We are in our ninth month with Lil' Cowboy and Brown Sugar.  This time last year we were hopeful that we would be bringing our children home only to find out that someone in the press had fabricated allegations of trafficking.  Of course, the government found that these allegations were false but it did wreak havoc on our plans.  It would be yet another three months before we would have them in our arms.

But, here we are nine months into our adoption journey.   It is so hard to put on paper (or blog) what it feels like after the fact.  You know how you felt before you had your first child and then after you had that same child?  Before you had no idea what you were getting yourself into but you were idealistic and just knew that you were going to be the best mommy yet.  After you found out that there is really no way you could have prepared for this little one.  

 I had some of those same feelings going into adoption.  I had no idea what it would be like and yet I was wise enough to know that it would not be like having your own bio child.  But, I was still idealistic with a bit of worry mixed in.  Would I not want them in my house after we spent all that time, money, and energy to get them here?  Would I want my life back to before the adoption at some point? 

I have not had one moment where I thought "why did we do this?"  but I have to admit that these two children have made me very content with the quiverfull that God has given us.  In my mind, I am fully able to say that we are done and be thankful.   This is a good feeling that I have not had until recently.  So, I am grateful for this new found contentment that this adoption has brought me. 

The thoughts I have had have been along these lines:  I am raising another woman's children,  I wish that I could have had them since birth, training a child at six is much harder then at two, I hope I can love them as much as I love my bio children  I hope they love me as much as I hope to love them.

There are also a lot of questions:  What does Brown Sugar think when she looks at my white skin?  How long will it take before Lil' Cowboy and Daisy finally have that brother/sister bond?  What will it be like when Lil' Cowboy and Brown Sugar are the only ones left to raise in our house? 

I have heard that after six months the honeymoon is over and the children start acting up and not obeying.  Thanks be to God that this has not happened for us.  We have seen foolish and childish behaviour from Lil' Cowboy but it is everything that we would expect from a seven year old who has never had rules or someone to look out for him.  He is bright, energetic, willing to give a hug (and sometimes a kiss), and has a killer smile.  He is a Davis through and through.  And, I believe that he is loving his new life.

Brown Sugar is a smart cookie.  And, she has an attitude to boot!  She has completely bonded with us which has been the biggest help considering that she is a handful.  I would hate to have to deal with bonding issues and her attitude.   She is a delight, fun to be around, listens well, and is learning incredibly fast.  Oh, and she has a killer smile also.

I can't imagine what these kids have gone through emotionally.  How in the world does a child leave his family, travel all the way across the world, live with a new family and not be effected by it all?  The only issue that we see with Lil' Cowboy is that he does not understand the value of things.  That's it.  It really is a miracle and one that we do not take lightly. 

Nine months.  What a gift.

We get many questions about Liberia.  Most do not know where the country is.  Before we brought the children home we would get people who would say "So you're adopting from Russia?" No.  That's LIthuania.  Now that we have our children home it is pretty evident that they are from Africa.  The geography is narrowed down a bit but Africa is a big continent.  There are over fifty countries on the continent.  

West Africa is densely populated with countries.  LIberia is surrounded by Sierra Leone, Ivory Coast, Ghana, and Guinea.  Most of these countries I have grown up knowing about through missionary stories.  Liberia and Sierra Leone have very interesting histories. 

The United States has a vested interest in helping Liberia.  In the 1820s, there was a lot of fuss on what to do with slaves in America.  The British had abolished slavery and were sending their slaves to the British colony of Sierra Leone to start a new life.  Men like Thomas Jefferson felt that black and white people could never live together in harmony.  One of the proposals was to send the black people (those that were free and slaves) to the West coast.  But, many feared that the black people would make an alliance with the Indians, Canadians, and Mexicans and ultimately make war against the United States.  So, the next best idea was to send them back to Africa.  Mind you, this is before the civil war. 

So, many free blacks and some emancipated slaves were sent to Liberia.  We still did not think that they could govern themselves so we sent white Americans to fill those positions.  LIfe was rough on these new immigrants.  There were existing tribes to deal with (these tribes were still selling slaves), adjustment to weather, and the fact that they had to learn how to live in, what was for them, a foreign country.  By the way, Stonewall Jackson (a Confederate General) emancipated his slaves, sent them to Liberia, and helped them establish themselves.  Their letters back and forth is some of the only history  we have of this new colony. 

Over the years, Liberia became its own country.  As with many African countries, Liberia has had many ups and downs.  At one point Monrovia was considered a resort area and was a big, modern city.  After the recent dictatorship of Charles Taylor the country is in ruins.  There is no electricity or running water.  We liken it to what the U. S. would be like if we had a dictator who cut off all utilities.  We would not know how to live without running water, sewers, and electricity or gas.  Lawlessness would take over considering that police and firemen would be completely helpless.  Our lives would change as much as their lives have changed. 

LIberia was prosperous because they have a big economic export: rubber.  Firestone used to have quite a few plants there until the war.  As for the present, Liberia's new president, Ellen Shurleaf Johnson, is trying to reverse years of destruction and corruption.  A bit hard to do when the government is so saturated with corruption.  But, she is really trying and should be applauded for any attempt that she can make to reestablish Liberia as a democratic Africa country. 

I must add that if you have any questions about Liberia or life there I will try to answer them as best I can or lead you to the right resource.  We have gained most of our info from a wonderful children's book that you can get at your local library.  It is called "This Our Dark Country" by Catherinne Reef. 

....usually keeps the Doctor away.  But, in this case, we had to visit the Doctor for our re-adoption process.  We decided to travel up to the hills and visit an MD who would much rather use natural remedies then push steroids and anti-biotics.  He is also sympathetic to those of us who are starting to question the whole immunization issue.

All went well and the kids did good considering that it was nap time and we had been at the office for three hours.  Lil' Cowboy was healthy as can be.  He is about 60 percentile in weight and height.  Brown Sugar is in the 50 percentile range.  Lil' Cowboy will need a lot of dental help and Brown Sugar shows some signs of her former malnutrition.  One of her legs bows a bit but the Doctor told us that this was due to a deficiency of Vitamin C and would eventually correct itself as she grows and is given good nutrition.  In the meantime, we enjoy watching her run.  She has a little wobble that just adds to her cuteness!

I had been praying for a Doctor that would understand where our kids came from but gave up on that idea since most Doctors don't volunteer to go to Africa and learn medicine.  Well, this Doctor is from Switzerland and he did spend two years in Africa.  I had told him what I was hoping for but even having a Doctor that had lived and practiced in Africa would be a plus.  He asked where they were from and then told me that he practiced in Ghana which is just north of Liberia.  Thank you Lord!

We rarely go to the Doctor.  Thankfully, we are very healthy and when we do get sick we usually just up our dosage of Vitamin C , add more garlic to our diet, and use things like Zycam and Cold Calm.   Our pre-adoption visit to the Doctor was disappointing.  His first question to me was "Why are you adopting?  Don't you have enough kids?".  It went downhill from there....questioning our homeschooling, our daugthers thoughts on college, and the fact that our children do not date.  Add to that the questions I had for him on the whole issue of immunization and it pretty much severed our relationship and made me rethink the whole idea of medicine. 

You can imagine then how I felt when I found a Doctor who understands my concerns about traditional medicine and immunizations.  The downside is that most of these Doctors are very much into the mystical.  It would have been a bonus to find a Christian Doctor.  For now though, we feel a sense of relief. 

We had our first and last post adoption home study visit the other day (Liberia only requires one post adoption visit).  We were nervous but not as nervous as the first visit. at the beginning of the process  We did have a different social worker and so we were a bit apprehensive on how she would assess our family.  I don't think that she could have seen anything but love in our family but what about all those other issues?  Immunization, doctor visits, corporal punishment, pool safety.

Michelle was greeted by Brown Sugar and I.  She was a delightful woman who seemed to take a liking to our family right away.  She was here for over an hour just talking, asking questions, laughing with us.  It ended up being a great visit.  She met our hens out in the back and Miss M's bunny.  She loved our farm in the city.  She did not even bat an eye on the issue of no fence around the pool (another issue that is not a concern to the LIberian government but can be to each individual social worker). 

She asked about their immunizations and Doctor visits.  We are in the process of finding a Doctor that will understand and help facilitate our wishes on immunization.  We prefer not to immunize Brown Sugar until she is three or older.  Lil' Cowboy will probably get a few immunizations but we will be very picky due to our convictions of not needing some of them. She was okay with this.  Surprise!  Surprise!

The question of corporal punishment never came up.  Brown Sugar showed some of her latest antics of throwing her head back if she does not get her way.  Thankfully Eric, and his deep voice, was there to keep her in line.  Why is it that men have the ability to just say the child's name and the child immediately obeys and shakes at the sound of their father's voice? 

So, as you can see we were blessed.  Acres of Hope requires new families to have their visit the first month. To be honest, I am glad that we had the social worker out on the sixth month.  It was truly a better assessment of how the children are blending with our family. 

By the end of the visit Michelle asked us if we planned on adopting again.  I looked at Hubbie and he said of course!  We had talked about it but it seems so early after this last adoption.  There are times when I go into the idea with fear and trepidation.  What if the attachment process does not go as smoothly?  What if the child is not as happy about being in America as LIl' Cowboy and Brown Sugar are?  I will try to take these thoughts captive and remember that when you are called to something as great as adopting you have to trust that God is going to see you through the good times and the bad times. 

When Eric was in Liberia, he stayed with the Sheppards, a missionary family who also are a foster home for Acres of Hope.  While he was there he met baby Dorcas.  Dorcas was very tiny.  Eric has pictures showing her leg to be the same size as his finger.  I can't remember how old she was at the time but she was definately under weight.  Medically she has many problems but most can be solved or helped in the U.S. 

Eric was very worried that she would never be adopted and really fell in love with her.  Her chances of survival in Liberia were slim.  I wrote about her and told of her plight on a blog in July. 

Well, through that blog she met her family.  I can not tell you how thrilled we were to meet this family.  Many of you know them.  They blog on this site too.  Homeskoolmom has become a dear friend and yet I have never personally met her.  I've talked to her on the phone and you would have thought that we were long lost friends! 

Well, Auntie Heather (as I am priviledged to be called) is proud to announce that Dorcas is coming home!  The long awaited passport has been signed and she will be home in the next week or two. 

I have tears in my eyes as I realize that this darling baby, that I have not met either but have continually prayed for, is going to be finally held by, cared for, and loved by our new friends. 

Welcome Home Little One! 

A few weeks ago Scharrfy was looking at some pictures and he came across their referral picture.  It has a woman holding Brown Sugar and Scharrfy standing by her side.  He pointed to the lady and said "That's my Ma-ma". 

Whoa!  What?  "That's your birth Ma-ma?" I said.  Which he replied in the positive that yes it is.  I had to hold back the tears as I watched for a reaction from Joe.  He just smiled and then tucked the picture back into the envelope.

I have not been actively encouraging Scharrfy to talk about his birth mother but I have not discouraged it either.  I listen to all the stories that he tells me.  Some of them remind me of the vagueness of Revelations and he is trying to describe things to me in our terms but meaning something totally different.  For example, I highly doubt that the UN police officers use bow and arrows but they must use something quite like it since this is what he uses to describe a weapon they use.  I listen with interest; trying to get a better glimpse into the six years he lived in Liberia.  The stories are fantastic and interesting.  I have learned a lot about the Liberian culture that I would have never known if we had only adopted younger children. 

One day he told me all about his brothers and sisters back in Liberia and some of them that are already in the US.  Another Whoa! What?  Come to find out you call your first cousins your brothers and sisters also.  Whew! I had a moment of concern that we would need to buy a bigger house to accomodate all of his siblings!

But, going back to birth Ma-ma, I found that I wanted to meet her and thank her for these beautiful blessings.  I wanted her to know how much I admire her for giving her children a better life in our family.  I wanted to hug her and tell her that they will be loved and trained and maybe even come back to see her someday.  But, all I can really do is pray for her.  Pray that God will save her soul.  Pray that through the letters and pictures that we send back to the orphanage that she will see His love eminate through her children.  So, in this case our referral picture is worth a thousand prayers.

Well, it has happened.  We have passed the first of many initiation tests as adoptive parents.  Yesterday while Joe was suppose to be napping he was instead unrolling the whole toilet paper roll into the toilet.  This might not be that unusual for young ones but I never did experience it with my bio children and so I am taking it as a step toward my badge of a "true" adoptive parent. 

But, that is not all.  When I went in to talk to Joe about this I got a whiff (and I mean a strong whiff) of Old Spice deoterant.  He had managed to use his big brothers deoterant over the majority of his arms and body.  I stiffled my laugh as I realized what he had done. He had also managed to strip his bed and pull down the shades (a big no-no) in his room. 

There was no big discussion except to let little Joe know that I understand that there is so much new stuff for him to learn and so it must seem overwhelming.  We talked about why we do not do these things and he tearfully apologized. 

I have been watching a video set by Nancy Thomas about RAD which is an attachment disorder.  While I do not believe that Joe has this I have really taken to heart some of the things she has been teaching.  One being to enjoy life with your children.  Have positive and funny moments.  I don't necessarily enjoy plunging the toilet but the deoterant thing was definately something to laugh at.

Today, he smelled similar but not as strong.  I asked if he had used Nathan's deoterant without permission again.  He said with a big smile "No.  Nathan put it on me". I smiled.  He gets it.  It will just take time to get it all.  But for the time being we feel like we have passed one of the many tests that we will likely endure this coming year.   

What a wonderful, busy week we have had.  Our friends have showered us with visits and meals.  What a blessing. 

I came down with the cold that Gabbie had (how could I not with all those kisses!) on Tuesday. We have had a lot of people visiting and a lot of shopping to do to get ready for Hawaii. 

Wednesday was the craziest day of all,  We all went to French class.  It was graciously hosted by a dear friend.  I am not sure how much our children learned from the lesson but I sure had a great time holding Gabbie as she slept.  I was also very excited to see that Joe not only knew his alphabet but could write it.  So, I taught him how to write his name. 

I then sped Nathan and a couple of his friends to Medeival Martial Arts.  Becca stayed with Kendra from Preschoolers and Peace.  Becca sometimes helps Kendra work her way through her house organizing it every summer.  Anyway, I had the two middle girls, Joe, and Gabbie.  We decided to go to In and Out Burger.  This was when I learned that I am a little rusty at the mothering of young ones.  I ended up leaving Mallory, Paige, and Joe at In and Out waiting for our order, while I walked over to Safeway to buy some formula.  Gabbie was finally satisfied, with a bottle in her mouth, on our walk back to In and Out.  I was so happy to find all three that were left behind, sitting quietly playing with sticker cards that Paige went up and asked for.  The order was sitting on the table waiting for me to dispurse it all.  We learned that Joe loves burgers and Gabbie loves fries.

The next stop was Target where I got to use my Ergo pack to its fullest.  What a great gift...thanks Kenj and Lis.  It was sweet to be able to shop and yet communicate with Gabbie.  She would coo and caw and I would coo and caw back.  If you ever needed another endorcement of this pack you found one here.

Can you tell that I am enjoying this new part of life?  I am enjoying every diaper, every blow out, every tear, every bottle, every waking moment with these kids.  They make us all laugh and I am enjoying our older children loving on these little tots.  What a gift! 

Here is the ending of our adventure in Liberia and the beginning of our new family adventure.

As I told you before, I called Eric Friday morning at 7am our time to see what was going on.  He told me that it seemed that all was a go and he was packing.  Donna called me an hour later and told me that they were getting everything together and he would be on the plane.  Well, little did I know how close of a call it all was.  Patty got the Passports for the kids and then ran over to the US Embassy to get all of the paperwork needed to get out of the country.  As the story goes, she then went to pick up Eric and the kids.  By this time it was about 5pm their time and the plane left at 6pm.  So, Patty called ahead to the airport and had the second in command walk Eric through the whole process.  This kept him from getting any grief from each station.  He did end up on that plane but he said it took almost the whole trip to Brussels to realize that it was truly all coming together.

Well, the adventure continued when he arrived in Brussels at 5:30am.  He had a six hour layover there. Two hours before the scheduled flight to JFK he went up to the desk to check in.  This is when he found out that they had no ticket for him.  Somehow the travel agent did not re-issue a ticket for him.  He said that he was the first to check in and the last on the plane.  He ended up having to buy a new ticket for him and Joe..but at least he made the flight.

In the meantime, I headed to SFO Friday night to fly out on the red eye.  For me, this was quite an adventure in and of itself.  As many of you know, my eyesight is failing.  My eyes take over an hour now to adjust to different lighting.  And, I can't drive at night.  So, I had to leave by 5 to get to the airport before the sun went down.  Trying to work myself around the maze of the SFO airport was hilarious in retrospect.  I have to admit that it is times like these that remind me how much I depend on others.  Sad to say, that will be the last road trip I take without a co-pilot.   But, the Lord was gracious and  placed people in my path at the right time all along the way. 

So, I spent the evening listening to Steven Curtis Chapman on my MP3 player and knitting up a storm in the SFO airport.  On the airplane, I had three seats to myself and took advantage of some well needed rest. When I arrived in New York at 7am the next morning I was exhausted.  I tried to sleep but really only rested....there just happened to be a crying baby on board!

I spent the next two hours trying to figure out how to find out where Eric was going to be flying in.  It became increasingly difficult when I realized that anyone who could help me was on the other side of security.  I finally decided to take the plunge and leave the secured area.  Then, I really got the run around.  Due to security measures, they could not give me info on where my husband was.  They wouldn't even tell me if his plane was on time and where I could meet him.  After wandering aimlessly around JFK a UPS cargo pilot asked if I needed help.  By this time, my sleep depraved mind was about to lose it.  He came at just the right time.  I told him why I was there and why I just wanted to know where to meet my husband. So, he set me up with someone who looked like they were important and I was finally given an answer.  She said I would have to meet Eric at the terminal that our connecting flight was flying out of.  Ugh!  All that just to tell me that I couldn't see him until he got to the connecting flight?

But, the story does not end there.  You can't check in to your flight more then four hours ahead of time.  So, I had to wait in the check in lobby until they could check me in.  There were no chairs and so I ended up on the floor for the next hour.  I laugh now because these are things that happen to Eric and I all the time. It always seems like great memory makers after the fact.

So, off I go to the terminal.  And, I sit and wait and sleep and read and knit. It really was an enjoyable time.  Hey, at least they had a Starbucks! 

Eric called me at 1:30 to tell me that he was at the airport.  I quickly filled him in on the fact that I would not be able to meet him until he got past security.  He then called me about a half hour later telling me where he was.  He was not in a hurry since they were starting to board our flight home.  I met him in a hallway of JFK.  Not very romantic but it was pleasant all the same.  He had Gabbie in the baby back pack and he was pulling the carry on. Joe was walking right beside him with Eric's Tivo hat on.  He grinned from ear to ear when Eric introduced me as his new Mama.  I took Gabbie out of the carrier.  What a peanut she is.  She really is very, very small.  They were fine coming to me and giving me hugs.  It was more then I could ask for.  Eric looked like he had aged about ten years.  He was scruffy and his hair was getting long.  He had bags under his bloodshot eyes.  But, oh how I was thankful to see him.  We have truly become one.  He completes me.

When we walked up to the terminal podium we met the two captains that would be flying us to SFO.  They were awestruck by our story and were instrumental in getting us all in the same row.  We ended up in the front row of the airplane and enjoyed the leg room and extra attention from the flight attendants.  Joe loves planes.  He was so thrilled when the plane took off and landed.  He snuggled a bit with me and let me help him.  Gabby was a bit apprehensive  She started to warm up to me when she woke up from her nap.  She is a snuggle bug and will readily put her head on your chest when she is sitting in your lap.  Both did great on the plane.  Eric actually was able to sleep a bit while on the plane as I was there to help with the kids.  We also got to catch up on life.  He told me that he would have missed the flight if it hadn't been for Joe having to go to the bathroom.  Joe does not have a lot of self control and yelled that he had to go pee.  Well, that got the attention of everyone.  Eric told a guard about his dilemna.  The guard told him to go ahead and take him to the bathroom and then make his way to the front of the immigration line since he had these two kids.  Eric later found out that the line usually takes about two hours to get through!  God bless that guard for letting Eric pass through quickly (and God bless Joe for having such great timing!).

We arrived at the SFO airport with no problems.  It did not take us long to get to the car.  The kids did great in the car seats. They are very amiable and compliant.  They have such sweet dispositions.  We drove the two hours home with both the kids fast asleep.  We had to keep reminding ourselves that there is an eight hour difference in time zones. 

When we got home at 9 our friends brought our four older children back to the house  There were a lot of tears of joy that night.  Our friends stayed to enjoy the reunion.  Joe played the drums for us (I must add that he is incredibly talented) and the kids all tried on their new african outfits.  Out with Laura Ingalls and in with African! 

This has gotten so long.  So many of you have asked for details and so that is what I have ventured to give you.  I will post more a bit later on our adventure the days after we arrived home. 

And, we are thankful to be back together. 

My head is spinning right now so I don't think I will write out the rest of our story at this time.  I just wanted to let you know that we made it home safely and are enjoying our two new little ones.  Check in this week to hear the rest of the story and maybe even see a couple of pictures!

I did not get a phone call from Eric yesterday or last night.  So, the majority of this time was filled with anxious thoughts and prayers.  I finally decided at 7:00am our time that I needed to find out what was going on.  I am happy to announce that Eric was busy packing and a bit focused.  He said that Patty got the passport and was hurrying over to the Embassy to get the visas. 

Donna called me and let me know that Patty and Eric were on their way to the airport.  His plane should be taking off any time now.  Barring any complications, Eric should be on it WITH the children. 

I am flying to JFK on the red eye tonight because of some wonderful, gracious friends who dontated their airline miles.  So, I will be reunited with my best friend tomorrow afternoon and introduced to our two new children.  Then, we will be able to enjoy getting to know each other from JFK to SFO. 

Thank you all for your support, emails, posts, and prayers over the past couple of weeks.  It has been a crazy ride and one that we did not expect.  

 It's on the mountain top that you can see clearly.  Not only can you see the valley of despair below that you traveled through but you can see the incredible climb that you just made.   I am exhausted from this long climb but the view from up here is incredible and there is reward and satisfaction of knowing you made it up and conquered the mountain.

Every so often the Holy Spirit reminds me of a song that just seems to fit the moment.  This is the song that I have been humming for the past couple of hours as I wait for the news on whether or not I will see my husband and meet my two new children on Saturday. Please know that I am not finding peace, faith, or hope these past few weeks.  What I  have found is that if it was up to me I would be utterly unable to create these.  But, I solely lean on Jesus Name and realize that He is supernaturally giving these to me as a gift.  I am weak yet He is strong.    Blessed be Your Name

Written by Beth Redman & Matt Redman

Blessed be Your name in the land that is plentiful Where Your streams of abundance flow Blessed be Your name And blessed be Your name when I'm found in the desert place Though I walk through the wilderness Blessed be Your name Every blessing You pour out I'll turn back to praise And when the darkness closes in, Lord Still I will say Blessed be the name of the Lord Blessed be Your name Blessed be the name of the Lord Blessed be Your glorious name Blessed be Your name when the sun's shining down on me When the world's "all as it should be" Blessed be Your name And blessed be Your name on the road marked with suffering Though there's pain in the offering Blessed be Your name You give and take away You give and take away My heart will choose to say Lord, blessed be Your name © 2002 Kingsway's Thankyou Music CCLI# 1596342 Album: Where Angles Tread to Fear

I was just on the phone with Eric again.  It was our second time to talk to each other today.  The first time was a bit hazy in my mind since I was barely awake.  He called to let me know that the passport did not come in this morning so I needed to call the travel agent to see about changing his flight again. Sharon, at Golden Rule Travel, has been wonderful.  She found a Friday flight for Eric and the kids.  Now, I am sure by now that you also have your doubts as to whether or not Friday truly will be the day.  I have my doubts too. But, after our recent phone conversation, I am feeling much more confidant. 

When I was talking to him, he was in the room with the Sheppards, Patty Anglin, and some new folks that arrived, the Zackeys.  Many of you will recognize these names from the Above Rubies magazine.  The Zackey family is very much involded with Children Concerned, another non-profit organization that is helping the children of Liberia.  Anyway, he let me know that the passport has one more step before it is complete.  The lady in the office was holding it but would not let it go today.  Instead she said it would be ready tomorrow.  You thought our government red tape was bad!  So, now the kids and Eric are scheduled to leave Liberia Friday night and arrive in SFO Saturday night. 

In the meantime, we sitll do not know about the situation with his job.  He has an email into them asking that they have mercy on him.  So, here are the updated prayer requests:

• Eric and the kids would actually leave on Friday
• We would somehow come up with the extra $4000 for these new tickets that we had to buy
• Eric would get his work done in the four days between when he comes home and when he is suppose to be traveling to Hawaii for the Navy
• That it might work out that I can fly out to NewYork (using a friends air miles) to meet Eric and the kids and be able to fly back with them. 

There you go.  I can not thank you all enough for standing with us in prayer.  In a future post I will relay what I have learned spiritually through all of this.  But, for now, I am going to take a long awaited nap!

even in the dark, even in the shadow of thy wings.

Right now, life seems rather dark.  I just talked to Eric.  It is 3:00 in the afternoon on Tuesday.  I was expecting to hear wonderful news from him.  I was expecting him to say I have the passport in hand and all is ready for us to board the flight tomorrow.

Instead, I heard him say that the promised paperwork did not come in today.  He has been given no answers. 

My soul is weak right now.  I still have faith in my God, my Creator.  I just do not understand and I have to admit that I am asking why right now. 

I will call Eric at 1:00 our time to hopefully get more info.  But, for now, I guess I am asking you once again to pray on our behalf. 

If I could sum up the whole adoption experience in one word it would be....waiting.  We waited for the paperwork to get done, waited for our referral, waited to pick up our children, and now we are waiting to get that passport for Gabrielle.  Of course, I am waiting to finally meet these children and Eric is waiting to finally come home. 

But, thankfully, there is something that I can do while I wait.  And, maybe that is the reason for all this waiting.  I can pray and pray more.  And, at the end of this process I can truly say that I am a different person because God has truly sanctified me through it. 

We have an answer to all of our ferverant prayers.  I just got off the phone with Eric.

He had a very impromtu visit with the American Embassy to finalize all of our paperwork on the US side.  He said it was not a fun ordeal but will give me more details when he gets home.  The US Embassy staff that he talked to will not allow the sibling group to be separated.  This obviously helped Eric make his decision.

Patty later found out that the passport had been found and was promised to be in their hands either by Monday or Tuesday.  So, Eric is staying in Liberia until Wednesday.  He will be home Thursday night. 

Isn't God incredible?  All night I tried to figure out different scenerios but none was quite like this one.  Thank you for your prayers on our behalf.  We now can praise the Almighty for His gracious answer to our prayers. 

If you would still like to bow your head for us, here are some other requests.

• Joseph and Gabbie both seem to have another bout of Malaria.  Please pray for healing since they have a long trip ahead.
• Eric will come directly home to a lot of work for the business he is in.  He will only have 8 days before he leaves for Hawaii.  July is now going to be a very energy draining month.  I am praying for his strength to hold out.

availeth much....and that is what we are asking for.  We are asking that our brothers and sisters in Christ would pray without ceasing for us right now.

Eric is feeling much better but received rather bad news today.  We have been waiting for the passports for Joseph and Gabbie.  Well, Joe's came in today but Gabbie's did not.  They are not sure why and have done everything, including bribery, to get her passport to no avail. 

There is a 10% chance that it will come in tomorrow.  That seems rather slim but our God is a God of miracles.  So, we are asking for a miracle here.

If the passport does not come in then Eric will have to make a choice of either leaving on Sunday with just Joseph or staying longer and wait for Gabbie's passport to show up.  This is a hard decision since it could affect his job.  Please pray for Eric as he is torn right now with what is the right thing to do.  He is bonded to these kids and can't imagine leaving Gabbie with the orphanage again but the reality is that he needs the job to make money.  Yet, he does not want a job or money to be the reason to make a choice.  Thank you for your prayers. 

We found out today that because Eric is taking the same flight out just on a different day, we will not have to pay the extra charge of $175 per person.  But, we still have to pay the $100 per person for the Delta flight between JFK and SFO.  She said that sometimes they waver this so we are hoping and praying.  So there is our praise for the day.

Now for the prayer part.  Eric informed me that he was sick.  While he was telling me this Gabby was in the background screaming.  The honeymoon is over and it couldn't have happened at a worse time.  Here are the prayer requests:

• That the medicine would kick in and Eric would feel much better.  He could use some endurance during this time of laying a firm foundation for the kids. 
• That the Sheppard family, who have been such a blessing to us, would understand when Eric disciplines Joe and Gabby.  (We do not give choices to our children until they are able to cheerfully take every choice that we make for them- this is foreign to Joe and Gabby but essential for living in the Davis family).
• That the Sheppard family would be given a big measure of grace and mercy during this time of sharing their home with Eric and the kids.  I know that after a while it must be very hard to have someone stay in your home for so long. 
• Peace for our family at home who is rather melancholy about the whole deal.  I have to go do some work for Eric tomorrow which is also weighing heavy on my mind since it means I have to step out of my comfort zone.

Have I told you how much I appreciate your prayers? It is such an incredible feeling to know that there are so many out there that care and pray a quick prayer for our family. 

Quick update....just talked to Eric.  So, that means he did not leave today for the US.  Ugh!  We have booked another flight for him on Sunday the 2nd hoping that this time he will actually be able to leave the country.  The problem?  He is waiting for the government to get their work done.  They have warned that they do not want to be rushed.   So, we will wait through the weekend for them to return home. 

Prayer request: 

• That Eric will truly be able to come home on the 3rd of July  And, that there will be no more delays. 
• That I would have the strength and fortitude to do Eric's work for him (he is a manufacture rep for companies like Adobe, Tivo, and Sandisk).  I will have to do some store calls for him whih is much more up his alley then mine. 

I talked to Eric again today.  What a thrill to be able to speak with him.  The passports came in today but with only one signature instead of the two needed.  I guess they could not get a second signature due to the embassy employees watching the Liberians play in the World Cup championships?!?

So, we must wait till the last minute to see if he can get on the plane or not.  He told me to call him tomorrow at 1:00pm our time.  If he answers then he will be coming home on Monday night.  If he doesn't answer then he will have already left the country.  Crazy, huh? 

I got to talk to Joseph and Gabby on the phone today.  Joseph said hi and then listened to me babble my way through a conversation.  Gabby laughed for me and did some of her famous singing  I guess when she is happy and content she sings to herself.  She will do just fine in the Davis family!

I also asked Eric about the six month old baby.  Her name is Dorcas.  So, now we have a name to go with the prayers.  A friend of ours went as far as to email the Gates foundation in hopes of getting some kind of funding to bring her over here.  It doesn't hurt to dream big.  Like I said, if we had the funds to take care of her medical needs we would bring her over in a heartbeat. 

Prayer requests for today:

• That Eric will be able to leave the country tomorrow.  We found out that to change the tickets to Sunday will cost us around $800.  So, tomorrow is looking better and better all the time.
• Traveling mercies for Eric and the kids.  Remember, these kids have rarely even traveled in a car let alone in an airplane for 18hr.  Eric has a lay over in Brussels for 6 hrs starting at 5:30am.  So, you can imagine that he will need traveling mercies.
• That Dorcas will find a home soon.  And, that the US government will start being helpful in getting these children out of the country.  We seem to not have a problem letting illegal immigrants over the Mexican border but have a big problem letting orphaned children into the country (sorry if I have said this a couple of times already...we just have quite a few friends who are waiting to bring their children home but are being held up by the US and Liberian government. )

So, no more news until tomorrow at 1:00pm