Life Unexpected

It's hard to believe that a year ago today, in Adama, Ethiopia, God brought a little boy into the world that would change our lives forever.  He was given the name Biruk, which means "blessing."  No one could have imagined just how much of a blessing he would turn out to be.  This morning, as I held our little guy in my arms, I couldn't help but feel overwhelmed with gratitude.  I attempted to post a Facebook status that spoke of the joy and gratitude I felt on Biruk's birthday, but instead found myself weeping at my computer.  Nate had just run over to church for a few minutes and walked in on me in the middle of my meltdown.  He said, "What is wrong?"  I replied (in between sobbing and sniffling), "Do you know how lucky we are?  Do you know how blessed we are to have Biruk in our life.  And it's his birthday.  And we get to celebrate.  I am just beyond thankful."  My heart was beyond full, and words, once again, couldn't do...

As we neared the end of our adoption journey, Nate and I made the decision that one of us should be home to take care of Biruk for at least the first several months.  After a lot of prayer, we decided that Nate would be that person.  After 12 years of teaching, he gave up his job and chose to embrace a new job, that of a full time stay at home Dad.  It has been amazing watching Nate take on his new role.  He has always had a gift in working with kids, but watching him care for our son each day has given that a whole new meaning.  I am so proud of him and beyond grateful for him.  The night of Biruk's dedication, Nate shared a blessing he had wrote for Biruk and gave me permission to share it here.  I am beyond blessed to call Nate my husband and I know without a doubt, Biruk is blessed to call him Dad. A Blessing for Biruk Wow, words can hardly capture the joy your we felt when we first met you, and realized that you were our son.   ...

They say that a picture is worth a thousand words and this past Sunday I would have to agree.  Several months ago, Nate and I began talking about hosting an Orphan Sunday Event at our church.  While we were in the beginning stages of brainstorming ideas, my Dad said, "Hey...it would be awesome if you did Biruk's dedication in conjunction with Orphan Sunday."  As soon as those words were out of his mouth, we began dreaming about what the event would look like.  We had no idea the kind of response we would get, but our hope was that people would catch a vision for how God is calling us to look after orphans all over the world, that a passion would begin to stir in the hearts of God's people, and that through our story of adopting Biruk, people would understand the faithfulness of God. When we walked up to the platform at six o'clock that night, we were blown away by what we saw.  The church was jammed packed, with standing room only.  I looked out over th...