Embassy Appointments and Other Things

Thank you so much for your prayers for our adoption process!  We are getting so close!!

I wanted to give you a brief update on where we are.  Since my last post, we got our Embassy appointments.  They were actually last week.  However, we have not heard anything about them yet (i.e. did they go ok?, was all the paperwork there?, etc.).  We are praying and hoping to hear something this week!

We have also sent in all the paperwork to get our visas to travel.  It was a little weird putting our passports and yellow fever vaccination cards in the mail and hoping they didn't get lost somewhere.  They didn't though.  They have arrived at the Embassy in Washington, D.C. (we may have stalked the USPS website with our tracking number) and we hope to get them back at the end of the week.

So once we get our visas and hear that Embassy went ok, what's left?  Emmalyn has to get her visa and then we can travel to Congo!!  It is seriously so close!  Like we are down to just weeks away (at least we hope)!

The question has been asked several times- "What can we do?  What can we send?" 

Well, you can send a couple of things if you so desire. 

1. Small toys- we are going to take these to pass out to the kids at the different orphanages.  They need to be fairly small since they have to fit in one suitcase/dufflebag. 

2. Non-perishable Candy- we are also going to take some candy with us to pass out to the kiddos.  I am thinking like dum dum suckers, smarties, etc.

3. Size 3T clothes- these would be for Emmalyn.  I am just guessing that this is the size that she will wear.  We have several things already, but we don't have many bottome (shorts or pants) or pajamas.  Please don't go out and buy anything.  I am just saying this mostly for people who may be cleaning out their  closets and may have some hand-me-downs that would work.  We know that she will grow quickly so we don't need tons of stuff just yet. 

Most importantly, though, you can just pray.

1. Pray for Emmalyn- that she will remain healthy, that she is being fed, that she is being taken care of, that she will not be moved again (she has been moved to a different place again since my last post), that God is preparing her for our family

2. Pray that we will hear good news about Embassy quickly.

3. Pray that we get our visas back by the end of the week.

4. Pray for our family- that we will trust God in His timing, that God is preparing us for Emmalyn

5. Pray for timing of travel- We need someone (preferably our parents) to take care of our children while we are gone to Congo.  However, my sister and Eric's sister are getting married the 2nd week of October and it doesn't look like our parents can come to AZ if we travel in October.  Also, Eric is the one marrying the two couples so it would be a good idea if we are home by then :)

6. Pray for the other families within our agency's adoption group.  Many of their children have jiggers in their feet that are absolutely awful!  They need surgery as quickly as possible.  If they do not get the surgery, their feet will get infected to the point where they could possibly lose limbs or even worse- death could occur if left untreated. Our agency is trying to raise the funds to pay for the surgery for each child.  They also need about 3 people to travel to Congo to take care of the children after the surgery is over.  If you would like to read more about this go to www.projectfeet.wordpress.com

Oh how I love her and can't wait to hug and kiss her!

Love,
Brittany

Adoption Prayer Requests

Here is another quick adoption update along with a couple of prayer requests:

Since my last post, our I600 has been approved from USCIS!!  So excited about that!  We are now waiting to hear the dates that our Embassy appointments have been scheduled and for Emmalyn to have her passport.  Originally, we were told that she already had her passport done, but then we received word that it wasn't complete because she has been sick. We don't know how sick or even what kind of sick, but when I heard that news I had this immediate urgency that we need to go get her.  Also, we found out last night that she has been moved from the place she was staying to an orphanage. 

The good news in all of this is that our agency director and 3 other families are in Congo this week.  Those families have just met their children for the first time today!!!  So excited for them!!  In fact, I just checked facebook and one of the families had posted pictures which totally brought me to tears.  Our agency director is supposed to be seeing Emmalyn today and checking on her and getting some new pics!  And hopefully she is finding out when our Embassy appointment is scheduled.

So, here are the prayer requests:

1. Pray for the families meeting their children for the first time. Pray that the transition is fairly easy and the kiddos adjust and bond to their parents.

2. Pray for our agency director to see all the children and get updates on all the cases.

3. Pray that Emmalyn's passport is done and Embassy appointments have been scheduled (and that they are soon).

4. Pray for Emmalyn- that her sickness is gone and that she can stay healthy until we go pick her up.  And that she is adjusting at the orphanage with new caregivers, new kids, etc. 

I have decided to show her picture in this post.  I was going to wait until we traveled, but I want you to see the precious face of the little girl you are praying for.

Isn't she sweet?

Praying that our "gotcha" day is soon!!

Thanks for your prayers and support throughout our whole adoption process!!!


Brittany

Quick Adoption Update

I have had several people ask me lately about what the latest is on our adoption.  If you are one of those people, thank you for asking and thank you for your concern. 

The reason I haven't given an update lately is because there is really nothing to update.  We are waiting once again :)

Here is where we are though:  Our paperwork and case have been submitted to USCIS (US Citizenship and Immigration Services).  In adoption lingo, this means filing our I600.  This basically means that someone reviews our case and looks at all the paperwork and approves that it is ok for Emmalyn to immigrate here.  I found out today that the officer assigned to our case has it on her desk, however she has a couple of cases before ours.  Please pray for quick approval!!

After this is approved, we get an Embassy appointment in Congo.  Our lawyer will represent us there.  If everything goes well at the Embassy, then visas can be issued.  Then we can travel!!!  Oh Happy Day that will be!!!

So the next question everyone always asks is, "so how long does all that take?"  And the answer is we don't know.  There are a couple of families working with our agency that just had Embassy appointments last week.  They are preparing to travel in August.  We are thinking we will travel in September, but we just don't know.  And we won't know until we get the phone call. 

We just wait and pray and wait some more and pray and try to get things prepared and then wait some more and pray and then learn a couple of words in Lingala and then wait and pray some more.  It feels like the story of our life.  But God has taught us so much in the wait and I wouldn't trade that. 

You can pray for us and for Emmalyn and our case.  Pray that things go smoothly with USCIS and the Embassy.  Pray that we get to travel soon to bring her home to her family. 

Thanks friends and family for supporting, caring about, and loving our family!!

Brittany

What We've Been Up To

It's been a while, yet again, since I have last posted on this blog.  What can I say?  The craziness of summer is in full swing, and I literally haven't had many minutes to even be on the computer at all, much less complete a blog entry. 

Our third mission team for the summer just left a couple of days ago, and we have spent these last couple of days just spending time together as a family. I am trying to cherish these last couple of weeks because it will be time for Ella to start school again.  Yes, you read that correctly. Ella will start school in TWO weeks!!  It seems that summer has gone by in a blink of an eye!!

Nevertheless, I thought I would give you a quick update of what we've been up to.


1. Swimming/Playing in the water- Since it's been over 100 degrees pretty much everyday since the middle of May, the only way to stay cool is to be in the water.  We've done as much of this as possible.



Playing in the sprinkler is one of their fav things!

Fixing to jump in the pool!

I love Brayden's face in this one!

Ella @ the aquatic center

Brayden @ the aquatic center- what a crazy kid!

2. Trip to KY- We took 6 of our youth girls to Crossings church camp in Kentucky.  Thankfully, both sides of our family are just about a 15 minute drive from the camp so we got to see them as well!

Hanging out at my mom and dad's before going to camp

Look what I can do!

Swinging



Ella and Jace playing in the water again (this time at Memaw's)

Always being goofy :)

This is Eric doing the zipline with some of the kids at camp (He's on the left side.)

Jace and I riding in the boat. (I should mention that Jace is the son of one our youth girls. He didn't just magically appear in our family. Although I would take him in a minute :)

3. VBS- Because of the nature of our "job" (if you would call it that), our kiddos have experienced VBS 6 different times.  Each time has been in a different place with different kids.  They have loved every second of it!

Ella (in the middle) with the mission team teaching the kids the song

Brayden (far right) in one of his classes

Excited to have friends visiting from KY for one of the VBS's!!

Brayden and his buddy

4. Girls Day and Boys Day-  This past Saturday we had a Girls Day and Boys Day.  We started the afternoon with all of us getting some lunch together.  Then we went to the movie theatre.  Ella and I watched the movie "Brave" together while Brayden and Eric watched "The Amazing Spiderman".  It was a great day that both kiddos really enjoyed getting to spend one-on-one time.

Here we are actually watching the movie (which is why the pic is so dark)

5. Our Garden- We planted a garden this year and some fruits and vegetables actually grew!  It is seriously a big deal because we kill everything we plant!!  We have gotten watermelon, okra, and green beans so far.  The corn and peppers didn't turn out :(   But we are excited about the other things though!!  Eric and the kids say that the watermelons are the best they have ever tasted! (I don't care for watermelon so I wouldn't know.  I'm excited about the green beans!)  After picking all the "stuff" from the garden and bringing it into the house to prepare, it brought back so many memories for me.  It felt like just yesterday that I was back at my Granny and Grandaddy's house watching them break beans and preparing the food we were going to have the rest of the year.  I wish I would have paid more attention now :) But so glad that I have those memories and excited that my kids will have the memories of us doing it together this year.  We are definitely gardening again next year (now that we know we didn't kill everything) and hopefully gonna have a bigger garden!

A while back

Our watermelon

Some of the green beans

Well, there is more to say, but I need to go cook supper and spend some time with my babies!  Remember we only have 2 more weeks left of summer. I'm gonna try to make the most of it!!


Love,
Brittany

New Life in Christ

My sweet Ella was baptized by her daddy a couple of weeks ago!!   It was such a precious moment for our family!! 

I've been meaning to post pics since that night, but I am just now getting around to it.  (This is the season for mission teams and the busiest time of year for us.)

She was so excited!!

Buried with Him through baptism

Raised to walk in the newness of life!!

Wow!!  I may have cried a little :)

Thank you Jesus for giving my daughter new life!!  May You receive all glory and praise!!!


Brittany

Growing Up

My sweet Ella Grace is growing up.  Of course I've noticed this over the past year, but it seems like over the past month she has become a big kid.

It all started with this:

No training wheels

She literally decided one day she didn't want to have training wheels anymore, and the next day she was riding her bike without them!  She has such determination!!


And then this happened not too long after:

See the missing tooth?

She was so excited to lose her first tooth.  She has been asking me all year long when she was going to lose her tooth.  You see they have a chart in her kindergarten class tracking how many teeth everyone has lost and she was (I think) the only one in her class that hadn't lost a tooth yet.  Finally, she made it :)  Just yesterday, she lost the one right beside it!

Not only has she hit these "first" milestones, but she is doing so well in school.  She loves math (definitely doesn't take after me) and she is doing well with writing and reading.  She just picked out a chapter book at the Book Fair to read over the summer.  She said, "I have to keep practicing over the summer, Mom.  This big book will help me."   Next week will be her last day of Kindergarten!!

And while thinking of my baby girl growing up makes me a little sad, it also makes me really happy.  I see the young woman that she is becoming.  She is learning important truths and truly understanding what life is really about. 

Just this past Saturday, Ella received Christ as her Savior!!  I cannot explain to you the joy this brought me.  This was a day that I have been praying for since the day she was born. 

To be honest, I always wondered how our kids would be affected growing up in a "ministry" family (Eric was a youth pastor for 5 years and now we are missionaries.) They see the good, bad, and ugly associated with this.  Also, they hear the Gospel pretty much on a daily basis (not a bad thing I know) but a part of me was concerned that they would never make a distinction between knowing the facts and actually knowing Christ as their Savior. 

But Saturday night proved to be one of the best days of my life.  Eric and Ella were outside playing in our little swimming pool and Ella said, "Daddy, I'm ready to believe in Jesus."  They started to talk and he asked her some questions.  Finally, Eric said, "Let's get out of the pool and go talk to momma."  So, they came in and she began to talk to me.

She said, "I wanna believe in Jesus.  I want to live for Him and worship Him."  She prayed the sweetest, most sincere prayer I have ever heard.  She began to cry and she said, "Jesus, thank you for dying on the cross to take my sin away.  I love you.  I want to live for you.  Help me to live for you tomorrow, and when I'm a big kid, and when I'm a momma.  I want to teach my kids to live for you too."  There was more, but you get the point.  It was a really precious moment that I'm so glad I got to be a part of!!!

She went to school Monday morning and told her entire class that she was a Christian now and she was going to be baptized. She also has a friend in her class that is a Christian, and they decided together that they were going to pray before lunch everyday!! 

Even though she is growing up, I'm excited for the big girl that I get to see grow in her relationship with Jesus and show others her love for him!!  I know God has big things in store for her!!

Man, I love that girl so much and am so blessed to get to be her momma!! 

Happy Mother's Day!!

Enoying these precious blessings today

and my love

I feel so privileged that God chose me to be the mommy of these two. 

And hopefully one day soon, this little princess will be home with her mommy.

Until then, I'm praying that she feels the love of her mommy (and daddy) from across the ocean and knows that we are coming for her soon!

Also, thankful today for a wonderful mom, mother-in-law, and grandmother!!  I wish I could be with them today to personally say how much I love them and give them hugs, but phone calls and a blog post will have to do.  Love you all!!!

Wishing all you mothers out there a very happy mother's day!!  I hope you are enjoying your day as much as I am!!!

Love,

Brittany