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One month down

Well, we've officially been on the waitlist for a month. Yeah! 1 down, and who knows how many more to go - but we hope it will be 2-4. I guess if you look at it from a "pregnancy standpoint", we're halfway through and we know what we're having, even without an ultrasound: it's a girl :) I bought a diaper bag the other day, and had a hard time justifying it, without a baby bump to show for it. It is sooo cute: dark brown with pink polka dots of course. And I found some baby bedding on sale, so I grabbed it. It's very girly, and very cute. It's the Wendy Bellissimo Teaberry from Babies-R-Us. I was going to use the same bedding that I used for Gracie 6 years ago, but I'm OVER the pink gingham. If anyone's interested, I'm going to sell my Pottery Barn bedding that is "like-new". It's a pink ginham crib bedskirt, and a bumper pad that is white with stitched flowers all over in pink, lavendar, yellow, green and pale blue. It is very cute. And I have pink gingham curtains to match. Let me know if you want to see pictures. I'll probably post it on the Nofolk Craigs List soon.
My mom was reminding me the other day that when we do receive the referral, we'll jump into crazy mode, so I might as well prep the baby room. It will give me something to do with these nesting instincts.
On another note, we had a care-group-wide VBS, and I helped one day, while hosting/teaching another day. We had 15 children at my house, between 2 adults. Yikes! But it really was fun and a blessing to be teaching the children about Christ. I am loving my church, and continue to be blessed by all at Sovereign Grace. Next Wednesday, I'm heading up to Maryland to attend the SGC Worship Conference. I'm so fired up! It will be great to focus on how to bring worship before the Lord, but also a time of singing, learning, and fellowship. My dad and sister are coming up from FW to attend, and we can fit in some family time as well.

Today was Grace's birthday, and I just can't believe that she's 6! This was not a party year (we're doing the every-other-year-party-thing), but we let her invite a friend to go the beach with us. We all had a wonderful time, and tonight we poured over her baby album. I remember waiting and praying- so long ago- for her, and it's amazing that she's been in my arms for 6 years already. It took just about 3 years to conceive that first time around, and here we are walking through something similar. It has been over 2 years now (with one miscarriage last summer) and at times I get sorrowful, or doubtful, but God is working behind the scenes and I can't wait to see what He has in store for us. One day I'll look back at this waiting time, and see how God was so gracious to have us on our knees. It is in those times that we draw nearest to Him.

Baby dolls

My sweet mom is starting to sew handmade baby dolls that are precious. She will make one for our new baby girl, and also for the other little girls in the family. After that she is wanting to host a doll-making party so that her friends can help sew dolls for Ethiopia. Isn't that wonderful? My family has been so supportive and this is yet another way that I sense their overall excitement and anticipation of what God is working out in our lives. Mom might drive out and see me the end of this month, and if that happens, we're going to have a doll party here as well. We will prep the patterns (we're still deciding which pattern to use for the parties- there's a great pattern at this website- www.nonidolls.com/dollyhugs.html) , sewing part of the babies, and then the girls can stuff them, do some hand-sewing, and decorate. What a joy to take handmade babies to little children whose hands are empty.

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....

Family Update

Grace and Thatcher are getting so excited about the adoption as well. Above is a picture of Grace's mini-room she made for her and her baby to sleep beside each other. To the right is a picture of Thatcher with Grace's new baby doll that she picked out. He is ready to be the BIG brother and Mommy's helper. He jumps up to run little errands for me before I can even get the words out. Grace keeps picking out baby clothes at the store and BEGGING me to buy them for our new girl. "She'll really love this cozy one, Mom."

We're talking about baby names every day and can't seem to settle on one yet. Maybe her Ethiopian name will be best. Feel free to make suggestions....

Moving Right Along

Last Thursday we received our finalized Home Study. This is a huge step in our journey. This document should enable us to receive our immigration paperwork, which will complete our dossier. We are moving right along in the paper chase! I found out today that after our dossier is authenticated in our city and state, we will be placed on the official waiting list. It will then be authenticated in Washington d.c. and Ethiopia, as we're "waiting". This is very exciting news because I feel like it's not very far off.
I'm so excited and am beginning to let my heart get involved. I've really held back in fear of the adoption falling through due to unforseen circumstances- like pregnancy, and although pregnancy would be an amazing answer to prayer and we would be ecstatic, this "miscarriage of adoption" would be heartbreaking. That is still a possibility, as only the Lord knows how He will build our family, but in the meantime, we must trust the Lord. And that trusting involves the heart. We're praying daily for God to be watching over our little one, wherever she/he may be. If there is a daughter for us in Ethiopia, she could be born by now. Up until this point, we've been praying for a baby in her mother's womb, but now we're changing our plea. Now we ask the Lord's favor for good health, nutrition, care, love, and bonding for this little one that we hope to be our own.
I finished the book "There's No Me Without You" and it was definitely a life-changing experience. It has opened my eyes to poverty and orphans, like never before. As I'm reading at night, the tears just flow as I think about visiting these orphanages and care centeres. We will come back changed even more for the better. These people and children are not just in need of food and provisions. They're in need of Christ and His message of salvation. It's awesome to consider how adoption truly is a picture of how God has rescued us out of our sinful, Hell-bound lives. We were/are so undeserving. We can't change the world, but we can change one child's life and offer them a future Hope.