On the 2nd Day of Christmas...

...My turtledove came "home"!!!! We are so excited and rejoicing to be bonding as a family (however sadly without Dad for at least a month or two yet).




Got the call from my attorney this morning that the committal order was ready to pick up around 10 a.m. Every day for the last like two weeks I've kept the house really clean "just in case" it was that day she came home. Today of course, the house was a mess so I figured that was a good sign:) Even though I've been preparing for this day for like a month, hearing my attorney say "Can you be here in 30 minutes?" made my head spin as I tried to gather the things I needed and pick up toys really fast KNOWING that Evolet was coming home today!

So we got the committal order and took it straight to the orphanage. I brought a change of clothes for Evolet since the clothes she was wearing belong to the orphanage. We chatted with all the kids for a while and made plans to go back to visit on Sunday. Evolet was all smiles!!! Here's a photo of her on the car ride home:

So we got home, had some lunch, put Josie down for a nap. Then Evolet and I watched VeggieTales while I spent 2 hours undoing her braids and I STILL only got half of them done. I want to just leave her hair natural for a little bit...play with it and see what it does.

So when Josie got up, they jumped on the trampoline. Evolet let out the most precious giggle. The trampoline is definately a big hit!!! She also can't wait to go swimming. She's been asking when we are going to fly in an airplane. She and Josie had their first, second, and third fight of sisterhood and parenting has taken on a completely new dimension for me...the peacemaker. I totally have expected this and have prepared by asking lots of questions to parents of mutliples. Game on!

This is going to sound silly because I know there's still SOOOO much adjusting to do, but honestly today felt like a pretty normal day. Evolet just jumped into our "normal" routine of life here pretty well. She was helping me with dishes, calling me "mommy", cuddling with me while we watched TV. She tries to keep Josie out of trouble (good luck:) It's like she really really belongs with us. Praising God for his all-knowing ways. I know there are struggles ahead, but right now I'm enjoying the perfection of it all.

She was excited to skype with Darren. When our internet connection got so bad that it disconnected, she said, "Hey. Put Daddy's face back up!" I know they'll have alot of catching up to do, but Praise God for skype. At least she has a visible live connection with him this way.

Once I finished on her hair (a total of 4 hours and she fell asleep while I was finishing it) she took a bath and went to bed. I hope she doesn't freak out in the morning and she remembers where she is! Maybe she'll also remember that I promised her ice cream tomorrow.:)

We appreciate your prayers on our behalf in our saga of beginning the foster process with Evolet. Please continue in prayer for the 3 year old we are still hoping to adopt. And pray as there is still much paperwork, court date, embassy...more hoops to jump through before returning home. I do feel like the process may be a bit more bearable now, though. Happy 2nd Day of Christmas:)

A Ten Day Week

Social welfare assured me several times that Evolet would come home by the end of this week, only to inform me yesterday that they've been busy and she would have to come home Monday. Who knew a Zambian week had 10 days in it!?

We went to the orphanage to see Evolet yesterday. It was a joy to see it, and it was so very hard to leave her there again. She asked me, "When are you coming back to take me with you?" I tried not make any promises about Monday since it's obviously not in my power to do so, but assured her that I would be back Monday and hopefully she could come home then. She seems very excited:)

This hilarious conversation was one of the highlights. Keep in mind that the locals here tend to reverse their "L"s and "R"s. So one of the Auntie's at the orphanage asked, "What name are you going to give Hope?" I replied, "Evolet Hope". She said, "Oh nice. Hope, can you say Everett?" I quickly tried to correct and said, "No, not Everett. Ev-o-let." She said, "Yeah. Ev-ER-ett." So then of course Evolet was saying "Everett". I decided that I could work on pronunciation more when she gets home.

So what I had thought would be a busy weekend getting to know my new daughter is now going to probably feel like a very slow weekend. It's been raining all night and all morning so...that may mean Josie and I stay inside most of the day. I have tried to look at this as one last weekend with just me and Josie. I know it will be hard to balance getting to know Evolet and making her feel special while at the same time letting Josie know that she is still very loved and special too. Hopefully we can have some fun "Josie/Mommy" time. On Sunday mornings she helps me make pancakes. That's always fun:)

I can't even explain how painful Darren's absence has been. I mean, I knew it wouldn't be easy, but I didn't think it would be this hard either. After all, I'm a pilot's wife and I'm used to being away from him for SHORT periods of time. Lately my pitiful self spends the evenings watching sappy movies and weeping at the sound of Christmas music wishing we could be together. I really really miss that man.

So if we get Evolet on Monday that will be exactly one month into the fostering period according to my attormey...that means one-third of the way there!!! This last month has gone by so slowly. I really hope that once Evolet comes here time will speed up some. I can't wait to be back home:)

Shoe Shopping!

I know the picture above has nothing to do with the title of the post, but seeing as how I can't post my Evolet photos yet, this is my outlet for cute Josie pics:)

So far we have had a great and eventful week! Yesterday we were able to tell Evolet that we are adopting her. She was very shocked and didn’t say much. She seemed kind of overwhelmed. I told her I would come back today and talk to her about it some more.

Today was the only day I could get my visa renewed for another 30 days so I got a babysitter for Josie and planned to run some other errands and spend some one on one time with Evolet. When I went today, Evolet ran to me and gave a big hug. She let me hold her as I read the kids some books to calm them all down some. I gave her a zebra pillow pet to cuddle with and a 4x6 photo of Darren, Josie, and I. She never let go of the zebra OR the photo. She was very excited. She even called me “Mommy” and held my hand. I asked the Auntie what size shoe she thought Evolet wore. She said, “Why don’t you take me and her to the store with you and she can try on some shoes!!!” So we all went shopping and had the best time. I bought Evolet some CUTE silver dressy shoes to match her Christmas dress. She really liked them. She told me that purple is her favorite color, but she likes other colors too:)

Since it is Tuesday, we went to the Pizza Inn and got buy one get one free pizzas with Grape Fanta. Evolet said she loves pizza so I think we’ll get along fine:)

I spoke with social welfare today. Our social woker is going to the police station tomorrow to get a copy of the report she needs. From what I understand, she then writes a letter of discharge that I can take to the orphanage to pick her up while the attorney files for the committal order. That’s how I understand it anyway. So it’s very possible that I could get the call tomorrow to go and get her. If not then maybe Thursday.

I’m very excited. Evolet seems excited and Josie…doesn’t really understand what’s going on but is happy when I tell her she’ll have someone to play with for the rest of her life.

There's even a small glimmer of hope that our "Keira Jane" may come back into the picture. That's a SMALL glimmer of hope and I won't elaborate, but you can pray for that situation.

Thank you all for your prayers. They are greatly appreciated!!! I have definately felt that friends across the world have been "weeping with those who weep and rejoicing with those who rejoice."

Joy and Pain

So my conversation with social welfare yesterday brought good news and bad news.

Bad news first (that way I can end on a happy note):

The three year old we were hoping to adopt and name our sweet sweet Keira Jane is now looking like she was not destined for our family. We fully expected her birth father to sign whatever paperwork was necessary...after all he hasn't been to see her in 3 years. But now suddenly, he has decided that if his choice is to have her adopted or live with him, he'd rather her live with him. I can't even explain all of the bad things I FEEL like saying about this man right now or the assumptions I would love to make about his motives, but the truth is that I just don't know his reasons. Maybe he really honestly didn't realize what he had sitting there until it was almost taken from him and now he really wants to care for her. Since I don't know what's in this man's heart and I've never met him I'm going to lay all of those assumptions at the feet of Christ and trust that He too loves this little girl even more than me and know's what's best. His ways are always better.

There was a boy who was available when we went to the orphanage the first time. I told the social worker we would be interested in him, but she said a family has already spoken for him.

THE GOOD NEWS: The 4 year old girl whom we will name Evolet Hope should come into my care next week. I confirmed this with the social worker who said that she just needs to obtain a police report that was missing from the file, but it looks like a pretty clear cut case of abandonment so we don't expect any issues.

So I took all this news to Darren and we discussed it. We are rejoicing that our Evolet will become part of our family soon. I don't want the news that suddenly we can't bring home 2 to overshadow that. We have decided that we will proceed with Evolet and let everyone involved know that if something changes with "girl #2" or "the boy" while we are still in Zambia, we would be interested. Short of a miracle, though I don't expect that to happen.

Many thoughts have gone through my head since I got this news. Heavy things like, "What will my "almost daughter's" life be like now? We could have offered her great medical care to deal with her delays and a family full of love"...to petty things like "But I bought THREE Christmas presents...now who gets the extra Barbie?" Silly me...I know that God knows what he's doing. Even though our human wisdom and plans said "this" was the best path for our family, I'm certain God knows infinately more than I do and I'm glad.

So...we're glad and we're sad, confused and certain. Story of my life these days...

Next Week!

Look what I found talking to herself in the dryer...

Heaven

I'm convinced that God brings some days into our lives that are so messed up they remind us to long for heaven and eternal rest. When things are great I don't think about it as much. Life seems pretty good so I think I'll just stay here for a while. Then some days I'm reminded of the curses of this world and I just get tired and long to be with my Savior.

The day started out great. We made some Nutella cookies (thank you, Jennifer for the super-easy recipe)


Then we were cleaning the house and listening to Christmas songs on the computer. Like some disney princess I'm dancing with the broom and singing along. Josie's jumping on our SUPER high bed (seriously there are stairs on either side of it just to get up and down) and THEN.....she flips over the footboard and dives headfirst into the tile floor. My heart stopped. She didn't cry right away and her eyes rolled back in her head. Not a good sign.

So my EMT brain tells me that panicking never helps a patient so I pick her up and try to get her to talk to me. She's just screaming and won't say anything. I know...first rule of thumb with people who fall straight on their head is not to move them because they could have a neck injury, but I'm just gonna tell you...when you're the mother you forget things. So She still won't talk to me. I finally talk her into following commands like wiggle your fingers and toes. Her pupils look equal. She starts kicking so that's a good thing. I put some ice on her head and try to give her Advil. She normally loves the taste of medicine and doesn't want any. Everytime I pick her up I notice that her head is wobbling like a bobblehead doll. I ask her to hold her head up and she won't. That's when I grabbed the phone and called our AWESOME neighbors Louis and Miranda. They happened to be just pulling out of their driveway and came right over. So Josie and I jump in the car and we head to the hospital. About the time we get there, Josie stops crying and is all smiling at Louis like nothing happened. We see a VERY nice British doctor who orders an X-Ray. Let me just say that, holding a screaming Josie's head down on an X-ray tray is not going to go into the "favorite memory" section of my brain. But we got through it, and she didn't have a fracture. We went back into the Dr. office and Josie tried to climb on her desk. The doctor said in her high British accent, "Oh she's a busy one. I can see how she toppled!" She got a good goose-egg out of it and some M&M's though.

The guy who was supposed to give our social worker the files for the kids was MIA today. Apparently he's going in tomorrow. Bleh.

So then other little random things stressed me out throughout the day, but at the end of it I thought back on my blessings.

1. I'm thankful my daughter is ok. She's a handful, but I like having her around:)
2. I'm thankful I have an understanding husband who has listened to my complaints today and still loves me.
3. I'm thankful for friends. All my friends, but especially today, Louis and Miranda who BARELY know me, who know I'm leaving in a few months, and who have been there for me since I got here. Everything from inviting me to Thanksgiving, taking care of the bills on the house, to fixing a light bulb, to making sure I have books and movies so I don't get bored...and rushing us to the hospital. I would like to think I would be that kind of friend to new people, but I know for a fact that we have military families all the time who come through Montgomery that I don't extend that kind of friendship to. Sometimes it's easier to keep them at arms' length and not invest time in people who won't be around to reciprocate. Today was a good lesson in other-centered friendship.
4. I'm thankful to be here. I had some ladies over for lunch today and we were talking about how it is easier to do an adoption where you just sign papers and pick up your children, but you never get to know the country and the people there. They said "There are many things that we can learn from you, and many things that you will learn from us." I'm finding that to be very true, and even though I'd rather be home with my husband in my own house, I know I will look back on this time and be thankful for what God is teaching me and that I will have a better understanding of where my two new daughters are coming from. Sometimes I just have to stop looking at this as wasted time waiting for this committal order and see it as a time set aside to learn.
5. I'm thankful for the hope of heaven. It makes days like this bearable.

O Christmas Tree...

We put up a tree! Thanks to James and Megan, we WILL have a Christmas tree this year! They are really expensive over here so I was thinking we would just not have one, but I'm really glad we do:) Josie enjoyed helping me decorate it. We listened to Christmas music and drank hot chocolate. She was very cute.

Yesterday we tried out a Bible study at the Baptist Mission. They have childcare! Hallelujah! The kids stay in while we sing songs (which Josie likes anyway) and pray (which we're working on being quiet during) and then the kids go out with a teacher and sing songs and play on this amazing playground. I. Was. So. Thankful! I didn't know what I was going to do without a church! I have some sermons from the Resolved conference, and Tom was nice enough to e-mail me his sermon notes. I just knew that if I had to take 3 kids with me to each service, I would waste a cab fare to literally stand outside the entire time. I was ready to just make do with what I have, but it's just not the same as the community of believers. What a blessing it was to be in church again. I still really miss Morningview Baptist.

Today was Monday here. We went out to the orphanage to see the kids again. Josie isn't feeling well so we didn't stay too long. We came back and ate soup and then she took a long nap and seemed to feel better. I think she's come down with a cold or something.

I did get a hold of the orphanage director finally! What an answer to prayer! He met with Elizabeth today and is supposed to pass on the girls' files to her on Wednesday. I was kind of hoping he would do that today, but I've learned over here that the smallest amount of news is better than nothing and I just have to be thankful for that. So I think the idea of having a comittal order this week is probably not feasible, but we're getting closer and that's what matters. I truly believe that very soon Evolet and Keira will come into my care here and begin their new life. Each day it feels closer...the same kind of anticipation that comes with a childbirth. It could be any day...the sooner the better, but God already has that day appointed and we are approaching it even it feels too slow for me.

It feels like it has been much longer than 9 days since Darren left. Can I just take this opportunity to say that I never respected what our families of deployed military are going through quite as much as I do now. And really, it's only 3 months. It sounds like an eternity to me, but I have dear friends who right now are facing many more months without a spouse. Can I just remind you all to find some way to encourage them especially over the holidays?

Here are some verses that have really kept me going these last 3 weeks:

2 Corinthians 12:9-10

But he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong.

What a great passage. I have definately never felt weaker or stronger than I have lately. How great are the riches of Christ's grace!