as a means to begin our family. Ever since embarking on this INCREDIBLE journey, crazy, awesome, and amazing things have changed with us, and are happening with us. Again, I feel like I can't put it into words. We have such a desire to leave a legacy, to have fruitful children, not just multiply in number, but to send out children into the world who love Jesus and care for people. We have been soaking up the goodness of God's Word, and have been especially enjoying the book of Proverbs. To attempt to sum things up with words, I will share a part of a letter Jon wrote to me a few weeks ago...

I pray that God would give us a clear and sure vision for our lives together. That we would have a God-given, sanctified vision for our family. That we would think not only of our children or even grandchildren, but that we would be looking five generations ahead. I pray that our sons and daughters might come to know Jesus at an early age and that they might pursue His ends on this earth. I pray especially that our sons will be devoted to God and lead people toward Christ, possibly in vocational ministry. I pray that our daughters will marry godly men who love and serve Jesus. I pray that our children will be fruitful on this earth and that our domain on this earth would be changed completely by and for Jesus Christ.

Our view of family hasn't changed, but a lot of how we will play those things out with our family day to day has changed. We are completely excited. We want a big family that loves Jesus and is fruitful for God's kingdom!

Speaking of building our family... here we come upon another Monday, another week. We thought last week would be the week! We know we're in the next group. But no referrals went out last week, and we were told Friday night that referrals will probably go out this week. So the same news again, but hopefully we'll have THE NEWS to share this week. So off to bed I go, another week of sleepless nights! I am surprised how mentally, physically, and emotionally exhausting it is to wait on the edge of going crazy to see my baby's face and hear his name. Wow.

Praying this is our week!!!

The Crown of Her Husband

"The wife of noble character is her husband's crown"

Proverbs 12:4

We live in a time when royalty is merely a display of tradition, and lacking any significant power. Regality is merely understood through movies and ancient stories. However, a time once was when kings maintained full authority, and either led a nation with wickedness into despair or with righteousness into blessing.

The man who wrote the statement above was King Solomon - the richest, wisest, and most prominent king in the first millennium B.C.E. This world-renowned king had everything imaginable to marvel in, to display his glory with, and to pronounce his unparalleled greatness

against all others. Yet, his greatest display, his most cherished possession, his most important jewel was his "wife of noble character." She was a beauty worth more than all his riches, and a companion to be displayed as a model of character for his entire life. A righteous king, and any honorable husband for that matter, pursues any opportunity he receives to display his lovely and trustworthy wife.

Though I am not wise or rich like King Solomon, the "wife of noble character" is my crown, and I will proudly put her on display for our children to bless (Proverbs 31:28).

Still Waiting...

Still waiting... it's mid-week and no phone call yet telling of us our little boy! We're so close it makes me want to scream! They hand out referrals in order of the days people sent in their paperwork. Our day (December 3, s008) is NEXT! However, we aren't the only family who sent their paperwork on that day. We got an email from our agency saying more referrals will probably go out towards the end of the week. So our BIG question?? ARE WE IN THAT BATCH?!?!?! We are PRAYING that enough baby files are completed so that our little guy is in that batch of referrals this week. Monday was really difficult for some reason, Tuesday and today, I have been feeling very peaceful (although it feels like that's changing as I type because I realize tomorrow will be here in no time)! Referrals were sent out last week on Thursday! I have had my phone right by my side all day at school. I feel like a crazy person. I even take it with me to the bathroom! I am DYING to see that 360 area code on my phone. Every time my phone rings, my heart drops, then I grab it, and see that's it's just Jon or a concerned friend or two wondering about our referral. Although I'm extremely glad for their calls, my heart has to recover for a few seconds before I can even answer! I turn 26 this Saturday and a referral this week would be the most incredible birthday gift ever!