A Thankful Heart...

We have so many things to be thankful for this Thanksgiving season. God has showered us with a richness of blessings, and He alone deserves our Highest Praise!

Lord, you are an amazing, awesome, wonderful, merciful, tender, loving, forgiving, all-knowing God. Your love and mercies are new each morning. Through each day, You walk beside us, holding our hands and guiding our path. With each misstep, You are slow to anger and quick to forgive. With each doubt and anxiety, You hold us a little tighter, reminding us that everything is in Your hands. You know every tear that falls, You hear us when we cry. You provide for our every need, and offer abundant blessings far beyond those basic needs. You provide us with our health, with family, friends, a church. You give us the opportunity to serve You, to share Your love and Your Word with others. You give us the opportunity to worship and praise Your name freely, and without persecution. You give us the opportunity to be Your children and to know You intimately.

Lord, today and always I have a thankful heart.

Blessings-Kindra

6 month old Noel E. @ HH

6 months...

Baby Noel E. turned 6 months old yesterday @ Hannah's Hope. Oh, how I pray she was showered in love, hugs, kisses, snuggles, and smiles. I know many prayers were said for her here, and many kisses were sent by way of the wind.

We love you, sweet girl. Mommy and Daddy love you so much, and we cannot wait to hold you and give you those kisses in person! 61 more days, love. 61 more days.

Blessings- Kindra

6 month old Noel E. @ HH

Court dates...

This was me today. (Except I have dark, short, spiky hair and bigger thighs.) In the beginning of the day, I was having a temper tantrum because we had not heard court dates yet. In the second half of the day, I was having a temper tantrum because I wanted the court date we did get to be SOONER!! AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!

We learned today that we will tentatively travel to Ethiopia January 15-19, 2011. Our daughter will be in our arms for the first time on the 16th, and we go to court on the 18th. These next 10 weeks could not possibly go by fast enough!

In the meantime, I am begging any adoptive parents traveling before us to get us a little glimpse of our growing girl. We miss you sweet pea...we are saving up our lovin's for you (and sending plenty by the way of the wind!) Our Father's love is surrounding us both! He is faithful and will bring us together very soon!

"Your love, O Lord, reaches to the heavens, your faithfulness to the skies." Psalm 36:5

Blessings, Kindra
5 month old Noel E. @ HH

Heartbreak...

Oh, how our hearts long for her. To hold her. To kiss her sweet cheeks. To stroke her soft curls. To look into her big, dark eyes. To comfort her cries. To initiate her smiles. To laugh when she laughs. To feed her when she is hungry. To snuggle her when she sleeps. To celebrate her milestones. To see God's love in her. My heart is broken for her.

I have never known this kind of longing. This is how our Father longs for us. He wants us to be an active part of His family. To hold us. To comfort our cries. To feed us when we are hungry. To celebrate our milestones. To see His love as a beacon of light through us toward others. His heart is broken for us.

Are you an active part of God's family? Have you asked Him to be the Father of your life? He longs to have that relationship with you, and longs for you to be in His warm, loving arms forever.

And just as He wants to be with me, I want be with her. Oh, Lord, please make it soon.

"Cause I just wanna be with you. I just want this waiting to be over. I just want to be with you, and it helps to know the days getting closer.

Every minute takes an hour, every inch feels like a mile, til I won't have to imagine, and I finally get to see you smile." Chris Rice, Smile.

Blessings, Kindra.

Mom to Noel E., 5 months old @ HH

This is your child...follow me.

We have had such a whirlwind of a week! We have been through so many emotions and stages of grief and joy... In so many ways this experience has been so humbling and requires such a deep faith and trust in the Father. I was sitting in class at the beginning of the week attempting to concentrate through my emotions, anxiety, fears, excitedness, and longing. I turned to look at the wall to my right, and Luke 9:23 was staring at me, "Take up thy cross and follow Me." Yet, somehow, I read "This is your child, follow Me." Although I had not known it before that moment, it was the first time I accepted, Noel E. as my daughter. God ordained her into our lives. He chose US to be her parents. The reality was overwhelming. Over the week before, I had been grieving her life, her relinquishment, the heart of her birth mother, the time that I have/am missing with her, and through that grief I had somehow missed accepting that this child was given to us from our loving God. She is exactly what He designed for our family. So, we move into a painful wait...

We have completed our referral packet, sent it in, and have had our "next steps" phone call. Now, we wait. Seriously, we wait again. But now the wait has a face, a heart, needs, desire for her forever family, pain, longing...and so much more. We just want to hold her! We want to look in those big brown eyes! We want her to know that she has a family!

So next...our court date. We are praying boldly for our court case to be opened very quickly, and for travel to be just as quick! Please, pray with us to bring Noel E. home.


Blessings- Kindra

A Baby Girl!!!

It is hard to believe that we actually heard the words, "I have a little girl that I want to talk to you about." God certainly rocked our world this week!


We thought all along a little guy would be joining our home. From the beginning, the discrepancies in the boy and girl list had been so wide that we just didn't think a girl was possible. (With God, all things are possible!) All the waiting and delays- all part of His story for our lives, her story as our daughter.

It was almost time for school fall intensives, and Brandon and I had been praying that we could just get the call before I left. Being 9 hours away from one another after waiting more than a year for "the call" was not an idea that we wanted to entertain! Monday came and went...no call. Tuesday, I had agreed to work, but like a bad employee left my cell phone in my scrub pocket "just in case"! The staff and physicians all knew if "Baby Love" started singing from my pocket to expect screaming!

After lunch, I had a baby on the scale when my normal "Mizzou Fightsong" ringtone started sounding. (Go Tigers!) I silenced it and apologized to the mom I was with, thinking nothing of it. I finished my assessment and checked my messages when I was done. IT WAS "B", saying "Kindra, if you have a minute, can you give me a call. I have something I need to discuss with you." AHHH! What! But there was no "Baby Love"! As it turns out, "K" was sick that day, and "B" was calling for her.

I ran, shaking (trembling, really) into the back offices. My friend of 11+ years, Jill, saw the look on my face and started screaming. I redialed the phone, praying that "B" would answer, and she did. Then the famous words..."I have a little GIRL I want to talk to you about." DID YOU SAY GIRL? Jill heard "girl" before it really set in and started screaming and jumping up and down again, alerting my pediatrician (with whom I have worked the past 11+ years) that something was up behind that closed door! She saw the smiles on both of our faces and joined the fun...

Brandon was 5 hours away at one of our facilities, in a board meeting none the less. I had not even asked "B" how old she was, knowing that Bran would want to hear all the details. I called his cell- no answer. I texted- nothing. I finally resigned to call the facility and telling them to get him out of the meeting, NOW. When he answered, I said, "Your a daddy today! It's a GIRL!" He was so excited, and totally did not believe me. "But we were number 1 on the boy list", he said. Then..."Babe, I have to finish this board meeting before we can take the rest of the call. I am in the middle of my presentation." WHAT!? Ok, I have been waiting the past 13 months for this day. Letting you finish your board meeting will be ok. I will live. Work- probably not going to be very productive, but I will try!


Brandon and I heard about our daughter for the first time Tuesday afternoon, October 19, 2010. She is about 5 months old and is so beautiful. Her story is hers to tell, but Bran and I will be forever grateful that God gave us the opportunity to be a part of it. Since he was out of town, we waited almost 6 more hours to open that email to see her beautiful face. Talk about patience! I couldn't wait to open that email, but we had agreed to do it together, no matter what! In the mean time, we had a great time calling our family and close friends. We hadn't even seen her face for the first time, but we knew without a doubt that this was the child that God had chosen for our family, and she is.

The next days were filled with International pediatrician reviews, paperwork, and stars swirling around my head, I am sure. Now, we wait. We are praying for a court date in the next couple months. It will be the longest time of our lives. We cannot wait to hold her in our arms.

Sorry that we cannot share pictures with you. They cannot be posted until she is legally ours and we are home with her. If you see me in person, I would love to share!

Please continue to pray for our daughter, her health and happiness. Pray for her Ethiopian mama. Pray for the special mothers loving her at Hannah's Hope tonight. Pray for the hearts of this mommy and daddy who ache with a need for her to be with us.

We are overjoyed, baby girl. There are so many people waiting for you to come home. Don't be scared. Feel the breeze on your cheeks- it brings sweet kisses from your mommy and daddy.

"You have granted him the desire of his heart and have not withheld the request of his lips." Psalm 21:2





Blessings- Kindra
Mama to Baby E, 5 mos @ HH

High upon the mountain...and on top of the list!

WOW! We are unofficially number 1 for a baby boy and number 2 for a baby girl. Rejoicing on this mountain God has placed us on today!

We are going to see your face anyday, little one! We are going to be mommy and daddy to the child God hand-picked for OUR family!

I want to build a house up on this mountain!

Lift your hands up and Praise the Lord! Psalm 134:2

Blessings- Kindra