We're back!

After taking a month off of the computer for a media fast I feel like there is SO much to blog about.  I will try not to make it too long but bear with me.  This was a month full of ups and downs in our adoption process.  Not being attached to ANY forms of media allowed me to feel REALLY disconnected from everyone, but be really be connected with God and spend much time in prayer.  During this month we became fully funded for our adoption – praise the Lord and just raising money now for our travel (if you have frequent flyer miles to donate we would gladly accept them)!! 

Travel has been crazy in our family – every time I get home Chris leaves. We all feel a little disconnected. Our oldest daughter finished her first year of college and home for the summer as well as our oldest son moving back home.  Lots of change – lots of change.  Traveling with my job is SO amazing! Working with foster/adopt families and churches across the nation is just what I love to do!  I was able to share at a women’s conference about a program I oversee The Simplest of Gifts and many great things have come it! I connected with several adults who aged out of foster care, was able to raise awareness in our community about the needs of our kids and the orphan crisis right in our own backyards and give them an avenue to help! What a blessing! Also, I had the privilege to co-host our ministries first foster/adopt mom’s retreat and we had guest speaker/author Sherrie Eldridge with us for two days.  I had the honor of picking her up from the airport and spending some one on one time with her.  She is an adult adoptee and I just soaked up the information she had to share.  I am so thankful for her and her honesty and her willingness to mentor me through the process of writing a book (yep you read it right – we will see if it actually happens)!

On to the adoption updates:

We received amazing pictures of Esther from Children of the Promise! We are very blessed to have hundreds of pictures of our little girl.  I realize that this is not a “normal” experience in International adoption so I am cherishing each picture.  We also got a written update on her progress, developmental milestones, temperament, etc. which is another HUGE blessing. 

The crazy part of this month, as pertains to our adoption, is USCIS aka Homeland Security needed us to get a document from Arkansas and they needed it VERY quickly in order to process our stateside approval for us to make our first trip to Haiti.  The city of Bentonville would not release this document to anyone but Chris or myself and would not fax or mail it… We only had 3 days to get into the hands of the officer or on our case or there would be another delay.  Crazy how God works but I was actually going to Bentonville on business that very week and they gave us a 2 day extension so that I could make the six hour drive and overnight the document to them.  I was told today that it is what they needed and they are moving forward with our approval!  This part of the process is bittersweet to me.  I long to meet our little girl and hold her and look in her eyes BUT I the thought of having to leave her there with NO way of determining when we can go back to bring her home.  I find myself falling on my knees reading these verses quoted from Heb. 4:16 out of the Message, “Now that we know what we have—Jesus, this great High Priest with ready access to God—let's not let it slip through our fingers. We don't have a priest who is out of touch with our reality. He's been through weakness and testing, experienced it all—all but the sin. So let's walk right up to him and get what he is so ready to give. Take the mercy, accept the help.”

I know she is ours and that the Lord gets my suffering and hers and I can go right to Him with my pain and He will comfort me!

As we move back into the world of media – but NOTHING like we were before – I have started a video based, Beth Moore, Bible study in my home over the book of Esther  - how appropriate! I am learning so much about her with a great group of girls and each day as I am studying I feel so connected to my little girl.  This verse is actually painted in her room (thanks Meghan Horstdaniel) “…And who knows whether you have not come to the kingdom for such a time as this?” Esther 4:14. Amazing how God works all this out for good!!!  We will continue to wait and pray and know that each day we are one day closer to meeting our daughter!

We will have one more BIG fundraiser beginning next week so stay tuned and be ready to jump in and share! It’s not asking for much but has the opportunity to fully fund our travel quickly!

Blessings,

Tiffany