Thanksgiving thoughts

Our family has so much to be thankful for, especially this year. Micah Paul has given us a whole new category of life to give thanks for.



We are thankful for Micah Paul's birthmother. Without her we would not experiencing this amazing journey.



We are thankful for the police officer that found Micah Paul and showed compassion towards him.



We are thankful for the orphanage and nanny who cared or Micah Paul the first 5 weeks of his fragile life.



We are thankful for Celebrate Children International who registered Micah Paul with their agency so his forever family could find him.



We are thankful our cousins, Joey and Destiny, who prayed earnestly and sought God's will about caring for Micah Paul. When God confirmed His will to them they obediently followed regardless of how complicated it would make their lives and ministry.



We are thankful for the nanny that helps our cousins currently care for Micah Paul.



We are thankful for the MANY people all over the world, including the orphans in Ethiopia, who have prayed for and who have prayed over Micah Paul and his precious life.



We are thankful for our friends who have adopted and have been willing to share their expereriences with us as we are on this journey.



We are thankful for our Fresno agency, Chrysalis House, that got us off to an efficent start on our journey.



We are thankful for our Florida agency, Celebrate Children International, for jumpstarting our process as well and helping us to maximize our efforts during the paper chase.



We are thankful for Gods fingerprints and timing that have guided us through each step of the process.

We are thankful for all the people who have processed the many pieces of paperwork that are needed to complete our adoption.

We are thankful for our girls and how well they have adjusted so far through our adoption journey.

We are thankful for family and friends who are so supportive.

This is a Thanksgiving that will always be memorable. We have wonderful memories of passing court, becoming parents again and looking forward to meeting our son and brinnging him home. We hope you have a season full of blessed memories to reflect on throughout the year.

Happy Thanksgiving!

And the news is....

WE PASSED!

Here's our son Micah Paul

Isn't he so handsome!

`

`

Of all the days...blogger is not wanting to do what I am asking it to so more will come but here's the basics.

Court Date

Our court date is quickly approaching. This Thursday November 19th is our day in court in Ethiopia. We do not need to be there. We just wait here to hear the news. We are believing that we are going to PASS court the first time. The time difference is 10 hours so basically when we go to bed on Wednesday our representative will be preparing to present our case. We can hear at anytime that night or Thursday what the outcome is. We would greatly appreciate any extra prayer during this week and especially Wednesday and Thursday. Please pray we PASS court this time. Once we do we will be the legal parents of Micah Paul, our names will be on his birth certificate. He will be ours! We will promptly post the cute pictures we have of him for all of you to see. He is so handsome. I can't wait to share!

Holiday Boutique Fundraiser

This weekend we are going to have a booth at our churches Holiday Boutique. The proceeds from our sales will go towards bringing Micah Paul Home!

'

We will be selling a variety of goods. Here are the items we will be featuring:

'

-Christian Wall Calenders for $6. These are beautiful glossy pictures of God's Creations with a verse for each week. They are spiral bound and sturdy. These would be wonderful for gift giving.

'

-Homemade Washcloths that have lovingly and generously been made by our sweet 10 year old friend who also has a heart for orphans. She wanted to do something to contribute to our adoption and this was the perfect project.

'

-Homemade Strawberry and Strawberry-Apricot Jam is $8 a pint.

'

-Homemade Marshmallows are $2 a bag. These are wrapped in a cello bag and tied with a pretty ribbon. These are perfect for a small gift for a teacher or friend.

'

-Chocolate Dipped Pretzels will also be available. These will be dipped in white chocolate and dark chocolate decorated with coordinating sprinkles. These are easy little gifts or favors as well.

'

-Just Love Coffee Shop information will be available. We have an account set up and our web page is:

http://www.justlovecoffee.com/TheCoombs

For every bag purchased our profit is almost half and they have a great selection to choose from. This ministry also donates money to an Ethiopian Orphanage and uses their profits to help families adopt from any country, not just Ethiopia. They have a great story so go check it out.

'

-Kingdom Kids Adoption Ministries information will also be available. This is a ministry that allows people to make a donation and receive a tax-deduction.

'

Where: The Bridge Church

3438 E. Ashlan

'

When: Saturday November 21st

from 8am to 12pm

'

We look forward to seeing you there!

Micah's Grandma is home...Keep Praying!

Today Micah's Grandma, Marilyn, came home from the hospital after 11 long days. Coming home is a relief and comes with a HUGE amount of new responsibilities for the family. For the next 4-6 weeks she will be fed by IV for 14 hours a day. She is also receiving 3 other medications by IV as well. We met with the home health nurse today and everything is getting set up. The nurse has said that the amount of medications she is on is beyond what they do in home health care. Usually this amount of medication is given only at the hospital. This translates to us, the family, having a HUGE responsibility in administering the meds at the varying times throughout the day and night. To be honest, we are all overwhelmed by the everything. The new language we are learning, the emotional support that is needed, the physical needs, the large quantity of equipment...it's A LOT.

Please pray:
-For us all to be able to absorb these instructions and be accurate
-For Marilyn to be encouraged
-For Paul, Marilyn's husband, to be peaceful and encouraged
-For healing
-For the scheduling of everything
-For anything else you feel lead to pray for...

We greatly appreciate your prayers and support. There is no way we could make it without all of you.

Happy 3rd Anniversary!

Today is the 3 month anniversary of us beginning the process to adopt Micah. This is amazingly quick. We have our court date in 1 week. We will officially be the parents of 6 month old Micah Paul, as long as we pass court. We are working to wrap our brains around everything that is swirling around us.

Also a quick update on Micah's grandma. She will be released from the hospital tomorrow morning. She has a long recover ahead of her. Your continued prayers are appreciated as our family works together to help out my parents.

Micah's grandma needs your prayers...

A few weeks ago I blogged about my mom, Marilyn, and how she had to be taken to the hospital. Unfortunately the situation is not over. My mom is very private about her health so I'm going to try to honor that while calling all our family and friends to pray.

At the end of September my mom had bariatric surgery that was necessary due to her diabetes. She has never recovered. The first 2 weeks she was back in the hospital 2 times. We have been battling dehydration and and malnourishment ever since. She has not been able to regain her strength. This last Tuesday she was taken back to the hospital. Since Tuesday she has been through another round of testing. This time the doctors found a large amount of infection surrounding her surgery that was only detected by a CAT scan. They have done a procedure to drain that infection and are going in again today to install a drain to continue that process. She will be in the hospital for at least 2-3 days. She will be going home with an IV for nutrition. She is only allowed to take liquids by mouth to take her needed medications.

As I'm sure you can imagine. She is very discouraged. We are all weary but hopeful that the latest findings will be the what helps her turn around. The last 5 weeks have been a roller coaster. We would appreciate your prayers. I am praying she can recover and feel like she can enjoy the holidays and her new grandson. She loves this season and it's hard for her to have to be missing out on so much. We also need her to be better since we will be leaving the country in a short time. We have plenty of family and friends who can help with the girls. We would just feel better to know she is definitely recovering. It seems like every time we think it's going to get better it turns and gets worse.

Please Pray for:
-The doctors to see what they need to, fix what's broken and to have steady hands in the process, all with wisdom and discernment.
-Her body to be strengthened and heal.
-The pain to be managed and gone.
-Her to be encouraged.
-My dad to get the rest he needs.
-My mom's work to be taken care of.
-Peacefulness for all of us.

Thank you so much for your prayers. We appreciate them greatly.