I'm betting you've never seen Easter baskets (Bundles) quite like this before!

Our dear friend Victoria shared a brilliant, generous idea with us several weeks ago, and she has brought it to fruition with the help of some very, very generous donors!

5 Hour Concealed Handgun License Certification Course for two!
$100 + VALUE!

Click here: http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=321092775487&ssPageName=ADME:L:LCA:US:1123

Cooking Bundle: Quality, granite cutting board ($50 + VALUE!)
Get Togethers Gooseberry Patch cookbook
Plus a  $25 Ebay gift card for all your cooking needs!
Click here: http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=321092772309&ssPageName=ADME:L:LCA:US:1123

Baby Girl’s FirstEaster basket includes:
A sweet, little onesie dress in pinks and greens (size 0-3m).The skirt portion is made of 100% cotton. It can be machine washed and dried. Use a warm iron, if needed, avoiding the trims. 
A  lovely, hand-knitted cardigan, just in case Easter is on the cool side this year.
A sweet, hand-made bunny with a silk pink ribbon completes this pink rattan gift basket.
Click here: http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=321092768980&ssPageName=ADME:L:LCA:US:1123

Beginner Guitar Lessons {1 hour}: Instructor with over 20 years experience!
Gift card for a 1 hour free guitar lesson ($40 value)
Plus a $25 Ebay Gift Cards {guitar strings, music book, etc!}
Reward yourself on your progress by celebrating at Red Lobster with a $50 Gift Card!
Click here: http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=321092771189&ssPageName=ADME:L:LCA:US:1123

$25 Starbucks Gift Card
Handmade Market Bag: While out shopping, use your 100% Cotton Duck cloth marketbag.
Don’t worry about spills… it’s washable! 
Hand-Made ArtisanEarrings: (12 sets)
Mary Kay Satin Hands Gift bag: Peach Satin Smoothie Hand Scrub, Peach Hand Cream, and Fragrance-free Hand Softener, all inside a Mary Kay gift bag.
Mary Kay Simple Cotton Gift Bag: Includes Simply Cotton Body Lotion and Simply Cotton eau deToilette in a sweet denim zippered pouch.  
Oh-So-Cute and Ruffled crocheted scarf in shades of blue ranging from indigo to steely gray.
Tiny iridescent sequins give it some subtle sparkle. Measuring 45”.  
Oh-So-Cute and Ruffled crocheted scarf in shades of creams ranging from cream to chocolate brown. A subtle hint of metallic threads give it some sparkle. Measuring 74”! 
Click here: http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=321092772164&ssPageName=ADME:L:LCA:US:1123

*Sweet Pink RoseOnesie Dress (size 18 months)
This dress is comfy and cottony. Because of the onesie design, it will stayput on your active little girl. The skirt portion is made of 100% cotton. Itcan be machine washed and dried. Use a warm iron, if needed, avoiding the trims. It includes a cotton-knit cardigan, just in case Easter is on the coolside this year.
*Sweet Pink and PurpleSwirls Onesie Dress (size 18 months)
   *How Big is a Pig? {a Brefoot Book}
 *Zig Zag Zebra: 22 Arty Activities for Creative Kids {a Barefoot Book}
Click here: http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=321092776647&ssPageName=ADME%3AL%3ALCA%3AUS%3A1123
 

"Waiting is an art that our impatient age has forgotten. It wants to break open the ripe fruit when it has hardly finished planting the shoot. But all too often the greedy eyes are only deceived; the fruit that seemed so precious is still green on the inside, and disrespectful hands ungratefully toss aside what has so disappointed them. Whoever does not know the austere blessedness of waiting  - that is, of hopefully doing without - will never experience the full blessing of fulfillment…" ~Dietrich Bonhoeffer

We prayed and talked and wondered and "waited".

"The LORD is good to those who wait for him, to the soul who seeks him." Lamentations 3:25

I've been looking through old emails.
They've reminded me of how long we've "waited".
Finally, in the Fall of 2011, when it all became overwhelmingly clear, and we began to feel more certain that this was indeed where God was leading us, I asked a few to pray and "wait" with us.

While, in our hearts it has been much longer, our family is now officially more than one year into this process. Our contract with Lifeline was signed in February of 2012.
We've been "waiting" for a year.

Last month, we were officially put on the "waiting list".

"Waiting" and international adoption go hand in hand.
You will not be hard pressed to find mothers sharing the near agony of "The Wait".
The wait in which months linger on into years.
A gestation period uncommon to most.

For me...
There are times in which I look the situation straight in the eyes {the reality of it: the numbers, the faces, these little ones created in His image} and the urgency envelops me.
Moments arise in which I feel the gale of time and distance sweep over me and nearly suffocate me.
I sometimes see a silhouette of this face and this child, and I become emphatic about trampling everything between us and him.

But then...
There are times in which I feel God sitting me down in this extraordinary kind of grace that allows a mother to wait an extraordinary amount of time for her child, and I realize I wouldn't want to miss this extraordinary time of intimacy with Him.
Moments arise in which my eyes are opened to something He has wisely and tenderly slipped into place that will gird us up for the harder parts of this journey. {You know, for when the real challenges begin: after we're back home with him and finally being grafted together as a family.}
I sometimes find myself uncharacteristically patient as I catch a glimpse of the invaluable, preparatory work, so intricate at times, that He is doing in and through each of the four of us.

"From ancient times no one has heard, no one has listened, no eye has seen any God except You, who acts on behalf of the one who waits for Him." Isaiah 64:4

It's an internal battle.
It is a desperate pursuit of what you believe to be after God's heart colliding with delays and hurdles and walls and mountains.
A delicate balance exists of following God into what seems like a desperate situation that requires immediate action, only to find the action He positions you for is to wait.

And so, we wait.
We hope for the "austere blessedness of waiting" to be our reality and to outweigh all that is counter to it. In doing so, we wait and anticipate that which Bonhoeffer writes about: "the full blessing of fulfillment".

Often, we think about how far we have to go.
Today, however, we are reflecting on how far God has brought us!

We cannot begin thinking about that without many precious people coming to mind
{a few of which we've never even met}:

You have petitioned the Father on our behalf as we slipped precious pages into the hands of decision makers...and waited...

Others purchased flowers and some really cool t-shirts!

Some have come up with ideas of their own and shared them with us!

You have taken on the task of teaching sewing to a less than stellar student in order to save money on Ugandan travel clothes for the future trip to meet our son!

You've opened your homes and your yards to us...
and you've loaded us down with some really good stuff!

You've taken your marathon and turned it into a fundrasier for our family!

Some have generously slipped a check in the mail,
dropped a note of encouragement,
or sent a timely message {text, fb, email} our way...

You have cheered us on as we've reached milestones along the way!

Others have already begun matching the $2500 grant from Lifesong!

And countless other things....

We are humbly grateful for each detail you have been a part of throughout this leg of the journey!