10 Months Waiting!

I am so excited!!!! We are definitely in the window where we could be getting the referral very soon. I cannot wait to see his face! I picked up the girls from school today and Sara's first question was to ask if I had checked the mail today. Of course, being the "hater of the mailbox" person that I am, I said "no." But I proceeded to ask her why. She was curious if we had received the referral today. I about died. First of all, that is not how the referral will come (it will be by phone), but second, I was blown away by her excitement at the thought of receiving the referral.

I dig my kids. They are thoughtful, sensitive, funny, a little sassy, and dog-gone-it, they are gonna be great big sisters!

BRING ON THE REFERRAL!!!!!

So, today is the day we celebrate being on the waitlist for 9 months. Yes, I say celebrate because I am not giving in to the notion of defeat. God is blessing me in so many ways with little reminders from His word that He is faithful, that He is loving, that He is so much bigger than me or my speculations! So, I am laying our future at His feet, surrendering this "unknown" to him and so very confident in His resolution to this situation!

As I read other blogs, and yes I read them often, I am repeatedly reminded that this journey is not about me, it is not about filling the empty crib in this room, but it is about providing home and family for a child who has none. I can say with complete confidence that I am so thankful that we chose Ethiopia to adopt from. Even though I don't understand all the ins and outs of the process, I choose to believe that they are doing what they feel best to protect the children of their country. So with that, we wait! We wait for news of the suspension of referrals, we wait for news about court dates, and we patiently, sometimes not so patiently, wait to receive a picture of our baby! And we pray that this week would be the week of miracles!

"And we know that God causes all things to work together for the good for
those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them."
{Romans 8:28}

I really needed to "hear" this verse today! We have gotten some "not-so-great" news recently about the adoption and my mind is reeling! According the the State Department, it is expected that Ethiopia will be reducing their adoptions by 90% starting today! As you can imagine, this is not the news we were anticipating at this time. By now we thought that we would have our referral and be preparing for our trips overseas. Now, we sit with a major unknown in our laps wondering where God is leading.

I am confident in His timing and I know that God will direct us exactly were He wants us to go. I just want to be available to hear his calling. That is why I am so drawn to this verse at this very moment. I feel that Bob and I were truly called to pursue adoption. It is in my blood, my mind, my heart. I know that our family is not complete. I know that out there is a baby that needs a home, our home. I know that God is working in miraculous ways to line things up just so perfectly. So, it is with that knowledge that I cling to the promise that He will work all things out for His good.

Dear Lord, Please give us direction and wisdom to hear You. Help us to be open to your plan and not simply our own. Wherever this baby is, please keep him safe and please bring him home as soon as You see fit!

Low and Behold

Last Friday marked our 8 months of waiting. Can honestly say when we started the process, that I never thought we would hit the "8" mark. But, here we are doing our best to patiently wait!

Christmas Catch-Up

So, I have finally found the time to give a re-cap of the holidays! One month late, not too bad in my book. December was a very busy month for us! The Christmas season started with the girls in the church Christmas play. Next, they participated in the Christmas Parade with their dance group as well as participate in their school music performance. Of course, I forgot my camera for all of these events! I think that should be the theme of this blog..."Oops! I forgot my camera!" Enough of the rambling! Here are some pictures to show what festivities were caught on camera!

Celebrating an early Christmas with family!



We spent Christmas Eve with my parents and some great friends!



And then came Christmas morning!


We spent time at my parent's house...technically, as the pictures will show, the hotel pool. My brother and sister and their families as well as my cousin from Texas all converged on my poor parents, thus the need for the hotel. The kids really had fun at the pool. Thankfully it was indoors!




And finally to end our Christmas celebrations, we spent time with Bob's sister and her family who were visiting from their home in Washington State.


I am always amazed at how fast the month of December flies by. I treasure these times with my family and friends and look forward to lots of memories over the next year! Hopefully, Lord willing, with a new baby and CAMERA in tow!

Keepin' It Simple

So, life has come to a screeching halt for me and I find myself with lots of time on my hands. I found myself in this predicament about 5 months ago when school resumed. Abby was starting 1st grade, Sara 3rd, which meant that for 6 hours of the day I was alone..oh how I dreaded so much time alone. To rectify the feeling of loneliness, I proceeded to volunteer for way too many projects and activities. Now mind you, I was already teaching Sunday School to the little ones, and of course I was a volunteer in the girls' classrooms. To add to my resume, I continued my role as the PTA secretary, volunteered to head the art program for the PTA, enrolled the girls in dance, and offered to be the secretary for the AWANA program at church. And last but certainly not least, I decided that it would be fun to (with the help of some really great girls) direct the kids in the first ever Christmas program for church.

As if being a mom and wife wasn't enough. And let's just say that I am not making a dime from any of these activities...all pro-bono simply due to my inability to be still for any amount of time! Around the same time that I kept raising my hand, saying, "pick me, pick me!" my mom developed some serious medical issues and began residing with us during the week as my dad was traveling for work. I love having my mom here! I hesitate to write this thinking you may think me the freak but I am one of those wackos that would love a huge piece of property somewhere that we could divide up and have the parents in a corner, our family in a corner, my sister and her clan in a corner. I would even let my brother and his crew have a corner. ha!

So, love having my mom here. We can just chalk it up to a few months of absolute CHAOS!!! Well, every one of those commitments (minus the SS, AWANA, and PTA secretary) are finished, done, completed!!! Yeah! It is 11 am, I am still in my PJs and have not left the computer this morning. I feel like a shlump! So, in order to feel more mature and worthwhile I could rectify this situation by volunteering for things again. It seemed like a fitting plan until I came across this quote this morning and POW! I love this quote. So, get ready to be blown away!

"Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication." ~ Leonardo DaVinci

Isn't that just great? I am just going to keep it simple for now! I will keep you posted as to how long I am actually able to sit still (and be sophisticated)!

Today marks 7 months on the wait list! Oh, how I am ready to see that little face! I have been praying for God's perfect timing, but at the same time asking Him that His perfect timing would be SOON!!!!!

Speaking of perfect timing...I am so excited for some friends! After waiting many years to be parents, God brought into their lives a really cute little boy about a week ago. B & L we are so excited for you and praising God right along with ya!!!!

As for all that has happened over the last month, we have been super busy and I am going to overload you with pictures just as soon as I have some time! I warn you...lots of good stuff in the month of December!!!!