It's official!

We are officially on the Wait list!!! We have requested an infant girl, 0-8 months, as young as possible. Our caseworker said they will take this into consideration before sending us a referral, and that it could potentially make our wait longer. But when you consider that we won't travel to pick up our baby for 2 months after referral, we could still be picking up a 10 month old. So, all in all, we're hoping for under 6 months, but we'll trust that the Lord will faithfully oversee the circumstances involved. The Ethiopian courts are closed in August and September, so it looks like we won't have a court date until the fall. Please keep all these things in your prayers.

Final Piece of Paperwork

Well, we celebrated this weekend! Sean was at the pool with the kids on Saturday and the hungrier he got, the more he decided he would head out and pick up some good ol' beef- steak of course! If you know my husband, you know his love for a good steak. While he was gone, I checked the mailbox and there was our final piece of paperwork we've been waiting for. It's the 171-H form from USCIS that says our backgrounds have been checked and we are able to adopt an orphan. Woohoo! When Sean got home from the grocery store with steaks, it seemed so perfect. Time to celebrate! Today we will get the paperwork notarized and fed-ex it to KBS (who is putting together our dossier) so that our dossier can be authenticated. This can take 1 or 2 weeks. It usually goes fast. Waiting list, here we come!
On another note, Grace was asking me so many questions the other day about Ethiopia. What it's like, what the children are like, what they wear, what they eat, what they play with. We've discussed these things before, but she really wanted details! She ran off and put together a pile of special things she wanted to donate to the children we'll see there. I wanted a picture of the precious pile, but friends came over and the pile went to pieces. There were babies, necklaces, bracelets, toys, marbles, so many things. And it just melted my heart. I'm thanful that God is giving us a little glimpse into what it must be like to have NOTHING. We will be putting together a list of things that we'd love to take with us and distribute. Some will be specifically for humanitarian aid- diapers, formula, etc. Others will be for the children- windup flashlights, jump ropes, etc. Let me know if you'd like to contribute in some way.
Sean and I went to the "Mission of Mercy" website and found a little girl that we want to sponsor in Ethiopia. She is 6 and not available for adoption. A sponsorship will provide food, clothing, and education for her every day. Her name is Diborah, and I don't know much about her yet. We'll receive a packet in the mail soon. I'd love to meet her when we travel, and take her a care package. We were drawn to her, because she's just a few months older than Grace, so it gives us a little insight into her soul. I picture my Gracie there without necessities and it brings me to tears. So many things to be praying for....