2 Less. 2 More.

He who calls you is faithful. He will surely do it.  

1 Thessalonians 5:24

For nearly 2 years this verse has been hanging on our refrigerator.  Along with Hebrews 6:19 [We have this HOPE as an anchor to our soul], this verse has brought us so much encouragement over the 3+ years we have been in the process of adopting from Ethiopia.  

We knew God called us to adopt, we knew He lead us to Ethiopia for a reason, but honestly, sometimes that reason wasn't very clear, it seemed far away and at often times  felt like our child would never come home. 

At Created for Care I tried to explain to people that while I was full of hope for our family, it was not in the adoption process but in Him.  The pain, the losses, the extended time lines left me with a guarded heart and a guarded approach to our wait.  But my hope, that was renewed in Him.  

I truly believe that was a place I needed to get too.  Do I think we were still waiting because I may not have been 'there' yet?  Absolutely not.  But I know I needed to get there.  

Where flesh and heart may fail, God never will. 

So our bucket of hope was filled, our tambourines were ready to praise him but we were ready to continue waiting. On Tuesday (February 11) I attended our agency's monthly Webinar where our continue to wait was confirmed.  A new timeline estimate of 4-6 years waiting was given by our case workers.  We were already in 29 months so my mind immediately went to the possibility of waiting 19 more months.  Ouch!  That was a lot for my heart to take in.

Matt was spending the week out of town for work so we still hadn't had the chance to really talk about what the estimated 4-6 year wait had to do with us, with our family when everything changed.

My mom had taken the day off of work to come with me and Gabe to his doctor's appointment.  We were treating him to a Valentine's Day lunch at Chick-fil-A when my phone rang.  

Portland Oregon. 

My phone read Portland Oregon but having just updated some paperwork with our agency I answered with no expectation of it being "the" call.  Our caseworker "T" introduced herself and then asked if it was a good time to call.  In that same breath she heard how loud it was on the other end of the line and commented on the volume in the background.  I told her we were eating lunch and asked "is this a good call?"  T replied, "This is the best call you are ever going to get!"  

And it was.

We had just promised Gabe he could play in the playground area at Chick-fil-A and I knew Matt was en route in an airplane at that moment so I asked if I could call her back in an hour.  I had one last question though and her answer "two brothers, ages 6 years and 8 months" rocked my world.  Hysterical screams accompanied hanging up; my mom finally realized that it was THE call and the people at CFA began giving the crazy lady a wide berth [Smile].

One hour turned to two as Matt landed at an airport and I brought him up to date.  T called, she conference called Matt in and we began the official call that would turn our family of 3 into a family of 5.  It turned our only child into a little brother AND a big brother.  That single phone call rocked our world and changed our lives forever.  

Our boys are 6 years old and 8 months old.  They are absolutely perfect (doesn't every mother think that) with the most beautiful smiles and the most captivating eyes.  In an instant they turned from orphans to beloved sons and brothers.  They are loved.  They are wanted. 

We have now begun the paper chase and a new wait; a wait to bring them home. 

Our sons! 

The red hearts that cover their BEAUTIFUL faces are part of protocol that dictates we aren't allowed to share identifying information about them publicly until we are officially their parents. However, if you see us in person we will gladly show you all the photo's we have them, probably before you even ask!