Mary Beth | Picker Point

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June24th

Leaving on a jet plane!

Author: Mary Beth | Posted in: Adoption, Travel

Just found out that we need to be in Ethiopia in four weeks to bring our little girl home. Yep, we still got a bit of a wait, but I’m so happy to finally have some dates. Our agency has a huge back log of families waiting to travel, thus the incredible wait.

The cool part is that we will be meeting Evelyn almost a year to the day that we met Josiah. We held Josiah for the first time on July 24, 2009, and we’ll be holding Evelyn close on July 23, 2010. I guess we’re just destined to spend the last part of July in Ethiopia. Wonder what we’ll be doing next July . . .
June19th

Vacation

Author: Mary Beth | Posted in: Adoption, Home Life & Family, Travel

We just got home from our Florida vacation with the Cheathams. We had a wonderful time with some of our very best friends. We LOVE the Cheathams and can’t wait to plan another trip with them when Evelyn and Olivia can be part of the group! I highly recommend becoming best friends with a photographer, and then going on vacation with him. Zach took some amazing pictures during our trip.

These are just a couple of the great shots he got. You can see more on Zach’s website.

While in Florida, we took the opportunity to meet up with our friends Jill and Russell. They were part of our Ethiopia travel group last summer, so Nell and Josiah are adoption buddies, and they are both from the same village.

Aren’t they adorable? It was so fun to spend time with Jill and Russell again and to meet their sons, Raleigh and Jack. Altogether we had 5 kids under 5, so you can imagine how crazy it was. We did manage to get some conversation in.

It’s amazing how quickly you make friends when you share your adoption experience together. We only spent a week with Jill and Russell last summer, but it feels like we know them so much better than that. I hope that we’re always able to keep in touch.

While we were in Florida, Josiah decided that it was finally time to become a walking man. He had taken steps before, but on our last day at the beach he started walking consistently, and now he is definitely a walking dude, and I am one happy momma. The more he walks, the less I have to carry him.

We had a wonderful vacation, followed by a quick trip to Grammie and Pops’s house. But by the end even Caleb was asking to come home. I think we wore him out.

We’re still waiting to hear travel dates to bring Evelyn home. Yes, we’ve been waiting FOREVER. I really feel like we’ll hear something next week, but who knows. Right now, I’m guessing that we’ll be traveling in late July. We are so ready to bring our baby girl home!
May25th

Giveaway Winners

Author: Mary Beth | Posted in: Adoption

Thanks to all that have blogged, facebooked, tweeted, and retweeted about our t-shirt fundraiser. At this point, we’ve sold roughly 150 shirts, which means about $1800 for our travel fund. THANK YOU!

If you would like to order one, please do so NOW, as we are placing our last order with the printer on Wednesday.

The winners of our giveaway are Cimbrey and Sheri! We’ll be contacting you soon.
May16th

Please pray . . .

Author: Mary Beth | Posted in: Adoption
Early Tuesday morning, while we are still sleeping, our adoption case will be heard in an Ethiopian court. I can’t believe that I was writing this same post almost exactly a year ago. You were faithful to pray for us then, and we’re asking you to again. We are still trusting in the same God, who has had Evelyn picked out for us long before we knew anything about it. We know that our case is in His hands, and that we will pass in His perfect time.

It is very common for adoption cases in Ethiopia to be delayed or postponed, but we believe that our little girl needs to come home very soon, so we are asking God to hear our prayers and allow us to pass. Please join us in praying specifically for the following:
- that there will be time for every case to be heard, as we are sharing our court date with many other families
- that there will be electricity
- that the judge will not be sick or unable to come
- that all of our paperwork will be complete and in order, including the paperwork from Ethiopia’s Ministry of Women’s Affairs (MOWA)
- that Evelyn’s birth mother will be present (our case cannot be approved unless she is there) and bring whatever documentation is needed, that God will bless her on her long journey to Addis, and that He will give her peace and comfort during this difficult time.
- that our case and our paperwork will find favor with the judge and that he will give us approval
We may not hear an outcome from our hearing for several days, possibly even a week, but we will let you know as soon as we hear.

“O Lord, let your ear be attentive to the prayer of your servant, and to the prayer of your servants who delight to fear your name, and give success to your servant today, and grant him mercy in the sight of this man.” Nehemiah 1:11

“I call upon you, for you will answer me, O God; incline your ear to me; hear my words. Wondrously show your steadfast love, O Savior . . .” Psalm 17:6-7
May8th

Happy Mother’s Day . . .

Author: Mary Beth | Posted in: Home Life & Family

. . . to my own sweet momma, who taught me what it means to mother . . . to my precious grandmothers who have poured unconditional love over every moment of my life . . . to my wonderful mother-in-law who raised an amazing man and who has been so kind to me . . . to all of the women who have “mothered” me for my entire life, aunts, aunts-in-law, grandmothers-in-law, teachers, mentors, friends . . . to my high school and college friends whom I’ve had the great blessing to watch become mothers . . . to all my “mommy” friends, sisters-in-law, and Bible study partners.

I could never be a good mother without all of you. You have shown me what it means to love, to sacrifice, and to pray for my children, to say “I’m sorry,” take a deep breath, and start over in the morning, to keep giving and keep going, when it feels like there’s nothing left. I can make one more peanut butter sandwich, clean up vomit in the middle of the night, and read one more story because I know you’ve done it too. I know with every tear, every smile, every laugh, you’re right there too, enjoying the amazing, challenging, and bountiful blessing it is to be . . . MOM.

Your encouragement, your wisdom, and your faith inspire me. Happy Mother’s Day!
May1st

Caleb Turns 4

Author: Mary Beth | Posted in: Home Life & Family

This week was Caleb’s 4th birthday. On Tuesday, we woke him up with cinnamon rolls before the kids and I went to Bible Study.

That evening, Casey and I took him on a special “date” while Josiah stayed with Grandma. We went to eat at a Hibachi Grill. Caleb had a wonderful time and loved watching our chef chop, toss, and spin everything. Caleb ended up eating almost an entire plate of fried rice. Yummy! After that, we went to see Oceans at the movie theater.

Today we had friends over for a small birthday party. After tornadoes ripped through our area all night last night, we were expecting to have to move our outdoor party indoors. But the weather cleared up for a few hours this afternoon, though it was incredibly hot and muggy, so we had a few games outside before coming in for cupcakes.

Here is Caleb with some of his best buds.

Check out some of these same kids at his 1st Birthday party.

It’s hard to believe how much they’ve grown in what seems like such a short time! I’m so proud of my sweet little boy. He is such a blessing in our home!

On the adoption front, we received the news this week that we have a court date scheduled for May 18. We’re praying that we will pass court on that day. It is pretty common to be postponed or rescheduled, but please pray that we will pass! Once we pass we will be able to travel to bring home Evelyn 6-8 weeks later! Oh, I can’t wait to get that girl in my arms!
April29th

I’ll Find a Way

Author: Mary Beth | Posted in: Adoption, Spiritual

For the last couple days I’ve been soaking in this song.

This song touches my heart as I find myself, once again, waiting for my baby to come home. Adoption is such a raw, emotional, and challenging journey. And this part, this period of waiting, is one of the hardest parts. Right now my baby girl is a world away from me. Someone else is tucking her in each night, someone else is bathing her, feeding her, and holding her when she cries. I would do anything, anything, to bring her home. This waiting, longing, and hoping is painful, but I highly recommend it. We all need to be reminded that we are longing for something, that we are reaching for something that seems just out of reach. We are not home yet.

This song stirs my heart and brings tears to my eyes when I think about my baby girl, but when I’m reminded that my God feels the same way about me, I am in awe. My love and longing for our little girl is only a fraction of God’s love and longing for me. He has my picture on His piano. That’s one of the wonderful things about adoption and parenthood. Every time I think I have plunged the depths of sacrifice and love for our children, I’m reminded that I haven’t even scratched the surface of God’s love and sacrifice for me.
April8th

Soaking in . . .

Author: Mary Beth | Posted in: Adoption, Home Life & Family

Let it go down in the history books that Grammie bought the first dress. And isn’t it cute? I’ve left it hanging where I can see it everyday, as a reminder that this IS happening, that there is a little girl out there that this dress is waiting on, that she WILL wear it one day, in the next few months, and that I have lots to do to get ready for that day.

Our house has been a blur of activity over the last week as we have celebrated Easter and had family in town. But, in the back of my mind there is a little face that never leaves.

I know that I will spend the rest of my life unpacking this adoption process, examining every detail, and marveling at God’s great provision, His wonderful plan, and His excellent care. But here is what I’ve learned thus far. First, I think that God is making clear to us (especially me) that we are still not the ones in control. We had to trust Him so much with our first adoption process because it was all new, overwhelming territory, but I think that this time around I felt a little too comfortable, a little too “in control.” This last week, I’ve felt God gently remind me, “This is out of YOUR hands. You will have to trust ME.” And, man, has that been challenging. There have been so many unexpecteds with this referral, and it is so easy to be anxious about the things I don’t understand, but I know that He is in control. I have to keep going back to what I learned as a little child: ”When I am afraid, I will trust in YOU.”

And His provision has been so sweet, so timely. He has held us in the palm of His hand and reminded us that when He is in control, He supplies all our needs. We’re overwhelmed with His goodness.

And we’re greatly anticipating all that is to come. Even though this is so different from our first adoption, we already know that nothing compares to this journey, and we are preparing ourselves to be blown away by all that He has planned.
March31st

REFERRAL!

Author: Mary Beth | Posted in: Adoption

Last night we were absolutely knocked over with surprise when we got THE CALL from our adoption agency. It’s true, it happened, and I still cannot believe it. We have a beautiful baby girl. She is almost 18 months old, just over 3 months older than Josiah . . . so it looks like we’ll have “twins.”

We were busy coloring Easter eggs with the boys when the phone rang. For some reason, as soon as I heard the ring, I just knew. It was 6:45pm, kind of an odd time for someone to call . . . unless they are in Oregon and it is only 4:45. I don’t know if I said more than five words to the program coordinator as she was telling me about our little girl. I was speechless!

So, we are still walking around like zombies today, trying to process this incredible news. We never, never, NEVER would have imagined that things would go this quickly. In fact, it’s a little frightening. But we are putting all of our trust in the sovereignty and provision of our God, who knew before time that this is exactly how things would work out. His timing is perfect, and I am trusting that He knows what He is doing.

We should travel sometime this summer to bring her home. I’m guessing July or August, but again . . . who knows? Obviously every prediction that I have made about this process has been blown out of the water.
March26th

#10

Author: Mary Beth | Posted in: Random Thoughts

Well, lots has been going on at the Picker household for the last couple months. I’m sure an update is in order. Sometimes I feel like the only people that read this blog are people that we see everyday, so, unless I have something profound to say, I often forget to blog. But there may be a few others that read and would like to know what we’ve been up to. I know for sure that my grandma in Kansas reads and would like an update.

First of all, thank God for spring. I’ve always felt that there is a huge collective sigh when the weather turns warmer. At least there is here at the Picker house. Momma’s happier in the spring, and that makes everyone happier. We’ve enjoyed spending a few warm afternoons in the backyard. We’ve been on a few family walks, and Casey and I have both started running again. We’re looking forward to Casey’s and Caleb’s birthdays in April. My firstborn is going to be FOUR years old! Yikes!

On the adoption front, we got our home study and dossier turned into Holt last week. On Thursday, when our dossier was approved, we were told we were about #33 on the waiting list for a referral. A referral is when we are matched with our little girl. #33 sounded pretty good to me, and I settled down to get ready for our 4-6 month wait. Well, evidently a huge number of referrals came in this week because yesterday I found out we had jumped up to #10! We are so surprised and excited. When we adopted Josiah, we were #9 on the waiting list when we got our referral, so #10 feels like things might happen fast. Of course, everything could slow down now, and we could still wait a couple more months, but , on the other hand, it could be any day. Now, every time the phone rings, the thought crosses my mind, “Could this be it?”

I have to admit that I’ve tried hard not to get too emotionally involved in the adoption process to this point. I have known that there is a little girl out there who needs us, and who we need, who we will absolutely fall in love with, and who will be the perfect addition to our family, but I have reminded myself that I’ve got plenty to focus on at home right now with my two sweet boys. I was ready to have a nice quiet summer with Casey, Caleb, and Josiah, and possibly get a referral towards the end of the summer or even this fall.

Well, finding out that we are #10 has definitely changed my outlook. My heart is now engaged . . . can you believe it? I’m getting a baby girl! And the truth is, we could be getting a referral this spring!

Casey and I have been chatting a lot about girl names over the past few weeks, and I think we’ve just about made the choice. Casey is hesitant to commit and wants me to remind everyone that we are reserving the right to change our minds if the name doesn’t fit her sweet face or go with her Ethiopian name. But I’m pretty sure this will be it; the name we’ve chosen is: EVELYN. If you love it, let us know; if you don’t, we’d rather not hear about it. We both really wanted a pretty name, and I love the way Evelyn rolls out of your mouth. I had a great-grandmother named Evalyn, so it’s also a family name. Anyway, she is Evelyn in my heart right now, and you’re welcome to refer to her as that unless you hear otherwise.

Well, the boys are screaming, and Casey is telling me we need a family outing, so off I go!