Blessed and Broken

We are still waiting..... Our MOWA letter is written. It is suppose to be on the judges desk. It is suppose to be reviewed and passed. Every single day for the past 2 weeks!

So here is how my day goes...I wake up around 1 am and pray to around 3am..no alarm, I just wake up, count 7 hours ahead and know the judge is up and working. Then I fall back asleep until around 5am when I wake up again and get up. Do my quiet time and pray. Then I try to go about some normal routine with my phone in my hand and my heart in my throat. The poor girl assigned to communicate with me at AW should call by 9:30 or 10:00. So from about 9:15 until 10:00..I really am a bundle of crazy nerves.

BY 10am..I know. IT hasn't happened. No phone call means no passing court. Then by 10:30, I get the dreaded "not today, but soon very soon, maybe even tomorrow" email. This has happened for 2 weeks and 2 days.

I have run the gambit of emotions in dealing with this particular "bump". Everything. From anger to despair to checking flights in order to meet the judge one morning in her office for a little meeting..My will, my time table, my way has been utterly broken.

But... I am blessed. So blessed. Faithful friends who text, facebook and email me daily. Who listen to me whine and wail. My sweet homeschool five in a row family have set up a schedule again today. 12 moms have stepped up to take different hours and stand in the gap and pray my children home. I am reminded of who loves us, of our support system and I am broken, but oh so blessed

.....but aren't we all?

The good news and the bad news

The Good News:

Well, it looks like our MOWA letter is written ( cue loud applause and dancing!) :o

The Bad News:

The judge was too swamped with other cases to review and write off on ours....seriously?? ( cue lots of eye rolling)

We have been told that they should review/approve us tomorrow. We have been told that before though.

Here is hoping and praying that my next blog post is a big fat "we have passed court" post.

Lessons I am learning...

Disclaimer: If you are looking for a sweet story that will give you warm fuzzies about adoption and one you can show your husband in an attempt to get him on board, then just keep on blog surfing , cause this ain't it!

We have been on this adoption road about 16 months..by the time the kids get home it will have been long enough for 2 pregnancies! I am tired. Very tired, like worn down to the nubbins tired. God has used this process to stretch me so dang much I feel a bit like Stretch Armstrong.

It has been a refining process like I have never experienced. Ever. He has exposed sin in me that I would have told you 2 years ago did not exist in me. A few of the UGLY things I have had to learn about myself through adoption... OR to say it nicely, A few of the lessons adoption is teaching me.

My Joy is in circumstances ~ I cannot tell you how many time the phone has NOT rang and my entire day has been blown to shreds. I am depressed, cranky and testy with anyone who crosses my path..all because of a circumstance that doesn't go my way.... for days on in. Adoption has taught me that my joy needs to be in the Lord and not on what is or is not happening in my day.

My Belief in God ~ When I prayed for God to move an obstacle. I mean really ( fasting, begging, praying on my face all night) praying for something and God doesn't move I had to make a decision. Do I either 1. Think God isn't big enough to move. 2. God doesn't care enough to help or 3. God is big, He does care, but He is working something out I cannot see but it is for my good. Now, the "church answer" is 3..I KNOW that, but do I believe it? Yes. Yes, I do, but not after many early morning soul searching prayer times.

Bitterness is always ready to raise its ugly head ~ There are families that traveled with us in January that are already home with their children, some are in Ethiopia right now. Others are going very soon. Some visited after us and now are going back..And here we sit not even passing court yet. I AM truly happy for these families. Well..about 80% happy. The other 20% doesn't understand. Why us? Why do our kids have to wait longer...why? ( See lesson 2..My belief in God) I have to be aware of this bitter root and not let it grow in me. Praying for these families have helped. I do love them and I am happy for them..and when I am not happy, I see my selfishness/bitterness.

My ways are not His ways~ There always seems to be "that family" within our Yahoo adoption group. The one that is having particularly difficult circumstances that are out of their control or the agency's control. The ones every one is praying for while in the back of their mind think "Man, I am so glad I am not that family!" We became "that family " back in November when our baby boy referral was lost..and it took so long to get another referral, right before we traveled. Now we are "that family" again because we cant pass court. I don't want to be "that family" anymore. I have wrestled with this so much. Why would God do this? We are adopting not just a baby, but a 10 year old too..why make us be the ones to wait and wait and have no control. Someone told me yesterday I don't have to understand the mystery, just need to trust the One who wrote it. His ways are not my ways. His ways are not my ways..repeat about 50 times a day.

It is not about what I NEED ~ I know that we don't need anymore kids. I want more kids, but I also realize all we have and what we could be doing with our time, finances and love instead of just continuing to "better ourselves". I know this is true and as long as I can focus on this bigger picture... that God is at work in me, in my children, in our church, then I am able to see just a glimpse of the bigger picture and just the tiniest bit of the gold being refined in my life.

I want to say that when I am tried I shall come forth as gold. I really want to, but the thing is this refining hurts and takes a long time. I can say that I am so thankful He is in control and not me. If that is the only thing I learn..that He is GOD and I am NOT...then it will be worth it. The cool things is...that is not all I get out of this experience. Not by a long shot. The blessings totally outweigh the grief. Already. And they are not even home yet!

No letter :(

No MOWA letter for us yesterday. :( The US Embassy is meeting with MOWA about the current situation in Ethiopia and so no letters have been written for the past few days. The good news is the judge did NOT set a new court date for us. This means our agency can continue to ask MOWA for the letter and doesn't have to wait until our court date. It also means when the coveted letter appears , the judge will sign off on our case and they will be legally ours.

A few people have asked me what happens next when we pass court. Once the children are legally ours, AWAA will begin collecting after court documents which includes the kids new birth certificates with Mullis as their last name. This usually take a week or two. After that the US Embassy will look over everything and that takes about a week. They will then let our agency know that:

A. Everything looks good, make an appointment to obtain the kids Visa and call us to make our travel plans/book our flights OR

B. Something is missing/doesn't look right and they will request more documentation OR

C. Something really looks amiss and they want to launch their own investigation.

Depending on A, B or C is how long this part takes. We are, of course praying for A and that we can go pick the kids up within a month of passing court. This is when I am SO thankful to be working with an agency the US Embassy respects and works well with.

So for now, we are waiting and praying for that darn MOWA letter. Once it reaches the judge and she signs off, I will be plastering this blog with photos and videos of the newest Mullis kids.

Tonight is the night!!

Idaho, Minnesota, Missouri, Indiana, South Carolina, North Carolina, Virginia, Wisconsin, Arizona, New Hampshire, Maryland, Florida, Pennsylvania, Delaware, New York, Georgia, Michigan, Colorado, Tennessee, Oklahoma, New Mexico, Alaska, California, West Virginia, Kansas, Mississippi, Illinois, New Jersey, Alabama, Texas, Utah, Massachusetts, Kentucky, Washington, Maine and Wyoming

AND

Ethiopia, Malaysia, Brazil, Canada, India, Slovakia, China, Thailand , Indonesia & Niger

1o countries and 36 states in the US. All have people that have told us they are praying for our court date tonight. My sweet "home on the internet" the Five in A Row message board has a sign up sheet and are praying on the hour around the clock until morning.

Thank you. We are truly touched and humbled by so much love and prayers. Tonight's the NIGHT! Let's pray these babies home!

not today..

No MOWA letters written today. :( The good news is the judge is going to hear Sarah's case tomorrow with Micah's. Soooo praying for GREAT news tomorrow morning!

Tonight while you sleep..

While you are sleeping an Ethiopian judge will review Sarah Faith's case. If our MOWA letter is there we should pass court and she will be legally ours. Would you please join me in praying for this. I am so ready to get my kids home and I soooo dont want a 4th court date! Micah's court date will be tomorrow night ( Tuesday in ET) I would ask that you pray for that one as well. Thank you so much. Here is a sneak peak at Miss Sarah Faith! Once we pass court I can show her face.

Please pray with us

A government agency in Ethiopia that writes the letters the court need for children to legally adopted are planning to drastically cut the number of letters they write each day. From 50 to 5. That is a 90% decrease. We have NO IDEA how this is going to affect our adoption, but it probably will.
Our third court dates are March 14 and 15 and if this agency (MOWA) doesn't write our letter we wont pass again!
The families waiting for referrals may see much longer wait times..It is so so so sad.
Here is the information.

We received some pictures of Micah and Sarah from a family that was in ET last week and there was one of Micah looking at the new photo album I sent him with great big tears in his eyes. That boy NEEDS to be home!

PLEASE join me in prayer for our court date , for the court system and MOWA, and for all the panic families in the process are feeling.

Also there is a petition circulating that will be presented in Ethiopia. You can find and sign that here

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4H Nutrition Fair and Mullis Adoption

11 more days!

We will have our final ( hopefully) court date for Sarah on March 14 and Micah on March 15. If all goes well, we will be able to post their pictures on here! Yay!! Also we will then be submitted for our embassy appointment and hopefully travel the middle of April to bring them HOME!!! Thanks so much for the prayers and support as we come to the finish line of this adoption journey.