Formula, formula, diapers, formula, toys, formula, oh and more formula

Thank you to everyone who donated to the traveling families to get formula and other donations to Hannah's Hope. It was so amazing unloading all of our luggage, sorting and piling everything up. Almaz had tears in her eyes when she walked in and saw everything. She said she thought the formula would last a month and a half! Praise God for pulling his people together to help!

Forgive me if I don't post more now. I am sick. I just wanted to share these amazing pictures.

Amazed, blessed, excited and a little bit nervous

Those are just a few of the things I have been feeling this week.

I am so amazed that this journey if finally coming to an end and the next chapter with Dora : ) is about to begin. I am leaving in less than 24 hours and still it seems very surreal. We have been at this since last December, so it feels very unreal that this beautiful child that God placed on our hearts is finally coming home.

I feel so blessed by the number of donations I was able to collect and purchase. God is good and certainly used His people to get the needs of these children taken care of. I can not wait to get a picture of everything I was able to collect.

I am so excited to meet this little girl...to walk down that cobblestone path that others have walked before me...to know this child that God placed on my heart so long ago...to feel the weight of her in my arms. I want to take it all in...every sight...every smell...everything even though I know my heart will be broken further for these children of God.

I am a little bit nervous. I hate to fly. Enough said : )

The family and I traveled up to the Seattle area to stay with my brother overnight before the flight. I am traveling with my fabulous sil and we came up early so we could have time to get everything packed. It only took about 3 hours!! You have to keep re-weighing and re-stuffing the bags to get them just right. I was blessed that another family in our travel group had an extra bag and we went there first and managed to stuff it full of 65 lbs of donations. Then my sil and I used two of our 4 bags for donations. We overstuffed all three bags because with our airlines it is cheaper to exceed the weight by 20 pounds per bag than to pay for an extra bag.

Thank you all for the blessing you have been and continue to be...especially my sisters.

50 pounds of formula looks like this...

I am leaving in less than 2 weeks to pick up my sweet little girl, but my heart is heavy. Ethiopia is facing a critical formula shortage that impacts the whole country, but especially the orphanages.

I borrowed this from Charisa's blog, because she did such a great job explaining it and is heading a formula drive through our adoption agency. Please read and see how you can help.

From Charisa:

Hello friends!

We have recently been made aware of the formula shortage in Ethiopia right now because the birr (Ethiopian currency) has lost value due to the downturn in the Ethiopian economy. Because of this trading with the Middle East, the normal source of formula, has been hampered.

This has resulted in a shortage of formula in the country and more specifically, dear to our hearts, the orphanages. Imagine trying to care for those precious babies and not knowing how you were going to feed them! I cannot fathom the heartache that must be. They are desperate for formula. This comes straight from Almaz, the director at Hannah's Hope.

Some of those same babies that I loved on, specifically at Enat Elam, are becoming sick from lack of formula and being fed powdered milk.

I have talked to Julie, my case manager, about specifically what we can do, here it is:

If you want to purchase powdered formula (no liquid!) , specifically up to about 12 months of age, you can give it to me (AMY). If you are further away, email me and I can give you the address of a traveling family to send it to. We will send this with traveling families as they go to Ethiopia. This is the best way to get it to Ethiopia.

Monetary Donations-- Because God is faithful and we are going to receive an enormous amount of formula (I like to think big with God) and sometimes people would prefer to just give money, we can collect money to help pay for the extra luggage charge to send over with formula with families traveling to Ethiopia. This is the cheapest way to get it there.

As far as monetary donations, they can be marked Formula for Ethiopia and made out to AGCI and sent to address at bottom or you can also give monetary donations to me and I will send them on.

I know that I am always coming to you guys with one cause or another...and I am so grateful for your help each time. I just really want to help these precious babies! It absolutely crushes my heart to think that they are without the formula they need to grow and live. They already have so many odds stacked against them.

If we each just send one can of formula, what a difference we can directly make to those babies!

I can't imagine the pain and heartache the orphanage directors are going through...trying to feed all of those babies and not having what you need to do it. Can you imagine?

All God's Children

3308 NE Peerless Place
Portland, OR 97232
http://www.allgodschildren.org/

***************************************************

So far I have collected 50 pounds of formula to take with me and I probably have enough money to purchase another 50 pounds worth. God is faithful and He is working through people just like you, but the formula I have collected is not enough. If you would be willing to donate a can, you can give it to me or I can pass along contact information for a traveling family that is closer to you. You can also make a monetary donation to AGCI. Thank you for being "secret agents" of God and helping live out the Kingdom of God here on Earth.

Leaving on a Jet Plane...

That's right, we passed court and are tenatively scheduled to travel January 10th-16th. Praise be to God. Thank you all for your continued suport and love. I am in a state of shock.

Thank you!

I just wanted to say thank you to everyone who has kept us in their thoughts and prayers. I have felt pretty peaceful about our court date the past few days and know it is because we have been absolutely covered in prayer by our family and friends. I have felt like I was in a Verizon commercial and there is a band of people following me throughout my day in love and prayer. Probably the most touching example are my three friends who are in Ethiopia right now picking up their babes. They took time together yesterday to hold my little girl and pray over her. Thank you for the peace everyone.

Now that the big wait until the court date is over, a new wait begins. Waiting to hear news about our court date! I continue to be in prayer that we passed and that this wonderful peace I feel continues!

Please join us in prayer

"May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in Him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit." Romans 15:13

Well, we are a little over a day away from our court date (with the time difference, our court date is Tuesday night here on the west coast) and I am a bundle of nerves and hope. I am able to find peace knowing that God's timing is perfect. I know that we serve a God that can move mountains. He is sovereign over all. We are all His children and He holds each of us in His hands, even our little one who is so far away from us right now.

I ask that you join us in praying specifically that:
*Our case is heard on the 10th (our scheduled date.)
*All our documents are complete, in order and in the file.
*Any of little girl’s birth family that needs to attend the hearing does so. Please also pray for their travel, and that they will be given an amazing amount of peace.
*That Jason and I will be filled with patience and peace as we wait to hear news. (It may take up to a week.)

I know God loves our little girl more than I can ever imagine and trust that His plan and timing are perfect. I will continue to hope, because I know He will fulfill the plan He set for us.

"But these things I plan won't happen right away. Slowly, steadily, surely, the time approaches when the vision will be fulfilled. If it seems slow, be patient! For it will surely take place. It will not be late by a single day." Habakkuk 2:3

Thank you for supporting us through your love and prayers on each step of this journey.

I also ask for prayers for Autumn's brothers and their case. Her parents are adopting two little boys and their court date is on the 9th (or tonight on the west coast.)

Feeling a little...

scared, nervous, excited. I am just a ball of anxiety right now. Each step of the wait in this adoption process has gotten progressively harder. You think that when you finally see your child's face it will all get better. Well I have been looking at her beautiful face for just shy of 2 months now. The wait is even harder now and I know that it will only get harder still until my little one is in my arms.

I fully trust in God, but I don't think trusting in Him excludes feeling scared of what the outcome will be. I pray that His will be done, but I also know as a mother I will be truly heartbroken if His will does not mean bringing her home at this time. Whatever happens I will trust in Him and His plan.

I feel like I can't let myself get too excited, because I don't want to have an even bigger let down if we don't make it this time through.

One week from tonight (Ethiopia is 11 hours ahead of us on the west coast) a decision will be made. I just continue to petition God that all our paperwork is together and the judge looks upon us favorably. I don't want to wait any longer for this child that God placed upon my heart so long ago.