Joy

The past couple of weeks have been quite a rollercoaster ride. Bryan and I have both agreed that in many ways our time in Kyrgyzstan seems like a lifetime ago. I still find it hard to believe that we went through all of that turmoil and that we survived it.

It has been hard to not share all that has been happening in our adoption process with everyone. Many of you have e-mailed expressing concern, not just on the day we decided not to proceed with our first referral but even as recently as today. The fact that you have not forgotten us has been such a blessing. We have been cautious about sharing what has been happening because we wanted to give our agency time to work on our case and for any new developments to feel 'official'.

We finally got the 'green light' today that we can publicly share what has been going on, and most importantly what God has done for us. When we look back on our experience in Kyrgyzstan, the most appropriate verse to summarize that experience and what has happened since is Psalm 31:7 --

I will be glad and rejoice in your love,

for you saw my affliction

and knew the anguish of my soul.

We can say with confidence that God knew our hearts and had plans for a joyful future for us. It is with indescribable joy that we share with you that we have a new referral for a precious baby boy! He is healthy and absolutely adorable. While we did suffer during our time in Kyrgyzstan, God did not allow us to suffer for long before He revealed the rest of His plan for our family. We are overwhelmed by His faithfulness and in many ways it seems too good to be true.

It has been easy to look at our experience in Kyrgyzstan and think that it couldn't have gotten any worse. In contrast, we're now in a place where we feel like things could not be better. It's amazing to see how He can bring healing and peace and joy out of suffering, how He can use our times of sadness to build perseverance and character and strength.

We will continue to share any new developments on our blog when we are able to and feel comfortable. We are a bit more guarded this time around but know that so many of you have been walking along this journey with us and we desire to share our happy times with you too! Thank you so much to everyone for their prayers, concern, friendship and support.

Many blessings and love --- Betsy & Bryan

PS: And now a special treat for our private blog friends ... a little slideshow to introduce our wee little peanut, Caleb Daniel Pickett. You'll probably want to pause the regular music on our blog (little black box on the left) so you can hear the music that goes with the photos! Enjoy!!!