April

I'm finding that to narrow your thoughts to fit in a blog is difficult.  You have no idea how lucky you are as I have typed this entry many times...and you would have had to wade through SO much extraneous information...
Here's a condensed glimpse...
Our April is always busy!  Isaiah and Eva share the very same birthday - it's so neat!  Our oldest and youngest both born on the same day - 6 years apart. 
Very different circumstances - Isaiah's being born meant struggle - the angels of Heaven were sent to surround him in a unique way as he fought to breathe, never ate independently until 12 months, was poked and prodded and labeled, hospitalized repeatedly and given up on by all human standards.  His smile is a miracle - his life is blessed. 
Eva -- no less blessed - she came into this world knowing that she was wanted...I was there and she was more than a little upset about the whole process - she held onto my finger so tightly, nearly causing it to lose feeling.  She had a "princess" mentality even then.  Her coming into our family was anticipated by all -- celebrated - rejoiced over immediately.
When you think  of children who will be born tonight...pray for the ones who are not wanted.  Pray that they will experience, as we believe Isaiah experienced, a complete peace that is God-given.  Jesus cries with these babies, He hurts for them, He loves them and He holds them close so that they are not alone.  In their brokenness, they were created for a purpose.
I always end up thinking along these lines in April - Isaiah loves sharing his birthday, by the way - that's one of the questions we are often asked.  And they do SHARE it...in every way.  Some have wondered if we have separate parties for them.  No, if God had intended us to do that, He would have had them born on different days.  I'm sure there's a neat reason behind this connection.  For Annie, April is a lesson in patience -- and us constantly reassuring her that even though it isn't her birthday she is not forgotten. 
In addition to all the birthday preparation, we were preparing for our home study.  That meant lots of cleaning and organizing.  Our home study visit went well.  If you're unfamiliar with the process, a home study is mostly characteriozed by transparency.  Eric and I both answered 56 autobiographical questions such as: how do we resolve conflict, our discipline approach, our financial situation, our friends, family, histories...the Social Worker knows many things about us! 
Tonight, Eric is finalizing a list of what needs to be completed for our dossier.  The sooner we get it in the better.  Our son is waiting on us.  That thought alone propels us into action.  We have a little boy waiting on his family to come and get him and take him home.
We are looking at August-September as our possible travel months if things keep going as smoothly as they are so far.  That's exciting!  I keep imagining this time next year and another little boy running around - such nice thoughts.
Here are some specific ways you can pray for us:
For our little boy waiting....pray that God will surround Him with safety.  I have known some real moments of anxiety over his safety.  We don't know if he's been moved to the adult mental institution but that would be a bad thing when you're 5.  The typical moving age from the baby house is 4...we pray he has been overlooked thus far.  Also for him, pray that God is preparing his heart to receive us.  When you're an orphan with no hope for the future, it's hard to all of a sudden accept that change into your life gracefully.  No matter how bad your "normal" is - some children cling to it as it is known. 
For us, our family has experienced spiritual attacks since we began this process - do you know what Satan hates even more than us raising our biological children to know and love God?  It's bringing orphans into the mix....if you think about it, Satan has got orphans right where he wants them, desparate and without hope, unwanted and broken.  When Christian families seek to change that, he fights.  We are praying for God's powerful protection on our family. 
On a sweet ending note, I got a message from a friend of mine that her daughter is selling strawberry plants to raise money for our adoption.  Isn't that neat?  Thank you, Ella!