Missing Ada

We just received new pics of Ada today. It has been 5 weeks since we were with her in Ethiopia and she has changed so much. My heart is aching everyday that passes without her. Please pray that our agency will submit her paperwork to the US Embassy SOON!! Pray the US Embassy will approve our case in a timely manner. We want to bring her home!!!!!!!!! 

And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. Romans 8:28



Laser Boy

Clay gathered up a few of Mason's buddies and their dads to play laser tag for his 7th birthday. The kids had a blast running around and "shooting". I think the dads had fun too :) So glad Mason was able to celebrate since it is always hard to pull a party together this close to Christmas.

Thankful!!

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving weekend in Ozark with Clay's family. My dad joined us for dinner which made it even more special!!

 The Cooks!!

 Paw Paw and Lyla Grace

 Grandmama and Isa

 Turkey Bowl

 Will & Clay being reminded how old they are :)

The boys

Our turkey turns 2

Tate's birthday was on Thanksgiving this year so we were able to celebrate with Clay's family in Alabama. Clay's aunt made an amazing birthday cake with his 3 favorite things...an Auburn truck filled with letter cookies splashing in a puddle.

Tate is such a blessing to our family. His sweet snuggly spunky always moving and enthusiastic personality makes being his mom AMAZING and WONDERFUL!!! I love this little boy and so thankful for him!!!!

Our Adoption Journey-Part One

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We passed court...Yippee!!

Introducing our sweet baby girl Ada Beteal Rein...isn't she beautiful!!! We had an amazing time with her in Ethiopia!! I wish I was able to write more details but I'm emotionally and physically exhausted!! Please join us in praying that we will be able to bring her home very soon.

We know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. Romans 8:28

A glimpse of our baby girl

We got to see a picture of our baby girl today...such a blessing!! I am constantly checking the site that families from our agency post to when they are visiting the care centers and tonight there was a close up :)
Words can't describe how beautiful she is!!! Hopefully we will pass court shortly after our appointment on Nov. 4th and then we can finally post pictures.
We leave Tuesday to meet her!!! So excited, anxious, and trying to remember every second that God is in control of all of this and knows the outcome already (isn't that cool)!!!
Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving present your requests to God. (Philippians 4:6)

Sooooo Excited!!

We received new pictures and measurements of BB today. I can't describe how beautiful she is...as soon as she is offically ours I will be able to post a picture :) She is getting so big...7 months this week. I can't believe we have missed so much of her life already. We are traveling in 4 weeks to meet our baby girl!!! My emotions are all over the place happy, sad, hopeful, anxious.  I will be taking 2 large duffle bags full of donations for the care centers. I am including a list of items just in case anyone is interested in helping me fill them up!!
diapers any size
diaper rash cream
baby lotion
baby soap & shampoo
tooth paste
tooth brushes (toddler & school age)
wide tooth combs for ethnic hair
toys
leapfrog toys for  learning
bumbo seats
cortisone cream
neosporin ointment
band aids
bottles
gently used clothes
croc style shoes

Feel free to email me and I can arrange pick up for any items you are willing to donate or you can donate money by clicking my donate button.
Thanks for all of your prayers and support!!

Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus. 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

Love my hubby!!

If you don't know my husband I'm sorry!! He is the best man I know...by far!!! I started working part time about a month ago to help us raise money for our adoption and it has been a HUGE adjustment for our family. He has been so supportive and helpful picking up the slack in all areas! We are so thankful to have him show up and be the leader of our family. Thank you Clay for loving me so well!!!!

Flag football

Mason started playing flag football a couple weeks ago. Grandmama and Granddaddy came in town to watch his game on Saturday. He was so proud to show off his skills for them. I know I'm his mom and supposed to think this but he is really good and fast...just like his daddy!!!

 Lyla Grace and Tate got some snuggle time with Grandmama and Granddaddy.

War Eagle

Uncle Will brought Eric and Isabella over for our Weekly Auburn football tailgate party. The kids loved playing together and cheering for Auburn. The kids did not have much game watching time due to excessive playing :) Love that!!

Summer Playdays

I love when our kids really enjoy the simple things in life!!! This was Tate's first real introduction to playing in the hose and he LOVED it!! It is also crazy to think that people are dying all of the world because they don't have access to clean water. We are so blessed!!!

 Tate is obsessed with letters...no joke. He learned almost all of them at about 15 months old. Everywhere we go he is pointing to letters and today he became fascinated with the storm drain.

Our baby girl

We received new pictures of our baby girl today. So exciting to see her growing and yet so sad to see how much we are missing!! She is six months old and she will probably be a year before we get to bring her home. Everyone tells me the time will go by fast but it seems like forever! We will be leaving for Ethiopia on November 1st to meet her and go to court. Please pray all documents will be submitted and approved for us to pass court on November 4th.

Tee 'em high and let 'em fly

The golf marathon was last weekend and I am so happy, grateful and thankful to say that we raised several thousand dollars!!! The guys played over 100 holes...yes 100 holes of golf and the heat index was over 100 degrees. Here are some pictures of the guys. They all sacrificed a lot to help us raise money for BB and we are so thankful for each of them. Thanks Ben, Bryan, Ryan, Dustin, Chris, Will, Scott (thanks to their sweet wives too!!) and my dad who drove from Tennessee to help support us. God has shown up in a big way and we feel so blessed that he has given us the opportunity to be parents to this precious girl!!

Bringing BB Home One Hole at a Time

We are having a golf fundraiser this weekend to help us bring baby BB home from Ethiopia. Now that we have a court date in November we get to make plans to meet her...can't express how exciting this is in words!!!
Several of our dear friends, Clay's brother and my dad will be playing "Marathon Golf" (100 holes in one day) on Saturday, August 20th. You can help us by sponsoring Clay for $1 per hole (or any amount you would like to donate). It is a short par 3 course so hopefully they will not seriously injure themselves trying to accomplish this task.  Any contribution will be greatly appreciated and will go to an account strictly for the adoption process. The money raised will help us with plane tickets and the costs of the adoption which will exceed $30,000.
Donations can be made by clicking on the button at the top right corner of our blog.

Thanks to those of you who have already sponsored Clay!!!! We are amazed everyday by your generosity and support for our family!!

We have a COURT DATE...yippee

So happy to say that our official court date is November 4th. We are so excited that we are scheduled before the courts close for the rainy season. Praising the Lord today to be another step closer to having BB in our arms!!!

It takes a village

It has been miraculous to watch God bring so many people together for His glory. This weekend we had an adoption fundraiser garage sale to help raise money for our plane tickets to Ethiopia (we will travel twice). Several of our friends and family donated items for us to sell (Thank you, Thank you, Thank you). We were able to raise $1600...can you believe it??? I don't know why I am surprised when God moves in a big way. The kids also had a lemonade stand and our sweet 10 year old neighbor Jasmine baked cupcakes and helped us all weekend. My sweet friend Mindy volunteered her entire Friday to help me with the sale. Our babysitter volunteered to watch Tate on Friday and my best friend Heidi took Tate to her house on Saturday (hard to focus with a 20 month old trying to run into the street). It was awesome to be able to share our story with so many people that I would have never had the opportunity to meet. Complete strangers were praying with us and so excited for us! It was great to show people pictures of BB and talk about her for 2 days...it really makes me want to hold her and love on her more than ever!!!
We are still waiting to hear from our agency about our scheduled court date. If we don't hear anything this week then it will be the first of October before we will know (the courts close for 6 weeks due to the rainy season). We know all of this is in God's perfect timing but selfishly I want to know soon!!!

 My mom made us shirts to wear for the sale (The shape of Africa with a heart on Ethiopia).

    Our mail woman was our first customer on Saturday...the kids were so excited!! Lyla Grace walked around showing people the pictures of baby BB and telling them "This is my baby sister in Africa". She was so proud!!

Forgot to take pictures of Friday so this is Saturday morning and we sold most of the stuff already (people were so generous with their donations).

Adoption Fundraiser Garage Sale

We are having a garage sale this Friday, Aug 5th & Sat., Aug 6th from 7am to 1pm to help raise money for our plane tickets to pick up BB. Just wanted to post a list of some of the things we will be selling. Thanks to all of my sweet friends who donated items to help us!!!! Please pass it on to your friends!!

Video Camera
Laptop
Fax machine
Couch & loveseat
Queen mattress
Desk
Dresser
Nightstand
Coffee tables
End tables
Pottery Barn bar
Chair
Lamps
Men's shirts (XXL, XL, L, M) Pants & Shorts
Women's Clothes all sizes
Kids clothes & shoes
Wood ladder
Mirrors/Wall Decor
Sheet sets
Rugs
Baby Items (Bumbo with tray, bathtub, crib bedding, car seats, snap & go stroller, baby gate, backpack carrier, Diaper champ, cart covers, changing table, potty and lots more)
Kids toys (puzzles, games, kitchen, Dora scooter and lots more)

2 steps closer

It seems like forever until we will be able to hold sweet "BB" (that is our nickname for our baby girl)!! The good news it that we are 2 steps closer. Our paperwork was submitted for a court date on July 18th AND we received our I-171H form today for immigration clearance. We will still have to wait atleast 4 months to meet her and go to court but it makes me feel better that we are taking baby steps.
Please pray for patience and peace during this long waiting process. We truly appreciate all of your prayers and support!!!

Thankful

Several months ago when God began tugging on our hearts to adopt a baby our biggest fear was how would we afford international adoption. After lots of prayer and advice from friends who had been down this same road we decided God was really calling us to adopt even though we didn't have any money. We trusted He would provide. At the time we didn't know what that was going to look like but we started all of the paperwork and began the adoption process. In the last few weeks we have had over 40 families donate money. We feel so thankful and blessed by all of the support from our family and friends. Even families who don't even know Clay and I personally have sent us donations to help us bring our baby girl home. Although we have a long way to go to reach our goal it is amazing how quickly God can move if we just take the first step and trust His plan is much bigger. I feel so thankful to serve such a mighty God!!!

"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." Hebrews 11:6

Big boy bed

Tate started climbing out of his crib a few weeks ago so we decided to make the transition to a big bed. This was his first night in his big boy bed. Hope this was the right decision!!! I have a feeling there is alot less sleep in my future!!

Little Stinker!!

This cute little boy is full of mischief!!! I heard him talking on his monitor when he woke up this morning. Before I could get him he had climbed out of his crib and began walking down the stairs!!! Guess it is time for a tent on his crib or move him to a big bed...not ready for this transition!!!

Day on "the compound"

My sister in laws sweet parents invited us to "the compound" to play and swim. "The compound" is about an hour south of Nashville where her parents and siblings live. They have built an awesome pool for all of the families.  

 Lyla Grace loved riding the tractor. Her cousin Teddy rode with her most of the time and showed her how to drive.

 The slide was a hit too! Tate even slid down...once was enough for him.

Mr. Gobble took Tate and Emma Claire on a ride on the ranger. He was a little scared at first but loved it. The other kids loved riding too.