Catching Up

So, it has been a while since our last post, and I thought I would catch you up.  


Our fall was very busy with a new school for our girls, volleyball, soccer, and cheer leading.  The girls enjoy their new school and have made lots of new friends.  Our holidays were much too short but were filled with family, friends, lots of food, and laughter.  We put a lot of miles on the car, but it was well worth it!


On January 6th we received word that we had obtained our certificate of non-appeal.  This was wonderful yet surprising news.  We did not know we had even passed court in country yet.  This certificate is very significant because it means that we have been approved by the Congolese courts to adopt the girls, the judge has decreed them to be our children, and no one stepped up to stop the judgement, meaning no one appealed the judges decision!  We were overjoyed!  God's timing in this was beautiful.  A friend, Amy, that lives nearby had offered to take gifts to our girls when they traveled to pick up their daughter from the Congo.  Our agency chooses not to tell the children the have been selected by a family to be adopted until they have passed court. (I think this is wise because it does not create heartache in the children if something goes wrong.)  Because we passed court just before they traveled, they were able to give the gifts to our girls!  Otherwise the gifts would have been held in reserve by the country coordinator until we had passed court.  


We were blessed to see many pictures of the girls that Amy and her husband, Jeff, took while visiting the orphanage.  We finally saw our youngest one's smile.  Every picture up to this point she had looked so sad.  Our hearts overflowed.  It was also wonderful to hear that our daughters and Amy's daughter are friends.  God will take these girls from the Congo and move them half way around the world, and set them only an hour away from each other!  It gives me chills!  Amy also gave us some insight into their personalities and clothing sizes too.  We are forever grateful for this family.


As of now we are still waiting for the rest of our court documents to come in.  We thought they would come in closely behind the CONA, but 5 weeks later there is still no news.


 We know that God has every aspect of this adoption in His hands and that His timing is perfect, but it is still hard to wait.  I often see the big picture and see it all well and good; it is in the details that I struggle to trust God.  I know that is silly, but I know that is what makes me human.  I see that God is growing me in this time and teaching me to trust Him with every detail.  God is not reactive, His sovereign over every aspect of our lives. He is teaching me to be utterly dependent on Him, His timing, and His grace.  In Him I find peace.