"Showered with Love and Kindness"

Sunday was such a special day! It started with the morning, at community worship, where we were asked to introduce our little man and share where we are in the adoption process. After sharing, there was a special time of prayer over our family as we finish the last grueling leg of this process. (Boy, do we need it!) The afternoon consisted of a beautiful shower celebrating Isaiah Biruk. Friends and family showered me with gift cards, notes of encouragement, endearing hugs, compassion, and gifts for Isaiah. My sweet friends hosted the most wonderful celebration in honor of our little man. The personal touches were heart warming. In the center of the delicious table of food were Africa shaped sugar cookies glazed with (my favorite) turquoise icing. Scattered among the house were enlarged black and white pictures of Isaiah. A variety of world globes were present as a reminder of his heritage. A cute plaid "A line" tent was pitched in the living room to hold the gifts (this was made by my dear, talented friend Corrie). Cuteness! Rosie has already informed me that when bubba gets home they will have a "sweep over in that cute tent." Did I mention how talented and creative my friends are? They had everyone sign and decorate a globe for his room! The globe was laced with verses, signatures, sweet words, love symbols, etc. So, so special! Thank you to my wonderful friends and family for showering our family with such love and kindness.

Sweet hostess friends

Delicious!

A prayerful reminder that he will be in our arms again

Love this!

Three generations (Rosie was napping) of girls:

"Gigi" Sallie Fleming, Mollie Fleming Page, Kenzie Page, and Meme Page

Happy Birthday IBP!

Happy 1st birthday to our sweet, Isaiah! Oh how it kills me to not be with you today. I am comforted to know God is watching over you every minute of everyday. He has given you a group of wonderful ladies to take care of you, until you are in our arms. Your "special mothers" care for you deeply; I am so thankful for them. Your life, sweet boy, has given us a greater understanding of God's love. You see, we are all adopted sons and daughters of our Heavenly Father. My prayer is that others will see God's love through your story, as well. As you grow, I pray that you will understand that you are wonderfully created and that God has a beautiful plan for your life. I pray that you will know how deep, how high, and how wide is Christ's love and that you will walk intimately with God all the days of your life. Isaiah Biruk Page, we love you and can't wait to get you home. This will be the last birthday that we miss, I promise.

Happy Birthday, Rosie!

Happy Birthday to the sweetest and sassiest 3 year old I know! Your ice blue eyes and rosy cheeks melt my heart. You have added a whole new dimension to accessorizing. Beads, bows, bags, and bling....you are the ultimate princess. I pray that you will understand the depth of God's love; the sacrifice that Jesus made for you, so that you could be HIS princess. I love to hear your prayers to "Gosus" (A special name created by you for your Creator. FYI...cross between God-Jesus) and I know HE loves to hear your prayers even more than I do! It warms my heart to see you reading and "highlighting" in your Bible, just like Daddy and Mommy. I pray that you will treasure those words in your heart and be bold enough to share them with others. I want you to know that you bring so much joy to my life; it is a privilege to be your Mommy. I love you with all my heart, Rosebud! Happy Day!

It's Officially Official!

We got the call today (at 3:44 to be exact) that WE ARE HIS AND HE IS OURS! We are the very proud parents of Isaiah Biruk Page. Within minutes of meeting him, our hearts were in love and forever connected. We love you, IBP, and can't wait to bring you home!

On My Mind......

AND OF COURSE..........

Raw and Reality

It's been nearly 2 weeks since we've been home from ET. Since our return, we have been focusing most of our time on the girls. Swimming, school shopping, games, snuggles, a trip to the family farm, etc. Oh how we missed the girls while we were gone! School is now in full swing and the craziness of life begins once again. However, this Fall season my perspective has shifted. My life is forever changed. As I type the words, tears stream down my cheeks. (FYI....I cried everyday in ET and everyday since I have been home. Ask my hubby, I'm not a crier.) I wasn't crying for my son because I know he is in a good situation, in a care center where people are loving and caring for him. I know IBP will be with us one day real soon; we all can't wait for that day! You see I was crying for the multitude of people that I saw. The ones that appear to have no help or no hope. It's overwhelming, it's so overwhelming! Here is just some of what we encountered.....

make shift houses

sick, hungry children begging

women with their babies living on every street corner

disabled and elderly begging

the smell of exhaust

gentle, friendly people

people sleeping everywhere

public urination

orphanages with no grass, no carpet, no toys

orphanages that smell like vomit and urine

children asking me to be their mommy

a trash city that houses 75,000 people

a trash dump used as a food source for many

lepers

aids victims

women carrying heavy loads of Eucalyptus

hurt

desperation

children longing for affection

adults longing to be accepted

filth

deep loss

devastation

It's still very raw to me. The sights and the smells. What is raw to me, is reality to these people. Where as they may not know the difference, I do! I know the difference! Once again, I am firmly convinced that the Lord has blessed us so that we can be a blessing to others. We are not rich compared to the "Western World's" standards. However, I am feeling quite wealthy compared to the "Rest of the World's" standards. For the Page's, we are praying that our family will be used in ET for HIS glory. We want to be apart of something bigger than ourselves. While in Et, Scott and I were able to meet some amazing individuals who want to make a difference in the lives of their community. I love that they have a passion for the country of ET and their people. These are the people I want to come behind and support! They are changing one life at a time. They are true heros of this age!!!!

A quick update: We have seen God's hand in this adoption process every step of the way. IBP is and will be such a blessing to our family. (In fact, once in ET, we learned that our son's name actually means "Blessed.") We received word this week that our MOWA letter has been issued and is at court. However, we don't know what type of opinion MOWA issued on our behalf and the judge was unable to review our case before courts closed. So we wait......we were told that we may not hear anything until after rainy season. I'm still praying for a miracle. I would love to have our little man home before his first birthday in October. Regardless...it's about perspective. My perspective is forever changed.

Beyond Words

There really aren't words that can correctly describe our time in ET with our little guy. I will attempt..... Our time with IBP was priceless. From the moment we saw him, he smiled, laughed, hugged, and smooched us. We were overwhelmed with such an affectionate welcoming from our little man. We were able to visit him three times that week. We treasured every minute of the visits. ( FYI...his cheeks are irresistible, I could not stop kissing them.) We filled our hours with play time (he loves little piggies), snuggles, feeding, and more snuggles. Our final visit, on Friday, was more than difficult. As Scott prayed over our son, the tears started flowing for both of us. As I looked up, his Special Mothers were completely touched by our emotion and love for this little guy. They did not comfort us with words but with a sincere embrace and a compassionate demeanor. I was reminded once again that the universal language that all understands is LOVE. Without a doubt, I know he is loved deeply by his Special Mothers. They kiss his hands and cheeks, calling him by a special nick name. It did my heart good to see this first hand. It gave me peace as I walked out of his room on Friday. I look forward to the day that we can hold that chubby hand again. I'm praying without ceasing that it will be much sooner than later.