Well... He's Definitely A Kroner!

It can only be a God ordained plan coming into fruition when a person you've never met, held, fed, smelled, dressed, bathed, kissed and every other thing that a mommy does for their child but you love them wholly the minute you see them. Not to mention some very alarming Kroner similarities... he eats like his dad and farts like his mom!

Seriously, the moments we had with Benjamin today were perfect! We drove to the orphange and waited about 10 minutes in the courtyard. Then the nuns started to bring out the children to us one by one. Benjamin was the 3rd to arrive and he was walking holding a nuns hand with his right and a bright yellow rosary in his left. They handed him over to us right away and I scooped him up in my arms. I was fully prepared for tears & fright but the Spirit of Peace was upon the moment. As we surrounded him with our arms he just looked and studied our faces and voices. Never cried. He was content in my arms and Bill's as well. We spent a good hour in the courtyard taking pictures and eventually sharing our child with the other families as they did the same. All of these children are beyond amazing! We then went to a local restaurant for Benjamin's birthday party. We ate lunch, had cake and all the children loved the balloons! (So much that he still has yet to see all that we brought for him.) We were there about 2 hours and then we had to return the children to the orphanage. It was ok because they were very tired and needed their naps. However, returning him to the gentle arms of the nun was not easy at all! It was at this time that Benjamin surprised me again. He squeezed me tight, began to cry and he wouldn't let go! How can I explain my emotions? How can I? All in all, I know it was for the best and my little man would settled right down. I also have great hope for tomorrow when I return. Perhaps he'll surprise me a 3rd time... perhaps I will see a smile.

Tonight I will not sleep well. Tomorrow my family is complete.

I love you Benjamin!

Moma

We survived and we have arrived!

Well, I wasn't kidding when I said the trip would be like the end of a pregnancy. I couldn't get comfortable, very little sleep and 8 hours into the flight I unfortunately became aware of my cankles! ARG! We did survive and we are now safely in Kigali. Bad news, we were delayed leaving DC. Good news, we still made our connection in Addis Ababa. Bad news, we arrived too late to meet Benjamin today. Good news, we all had a much needed shower! :) REALLY GOOD NEWS, we go to the orphanage early tomorrow and we get to take Benjamin on a birthday outing all day! He will have to spend the night back at the orphanage but by Monday he'll be with his forever family - FOREVER!

The weather was awesome when we landed. We're all settled in and going to enjoy a nice evening getting to know the other families.

I'll post more tomorrow - Cherri Joy

THE LABOR PAINS BEGIN!

I'm standing in our DC hotel lobby hoping they'll have a small carton of chocolate milk for Ellie. (It will be her last "chocolate nummies" for quite some time)and I am realizing that in 3 hours my "labor" begins. Of course I'm referring to the 20+ hours of airports and planes. I'm left wondering if I can get an epidural started now??? Oh well, like the labor I endured with Ellie, every moment brought me closer to my baby, and for that I'll go through anything! I need to go and rally the troops so it will be short. Ginny arrived last night looking marvelous as always. Bill got his workout in while mom, Ellie & myself enjoyed a delicious dinner at the Cheesecake Factory. We have all gotten a good nights sleep and I think we are as ready as ever for this amazing journey that we are in. My friend Kristen gave me a great verse on Friday. She told me Eccl 7:8 "The end of the matter is better than the beginning..." WOW! The Word of God is always perfect and perfectly pertinent. By all means, this summarizes the journey of adoption. Well, I gotta run.... my son's waiting!

Love you all!

Cherri Joy

GRACE

My life has been covered in the goodness & restoration from my all sufficient savior, Christ Jesus! This grace, that is for everyone, will cover us as we go and bring our son home. This grace will bring goodness & restoration to Benjamin as he discovers his All Sufficient Savior. Thank you Jesus for amazing GRACE!

Here we come Benjamin, here we come!

YOU OPEN YOUR HAND

"The LORD upholds all who fall, and raises up all who are bowed down. The eyes of all look expectantly to You, and You give them their food in due season. You open Your Hand and satisfy the desire of every living thing." Ps 145:14-16

This is the 2nd to last morning that I will have in my home before we leave. I have more packing, cleaning, and tiding up to do but I can't help but to just sit and think about these past 2 years. I remember praying in September 2008 when we decided to move forward with the Rwandan adoption "Lord, may our experience bring You glory. May my testimony give You praise." That was the beginning of a most memorable 1.5 years. It's been a time marked with hard work, frustration, hurts and many tears. Many tears. (All of this happened to fall upon our 7th year of marriage and so a quick side note to all of you young marrieds - Don't do the 7th! Skip it and go straight to the 8th!) There were many days when I cried to God to take us out of this adoption. I cry just admitting this. It's like when you're sick. Your fever helps to burn off the bad germs, but it still doesn't feel good. The vomit is eliminating what the body doesn't need, but there's nothing worse than sticking your head in a toilet. I guess what I'm trying to say (besides the fact that our marriage was in the toilet) sometimes what's best for you hurts at the moment but is necessary to get you to the point of health. In a lot of ways, our process to this point in our adoption has been that to us. It's been a burning off and an elimination of what wasn't needed. "The eyes of all look expectantly to You..." I had many days of just looking to God expectantly.

And here I am today, I'm reminded of how the LORD upheld us... and has continued to do so. How His timing is impeccable! The food, sustenance, life He gives is always in due season. I know that right now God has opened His Hand. The healing Hand of God is so very, very, GOOD! I'm so glad that not all of our prayers are answered. Because if I would have pulled out of this process because things weren't coming together how I wanted them to and when I wanted them to, then I would have missed out on the desire of my heart and God alone knows that I have always desired a baby boy from Africa. Long before I ever even married Bill. And now I'm days away from holding my son! What sweet satisfaction this journey has been!

"Lord, has our experience brought You Glory? Has my testimony brought You praise? Maybe not every moment, maybe not every day, but it's not over yet. As I learn to continually look upon You, seek You daily and trust in Your timing, I know that You will uphold me, You will raise me up and You will give me what I need, when I need it. You alone satisfy the desires of my heart! Thank you Jesus, I love you!"

No matter what your troubles are or where you are in life, HOLD FAST to Jesus! HOLD FAST my friends to the One who is worthy!

Because of Him,

Cherri Joy

Potluck & Prayer

Here's my shout out to a fantastic group of people! Some dear friends of ours put together a little dinner and a lot of good fellowship. A time when we could talk about our trip and then come together in prayer as we get ready to go and bring our son home. For Ellie the highlight of the evening was when her friend Devon found himself stuck in the trash can - of the girls bathroom no less! For me, just being with an amazing group of people that I can call my friends! For Bill... the food!!! :) Thank you again Kris & Megan for putting this together and for everyone who came. Benjamin is a blessed boy to have such a wonderful group of friends to come home to - WE LOVE YOU!!! Bill, Cherri, Ellie & Ben-jamin!

Ellie as we know her! ;)