"Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for him; do not fret...refrain from anger and turn from wrath; do not fret-it leads only to evil."

It's amazing what handing over your worries to the foot of the cross and saying, "Here it is...it's all yours Lord," will do for one's nerves. It's been an amazing week! I have just been pouring out my concerns to the Lord and saying, "hey you want these? You can have them!" And I've felt so peaceful! I've had amazing opportunities to get together with friends and just share our story. I've been meeting with other adoptive mom's and getting their honest feedback on the whole process, and I was invited to help organize a United 4 Orphans event on November
6th. All of these things have made me incredibly excited for what Nick and I and our family are doing!

I want to invite you all to the United 4 Orphans event. It is going to be a great time of worshipping and praying for orphans around the globe. There will be delicious desserts, dynamic speakers, and the chance to taste and support Gobena Coffee. If you'd like more information visit the United 4 Orphans 2010 Facebook Page or Gobena.org.

Did you realize that there are 147 million orphans in the world today? Poverty, disease, death have taken beautiful, innocent children from the arms of their parents and put them in a world of fear and desperation. A recent statistic showed that if 7% of Christians in the United States adopted one child there would be virtually no orphans left in the world (thanks to my friend Danae for educating me in the world of all things orphan). To me that seems like such a small number. If Christians could step up and make that big of a difference in the world, it would be staggering!

We had a big week this week! We got a lot of paperwork done and mailed in several packets. It may seem like such a small thing to sign an adoption agreement or an application, but there are some big time checks going in each of those packets. I still can't believe the money that has just happened to show up extra in our bank account the last month. I mean logically, I know where it all comes from: extra hours on the job, a gift from a friend, but to have the perfect extra amount we've needed just astounds me. It's so exciting (and slightly stressful) to see the deadline come up and look at our checking account and be like, "Whoa...its the perfect amount...write 'em a check." And to write a check so joyfully...now there's a new concept in our house :)

Owen, Amra, and Wrigley (in his silent way) constantly amaze me as well. They always have a special prayer for their sister. They've thrown out things like, "let her know we love her," "keep her safe", "let her know we will come get her", "help us get all the money we need to get her." I think I tear up at every meal and bedtime when it's time to pray because their hearts are so innocent, and they know what this means to us and their sister waiting in Ethiopia.

On a more personal note, I've fallen in love with my daughter. It's been a weird concept for me. It started out so depersonalized, I just saw the work, the timelines, the DOLLAR signs. But now I see her. When you're pregnant you don't know what your child is like, but you can feel him/her. You can cradle your stomach and hear his/her heartbeat. Adoption is so different. I don't know anything about my little girl. I don't even know if she is born yet. But I love her. I don't know what her face looks like, but I know she is beautiful and I know she is mine. It's been a crash of emotion over me the last few days. There was a moment when we weren't sure we'd make a deadline, and my heart just broke. Suddenly there was no option, we would find the money because I NEED my daughter. She's out there waiting for mommy and daddy to bring her home. Please pray for her and her little heart.

We have more exciting news that I will share in the next blog because we are waiting on a few logistics, but God has answered a big prayer financially for us that will be so beneficial. We've also narrowed down to a couple names, and I just want to share why we chose specifically Ethiopia. Sorry this was so random, but I've been reading so many other blogs that put mine to shame, that I'm like, "you know what, this is me, this is what you get." I only have 2 followers now, but someday...someday (!) I will have 968 followers like www.itsalmostnaptime.blogspot.com and if not I'm just glad that YOU were reading :)