Adoption update

I CAN'T BELIEVE that it's Dec 1st and I have failed to update my blog since Aug. 9th. Good grief! I promise to try and do better:)

We are heading into our 6th month of waiting for the referral of our little boy! I know that anyone who has walked this adoption journey before knows how difficult it can be to SIT AND WAIT! We talk about him and pray for him with the kids or friends and family who check in and see how things are going but, mostly...we sit and wait!

Friends have told me that this is the hardest part...waiting for your referral. It seems to drag on each day and you swear your phone will never ring! We don't know who he is just that he is alive and in Uganda needing a family to love him and care for him.

Dare I say, that some days we are so busy with our other 3 children that it actually feels like its not even real and will never happen. Once in a while the days drag on when all my kids are in school and I "try" to stay busy with housework, reading my adoption, coffee dates, etc...to help pass the time. Don't get me wrong, I have LOVED these past 3 months with the kids in school and days to myself enjoying the quiet house and being able to lounge in my jammies listening to my favorite podcasts, cooking or just sitting quietly. But...my heart has a longing that was placed there by God and it will continue to long until He completes the journey that He started in our hearts exactly a year ago this month!

Waiting patiently

Ok . . . so sorry . . . I am still here!

Life keeps moving forward each and everyday. Our family is LOVING this summer! We have taken a trip to Montana to visit friends and then off to Alberta to visit my family and more friends! It was such a treat for me to reconnect with wonderful people who have helped shape me into the woman I am today. I haven't really been home (Alberta) much in the past 3 years, so for our family to take the time and make it happen was truly a blessing to me:-)

We have tried to swim as many days as possible, have friends over for bbq's, we've attended summer church camp, participating in community concerts and outdoor movies have just been a few of the highlights! And...just last week soccer and softball have started up AGAIN! I swear I can hear the leaves rustling in the wind getting ready to turn colors:-)

It has been a wonderful summer that I have enjoyed everyday with my 3 munchkins and sometimes many more...but something has been missing deep in my heart...our little boy all the way over in Uganda is not home yet!

Our adoption update:

Our paperwork, home study and our online training are all done! We went to get our biometrics fingerprints on June 7th. We left expecting a good 45 day wait to hear back (that was about average of how long our friends had been waiting). We were shocked on June 18th when our FDL showed up at our home in 11 days!! Maybe God knew we needed that:-)

We so we have officially been on the waiting list for almost 2 months. We have been told to expect to wait at least 6 months before we get our referral call for our son! Some times the days drag on and seem to go by so S.L.O.W.L.Y and other days I can barely keep up!

These past few months have been a good time for our family to pray diligently for him and to expect great things as we seek the Lord as a family on behalf of "little Valdes".

We also want to thank each of you for your prayers and support! Also, so many of you have gone out of your way to show love and financial support for our family as we move forward to bring our son home!

Thank you, thank you!! God is using you to be a part of something GREAT!

I promise to do a better job updating the blog and sharing the AWESOME things God is doing!

It's all about Jesus!

Erin & Valdes fam

God keeps leading...

Hey family and friends,

I'm sorry that I have been out of commission for a while.  I told you all that blogging is NOT my thing and it takes EVERYTHING I have to sit down and write my thoughts, feelings or circumstances down!  So here I sit after some prodding from my dear hubby and sweet friends :-)

Adoption update:
We had our first homestudy meeting a few weeks ago and God was evident that He is still in this process with us and He is still leading us!  During our homestudy visit, Jeff and I were asked if we knew about their pilot program for Uganda.  Those of you who know us know that we have been serving in Uganda since 2002.

The last we heard is that you had to live in Uganda for 3 years to be eligible for adoption, so from the beginning we did not think Uganda could be an option. Our coordinator told us that the program has changed and is now an option for families in the USA.  The Uganda program is still so new they won't advertise it until they have successfully worked with several families.

Jeff and I went home and prayed about what to do.  We have so many dear friends, loved ones and ministry partners in Uganda and we believe we will ALWAYS be involved there!  God made it clear to us that that is EXACTLY where He is leading us.  If we had not pursued Ethiopia then we may never have found out about the Uganda program where we believe we are to be.

So...we have officially moved over to the Uganda program and will be adopting a little boy from Uganda (hopefully this year!) 

We are still in the paperwork process, and America World allowed us to change programs (countries) at no additional costs.  Our homestudy should be done in the next few weeks and then we move to complete our Dossier.

We want to thank you all who have sent emails of love and support!  We love having a team of friends and family supporting us and praying for us as we move forward. 

Boys will be Boys!

 So my boys headed out of town last week to have some real "male bonding"!  Anything that involves shooting "something that breathes", the girls and I freely let them go (in the freezing cold, up "way too" early, and cleaning out dead animals).  We will happily stay home and watch a few romantic Janette Oak movies:-) 

We are trying to keep ourselves busy as we wait for our paperwork from America World.  Somehow our check has been lost in space so we are now trying to track it down so we can actually start our dossier!  Thankfully, a few weeks ago I ordered birth certificates for Jeff & I.  At least I feel like I have done SOMETHING!  I have heard it said that once you start your dossier it's like starting a 40hr a week job...oh my!

Hopefully, next time we will have something exciting to share besides dead birds!

Much love, 
Erin  

Accepted!

Okay, so this past week we got our official acceptance to the Ethiopia program with America World.  So, we are NOW in full swing of all the "crazy" paperwork.  PLEASE PRAY FOR ME...I am not the most organized woman out there (I know...a surprise to all who know me) and it will take all that I have in me to keep my paperwork in any kind of organized fashion!

Oh my, this is just the beginning!

Our new adventure!

I am not  a blogger...but here is my attempt to share with you (our family and friends) what God is doing in our lives.  Let me take you back to where it all started! 

        

Here it is.  Here is the blog that God used to break through my blind eyes, my closed ears  and my selfish heart! 

 

http://allthingshendrick.blogspot.com/2010/10/reality-is-weighty-thing.html

 

God had me right where he wanted me. He used a dear friend to send this blog to facebook and on that fateful day…I pressed the link!  Therefore, I am now sitting here waiting for an approval for us to pursue an adoption of a little boy from Ethiopia!  I said it!  It’s true!  Yay!  I am so excited!

 

We believe that God has put a fire in our hearts to love and pursue Christ and to love and serve those He loves. He loves orphans.  He loves widows.  He loves the sinner.  Therefore, He loves you.  And He loves me.  I can’t deny that God’s love is stirring me in a new and fresh way. My heart is open, truly open to seek the unlovable, the abandoned and the little children with no one to love and care for them. 

 

I always believed my children would come from my womb.  With some help of course...thanks Jeff:)  That is what I always wanted.  The idea of adoption honestly had never entered my mind.  To have a child who looked like one of us and had some of my character traits, personality and quirky tendencies…what a blessing.   

 

Even all those years ago when I had an Eptopic pregnancy and our unborn child went to heaven because he could never survive outside of my womb.  It didn’t matter to me for a moment that my life was in danger.  What mother wouldn’t give her life up for her child.  If only I had the choice.  But…God was in control and He loved us AND our baby!  We knew it, believed it and held onto it those days following July13th, 2001!

 

As the years have continued to pass by so quickly I have been blessed beyond measure with my marriage and my amazing 3 kids.  Ranger, Bella and Andie have brought such joy, wonder and a true sense of love into our lives.  I truly believed that 6 years ago, October 4^th, 2004 would be the final addition to our families.  I was joyful, overwhelmed and content.  Very content.

 

It would be a number of years before I realized the stirring that God was doing in my soul and heart.  A stirring that God would bring to a boil soon.  Which takes us back to the beginning…the link to the blog that God used to get this selfish girl a step closer to His heart. 

 

There is MUCH MORE to this story but that is for another day.

 

So please feel invited to journey along with us as we start this new adventure of seeking our little one who God has placed on the other side of this world!

 

Much love, 

Erin