waiting...waiting...waiting...

So many of you have asked for an update, but really nothing has changed. We have been on the wait list for four months now. Some days it is easier to wait than others. I think that we all thought by the end of summer or early fall, we may have a referral. I know that we all thought we would travel by the end of 2009. Now it looks like we may not even have a referral by the end of this year. Currently, our agency says that the wait for a baby girl referral is 8-9 months. If that is true for us, then our referral will come in December or January. Last spring, the wait was about 6 months. This whole experience is such a journey of faith and you know that you can't rush God's perfect timing. The anticipation is just difficult at times. Once you have committed to adoption, you are ready to live it. I know that God has valuable lessons in the waiting so I pray that He is molding and preparing us during these months. Mark keeps saying that he would rather wait now instead of waiting so long after we see her face. Once we receive a referral and accept it, then we have to pass court before travel plans can be made. For some families, the time between referral and travel is weeks and for others, it can be months. We ask that you continue to pray for our family as we wait, trust and try to be content.

on our way to the top!

Just had an update today that we are now NUMBER 11 on the waiting list!! Just a few weeks ago, we were number 18. It was very encouraging news. Our children screamed with excitement. With the courts closing soon, we aren't sure how that may affect things for us. For now, we will celebrate that we are moving up quickly and be thankful for those seven families who have received referrals for their babies recently. :) That means less orphans in Ethiopia and that makes our hearts happy. Check out "bringing home lucy" in the blogs that I follow for a sweet story about a family's adoption. The mom just met their little Lucy yesterday and the pictures say it all!!

just waiting

People keep asking for an update so here it is. Unfortunately, there is not a lot of news. We are still in the waiting pool and the last we heard, there were 17 families "ahead" of us who had requested a baby girl. Courts close in Ethiopia for August and September so we don't really expect a lot to happen until the fall. This morning, Brynn woke up and the first thing she said is "when is our baby girl coming?". She said she had to come before Brynn turns 10 which would be next March. I pray that it doesn't take that long, but we know it's out of our control. We did hear wonderful news this week that a friend of our's got a referral for a precious little boy. For now, we are going to have a wonderful summer and treasure the blessings we already have. Please just continue to pray for our little one and for the process. Mark and I know that the hardest "time of wait" will be once we see her face and then have to wait to pass court and get our travel plans. We promise to keep you posted as things happen.....

it arrived

Just wanted to let everyone know that our dossier has safely arrived to Ethiopia. It is being translated and we are officially on the wait list. Yeah!! The average wait for a referral is about 6 months for a girl, but we know that it's not up to us. We had a wonderful benefit dinner last night for Acacia Village which is a wonderful project we are supporting in Ethiopia. Learn more at www.acaciavillage.org. Again last night, we saw pictures of beautiful children from Ethiopia and even had the chance to meet a 2 year old little boy who was adopted from Ethiopia into a NC family that already had three children....just like us. The boy is precious and it was so warming to see him relate to his new and forever family. Adoption is an incredible thing and I am so thankful that our family gets to live this adventure. As I hear news, I'll be sure to pass it on. Please keep us in your prayers. With love....

out of our hands

Yesterday we sent the dossier to CWA and then they will send it to Ethiopia. We each said a prayer over it and went to our favorite UPS store again to send it. I'll let you know when it arrives in Ethiopia. Keep praying for our little girl and for us adding to our already busy family. It's out of our hands now and we know God is in control of this journey.

dossier keeps traveling

Now, our dossier is in Washington DC to go to the State Dept. and the Embassy of Ethiopia. It should be back to us by Friday and then we'll send it to CWA and they will send it to Ethiopia. It's hard to believe that it is almost there. For so many months, you are busy getting documents done and re-done and organizing paperwork and now we are almost to the waiting stage. This is when we really don't have any control and we just wait. Most days, I have a peace about waiting and trusting God in this process. Sometimes I do get discouraged when people make negative comments but I am learning to have tougher skin. I know we are taking a huge step of faith, but we know that many blessings will come from this. Thank you for your prayers and support.

it was found

Our document was located and should be on its way to our house. Yeah!! Instead of putting the information in the computer under my name, the lady who did it (and is on vacation today) put it under J.Mark. My name was on the cover sheet so everyone says that is the name that should be in the computer. We have also got to start using only one name for Mark. This is why you shouldn't call your child by their middle name. Sorry to my in-laws...you know I love you anyway. :) It's on the way even though UPS hasn't scanned it yet. We should get it tomorrow. Thanks for your support...