Our family is thankful for....

1. Belly Boy, He is such a cutie
2. That God is taking care of us and has a plan for us
3. That we are able to adopt
4. Eachother
5. For all the things God has provided for us!

I'm sure I will add more later, but supper is almost ready!

Update

We had our homestudy updated for Belly Boy's adoption. So we are waiting for some things to be corrected so that we'll be all set!

I also have other news, but am unable to share right now. I will write it when I can though!(Mom was so excited that she told Miss Bossy to turn off her eyes instead of telling her to turn off her whining and crying! And no, it doesn't have anything to do with Belly Boy's eyes)!

We found out that we will be able to send a package for Belly Boy to our social worker who will send it with another family who is leaving for Ethiopia! So now we're thinking of things to send. Pictures of us will be a must and we are also thinking of a blankie, (Mom is going to sleep with it so that it smells like her when he cuddles with it). We can't send a stuffed animal, unfortunately,but we will send a small toy, (perhaps a car). I think it will be really difficult for us to celebrate Christmas this year, knowing that Belly Boy is a part of our family yet is in Ethiopia and can't celebrate with us. It'll be tough.

Have a great Thanksgiving!

God working in our life!

I decided to check out my first post the other day. In it I write, "I'm starting this blog to share what I think about adoption and my family's journey through adopting from Ethiopia. My family and I are praying for twins. God might have a different plan for our family, however." This, as you can see, got me thinking.

Little did we know the little boy God had in mind for us already! Belly Boy. Our sweet, adorable, Belly Boy! We were SO sure that we were going to be blessed with twin baby boys. Wow! God's plan is always best! His plan is SO MUCH LARGER than we can imagine!

Just a reminder how we need to rest on God's plan, not ours! Crazily awesome....

Food Adventures

So as we've thought more and more about our adoption,there are some food changes going to have to be made 'round here.

First of all, we know from experience that having a baby in the house means that elegant dinners are out. (Not that we ever have any!:)  It is really hard to make supper when you're also trying to bond with a child. Since Bob and I are older we are able to help a lot, but still some days are just crazy busy!! So we will probably put together some frozen meals that will just need to be popped in the oven or in a pot. We just got another freezer, so that will be really useful.

But then! What about Belly Boy,he is used to Ethiopian food not American. The Care Center does a really good job in that they try to give the children "American" food that will make it easier for them to adjust when they go home. (Mom and I were laughing at the "American" food ingredients. Some of the food was totally NOT made the American way)!

But back to what I was saying before, Belly Boy is used to a certain kind of food. So obviously we are going to have to change our menu items a little or actually a lot. Add some of the food and ingredients he's used to!

So, in the many months we have in front of us as we wait for Belly Boy, one of our projects is going to be getting used to Ethiopian food! :)

Orphan Sunday

Orphan Sunday was last Sunday. Dad managed to get a live video of the Cry of the Orphan in Nashville with Steven Curtis Chapman and others hooked on our t.v. It was a great show and I would like to share it with you.

I want to give you the link, but I'm not able to at the moment. So go to http://www.gospelmusicchannel.com/ and look for it!!!! I THINK it is called Cry of the orphan. It might be Voice of the Orphan. Anyways, it was great!

This is our song.

I have posted this song before, but I want to do it again. This time our family has someone in mind. A little 1 year old boy who is waiting for us to bring him home! Hooray! I've asked Mom and she said that the orphanage in Ethiopia now knows that we are adopting this baby. So maybe the little  boy doesn't understand, but we do, and this is our song.

When Love Take You In

By: Steven Curtis Chapman

I know you’ve heard the stories

But they all sound too good to be true

You’ve heard about a place called home

But there doesn’t seem to be one for you

So one more night you cry yourself to sleep

And drift off to a distant dream

Where love takes you in and everything changes

A miracle starts with the beat of a heart

When love takes you home and says you belong here

The loneliness ends and a new life begins

When love takes you in

And somewhere while you’re sleeping

Someone else is dreaming too

Counting down the days until

They hold you close and say I love you

And like the rain that falls into the sea

In a moment what has been is lost in what will be

When love takes you in everything changes

A miracle starts with the beat of a heart

And this love will never let you go

here is nothing that could ever

cause this love to lose its hold

When love takes you in everything changes

A miracle starts with the beat of a heart
When love takes you home and says you belong here

The loneliness ends and a new life begins

When love takes you in it takes you in for good

When love takes you in

We have accepted the referral!

The most exciting news of the day, week, month, and year! Mom and Dad have prayed about adopting a little boy whose referral we received Wednesday. They have decided that this sweet, 1 year old boy is meant for our family!

We are all very excited!!!! We will probably be leaving in February to get him. Dad, Mom and I will be traveling while the Bob, Sport's Dude and Miss  Bossy stay at home with our grandparents. We now are going to start getting ready for him!

Thank you for your prayers. We appreciate it so very much!

Possible Referral

We're looking into a possible referral. Please be praying!
Emily's family