We weren’t quite sure what our monthly email might look like for January. We were fully prepared to see those ugly 8s next to each other again (-: Praise God…only one 8!!!! We’re #85! Since my last post was heavy (and long) I will keep this short and optimistic. One of the huge blessings of this past month has been

January has been a rough month. After starting this journal so many times, I am finally confronting all the challenges and heartache that this month has held for our family. It seems best to put my feelings to paper about this adoption journey using an analogy, and running a marathon is the thing we liken it to the most. We

Oh how I have always loved the ball drop on New Years Eve! It’s a night that includes all of my favorite things: a great party, putting on some fancy digs, and staying up past midnight. What can I say? I’m a night owl who loves the build-up of that glittery ball falling from the sky. (P.S. If you happen

We just got back from an awesome ski trip in Colorado with my whole family. We had a blast skiing Beaver Creek and Vail with the five of us. My mom graciously gave up time on the slopes to watch Stafford 2 out of 3 of the ski days. The last day I stayed in and she hit the slopes.

So the end of November/beginning of December left us with some not-so-fuzzy feelings about our adoption process. After a full 30 days (or is it 31 days), we found out that we are STILL at #91 on the wait list. What a bummer! Oh how I was looking forward to seeing that “8″ at the start of our email for

I just had to write about my recent experience reading my friend Katie Davis‘ new book. Ok, so she’s not REALLY my friend. But I want her to be…along with about a million others who are faithful at reading her Amazima blog each week, faithful at following her around the country listening to her speak while she’s in the US,

So many people have asked us over this past year how we decided to make All God’s Children International (AGCI) our agency when there are SO many around the country who advocate for little Ethiopian children. Our answer has always been–Hannah’s Hope! Many agencies have transition homes that children join after being paired with an adoptive family in the states

Even during the long, dull “rainy season” wait, we were able to see some movement in our number–something we were certainly not expecting! God answered my small little prayer and allowed our new number to be under 100. Our August # is…98!!!! Yay! We are so glad to drop down to only two numbers. As of October 9th, Ethiopia will

So we have been MIA for the past month or so for two reasons. First off, I have been launching our new campus for our church at The Summit (www.summitrdu.com) and it has been all-consuming! Fun…but leaving me little time to tell you all what’s been going on with the adoption. Secondly, we haven’t updated because we haven’t had a

We just got some great news from our agency on Friday night. In only two weeks time, we have moved up and ahead of 7 families already, making our new #108!!!!! We are SO excited! Andrew and I received our monthly update from the agency about a week ago and they mentioned that there were 115 families waiting for a