Happy Birthday E!

Meeting E!

Our precious daughter, E, turned 6 on July 4th.  Sadly, we had to celebrate without her.  I can't wait for her to be here next year.  We love you, E.  And we can't wait to celebrate your birthday when we get you home!

Fear and our God

We had a great long weekend together.  Our son, Carson, broke down some major fear barriers.  It was so fun to watch him blossom.  He's our worrier.  He worries about swimming, when he hasn't done it for awhile.  He worries about tubing behind the boat.  He worries about jumping off the dock.  We had tried all summer to convince him to do these things.  We've tried bribery, friends have tried peer pressure, as has his sister...  To no avail.  Until, I had a duh moment this weekend.  He again had said he would tube and when the time came around...  He was crying, worried, scared.  He wanted to back out.  I asked him to pray with me.  I prayed that God would give him a spirit of courage.  That he would not be anxious but through prayer he could ask God to answer his prayers.  We agreed together in prayer.  And guess what?!  Our BIG God, who cares so much for our little requests, came through BIG TIME!!  I've never seen such a transformation in our Carson.  He went from a worrier, crying, scared, to tubing multiple times, once alone!!  He jumped off the dock!!  He went down the slide at the pool by himself and swam to the side.  And then jumped off the diving board by himself and got to the side.  Praise God!  So amazing for our little 6 year old to see God work in his life in one weekend in such a big way.

Amazing tool!

If you're like me, you have tons of digital pictures saved on your computer.  Once in awhile you print and then wonder...  "When will I ever have time to do anything with these pictures?"  Recently, I've become more aware of photo sharing via video.  LOVE this for events, adoption stories, gifts etc.  I'm definitely not talented enough...  But AHA, in steps a friend I grew up with and he's super talented. 

He takes your/my pics and voila!  Something beautiful.  You chose the music and send him the pictures.  He has recently started his own business.  I wanted you guys to see his work, and his beautiful fam.  They are the proud parents of three girlies, and one is from Ethiopia!  And, oh by the way...  don't you think his wife could be a model?!  Love the pictures of her in the Ethiopia video.  

Ethiopia Slideshow from Jesse Larvick on Vimeo.

He can also do videos for graduations, memorials, or a year in the life.  Really, the sky is the limit!  So, give his new business a look.  I know you won't be disappointed.  This describes it all, by the artist himself. 

Vada Harvey Tribute from Jesse Larvick on Vimeo.

We're home!

We returned home from our court trip last Thursday.  And I'm just now feeling like writing about it.  Amazing trip, yes.  Difficult to put into words, yes.  A little hard to talk about because it makes me sad, yes!  I didn't expect that.  I knew it would be hard to leave them, but didn't anticipate the sadness the trip home would cause.  I was so ready to hug the other 3 kiddos.  I was so grateful to my parents for keeping them so that we really didn't worry about them a bit.  But, I wasn't ready to not want to share details and talk about the precious time with our girls, and their beautiful home country.


I've shared stories and pictures now with a few people including my sister-in-law who might as well be my big sister for my whole life.  She was so sweet to put my sadness into words...  "Erin, of course you're sad.  It's like you had a baby and had to leave it at the hospital."  Perfect analogy, really perfect.  That's exactly how I feel.  It felt strange to me to miss them soo much when we were together for just 2 hours.  But I do.  Heartache...  I want to be with them.

I will be posting my trip journal soon.  We were so, so busy the whole time we were there.  And our travel group?  Really, there couldn't be a cooler group of people.  We loved them all.

Court trip!!!

Mark and Erin’s trip to Ethiopia

This is our very brief trip schedule.  Please pray for us while we are gone!

1.       Leave from Des Moines 6:10pm on Saturday, June 11th to Chicago O’Hare.  Leave from Chicago to Istanbul, Turkey at 10:30pm (11 hour flight) and arrive at 5:05pm Sunday, June 12th.  Leave from Istanbul to Addis Ababa, Ethiopia at 6:50pm and arrive in Ethiopia finally at 12:15am Monday June 13^th!!  Ethiopia is 8 hours ahead of us.

2.       Pray for a few hours of restful sleep before we get up early to drive south.  We will drive 6-6 ½ hours to Woyalita, Ethiopia.  This is where the girls are in an orphanage.  We will spend about 2 hours with them.  Pray for God to supernaturally extend this time, for us to connect, and for our departure as we leave them behind.

3.       We will then drive another 2 hours for Lewi, Ethiopia where we will be staying the night.  Pray for protection for us from mosquitoes that carry malaria.  We will be taking precautionary medication and will likely use a mosquito net this night.  Malaria is only an issue in the south not in the capital city.

4.       Tuesday we will drive back to Addis Ababa.  Pray for protection on the roads as we share it with many walking people and animals.

5.       Tuesday afternoon will likely be sightseeing and shopping. 

6.       Wednesday we will meet with our Ethiopian lawyer and our big court date.  Pray that all the paperwork is in order and we will hear the words, “they are yours!”  We are pretty prepared that this will not happen, as the last court groups have been missing one important piece of paper.  The ministry of women and children in Ethiopia has to sign off on all adoptions.  As of late they have been under intense scrutiny by outside sources due to unethical adoptions.  Thus, the process has become much slower.  But….  We believe in the power of God and believe it will all happen in His perfect timing!

7.       Wednesday afternoon will likely be more sightseeing/shopping until we head back to the airport to leave at 1:15am Thursday, June 16^th!

8.       We then arrive in Istanbul at 6:40am, then on to Chicago leaving at 11:20 am and arriving at 3:15pm.  We will be back in Des Moines at 7:20pm on Thursday. :) Whirlwind!!!  

      Please pray for the kids as they stay home with my parents while we are gone.  Pray for a fun week for them, safety, and good sleep for all. 

Dear Girls,

To our dear daughters E and F,

Not sure if you even know about us yet, but you're so a part of our world.  Drew asks to see you almost daily on my phone.  Your pictures are framed in our kitchen.  And we pray for you daily, at least!  Your room is getting ready for you.  It's been hard for me to work on because it makes me miss you so much.    Tonight Carson's prayer made me tear.  He prayed that all the bugs that carry bad diseases would stay away from you.  Can you tell we've been talking about Africa?  And Malaria?

We got more books last week and we're trying to learn a few words that we hope you will also know.  It makes us feel like we are doing something as we wait for you.  We were submitted to court almost five weeks ago.  Each week I desperately check my email every five minutes on Tuesday and lately Wednesday!  I can't wait to know when we will get to hold you both in our arms.  E, I wonder how you will react.  Will you be hesitant?  Will you know what's going on?  I'm betting so, it doesn't seem like you miss much from what we know about your cute personality!  Little F, I know you will be scared.  We pray for your little heart every night.  For protection, for comfort, that God would wrap you up in His big arms...  After all, He loves you both so much more than we ever will.  And that's hard to imagine!  I'm so glad you're both growing and getting healthier.  We love looking at how you are changing. 

This time is changing us too.  It's teaching us more about waiting.  And about being more thankful.  About appreciating the little things.  We CAN NOT wait for you to be here.  We can't wait to see how you fit perfectly into our family.  How you will spice it up.  :)  But most of all, we can't wait to tell you and show you how much you are loved.  You are daughters of the King!  Have a wonderful Sunday, beauties.  We are coming soon.

Mommy and Daddy

Happy Birthday Dad!

Today is my Dad's birthday.  He's 6 or 7.  :)  My kiddos all had to call him on facetime and sing Happy Birthday.  I LOVE facetime!!  So much easier than skype.

I have the best Dad and the best Papa to my kiddos.  He's fun, caring, smart, loving, and loves God.  I couldn't ask for a better Dad.  The crazy thing...  he didn't really have a Dad growing up.  His Dad (my Grandpa Zumbrun) died from the effects of asthma and epinephrine when my Dad was only 5.  He still has stories to tell us about the convenience/gas station that my grandpa worked at.  How he would pick up the phone and tell the operator, "I want to talk to my Daddy."  And she'd get him!  My Dad is and was an amazing Dad.  He loved to tell us stories of Tinkum and camp Whitley.  We LOVED them.  Just that touch of suspense that kept you hanging on.  He also loved to sing to us and pat us.  I still love it.  :)  My dad, though a very busy doctor, never (really I mean NEVER) missed a game or activity we were involved in.  We always knew he loved us, and he told us regularly.  I never knew any different!  He was and still is committed to my Mom.  What a gift for us kiddos.  I always knew/know I can count on my Dad.  He's a man of integrity.  One very vivid memory I have as an adolescent is of waking up and knowing that I'd find my Mom and Dad on their knees praying for us.  I didn't realize yet how rare this is.  He loves my kids and they love him.  He loves to play tickle monster still.  And they laugh until they can't breath.  I remember that too.  He and my Mom still pray, and if they tell you they are praying, you better believe it happens.

Dad, I know I've told you before, but THANK YOU.  Your actions and your love for the Lord and for us mean more than words can express.  I love you.  Thanks for being you and for being real with us.  Happy 67th Birthday!