Our next steps...

So a signing date is set...April 24th.  A moving week is set, May 26th...Yes it is not the first time for either of these dates but these are a bit more hopeful this time that this may all come together.  The office in Ethiopia has officially invited us to come in late May so once again we begin to pack our bags.

Crazy that this will be our third move in less than a year, and this one into a temporary guest home.  But how Great is God's faithfulness and I could not be more blessed.  The time in Washington has re-energized me and I continue to just want to absorb every minute around the comfort of friends and family.  When we moved back into our home in Bonney Lake (January) I had mixed feelings as we felt "ready to go" but God knew it was exactly what we needed to prepare for another long season away from our extended family and in a new culture and environment.  I'm so thankful the kids know their cousins and Grandparents so much better.  I'm so thankful for the small group of woman that I have had the privilege of meeting and praying and studying with these months, all of whom I have known for over 20 years.  I am thankful for the growth in my kids-I now only have one in diapers!!! A first ever since I've had kids:)  Keziah will be just old enough at 9 months to get her yellow fever vaccination in May and is through the early months of getting on a sleep schedule and routine.

Mostly though I am thankful for God's abundant Grace as my dependence on him has increased and I realize daily that it is He that supplies me with the strength at each moment to handle whatever happens.  It feels so much better to live the life we are living in this state of trust, than my other mode of control, over preparation and masking.  If I spend my energy on pleasing God rather than on trusting God I always loose and end up empty at the end of the day.  If I tell my children behave, try harder, you must obey we all end up spending our last dose of energy on being frustrated that we can't be better.  If I tell them though, that they are precious children of God, saints in God's kingdom and the light to the world-and sometimes their current behavior does not reflect that...then we seem to be able to get somewhere.  It's about God and what He has done for us...Not what we can offer Him.  I'm reading the gospels of John and Luke and  "The Cure" by Bill Thrall, Bruce McNicol and John S Lynch and this has been been an excellent reminder of God's Grace and our precious Lord's own humility and love for people.

My kids are up, this is another day, The Lord has made, let us Rejoice...


What a blessing this house and beautiful backyard has been during this season!

Temporary plan!

 Praise God, we have a plan for the next several months.  We have made the decision to move back into our home in Bonney Lake for the short term. That means that for the next several months we'll live simply there without having our things shipped here (they are in storage in VA). Once things are final for our move to Africa we'll ship our things there and eventually follow. Things with Ethiopia continue to progress, just very slowly so we will also look into a move to another African country.  Praise God for friends! Between my little bible study, my parents and BSF we have beds, washer and dryer, and kitchen supplies for the next few months:) We are excited to move back into the home where Caleb and Eli were babies and to let my parents have their home back:)  I'll update as I have more specifics!  Thanks for your prayers:)

Waiting again on Ethiopia

If you followed our last blog, 4 years ago now, (www.kerriganadoptionstory.blogspot.com) you know that we have waited on Ethiopia before.  As I write, I remember four years ago, we were a week away today from the referral of our two oldest boys and two months away from meeting them, those weeks felt like years as our 6 year journey for children came to a climax.  Since then we have added four children in the past four years!  Now we are waiting for something else.  Another tug on our souls that has been growing...and now that we are anticipating happening, moving internationally.  I'm not sure how much longer this current wait will be but we I thought I'd start writing now as in our planning, we would have arrived three weeks ago.  In his heart a man makes his plans...but THE LORD directs his steps.  (Prov 16:9)

History: We have desired to move overseas for several years.  It has been in our minds since we dated and  through every job transition and move. When we lived in Charleston (2002-2004) we looked seriously at moving to Honduras.  When we lived in Phoenix for two years (2004-2006) we spent a summer in Guadalajara Mexico and loved it, then considered seriously a job that would have moved us to the DRC.  We chose instead to move just north to the Seattle area where I started a private counseling business and Sean began his work with World Vision. We considered moving to India a few years ago for a project Sean was working on there, but that also fell through and we moved instead to the DC area where we have been since 2010.  We have moved a lot in ten years but have not yet made it across an ocean and we continue to feel a tug on our hearts to do this, to serve and learn from people in a different place.
"...spend yourselves in behalf of the hungry and satisfy the needs of the oppressed..." Isaiah 58:10

A year ago we were presented with another opportunity to move internationlly.  Sean's current role in Water, Sanitation and Hygiene often takes him to Africa and there was a need for him to be closer to the work.  We were excited at the possibility to return to the country of Caleb and Eli's birth so this past summer we packed up our house in Arlington, VA and moved with three suitcases and a couple carry-ons back to the the other Washington to be near family, and to have our fourth child before moving to Ethiopia.  We expected the paperwork for the move would go through early in the summer and our things would be shipped while living here.  Our plans were to move on October 8th but the paperwork still sits unsigned so we wait here until we get word; and our belongings all wait in Arlington to ship.  Apparently Ethiopia is among the hardest of countries to obtain a work permit.  In the meantime parents have been very generous and have taken all 6 of us in.  They stayed in lovely home down the street until earlier this month (when they thought of course that we'd be gone) but now the eight of us are living in my childhood home until we get notice from the office there in Addis that we can come and begin working in Ethiopia.  I will spare you the details but it continues to grow us to wait on these steps that we have such little control over.  Meanwhile we are blessed beyond measure to be around friends and family for longer than we expected.  Our sweet kids know their cousins and Grandparents so well now and having extra hands around with four kids under five fills my heart with gratitude.  This morning during Keziah's nap, my Dad stayed with her and I took the three older boys on a couple hour bike ride.  Here are the boys when we stopped to throw some leaves:)

Luke age 2

Caleb age 4

 

And here is baby Keziah-2 months

Eli age 4

Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer. Romans 12:12