Motherhood

Time to Travel

Yesterday we heard from the US Embassy that we are officially cleared to travel. We snatched up the first available appointment and will be leaving next Sunday to go bring our children home! I can't help but smile every time I see the airline ticket confirmations in my inbox.

The past week has been full of phone calls, paperwork, obsessive checking of email on my phone, anxious waiting for the final details to come together--"just labor pains" Janelle reminded me on one particularly challenging day. But we've also been doing lots of fun stuff like hair lessons from a wonderful new friend and adoptive mom, trips to Old Navy and Target for cute clothes, and turning the boys' sailboat room into a sports room with a few new pillows and accessories. We've filled our scabies prescription at Target (just in case!) and scheduled doctor's appointments. We've stocked up on hot sauce (which apparently Ethiopian children love to put on everything!) and bought ingredients for homemade Ethiopian stew. And filled out more paperwork.

Our second trip to Ethiopia will be very quick. The morning after we arrive in country we will be reunited with our children and we will never have to leave them again. They will come with us to our Embassy appointment and then we will spend two days doing fun things around Addis before our visas are issued and we can fly home.

Home. We are bringing our children home.

Thank you for your prayers! More updates and pictures to come.

Adoption Update—Almost There

We are counting down in days now, instead of months and weeks. Eight days until the US Embassy in Ethiopia has completed their paperwork and interviews and God-willing, gives us the all-clear to travel and get our children. Eleven days until we (hopefully!) get on a plane, thirteen or so days until the final step--an interview at the Embassy, and fifteen days until we get our children's visas and fly home. All very subject to delays of course so we would greatly appreciate your prayers that all would proceed smoothly and speedily.

Right now my house is turned upside down redecorating the kids rooms and Jack and Tori talk daily about what they will play or share with their new brother and sister. There's not much more to tell actually. Isn't that the way with waiting? It is the uneventfulness that makes it hard. Our agency warned us this would be the most difficult part of the wait and they were right. Knowing our children, having held them in our arms, being their legal parents but having to leave them behind is excruciating. But just as the day and hour of our biological children's birth was ordained by God, I know that the day when our family will be complete is entirely in His wise, powerful, loving hands. We'll just be so excited when it gets here.

Thank you for all your prayers.

“But the pace!” CS Lewis on Young Parents

Every mom of young, active, children (especially boys!) needs to take a minute to read these excerpts of letters from CS Lewis. The way he describes the whirlwind of these parenting years will bring a knowing smile to your face. So "fling yourself into a chair" for a moment and enjoy:

My brother and I have just had the experience of an American lady to stay with us accompanied by her two sons, aged 9 1/2 and 8. Whew! Lovely creatures — couldn’t meet nicer children — but the pace! I realize have never respected young married people enough and never dreamed of the Sabbath calm which descends on the house when the little cyclones have gone to bed and all the grown-ups fling themselves into chairs and the silence of exhaustion.

Continue reading, courtesy of Tony Reinke.

(Another) Whitacre Adoption Update

Things have been quiet here on the adoption front because we've been in waiting mode. But I'm excited to announce that yesterday we were finally submitted to the US Embassy! In a week or so we hope to receive an embassy appointment, and then travel a few weeks later to bring our kids home.

Here in America we have moved from Fairfax, VA to Louisville, KY, unpacked our new house, celebrated Christmas, and bought bunk beds. Our Ethiopian children's clothes are in their closets, their booster seats are in the car, their chairs are empty at the dinner table, and our backyard seems deserted with only two children.

There's still a lot of paperwork to get processed between now and when we bring Kassa and Mulunesh home, including the Embassy clearance and our home study update. We would love your prayers that it would speedily pass through the proper channels.

Meanwhile, we receive regular updates that our kids are doing well and they know that we are coming for them soon. Here's a recent picture our adoption agency sent us a few days ago. Aren't they the cutest, smiliest kids you ever saw? Our hearts just ache to bring them home soon.

And although this is not related to our adoption I must add a personal note of thanks to all of you who have welcomed us to Louisville. So many of you sent me your contact information, invited us over to your house, offered to bring meals or watch our kids, and helped us move in. I haven't had a chance to reply and thank all of you personally but please know you have made us feel so welcome to the seminary and the lovely town of Louisville. I hope I can meet all of you soon!

Thanks again for all your prayers and encouragement for our adoption. Our family is so blessed by your care. Can't wait to share pictures of our family, complete at last.

kidtalk Christmas

To all the kids around here, Janelle and her husband Mike are affectionately known as Mr. and Mrs. B. The kids know that whenever Mr. and Mrs. B show up, there is sure to be lots of fun and laughter and learning about Jesus. Recently, Caly joined her parents for a little Christmas singing and talking. "Are You Ready for Christmas?" is the first installment of our brand new kidtalk series. Check back for more episodes in the days leading up to December 25.

And this first show calls for some audience participation--from your kids! So listen and have them contact Mr. and Mrs. B. They might just hear their ideas read on next week's episode.

We hope you and your little ones enjoy the very first kidtalk Christmas!

It is (Almost) Complete

We are home from Ethiopia now, but a big part of us is still ten thousand miles away with our two new children who are still there. The adoption process in Ethiopia requires two trips--the first to meet and appear in court to legally adopt your children, and the second to receive approval and visas from the US Embassy to bring them home. Oh, we can't wait to bring them home!

Leaving Kassa and Mulunesh was gut-wrenching. We marvel that God made so much room for us in their little hearts so quickly, and for them in ours. Our family isn't complete without them. In fact, that is what Mulunesh's name means: "it is complete." We pray it will be soon. God-willing we will be submitted into the embassy process today (Wednesday) and it can take anywhere from 4-12 weeks after that before we can bring them home. We would love your prayers that the process would move ahead speedily.

By God's grace Jack and Tori did great in Ethiopia. They love their new brother and sister and talk daily about when we can bring them home. We were so blessed by the wonderful guides from our adoption agency who love all the children there and take outstanding care of the adoptive parents. And we made many wonderful, and I hope life-long, friends with the other couples who were also in Ethiopia to adopt. Several of them did not pass court due to a variety of paperwork issues, so we would covet your prayers for them as well. All in all, we could not have had a more blessed trip and we are grateful to God for his many mercies--most of all for giving us our new son and daughter.

This week though, we are busy packing up our house in Virginia. We are moving to Louisville, KY so that my husband can attend Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, prior to planting a Sovereign Grace Church. For many years, Steve has had a growing desire to plant a church, and an equally strong desire to be further equipped and trained for the task of preaching God's Word. We are so grateful for this opportunity to attend Southern and we have already been so blessed by the godly people we have met there. We will greatly miss our dear friends at Sovereign Grace Church and are so grateful for the eternal investment they have made in our lives.

So, that's the update from the Whitacres. In the meantime, I thought you might enjoy this brief little video of us meeting our kids for the first time. I can't thank you enough for all of your prayers!

Meeting Kassa & Mulunesh from Nicole Whitacre on Vimeo.

“They Are Yours”

With those sweet words from the Ethiopian judge, we are now legally the proud and joyful parents of 

Kassa Jude Whitacre 

and

Mulunesh Sophia Whitacre.

Thank you for all your prayers! More details to come…

Court Tomorrow!

These past few days with our two new children have been simply delightful. We have been well-served by wonderful staff from our adoption agency here in Ethiopia and we have made great friends with the other families who are also adopting children. Jack and Tori have had a blast riding in a van with no seat belts, eating popcorn, and drinking mango juice at an Ethiopian restaurant, and most of all playing with their new brother and sister. Steve posted the following update on our adoption blog. Thank you for your continued prayers that we will pass court tomorrow! Nicole

We had another wonderful day with the kids today. We're discovering, by trial and error, what our kids like. We've discovered that they like fruit snacks, but who doesn't? Piggy-back rides are a hit. They love balloons, but not if you tie off the end. Soccer was popular, and coloring never disappoints. They love hugs and kisses no matter what. And they're getting lots of them. 

An Amazing Day

Well, it's 2am in Addis and I can't sleep. Jet lag plus excitement is a powerful combination. Today was indescribable, meeting these two little ones for the first time, but Steve has captured it well on our adoption blog so I'm going to let him fill you in. Thanks to all of you for your prayers and support. Our court date is Wednesday so please pray for favor with the judge. If, God-willing, we pass court, we will finally be able to show you pictures of our new son and daughter!

Quite The Introduction

Today was as exhilerating as it was exhausting. After a morning spent settling in and a lunch that just couldn't go by fast enough, we rode across town to the America World Transition Home to meet our new children. We waited only briefly and then rejoiced as we watched them walk to us, stooped to embrace them, and felt their little arms around our necks.

We got to spend a few hours together: playing soccer, coloring, blowing bubbles, and building Legos. Our hearts are bursting with joy and gratitude to God - Happy Thanksgiving indeed. Watching our two new children play with Jack and Tori, we marveled at the way they are already beginning to fit right in to our family. There's not a lot we can communicate with them just yet, although we loved hearing "Dad" and "Mommy" from their lips. And we're peppering them with "I love you's," in English and in the best Amharic we can muster, which isn't very good. But we think they're getting the point.

Yesterday was delightful but oh, so brief. Today we'll get to spend a significant part of the day with them. Can't wait to get started. I can't let this post close with issuing another THANK YOU for your many prayers that brought us to this point. Thank for sharing in our joy and helping to make it possible!

Thankful…that I am going to Ethiopia!

It's Thanksgiving and my heart is full of gratitude. On Friday we leave for Ethiopia to meet two little people that I hope will be forever after ours. What an amazing privilege God has given us to pursue the opportunity to adopt these precious children. And I can't wait to see the beautiful country of their birth.

We're going to try to blog about our trip as much as we can next week, here at girltalk and at our adoption blog. The posts will probably be short, but we hope that just as you have "been there" for the birth of our biological children, you can come along for our adoption.

This is Jack and Tori's first time on a plane and it will be a long flight, so please pray for peaceful travel. Please pray for God's blessing as we meet these children for the first time. (The other day in the car, Jack blurted out: "I just can't wait to meet them!" Me too, my son, me too.) And please pray that God would provide the recommendation letter we need from the Ethiopian Ministry of Women, Children, and Youth Affairs (MOWCYA) and give us favor with the Ethiopian judge who serves many children and families.

Thank you so much for your prayers. One faithful reader, Meredith from Australia, emailed me the other day to tell me she was praying (thank you so much Meredith!). It is more comforting than I can tell you that your prayers follow us across the ocean to meet these two precious children. More than that, I am confident and thankful that our heavenly Father's goodness will follow us all the days and miles of our journey.

I'll see you in Ethiopia!

Nicole

Encouraging our Children’s Faith

A wonderful article from Ed Welch to consider and apply as we pray and trust God for our children:

The Apostle Paul wrote, “Continue in what you have learned and become convinced of” (2 Timothy 3:14) because he knew some who had not continued.

We share his concerns. We share them especially for our children as they become increasingly independent. Statistics vary widely but one thing is clear, many children who were raised in Christian homes leave the faith they once professed.

We can’t make our children continue in the faith, but we aren’t left anxious and passive. We can give our children the privilege of being in a family where they are taught about, participate in, and witness life with Jesus.

Prayer and Promises

When fear for our children grips us, we often look for something "new" to help us deal with it. But instead, we must rely on the true and the tried strategies from God's Word. They are:

Prayer: "...do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God." (Philippians 4:6)

AND

Promises: "So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ." (Romans 10:17)

Saints throughout the centuries have leaned on God's promises and called out to Him in prayer. And each and every time, they have found Him to be faithful. "I sought the Lord," David tells us, "and he answered me and delivered me from all my fears" (Psalm 34:4).

So let's follow the example of David and that "great cloud of witnesses." Let's seek God through constant prayer, and in the space of His promises, let's park our souls.

~from the archives

The Best Evangelist

If you have a wayward child you are worried about, who won't even listen to the gospel from church or from you, remember this truth:

There is no better evangelist in the world than the Holy Spirit." ~D.L. Moody

Our Children’s Salvation: Only by Grace

Nancy Wilson is right: mothers are tempted to be worriers. And maybe our greatest worry is about our children's salvation. We know that nothing is so important as the state of their soul before a Holy God. And if we are unsure about their salvation, or if we are sure they are not saved, we can be tempted to worry.

We easily forget that salvation isn't something we give our kids. It is a gift that only God imparts.

Mark Dever reminds us that "According to the Bible, our repentance and faith are gifts of God to us; our conversion, our great change, occurs only by God's grace."

Only by God's grace. So often we recognize and appreciate this about our own salvation. We wouldn't dream of taking credit for our repentance and faith, and we would never credit the person who shared the gospel with us with actually saving us. We know without a doubt that the change that occurred in our soul was only by the powerful initiative of the Holy Spirit. Salvation comes from God alone.

But when it comes to our children, we can fall into thinking that their salvation is, at least in part, dependent upon us. Even though we would never say it, our worry reveals that we may actually be living as if we thought we could save our children. 

We must look to God. He alone is the author of our children's salvation. This doesn't remove our responsibility to share and model the gospel to our children. But it does remove our worry.

So let's not "worry our children away" but rather bring them to God in prayer. He alone can save.

We’re Going to Meet Our Children!

Our adoption agency called on Friday with the exciting news that we have received a court date! We are scheduled to appear in court in Addis Ababa on November 30. This is earlier than we expected, and it means that it is a little over six weeks until we get to meet our new children face-to-face.

This is the first of two trips we will make to Ethiopia. The second will be 4-12 weeks after we pass court and will be for United States Embassy clearance and to bring our children home for good.

On this first trip we are bringing Jack and Tori to meet their new brother and sister. They are so very excited to go to 'Opia (as Tori calls it). They pray for and talk about their new brother and sister every day, and I can't wait to watch them all play together for the very first time. And I'm so grateful to my wonderful sister-in-law Megan who agreed to take time off from her job as an ICU nurse to come with us. She's a super-fun aunt and I know our new kids are going to love her.

We fly out the day after Thanksgiving and hope to meet our children a day or so after we arrive in country. (What a day that will be! I imagine it over and over in my mind.) Over the next few days we will spend many precious hours getting to play with them and their friends at the Transition Home. The hardest part will be returning home without them. But hopefully not for long.

As always, I can't thank you enough for your ongoing prayers and support. If you would be so kind as to pray, here are a few requests:

-For safe and smooth travel

-For us to pass court with no delays

-For a joyful meeting with our kids

You can follow along on our adoption blog for more detailed updates in the weeks ahead. Thank you so much for your prayers!