The Secret is OUT!

We are EXPECTING!!

It's official ... we have signed our agreements and mailed them off to our amazing agency, America World, to bring home what our other 3 children have decided is ... a BROTHER!

We are beyond excited! SO much so, that our little munchkins spilled the beans before we even had a chance to tell my parents.
This past Sunday, we sat down with the kids to have a "Family Meeting". Our kids have expressed a great interest for some time to adopt again but we felt like they are old enough to be a part of the process, in every way. Coming out of a week of TbarM, they had just spent the week really looking into and understanding what Jesus meant when he said "Go and make Disciples of all nations". Daddy started off by telling them that we had been praying and that we felt like the the Lord was telling us to adopt again. Jesus said "GO and make disciples of all nations" and that we felt like Jesus was bringing some of those nations to us - first China, and now, Ethiopia.
Before we could even ask for a response or Doug could finish, their was an uproar from the peanut gallery. Cheers! Screams!
Saying they were thrilled is an understatement.
So, the next part of the conversation led to us saying that we hadn't heard with confirmation if we were going to have a brother or a sister but that we did know that we were being called to an older child ... somewhere between 3 and 5.
BROTHER, BROTHER, they began to shout! Um, Lord, was that my confirmation?

We swore our 3 little munchkins to secret and told them we wanted to put in our application and hear back from our agency before we shared with the grandparents and the rest of the world. HAHA ... are you laughing?
So, that was Sunday. I am proud to say they held it in for 4 (well maybe 3.5) days. Luckily, AWAA was SUPER quick to respond to our application. We submitted it online on Monday and on WEDNESDAY, the phone rang. Area code 703 ... the infamous and much anticipated number that all adopting families with AWAA love to see on that caller ID. Knowing that it is usually and always a full 10 days to hear back, I was sure I had neglected to complete something on the app. That would be embarassing, seeing as how we've done this before ... AND we are their Texas Associates. But, to my surprise, on the other end was the adorable and very loved, Amy Pearson. Amy was our family coordinator to bring home Maliah. I can still remember the referral call and her sweet voice on the other end "Cristie, are you ready to go to China", as she prepared to tell me all about the most beautiful, outgoing, and precious then 8 month old baby girl. Amy was incredible during our 23 month journey!
This time, however, Amy is the intake coordinator and so again her voice was greeted with excitement when she said they were super excited to see our app. come through and ... CONGRATULATIONS, you have been accepted into the Ethiopia program. YAY!! Let the paper chase begin!!

That same day Granny and PiPa had taken Dakota and Canyon for the afternoon. Dropping Dakota off at Chef's Camp, they headed to the Astrodome to watch the Cowboys practice with Canyon. Somewhere between the Subway that we all ate at, and Chef's Camp, 3 minutes down the road, the secret was spilled. If only I could have been a fly on the wall! To hear it told through their eyes and Granny and PiPa's is quite comical. Needless to say, once home that evening, Dakota admitted they spilled the beans. Granny and PiPa had still not said a thing ... sworn to secrecy by their yes, Grandchildren, after they spilled the secret themselves. We had a big laugh followed by lots of hugs and well, room planning for what will be our FOURTH blessing!

We are super excited, super nervous and SO READY! Throughout this journey, we hope to fill you in on the process, timeframe and the journey as we walk it out with the Lord on this blog.
We'll be doing some fundraising, some praying, rejoicing and yes ... traveling! We'd love for you to "Join us" in those things!
Your prayers and support are priceless!

With much anticipation ...