It's raining today, pouring in fact.  It rained nearly everyday that we were in Africa, a sweet refreshing shower, usually in the middle of the day and then the sun would shine again, warming the earth, while our kids warmed each of our hearts.  We spent so much time waiting, filling out paperwork, getting to know the other families within our group, forming the primitive lines of friendships that would be etched into the tapestry of a lifetime.  Nearly a year ago, I was beginning to pack my suitcase, Ezra's suitcase, Grayson's suitcase, the cat's suitcase...preparing for the journey ahead.  And now, here we are, all unpacked, our lives hung out to dry for others to see how we are doing.  Did we get everything sorted out, are colors matched with colors, whites with whites, wrinkled, ironed, spotted, crisp....nope.  But our basket is brimming with beauty, muddy pants from a rain dance in puddles, soaked socks from adventures with bubbles, stained shirts from first meals shared together, dress shirts worn for a job interview, bathing suits from ocean adventures, maternity shirts that fit to snuggly in the end, and many more articles that contain stories untold.  More stories to follow in the days to come.  I promise.

Introductions please

This is Ezra, our baby girl.  I apologize for not introducing her sooner, but the internet connection in Africa is less than stellar.  Our journey here has been going pretty smoothly.  We have been here for two weeks and will be heading to Kenya tomorrow for the final leg of the journey.  Ezra is a very sweet baby.  She smiles often, sleeps well, eats like a champ, and belches and coughs at the same time, making her sound like a high school football player.  We do have a prayer request for those who are following.  Our family is without the fingerprint receipt that is necessary for processing the visa once we are in Kenya.  I know that other families before us have had this same hiccup and you still made it home.  I just ask for peace between now and then as well as my trust in the Lord to be strengthened when we approach the visa window.  That's all for now.

bags not packed yet, but my heart is

Haven't posted in a while and yes it was intentional this time.  We do have an update to share and many more to follow as we will be heading to Africa in a few days to pick up our daughter.  I can't share many details just yet, but I can state that we are in love all over again and we can't wait to kiss those lips, count those toes, see if she has an inn-ie or an out-ie, smell her neck, zerbert those cheeks and so forth and so on. We will be heading to Ohio on Thursday and starting our journey from there.  I will be in touch.

missing tooth

Saturday morning Grayson had a run in with a metal pole while playing tag on the playground.  The good news is that he was smiling when he collided because his tooth didn't go through his lip.  The bad news was he shattered his front left tooth.  Why do these things always seem to happen on holiday weekends?

We were just getting prepared to send folks out to complete some relief work for victims of Hurricane Irene here in the Upper Valley when I hear crying behind me.  There is Grayson in my friends arms, crying and bloodied.  Now many of my friends and family can attest to a lack in my ability to keep it together in moments like this.  Usually I start by calling out to Jesus frantically and this often has the result of upsetting Gray more than helping the situation.  I don't know if it was all the people around or that I am getting better equipped the older he gets or "that the peace which transcends all understanding was guarding my heart", but for once, I was calm.

We opted to head to the emergency room after I left a message for our dentist.  Just as we were getting ready to head in, he called back and said that he could meet us in an hour to extract the tooth.  We walked and talked as Gray continued to spit blood and fragments of tooth.  We prayed and wondered what the Lord had in store for this day, why had we been pulled away from helping others?

We arrived at the dentist's office and were greeted by his wife, today's dental assistant, and then led back to the special chair.  Grayson was terrific!!  He listened, relaxed, and just trusted.  The tooth was easily extracted and the five pieces were placed in a keepsake box.  Lovely.  We had the opportunity to share with the dentist what our plans had been for the day before we were pulled away.  We had the chance to share about a fund that our church had recently set up to help folks that had lost everything.  We continued to share stories about those who had lost their entire heating supply (cord wood) for the winter as it had been swept down the river.  We shared how our goal was to raise $10,000 in wood the following week and this was where the dentist's face fell a bit and his brow was raised with a significant thought.  Randy asked, "Is everything ok?"  And here was his response:

"I had just said to my wife yesterday how we have to much wood and that we have got to find something to do with it.  We have pallets of extra wood."

So you see, my boy sacrificed his tooth for Jesus on Saturday.  We hadn't realized it at the the moment, but we can easily see that He had even this planned long ago so that families could be warm this winter.  Sometimes it takes more than just hands and feet to do His good work, teeth can be called upon as well.

Family Vacation Memories

 So, this past week we were in beautiful Nova Scotia experiencing the finer things that Canada's seacoast has to offer such as clam digging, some of the world's highest tides, and a muddy good time had by all.  Grayson was truly creating some of his happiest memories as he traipsed through the mud anytime one of us would agree to take him down.  (usually Randy, because frankly, I enjoy being clean, but I did squish mud between my toes at least once)

We started our journey at Amherst Shores Provincial State Park which is near the northwest corner of Nova Scotia.  It was a bit drab outside, but we were thankful that the air was cool and that it was not raining.  We had a trail that led out to the beach, but the first time that we made our way to the coast, it was only a tiny little rocky beach, with no sand to speak of.  Later that day we headed back and not only was the sun out, but the tide had gone out and left us with this.

We played all day and had some yummy camp food that evening, including S'more's of course.


The next day we packed up our site and headed onto Cape Breton National Park about 6.5 hours northeast.  I have to say that this park was one of the most beautiful places that I have ever been to.  Dramatic vistas, ocean scenery, and even a moose or two.

We camped at Jumping Mouse Eco-Camping.  This was a truly unique experience and probably one of our favorite campgrounds to ever stay at.  The folks that maintain this private oasis do so with love.  The pit toilets  were very clean, recycling was encouraged, Internet was available, and the attitude that surrounded this property was that of trust.  We signed in and paid after we camped for two days.  I would encourage anyone to camp here.

 This was our site and yes, that was our view.  the picture does not do it justice of course.  If you head over toward the edge, you would see a ladder and rope, that says: Danger, climb at your own risk.  Randy made an attempt at it to see if it would be a good fit for Gray, but quickly assessed that it was in fact as dangerous as I had previously determined and we found another beach the next day, which even though it was cloudy, we found it to be quite beautiful. 

We continued on the following day due west toward the Bay of Fundy where those really high tides take place.  We stayed at a camp ground called Five Islands Provincial Park.  This was much bigger than either of the first two.  It was very pretty, but because of the size of the campground, it wasn't nearly as hospitable as the first two.

Unfortunately, after the first night here, I woke up feeling pretty yucky in the belly.  I stayed at camp all day while the boys dug for clams and chased waves all day.  Around 6:30 that evening we decided to pack it up and head to a hotel for the evening....thank goodness, because the port-a-potties would not have been a good fit that evening if you can catch my drift.  We continued on toward Maine the next morning and made it home to New Hampshire a day ago.  It was quite an adventure for our family and we are just so thankful that we got to experience this together.  I still find it difficult to at times to make major plans while we are in the waiting phase of the adoption because we just don't know when things are going to take place.  But, each day throughout the process, we continue to "do" life because if we don't, our story won't be nearly as exciting to be a part of.  Thanks for reading.  Happy trails!!

Approved!!!

Do you know how long I have been waiting to post that word?  And it's not for a credit card either.  We have been approved by the ministry in Rwanda to adopt our little girl.  What's even more interesting is that we were approved way back in March, but the letter didn't make it through to us on the internet.  So, with that being said, we now sorta have a real time line.  By September 24th, we will have to be matched with our daughter or our case will be closed. (This is called the referral)  So please, please, please, our family begs you to share this information within your prayer circles and lift up our paperwork in prayer.  I can imagine that it may be at the orphanage now, being reviewed and prayed over by the sisters that comfort her each day.  Please pray for God's perfect timing, for order to be followed because of the six month timeline that is now in effect for each family that has been approved.  Please continue to pray for the health of the children that are waiting to be taken home as well as the workers within the ministry that they would not become weary of the tasks that they have ahead of themselves.  I will post more when I hear as well as share some photos from our vacation to Canada very soon.

Real quick....

Haven't updated in a while and I have 16 minutes before we bike/run to meet Randy after school so I thought, why not now...Proverbs 31 woman, hear me roar!!!  Anyhow, spring is upon us.  The emerald green is draping the upper valley as it clings to the deciduous trees and the evergreens are creating a lovely dark green backdrop for the colors of spring to come forth.

Gray and I hiked on the Appalachian Trail today.  I had the privilege of plucking a deer tick off of his sock...but the view was worth it.  We hiked on some gentle terrain that eventually rolled us into a pine forest.  We climbed up a hill and there the trees parted and we were faced with a green rolling pasture to the left with darker mountains looming further in the distance.  That's when I discovered the pesky varmint climbing up Gray's sock.  Gross.  He was brave and was rewarded with a fruit bar immediately upon completing the tick check.

Enough on that, let me fill you in on what else is going on.  Randy will be completing his first year of teaching in about 8 weeks....YEAH.   He has signed his contract to continue in his position for another year.  This was a huge decision, but I will spare you the details as I only have six minutes left. 

Some of you may remember a blurb about our Lifesong for Orphans grant...well I have wonderful news.  It was fully funded and beyond.  Thank you to everyone who partnered with Riverbank Church and Lifesong for Orphans to make it possible.  This was such a blessing to our family. 

As for the adoption process, I wish I could state that we have heard something, but at this time we just joyfully celebrate with all of the families that have been or are currently in Rwanda uniting with their families.  We are not sure of our time line and are still hopeful that we will hear something in the up and coming months.  What we are attempting to master during the time of waiting is being thankful for each moment that we get to spend with each other in conversation, prayer, creating memories, and defining who we are within God's world.  We continue to hold tightly to His plan and His timing and believe that they are so much more practical than ours.  We rest in Him when we become fidgety with how we believe things should be panning out...and believe me, I fidget daily.

Well, time is up.  I will post more in the near future.