Scenic Route

We leave in one hour for the airport ! I am a bundle of emotions - not sure if I want to dance with joy, vomit, or cry.  It is incredibly hard having children on two different continents!  It tears at a mama's heart. I can hardly wait for our day to meet SS - yet, I don't want to tell me kiddos here at home good-bye.  Fortunately, I have a BIG God and He knows my every thought -- He is comforting me and going before me -- I know I can count on Him!!
We are taking the scenic route going to Ethiopia.  We'll be in Canada this afternoon, then London in the morning.  We'll finally arrive in Addis tomorrow night - so glad I have my best friend, who is also my husband, to share the hours of travel with.
Please pray for us: that God will prepare our hearts and our son's heart, that HE will watch over and comfort our children here in TX, that we will have opportunity to share our love of Jesus, that HE'll open doors of ministry opportunities and of course that we will be back safe and sound on Thursday.
I'll post updates when possible and when we pass court - I'll be able to share our new son's sweet, precious, beautiful face!!
Until next time....

Heavy Joyful Heart

I woke up this morning with a heavy but joyful heart.  The last two mornings the first thing I have thought of is our CLOSE court date and how soon I will  meet my son.  But this morning, the second thought that ran through my mind almost as quickly was that his relative will reliquinsh rights in less than a week and how heartbroken this relative must be.  I have spent the day burdened by this thought.  I have also been wondering when SS will be told he has a family, and ... will he be happy to hear that news?  I SO want him to be happy and we pray daily that God will place in SS's heart an understanding that we love him and want him and that he is already a Porter in our hearts.  So, while I celebrate the wonderful news this week - it is possible that there is a gentlemen in Ethiopia grieving for what he is selflessly doing next week, all because he loves SS so much!!

COURT DATE!!!

We received the amazing news today that we have been assigned a May 9th court date!!  Praise Jesus!  We will get to meet our son on May 8th and become his parents on May 9th - Lord willing! 

Psalm 66:16,19-20
Come and listen, all you who fear God;
let me tell you what He has done for me.
God has surely listened and heard my voice in prayer.
Praise be to God, who has not rejected my prayer
or withheld His love from me!"

Blessed in the waiting

The one thing I know about adoption is it will require a tremendous amount of patience.  It seems at every turn the name of the game is hurry up, hurry up and WAIT!!  We waited for news about a little boy ready to be adopted, we waited for God's clear direction on which way to go between 2 boys, we waited for the official referral paperwork, we waited for support raising and funds to officially accept the referral, we waited to be submitted to court .... and NOW we wait for word on our court date.  We were submitted to court a week ago and are hopeful we will receive word of an assigned court date soon.  The hardest thing about waiting is staying busy and keeping my eyes on the Lord.  I have been very blessed that HE has provided opportunity for both of these things.  It isn't hard to stay busy when I homeschool 4 children, have a VERY VERY VERY active 2 year old, care for 2 goats - one of which is pregnant, train a new puppy, help Craig run a home health agency,  and study like crazy for my Bible class.  Keeping my eyes on HIM is a different story... it's so easy for me to get too busy for prayer, too preoccupied for reading His Word, too overwhelmed to depend on Him for everything.  But HE is faithful and has provided me opportunity after opportunity to remain in HIM.  Craig and I were blessed to go to Laguna Beach for the Seed Company conference.  I have so much on my heart that I want to share, once I process it all.  Truly amazing organization and truly amazing kingdom vision !!!!  I also am blessed to be studying systematic theology once a week thru a Bible class at church.  I love all that I am learning about our sovereign and mighty God!

I can hardly wait to post once we get our court date!! I continue to be humbled and blessed by the amazing adoption journey.  I am SO grateful God calls us to care for the orphans - James 1:27.  It has changed our family and has certainly changed me. 

Blessed by Bracelets

We are SO excited .... actually excited isn't anywhere close to the right word.... elated, ecstatic, thrilled, jubilant, joyful.... all of this and more!!  We can almost share a little more about our son, almost!  God has been so faithful in revealing His plan to us.  And His provision has been such a blessing!  We have experienced great generosity from friends and family to help bring our son home.  Thanks to each of you that have donated and/or bought shirts, jewelry and journals - you are truly bringing our little boy home! 

Some have purchased items, some have donated money and still others have given of their time and talents.  A dear lady at our church is a talented jewelry maker.  She has generously donated 'conception' bracelets to sell for our adoption.  These are beautiful jeweled bracelets that wrap twice and reflect the birthstones for the month of conception and the month of birth.  A card of blessing is include with each bracelet as well.  I have one bracelet available for each month of the year, just let me know the birth month.  The bracelets are $35 each.  They are truly beautiful and have been designed and crafted by hand with much love!!



December

Thank you very much, Helen, for taking the time to make these bracelets and for the love you have shown to our family!!  You are a blessing to us!

Our Family is Growing

 It has been ONE year since we brought Aster home from Ethiopia.  The time has gone so quickly and at the same time we feel as though she has always been a part of us.  There is no doubt that God ordained her as a Porter long before we ever even knew Aster's name.  Many of you helped bring our Aster home and your prayers and contributions have blessed our family beyond what words can express.  Our faith has been deepened and the journey has been so sweet, that we could hardly wait to do it again!

 

Our hearts are full as we eagerly anticipate the adoption of our son, also from Ethiopia.  We look forward to sharing all the details, very soon, but for now all we can say is that he is a little boy, under the age of 5 and we are over the moon with excitement!!  We anticipate being able to share more in a few weeks. 

Between now and then, however, we need to do some MAJOR fundraising.  Fundraising in and of itself makes me very uncomfortable, but I also know that it is a beautiful opportunity to see God's faithfulness to our family, our son and hopefully you, as you witness our story.  In order to say 'yes' to our son, we need to raise $13,000 - by February 7th.  This is a BIG number with a short time frame, but our God is big and I know 'the One I've trusted in can take care of what He's trusted me to do right to the end.' (2 Tim 1:12 The Message).

Among other things, we are once again selling 147 million orphan t-shirts.  We have partnered with this organization in the past and appreciate all they have done to help us bring our children home.

These items are along the right side of this page.  Please let me know if you have any questions or need help with your order.

In advance - please accept our gratitude - our heartfelt THANK YOU!!

Fundraising Items

As promised, here are our new fundraising items, at least a few of them:


   Magazine Bead and Ethiopian Cross Necklaces

Our oldest daughter is handcrafting these beautiful necklaces. They have various colored magazine beads and an authentic Ethiopian cross hanging from the center.
If you have a specific color request, we are happy to custom make one for you!

red/brown

green/blue

            Personalized Scripture Journals

These are just 2 of many designs to choose from.  My sister-in-law owns a business that makes these amazing journals that have a personalized Bible verse at the bottom of each page.  For example one page has: Jeremiah 29:11 "For I know the plans I have for you, Aster, declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."
Between now and Christmas she is donating a portion of the sale of each journal to our adoption fund.  Her website is: www.papersunday.com 
**On the address page of ordering there is a 'referred by' drop box.  Simply choose 'porterkids' and we will get credit for the sale**  

 

She also has adoption specific journals that make a fabulous and unique gift with scriptures specially chosen to reflect God's heart for adoption and the journey of an adoptive family.
You will not be disappointed in these truly AMAZING journals.

Let me just express how humbled and grateful we are to those of you that have already contributed to our adoption journey.  And share our gratitude in advance to those that will prayerfully consider supporting us through prayer, finances or time and energy.  We are blessed and our children are blessed by YOU!!