A Year Ago Today...

ONE YEAR AGO today I received a very important phone call that changed my life. I was at home with Noah, playing in the back yard, and I went inside to grab something. While I was in the house the phone rang.

We never get calls on our home phone.

I answered and heard a voice say, "Congratulations Mommy!" What?! I remember thinking, "There is no way!" I was expecting a phone call or e-mail the next day because I knew our court date took place some time in the middle of the night (Ethiopia time is about 8 hours ahead). This was way sooner than I expected. The voice continued, "You passed court!" The only thing I could get out was, "Both of them?" I had heard so many people tell me that you usually do not pass court the first time, and we should really expect nothing since we were trying to adopt two boys who were not biological siblings. The chances of all the paperwork being there, the chances of both birth mothers showing up when they had to come from 14 hours away just to say that they could not take care of their boys, the chances of the judge being in a favorable mood, etc etc. On top of that we had the anxiety of, "What if she shows up and changes her mind?"

After Angela from our adoption agency confirmed that both boys had passed court I thanked her and hung up. I immediately called Kenneth with a huge lump in my throat. I told him the news and then ran outside to tell our neighbor, Gina. Funny, I had just finished talking with her before I went in the house and told her, "Yeah, we might not hear anything until the weekend. I'm not getting my hopes up. No one ever passes court the first time. But we do know that whatever happened has already happened." Between pushing Noah back and forth on the swing, telling him that he really did have 2 new brothers, and making several phone calls, I just wanted to burst into tears!

At that time I never would have imagined the life that I now live. I might have been a little scared if God would have given me even a glimpse at that time. I am so thankful that He has slowly and patiently led me to where we are today. He certainly knows what we can handle and when we can handle it, whether we feel like we are ready or not. Praise Him for that!

Although life is absolutely crazy and I have some really tough, rough days with all the boys...I WOULD NOT CHANGE IT. I feel so incredibly blessed that God called us to adopt and that he brought Aiden and Asa into our lives. I wouldn't want to imagine life without them! Sometimes I just look at them and think about the magnitude of the true miracle God has performed for our family.