Mother of 8!!!

We are extremely excited to share with you that the girls are now legally ours. All seemed to have gone smoothly in court this past Friday, for which we are so thankful. Thank you for all your prayers. Last night we received word that the U.S. Embassy date will be 3-6 weeks following the court date, and that we will find out 4 days to 2 weeks before we actually travel. For someone who thrives on order and planning, this is called "living life on the edge." Right now our lives are filled with preparations for bringing the girls home (stocking up the freezer, organizing, de-junking, switching bedrooms, figuring out a vehicle that will hold 10, etc.), travel arrangements with tickets that are ultra flexible, making appts with the travel nurse for needed immunizations, and normal activities of daily living. As you can imagine, our days are filled, but we are thrilled to be to this point. As soon as I called Jeff with the court news he said,"Now that they are ours, I just want to jump on a plane and bring the girls home." Please continue to pray for us as we plan without knowing exact details, and we will keep you updated on new developments.

Court Date

It has been painfully quiet as far as news from Ethiopia, but just this week we received word that our court date has been set for Friday, June 19. This was exciting news for us, and one step closer to bringing our precious little girls home. Please be in prayer with us that all would go smoothly in court. In order for this legal transaction to be successful, several factors must occur, all of which are competely out of our control. Just this past week I read a quote by George Mueller, the man of God who cared for over 10,000 orphans in England during the 1800's. He wrote: "Faith doesn't operate in the realm of the possible. There is no glory for God in that which man can do. Faith begins where man's power ends." We are choosing to trust God for what happens on June 19th, as there is absolutely nothing we can do, except pray, and leave the outcome in His Hands. The U.S. Embassy appointment should be approximately 4 weeks following the court date, which means we would travel to Addis Ababa mid-July. I so badly wish to communicate to Selame and Debritu: "I will not leave you as orphans;I will come to you" (John 14: 18). Thanks again for your prayers, and we will continue to keep you posted. Until next time.....