2 weeks down...2 to go...

Just wanted to give you a quick update on how things are going around here!!

It's been a crazy past couple of weeks...all good...but really busy!!  I think the crazier part is that I have about a million and one things bouncing around my brain.  I'm not very good at prioritizing in my head and I usually think about EVERYTHING I have to do, all at one time. 
This is why lists are good, except that I have random lists started on various pieces of paper...bulletin inserts, a couple of notebooks, scraps.  At least it's a start, right? 

Seriously though, things are going really well!  We leave 2 weeks from today and can hardly, hardly wait!!  I just can't stop looking at his pictures and imagining what his little giggle sounds like, how he moves, what makes him smile, how he'll respond to us...what a great day it will be to snuggle our little boy!
We have flights and accommodations booked, Ian's been building a dresser/change table for Griffin, we've bought a few cute clothes, and paperwork is getting in order.  I have one week left of work (YIPEE!!!!) and then the serious business starts of packing, organizing, cleaning, and last minute "stuff". 

What an incredible time this has been!  There are moments I find it difficult to soak it all in because it's so much, in such a short time, but I'm trying to at least write in a journal every day so I can look back and remember this special time for our family.  Thank you to everyone for the congratulations, love and support!  We are so amazed at the amount of people who love him already and who have been behind us on this journey.  What a blessed and humbling experience.
  Since we can't share pictures publicly yet, we thought we'd at least give you a sneak peek of his chubby little hand (a little blurry, but that's the best we could do!) :)

Griffin Qiniso...we love you SO much!!!  You are a gift!

Woohoo!!!!

Guess what????

 

We are so blown away and feeling incredibly blessed!!!  God is SO good and has answered our prayers in amazing ways.  We have a beautiful, 10 month old son!  Our lives changed forever when we got the call on Friday, Sept.6, at 3:00.  As we raced home, I could barely believe it was happening!  How do you soak in a moment that you have been anticipating for 4 years?!  We sat at the computer, opened our email and there appeared his sweet little face...I truly couldn't believe he was ours.  Oh, the tears were flowing!!

What a whirlwind these past few days have been!  Our weekend was filled with lots of celebration and little sleep!  

So now we have lots to do, as we leave in just a few short weeks.  Ahhhhhh!!!!  I can hardly wait!  Griffin, you are so precious and your dad and I love you SOOOOO..... much!!  We can't wait to meet you!

I'll write more later, but for now, we just wanted to share our exciting news!!

P.S.  We would LOVE to show you pictures, but you'll have to wait a few more weeks until he's legally ours.  Trust me though...he's adorable! ;)

Mothers Day!

Happy Mothers Day... (from Ian)
To my mom, mom-inlaw and of course my beautiful wife and mother to be.  Yes, another Mothers Day has come and yes another one in waiting.  But to you Heidi, I have seen you continue to grow in patience, love and in motherhood even though our child is yet to come home.  In the word of a good buddy of mine, you're an "EPIC" wife and mom to be.  I love you!  Happy Mothers Day.

And to all of you moms and moms to be who continue to wait in this journey called adoption, Happy Mothers Day to you too.  Keep the faith, love and hope as your children will be on their way soon!  You're all amazing!

This video is for all of you.
Happy Mothers Day!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pQ4Rnba85o8

On My Knees

I wanted to post tonight and ask you to pray. 

There are some very important decisions that, from what we understand, could be made in the next few days.  Paperwork will be submitted that will have a profound affect on families and children in this program.

I don't know what else to do but pray
...for the little ones that so desperately need their moms and dads
...for the families that have referrals and are anxiously waiting to hear when they can finally bring their little one home
...for the families without referrals that are longing to see that sweet face they dream about
...for the "higher ups" involved to have soft hearts, to make wise decisions and to truly have the children's best interests in mind
...for God's power to be shown and His hand to continually be at work in this program

When I feel like I have nothing left in me to pray, I have come to rely on others to go before Him on our behalf.  Thank you for praying with us. 

Merry Christmas Everybody!

Merry Christmas everybody!

Just a quick post for the Christmas season

Well, we were really hoping for some encouraging news/update and perhaps even an early Christmas gift this year, but once again it comes with more delays.  We did get an update from our agency, but there wasn't a whole lot of new info.  There are a couple of dates set for earlier in the new year that will hopefully help solidify more of the process, but at this point nothing has changed regarding the delay.  So without going into further details, I’ll keep it as short and sweet as that. 

Yes, we and other families in waiting (along with family, friends and many of you) were truly hoping for greater news this Christmas - anticipating the end of the delay and soon bringing these children home.  Once again our little guy or girl isn’t here with us and their spot around the tree remains empty.  The past few years we’ve put their stocking up at the fireplace along with ours and once again it remains empty.  There is a void in our hearts as we long for that day; however, we are grateful for friends and family to spend the holidays with.

So with that said, that’s it for an update.  We wish they were here with us this Christmas, but we know and trust that day will soon come.  We put their stocking up again but thought we’d put something in it after all.  We also put a candle above it to represent our baby.  On Christmas morning we will light it as a symbol they are here with us.  (pic below)     

Merry Christmas everybody.  God bless!
Merry Christmas little one.  We love you!

-Ian

A Macho Thing...

Ian here.  I don't typically post on our blog as much as my wife does.  In fact it seems quite typical that in most adoption type blogs such as this, it's usually the female gender that writes.  I guess it's a macho thing or something.  We just don't like to 'share our feelings' I guess.  I don't  know - maybe its just easier to grunt and flex our muscles!   What I do know is that today I break that mold - at least for a moment - just to briefly share my heart.  Yes, guys/dads do have this inside of them.  I know we all know it, but for some reason our world seems to want to hide it.  But not today... not this guy.  Okay, okay, I'm setting myself up here.  It's not that dramatic, just a few words.  Anyway here's my post...

My heart cries out today!  It longs - overwhelmingly - for our child.  This is reality for waiting moms  - and dads, but this morning it hit hard.  Maybe it's just one of those days.  Or maybe its an extension of emotion from sharing our hearts with friends last night.  I don't know.  What I do know is that today, I intensely miss and long for our son or daughter.  It's as simple as that! 
I don't have much more to say - its that macho thing kicking in again.  So I keep this short and leave with these final words to our sweet babe...

...son or daughter,  I leave you with this today: I love you.  I picture you everyday - your smile, your cry, your laughter, your warmth, you running around the yard, throwing the ball around, shoot'n hoops or taking shots at the net, playing with dolls, hiking in the woods - experiencing the great outdoors, loving Jesus, reading stories with you and mom, singing songs, discovering new things, playing with mom, and of course hearing you say "I love you dad".  Hang in there little one, we're coming soon.  Love you!

If you have a couple minutes, watch this video.  Orphan Sunday is coming up on November 4th and this is just one way to be part of their lives.   click on the link:  http://vimeo.com/41789537

One last thing... Happy birthday to my stellar nephew on his first birthday!  See you later at the party little buddy. 

60 days

You would think that after 60 days off of work, I would be ready to "get back at it" and have a routine again, but you could not be more wrong. 
I was so fortunate to be able to take the summer off and have thoroughly enjoyed every minute of schedule-less days, being with friends and family, reading, soaking up the sun, camping, sleeping in, etc.  It was such a great summer.  To give you a quick recap...

We were blessed again to be part of RUN143 and what an incredible time!  Ian and I both completed the entire distance, although I can't even come close to his athletic ability.  He ran the entire distance, where I ran/walked/hobbled/biked - whatever I had to do to finish.  Once again we met amazing people, supported 2 crazy awesome families and raised lots of money for orphan care and adoption.  If you want more information about this event, visit www.run143.com

 The sign that followed us the entire journey

 Group photo after day 2

 Our awesome families!

At the end of July, I was able to go for a weekend away with my mom and sisters to Edmonton.  It's an annual event for us and I love it!

Look at those beauties! 

Okay, seriously...where did August go?  It flew by, but was a great month!  Ian took time off and we went to Kananaskis/Banff for 10 days.  We haven't had a vacation that long in a few years and it was SO needed.  The first part of our trip was spent camping in Kananaskis.  We spent most of our time hiking or sitting around the fire.  Ahhh...I want to go back!

 View walking to our campsite

 Hiking

 more hiking...

This was the beautiful lake we hiked around - 16km later and I was feeling it!  

The second part of our trip was spent camping in Banff.   We spent time hiking, strolling the streets of Banff, eating delicious goodies and facing one of my fears...white water rafting!!  After many comments of "You're going to love it!"  and "It will be so much fun" from my dear husband, I finally gave in...and he was right...I loved it!!  We went with a great company that goes down the Kicking Horse River and had such a great time.  I would even go again :)

 Floating down the river

 I got such a mouthful of water through the first rapid, I made sure that didn't happen again!

 

 After our trip down the river - we wore so many layers because the water was only about 4' C!

 

 Hiking at Johnston Canyon - Don't you just love this guy's water bottle belt clip?!  So handy! Too bad I forgot mine :)

Johnston Canyon (above & below)

 

 Can you find what's wrong with this picture?

 Lake Louise Tea House hike 

(which Ian decided to run after we had finished our hike!  Seriously!!  I am in awe.)

I told you we had delicious goodies!

Last night in Banff

Before we headed home, we stayed a couple of nights in Calgary to shop and relax some more.  It was such a great trip and as always, we were sad to see it end.

So, that brings me to the reason I started this blog - our adoption.  I thought the summer would be a good time to reflect on our situation, pray through things and really have peace about what is going on, but I almost felt as if I was trying to push it out of my mind. 

Don't get me wrong! We have been busy writing letters, advocating, making phone calls and fighting as much as we can to bring all these kids home.  I thought about and prayed for our baby every day.  What I didn't do is dwell on it and really face it.  I didn't want to let myself go there, but maybe that's okay?  Maybe the summer wasn't supposed to look a certain way and maybe I just needed to enjoy each day.

Now, work starts tomorrow.  I don't feel ready to be busy again.  I've needed this time to just "be" and I feel like I need more time. This is such a time of stretching for me.  My heart is in pieces, I feel weak and I'm trying to live with the joy of the Lord (as cliche as that sounds).  I am SO thankful for my incredible husband.  Yesterday we celebrated 7 years and I realized once again how blessed I really am; for a husband who loves me and our baby, is a leader for our family, who I feel supported and encouraged by and who loves to have fun.  I would not want to be walking this road without him.  

Whether I like it or not, life moves forward.  I know in my heart that I am not facing the days ahead alone, but today I don't feel ready to face anything.  I am sure of this though: my God loves me and our little one in South Africa and I will choose to trust Him - even if that means minute by minute.  He will be faithful.

Thanks for sticking with us.