Our Big Announcement.....

Yes, you've ALL guessed correctly...I guess it wasn't really all that hard to figure out.....WE'RE ADOPTING AGAIN!!! I'm overjoyed, excited, in love and beyond grateful to BE ON THIS JOURNEY AGAIN!!! This journey will look a little different than our last one...Why?? Because I've already met our son...I've already loved on him, kissed on him and whispered in his ear, "Momma is here!!" So....let me proudly introduce our NEW SON to the crazy blog world.... Here is our child #6 - "Wes":Finding Wes on our trip was nothing short of another God miracle in our lives....The above picture was the first picture I took of this precious little boy, not knowing yet that he didn't have a family.... ( He was a "waiting child"..meaning...NO one was signed up for HIS circumstances). I simply took that picture because I saw a little one sitting there staring at me and I thought he was precious...Little did I know....HE WAS OUR SON!!
Above, he is sitting with all his little buddies (in the yellow shirt)..and again...I hadn't heard yet that he didn't have a family..that he had "special needs" that met no ones criteria.....BUT...oh, when i found out HE was "waiting" I couldn't get to him and scoop him up fast enough.....
It was seriously THAT SIMPLE!! I loved him from the first second I picked him up.....He's around 12months old (about 12 months younger than LL) .....Yes, I know God orchestrated every detail...We had arrived in Ethiopia...we didn't even have time to shut our eyes...and we were heading south for a 7 hr. drive.....We visited a couple of other orphanages first...then we stopped and went off road a while to meet LL's birth family...and then ON a little further south TO THIS PARTICULAR orphanage!!! All the timing could have ONLY happened by God being in control!! Seriously...in the first 24 hrs. in Ethiopia...my entire life had changed!! I had just met the MOST INCREDIBLE family ever that shared so many details about my daughter, and their joy and happiness and Christian hearts would have been enough to say the TRIP WAS A HUGE SUCCESS...but...to only drive a short ways away..and WHAM...I meet our future son!! TALK ABOUT EMOTIONAL!! It just all seemed too good to be true!! God had TOLD ME I MUST GO ON THIS TRIP....I KNEW HE HAD BIG THINGS PLANNED....I just never dreamed they'd happen ALL in the first 24 hrs. i was in country!! Wow...yes, I was on cloud 9!! :)
One of the neatest God confirmations was the fact that we had just minutes before left the "P" family!!!! The "P" family is LL's birth family's last name....They ALL have the last name "P"!! THEN...I was holding our NEW son...loving on him...when I realized I didn't even KNOW HIS ETHIOPIAN NAME....SO, I walked up to the orphanage director and asked his name....He said, "His name is "P"!! I got chills ALL OVER!! I just sat there quiet!! REALLY?? His name is "P"!! I looked at someone standing beside me and said, "That's my daughter's given LAST NAME!!! " Ok, God...I get it...You're knocking my socks off here...Praising YOU, Praising YOU, Praising YOU!!!
I carried around Little "P" who we'll call "Wes" (we'll use his Ethiopian name "P" as his middle name) for the rest of that day..... We then had to stay at a hotel in the south...and we visited again first thing the next morning....I spotted "P" right away and scooped him back up as quickly as I could!! I then held him the rest of that morning too!! He quickly started "taking" to me and would fuss or cry if I even tried to pull him "away" from my body....Even one of the workers there said, "He likes you already!!" .....I said, "yes, I know...because he's my son!!"
You see...God knitted our hearts together BEFORE I even KNEW of him...I've always KNOWN we had a son in Ethiopia...I just wasn't sure HOW I would ever get to him....My hubby felt complete with "5" and I knew "someone" was missing!! For a year and a half, I've prayed for this boy!! I've prayed for my hubby's heart to be able to take on ONE MORE CHILD!! I've even had dreams of "our son" in Ethiopia...knowing we'd get to him some day some how!! I can ONLY explain it as....God put it on my heart...and I therefore KNEW we had a son!!

**It was my husband WHO decided OUT OF THE CLEAR BLUE SKY that I had to go on this trip with my sister...(God answering my prayers) and he clearly said, "It's a GOD thing...I know you are suppose to go!!" I knew in my heart that it wasn't to only meet LL's birth family..that GOD had more in store... and I clearly prayed, "God, if this isn't YOUR PLAN for our family...then please don't let there be a little guy "waiting" in ANY orphanage we go into!" BUT HE WAS THERE!! Just as if he was sitting and waiting on me to arrive!! And, thankfully, my husband gave me "his blessing" on #6 BEFORE i left....Praise God!! It couldn't have worked out ANY MORE PERFECTLY...because God's timing is ALWAYS PERFECT....
As you can see in the above and below pics that my sister snapped....I held little "p" until he was fast asleep in my arms...and then everyone announced it was time to go....
I prayed over our sweet boy and asked God to PLEASE protect him and help him grow...because as you can see...he's VERY tiny...He's malnourished...and he's weak!! I know once he's in my arms..I'll have NO PROBLEM fattening him up...but until then....HE needs our prayers to grow and become strong...strong enough to STAY healthy until we can get back to bring him home....(and that's certainly NOT all the health issues we'll be dealing with)Oh, the pain of handing him back over.....I kissed him, told him I loved him...and that I'd be back...And, this sweet, beautiful, Ethiopian woman took him from my arms...where he'll stay UNTIL the day we return to bring him into our family for good....
Folks, he was precious!!! I think about him all the time..his tiny little body...how he grew to like me over the two days we were there...his big beautiful eyes that would just stare at me... I seriously can't wait to bring him into our family!! The kids are so excited...and even LL says, "I want my baby brother!!" Seriously, we don't even know where she learned it...but she's said it several times.... His story is not that different than LL's..and they are even from the same area....ALL the great details to CREATE a special bond for the two of them growing up... A BOND and a relationship that I know God had planned on from the beginning!!

***Well, as yall know...we have LOTS of hurdles to jump...he's new to the orphanage...so I now know that birth moms change their minds (remember we lost a referral before getting Lucy Lane) and this mother could do the same. If he ends up being a stepping stone to get to the child God intended us to have...then I know now that I'll survive....BUT...I pray every day...THAT THIS WILL BE OUR SON!! God KNOWS how it will all end...So, I'm just trying to "sit" back and "patiently" (ha) enjoy the ride!! Cause my hubby says "6 is it!!" :) Ok, Ok, I hear ya hubby...just don't send me on any more "mission" trips to Ethiopia!! Cause I don't come back EMPTY HANDED!!!! :)

***So, we are proudly signed with CCI (Celebrate Children Int.) for our 6th child...a son!! My dossier is DONE!! (can yall believe it?? I've been running like mad :) and our last homestudy visit is TOMORROW!!! :) Then, I have to get state seals, authenticate it all...then WHAM...I'm in line for a court date!! The hubby will travel for our first court date by himself....then I'll go for PICK UP!! Lots of "bumps" i'm sure to still come...but praying God's Hand is all over this and he's home soon!!! :) So......we've been known in this adoption blog world for "we love our lucy"....but NOW we're also, "WAITING ON WES!!!!" :) (i need one of those button things you can grab,huh!! )

***THANKS for all your love, support and prayers....we're gonna need them....as we become a family of 8!! :) (and then our family is complete...our family is complete...our family is complete....the hubby wants me to keep practicing saying that :)

Happy New Years 2011!! It's gonna be a GREAT year!! kj