Certifiably Insane?

Today feels like summer in Iowa! It's 87 degrees and really windy. Both hands were required on the steering wheel as I traveled to Des Moines and back to have our physicals and guardianship statement certified. Since I couldn't talk my running buddy into riding along with me, I had three hours of travel time all alone. I tuned in Life 101.9 and sang along at the top of my lungs.....except for when cars pulled up alongside me. Then I dialed it back significantly.:)

"When God Ran" is a song that always touches my heart, and today was no exception. It is sung from the perspective of the Prodigal Son, and the chorus goes like this: But then He ran to me, He took me in His arms, held my head to His chest, and said, "My son's come home again." Lifted my face, wiped the tears from my eyes. With forgiveness in His voice, He said, "Son, do you know I still love you?".... It was the only time I ever saw Him run.

Can you imagine God pursuing us like that? He's always on time, so we know He never needs to run. But when He sees one of His children coming back home to Him, He runs! When He takes us in His arms, He calls us by name...."Heidi, do you know I still love you?" I'm so thankful that happened to me early on in my life. Three of our four kids have professed their faith in Jesus and His finished work on the cross. We long for the day little H and our Rwandan baby turn their hearts toward their Father, and He runs to them.

Worth It All

What wouldn't we do for our little ones? I know that most who are reading this blog entry have done the following things without thinking twice: wiped noses and bottoms, sucked the germs off a piece of dropped bubble gum before depositing it back into his mouth, holding back her hair and stroking her back while she vomits in the middle of the night (to name a few). What would cause us to do such things for someone who has so little to give in return? Isn't it crazy the capacity for love God has given us?! What a picture of His love for us....pursuing and loving us, despite the fact that we have so little to offer Him!

Chad and I are once again having to gather more documents and redo our physicals because Rwandan adoption law has changed. With our dossier being safely delivered to the Ministry of Gender and Promotion of Family in Rwanda, we really had reason to believe we were done with the paper chase. While this is an inconvenience (and will involve trips to Iowa City and Des Moines, two physicals -one not paid for by insurance, and dragging my sister and her husband to a notary), we would do these things a hundred more times to bring home our little one. By the end of this process, the cost will be great. But what cost is too great to give our little Rwandan Treasure a forever family? It will be worth it all, we have no doubt!

DTR

As I was recently visiting with a new fellow Rwandan adoptive mom, I realized I have learned quite a few new acronyms since the beginning of this journey. Without a doubt, my favorite one so far is DTR. Today, our family is officially DTR! Today, April 29, 2009, the Spore family's Dossier made it To the right desk in Rwanda. Two to five months from now, we will (Lord willing) be approved by the Ministry of Gender and Family Promotion. Shortly thereafter we will see pictures of our newest family member/s. We will then await a court date and decision. After that, we will travel to Rwanda to unite our family forever!

Preschool Program, Proud Parents, and Poyle

C's Preschool Program was this past week, and Chad and I were very proud. This is about a third of Union Community's Class of 2022. Can you spot C?

C and Mrs. Monroe, one of C's two great teachers.

Each kiddo was introduced to the audience by telling their name and what they would like to be when they grow up. Our C would like to be a Lego Designer. I wonder where she gets ideas like that!?

We are following the progress of our dossier en route to Rwanda through a FedEx tracking number. The first time I checked, it was in Indianapolis....how boring. I was hoping for someplace in Europe or at least somewhere closer to Rwanda than where it started in Virginia. Today, we have news that it is in Poyle, UK. We're looking forward to seeing where it goes next!

Friends and Family

Happy Easter! Jesus is risen, and we find so much hope in that reality.

Chad, H, and C pose outside our church during the egg hunt

What a fun week we've had! My good friend from college, Stephanie, came for a visit with two of her four lovely girls last Friday. The kids played so well together....and as you can see, H and Audrey really hit it off!:) This happy little couple could tie the knot in about 20 years or so.
Thursday brought Chad's sister, Heather, niece Alea, and Gram and Papa. It was fun to share Easter weekend with them.

Okay, because I'm bad at rearranging photos, here are Stephanie's kids with mine.

H had a beautiful new dress to wear for Easter, and she really enjoyed the egg hunt at church.
Below is C with friend, Sophie. What a good friend she was to share her Easter basket with C! They looked so cute as they ran along carrying the basket together.

Also with us for the day were my sister, Ellen, and her family, sister Meg and husband, Mom and Dad, and Grandma Spore. They all made it in time for church, and it was fun to have them there for our special Easter choir production. Below is Ellen's growing family.

No news on the adoption front. We only know our dossier is at the embassy and could quite possibly make it to Rwanda by May 1!

Dossier On Its Way

On a UPS truck somewhere, hopefully quickly approaching the America World Adoption Agency offices, lies our enormous pile of papers (dossier). Yesterday was a big day, as Chad and I drove to Des Moines to pick up a corrected homestudy, have it and our I 171-H certified, and off to a UPS store to make three copies of every piece of paper. We then overnighted the whole shabang to AWAA. It will be a miracle if there are no mistakes, but hey, we know Who we serve and that He's definitely in the business of miracles. This, as you can imagine, brings some relief to our stress level. I realize waiting through the next phase will be really difficult, but right now I'm basking in the "doneness" of paperwork.

H and C have their spring conert tonight and are so excited for us to see all they've been preparing. Little H will have a sitter so Chad and I can actually pay attention to the whole concert. Next year at this time....well, let's just say one of us will probably be watching from the hallway again.:)