A Year in Retrospect...

It's pretty sweet to look back and read through our past year on our blog. I love seeing the pictures, reading the thoughts, as well as the comments. In some ways it is hard for me to believe that we have been blogging for nearly a year. I believe our first post was December 13th 2007, and we sent in our Gladney Application on September 18th. We have studied hard, we have been to the doctor's office, we learned all the ways the government verifies signatures from a Notary all the way to the US State Department. We've each received a variety of comments about adoption in general as well as international adoption including adopting from Ethiopia. It has allowed us to tell our story. While we have yet to receive our referral, we have received a great deal already in terms of friends, growth, maturity, and spirit. We continue to thank you for your support, for checking in on us, for encouraging us, for providing incite, for a "tag" at the right moment, and for the community you have provided.

Here's to another day on the waitlist, and wishing everyone in the adoption process...God's speed.

Could it be?

Today I logged on and discovered that another family had received a referral! I had been hoping for this for them. It also gave me the realization that we are next in line to receive a referral for a boy and 9th for a girl. Wow! I also read recently that referrals tend to come on Fridays and so I became even more excited at the possibility that today could be THE DAY! I e-mailed Mary with more phone numbers that they could reach us at, just incase, and got a reply within seconds. Excitedly I waited for it to load to know what it said. It was an out of office reply… I guess the referral isn’t coming today.


The verse of the day off of biblegateway.com:
Many are the plans in a man's heart, but it is the LORD's purpose that prevails.

I think it's speaking to me! :)

Another week down

Today marks 4 months and 3 weeks of waiting. Today also marks the day that voting for if we’ll be referred a boy or a girl ends. Is it a sign? When I put the voting poll up I had to pick an end date and didn’t pick anything specifically I just typed in some numbers. It’s interesting that it ends today! The Lord has provided great peace recently. We have stopped being so anxious about if we’ll get a referral and know that in its own time it will come. It’s the Lords time and we put it in His hands. We trust His time completely. When it’s right it will come. This does not mean that we won’t be ESTATIC when we receive our referral we have just realized that being anxious is not proactive! Actually we have realized that long ago it was just hard NOT to be anxious. The other exciting thing is the referral has to come some time soon. Our agency says a typical referral wait is 3-5 months and we’re there. We might exit that timeframe but if we do each day brings us that much closer to our little one!


Proverbs 12:25An anxious heart weighs a man down.

Philippians 4:6Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.

Ecclesiastes 3:1[ A Time for Everything ] There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven.

Another week down

Today makes 4 months and 2 weeks of waiting.

Take a guess

Okay folks, I have got tired of waiting for our referral and trying to guess when it will come. When do you think it will come?

This coming Wednesday marks 4 months and 2 weeks of waiting. They say 3-5 mo. of waiting but it can be longer... I sure hope not...

Anyway please leave a comment with your guess!

4 Months 1 week

Habakkuk 2:3
"For the vision awaits its appointed time;it hastens to the end-it will not lie.If it seems slow, wait for it:it will surely come; it will not delay"

I was checking blogs and stole this verse off of this blog. I love it. Pray that they get their referral soon. It has been 5 months for them. We are given a referral estimate of 3-5 months and when you’re in the window its hard enough to wait but exit that window it is even harder! Wouldn’t it be great if they got it today on their 5 month mark?!

Today marks 4 months and 1 week of being in the window for us!!! I have never been more excited to see each day pass because I know that it means we are that much closer to our son or daughter!!!

A walk to beautiful

WOW! I watched A Walk to Beautiful and all I have to say if you haven't seen it, you NEED to. I was a little sceptical at first but it is SO good, sad, happy, etc. It made me want to give all of my money to the Fistula Foundation (what is a fistula~ check out the site: fistulafoundation.org ). I really wish I could send them (the women in Ethiopia that are "shunned" for lack of better word) the Bible and let them know that they aren't alone and that God loves them. I want to send some Bibles in Amharic to the "hospitals" so that they can know of God's love. That was the hardest thing for me- to watch as all these women that thought they were alone and had no one who cared and didn't know of God. Even if you have no tie to Ethiopia this video is a MUST SEE.

A family that was a week ahead of us recieved their referral today. I am SO excited for them. I have watched their blog closley as we are so close in time to be put on the wait list and probably will travel together. It has been a really fun blog to watch. However, as they received their referral I looked at the FBI list and felt really sad as, according to it, we are 12th in line. It still can be November, etc. before we receive our referral. The wait has really started to weigh heavily on our hearts as it feels like it has been forever of a wait. I know in Gods time it will happen and that HE is GOOD and will bless us beyond what we can possibly ask or imagine.

Ephesians 3:20
Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us

So we continue to put our hope and trust in the Lords time and pray that the wait won't be too much longer!

All of you out there who continue to read our blog and for those of you who post- THANKS so much! I appologize for not having posted on a lot of your blogs lately. I get to read them a lot but don't have the time to post as it can take SEVERAL minutes for the computer to load so I CAN post.