birthday celebration

My sweet girlfriends had planned a shower for me on Yohana's 1st birthday (originally not knowing she would be HOME for her birthday)!  When we found out we were coming home the week before her birthday, we went ahead and kept the shower date and the guest of honor was able to attend her own celebration!  No better way to celebrate.  It was wonderful.  I have some truly amazing and creative friends who showered us with love.

More on our homecoming and first few weeks home soon.  I have so much to share.  It's been a whirlwind.  We are overjoyed and everyone is adjusting well. 

one step closer

Our dearest Yohana,

Sweet pea, the time has finally come!
We have longed and yearned, we have prayed, we have laughed and cried. We have griped and complained.  We have smiled and giggled as we prepared.  We have fought, we have doubted, we have trusted. We have fallen to our knees with lifted hands. We have talked about you, bought things for you, created room for you in our home. We have dreamed.  
Precious one, we cannot promise you the world.  We cannot promise you health and prosperity. We cannot promise you happiness and wealth and complete safety. At times life will be hard, cruel and unfair.
But this we can offer...
Simple truths.  A place to call home.  Unconditional love.
Hang on baby girl, mommy and daddy are coming. with arms open wide. 

big, ugly bump in the road

Ok, change of plans.  We were just about to book tickets to fly out this Saturday when we got a big blow.  Our case was forwarded to the USCIS headquarters in Nairobi yesterday for further review.  This ins't uncommon for ET adoptions, but it came out of left field for us.  Everyone involved with our case was shocked.  There is no rhyme or reason to this hot mess.  We. Were. Devastated.  After a lot of researching and phone calls and emails we learned that a ton of cases were sent along with ours.  And it all comes down to dirty politics, legal red tape and crappy, irresponsible decisions.  Very hard to swallow when it's orphans lives on the line here.  I don't even want to say what this means time-wise because that could change in a minute, but for those of you who've asked, we're looking weeks and weeks, maybe months.  Who knows.

Anyways, we are picking ourselves up, wiping our tears and taking action where we can and praying our hearts out.  I've been reminded that this journey is not about us, or her, but about HIM and he will do what it takes to bring himself the glory...we are just along for the ride, as hard as it is at times.  I've also been trying to think of all of the positives that can come out of this.  So thankful for a business savvy husband who can think quickly and take action.  He's been in contact with just about everybody but Obama himself.  Thankful even more for supportive friends and family who have walked before us or are in the middle of this with us.  We could NOT do this without them!  (Especially when they show up at your door with flowers and tell you to go lock yourself in your room and cry while they babysit your kids and do your dishes).

This too shall pass.

about to pop!

we are SO CLOSE.  So close to bringing Yohana home, welcoming her into her forever family.  So close my heart could literally pop!  We are hoping to hear any day now, and when we do, we will hop on the first plane over.  A friend of mine joked that it's like I'm dilated to a 3 or 4, so true!

I have been taking advantage of the past few weeks, cooking like crazy and freezing meals, buying diapers and baby food and getting everything ready to pack her bag.  But most of all, I've been cuddling lots with my baby that is about to seem very much like a big boy, no longer will this little munchkin be the baby of the family.  So I've been soaking up my time with him.  It's been sweet.

Stay tuned...

2012!

Gonna be a life-changing year, gonna be a great month! Yohana's case was submitted to the US Embassy last week so we are looking to go over in the next few weeks to get our sweet pea and bring her home!  Just waiting on the details to pan out before we make our final plans...but it's going to be SOON!  

I have uploaded some pictures of our 1st trip for anyone who wants to look through them.  I tried to keep these non-adoption-realated because we really had so much fun while we were in Ethiopia and experienced so much.  After a few days of being there, Kirk and I both felt comfortable enough to let down our guard and just go with the flow.  We started to ask our driver to take us places and do things that weren't on the recommend itinerary.  We were quite adventurous to say the least. So thankful we did not get sick the whole trip and had some wonderful experiences, I know that's not always the case.  We truly felt like we went from being "ferenge" to "habesha" in 10 short days! (foreigners to natives).  I think Yohana will be proud of all that we saw and did and tried, we have so much to tell her one day.  We can hardly WAIT to get back and be with our daughter.

My heart is heavy tonight.  Thoughts of Ethiopia have been flooding my mind all day.  Our sweet pea, dear friends, the village of Korah, the flowers, the noisy traffic, the people on the streets, the smell of diesel, the macchiatos.  I miss it.  With an aching heart I miss it.  The past 2 weeks being back home have been hard.  We landed right smack dab in the middle of Christmas season.  Everyone seems to be going a million miles an hour in every which direction.  I can't seem to catch up or keep up.  I don't want to.

My mind keeps going back to this little boy...

who I gave a package of cookies to and he just giggled and smiled and waved.

Or this man...

working so faithfully at the leprosy alert hospital, using his skill to the best of his ability, which is pretty darn amazing!  His eyes will forever haunt me.

And these precious boys at Kolfe orphanage...

doing what boys do, finding moments of joy despite their circumstances.

And beautiful kids on the street..

who laughed at me when I started singing to them because they didn't understand English but they knew the ABC song. 

Such good memories. The thing that surprised me about our trip was how much we laughed.  Maybe it was a coping mechanism, maybe I'm just not around my witty husband enough, he has a way of making everyone around him laugh.  But we laughed and laughed, more than we cried.  It was refreshing.  Especially considering the circumstances.  While we were there I had many moments of struggling with the purpose of us being there to begin with.  Adoption.  There are over 5 million orphans in Ethiopia, that's the size of Addis Ababa, the capital. And in the midst of poverty, disease and famine, there are glimpses of hope and perseverance.  Seeing these signs hit me hard...

I didn't and don't question what we are doing, or rather, what God is doing through us.  Don't get me wrong.   But during and since our trip, my heart has been grieving for what might have been, what should have been.  I believe with all my heart that in a perfect world a child should be with their biological mother and father.  But we live in an imperfect world, and our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the powers of this dark world and the spiritual forces of evil.  That's the case all too often, and injustice and brokenness awaken bitterness and confusion.  I knew this.  But my eyes were opened while in Ethiopia.  There are things we saw and learned that were HARD and INJUST and PAINFUL.  And I questioned and cried out the "why's?" and "what if's?" for a precious baby girl that I have loved and prayed for from before she ever came into this world.  There are questions I will never have answered this side of heaven.  And it's ok.  Our adoption story and Yohana's life are precious, tiny pieces of the bigger picture, the Kingdom picture.  God is just and His mercy reigns.  

The morning of our court appointment, I sat in the back seat of Solomon's van, put on my headphones and started my ipod as I soaked in the sights of the busy city streets.  The song that came on spoke to me like God speaking to me himself.  (Brooke Fraser's Desert Song.)  I replayed it all the way to the courthouse.  As I listened to it over and over, I prayed the lyrics for Yohana's life, for our family, and for the people of Ethiopia, a country and it's people that have forever changed me and I am now connected to for life.   As we said our goodbye's to Yohana on our last visit, I found an index card of a verse that I had tucked into her photo book.  There were some stickers on the wall by her crib, so I stuck it under a sticker to hang on the wall near her.  It's a common prayer, but a good one...

"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...you will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart." jeremiah 29: 11,13.

All of my life, in every season, you are still God, I have a reason to sing, I have a reason to worship.

Robbins, party of six!

  It's official, we're now a family of 6!!  Introducing Yohana Noelle Robbins.  She turned 9 months while we were in Ethiopia visiting her.  She has a calm, endearing, lovable personality...she wants to be held all the time and just melts in your arms.  Leaving was hard, but she's in good care.  Now to hit the ground running in preparing to bring her home, hoping it's around the New Year!! 

                                      

"for you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother's womb.  I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know tat full well.  My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place.  When I was woven together in the depths of the earth, your eyes saw my unformed body.  All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be." Psalm 139:13-16.

here we go!

Can't believe this is really happening.  It was 2 years ago this week we sent in our initial paperwork and had our orientation call with our adoption agency, and now, we're on our way to Ethiopia in 2 days to meet our little one.

It's been a little crazy getting everything ready and organized to go on this end, I'm actually really anxious to have some down time on the long flights to just process and prepare emotionally (and hopefully sleep).  I have never in my life been more nervous/anxious/excited/scared about a trip before.

Our family and friends have been so good to us.  Our parents are each making the long drive out to take care of the kids for a week each.  That in itself is huge and we are forever grateful that we can leave with peace of mind that our children are so well cared for and loved.  And our friends, where do I even begin?  Our sweet community group surprised us tonight with a special Thanksgiving dinner since we will be gone over the holiday.  And then they showered us with prayer and support and donations for humanitarian aid on top of all that.  The love and prayer we are receiving is truly carrying us through this journey.  I pray we can pay the many favors forward in the future.  It's amazing how a community of like-minded and like-hearted believers respond to adoption, each willing and eager to participate in their own way.  We are truly amazed and humbled.

And so, here we go...with full bellies, full suitcases and full hearts.  I have a feeling we're gonna need every bit of it for the life-changing step we're about to embark on.  I can only imagine how stark the contrast will be from the way we're leaving.  We covet your prayers every step of the way.