Introducing.........Gabriel Sentayehu Pruitt!!!!!

Praise God for His blessings and provisions!!! We passed court today!! We can't wait to hug our little boy in 2 WEEKS!!!!! (deep breaths, deep breaths).....

We're Back in the Game

Praising God today (and MOWA) for allowing us another go at a court date now set for July 31st. I had my doubts that we would make it to court before closures, but God's answer this time was "Yes, sooner" rather than "Later." Keep praying that we get through court and pass on Friday. We are keeping all you other adoptive fams with upcoming court dates in our prayers as well.

Hanging on To God's Promises...

Isaiah 55:8-9 says:

"For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways," declares the Lord. "And the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts."

Job 1:21 says:

"...the Lord gave and the Lord has taken away. Blessed be the name of the Lord."

Jeremiah 29:11 says:

"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.


July 24th court date was postponed until further notice. MOWA extended their 2-week training 1 more day. We are hopeful we get in before court closure, but we are now just trying to trust that God's timing is best and rest in that. We know that when we finally have our son home, this roller coaster of emotions during the waiting period will be just a "blip" on the radar of life. It feels like eternity now, but it will be long forgotten once we have him home. Praying for all the other families who are still on this roller coaster (esp. those who have been on it much longer than we have). We should know more early next week....

Open Your Hearts

Watch these new videos from Gladney (I saw on another family's recent post):

Those Left Behind- Part 1

Those Left Behind--Part 2


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Processing....

I am not eloquent with words, but my heart resonates with thoughts like the ones quoted below. What do we do with all of this information? How can we possibly make a difference? What is God's will for us and how do we fit as individuals into this part of the puzzle? It's so easy to get overwhelmed to the point of inactivity. To get frozen with fear, with lack of resources, with lack of "know-how". How do we REALLY be God's hands & feet?? This amazing woman is an example of what it looks like to live it out...to show by example, to ACT. A modern-day Mother Theresa. I stumbled across this ministry and her blog amidst the amazing woven tapestry called the blogging world. And now I am truly blessed!! Thank you Auntie Katie for your example and sacrificing your life for "the least of these." Check this amazing woman out, and prepare to be inspired! She started Amazima ministry. Check out her ministry here.

From June 5th, 2009 post:
"We aren't really called to save the world, not even to save one person; Jesus has already done that. We are just called to love with abandon. With EVERYTHING we have. We are called to enter into our neighbor's suffering and love them right there."

From Sept. 14th 2007 post:
"i am marveling at how one small candle can seem to fill my whole house with light. just as Jesus fills my heart. and now i take my candle around to all the others and light them, the house practically glows. my one tiny flame has made everything bright. and i am reminded that i can light candles in the hearts of others, as long as i let Jesus fill my heart here first. 'you are the light of the world.. so let your light shine before men that they my see your good works and glorify God the Father..' "


I am still reading through her blog. It is a treasure FULL of golden nuggets like the ones quoted above. I am truly amazed and grateful to know there are such beautiful souls in this world making a difference like Katie is in Africa. She is teaching me so much about selflessness and unconditional love.

Calling All Prayer Warriors! We Have A Court Date!

Please pray for God's will for EVERYONE trying to pass court before they close......including us! We have a court date set for July 24th. Living on the cutting edge of timelines. God is good and sovereign (and has a sense of humor sometimes)! But we are so grateful that it has happened so quickly! When I talked to my husband after I received the news from Jessica, he said he just KNEW today would be the day we would find out court date. He had been talking to his co-workers and patients about S this morning and showing off pictures....and he just had a feeling we would hear something TODAY. So cool! Pray we can sustain patience and peace as we wait. Pray for wisdom as we continue to prepare our hearts and our home to welcome our son. Pray for his little heart and that he can transition into a new and very different life soon! Praise God for His mighty power and love and mercy. Pray for the families that are in ET now, the families that are preparing to travel in the near future, and for those who are waiting to bring a child home. Pray that God touches other's hearts in astounding ways only God can do through adoptive families' examples/stories/ journeys.

It is finally feeling like a reality....pray that things continue to move along smoothly, without any delays.

Attention Book Lovers!

I wanted to share some of these gems I found to read to my kids (and to our ET son). The first set I found at www.amharickids.com. It's a wonderful resource and has many more items than I have listed. These are just the ones we have and that I recommend:









And these....






















For learning simple Amharic, I also recommend this book & CD from www.adoptlanguage.com:

















And last but not least, these treasures about color and diversity are a MUST!! My favorite, surprisingly, is the Sesame Street book. It almost made me cry! I have little ones, so this is especially good for their ages (2-9). I found them at amazon.com.

































And my 6 year-old son's FAVORITE of them all is this wonderful story about the Ethiopian Saint Tekla:

First Update

“While S is a little bit shy at first, he is very comfortable with his caregivers. I think that he is ready to start driving because his favorite things to play with are toy cars and car keys. When the caregivers were playing with him they kept jingling their keys and he would instantly look for where the sound was coming from and try to grab them. He definitely has his serious side and often seems content playing with his toys by himself. On the other hand when you catch him at the right moment he can light up a room with his sweet smile and be very playful with those he is comfortable with.”--Rachel


We can't wait to hug and kiss on this precious little boy! I also can't wait to see him smile one day. Still praying for a quick court date!