A Glimpse of Nicaragua - the Trip that Shattered my Life

You guys, my days are so full in this season of life.

But right now, I feel like my heart is even fuller.

Life isn't a piece of cake these days, but I wouldn't trade it for anything.

I want to catch all of you up on Nicaragua, but in this season of life,

the days run short and my thoughts run long.

But Nicaragua did change my life.

Completely and entirely.

My heart was shattered there, and I flew back to America feeling like my life was laying in a thousand pieces around me.  

Those days were not easy.

But they CHANGED MY LIFE in a way nothing else has ever before.  

Every aspect of life is different now, and I'm almost certain that's just how God planned it to be.  

I'll get into all the in's and out's of the trip someday, but for now,

watch this video.

Please.

This video chronicles the highlights of the trip that changed me forever.

So, what do you think?

Have you noticed a change on Brittany's World?

I'll give you a hint... look up.

There it is!  The blog header is different! 

Here is the old header:

And here is the new one:

What do you think?

His Picture

On the wall there are pictures of Kadi's brothers and sisters.

He recognizes their faces,

And he knows that they belong and that they are loved.

Maybe that is part of the reason why he loves to see pictures of him - Kadi - on the wall too.

To reinforce his knowlege that he belongs and is loved just as much as they are.

Maybe that is why he is so excited about his pictures around the house.

they are more symbols of the love his family has for him.

More symbols that this is his family, and this is his house.

Maybe that is why he loves to see his pictures.

 

"Kadi!"



They're Home!

I don't have the time right now to tell you adequately how wonderfully they're doing

or how perfect they are

or how funy

or cute

I will try to do that, today or tomorrow, but for now I'm just writing a quick post to say,

"they're Gilbartes, and they're home forever!"

 

and I'll post a few pictures:)

A little scared, and very tired!

He's not quite sure about what to think

 

 

They're coming HOME!

"Embote!  Nalingi yo!"  I yelled into the phone. 

From the other end I heard a stream of lingala, the voices of my parents speaking English, and a little, "Kadi say..." and then a little voice with an accent said,

"Hello?  I love you!"

Those were the first words I heard from my newest little brother. 

 

 

Yes!

 They're coming home!

*TONIGHT*!

 

 

I can finally spill the beans!  I have had to wait for what feels like forever to tell you, but now I can!

 

They're coming home!

 

Before I go further, I want to show you my sister...

 

Isn't she precious!

 

My parents have been in Congo for the past two weeks,

 and they finally landed in America!

I wasn't allowed to put anything on the blog for safety reasons, and that was hard!  But now I can finally tell you all.

 

 

These two *Gilbartes* will be forever home in about 6 hours!

 

They have been in Congo together for the past 10 days.

They have been traveling home for the past 30 hours

They will be home in 6 hours.

Forever.

 

We have been able to Skye a little, and talk on the telephone some.

I have talked to my brother.

I have seen more pictures.

I have had at least half a dozen dreams about them coming home.

they'll be here so soon!

 

I'll post again with homecoming pictures tomorrowish. 

Please, keep us in your prayers!

 



Travel Vaccinations Done!!

A couple of days ago my mom and dad got their travel vaccinations.  One more step done! 

Please continue to pray for our family as we prepare for our new little ones. 

Pray that God will prepare our heart,  and theirs for the changes, and that we'll be able to bring them home soon!

First day of School

Today was our first day of school!  This is earlier than we normally start, but with our new little brother and sister coming home soon, we thought we should go ahead and get a head start.  When they get home, we might stop for a couple of weeks and then go on when things have calmed down a little. 

6 Months and Counting!

We have been in the adoption process for a little over six months now, and what a journey it has been!  We are incredibly blessed to already have referrals, as many families don't get a referral for more than a year.  So where are we at now?  Well, we are doing what you do most in the adoption process:  waiting.  Waiting, dreaming, praying and preparing.  And we are doing alot of all of those.  I'll post pictures of some of our room rearrangements and house changes later.  Keep praying!

Yard Sales Rock! Getting Ready for Our Little Ones

My mom and I went to yard sales this past Saturday and got some really adorable things.  For our little girl, (almost two weeks old) we found some adorable clothes.   I love to look her teeny bathing suit and onesies and shoes!

We also found a baby rocker, which we almost did not buy, because it was looked dirty etc.  But we did and after a good washing, scrubbing and change of batteries, it was as good as new!

We got lots of nice clothes for our 2 1/2 year old little boy, too.  We found some really cute pajamas:

                   

 We also got some bath toys, finger paint and other things.

Bath toys!!

Finger paint: messy, but really fun!

And a bouncy seat for when our little girl is old enough to use it:)

I love buy things for my new little brother and sister, it is one of my favorite things to do, and I love to think about them and look forward to their arrival.  But still, getting these things makes my heart ache when I look at all the little clothes we got for Benjamin, and remember how much I loved buying his little things.  We had some things for Chance, too, but we didn't know what size clothes she wore, so we don't have as many things that we got for her.                          Benjamin's closet:

Five Kids Practice

Two of our friends were over today.  We got a little taste of what it will be like home schooling five kids.  It was a lot of fun.  We made a seven minute movie, started to play capture the flag and generally had a lot of fun.  Can't wait for our little kids!

Changes Part 1

So we got bunk beds Saturday, set them up Sunday and we are getting used to them today!  We found them on Craig's List, and two hours later we were hauling them upstairs!  We still have a lot to do, but we have got one big step done.  Please continue to pray for us!

loading it inside

cleaning, cleaning, cleaning it:)

Moving Brandon's old bed out.

putting David's bed in the playroom

where David's bed was.

The rest of the room...

Brandon's room- minus the old bed

moving Brandon's bed into David's room

David!

The bunk beds are IN!