i had something else i wanted to write about tonight but i saw something one of my friend's posted on fb and i can't stop thinking about it....i have about 5 things floating in my head that i want to share but now is not the time....this is way, waaay more important....this may not be the 'right' time..or the most convenient, but sometimes loving and caring and supporting others trumps all else.

what am i talking about..not sometimes.

ALWAYS. it always trumps all else.

ok, so this may sound crazy .... but crazy is good, right?!

tonight friends, i want to introduce you to Tammy.... i do not know tammy...we are strangers {told you it was crazy;)}. i do have many friends that know her and LOVE her!!! AND we are from the same state, so i am convinced by the end of this, we will be 'real-life' friends!!

she and her husband have 4 kids at home and are adopting #5 and #6 from Africa.

here is the deal...her little girl in africa has special needs and is in dyer need of medical attention. the sweet girl's health is failing her and they need to be on a plane within 48 hours BUT they are in need of money for plane tickets, housing, etc. while in country. they need a lot of money. $15,000 to be exact. i know it is a lot but it is totally doable!!! you may be asking yourself....well these are expected costs, right? weren't they planning on this all along?? yes!! but sometimes, things happen at a warp speed and sometimes OUR timing isn't that of the Lord's and there just isn't enough time and well....if they had all the money already, it wouldn't give us all a chance to be involved in this sweet family's story.

we know how hard it is to wait and trust on God....to know His timing is perfect and His plan is perfect but sometimes it doesn't make the journey any easier....especially with two of your littles across the globe...so let's bless this family and give them some serious hope!!!

i know, many can't give but you can pray. and share!!! share their story, post their blog, tell your friends.....and would like to, go here and donate!!! even if it is a 'small' amount....because really, when we are talking adoption and blessing one another, there isn't an amount that is too small.

trust me....we know!

we are still waiting for a court date with the appellate court...we have been waiting months for a date but it looks like there may be a {slim} possibility we may be seen in DECEMBER. {yes, YES!!! please keep praying!!} if we are seen in december and a positive ruling is granted the same day, we MAY be able to make it home by christmas!! exciting, right?!?! we are thrilled at the possibility but we are also being realistic which is why we are heading to........

.
.
.
.
.
gulu.

yes, we are heading to gulu.

because we need a change of scenery. a change of pace. and ultimately, a distraction!

our church community has been supporting a ministry called sports outreach for years and my father in law is on the board...he has been over many times serving with them and well...we want to go see what it is all about. we feel that now is the perfect time...there is a team coming in that is going to be holding a camp for the children and doing some trauma counseling so we are tagging along with them...we don't know what we will be doing exactly but we do know that it will be good to get out of the city.

my mr. may be able to do some building...after hanging out with us for the past few months, he is getting antsy to use his hands again. we also met some people that are building in a nearby country and that may be a possibility for him too....we will see what the Lord has in mind!

we are excited about the next few weeks!! we will either be getting great news about a court date and {possibly} coming home OR we will be up country hoping we can be used in some way or another!

...stay tuned...

                                     The word patience comes from the Latin verb patior which means "to suffer."

last night, o-boy and i took my dad to the airport. he had been here for about 2 weeks and it was oh.so.good! it was my dad's first time in africa AND his first time meeting nya and bauer. what a blessing it was to have him live life with us for 12 days.

as we drove away from the airport, i noticed tears were falling down o-boy's cheeks. i asked him if he was sad...it took a few minutes for him to respond but he silently nodded yes. i then asked him if he was sad that "papa" was leaving or if it was because we weren't leaving.....he didn't answer this question and i let it be. i quietly told him that i would love to listen if and when he was ready to talk.

i then realized that i couldn't really answer that question either. i had already shed my tears while i  hugged my dad goodbye. secretly, i wondered why at 30 years old, i was still crying when i hugged my dad goodbye. aren't i too old for this i wondered..?

as we continued on our way home, i thought about the question i asked o-boy....was i crying because i was sad to see him go or because i was sad that we weren't going....i think it was a little of both. it was so good to see my dad but so hard to see him go. especially not knowing when the next time i will be able to see him again. we don't know when we will get to go 'home' yet.

during the last month, we had been praying that we would be on that flight with him. we had been praying for some serious miracles to happen so that we could be on that flight. clearly, it isn't what God wants {yet} so we will continue to wait and pray for His will...

to Him be the glory.