Gloria in Excelsis Deo!

Drumroll, please...

We are thrilled to announce
that Elianna Ray
is officially OURS as of today!

(More photos here. As usual, email or leave a guestbook message for the password.)

PRAISE THE LORD! This morning when we heard, pandemonium erupted at our house and in the houses of our family and friends when we made those calls. All across Orange County and beyond there was a lot of whooping and hollering, much shrieking and aaallllriiiiiiights!, and even a little dancing to 80's music. Ricker exploded into the Running Man, Stirring the pot, the Robot, moonwalking, and belly rolling while "woot woot"-ing. Marg pogoed around and Jackie just laughed and laughed at the rest of us going wild in the family room to the English Beat!

Then we praised the Lord together thanking Him for this beautiful gift He's giving us, a daughter and sister!

"I will praise You, O Lord, will all my heart;
I will tell of all Your wonders.
I will be glad and rejoice in You;
I will sing praises to Your name, O Most High." Psalm 9:1-2

What JOY! We are elated!

A few days ago one of our travelmates, Lori, sent us Daniel 1:9 "Now God had caused the official to show favor and sympathy to Daniel..." What a comfort to read in Scripture that the Lord can and does CAUSE a change in the decisions of government to bring about His Holy will.

So, we are leaving on the 17th to bring our little sunflower home. Feel free to join in on the happy dance! I think all of heaven is doing a jig (but maybe not the Running Man) along with us! HOORAY!!!

Rejoicing in "Not a NO"

"Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus." Philippians 4: 4-7

This morning we heard from AGCI that it's still a possibility that the adoption will go through this week! Julie said that the issue is, "still being sorted out although it looks positive for you to still travel." Almaz in Ethiopia located Elianna Ray's birth grandmother who is "very favorable towards this adoption and our family" and is working on the request from the Ministry of Womens Affairs. We should know for sure on Friday morning if it's a done deal or we have to wait until the fall, so please keep that in your prayers!

NEW PICTURES HERE! We have new photos of Elianna Ray. Again, sorry about the privacy issue per our adoption agency. If you're interested in seeing them just email us or leave a message in the guest book (right hand side of this page on the top). Elianna Ray received our love package, so in the photos she's wearing clothes from Papa & Mama and snuggling in one of her new blankets. She's such a sugar!

Also, for those of you who have asked, yes, we will still be gathering donations to Hannah's Hope Ethiopia all the way to our departure date. We intend to look like heavy-laden pack mules on the way there with basic necessities and gifts for the HHE kids. If you're interested in contributing, we're shopping for:

• Similac soy formula and regular formula (powder form)
  
• Diapers (preemie, newborn and pull-ups are needed the most)
• Baby wipes
• A&D ointment diaper cream
  
• New clothing and shoes for girls and boys, sizes infant- 10 years old (tall & slim)
• Games for the outdoors (sidewalk chalk, rocket balloons, Frisbees, etc.)
• Shampoo that is specific to African hair

By the way, I wanted to say how much we appreciate our OCEAN friends (Orange County Ethiopian Adoption Network) who have been especially encouraging and uplifting throughout this process and are going through a lot of the same issues along with us. We so enjoyed the family BBQ at our house in July. It's been a privilege for us getting to know Christian families in our area who are also adopting a child or children from Africa.


The Lord is so good to remind us that although this deadline is looming over us, there truly is nothing to be anxious about. Our job is just to share with Him all our worries and stresses, to supplicate and let His peace guard our hearts and minds. Just so you know, in case that sounds too confident and mature, I've barely slept since Monday, and have been feeling barfy with fretfulness even though I give Elianna Ray's homecoming to the Lord over and over again. I'm working on that higher level of faith and peace, OK?

Thanks so much for your prayers, friends!

Please PRAY

"And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him,
and who have been called according to His purpose."
Romans 8:28

First of all, a praise report: the other three families (the Redman, Schneider, and Belcher families) scheduled to travel with us to Ethiopia to bring home their children got confirmation today that their adoptions are approved and final! HOORAY!!!

Our call was not so fun. AGCI relayed to us that the judge looked over our dossier and Elianna Ray's background information and is requiring further documentation and/or testimony before making any declarations. Almaz, our wonderful coordinator in Addis, is doing her best to gather the paperwork, etc. that he is expecting, and present it to the judge before the court closures... meaning tomorrow. Under pressure from Almaz, he said he'd be willing to stretch that date out to Friday for us, but as of right now we are being told to prepare to wait until late October at the earliest to travel to Elianna Ray and bring her home.

Our first response was to be very discouraged and angry that all of this wasn't taken care of before now. But, Michael and I were reminded of the crucial truth that all of heaven and earth is in the Lord's hands so we need to press on in faith that He will work it out. Elianna Ray is in His hands already. He is in charge; not the Ministry of Womens Affairs in Ethiopia, nor a judge, nor a social worker, nor a birth family member, nor us for that matter. And, His timing is perfect. He will dot every I and cross every T when it is perfectly right that it should be done.

I have found myself today in almost constant conversation with Christ imploring Him for help and reminding Him "that in all things (even in this worrisome kafuffle!) He works for the good of those who love Him, and who have been called according to His purpose."

And, no matter what He chooses, whether Elianna comes home in August or November, I will praise His Name! Amen!

Our Water Broke!

The Countdown to Gotcha Day has officially begun!

This morning we got THE CALL from our agency that (disclaimer, disclaimer, disclaimer) Elianna Ray's adoption will probably get processed this week! We have a tentative Embassy date of 8/20, which is Evangeline's birthday. So, Evangeline will likely celebrate her 1st birthday in Ethiopia with her new baby sister!

HALLELUJAH!

Mother and I were commenting that it's bittersweet that the Lord is lending us this little angel just after He called Granddaddy Home. The Lord giveth and taketh away; blessed be the name of the Lord!

One month from today, God willing, we will be home with our littlest treasure in tow. Thank you, Jesus, for Your many blessings! Thank you, dear ones, for your prayers. You are loved by us.

Thank You, Jesus, for Granddaddy

"Well done, good and faithful servant"
Matthew 25:23

Raymond Carl Ortlund, Sr.

July 9th, 1923 - July 22nd, 2007

Ray & Anne Ortlund

Auntie Sherry & Granddaddy

Yesterday we said goodbye to Granddaddy, Ray Ortlund, until we meet again in Heaven. He called his family to him, spoke words of love and exhortation over each one, joked and laughed, sang songs of praise to the Lord, and then slipped quietly away into the presence of the Lord. What a beautiful, beautiful man! We are so glad to have known and loved him.

Grandmother & Granddaddy meeting Evangeline

Yesterday at the hospital there were tears and sadness, not for him, but for us. He lived ferociously for Jesus, passionately burning all the way to the wick for the Gospel of Christ, and loved everyone he encountered along the way. He modeled pursuing a vibrant, Christ-centered, and exciting marriage all the way through life. He loved his family and championed them in every trial and suffering. He put his hands on his kids, grandkids, and great-grandkids to pray over them every chance he got, every time we met.

Sumner & Granddaddy

He discipled men and women across the globe and shepherded pastors and missionaries. He just loved the Body of Christ with all his heart. He didn't have one enemy in the world. He loved and loved and loved, no matter what he received in return. He did well.

Granddaddy, Lisa holding Matthew, and Heather

I'm so proud that our daughter, Elianna Ray, is named after such a Godly, selfless, fun, encouraging, faithful man. I'm sorry she never got to meet him here on this earth. Granddaddy and Mother were joking the other day that maybe Elianna Ray will share more than just his name. Maybe she'll like to run on the beach. Maybe she'll be a little pigeon-toed. Maybe she'll like pickled herring.

Dan, Mindy, Elijah, Granddaddy & Bethanne

It's wonderful to realize that now Granddaddy is renewed. He's not in pain. I envision him in his heavenly body, running on streets of gold, blond hair blowing in the wind, tanned, laughing, smiling, praising the Lord for eternity. He's in the presence of Jesus! Hallelujah!

Granddaddy, Buddy & Dan

I'm so grateful for Granddaddy. I will miss him so much until we see him again in Glory.

Don't miss these tributes:
Dane Ortlund
Uncle Ray Ortlund
John Piper
Daily Pilot Newspaper
Haven
Mission Network News
Assist News
Good News Daily
BHM

Travel Papers are on the way

"All power, authority,
all splendor, and majesty,
are HIS
from the beginning and evermore!"

On the 9th, we found out from All God's Children that we have an itty-bitty chance of getting our adoption completed before the August/September court closures. All of our paperwork is there. It's just a matter of whether or not they get to it before July 31st! If so, that means that we might be able to travel to Ethiopia and bring our daughter, Elianna Ray, home this month! or early in August!

It's completely hopeless to try not to get too excited. We're gone. Game over. We're praying with all our hearts that it works out that we'll be able to bring our princess home before the court closes.

Please, pray along with us that our adoption gets completed before July 31st! Wouldn't that be fantastic?!

Praise the Lord!

OH BABY!

"I prayed for this child, and the Lord has granted me what I asked of Him."
1 Samuel 1:27

On July 3rd our friend Judy shared this verse with us and then on that same day Martha from All God's Children called us and asked, "Are you sitting down?"
My first thought was, "OH NO! Something went wrong already."
Then Martha said, "I have a referral for you!!"

What an incredible shock! Just mere days into the months of waiting for which we were emotionally preparing ourselves, the Lord gave us this incredible gift of an absolutely gorgeous baby girl.



Ethiopian name: Betelihem (Bethlehem)
Estimated birthdate: January 31, 07
Birthplace: Yeka, near Addis Ababa



After much ado, we've decided her new name is Elianna Ray. The kids are already calling her "Ellie". Elianna is a Hebrew name, appropriate for a girl named Betelihem at birth, which means "my God has provided". It is further a combination of Elizabeth (for Grandmother Elizabeth Anne Ortlund) and Anna (my middle name). Ray is for Granddaddy, Ray Ortlund.

Elianna Ray was brought to Hannah's Hope from Enat Alem orphanage. All of her medical tests came back negative and she appears to be "normal" and healthy, well-nourished. She's doing well at HH, smiling, cooing, lots of interacting. It's a fantastic report!

Elianna is now 5 months old and has chubby cheeks and bright, dark brown eyes, and she's adorably bald. We are so thankful to the Lord that He is allowing us to be her Forever family! And, yes, we've done the math... Evangeline and Elianna Ray are just five months apart. This is what we get for praying for twins years ago! God has a great sense of humor.

When Margie heard the news and saw her pictures she burst into elated tears and said, "Oh, I'm going to knit her a blanket right now!"
Ricker "And I'll draw her some pictures!"
Jackie, "I'm going to... teach her self-defense!"

What's next? So far we hear that we'll likely travel to Africa to bring Elianna home in October or November because the Ethiopian court closures in August and September delay the normal amount of time between referral and travel.

Prayer requests:

1. First and foremost, for Elianna Ray, for her health and well-being, for safety and a sense of security while she's at Hannah's Hope. Pray for her foster mother as she loves on our daughter.
2. Please pray for us as we prepare our hearts and home for this precious little girl.
   

PICTURES! For privacy reasons dictated by our adoption agency, we cannot share Elianna's photos on this webpage. However, if you would like a sneak peek at our beautiful little daughter you may check out our password-protected galleries here.

Just leave a message in our guestbook on the top right of this page, email, or call for the password and we'll get it to you right away.

THANK YOU, everyone, for your prayers and kind notes, encouraging phone calls, guestbook messages, and incredible support! We cannot express our gratefulness adequately. We are blessed to have such wonderful friends and family.

Love,
Michael, Laurie, Margie, Ricker, Jackie & Evangeline

Our Dossier is en route to Ethiopia!

"Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up."
Galatians 5:9

That's one of our all-time favorite verses, one that we keep taped to the bathroom mirror, scribbled on our to-do lists and Daytimers, and written on sticky notes to each other. The Lord is obviously big on endurance. We're supposed to be able to grow in our ability to persevere in pursuits, and He in turn promises to make it pay off in spades.

That said, after all these months we have an exciting praise report to share. We prayed over, kissed, and sent off our Dossier to the adoption agency in early June!

Here are all the documents, and then the whole bundle ready to go:

Thank you for praying that this leg of the process would not be fraught with delays as we've experienced so far... We are thrilled that it was approved with ZERO corrections, amendments, or additions! Praise the Lord because that was no small miracle! From the adoption agency, it was sent to the state capitol for authentication and we were notified that on the 26th it was sent to Addis Ababa for translation! We are thrilled that this initial phase is finally finished.

Now the wait for a referral begins! We've been told that it will be 2-6 months. Christmas seems far off, but ultimately the timing is in Christ's hands.

Prayer requests:

1. First and foremost, pray for our precious little daughter to whom we've not yet been introduced. Pray for her health, her caregivers, her emotional well being, and for her birth family.
2. Please PRAY that our dossier is kept safe and nothing gets lost or damaged. We've asked the Lord to send angels along with that precious package.
3. Pray for Marg, Ricker, Jackie & Evangeline as they prepare their hearts for a little sister.
4. Lastly, please pray for us as we consider how we may contribute to the orphanage where our baby will live for a few months until we take her home. We're asking the Lord to show us what He wants us to do. Our original plan was to bring supplies and gifts when go there as a one time thing, but we're also thinking about committing to go back there on a mission trip with others to build needed facilities, or a school, or help care for children, or birth or adoptive families... who knows? So, please pray for us on that front, too.
   

Anyway, while all of this was going on, June was chock full of busy happenings:

Evangeline decided to walk for real, no more of this crawling and cruising bologna. Now she's tough to contain. Just in the last few days she's become a woman on the move! It's hysterical to see because she's such an itty bitty peanut for her age. She looks way too little to walk. A few weeks ago she still needed assistance, now she's g-o-n-e! Another fun item: Jackie WON his tennis tournament. WOO HOO! And, Marg graduated from 8th grade, so she is an official high schooler... How is that possible?!?

Our new little niece, Charlotte Ruby McClure, was born June 14th and she is such a muffin! Our brother and sister, Buddy and Becky, as well as nephews Johnny & Lincoln already adore little Charlie. And, Johnny's thrilled that he convinced his parents that "Woobie" should be his baby sister's name!

Our McClure family shared a very special birthday party for Papa's 88th on Father's Day. It was truly a delightful time with 52 of our family. We celebrated Papa's birthday along with Papa & Grams' 65th anniversary and Auntie Will's 60th birthday. What a happy, happy time!

We also enjoyed a couple of fun family field trips, one to see a stage play and the other to the San Diego Zoo with the Welch family.



Coolest news: our new teacher, Miss Briana, who is sharing homeschooling with Laurie started this month! Briana is a recent Biola grad who is on fire for Jesus, and we are SO thankful that the Lord has sent us this wonderful young woman.



As we've said the last few months, THANK YOU to those of you have continued to pray for our beloved grandparents Ray Ortlund, Anne Ortlund, and John McClure. Our God is in the business of miracles and we've already seen so many for our grandfolk. It's really wonderful! If you'd like an update on their improvement, leave us a message in the guestbook or email us.

Speaking of the guestbook, would you take a minute to sign ours? (Top right of this page) We're looking forward to sharing sweet messages from friends and family with our little daughter someday. Thank you!

Working on our Dossier

"I waited patiently for the Lord; He turned to me and heard my cry. He lifted me out of the slimy pit, out of the mud and the mire; He set my feet upon a rock and gave me a firm place to stand. He put a new song in my mouth, a hymn of praise to our God." Psalm 40:1-3a

We often wake up in the early morning and say to each other, "Maybe today is her birthday. Maybe she's still in her birth mama's belly. Maybe she's already born. What might she be doing? Taking a bath? Napping?" How I long to hold her now and kiss her toes and fingers and tummy!

We cannot thank the Lord enough for His mercies and grace. He is a magnificent and glorious God! He is protecting our dear daughter wherever she is right now. He is caring for her every need and preparing the way for her to become part of our family. Isn't that an amazing realization? As Marg would say, "God ROCKS!"

I'll tell ya what... It's no wonder that the Lord talks about waiting so much in Scripture. Adoption is a waiting game and I'm not very good at it. I get stuck in the slimy pit (it's more like a dungeon sometimes) of grumbling about time wasting delays, snags, mistakes in documentation, and irritating holdups. I have to smack myself around now and then that this is just the way it goes and the Bible tells me in Philippians 4:4 to "rejoice in the Lord ALWAYS". Whining and griping won't make the time go by any more enjoyably for me or anyone else around me! Other adoptive families know that during this process a few weeks may pass and then there will be a flurry of paperwork to do, and then you wait some more. The beautiful thing is...

He has it all perfectly planned!

The best news of the month is that our Home Study is FINALLY DONE! Praise God! Neither of our previous Home Studies have ever been this monumental of a task, and that's saying a LOT! So, thank Jesus, that's finally in the bag!!!

We're now working on our Ethiopian Dossier, which is the package of documents that will be sent to Addis Ababa, translated, and hopefully approved by the Ethiopian Ministry of Women's Affairs office so we can begin the wait for a referral of a baby! We're hoping to finish up the Dossier this next month and have it approved by our agency ASAP, so please pray for us that all of our paperwork is accepted "as is" (i.e. minimal corrections).

We started out this month by throwing a baby shower for sister Becky and little baby Charlotte! What a fun, fun time. Buddy and Becky, and Lincoln and Johnny have been waiting for this little princess for a long time and now she's almost here. We can hardly wait to see her precious face. It's so fun to realize that Evangeline, Charlie, and Baby will be girlfriends and will grow up being near and dear to each other.



We also had Jay, a friend from Westmont College, staying with us. We had a great time catching up and hearing about his move to California from Nashville, TN. Jay joined us for Mother's day brunch at our home honoring our beautiful, godly, elegant, fun, and delightful Maternal Person. What a fantastic Mama we have! Mother's Day is always such a treat, but this year it was even more fun because it was the first one with Evangeline.



Jackie turned a great big 7 this month, too! Our big guy (who's a full head taller than most 7-year-olds) decided that he wanted to visit Shamu, so we spent three days in San Diego celebrating his special day.




Life is so good. Jesus is so good. We praise the Lord as we wait for our beloved Ethiopian baby!

Thank you for your continued prayers for our dear grandparents Ray Ortlund, Anne Ortlund, and John McClure. If you'd like an update on their progress, leave us a message in the guestbook or email us.

Dealing with the inevitable delays

"So she (Mary Magdalene) came running to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one Jesus loved, and said, "They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we don't know where they have put him!" John 20:2 NIV

HE IS RISEN!

Happy Easter! The Lord is risen indeed! I love this verse because this moment is so common in life. We can be blinded by the crisis, heartbreak, or trial that we're in the middle of and although God's already beautifully solved it in the most wonderful, miraculous, and unexpected way, we can't see it yet! It's so easy to panic and be even more upset at some new revelation because we don't yet understand the significance of what's happened. God has raised the dead! He's saved us by grace! He's miraculously crushed the Enemy and claimed victory!

Celebrating Easter always reminds me of just how deep the Lord's love is for us. How incredible it is to realize that He cares so very deeply about His babies. All of His babies. Red and yellow, black and white, they are precious in His sight. Jesus loves the little children of the world. Amen!

Here are all the cousins after the grand Easter Egg Hunt at our house:



The paperwork continues. We thought that we were finally done with our Home Study, but it has been delayed... again. Jackie reminded me of this old song the other day when I was getting frustrated:

Have patience, have patience
Don't be in such a hurry
When you get impatient
You only start to worry
Remember, remember
That God is patient, too
And, think about the times
When others had to wait for you

Out of the mouths of babes!

Cute kid alert: Our 5-year-old nephew Johnny tried unsuccessfully for months to convince his parents to name his baby sister Ruby (he says "Woobie"). Being not easily deterred, he decided that maybe Evangeline could be called "Woobie" instead. We assured him that, no, Evangeline already had a name.

"Well, maybe her middle name could be Evangeline and her first name could be Woobie."
"No, hun. It's Evangeline."
"Or how about we just call her Woobie?"
After we said no, he replied, "OK, well then maybe I'll just call her Woobie."
We said, "No, babe, she's Evangeline."

So, now, you guessed it, our new baby on the way has been dubbed "Woobie" by Johnny. He's praying that it'll stick. We just love that little guy!

This month we enjoyed the field trip we've been planning for literally years... two weeks in Washington, D.C.! We had such a fantastic time seeing the awesome places that have crafted this great nation. We also were able to visit with our dear Sweet family, Great-Uncle and Aunt Chuck & Margie Wright, and Great-Uncle and Aunt Gordon & Mary Alice Keller, which was so precious to us. Wow, we are so blessed to be related to these incredible people!

A few personal favorites for us were visiting Great-granddaddy, Great-grandmother's and Great-Uncle Robert's graves at Arlington Cemetery, Mount Vernon, the Supreme Court, the US Naval Academy at Annapolis, Maryland, Gettysburg, Jamestown, Williamsburg, and the beauty Amish country in Intercourse (countless jokes shall remain unrepeated!) and Bird-in-Hand, Pennsylvania.

Thank you again to everyone who has been praying for the health of our grandparents Ray Ortlund, Anne Ortlund, and John McClure. If you'd like an update on their progress, just leave a message in the guestbook or email us.

After a tour of the White House


Jackie with former Speaker of the House, Dennis Hastert (who, it turns out, is in my Great-Uncle's discipleship group!)


The reflecting pool


At the Capitol


Margie & Evie in Jamestown


Mount Vernon


Jackie (who wants desperately to be in the military) with a plebe at the US Naval Academy


Cherry blossoms


At the spot where Lincoln gave his Gettysburg address


Uncle Chuck, Uncle Gordon, Auntie Margie, and Auntie Mary Alice


We need one of these at home! (The boys in Williamsburg)