He Will Be Coming Home

First of all, can I say that I think y'all is one of the most underused words in the English language. I mean lets face it, generally speaking, we don't use great grammar anyway.  I think the most often substitute for y'all is you guys and I care just enough about gender equality to want to make it "you guys and gals"... So that really just leaves you with "you all"... And, well, it just doesn't roll off your tongue like y'all.  So, I think we shouldn't leave y'all to the south; I think we should claim it for nations.  And the point of all that is that I wanted to start this post like this: Y'ALL, I GOT PICTURES FOR YOU! I'm just going to make you read some stuff first...

As you all likely know, Buck and I had the privilege of going to Ethiopia to meet our son and legally adopt him to be ours.  What should have immediately followed was a post with pictures and a detailed update... But it didn't happen.  And really, there is a reason it didn't happen. It wasn't because I was not thrilled, proud, and simply overjoyed, because I was.  And I am.  But there is so much more to it than that.  When you hold a child that you are adopting for the first time it is amazing, beautiful, and heart shattering.  My heart exploded, not just because this sweet little boy got to be ours.  That our family would forever share more love.  But my heart exploded because he has faced loss, so much loss in his short time. He has faced so much loss, but from here on out we get to hold his hand, love him, and guide him. That is a privilege. Being a mother is an honor. It has been a long journey to this point.  Yes, it has been a long journey financially and logistically speaking, but my heart, my spirit, my faith, my understanding of motherhood has been a journey as well.  When I think about this space and sharing with my friends and family, I know I have failed. I have shared the joys and landmarks. I have asked for help. But rarely, have I shared my heart.  I hope to do that. I hope to do that for a lot of reasons, but there are two things that speak loudly to me at this point.  I have been blessed by a handful of women that have been honest and safe in this journey to adoption.  They kept it real and they helped me face the fears and celebrated the joys with me.  I know not all women have that and in this little space, I want to share what I was given.  Secondly, those that come to this space - you are family and friends.  You (those of you reading here) are the core support to me, to this little family of mine.  I want you to know and understand why sharing in the process, in the everyday was hard for me.  So, over time, I want to go back and share what that journey looked like with you.  I would do it now, but it will take me time and I think, for now, pictures of our time in Ethiopia and of this sweet, beautiful boy are more important.

There are two questions I get asked often.  First, is the general question of how was your trip and how did it impact you.  For now I will just say, our trip was amazing and it left a big impact on our hearts.  The realities of the world, the big picture world are out there.  We just have to open our eyes.

The second question is, how did if feel to meet your son?  I hope someday to find the words to explain this.  Not for you, not for me, but for him.  For now, all I can say is, he fit.  He simply fit into my heart, just as God placed him there.

Without further ado (particularly for those of non-Facebookers), please meet Case Candaran Reece:

 We are in love and simply cannot wait until he is home.  Y'all (there I go again), we have been blessed and we are hoping that next week we will get the clearance we need to allow him to come home.  That means we would likely travel the following week (the first full week of August). Y'all that means we very well could be home as a family of 5 on my birthday, August 7th!!!  Short of getting to bring him home our first trip, this is all we could have prayed for.

I cannot thank those of you that have surrounded us in this process... every penny, every prayer, every question on how we are doing means the world to us.  It is hard to humble ourselves. But I know that every time we have humbled ourselves, God does His biggest work in our lives. Since we are traveling a second time, we are still about $5000 short to bring Case home. We have applied for a couple of grants since getting back in July, but at this point, we will likely be able to go get him before we hear back. Thankfully, we won't have to purchase a plane ticket for Case... but tickets are even more expensive now than when went in July.  We are also considering that either Buck or myself can stay and only one of us will travel to bring Case home.  While this is a very real option, it makes my heart ache to think we won't be both be there to bring him from Ethiopia to his forever family.  If you would like to help us get this little dude home, I am going to attach the information to do so at the bottom of this post (after the pictures)!  And thank you.  Thank you so much.  I simply cannot say that enough.

Finally, here is a little "movie" with our pictures.  It is the long version, but generally chronicles our time in Ethiopia. Thank you all, we love you.




Ethiopia - Trip 1 from Jenifer Reece on Vimeo.

Finally, if you are able, would you help us bring Case home? Many of you have already been incredibly generous throughout this process, and we are so grateful.  There are a couple of ways you can donate.  You can make a tax deductible donation through our church's website, simply put "Reece Adoption" and it will go into our account there.  (Disclaimer:  In doing so, you understand that, in accordance with IRS rules and regulations, the use of the gift is subject to the discretion and control of the Journey Church Adoption Fund, notwithstanding any preference that we may express in this form, or on any check.Basically, if there is money left in our account that we don't need, it will be given to the general fund in the Encompass Orphan Care Ministry).  Or you can make a donation directly to us through our Paypal account by clicking on the donate button on the right side of the page.