Born in our hearts...Our journey to Gracie

Our Life In Pictures

2010-03-09T08:54:00.001-08:00

With Love and Blessings,
Team Truman

We are home!

2010-01-31T11:04:00.001-08:00

We are home with Endale! Our trip home was exhausting but considering everything Endale did great. He and Tyler have become the best of friends already. Words cannot even begin to explain our trip to Ethiopia. We continue to be blessed by this amazing country and it's people. Once we are a bit more settled we will post all of the details. Thank you for your support and prayers.
With great big love,
Team Truman

12 Hours and Counting!

2010-01-21T22:30:00.001-08:00

Yes you read that right. We are outta here in 12 hours! We will be heading from Denver to Houston to Dubai to Addis. We arrive in Addis on Sunday around noon. We will drop our bags (quickly) at our guest house and head to the orphanage to pick up Tanner Endale! We are ecstatic and just cannot wait to wrap our arms around him again and let him know that we are forever his family! We will try to post while we are there, but not sure what kind of internet will be available. We will be back in Denver late on the 30th...stay tuned for the COMPLETE Team Truman 8!!!!

Making a list, and checking it twice

2009-12-22T06:01:00.000-08:00

Well we made it through the funeral for my grandpa. It was much harder than I ever thought. He was 83 and lived a good life, but man, it is still so hard to say goodbye. When we arrived home, we went through our mail, and we received the best Christmas present! We received our 171-H from immigration, which is also known as the "golden ticket!" We are now totally ready to go get Tanner, therefore our Embassy date is January 27th. We will be leaving on January 22nd and returning January 30th. We are so excited and so blessed. God is good, all the time! One of the things we are still trying to prepare is finances, so if you want, we are still selling coffee through our website http://justlovecoffee.com/TheTrumans where you can order some yummy coffee. This makes great gifts no matter what time of year! Perfect for anniversary's and birthday's also. We are also trying to raise enough money to purchase playground equipment for the care center while we are there. If you would like to donate you can send a check to:
International Adoption Net
2305 E. Arapahoe Rd. #248
Centennial, CO 80112
Please put in your memo "Truman" and remember your donation is totally tax deductible. Great for the end of the year!

Thank you all again for your continued support, love and blessings.
We cannot wait for Tanner Endale to become part of Team Truman (physically)
Merry Christmas!
Mat and Stacey

A much needed update!

2009-12-15T20:06:00.000-08:00

Well Team Truman has officially grown by two more feet! (after a long, long road) We did not pass court on Nov. 18th as there was some missing paperwork, so we were rescheduled for Nov. 30th. Well, Nov. 30th came and AGAIN we did not pass! Ugh...MOWA forgot to bring the paper. Our in country coordinators worked hard to figure out why and where the paper was and lo and behold, Praise Jesus, we passed FINALLY on Dec. 2nd! So now we are a family of 8. It is so exciting and overwhelming at the same time.
During these past 3 weeks we have been being attacked by the enemy BIG TIME; not only with all the issues with court for Endale (Tanner) but our oldest son Zachary, had a mass on his brain that he had removed last Wednesday and the biopsy came back negative! Yahoooo-God is good. Really, really good. Again some other news was that I am in need of a hysterectomy. I was suppose to have surgery today, but postponed it until spring since our son needed surgery sooner than soon. I also have had 2 mammograms come back suspicious, so am having them biopsied on Dec. 23rd. Please keep praying...We are also leaving this Thursday to say "good-bye" to my grandpa who passed away last Tuesday. He was one of the greatest men to have walked this earth and he is missed, dearly! To put it mildly things have been stressful around our house. We have vowed not to let the enemy get to us: "When God is for us, Who can be against us?"

Thank you all for your love and continued support. We are remembering the true reason for this season. We hope you enjoy Christmas and find your joy in His love. We hope to travel the end of January to bring Tanner home. Keep praying for him to "see" our faces and know that we are going to bring him home soon.

Big time love and peace,
Mat and Stacey (and the rest of the Truman crew)

Tomorrow is the day!

2009-11-17T18:38:00.000-08:00

It is almost time in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia for the courts to open and our case to be heard! This will mean that "legally" our little boy could be ours in about 4 hours. This momma probably will not be getting much sleep tonight. Please pray with us that all goes as planned and our little guy will be part of Team Truman! I am really tired of looking at our empty kitchen chair! Thank you to all of you who have continued to pray for us and support us. It means more to us than you could ever imagine. We also are doing a continuous fundraiser for our children's orphanage. We have a great website where you can go and purchase coffee from Africa. To place an order and have it shipped directly to you go to http://justlovecoffee.com/TheTrumans.

Be blessed and look for good news tomorrow!
Stacey

Are our eyes wide open?

2009-10-20T21:56:00.000-07:00

Frustrating to say the least, we need to do MORE! What does that mean? We are called by God to take care of widows and orphans...NOW is the time! Orphan Sunday is coming (November 8, 2009) Get on board, do something, anything, even the smallest prayer will help. I am sharing with you the small video from Christian Alliance for Orphans (thank you Chantelle!) Tell me what you think? Where do we go from here? Our eyes have been opened, now we need to step out on FAITH through Him and move forward. Not sure what else this looks like (besides bringing home our new son)but we are trusting the Lord to show us his plan. How about you?

Orphan Sunday from Christian Alliance for Orphans on Vimeo.

It's Official...Our girl turns ONE! And other happenings.

2009-09-24T20:41:00.000-07:00

We honestly cannot believe that yesterday Gracie turned one! She is almost ready to walk, stands on her own, claps like crazy while standing and is the cutest girl ever! We are truly blessed beyond words...Her party was fun and her favorite part was the cake! (Just like her mommy) Let the pictures speak more than my loss for words:
This is the birthday Princess at breakfast!

The yummy birthday cakes...and Yes, her mommy did make them!

And she was enjoying the cake!

Her birthday was so fun, but went too quickly. She was overwhelmed by gifts so we finished opening them this morning and she had a much better time!

This journey has been incredible and directed by God, but this journey is not ending here. When we were in Ethiopia picking up Gracie we spent the majority of our time at the orphanage. On the first day we met a little boy who never left our sides for the entire week. At this time, he was not one of the children who was available for adoption. When we came back to Colorado, our hearts ached for him, and we prayed as a family for him. We also prayed that if it was God's will, we would be able to adopt him one day. Well, about 3 weeks ago our agency coordinator called and asked if we were still interested in adopting him. We flipped and jumped up and down! We were so excited. We knew, once again, this boy was hand picked for our family. We just received his background and it looks like he is about 3 1/2 years old. His birthday is sometime in February. If things go smoothly we will hopefully and prayerfully get to bring him home sometime in January. 2010 here we come! Mat and I knew somewhere deep down, there was "room for one more!"

Time is FLYING by!

2009-07-24T06:07:00.000-07:00

Oh man, it is just crazy busy around here. Gracie is amazing and growing way too fast! 2 teeth and crawling! She is the light of this family. I still wake up and cannot believe she is here. Our summer has flown by. Baseball is all over. Justin's team decided not to play in the state tournament, but Cameron's team did and we spent a weekend in Greeley. His team WON, so they are state champs for 9A! It was awesome and Cameron even got some pitching time. He did great, struck out some too. We had a huge storm here the other day, and our city has been devastated. We have trees in our yard with NO leaves, and we have very large trees. It wiped out all the flowers and gardens, was horrible. Tons of hail damage to our cars...I guess it was time for "fall" cleaning. My sister from TX is here with her 2 kids, so we spent 2 days cleaning up the yard! We had over 65 bags of trash. Not a very fun summer vacation for Lori and her kids, but they were a great help since Mat was at work for 2 days. We are having our church here on Sunday for a pool baptism. It will be so much fun and what a way to start my immersion for a new life!
We also had our pictures taken by a wonderful lady at Contemporary Expressions. She is part of the celebrating adoption photographers and she is AMAZING! Our pictures came out great and can't wait to share them. Here is a sneak peek:

To check out more of Tanja's work you can visit her at www.contemporaryexpressions.net. She will be more than happy to help you out. She LOVES what she does and to her it is truly art!

Next week we are leaving for Wyoming to visit some of my family. We are going to do some white water rafting, visit Yellowstone and see lots of wildlife we hope. It should be a nice break before football is in full swing!
Tyler, Gracie and I are also going on a 4 day trip to visit our dear friends, The Beckings and The Outmans. The Outmans just came home with their twin boys and The Beckings were our travel partners. We cannot wait to be all together again!

Hope you enjoyed the pictures and the update. I will post more when I can.

Finally an Update!

2009-06-11T20:23:00.000-07:00

Ok, so I never thought adding one more would cause total chaos! Good chaos I mean, but yes, we are busier than ever! Summer is here, camps, swimming, baseball, get together's, etc....whoo. So exhausting, but we are loving every minute. To say the least we love introducing Gracie to everyone. She lights up the room! It is truly amazing. I still wake up in the middle of the night to go peek in on her, and pinch myself! Is that really her? Thank you God for your goodness. Thank you for giving Mat and I the opportunity to be her parents. She has cut her first tooth, she loves to eat. She is a "go with the flow" little girl. We had her ears pierced. She cried briefly, but other than being hungry, she does not cry. She smiles ALL the time. The boys adore her. Tyler is her best friend and will do anything for her. Sometimes he does not like it very much if Gracie wants to love on us! I guess that is just him being 2! Tyler loves to read to her and take baths. We have had her swimming and she loves the water. In Ethiopia she did not like the bath, so this is a real treat considering we have a pool. Ok, now for the best part: PICTURES!

We are home and LOVING Gracie!

2009-05-11T23:07:00.000-07:00

Our lives are fully blessed and we completely celebrated with our incredible friends and family yesterday! Gracie Ayantu is wonderful, totally happy and fits in perfectly with our family. Our trip to Ethiopia was fantastic and totally life changing. We are humbled and honored that Ethiopia has allowed us the gift to raise one of their country's children, Ethiopia is an amazing country and we are forever grateful. Thank you to all who have prayed us through this incredible journey. We will fill you in on more details and pictures as we get some more rest and catch up with life.

With much love and blessings,
Mat, Stacey and Gracie (and the 4 boys who cannot get enough of their little sister!)
P.S. Beckings, We are MISSING you guys something terrible! Love you tons! Please kiss Ms. Solie for us.

We arrived and Have our baby girl!

2009-05-03T10:02:00.001-07:00

We arrived today and were able to go pick up our baby girl. She is incredible and it was definitely love at first sight! Gracie Ayantu knew who we were right from the start. God is so good and we are truly blessed. She smiles all the time, laughs and giggles and is even rolling over. Addis Ababa is amazing from what we have seen. The orphanage is a very well run and clean place. You can tell the children are very well taken care of.

We will try to update and post some pictures when the internet is running.

Love and Hugs to all,

Mat, Stacey and Gracie.

Leaving on a jet plane!

2009-04-30T22:13:00.000-07:00

This is incredible; in less than 12 hours we will be heading to Addis Ababa to go get our beautiful daughter, Gracie Ayantu! This entire journey has been lead by God and we are thrilled to be following His plan for our family. Please pray for safe travels and health along the way. We cannot wait for Gracie to come home and meet her entire FAMILY!!!! Thank you all again for the love and support.
With lots of love,
Mat and Stacey

Test

2009-04-30T21:59:00.001-07:00

This is a TEST to see how this can work from Ethiopia!

Our time has come!

2009-04-22T21:47:00.000-07:00

Oh dear ones, it has been awhile since I have posted because SO much has been happening! We passed court last Thursday! Thank you Jesus and thank you to all who covered us in prayer. Now, today, we got "the call" embassy date has been assigned and it is May 6th!!!! Oh my word, we were not expecting it so soon, but are grateful and blessed beyond belief to bring Gracie home! We made our plane reservations today and are leaving next Friday, May 1st. Mat and I will spend our anniversary in Dubai! (Saturday May 2nd) and then be in Addis Ababa, Sunday morning, May 3rd. We will be holding our beautiful daughter in just 12 short days! We are truly praising God for his goodness and this journey He has brought us on. There has been nothing we have ever done in our lives that has been this meaningful and joyous. (Well, the boys are pretty incredible too! LOL!) Please continue to pray over our travel and the travels of the other 2 families who are going at the same time. We are also asking you to pray for Gracie and that our faces will be put into her mind to let her know that we are on our way!

Tomorrow is THE BIG DAY!

2009-04-15T18:09:00.000-07:00

Oh my goodness, it is currently about 4 am in Ethiopia. The courts will start hearing cases in approximately 5 hours! Here is our prayer:

Lord, you are so good, all the time! We know you can move mountains. Please help the judges have wisdom and open hearts to show favor in our case for our beautiful baby girl. Please also allow them to show favor for the other 2 IAN families; The Gonifas' and The Washingtons. Lord, this entire journey has been guided by You, please allow us to bring these babies home as soon as we are able. They need to be with their families Lord. We praise you each day for all the blessings you have given us. In your Awesome name we pray, Amen!

We cannot wait to share our baby girl with the whole world!
Love and Blessings,
Mat and Stacey

Exactly 7 days!

2009-04-09T18:58:00.000-07:00

Well we are counting down. Only 7 more days until Gracie's court date! Many people have asked us if we have to be there for court and NO, we don't go for court. What happens is that our representative in Ethiopia goes to court and accepts her on our behalf; presents all the paperwork and waits for the courts ruling. Once the court gives their ruling (which we are praying is favorable and no paperwork happens to be missing) then we will be assigned our embassy date and get our travel dates. The embassy date is a day we need to be present. We take an "oath" to love and take care of her! I think we will be screaming, "Of course, of course...she is our daughter!" If all goes well, which we are praying hard, we will hopefully be traveling May 15th.
We would fly from Denver to Houston to Dubai. Then we will stay the night in Dubai at the airport and then we leave in the morning to head to Addis. By Sunday afternoon, we should be holding our baby girl in our arms! We are looking forward to this day! Thank you Jesus, for making all of this possible. He is so good, all the time! Friends, we are asking for HUGE prayer for this next week. We need God to place wisdom in the hearts and minds of the judges to look favorably on our case and let Gracie come home as soon as possible.
With much love,
Mat and Stacey

Praise this day!

2009-03-21T12:20:00.000-07:00

Our court date was moved UP!!!! That means we no longer have court on April 29th, but now it is April 16th. That is EXACTLY 3 months from the day of referral! How good is our God?
Hope everyone is having a wonderful day.

Our hearts are full today!

2009-03-11T21:16:00.000-07:00

Today is a great day! At first I was sad, as today is Ms. Gracie's 6 month birthday and we were hoping to be holding her in our arms by now. As we all know, that was not God's timing for us. Last week I found the most beautiful dress at my friends children's consignment boutique, that I had to buy for Gracie's 1 year birthday! (If you are here in Colorado, you should check out Cailin's boutique "Couture Kids Consignment" in downtown Littleton) After a long day, we received an incredible email. One of the families with our adoption agency just returned from Ethiopia and she sent us pictures of Gracie...my how she is changing, even in this short amount of time. Let me tell you, she looks very healthy and peaceful. I cannot wait to hold her in my arms. Mat is already smitten with her and she will have daddy wrapped around her finger completely.
Life here is busy, baseball for Justin and Cameron has already started. Tomorrow is Zach's opening night for the middle school musical. He has the lead. We are so proud of him and all he has accomplished this year. Having Asperger's does not stop Zach...he amazes us.
Tyler will be starting music and gymnastics next week. I love being busy, especially now as we are still waiting for April 29th!
God is so good to us and each day we count our blessings.
Thank you for supporting us and loving us.
Our hearts are full; full of love, full of kindness, full of compassion and the never ending grace of God.
With love,
Mat and Stacey

9 Weeks and Counting...

2009-02-20T18:06:00.000-08:00

Well, one week ago we received our court date so only 9 more weeks to go! Yahoo...We have been busy, busy, busy this week. Mat has been working super crazy on remodeling the kids bathroom and getting Gracie's room ready for her. I LOVE her room. I hope she will love it to. We are praying for her everyday and hoping she stays healthy. One of the families with our agency has been in Ethiopia this week to pick their daughter up and had a chance to visit the orphanage where our daughter is. We are hoping they were able to get some new pictures of Gracie for us so we can see how well she is doing. Here are some pictures of her room. Let us know what you think. We still have some finishing touches to add, but we are really loving it.
Blessings and love to you all,
Mat and Stacey

Gotta LOVE Pink and Court dates!

2009-02-15T13:39:00.000-08:00

Yes, you read that right. We officially have our court date for Ms. Gracie. It is April 29th and we are THRILLED. The way things have been going we thought we would be getting a court date in May. But God is so good and we are in April. If we pass on the first time, we will hopefully be traveling at the end of May or first week of June. We are busying ourselves with all sorts of projects and lots of entertaining. I know that if I am not kept busy; the waiting time will be even harder. Mat started the upstairs kids bathroom remodel and also Gracie's room. I have been doing a very good job of instructing! We also had a bunch of families over last night for an Ethiopian adoption get together from our agency. One family who is in the process was driving through Denver and wanted to meet some of the Colorado families. It was a really fun time and I love seeing the kiddos who have come home. It helps give us the ability to "see the light at the end of the tunnel." Enjoy the pictures!

Don't you just love the color pink? My wonderful husband said he was "seeing spots" while in the midst of painting!

The valentine get together becoming instant friends and leaning on one another during these hard times. Thank you all for coming and sharing the evening and letting us "waiters" ask away...

May everyone rest in His presence today.
Blessings and Love,
Stacey

We can't always take life so seriously!

2009-02-03T21:46:00.000-08:00

In these hard times throughout our world we tend to be taking everything so seriously. I am a believer in the fact that I think God wants us to enjoy ourselves and LAUGH! A friend of mine posted this on his Facebook and I could not stop laughing! I hope you enjoy it too! Love, laughter and peace to all of you!

5 Kids, A Dog and A Minivan!

2009-01-29T12:47:00.000-08:00

OK, who would of ever thought? I was giggling to myself as I was driving kids to school today, the dog running around in the car, music blasting and me enjoying EVERY second. Now wait, you say, 5 kids? Well, I am lucky to be able to watch my friends 6 month old baby girl a few days a week while her daddy is at work. Daddy is a firefighter with Mat and mommy teaches, so it works out great. I am getting lots of practice for when we bring our bundle of sunshine home! I forgot how hard it is to shop with 2 under 2!
Still no news on a court date, we are hoping to hear something within the next 2-3 weeks. A friend told me, now that we have our referral, this WAITING will be even harder. Well, we decided to add some home improvement projects to the mix and finish the kids bathroom upstairs and we have begun the nursery for Grace. So exciting.

Love to all,
Stacey

Our referral day is here!

2009-01-17T19:09:00.000-08:00

We are still trying to comprehend what has happened. Yesterday, January 16th, 2009 we received "the call." Our coordinator called at 11:30 a.m. and of course, I was not home and Mat was at work. She then called on my cell, and asked me to sit down. I said, "No, just tell me." She said, "I have your baby girl and can't wait to show you." I was silent for at least a minute and then I think I started hyperventilating. I asked her, "When can we see her?" She told me she would send us the email right now. Then we hung up. I don't even remember saying good-bye. I immediately called Mat and told him, crying, and he was on a call. He said he would meet me at the firestation so we could open the email together. He first told me to stop and get photo paper incase we could print out her picture. I was right around the corner from Staples, but for the life of me I couldn't remember where it was. Finally got the photo paper and raced to the firestation. I called my mom and sisters and maybe talked for about 2 minutes. All I could get out was that we had our daughter. At the firestation we ran upstairs to the computer and it took forever to get our email open. (Probably not forever, it was really only 30 seconds, it just seemed a lot longer) And then there she was, our amazing, beautiful, fantastic, gift from God daughter! She was the best little girl we had ever seen. Here is a picture of us seeing Gracie for the first time:

After we studied her gorgeous face I called our coordinator back and she had our referral packet ready which contained our baby's medical history and the papers to officially accept her as our daughter. She also then told us she had a short video of her as well. VIDEO!!!! I don't really remember driving to our agency, but as soon as I got there, we were all crying and I still couldn't believe this was really happening. I rushed over to Walgreens to get the photos printed out, headed to Zach's school to pick him up and then hurried back to the firestation so Mat and I could watch the video together. After watching the video as a family, crying huge tears, we prayed for Gracie's health and safety; for God to place his hand on her.

The kids and I left the firestation and got a "celebratory" Starbuck's on the way home. At home, there were some beautiful African Violets waiting for us. They were from my mom and step-dad. African Violets were my grandma's favorite and I knew she was smiling down upon this day. Thank you Mom and Mike for the violets.

While posting our exciting news to the world, my wonderful friend Vikki and her kiddos showed up with this HUGE bouquet of balloons. Thank you wonderful friend. While Vikki and I were watching Gracie's video, Nicole called and decided we all needed to celebrate. Jose O'Sheas and a margarita. My dear friend Jessi joined us as well. It was a wonderful ending to a fabulous day! How I wish my sweet, handsome husband would have been able to celebrate too!

Needless to say, I had a hard time sleeping. All I wanted to do was dream of her round face and sparkly eyes. I think I fell asleep around 12:30 and was wide awake by 4:30. Today, even the sunrise looked different. The colors were brighter and more amazing than ever. The sky was bright purple and pink. My 2 favorite colors...God's creation made for us.

Thank you for the love, prayers and support. We cannot wait to bring her home.

Oh, did I mention that yesterday even in all the craziness, I stopped by Baby Gap and had to purchase a few outfits...notice though NO PINK! (Guess I need to get used to buying pink)

Many Questions

2009-01-11T10:21:00.000-08:00

Today is a day of cloudiness, fogginess, and sadness. I am not sure why, except for the fact that we have now been waiting for almost 6 months to know who our daughter is. I keep remembering that this is God's plan and not our own. Even though this is truth, it does not make the waiting any easier. It is frustrating. Frustrating to see others who started the process later than we did, get referrals and court dates and getting closer to bringing their children home, when it seems we are still far away from this reality. Maybe today is frustrating for me because I am still not feeling well and Tyler is still dealing with croup. This is how I was feeling this morning and then I went on Youtube and found the following videos; which help me remember what and why we are doing this. We are doing this for God's glory to give another child a chance at life. God is good, all of the time. These videos answer questions for others; like why adopt when you are both healthy and able to have kids biologically? Why Africa? Why Ethiopia? Family and Friends, this is why! May God bless you and lead you to help make a difference. What are you doing today?

Guess what we did?

2009-01-06T20:41:00.000-08:00

I guess in all this crazy waiting we have truly lost our minds. We decided to get the kids a dog! He is absolutely adorable and we named him Jack! Actually Tyler named him Jack. He is a 4 month old Goldendoodle and is very sweet. Everyone says that a dog is "good therapy." All the boys are just loving him, but Tyler is especially fond of him. He runs in the house, yelling "Jack, Jack!"
Got a love it. Our agency gave out a baby boy referral today; which is wonderful. Hopefully more referrals will keep on coming. It is just amazing to see God's handy work in all of this.

Happy New Year!

2008-12-31T19:23:00.000-08:00

I cannot believe 2008 has come and gone so quickly. We have been truly blessed with all that has happened in our lives this past year. We are so thankful for our Savior Jesus Christ, our health, our family and our friends. We do know that 2009 holds an even more precious moment: the moment Gracie will be forever in our arms. Tonight we pray for her safety, health and that of all the other orphans who are still without their families. This waiting has been very hard, but we are reminded on a daily basis to trust in Him and His timing. He has the perfect little girl for our family. With the New Year comes many New Year's "resolutions." Each year I have always tried to make "another" resolution, to lose some weight. Well, after I read my dear friend Jill's blog yesterday (She is a friend whom I have never met face to face, but have come to admire through this amazing journey) she put it perfectly into words and scriptures regarding New Year's resolutions.(Check out her blog; it will inspire and move you:http://forevernevernalways1.blogspot.com) I am embarassed to say I have been "one of those," but this year it is going to be different for me. Of course, I am going to continue to take care of this body God has given me for the glory of Him, but I also want to grow in my relationship with him on a daily basis. It is clearly important to draw closer to Him and lead others to Him. 2009 is going to be an incredible year.
We wish you all love, health, happiness and peace. May you find rest in Him.
Prayer for our Gracie to come home to us soon.
With love,
Mat and Stacey
Zach, Justin, Cameron and Tyler

Merry Christmas

2008-12-24T22:49:00.000-08:00

It has been a very emotional season for us. We are enjoying all of God's blessings with our boys, but it has been rough waiting to hear about our daughter. We rest in knowing that this will be the LAST Christmas we will have to spend without her. There have been many changes within our adoption agency; all for the better I must say. The older 3 boys are enjoying break and driving one another crazy. We have family in town and I must say, it is really hard to know that they will soon be gone. I always realize just how hard it is living so far away from family. (Let it be known though that I still live in the "original" place-they all moved!) We are amazed by the TRUE meaning of this season. Jesus' birthday. Thank you Lord for giving us this day; your son, our savior. We are truly grateful. For all of you out there, hug your kiddos and your family. Enjoy all the moments even when they are under your skin. Remember what Christmas is about and keep that in your heart always.
God Bless you all.
Stacey

We're #1! We're #1!

2008-12-15T18:24:00.001-08:00

We received some wonderful and exciting news this weekend. We officially have moved up to the #1 spot for the baby girl list! We cannot believe it. Could it be possible that we will see our daughter's beautiful face before the holidays? Maybe, just maybe, keep praying! I have to say that this past month has flown by. I think the holidays have something to do with that. I absolutely love this time of year. I am still amazed at the thought that Jesus was born to give us new life. Isn't that amazing? More and more each day I try to wrap my arms around that concept...utter amazement. He is in control and He definitely has a plan, we are dying to know His plans for us on this incredible journey.

Making History?

2008-11-18T11:22:00.000-08:00

Below is a post from an adopted dad's blog regarding our president elect and what the day stood for! Even though we admittedly did not vote for Obama; this is eloquently written, no matter who you voted for. It gives us hope and peace knowing we will be bringing our daughter into a country where she literally can be ANYTHING she wants to be.
Blessings to all!

I am a white-skinned father with a black-skinned son.

A little over a year ago, my wife, Amy, and I adopted our son, Silas, from Ethiopia.

Silas turns two in December.

Today our conversations tend to revolve around our favorite snacks - yogurt and lemon pound cake at Starbucks - and favorite TV characters and movies - Elmo and Ratatouille. We also squabble very little these days. Sometimes Silas will take a swing at me when I take away the Wii joystick. And other times he'll treat the cheese sandwich I made him for dinner like a Frisbee.

One day, though, Silas will want to talk about other things.Like the color of his skin. And my skin. And his mother's skin. And pictures and events and people and dates he finds in his history textbook.

There are some historical dates I don't want to explain to Silas then. August 12th, 1955, for example. That's the day Emmett Till, a 14 year old boy, was brutally lynched in Mississippi by white, southern, "Christian" men.

Then there is September 15th, 1963. That's the day when four little girls were killed by a white supremacist bomb at 16th Street Baptist Church.

And then there is April 4th, 1968. That's the day Martin Luther King Jr. had his hope-filled voice silenced by a sniper's gun.

These are days in America's history that I don't look forward to explaining to my son.

But then there are days I can't wait to explain to Silas.

Days like December 1st, 1955. The day when Rosa Parks refused to give up her bus seat to a white man. That small, defiant "no" reverberated out into a large, defiant "no more."

There are other days, too. Like August 28th, 1963. The day Martin Luther King delivered his famous message, "I Have a Dream." It was a day unlike any other day. It was a day of dreaming of another kind of America.

And now there is November 4th, 2008.

This is a day I look forward to telling Silas about - not as a student of history, but as a participator in making history.

And I will tell Silas this: I voted for Obama. For you. For me. For us.

And I will also tell him something like this (I hope): "Silas, my son, this was a day that heralded a new day. A day of change. A day of hope. A day brimming with the promise of a new kind of political dialogue, a new kind of political leader, a new kind of American citizen, a new kind of America, and, for African Americans who share your same skin color, Silas, a new kind of dream, a new kind of role, and, most importantly, a new kind of responsibility.

Now know this also, Silas. Not everyone will share the enthusiasm your parents did on that day. There will be some people that your mom and I love dearly who disagreed with us. Don't worry: We still love them. And they still love us. Because what we understand is that Jesus' love conquers all things. And, Silas, if we can't practice this amongst each other as Christians, then I'm not sure who can.

But make no doubt about it, Silas: Not everyone on the day after November 4th, 2008 will look back with misty-eyed nostalgia. Many, especially in Oklahoma (which we may or may not be living in when you read this), will look back with red-eyed nausea. And some of those people will have a knee-jerk reaction.

They'll spew apocalyptic rhetoric. They'll entertain thoughts of doom and gloom and Armageddon. They'll re-read The Left Behind books and re-nurture the hope of an imminent rapture. And sadly, some will choose not to roll up their sleeves and get to work for the common good when President Obama takes office. Instead, they'll dig in their heels and look menacingly for someone to blame, scapegoat, and demonize for the world not fitting into their little egocentric matrix.

Others, son, will unfortunately have retreated back into their tribal matrix - whether their political party or religious ghetto- and will have completely ignored Jesus's call to us to embrace his worldcentric matrix of multi-tribal community, enemy love, forgiveness, generosity, and grace.

Others will reduce "God's politics" to single, hot-button issues like abortion and homosexuality, completely glossing over and blatantly disregarding the other issues near to God's heart, like extreme poverty, the dehumanization and violence of war, corporate greed, and religious indifference toward the needy.

Even others will try to guilt you. And me. And your mother. They'll insidiously project a tribal deity they have largely created out of a dark patchwork of isolated scripture, hidden fear and anxiety, and thinly veiled religious pride, racial prejudice, nationalistic xenophobia.

And finally, some will tell you they are "praying for America", when really they are secretly petitioning for God's judgment and wrath to come on everyone who doesn't think, believe, and act like them - the way the disciples did toward the Samaritans (Lk. 9:54-56), which Jesus rebuked them for.

So hear me, son: Change always comes with a great price. It can be a tremendous blessing. It can also carry a weighty burden. And in the end, it will take the Spirit who gives us the capacity and ability to forgive those who wound us, to understand those we disagree with, to show courage in the face of hostility, and to hold onto our faith, hope, and love, while we seek to mediate into the world, God's compassion, justice, and shalom.

And finally, my boy, I want you to understand this: November 4th was a day that many around the world celebrated. But it is not the day, it is not the party, it is not the celebration that in our heart of hearts we long for. At best, it was a fleeting glimpse, a tiny foretaste. For a day is coming in history, Silas, when Jesus, the true Lord, the true President, will herald the beginning of something that will never end. A new kind of humanity. A new kind of community. And a new kind of creation. And that day will be for all peoples of the earth - Democrats and Republicans and African-Americans and Latinos and Hispanics and Kenyans and Ethiopians (yeah) and Iranians and Iraqis and every tribe, tongue, and nation! Now that will be some party, Silas, my son! That will be some party!

November is National Adoption Month

2008-11-12T20:44:00.000-08:00

Psalm 10:14, 17-18
...You are the defender of orphans...Lord, you know the hopes of the helpless. Surely you will listen to their cries and comfort them. You will bring justice to the orphans and the oppressed, so people can no longer terrify them.

YOU KNOW YOU ARE AN ADOPTIVE PARENT WHEN:
1. The fact that there are 143 million children without a parent to kiss them goodnight has made you lose sleep.
2. You realize DNA has nothing to do with love and family.
3. You can't watch adoption stories on TLC without crying.
4. The fact that if 7% of the world's Christians adopted 1 child, there would be no more orphans in the world, is convincing to you.
5. You spend your free time surfing blogs about families who have experienced the blessing of adoption.
6. It drives you crazy when people as you about your adopted child's "real" parents.
7. You had no idea how you would afford to adopt, but stepped out in faith anyway, knowing where God calls you, He will provide.
8. You have never taken an airplane ride half-way around the world with a child you just met.
9. You believe God's heart is for adoption.
10. You realize that welcoming a child into your heart and family is one of the most important legacies you could ever leave on this earth.
11. You know what the word "Dossier" means and you can pronounce it!
12. You have welcomed a social worker into the most private parts of your life.
13. You shudder when people say your child is so lucky that you adopted her, knowing full well that you are the blessed ones to have her in your life
-Author Unknown

Yes, still waiting...It has been about 12 weeks thus far!
Love to all.

God continues to amaze us!

2008-11-03T10:22:00.000-08:00

It has been awhile and already we have started November. I must say that I did not think we would still be waiting for our referral. But, we are!!!! The other day I was driving home and as I was saying my prayers asking God for His guidance and His patience, here is what I saw "My grace is sufficient for you.-Jesus" Ok, is that not an eye opener? We must wait, we must wait patiently! God knows who are daughter is and the right time for her to come and be with us.
Halloween flew by, we didn't even carve pumpkins until that evening. This was the warmest Halloween we have had here since I can remember. Ty did great, he was a little blue monster and was loving every bit of it until....we left the neighbors (about 6 houses up) and he fell into these ugly little cactus'!!!! Luckily Mat caught him before he had his face mangled, but let me tell you...the prickly things were embedded into his little hands. If you know Ty, he is NOT a crier, but CRY he did, SCREAM is more like it. Now we have been asking these neighbors to get rid of this cactus for the past 4 years because we have more little kids on the street now and several of the kids have been riding bikes and fell into them, etc. OK, maybe 35 years ago cactus were cool to plant but come on.....Needless to say Ty recovered, but that ended our night for trick or treating!
Ok, enough rambling, please pray for our nation and the vote tomorrow. And PLEASE make sure you vote. Please pray for the families traveling, having court dates, and waiting on referrals. The wait is agonizing, but relying on God and one another we can do this and when we bring home our beautiful children this will all be a distant memory!!!!!
Love and Blessings to all!

Time is flying by, but my heart still aches!

2008-10-13T19:52:00.000-07:00

Wow, I cannot believe we are half way through October already! We have now been waiting for our referral for 10 weeks! I guess I always prayed somewhere deep inside that our referral would come quickly. I keep reminding myself (about 50 thousand times) each day that it is all in God's timing and He knows who our daughter is and the right time for her to come to know us. But, ugh, this is so incredibly hard! This is definitely the hardest part so far. This is a million times harder than being pregnant!!!! OK, enough whining...I am sure you are saying to yourself; "do you want some cheese with that wine?" On to other momentus daily briefings:
Football is nearing the regular season end, and both teams have had a couple of hard losses. They are doing great, although, they would both like to redeem themselves this week. Lots of prayers headed their way. Last Sunday at church was our testimonial and our reasons for adopting and what our church could do to help. They have been so gracious as to host a spaghetti dinner there on the 26th of October. We are also having a silent auction and live music by Sharla Jackson. I think it is going to be a fantastic, heart warming event. If you live here in Colorado and can make this, send me an email and I will get you tickets. (matnstace@comcast.net)I am so excited to have Gracie meet our church; they already have so much love for her and she is not even here yet. Back in February when we first stepped foot into this church I knew we were "home." God continues to bless us with kindness. I am getting some "away" time this weekend, for our women's retreat down in Colorado Springs. I think this will really help clear my mind and recenter myself. We are so busy on a daily basis that I find myself feeling like a chicken with my head cut off! Ok, guess that is not a pretty picture. Sorry. Last week our agency said they were going to be giving out about 10 referrals very soon, but none are baby girls. At least some little, beautiful children will be one step closer to coming home to be with their families. Ok, anymore ramblings? No, guess not. All is truly well with the Trumans and we feel TRLYBLSD!!!!
From all of us to you; we send our love!

It's been awhile!

2008-09-09T19:50:00.000-07:00

Oh, how sorry I am that it has been so long since I've updated our blog. I have had several people ask me, "When are you going to give us an update?" Life has been going about 100 mph with football and school in full swing, my new part-time job with 3:30 am wake ups and my darling husband's 48 hour shifts! Whew, where did the time go? Yes, it has gone by fast, but we have been officially waiting 5 weeks for our referral of our daughter! Now, in the adoption world, that is not a long period of time, but for a mom and dad and brothers, it seems like an eternity. For those of you who know me, I don't like waiting! I was always the kid who ran down the stairs on Christmas morning before anyone else in the house was awake, opened my presents, rewrapped them and then headed back to "wait" until someone else woke up! Now that is not a girl who patiently waits! Therefore, I have been reading a little book called, "Wait" by Russell Kelfer nearly every other day. Here is an excerpt so you have an understanding of why I am reading this:
"Waiting is certainly not a concept we humans would invent, but it is a priceless principle from the heart of God given to us for the ultimate benefit. Note Isaiah 40:31, "But those who wait on the Lord will find new strength. They will fly high on wings like eagles. They will run and not grow weary. They will walk and not faint." When we allow the Lord to lead and guide us, when we stay in His presence and watch Him, it is then that we receive strength."
Now do you understand?
As far as what exactly is happening now, we are patiently waiting to hear back from many adoption foundations where we applied for grants to help with our adoption costs. We are still fundraisin by selling different items on Craigslist and selling our yummy Ethiopian coffee and "Grace" candles. Please email us if you would like to order either one of those. We can even ship! (matnstace@comcast.net) We are also planning a spaghetti dinner and silent auction at our incredible church, Light and Life. They have been truly a blessing to us and we cannot wait to share this beautiful place of God with Gracie. We have also started to design and work on her nursery. I think this is so much fun! I have never loved PINK as much as I do now!
So friends and family that is what is happening with the Truman adoption. We are enjoying this journey and hope you are too! I will try to get better about updating more often. With much love, blessings and hugs and kisses!

Quick, Quick, Bunny, Bunny!!!!

2008-08-15T20:15:00.001-07:00

I cannot believe it, we received our "golden ticket" today-our 171-H arrived!!!!! Shout it out, Praise Jesus! It really is amazing how He works. We are busy getting ready for our huge benefit garage sale on August 22nd. We are so grateful to all of our friends and family who have donated to our cause. We are truly blessed to have all of your support. Thank you, thank you, thank you from the bottom of our hearts. Boys have started school and football has begun, so it is crazy in the Truman house. We are hoping all this craziness helps make the time go by quickly while enjoying all the moments and waiting for our baby girl to come home.
On another note, last Sunday we attended FAITH DAY at the Rockies with our awesome church and after the game (the Rockies lost) we were graced by the presence of a concert by Steven Curtis Chapman. WOW, since losing his little girl on May 21st, this was emotional to say the least. I cried like a baby the entire time; and even saw tears rolling down my husbands cheeks. We both agreed after hearing his story, we are just that more convicted regarding adoption! It definitely is our heart and the heart of God for our family. Thank you SCC for that amazing, touching concert and letting the world into the depths of your suffering and pain, just to give us the story of what Jesus' redemption is all about. You rock! And this adoption journey we are on ROCKS!!!

Another Step Closer!

2008-08-01T21:28:00.000-07:00

Just a quick update; our dossier has been authenticated in Washington DC, sent back to our agency, and then was sent to Ethiopia. Today we heard, our dossier has left Germany!!!! Wow-this feels amazing. I know once it hits Ethiopia it takes awhile to translate and then is sent to MOWA for approval. Hopefully a little time after that we will get our referral. I keep trying to remind myself though that it is all in God's time, not ours! Isn't it amazing though? This past week has been wonderful as both of my sisters were in town as well as my mom. We had sort of a "mini" reunion and getting to share these steps with them was also very special. Being "paper pregnant" is kinda funny but similar to being "biologically" pregnant because each little step or accomplishment is one step closer to "THE DAY!" Smiling from ear to ear while enjoying every moment!

Today is the day, let us rejoice and be glad in it!

2008-07-28T22:15:00.000-07:00

Today marks another check mark. Our dossier hit Washington D.C. at 8:58 a.m. to be authenticated.....Yeah!!!!!!!! This means then it will come back to Colorado and hopefully head to Ethiopia at the end of the week. Just one step closer to our daughter. Praise the Lord; isn't He amazing? This past Sunday at church our pastor spoke about suffering and why people get angry at God for "letting" bad things happen. It was an eye opener as to the suffering we entail in our lives, yet look at all our blessings in our lives. Things are hard, life is hard, but we live in an incredible country and have lots of opportunity to serve others. As we are embarking on the most amazing journey of our lives, I try to remember the suffering of those in Ethiopia, the mothers who are making a better life for their children by wanting more for them. I know this is a rambling of words and thoughts, but I just am hoping to inspire someone with hope, faith and love. "Wherever you go,go with all your heart." Mat and I have tried to live this motto since we became a family-I guess you could say it's our family motto!!!!
Goodnight and God Bless!
Stacey

It was a beautiful day!

2008-07-21T23:47:00.001-07:00

We are sooooo excited to say that our homestudy is 100% complete and approved and our dossier was turned in today!!!!! Unbelievable!!! Now, the next steps are: Dossier is reviewed by agency, agency sends it to Washington, DC then on to Ethiopia! Meanwhile, we will take our USCIS I600A to the local office in Denver and wait to get our fingerprinting dates!!! Next we should get our referral for our beautiful baby girl. Isn't God's grace amazing? We kept anticipating so much more work, but for us it has gone fairly smoothly. Praise the Lord. For those of you who know me, I like the control, but this is good for me....let HIM have the wheel.

Where is the time going?

2008-07-15T22:45:00.000-07:00

It has been quite awhile since we have posted what is happening in our lives. Our homestudy is done and the dossier is getting "certified" at the Secretary of State as we speak. It will be ready tomorrow to pick up, then off to our agency. They will review it, send it to DC and then off to Ethiopia!!!!! Yeah, I can hardly believe it. The courts in Ethiopia are soon closing which will make it slow as molasses, but I just keep telling myself, "It is all in God's time." Around our homefront we are busy with the last baseball tournament this weekend and an outing to Cheyenne, Wyoming for Frontier Days and the Rascal Flatts concert. It should be lots of fun. I have started my job at the local S-------s and am enjoying it immensely. I LOVE coffee and what can be better than making it and drinking it the entire time I am working? I am still only in the training part, but still have tons of fun. I work with a great group of people who are very patient with me! Other than that, school starts in a month (UGH!!! ) and football season is quickly approaching. I don't know about anyone else out there, but the summer sure seems a lot shorter than it used to??? To all of you, enjoy what is left of summer, take time to smell those beautiful flowers and listen for God's whispers.

"This is who I am, this is how I'm made!"

2008-06-27T20:44:00.000-07:00

Wow, tonight I heard these words from our 8 year old, darling boy, Cameron! Whoever thought an 8 year old could be so wise. We should all live our lives with this in mind. God created each one of us differently. Special and unique. What more do we need to describe ourselves. This will be good advice when we bring home our precious one...to remind ourselves, family is not created by blood, it is created in HIS image and each one of us shine in His eyes.

I do need to share the previous part of this conversation.
Cameron: "Mom, this is who I am, this is how I'm made. After my 2 hour nap, I'm not that tired. I would like to watch TV to help me fall asleep. Can I? I don't know why this helps me, it is just who I am, how I'm made!"

What more could a mom say? I hope this leaves you smiling from ear to ear!
God bless.

Blowing Kisses in the Wind

2008-06-21T21:25:00.000-07:00

Tonight as I get ready for bed, I talk to God, knowing he hears. I ask for safety for my husband who is at work, blessings for all of our friends and family, and the protection of my sweet boys tucked safely into bed (all but one, who is safely in Wyoming with Grammy and Grandpa.)Then I "blow kisses" to our little girl who is thousands of miles away from us. When we began this process, a friend gave us the advice, to ask God to place your faces in your baby's dreams, so she will know you when you go to get her. Aren't dreams wonderful? Dreams really do come true.Below is the poem. Enjoy and sleep tight!

Kisses in the Wind

I hold you in my heart and touch you in my dreams.
You are here each day with me, at least that's how it seems.

I know you wonder where we are... what's taking us so long.
But remember child, I love you so and God will keep you strong.

Now go outside and feel the breeze and let it touch your skin...
Because tonight, just as always, I blow you kisses in the wind.

May God hold you in His hand until I can be with you.
I promise you, my darling, I'm doing all that I can do.

Very soon, you'll have a family for real, not just pretend.
But for tonight, just as always, I blow you kisses in the wind.

May God wrap you in His arms and hold you very tight.
And let the angels bring the kisses that I send to you each night.
--- Author Unknown

Why Ethiopia?

2008-06-17T20:42:00.001-07:00

Many people ask us, why Ethiopia? First,this is the country that God has laid upon our hearts. Most likely because this is the country we feel has the GREATEST need. Some statistics for thought:
-250,000 children under age 5 die from diarrhea each day
-1/2 of the adult population cannot read and write
-average life expectancy is 48 years of age
-one of the 5 poorest countries in the world
-4 out of 5 people live on $2 per day
-the average Ethiopian lives on $100 per year
-1 in 10 children die before their first birthday
-1 in 6 children die before their 5th birthday
-44% of the population of Ethiopia is under 15 years old
-60% of children are stunted because of malnutrition
-the median age in Ethiopia is 17.8 years
-1.5 million people are infected with AIDS (6th highest in the world)
-720,000 children have been orphaned by AIDS alone, and there are 4.6 million orphans in Ethiopia
-Per capita, Ethiopia receives less aid than any other country in Africa
-1/2 the children in Ethiopia will never attend school and 88% will never attend secondary school
-Ethiopian doctor to children ratio is 1 to 24,000

Now I don't think the question is why are you adopting? It is why wouldn't we?

Thank you for your prayers and support.
The Truman's

Happy Father's Day!

2008-06-15T19:51:00.000-07:00

Today is an incredible day. A day when we can give thanks to all the wonderful men in our lives.
First and foremost we must praise our Heavenly Father for giving us a chance in this life. Thank Him for loving us unconditionally even with our faults. Secondly, I thank my amazing husband. He is truly my best friend, the best husband EVER and the BEST daddy EVER! Next I have to thank my dad, for loving me and supporting all my crazy ideas. Even though we are many states away, I know he is always with me. I am also incredibly grateful for my step-dad, Mike. What an absolute blessing he is to our family. He is ever so gracious with his love and level-headedness!!! (Not sure if that is a word, but today it is!) For those of you who know me, you know I often wear my emotions on my sleeve and Mike has a great way of keeping it all in check. Now, I need to say thank you to my father in law, Mike. I am extremely grateful to him for being part of the creation of my husband. Without you, Mike, I would not have Mat and for that I cannot thank you enough! One other important person is my grandpa. I love him dearly and am blessed to have him in my life. So Happy Father's Day to all the father's out there and to all the father's anxiously awaiting the day to become a DADDY.
Now, as for what is happening on our adoption front:
This week marks the 3rd homestudy visit for us. This takes place on Wednesday (6/18) and is the last visit before the homestudy can be put together. All the remaining paperwork should be finished this week!!! One step, almost done and we have begun the paperwork for the dossier. Whew, it does get overwhelming at times. I find myself constantly making lists. Our goal is to get our dossier finished in July and off to Ethiopia. It is all in God's timing, but keeping our fingers crossed for a court date in October or November. (This will be here before we know it.)
I also excitedly applied for a job at our local Starbuck's. I am hoping to hear from them tomorrow to set up an interview. What better place to spend some "free time" but with coffee?
The weather here has been beautiful and summer is in full swing. Swimming, friends, baseball, church camps and visiting Grammy and Grandpa. God is so good.

Where to begin????

2008-06-09T21:02:00.000-07:00

We have created this blog so our dear friends and family can follow along on this amazing journey we have begun to bring home our baby girl from Ethiopia. We have been truly blessed by an amzing God and we know we want to share this with the world! Can you tell, I am ecstatic??? Jumping for joy every chance I get. For those of you who know our family, a lot of this will be "old" news, but for our new friends, we hope you will enjoy getting to know us.

Let us introduce ourselves:
Mom, Stacey, first and foremost a child of God, wife to my incredible husband Mat and mom to 4 wonderful boys...excitedly waiting to be a mom to Gracie! She is already deep within my heart!(Can you believe how blessed I am to stay at home with my children and take care of this crazy household?)

Dad, Mat, a magnificent son of God, husband to me (lucky guy!!!! LOL!), and dad to 4 wonderful son's. (Oh, he also has the greatest job in the world, he is a firefighter/paramedic. Every young boys dream, right?) Now you know I am excited, but you should see how much this man is loving PINK!!!!

Zach, oldest, 13, computer whiz and smart as the day is long! He is a lover of reading, CSI, youth group and really can fix anything electronic.

Justin, second oldest, 12, in love with athletics and Jesus, a huge help around the house. He definitely loves to cook and will even change diapers!

Cameron, not the "baby" anymore, 8, adores his older brothers and LOVES being an older brother. He loves football, baseball and basketball. He has an "old" soul and keeps us laughing. He always tends to say the cutest things.

Tyler, the youngest so far, 15 months, and thinks he should be at least 5! He CRACKS us up and consistently puts smiles on everyone's faces even if we've had a bad day. He loves EVERYONE and loves to read.