The little boy in the blog.

So a while ago our friends Lindsey & Le were in the process of adopting from Ethiopia and since Scott and I have talked about adoption for a long time, we followed the blog. Okay, Scott followed the blog, I stalked it. Well, a friend of theirs had recently flown across the world to get her daughter and bring her home. I'm nosy so I wanted to see more and there was a video of the day she went to go get her little girl.....otherwise known as "Gotcha Day". The video of Lucy Lane's Gotcha Day made me cry. Not the kind of cry where you gently wipe a few tears from your cheek and still look pretty, the kind of cry when you can't catch your breath, your face scrunches up and you wipe the snot away with whatever is within reach. Don't misunderstand, it's not a sad video it's just raw and real and how often do you get to witness the exact moment in time when God's plan comes together and you SEE lives changed. Anyway I showed it to Scott the second he walked in the door and we talked, like we had before about adoption and how we felt that's in our future except that day the talk was different, deeper, but still the same outcome. Now is not the time, God is still working.

Here is Lucy Lane's Gotcha Day Video



So Lindsey is inspiring with her love for orphans, she is truly passionate and it's infectious! She posts a link to this organization called Drawn From Water that I had never heard about. Did I mention I'm nosy? I go to the site and there's a video. Did I mention I love videos? I watch the video. I am changed. Literally, this video changed me. I do not go a day without thinking about this orphanage and these kids.



So just like the song says, now that I have seen, I am responsible. I can feel a sense of responsibility and guilt for not doing more but I have no clue what to do, so I stalk that blog too. For those that are counting, we're up to 3 at this point. Then we fast forward; I start a new job, Scott & I get married, football season starts and we find out we're having a baby. Awesomeness, all of it. Still I check the blog and feel this sense of responsibility and guilt.

Then one day I see this face
and I know that day that while I cannot do much in this world, maybe Scott & I can do something for this little boy. So I email Levi and beg him to tell me who kid #10 is and what we can do. I already know that the children at the Drawn From Water orphanage are not available for adoption at this point, maybe never. Levi tells me that they are starting a sponsorship program and we can be the first sponsors and we can get THIS boy! Well, we do!! So now this little boy is ours; maybe not in our house, but we send our sponsorship and we try to do the best we can to make sure he gets what he needs to feel loved by people he's never met. Who knows, maybe it's in God's plan that someday we could have our own Gotcha Day with Kulo aka kid #10, maybe it's not. Either way this sweet boy is ours,
even if it is in some small way. Seriously, look at that face! Can't wait to get him in an Sooners (or Hawkeyes) shirt!!!

So just pray for Kulo and all those other kiddos who have a new life but still no families. Pray for us as we get ready to welcome this baby but still wonder about other kids that may be ours out there somewhere.

Oh and Lucy Lane's Gotcha Day video didn't just inspire me, watch her 1 year later to see what God has done........it's astounding.

18 Weeks & a little update

Well, here's an update of where we're at...

~ We are 18 weeks & 1 day into this little adventure.

~ Had another checkup and little monkey is doing great with a strong heartbeat. We go back in 2 weeks for the big ultrasound and last visit with the perinatologist, which is good because those doctors are astonishingly expensive.

~ Today is our big game with rival East Central so we are hoping for a win. Specifically hoping for a big win so that this poor child will not have to endure yet another close game. Our last two games, which we won, have gone into double overtime and overtime. The two games prior to that went down to the last second but did not end the way we wanted. This little monkey is either going to handle stress without missing a beat OR run screaming into his/her room and hide in the closet during stressful situations!!

~ We were given an awesome opportunity recently that has helped calmed some nerves. The pregnancy center in town is using Baby Courter as an ultrasound model so we are able to see our little one weekly if our schedules allow. It helps them with training hours and it helps us in-between doctor appointments have that assurance that everything is okay in there.

~ Neither one of us have felt monkey kick yet, although we don't know what we're waiting to feel so it very well could have already happened.

That's all for now but we'll keep you posted!!! More baby pictures to come in the next few weeks!!!

It Was The Best of Times, It Was The Worst of Times

It has really be a rough few weeks. Our favorite team has had several tight games that did not end the way we want, which is unfortunate considering how many hours Scott puts in. I have been swamped at work (which is never good) and this week is shaping up to be an ugly one also. I have become an emotional, panicky wreck who worries constantly that the baby's heart is still beating and poor Scott is left trying to calm my nerves while not aggravating the beast. That is why we've been absent from blogland.....I've been scared to post anything new for fear that something might go wrong. Yet during all this; the losses, the sad cases, the fear and the worry, something amazing is still happening. Our tiny monkey is still growing bigger and stronger everyday and with every day that passes I become more aware that this blessing might actually come to fruition.

It really is amazing......


That this love,



Created this tiny, wonderful blessing,



That will grow up to walk her,



And hopefully someday go with us to the other side of the world to meet him,

(more about that precious boy in another post)


So see, even though we have a record of 1-4, with a caseload that can be overwhelmingly sad and facing an unknown future we are still amazed at the blessings we've been given, AND WE ONLY NAMED 4!!!!!! Even in the worst of times, it's always the best of times.

We leave you with these simple words from a favorite hymn in case this post finds you in the worst of times....

"Count your blessings, name them one by one,
Count your blessings, see what God hath done!"