What is new!

Sweet friends and family-

What is going on with us? :)  The exciting news is that we have officially moved up to the #1 spot on the waiting list for Uganda through Nightlight/A Helping Hands Adoption.  The disheartening news (in a sense) is we are probably at least 6-9 months away from a referral.  There are a few more children that have come into care but they can't even be considered for referral until at the very earliest possibly May. Then we would have to wait for a court date, etc.

We have been blessed over the last few months to reconnect with a precious friend, Lakeisha.  She was in my Community Bible study group last year and I had the privilege last May of being present at her daughter Paris' birth.  We didn't see much of each other this summer but in August we reconnected.  Lakeisha lived quite a ways from town and was having car issues so we started helping get her to work and also I offered to watch Paris while she worked.  Over Christmas it became apparent that her living situation wasn't going to work out so she moved into the apartment attached to our house.  The week before my parents, who had been living in the apartment, moved to Atlanta. We were sad, sad to see them go, but are believing with them that 2013 will bring them boatloads of blessings in Atlanta. So it all worked out.

Lakeisha hopes to eventually move into her own place but this helps her in the in between.  We love having her nearby and hopefully this will help her get back on her feet more quickly.  Through our time with Paris, as a family, we realized that we really would love to have a baby.  We are open and excited about the possibility of adopting older children but we newly recognized that adopting an infant would be a blessing too.

So as a result, we decided to look into domestic adoption as well.  Right now we are on a waiting list for both domestic and international ...we will just see which door the Lord opens first!  We have had some unusual possibilities arise over the last month or two, but nothing has come to fruition.  So we continue to pray and wait and just believe that the Lord will make it crystal clear and everything will fall into place at just the right time! We asked for prayer just today because we were contacted by an attorney in the state that we have communicated with in the past because he is looking for a family for a little boy from out of state.  They needed to place him very quickly. We were willing and excited but the details just did not fall into place, so we had to pass on that referral.  We are praying that Jesus brings that little man just the right family and quickly.

Mark also started a new job in December as the Discipleship Director at the Florence Newspring Campus.  He is loving this change and we are all adjusting to the transitions it brings.  The Lord is so good to us.  I have to be honest in saying that I am feeling a bit blue at still not having a referral, but I am thankful.  I realize the process is part of the journey and we are definitely learning and growing.  These are growing pains.:)  Thank you for journeying with us, supporting us and lifting us up in prayer.  You all are such an encouragement when you ask how things are going and send me messages and notes of encouragement.  We continue to pray that Jesus' name would be glorified and lifted high, high high through this entire process!!