"On Hold" - a reminder that the Lord is the perfect family planner!

This adoption process been the biggest rollercoaster of faith I have ever been on! I would have never guessed that this would be the track it would take, that this would be the time-line, that these would be the twists and turns. But every time we take an unexpected loop-de-loop, I have to remember that the Lord's ways are not like ours! He is the GREAT PLANNER of my life! He has a perfect plan!

Yesterday was on of those loop-de-loop kind of days! I called our agency to talk about how my pregnancy would effect our adoption process. I was expecting to find out when we would have to do a new homestudy. I was not expecting what they told me!

Turns out, we will have to be put "On Hold" until this baby is 6-12 months old!! I know, it sounds outrageous - believe me it was a shock to me! I was absolutely speechless and crushed when she told me that!

Thankfully, I have an amazing husband who reminded me of the Truth. The Lord has definitely given us this child-in-womb for this exact time for His purpose! And He will give us our child-in-ethiopia at the perfect time as well.

It's times like this, that I am so thankful for scripture's comforting reminders of who the Lord is... I'm holding tight to these reminders this week!!

Jeremiah 29:11 - For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."

Isaiah 55: 8-9 "For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways," declares the LORD. "As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts."

Psalm 25:4 - Show me your ways, O LORD, teach me your paths."

We will contine to move up the lists - but not be able to accept a referral until we pass the hold period. Our social worker will do a report when the baby is 3 months old, and based on that report, our agency will determine when our hold will be over.

As it turns out, the timing of the hold make a lot of sense. It would have been hard, if not impossible to travel to ET twice during my pregnancy (can you even get those shots when you're expecting?). And it would be really hard to do it before the baby is 3-6 months old as well.

So we wait. Again. With Joyful Expectation of what the Lord has up His sleeve!! I can not wait until the day when we only have to look back on this process with awe at what the Lord taught us and the blessings He provided!! Then it truly will be like the story of Jacob and Rachel - of which this blog is named...

Genensis 29:20 "So Jacob served seven years to get Rachel, but they seemed like only a few days to him because of his love for her."

Baby News... and it's not about adoption!!

It's 11:33 PM and I'm not sure why I'm not in bed. I feel nauseous and exhausted, but so very happy! Two nights ago, I broke down and took a pregnancy test (in the bathroom of a Walgreens!). There were just too many signs to ignore and my good friend Kindra kept looking at me with her "I'm telling you, I know your pregnant" eyes every time I smelled something strange or refused my beloved coffee drinks (they suddenly became disgusting - even though I desperately tried to deny it and actually spent $4.50 at Starbucks to prove I still liked them, only to have to pour it down the drain.)

Seriously, I was in denial! I don't know I could have been. Now it seems so obvious. But we were blown away and shocked by this precious gift from God!! It's been so fun telling everyone - and hearing their surprise and excitement for us!

Meanwhile, Ryan and I both deeply want to continue with the adoption! We're not ready to let that dream go. We are so curious to see what the Lord has in store. This adoption story has just been too wild and crazy and unknown for us to close the book now.

So, here's to God's Kind of Surprises! And to a big family to love!!!!

Awesome weekend with my college friends!

It is so refreshing to be with friends who have known you for so long (longer than we all care to admit - truly. I told Anna that it was almost our 20th high school graduation and you should have seen the SHOCK on her face!!). Aren't we still all 27?

Being with my friends this weekend was so good in so many ways, but one thing that really stuck me was how fast the seasons of life go by! It seems like just last week we were all getting married (yet, here I am about to celebrate 12 years), and yesterday we were having our first children (my baby is 9.5yrs).

Someday this adoption process will be a blur. It will truly feel like only a few days (hence the title of my blog). And then I'll be in the midst of the true journey -the one of sharing life with our children!

So I have renewed patience and hope for this season to last as long as the Lord has for it to last. Thanks, friends!

And then I get home to the happy news of more referrals which move us up on our lists! We moved to #2 on the Sibling list, #11 on the baby girl list, and #22 on the toddler girl list (which we added ourselves to last week). Yeah, for small numbers!!