This is not a drill!!

When we were in Cape Town in 2016. Look how tiny Tisetso is! Be still my heart.

After four and a half long years, we are finally writing to say that we have a court date!

On April 7, 2022, our family will grow by one and we are so excited, thrilled, and elated. We cannot believe that after waiting so long, our time has finally come.

This time around is going to look different in a several ways, but here are three:

1. We will meet with our daughter only four days before the court date. When we met Tisetso, we had two weeks before the court date, so things are a little more sped up this time around.

2. We will also be spending three months in South Africa compared to the six weeks last time.

3. We will be in South Africa during the autumn and winter months compared to the summer we experienced last time.

We have begun to finalize lists and boxes are pouring in from Amazon with things for our daughter and for travel. We are putting her room together (Harry Potter themed, of course!). We are shifting things around to make room in our home for another person!

We are so thankful that throughout our time of waiting the Lord upheld us. I (Heidi) had a particularly hard day while we were waiting and found this verse to be so encouraging:

He is not afraid of bad news;
his heart is firm,
trusting the LORD.
Psalm 112:7

I knew that no matter what news we heard (or didn’t hear), it would not shake the foundations of God’s hold on my heart or of His creation. My heart was firm because I was trusting the Lord.

We are also thankful for each of you. We’ve had so many friends and family members praying for us and encouraging us these past years as we walked this much longer than expected path. We know life is meant to be lived in community and we are so thankful for ours.

Peace in Waiting

I've sat down and started several blog posts over the last couple of months, but was unable to publish them. For fear of sounding like a broken record, I just didn't have anything new to say. It was tough. Knowing something and seeing it on a screen in front of you made it more real for me.

In the midst of this season of waiting, one thing has emerged—peace. The last file we looked at was in December. Over the past six months, the Lord has done such a great work. When I am tempted to freak out over the many things on my mind God was so quick to remind me about the sweetness of His sovereignty. 

Back in April, we got some disappointing news about the adoption. Providentially, that week, I was preparing to talk about the sovereignty of God at our women's seminar. When tempted to freak out, I already had Scripture floating through my mind to calm my heart. God has been so good to remind me of these truths over and over. (I often need to be reminded, as I quickly forget.)

As we are praying for the right child for our family, please pray with us. We don't know how our family will look at the end of this process, but we are trusting that the Lord knows and will work powerfully to take orphans on the other side of the world and bring them into our family.

Thank you for praying with us and asking if there's any new news. It is so encouraging us that people care. We look forward to the day when we have big news to share.

Little Things

We've been asked by many if there are any updates. Simply put - nope. Nothing. All is quiet on the adoption front. In this quiet, I find small glimpses of things to come in the little things. I wanted to share a few of them with you.

I found these sweet, kid-sized kicks at a garage sale for $1! For those of you who have never set eyes on my husband, he's practically a walking advertisement for Puma. I joke with him that I think his endorsement checks are getting lost in the mail. I saw these and instantly was able to envision our child wearing shoes just like their dad.

Last week in Knoxville, my mom did a treasure hunt with my nieces and nephew. They were sent to hunt for chocolate coins imprinted to look like actual currency. The only coin they didn't find was a coin from South Africa. My mom saved it for me. It was a sweet reminder to pray for our kid(s).

The last little thing was a set of Transformers letters I found at a thrift store. I sent Brian a text while I was at the store to see if he wanted me to get them. He replied enthusiastically that he did want them and that he used to have the 'M'. When I brought them back to the house, Brian proceeded to transform all 26 letters of the alphabet (he had a little help from the Oneal kids).

I've noticed and have been thankful for these little things throughout our days. I've currently got the kid Pumas sitting under the glass in our coffee table. It reminds me that, Lord-willing, those shoes will be filled some day. We are very much looking forward to that day!