Just Another Manic Monday

Monday April 16, 2007 started out as a pretty typical day..........Kiddos to feed, chores to do and supervise, laundry, and school lessons to teach. School was such a priority today that I decided to not even attempt to answer the phone and just let the machine get it. Whew, I had no idea the call I was going to miss around 10:30 am. The Lord was bringing about a moment in time I could only begin to imagine. The call that would change our lives forever and reveal to us the child/ children that would join our family. Oh how I had dreamed of this day, but had not even let myself hope it would really happen until the middle of May. (Ok, maybe it was in the back of my mind quite a bit.......smile)
After teaching Kaylee her lessons and Isaac his math and reading, I decided to check my email. As I opened up my email, I noticed a message from Janette our social worker from Lutheran Family Services in Iowa. She expressed a desire to speak with us. My mind instantly began spinning and wondering, could this be a referral?????? Yes, Lord, please let this be the day. I send the kids outside to play and with shaky hands I dial her number. Busy....... Next my cell phone rings and my sister Lea tries to decipher her older sister's words on the other end. In haste, I promise to call her when I know anything.
All of a sudden my thoughts stop cold turkey. OH no, I think I know what this call is about. The week before I had emailed our worker at Children's Home Society (our adoption agency) to tell her of our desire to change the age limit from 2yrs to 4-5 years for a sibling group. This would make our options even more broad. (infant boy, infant twins, or a sibling group of two with an infant and a sibling up to age 4-5) Surely, Janette is calling because she will have to update our home study yet again. ( We had a typo to correct in Jan) I am sure this has to be the reason for her call. However, I then remembered her message included the statement that she wanted to reach us today. Paper work can always wait, right?! But a referral would definitely warrant a comment like this. My hopes are sky high again.
I dial for the 3rd time and YES! It is ringing........ Now my throat begins to feel thick and my eyes are starting to burn with that "I think I may cry any moment" feeling and my heart is racing. Lord, is this the day? Please let this be the day! Janette answers in her cheerful voice and I immediately identify myself and weakly try to squeak out my question. "Janette, please just tell me yes or no right away. Do you have a referral for us or not. If not I will be fine but I just need to right off the bat." She giggles and says I am taking away her fun. She wanted to begin the conversation by explaining that Children's Home had called her and wanted us to get some more paperwork completed to update our file for an older sibling.
Her next words would cause a flood of tears to burst out and a indescribable sense of joy to overtake my body. She says she does have a referral for our family. As I begin to cry with joy, I quickly call Kaylee, Isaac and Erin in from outside by screaming we have a referral. Come quick and listen. Why I decided to put her on speaker phone is now beyond me. Of course this is the moment Erin begins to whine and complain at Isaac for doing something and he is trying to defend himself. Instantly I turn off the speaker phone and announce it is Iowa Public television time. Yippeeee for the younger two an peace and quiet for Kaylee and I.
Janette first says she has a sibling group. I am sobbing at this point, because all along a desire of my heart was to have a more than one. Kaylee has been praying for two and telling others to pray the same. (smile) Dear Kaylee is crying and giggling at the same time as I scramble for a paper and pencil. Janette assured me that she would forward all this info on email, but for some reason I just kept writing and writing not wanting to miss a detail. The older, Geremu just turned 4 and his baby brother, Habtamu, had just turned one. What happened next totally caught me off guard. I was overcome with a deep sorrow and sadness for the birth family of these precious boys. By giving them up, they hoped to give them life.

Dear precious Father, as I type this memory of this day, I am reminded of the abundant life you give Layne and I as we trust you as our Lord and Savior. Without your grace and leading, we would never have begun this adoption walk on our own. You have blessed us with a renewed faith in the ability to trust in your Sovereignty. You continue to remind us that you will provide the grace we need to get through each new day. In this moment of I am humbled by your power and control over all things. It is evident that You have ordained little Geremu and Habtamu to be a part of our family forever and it is our prayer that we will be able to love them with the love of Christ in hopes that one day they will call you their Lord and Savior. Please grant us the grace to wait patiently for their paperwork to get through the Ethiopian courts. I wonder what they are doing all the way on the other side of the world. My heart aches for them. They have to be missing their family and siblings so much, especially Geremu. Oh how I long to hold them in my arms and pick apart every detail of their faces, and kiss them and become familiar of the smell of their skin. Lord, keep them safe. Provide someone to love them until their mommy and daddy from Iowa can bring them home.