The last 14 days have been a whirlwind for our family. We go for almost 3 years with very little progress on our adoption and then God kicks things into high gear! On July 14, we received a call from our agency stating that a baby girl was brought to the transitional home (basically our agency-run orphanage)on July 11 or so and that upon her arrival, the staff immediately matched her with our family. We weren't even on the waiting list again at that time! We were completely blown away because we were still trying to wrap our mind around the fact that Julianna Ashure had passed away. Well, scroll down to the post on July 14 - "God Speaks All Around Us" (or click here) and read about how God prepared our hearts on that day for the call - isn't He just amazing!
Our new baby girl is 3 months old and is just precious. We have been waiting for about 1.5 weeks to find-out when our court date will be, so please keep that in your prayers. Our agency stated that they would like to have her home with us by the end of August if at all possible. Our court hearing will be a little different this time because the agency is appealing our case, so I'm not sure how all that works. I'll let you know when we know something!
The moment we opened the e-mail and saw her electric smile, we were hooked. We cried and laughed as we stared at her precious face. I'm not going to lie, we were happy and also very saddened at the same time - we were and still are ecstatic about our referral but heartbroken about Ashure's death. If you have read the last couple of posts, you will know that not only are we dealing with our own grief but also people who just don't think about what they say and are hurtful. For various reasons, we chose to keep our referral news just within our immediate family for a short time.
Ashton and our nieces and nephews were so excited about Julianna's adoption and then so devastated by her death that we felt like we needed to give them more time to grieve and process the events before we introduced them to the newest member of our family - and with or without a judge's approval, she is our daughter. Ashton has been asking a lot of questions for the last several days about when God is going to give him a little sister to bring home with him and not to Heaven. He has been so diligent and thoughtful in his prayers. Each day he prays for God to hold Julianna and not let her cry and then he prays that God will take care of his new little sister still in Ethiopia. Wednesday night and Thursday morning, he made the comment several times that he was "giving up" and was "done with it" because he had been praying to God and had waited so long and God took his sister from him and hasn't given him a baby to hold at his house. My heart was crushed. We talked through this each time but his comments told us that he needed to know about the baby and that he was ready.
Last night, we sat Ashton down and gave him the photo envelope from WalMart. He looked at us like we were crazy but he opened it. His blue eyes just sparkled and he knew that he was looking into the face of his sister. He was so excited that he started bouncing all over the place and was just giddy. God was preparing his heart just like He had prepared ours! Earlier in the week, Ashton had declared that when God gave him a new sister, he would name her Mason (that's his best buddy at daycare) but I told him that Mason didn't really sound too girly, so he put his finger by his mouth and thought for just another second and then grinned as he said, "Maura!" (this was his girlfriend when he was 2 and she always called me her "Mudder-in-law). Personally, I love the name but we are still working on Jason. Jason picked-out Julianna so it's our turn now. We'll let you know what we officially decide on.
Our new baby girl is 3 months old and is just precious. We have been waiting for about 1.5 weeks to find-out when our court date will be, so please keep that in your prayers. Our agency stated that they would like to have her home with us by the end of August if at all possible. Our court hearing will be a little different this time because the agency is appealing our case, so I'm not sure how all that works. I'll let you know when we know something!
The moment we opened the e-mail and saw her electric smile, we were hooked. We cried and laughed as we stared at her precious face. I'm not going to lie, we were happy and also very saddened at the same time - we were and still are ecstatic about our referral but heartbroken about Ashure's death. If you have read the last couple of posts, you will know that not only are we dealing with our own grief but also people who just don't think about what they say and are hurtful. For various reasons, we chose to keep our referral news just within our immediate family for a short time.
Ashton and our nieces and nephews were so excited about Julianna's adoption and then so devastated by her death that we felt like we needed to give them more time to grieve and process the events before we introduced them to the newest member of our family - and with or without a judge's approval, she is our daughter. Ashton has been asking a lot of questions for the last several days about when God is going to give him a little sister to bring home with him and not to Heaven. He has been so diligent and thoughtful in his prayers. Each day he prays for God to hold Julianna and not let her cry and then he prays that God will take care of his new little sister still in Ethiopia. Wednesday night and Thursday morning, he made the comment several times that he was "giving up" and was "done with it" because he had been praying to God and had waited so long and God took his sister from him and hasn't given him a baby to hold at his house. My heart was crushed. We talked through this each time but his comments told us that he needed to know about the baby and that he was ready.
Last night, we sat Ashton down and gave him the photo envelope from WalMart. He looked at us like we were crazy but he opened it. His blue eyes just sparkled and he knew that he was looking into the face of his sister. He was so excited that he started bouncing all over the place and was just giddy. God was preparing his heart just like He had prepared ours! Earlier in the week, Ashton had declared that when God gave him a new sister, he would name her Mason (that's his best buddy at daycare) but I told him that Mason didn't really sound too girly, so he put his finger by his mouth and thought for just another second and then grinned as he said, "Maura!" (this was his girlfriend when he was 2 and she always called me her "Mudder-in-law). Personally, I love the name but we are still working on Jason. Jason picked-out Julianna so it's our turn now. We'll let you know what we officially decide on.
Thank you for all your prayers - please don't stop now!
We are asking that you will pray about certain things:
- That God will keep "Maura" safe, healthy, and completely sickness free
- That God will provide for a fast and successful 1st court date
- That God will continue to heal our grieving hearts - "Maura" is not a replacement for Julianna and we are still grieving tremendously for our daughter
- That we will travel soon before our paperwork starts to expire
15 comments:
What wonderful news. Bittersweet I'm sure. We will continue to pray for your family.
Mayme
God is faithful to His promises and has the plans that are needed in our lives..Glad I can finally tell people about it!!
Rejoicing with you!
So, so happy for you guys!!!! We continue to pray for you all as you work through all the emotions you are feeling with everything that has happened. :)
With love,
Amy (& Dietrich)
Congratulations guys! can't wait to "meet" "Maura". (I love the name)
You've been so faithful as you've walked with God through these trials trusting and relying on Him. I can't wait to He has in store for the Reed family!!!
Your specific requests are in my prayers...as well as increasing healing and joy for all of you! Rejoicing with you!
Erica and family - we are so happy for you and we know you are rejoicing now, and still grieving over the loss of your daughter! We will be praying for a speedy court date! with love, Karen Wistrom www.family-from-afar.blogspot.com
Erica,
What wonderful news of sweet "Maura". May she bring much joy to your home and be filled with laughter.
Beautiful Juliana will never be forgotten. I learned from her to treasure each day and receive with faith what God grants for the moment with a trusting and thankful heart.
Praying for your requests.
Love and hugs and prayers,
Debi
wow, i can't believe how behind I am on catching up on blogs...I'm so sorry for your loss and so happy that God has blessed you with another precious life....I'm praying you have your baby girl home quickly...kristi
As our hearts have grieved with you, so now our hearts rejoice with you. We know that you must be filled with all kinds of emotions. God has blessed you with a wonderful son. He is so expressive and faithful in his prayers. We could all learn a lot from Ashton. May God soon give you all the desires of your heart concerning little "Maura". We love you and will continue to remember you in prayer. Jo Anne & Sammie K.
Sweet Reed Family! I cried when I first heard of your new daughter ... I know this whole long journey has been so trying at times, filled with amazing joy and yet tremendous grief at the same time ... Praying for you all, rejoicing with you for your referral, continueing to grieve with you over the loss of Julianna ... I can't wait to see what God will do through you and your family in the days/years to come ... here's to still hoping we can travel together!! ;)
I'm getting ready to post pics tonight where I took one bow headband thing and clipped another to it to make a double bow look...BUT I normally just use the bands with the bows already attached...it is just easier that way...hope that helps some...thanks for commenting and please know we're praying for you all during this difficult/yet, but happy time..kristi
Dear Reed Family,
Blessings, sweet family. We are just catching up after some travel and illness. Oh, my, we wrap arms of love around you. Praise God for Julianna's tender, beautiful life. To have a daughter in heaven, being raised by Jesus, your mother, and the angels... We can only imagine the unique ache of your hearts and we pray for your grief -- that our Father would continue to hold you so tightly to His chest--that you would hear His heart beating and feel His arms around you, loving you and holding you in the same manner in which you longed to hold your precious baby. We too have a "glory baby", our son Joshua. Julianna will forever be your precious first daughter. We pray that the news of your new referral creates waves of Joy that bring delight Julianna in heaven!!
Blessings on your new referral. The purity, sweetness, and joy of your announcement is fills our hearts!! What an adored little girl!! Especially to have the covering of the prayers,care, and love from an older brother--every little girl's dream! We will be continually lifting your family up. And we are certain that,
"He who began a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ". Love and Joy, Gillian and the Tucker Family
I am overjoyed for your family! It is strange how we can be happy and sad at the same time, but I've been there my self. Bless your little boys soul! He was just plain done waiting for his sister already. It has been a very very long process even for us adults. I pray that very soon he will get to hold his sister. And I pray it all goes well rather quickly. I just feel like it will for you. This is it! Will check back often to hear of a court date.
Erica, I'm so sorry I'm late posting a huge congratulations on your precious referral. This was a special surprise for me to see today!! I'm going to continue praying that God pours his miracles on your family... that everything is smooth.
God is so faithful!
xoxo
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