the (phone) call

Camping is something our family loves.  It is so much work, but once you are out there and the work is done, there is not much else that compares to watching your kids out in God's creation. It is beautiful.

the 3 getting so excited for their lil sis to come home

Another thing about our camping trips: God likes to surprise us (shock us) and fill us with His holy fear.  First example-
  I was pregnant with Taytum.  A little too pregnant to be out at the lake, but with 2 toddler boys and a hot summer, I could not think of a better way to spend the day.  While sitting in my grandparents camper, my water broke.  We were 2 hours away from the hospital I was scheduled to have a c-section at.  Fear, excitement, surprise, and more fear.  There are many more details to this story, but we did make it to the hospital where our first girl was born quickly and healthy. (oh, and a little shout out to my dad and brother who were left at the camper for clean up duty)  What a whirlwind.  I remember starting to sob once we were actually in the doors of the hospital.  The pain I was in, the relief of arriving to the hospital before she did, the emotions... it was all part of her crazy story.

And then yet again-
  It was just about one year ago today that we received THE phone call.  In adoption world, this is one of the big ones.  We were officially assigned a date and we would be leaving for Africa in a few short weeks. I was in the camper with Micah who was having a very rough morning (hmm.. same scenario as before ; ) and my cell phone rang.  It was Lisa Prather!!!  Whenever her name came up on my phone, I would have a rush of anxious emotions and my heart would start pounding... We have received some very hard phone calls from her, but this time I knew it was different.  "I have a court date for you!"  Fear, excitement, surprise, more fear. Let me just say the next half hour was pure insanity.  There was screaming, laughing, tears...  Reality started hitting us that this was happening.  God is so faithful.

And now we are getting ready to head back out to take our littlest one camping for the first time.  She is really here with us.  She is really going to go camping with us.  It is still hard to believe sometimes.  God has moved mountains in her story.  We are thankful for a sovereign God who knows our stories before we do.. Who is the author of our stories..  His perfect timing is ALWAYS best.