Our Absence and Our Crazy Life

Hello to everybody! We don't know if you have noticed our absence...but it has been a long time since we posted! The truth is that we have been in the midst of some big changes and I hate it when people say "we can't really talk about anything yet....but lots of things are changing in our lives so pray for us"....while this is obviously totally fine to say, I just wanted to wait until we could tell you specifics....especially since the specifics affect our adoption and it is hard to post about where you are in the adoption process if you can't talk about it! Anybody follow that confusingness?? I am pretty sure I just made that word up.....

So, here is the dl on the Flowers family....Nathan is changing jobs and we are moving! Weren't expecting that were you??? That's right....about a month ago (probably shortly after my last post), Nathan's dad decided that after 30 years of service it was time for him to step down from the department head position at Rancho Caballo (Frontier's horse program) and move into a job where he can take it a little slower. Nathan will be moving into the position he is vacating which will mean some changes and adjustments for us.....we are excited and probably a little nervous, too! Along with the change in position comes a move to the "ranch house" located at the horse ranch where Nathan's parents have lived for 30 years. Needless to say, this is a huge change for everybody! The official switch of houses has just been decided for sure TODAY and I finally have clearance as of today to talk about all of this! Please pray for Nathan's parents & our family as we all transition to our new roles in ministry/life.....as they seem to be very interwined for us! I think that we are all confident that these changes will be good.....but they are still changes and growing pains are inevitable. For me personally, this means our 4th move in 5 years....hopefully this one will last quite a while but it is still a little hard to move again. I should have known better....we moved when I was pregnant with Eli.....moved when I was pregnant with Abel.....and now are moving during the "pregnancy" with this baby! No more babies! I can't handle all the moving!

Now, onto our adoption.....our homestudy was supposed to be sent off to be approved by the state at the beginning of next week. However, a move requires a visit from our social worker and an update to the homestudy. We are very lucky in that we have been able to make a definite moving plan and figure out that we are moving before our homestudy is sent to the state. The timing will make things soooooo much easier to deal with. The downside is some extra money for the update and a few weeks' delay in going on the waiting list.....the HUGE upside, however, is that it is WAY less money and complication than if we had moved anytime between our homestudy being sent to the state and traveling to pick up our daughter! I have struggled a little bit with the waiting list delay (I know in my head that it is all in God's timing....but the truth is that the heart of a mother is to have her baby HERE...NOW....and any delay is just going to be hard. Period. And that is okay.....it just requires constant "giving up"....and that is ok too!) but am so glad that we aren't moving in 6 months and risking mix-ups in international paperwork exchanges! So, with that said, we are hoping our social worker can come see our new house in the next 2 weeks and then our homestudy will officially go to the state. It usually takes 1 to 2 weeks to get approval...and our part of the dossier has already been certified by the state and is just sitting at our agency waiting. That means as soon as they receive our approved homestudy we will officially be on the waiting list! YEA!!

So....prayer requests. Let's see......did I mention we are moving in 6 days???!!!?!? Well, we are....so we need big prayer there since I had no idea we were moving until 2 weeks ago and no official decision until this afternoon! AHHHHH!!! Also, this is a big one........we need to sell our house! Anybody interested in a 3-bedroom, 2-bath, ranch style home in the heart of the Rocky Mountains?? Let me know.....I promise we'll give you a great deal! Pray for things to go smoothly with the adoption from this point. Pray for the 3 families from our agency who are traveling this weekend to Ethiopia to pick up their children! They are so excited and I pray their travels are so blessed! Pray for those on the waiting lists.....that they would move swiftly. Pray for those waiting for court dates......that they would be shown favor. And pray for the children who are orphans around the world....that they would know the Father's love and that we would step-up as followers of Christ and try to do something about their plight.

Again, and I cannot reiterate this enough, thank each and every one of you reading this for caring enough about this to read this! We appreciate all of your love and support!

Oh! And we just got back from the best vacation EVER with my family and I will post pics of the 2 cutest boys in the world playing in the sand sometime soon!

Much love