Grab a kleenex….

Have you seen this blog?

http://www.nogreaterjoymom.com/

…don’t forget the tissues.

Seven

I wait for the Lord, my soul waits
And in His word I hope.
Psalm 130:5

Seven months and counting.
No recent “clock” movement.

Some encouragement for my heart today from John Piper, “Battling the Unbelief of Impatience”

Impatience is a form of unbelief. It’s what we begin to feel when we start to doubt the wisdom of God’s timing or the goodness of his guidance. It springs up in our hearts when the road to success gets muddy or strewn with boulders or blocked by some fallen tree. The battle with impatience can be a little skirmish over a long wait in a checkout lane. Or it can be a major combat over a handicap or disease or circumstance that knocks out half your dreams.

The opposite of impatience is not a glib, superficial denial of frustration. The opposite of impatience is a deepening, ripening, peaceful willingness either to wait for God where you are in the place of obedience, or to persevere at the pace he allows on the road of obedience—to wait in his place, or to go at his pace.

He goes on to say…

Preaching to Your Own Soul

This is the way you battle the unbelief of impatience. You preach to your soul with warnings and promises. You say, Look what happened to Israel when they acted impatiently and went to Egypt for help instead of waiting for God. They were shamed and humiliated. And then you say to your soul: but look what God promises to us if we will rest in him and be quiet and trusting. He will make us strong and save us. He says he will bless us if we wait patiently for him.

Then you might use the promise in Isaiah 49:23,

Those who wait for me shall not be put to shame.

And then Isaiah 64:4,

No eye has seen a God besides thee, who works for those who wait for him.

And finally 40:31,

Those who wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength, they shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint.

So you battle the unbelief of impatience by using the promises of God to persuade your heart that God’s timing and God’s guidance and God’s sovereignty are going to take this frustrated, boxed in, unproductive situation and make something eternally valuable out of it. There will come a blessing, a strength, a vindication, a mounting up with wings like eagles.

Help me make much of you as I wait, oh God! Let me honor you by trusting in your promises for those who wait upon You! May I preach to my heart this day and give you the praise as you give me joy in the waiting.

Would you pray with me?

We received a sobering email from our agency today. This email had a list of seven children/sibling sets that have been waiting a long time for a family. The children will soon be removed from the adoption program if families are not found for them soon. 15 children in all. Boys, girls, siblings. Age range is 6-11. Some of them have a few health issues, most are healthy.

Would you pray with me for these 15 children?

Jacob LOVES Ethiopian Food

Last week Matt’s parents visited us and we had a wonderful time. At the end of their visit, we took them to a little Ethiopian restaurant in Anaheim. The food was wonderful and talking with the women who own/run it was such a blessing. I am truly amazed how my heart has attached to Ethiopia. I look forward to another visit to Tana soon!

The best part of the day was watching my oldest, Jacob, experience Ethiopian food for the first time. I am not sure if it was the style of eating (no fork…awesome!), the connection to his unknown sibling(s) (this is what my baby sister or brother eats!), or the food (I LOVE this chicken Mommy!) – but Jacob was a HAPPY BOY. I don’t think I have EVER seen him eat so much. He wanted to do it right too…”Is this how much injera, Mommy?” It was very, very sweet. And to cap it all off, when we were all finished with dinner, Jacob pulls out a piece of injera and starts piling it with the leftover awaze (lamb) tibs and zil zil (beef) tibs. When I asked him what he was doing, he said he was getting it all ready to take home to eat later. SO CUTE.

(Insert catchy title here)

…I couldn’t think of a cute/catchy blog title. Deal with it

So…what’s up with the Kopp Family lately? Swimming lessons (and 100 loads of laundry a week), birthday parties (Happy 2nd Birthday Andrew!), and lots of visitors (we love you, Uncle Buckets, the Puns, and Grammy and Pops!) have kept us MORE than busy the last few weeks. Pictures coming soon.

What’s up in Ethiopia?? Every year the Ethiopian courts close for a couple of months (August – October). This shouldn’t have a HUGE effect on us since we don’t have a referral yet. I am sure there will be a back-log of court papers and court dates that will be waiting when the courts open in October, but we don’t necessarily anticipate being some of the ones waiting for the courts to reopen. They still will be giving referrals during that time, so keep praying!! I did get some more information this week about the two trips. (see quote below…I took out all of the financial information…). But the most exciting for me is getting to see a family I love (though I have not “met”!) through the blog-world get their referral and be one of the first families to travel this crazy two-trip journey. Congrats again, LeFevre family! So excited for you!

As the first CWA families have received hearing dates for which they will be required to travel to Ethiopia, we have begun fleshing out a “trial run” schedule.    Once these first families have tested the waters for us, we will make any necessary adjustments for the new court year beginning in October.   For now, please take note of the following important information:

• Families will need to arrive in Addis Ababa no later than 3 days before their court hearing.  (For example, if your court date is on Tuesday, please arrive in Addis no later than Saturday evening).
• Families will visit their prospective children twice prior to the court hearing for brief visits of up to an hour.
• Since children will remain in the foster home, families may choose to stay in a hotel during this trip.  A list of recommended guest homes/hotels in proximity to the foster homes will be provided.
• Families are encouraged to do their sightseeing and souvenir shopping during their free time on the court trip so their embassy trip can focus on bonding with their child(ren).
• Families are free to leave Addis after 6 p.m. on the day of their court hearing; please plan your flight itineraries accordingly, and give your case manager an opportunity to review all itineraries before they are finalized.

What to take:

• Photo album for your child.
• Small blanket with your smell.  (Stuffed animals are not recommended for cleanliness reasons).
• Business casual clothing for the court hearing (khaki pants or dress slacks for men; slacks or modest skirts for women)
• Donations for foster home and orphanages

We are very excited to see what ends up happening with these first families. And we’re very excited just thinking about those visits. Lord willing, we’ll travel before 2011 at least once. So thankful that the timing is in the Lord’s hands and we can trust His good hand!

It moved! :)

Be still my beating heart!!!

Today we received our weekly newsletter from CWA.
This is a direct quote….

The tide has turned …. and our first “either gender preference for infant” family was offered a little girl today!  In the recent past, either gender meant a little boy.  Once again this proves that trends are not permanent, and averages are based on history.

Did you catch that?? All I heard is “The Kopp family may see PINK in their future after all…”

Don’t worry, if it’s more BLUE, I will still rejoice!

It’s Friday!!

It’s Friday, and as promised, I am happy to announce the winner of one of my favorite books. I plugged my comments into “random.org” (nice!) and this is what I got!

Looking at my comments, #14 is Angie Weaver. She blogs here. And I met her through connections here.
Check out her comment:

Angie – congrats on starting your adoption journey!! All of us who have/are adopted/adopting can attest, it’s one of the craziest journeys EVER…but the most faith-strengthening and wonderful. God is good. And, I’ve got a copy of Radical coming to you as soon as you email me your physical address. (brianne (at) koppweb.com)

….and a Friday confession. The clocks haven’t moved this week. I know, I know…it’s silly I even thought they would. They’ve moved SO MUCH in the last few weeks, how could I possibly expect them to move again, right?? Sigh…but I still opened the clock page (more than once, just to be sure) to check and expecting more exciting news to post today. Maybe next week…

1, 2, 3, 4, 5….SIX!!!

Have you already commented on THIS POST to enter to win one of my favorite books??
If not, post your comment…I’ll be choosing a winner this FRIDAY.

One of my favorite things about the waiting period so far has been meeting so many neat cool AWESOME people through the web and walking together down the road of waiting. I have spent time lurking (and sometimes commenting) on many sweet family blogs chronicling their waiting, referral, and newly home phases during this time. I remember at the beginning of our process (a year ago this month!) watching blogs and seeing SIX come up. It seemed, at that time, that posting a SIX on my blog would be forever away. And yet, that day has come.

SIX months, we’ve been officially waiting…though you all know it’s been longer than that. SIX months of thinking, praying, dreaming of a sweet child (or children) an ocean (and then some!) away. Six months of knowing a phone call wasn’t going to be coming anytime soon, and yet hoping it would anyway….

In a lot of ways, the wait has gone quickly. Being a mom to two BUSY little monkeys definitely helps pass time quickly, and God has been faithful to walk me through the seasons of discontentment quickly. I am certain a day is coming when that will be so much more difficult. But for now, I am so thankful for the grace He’s provided in the wait.

I think for me, SIX is a big milestone. Partially because when we started this process, this was the LONG side of what we thought we would be waiting (and fully expecting to have a referral by now). But also because it seemed like we would never be posting a SIX on our blog…and that gives me hope. Hope, because I DID just post a six on our blog! This day has come! So, as I rejoice with my sweet friends who have recently received their referrals (you know who you are….and I am SO EXCITED FOR YOU!!!) I have further hope that one day I will also be posting OUR referral story. That just as that elusive #6 eventually made it’s way to us…that in God’s timing our referral will  as well.

I am also reminded that my hope is not in months passing, referrals received, or even bringing our adoptive child home…but in Christ. So thankful that I have been adopted by my Father in Heaven because of the blood of Christ and that my hope is sure.

A giveaway!

Mostly, I am just uber-curious who is reading our blog. I am assuming all three of you that routinely do are family members (or is it only 2?), but I also know that I lurk around on a few blogs without ever commenting and wonder if that’s the case for you as well??

So, if you’re reading this….comment!
It would truly encourage us to know you’re out there. And if I don’t already know you face-to-face, let me know where you live and whether or not you are also adopting/have adopted.

And to sweeten the deal, I will have random.org choose one of your comments and I will send you a book (see below). In your comment, indicate which book you’d prefer. Already have both of those books? Just let me know, we’ll find one of my OTHER favorites you don’t already have and send it your way.

Adopted for Life, Russell Moore

or

Radical, David Platt