Learning along the way

This journey of Adoption is teaching me so much about myself, about other people, and about my relationship with the Lord. God is using it to draw me nearer to Him and to show Himself to me in ways I never thought possible. I am learning about prayer and about what it means to hope in the Lord, to believe in miracles, and to also trust his perfect plan and will for our lives. I am learning that there is a fine line between hoping in the Lord and getting my hopes up. I am learning about praying with confidence and asking the Lord for things that only he can do, meanwhile knowing that His plan may not be my plan. A few mornings ago after I praying for our court date,  I was reading in 1 John and the Lord gave me this passage....

"This is the confidence which we have before Him, that, if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. And if we know He hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests which we have asked from Him." 1 John 1:14-15

I am praying with confidence that the Lord is hearing my requests and that He will carry out his perfect plan! I am so thankful that I do not have to bear my burdens on my own. My God is there to pick me up when I fall, when I fail to trust Him, and when I am so unsure of myself and my future. He will be there to pick me up when I crumble under the reality of how far away my daughter is. He will be there to help me get through the excruciating months of separation after we have held her and kissed her sweet face. He is teaching me so much, and for that, these months are priceless.

Music to a Mommy's Ears

TEARS. JOYFUL TEARS.
This is what my email held this afternoon. It's from a sweet mommy in our agency who just went to Ethiopia to bring her daughter home. She got to spend time with our sweet girl.....

Jana,   Oh. My. Goodness. Is your daughter a stunner!!  Me and Megan both loved on her to death! Her pictures seriously, don't do her justice! I have some pictures I will email you very soon! She has the same nanny as our girl did. They take such good care of them. She was NEVER just laying in her crib ever! She was playing on the floor or being held or in the bumbo seat, at all times.  She LOVES the bumbo seat.. You need one of those for sure! Your baby is so laid back. Not one time did she not smile or talk up a storm! So cute! God has truly blessed you with this angel, I'm not kidding one bit! She has the chubbiest cheeks, sooooo kissable! I never heard her cry ever! All smiles. She is good hands until you can get there!  I can't stress enough to you how BEAUTIFUL your daughter is! You are a lucky mama!! I have read this over and over again. This woman did not have to send this email to me. I didn't ask her for information on our baby girl. I don't even know her. This is the type of amazing people I am getting to know in this process! This is music to a mommy's ears! We are coming, sweet girl! Hopefully, SOON!

My Heart Today....

Today is Mother's Day

Today in my heart, I am a mommy to 3 children.

Two precious boys call me mommy everyday. 

One precious girl on the other side of the world doesn't even know I exist.

Legally I am not her mommy yet, but God has already knit my heart to hers.

I love her. 

I am fighting for her.

I am waiting for her to be HOME. 

God knew I would be her mommy before she was born. 

As He was forming her, He was creating her for ME. 

SOON you will know that I am your mommy, sweet girl!

My prayer every day is that I will not wish these months away. 

I cannot wait for our baby girl to be home.

But TODAY two amazing boys call me mommy.

I pray that I will not waste a single moment being THEIR mommy while I am waiting to be a mommy to another. 

God has given me such precious gifts in the boys I am raising. 

I pray I will make the most of every minute we are together and waiting for their sister to come HOME!

I am SO humbled by the role of mommy the Lord has given me and this journey of adoption He has called us to.

7:30 Challenge

We are praying hard that we will get a court date before "rainy season" when the courts close in Ethiopia for 2 months. There are 3 other Moms in our agency that are praying for this same thing! We are desperate to have our kids HOME! And the thought of adding 2 more months onto this long-enough wait, is so painful to think about. Our kids have homes and families that love them more than they know! They need to be with their families as soon as possible. So together, the 4 of us mommies, are praying each morning at 7:30 that the Lord would hear our pleas and that we will go to court (and pass!) before the courts close for rainy season. We believe that when we gather in the Lords name together in prayer, He will do MIGHTY things!

"Again, I tell you that if two of you on earth agree about anything you ask for, it will be done for you by my Father in heaven. For where two or three come together in my name, there am I with them." Matthew 18:19-20

Here's the challenge.....
Would you consider setting the alarm on your phone for 7:30 each morning and pray with us? You dont have to drop everything you are doing and pray for hours on end. Just a quick prayer to lift us up and ask the Lord for his mercy in this. 

We are SO EXCITED to see how the Lord is going to work in this! We are trusting the Lord for his PERFECT plan. 

If you are going to pray with us, would you leave a comment on our blog or facebook to let us know you are joining with us in this? Thank you in advance for your prayers!

 ~Jana~

One more is coming home.....

I am near tears this morning.....Our dear friends, Paul and Megan, got word that they can go get their baby girl!! She is coming home from Ethiopia!

We met Paul and Megan 6 years ago. I was teaching the toddlers class at our church and their oldest son Luke, who was 1year old at the time was in my class. They now have 4 kids:) We became friends over the years and watched them move overseas. I remember them being pregnant with their little girl. I remember them getting to come back to the states for a visit when their youngest son (Levi) was just rolling around on our floor (and I was pregnant with OUR Levi at the time). That was 2 years ago and while they were visiting us, I remember sitting on our back porch with Megan discussing how we both had a heart for adoption. I had no clue we would end up where we are now! They are adopting through the same agency as ours and are about 6 months ahead of us in this process. Our girls are from the same exact place in Ethiopia (craziness!) and are just a few months apart.

Megan has been such a blessing in my life over the past few months. I have asked her a ridiculous amount of questions:) Even though she is half a world away we have spent many nights (her mornings) talking over facebook chat. Technology is an amazing thing....even though she is so far away that my nights are her days, we are able to talk almost every day.

Last night, I went to bed around midnight after talking to her, and the last thing I said to her was "I will go to sleep praying that you hear from the Embassy today!" I woke up this morning and the first thing I see on my phone is that they had been cleared by the Embassy to bring their baby girl HOME!!! They will leave in just a few days! I have been so blessed to get to watch their whole adoption process with a front row seat and see pictures of their little girl grow up in the same care center that our girl is in.

SO....Do you know what else this means!?!?! In just a few days not only will my dear friends be holding their daughter and bringing her home.....they are going to see our little girl too!! And love on her and dress her up in cute clothes and take lots of pictures for me:) Seriously....this is feeling more and more real everyday, but I am absolutely sure that when I see such close friends of mine holding our little girl, I. WILL. LOSE. IT!! Not lose it, in a bad way:) Just cry tears of happiness, that THAT is OUR little girl...with our dear friends! It doesn't get more real than that!

Congratulations, my dear sweet friend! Its been a journey and it is almost over! I cannot wait to see pictures of Meryn where she belongs!