BRAIDS AND BEADS

I have gotten better each time I have done Bereket's hair. Last night I got fancy and did braids and beads together. She loves it. Here's a pic of my 2 hr work!!

VBS

VBS(Vacation Bible School) was this past week and the kids had a blast. Kylie fell in love with the kids who just finished kindergarten. She was a teachers helper. Parker always has fun at VBS. Madison had a great time. She was able to catch up with some friends from school last year. Dawit and Bereket could not wait to go back each day. They all sang songs for us at the end of the week and mom and dad couldn't be prouder. Here is a pic of the kids in their VBS shirts.

DOING GREAT!!

We are a blessed family. The Lord has been so gracious to us. Everyone is continuing to transition smoothly and we are bonding tremendously as a family. It feels as though Bereket and Dawit have always been a part of our lives. Madison even said, she couldn't imagine what life was like before they got here. A little about the kiddos...
Bereket is a ham. She and Parker make a great pair. She has the greatest laugh in the world and a crazy personality like the rest of us. The girls are getting along great. I'm so proud how Kylie and Madison have understood and exampled their roles as the older sisters. I've cornrowed her hair and even beaded it. She seems so excited that mom can do her hair. Neither she nor Dawit remember their mother, so I think this is special for her. I'll post a pic of her beads. I only did a few because we ran out of time for VBS.
Dawit is the sweetest thing in the world. He truly desires to please us but most often his curiousity gets the best of him. He has the most beautiful smile and genuinely seems happy. He looks up to Parker so much and just adores him. Parker is understanding that little brothers are sometimes "annoying", that's a quote from Parker. Parker said he is understanding his sisters more and more each day by having a little brother.:) Dawit is already trying, with the small amount of English he can speak, to tell us about his life in Ethiopia. Selfishly, I'm not sure my heart is ready to hear about his hard life. I am so thankful for these precious children and pray to raise them by Christ's example.
Here are a few pics...more later.

GOD IS GOOD!!!!

For those of you who have been stalking the blog, I'm sorry to have kept you in such turmoil and delay!! My computer is finally fixed. Things are great! Everyone has adjusted with ease so far and each day gets better. It has been such a joy to see how our older children have been dying to self daily for the needs of their new siblings. I am a blessed mom. I will fill everyone in on the details of the trip at a later date, but just wanted to quickly write and say God is GOOD and FAITHFUL and we are blessed!!Here's a few pics to tide you over!!

We arrived in Addis only 10 hours ago and I am already falling in love with Ethiopia and its people. We have witnessed two ceremonial weddings and it is amazing to be face to face with our cultural differences. I love the assembly at the wedding singing and clapping to the beat of  the drum. I am humbled that a people who seem to have to so little seem to have so much joy.  This has challenged my faith today. I wonder if when they look back at me if they see joy. By joy I mean a happiness from deep within. I pray that Christ would resound from my heart and my mouth. We also witnessed a little more at the pool than we bargained for!! 

I met Roxanna today, a friend from the web board. I knew I liked her and now I know I love her. Her entire family is beautiful and sweet. Roxanna has the sweetest spirit. I did not meet her two youngest children as they were asleep, but the four I met were magnificent. They are polite, funny and my favorite, modest. Oh, how I love the passion for modesty Roxanna and her daughters share with me and Kylie. I am one thankful mom for the respect Kylie has for herself and her body. Kylie has truly been a joy and I am so glad we brought her with us. She is already in love with the children here and I am excited to see what the Lord will do with that love.

I cannot tell you how hard it was to be in the same city with our children and not have met them yet. We are meeting them tomorrow. I have slept  a total of 5 hours the past 3 days and I cannot even think about sleeping tonight knowing they will be in my arms tomorrow. I am speechless at the thought. I have so many more thoughts to write, but alas I am at the internet cafe( just for you Joy P.). Please pray for us and our children as we begin the rest of our lives together as a family tomorrow. For tomorrow, we meet face to face.

WE'RE ETHIOPIA BOUND!!!!!!!

I am utterly beside myself that the time has finally come to go and meet our children. I have dreamed the initial meeting at least a hundred different times. I will be so grateful if it is even a portion of what I have dreamed. I hope our children immediately see our love for Christ and for them. We want to radiate Jesus Christ to anyone we come in contact with. Oh, I cannot wait. As I have said many times before, this has been such a long and hard process, but so totally worth it. We are talking about two children's lives forever being influenced by the Gospel. We are talking about our 5 lives here being stretched and challenged by the Lord to be faithful and sacrifice ourselves. I am thankful God has called us to be their parents and pray we are faithful to the call in raising them in the Word. My biggest prayer request would be that the love I feel so in my heart is real and when I wrap my arms around my children, God would be pleased. Thank you, Lord for these gifts and miracles you have allowed us to nurture. I pray you would be pleased with us as their parents and You would find us faithful. You are worthy of our praise and Your grace is sufficient.

See ya on the 31st!! Bereket and Dawit, here we come.

NOW COMES THE FUN PART!!

PACKING!!! We have begun packing for our trip to Ethiopia. We are packing light for ourselves since we have to take two sizes for our children, because we are not really sure which size will be a better fit. We are also packing light for all the donations we will be taking to AHOPE. I am so excited about visiting there and loving on the children. All of the children at AHOPE are HIV+. They have no one to tuck them in at night and tell them of their great love for them. I want to be that person in the upcoming week. We have blankets, crib sheets, stuffed animals, blow pops, sunglasses and Airheads to give the kids. I know it will be an emotional trip, but I am already asking the Lord to change us forever. Please be in prayer for our hearts to be forever changed.

GOD HAS ANSWERED US AGAIN!!

The Lord has heard our cry and answered our petition for an embassy date of May
27th. I am absolutely in awe of all He has done this entire process. He has had to move mountains more than once for us. We do serve a mighty God!! My heart is overflowing with joy and thanksgiving knowing in 8 days we will meet our children for the very first time. This is the very plan set forth before time began. It is playing out as the Lord has ordained it to be. Dawit and Bereket have waited so long to have a family. Our children have lived through so much pain, losing their parents at such young ages due to AIDs, cancer and severe poverty. The Lord knew all along we would be their parents and they would be our children. I will sing praises to the Lord for all He has done. Your lovingkindness is better than life. My lips will praise You!! Be still and know that He is God!!

THURSDAY'S HERE AND STILL WAITING...

Thursday wasn't the day either for us to receive our birth certificates either. We are hoping and praying still for an embassy date of May 27th. Please join us in praying for them tomorrow. They are ready, today just no one went and picked them up. It is very frustrating when a week's different of embassy date means $1500 more dollars for our plane tickets that we don't have. We are continuing to trust the Lord that we have asked and believed we will receive this date. We are praying it is HIS will. We will praise Him whatever is the outcome. We cannot wait to meet our children and love them face to face. More tomorrow.

WEDNESDAY'S HERE AND STILL WAITNG...

Well it's Wednesday and we still haven't gotten our birth certificates we were promised this past Friday. We are still hopeful and have been told again we should get them tomorrow. Hopefully, this is the Lord's will and we will receive them tomorrow. If we get them before Friday,we should still be able to get the embassy date of May 27. This is the date we have been praying and specifically asking the Lord for. We are trusting in His sovereignty and His will for this adoption...every single part. Hopefully, tomorrow I can post the announcement that we have received our birth certificates.

TUESDAY'S HERE AND STILL WAITING...

Well, we still didn't get our birth certificates today for our children, but we were told our agency did pick up the letter needed to get the birth certificates. I'm going to call that progress. We are hoping and praying for them tomorrow. If we get them tomorrow we should still be able to make the 27th embassy date. If we had gotten them today, we could have left this Friday and had an embassy date of
May 20th. The Lord is sovereign and His timing is perfect. I cannot tell you how peaceful I feel in my heart after a hard day last Thursday, the Lord has worked much in my heart. After I repented on Friday, I felt so much peace. It has been a peace that has stayed with me since Friday. Not to mention, our pastor preached a sermon on our Considering Our God of Peace. Imagine that...the Lord spoke to me throughout the entire weekend and has continued throughout today. His Word is powerful and sharper than a two-edged sword. Thank you, Lord for being my peace.

MONDAY'S HERE AND STILL WAITING...

We were told we would get the birth certificates for our children today, but in Ethiopia today, there was no power. They need power to print them. Everything has been done that can be done by hand, so please pray they have power tomorrow so we can get our birth certificates and an embassy date. We are still praying and trusting the Lord. We are asking God specifically for May 27th, if it be His will. The plane tickets are a part of the reason we are specifically petitioning that date of the Lord. The tickets go up $200/person June 1. Another reason and probably the main one is we just want to get our children. We have been at this for a total of 17 months...and it has been a long 17 months. We are ready to be a family and start bonding face to face. We have been blessed to send many gifts to our children with other families traveling, so we have been bonding thus far only through pictures. May God grant that we would meet face to face May 25. May He also grant our birth certificates tomorrow. In Jesus Name. Amen

STILL WAITING

We were told our agency would have our children's birth certificates on Friday, well...let's just say we're still waiting for them. Now they have been promised for Monday. I have to admit the waiting for me just came to a head on Friday and I felt a moment of discouragement that I hadn't felt before. It is so hard to be so close to meeting your children for the very first time and bringing them home forever, for it to just be pushed out of your grasp a little further. I know and trust in the Sovereignty of the Lord, but Friday my heart struggled. Soon after my repentance of wavering, the Lord granted me peace once again. Thank you, Father that You are merciful to me, though by Your grace alone I am saved, I am still a sinner. I wouldn't want to be who I was before this process began, but it is ever before me how far the Lord still need to bring me. I am His and He will refine me. Refining has to hurt so we won't want to be who we were before. So, why are we always fighting going back there, because the spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.
I am weak, Lord and desperately thankful for your grace. Praying Monday the Lord will provide our birth certificates and get an embassy date for the 27th of May still. With God, all things all possible.

PRAYER REQUEST

Please go to the Lord on our behalf for His intervening on us getting our children's birth certificates. We cannot get an embassy date scheduled until we have these in our hands. We are truly praying for an embassy date of May 27th, this is a very feasible date being 4 weeks after our passing court. Plane tickets are going to be hard to come by this month, but we are trusting our Savior. Thank you for your continued prayers for us to bring our children home. This has been a long journey and we are ready to be a family.

WAIT UPON THE LORD

Each of us have our own feelings of nervousness, excitement, joy, anticipation and even fear as we await the homecoming of Dawit and Bereket. I'm not sure words can even express all the emotions we are feeling around our home these days. We have been in this process for so long, it almost doesn't seem real that they are finally coming home.

I think may all be the busyness of the "getting ready". We have so much to do and as soon as you think you're finished, you only find more to do. We appreciate all of your prayers as this will be a touch time of adjustment for everyone involved. We are trusting God because we know this is His plan for us. Even if our children desired to be adopted this is still an unknown to them and also one more transition.

We have spent the last 17 months preparing our kids and trying to consider every scenario we best as we can. We are fully leaning on the Lord to fill in the gaps. We have felt the strength of the Lord and His leadership of our steps as we have walked this journey to our children. We are so thankful for God and His grace.

Through my struggling during this process, the Lord has reminded me to trust Him and Him alone and trust in His timing. I have to admit this has not been easy. We still don't have a confirmed embassy appointment. This makes booking tickets nearly impossible. We were told May is almost completely booked for travel to Ethiopia since it is the last month before ticket prices rise. We will trust you anyway, Lord. I know the Lord has been growing me during this process as I have felt the pain of each growth spurt. He has been challenging me and keeping me in His will and not my own.
I have often read and reread the following verse In Isaiah 40.

Yet those who wait for the LORD
Will gain new strength;
They will mount up with wings like eagles,
They will run and not get tired,
They will walk and not become weary.

Here's a video to remember to wait on the Lord...

TRAVEL

I cannot wait to be on our way to Addis Ababa to meet our children for the very first time and bring them home forever. Just the thought of this overwhelms my heart with joy. I wonder what they will think and if they will even understand. Our daughter, Bereket, doesn't speak Amharic, which is the primary language in Addis Ababa. She is from a region known as Kembatta. Dawit is actually from the same region, but has been immursed in Amharic for the past 17 months. I am trusting the Lord to prepare their hearts and speak to them...the Lord knows all languages. The only language I know to show them is LOVE. I am sure they will recognize this language even though it has been a long time since a parent has loved them due to death and being placed in the orphanage. I am thankful the Ethiopian people care for one another and am sure our children have been loved in our absence. Several families traveling before us have met our children and loved them for us. They have told them of our great love for them and assured them we are coming soon to bring them home, of course through an interpreter. Everyone says Dawit is all smiles and seems very excited at the opportunity to have another family. This is so sweet to my heart. He lost his parents to death so young. They say Bereket is sooooo shy. I'm sure she'll come out of that with this bunch. Again, I am anxious to go and trying to remain patient for the Lord's perfect timing. This is the hard part....more waiting.

GETTING READY!!

There has been much preparation anticipating the arrival of our children from Ethiopia. We looked for a home with an unfinished bonus room when we moved so we would be able to complete it ourselves making sure to use every square inch, knowing 3 girls would be sharing a room. It is completed and is right at 455 sq ft. We made built ins in the closet and a window seat for extra storage. There is a queen bed on one side and a king on the other, each have their own dresser as well, and the girls still have plenty of room in the middle of the room to play. We added a half bath and a huge walk in closet. I am so thankful Michael is able to do this kind of work. It saved us thousands of dollars. I am blessed to have such a God-fearing man as my husband. Thank you, Lord for Michael. He is a gift from you.
The boys room is a typical bedroom with a double closet. There is a full-twin bunk bed which Parker is excited about. He wants his brother to sleep on top, so he can look out for him. Pretty sweet big brother. Needless to say, we cannot wait to hear of our embassy date so we can meet and bring our children home. Please pray we receive on this month while we have people willing to watch our other children before school is out and people begin to vacation.
With much prayer, we have decided to take Kylie with us. With her heart for missions and orphans, I know God will change her heart forever and grow her much during this trip. I am trusting the Lord will grow and change Michael's and my heart also.
Dawit and Bereket we love you and are coming to bring you home.

THE LORD ANSWERED....

It is with a gratful and full heart that I am able to introduce our precious son to you, Dawit Addisu Lane Stephens. We are so thankful for the Lord granting us his custody to be our son. We are so blessed to have two new additions to our family. No more waiting, here they are.


Psalm 68:3-5;33-35

3 But let the righteous be glad; let them exult before God;
Yes, let them rejoice with gladness.
4 Sing to God, sing praises to His name;
Lift up a song for Him who rides through the deserts,
Whose name is the LORD, and exult before Him.
5 A father of the fatherless and a judge for the widows,
Is God in His holy habitation.
33 To Him who rides upon the highest heavens, which are from ancient times;
Behold, He speaks forth with His voice, a mighty voice.
34 Ascribe strength to God;
His majesty is over Israel
And His strength is in the skies.
35 O God, You are awesome from Your sanctuary.
The God of Israel Himself gives strength and power to the people.
Blessed be God!

NO NEWS YET!!

The power was out all day in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia so we have no news of our court hearing. Hopefully, we will hear first thing in the morning. I have to admit this waiting is hard, but it has been good for my faith. The Lord has been exercising my faith and it is so hard to die to myself.
The Lord was very gracious to me today by extending me mercy and giving me a peaceful heart all day. I got anxious for about 30 mins and then was quickly reminded to be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. So, I sought the Lord and His Word to comfort my heart and He was and always is faithful. We will rest in Christ tonight and wait for the Lord to answer us tomorrow.
I am anticipating that the son in our hearts will be legally ours tomorrow, Lord willing.

COURT TONIGHT !! #5

Wanted to remind everyone reading to please pray about our court date tonight as we sleep. It will hopefully be our last one. Maybe #5 is a charm?! If not, we are trusting and resting in the grace of the Lord to sustain us until such a time as we will be able to celebrate the custody of our son. Thank you for your prayers. The Lord is good and withholds nothing from those who walk upright.