Spring break!

Spring break affords us an opportune time to get ahead on this long list. We traveled to St. Louis to get two more official copies of our marriage certificate. On the way through Springfield, we got the coveted "Seal of Illinios" on a document as well. So our dossier is nearing completion. I dragged a notary public to my doctor's office to see him sign a "statement of health" for Dave & I.
This process sure involves a lot of giving people. We are so thankful to have folks around us supporting us & helping us meet all the requirements.
Next time we write, I hope you'll read that the dossier & all its details are in the mail on the way to Massachusetts for our agency to forward to Ethiopia.
We do still wait for the immigration approval from Chicago which will allow us to bring our children in to the country. According to predictions, we should recieve this approval next week.
Dave continues to redo the upstairs (kids) bathroom, another of his goals to get done before the new children arrive. Today he is painting walls & trim.
Our kids are enjoying 4-square with the neighbors & helping around the house as we work to finish things up.
Thanks for keeping up with us...

Back to beginnings...

I thought it would be neat to share the beginnings of our journey...how God led us to adopt in the first place. This is my (Sonya's) story.

I was reading through Isaiah last fall/winter & had just come to Isaiah 58, about true fasting & the offering of true sacrifice. God really convicted me that I often "seem(ed) eager for God to come near" (58:2) "yet on the day of your fasting, you do as you please" (58:3) which meant to me that I was saying that I wanted to do God's will but I really was NOT willing. Then vs. 6 hit like a rock in my stomach: "Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen: to loose the chains of injustice & untie the cords of the yoke, to set the oppressed free & break every yoke? Is it not to share your food with the hungry & to provide the poor wanderer with shelter--when you see the naked, to clothe him & not to turn away from your own flesh & blood?" Who knew those kind of verses were in the OLD TESTAMENT???

At this point, lots of life circumstances were leading me to pray about us adopting, but I was scared to death & Dave was not seeing how God could be asking this of us. But this chapter broke my will. God spoke to me in words of truth without any promise of how it would turn out, just him pulling my heart close to his. Vs.10-11 reminded me of His everlasting character....."if you spend yourselves in behalf of the hungry...the Lord will guide you always; he will satisfy your needs..."

So my heart was broken & willing. But then a couple of days later the real nitty-gritty promises hit, from Isaiah 60. See 60:4-5 "Lift up your eyes & look about you; All assemble & come to you; your sons come from afar, & your daughters are carried on the arm. Then you will look & be radiant, your heat will throb & swell with joy; the wealth on the seas will be brought to you, to you the riches of the nations will come." It is even repeated in vs. 9, "bringing your sons from afar, with their silver & gold, to the honor of the Lord your God, the Holy One of Israel..." Then just because He is an awesome God, vs. 21-22 "They are the shoot I have planted, the work of my hands, for the display of my splendor. ...I am the Lord; in its time I will do this swiftly." I hope you can see how God just met me where I was & brought me through the process He knew I needed to go through. I knew about adoption. I knew it's not all cute roly-poly babies that just need lovin'. I knew about our bank accounts. I knew that we were doing well & God was providing, but nowhere did I see the $30,000 I had heard about to bring home one child. But God spoke to all my fears. Led me into His promises & used ancient words to bring my heart close to His.

Wow!!!
Hope my story encourages you!

Things keep moving on!

Well, we sent out a letter to friends & fam across the US, hoping to get everyone up to speed on the process & its changes & ups & downs in the last months.
This week I (Sonya) will be attempting to complete a letter from our local police station informing Ethiopia that Dave & I are definitely not felons. Also gathering reference letters, getting our picture pages created (photos of home inside & out, etc) that will show the Ethiopian gov't where our kiddos will live, & getting a letter from our doctor stating our "healthiness."
On to other happenings in the Hillrich pre-adoption home. This morning I had a little chat with an unnamed child (already living in our home) regarding his or her road to independence. This road will eventually lead to all decisions made outside of parents' jurisdiction. Said child experienced an appropriate "lightbulb moment" that will lead to life change, of course.
Dave & I wondered the other night when we will first ask ourselves if we've gone crazy. So far, so good. God has done such amazing things along the way that we have no question that we are right where He wants us. Now that we have this blog, you will get to share our up & coming miracle moments with us!
Thanks for praying for us & checking in.

Give it a try...

Well, I've heard a lot about this whole blogging thing. We decided to give it a try for those of you that may be interested in how we are doing. We are currently trying to pull our Ethiopia Dossier together for the adoption, as well as work on the house, get the yard and garden ready for the spring, stay busy with work, and enjoy our family. It is pretty interesting to see it all coming together. I do know God is in control and because of that we are able to continue.

If you are unfamilliar with how we got where we are, please email and we'll let you know. Otherwise, we'll assume if you found our page that you are up to date with our process, what we are doing, and where we are going.