journal... DAY 1 AND 2 with the boys... INSAAAAAAANEEE!!!

DAY 1 AND 2 IN THE BOOKS... INSAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAANE!!! BUT GREAT!

so this is how it went. we were suppose to meet the boys yesterday morning about 9. they were going to bring them here to the guest house we are staying at and they would be ours... FOREVER!!! needless to say we did not sleep much monday night. we played all kinds of scenarios in our heads; what to do when we first saw them, what to say, should we run at them, or is a 6'7" white guy doing a world cup 'goal' scream running at you too much for the first 5 seconds of our new relationship?... so many questions

then we realized that with all our planning to entertain the boys on the way home, we had not thought past what to do after the first 5 minutes of seeing them face to face... no balls, no blocks, no toy of any kind to help begin the next 12 hours of waking life... (they are after all 3 and 5... and they are boys... and we don't speak the same language... so long talks over warm cups of chai about their past experiences and future hopes and dreams seemed a little naive)... we needed toys!!!

so, tuesday morning, i grabbed breakfast and then made a quick sprint out to town.. .and, as luck would have it, a small shop just down the street happened to have 2 soccer balls... a small and a medium. imagine that, finding a soccer ball over here in the middle of the world cup... who da' thought it?

i had only been back about 15 minutes, and we were talking anxiously with the other couple staying here with us... AND THEN... THERE THEY WERE!!! LIKE REALLY... THERE THEY WERE... 2 REAL LITTLE BOYS THAT WE HAD ONLY SEEN IN PICTURES AND A COUPLE OF VIDEOS... AND THEY WERE STANDING RIGHT HERE, RIGHT NOW, MORE BEAUTIFUL THAN WE COULD HAVE IMAGINED... JUST STARING AT US!

it was very surreal and took a second to remember what we were going to do at this point... i was tripping over my feet to get to them, trying to pull out the flipvideo, diana was heading for the boys, but had the camera and we were both like... do we film, hug, hold, shake hands, snap photos... so we did it all (sorry cassie, these first photos may just be of the floor) BUT THERE THEY WERE!!!

as we knelt down beside them... one of the coolest things ever happened... the oldest, surafeal (asher) was carrying a gallon zip lock bag that i recognized as the bag that carried our last care package to them. he reached inside, pulled out a small stack of photos we had sent, looked up, and then said... DAD... and pointed at my picture... then he said... MOM... and pointed at diana's picture... then he said... SEEESTER LEEELEE...and pointed at Lilly's picture. we were completely captured (as if that were ever in question)... little gebremedhin (will) then took the pictures and did the same... AWESOME!!!

we gave them each their soccer ball and it was on instantly... we went straight out to the courtyard of the guesthouse where diana and i quickly found out we were by far the worst soccer players present... and so it was on.

there was so much happening.. and there is no way to put it all here but i will try to give a running list of highlights for you to give you a taste... so here we go...

-played soccer in the courtyard for about 20 minutes
-came inside and began drawing pictures
-surafeal (asher) counted to 30
-both said their abc's... sweet
-back out to the courtyard for more soccer
-back in for what turned out to be a competitive eater's version of a box of animal crackers.
-back out to the courtyard for more soccer
-upstairs to see the room for the first time.
-gave them their back packs and blankets (oh my gosh, emily/lindsey... GOOOOAAAAALLLLL!!!) they still haven't taken them off...
-packed and repacked the backpacks 20 times... just like their sister.
-came down for lunch.. spaghetti with tomato sauce... ate like champs (especially the bread)
-back out to the courtyard for more soccer
-THE BOYS SAY... I LUB YOU for the first time!!! WE LUB THEM TOO!!!
-back up to the room for more backpack fun
-HIGHLIGHT OF THE DAY... ASHER 5, walks over to me in the room, grabs my hand, looks up at me, and then says... wait for it... wait for it... TOILET? TOILET?... YES!!!! he can tell us he needs to GO! GREAT MOMENT... just sayin.
-LOWLIGHT OF THE DAY... while asher is on the TOILET, will is so focused on his crayons and coloring book he just decides to 'go' right in the floor. not so sweeeeeet. just #1 though, so no prob.
-will later did go #2... but made it to the TOILET this time.
-tried for a nap... small meltdown with will, but finally crashed out and slept.
-back down for supper... fish and more spaghetti... great eaters.. .their grandparents will be proud.
-back up to the room for BATHTIME... THIS WAS CRAZY... IT WAS LIKE A DAY OUT AT A WATERPARK!!! uncle bill and aunt linda, get the pool ready, i think we have a couple of waterbugs.
-couple of bumps in the learning to share... acted just like some brothers i used to know (tim and silas... gosh)... only one or two punches, slaps, and wrestling matches... but lots of hugs after that...
-finally time for prayer and bed
-and then sleep.

there is sooooooo much more to tell and so much we have left out. there have been some interesting moments in our 'getting to know you' stage... and i am sure there will be many more, but they seem to be just little boys... our boys!

it is still overwhelming, humbling, exciting, scary, crazy, awesome, and all of those other things... but there has also been a peace and strength from God confirming and encouraging us that this IS the journey we were called to and God is at work right here, right now, in us, and with us.

what we are sure of is that what God has called us to, he will see to its end, and he has had a hand in this from so much farther ahead than we could have known, preparing our hearts and minds for this thing he has brought us to now. not only us, but lilly too.

our devotion time on tuesday, july 6th, we read oswald chambers (my utmost for his highest) and it was just a powerful moment for both of us in an anxious moment... God reminding us that this is HIS deal and we have been invited to it, and our response is to HIM as he reveals himself and walks us thru the visions he has planted in us.

i really encourage all of you to check it out...
it has just been so amazing to watch God do what He does... blow our minds... and we are speechless and without any proper response but to say... you are God, you are Christ, you are Love, you are Life, you're Salvation, Hope has come, you are Him, You're the One... YOU ARE GOD!!!


oh yeah... DAY 2 QUICK NOTE...
-everything at the embassy went totally smooth today.
-will DID pee in the floor while we were there, but it was on american soil... and i am trying to make that make it ok in my head.
-the boys took a 3 HOUR NAP TODAY... AWESOME FOR EVERYONE!!! and are asleep now.

too much to say... we will tell more later... love you.

seriously check out oswald... july 6 ... and 7 if you have time. both very encouraging for us.

journal... 36 hours before meeting our boys

Wow. It was not so long ago we were counting down the days and now we are literally counting down the hours. It seems so surreal that in just a few short hours we will be with the boys.

We are entering a new level of overwhelmed and have spent much of the day thinking and talking of all the things that brought us to this point.

-that crazy day 10 years ago when Diana first dropped the news that she was going to adopt in a whole other country... that most of us had never even heard of (you know who you are)
-then this little girl showed up and blew our minds.
-there was that awkward day in a mexican restaurant when I asked this hot chick if we could 'hang out' more... Like date and stuff... And I got nothing but crickets... Chirp Chirp. But she Came around.
-there were our adventures to Kandaria with a few crazy teams of people and even crazier moments (that I will not get into now) that made coming back to 'africa' not seem overwhelming.
-there was an amazing year and a half with Sam that cemented in our hearts a passion for children that we could have never imagined existed and now only continues to grow. We thought we had that heart, but now it is greater than ever as is our love, hope, and prayers for Sam. He is purposed for something great and we are praying toward that.
-then there was that first day we saw Asher and Will on the waiting children list... And they stole our hearts just like Lilly did with diana. Weeks and prayers later, they were still there waiting and now both sides only have a few more hours.

There is so much more to this story and all of you have played a huge role in one way or another. Thank you for walking this path with us.