My Rainbow after the Storm...

I'm so convinced that God gives me rainbows when I need them. They serve as a gentle reminder that He stands by His promises.

Friday, we headed out to pick up the U-haul truck and it started to rain on the way to our apartment. We had people coming to help us load up our place! I quickly asked the girls to pray that the rain would stop.

And it did.

Further down the road, I saw a tiny piece of a rainbow. It wasn't a huge beautiful arch but it was a tiny, tiny, fragment of a rainbow.

I smiled as I started thinking back to how amazingly God has provided for us during this journey.

Here are just a few of the ways that He has provided:

- We found our church right before this whole thing began. We'll be here 3 years this November. I do not find it to be a coincidence that our church was revealed to us right before this crazy ride.

- Other than our homestudy (that could still be used although we do have to pay for an update since we moved) and our travel expenses we lost very little of our adoption fund. We are thankful that God spared our tiny fund especially since almost all adoption fees are non-refundable.

- We "randomly" chose a Sunday School class when we visited this church the first time. They welcomed us with open arms and I don't think a week has gone by since that we haven't heard from someone in between church activities. These friends rejoiced with the news that we were matched. These brothers and sisters in Christ have battled in prayer for our situation when things went south. They've reached out to us. They've hugged me. They've cried with us. They've shared their own stories.

- One of our friends from our Sunday School class, helped me find my way to the Women's Bible Study. This has been amazing for me. I tearfully asked for prayer during our prayer request time one week and afterwards several women stopped by to introduce themselves and tell me their own adoption or fostering stories and promise to pray for us!

- For this move, several men and one couple from our Sunday School class blessed us with their time and packed our things into the moving truck. The next morning they came and unloaded the moving truck. It was speedy and efficient and done without a single complaint. Brandon and I are still in awe of how smoothly and quickly it happened!

- Our new neighbors are so friendly! Everyone has come to introduce themselves.

Each day does get a little easier. We've moved past disbelief. We don't understand why this happened, but we have accepted it. We are finding ourselves laughing and smiling more.

~Stephanie

PS: I know I have been lacking in the picture department. I am about to dump a bunch from our phones. So stay tuned!

My Heart Sighed...

This morning, Brandon was so excited to announce to our Sunday School class that we are matched and let everyone know that we are expecting Annalise to join our family soon. We briefly got to share the story behind her name and how old she was. We also asked for prayer for her UTI. Everyone was thrilled for us.

Then this afternoon, we met up with some classmates at a local restaurant to eat lunch and chat. I was able to let our new friends know that Annalise has some special needs and briefly got to share about them.

And they didn't blink an eye. It was as if I said, "Our Annalise has brown hair, brown eyes and one dimple." There wasn't an awkward silence.

But I know what was there: Acceptance.

I nearly burst into tears at the table. Instead, I looked away and took a few deep breaths and my heart sighed.

I can't wait to see how God uses Annalise for His glory. I wonder how He will use us as we parent Annalise. We are praying you home, Baby Girl and can't wait to introduce you to our friends, near and far, that are so diligently praying for you and us.

Father, as I look back over our journey the past few years, I'm always amazed. Part of the journey was painful. Some days were lonely. The pruning hurt. But the growth that I see in Brandon and I as Believers and the strengthening in our family unit, is nothing short of amazing.. Thank you!

~Steph

PS: The form does have to go to South Carolina. Our socialworker is going to call this week and politely ask that it be expedited. Pray that it returns quickly!!!