A Christmas Miracle!
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How do I even begin the blog post that I've been dying to write for 22 months?!?! WE ARE GOING TO PICK UP JUDAH AND ADDISE TO BRING THEM HOME FOREVER!! That's right!
THE BACK STORY :: Brian actually got the email from another case manager and I didn't [which never happens]. I had found out via email a 30 minutes beforehand that a couple blog friends had received the 28th date; we didn't get that same email. My heart sunk to my toes. We weren't supposed to find anything out until this coming Tuesday morning, so I was hanging on to hope with a loose grip. I showered after hearing about our friends' Embassy date news and talked with God about the myriad of emotions and maturity desires. I was getting ready in our bathroom and Brian came in with the email on his iPhone. He proudly bragged that he had finally received some info about our adoption before I did. I was thrilled he had that moment. I burst into ugly crying. Relief. Joy. The end and the beginning all wrapped up at once. We hugged each other for a while. I called my mom and then texted a few close friends. The rest of yesterday was a whirlwind [as was today!].
THE TRAVEL PLANS :: We are leaving for Ethiopia on Christmas Eve morning. Can you believe that?!? We arrive on Sunday and get to pick up Judah and Addise on Monday morning. They will be with us for good! We will only be in Ethiopia for 5 days. And we will be back home on New Year's Eve. Seriously, it's this magical? Divine? Appointed?
When we got our referral in August, several people [including my brother, Matt, and our prayer warrior friend, Maria] said they'd pray specifically that Judah and Addise would be home by "the end of '10". I told them it was impossible. It didn't phase them. They prayed for it and it's happened.
We are in awe. And panic. And overwhelmed with joy and stress. And absorbing every moment. And making a few last minute trips to Target and Babies R Us. And trying to return phone calls and texts. And sending our family's Christmas gifts. We will be on a plane to hold our babies in just 13 days.
God is good. I've been shamelessly, loudly singing Mariah Carey's "All I want for Christmas is You" in my car for weeks. God heard. Like my friend Christina has been praying over me for over a year, God remembers. He has. We are beyond words...
My prayer warrior friend, Maria, spent some time praying for us this past weekend and sent me this passage from God. She said she didn't hear anything from God about our kids except: Christmas, Christmas, Christmas. Can you believe how specific and good God is? May this remind you of the kind of God we have...
Isaiah 35 - Joy of the Redeemed
1 The desert and the parched land will be glad;
the wilderness will rejoice and blossom.
Like the crocus, 2 it will burst into bloom;
it will rejoice greatly and shout for joy.
The glory of Lebanon will be given to it,
the splendor of Carmel and Sharon;
they will see the glory of the LORD,
the splendor of our God.
3 Strengthen the feeble hands,
steady the knees that give way;
4 say to those with fearful hearts,
“Be strong, do not fear;
your God will come,
he will come with vengeance;
with divine retribution
he will come to save you.”
5 Then will the eyes of the blind be opened
and the ears of the deaf unstopped.
6 Then will the lame leap like a deer,
and the mute tongue shout for joy.
Water will gush forth in the wilderness
and streams in the desert.
7 The burning sand will become a pool,
the thirsty ground bubbling springs.
In the haunts where jackals once lay,
grass and reeds and papyrus will grow.
8 And a highway will be there;
it will be called the Way of Holiness;
it will be for those who walk on that Way.
The unclean will not journey on it;
wicked fools will not go about on it.
9 No lion will be there,
nor any ravenous beast;
they will not be found there.
But only the redeemed will walk there,
10 and those the LORD has rescued will return.
They will enter Zion with singing;
everlasting joy will crown their heads.
Gladness and joy will overtake them,
and sorrow and sighing will flee away.
** Tomorrow, the big reveal of their room will finally hit the blog world. Stay tuned...
