8 hours and counting...

In only 8 hours, we will be boarding our first flight of 4 to South Africa!!!  I can hardly believe it's here.  All day, my stomach has been in knots as we anticipate the excitement and joy that is just around the corner. 

Earlier this week, I was packing my bag, thinking "I'm actually packing for our trip to SA to adopt our son!"

I'm having a tough time putting into words what I'm thinking and feeling.  I'm not nervous at all.  I have waited for this moment for years.  

Am I anxious?  Yep - anxious to meet Griffin for the first time, anxious to fly halfway across the world, anxious to navigate a new country with a little boy...I'm anxious, but SO, SO beyond thrilled!!!  And of course, I have the best husband ever by my side!

Yesterday we found out that we will be meeting our son the day we arrive in SA.  Our flight arrives at about 10:00 am on Tuesday and the social worker said she'll give us a bit of time to refresh, take a nap (ya right!!) and then will take us to meet him in the afternoon.  WOW!  That's only 3 days away!  I can feel that lump forming in my throat...what a day it's going to be!

Thank you all for your support, texts, hugs, cards, gifts, emails, phone calls, and prayers.  As we've mentioned before, we are blown away by how blessed we are by all of you!  We will keep the blog updated as much as we possibly can so you can see how things are going and continue to share in this adventure with us.

Now, time to get some rest...3:30 am is going to come much too early!!  

Who am I kidding though...am I really going to sleep tonight anyway?!

Love you all!!

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.