LOA!

We are so, so excited to share that we have received our Letter of Acceptance (LOA) from China! What does that mean? It means that we have been officially accepted by the government as Lucy's prospective adoptive parents. This is an ENORMOUS milestone for our family! 

So what now? 

Now we fill out another heap of forms to get the different approvals required. Yaaaaay paperwork! 

And, of course, the big question: When do we leave? Well, today our social worker said to expect travel in 2.5-3 months. So it looks like it will for sure be early summer when our family officially grows by one more precious soul. 

Adam and I are just stunned. This is all happening so quickly. And it is INSANE to type that about adding children to our family. We are thankful to the core to our great and glorious God for His provision in our family. And we are thankful for you, too. So many of you have encouraged and supported us along the way. You have prayed for us, spoken truth to us, cried with us, rejoiced with us, and reminded us of God's unwavering faithfulness. Thank you. 

Many of you have asked how you can help over the coming months. Here are some things we have going on: 

1. Prayer. We so desperately need your prayer. Please pray for our daughter, that she stays healthy, that she stays safe, that she feels love every single day, that God gives her peace and prepares her heart to join our family. Please pray for Bradley and Asher, that the Lord would prepare their hearts for this great big change, that they would continue to know how deeply we love and cherish them both. Please pray for us, that we would rest in God's peace during the next few months, that God would renew our strength for the first few months home. 

2. Yard Sale: If you are local to the Birmingham area, we are having a yard sale on April 14. If you have items you are looking to get rid of, we will take them off your hands! We are accepting any and all donations, so send us your junk! 

3. Donations: We shared last week that we are breaking into new territory with this adoption and doing something that is so uncomfortable for us: asking our community to prayerfully consider donating toward our adoption. And you all have been so amazing. In just a few short days, you have donated 10% of our remaining adoption costs. WOW! If you are interested in supporting us in this way, you can click HERE to be taken to our fundraising page. 

Today, we are celebrating being one step closer to our precious girl! 

With love, 

Baylor 

A Mountain Thrown Into The Sea: Seeing Her Face

So on Thursday morning, I was sitting in my car in our church parking lot about to go in and teach an ESL class on the proper use of the present continuous tense. As I was trying to eat my granola bar and finish my coffee, my phone rang. It was Maggie, our social worker. I immediately thought, "Which form did I forget to sign?" Our papers have only been in China since the end of November, so I knew nothing had expired, and I was planning on a 12-18 month wait for a referral.

I answered, and she responded with a very happy sounding, "Hey, Baylor, How are you?"

My heart immediately dropped into my shoes. There is only one reason an adoption social worker uses that hopeful, upbeat tone of voice.

YOU GUYS. WE HAVE BEEN MATCHED WITH OUR DAUGHTER.

I had no eloquent words for Maggie. No gracious response. I was stunned into near silence.

Somehow, I managed to listen as she told me a little bit about our precious girl and that she would email us her file and picture. I feel like I am usually pretty well-spoken, but I could barely get out complete sentences. At some point, I told her I needed to talk to Adam and that I would call her back.

I ran upstairs and told our ministry leader that I could not, in fact, give a lesson on the present continuous tense today but that my lesson plan was in her inbox. She graciously understood and I raced off to Adam's clinic.

On the way, I called him and called him and called him. No answer. So I did what I only do in emergencies. I voice paged him. He, of course, thought something was wrong, but I told him to just call me back right away.

He did, and I got to break the very best kind of news to him. We have a referral! He was just as shocked as I was.

A few moments later, in a supply closet at his clinic, we saw her face for the very first time.

These are screen grabs from a video, so pardon the blurriness. 

But I think the sentiment in clear. 

 We are in love. 

And also in shock! 

And later that afternoon, we got to do the most AMAZING thing. We got show Bradley and Asher their new little sister for the very first time.

 Bradley's first words? 

"We go get her now?" 

My feelings, exactly. 

Asher's first words to her new sister? 

"Hi!" 

Oh, dear friends, we are awed and humbled by God's abundant grace and favor in our family. With our first adoption, it seemed like we ran into every single brick wall that existed, like we would never get to Bradley. And then with Asher, well, we just didn't even think she was in the realm of possibility for us. And now, to see the Lord extend His hand of mercy to us in this powerful, tangible, real-life way....well, we are speechless expect to say, "Thank you, Lord." 

So it looks like we are going to travel to China early this summer to bring our girl home. That's in like three months. GULP. 

More is coming soon on what the next few months hold in store, but for now, we just ask you to join us in thanking our great and powerful God for working a MIRACLE for our family's good and His glory! 

“Truly I tell you, if anyone says to this mountain, 

‘Go, throw yourself into the sea,’ and does not doubt in their heart 

but believes that what they say will happen, 

it will be done for them."

Mark 11:23

With love, 

Baylor 

Peaks and Valleys

Peaks and valleys.

That has been my answer to all of the wonderful people in my life asking how things are going with Bradley. And it is so true. There are days when I feel on top of the world, like I can totally do this mom thing. Then there are days when I feel like I just cannot get anything right, like I have NO business being a mom.

After LOTS of education and research over three years, Adam and I decided that we were committed to one month of really intense attachment parenting with our little man. Here's what that looked like: we were the only ones to hold him, feed him, touch him, change him, bathe him, comfort him. We were holding him all the time, lots of intense eye contact, almost always at least one hand on him, responding to cries immediately. In doing this, we had a very specific goal. We wanted Bradley to understand what it means to have parents, and we wanted him to fully recognize that WE are his parents, the safest and most loving people in his world.

This led to a lot of peaks and a lot of valleys.

As the days went by, we were getting more smiles and even some laughs. We were watching him start to reach for us and REALLY prefer to be held at all times (my arms muscles are getting ripped). We also got to watch him make HUGE strides in his development.

But there were a LOT of moments in that first month home that left me feeling like I would never, could never be the mom I wanted to be. Moms tell you that they know their children's different cries. I didn't. Some days, he was inconsolable, only wanting to be held while he cried. It was so hard.

So much of this is related to grief. Yes, Bradley joined our family forever when we walked out of the orphanage gates, but he also lost his home and the women who had loved him and cared for him. I cannot imagine how confused and hurt he must have been, wondering what happened to all of the familiar faces he had come to know. And to now have this woman who clearly doesn't know what she is doing.

Adoption is a beautiful, redemptive and impossibly hard thing.

Week four was particularly tough. It was Adam's first week back at work, and I was finally on my own. I was doing the very thing I had begged God to let me do, AND IT WAS SO MUCH HARDER THAN I EVER THOUGHT POSSIBLE.

But there is God's grace again. Carrying me through and reminding me that I cannot be the mom I want to be without Him right at the center.

So whatever it is you're doing, know that God can be right there with you if you let him. I am learning each day what a weak vessel I am. A true jar of clay. But all of this points me right back to Jesus, reminding me of my deep and desperate need for Him.

Love,
Baylor

CLEARED!

Oh, what a twenty four hours we have had! I am COMPLETELY wiped out. And I am getting on a plane in less than 48 hours. Let me back up.

I told you that we received notice from our case manager that our adoption was being filed with the U.S. Embassy on Wednesday. Well, Ethiopia is 8 hours ahead of us, so that meant that we would very likely be receiving our clearance notification sometime during the wee hours of Thursday morning. Based on the experiences of adoptive friends of mine, I was expecting to hear something between one and five this morning.

Sooooooo, needless to say, I was not anticipating a night of blissful sleep when I laid my weary head on my pillow last night. Sure enough, I was wide awake until two this morning. I read for a while, counted my breaths for a while (made it all the way into the 600s once!), tossed back and forth for awhile and checked my email approximately every three minutes.

Nothing.

Sometime after 2, I drifted off and then snapped awake at 3. Checked my email.

Nothing.

Dozed on and off till 5, checking my email every few minutes. When 5 rolled around, I was too awake to even think about falling back asleep.

Still nothing. So disheartened.

I will tell you this, though. During those silent hours, I prayed harder than I ever have before in my entire life. I was pleading with God to work a miracle. To PLEASE move this mountain so that our boy could be with his mom and dad on his very first birthday.

Around 5:15, I left our bedroom and went to sit on the couch, switching between chatting with another adoptive mom who was waiting on the same email and refreshing my own.

And then suddenly...

Click on that picture to make it BIG and beautiful! 

There it was. The email that we had really been waiting for all along. Our case had CLEARED. We had permission from the United States to go get our boy and bring him home. I responded right away to schedule our interview appointment. We heard back quickly, and... 

I leave in two days to go get my son. 

Did you catch that?

Itineraries are being finalized and bags are being packed. 

All praise and honor and glory be to God alone. He has done this great thing. 

Oh, and that sweet son of mine? He will be sitting right here with me, in this house, on his very first birthday.  

Love, 

Baylor 

Big News and BIG Prayers

Well....

While at lunch today, I received the most glorious message from our case manager.

We are being submitted to Embassy this week!

{cue the running around like a crazy woman}

You might be asking yourself, "What does this mean?"

In order to bring Bradley home, we have "clear" the U.S. Embassy in Ethiopia. This is a final approval of sorts. It is literally the LAST thing that happens before we can go get him. And our case is being submitted this week. This is a HUMONGOUS answer to our prayers. We have been missing that boy every second since we left him, and now we are SO CLOSE to being reunited.

So, you know I have to ask you to pray with us about this. Please join us TONIGHT at 8 CST to pray over this next step in our journey toward having Bradley home with us of good.

Please pray that:

-Our case would be submitted on time and without incident.

-Our case would clear IMMEDIATELY (like within 24 hours)

-We can book our plane tickets right away

-Bradley comes home on or before his first birthday, July 19

These are big prayers, friends. In order for us to be at our Embassy interview next week, we have to clear right away. Please pray to Jesus that this will happen. If it does, our little man will have his first birthday at home with his mom and dad. I think he has earned it.

As always, if you can pray with us tonight, please leave a comment below, on Facebook or via email. We would love to be able to thank God for you.

With deep love and great joy,
Baylor

Ethiopia Trip One, Day Two: Church and More Bradley

Our second full day in Ethiopia started out with church. AMAZING.

 We arrived one hour before the actual service started so that we could attend the prayer meeting. It was so beautiful. I have no idea what was being said, but I saw men and women truly crying out to God. 

 And it was so incredible to be able to pray for our boy in a church in his home country. 

An added bonus was that this particular Sunday was Holy Communion. 

What a gift to experience this reminder of God's sacrifice that allowed my adoption into His family while we were there to adopt our own son. 

Beautiful. 

After church, we went to Woudneh's house for lunch. {Woudneh is our agency's in-country director.} It was delicious, and we were able to enjoy time with another adoptive who was in Ethiopia for court, as well. Then it was back to the hotel to change and off to see our boy. 

 Day two with our precious fella! 

 Hanging on to his daddy. 

 Smiling for mommy. 

 And here is my favorite picture of the two of us. 

 Look at that sweet face! 

 Checking out that great big world out there. 

 My two greatest loves. 

 Seriously, though. 

Look at these two guys! 

 Bradley is attaching so well to his dad. 

 Bradley and Bea! 

I love how much she loves him! 

 And half of this picture is missing. 

Do you know why? 

Because I am holding the son of one of my dearest friends. 

That's right! My boy and her boy LIVE IN THE SAME ROOM. 

And now they will grow up knowing each other. 

 Party time with Bea! 

 Look at these two studs! 

 I think they are going to be best buds. 

 Just checking each other out. 

 And getting some sweet little smiles. 

 This might be my favorite picture in the history of photography. 

 We made a little photo album of our family for Bradley. 

 And he loved it! 

 Especially the pictures of Daisy. 

 He just kept grinning and giggling. 

 And then he tried to eat it. 

Delicious. 

I just love this little boy with my whole heart. 

More to come soon about the rest of our week! 

With love, 

Baylor 

Ethiopia Trip One, Day One: Meeting Bradley

This day I am about to share with you is one of the most longed-for days of my entire life. The day when we would FINALLY hold our son. To say that we were nervous would be an enormous understatement. Our lives had been building toward this moment for years, and now here we were. But Bradley didn't know that. We were strangers to him, and I was so nervous that he would be afraid of us. That he would scream his head off the entire time we were with him, which would have been totally understandable from his little 11 month old point of view. I had my small group girls praying for this very moment, and it was now upon us. So we cast our fears aside and on 45 minutes of sleep in the last 24 hours, we set out to meet our son.

I warn you, picture overload is about to happen, and for that I make NO apologies.

And now we will walk back through the happiest day of my life so far.

Enjoy, dear friends.

 Changed, ready and in the van. 

We are really about to do this. 

 Lots of quiet on the drive over. 

Taking in Ethiopia and trying to quell our nerves. 

 We're here! 

Waiting downstairs while they get him ready. 

We came at nap time. Oops. 

 Our darling, wonderful translator, Tizita. 

I cannot say enough good things about her. She was with us every step of the way and provided so much encouragement all while answering our twenty million questions. 

OK. Nerves are seriously setting in. 

How much longer do I have to stand here when my son is in this same building? 

 I don't know what's happening here. 

Probably, my dear husband told me a joke to keep me from losing it. 

He pulled the same trick on our wedding day. So if you saw me giggling at the altar, that's why. 

We walk in and there he is. 

Let me say that again: 

THERE HE IS. 

And I take his hand. 

 Give him his first kiss from his mom. 

{Also, please note that he is not, in fact, screaming his head off.}

And then, because I know ZERO Amharic, I make the universal gesture for, "Can I hold this baby?" 

 His sweet nanny gives me a nod. 

And just like that, 

 I'm holding my son. 

 The English language does not have the right words for me to explain this moment to you. 

But I will say this, I could not love this child any more than I do. He is, without a doubt, my son. Holding him felt right. He belongs with us. 

I have been and will continue to be amazed by God's sovereignty and His goodness. He did not just bring us a child. He brought us our child. Of that I am certain. 

 And then he gets his first look at his daddy, the man who has prayed battle prayers to get to him. 

 We get a thumbs up. 

And he is just taking it all in. 

 Knott: Party of Three 

 His precious little face. 

 We cannot get enough of it. 

 Clearly. 

And I think I must have kissed him a thousand times over the span of two hours. 

 Sweet, sweet baby. 

 Then the nannies surprised us by letting me feed him. 

 We were both just in a state of disbelief. 

 Everything I love, all in one place. 

 Then we got to take him downstairs for a good bye celebration for a little girl who was going home with her mom that day. It was such a precious event. Each of this children drew her a picture and gave it to her, along with a kiss good bye. There was singing and dancing and cake. Watching these children say good bye to a friend really brought home for me the reality that while adoption is a beautiful thing, there is true sadness that accompanies it. When it is Bradley's turn to have this celebration, he will be leaving his home, his friends and the women who have cared for him up till now. It is both beautiful and heartbreaking, and I pray that we will always honor his birth country and these special people well. 

 Some face time with mom. 

 He already has my heart. 

 Attempted family picture. 

Clearly, I am preoccupied. 

 My heart. 

 Meeting his namesake! 

Two Bradleys are better than one. 

I am so thankful for my darling dad and the sacrifice he made to come on this trip with us. There is no other man we would rather have our son strive to be like as he grows. Thank you, Dad, for being a noble and honorable man. I cannot wait to watch you with little Bradley. 

And Bea! 

She got the first smile out of him while we were there, and I think it was the perfect start to a beautiful relationship in which she will love him and spoil him rotten. I feel good about it. And that dear mom of mine was our photographer for our whole week in Ethiopia. I think she took every single picture except this one. Thank you, Mom, for running this race with us from day one and for so beautifully capturing this incredible week of moments. 

 This little man is loved more than he will ever know. 

The three Knotts. 

With deep love, 

Baylor