A Trip to the Park...

  

  

Journeying On,



Couldn't Have Imagined

When I walked around the corner to see these little guys sitting across from one another and "drinking" out of their sippy cups, I was awe struck.  They were having a little conversation and pretending to drink out of their cups.  Although very little comes out of Addison's cup and nothing out of Ethan's, it is still a fun sight to see.  At least they know what to do with them=)

Just a little encouragement to this Mama's heart from the weekend:)

Journeying On,

Jump Start

Ever feel like you need a jump start to your morning? This does the trick for me sometimes:)



(the live version on iTunes is even better)  :)

Journeying On,

Homecomings

On May 4th, 2010 we brought home our sweet boy from the hospital (no, I can't believe it's been a year)...a day full of joy!

On May 4th, 2011 we'll be (finally) submitting our paperwork as we work towards another homecoming...another day full of joy!

We spent some time last night praying over our enormous packet, asking for protection and guidance over our baby on the other side of the world and celebrating God's never ending faithfulness to his children. 

 
A father to the fatherless, a defender of widows, is God in his holy dwelling.  God sets the lonely in families; he leads forth the prisoners with singing.  Psalm 68:5-6

Journeying On,

Duck-Duck Goose Fundraiser

We had no idea what to expect from our Friday Fundraiser with Duck-Duck Goose, but we were totally overwhelmed and thankful for the support of so many friends and family that passed out fliers, spread the word and went to the sale on Friday.  THANK YOU!! Yesterday, they cut our adoption agency a check for $344.70 with "raby adoption fund" in the memo line! Praising the Lord...He does and will provide.

Journeying On,

He's Alive!

Hope you and your family were able to spend time together celebrating our risen Savior.  It seems all weekend my mind has been flooded with songs and scripture, giving me chills, stirring my heart and causing great gratitude to fill my heart.  If you need a reminder of how incredible our Savior is, I encourage you to head over to the Daily Devotional Blog and read Saturday's post.  It's exactly what my heart needed to be reminded of this weekend.

We had been hopeful that Easter would mark Ethan and Addison's debut to the church nursery, but a pulmonologist appointment last week suggested we wait.  It seems that RSV is sticking around a little longer than usual this year.  We're now hoping for the end of May. 

Even though they didn't go to church, they still got to wear their Easter outfits.  I was anticipating a little more growth from Ethan when I bought his outfit, so he might get another season out of it:) 

Journey On,

A Little Vaca

So in mid March we headed to the mountains with the Raby side of the family for a little vacation.  It was a fantastic break from the usual routine and a treat to have so many baby sitters.  It was a great reminder to me how much I love living near the mountains; God is such an amazing Artist!

March Madness happened to be during vacation
so we had to represent:)

Love this little guy's facial expressions

Everyone looking and smiling at the same time...amazing

Laural Falls

No one was injured for those of you freaking out
about how close to the edge they are:)

It was a perfect day for hiking

Yep...sunlight=super red hair

I think this is the first picture in a year without kids

Somewhat stroller friendly trail

Sweet, sleepy girl

Uncle Awesome, Aunt Lindsey and Jackson

What's family vacation without putt-putt



Just had to add a few shots from their wagon...which they love!



Journeying On,



Little Steps

This is a week or so late, but these things are hard to catch on video:)

Good work little man!

Journeying On,

Still Working

Early Sunday afternoon I held a sleeping baby Ethan in my lap as our plane touched down in Knoxville.  As we pulled down the runway I couldn't help but begin thinking about the day when we get to bring our next baby home.  I imagined how excited I would be to introduce our baby to their brother and sister, family and friends.  To see all the people waiting to welcome us and our baby home (hint, hint).  It's a beautiful thought to think that sweet day is already being orchestrated by our heavenly Father!  

Making that day a little closer...

This weekend is one of my favorite consignment sales, Duck-Duck-Goose and it's also an adoption fundraiser opportunity for us.  On Friday, April 15, the sale will give 10% of your purchase towards our adoption IF you hand them a copy of the form below at check out.  It's a really easy way to jump start our fundraising, and a pretty easy one I think:)  Feel free to pass it along! 

 Journeying On,

A few blogs coming your way...
East Tennessee Vacation....Raby Style
Wagon Rides
Baby Steps
Sweet Family

Flying Colors

Time to brag on little man:)  He had a modified barium swallow study today to see if his swallowing has become strong enough to clear liquids from his airway....he passed with "flying colors"! This means he can start practicing with a sippy cup and hopefully learn to drink his formula.

Journeying On,

His Goodness Continues

Last fall this little miss had a MRI and a neurologist that weren't sure she would ever crawl, yet alone walk!

We praise you, LORD, for all your glorious power. With music and singing we celebrate your mighty acts. -Psalm 21:13



Journeying On,

Adopted

Right now there are a lot of things going on in Ethiopia regarding inter country adoption.  You can read about it here: Ethiopia Adoptions . However, in light of this discouraging news, I was encouraged by a link I saw on a friends facebook page today.  A beautiful reminder of the real definition of 'adopted'.

Journeying On,

Journeying On

I was a senior in high school when I dreamt about moving to a third-world country for a year or two and pouring out love on the orphans of this world.  It was just a dream, but I believe it was a seed planted by God that would be nurtured for years to come. 

Throughout the time of our dating and engagement, Jared and I talked a lot about what we desired our family to look like, where we would live and how many kids we would have.  We talked about adoption and how one day, perhaps after our own kids were grown, we may adopt or foster children. 

Later when we went to Poland for a college mission’s trip, I was ready to bring a little boy home with me from the orphanage there.  But it was not yet God’s time.  Thankfully, he was adopted shortly after our trip, but his picture still hangs on our fridge as a reminder to pray for little Oscar.  

And then when I became pregnant, I put the idea of adoption on the back burner and thought, ‘Maybe later down the road’.  Well, it’s now ‘later down the road’ and God is still stirring our hearts and bringing confirmation into our lives that He is still leading us to pursue adoption. 

Much of this confirmation came this past summer when I had some testing done to see if future pregnancies would likely hold similar complications as my last.  We were told that I have anywhere from a 40-50% chance of experiencing those complications once again.  We knew right away that it would not be wise to pursue pregnancy again.  Surprisingly, we had a strange peace about the news.  No regrets.  No mourning.  We simply had peace; a beautiful gift from my heavenly Father; a confidence that he would lead us on a new journey to expand our family.

So in case you still haven’t figured it out by now: we’re taking steps to bring another Raby baby into the family.  We’ve only been working on it since late December 2010, but we are already neck-deep in paperwork.  We don’t have many answers yet, mostly questions.  What we do know is that we feel drawn to international adoption, so we’ve started paperwork that leads us in that direction.  However, we are certainly open to a domestic adoption if the Lord opens that door instead.  Interestingly, because of the stipulations each country creates for families trying to adopt, the only country that we currently qualify for is Ethiopia… which is very exciting to us! 

Side note: interesting that God would allow this to be the country open to us as the little boy we’ve sponsored for years is there, which means we’ve already been thinking of and praying for that country for quite some time. 

So far, we've been accepted by Bethany Christian Services adoption agency and are filling out the 100 page+ home study packet.  We're collecting paperwork, getting physicals and writing down our life-story for all to read.  It is time consuming, but we're slowly pressing forward.

We pray that our life journey would continue to be a sacred one, that God would be glorified with each step of paperwork, every question we have to answer and all the places we must go.  How grateful we are to be surrounded by friends and family that support us and are excited for us (rejoicing with those who rejoice - Romans 12:15).  What a blessing and confirmation in our life!

Would you consider praying for our sweet child? We don't know if it's a boy or girl, if they've been born yet, or when we will meet them.  But we love them so much already.

A father to the fatherless, a defender of widows, is God in his holy dwelling.  God sets the lonely in families; he leads forth the prisoners with singing.  Psalm 68:5-6

I will not leave you orphans, I will come to you. John 14:18

We love because He first loved us. 1 John 4:19

Journeying On,