THE CALL!

We received THE CALL on Monday morning at 9:35am!

**NOTE: I'll be posting all weekend with details and stories.
It's impossible to share it all in 1 post!!

We are still in a bit of shock, but is simultaneously VERY real. We are beyond excited - words cannot express our joy, love, and hope!!!!!!!!! We received THE CALL 7 days after my 31st birthday. Today marks 10 months since our dossier was sent to Ethiopia. There are several other beautiful snapshots that affirm God's timing is never late and perfect. I've been weeping all week. It's been absolutely, profoundly life-changing!!!

Who are they!?!?! We have 2 beautiful and healthy little ones that we are praying will soon be Diaz's: a 6 month old baby girl and 2 year old boy. They are pure beauty and perfection! As you may know, we cannot post pictures [or email!] until we pass court in Ethiopia. It is unreal how much I already love them. In another post I'll share more about these beautiful kiddos...

We've waited to share with the world all week for a few reasons:
[I've almost exploded because of it!]

1. MONDAY MORNING: Brian was in Indiana with his family when I got the phone call. I was at home. I'll post more on how this was actually an answer to prayer and wonderful day.
2. TUESDAY MORNING: Brian flew home. We wanted to spend Tuesday letting this all sink in and celebrating together. It was the sweetest airport reunion ever!
   
3. THURSDAY: We needed to talk with an international adoption medical specialist before we accepted the referral. We just spoke with him last night. They are doing VERY well medically.
   
4. FRIDAY: We wanted to wait to GO PUBLIC until we had officially accepted the referral.
   

We are overjoyed. Please post comments on the blog [versus on Facebook, twitter or email]. I want to capture your responses to show our kiddos someday!! Nothin' but love!

Struggle Well! Wait in Hope!

A blog friend emailed this to me today and I thought it was so beautiful and spiritually mature. While sometimes well-intentioned Christians want to cover up the pain with spiritual language and slap Bible verses on pain, this is such a deeper spiritually formative way to handle pain and struggle...

"God says, never ignore your struggle with how I do things. Ask every question that rises in your heart as you live in this world. But prepare yourself to struggle even more with My response. You must stumble in confusion before you dance with joy.

Know this: those who live by faith will struggle in ways that those who live to make their lives work will never know. It is that struggle, to believe despite desperate pain and confusion that a good plan is unfolding, that will open your eyes to see Me more clearly. Is that what you want? Will you pay the price?

The price is this: you will tremble in agony as you live in a sinful, self-prioritizing world. You will learn to wait in emptiness and frustrated desire for My plan of love to reveal itself. With confidence in Me and hope in My plan, you will not only feel the pain of living in the valley but also see My glory from the mountaintop of faith.

Only those who struggle in confusion and wait in hope will be strengthened to struggle well and to wait with confidence.

Struggle well! Wait in hope!"

[from 66 Love Letters: A Conversation with God that Invites You into His Story by Dr. Larry Crabb, copyright 2009]

Persistent Prayers

I've been pushing my friend, Maria, to get into her prayer closet for us and pray for our referral to come soon. I got an email from her on Saturday morning saying she'd spent time in that closet at 1am praying for us and our babies. God gave her a Scripture that I hadn't spent time in throughout our adoption, but it was SPOT ON. Tears streamed down my face as a I read her email and what God had said to her about us. For now, I'll just share about the Scripture.
May it encourage and push you in whatever is stretching you these days...

Romans 5:1-11, but mostly 3-5

3Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; 4perseverance, character; and character, hope. 5And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us.

The very next verse starts off with “6: You see, at just the right time”….

From Maria's email: "I feel it is SO close and God is planning it all. But I also felt that there needs to be a sense of “humbleness”. I’m not sure what that means to you, but that word just kept coming. But I kept feeling like God has been humbling you and He wants just a hair more."

I'm so grateful for friends like Maria who've carried us through this process and are waiting with us, showing us more of God and ourselves in the process.