Gotta LOVE Facebook....Right?

Facebook.

We're all on it (I guess not ALL).

It's great!

It's helpful!

It keeps us all connected!

But there's something that's been bothering me.

Facebook is becoming a substitute.
I can't speak for everyone else, but I assume some of you have a similar struggle.

A substitute.

I have noticed myself substituting personal relationships with keeping up with someone on Facebook.  Substituting personal conversations with comments on Facebook.

I never intended it to be that way, but after several years of sharing things on Facebook, I really think things have gotten too far.

My husband has been telling me that forever, but I had an "ah-ha" moment the other day.

My brother was preaching one Sunday morning and I was struck with the reality that I am sitting UNDER the Biblical teaching of my LITTLE brother.  And I was extremely convicted by the message he was bringing from The Word.

Here's where it went wrong - I immediately thought of how I could phrase this in a Facebook status.  How I would express my humility while also being proud of my brother and also commend his preaching and how it affected me.

That's when I realized how Facebook had become a substitute.

Instead of having a conversation with my brother, I was going to post it on Facebook for everyone to see.
  
So I started to really examine my heart in regards to this.  How often do I post things on Facebook in order to communicate to someone specifically?  Or in order to perhaps avoid a conversation with someone?  Or maybe even to express my convictions about Christian living?

I don't think it's wrong to share certain things on Facebook - it can be a great tool to connect people to one another and find out what their interests are, and keep in touch with friends and family from afar.  However, if we've gotten to the point where we'd rather share something on Facebook then share by actual interaction with humans, then I think we've gone too far.

I'm all about texting, emailing, and FB messaging in order to communicate quickly with others while there are loud children running all over, but at least that's a personal conversation right??

I'm starting to think about how my habits will transfer to my children.
We have some pretty strict rules when it comes to the kids and electronics - I mean, the girls are 3 and 5 years old, they don't need the internet to study for reports or keep in contact with their long lost cousins.

We allow them to play on the iPad for 10-30 minutes at a time normally and we try to keep it to their educational games.  Obviously, there are exceptions, but we have seen first-hand the ramifications of allowing too much freedom with electronics.  Perhaps some children don't respond the same way, but we see a definite attitude change when they are allowed unlimited play on a device, so we keep it to a minimum and it's a special treat instead of an everyday norm.

ANYWAY, my point is not about kids and electronics, my point is that if we have certain standards for our kids and electronics, then what will they be learning if they see the opposite in me as they get older?

I don't want my kids to grow up learning how to communicate online better than they learn to communicate with human beings.  Facebook didn't exist when I was younger, so this has been gradual for me.  But our kids are excellent little learners and can navigate our iPad better than their grandparents.

They learn quick and I want them to learn that we don't nurture relationships by posting encouraging statuses on Facebook.  Can that be helpful?  Yes!  But we can't make it a substitute for the real thing.

We also can't find our fulfillment in the praise of others online.
Sharing accomplishments is great...in fact I've been sharing how I made our baby's bedding!  It's been super fun and exciting sharing it with others.  But I've seriously examined my heart in sharing it....trying my best to make sure I'm not posting in order to receive praise from others.

I've definitely been there - feeling compelled to post certain achievements and feeling so accomplished as others praised what I had done....wow....how humble and meek of me (not)!

Should we not find our fulfillment in Christ????
As we stand forgiven by His sacrifice?
And as for our earthly accomplishments - perhaps we shouldn't need such praise?  Not saying it's wrong, but if we need to be praised by others, then what is our motive in the first place?  If I do something at home that I'm proud of - like doing laundry 3 weeks in a row (yes.  YES this is a definite accomplishment for me), the praise of my husband is enough for me!  

Wait.  What if he didn't praise me?  

Well...I'm pretty sure that if my motives were to serve my family as I strive to be the wife and mom that God has called me to be, then I should be content to praise The Lord for granting me ability to get certain goals accomplished!

This all may have come out jumbled, but these are things that have convicted me in recent days and I am resolved to make some serious changes.

• I feel the need to post things too frequently.

• I feel the need to share too many things instead of enjoying the moments with family in private.

• I resort to posting a status instead of having a conversation with someone in personally.

• I have shared accomplishments in order to receive praise from others.

• I have spent FAR too much time learning the accomplishments and family life of "friends" on Facebook that I may never even have a normal conversation with!

And it's changing.
It won't be easy, but it has to change.

And I invite you to change with me!

Let's be content and excited to share things with our families without needing the world to know.

Let's seek others out in personal conversations without needing everyone else to know about it.

Let's be excited about what is going on in our family's life and yes, the live's of those that are close to us - yet without wasting precious moments skimming through others' posts that have nothing to do with us.

Let's NOT allow Facebook to become a substitute for real life.

Let's NOT allow our children to grow up thinking they must share things with the world in order for it to matter.

The fact that WE know and the fact that WE commend them should be enough....and it should be enough for US when they say "thanks, mom".  

I don't need to receive praise from others, when I've got little ones thanking me at home....when I have a husband who loves to support me and recognize all that I do at home....and when I have a Savior who has forgiven me and loves to see me worship and praise HIM in all that I do.

This may not be a "goodbye to Facebook," but I do pray that it will be a "see ya way less frequently, Facebook!!!!"  :)

Hello Again :)

Well hello there...to anyone that actually reads my little mommy blog :)

Life has been quite busy lately and it has just made it difficult to sit down and blog.  I think it's mostly because there is SO much that has changed, so much that I WISH had changed, but hasn't, and so much that has physically kept me from blogging!

I'll make this a quick update, and hopefully have much more regular posts from hereon out.

#1.  Noelle is now 13 months into her TSW journey (if you haven't read about that, you can read my most recent post here).  We are just coming through a month long flare and we're glad to see her skin calming down again.

#2. Tobias still isn't home and I still don't have much more information to share on that subject.  I really wish I did.  But The Lord has this in His hands and we are trusting Him!

#3. I am expecting again!  Right now I am just in my second trimester...meaning the last couple months have hit me pretty hard!  Praise The Lord, my first trimester wasn't nearly as bad as it was with my other pregnancies, but I was nauseous, zapped of all energy, and just wanted to curl up on the couch all day!  Blogging really wasn't appealing ;)

I wish I had a belly picture to share, but we haven't got around to taking one!  But let me tell ya....this pregnancy is DIFFERENT!  I couldn't hide it by the time I was 6 weeks pregnant!

Well there's a brief update, and I really hope to be sharing much more frequently now!  I'm feeling great (most of the day...until I crash) and I'm excited about my second trimester!

The Birthday Blessing Review and GIVEAWAY! {Ended}

***The winner of the giveaway is Sharon Westphal!
Sharon, please respond to the email that we sent to you and we'll make sure you get your package right away!  CONGRATS!


I am beyond excited to write this review!!!

And even more excited that one of my readers will be able to have one of these at home as well!

Several weeks ago,  I was introduced (online) to The Birthday Blessing sisters through a blogger Facebook Group!. These ladies have created something so special for parents and their children.  In this "digital" age, they wanted to be able to put something in the hands of their children that embodied their love for them.

So what is The Birthday Blessing?

Well, it's a journal and a wooden birthday cake that can be purchased together or separately.  They were gracious enough to send me the package so I could do a full review!

 

The concept is that every year, during the 7 days leading up to your child's birthday, you take special time out of your day to sit with the family and have purposeful discussion about the importance of your child in the family's life!  Each day, leading up to their birthday, there are written devotionals to read with the family and thoughtful questions that will prompt you all to think about God's provisions, His promises, and His work in your child's life!  

There are sections that allow your child to write their name, what they want to be when they grow up, and more milestones for mom and dad to fill in.

It even instructs you to request a family member or friend to write a special letter to your child during the week so that you can read it to them 2 days before their birthday! There is a spot in the journal to then paste the letter as a keepsake.

There is room in the journal to share this tradition every year until your child is 18! Then, when they leave home, they have this beautiful journal to keep and read and share with THEIR children someday! It really is precious...I can't wait to fill this up!

The package also comes with a cute shabby chic "birthday cake."
The idea is to use this as a centerpiece in your home so that the whole family is reminded that it's BIRTHDAY WEEK for someone! It's a visual reminder that the week is dedicated to celebrating the child who is turning another year older.

I know in our family, we have tried to do something special with each child on their actual birthday without the other kids....just to take some special time with them alone. And then there's usually a birthday party sometime close to that as well.  

This is much different than that, but a really sweet compliment to any other festivities we might be having.  

More than just a celebration, it's a time of encouraging, affirming our love for, and lifting up our child.  I feel like this concept can easily get lost in today's busy world!  This is intended to be a blessing to our kids as we intentionally plan for this time to show them how special they are to us and how God has created them in a special, unique way to live for His glory.

Sadly, we didn't know about this before our kids' actual birthdays!  I wish we knew when Joy was a baby!  But Jackson just turned 1 in March, so we started this journal for him.  We do intend to purchase 3 more for the girls and Tobi though!

I want to do this for all my kids!

We will cherish this for years to come as our children grow and I can't wait to look back at years prior to see God's faithfulness in the lives of our kids and our entire family.

I HIGHLY recommend this to my fellow moms and dads!!!
Even for those of us who are adoptive parents...imagine how much this will change each year as our kids come home, as they learn new languages, connect and bond with their siblings, etc!  I can't wait to start Tobi's when he gets home!!

Please visit TheBirthdayBlessing.com to see their creative and thoughtful product.  I would consider giving this for a 1st birthday gift (because we know many gifts for 1 year olds are really for the parents;)  It makes a GREAT baby shower gift as well!!!

Now, I DO have the opportunity to help one of my readers take this home!!! 
There are a number of ways that you can enter using the giveaway tool below.  Please share this blog post on Facebook or Twitter to spread awareness about this special product as well as to let your friends know about the chance of winning a FREE one!

The giveaway starts now and will close on August 7th and the winner will be announced at the top of this blog post.  I will share the post on Facebook as soon as we have a winner as well!

I will collect the winner's information and your Birthday Blessing package will be shipped directly from the company!

Is it Getting OLD?

These past several weeks have been a little intense for our family...who am I kidding - the past couple YEARS have been a little intense with our adoption.

But we as adoptive Congo parents have banded together and really been working as a unit for a few months now.  We've come to recognize Facebook profile pictures and the first and last names of people we have never met (unless we DID meet in D.C.!)...but those people understand us and we understand them.

And one fellow mama recently brought up the thought:

 "Does anyone else feel like their people don't want to hear about this anymore?"

To be honest, I hadn't stopped to think about it, but I bet there are plenty of my Facebook friends or relatives that are tired of hearing about our adoption...or our adoption BATTLE, or the ways we are asking others to assist us in getting stories out, signing petitions, making phone calls and emails to politicians and the WHITE HOUSE.

And really, if you're that person, I don't blame you.  

I don't take it personally.
There may be times when you are beside us, doing what you can, maybe even donating to our adoption fund and most importantly PRAYING for us and our son.  But this has been pretty drawn out.

You've probably seen other struggles in your own life come and go.  You may have seen prayers answered.  And maybe you have had huge hurdles that The Lord has helped you overcome.

We've seen those as well!  But not with this.

Our struggle hasn't ended.  Our ultimate prayer has not been answered, and this mountain of a hurdle has yet to be overcome.

It's still fresh for us.  We don't tire of trying to bring our son home.

We don't get weary of DOING something in order to get our voices heard....or our son's voice heard.

It never gets old for us because every single day we wake up to our 3 beautiful children and know that the other one is a world away.  

Every day when we pray with our girls, they request that God would bring Tobi home soon...EVERY day they pray that.

Every time we look at his empty bed that has random toys on it and now needs to be upgraded to a twin size, we are reminded....we are not whole.

Every time we open the boys' closet to put Jackson's clothes away and we see that Tobi's side is FULL of clothes ready and waiting for him, we know that we are still waiting as well.

And every time we go on Facebook and see one of those precious few that made it home from Congo this year, we have tears of joy and sadness all at once.  We rejoice that those lives are safe in the loving arms of their family, but we have the sting of knowing that there is still more room in ours to be filled.

So do we get tired of hearing about it?  Well, the only thing we've gotten tired of hearing is that we need to WAIT.

That's why you've heard so much from us parents these last few months.  We're tired of hearing no one speak out and ADVOCATE for our children.

So we've done it ourselves.

And THAT my friend, is why you are hearing from us so often.
Because of all we've done, all YOU'VE done, and with The Lord guiding us, we have made some serious headway.

But it isn't over, and you won't see us be silent until all our kids are home.

Those moms who now have their little ones home will still be asking friends and family to help because they understand us and know that we need to do all that we CAN in order to bring the rest home as well.

I won't apologize for being passionate about bringing our son home.

I don't think that you would either if it was your child...adopted or biological.  If your child was STUCK somewhere...ANYWHERE, would you not do absolutely everything possible until they returned?  And would you not request that your loved ones do the same?  

Well that's what we're doing.  And we are so eternally grateful for the love and support we have from family, friends, and those we have never even met.

Tobias has no idea how many are over here waiting to love him.

And if you are getting a little irritated seeing my never-ending posts regarding the adoption, updates, and requests for action, then please understand...this isn't over.

It continues daily for us and we are blessed to finally HAVE something to do.  

It beats sitting around everyday wondering what on earth is being DONE for your child.  Now we know a little bit more and now we have seen what action can do.

So bare with us, join us, pray with us, and ACT with us as we won't be taking a back seat to this issue until we see welcome home photos and videos of all these precious little ones entering their new lives.


Lord, bring them home SOON!

***As always, hateful remarks will be deleted promptly :)

 

Washington D.C. Trip

Well, I'm home.


Thank you SO much for the support that so many of you have offered by prayer and encouraging words regarding my trip to D.C. (posted about it here).

It will be hard to summarize our trip in one blog post. 

But I'm going to try!

So I arrived in Washington D.C. Monday night.  A sweet lady named Mary hosted me and Emily while we stayed there.  She lives just outside of the city so each morning and evening we'd take the metro for transportation.

Me and Emily on the Metro for the first time!

Mary made us breakfast each morning and made our stay FAR more comfortable (and cheaper) than staying in a hotel.  I will always be so grateful for her grace and hospitality!

So Tuesday morning started our advocacy with our Senators.  We were in a group with 5 California moms and a sweet couple from Nebraska.  We went with them to meet with a staffer for a NE Senator, then went to meet with Senator Feinstein from California.


We were greeted by 3 of her staff members as we started our meeting.  Then 2 more joined us...all very interested in our problem.  Senator Feinstein was on the "floor" voting and finally was able to make it to the meeting after about an hour of a very engaged conversation with her staff.

When she arrived, she made it clear that she wanted to see this situation resolved.  To be honest, it left me with tears as soon as she started talking to us.  At that point, we had not heard anyone with her authority want to see our kids come home as much as she did.  

She requested more information of us and has a plan to follow up with us later and personally meet with the Congolese Ambassador (if he'll agree to it) and present to him our cases.  

She also wants legislation in place immediately that will put a plan in place to communicate with Congo and negotiate the release of the children who are adopted.

By the end of the meeting (longest meeting of the week), we were encouraged to say the LEAST.  I don't care what party she represents, if she helps get my son home, she's getting my ultimate gratitude and respect for life! (doesn't mean I'll vote for her, but she's getting a Christmas card!)

Tuesday we also met with a staffer from Barbara Boxer's office.  While he seemed very concerned about the children and sympathetic for us as parents, we didn't feel like anything would actually be DONE by their office for us.

After that meeting, we headed to meet with 5 staff members of the Foreign Affairs Committee.  These women showed great concern for the children and genuine sadness for what we were going through.  They had some ideas for us and also some explanations for why we might be having such a hard time with the State Department.

After the meetings were done, we got ready for the candlelight vigil on the lawn of the Capitol Building.  This proved to be as emotional as I expected it to be.

Looking around at the beautiful dark faces and white eyes of those that are stuck in Congo as well as those that have been lost during this wait was beyond moving. 

There was something special about being surrounded by parents who TRULY understand what we are going through...not from hearing facts or stories, but from experiencing the same frustration and sorrow that we are.

Parents held signs of their children and told some of their stories of loss, sadness, and hope.  

CNN was there covering the story of a couple adoptive families and Christian Post covered the vigil as well.

Here is CNN's story:




And here is The Christian Post's article.

Wednesday proved to be another great day, meeting with Congressmen/women.

We met briefly with a Wyoming Congresswoman's staffer, who represents another family, CA Congressman Campbell's staffer (NOT a good meeting), and Congressman McClintock himself.

Tom McClintock proved to really care about our situation and looked into the eyes of our children in the pictures we provided.  He made it clear that he would do what he could to bring our kids home.  He said he would be co-sponsoring the House Resolution 588 that was drafted by the Foreign Affairs Committee as well.

A very productive meeting was held with Congressman Costa's (CA) staffer as well.  He showed extensive knowledge of his congressman's involvement and interest in this situation and provided future resources for us if needed.

Another huge highlight of Wednesday was the last minute meeting that was arranged with Congressman Royce (CA), Chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee.  He met with all the parents that weren't in other meetings and showed how much information he had regarding this situation.  He is heavily involved in Africa, has taken several trips there including multiple trips to Congo.  He has met personally with President Kabila and his father, former President Kabila.

He knows the context, the politics, and the culture of Congo well and offered tremendous support to us as parents.  He offered ideas and accepted comments and questions from us as well.

He informed us that the House Foreign Affairs Committee was going to be meeting the next day (Thursday) in a markup where they'd be discussing several House Resolutions on the block.  He invited us to attend and reserved seats for us.

We ended the day feeling extremely optimistic!

After all the Wednesday meetings, us California moms ran over to the Capitol to catch Congress in session!

There was a SUPER cool cop, Officer Steve that took our picture and gave us some preferential treatment in the Capitol...he took us to the back entrance of the House Gallery so we didn't have to wait in the long line!!

We witnessed the House of Representatives vote on an amendment....to some bill...LOL.  Can't remember what it was!

That night, we went to see the White House and saw the absolutely beautiful Eisenhower Executive Offices Building.

We then took the Metro and planned to walk several blocks to the Capitol Mall so we could see the monuments and memorials all lit up at night.  Well, our plans changed as we were waiting for a friend and were surprised by a sudden D.C. storm!!!

It went from dry ground to flooded in an instant and thunder and lightning followed quickly.  It really was beautiful and strange to me as a Californian...it was WARM!  Needless to say, our plans changed.  We decided to instead walk just a couple blocks to find a place that would allow us to dry off at 10pm at night!

It proved to be a very eventful and unforgettable WET last night in D.C!

Thursday was our final morning and we had to be at the Rayburn House Building at 9:00a.m.  So it was an early morning for us as we had to get ready and be completely packed in time to get on the Metro and ride it into the city.

We made it 5 minutes late but there were still just enough seats left for us in reserved seating.

The meeting was really interesting as we got to see members of Congress discuss several human rights issues presented in different foreign affairs House Resolutions.

When it came time for our bill to be discussed, we were surprised to hear Chairman Royce ask us to stand as he personally addressed us all.

Each time a Congressman gave his opinion on the resolution, he directly spoke to us as well.  And each time, it made me cry!  These men of Congress are ready and willing to fight for our children!  

Here are my favorite quotes from the committee that were made IN SESSION:

• "Thank you for what you're doing, this is God's work." - Rep. Poe (TX)

• "The hand that rocks the cradle, rules the world." - Rep. Salmon (AZ)

• "We owe it to these children and their parents to bring this to a resolution." - Rep. Perry (PA)

• "The prophet Isaiah said...'Take up the cause of the orphan,' that's what you parents are doing." - Rep. Meadows (NC)

• "Congress has your back!" - Rep. Smith (NJ)

Needless to say, we felt overwhelmed with Congressional support from this group.  Our experience with Congress ended on a very high note to say the least!

Us with Chairman Royce

 You can see video of the committee meeting here.  Start the first video at the 2hr mark and you'll catch all these comments listed above and more.

I'm proud to say that Chairman Royce represents California and we look forward to seeing what changes will come about as a result of our efforts this week.

We are eternally grateful to Both Ends Burning (see their Congo page here) for helping us organize this trip and advocating for us and our children.  There is no way this would be possible without you guys!!!

They helped 60 families from 43 states gather to be our childrens' voices.  They helped us meet with 99 elected officials and their staff.  Those are 99 Senators and/or Congressmen that have constituents in their district with children stuck in congo.  And those officials now KNOW about our kids.  Their voices have been heard and now those that have much larger voices than ours can speak for us.

I said it in many of our meetings this week - We are PASSIONATE about bringing our kids home.  We are their voices, but ours are small voices that not many hear and we NEED others with loud voices to be passionate with us and FOR us, speaking on our behalf.  I believe we met many who are now passionate about these children and who will make their voices heard. 

Before I had to be at the airport on Thursday, we had a little time to spare and did make it to Capitol Mall to see the Washington Monument, WWII Memorial, and the Lincoln Memorial.

Seeing the Lincoln Memorial reminded me of how thankful we should be for the courageous men that did what was radical in order to give people with a different color to their skin the same rights that we have.  My son would not have been able to join our family unless he was a slave had we lived 175 years ago.

I'm very thankful for my time in D.C. and so thankful for those that made the trip possible.  

We are forever connected to these Congo parents, and especially the California mamas that I spent 2 1/2 days with.

 We pray that this trip will change the lives of our children very quickly by allowing them to come home to their families.

Thank you for continuing to pray for Tobias and for us here waiting for him.

Perhaps the wait won't be much longer....


***Disclosure:  Any negative comments will be deleted.  Yes it is a free country with free speech, meaning I am free to delete comments that don't belong on this blog.  I will not argue or allow debate in the comment section and urge my loved ones not to engage with hateful commenters on here.  If you see a comment before I do, let me know so I can delete it!  Thank you!

 

Longing to be Whole

I've become keenly aware of the different views people have concerning families and children.

When I go shopping by myself with the three children we have home, I usually get at least one "ya got your hands full" comment.

I honestly don't mind those comments!  Some see beauty if the lives of children and admire us for taking up the calling of caring for them, but some are literally dumbfounded that we would choose to outnumber ourselves by bringing more than two little hellions into the world to look after.

Then their faces REALLY change when I tell them we have another 5 year old waiting for us in Congo.

Sometimes, I forget to stress the fact that WE are also waiting for HIM.

See, we have been waiting for so LONG that waiting is now our norm.

Tobias has been our son since October of 2012 - 1 year and 8 months.  He has legally been our adopted son since May of 2013 - 1 year and 1 month.

We've had crazy roller coasters of hope and disappointment.  We never once thought we'd really be waiting this long to bring our son home.

But after all this time of telling our story to others and giving countless updates to our caring family and friends, I realize that I can become numb to the fact that I am desperately waiting for our family to be whole.

I'm so used to saying "We have no timeline," "We're still waiting," "There's nothing we can do except wait."

I can say, "It's been so hard and we just pray he comes home SOMEday" without flinching.

But today, as I read our friend's blog post (you can read it here, they are in Congo at Tobi's orphanage right now), I just sat and cried.

I never know when these moments will spring upon me, but when they do, there's no denying it - I JUST. WANT. HIM. HOME.

I was scoring their blog post for a glimpse of Tobi (they are bringing back plenty).  I just wanted to see his face, his large round eyes, and his infectious smile.

There were none.  There was so much to rejoice over in their post, but a selfish mama, was looking for a specific chocolate colored face.

He wasn't there....but more importantly, he's not HERE.

Part of our family is missing, and it just hurts.  Sometimes the everyday "I'm doing ok" facade crashes down when we least expect it.

And I AM usually doing ok.  We have been greatly blessed by the ones The Lord has given us here and we rejoice in His grace everyday!

And I'm sure by this afternoon I'll be able to give our adoption speal without a blink again, but right now I'm painfully aware of the empty bed in his brother's room, the closet full of clothes, the beautifully wrapped Christmas present from his Nonnie and Papa, and the gaping hole in our hearts.  

A piece of our hearts and a part of our family is across the world.  And we just long for it to be whole.

Praying for Congo

So, a lot has happened in the last month regarding us adoptive parents reaching out to our local officials concerning adoptions in DRC.

In this post, I detailed what we had done in just over a week's time.

• We have gotten a lot of attention all the way up to the Department of State.

• A congressional letter was sent out directly to the president and prime minister of DRC that had 171 signatures on it from senators and congressmen.

• The Department of State responded to our plea for an action plan while the DRC delegation was to be in the country, and they set up meetings for the Congolese officials to meet adopted children that were already home with their families.

That delegation trip was canceled last minute, and the Congolese never came.

• Now, our Secretary of State, John Kerry is making a trip to Congo!

The Congolese respect John Kerry and we are praying that the trip will be beneficial for all involved.

But we are receiving blow after blow.

One second we are encouraged, the next we're scared.

One minute we're excited, and the next we are discouraged yet again.

Well, there is a new update on the Dept. of State adoption site and you can read it here.

People are fleeing with their children.
Illegaly.

We all might have opinions as to why DRC hasn't lifted this ban on exit letters, but we have to understand that their claims are real.

People are breaking the law, smuggling children out of the country, and not respecting the laws of their children's home land.

Do I want our son home?  YES!

But we have to do this the right way in order to pave the way for the children behind us to come home swiftly and safely as well.

But here is another concern:

DRC is now concerned with the size of our families before adoption.

Their law DOES state that children shouldn't be adopted to families with more than 2 children already at home. 

HOWEVER, their court system is given discretion in this regard.  Judges have the authority to decide whether families can provide for their adopted children with more at home.

This WAS the case anyway, and we are now concerned that it will change.

No family can "hide" the fact that they have more than 2 children at home.  You have to have a current home study in order to get your judgement, and the home study lists the members of the family in detail.

The fact is, this issue has not been a problem before, we were assured that it shouldn't be a problem by more than one adoption facilitator...and now DRC is implying that it might be a problem now.

Please pray for this situation.

Reading things like this makes my mind drift to possibilities that are too difficult to imagine...it makes me think that we just might not ever bring Tobias home.

However, my husband responds to me with this text message:

"We will wait and see.  We have done our best.  He knows and will rescue as He sees fit.  And we will not quit.  I love you, you are a mommy who loves her children from afar."

I'm so thankful for such words of wisdom.

So it's true....we don't know if or when we WILL ever bring Tobi home.

But we won't quit trying to!

So continue to pray for us, for Tobias, for the other hundreds of children that are stuck and waiting for their parents to bring them home...not to mention the MILLIONS that don't even have parents yet.

And something to think about is the longer children wait in orphanages, the longer other children wait on the streets.  If our kids aren't leaving those orphanages to come home to us, then there is no room for the others that have no place to lay their head at night.

Also pray for John Kerry's trip to DRC.  We're praying that there will be mutual respect between their President and our Secretary of State and that a beneficial outcome with soon be communicated to us!

We in no way want to shed a negative light on Congo.  It is where our son was given life.  They clearly can back up their claims of wrongdoing on adoptive parents' part.  

However, I am praying that they will see the dire state the children are in because of the exit letter suspension.

With so much uncertainty, I will rest in this:

"I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.”

John 16:33