Double Blessing - Krohn Family of SEVEN???

A few months ago I posted this entry Double Rainbow Kinda Day.  We were waiting for a much needed document to arrive in the mail and for our phone call letting us know when our court date was going to be so we could go meet our sweet Nahome.  I was hoping for a double miracle and thought it would be so neat to get them both.  Well, shortly after that day God gave me my double rainbow....

...our double blessings - our document came, our court date came and we got to see our son!  

At the time,we had no idea that God had another Double Rainbow Kinda Day in mind for our family.  We left and took our whole family to Ethiopia because we had fallen in love with a sweet little boy...

...what we would have never expected is that we would fall in love with another little boy while we were there!  But - God never fails, His plans always prevail, and His timing is always PERFECT!!!

While we were in Ethiopia we met several of the older kids and got the privilege to watch our kids play and interact with them.  One young man struck us from the beginning as so very sweet, handsome, and a fun kid to be around.  Jarod and Noah enjoyed playing with him, and him and Nahome were great buds.  We asked "B" how old he was and he said 9, same as Jarod.  We asked him if he had a family and he said no.  We were shocked - we couldn't figure out why such an awesome kid wouldn't be placed with a family.  So, we asked the workers and they said they were still working on his paperwork.  We knew that finalizing paperwork is always the hold up, and the reality was it can take up to a year to get the clearances needed to refer a child to a family.

We enjoyed our 10 days with our sweet Nahome and hung out with "B" when the big kids were out and about.  He began to feel like part of the family and we teasingly asked our kids what they would think about having a brother like "B".  We tearfully said goodbye to our Nahome, knowing we would be back soon!  I made sure I tracked "B" down on our last day for a last hug - I had no idea if I would ever get to see him again.  I hoped he would still be there when we came back for Nahome, but I also knew a lot of the older kids were coming to the US for a hosting program so he may not be there.

We came home and recovered from jet lag.  I spent a lot of my days looking through pictures and aching to hold my son again!  As I looked through the pics of the older kids, I remembered the fun times and my heart was pulled toward "B" yet again.  Josh and I had talked about what an amazing kid he was and what it would be like to have him in the family.  We decided that we were not going to come home and contact anyone regarding his file, inquiring when his papers would be ready, etc.  If it was God's will, then it would work out.

A couple weeks after we got home, 2 of the boys his age on our agency's Waiting Child List got assigned to the Summer Hosting Program.  This program brings older kids to the US for a 3 month time for the end of summer/early fall.  They stay with families,experience the culture,and are available for families to meet and inquire about adopting them.  My heart sunk and I knew in my heart that "B" most likely was headed to the US to spend the summer and be matched with a family.  What was so sad was that he wouldn't be there when we go get Nahome.  I truly may never see him again...

I spent Fourth of July trying to endure the wait to go pick up our son.  After 5 weeks of waiting, we still weren't submitted to Embassy to bring Nahome back to the US.  A couple short days later, on the lakeside with my kiddos, I checked the Waiting Child List(This had become a daily tradition - I love seeing the sweet kids and wondering who their families might be)....as the page opened my heart skipped a beat as I saw the face that had stolen my heart back in Ethiopia..."B" was not in the Summer Hosting Program in the US (His paperwork hadn't been ready in time for him to get his Visa- God thing??)

We had said if he came on the WCL (Waiting Child List) we would give it a week for other families to inquire.  The more we looked at his pictures and missed his sweet face,we had decided we'd maybe only wait 4 days!  Well - seeing the face of the boy that had already stolen my heart- I didn't wait at all.  I called my family coordinator to see what it would look like for our family to pursue him - would we have to start at square one...could we use our documents from Nahome??

It took a week to figure out our approvals and get permission to look into viewing his file.  We knew since we already had Nahome that if any other families inquired about "B" that we would most likely be out of the running.  Well, on Thursday of this week we got notified that we were chosen to review "B's" file.  We read through the info and his history, but we already knew in our hearts that he was our son.

So - once again, we were taken off guard at God's plan for our family.  Once again, our hearts were smitten by a sweet little boy a world away.  Once again, God overwhelmed us with the prospect of being parents to an amazing young man.  It is humbling to know that God has chosen us to walk this amazing journey we call life!  Once again, God shocked us with our unexpected DOUBLE BLESSINGS!

Prayer Requests:

~ That our paperwork that needs amended will get completed and processed quickly.

~ That we will be able to appear before the courts while we are in Ethiopia to pick up Nahome(They are trying to expedite a court date for "B" before courts close for 2 months starting in August).
~ That God would continue to provide financially to help us bring our boys home (Don't forget we are the family of the week for Give1Save1 until Sunday - If you would like to donate click here!)

Praises:

~ That our adoption paperwork for Nahome is sufficient for "B" so we don't have to start ALL over!
~ That another orphan has a family.

~That we are a family blessed with FIVE amazing kids!