We are currently in the air somewhere between Birmingham and Chicago on the first leg of our adventure. It was painful to leave Anna Faith and Samuel behind. There were lots of tears at my house over the past few days. We are beyond excited to go and meet the two we have yet to meet though. It is a big mix of emotions.
As many of you know, our beautiful state is still suffering in the face of tremendous devastation from the tornados of April 27. My heart is broken for those families hurting, especially for those who lost family members. I know the weight of sudden loss. The feelings of panic and dread. The overwhelming urge to somehow burst out of your skin or the feeling it is going to crawl off without you. And I live with that still. But for me, I had a home to go to. I have a rock of a husband to physically carry me. Some many of these people have nothing left. Nothing.
We flew over a sea of blue tarped homes and debris on our way out of the city. The path of the tornado (one of the many that hit our state that day) looks like claw marks across the ground. It makes my stomach turn.
Last time I flew to Europe was less than 2 weeks after 9/11. This time it is less than 2 weeks after the worst local disaster I have ever seen. It is hard to leave in these times of great suffering. Our prayers continue to be with the grieving and all you amazing people sacrificing time, money, and energy to help.
As for us, please continue to pray for us on this next exciting step. I'm listing some specific needs below. Thank you for partnering with us to cover this adoption in prayer.
- safe, low stress travels (so far so good! Eli has slept so far on this flight but 2 more to go)
-peace over my family in the time we are separated
-a fast court date and a favorable judge
-prepare Grace and Malachi's hearts for a family
-attachment and transition
- finances and timing on this trip
I hope to blog as we go as much as I can. For now we are headed to the capitol city to be given our referrals and then on to our city in a few days. Email anytime. Love and miss you all!
So so happy for you guys! Anxious to read more and to hear of your first meeting with Grace and Malachi. Being without Anna Faith and Samuel has got to be painful. What an emotional roller coaster! I continue to keep you guys in prayer and thank you for listing your specific needs.
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing! How long do you expect the whole process to take if everything goes well. What's the ealiest you guys could touch down in the states with your newest children? I am totally praying for you guys.
ReplyDeleteWe really don't know Katherine. We have tickets home for June 19th, but that may change depending how things go. We are praying for a fast court date, but we won't find that out for some time still. Once we know our court date, we will have a better idea about our return.
ReplyDelete