Wednesday, October 31, 2018

Habtamu James: Family of Five

Three weeks after we buried my mom and a week after we found out my dad's cancer had returned, we got our referral that matched us with Habtamu, our son.  It was a bitter sweet day to say the least.  After almost 3 years of paperwork and waiting, we had a picture of our son.  Words cannot express all the emotions that I felt. In the midst of such excruciating grief, the Lord was bringing beauty from ashes.  Honestly, it took me quit a while to even allow myself to feel anything.  A dark cloud of grief was hanging over my head and would stay there for long time to come.  



This is one of the first pictures we received of our son.  The journeys to Ethiopia were long and hard, but oh so worth it.  8 months after our referral, we brought our son home to stay.  His transition has been nothing short of amazing.  He and Noah are the best of friends, and Karis loves her other brother so much.  He brings laughter, silliness, smiles, and such a servant and kind heart into our family.  I truly feel our family is now complete.  There is so much more I could say, but more will come as I get to share all that is going on in his life.  


A more recent picture of Habtamu.  What a difference 3 years makes! I am so blessed to be his mom and that the Lord chose us to be his parents.  The bond of a mother is not merely genetics, Habtamu is my son and I am his mother.  The love of a child really is not based on blood, biology, or actually carrying him/her in your womb.  I love him just the same as my biological  kids and know they are all three a gift from the Lord.

Monday, October 22, 2018

Starting Anew

It has been 5 years since I have posted on my blog.  To even try and sum up these years in one post would be absolutely ridiculous.  My heart has been crushed, overjoyed, bruised, renewed, delighted, sorrowful, and lighthearted.  So many emotions have filled this house that the Lord has blessed us with.  So many changes to our family, our house, our lives, and our church.  The journey so far has cost me my best friend, completed our family with our youngest child, sustained us in our ministry, given us deep and constant roots in our family, church, and community.  I hope to expound on each of these in the next few posts and then hope that a glimpse into our daily lives and all the Lord is teaching us will spur and challenge us all.  Here is to starting anew....

Our most recent family picture