lots going on around here!

I can't believe I haven't updated the blog in weeks... although it is somewhat understandable with all that's been going on around here! But I don't want to forget any of it, so here it comes all at once...

Here's quick rundown of the past couple of weeks (bullet style):
- Our KIDS adoption shirts came in! Yay! Praise God for another way He is providing the finances for our adoption! And the shirts turned out really CUTE! See Big Brother modeling below:

- Two members of our agency traveled to the DRC to visit all the kids and meet our attorney, etc the first week of March.

- During that trip we were waiting expectantly for email with some kind of update on Baby R and baby sister including new pictures.

- On Sunday, March 4 we finally got several emails of pictures of baby girl... only it wasn't baby girl. We quickly realized that the adorable little girl in the pictures was NOT the same little girl we'd been staring at and praying for this past month. {here's where my heart sank.} We quickly emailed back with a picture of our "baby girl" and pointed out the differences. Finally they agreed- this was not the same child. They said they were "working on the situation." Those 24+ hours of uncertainty I admit I struggled against fearfulness. What exactly is "the situation"? Where is our baby girl? Could they not find her @ her orphanage because she is dead? Were we emailed pictures of the wrong little girl a month ago and this little one is the real baby girl who's had her medical, etc? What is going to happen if they can't find our baby girl? When will our kids finally be home with their family?? Oh, how we prayed. We prayed and prayed for the Lord to have MERCY on us and let this NOT be a big deal. Let it be something small.

- And HE HEARD OUR CRIES: we were emailed pictures of our original baby girl and told that she is the correct child that we have paperwork for! They found her! (Although we still don't know where exactly.) She is ALIVE and we PRAISED THE LORD! ssshhhew- crisis averted. Thank you Almighty God!
- A day or 2 after our agency had gotten back to the US, we were still trying very hard to wait for pictures of baby R. We knew they were recovering from jetlag and thought of this as an exercise in patience. But we were VERY saddened to hear that no pictures were coming- they did not see baby R during their week in the DRC.
- We understand that the circumstances were somewhat out of their control, but we are still deeply saddened that we haven't seen or heard ANYTHING about him in 7 months. Please PRAY with us that our in-country aide would go see baby R THIS WEEK and take pictures of him so we can see that he is ok. After all we've been through in the last year (losing a referral for our baby boy, baby Leseli passing away @ 9 months old, baby R having malaria a week after we got his referral, etc, etc) we obviously are concerned for baby R's life and well-being. The only pictures we have of baby R are from when he was 6 months old (and he's asleep in every one).... he is now 13 months old.

baby R's sweet sleepy eyes (@ around 6 months old)

- Will you pray with us, plead with the Lord on our behalf, that He would let us pass court for both of our children very, very soon? We've been "in phase 1 (of 2) of adoption court" for baby R for 3+ weeks now and have heard no progress yet. We should be starting phase 1 for baby girl any day now (we got her birth certificate on 3/14).
- We are also bolding asking the Lord to let us bring our children home in May. Will you join us in asking our Father for this good gift? And that He would uphold and protect them every day until they can be united with their forever family! We realize this would be a miracle. But we also know that our God is not small and nothing is impossible for Him. So we PRAY and wait expectantly on the Lord to act!
Trusting in our Sovereign God,