OH HAPPY DAY!

We got new pictures of Adia today, and we even got a video! I am so filled with love for this baby girl , the video is wonderful we even got to see her smile for the 1st time.

Thank you so very much Geroge and Christina for taking the time on your busy trip to do this for us.

I so wish I could share them on here, but No we must wait until after our court date which is still unknown :-(

‎"Not flesh of my flesh, nor bone of my bone, but still miraculously my own. Never forget for a single minute, you didn't grow under my heart, but in it." - Author Unknown

REFERRAL DAY!

It is so difficult to put into words the emotions of this day, so much so that I think it is why I have procrastinated so long to write about it. On Oct 23 there were 5 referrals given so we knew we were right at the top of this list for a referral, I have never felt so anxious in all my life, every time the phone would ring my heart would stop for a moment and then I could breath again after I saw the caller ID.

On Tuesday Nov 30 at 12:28 the phone rang and like always my heart raced and I raced to the phone, when I saw Children's Hope ( our agency ) on the caller ID I almost passed out and yet at the same time was thinking no, she is just checking in on us, this is the THE CALL. When I said hello, she asked if I had a few minutes she wanted to tell us about a baby girl, I started crying right away, I could not believe this was finally the day we had been praying for for the last 20 months. We got Nathan on the call as well, and we were told about a precious baby girl just 4 1/2 months old. She weighs 13lbs and is beautiful, I hung on every word and wanted to memorize every detail. She then emailed us a picture and more info, I had to keep the bedroom door shut till Nathan came home from work to keep myself from opening that email :-) the longest 30 minutes of my life. We got the boys ( they were wondering why mommy was crying ) and all gathered around the computer to open the email. Words cannot describe that moment seeing MY baby girl for the 1st time. She is beautiful, she has the roundest little face and big dark eyes that you get lost in, the most kissable cheeks. We are all smitten to say the least. I still walk by her picture and think wow, she is ours......We are so blessed that God has chosen us to be a part of this little girls' life. And now the waiting continues, all of our papers and info have been sent to Ethiopia to be translated and approved again and we will be given a court date. Please pray with us, that the date will come quickly and that everything will be processed the 1st time. I cannot wait to stand before that judge and tell him, YES! that we love her and will care for her always.

I wish you could all see my precious Adia, but we cannot post pictures until we pass court, but when we do, look out world :-)

Thank you for rejoicing with us and praising God for all that He has done and is yet to do.

Our Ultrasound picture

Well we are at 10 months now with this "pregnancy" and I thought it is way past time for an ultrasound. I came across this picture on another adoptive families blog and it made me cry, I just had to share. Nathan and I were talking in bed last night and he commented on how long this pregnancy is taking, he decided she will be dark because we left her in the oven soooo long :-)

Yesterday also marked 10 months on the waiting list,and 20 months since God moved our hearts to adoption. What a roller coaster ride it has been. There have been many ups and downs and many tears, but one thing has never waivered.....The faithfulness of our God! He has been so patient and loving with us, speaking to our hearts, confirming to us that He is in control and we just need to rest in Him.

If I had to do a post about what we have learned through this process It would included 3 things.

1: The faithfulness of God

2: The power of prayer

3: The generosity of God's people

Our agency reassured us we are at the TOP of the waiting list but they cannot tell us our exact number, by my count, on the list waiting for a single baby girl we should be around number 3.

We are praying for many referrals this week, and for God to place these children into loving Christian families. I will leave you with this, a note to my precious baby girl.

You have my heart in the palm of your hand, across the ocean, a world away. But since you are not here with me, I wipe the tears away, and we continue to worship God in this wait. You are worth this wait.

NEW NUMBER!!!!

we got a great update this week. There were 5 referrals this week, 4 baby girls and 1 baby boy. so we are 10 on the list, and un-officially number 4 0r 5 for a baby girl. We are beyond excited, we could be getting our referral in the next week or 2 :-)

MOBY WRAP GIVE AWAY

http://www.themodestmomblog.com/2010/10/moby-wrap-review-and-giveaway.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+TheModestMom+%28The+Modest+Mom%29

WEEKLY UPDATE 10-8-2010

We are now number 14 total on the list, and in the single digits for a little girl.... We are number 9

I can hardly believe it, we are so crazy in love with this little girl we have no idea who she is, but we know that she is ours. I am so thankful for the Lord placing the burden on our hearts to adopt, He never ceases to amaze me with how good He is and how much He wants us to draw close to Him through everything. Please be praying for our little girl, she is most likely born at this point in time, please pray for her health and safety, that she will be strong and well in the orphanage. We are also praying for this little ones birth family, We are already eternally grateful to them for the gift of this precious child, and pray that they will know Christ as their personal Lord and savior.

National Babywearing Week

I am sure everyone knows by now what a fan I am of baby wearing. In honor of national baby wearing week a great company http://www.bobababycarrier.com/ is giving away 2 baby carriers. This is a carrier I would love to have, so I hope we win :-)

Calling All Prayer Warriors

We are within weeks of being matched with our daughter and are so excited to see all that God has in store. This last week we had the chance to go on a mini family vacation ( nathan needed to go to a work conference) So the boys and I tagged along, we all had the best time, and we also realized this will be our last trip as a family of 4. We were headed home on Wednesday afternoon and the mini van started to make some weird noises, so Nathan pulled over and he checked everything out, we made some calls and got the advise based on everything we could see the engine was going out and we were to just make it as close to home as possible then call for someone to come pick us up, the van finally died about 1 hour from home. I had spent the entire trip crying and just praying, telling myself that God know our circumstances better then we do, He is in control of all things. So this brings me to the title of this post , we are "Calling All Prayer Warriors" The van is officially dead and we don't have a vehicle that can fit 3 car seats in, and we are within a few weeks possible or being matched with our little girl which also means writing a check for $10,000. We are in need of $8,000 yet to reach our goal , and then we will have some expenses for travel. I am trying so hard to just leave all this at Jesus' feet and trust Him to supply our needs, He knows them even better then we do. Please pray that we will be diligent in seeking the Lord in all of this and that God will meet our needs for a vehicle and also for the adoption. Please don't take this as just a request for money, I just know that we need to have people joining us in prayer laying these things down before our Almighty God.

I know when all is said and done and this little one is home forever we will be able to proclaim the name of our Lord and say "Look and see what the Lord has done" not to us O Lord but to Your name be the glory.

Boba Baby carrier giveaway

This carrier is snapping carrier, which makes it really easy to use. Wrapping which is my all time favorite can be a little intimidating to people. I am wanting a carrier like this for the ease of using it to back carry. I have never perfected a good back carry with a wrap, I I think with having Adia home I will want to be able to do a back carry. The other great thing about this carrier is it can be used up to a higher weight, so Nathan could carry even titus in it ( which Ty would love ) you can learn more about this carrier at http://www.bobababycarrier.com/and check out this great blog for a chance to win a free carrier.

usehttp://familyliciousreviews.blogspot.com/2010/08/boba-carrier-review-and-giveaway.html

Cloth Diapers!

This just must be the month for cloth diaper giveaways, hooray for me :-) I love the chance to win a new cute diaper for the little bums at our house. this one is for a new diaper company I found on FB. Here is there new site, you can also "like" them on FB and find details about the giveaway there.

http://www.ragababe.com/

Cloth diaper give away !!!

gotta love a cloth diaper give away. This is for a new BG 4.0 i would love to have one in the light lavender color for Adia.check it out

http://www.pennilessparenting.com/2010/08/meet-our-sponsor-and-giveaway.html#more

Beco baby carrier give away

I love baby wearing, and with Adia soon to be home I am wanting a carrier that is easy to use and very comfortable. I found the Beco baby carrier and fell in love :-) However it is way more important for us to be saving the money to bring Adia home so I was really excited when I came across this great giveaway from a friend ( who is also adopting from Ethiopia, hi Jenny )

http://familyliciousreviews.blogspot.com/2010/08/beco-baby-carrier-review-and-giveaway.html

cloth diaper give away

As most of you know I am a huge fan of cloth diapers. I have used them on both the boys and are ready to use them on Adia as well ( with a few pink diapers added of course ) I love the blog modestmom, and right now they are giving away a new pocket diaper from katydid diapers. This is a one size pocket diaper, which is a favorite around our house. head over and check it out, and you might win a great new cloth diaper.

http://www.themodestmomblog.com/2010/07/katydid-diapers.html

YEAH FOR GIVEAWAYS!

Who does not like something for free? I know I always love a fun freebie. Danielle had a chance to try these snacks, my absolute favorite thing about these I think is that they are gluten free. I will be going gluten free for a couple weeks to see how I feel and these would be a real treat.

http://gaertegang.blogspot.com/2010/07/snikiddy-snacksmama-buzz-review.html

Danielle has another exciting give away going on. I love sewing so my favorite line is the

"Stitch Happy" :-) you will see what I am talking about when you head over and check it out.

http://gaertegang.blogspot.com/2010/07/quilt-happy-scrap-happy-reviewgiveaway.html

Come Home soon!

Last night as I was tucking Titus in to bed he said "mama I want Adia to come home" I said oh honey I want her to come home to, we just need to wait a little while and then we will go get her, but mommy, other people have their babies home from Ethiopia.

He sits with me as I read several blogs of families who have recently brought home little ones from Ethiopia, he just is a little young to understand all that has to take place for us to bring Adia home. It just makes my heart melt to see how much he already loves her and is longing for her, just as Nathan and I are. Often times he will tell me, Mommy I miss Adia.

Journey to Love, an Ethiopian Story_0002.wmv

Baby Hawk baby carrier

I am becoming a lover of blog give aways, but I must say this would be the best thing to win. I am a huge advocate of baby wearing, it is healthy for baby and frees up mama's hands :-) head on over to http://liltulips.blogspot.com/

and check it out.

Finally a new number!

Ethiopia

Ethiopian Flag Meaning:
The colored stripes on the Ethiopian flag are significant - the red stripe stands for power, faith and blood; the yellow symbolizes peace, natural wealth and love; and the green represents the land and hope. The colors were also interpreted to have a connection to the Holy Trinity, and the three main provinces of Ethiopia. The star represents unity of the people and the races that make up Ethiopia. The five rays on the outside of the star represent prosperity and the blue disk represents peace.

The three equal horizontal bands of green (top), yellow, and red with a yellow pentagram and single yellow rays emanating from the angles between the points on a light blue disk centered on the three bands; Ethiopia is the oldest independent country in Africa, and the three main colors of her flag were so often adopted by other African countries upon independence that they became known as the pan-African colors.

Modest mom.

Another great giveaway at the modestmom.

Make sure to go check it out.

http://www.themodestmomblog.com/2010/06/review-and-giveaway-of-gro-baby-diaper.html

Modest MOM.

This is a blog I found through a friend on facebook. It is one that is worth your time to follow, I love the articles she posts and she also have some fun giveaways. This week they are doing a giveaway of a pack of new cloth baby wipes, you all know how much I love cloth diapers :-) Here is the link go check it out and become a follower.

http://www.themodestmomblog.com/2010/06/review-and-giveaway-of-bummas-cloth.html

NUMBERS!

Number Update

Numbers

1st Fund Raiser

This weekend we are having a garage sale with all of the money going towards bringing Adia home. Thankfully the weather has been perfect and we had a great turnout.

Titus and Creed sold cookies and drinks, they spent some time on Thursday coloring pictures of Africa and Ethiopia is always red with a heart. Ty tells everyone that Adia is far far away in Ethiopia, and the money is going to help bring her home. People have been so kind and generous, the cookies are .50 and drink .25 most everyone just hands them a dollar and takes cookies and says keep the change. We have even had 1 man give $6 for 2 cookies and a drink. Another today gave him $10 for 4 cookies and 2 drinks. God always provides, and it has been neat to see it in this unique way.

It has also been neat to share with people the great need of orphans and our burden. pictures are to come :-)

2 referrals this week

Great Adoption Song

Great Adoption Song

This music video has been going around AGCI blogs and Faceb**k pages and I love it so I had to share it too :-) The lyrics are below and here's a link to Aaron and Jamie's blog.

AMOS STORY
Aaron Ivey. ©2009 IVEYMUSIC. (ASCAP)

Another photograph to wrestle in my head
Another sleepless night on concrete featherbed
These thoughts of you like bullets to my soul
We’ve got to find a way to get you home

I’ll find a way to get you here
If it takes my fleeting breath
Another sunrise hits the ground
And it’s a dark lonely sight
Light years away I hope you know
There is somebody searching
For the way to get you here
I will get you here

Throw the clocks away and run out to the street
We’ll fly to distant clouds where it’s just you and me
A day will come when all of this is gone
You’ve got to find a way to believe

I’ll find a way to get you here
If it takes my fleeting breath
Another sunrise hits the ground
And it’s a dark lonely sight
Light years away I hope you know
There is somebody searching
For the way to get you here
I will get you here

Close your eyes and dream of a better day with me
As angels hold you tight, may you sleep in peace tonight

So dream, dream, dream my child
Hear the whisperings of hope

It’s a song that you can sing, as you sleep in peace tonight

Number Update

new number

Free cloth diaper

I just entered to win a free Bum Genius AIO cloth diaper. I am a cloth diaper addict as most of you already know, so go check this out and you might win and become an addict like me :-)

http://justrollingwithit09.blogspot.com/2010/04/bum-genius-aio-review-and-giveaway.html?showComment=1271275190982_AIe9_BFdvMNb1PZG06_bDvfrSQ9dHMpha-KaMaVL1Ueml7QyCVZxkfK0gW0j5QQmAqhjUIk_UDpEKQaDxWJ3EnOBJ00D_lXcLNiCX642ps-NkfPZECBNScUzzTDeN5a6wKMxrF0NZT_s-zSXmCrKjR3ay-m8W4L6U9xdYwcfcmpeC-kC7D05vBrxd3zTWBlV9sWGaHwFErUmNslbAbxZALUJhDsp00Nw1kPS9ynqnnnGP_L4uXqEp-zBVz2sSqI9dzMB3mFgFjbQ#c372907083379018686

New Number

Ergo baby carrier give away

I just found this awesome blog that is giving away a Ergo baby carrier, these are awesome carriers, I tried one the other day from a friend and I was hooked. Check it out and good luck.

http://www.makingmyamericandream.com/2010/03/ergobaby-carrier-review-giveaway.html?spref=fb

New number

Number Update

Our case worker sent an email update as of Monday we are family 47! there was 6 referrals waiting on her desk Monday morning. We will get another update on Friday.

Congrats to all the families who are now looking forward to bringing there little ones home soon.

UPDATE

4 referrals this week so we are number 53. In the month of February there were 19 referrals: 11 boys and 8 girls. Praise the Lord for placing these orphans in loving "forever families"

Ethiopia update

There were 8 referrals this week, so we are now number 57!

Ethiopia's Lone Winter Athlete

I didn't even realize Ethiopia had anyone in the Winter Games... But they do! They have one athlete competing in the Olympics. His name is Robel Teklemariam. He was the first Ethiopian to ever compete in the Winter Olympics back in the 2006 games. His sport is cross-country skiing. He learned to ski when he moved to New York with his mother at the age of 9. According to this article, his goal for his second Olympics is "to improve on his finish in Italy [the 2006 games] and inspire young Ethiopians to follow in his ski tracks." I think that's a great goal! Mr. Teklemariam, you've just gained another fan!!!
Here and is another neat article on him and here is a link to his blog.

"But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint"

Isaiah 40:31

As of today we are waiting family number 65 !

waiting

family number 66!

1,739 Miles From Our Baby.

TUESDAY, JANUARY 26, 2010 AT 5:46PM | NATHAN MILLER

As many of you know Christa and I decided last year that our third child would be adopted. We have never had trouble getting pregnant and hope to have more biological children but we believe God loves adoption and that He calls true followers of Christ to be more than hearers, but doers. With millions of orphans around the world how could we turn our backs and pretend there is no need. We have been called to adopt.

Since June of 2009 we have filed more papers, sat through more training, and paid more money for each than I ever thought possible but we did it! Our family is approved to adopt a baby (or maybe two) from Ethiopia. We are number 74 in line to adopt and waiting to see that number drop to 1. Our hearts are in Ethiopia and we look forward to seeing our Ethiopian children for the first time, but on January 12, 2010 everything changed.

The earthquake in Haiti shook the world. The devastation has been on tv screens across America and many are left staring at the pictures, wondering what to do. For us though, it wasn't a question...

In 1999 Christa took the first of two trips to Haiti with an organization called Teen Missions International. She worked with orphanages on the outskirts of Port Au Prince and fell in love with the children and culture. When we were dating she told me stories of her time In Haiti and how she hoped to adopt from there, and when we began the adoption process our first choice was Haiti. Unfortunately the government was very difficult to work with. Adoptions could take more than four years to complete and the costs were ridiculous. After weighing the options we opted for Ethiopia, it is a much quicker process and not so costly. However, with the earthquake leaving thousands of people without food or clean water and the growing realization that countless children are new orphans the Haitian government has begun to release some known orphans (that is, children who were already in orphanages and have proper documentation showing their status) to families in the United States.

We have heard many stories of families being matched with orphans on a moment's notice, all across the country. There are rumors that the US government has waived their usual costs for bringing in orphans, as have the Haitians. Babies, toddlers, children of all ages are being flown in with little more than rags on their backs and a few pieces of paper which serve as proof of their identity. They are being handed over to their "forever" families, they are being given life.

Last week an organization in Indianapolis posted a request for area residents to open their homes to some 300 orphans being evacuated to Indiana. Safe Families for Children was inundated with emails and phone calls, thousands of people responded in just a few hours. By chance I caught a passing comment on Twitter about the news and something inside me moved. I didn't talk to Christa, I didn't think, I just responded. I knew God wanted me to respond, to offer my family to these poor children. As the day went on it became clear the plane to Indianapolis was not coming. Communication to Haiti was horrendous and a number of misunderstandings created bad information but the clock was set into motion.. since then Christa and I have been trying to find a child that we can graft into our home. I have spoken with people in Chicago, Indianapolis, Texas, and Kansas. Christa has emailed to Maryland, Texas and even Haiti. We spend our free time discussing what else we can do. I believe God has called us to adopt from Haiti but every door til now has been shut. We are always one step behind and just a moment too late. There is no telling how long we have, the Haitian government is handing out refugee visas to orphanages and freeing them to travel but it takes an advocate (often the orphanage director) standing in line for more than 15 hours along with more than 7,000 people waiting in line to get the paperwork. No one knows how much longer the Haitian government will allow this to happen. Now is the time to act!

I write this to ask for your help. If you have any contact, any way of reaching someone who can help please email me. We are "paper ready", that is, all of our documents are in order and we are simply waiting for a child. I'd also like you to pray. The evil one would love nothing more than to see the Haitian people starve. He cares nothing for orphans, he wants nothing but destruction, and he is who we fight against. Pray for our friends in Haiti and pray especially for the children who have nothing. No hope. No family. Pray that they will be released and given to prople who love the Lord. Pray that we find our daughter or son.. we are waiting for them.

My email address is: miller.nw @ gmail.com

phone calls

Titus just came up to me and says "mom, are we waiting on a phone call? I said what phone call ? Titus: the one to tell us about my baby sister Adia and then we can go pick her up.

waiting

we are number 74!!!!

Martin Luther King jr

Thank you, Dr. King, for dreaming of racial harmony. Because of your life and work, we live in a nation and a world that is a little bit closer to the equality and respect for our common humanity that God intended from the beginning.

Waiting Family

We are officially a WAITING FAMILY! all of our paperwork is back from Washington DC, and now begins the real wait. as far as we know we are family number 80, but we have no idea what the 79 other families are waiting to be matched with, so time frame we are looking at anywhere from 4-12 months. we will keep updating with how many families have been matched with children and that will give us an idea. Thank you for all the prayers and support.

Adia's song

Titus began singing this for Adia last night and I thought it was so sweet. he loves his new baby sister so much already. the other day he said "Mommy, it sure is taking a long time to get Adia home "