Adoption Shower and update on progress

Over 3 years ago while sitting around some desks in a high school classroom I began sharing our adoption plans with our "lunch group." These ladies listened and encouraged and most days probably thought I had lost my mind, but they have been on this journey with us from the VERY beginning. Today, two of those sweet friends hosted an Adoption Shower for us. We are humbled by the generosity of so many friends. We are thankful for all of the support that we have received and the many prayers that have gone up for our family. There has not been one point in this 3.5 year process that we have traveled alone. As one part of this journey seems to be coming to an end and we prepare for their homecoming, we continue to be blessed by the loving support of so many.

Lovely shower hostess, Christan B. (Not Pictured: Jenny W.)

Process Update:

We really are approaching the end!! It seems surreal to say, but there is a very real possibility that we will be able to travel to pick up the boys (OUR SONS!!) in July. We received word last Friday from USCIS that our paperwork was submitted to them on May 17 for our final review, and as of right now, our case is pending. If there are not any bumps in the road it usually take about 6 weeks to receive final approval. We are also still waiting on their passports to be printed (we really thought we would have them by now), but hopefully we will have the soon.

Please PRAY that we don't have any issues with paperwork and that we get to travel soon to bring our babies home.

Brotherly Love

Our handsome Chancely 

Our Silly Agendo

Mother's Day reflections

Before I began writing this post, I looked back through my blog to check out my thoughts on Mother's Day last year. In my review, I realized that my last Mother's Day post was from 2015. It was then that I realized that this is the 4th Mother's Day that I have anticipated being a mother to 4 children, but we continue to wait. It is important to keep in perspective that in our current case it is not at all about ME waiting to parent two more children, it is ALL ABOUT two more children having a mom to tuck them in and hold them when they cry and encourage them to do well in school and all of the other "mom things" we do.

This Mother's Day is a little different from the other 3 years of waiting, because this year I am their legal mom...I'm their mom :-) and I am SOOOO ready to get to do all of the mom things for them that I get to do for our kids at home.

I'm sure Mother's Day will always have a tinge of sadness in our home, because it is out of our boy's family brokenness in Haiti that we became a family of 6 today. However, I will always do my best to honor our boy's birth-mom. I want to acknowledge, not ignore, the difficulty that must have been experienced to get to this place, but be thankful that, out of sadness, God made us a family. I'm not sure what that will look like as the boys grow older, but I pray that our sons always feel like we are open to the grief they will feel, especially around this special day.

Update on progress: We are going into week 6 of waiting on their passports and we have heard that its been taking about 6 weeks...so we are hopeful that this is the week!! Also, we are hoping to get an email from the embassy saying that our file is in final review. More than likely that email will give us a 6-8 week time-frame of being able to go get them and bring the home. ALL OF THAT being said...anything can happen. We are praying for patience, but greatly anticipating their homecoming!!! God is faithful.

I have been very blessed to be a mom for 8 years. I am so proud to be the mom of Molly, Agendo, Lincoln and Chancely. In honor of Mother's Day I wanted to share some precious moments of our kiddos!! Some of these pics have been posted before, but they are some of my favorites! :-)