127 Faith Journey

I can't believe it's been a year!

2010-07-01T18:52:00.000-07:00

On July 1st, 2009 we finally passed court in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia to bring home Mirak Olivia and Mistire Hope Murphy! What an incredible year it has been! I remember the day we passed court.....we just jumped and cheered, screamed and then started hyper-ventilating! Oh my, this was it.......they were REALLY ours!!! After all the prayer, all the heartache and tears....it was finally going to happen. Then we went about making preparations to travel. We didn't have near the wait or problems that some adoptions had but considering all of our years of infertility and secondary infertility, we were SO happy to have this part of our journey coming to an end!

We have seen them change SO much. Everything has grown! Their height, hair, several clothing sizes, shoe sizes, and them some things that are unseen but heard like language, dialect and their desire to know more about Jesus. About two months after they were here in America, I heard Misrak speaking to Misti in the backseat of our car. She just kept talking and talking to her in Amharic..... and by her tone, I could tell she was asking Misti questions......and Misti was NOT responding. She had lost her language and I was sad. Misrak kept speaking it for another few months but by six months or so, I didn't hear any more. As a matter of fact, there is a boy (13 years old) that is in her school that is fluent in Amharic and kept trying to talk to her but she admitted one day that she didn't think she even WANTED to speak it anymore! Ugh, I had hoped it wouldn't happen.

Enjoy these shots of the days before we knew them!

Too much to cover!

2010-06-01T14:53:00.000-07:00

Well, blogging has been last on my list these days. I'll have a few minutes to work on it and realize, there is WAY TOO MUCH to cover in the amount of time I have, so I give up before I start.

Summer is here and the days of sleeping in and staying up late are upon us - BIG smile :) Riley did great in his first year of middle school with a 3.47 GPA and is now, unbelievably.......a 7th grader!! How did I get this old? Seriously, I am SO proud to be his Mom, even if he is officially now too old to hold my hand in public. He decided to give up swimming this summer in order to work on his new favorite sport, Lacrosse! Which he is quite good at I might add. After we signed him up I realized it was a full contact sport. DUH! Thankfully, the contact is not quite as brutal as football. Maybe it will be good for some of his pre-teen angst!

Misrak also did excellent in her first year of school here in America. She really did great especially for someone who began the year not knowing a lick of English! She loves math and is really good at it and her love for reading is growing now that her comprehension is growing. We recently instituted a "chore chart" and her reaction was "FINALLY! Now I know what I'm supposed to do!" She is such a worker bee! Little does she know that due to her reaction, she will be getting a much bigger list in the very near future! ;)

Misti....Oh, Misti! We cannot go anywhere without someone commenting on HOW adorable she is. And boy is she working it! She finished up 3 year old preschool with a bang and already misses her teachers and classmates whom she prays for every night to have a good summer. She truly has all of us wrapped around her little finger.

Here are some pics of our recent family outings! Strawberry Picking, Chimney Rock, Riley and Dad Backpacking in Mt Rogers, The Zoo with Grandma and Easter!!

Chapel rocked!

2010-03-18T17:21:00.000-07:00

Recently, Misrak's class performed for her school's chapel service which is held once a month. The kids really look forward to chapel because it is geared special towards them! There were rehearsals and special music to be learned. Each of them even had lines to learn. Misrak's line was "Jesus wants YOU to go fishing for people, too!"

When I thought of Misrak getting up on stage and performing in front of hundreds of people, I didn't even blink an eye because I knew she was born to perform! She prayed (SO CUTE) intensely every night before the big performance that she (and her class) would not be scared and really sing good for God. All went great, everyone remembered their lines and at the very end, the principal asked Misrak to read John 3:16 and 17. She was very proud and felt honored to be chosen for this! Her family was very, very proud of her, too!

Before and After :D

2010-03-18T13:35:00.000-07:00

So we've had major dental surgery in our house. Misti was an absolute trooper! She went under general anesthesia for a 2 hour process to remove 5 teeth (2 of them were abscessed) get 4 crowns, 3 replacements and 3 fillings....whew! Poor thing. She really did great though and loved the popsicles afterwards. Check her out, man her smile is so pretty now!

Sledding!! and snow, snOW, SNOW!!

2010-02-17T14:18:00.000-08:00

It's been a Winter wonderland for a change here in Charlotte! Nothing like snow in the south! The girls thought it was pretty and loved the IDEA of playing in it buttttttt enjoyed being in it for about 20 minutes. ha!

Birshday Celebration!

2010-01-13T13:23:00.000-08:00

A first American "Birshday" celebration was had on January 13th for Misrak Olivia who was turning 7! The girls say "birshday" and so, it has kinda stuck. We had yummy Ethiopian food the night before the big day. Misrak was concerned as to WHEN we would celebrate her birshday. She had seen many children celebrate their birshday at school with cupcakes. (What she didn't know was that those same children probably had a family or family and friends celebration also.) She really wanted to celebrate with her family. She thought it was EITHER OR! She was quite pleased to hear we could do both! So, Mom brought cupcakes to class and the whole class sang to her and treated her like Queen for the day! After school we took a fun detour to Monkey Joe's where the kids jumped and bounced their heads off and then stopped home to open gifts before heading out to small group where we indulged in chocolate cake (albeit a bit too late in the evening) and ice cream with our family and friends.

Happy New Year!

2010-01-10T13:42:00.000-08:00

After Christmas at home, we celebrated round 2 of Christmas at Grandma Sandy's in the ATL. Lots of fun was had with the Aunts, Uncles and cousins too! Riley got to stay up and watch the ball drop, a first I think! He's growing up way too fast! Many games of Wii Resort Sports were played, sparklers were lit and playing "dress up" was a new hit with the kids since the girls have come!

These are the "good 'ole days"

2009-12-26T17:09:00.000-08:00

Our first Christmas together as a family of five was fantastic. Oh sure, we have had our ups and downs over these last few months, but overall, I know we'll look back on this as a SWEET, SWEET time! These are the good 'ole days, right?

Here are a few highlights of our first Christmas together:

Obviously the American symbol for Christmas is the Christmas tree so EVERY time we saw a Christmas tree ANYWHERE, the girls would point and say "look, Christmas!" Even now, nearly four weeks post Christmas, the girls see regular trees that are shaped like Christmas trees and say "look, Christmas!"

We didn't go with the whole Santa routine with them because, one) Misrak is just too old to start it. Two) we really wanted to instill the TRUE meaning of Christmas and Three) the girls are really relying on us to tell them TRUTH about everything and we are building trust with them. Even though we TOLD her the truth she still kept asking questions.... how he was going to get in "though the fireplace?" "Do the reindeer really fly?" Poor thing didn't know what to believe.

We are really trying hard to keep "America" and "the world" at bay but man, it is really tough. I think we did great at having a modest Christmas and making sure to give to Christ at Christmas. It is, after all, His birthday! And since He isn't here in the flesh to give to, we give to the least of these. We gave Him a portion of a well for clean drinking water in Ethiopia. This is one of Druarto's children (benefitting from the well) that we met while we were there in August. See our giving blog at www.lifeforlangano.blogspot.com I think between our family a few other families we raised enough for an entire well!

Our Christmas eve service at church was cute. All of the children were given costumes as part of the Christmas story. The girls were angels of course. When they got to the part of the story where the angels appeared to the shepherds, the girls had to go up on the stage. They weren't nervous though because they were only 2 of about 20 angels.

We asked the girls what their favorite part of Christmas was. They both answered they loved being all together on Christmas morning and opening gifts together.

Christmas day was spent just the five of us playing with gifts and toys and cooking! whew! Todd cooked a turkey and I made all the sides. We make a pretty good team. I (Emily) cannot IMAGINE doing any of this without him!
>

O Christmas Tree.......

2009-12-13T18:13:00.000-08:00

Each year, I know it's coming. Todd starts talking about it......the DAY that we need to set aside to go choose and cut our Christmas tree in the mountains.

Now, this year I knew would be special because it would be the girls first tree (EVER) and our first year as a family of FIVE! But I don't want to spend an ENTIRE DAY just traveling to Boone, NC to get the tree that looks the SAME as the tree at Lowes Home Improvement that takes one hour to pick out, strap to the car, get in the tree stand and at least get the lights on! I mean, we have stuff to do people!

OK, I tried to be a good sport this year and not argue too much, because after all, it was supposed to SNOW that day in Boone. God blessed us with a beautiful snow, another FIRST for the girls and we had a blast. Misrak was convinced that she would carry the tree back in her lap on the way home. We finally talked her out of it when she realized how COLD and WET the snow coating the tree was. The day of fun began at the tree farm, complete with hot apple cider, a hay ride and Todd nearly killing Riley over their attempt at cutting down the tree with a hand saw. After working up an intense hunger, we had a shepherds pie for lunch at Six Pence Pub in downtown Blowing Rock and then a walk through town complete with a snowball fight! It was c-c-c-cold but f-f-fun.

Memories were made and I guess there will still be time to "get our stuff done!"

Thanksgiving and our first trip to the Beach!

2009-12-13T17:30:00.000-08:00

Wow, how time is flying. The holidays are upon us and we are just swimming to catch up. In November, we got to visit with Todd's family on Ft. Meyers beach in Florida. It was a great time of hanging with the family and enjoying the BEACH for the first time with the girls. They really loved playing in the pool, building sand castles and collecting shells (just like their Grandma)! They LOVED the feeling of the sand in their toes (don't we ALL) but had a hard time standing in the surf because the ground looked like it was moving out from underneath them!

Thanksgiving was a fantastic time of reflection over the past incredibly hard nine months! We have learned to lean a little (ok....a LOT) harder on Him when we didn't know when or IF the girls would ever come to us. There were times when we thought it might all go south and we may never, ever meet them. Today, I can say most assuredly that I cannot imagine our lives without them and that every ounce of prayer, fasting, heartache, heartbreak, growing closer to Him and to each other was WORTH IT! Thank you, God, for bringing these sweet little girls into our lives. We are SO blessed to have them and will try to never take for granted what YOU have done!

Atlanta Bound!

2009-11-16T18:14:00.000-08:00

We had a great weekend in Atlanta visiting our family! It was the girl's first trip away. A long drive, five hours to be exact but that is nothing compared to the marathon car ride we'll take next week to Florida! NOT looking forward to that drive!

They did great in the car and only had to make 2 bathroom stops! Here are some fun pics from our weekend away! You know they had a great time when they cried because they didn't want to leave Grandma!

Pajama Dance Party

2009-11-01T17:33:00.000-08:00

It was a rainy Halloween weekend, five people in a small house and small car, together the whole time, having a lot of fun, yet driving each other just a little bit crazy...bedtime on Sunday night...and a Pajama Dance Party breaks out in the office.

Corn Maze, Pumpkin Patch and Fall Parties, Oh My!

2009-10-28T13:07:00.000-07:00

We've been busy lately exploring and enjoying all that Fall has to offer here in North Carolina.

We enjoyed the corn maize one sunny Saturday afternoon. I think it took us 2 hours to get through which is a LONG time to be staring at corn while you are hopelessly, frustratingly lost! The girls weren't sure what the point was at first but eventually came around.

Misrak had a Fall Party at school and the whole family (including Grandma and Grandpa from FL) got to join her and her classmates for cookie decorating and other fun fall festivities!

Misti and I took a visit to the pumpkin patch yesterday with her preschool class. She loved the wagon ride through the farm, picking out a pumpkin and playing in the corn pit and playground. It really took me back to the early days of Riley's visits to the pumpkin patch with friends!

Grandma and Grandpa Murphy

2009-10-21T13:20:00.000-07:00

We had a great weekend in the cooooool weather this past weekend with Grandma and Grandpa Murphy! They had come up from Florida for the weekend to enjoy some fall festivities and to spend some time with their grandchildren! The girls were so excited to sing

Happy Birthday to Grandpa and to have cake! We traveled on Saturday to Blowing Rock. While we were there it was SO cold that it even spitted some snow on us! Wasn't enough for the girls to even notice but it still came down!

It's all about the hair........YAY! We did it!

2009-10-10T10:49:00.001-07:00

Well, after a month of thinking about it and preparing myself, I finally took the plunge into the huge unknown world of hair! My friend Carmen gave me some tips and sent me on my way. Oh boy! My first attempt was with Mist's hair which is interestingly very soft and much like my own but very curly. I couldn't believe it, but she sat very still for about 45 minutes! It turned out okay and looked pretty cute (She loved it!) but in about 8 hours it was coming out all over the place. I had to take it out the next morning so I'm not sure 45 minutes was worth it if I couldn't leave it in for at least a day or so!

Next attempt....Misrak, who has enough hair to give to five children! I knew it would be tough but I felt up to the challenge. She was SO happy that I was going to try. I didn't braid her whole head this time. I thought I would try just a few this time to see how hard it would be. It turned out great and she was very pleased! Yay! I am so psyched!

Finding my way....

2009-10-06T18:00:00.000-07:00

It is interesting being a new Mom of three. In some ways, I think this is really easy and in some ways it is REALLY hard. The girls are not infants and don't need me for every thing they do but this is the very thing I have the complaint about! They do not NEED ME for every thing they do! I really enjoy the alone time that I get with Misti. She isn't in school as long or as many days as Riley and Misrak. She still NEEDs me for a lot of things and it makes me reminisce about the early days with Riley. I think I am grieving that lost time with Misrak. I didn't get to bond with her in her early years and it makes it harder for me to bond with her now. I know, I know....it has only been a month! It just comes easier with Misti because she needs me.

Don't get me wrong, Misrak is SWEET SWEET SWEET! She tells me a hundred times a day that she loves me AND she writes it on little slips of paper. The latest one says "mam and DaD anD riley and Misti I Love you Thanks so maTch I Love you" complete with hearts of course! And another one says "Mam. I Love you Thank you. Fou clothes and play and Book. MaM I Love you" ......how cute and sweet is that??? Her eyes are always watching me to see if I am pleased with her. She is always watching to see if there is a way she can be useful. She loves to help by sweeping or tidying up, opening doors for me or carrying my purse. I am so blessed!

I am praying today for ways that Misrak and I can bond and so I do not feel distant or estranged from her. I know she wants it badly, too.

Take a Hike

2009-10-03T17:46:00.000-07:00

One of our favorite past times is hiking. We have always just loved getting out and enjoying cool mountain air, beautiful views and just being together! The kids had a day off from school on Friday and we decided we needed to take a hike on South Mountain, NC! The girls had never been on a Murphy hike so we were a bit worried they would not be up for the challenge but they SO rose to the occasion. Here are pics to prove it! Afterwards, we had some fabulous homemade ice cream at Redbone Willy's. A day to remember!

Cycling anyone?

2009-09-22T14:32:00.000-07:00

Fun days are here now that it is a little cooler and we can play outside without sweating up a storm :) Misti loves being pushed around on the little Kettler. Her legs barely reach the pedals, bless her heart and Misrak is a little more daring with going down the big hill......only with Riley at the wheel! She's crazy for trusting that dare devil!

Is this how you get into school in America?

2009-09-16T18:16:00.000-07:00

So, Friday the girls had to go to the doctor for the first time. He was great and took an HOUR with us! Unheard of in this day and time, right? He decided it would be best to have blood drawn and come back for vaccinations. Monday we went back for vaccinations and more tests...oh joy! More tears! I told them they had to have these shots in order to go to school here. They each had five! Misti couldn't even walk the whole next day! I know they were thinking....."what in the world?!?!? Why would we WANT to go to school in America?!?!?"

Today was their first day of school - whooo hooo! They both did wonderful. Misrak's school has even offered an English tutor for 30 minutes every day to strengthen her English! She is a wonderful older lady who sees this as a mission opportunity! We are SO blessed as this is unheard of in our school. It is a private school and not publicly funded so we figured we would have to figure out our own tutor and arrange transportation to and from, etc! Way to go God and HGBCS! You've blown us away!

The teacher was so cute, she confessed that she had been practicing saying her name at home the night before so she could make her feel welcome. Here's an except from her email to me today. I'm so proud! "She is so sweet and did such a great job today. I hope that she was not overwhelmed with all of the stuff we had going on. She did great in all areas and I know that we are going to have a great year."

So we are into ALL things girlie. We had our first nail extravaganza. I told them I would do toes this time and then we'd go for the full mani and pedi next time! Whew, not sure why I promised that! Between painting and RE-touching little bitty's several times I was exhausted. They did look cute though and they thanked me over and over. Too sweet. It was fun I have to admit.

Sweet Siblings

2009-09-11T18:55:00.000-07:00

The girls had to go to the doctor today for some tests and vaccinations. We got through the blood tests and then decided vaccinations could wait until another day. There were tears (but then Mom was okay) and then there was our first McDonalds Happy Meals. This made us all happy.

Riley and Misrak have decided they would like to tease each other.....constantly. Riley told me today he really enjoys having sisters. I'm not sure if this is so he has someone to pick or not but for now, it's working.

In Honor of Todd and a chicken wing

2009-09-11T18:12:00.000-07:00

We must post the first chicken wing. Chicken wings are a stabple in the Murphy household. Misti took the plunge and was excited to see what all the comotion was about. Check her out! She went AFTER it. A true girl after her Daddy's heart.

Good times

2009-09-08T10:18:00.000-07:00

Labor day weekend's weather turned out so nice. We spent a ton of time outdoors enjoying it all. Here are some shots from our weekend.

SO many "firsts"

2009-09-05T18:35:00.000-07:00

There are and will be SO many "firsts" as we get to know and love our girls. This is one I had to blog about.

You should have seen their faces as the pink bathing suits were pulled out of the drawer. You should have heard the squeals of joy as they looked at each others scantily clad figures. You should have seen their expressions when they saw themselves in the mirror.........pure delight.

Let me back up. When we were in Addis, we took a day trip to the Hilton Hotel (where ONLY the wealthy people stay) where they had a playground and a swimming pool. We ate lunch on the patio there and as we ate we could see the pool. I do not think they had ever seen such a thing but I think they thought it looked fun as there was a good crowd there that day. They had obviously never been on a playground either..............but the pool.............they kept looking longingly at.

Today was the day. After lunch, we loaded up the car and headed to the local YMCA Waterpark. Not sure where everyone went this weekend but it was deserted! YES! We practically had the place to ourselves! The girls warmed up quickly to the ankle deep water and then moved on to some slightly knee deep fun. Misti happily went down the duck slide over and over. Misrak was thrilled to finally let the various water sprayers completely soak her!

It was a very good day. Exhausted, they fell happily asleep before 8:30.

Thank you, God, for the little (or big) things in life we take for granted. May we never be so spoiled as to appreciate every little thing you have given us.

Family Matters!

2009-09-04T07:37:00.000-07:00

We are glad to be home and adjusting to life in a semi-routine. Riley went back to school on Wednesday and I miss his help and companionship so much. The girls love him and he is SUCH a good big brother. They are super-blessed to have each other. God surely knew what He was up to when He put us all together.

The girls go for their vaccinations next week and then we'll enroll them in school. Misrak will most likely go into 1st grade and Misti will attend a preschool for a few hours a week while I go back to part-time work.

Here are some highlights of things that have happened since we have been home:

The girls are thrilled with their new room! I thought they would sleep together for sure but....NO WAY. They wanted their own space.

We introduced the girls to the dog on the second day we were home and they were Terrified with a capital "T" I have never seen screaming and trembling like I saw that day. Each day has gotten better since then but I don't see them being friends any time soon as they still avoid my sweet Lucy at all costs. **sniff-sniff**

We went to a playground and suffice it to say they have NEVER been on a swing or on a slide. It was fun seeing them slowly open it up to it and have a little fun.

The escalators in the airport were interesting. Little bitty cried when we got near it and Misrak grabbed a hand a let out a little scream when she stepped on and off of it.

So far, our favorite past time is coloring and jumping on the trampoline. I use "jumping" loosely as they barely move and then fall down laughing.

They are VERY intrigued with running water....ie: toilet, faucets, etc. and they run them constantly....hello huge water bill!

Of course when you've never drank out of a bendy straw before, you're not sure what end or whether you should suck or blow .......they happily did both.

The girls are really good eaters. We've had one or two meal protests but they quickly found out that if they didn't eat, they were hungry until the next meal. I hope that doesn't shock anyone. :) They have lots of food that they love but the very favorite is DABO! pronounced da-bo (short a) which is BREAD! Any form, made any way. Oh, and bananas.

We took our first trip to the grocery store today. Misrak pointed at just about every item in the store and asked, "Mom, what is this?" Precious for the first ten or so items..... ;}

Prayer Requests

2009-08-28T04:53:00.000-07:00

Well, it's as official as it can get. Just a few minutes ago, the girls' passports and visas were delivered to our guest house. There is no reason for us to be here any longer except for the fact that all outgoing flights are booked and we will have to stick with our scheduled flight leaving Addis Ababa on Saturday night at 10:30 p.m. The reservations are confirmed, tickets are in hand...and my mother-in-law commented on my Facebook status that there is apparently a hurricane headed up the US coast, forcast to take the exact track we took on the way over here. NOT GOOD NEWS FOR A WHITE-KNUCKLED flyer. Please pray for a safe flight. Also please pray for our health since Riley, Emily and I are having a hard time with the food after two weeks of being here. We could use a Chick-Fil-A sandwich.

We are looking forward to coming home. We love you all and can't wait to see you.

Peace & (Crazy) Love,

Todd, Emily, Riley, Misrak and Mistire

Home Stretch

2009-08-27T18:34:00.000-07:00

It is 10:45pm here in Ethiopia and we are winding down our time here in ET. We are in the Home Stretch! Pray for our health as the girls are battling coughs and teaching them personal hygene has been interesting (wink wink from Todd).

We have had an incredible time of getting to know each other and our bonding time has been inexplainable! I know we'll have some challenging times to come but really things are going much better than we ever anticipated - Thanks be to God!!. Our oldest, wisest and smartest daughter has been translating for some other adoptive parents here in our guest house. She is most pleased when we notice how smart she is and LOVES being delighted in! Our youngest, most affectionate, socialite loves saying "wudeshallow, Mommy" and wudehallow, Apapa" (I love you) in Amharic. And then she'll translate for us by saying it all in english as well! (after being prompted by her older sister.) We are in LOVE! Everyone comments on happy and well adjusted they seem. I'm in so much trouble as they are by far the most beautiful little girls I have ever layed my eyes on. Little bitty knows it, too.

We have one more full day here and we are emotionally, spiritually and physically drained and are ready to return home to get filled up. We miss you all desperately and cannot wait for you to meet our beautiful, wonderful, most delightful girls!

Love, Emily

Sheep anyone?

2009-08-25T18:36:00.000-07:00

TODD WRITING FOR THE BLOG

This trip has been one incredible day after another. Riley, Emily and I feel like we have been able to really enjoy Addis Ababa because we have had a bunch of time to go sightseeing with the girls, hang out with the eighty kids at the transition house, and just hang out with other families at the guest house. As I write this, the girls are spending time with many of the former house-mates stringing beads together..and coughing. Did I mention that ALL of the kids are getting over a respiratory bug? That doesn't seem to bother any of them, but the mommies are all watching very carefully.

The girls are quickly finding their place in our family and seem to be SO happy, smart, and responsive. It is obvious how well they have been loved by the caregivers at the transition home. We have seen their love for the children first-hand, and we are amazed. As a sort of thank-you gesture, we bought a sheep (yes, a sheep) and delivered it (in the trunk of our taxi) to the transition home earlier today. No doubt by the time I have written this, the caregivers and kids have feasted on a VERY fresh meal of sheep. (Riley couldn't even look at the sheep and I kept my eye on him fearing that he'd sneak out to the courtyard and set it free. We did catch him feeding it a last meal of fresh green grass.)

Please continue to pray for us. Tomorrow, Wednesday @ 1:30 p.m. (6:30 a.m. EST), we will report to the US Embassy to complete the process, allowing us to bring the girls home. We are already very anxious to get them home and are SO LOOKING FORWARD to getting them into their new lives. Until then, we are enjoying Addis Ababa and the sweet time of getting to know each other.

We are continually in awe of God, His presence in this process, and His presence on this trip. He has truly gone before us and prepared the way. What a ride!!!

I wish I had more opportunity to write, but internet connections are unreliable over here (thus the continuing DT's). I've tried to upload a bunch of pictures, but was only able to get one of them to go through. It's on my Facebook page and I'll try to put more up in a day or two. I'll also try to write again as soon as possible.

Again, we love you all and remain mindful and thankful for your support in this roller coaster of a ride. It aint over yet and we need your prayers!

Peace & (Crazy) Love,

Todd, Em, Riles, Misrak & Little Bitty (Misti)

Hugs and Tears

2009-08-24T06:37:00.000-07:00

The past three days have been absolutely amazing. Nothing could have prepared us for the experience of meeting our girls for the first time. Until 08-21-09, Misrak and Mistire had only been faces in pictures, and then…there they were standing in front of us. Hugs and tears flowed freely in that first few minutes and in many times throughout the past three days. We have all fallen in love with each other and it feels almost like we have always been together. We have so many stories to share with you once we return and we look forward to sharing a meal with as many of you as we can when we get settled in. You will love Misrak & Mistire.

Many of you reading this blog have given us letters/cards to read during our trip and we have read one of them per day, all at very significant times in the journey. I cannot even begin to tell you how these notes have spoken to us DEEPLY in those times. Your words of wisdom, encouragement and support have ALL come at precisely the right time even though the cards have been chosen at “random.”

We are absolutely awestruck by Ethiopia, its people, the people working for us at Hope Adoption Agency and of course recognizing the ONE who made all of this possible. We feel that we are standing on the side of an 18-year prayer where it has been answered. For all of those years, we stood on the other side and we wondered what God was thinking. We can see clearly at least a small part of His plan for our lives, for the lives of Misrak & Mistire and for the lives of our extended family and local community. Thank him with us! He is God and He is good.

Amasaganolo!!!

Todd, Emily, Riley,Misrak & Mistire

Life at The Beach House

2009-08-19T11:07:00.000-07:00

Well, tonight we are at Lake Langano and just finished a day of hanging out with the Ethiopian kids that are staying there for the week, the Ethiopian leaders that are getting them through the week, and the team from our church who is here to volunteer. WHAT A DAY!!! There is so much to tell and my internet connection will probably not last that long. All of this was awesome, but the day was topped off by a great home-cooked Ethiopian meal and a night worshipping and praying with our friends. They prayed over us for the adoption process and for the girls. The tears flowed...sniff sniff.

Tomorrow will likely be a very interesting day as we will get to hang out at the camp, see Mike's agricultural project, and even head out with a team from Water Is Life to some local villages that they helped access good clean well water. God is active here. He is on the move in an unbelievably compassionate way here. We love it here! Send our things to us later (hahaha).

Peace & (Crazy) Love,
Todd

We're Here!!

2009-08-19T06:29:00.000-07:00

Hey. We're here in Addis. We were delayed a bit out of Washington D.C., but everything was very smooth, allowing us to get here as planned. We were BEAT after the 24 hours of travel and got a quick nap on Tuesday before heading out for dinner last night. Our first excusrion was interesting since it was after nightfall and there was no power in Addis (long story). This is literally the first time we have had the chance to get a message out since we've been here...I've had the DT's without my constant braodband access.

As I write this, we are waiting on our driver to take us down to Lake Langano. He is apparently on Ethiopian time where 10:00 actually means sometime soon. We're finding it difficult to leave Addis without first seeing teh girls, but we agree that it is better (and less confusing to them) for us to wait until Friday or Saturday. Between now and then we will be staying at the camp and hanging out with the team from UCF. We are thrilled with the opportunity to do this on our truly once-in-a-lifetime trip.

Thanks again to all of you who are reading this. We love you all more than words can express. We would not be here without your love, prayer, support etc. We are truly in awe of you and even moreso of God. Please keep praying for us as we travel. Please keep praying for our girls as they are on the virge of a HUGE life change.

Peace & (Crazy) Love,

WOW

2009-08-14T15:21:00.000-07:00

I can't believe we are leaving in three days!!! Trying to remember to breathe....seriously!

I am so excited today because I got to see a see video of my sweet girl, Misrak.....on the video she said" Mommy, I love you." Oh boy, I'm a puddle!............... dissolved.

This week some incredible friends gave us a shower in the girls honor. Having a shower at 40 is kinda weird and yet so sweet. I guess you're never too old :) We were also able to collect some donations to take to the orphanage where our girls have been living. I'm so psyched to go! I want to go NOW!

God, you are so good and love us so much. We feel SO not worthy of your blessings but are thankful for them! We know you have us, God! We know we are in the palm of your hand....we will not be afraid! We will risk often and love loud.

My friend, Traci, will update our blog while we are gone. We'll hopefully be able to get email updates out while we are gone.

Here we go!

Sweet Words.......

2009-08-09T19:41:00.001-07:00

I got a sweet email from a dear fellow adoption pal. She just returned from Ethiopia and spent some time with my youngest sweetheart! Here is what she said....my heart is breaking to go get them!

First & foremost. Mistire is doing great! She seems much more settled & is somewhat more happy & playful than when I first met her in March. She's still quite a delight to be around.

One thing & I'm not sure how much room you have in your luggage, if at all possible a doll with long hair for Mistire would be great. Right now, she has an old beaten up barbie dollthat she's really attached to. Every chance that she had, she had the barbie & it was clear that she's a "doll girl". The barbie had some old clothes that she loved having dressed & she also had a comb that she'd use to comb the barbie's hair.

Nesting and Backpacking!!

2009-08-09T18:30:00.000-07:00

The girls room is pretty close to being done. We've been working hard on it and there are just a final couple of touches needed. We might not have those inplace until we get back but that is okay. Still need to finish the mountain of paperwork necessary for the final embassy appointment on the 26th. ugh.

T minus ONE WEEK until we LEAVE!!!!!

Riley and Todd had a great last backpacking trip for the summer a couple of weeks ago and I am just getting around to write about it. These pics tell it all. They went with our great friends, the Boggs. We've know them as long as we've lived here and Riley and Josie have been best of friends for just as long! They jumped off a BIG rock into the river, went down sliding rock, and hiked! They had a blast. Meanwhile, back home.....Traci and I took care of girly things and then went to dinner and had a sleepover.... watched movies and stayed up late talking and laughing. We had fun too!

We're leaving..... on a jet plane....

2009-08-03T19:35:00.000-07:00

Our tickets are booked on Ethiopian Air......we leave TWO weeks from today! So crazy. We are putting together our lists and lists of things to do, things to buy and things to pack. I cannot believe the day is coming so quickly.

If you think of us, please pray for the hearts of our girls that they will be prepared to leave the only home they've known for the previous year and that the transition will be fairly smooth for them.

Thanks be to God for all He has given us and all He has prepared us for and prepared for us!

On a side note...long ago, we prayed we would be able to travel around the same time as a team from our church would be traveling. They leave four days before us!! We HOPE we will be able to connect with them in Ethiopia and go to Camp Langano. (This is the same camp I was able to go to in July 2007...the same camp where I fell in LOVE with the people, the culture and the children of Ethiopia.) God is so good.

Showers of LOVE!!

2009-07-28T19:12:00.000-07:00

I have the bestest, sweetest, greatest friends in the world!! They gave me a surprise shower today.....my FIRST (baby) shower ever! When I was pregnant with Riley, about four months along, we moved from South Florida to Charlotte, NC. I didn't know a soul in our new town except the new people I worked with and they didn't know me well enough to give me a shower. Thank you SO much ladies.....it was a day I will not soon forget!

STILL waiting to hear when we will travel. It's hard to believe we passed court nearly a month ago and still have no word. These tests of patience are very tough but I know we are going to look back someday and think about what a sweet time of prayer and dreaming we had!

Uh....update....as I was finishing up this post....BIG NEWS!!! We're going to Ethiopia!! August 26th is our Embassy date. Don't know our travel dates as of yet. Oh girls......HERE WE COME!!!!

Good news......Bad news....

2009-07-20T08:43:00.000-07:00

Good news: We got new pics of Misrak and Mistire today!!! I cannot WAIT to hold them!

Bad News: We are STILL waiting to hear when our embassy date will be. The Ethiopian government branch known as MOWA (Ministry of Women's Affairs)has decided to close for two weeks for personnel training. They are the folks that create birth certificates, visas and passports and of course we cannot take them home without these documents. We can get these documents at our embassy appointment. We will most like not hear until after July 28th as to when we can go get them. Might get to travel in August...but might have to wait until September :(

So for now.....we have these sweet faces to gaze at.

.....Your Kingdom Come....

2009-07-08T06:05:00.000-07:00

Scriptures tell us that

Where there is fatherlessness and death,

where there is fear and violence,

where there is oppression and exploitation,

where there is racism and greed,

where there is human trafficking and child prostitution,

where there is a bloated belly and an AIDS infected mother,

where there is a contaminated wellspring and a empty library

where there is a soccer ball made only of rags and

dolls made only of straw

that is the place where we have been called.

So therefore when we

care for the orphan and grieve the loss of a loved one

when we turn the other cheek and walk the extra mile

when we stand up to the bullies and reach out to the victims

when we provide a warm towel and a fresh bowl of rice

when we pay for a $99 cent immunization and a $5 dollar mosquito net

when we invest in water filters and new wells

when we put a ball in a boys hands and a

doll in a girl’s arms

when we do all of this and a thousand other things

we are meditating God’s shalom.

This is our mission.

This is our task.

This is the story that God calls us into.

It's his story.

His dream.

His mission.

His task.

So let us be about shaping our lives around Jesus' prayer:

your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.

Gloria Deus.

Unbelievable! Unforgetable! Undeniable!

2009-07-01T19:45:00.000-07:00

We are in disbelief.....Our family of 3 has become a family of 5! God has graciously and mercifully given us two precious girls from Ethiopia named Misrak Grace and Mistire Hope and we are SO excited to show them now to the world! Girls, we cannot WAIT to meet you. Looks like we will travel in August.

Riley turns 11 !!

2009-06-27T13:50:00.000-07:00

I can't believe my sweet miracle boy is now 11! We had a big birthday weekend extravaganza.....friends spent the night, movies, food, cake, presents, popcorn, swimming and pizza! In our house, at Christmas-time, we celebrate Jesus' birth and do not exchange many gifts. And since we cannot give a gift to Jesus, we give to the "....least of these" (Math 25:40) which is usually a family or families in need. But BIRTHDAYS are a big deal.....a day to celebrate you! Here are some pics from our fun weekend!

Um......yeah. This is hard. Really hard!

2009-06-08T11:43:00.000-07:00

So we sit at nearly one month of our case at "open" status. Who is FOR these children besides us? Is there anyone in Africa trying to get this case resolved? Nameless.....faceless.....people.......out there....somewhere. I know several others who are in the same boat and some have been at it longer than us. I had no idea it would look like this.......carrying this load.....When I say this waiting is killing me......I mean it is really killing me. I feel like my emotions are raw and right on the verge of letting the floodgates burst open. Watch out :) I know God knows what He is up to but I don't have to like it, right?

Sitting, Waiting, Wishing.......Dreaming and Praying!

2009-05-29T05:25:00.001-07:00

We had our first court date on May 12th. We did not pass. Our case is in "open" status. We found out that the girls have an older brother who is relinquishing them as their parents are both deceased. Unfortunately, the brother is injured and had some type of surgery. We are waiting for him to recover and go to court to make our adoption final. Please pray for the girl's brother to get to court and sign the documents for us to bring them home! "Open" cases are heard on Wednesdays we understand so we pray and fast each Tues eve through mid day on Wed until they come home!

Last week, another fellow adoptive family went to pick up their kids and took with them our photos and a goodie bag filled with homemade necklaces and bracelets, hair ties, clothing and books. Our girls now know for SURE that they have a family that loves them and can't wait to see them and bring them home.

We are worn out emotionally. This is not an easy process. I just know that it will all be worth it in the end when we finally get to hold them. Until then, God is holding them and is taking better care of them than we ever could.

Dossier to Ethiopia & a town called Nazareth

2009-04-12T19:26:00.001-07:00

Our Dossier (aka. Big Stack of papers that IS our life story) is being flown over the ocean via DHL and should land in Ethiopia early next week. Once it lands in Ethiopia, it will go to translation and then to get in line for a court date. Now that our end of the paper chase is over, we've been able to take a breath, get passports for Todd and Riley. I know God's got all the details worked out but sometimes it is hard not to worry.

Our case worker seems to think we should be able to get our documents translated, get a court date and travel before the courts close in August! Wow, that will be in less time than a pregnancy! The courts close for Ethiopian New Year for approx 10 weeks. Our prayer is to be done by August.

We have new pics of the girls and they look so healthy and happy. They've already changed so much since being admitted to the orphanage in December of 2008. Another Hope family traveled recently and said they met our girls. Said they were both pretty shy but warmed up after some time. We've been told that they were walked along with a big group of kids from a city called Nazareth(huh?) to Addis Ababa, (which is approximately 60 miles) and abandoned there.

We're starting to think about schools, hair, clothes, hair, their room, hair, and all the other FUN stuff! They have so much HAIR! These things are keeping us up at night. The list seems so long and the days seem so few.

God certainly is growing and stretching us through this process. We have learned many lessons that I hope will stay with us for a while.

One, we cannot control this process! SO many things are out of our control. We have got to let go and let God do His thing.

Two, we have learned that NO ONE is going to hold our hand or tell us what the next step is. We have to make our best educated guess in figuring out what to do next and then step out in FAITH! Sometimes it feels like we are free falling instead of stepping but we know that God has got our hands, our feet and our hearts and HE will not let us fall or fail

Three, there are SO many people that love these girls and want them home as much as we do. It is amazing to have the love, prayer and support of SO many people we know and SO many we don't even know! I can't imagine going through this without any of them and we are eternally greatful.

God is So Good!

2009-03-30T18:27:00.000-07:00

WHAT A JOURNEY of faith God has led us on!!! We'll have to fill you in on the past year over the next couple of blogs, but to catch you up to speed rather quickly........here goes!

We are on CLOUD 9 because the Murphy family of three has miraculously become a family of five! We received a call on Wed, March 25th, from our adoption agency which told us there was a sibling group of 2 sisters that they had in mind for us. They emailed their informatin over to us right away. We prayed, and danced and prayed some more. The next morning we called them back and gave them our answer.....it was YES, of course! So, in effort to make sure we do not jeopardize their identity or our adoptin of them, we will call them M & M! They are too sweet for words and we are head over heels in LOVE with them. Their ages are 3ish and 6ish! We are not exactly sure as they do not keep good birth records there.

Oh, M & M, here we come!

A New Stirring......

2008-03-25T08:24:00.000-07:00

Over the past week I have been in touch, via email, with our friend Amy Rodgers, who now lives with her family in Ethiopia. (For more on their story, check out their blog at http://www.lakelangano.blogspot.com/ ) God called this family to help run the Sports Camp at Lake Langano and I am trying to help coordinate prayer for them while they are there.

At Camp Langano, there is a clinic and a school that serves the community around Camp Langano. Amy will assist the nurse at the clinic in the baby area called the House of Hope, which is located next door to the clinic. The House of Hope will take in nursing babies that have lost their mothers and/or parents and would otherwise not survive. They will stay at the House of Hope until they are old enough to eat solid food and then will be reunited with their families.

I've been thinking and wondering what would happen to these babies if their parents were not able to take them back in.........

I'm not sure what God is up to and I don't know if He has us in mind for a child from this House of Hope but I am tuned in to his desires for us. My prayer is for these children to be ultimately returned to their families.

Here is an update!!! Hope Adoption Agency received our application on Good Friday and we are looking forward to beginning our home study in May!

Thank you to everyone for your love and encouragement. We could not go through this without ANY of you!

A New Start

2008-01-09T10:45:00.000-08:00

Well....a lot has happened since I last posted. We hit our first (of many I'm sure) wrinkle in this process that shook us pretty hard. AGCI did not pan out to be the agency we hoped it would be. They gave us reason to believe we would not be good partners in finding our Ethiopian angel. Thanks to all of you who gave such Godly encouragement when we were questioning our faith and ourselves. During our saddest moments we even wondered about God's will for us to carry this through. It seems like such a huge mountain to climb when you are standing at the base thinking "do I even have the energy to do this?" The answer of course is NO! "We" do not have the energy to stand up to this mountain but God does! And, undoubtedly, this will be just the first of many times we'll question and lean on Him for the strength to do this.

2 Corintians 12:10 says That’s why I take pleasure in my weaknesses, and in the insults, hardships, persecutions, and troubles that I suffer for Christ. For when I am weak, then I am strong.

God did not set us on this journey just to leave us here! I have leaned on this encouraging verse Deuteronomy 3:18 "The LORD himself goes before you and will be with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged."

Meanwhile a sweet family that goes to our church brought home their Ethiopian princess, "Kiki" on Christmas Eve. She is beautiful in every way and a huge inspiration to us. Thank you God for sending her when we needed that encouragement!

We also received a call from another agency we were interested in (coincidentally, the same one that K came home through) and were very excited for us to begin the process through them. So, this week we received all of our documents back from the original agency and we'll be getting off to a new start!

If you think of us, please pray for God to go before us and bind up anything that would keep us from the mission He has called us to. THANKS!

Application Approval! Yippee

2007-12-04T14:17:00.000-08:00

We're on our way!

AGCI has agreed to allow us to move forward with their agency! Now we wait for the agency's packet of information on our next steps. We'll keep you posted.

How Did It All Begin??

2007-11-30T19:24:00.000-08:00

Where do I start?

My husband's brother is adopted. Adoption has always been an everyday, household word for him. For me? Not so much. I had friends growing up that were adopted. When these friends got into high school and college, they strayed down a self destructive path that I always assumed (in my unprofessional, psychological opinion) was because of the rejection they felt by their birthmother. They were raised in loving Christian homes and I witnessed their parents dismay during their downward spiral.

Fast forward six heartbreaking years of infertility to be incredibly, mercifully blessed to have a son (who is now 9 years old and wonderful!). And then 9 more years of heartbreaking secondary infertility, when finally, we were at peace with God's plan for our childbearing years and we had sufficiently grieved.

And JUST when we were at peace with no more children, I was blessed to be able to travel on a life changing mission trip to Ethiopia with SIM and Sports Friends to help run a boys soccer camp. While I was there we got to visit the Mother Theresa AIDS orphanage. The children there were so beautiful and so happy. I was very sad to say goodbye to these children knowing that the majority of them would live and die in that very orphanage. We were in various cities in Ethiopia and I FELL IN LOVE with the people, the culture and especially the children there. When we had to say "goodbye" to the boys at the camp, I realized that my heart had forever been changed by the boys that I was responsible for during the week and I found that I had PLENTY of room and LOVE in my heart for another child/children. When I got to the airport in Addis Ababa, I had to force myself to not turn around and run back through the doors to stay in the country. I had made so many new friends and experienced so many new and exciting ways of worship, I was definitely on a spiritual high.

Meanwhile, back at home, my husband and son had already decided that our family needed to adopt and they started to put pressure on me to come around to their way of thinking before I left for Ethiopia. They were praying for my heart to be softened towards this thinking as well. You see, we belong to this incredible small group of believers and we had just finished studying the book of James in the Bible. And one of the verses we really chewed on was James 1:27.

And this verse manifested itself in MANY WAYS in the life of our small group. (more about that later, maybe) At the same time, our pastor was delivering messages laced with "adoption" stories and promptings. I was slowing, slowly, slowly, gently, gently, being guided, directed and even commanded by God to this idea of adoption for OUR family. So it is with GREAT fear and trepidation and only by the grace and mercy of God.........we move forward, one faithful step at a time.

"The Application"

2007-11-26T14:57:00.000-08:00

I wasn't really sure we'd make it here. We've spent so much time in prayer, energy and anxiousness that I wasn't really sure we'd ever get to send our application off. We had lots of hoops to jump through just in order to get the application process started. Every day, our son asked "Did you send in the application yet?" And each time, we'd ask him to be patient....yeah right.

But, we mailed it off last Tuesday, before Thanksgiving and AGCI received it today! Praise God!
Now, the prayer begins for them to accept our initial application and for the fun to begin!

And away we go!

2007-10-12T09:22:00.000-07:00

God is moving. I feel like I am standing on the edge of cliff ready to take the biggest and by far the most life altering dive of my life! How exciting to know that God will be there every second of the way down. Whew.

After many years of infertility and secondary infertility treatments, Todd and I have been called by God to adopt...internationally.....Ethiopia!

Seriously? ...........................Us?

But we're comfy here with our one, incredible, nine year old son, who now does everything for himself.

What are we thinking? God, what are you asking us to do? Get out of our comfort zone? Bring a child from another country with another culture that has different values and morals from us? So many fears......too many to count.

And God answered a resounding, "YES"!

There are SO many hoops to jump through. So many, that I get overwhelmed and it sucks all the joy out of thinking about the sweet child that will hopefully someday come to live with us and call us Mommy, Daddy and Brother. I know God is going before us and preparing the way.