Well, we are officially on the waitlist for our little girl.(So thankful there were no errors on all that important paperwork!) It feels surreal. I am so excited, like I want to get on top of my house and do a little dance and scream kind of excited. And right on the other side of my heart is this fear, like "what if Ethiopia completely falls apart and we are matched with a little one and we never get to bring her home" kind of fear. I guess this is where that dang rubber meets that dang road. The faith road where my money has to be where my mouth is road. Here we go. The real journey has just begun and I feel like it could be a crazy one. Hold on tight.
These are the numbers:
#20 (or a little less) for a little girl between 2-4. There are some people who only want a little girl under three.
# ONE for a little girl 4 and older.
I will keep you posted on the progress. And on the other things like the click, click, click up the roller coaster and the screaming terror of the free fall. And we will just see how the Lord brings us into the loading dock at the end. It's his dock after all. And that is the part I MUST remember.
Wednesday, March 16, 2011
Tuesday, March 15, 2011
AAAHHHHH
This has been a crazy emotional week and a half between getting the Dossier finished and following the news out of Ethiopia. And not to mention Spring Break with my in-laws (which was a great time) in town.
We are feeling more hopeful about the situation in Ethiopia since we are hearing that MOWA will be writing 20 adoption approval letters instead of 5. Not as much as 40, but better than 5 FOR SURE!
And as my friend reminded me of yesterday, "God's timing is always perfect!" It has been so easy to be caught up in the emotion of it all. And I am realizing that I am a control freak! And I can't control any of this! Grrrrrr! Then I went to Job Chapter 38 and was silenced. And calmed. (And a little freaked out that I think I know what's best)
God says, "Who is this that darkens my counsel with words without knowledge? Brace yourself like a man; I will question you and you shall answer me." He goes on to say, "Where were you when I laid the earth's foundations? Tell me, if you understand. Who marked off its dimensions? Surely you know! . . ." Ummmm.
In the end (FOUR chapters later in 42) Job humbly replies, " I know that you can do all things; no plan of yours can be thwarted." I want to say about Job "smart man", but it has nothing to do with being smart. I am reminded and will hopefully continue to be reminded and rest assured that God is bigger and greater than anything. We may never get a daughter from Ethiopia, I mean really I don't know. But what I do know, at least at this moment, is that whatever happens God is still the one in control. And I am just really thankful to be taking a next breath.
SO Anyway . . .
Yesterday, I bundled up all of the important papers for the Dossier and put them in the FEDEX package and sent them off to the adoption agency. Best $50 dollars I have spent in a long time. As soon as tomorrow we could be put on the waiting list. And the Lord is in control of that too! Amen and Amen.
We are feeling more hopeful about the situation in Ethiopia since we are hearing that MOWA will be writing 20 adoption approval letters instead of 5. Not as much as 40, but better than 5 FOR SURE!
And as my friend reminded me of yesterday, "God's timing is always perfect!" It has been so easy to be caught up in the emotion of it all. And I am realizing that I am a control freak! And I can't control any of this! Grrrrrr! Then I went to Job Chapter 38 and was silenced. And calmed. (And a little freaked out that I think I know what's best)
God says, "Who is this that darkens my counsel with words without knowledge? Brace yourself like a man; I will question you and you shall answer me." He goes on to say, "Where were you when I laid the earth's foundations? Tell me, if you understand. Who marked off its dimensions? Surely you know! . . ." Ummmm.
In the end (FOUR chapters later in 42) Job humbly replies, " I know that you can do all things; no plan of yours can be thwarted." I want to say about Job "smart man", but it has nothing to do with being smart. I am reminded and will hopefully continue to be reminded and rest assured that God is bigger and greater than anything. We may never get a daughter from Ethiopia, I mean really I don't know. But what I do know, at least at this moment, is that whatever happens God is still the one in control. And I am just really thankful to be taking a next breath.
SO Anyway . . .
Yesterday, I bundled up all of the important papers for the Dossier and put them in the FEDEX package and sent them off to the adoption agency. Best $50 dollars I have spent in a long time. As soon as tomorrow we could be put on the waiting list. And the Lord is in control of that too! Amen and Amen.
Tuesday, March 8, 2011
Brief Update and Prayer Needed
We got the certified papers back from the Secretary of State in Austin yesterday, which puts us one step closer to completing our Dossier. We are waiting for the homestudy to be delivered, hopefully this week, then it will be sent to IAN (our agency). Then we will be on the waitlist.
Although the waitlist seemed exciting last week and hopeful, it now seems like it could be a step closer to dissapointment. Last Friday came the announcement that the governing forces in Ethiopia are planning on cutting adoptions back up to 90% which means going from approving 40+ adoptions a day to 5 a day. That is a drastic move. And, on a very real level there needs to be protection put in place for these babies and children who are not really orphans and are being taken from families by trickery for money and/or worse. There is corruption. It is not surprising, of course. It is a travesty. So something needs to be done to safeguard the children and the families of the children. But this cut will leave thousands of truly orphaned children who are waiting for families alone and without hope. And so many families who are waiting to bring them home waiting much, much longer.
And so we are asking for prayer. Prayer for the decision-making meetings taking place in the next week in Ethiopia. That hearts would be soft and there would be a way to safeguard the children, yet move forward in allowing truly orphaned children to be adopted out. Pray against the powers of this present darkness. Just pray. Pray for the families waiting here, for the families who have lost children there and for the children who are caught in the middle of it all. Pray for peace and hope and the assurance of the reality of who God is, in all of his GLORY.
Thank you.
Although the waitlist seemed exciting last week and hopeful, it now seems like it could be a step closer to dissapointment. Last Friday came the announcement that the governing forces in Ethiopia are planning on cutting adoptions back up to 90% which means going from approving 40+ adoptions a day to 5 a day. That is a drastic move. And, on a very real level there needs to be protection put in place for these babies and children who are not really orphans and are being taken from families by trickery for money and/or worse. There is corruption. It is not surprising, of course. It is a travesty. So something needs to be done to safeguard the children and the families of the children. But this cut will leave thousands of truly orphaned children who are waiting for families alone and without hope. And so many families who are waiting to bring them home waiting much, much longer.
And so we are asking for prayer. Prayer for the decision-making meetings taking place in the next week in Ethiopia. That hearts would be soft and there would be a way to safeguard the children, yet move forward in allowing truly orphaned children to be adopted out. Pray against the powers of this present darkness. Just pray. Pray for the families waiting here, for the families who have lost children there and for the children who are caught in the middle of it all. Pray for peace and hope and the assurance of the reality of who God is, in all of his GLORY.
Thank you.
Thursday, March 3, 2011
The Light in the Middle of the Tunnel
All I know is that I can see a light. Not at the end of the tunnel, but in the middle. The paperwork for the Dossier is almost done! I have realized through the past couple of weeks that I am a bit neurotic. I don't think I have a slow down and take one thing at a time mentality when I have a task to accomplish. It is more pure frenzy until it is done. I mean my eyes hurt from focusing on the computer and paperwork for the past two weeks. They really do. I have been in a adoption time warp. But by the end of next week it will all be in the hands of our adoption agency, Lord willing. Then we begin . . . THE WAIT.
The wait . . . I am actually looking forward to the wait. The slowdown, the end of the frenzy for a moment. Aahh. I feel it coming, the light in the middle.
The Lord is faithful even in my frenzied efforts. He obviously knows how he made me, the frenzied mess that I am. It is good for me to stop and be thankful. He is so much bigger than all of this running around and he is right in the middle of it even down to the smallest detail.
So here is my list of Thankful on this beautiful, drink the air kind of Thursday morning:
-for my Lord who is affirming our steps along this path as he showed me this morning that we are not to store up for ourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy; but to instead store up treasures in heaven.
-for my husband, who instead of just plain calling me crazy and questioning where his real wife went, has been verbally so thankful for all the paperwork that I have done without adding more stress to his life.
-for my friends who have jumped in to help me out when I needed it. And for the ones who are hopefully forgiving me for dropping off the face of the earth for awhile.
-for my friends who are organizing a fundraiser for our family. That in itself is humbling beyond words.
-for our adoption agency who yesterday decided instead of requiring 3 homestudy visits, which is standard, waived the 2nd and 3rd visits.
-for our adoption agency again who let me know that as soon as the dossier gets to them next week, we will be #1 on the waiting list for a little girl 4 and older.
-that Greg's doc office actually did have a notary, so no one had to meet me there.
-that we are getting money back from our taxes instead of having to pay.
And that was mostly all from yesterday! Amazing!
The wait . . . I am actually looking forward to the wait. The slowdown, the end of the frenzy for a moment. Aahh. I feel it coming, the light in the middle.
The Lord is faithful even in my frenzied efforts. He obviously knows how he made me, the frenzied mess that I am. It is good for me to stop and be thankful. He is so much bigger than all of this running around and he is right in the middle of it even down to the smallest detail.
So here is my list of Thankful on this beautiful, drink the air kind of Thursday morning:
-for my Lord who is affirming our steps along this path as he showed me this morning that we are not to store up for ourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy; but to instead store up treasures in heaven.
-for my husband, who instead of just plain calling me crazy and questioning where his real wife went, has been verbally so thankful for all the paperwork that I have done without adding more stress to his life.
-for my friends who have jumped in to help me out when I needed it. And for the ones who are hopefully forgiving me for dropping off the face of the earth for awhile.
-for my friends who are organizing a fundraiser for our family. That in itself is humbling beyond words.
-for our adoption agency who yesterday decided instead of requiring 3 homestudy visits, which is standard, waived the 2nd and 3rd visits.
-for our adoption agency again who let me know that as soon as the dossier gets to them next week, we will be #1 on the waiting list for a little girl 4 and older.
-that Greg's doc office actually did have a notary, so no one had to meet me there.
-that we are getting money back from our taxes instead of having to pay.
And that was mostly all from yesterday! Amazing!
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