Tour of Missouri

Ava's papers arrived from Taiwan today. I don't know if you remember, but there were about 6 documents that we had to have signed, notarized and authenticated after our first referral. Well that is the paperwork that has to be redone. So excited that it is already here!

Today I met Chris in Jefferson City after my class for work was finished. We went to the SOS (Secretary of State) office and had the documents notarized and authenticated. Tomorrow I will get up early in the morning and head to Kansas City to have the documents authenticated by TECO (basically the Taiwan embassy here in the States). We are hoping and praying that they will be able to do this while I'm there in the office tomorrow. If that happens we would be able to mail them back to Taiwan tomorrow! However, last time we had to leave the documents there for 2-3 days and then come back and get them to mail them off. Either way, we are blessed to live so close to both SOS and TECO as the process is several weeks shorter than most people's because we don't have to mail them to each place then wait for them to mail them back. So we are hoping to have the documents back to Taiwan by the middle to end of next week!

Once the documents arrive in Taiwan, Ted will take them and apply for the court date. Then, the waiting begins.....again. We really are blessed and praising God that little Ava was planned for us, and this soon! No matter what, we know and trust that the Lord is in control and His timing is best. (We can hope for sooner rather than later though!)

Birthday Gift....

Well, my birthday was Thursday the 26th. Chris took me to St.Louis, we made a Build-A-Bear for Ava and went to PF Changs. I LOVE PF Changs!!! But the best part was my gift. It definitely ranks up there with one of the best gifts I've ever received.

A little background first.... The year I got saved, my Mom gave me a Study Bible. I loved that Bible! It was my first real study Bible after I got saved. I had written special dates in it, I had my notes in the margins, I had written prayers in it that were very personal to me, I had written my list of characteristics I wanted in a husband in it (along with dates and specific guys I had prayed about). It was just very precious and sentimental to me. Well after we were married, I left it up on the kitchen table one day. I came home and the dogs had somehow gotten it off the table and ripped the cover off of it and the first several pages out of it, along with a whole section in the middle that while was intact, was ripped away from the binding. I was so sad and I was devastated. I couldn't bring myself to throw it away, so it's been sitting in a drawer in my nightstand for these almost 6 years.

After we ordered dinner, he gave me my gift. I opened it and it was a brown leather bound book that snapped together in the front. I unsnapped it to find my precious, sentimental Bible rebound with all but 10 or so original pages from the front that could not be repaired/replaced. All my notes, all my prayers, everything there, rebound. Oh I can't even describe how wonderful it was, it brought me to tears. Great gift!!! (My Christopher has always been a good gift giver!) He had 4 place maker ribbons put in it for me. If you could see my current Bible, I have weird things in it to mark various places in scripture I like to go back to or am reading frequently at the time. So thoughtful! Man! Do I have a catch or what!!!!

Dedicated to my forever love, Christopher!
Love you babe, Amy

Ava Mei

Ava Mei was born 8/9/10 weighing in at 6 lb 2 oz. She is a cutie and we are excited about adding her to our family! We don't know a lot of details as of right now, but we look forward to learning about her, watching her grow, and getting to know her personality.

Our timeline as of now starts over from the referral point. All of the baby specific paperwork has to be redone. So we are looking at probably 4 months before we are able to bring Ava home. What a wonderful Christmas present though!

New News

Well, we received a call this morning from THOGL. Seems God has a new little girl to add to our family! We are excited to annouce Ava Mei Earhart, born August 9,2010. She is 2 weeks old and we are looking forward to getting pictures by morning! Will write more later, but for now this is your teaser of God's plan!

PLEASE DO NOT POST ON FACEBOOK!

Blessings,
Chris and Amy

Love and Support

We want to thank everyone for their prayers and support. We have been overwhelmed by the outpouring of love we've experienced from everyone! We have received so many encouraging emails, messages, and phone calls! We are truly blessed and feel the hand of God through this, through you all.

We left Friday evening and went to St.Louis for an overnight gettaway. I lost some money playing Texas Holdem--my once a year random casino fun. But in the words of Chris, that's why you go there isn't it?! We sat in the hot tub. We rode gokarts, ate some food, and did a quick walk through a couple of stores at the mall. Overall, it was nice just to enjoy being together and doing something just plain fun!

We know the Lord has something up His sleeve and we will wait patiently for it, although maybe waiting a little cautiously as well. It is hard to see why He chooses the path that He does for us sometimes, but ultimately, it is not for us to understand. One of my many issues is control--I love to know what's going on, what the plan is, and generally feel some simbliance of control. The Lord has been slowly teaching me how to let go of control and be okay with it. I'm not there yet, but baby steps right (no punn intended).

So that is where we stand for now. Continue to pray with us for Lillian and her family, as well as for THOGL and all the babies there.

Love in Christ,
The Earharts

Court Date

Lillian's birthmother decided to take her back. We will pray for both Lillian and her birthmother. We wish her the best and pray that they both know and love the Lord.

We are hurting, but are learning to accept the Lord's will, as hard as it might be. Thank you for all of your prayers, support, and encouragement.

Praying Scripture

Here is a list of verses I have really honed in on this week. I am praying them diligently and praying that the Lord fulfills the desire of our hearts.

"It does not, therefore, depend on man's desire or effort, but on God's mercy." Romans 9:16

"Yet this I call to mind and therefore I have hope: Because of the Lord's great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. I say to myself, 'The Lord is my portion; therefore I will wait for him.' The Lord is good to those whose hope is in him, to the one who seeks him; it is good to wait quietly for the salvation of the Lord. ...Let him sit alone in silence, for the Lord has laid it on him. Let him bury his face in the dust--there may yet be hope. ...For men are not cast off by the Lord forever. Though he brings grief, he will show his compassion, so great is his unfailing love."
Lamentations 3:21-24,25-26, 28-29, 31-32

"For in this hope we were saved. But hope that is seen is no hope at all. Who hopes for what he already has? But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently. In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans words cannot express. And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit interedes for the saints in accordance with God's will." Romans 8:24-27

"God is our refuge and strength, an ever present help in trouble. Therefore I will not fear, though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea, thought its waters roar and foam and the mountains quake with their surging. ....Come and see the works of the Lord, the desolation he has brought on the earth. He makes wars cease to the ends of the earth; he breaks the bow and shatters the spear, he burns the shields with fire. Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth. The Lord Almighty is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress." Psalm 46: 1-3, 8-11

Thank you to those of you who have shared some of these verses with me. I have been so thankful for all the encouragement and support we are receiving. I look forward to seeing how the Lord unfolds His story. In the meantime, join with us praying these scriptures.

Blessings,
Amy