What our sister can do

Today Noah and I got to go to the pumpkin patch with his preschool class. We had a great time with beautiful weather. As he picked his pumpkin out he yelled, " We HAVE to take our sister here!" That is where we are right now. Waiting on the court date and then travel dates to follow. We look forward to seeing what our sister can do in the coming months. Thank you God for the safety and care she is getting. Thank you for entrusting us to give her the same when she arrives.

Ethiopia

Here are some stats about Ethiopia. Everytime I read them my eyes get watery. Our daughter WAS part of the 5-million. I say 5-million minus 1. What a gift to raise this baby. We are blessed. -Sarah

*There are approximately 5 million orphans in a country less than twice the size of the state of Texas.

*Between 60-150 million kids live on the streets

*One in six children die before their fifth birthday.

*One in ten children die before their first birthday.

*Half the children in Ethiopia will never attend school; 88% will never attend secondary school

*In the 1980's one million Ethiopians died of starvation

*Some areas still practice female circumcision

*82% of the population survives on less than 1 dollar a day

*Only 24% of households have access to safe drinking water

*Ethiopia’s doctor to children ratio is 1 to 24,000

*Children and family are honored above all else

*1 in 3 people are HIV+, the average life expectancy is 37

Our first LOST tooth!

A couple of weeks ago Sean came crying to me because he had bumped his mouth and now his tooth was loose. I calmly replied, "That's okay baby. Soon all of them will fall out." That may not have been the best thing to say to my sensitive Sean. He was not very enthusiastic about this news. I am thankful to say that after living with a wiggly tooth for awhile he became very proud about this new stage in life. The big event occurred on the way to church on Wednesday. From the back of the car I hear, "Mom! My tooth is gone." I said, "Cool! Do you have it in your hand?" Sean says, "No, it's gone." I assume the first lost tooth is swallowed. Then the conversation turned to talking about what actually happens to a swallowed tooth. I will spare the whole blogging world the details. Tonight it hit me that my oldest baby is OLD. I'm all of a sudden mourning his tiny years. He is already a little boy. He does so much independently and of these things I am extremely proud. God has blessed me to be a part of two boys lives and I pray that he will give me the wisdom, patience, love, and strength to raise mighty men who love the Lord. Thank you God. Let me take time to enjoy each small moment. -Sarah

As for man, his days are like grass, he flourishes like a flower of the field;
the wind blows over it and it is gone, and its place remembers it no more.

Psalm 103:14-16

Court Date

We have a date with the Ethiopian Government! Oct.12th we have our scheduled court date. This is when we will officially become parents of Baby A. How cool is that!!! When we pass court on that date ( note the positive attitude I have towards the outcome) we will get our travel dates. The end of October or early November is looking like the time frame. We just had our travel conference call with the agency and got a rundown of how things happen when we arrive in country. They gave a lot of information but all I listened for was the part of getting my daughter. This is going to be so exciting for Sarah and I to go together. Our mission trips in the past have been apart from each other but this mission trip is a together deal! Thank you God for a wife of a like mind and heart! Thank you God for a supportive family to surround us! Thank you God for a church that raises us up to reach our full potential for Your glory! Thank you above all for your sacrifice on the cross! Without your death, we could not have life.
Chris Steward

The Video

Today we received a video of our baby girl in Ethiopia. I can't tell you what it means to me to see her move around and play. She is beautiful and has this sneaky kind of playful thing going on that just makes we want to get on a plane and bring her home. Oh wait I get to do that soon. In Gods timing of course. After 21 years of this little girl being on my heart, I see now the light at the end of the tunnel. God in spite of myself and my mistakes you love me enough to answer my hearts desire. Thank you God for your daily mercy and grace. Thank you for having a plan and purpose for the Steward family. Living for your Glory!
Chris Steward

God is so Real Right Now

OK so now we have the picture of our baby girl. We can't post them or her name on the blog until she is officially ours. I can tell you this though, God knew she was ours from the beginning of time. Every little detail that we have needed has and is still being met. The spoken questions we have. The unspoken questions we have, are all being answered. Baby A had very little documented medical history when we first saw her. This of course caused me to have some unease. Those of you that know me would say I am a very deep thinker. I'm inquisitive to say the least. My wife is such a woman of faith. She just goes after what God wants and trust Him, where I will follow Him but usually I have to ask questions and fight it out first. I love her more and more each day. We balance each other out.
Today we received over 20 new documents on Baby A's medical records. Another adoption agency had her for a period and did a great job with getting things in order. These records, by Gods grace,are now in our hands and being reviewed by our doctor. Thank you God for letting me be good old stubborn me. Thank you God for knowing exactly how I'm wired and what I need. You are the King of Kings, My Lord of Lords!
God is so real right now!
Chris Steward

She looks like our sister!

Yesterday while I was fixing my hair my cell phone rang. When I looked at the number I knew that it was our adoption agency. I thought that it was a strange time to be getting a call from them because it wasn't time for our monthly update. Christy our case worker started the conversation the same way she always does by asking how I am doing. We continued on through the usual small talk and then Christy said, "I have a little girl I want to talk to you about." Of course my heart started racing. She told me that the little girl was 20 months old and that she had some medical issues. She wanted to know if I was interested in seeing this child's "complete" medical and history report. I use the term complete loosely because there is nothing complete about the report but it is all the information they have about baby A. We cannot publish pictures or her name because she is not legally ours. I agreed to look at her information and called Chris to tell him the news. We have decided to proceed with the adoption. She is beautiful and I believe that God made her for us. The title of my post today comes from a comment made by Noah. My friend showed Noah a picture of baby A. and asked him who she looked like. He pointed to her and said, "She looks like our sister, brown! Not like us!" For me it was a great moment because in his innocence Noah explained our newest member perfectly. SHE IS OURS even though she is unique. The process from here will probably take 2-4 months. Keep us in your prayers. -Sarah

Yet the Lord longs to be gracious to you; he rises to show you compassion. For the Lord is a God of justice. Blessed are all who wait for him! Isaiah 30:18