He Has Arrived!

Nate just landed in Monrovia, Liberia!  I received a text from him about 10 minutes ago saying he was safely to his destination!  Nothing else to report yet... but I am so excited I just had to share!!

He Is Off!

Just got off the phone with Nate. He is about to leave Chicago and head to Brussels.  He had a few minor hiccups with travel, but it all worked out.  Nate's flight from Minneapolis to Chicago was delayed so there was a period of time when we thought he may miss his connecting flight!  Thankfully, he was able to get on a different flight to Chicago and made it in plenty of time. 

He also had a little problem with his carry on bags.  We had put a few things in for James that were prohibited items, so he had to check it and it cost some additional cash. 

We have been hearing from our friends Wayne and Shannon, who arrived in Liberia a few days ago, that the visa application process with the embassy is not going smoothly at all. They are there to pick up their little baby.  Please pray for them, as it appears that things have been very stressful since they arrive.  They are scheduled to leave on Wednesday and there is uncertainty as to whether they will be able to get everything cleared up by then.  Our visa process for James will be the same as theirs, so we are feeling a little nervous about it. We are hoping that things will be smoothed out by the time Nate arrives, but the unknowns are causing some anxiety for all of us!  We are hoping that the worst case scenario is that Nate would need to delay his trip home.  Please God, let that be the very worst case!

This has been such a different process then our first adoption.  Everything was very organized and step by step and pretty darn easy.  We worked with an agency in the US, so it was so much easier to get answers to questions and help when we needed it.  This is a completely different situation.  We are hoping the end result will be the same, but I am pretty sure the process has taken 10 years off my life!

We continue to thank God for the way He has provided for us during all of this.  There have been moments when I am giddy with joy watching and seeing what God is doing in our life!! 

Samuel's Tree

Nate's parents bought us a tree in remembrance of Samuel.  I love the sentiment and am thankful to have this ever present reminder of a sweet and special baby that almost came home to us. 

3 Days

We are coming down to it.  Nate leaves on Saturday.  3 DAYS FROM NOW!  We bounce between, excitement, anxiety, frustration and busyness.

The excitement part is obvious.  We are so excited to meet James.  I can't wait to see him smile and learn what makes him smile.  I can't wait to hear his voice and his laugh.  I can't wait to feel what its like to hold him in my arms.  I can't wait to start watching him grow bigger and stronger.  I can't wait to see what God has planned for his life.

The anxiety part is a little more complicated.  There are still so many unknowns.  What really is the extent of his medical condition?  Will he like us? What if our paperwork isn't all in order?  What if we forgot to do something?  What if there are unexpected fees or procedures that we missed? What if Nate get's sick while he is there?  Or hurt or lost?  These are few of the thoughts that have been racing through my mind and when I am not prepared they will sometimes paralyze me with fear.  I don't want to be anxious.  I want to have faith and peace and just KNOW that it will all work out.  But I'm just not there yet.  Pray for me :)

The frustration is solely due to communication, or lack there of.  The fact of the matter is, its different trying to communicate with someone on the other side of the world.  I can't just pick up the phone or write an email and get my questions answered.  Sometimes phones are disconnected or the reception is poor.  Sometimes they don't have internet or electricity on the Liberian side of things so that delays thing.  It's just so frustrating to not know everything I need to know when I want to know it.  But it has taught me patience and how to give up control and that's a good thing.

And busyness... so much busyness.  We live in a busy world, so this is nothing new, but I seem to have reached a whole new level of busyness.  So much to pack and buy and do.  But this is just a short season of and it will be completely and totally worth it!!!!

So, if all goes as planned, Nate will be leaving Minnesota at 3:22pm on Saturday.  I am not sure how much communication I will have with him while he is gone, but I will update as I hear from him!!

Thank you all so much for your continued prayers and support.

Christina

This Is For Real Folks!

The plane ticket has been purchased!  This is for real now!  Nate will be leaving for Liberia on June 22nd and arriving home on July 1st.  21 days from now James will be HERE!!!

Airfare was a little bit more then we anticipated.  We knew James was almost two, but we thought his birthday was a little later in the summer.  It turns out the little guy will be two on the 16th, which ended up being a $2000 bummer because now we need to buy him an airplane seat.  If he was under two, he could have been on Nate's lap, which would have been a little cramped, but MUCH cheaper :)

We continue to trust God that this process will go smoothly.  We would like to ask for continued prayers for James and his health, that there would be no red tape or additional paperwork that needs to be done and that God will provide the needed money.  We are praying that the US Embassy in Liberia will be easy to work with and that there won't be any surprises.   

I honestly can't believe that I will be a mother of four in just a few weeks.  Words can not express how anxious I am to meet my little boy!  

What The What?

My brain is spinning.  I don't even know where to start.  Got a call that they want us in Liberia on June 22nd!!!  What the what???  Already??!!

Everything went through so fast because they were able to transfer all of the immigration stuff and court stuff from Samuel to James.

We found this out about 2 hours ago.  So much to do!  Travel plans!  House preparations!

Once my head stops spinning I will post more details!

Fresh Hope For A New Beginning

It has been three weeks now since Samuel died.  It has been a long three weeks and we have learned a lot about ourselves and our amazing family and friends.  We have spent A LOT of time praying and pondering and discussing how we want to move forward from here.  We were not planning on adopting from Liberia.  Two months ago it was a completely foreign idea to us, but now that we have had our hearts open to it, we can't NOT do this!

So that brings us to little James.  James is associated with the same orphanage Samuel was.  He is almost two years old.  About two months ago, he accidentally ingested caustic soda and destroyed his esophagus so he is not able to eat.  He has a feeding tube placed and currently receives Ensure as his nutrition.  Nate and I have decided that we want to bring this sweet little boy into our family.

So we start again with a fresh hope and excitement!  We are a little more tentative and guarded this time, but we are thanking and praising God for everything he places in our lives!

We aren't really sure what the timeframe will be on this.  We don't have to gather any paperwork, as they can use our paperwork that we had already collected for Samuel's adoption.  The process is already underway in Liberia.  So now we wait!

We feel so blessed that Samuel will always be a part of our family's story, even though it was for a very short time.  I think it is amazing that a little 14 month old boy in Africa was so loved by so many that never met him.  I know that many of you shed actual real tears of sadness over his death and that you grieved with us.  Thank you for your open hearts and your love.

So if you are ready, here is little James... another boy to fall in love with.