After a long wait...

We are back at it.  Blogging - I mean.  The thing is - there is SO much to say about this journey.  It is hairy and complicated and beautiful and COMPLICATED.  Did I mention complicated?  There are new details that we learn about each day, but honestly those details could change before we get a final yes to go and get our sweet kiddos.  So if we seem distant when you ask how its going - please don't take it personally.  We just don't want to spew a long list of complicated information that we can barely understand - much less expect you to truly comprehend.  Here is the gist of the past few weeks -

1. Dossier MADE IT TO CONGO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Hip hip hooray! (fireworks going off in the background, loud cheers from the crowd, etc...)
2. Added quite a few bills to this adoption journey including but not limited to: Airfare for our kids to get from Lubumbashi to Kinshasa, Translation Fees, New Birth and Death Certificates, FED EX FED EX FED EX, etc..Basically all of these costs total about $4,500.00+
3. Joined a FABULOUS new online group where we get to connect with other couples who are adopting from Congo through our agency.  Seriously - to know someone out there who knows EXACTLY what you are going through - there are no words!
4. Worked on a new care package - which we will soon photograph and blog about.
5. HERE IS THE LATEST MIRACLE.  Tonight we went to finish our taxes.  We were less than thrilled.  We expected to pay based on last year.  Guess what!? We are getting money back - money that we can use to pay several of the items listed on number 2.  HOW AWESOME IS THAT?

Isn't it so funny how we rejoice so freely when a miracle happens or God answers our prayers - yet we allow those shadows of doubt to creep in at the least bit of bad news?  God is showing us the REAL meaning of faith- the faith that the bible so eloquently describes in Hebrews 11.

¹ Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see. ²This is what the ancients were commended for.

 ³ By faith we understand that the universe was formed at God’s command, so that what is seen was not made out of what was visible.

 ⁴ By faith Abel brought God a better offering than Cain did. By faith he was commended as righteous, when God spoke well of his offerings. And by faith Abel still speaks, even though he is dead.

 ⁵ By faith Enoch was taken from this life, so that he did not experience death: “He could not be found, because God had taken him away.”^[a] For before he was taken, he was commended as one who pleased God. ⁶ And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.

Do you have faith?  Even against the odds?  We have seen God work in amazing ways.  We believe in his perfect plans for our lives.  Do you?  Do you love God in all of his perfect plans more than you love your plans?  It is a HARD lesson to learn and we are still learning every day.  Thank goodness for his grace and love.  

Oh - how the story is unfolding! We can't wait for the next chapter.  

Blessings,

The Chalos Party of Four 

One Month Anniversary

       Tomorrow marks the one month anniversary of our miracle money.  Can we just say that it still seems really unbelievable that we get to bring home both of our sweet, sweet kiddos? It will probably seem that way until we are standing on American soil - kiddos in hand.   We just needed to say thank you again.  Thank you for believing in the beauty of adoption.  Thank you for being the most amazing support that we could hope for.  We will NEVER forget January 12, 2012.  I (Kristle) will NEVER forget the goosebumps, the crying, the shock, the excitement, the feeling that my heart was LITERALLY going to pound out of my chest.  I wish there were words to describe how it truly felt to watch that night unfold - but there just aren't.  I wish even more that I could describe Chad's reaction - or that I had gotten it on video tape.  :) We are humbled beyond words to be able to be a part of something so special.  There is no doubt in our minds that God has something planned for these kids.  We pray everyday that we will be a stepping stone for them - so that they will allow themselves to be used by our great big God.  We also pray that God just piles HEAPS of bounty and blessings on each person who has been a part of this journey in any way. We hope that someday we are able to pay it forward.
      Have you been wondering what two unsuspecting hopeful adoptive parents did after they found out that they get to bring not one but TWO kids home - two kiddos who will no longer be tiny babies, but babbling, energetic, toddlers? Weellll....We recovered from an amazing ridiculous night.  We quickly finished any paperwork.  We sent checks, care packages, and whatever else was asked of us by our agency.  Now reality is beginning to set in.  We are bringing home two kiddos.  AHHH!!!!  (in an amazingly excited/SUPER NERVOUS sort of way) We are bringing home a little girl who has spent her life - all three years (almost) - in a country where they speak a different language, eat different sorts of food, and handle life A LOT differently.  We are bringing home a little boy who will be toddling around,and getting into anything he can.  WE CAN'T WAIT!!! However, we know we have to carefully prepare.  We have to consider what life has been like for our kids - Life on the other side of a world, in a country where nearly 200 different languages are spoken, an average of one meal a day is eaten, and civil war has been a part of their everyday life.  Our sweet Etta - she has lived with her parents, her family, an orphanage, and finally a foster home - all within a span of 2 1/2 years.  We have to think about how we can show her that we are permanent - that we love her and are here to stay.  We also have to figure out how to communicate with her, provide for her, make her feel comfortable and safe, and love her in all the ways that she needs to be loved.  We also have to figure out how to go from a carefree couple to an interracial family of four.  Adoption provides such an opportunity to love a child in a way so that they are able to bond with you - even though you look completely different, you didn't carry them in your womb, change their diapers, feed them their first bottle, swaddle them to keep them warm, etc.... What an amazing opportunity that can't be entered into lightly! We are so blessed to be a part of an adoption agency that provides on going support as we prepare for our kiddos to come home.  We also have an extensive library of carefully researched material to read in order to prepare for this special event in our lives.  We have serious preparation ahead of us.  Although we know that we need time to prepare - we ache to hold them EVERY day, EVERY hour, EVERY minute - and our wait has just begun.  Our dossier is on its way to a Congolese court.  We still have to get a court approval - another immigration approval - raise more money for travel - and get an appointment with the Congolese embassy.  But God is so good.  He gives us peace and comfort - and on the days when we are tired and just want our kids home - he sends one of you with a bit of encouragement.  Thank you for letting him use you.  We can't wait to see what the next months have in store!

Lots of love,
The Chalos Family of Four