Celebrating Our Referral - one year ago yesterday!

Yesterday marked one year since we received "the call"...in adoption world this is highly anticipated phone call from your family coordinator who shares the amazing, joyous, life-changing news that "You have a referral for you. He a 5-month-old baby boy and his name is Tarik." That isn't exactly what she said...but close enough.

Although I can't remember our coordinator's exact words, I do remember everything else very vividly...being at work in the Girls' Dorm at 7am, my heart beating out of my chest, my cracking voice, being out of breath, wanting to race to the computer to see the picture and profile she had sent us, trying to concentrate as girls asked me questions and said good morning as they left for school, waiting, waiting, waiting for my hubby to be finished at the Boys' Dorm so we could finally, FINALLY, see the face we had been waiting to see for...well...since we had been trying to start a family (about 4 years at the point I think).

Oh, well, that little face just woke up and is babbling in his crib, so I need to wrap it up.

Anyway, you know the rest of the story. God did His work and Beniam is here with us, a happy, healthy, treasured member of TeamReno. Thank you Lord! You are kind!

The first photo we saw of B is in a Word doc so I can't post here. But here is an early photo of him.

Our little lion

I know of at least 4 little Ethiopian boys who were lions for Halloween, including our own. CTBR wore the lion costume that Grandma Kim made and that his daddy wore when he was little. A cousin or two has worn it since then and now it is little B's turn. He actually just woke up from his nap, so I will leave you with these:

Vocabulary Explosion

Beniam has been saying new words left and right...light, hi, duck, papa, hallelujah (almost, you can tell what he is trying to say), mato (for tomato - he LOVES tomatoes and we discovered that he is not allergic so we take him out to the garden to feast), car, outside, his cousin's names...it is SO fun to watch, or rather hear his little mind developing. God is truly amazing in how He engineered the human brain and planned out it's development.

1st Birthday Bash

We celebrated our dear little boy's first birthday on Saturday. His actual birthday is on the 28th but we will be out of town that weekend for a certain someone's wedding. We gathered with family and friends at a local beach, ate cupcakes, played in the sand, and enjoyed each other's company. Yes, Beniam tried his first cupcake, and no, he didn't dive right in, he took his sweet time. Chris says this is because our boy is an artist, tasting a little here, a little there. CTBR managed to make through present opening and balloon boxing before finally hitting that meltdown-it's time for a nap-get me to my crib as soon as possible point. He isn't the type of kid that will fall alseep anywhere. He wants his crib, his blanket, his music and then he is out. But I digress. The birthday party was great...we loved celebrating the gift that Beniam is to us. Notice the super cute crown that our Ethiopian prince is wearing...designed and sewn by our dear Hope B. with Ethipoian colors, the Lion of Judah and Beniam's initials. It is his official birthday crown. We love it! Thank you Hope! And thank you to everyone who celebrated with us! And thank you Grandma Kim for the pics!

I want to read this...

http://www.scaredthebook.com/

Almost 1!

The inevitable is happening and our Little Boy is is becoming a Little-Bit Bigger Boy. CTBR is officially mobile is more ways than one. He started crawling mid-August, has been pulling himself to standing since before that and has discovered the great fun of "the walker." He loves walking himself around pushing the walker (thanks Auntie Amy!). Our camera is broken, so alas no recent pics of these accomplishments yet.

Our little mover and shaker has started saying gogo (when pushing his walker), Mama (he has said this before but now it is very clearly intended for me), Dada, ball, duck, book, uh-oh, nana (for banana) and a host of other words that we can't quite decipher yet.

I am starting B's scrapbook and have been looking at his early, early pictures. Our love for him has grown more that we could have imagined. We can hardly believe that this little one:













has grown into this happy, healthy little treasure:

Sponsor Beniam in the Walk for Life!

Dear Friends and Family,

TeamReno is getting ready to do a wonderful thing in Santa Cruz. We are joining a united effort of concerned citizens who are taking a stand for the Sanctity of Human Life.

Please consider sponsoring us as we participate in the Walk for Life 2009. This fundraiser benefits the Pregnancy Resource Center of Santa Cruz County (which Anna worked for many years ago - BC - Before Chris). The PRC is a non-profit organization that gives women and families the tools and support to make healthy decision for themselves and their babies.

Obviously the blessing of new life and of a mother's sacrifice to give that life is very fresh in our minds. We are so thankful that Beniam's birth mother chose life for him. So, on September 26th we will join hundreds of men, women and children in a Walk For Life that will help protect the lives of mothers and children throughout the year through the courageous efforts of LifeNet and the PRC.

Just click on www.walkforlifesantacruz.com to sign up to be our sponsor and then let us know. The walker you are sponsoring is Beniam Reno (although he will actually be "strolling" - Mom & Dad will do all the "walking").

Love,

TeamReno

The Life and Times of CTBR

We love our little boy! He is such a joy - I can't imagine life before him! So much personality in such a little body.

Playing at the beach while Daddy is fishing.











Trying to reach the nerf dart Daddy stuck on his forehead.











This boy loves berries!











...and bath time!

















Helping Mommy pack more donations to go to Ethiopia (they going with another family - it isn't our turn again - yet!)

















We will leave you with our very own Ethiopian Donald Duck.

Fun with CTBR

Better late than never

We are a little behind in posting...the laundry mountain is huge and the little boy is too cute. Beniam has pretty much become the focus of my days, which is wonderful and challenging, although I didn't realize just how much my life would revolve around naptimes and bottles. There are many things I didn't realize or expect about being a mom, and specifically a mom to our little boy. For instance, I didn't think about the possibility that God would decide that I needed to have one of the loudest little boys I know. Those of you who know me know that I am a hang out in the background sort of person. A little shy, a little quiet. And then along came this cute, curious, gregarious, joyful, emphatic little boy and suddenly all eyes (well, maybe not all, but many!) are on me, or rather on my little boy. Yes, it probably has something to do with the fact that a blonde-haired, blue-eyed me is holding a beautiful, brown Ethiopian baby boy, but believe me, they hear him before they see him! It is so funny to me that when we met Beniam for this first time, we had no idea what a little ball of energy and action he would be! I guess there was that first clue of him belly-laughing when they brought him out to us for the first time, but, still, who knew? Only God...and He has a great sense of humor!

Here are some photos from our recent road trip to Colorado. It was a 19 hour drive and Beniam was a champion! We had a wonderful time with the Reno clan...

Happy Father's Day!

Make video montages at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Dancing with Michael

The Little Boy!

My Handsome Reno guys

IMG_2706, originally uploaded by amy.johnson103099.

Mommy and B

IMG_2729, originally uploaded by amy.johnson103099.

A few of my favorite things...

It was just my birthday and my first Mother's Day. Here are a couple of the sweet gifts that I received:































The flowers are from my sweet niece. The collection of poems is from my sweet husband. He actually purchased the book a while ago, hid it (making sure to tell me where he hid it so I wouldn't look there) and then forgot about it until I reminded him that I surely had just one more birthday present coming. I love being surprised ;) For Mother's Day, he surprised me with our first grown-up wine glasses. So fun!

And then, of course, we can't forget this precious gift...

We love this boy!

We are so in love with our little boy! CTBR is such a gift. I love being a mommy to him!

As far as the nitty gritty...(for those of you who like this sort of info - especially you adoptive mommies)...Beniam will be eight months old next week... he is such a big boy now! He has grown out of so many of his clothes that were huge on him when we first brought him home. Yes, I know this is a good thing, but it still makes me a little sad.

He is still waking up 2-3 times a night to eat. For those of you who know how much I like to sleep, I have adjusted to this amazingly well. But, my sweet hubby got up with B this morning and let me sleep in until 9am. Soooo nice. They actually fell asleep together playing on the floor...so sweet.

This boy loves to eat! Peaches, pears, squash, sweet potatoes, avocado. If it comes on a spoon (or on Mommy's finger) he likes it! No teeth yet...I am wondering how that will go.

I love watching B grow and change and accomplish little developmental tasks. We never know what amazing feat he will accomplish each day.

More life with Beniam...

Easter with the cousins...















































Look what I can do!











Enjoying the beautiful day...

Paean To My Wife

I just want to take a moment to post a sonneted paean (non-pagan) to my delectable wife on this her 28th birthday. We usually don't allow anyone else's eyes to read her annual sonnet, but this one is acceptable for the public because they need to know what a glorious woman she is . . . but you all already knew that. Here she is, sandwiched between two men who are better men because of her.


See how his tender hand coddles his lamb;
See how his tender mother coddles hers.
Her husband's gaze caresses his sweet fam-
ily. Rippling joy concentrically now stirs--
Like ancient liquid stirred with angel pow'r--
The Sheep Gate waters for the crippled soul.
This joyous flood brings beauteous buds to flow'r
And lovely wife loveliness fills to full.
The world, though, exiles women once they gain
A child because it "sucks their beauty dry."
I cannot argue. Words go down the drain.
Mere syllogisms, arguments . . . vain tries.
Your smiling flesh, caressing coffee skin,
Argues enough: Your beauty grows with kin.

Happy Birthday,

Husband

Resurrection Day!

Beniam was baptized with his cousin Asher on Easter Sunday. Chris was also baptized on Easter Sunday 30-some years ago, which made it extra special. Beniam and Asher had cute matching baptism/Easter outfits that we found at the Gap Outlet, and wouldn't you know it, right as the Boy was getting baptized he had the biggest diaper blowout he has ever blessed Mommy with...right through his new pants. Ahh...and so goes life. A dear Ethiopian family that we know (the husband is actually from here) came to Benaim's baptism and the sweet wife said that it is actually good luck in Ethiopia for a baby to "mess his pants" on his baptism day. So there you go. Our day was especially blessed ;)

After the worship service we went to Chris' parents house for food, fellowship, toss across, Easter egg hunts and water gun fights...quite a day. He is risen!

Sonnets and Seder Dinner

Well, I hoped you enjoyed my dear husband's Good Friday sonnet that he posted. He is quite the gifted poet and songwriter. Every year he writes me a "Wifey Birthday Sonnet." My birthday is just around the corner so I am looking forward to my next one. Sorry - can't share it with you - for my eyes only ;)

Every year our church has a Christian Seder Dinner. It is a bit chaotic but so fun. This was Beniam's first Seder. He loved all of the music and dancing and even revealed his louder self to our congregation with many squeals, shouts and peals of laughter (thanks to cousin Isaiah).

The Curse -- A Good Friday Sonnet

A rare post by the husband . . .
So it's a day late, but I thought some might be blessed to receive this on Holy Saturday nonetheless. The idea--and then the sonnet--came to me several years back when I was having a bad attitude during a junior high chapel (during Passion Week). While the speaker was typically going through the litany of Christ's physical sufferings (trying to evoke pity and conversion from junior high kids), God rebuked me with a revelation of the meaning of Christ's crown of thorns. Why "thorns," I thought. The answer lies in "the curse" of Genesis 3 when, after Adam sinned, God cursed the dust of the earth with thorns and thistles. The crown of thorns is symbolic--a very painful one--of Christ bearing the curse for us. The irony of this is how Roman soldiers, in an effort to mock Christ as a sham-Jewish king, basically apply the hidden theology of Genesis by adorning Him with a sham--but supremely meaningful--crown. It's amazing--yet not really--what God, the Author of history, can do through even pagan actors to accomplish His purposes in the world. Blessings to you all this Holy Saturday and have an even greater blessed Resurrection Day tomorrow . . . the day of our dear Beniam's baptism!

--The Curse--

The Curse: Word thunders forth from lips divine
As things both seen and not are hemorrhaging.
Milk-white--dark blood once hot, can't bear the sign--
First-flesh, ashamed, stands stark now trembling.
The Man--delight now drained, our race's head,
His head hung down, drooped in defeated pain--
Now scours the earth, "This thorny curse I dread."
(The ground, thorn-crowned) "Can curse become my gain?"
This question cast a shadow years in length.
It's thund'ring answer: thorns upon high hill.
The tree: it bears the Sign now lacking strength.
Strong Weakness says, "My will . . . to do Your will."
Edenic curse, circumferencing our Head,
The Word: our Curse, He suffers in our stead.
_________________________________________
Genesis 3:17b-18a
Galatians 3:13a
Matthew 27:29a

1 month home!

Our little boy Reno is sleeping so I have some time to finally post. Yes, we have been home for 1 month! I can't believe it. Our trip seems so long ago. I feel like I am already losing memories - thank goodness for video cameras! We actually haven't watched any of our video from our trip. I guess we are just too wrapped in the squirming, grunting, smiling reality that has blessed our home. Thank you Lord! You place the fatherless in homes and give the childless bouncing bundles of Ethiopian joy!

St. Patty's Day Party and more cute pics of the Boy

Ethiopia Adventure Part 2

We arrived in Addis Ababa around 8:30am on Sunday, February 22nd needing a shower and feeling quite delirious. We waited for about 20 minutes to get our Ethiopian visa, changed our 300 dollars for Ethiopian birr, collected our luggage and sailed through the nonexistent customs to meet Robel and the driver from our hotel. We will talk more about Robel later, but he is a super fun, kind, resourceful, faithful saint who was our guide during our time in Addis. On the way to our hotel, we had our first up close glimpse of our son's country, but we were in such a sleep-deprived delirium that I don't remember much.



Robel invited us to go to his church with him and another family that had already arrived, the Chans. Chris decided we should go and he was right, but I confess - I was definitely more in favor of sleep. We met the Chans, William and Shelley, who are from Texas. Great people - we love them! The worship service was glorious and refreshing. I am so glad we went. It is an international church in which over 70 countries are represented. The service was in English, but there were also services in French and Korean, I think. Anyway, it was wonderful to worship with the saints! So funny - we met a gentlemen who used to work as a dean at Monte Vista (this is where Chris works). How "random" is that?

Afterward Robel took us to lunch at a traditional Ethiopian restaurant with the Chans and our driver Alizar (sp?). The lunch was very good - we love Ethiopian food. We went to back our hotel and Chris went straight to sleep until about 10pm and then woke up for good at 2am. I slept intermittenly until about 5am. We went upstairs to the hotel restaurant to have breakfast. The coffee and the morning view of Addis were both amazing. It was such a peaceful, beautiful morning! What a gift from God as we prepared to meet our boy that day. We were still in a daze - it was so unreal that we were in Ethiopia, for one, and that we were there to pick up our son. Our minds couldn't quite wrap themselves around it, even after several cups of glorious Ethiopian coffee.

Below

Ethiopia Adventure Part 1

Chris' parents kindly drove us to San Francisco for the first leg of our journey. Our first flight left SFO at 4:30pm on Friday, February 20th. The very kind manager at the British Airways counter waived our excess baggage fees (thank you for all the prayers) and we were off. We have this terrible habit of staying up way too late the night before big trips, and this one was no exception. We were exhausted (already!), a little apprehensive (at least I was), but ready to pick up our son!





Our flight was, well, we didn't sleep much, but had much to read and watch. We had an 8 hour layover in London (so sad not to stay longer!) where we had a very crazy adventure getting our luggage and 5 rubbermaid tubs via train from Terminal 5 to Terminal 1 at Heathrow. My husband is a champion rubbermaid tub wrestler. We had a very tasty meal with our tubs close at hand - a security officer carrying some sort of automatic gun checked to make sure they were ours and not left behind. He had an encouraging word for us when Chris told him what was inside (baby formula, etc). Back to the meal - I ate chicken tikka masala and Chris had bangers and mash with a very soul-satisfying Belgian beer. And then we waited...and waited..and waited...and Chris slept...and I tried to read. When it was time we prayerfully lugged our tired selves and 9 pieces of luggage to the Ethiopian Airlines counter, praying for another baggage-fee-waiving miracle. Almost. They gave us a discount. Instead of $650 they only charged us $400. Ha! Still, God is good. His plan is perfect.

For now I will end with our first African sunrise (over Sudan . . . for Paul Yana) and our first glimpse of beautiful Ethiopia. We are off to visit the Johnson clan and I have learned by now that a simple 10 minute trip takes much longer to prepare for than it used to. But this is what we joyfully signed up for!

Here we are!

I have been very amiss in updating our blog , but I have a good excuse, right? We are home with our beautiful baby boy Beniam. He is so, so precious and cute and quite the bundle of energy. We can't believe he is finally here, but at the same time, it seems like he has always been here.

I will eventually add posts about our trip, but the little man is awake and ready to play, so that will have to wait. In the meantime, here are some pictures of the newest Reno. God is good!

100th post!

This is our 100th post! 100 posts that represent a loooong journey to picking up our little B-man and making TeamReno a team of 3.

A couple pieces of great news...Beniam gained 3 pounds since our last update. Praise God!

And...We are leaving from SFO next Friday the 20th and will be arriving in Addis Ababa Sunday. A week later, on Saturday the 28th, we will be back home with our sweet boy as new parents!

Introducing Christopher Tarik Beniam Reno!!

And how could we forget...

Our new nephew Asher Scott Johnson graced us with his presence about 2 weeks ago on January 16th around 9pm. His mommy, Amy, was a champion during the birth - she seriously deserves a gold medal, as does daddy Allen. They are both great examples to us of laying their lives down for their family.

Asher is healthy and (of course) very handsome. We can't wait to see his little personality emerge. And we are so excited that he and Baby Reno will be so close in age. For pictures of the new member of the Johnson clan, visit the Johnson family blog.

We are praising God for a safe birth and a healthy baby! Our cup overfloweth!

Baby Reno Update

I forgot to share that we also just received an update on Baby Reno. God has been so faithful to answer our prayers to keep him healthy...he has gained over 1 pound! And the update said he is happy, healthy, smiley and friendly. Along with the update we received a new precious picture, which we can't wait to share when we pass court...

Where have you been?

If you are one of "in the know" crowd who have seen the A&E version of Pride & Prejudice, then imagine Lady Catherine de Bourgh (sp?) saying the title of this post...if you haven't seen that version and have seen the recent version with Keira Knightly, then go find the A&E version right now. The recent one left us out of breath and feeling claustrophobic. And Keira Knightly really needs to go back to acting school and learn how to deliver lines so people can understand her. Like I know so much about acting ;)

Anyway, that is completely beside the point. I am actually supposed to be sharing the exciting news that IF Baby Reno's case is approved on February 2nd (be praying!) then we will travel to Addis Ababa on February 21st. Crazy! Yes, crazy! We are traveling half way around the world to a country we have never been to pick up our son (our son!!) whom we have never met. Does it get any crazier than that? Well, maybe, but not for the Renos (thus far anyway). Chris and I were just saying tonight how we really have no idea how to prepare ourselves for this life-changing trip or the huge life change of having a child. Except to pray, because we know God is faithful to provide.

The baby's room is finally starting to resemble a bedroom and not just a workout/ storage/sewing room. We still have a very long way to go. I am trying to sort through all of our things (not just baby things) and get rid of everything that is not absolutely necessary to our health and happiness. Quite a task.

Our wonderful and so kind friends and family threw us 2 showers. The lovely ladies at our church even made Ethiopian food for our church shower. So, so thoughtful. We were blessed beyond belief with many fun and necessary baby things. Thank you everyone!

One family from our agency has a court date right about now...we are praying for you Whitakers!

We have a court date!

We found out a couple of weeks ago that our court date is on February 2nd. Please, please, please be praying that we pass the first time. If not, then we wait another month or so for another court date. The court hearing is in Addis Ababa, and we do not need to be there. Our agency represents us in court.

Our baby room is totally overflowing and totally needing some attention. Friends are asking to see the baby room and I tell them that it is still complete chaos. I will start organizing next week, after our baby showers. Our sweet, sweet friends and family are planning 2 baby showers for us, one at church and one at work. They will be so fun!

Getting ready

We are busy, busy getting ready for Baby Reno. Since he is our first, we have much to do. Here are pics of our first trip to BabiesRus.




We were able to send a little care package with the Wistrom family when they picked their 2 boys. Thank you Wistroms! We sent our picture, a super soft blanket, some clothes and Isaiah and Aaliyah contributed some drawings. The Wistroms delivered the package for us and took some pictures of our little guy. Right now I am looking at a picture of him holding our picture. Yes, we realize that he isn't totally cognizant of what he is holding, but that's ok.




Left to Right: Chris, Me (holding baby), Aaliyah, Isaiah and Isaac.


Isaiah signed his picture "love Isaiah cuzit" I'm assuming he meant "cousin." So sweet!

Our superintendent and his wife gave us a very cute crib that is almost brand-new. What a blessing! I had been endlessly searching on Craig's List for a nice, used crib that I liked. And now my search is over! Thank you Steve & Cheryl!

And...last, but not least...I finished the top of my first baby quilt. The squares are little off in a couple of places, but my sweet hubby and my sweet neighbor say it is cute nonetheless. I just want perfection for my boy! ;) But, yes, it is quite cute. I am going to attempt to sew satin around the edges (yikes) and then start on the batting and the back. I will post some pictures when I am finished.

We still don't know when we will be traveling...10-12 weeks from November 19th...pray for our court date to happen quickly!

Just for Faith...

After posting our fun, crazy, exciting, joyful news, life got exponentially crazier for some reason. This is my excuse for not posting more news. But we really don't have any more real news yet. Conjecturing can make me crazy, but I am conjecturing that we will travel to pick our handsome little man around the end of January or beginning of February. Of course we are hoping as early as possible, especially as we look at his picture before we go to bed.

Part of the craziness of life recently (fun and blessed craziness) is entering into "baby world." There are soooo many things to buy (or so the mighty retailers want you to think). Praise God that I have many dear, wise, thrifty, gracious mommies in my life who have traversed this path before me. I have been asking for much input lately about what is "necessary" and not so necessary. Registering has been fun, although I know many people (including myself) don't use registries for baby gift shopping. If you are curious about what this first time mommy registered for, you can visit our registries at Amazon, BabyRus and Target.

We got the call!

We have some wonderful news to share !! Yesterday morning at 7:40am we received a call from our family coordinator telling us that a baby boy is waiting for us in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia!! We received a picture and his name - he is too cute! For legal reasons, we can't share his picture or name until the Ethiopian courts approve our adoption. Please pray for this happen soon, because we cannot travel to pick him up until it does. We should be traveling in 8-12 weeks, depending on when we pass court.

In the meantime, we will be receiving updates from the orphanage and hopefully more pictures to stare at! Please be praying for God to protect our little guy, keeping him safe, healthy and loved.

Thank you so much for all of your support, prayer and friendship through this whole process. We have definitely felt loved!


So I just reread this post and realized that it totally does not communicate the absolute JOY that we are feeling right now. I don't words or exclamation marks can quite express our emotions at the moment or communicate the various WONDERFUL responses we have received from our dear, dear family and friends as we have shared our news. Many tears, hugs, and shouts. Thank you for celebrating with us! God is good!

Still waiting...

...word on the street is "before the end of the month"...but who knows?

God is good and we are still waiting.

In a daze

For some reason I have been quite out of it this week. Maybe the election, maybe the weather, maybe the overwhelming kindness of our friends and family, definitely waiting to find out who Baby Reno is.

We did not get our referral before Nov. 1st but God is still good and still in control and will still provide. My friend Tawny and her husband sent us a financial gift and the most encouraging note last week...before we even knew if we were going to have to pay extra. I was so encouraged and so blown away and so amazed by how God works in unexpected ways. And THEN when Chris and I came back from Tahoe (we spent the weekend with my family which was great) the Johnson family gave us another gift. Crazy! It was almost as if God was reassuring us that fulfilling our desire to bring our baby home is a priority.

These gifts from these dear people brought to mind all of you who bought t-shirts and gave towards our adoption. We are so thankful for you! It is a glorious mystery to see God's people give and give freely and without being forced to give.

The clock is ticking...(and this one is for you...you know who you are)

We are still praying that our magic phone call comes this week. My heart has started to race every time the phone rings, even though I know the call will probably come toward the end of the week, if it comes at all this week...

Our DTE buddy (DTE = dossier to Ethiopia, this means their paperwork was sent to Ethiopia in the same package as ours), Alisa posted a bit about why we have to wait longer for our referall and why fees are going up. She explains the situation so well, so visit her blog if you are interested.

And...some families met their children for the first time yesterday. Get ready for chills and tears. Reading about and watching what we are about to experience is crazy! I am so thankful and so happy for these families. The Lusse family was full of encouragement for those of us still waiting. These are the other families picking up their sweet ones: the Redfern, Schmidt, VenWetten, and Wempe families.

I have been reading Romans in the morning when I come to work, before the girls come out from their rooms. Some of it is pretty heavy reading at 6:30am, but I press on. Last week I read this passage:

Romans 8:24-28 "For in hope we have been saved, but hope that is seen is not hope; for who hopes for what he already sees? But if we hope for what we do not see, with perseverance we wait eagerly for it. In the same way the Spirit also helps our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we should, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words; and He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He intercedes for the saints according to the will of God. And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose. "

...and it could not have been more timely...yes, I know, when Paul was writing Romans, he wasn't writing about the Reno family 2000 (?) years in the future waiting for their referral call, but regardless, the Holy Spirit used these truths to comfort my heart and mind. God is good!

Time to Pray! (again)

Ok friends and family, it is time to pray, pray, pray, pray...we recently found out that our adoption agency is raising some of it's fees, starting on November 1st. This is all for good and above-board reasons. No, they are not trying to squeeze more money out of us. It is genuinely needed for several reasons, including keeping our kiddo and the other sweet ones at the orphanage and Transition Home clothed, fed, healthy and loved.

So, please pray that we receive our referral before November 1st, not only because of the fee situation, but also because we are so ready to bring this baby home!! There is a decent chance that we won't recieve our referral before the end of the month and also for good and above-board reasons. If we don't, then please pray that God would provide the extra $4000-some. Yes, a lot of money, but He brought us the first $17,000, so we are pretty sure He can pull this off.

In the mean time, visit these blogs...they are families who just passed court in Ethiopia and are traveling within the next 4-8 weeks to pick up their long-awaited kiddos...so exciting!

the Nunez family
the Britton family
the Laughner family
the Hammond family

Also, please be praying for the Forrest family, who recently found out that the little girl who was referred to them passed away.

In case you were wondering...

I almost forgot our adoption update...notice that our little ticker at the top of the page says that we have been waiting 7 months for our referral. So it is about that time...the predicted wait time is 5-7 months. There is a group of 4 families that are next in line for a baby boy, and we are one of those families! I found that out last Friday as I was rushing out the door to an English Dept meeting at school. Of course, I had to check the Yahoo Group one more time for any referral news. Needless to say, I was quite breathless by the time I found Chris to tell him the news (lucky guy - he was on lunch duty).

Anyway, we could receive our referral anytime now...I think...Crazy!

So let's just pretend...

...that October didn't just begin today...and that I am not 2 months late posting some additional summer adventures with TeamReno. I guess it is my blog, so I can operate according to TeamReno time.

Here is some of our early summer produce. The squash grew bigger as the summer went on and the larger tomatoes just began to ripen a couple of weeks ago. My hubby and I are throughly convinced that fresh garden tomatoes are just about the tastiest part of summer (and bbq) ...with some olive oil and vinegar - yum!



Towards the end of the summer, we took a trip to northern California to fish and relax and write some thesis (that didn't quite work out). The fishing was great - Chris caught a couple of large trout, and I caught my first fish on a fly rod!



The fam came over for some slip slide and bbq...







That's all for now!

Update from crazy land

I can't believe it has been over a month since my last post. School started 2 1/2 weeks ago, so that is a decent excuse, right? Our life is craaaaaazy right now - but great! Chris is teaching, which is something we have praying for for a long time. Yes, we prayed for this chaos, knowing full well that it would be chaos. Chris' days are a bit more chaotic and exhausting than mine, as he is teaching 3 different subjects in 4 different classrooms. But he loves it!

Chris and I are absolutely loving having a normal schedule (6:30am-6ish as opposed to 3:30pm-12am). We get to eat dinner together at home - what a novel concept! Sitting down together in the evening over a home-cooked meal, thanking God for our busy, tiring day, adds an amazing amount of stability and peace to our lives.

On an adoption note - did you notice that we have been waiting for our referral for 6 months? And we are in the "Top 10," which is a list that some uber-organized ladies in our Yahoo Group have put together to keep track of where we all are in this crazy process. I don't think I have thanked them yet for taking the time to do this – so, if you are reading this, thank you!

This means is that we will most likely (dangerous words to use) receive our referral by the end of the month or early October. We will see...

Saying goodbye

Graduation is always very bittersweet for us. 2 1/2 months of unscheduled time are just around the corner. But at the same time we have to say goodbye to the seniors who are moving onto the next phase of life. Keep in mind that as deans, we spend almost every day of the school year, 8 hours a day, sometimes more, with these kids. We are a strange melding of teacher/parent/friend/brother/sister. As Chris says, we get to see them when “they let their hair down.” We watch them grow (and hopefully mature) from little freshmen to almost grown men and women. Crazy! This must be a bit how parents feel. It is also just part of the chaotic, difficult, joyful, fun adventure of working with high school students. The changes that take place between 9th and 12th grade are mind-blowing. Our hope is that the kids grow closer to our Savior as well as in stature and knowledge.

We have so many pictures from graduation, I can't possibly post all of them...but here are some!

Mother's Day

Yes, I know, Mother's Day was a good 2 months ago, but I forgot to share our Mother's Day happenings.

I traveled to Oregon to spend Mother's Day with my mom and the rest of the family. My mom and stepdad are building my grandma a "granny cottage" behind their home. Almost all of my grandma's kids were there to celebrate the ground breaking. My grandma's house was always my favorite place to be growing up. She made oatmeal sweetened in every sense of the word with lots of brown sugar, whipped cream and butter. She made the best cinnamon rolls. She and my grandpa played the banjo. She and my grandpa (who passed away unexpectedly last summer) had a pool. She gave great hugs and knew how to fix almost any owie (sp?) under the sun. My grandpa had a serious sweet tooth and a "secret" candy stash that all the grandkids knew about. I love my grandma and miss my grandpa very much.

Anyway, here are some pictures of the fam. enjoy!

My mom, Grandma Marita, Uncle Rob and Uncle Howie.

The girls.

2 of Chris' favorite things - his wife and the Smith River.

Me and mi madre.

Lazy Days of Summer??

I think it has been over a month now since I have posted anything. I am hoping I can assume that all of my faithful (?) readers have been putting their precious time to good use instead of checking to see if the Renos have posted anything new.

We have been keeping very busy writing a thesis (Chris - my job is make sure he eats and doesn't despair), working in the dorm (Anna), starting Pilates (Anna - love it!), spending time with family, gardening, reading, etc.... I also decided to start my spring cleaning in July. Maybe the realization that school starts in less than a month motivated me to attack the accumulating dust bunnies and spider's nests.

Anyway, here some pictures that I managed to remember to take along the way...

Aaliyah's First Catch

They are having a good time, despite appearances.

Chris' first Father's Day card.

Believe it or not, I think he is trying to smile.

The Baers came over for dinner and surprised us
with their ukulele and banjo playing skills.

Chris' parents were so kind and took us to SF for the weekend. I saw so many parts of the city that I had never seen before. This was at a coffee shop near Union Square (I think) that made coffee using a vacuum brewers. The shop looked very much like a science lab (MJTarr would have enjoyed, I think).

Maybe halfway there?

Well, halfway to referral at least. We have been waiting for our referral for 3 1/2 months. The time has flown by.

We just received new info from our family coordinator that the wait is now 7-9 months from sending our dossier to Ethiopia (which happened 3/3/08) to receiving a referral. This means we may receive our referral between September and November. Also, the new time frame from referral to travel is now 8-12 weeks, which means we may travel anywhere between November and February.

But we have to remember that this is international adoption, which is very unpredictable. So we are just waiting on God's timing, which is perfect. I do have my moments when I want to a mom NOW, but thankfully I have a husband who is so kind and so loving and so encouraging, so these times of impatience don't usually last very long.

A heavy thought

I have just started emailing back and forth with this kind, kind lady. This post she wrote about the AHOPE orphanage broke my heart. Chris and I have talked about adopting an HIV+ child and each time have been overcome with the heaviness of the thought. But we both know that God can do much more in us and through us than we think possible. Not that we are ready take such a step yet. For now we are sponsoring a child with HIV who lives in the AHOPE orphanage. He wants to be a professional soccer when he grows up.

School is out!

Chris is still at the dorm cleaning up a little but should be home soon. We are trying to think of some inexpensive way to celebrate, but I think he is really wanting to sit down and do some thesis work (which consists of reading 2 of his favorite authors - Flannery O'Connor and JG Hamann).

I will be working in the dorm for summer school, but just a couple days a week. And...I may have to teach summer school (I hope not!) if the teacher is called in for jury duty. The extra income would be helpful, but cramming many weeks of Biology into one class period does not sound fun to me.

Update

Some good news and not-so-good news (depending on how you look at it)...

First, it has been raining in Addis Ababa for the past couple of days. Praise God! We do need to continue to pray for the food shortages in Ethiopia - many, many children are close to starvation in several areas of Ethiopia.

Second, it looks like our wait for our referral is getting longer. Instead of 5-7 months from March 3rd, it is now 7-9 months, which means at the earliest we would receive our referral in September and would travel 6-8 weeks later (October/November). This is all in God's hands. I've mentioned before that Chris needs to write/finish his thesis over these next 6 months and he is teaching next school year, so this will all work out for our good. But we are definitely getting antsy!

Several families in our agency received referrals in May - families who have been waiting a loooong time. I think since October. And, also very exciting, several families are traveling to Ethiopia sometime this week to meet their children.

Catch up

It is the chaotic last 2 weeks of school so blogging is not at the top of my priority list. Yes you read right - 2 more weeks! And then we have Sundays off until forever, God willing. This summer will hopefully hold much thesis-writing (Chris - not me), fishing, camping and catching up with family and friends.

As far as adoption news goes - we may receive our referral in July or August, which may mean travel in November. Key word being "may" as in "maybe" as in "God is in complete control but I really hope we travel sooner but it will probably be later." But really, we trust in God's timing and we know that God hears listens to the prayers of the saints, so....Please pray that we would be able to travel at least before the end of the year!

One thing you can pray for: Ethiopia is experiencing a drought right now and is in desperate need of rain. Because of this the government is enforcing rolling power outages, which is making life for Ethopians very difficult (more so than it already is) and is slowing up the process for adoptive families (b/c gov't offices are closed due to no power). Please pray for rain for Ethiopia!

Also, if you are interested, World Vision is taking donations for both the Chinese and Burmese (Myanmarese??) disasters. They are a very trustworthy, Christian relief organization.

God's work is unceasing

As we continue to explore and learn more about international adoption, Ethiopia and Africa, I continue to be amazed and blessed by the creative ways God's people are reaching out and spreading the Gospel, in word and in deed. AHOPE and CALM Ministries are 2 organizations that I have come across.

AHOPE runs orphanages in Ethiopia for children with HIV. Chris and I just tonight signed up to become a sponsor for one of those children. Here is their mission statement: "The Mission of African HIV Orphans: Project Embrace is to offer a two-pronged approach to the devastation caused by the AIDS virus in Ethiopia.

• Provide a nurturing, stimulating, loving home for infected children orphaned by the disease
• Provide comprehensive, accurate education to families, staff, and the local community regarding AIDS prevention and care of infected loved ones."

CALM (Christian African Leadership Ministry) Ministries is based in Rwanda and is run by a Rwandan couple. They are "committed to glorifying God by enabling and equipping people to do the work of ministry and helping needy people to help themselves." This includes taking in orphans and running an orphanage that our adoption agency is working with.

Please visit both websites to learn more.

As iron sharpens iron

So my thought-provoking friend Mrs. Schwager is not letting me get away with posting a thought-provoking piece of news without actually posting my thoughts. In a comment she left on my previous post, she said, "but the question is: what are your thoughts on this? do you immerse your child in as much ethiopian culture as you can? just talk about it a little as interest dictates? not talk about it at all?"

We have been thinking about this and the myriad of other issues that come with international adoption. Our greatest challenge has been to think about these things prayerfully, through the lens of Scripture.

Through this adoption we are bringing a piece of Ethiopia into our family. In Scripture it is clear that ethnic heritage is an important part of who we are, not THE most important part, but still important. We would be silly and blind to the creativity of God if we ignored our child's ethnic heritage. The most important culture in our child's life will be our family culture and because we are bringing Ethiopia into our home, Ethiopian culture will unavoidably become a part of that. We are not sure exactly how, but I don't think that is something we need to figure out completely right now.

Any other thoughts??

Another "Dappled thing"

In the Hopkinsesque vein of things: this is pied beauty spoken through the flesh of a Colorado Cutthroat Trout

Rippin' Lip

Devin O'Donnell and I (Chris . . . just to make things really clear since my wife does most of the posting here) took a quick little five hour trip up to Redding to fish the mighty Lower Sacramento River. Although we only had a few actual hours of "pree-me-yum" fly fishing time, we did manage to net this beautiful native rainbow trout. The sucker was huge. Unfortunately, as I was pulling him out of the net to take the "trophy shot," I straight up dropped him. I could sense God asking me, "Are you going to thank Me even without the ego image?" Praise God for the gift of fly fishing with a blessed bru and the beauty of creation . . . exquisitely sung by G.M. Hopkins below:

Pied Beauty (1877)
Gerard Manley Hopkins

Glory be to God for dappled things--
For skies of couple-colour as a brinded cow;
For rose-moles all in stipple upon trout that swim;
Fresh-firecoal chestnut-falls; finches' wings; Landscape plotted and pieced--fold, fallow, and plough
And áll trádes, their gear and tackle and trim.
All things counter, original, spare, strange;
Whatever is fickle, freckled (who knows how?)
With swift, slow; sweet, sour; adazzle, dim;
He fathers-forth whose beauty is past change: Praise Him.

Where are we?

We haven't really posted anything about our adoption in awhile, mostly because we are still in that 5-7 month waiting period for our referral (match). We have been waiting about a month now.

It is exciting watching other families from agency get their referrals...so great to see families who have been waiting and waiting finally see a picture of their long-awaited little one(s).

Meanwhile, we are keeping busy with working in the dorms, tutoring (me), preparing to write a thesis (Chris), praying for a teaching position for Chris next year, getting addicted to Lost (we are on Season 2) and generally really enjoying being married.

We are also wondering what chaos may await next year with Chris writing his thesis and possibly teaching and us having a new baby. We will need much prayer.

Sprouting

I am on a blog posting frenzy tonight. It would seem as though I have lots of time on my hands, except that I need to go workout and make muffins for a baby shower.

But first, here is my first experiment with growing things from seed. Hopefully, I will be posting pictures of the "fruit" of my labor, or rather our Creator's handiwork. All I have to do is make sure they have plenty of sun and water, and I can't even take credit for those essentials.

He is Risen!

Some pictures from Easter with the Reno fam.