From Deutschland mit love

Thoughtful Auntie KK brought back this animal/numbers book for our child. Too cute! I have no idea what it says, but I get the idea. Flip the flap and count what's beneath. Danke!

Aesop's tortoise

I can do a lot, but only slowly it seems. It's the story of my life, really.

Rob and I went shopping this past weekend to get a few things for around the house. The main goal was to find a little table and chair for our child, because we only have high stools and high chairs around our bistro-style table.

I was much too impatient to wait for Rob to get home from work to put it all together, so I began. I began around nine this morning, and now it's almost one. They are miniature! Why should it take so long? Moreover, while it took me hours to get everything just right for the chair, my baby sister came into the room and unpacked and built the table in about five minutes!

Regardless of the process, the product is cute and ready.

Others' news

So, the family that didn't pass court two days ago... they ended up being re-heard yesterday and passed. Wahoo! However, a family that had their THIRD court date today didn't pass. Ugh. They now have to wait till next month to be re-heard. This has to be too hard for them.

Whose birthday was it anyways?

The beginning of Rob's... I mean, um, our child's Richard Scarry book collection. I hope that they'll share! To many hours of rocking and reading!

An unsuccessful court date

A family from our agency had a court date today; however, it was unsuccessful. Ugh. Now they have to wait for another one to be assigned and then wait for that date. It's too hard. They know who their son is. They have his face memorized. It must be too difficult.

Please pray that they get another court date very soon and that it is successful. And already for us, although we don't know who our child is, please pray that: all of our papers are in order, our child has enough to eat today, our child has a safe place to be, angels would be all around him/her, our child does not get sick, our child does not have TB, the birthparents know God, we will get our referral for our son/daughter today... of course, there is more. There is always more.

Thankfully, God can handle it. He can handle all of our petitions. Thanks, God.

Sprouts to harvest

Will we be eating you, o broccoli, with Little E. sitting on our laps?

I wish...

...that there were no adoption "process." I wish that God would just drop the child to be adopted in our living room. No warning. No waiting. He knows who will adopt and so He delivers the child(ren). I've been unusually frustrated yesterday and today. I'm tired of seeing our names fourth/fifth down on the list. I'm annoyed by delays, whether real or rumored. I've had it with "the process." (a disgruntled sigh)

I know, "this too shall pass."

The final four

(I had to stick with March Madness.)

We are in the final four. We're actually fifth on the list, but we share a submittal date with number four. It just happens that "s" comes before "u," and so they are in front of us. (We are "u," belying our last name.) We are in the final four... which will be decided by the end of March! Can the analogy hold?

No news Friday

Well, today is the last day of the second week of March... and there have been no referrals. I think that the greater-Bethany-Ethiopian community all expected some. There have always been referrals in the second week. Sad. So, we move into April. April showers bring May flowers.



Can April referrals also bring May court dates? A short sigh.

Eight months: swollen ankles and sore hips

Aren't those common conditions for someone who's eight months along into waiting to have a baby? Ha! Adoption is a bit different, thankfully, and my main concern at eight months is all of the daydreaming that I do. Will our child have those large, almond-shaped eyes? How much curly-curly hair will (s)he already have? Since we only have a shower, with no tub, where will we do baths? Am I going to have to use bottles or will we just skip to sippy-cups? Will (s)he fit nicely into the sling that I made and like riding around in it? Will I really be able to use the cloth diapers that I want to or will my super-strong gag-reflex prevent it? Where should this baby sleep once we just get home? Ah, yes, daydreaming. I'll take it any day over swollen ankles and sore hips!

Good news Friday

"God is good, all the time. All the time, He is good." Do you know the song? That is one of my favorites. Cue the trumpets! Da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da!

On a morning like today it is so easy to sing that song. I do know that we're to be able to sing that song all of the time; but it's not always so easy, is it? However, when we experience a gift from God...

(I just realized that this is all starting to sound like we've gotten our referral. Sorry... not yet.)

... we are to rejoice and thank Him for it. So, thank God! Today, on this sunny, warm day, we got our renewed immigration paper! Wahoo!

About 15 minutes ago, I pulled myself away from the sunny windowsill, where I was dreaming of summer gardens, and went downstairs to see if the mail had come. It had. And, there was a lot. I saw a few magazines, but also several letter-sized pieces. I just had a feeling, but I didn't want to dive in. So, I slowly (at least in my mind, slowly) set the bigger things off to the right of the table and then flipped, one by one, through the letter-sized envelopes. And, as I got to the last one, I saw that the Department of Homeland Security was the return-address. Wahoo!

"Praise God from whom all blessings flow!" That's another favorite song.

---about three minutes pass---

Ah! There is more! All five of the families that had courts dates this week passed! The other two, who were "on hold" for documents, heard today that they passed. AND one of the families, with a referral already, got its court date today... for the end of April! Wahoo!

"And we're moving' on up!" (How about that song?)

Update

Selom!

So, the family that's been in Ethiopia had a successful consular appointment on Tuesday and is on its way home. Thank God!

Of the five families that had court dates, three of them completely passed. Thank God, again! Two of the families didn't quite make it through because of some missing paperwork on the birth-mothers' part. They hope to clear up the issue without having to go through another court appointment.

And, as yet, there have been no referrals... but then it's not yet the second week. Ah! Maybe? Please!?

Finally, we need our renewed immigration paper. You are allowed to apply for it two months early, which I did to the date; however, there's been no sign of it. I'm a bit nervous that something is wrong because when we got re-fingerprinted, we received the new form the next week. May God's will be done... so, please pray.

That's all for now. Ciao! (Yes, that is what they say in Ethiopia.)

Newsweek

"In the end, parents, teachers, and mentors are all responsible for arming students with the right tools for the future. And when our children end up learning only half the story, no one wins" (Allison Samuels, Newsweek).

This was at the end of an article called, "Rethinking Race in the Classroom;" however, it is true for so much more. The adoption history and the Bible come to mind. Even now, before I know the complete "story," I am daunted by the thought of reconciling all the chapters.

March Madness

Although once upon a time I did fill out a March Madness roster-thingy, I make no connection to basketball here other than to use the term "March Madness." Sorry, Scott Larson.

This month, in our adoption agency: one family will bring home its daughter, seven families have court dates, and hopefully a number of families will receive referrals during the famous second week. So much action!

Please pray that the family currently in Ethiopia will have a successful Embassy interview, that the seven families with court dates will pass on the first try and get travel calls soon thereafter, that many children will be referred to their second families, and that all of our children will be healthy and provided for.