Court Submission!

Wow... Our boys file was submitted to court this week. It is amazing and hard to believe that it has happened so fast. The ethiopian courts close for their rainy season and even though I don't think that  the judge is working and taking cases yet, at least we were able to get our foot in the door and hopefully in the next few weeks we will know when our court date is and we will book our tickets to Ethiopia! I can hardly wait. Imagining the joy my heart will feel when i first get to see our babies is amazing... I am just so grateful to know that our agency is doing all the paperwork and trying to get it done quickly...
I have a few new songs that have been on "repeat" in my head. One is "i get to be the one" by jj heller. "Don't feel alone now, little baby. Do you hear me singing you a song? I can't wait to show you, little baby, how to crawl, how to walk, how to run. I get to be the one to hold your hand. I get to be the one, through birthdays and broken bones i'll be there to watch you grow. I get to be the one. How does sommeone so small, hold my heart so tightly? I don't even know you, i love you completely. I get to be the one."
I just walk around thinking how amazing it is that Ryan and I get to be the ones who raise Josiah and Daniel. Oh the joy. Can't wait to post here when we get our TRAVEL DATES!

creative threapy....

Adoption is just such a precious, SPECIAL JOY and Ryan and I are still overjoyed that God wants us to help guide and grow two of His precious babies... but this waiting part... its no fun. Yeah, I know... we don't have to worry about getting woken up in the night, or spend hours making two babies bottles, or cleaning up after them, or make a weekly doctor visit for the never ending earaches.... but that does not make it easier. One hard thing to think is that right now, our boys don't know us. They will not see us and come crawling over to us yet. But we know them. We SO LOVE them! And we know the ONE who knows them intimately better than anyone else ever will! We look at our pictures of them and study every little detail. We look at their little fingernails, remark how big their feet are, and we even talk to their little faces saying, "Don't cry little guys... Momma and Daddy are coming... we just have to wait a little while longer." We pray for them everyday, ALL throughout the day. And we dream of them at night, longing for the moment that we are united. But what is a mom to do while she sits back and waits as another kisses our babies goodnight; as others give them their bottles, and makes them learn to laugh and explore the world? How do you learn to wait until the awesome day when we are together as a "forever family"? Well, I find that if I use my time wisely, I am able to not just make it through the days, but I am fulfilled and energized to do even more things for the kingdom even while I am waiting. And I spend alot of time just sitting at my Jesus' feet giving him ALL my worries and trusting him to put the right people in J and D's lives until the day that he puts us together.

Sewing is something I always did with my mom growing up and I am so thankful that God put some special ladies in my life to teach me how to quilt right before we came to India. I had picked out some way cute fabric while we were in Thailand back in March, and I found some Indian coordinating prints. I told myself that I could not start them until we got a referral so the fabric was stuck away in a cabinet until the BEST day... August 29th, when we were given our two precious little men. I made Baby Dan's quilt Blue, and Josiah's Green. I used totally different patterns for each of them, but i have been really enjoying getting on Pinterest to see what cool new ideas I can find to sew the perfect quilt! Sewing for them gives me time to pray for them, makes me feel like I am doing something for them! and it serves as a great creative therapy to help me give all my worries and concerns to the Lord as I sew away on their little quilts. I have hit a few bumps along the way with getting the quilts lined up and I was so sad when my quilting buddies were not around to help me figure out how to fix my mistakes. But that's the way life is sometimes... and we learn how to make do with what we have. They are not finished yet... just to the part where I actually quilt and then the binding, but here is the progress!

I also have been making these cute little fuzzy blankets for all the other littles' in my life. Ryan and I get to nephews over the next months, and we are so thankful that the Lord has given our little men some boy cousins! I know they will LOVE them and be excited to play all kinds of games with them! These blankets are way fun to make and you get to not only sew, but cut and "rough up" the fluffy side to make them soft.

ultimate provider...

So, can I just say how GREAT IS OUR GOD!?!! I am still in awe that He has given us two precious boys. Thinking though what He has given us just makes me want to fall on my knees in worship of the MOST HIGH! I feel like I have been given way more grace than I deserve to persevere through this process of adoption. The less I worry, the more God amazes me with His provision for us.

Gen. 50:21

So then, don’t be afraid. I will provide for you and your children.” And he reassured them and spoke kindly to them.

And I feel like I have found a place to just rest in this assurance. That's so amazing. The "Sarah" part of me wants to freak out and beg for help or complain about how hard and crazy this thing called adoption is... and the $20,000 dollars that is due when you accept a referral of two kids, not to mention that the total cost is estimated to be about $38,000 should have thrown me into a crazy cycle! But it didn't. I know that was God giving me peace that only can be described as from Him. And in just the right times he has provided for us. A few weeks ago, we were BLESSED with a huge grant from JSC Foundation... $16,000! That morning, I texted a friend that we got a grant, and as I typed it, the gravity of that many zero's overwhelmed me. WOW!

We had an interview with another grant agency called Katelyn's Fund, and it was so encouraging. They just wanted to hear about us and our lives and how they could help and pray for us. It was a group of the board members and they all went around and prayed for us. I have no idea what any of these people look like, but I saw the face of Christ through their words and I was moved to tears hearing others who have a heart for orphans and are willing to give of their free time to pray for families and to help provide them financial assistance. We got off the phone and I was just so blessed for the rest of the day! Then, on Wednesday we received our referrals... and that $20,000 was needed... The $16,000 was there along with $1250 from friends and family, and it was down to where we needed $2,750 more. Ryan and I were getting ready for bed, and didn't want to spend the night worrying about money, so we just prayed and went to sleep, resting in the Lord's provision. (it's really hard to have a bad day right now. We just look at pictures of our little men, and we can't help but SMILE!) We woke up to that grant company sending an email, sooner than we expected to hear from them, saying that they want to give us $3,000! I just laughed and rejoiced in the provision of our King. He even gave us $250 extra!