2

Today, my baby girl turns 2 years old on the other side of the world.  Actually- where she is her birthday is almost over.  My prayer since we accepted her referral was for her to be home by her birthday and not have to spend another one in an orphanage.  But, that was not God's plan, and while I am sad that she spent yet another birthday without her family- I know that God is still good, and I am thankful for her sweet nanny loving her while we aren't there.  She is her momma for now, and I am grateful.  This day brings mixed emotions.  Sadness that my sweet girl isn't here, yet joy that she is going to be home soon and this was the last birthday spent without a big celebration, Coalson style(birthdays are a big deal around here)! And then sadness again when I think about her birth momma and what this day means for her. We are two women, who share a love for one little girl, and today we are probably feeling many of the same emotions, as we are both without her.  I just cannot imagine- but I am so thankful for the choice that she made.  I am so grateful for her sacrifice of love, and I pray that she knows how dearly loved her precious little girl is.  So, while I would love for this post to be adorned in pictures of my girl in a tutu and eating cupcakes here with us and I could tell you what all her favorite things are- I am praying and loving her from across the world today.  Happy 2nd Birthday precious girl! We love you so much and we can't wait to hold you soon!!

Auction Result and We are Submitted!!!

Y'all I am just praising God for his goodness and faithfulness this week! Our auction was a HUGE success! I mean blow our minds huge success! God provided in big ways through this auction and we are SO thankful! We were hoping to make around $1000 on the high end, but I am so excited to report that we were able to raise over $2200!!! Seriously! We are just in awe at the provision! This will cover the majority of our travel expenses for our next trip-huge blessing! Everyone who participated in the auction was so incredibly generous and thank you is just not enough. We are so, so thankful for everyone who is helping us get sweet Ryah home! Each of you had a hand in helping change the world for this one little girl- what an awesome blessing!

And the icing on the cake yesterday was waking up to an email from the Embassy saying our case had been SUBMITTED! Praise the Lord! We are so close to getting her home! We would greatly appreciate prayers for this part of the process to go quickly! What happens now is that the US Embassy basically goes back and checks everything that the ET government has already done(sounds crazy I know- but they are in the process of changing this). We are beyond ready for our sweet girl to be home! And Lord willing it will happen soon!! We were told this part of the process was pretty backed up- but we have started to hear that things are turning around- so please pray! Hoping to have another update soon!

Auction Starts TODAY!!!

It's here! The auction starts right now, 4pm EST!!

Head over to:

https://www.facebook.com/ryahsauction 

and check out all the awesome items that have been donated to help us bring our daughter home! All the proceeds from the auction will go directly towards travel costs for our 2nd trip to pick up Ryah! The auction will run until 10pm EST Tuesday, October 22. So make sure you head on over and do some Christmas shopping, birthday shopping, or maybe just a treat for yourself! Thank you to all of our donors who have generously donated so many awesome items!! Please share the link with all your friends, the more people who see the auction, the better!  Happy Bidding!!!

https://www.facebook.com/ryahsauction

Auction Sneak Peek!

I am so excited about the auction coming up! We have over 50 items donated(and more keeps coming!)so far and I can't wait for you to see them all- so much great stuff! All items have been so graciously donated and it has been a blessing for me in the midst of our frustration and sadness to see items just keep coming in! God is providing for our sweet girl to come home! All proceeds from the auction are going towards our travel/in country costs for our 2nd trip to pick up Ryah! So please help us spread the word and tell your friends to get some of their Christmas shopping done with our auction! The auction will start Oct. 20 at 4pm and will run until Oct. 22 at 10pm EST.  The auction will be on Facebook and I will post the link here on the blog when it's live, but hopefully with it being on Facebook it will be easier to share. A huge THANK YOU to everyone who has donated items so far!!  Without further ado- here are just a few of the items you will have a chance to bid on!

Be sure to check back for more updates and the link for the auction when it goes live Sunday!!

Weary

Friends, today I am just weary in this wait.  This is the hardest thing we've ever had to do.  We have not been submitted to the Embassy this week.  We apparently received misinformation, and we are still waiting on some medical test results to come in.  We have no idea how much longer we will have to wait. We totally and completely signed up for this with Ryah being a waiting child-knowing that these test would be required when we got to this point.  But knowing that, and thinking they are already done is exactly where we were until about 4:00 yesterday afternoon, and then I received the email that this test was not back yet. And we likely have weeks/months more waiting ahead of us.  Honestly, I want to scream.  To the system, my sweet Ryah is just a stack of paperwork that will get done when it gets done.  To us, she is a beloved, precious daughter who should have been home months ago and is now still growing up in an orphanage.  The system is broken, this world is broken.  My daughter will celebrate yet another birthday not in the arms of a family.  Our hearts are aching. I would get on a plane right now if it would make any difference.  If we could afford to stay in the country until all of this was resolved, we would do it in a heart beat.  But we wait. Heartbroken, weary, and just wanting our daughter home.  I have been trying to soak myself in the Word today and last night after getting this news.  We know that He is in control and his purposes are greater.  This is what I have been reading:

"From of old no one has heard or perceived by the ear, no eye has seen a God besides you, who ACTS for those who WAIT for him" Isaiah 64:4

And John Piper reminded us that God acts while we wait. We are begging him to act on behalf of our sweet daughter. To do a miracle that can only point others to him.

"In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, so that the tested genuineness of your faith-more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire- may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ."

1 Peter 1:6-7

I want this to be the cry of my heart. We want his glory to shine through our story. Because the truth is, obviously, we cannot do this on our own. We are not strong enough. We need our Father to act. Ryah is in his hands, and we have to trust. We have to trust that our Father is good and our daughter will come home. He will finish what he started.

Auction Date and Prayer Request!

So we have set a date for our online auction! We already have lots of great items that have been donated and we are still accepting donations! You are not going to want to miss this auction, early Christmas shopping anyone? Email me at the address below if you would like to donate anything- you don't have to be local!

Also, we found out today we have everything we need to be able to submit our case to the Embassy! Praise the Lord!! Please pray with us that everything will be translated in time to submit everything next Wednesday. Our agency can only submit on a Wednesday, so if it isn't done then, we will have to wait yet another week.  So we are praying hard that next week is it- one step closer to Ryah coming home!!