Merry Christmas Eve and more

Six years ago tomorrow marks the beginning of our journey of infertility, adoption and of abundant blessings. That Christmas Eve I was taken to the emergency room where after many hours of waiting and surgery, we found out that I had severe endometriosis. Those first few months were very painful both physically, spiritually and emotionally for both Chris and me. As I look back I wish that I would have always rejoiced and hoped in the Lord to shine through miracously, but honestly there were days when I sulked and mourned because of what we were facing. Adoption had been in our hearts since we were both young, and after five years of waiting we finally could see the fruit of those years of praying and longing for children.

Today as I thought back to that Christmas Eve night, I stared at our precious boys in amazement that now those years of hurt are no more...what was once ashes are now beautiful sons born of our hearts. We are completely and wholeheartedly so thankful to the Lord for the pain that we experienced. As a result of these days, we were taken through deep times of cleansing and healing, truly seeing who we are in the light of Christ. These trials put in our hearts a greater desire to know and press on to our Maker...eyes opened to His marvelous plans and perfect nature...and the two most incredible boys!! Also, about two years ago as I was praying the Lord spoke ot my heart that I was healed, His mighty works were confirmed the next time I went to a doctor. What a gift from the Lord and how blessed I have been by countless loved ones who have prayed and prayed for us. I never want to stop singing His praises. Amen. Praise and honor to Jesus our King for all that He has done on our behalf.

Our boys are "officially" US Citizens. Hallelujah. It was such a special day as we saw so many children from different countries and states being adopted into their forever families. What a remarkable journey the Lord has allowed us to walk. You can see from the picture that Z seemed to be very interested in the balloons as we waiting for the judge.

Our wonderful brother graduated from college and is now moving on to Medical school. We are so proud of the both of you-Brandon and Lindsay! They are so full of such joy and passion and we just absolutely love being in their presence.

These sweet friends had us over from some wonderful Korean food and great conversations.

Recently, we had some friends over for dinner. I was actually just a helper that night in the kitchen, while our friend cooked the incredible Chinese food. It was so good. Its crazy how often we crave Chinese food. Oh, how we are missing everything about Asia these days.

Some of the girls preparing the yummy food. Our friend in the back was a super chef!!


This was what was leftover after the group consumed all the tasty food.

Our baby boy loves to clap his hands...precious.

If we ask Z if he is praising Jesus, he lifts His hands and sometimes sings...it is just adorable and how it melts our heart. What a sweet reminder of the LOVE of our great God and His desire that we come to Him with a pure heart.

thankful and hopeful...and 4 months home

After 3 years of celebrating Thanksgiving in Asia it was very special to be able to spend time with family this year, as well as having the boys home for their 1st Thanksgiving . My heart is full of gratitude for how the Lord has poured out favor over life and yet I am so undeserving. There is so much to be Thankful for.


These days are full of uncertainty for us, as what we thought was "our timeline" for future events now is very unclear at the moment. As we wait on the Lord, to see His plan for us unraveled, we know that we can trust and completely rest assured that His ways are wondrous and trustworthy. Although, I am certain that with everything I am, I can trust His ways; still in my heart, I am longing for the life of what I thought was His plan. My heart is hopeful for this time He has given me, where the Father is tenderly drawing me nearer so that I will seek His face.

I am so amazed by my dear hubby who is able to walk by faith and when plans and circumstances change; is able to ask God what is next and not become stagnate but excited about what is the next step in the journey of faith. I so admire him for this. Well, I pretty much just love and respect everything about this man. have I mentioned what an incredible father he is...so patient, fun and dedicated to seeing them raised for the glory of the Lord. A fun day at the park with my family

Our big boy's 1st birthday celebration
The weekend before Thanksgiving we celebrated Ezekiel's 1st birthday. He actually was in Ethiopia for his 1st birthday but for several reasons we decided to wait to celebrate. He seemed to enjoy being the center of attention, opening presents and of course eating some yummy chocolate cake.



The family celebrating Zeke's birthday.
In just over a month we will celebrate our baby's first birthday...
my how they grow up so quickly.

Last week we passed 4 months of having the boys home. The first few months were so overwhelming for us as we were adjusting to being parents of two, returning to the US (actually our first night in our home here was the night we returned from Ethiopia :), Chris as a full time grad student, lack of sleep...all these led to small amounts of time to sit and think about anything too deep.

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Lately, I have thought so much about our boy's life before they came home. There have been moments of tears and heart ache, prayers of thanksgiving and a lot of wondering about their family in Ethiopia. It's difficult because there are so many parts of the puzzle that we will never know so I ask for wisdom in how to live out this journey not only for us but also for our boys. Though there have been these moments, mostly I have spent my time singing praises to our heavenly Father for His compassion and goodness to bless our lives with these gifts. I just am overcome with thankfulness these days for all that He has done for me.

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Today, I have been meditating much on the fact that He is a compassionate Savior as He healed and restored the lives of the 2 blind men in Matthew 20 by opening up their eyes and giving them love...so too Jesus has healed so many wounds in my heart . One way He has done this is by allowing me the great privilege of being Ezekiel Biniyam and Nehemiah Matias mother. Just as the blind men wanted to go with and follow Jesus after they had personally experienced His touch and love...I too desire to follow my Maker wholeheartedly because of His tender touch and unending love.

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Thank you Jesus for opening up my eyes and for healing my heart so that I can see Your glorious workings and follow that ancient path that you have laid out before us.

I simply love my boys

My posts are pretty much just pictures of our boys with an occasional pic of my dear hubby and I...but our boys are just full of cuteness and sweetness so I can't help myself!! Each day our lips sing praises to Jesus for allowing us the amazing privilege of being their parents. There is so much to share of what He is teaching my heart and the many ways they are changing and how they bless our souls, but instead I will just leave you with pictures of Zeeke and NiMe (chinese+english= nickname)Oh, the sweet kisses we all receive from Zeeke

Z does the funnest things every day, here he is showing us his cute mouth.

What a joy to see them enjoying a moment together...they don't sit for too long.

I think my favorite picture of him thus far. We just love his big hugs.

This is the end result of a series of a picture where the boys were having fun rumbling. They both shared moments of victory on this day.

His big hugs totally melt my heart.

We now have a walker and a crawler...our life is even more busy.

He is full of sweet looks and smiles

His first black eye (and big cut). His brother accidentally dropped something on his eye, he cried for a second and then was all smiles again.

He gets this big bag and takes it all the way to his room. I didn't get a good picture of him carrying it but it is just the most adorable thing, i guess by this time he was tired so he decided to drag it. He is not only strong but tidy.

On this day, I decided to tell a Bible story through an activity. We started off by telling the story of Noah and the Ark, then it went to Jonah and the big fish and finally to Jesus calming the sea. The boys seemed to really enjoy it and were not too happy when I decided it was clean up time...

thus the reason for his very upset face. He was not the only one who was unhappy...his brother shared the same expression.

Maybe next time I will not wait so long to post...so that the post is not so long!! :)

Fall is For Fun

These days have just been super fun. We have been spending lots of time at home but occasionally get out and get to have some family fun.



We went to this wildlife place and got to get up close and personal with all types of animals. I am pretty sure Chris and I enjoyed it more than Zeke and NeMe.

HIGH POINT:

Getting to feed the giraffe.

Even though he stuck his head in the window, I have to admit I was a little scared, but of course had to hide it so as not to scare the boys.

LOW POINT:
The osteriches.

they were as cute as a button but they would chase you down and if you had your window down get just a little too close. They have some major reach with that long neck!!
our little cutie pie sleeping

I love this face. It's as if he is saying, "Dad, we were supposed to go and see the Rams first not the zebra's, we are definitely lost". Or maybe, "There are a lot of endangered animals we need to start saving".

Our baby

He is too cute in this hat from Ethiopia

ADORABLE

As Chris and I are sharing a sweet moment our little Zeke decides to put a leaf in his little bubba's ear...oh, the fun of having two little boys!!

Such a picture to me of how i am to live in the Father's light and glory

Best buddies

Our little one's just love them some daddy time!

Mr. Handsome

Life seem to get sweeter and sweeter with each passing day. The boys personalities are really coming out and they entertain and amaze us daily as they do new things: new funny faces, sitting up, walking, high five's, clapping and dancing...they are just bundles of fun. Our hearts rejoice that our bond continues to strengthen with them and also as they become close brothers. Oh, how we love our Ezekiel and Nehemiah. We are overjoyed with how the Father has blessed us beyond measure with these treasures.