And then we come up for air!

21 days. It's been 21 days since we saw the most beautiful face ever! It's been so fun to share M's sweet face with so many friends. It's also given us the opportunity to share our testimony a few times-- how God has wonderfully formed our family and changed our lives through adoption. What a blessing!

It's fun to re-read "THE call" post. I can tell that I was just bursting at the seams while writing it!! :) We're now settling in to waiting again and I'm wrapping my brain around a March or April court date. (now, I'd be lying if I didn't admit that I'm secretly hoping that we'll be that random family who gets a crazy fast court date!!) But, who knows! Currently, I'm planning on traveling for the court date with either my dad or my sweet friend (who I mentioned in my referral post) or both!! We've decided that Mike, Jake, and I will go together to bring M home. Jake is going to want to play with his brother and not really care much about the touring, shopping, and site-seeing-- so the first trip won't be as fun for him.

So, for now, we wait. But, with Christmas, this month is already flying by! And, my amazing church friends have already planned a shower for the end of January. So.... I still have things to look forward to as we are anxiously awaiting a court date!!

Below... some pretty cute Christmas pics.

On our way to get Jake from school and go and see Santa and meet Daddy for lunch.

The first picture that Grace is genuinely smiling. She's excited about Santa this year.

...and a lost tooth at lunch!

The kids are soooo excited about their new brother. They both carried around his picture in their school backpacks-showing him off to their friends and teachers. I have found one of M's pictures being used as a bookmark in one of Jake's books he's reading. We have some cute family pics with a framed photo of M in them as well. And, his new stocking is hung by the chimney with care!

We LOVE you sweet and precious boy and we can't wait to bring you home!!!!!

Thankful for THE CALL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I can't believe that I finally get to write this post! We got the call TODAY!!! 1.5 hours after I knew Gladney was closed for the holidays. I was having my own little pity party and trying to figure out how I was going to fake my way through the Thanksgiving holiday and pretend I was happy, when inside, I was falling apart. But, God IS good, and knew the exact and perfect time for us to learn about our boy! Of course, yesterday, Mike was home because we were all snowed in, but today... he had a meeting at work that he couldn't miss!!! So, Natalie called me at 11:20 (1:20 in Texas)to tell me our referral was ready!! I instantly called Mike and he talked to his boss and his boss told him to forget the meeting and to head straight home!!!! It was almost an hour till we could call Natalie back. But, we opened up the laptop, sat down as a family in front of the fire, and saw the most BEAUTIFUL boy I've ever seen!!!!! he's 4 years old and perfect!!! Gorgeous, sparkling eyes, and a HUGE dimple up high on his cheekbone, and a smile to melt your heart! He's amazing!!!!! He radiates joy! Of course, we instantly accepted his referral and then I was off to the store to print off all the pictures we got! Have I mentioned yet how cute he is?!?!?! Today was already to be a busy day, as we had a turkey prepped and stuffing to be made to take down to church this evening for the Thanksgiving dinner we were serving. But, while Mike stayed home to keep cooking, I ran out to deliver the news to my precious friend who has walked me through my highs.... and more recently my LOWS in this journey-- and I just had to celebrate with her!! (and.... if I had had the time, and if the roads weren't still covered in snow and ice, I would have piled the whole family in the car and driven all over town showing off our boy to all of our friends and family). But, instead, I headed home, picked up the family, and headed to my parents' house to drop off Grace (she wasn't going to come to serve at the church tonight). So, both kids knocked on their door and my parents opened the door to the kids waving their new brother's pictures and squealing in delight!!! And then.... we got to head to church to show off our boy to our incredible church family!! What a day/night this has been!!!! I don't think I've truly processed it yet. I think I just can't believe that the wait is finally over. Man, it took a toll on my body-- both mentally and physically. But, God carried me through and I know it has been such a refining time for me. Hard, but worth every moment!!

I'm not even focusing on the "what nexts". 3-5 months till court? maybe? Right now, I'm just loving my family and loving my boy!!!!!!

Not much to say these days.

This blog has definitely been mostly adoption based. I started the blog right when we got our referral for Grace (June 2007). I kept it up and mainly focused on adoption stuff and family. But honestly, after almost 13 months of waiting for our new little guy, I'm feeling pretty tapped out in the blogging department (as you can probably tell from my several past posts!) So, I'm hoping and praying that this is going to be my LAST post until we get our referral. Because really, even these two cuties are getting fed up with the wait (or maybe they're just fed up with having such an emotionally unstable mom these past months!) Either way, we're BEYOND ready to know who our little guy is!!!!!

Happy Halloween!!!

Batman and Batgirl wish you a Happy Halloween!!

Fun days

I decided not to write a mopey post about hitting the 1-year of waiting mark. So, instead.... here's a picture walk of life this fall! Little brother will join our family in His perfect timing. :)

God's Story

11. Yep, it's true. Today marks 11 months on the waitlist for a 4-5 year old boy. Who knew? I will say that this has been quite a journey for us! On one side, I just "assumed" that this adoption would be FAST!! I mean, not many people request a little boy. But, deep down, since before we even sent in our paperwork to Gladney, I had a feeling that this would be a tough road to travel. I don't know why-- just a feeling I had.

From the beginning, we knew this was going to be God's story that He's telling. But, it's been tough and I've definitely found myself on my knees crying out, "why?" "What's taking so long?" My momma arms feel empty! My heart has broken over and over. And, I've definitely had some not so graceful moments in this wait that I'm not too terribly proud of. But, even through some of my toughest moments, I have felt a deep peace about this journey. I know God has our boy and He's getting him ready. Back in August, when we had surpassed any type of estimated wait time, I called our case worker and we talked. She was able to get some info for me and give me a little insight in to what's been going on with our case. Though the news was a bit shocking-- again, I just felt such a strong presence of God's hand working in all of this. At that point, we had lost 5 potential matches and the in-country staff was currently working on match #6!! It's hard to explain, because so many around us were confused, frustrated, and upset for us-- and don't get me wrong-- so was I-- but, the peace was still there. I knew God was working and obviously our timing was not aligning with His timing and He was working the kinks out so His perfect boy for us would be ready in His perfect timing!

(this is NOT the norm with Gladney, and I think all of the matches have fallen through on the orphanages' end, not on Gladney's end!)

So, here we are at 11 months. Though I wish my boy was upstairs, tucked in bed right now with his sister and brother.... I will choose to wait-- with the Lord's strength, gracefully-- until His perfect timing is revealed.

**We are on to match number 7. Lucky number 7?? I sure hope! :)

The Search has Ended!

It's true. For the last 3 years, I have been searching for a hair product that defines Grace's curls. And, today, I have found it!

This product is AMAZING!!! To use it, all I did was comb out her wet hair, section by section, and then rub a bit of the product in the palm of my hands and coat it throughout her hair. Normally, when I come out Grace's hair-- it's HUGE. But, not today. Beautiful, perfect, gorgeous curls!!!

A new year....

My little (well, not so little anymore) guy, started 1st grade yesterday! He's loving it, but this momma heart is missing her boy, who is now at school ALL day!

So, I'm spending my days with my girl.... and her tutu and leotard!! :)
And, I'm starting to get excited again about getting the call!! Unless, yet another match falls through, it really, truly, just has to be any day now-- or at least within the next few weeks!!

And then there was 10!

This WILL be the last number post. This WILL be the last number post. This WILL be the last number post!!!!!!!

My Joy

Same old stuff.....

Yep. We're still here. Waiting. But... it's OK. I will admit, July was ROUGH!!!! I was in a huge funk! My anxiety was off the charts--- I had convinced myself that something terrible was going to happen to me, Mike, the kids, etc... and that's why we weren't getting our referral. Yeah. That was a fun place to be in! UGHHH... But, things are better. We got some information in regards to the length of our wait. And strangely, it has given me great peace! Yes, I still want our referral NOW, but I know that they've been working their tails off for our family, but the right boy just hasn't been ready yet. I still have hopes for the end of the month or early Sept., but right now, I'm OK. And... if we get our referral tomorrow or the end of Sept.-- nothing can happen to our file until the courts reopen anyway, so that's making things easier as well. )

So, there you have it. Not much new on the adoption front. But, we've been having a great summer and are gearing up for back to school. I can't believe I'll have a first grader and a preschooler!!!

Never in my wildest dreams...

Getting HARD!!

OK. Who am I kidding. It's not getting hard, it's already been extremely hard!!! We have been "unofficially" sitting at #1 for a 4-5 year old boy for 8 months, 2 weeks, and 4 days!!! I could be reflective about the wait, how I know it's strengthened me, etc..... but today, I'm just tired. Tired of "waiting".

Captured by the curls!

I have to say..... Grace LOVES her hair! She talks about it, always requests to wear it "big"-- "no braids, mommy"-- and whenever anyone makes a comment about it, she always says, "thank you. my mommy made it!!" (melts my heart) A few weeks ago I put in about a dozen box braids. I just really needed to slather it with oil and moisturizer and keep it healthy.
The braids lasted 2 weeks!!! YEAH! Over the weekend, I took them out. The morning I took them out, Grace said, "I just can't stop talking about my big hair! I need to go up to my room and look in the mirror." And she proceeded to admire her hair and dance in her mirror for the majority of the morning!!!
Yesterday. Grace knew she was going to get her hair cut. She had been telling everyone over the weekend that Tete, an Ethiopian lady, was going to cut her hair. She was thrilled! Her hair appointment lasted 1.5 hours. She washed and conditioned it. Combed it out. Blew dry it straight--wowza!!! And then trimmed all the dry ends!! Grace was loving every second of it!!
The rest of the day, Grace admired her hair! She wanted to show everyone. She was constantly touching it. I think it's super cute, but honestly, I love the curls. They are Grace. Her hair is as big as her personality!

But... I say all of this because I LOVE the fact that Grace LOVES her hair. It's different. She gets A LOT of attention for it. She could (and someday may)-- get tired of the attention. But now, I will enjoy the time we get together when I do her hair. I will capture the smiles and silly faces she makes in the mirror while flipping her hair around. I will continue to do my homework and learn more and more about her hair and how to keep it natural and healthy. I am blessed by all that is my daughter!!! She is my ray of sunshine.

Selling Tees and Necklaces!!

A bit about the tees-- I started thinking of a design after our Orphan Sunday at our church, back in November. I really wanted something that was more than just a shirt for adoption. So, "love, pray, protect" came to mind in thinking about orphan care through sponsorship, praying for the widow and orphan, adopting, and foster care. I think most of our friends and family are doing at least one of those-- if not more!! :) And, after help from some very talented friends-- the final design was finished!
The women's tees are Tultex, fine jersey, 100% pre-shrunk cotton. (they're really soft and nice and long) They seem to be more of a Junior's cut/style, so it's recommended to order a size or two up!

**I'm adding an additional women's tee. The Tultex brand are cute, but they do run small-- I'm wearing a large, and I usually wear size small tees (Old Navy, Gap style, etc...) So, the second style is still a women's cut, but not as "fitted"-- but definitely not as boxy as a unisex cut! It's a Gildan Ladies' 4.5 oz. SoftStyle™ Ringspun T-Shirt.... definitely true to size.

The men's tees are Gildan, Ultra cotton, 100% pres-shrunk cotton. They are true to size.
(the words on the guys' shirt came out a darker brown than was expected so the brown will be a bit lighter/brighter on the next printed batch.)

ORDERING INFO: I am taking pre-sale orders for the t-shirts. You can order through the paypal link on the right side of my blog.

Click on the image to see the necklaces bigger!

Necklaces: The necklaces are a scrabble tile pendant with a clear and hard ice resin coating on the top. You can order those through paypal as well. The color/design are the following:
**going from left to right:

1. Green Damask 2. Two-tone green damask 3. Turquoise scroll 4. Turquoise damask 5.Pink scroll 6. Light blue damask

Please feel free to email me if you have specific questions: suzi_little @ hotmail.com

T-Shirts and Necklaces for sale... and an AWESOME fundraiser!!!!

Well, after MONTHS (seriously, we had a rough design of the shirts back in November!!), we finally got our shirts finished and printed!! I also have made some necklaces. By tonight or tomorrow, I will have paypal links for people to order tees and necklaces!! :) But, I'm excited about how they turned out and wanted to share.We also had a fundraiser at the house last night and did a Raffle/Auction Night!! Friends and family donated items to have raffled off--and we even had a few items in a silent auction. It was lots of fun and a special way to spend the evening surrounded by wonderful friends who are walking this adoption road alongside of us (and even carrying us, well me.... when the wait is too much to bear!!!)





And.... yesterday was 8 months of waiting!! Oh, how I hope THIS is the week!!!!! ( I know Gladney's FBI list doesn't represent all the waiting families, but according to the list, we have been in the #1 spot-- for a 4-5 year old boy-- for 8 months!!!) It's been hard... but I'll continue to wait for the perfect boy God has chosen for our family!!

Happy Referralversary, sweet Grace!!!

Three years ago today, we saw our sweet girl's face for the first time!! It was a wonderful day, but she was a wee little one, so there was some fear there as well. But, oh, what an amazing, fun, spicy, spirited, hilarious, silly, sweet, wonderful little lady she has blossomed in to!!!!

We love you, Gracie girl!!!!!!!

Referral photos: our tiny princess-- 7 weeks, 4.3lbs.

getting bigger... and that's Grace's BFF Ruby's leg in the picture (at Hannah's Hope)

3 years later.........

Laughin' it up with Ruby!!!!!!

Well, today marks month 7 on the waitlist for our 4-5 year old boy!!!! Oh, how my heart is breaking. Over the past few months I've had to let go of a lot of expectations I had created for my little family. I truly thought we'd be home by now and we'd be getting ready to enjoy the summer bonding and getting to know each other before the craziness of the school year starts back up in the fall. Little guy could be ready for kindergarten and I was really hoping to have a chunk of time with him before sending him off to school!! But, obviously, that was not God's plan for us. And, I'm starting to be OK with that. I will wait as long as God wants us too, because in this wait, He is loving me. He is loving my boy. He is loving my entire family! And in that, I'm at peace. I do wish we'd have a few answers as to "why" we've been waiting for sooo long, but, for now, I guess we're not to know the details quite yet. His story will be told through this, and it will be His glory that shines through. I just need to step aside so God can work. :) I've also realized, that in this wait, I'm learning more about the depth of Christ's love for me. And no matter how messed up I am, how many mistakes I make, how sinful I am.... He loves me NO MATTER WHAT!! And, as I step away from the fairytale I've created of bringing my boy home, I'm going to need Christ's love to love my boy the way he deserves to be loved! As my sweet friend said, Love is a Fruit of the Spirit for a reason-- we NEED Christ to love the way He wants us to!

So, thank you Lord for giving me this wait to learn more about you and the depth of your love!!! Thank you for preparing my heart to LOVE my boy--because this momma's heart will mess up, make BIG mistakes, and feel broken. But, through you, I pray that my boy will only feel your steadfast and unconditional love!


***and I sure do hope this is my LAST number post I have to make!!!!! Because these two cuties really want their brother home!!!!!