Here we go

November 6, 2014

I have to say that it is really hard to put into words how I'm feeling today... This morning things were crazy, I hugged, kissed and said goodbye to my four year old without tears. I honestly felt kinda numb, and I felt guilty for it. There was so much going on, packing, double checking and loading. So, we said our goodbyes and headed to the airport shortly after he left. At check in we met a man who was adopted himself and another man who has two adopted children from the U.S. It was God speaking to us through them and it was awesome. We went through security fine, grabbed some food and after a while boarded our first plane. I still hadn't cried or really thought about what was happening... It wasn't until we started to taxi, I lost it. It's like I had nothing else I needed to do and my body just let go. There were tears for Nolan and the thought of not being there for him if he needed me and tears for Maverick & Maddox and how we are actually going to meet them soon. So many emotions all at once. I could do nothing but be held by Joe and cry. Thanking God for him and for allowing us to go on this journey. We are finally going to meet our twins!

We are blessed. 

Thank you all for the prayers! We can surely feel them! 

Now we relax in Detroit and wait for our next long flight to Amsterdam.  

Answered Prayers

I really want to share with you how God has moved throughout our whole adoption process. This process has taken about 3 years. 1 year listening to God and waiting to see where He would take us and 2 of which we have spent filling out piles of paperwork, getting fingerprinted umpteen times, medical exams, home studies, updates etc. All to lead us to now. Throughout the paperwork process there were times where I wasn't sure how we would make the deadlines and where the money would come from. God always supplied it and one time He truly put money in our bank, the numbers did not add up and I know He put it there. He worked a miracle for us.
He would move and comfort me through each step. Just when I would feel I couldn't wait any longer and my hope was running out, He would give me a slight glimpse of His plan and remind me to trust Him. It turns out, He knew what He was doing. ;)
God did this again with our court date. As you may have read we got a court date earlier this month, but let me back up a bit and tell you how God answered my prayers.  In late September/early October we were asked if we were ok with a Possible December court date (they were hoping to get us in) but that would mean we would be gone over Christmas (separated from Nolan) and because of the holidays, the process may take longer (8 weeks instead of 6 or 7). We, of course, said yes. We want to get over to them as soon as possible. They are very small, and have been in and out of the hospital and need cared for and loved on by their mommy & daddy. (Not that the home isn't doing all it can for them, they have been great!) So we planned for what we thought might be a December court date. During that time I continued to pray that God would move and take me over to my boys sooner, even that he would allow me to be there for their birthday (Nov 5th). It was a long shot, and not even a possibility in the eyes of our agency, but on October 12th, we got the call that we would be there just days after the twins birthday. We needed to be in country in less than a month- Nov 7th actually. Our court dates is set for Nov 12th, and we are asked to be in Uganda a few days prior for some culture training and to bond with the boys before court. November 7th we land in Uganda, just 2 days after their birthday! God answered my prayer! One that I thought was impossible.

To share a prayer with you; I have a devotional I am reading called "Live A Praying Life In Adversity" by Jennifer Kennedy Dean
As I was reading today I looked back, remembering I had written prayers in the pages and dated them. We knew we were waiting on all our paperwork to be reviewed and for a date to be set.
On 10.6.14 I wrote a small prayer "Dear God, I pray you be with the lawyers, judges & social workers in Uganda. Help them get things moving 'this week' so we can go get our boys." That was on monday and Sunday evening (the 12th) everything was set and we had our date. ANSWERED PRAYER!
So now I pray, and ask that God get us there safely, that He moves again and pushes paperwork through faster than we could imagine and bring us all home to be a family of 5.
I would love for you to pray with me.

We are so excited to finally meet our boys. We leave in 10 days. We will arrive late Nov 7th, sleep, and in the morning get up and go meet our twin boys- Maverick & Maddox.  God is good, all the time! (even when we can't see it and understand it)

We got our court date

I am so extremely excited to scream that WE GOT OUR COURT DATE!! We will be in Uganda on Nov 7th, and we have our court date on Nov 12th. We will get to meet and hold Maverick & Maddox in less than a month. God is so good! I have been praying specifically that God would take us over there for the boys birthdays and we will be there just days after. What a journey it has been and what a journey we are about to embark on.

I am so thankfully to all of you for your support, prayers and encouraging words.

We are currently having a t-shirt fundraiser.
If you would like to help, and want to buy a t-shirt all proceeds go towards our adoption. (Email me at butleradoption(at)gmail(dot)com)
If you feel led to give a donation instead you can click this link HERE

We appreciate your prayers! God is moving and He is doing great things!
To follow our process in country, I will be posting updates as best I can here on my blog.

Here is a look at the shirts.

You can give hope. No matter your walk in life.
Whether you are black or white, young or old, male or female...
Give Hope
Hope changes Everything

Thank you all for your prayers and support! We can't wait to meet our boys and bring them home.

Struggling

I have been struggling so much lately. Struggling to find peace. Knowing half my family is on the other side of the world. Knowing that the process of bringing them home isn't going to be an easy one. Knowing that leaving to go get them means leaving my first born behind and knowing that will be even harder than I can imagine. So, as I said, I'm struggling. I try and cling to Gods peace and know that He is in control and I do know that He is, but it doesn't make this waiting much easier. I am a mother, and my sons are not with me. How do you find comfort in that? It is so hard but I'm trying....

Our Little Secret is Out

We are so happy that we got to share with family and friends 2 weekends ago that 

WE GOT OUR REFERRAL!! 

We finally got our paperwork and are so excited to announce that we are adopting twin boys from Uganda. They are just under a year old and we are now praying hard that we can go get them soon before courts close again around Christmas. This whole process has been long and extremely hard. When you start the adoption process you are told these things but until you are faced with them yourself its hard to imagine. Just like I can't imagine how it will be to actually go get them and stay there for 6+ weeks. I have been talking to and reading blogs about families who have and are currently in the process of adopting. That has been a huge blessing.

So, where we are now- Now we wait some more. We are waiting to heard from a judge when our court date is so we can go over and get our boys. This waiting process is by hard been the hardest. We now know who our boys are and to not be able to do much for them is extremely difficult. As a mom you want to tend to and care for your childs needs and make sure they are cared for. We are an ocean away and I can't hold them, or rock them or make sure they have what they need. Its killing me. So I pray, I pray God watches over them until we can get there. I pray they get the food they need (we are paying for formula for them now) and I pray they get their health back up. 

We are coming boys- and mommy & daddy can't wait to love on you.