Just About 3 Weeks Left

I am praying now that the time goes as quickly between trip 1 and 2 to Ethiopia as it has since August 16th when we found out our court date to now! At the time I felt like it would be forever until we were able to leave for Ethiopia. Now it is a mere 22 days away. I feel like my "to-do" list gets longer and my time is becoming much more limited. Vaccinations, packing, sub plans, court documents to finish and get approved, getting them notarized, taking our dog to my parents, etc...and all this on top of regular, busy life. 

This will be trip 1 of 2 trips for us (well, if not more).  This will be our Ethiopian court appointment and the first time we get to meet our children. Our second trip will be about 8-10 weeks later....maybe longer (hopefully not). As I had posted before, one of our referral's (Judah) orphanage was closed a few months ago. To make a really long story short and to be sensitive to many issues at hand, there will have to be a review of all cases of children who were from orphanages closed to determine whether they can still be adopted. Because of this we do not know what will happen with his case and most likely, if we can proceed with his adoption, it will have to be processed at a later date. At this point too, because of the government issues we are unsure if we will even be able to visit sweet baby Judah. This is a hard reality to face.

We are so excited to meet Silas who is such a sweet miracle to us. He has already overcome so many obstacles in his short life and we are amazed at God's work through this little boy. He has grown and gotten so chubby! I absolutely can not wait to hold him! It does make this trip a little bittersweet. It is so hard to think that we will be in this country and yet we probably won't be able to visit with the other sweet baby we have been dreaming of as our own for months now. We have been preparing for two and may only meet 1.

I am asking for prayers as I have never been through anything comparable to this my whole life. I am not sure I even know how to comprehend it all. I know the Lord has been with me through this time of waiting and uncertainty and I am praying for the continueed peace He has given me. I am praying we can see baby Judah and that by some miracle we can go ahead and have our court case for him along with Silas. I am praying that we will PASS our court date for one or both boys, because if certain government documents are not ready then our delays in bringing our children home will be longer. I am praying for strength because I know that getting on that plane to come back to the US without either of them is going to break my heart. I am praying God will bless us with peace and comfort in knowing He is at work for the good.