7 months!

Well we have been waiting for our referral for a little over 7 months now.  But we have been dreaming of this baby for much longer!  It was the Summer of 2007 when we made the decision to adopt.  It is hard to believe that by the time we get our little sweetheart home that 2 years will have passed.  Also, this May will mark one year since we started the official paperchase! Time seriously flies.

Our yahoo group had tons of excitement last week.  Families are traveling, passing court, and new referrals were given out.  We are hoping and praying for an April referral.  Also, please join us in praying that we pass court THE FIRST TIME.  We will be cutting it close to the court closures in August with a June or July court date.  But we have absolute peace and know that the Lord has the perfect time for this child to join our family.  We are getting so anxious to see his/her face!  I just can't imagine what it will actually be like to have a face and a name to this child we've prayed for for so long!  Gibson and Maya are asking a lot about their little brother or sister.  Whenever I'm looking at other adoption blogs, Gibson runs over and says, "Is that them?  Is that our baby brother or sister?!"  He has understood what was happening from day one, so I'm sure this really has seemed like a long wait to him!  

When we sent in our dossier we were given an approximate wait time of 5-7 months.  Obviously, that wait time has been lengthened as we are in our seventh month.  But I have to say, God has given us so much grace.  I have truly been able to have joy in the wait.  I have not felt consumed by it.  I have enjoyed the last year with our little family of four.  Don't get me wrong, I still think about and pray for our baby every single day.  But, I can look back and see clearly how God has been so good to us.  

I know I have said this many times, but I think I could say it a million times and it still wouldn't be enough:  THANK YOU to each and every one of you who has donated money, bought CD's, and said so many sweet prayers for us.  It has meant the world.  We feel so loved and supported.  This child is loved by so many people that it's astonishing!!! 

Sad News

The book, "There Is No Me Without You", was the first piece of the puzzle God used to lead us to Ethiopia.  Reading about this wonderful woman and the love she gave to orphaned children was truly amazing.  I was so sad to hear of her passing.  You can check out this article and read how you can help!

http://www.thereisnomewithoutyou.com/blog?op=view&id=63

Giveaway

Everyone head on over to onceamonthmom and enter to win a copy of the CD!

six months!

Wow, 6 months waiting. It has come so fast. It is very hard to believe that sooner than later, we will be seeing our sweet son or daughter's face! We do have a new development in our adoption journey. When we applied with our agency, we were told that Ethiopia liked to have a 2 year difference between your youngest child at home and your adopted child. So, since Maya is 2.5 right now, we thought we would have to be referred a baby 6-8 months old or younger. I asked our family coordinator this question again last week, and things seem to have changed! She said that Ethiopia is actually now very relaxed with the ages, and that our agency just prefers to keep the kids 12 months apart. So if you are still following me at all (I know it's confusing unless you are in it!), that means we could get referred up to an 18 month old! We are approved up to 18 months. A lot of families ahead of us are only approved up to 12 months, so if there is a little surge of toddlers coming into the the orphanages, this could mean we could get our referral sooner than we thought. We really are trying not to get our hopes up, though. I also am having to adjust my mind to a possible toddler! I have just been thinking tiny baby all of this time! We truly are filled with so much peace about it. We know that God has THE perfect child for our family. We are just beyond excited to meet him/her! I just can't imagine actually getting the call! Wow.
In other news, our CD sales are going very well. It is so wonderful to see the funds coming in for this last half of our expenses. We still have a large chunk left to raise, but we are building it with each CD sale. We have had a table set up at Apex the last few weeks (Apexers, we will have the tables out next week too!), and we have sold a lot there. The coolest thing is being able to talk to people about our adoption. So many people are interested in the process and what God is doing in our family. I feel amazingly blessed. This baby is so loved already! We have been so humbled by this journey. Whether people have given prayers, encouragement, or monetary gifts, the love is indescribable. God is so good! Last week Phil got to meet a family that actually attends our church that have 6 children and are adopting a sibling set of 3 from Ethiopia! So cool to make that connection.
In other random news, I ordered a sling and I LOVE it! I got it from a seller on etsy called SnuggleBugSlings. She is having a clearance sale for $9.99! I got a black one lined in khaki. I wore Maya around in the hip position (she is 26 pounds) and it was so comfy. She loved it. I am encouraged that no matter what age child we get, this will be very helpful. It would be so easy to fold this up and throw it in a diaper bag. And, I know it will definitely come in handy while we are traveling in Ethiopia and going through the airports on the way home. Since we won't have a stroller, this, along with the bjorn, will be a huge help! I also think it will be a wonderful aid in the attachment and bonding process.
OK, I think I'm done rambling now. I will keep updating here as soon as we have any new news!