Change of plans

Had another baby shower yesterday thrown by my friends in my neighborhood. We had such a good time, but I think it was just a little too much for Samuel. This morning he woke up with a very warm body. By the time I got his temp taken, it was higher than what I thought it should be, so change in plans.

Yep, today was going to be our first time to attend the "Warehouse" as my friend calls it. Those of us who are old school would call it Children's church. I will forever be old school when it comes to this. :0) So instead we took some meds and have been following the dog around all morning. Raps will sleep well tonight!

No matter how bad Samuel feels, he always has time to jump. This kid loves to jump up and down. He has alot of rhythm in his body. We went to get pics taken yesterday at the mall and I get to go check them out today at 2:00. Looking forward to seeing just what they captured. I feel like I should have been paid though. I did more jump around then the lady did. By the end of the time he was in tears, because she had taken a ball away from him. Oh the drama... I was ready to leave, needless to say. :)

Look forward to some updated pics. By the way, if we are friends on facebook, I just upload some pics from my trip to go pick him up. God is perfect!

Back into the swing of things

Sorry about my lack of posting. Things have been a little hectic since I last wrote. But it has been a good hectic if that is possible. Yoseph and I have been settling into a schedule and have bonded well. He is such a sweet boy. I feel very fortunate to have him in my life.

We went to visit our babysitter once again today and their dog grabbed his coat sleeve and began to pull. It was so funny! Yoseph just stood their and watched it happen. Much better response than when we met my dog Raps. He now leans over and tries to kiss Raps on the nose. It is pretty cute.

We went in for his first official dr appointment on Wednesday and got the reports back that he is in good health. They have him on meds for the diarrhea right now. Not sure how long that will take to kick in. He also has a cold of which I have contracted. We are both sniffling around the house. I am tempted to take that nose plunger to myself. ;). I won't, though tempted. Yosi weighs 23.2 lbs in the nude. He is in the 85th percentile for his height.

I start back to work next Tuesday and I am wondering how I will feel about leaving him most of the day. I do miss working, so let's hope it all goes well. I will try to get some pics up and do better at updating this blog. Happy New Year everyone!

Back home in MO to visit my family for the holiday. I fly out on Dec 25th to go back to Ethiopia for my embassy. This came to me as a huge surprise. Court was Nov. 30th and now embassy Is Dec 30th. God has it all in His hands. This will be my best Christmas yet. I get to receive my son.

This brings me to the thought of God sending His son to earth and the true love He has for us. I am feeling so overwhelmed with gratitude to so many, but to my heavenly Father the most. It is hard to put in words how I feel about all of this process. All I know is that I have grown in so many ways. I am thankful for the friends I have made and will make in the future because of Yoseph and his friends.

May all of you experience the significance of Christmas this year. Mine is being brought to me in the form of a 20 month old boy. Thank you God for the gift of Your son and mine. Merry Christmas friends!

Sitting in Dulles airport waiting to fly....

So here we are, sitting in DC waiting to board the flight I have been waiting on for 17 months. Yoseph just turned 19 months Sunday and I can hardly wait to see him. I know he won't have the same reaction as I when we meet, and I am trying to prepare myself for that. What will his little personality be like?

Have you ever had to wait for a really long time for something to happen in your life? I would love to know what it is and how you felt when it finally happened. I am so thankful for many things this Thanksgiving season. I guess it all comes down to His Timing in my life. I thankful that God did not give me my way these past two years. If He would have, then I would not have the perfect childcare set up and I wouldn't be traveling over a holiday. It is all working out for my good. I hope and pray the same is true for Yoseph.

I will try to update on the trip, but it might be through facebook. Thank you all for your prayers. I am on my way Lil' Yo!

11 days

My time has come...

Yes people, we are officially waiting for the court date count down. I will be marking my calendar with the big red X's until Nov. 30th. I have a court date for Yoseph!!! It has taken a little more than 15 months to get this assigned, but it is finally here. I had a friend text me that having to wait this long will only make it sweeter in the end. I think he may very well be correct.

I went to Seabrook Island for the weekend with my friend Heather. We both took Monday off so that we could spend all of Sunday on the island with her brother and his wife. It was such a beautiful weekend. I actually wanted to go for a couple of selfish reasons 1) I love the beach and was missing the sun and ocean 2) I was losing my focus on God and needed some serious down time to get back on track. The beach does that for me.

I don't know why, but something about the nature and water always brings me back to my Creator. It allows me to see how He lavishes His love on me to let me experience the buck in the marsh or the dolphin in the ocean. We had a near mishap with a buck this weekend that is a very funny story when told by me and not Heather. Needless to say...it was a time of reflection on what God is doing in my life.

I will have to say that I was giving myself a pity party this week. I was so disappointed when I didn't get a court date this week. I just knew it was going to happen. Again, not my timing, but His.

So as we are leaving the island, my phone rings and I do not recognize the number. I say out loud, "This might be Lisa P. calling me, so I am going to pick it up." (The music was loud and we had the windows down...this is usual protocol for entering and leaving the island) :0) So the music goes down and believe it or not, it was her! With alot of screaming and saying "Are you serious?!" she said those great words YOU HAVE A COURT DATE!!! I have been waiting to hear those words for a looooooooong time.

God is perfect.

Let the Redeemed of the Lord Say So

This is the title of a song we sang a couple of weeks ago when I was helping with worship. It is so good! They sang it again this weekend. It is ringing around in my head as I type. I am redeemed, I am redeemed...So what does it mean? Something that was of no value has now been considered worthy and of value. It has worth. Only through the blood of Jesus Christ are we redeemed. Thank you God for that redemption. It is nothing on my part, but all on yours.
Needless to say, worship was great this weekend. Well done Forest Hill!

Looking forward to hearing some news about a court date. Courts have been open for almost a week now. I have been in touch with my agency and with my contact in Addis Ababa. My friend, Charity, is over there right now with her husband. They get to meet their little girl tomorrow. She is going to take lots of pictures of Yoseph for me. I am so excited about getting to meet him face to face.

God is Perfect!