It’s 6:30am, Saturday, January 28th.  It’s almost surreal that this day is finally here.  I haven’t slept more than a few hours a night in over a week.  My stomach is behaving badly and I can hardly put two thoughts together and make them come out of my mouth correctly.  As I’ve reflected back over the planning I realized it’s not the stuff that had to be done that stressed me out, it was my emotional investment.  Money is the only obstacle left between me…and my daughter….well, that and a whole lot of ocean.  Haha!

I wish I had been writing down every amazing God story throughout this entire journey.  I’m sure I’ll slowly recall them one by one but here are a few:

One of my responsibilities for the race was to request donations of 300 bottles of water, 300 bananas, and 300 baked items such as bagels, muffins, and pastries for the runners.  What I didn’t realize was that I needed to put my request in to the grocery stores about a month in advance so they could get corporate approval.  Instead, I put in my request ten days before the race.  Only two stores gave me any sort of answer.  The first store told me I could come pick up a $25 gift card and use it to buy the bananas we needed.  The boys and I grabbed a grocery cart, picked up the gift card at customer service and headed for the produce department.  We counted the bananas and decided to put 100 in the cart.  The boys unloaded them onto the belt at the register and as the total kept climbing I looked at the boys and said, We’re going to go over. The cashier and the young man bagging the bananas knew the amount on the gift card and heard my quiet remark to the boys.  She weighed the last bunch of bananas.  My total was twenty-five dollars and seventeen cents!  One hundred bananas for $25!

The second store said the best they could do was give us a 40 pound case.  I knew 40 pounds would be a little over a hundred bananas.  That would still leave us a hundred bananas short.

God would work it out.

I arrived at the store, request the right manager and out walks a tall skinny man carrying a case of bananas.  He loaded them in my cart and with a smile said, Are these all you needed?

I smiled, thanked him, and told him we’d purchase the rest of what we needed.  He said, If you need more just come with me! We followed him back to the produce department where he loaded us up with another case and a half of bananas, gave the boys each a plantain and told us how to cook them.  We followed him over to the floral department where he asked the boys about our race and they shared with him about their sister.  He gave them each a balloon.

300 bananas.

There’s so much more!  I’ll be back!

I praise you God for your sovereign hand resting upon us and our big event.  We give You all the glory!

…more to come.

~audrey

It’s been a rough week.

First I came down with a nasty stomach virus last Saturday night.  This was the virus that just wouldn’t quit.  When I thought I was feeling better, I’d eat a little something and be back in the bathroom within 30 minutes.

My sweet Papa, my last living grandparent, passed away last Monday.  I boarded a plane for Little Rock Wednesday morning.  I prayed that my stomach bug was gone….it wasn’t.  I wasn’t able to eat normally until Thursday!  Papa’s was the first military funeral I’d ever attended.  What an honorable celebration of life.  I am so blessed and thankful to have been able to attend.  I have pictures and video of my trip that I will share soon.  Ashley was scheduled to be induced Thursday morning.  I’ve had the privilege of attending all of her other births and I was heart-broken that I wouldn’t be able to attend the grand finale. However, thanks to modern technology, I was able to attend the delivery afterall!  Stephen (Ashley’s husband) called me on Face Time (like Skype) about thirty minutes before Natalie’s birth and I was able to “be there” for the final minutes of labor and the delivery.  It was such a special time and I am thrilled that I didn’t miss Natalie’s birth just because 700 miles separated us.  Stephen propped me up near the TV in the delivery room, where I listened, watched, and waved to the nurses.

What a fun story that will make one day.  Natalie Praise Bailey was born at 11:44am, weighing 8lbs. 9oz.  She looks exactly like her oldest brother and sister.  Absolutely precious!

I’m home now and it was wonderful to be greeted by Josh, my sweet boys, and a really clean house!  I missed them so very much but I knew they were in great hands with my dear friends Sharon, Ali, and Kelli.  Thank you ladies again for all of your love and support while I was away.  You are truly a gift to me!

One last update:

The boys’ video and $1 Challenge has raised almost $600 in the past six weeks.  But we can’t stop now.  We’re so close to the finish line!  The race is in two weeks.  We are hoping it will be our final big fundraiser before we bring Zoe home.  We have about $13,000 left in fees.  Once the race is over I will begin applying for adoption grants.  Most of them take 6-8 weeks to process.  If we don’t have any hang-ups in our paperwork, we’re hoping to get our dossier in the mail by February!  Once that is sent, we’ll be finished!  I’m praying we have a referral by my THIRTIETH BIRTHDAY:  May 25.  As I boarded the final plane yesterday, my eyes filled with tears and butterflies filled my stomach:  The next time I board a plane, it will be bound for Ethiopia….and ZOE!

I imagined what it will feel like finally holding her in my arms on the flight home.  This is the year!  Zoe is coming home!  Will you help share our video if you haven’t already?

Bringing Home Baby Zoe

~audrey

It’s here! It’s time! The Trot-to-Adopt is three weeks from Saturday! The shirts are awesome but you have to register by January 20th in order to guarantee you’ll get one on race day, January 28th. But there’s more….if you don’t live in the Augusta area but would still like to participate, you can register for the race online, raise sponsors right where you are, and we’ll mail you your shirt! Please help us spread the word and if you’re already registered, start asking all your friends, family, and neighbors to sponsor you as you run for a precious little girl in Ethiopia! When we ran last year for the Digsby family, I was able to raise $100 one Wednesday night at church! We are praying that God would use this race to spread awareness about adoption and help us raise the rest of the money we need to bring our sweet baby girl home.

SponsorshipForm

Thank you for all of your love and support!  I hope to see you ALL on Saturday, January 28th!

~audrey