We are the clay, you are the potter; we are all the work of your hand. ~Isaiah 64:8



Tuesday, November 11, 2008

a funny thing happened...

You know how in yesterday's post I mentioned that I had some fun stuff to share - no big news, just fun stuff? Yeah? Well....

I was WRONG!

Today we received a referral of a 2 month-old baby girl! I wish I could share photos on the blog, but even though it is private I really can't until the adoption is final. (We are able to share the photo with friends and family, though.) I can share a little bit of a photo, though.

So, here are her eyes:



We do not have her full medical and social history. She was born on September 1st. The rest of her information should be coming soon. Getting a little glimpse of her today was wonderful - and she looks plump and healthy. That is a prayer answered!

And now that this is private, I can share her name with you - Lydia Grace. Her Ghanaian name would be Adjoa, Adwoa, Ajuba, Ewo - all names that mean "born on Monday". In Ghana, it is traditional to name your child after the day they were born. I guess the middle name would help distinguish between children should there be more than one child born on a given day of the week. I like Adjoa - maybe we will incorporate that into her name. What do you think?

We hope to travel in December for our court date. Then we go home and return 2-3 months later to bring her home.

Amazingly, this all comes at pretty sad time. A friend from church has been battling cancer for the past 2 years. She was originally given 6 months, but kept on kicking much longer than that. This past Saturday evening, she passed away. While we grieve her passing from us, we celebrate her passing into the arms of Jesus! My dear neighbor (who isn't my neighbor anymore, but still must be known as "Dear Neighbor") said to me recently that she wouldn't be at all surprised if in the middle of all this saddness and loss, we'd get our referral. The Lord takes away with one hand and gives with the other.

So, today, we are in the middle of planning for two opposite ends of life - a funeral for a sister in Christ and an adoption of a new daughter!

There is a lot of paperwork to finish up, get changed (from Armenia to Ghana), and submit. Pray for any roadblocks to be removed! Oh, and I do still have some fun stuff to share with you, but I'll save that for later this week!

7 comments:

Ashley said...

Thanks for inviting me to read! I missed the announcement of your going private on this blog, so I am glad you included me. I am enjoying reading about your journey, one that we hope to be headed on one day in China. Just thought I would mention that our firstborn would have been Lydia Grace if he had been a girl! Lovely name. I'll be praying all goes smoothly. She looks beautiful!

Kate said...

She is beautiful - really, really gorgeous (a good friend of mine just had her baby, so I'm delighting in baby pictures today!!) One of my friends from college is Ghanaian American, and she's incorporated the 'days of the week' names into her children's names. I think it's a great idea which would root her in her original culture and provide a sense of identity, and Adjoa is lovely.

So sorry to hear about your friend. Quite a week you're having. You and your family and wee Lydia are all in my prayers.

Sonia said...

Congratulations! She looks so beautiful!! Things seem to be moving very fast...much faster than Armenia. It sounds like you will bring her home around 6 months of age...that is so awesome!! Thanks for including me in your readers list!

P.S. Will you still be on the Armenian Angels...or is Robin starting up a new board for Ghana.

Jessica said...

Wow, congratulations! She looks lovely.

I like the name you've chosen, and I do think it'd be good to include part of her original name somehow.

I'm sorry to hear of your loss of your friend.

Again, your little girl looks just beautiful.

Mary said...

She is beautiful! Although, the "eyes only " picture reminds me of Wilson from Home Impovement!! LOL Well, not exactly, but hopefully you know what I mean. Thanks for letting me in on all the excitement! I'll be praying for all of you!

Amy said...

So happy for you guys! Her eyes are beautiful! :) We'll be praying that the whole process from here on out goes very smoothly and you get to hold her SOON!

Jamie said...

Oh, what a sweetie! How fun to get a little glimpse of her -- I bet your family is really enjoying the full photograph(s). :) Congrats on getting your referral.