This week marks 5 months on the waitlist. The time has really flown by and we have taken advantage of every moment to prepare, pray, and clean? Yes, my nesting instinct has kicked in and I'm deep-cleaning every thing in sight. I'm talking every door in the house got washed from top to bottom with the amazing "Magic Eraser", my spice cabinet has never looked better, I borrowed a "Little Green" vacuum from a friend to get all those darn spots up out of the carpet, and I could just go on and on. The kid's closets have been reorganized. You'd think it was spring around here.
The baby room for Ava is all set. My Mom just finished a quilt for her and it is amazing. I'll take a picture and post it soon, because it has to be the most beautiful baby quilt ever. It matches the bedding, and looks cozy too. Maybe it will be her "drag-along".
Depending on the age of our little boy (name TBA), we might set up a crib in Thatcher's room. Otherwise, we'll separate the bunkbeds. I think they'll both appreciate having someone in the same room at bedtime.
We've been praying for our little ones, and trusting they are in God's care. When I see pictures from other families that have visited the orphanages in Ethiopia, I just cry. I can't wait to hold our little babies in our arms. But I must say that we would rather wait on this end, than have to wait a long time after receiving a refferal. There are a lot of families caught up in court cases right now, and hopefully they can bring their babies home soon, and then we'll hear something.
Grace and I continue to make dolls and the last ones have turned out so cute. We've finally figured out how to do cute hair. Grace really wanted these last ones to have "do's". Here they are.
We have decided to hand out baby dolls to our sponsored children and their siblings first. We will also hand some out along the way as we sit fit (when there aren't LOTS of kids around us, b/c we don't have enough for that). After this, we'll give the rest to the Sovereign Grace church there in Addis for them to hand out when they're reaching out to the poor and needy. They can share the gospel alongside, so we think it's a great opportunity. We wouldn't have enough to hand out in the orphanages, so we felt like this would be the best back-up plan.
As far as older siblings are concerned (0-42 months), I think we're at the top of the waitlist. This doesn't mean things will move any faster for us, but it does feel good to be moving up the list. We've resigned ourselves to the fact that we probably won't hear anything over the holidays. That way, if we do, Hooray! We'll be soooo surprised! Let the countdown continue...
