Saturday, December 31, 2011

Only a Year Ago

Only a year ago.  That's what has been running through my mind over the last couple of days. You see, the year 2011 has brought about some HUGE changes for the Wiginton family.  As I sit here and recollect what the last year has been for our family I am overwhelmed by God's grace in our lives and how He continues to bless us by His faithfulness (even when I haven't been so faithful sometimes).

 This very time last year I had no intentions of adopting.  We had two wonderful kids, Alex and Avery. In my heart I felt that we were a complete family, but I was completely unaware that God had some new and wonderful things in store for us just around the corner.  A little history to our story ... we were married young, had two children and were told that it wouldn't be a good idea for us to have anymore children naturally.  Well I, Nick, was completely content with this, I mean we had two perfectly healthy, absolutely awesome children. What else did we need?  Years pass, six to be exact, and while Millie had felt that our family just wasn't complete for some time I just never had a peace about adding to our family. I knew that if we were supposed to, God was going to have to change my whole viewpoint and heart on the matter.  Well to say the least He did!  Only a short few weeks from the beginning of 2011 He began to tug and pull on my heart so that it would be aligned to His will for our lives.  I was overwhelmed by these new feelings I was having and didn't really know what to do about it.  As we began to talk and pray about what He was showing us it became abundantly clear that adoption was in the near future for our lives.  So over the last twelve months I have sat back and watched God move in ways that I could not have even imagined.  Doors have been opened that were shut, ways have been made crystal clear when it looked as though I didn't know what our next step might look like. He has been right in front of us clearing the path as we walk down this new journey in our lives.  The way that He has put together all the pieces and how they have fit so perfectly together is nothing short of incredible and nothing in a million years that me, Millie, or anyone else could have ever orchestrated.  I am overwhelmed at how He allows and wants us to be part of this journey with Him in caring for those who need us, and sometimes I feel as though I need them worse than they need me. 

So as we embark on 2012 our family will grow from 4 to 5 to 6 to however many God wants us to be...and that's just fine with us.  Actually it's better than fine, it's WONDERFUL and we can't wait for it to happen!

Well our journey isn't over yet, maybe halfway...hopefully.  But that's ok with us, we will persevere and it will all come together in His perfect timing.  That doesn't mean I always like His timing but it is always best, so much better than when I try to do things on my own.  So I will sit and wait and be grateful for all He has taught me on this journey so far. I could use a good dose of patience anyway.  This has got to be the lesson of my life for 2011, "learn to let God move you, no matter how far fetched it may seem at first". 

Thank you to all who have followed our journey through 2011, who have encouraged us and prayed for us along the way.  It means the world to us and we don't want to know what it would be like to walk this out without all your love and support.

Nick

Paperwork Complete!!!

WOW!  Some days I thought we'd never get all the paperwork for our dossier complete, but we have!  Yesterday we were able to travel to Montgomery to have the Secretary of State authenticate our final two documents, which completed our dossier.  Now Monday morning we will be sending it to Washington D.C. to have the Department of State and the Ethiopian Embassy authenicate it as well so that it can be sent to Ethiopia.  Whew, what a relief to finally have it all done.  Now I'm sure the hardest part....the WAITING...is about to really begin but that's ok, we are getting closer with each step and that feels really good!  Hopefully we will be able to have it processed fairly quickly so that we can get on to the referral process and then the Ethiopian court date.  

Friday, December 30, 2011

Guess what we got today!!!

                                                           Do you know what this is?

     We got our USCIS approval today! Woop! Woop! We are ecstatic. This is what we have been waiting for since having our fingerprints done in November. We are heading to Montgomery in the morning to meet with the Secretary of State so that she can authenticate our power of attorney and affidavit of dossier.We then send it to D.C. to our "stork"who will personally take it to the US Department of State for their Seal and then on to the Embassy of Ethiopia for authentication. This is a HUGE milestone!
    So thankful for my Savior, not just that He came to this earth, took on flesh, and ultimately died to save me, to save us from our sins (although that would be plenty enough), but because He is absolutely in every single detail of our lives. He weaves every little strand, every moment so masterfully that it absolutely amazes me. Thank you so much for all you love and support, and more than anything for your prayers on our behalf. Big hugs to all of you, we love you more than you know.