Sun in the sky, you know how I feel...

Wow! The Lord works in wonderful ways! Just last week my cousin Ellen posted THIS video on her blog. It truly spoke to me and for days I could not quit thinking about it. Zac and I have said for awhile now that we would like to adopt one day, and after my cousin Ellen adopted Nati from Ethiopia, and I saw their process and learned more about that fragile nation, I felt called to adopt from Ethiopia specifically. Just yesterday, I got online to Gladney's website, and requested they send us information on international adoption.Today, I get online and start checking my favorite blogs, and I come across so much stuff, on not just adoption, but Ethiopia!! Coincidence? Nope!
People I have mentioned this to have already started asking questions. Here is how I have answered them so far...
1. "Why?" Well, why not? God calls on us to open out hearts and reach out to the poor and needy, and specifically orphans. We have the ability to help.
2. "Can you not have your own kids?" We might be able to, we might not...we don't know that yet. But we are not considering adoption because we can't have our own...we just know that there are already living breathing babies and children in the world who need a home.
3. "Why not adopt from America...aren't there kids here who need a home?" I have nothing against anyone who chooses to adopt domestically. I applaud all people who choose to adopt. I just personally believe that kids who are not adopted in third world countries have much Much MUCH harder lives than kids in America who are not adopted. Obviously foster care is not ideal for a permanent placement, but our country has a system set up that ensures that children do have homes, food, and schooling. Other countries do not have that, and these kids face much graver conditions. Also, Ethiopia is heavy on my heart. I feel drawn to it. I want to help. We don't really see situations like this one in Texas:

It started out as a small idea, but honestly, with each day that goes by, I feel more and more called to adopt. Lately though, it has not just been an internal thing, it seems everywhere I look I am seeing and hearing about Ethiopian adoption. PLEASE check out Katie and Courtney's blogs...I could not have worded them better myself. I was moved to tears. I literally had to get up and go get a kleenex and get myself together before I could start typing this. I'm not sure if it was the material I saw, or just the fact that things are really starting to click inside of me, and each day it seems to be more of a reality than just an idea. I am scared but excited, feel overwhelmed, yet determined. I can't wait to see how the Lord uses me and Zac, and what He has in store for our future and our family! :)
PS-Y'all know I LOVED the movie Seven Pounds. I watched it again this weekend with my cousins and I loved it just as much the second time. (Even though it's kinda like Sixth Sense, and after you have seen it once and know the end, it's not quite the same, but it's still good!) When I saw that movie in the theater, there was a song that stood out to me. I had never heard it before the movie but it was such a powerful piece in the film that I had to go home and google it. Well, the soundtrack to Seven Pounds is just the orchestra stuff, and none of the songs with words, but luckily my internet skills helped me find the song elsewhere. Well, the song has been stuck in my head since I watched it again on Saturday, and I have been singing it all day. It's beautiful and emotional and all the good stuff. Well, how funny that tonight when I sat down to watch American Idol, my favorite guy Adam sang that song!!!
"It's a new dawn, it's a new day, it's a new life...and I'm feeling good!"

(The song is called "Feeling Good" by Muse. Originally it was by Nina Simone, so obviously it is a remake. Michael Buble also has remade it, and I like his version too.)