Covered In Prayer

We have been covered in prayer from BEFORE this adventure began. A few days before we got THE EMAIL THAT CHANGED OUR LIFE I had asked our pastor and small group Bible Study to begin praying with us for our plans to adopt. We wanted to be sure it was God's will, not just our own great idea. Then, a couple days later we got the email. Still today I think about the chaos in our house that night. I don't remember what was going on, just Ben saying... there's an email and you've got to read it. I remember getting up from the table and starting to the computer when Ben said, "no read it after the kids are in bed." For those of you who know me well, you know how much it drives me crazy to be told what to do - even silly things like that! So I waited just a couple minutes and while the kids were playing I read it!

There is a family of older children who need a family right away. You must have had experience parenting an older child and be willing to take all 3. The total cost to adopt all 3 will be about $10,000, please call right away...

That wasn't the exact email, but you get the idea. We talked about it a lot that night but kept going back to the fact that time and again we said 1 child YOUNGER than Danny. So we prayed that God would bless them with a family. I really don't know when it became clear that they were ours, maybe it just happened. But within 2 days we were SERIOUSLY thinking of becoming a family of 8. That's when the blessings began flowing - God must have been working overtime on us!

So now here I sit back at home with 6 fabulous children sleeping upstairs. The 2 big kids spent 2 hours last night watching Christian music videos from Ethiopia praising God and singing their hearts out. The 4 little ones watched TV and cuddled on the couch. Danny said that the day we got home was the BEST DAY OF HIS LIFE! To which Lilly agreed. It was so sweet.

Ben and I did laundry yesterday - for about 3 hours (which we will be doing for the rest of our lives). I have 2 more loads to put in, maybe we should just become one of those nudist families! In fact, if ever we become "missing persons" just look under the laundry in our bedroom - you will probably find us there. We will be squished by its weight, but if you hurry we may still be alive :)

The blessings continue to flow... Ben found out while we were in Ethiopia that he is getting a $4000 raise. It is something for his 2 years he spent counseling before working for the schools. We changed our withholdings on our paychecks and several hundred dollars were added to our paychecks -- will be fine buying groceries for 6 hungry kiddos - we can even keep buying fruit snacks! :)

Being covered in prayer is a gift. One I am so thankful for. We have been given this amazing gift by God - He didn't say it was going to be easy, but He gave it! Your prayers on our behalf have been such a blessing to us as we thrive as a family of 8!

Sorry for my rambling email. I was awake at 4:30 today and so thought I would come update you all... Talk to you soon!

Love,
Brooke