MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!!!!!!!

We wish you all a MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!

Celebrating the day of Jesus birth and rejoicing in Him, the best gift of all!!

We pray you are enjoying time with friends or family and being
soaked in God's goodness and love!

We love you all !!!

We are still amazed at God's perfect handiwork in forming our family. Osobie and Fatu being home is our Christmas gift and we couldn't be happier. We are cuddled up in our cozies as the snow falls so beautifully on the ground outside.
We are blessed!!!

WE HAVE INTERNET!!

YIPEE!!! We finally have Internet again!!! We feel like we have been so disconnected from the rest of the world without being able to email, read friends blogs and keep up with our own. We are back in business now!!

So much to update on the kids...but most importantly wanted to let ya all know Jeff made it home safe from Uganda. It was a glorious day at the Denver Airport!! Osobie and Fatu could barely stand to wait the 15 minutes for Jeff to come up the escalator. They ran into his arms, yelling "PAPA"!! Thank you for your prayers for him and his travel and for our family!!

It was such a sweet sight to see my husband finally become a father after such a long, agonizing, painful and frustrating journey. The kids are doing really great bonding with Papa. Osobie follows him all around the house and sits on the couch every day, staring out the window waiting for Papa to come home from work. Fatu is a little more shy with Jeff. She is somewhat of a mommas girl, but everyday she is getting more and more comfortable with her new Papa. Overall they are doing awesome!! They are a joy to be with and loads of fun!! I am blessed, truly blessed and so grateful for our family. Just the other day the kids and I were driving home from the store and as I turned back to check on the kids, Osobie blurts out, "Momma, you are beautiful". My heart just melted!
We have also gotten several "I Love You too's". They are extremely sweet children and of course super spunky!! I am going to have to download some videos we have taken of them dancing!!! They LOVE the Liberian Jesus music we play for them. I bought some Liberian CD's while I was there and as soon as I load them up, the kids are dancing and singing right along.

Now for some more pictures...because pictures are always better than my ramblings!! Love to you all and once again....well, I just can't seem to say it enough, THANK YOU ALL!! Thank you for your prayers. Thank you for your hearts on fire for God and for dedicating time in all your busy lives to pray for us over the last several months. Thank you for being such a huge part of this God story!! We are praising Him everyday!!

first Thanksgiving

Just foolin' around with Momma's hat

First Snow!!
Osobie , Fatu and cousin MackennaOsobie, Kojo and Fatu...who needs toys when you have boxes??

PLEASE BE PRAYING FOR THE LORENZENS (KOJO'S MOMMIE AND DAD)...YOU CAN READ WHAT IS HAPPENING ON THEIR BLOG. htp://lorenzenlife.blogspot.com

THEY HAVE BEEN SUCH A HUGE SOURCE OF SUPPORT AND ARE OUR DEAR FRIENDS AND COULD REALLY USE SOME PRAYER AS THEY CONTINUE TO STRUGGLE TO BRING HOME THEIR TWO CHILDREN,NYENNA & TITUS. Kojo has been apart from them for 6 months now & they have been in the orphanage the longest of all the children. It is time for them to be home!! Please Pray with us for the Lorenzens!!

MIM!!!!

WOW..... here I am.....I'm alive!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
SO very sorry for being MIA....I have been MIM (Missing in Motherhood :)

It's been absolutely amazing, beautiful, fun, crazy, energy and joy filled, and hard to believe it's really happening!! It's also been challenging, tiring, scary, and hard. My first week home I was a zombie. I was so tired and out of it and fighting off a cold. My friend was praying for me and felt like she had a picture for me. She said she got a picture of me running a marathon and coming to the finish line only to find out that the finish line was the start of another marathon. This couldn't have been more true. After 3 weeks in Liberia fighting for our kids, riding this emotional roller coaster for 2 months and then picking up our kids...well, as you can imagine...I came home totally exhausted. I don't know what I would have done if my sister had not met me in Brussels to help me bring home the kids! Once we got home my cell phone died, our Internet was gone, and my husband was and is still at work in Uganda. BUT I have been SO blessed and supported here in Fort Collins!! Jeff and I have an unbelievable community of friends and family that have carried us through this whole journey and especially the last 2 weeks since Jeff has been gone. Our house was stocked with groceries, my friends and sis decorated the kids room with Welcome Home signs, and we have received cooked meals every night we have been home!!! WE ARE BLESSED!!!! I am so humbled by all the love, all the care, all the open arms of welcome for our kids! They are 2 kids who have been prayed for and loved by many people...YOU ALL!!

SO..... to all of you who have been with us through this whole thing....

THANK YOU

THANK YOU
THANK YOU
I feel like words do not do justice for all that Jeff and I feel for you...
you have done so much for us and have been such a huge support for us...

we pray GOD would pour out His Love and blessing on all of you!!!!

Osobie and Fatu are doing great!! I have a million things to write and I don't know where to start....They are eating most everything I put in front of them, everything is "talking"...the microwave, the water, the stove, the coffee pot, etc.. They are characters for sure! They sing, dance, play the drums, and are always happy (well at least most of the time). They are very affectionate, extremely social, and of course very stubborn at times :)

It's quite amazing how God has knit our family together. Osobie and Fatu are our children! God has chosen them for us and it is as if they have been in our family from the beginning! We are so full of thanks!! I'll update more later...after Jeff comes home and we finally unite as a family!!

Now for some more pics!!!!

WE ARE GOING HOME!!!

Praise Jesus we are leaving today!!!! I cannot believe it's finally here!! It's been 3 weeks and it has been great to experience Liberia!! We finally got our second visa yesterday!!

Thanks for all the prayers!!

I have one more prayer request...and that is for safe journeys for us and the Krantz family that is flying AND prayer for my sister, Mekay. Mekay is flying to Brussels to meet me and help me take care of the kids on the flights home. What a trooper!! I am so relieved to have some help!! Please pray that our flights are not late, because we have a 5 hour window to connect with each other. I'm trusting GOD that He will make a way as He has done with everything so far.

Sorry I haven't blogged...I am a new mom to twins practically..that's all I have to say and I am sure you all understand. WOW!!! What would I do without coffee??? I have to admit it's been pretty hard, definitely harder than I thought, but I know as we adjust to each other and they understand what boundaries are we will have much fun together as a family. Jeff will be home in 3 weeks and I cannot wait for him to show up. They need their papa for sure, especially Osobie. He is itching to come home and quite lonely in Uganda by himself, but he has plenty of work to keep him busy. He continues to need prayer as he works hard these next 3 weeks!!

I will post some photos when I get home and recover from jet lag.
LOVE YOU ALL!!! THANKS FOR EVERYTHING!!!!

Big ole' heaps of God's love to you all!!
Katie, Osobie and Fatu

HE IS VICTORIOUS!!!

PRAISE GOD WITH US!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

WE ARE REJOICING BECAUSE GOD HAS DONE IT!!!!

GOD HAS OPENED THE DOOR FOR OUR KIDS!!!!

We met with Alma yesterday morning...and by a miracle of GOD..Alma did not ask to interview the birth mothers!!!!!!!! Just so you all know, this is seriously a miracle of GOD!! I prayed and prayed that GOD could move in mighty ways and grant us visa's!! But NEVER did I think she would grant us visa's without interviewing the birth moms!!!!!!!!! She said she would have the visa's ready by Friday for us!!!! I was in so much shock...I just drove home blown away by all that was happening. Then I came home to the guest house and tears started flowing!!! This time TEARS OF JOY!!!! The guest house workers were concerned when they saw me crying...so I had to explain to them "they are tears of joy!!!" and they were all excited with me!!! I called my sister and the celebrations began!!!! I still feel like it is surreal. I cannot believe after this long, hard and trying journey....we WILL have our kids!!! God is Faithful!!! He is victorious!!

I am going to wait until we have the visas on Friday before I go pick up the kids and bring them to the guest house. I'm probably being a little over cautious, but I'd rather do it this way and be certain there are no other random glitches. If all goes well, (still praying for Friday)...We hope to fly home next Wed.!!

THANK YOU!! THANK YOU!! THANK YOU!!
for all your prayers!! We are blessed to have such prayer warriors like you all fighting with us!!
God has moved, He has done the impossible, He is faithful!!
For the rest of our days we will share our (and your story too) story of God's faithfulness!!! Thank you for being such a huge part of this all!! He has heard our prayers!!

We love you all!!! We'll update soon!!!
Katie and Jeff

One Week in Liberia!

TUESDAY OCT 23

Today is the day we start rolling on our paperwork. First we need to get back all the old info and then we can begin to re-do the necessary documents. So... this week will be the week to get that accomplished. As you can imagine...it is always hard to get things done in Africa so please pray for favor for the office staff at AOH. And of course, THANK YOU for your continued prayers and comments on the blog!! I read them over and over. WOW!!!! I am being lifted up by them! It is such a blessing to be surrounded with friends who are in LOVE with Jesus and seek our Father for His will!! He has been with me, strengthening me, sustaining me, and helping me gain His character through the trials. It is quite difficult to be in the unknown and at the same time trying to prepare and anticipate the kids actually being ours and coming home! I will probably not meet the kids until next week because I want to make sure the paperwork is turning out successful and we feel confident Alma will approve us. It is amazing how God gives you what you need for where you are at. He truly does meet all our needs. He is meeting needs I did not even know I had...since I have never been in this situation before. Please continue to pray, because we still do not know if we will receive visas after we submit the new paperwork. God truly is going to have to move mountains!! We release it to Him because he knows what the future holds for us and for Fatu and Osobie. What a time of complete surrender and learning a whole new level of trust in our Father. I continue to speak out loud to myself..YOUR WILL LORD. That is it. We have to rest in Him and in his character. He is all I have. He is my everything.

I love it here!! I love AFRICA, what can I say. I have been trying to see what the differences are between East and West, since we've only spent time in East Africa. I guess there are a few that I have seen so far..the people are shorter and smaller, the hand shakes end with a "Snap", food a little different in flavor..they like it spicy!!! We went to the beach...what a beautiful sight! Immediate peace fell over me as we sat in the sand and swam in the ocean. I could have sat for hours listening to the roar of the waves. I am beginning to understand Liberian English a little, but it is hard to catch. I'm sure as the days roll on, I will catch it more and more. I hope to learn to "plait" today. The nannies rock at braiding hair and hopefully they can teach me!! (I don't think they know what a challenge that will be :))

Also, if you guys could continue to pray for Jeff while he is in Uganda. He has been going non-stop since he landed in Entebbe and has caught a cold. He is not feeling well so he could use your prayers as he has 4 days of village/field work ahead. He will be home in the states by Nov. 29th!! I miss my hubby so much!! We chat a little but it is quite difficult because he is in the bush so much of the time.

News from Liberia!!!

Sorry I haven't posted in awhile...I have not had much news to share. Thank you for praying for me!!! I have felt all your prayers!!!
Just a quick update...I met with Alma and she has allowed us to redo our paperwork!!

YEAH!!

This is good news but we still have much work to do and continue to need prayer so that there are no other glitches in our process. I am happy but still reserved.

Liberia is great!! I miss Africa and love being back, even though this is the West side instead of the East. Jeff is in Uganda and sounds like he is doing a lot of work and enjoying it.

Please continue to pray for me, Jeff, and Osobie and Fatu!!! Until they are home...I continue to cry out to God to move!!

Love ya all!!!

Katie