Yes, I am Still Adopting.....

I haven't posted much lately.....I guess, because I don't have much news to report. Ethiopian adoption is experiencing some delays and I guess what you would call growing pains lately. A fellow blogger explained it so well, and if you'd like to read more about it click here. Many families are also not passing court right now as the Ethiopian judges have become much more strict and the referrals have slowed down. I do not know what all this means or how it will affect us.....clearly it could make our wait time longer than we anticipated. I am about to invest in a T-shirt that looks like this:

In case the writing is too small, it says: "Yes, I am still adopting. No, I haven't heard anything yet. But each day brings me closer to my child."

That is pretty much the way I feel. I have resigned my position teaching second grade to stay home with my kids next year. We will homeschooling our oldest three and hopefully getting to know our new addition together. The barrage of questions about our adoption during this time has been exhausting. I know people mean well and I am so grateful that they care enough to ask, so please don't misunderstand. It's just hard because I don't have any answers. Yes, we still hope that our referral will come by the end of the summer and that we will pass court in time to travel before the holidays. But here's the deal with international adoption: there is nothing predictable and the only thing to expect is the unexpected. So, we keep watching and waiting for good news to come and praying for the children and the other anxious adoptive families. We know that our day will come when God plans it and it won't be a day too late!

Three of my greatest blessings....

Haley, 13

Emma, 9 (almost 10)

Hayden, 12

Love This

URGENT NEED: Formula in Ethiopia

Our agency is seeing more malnourished babies than it has in the past due to the rampant poverty and famine in Ethiopia. These babies are literally starving when they come to the transition home run by America World. These malnourished babies cannot digest traditional formula like healthy babies can. They need a special formula called Nutramigen which is easier for them to digest and get the nutrients from.
Tom Davis (author of "Red Letters" and "Fields of the Fatherless") has a non-profit called Children's Hope Chest and this non-profit organization is doing a formula fundraiser. Get this! - It is JUST FOR NUTRAMIGEN and JUST FOR THE MALNOURISHED BABIES IN OUR AGENCY'S TRANSITIONAL HOME!!! Their goal is to raise $12,500 dollars in order to purchase 400 cans of Nutramigen for these needy babies!! You never know, one of these babies could be ours! (or one just like them to come to the home soon!)
If you'd like to help, please go to Tom Davis' blog to read more and give from the link below:

Tom Davis' Blog:URGENT NEED: Formula for Ethiopia

7 months and Cou nting.....

Well, it's official; we've been waiting 7 months for our referral! It's funny how time can seem to stand still and fly by at the same time. Some weeks we see referrals go out and feel so encouraged and excited for the other families.......others we feel like it will never happen. It will, I know!
The current wait is 9-11 months for an infant referral, so you can kind of guesstimate how much longer we have to wait. We appreciate your prayers for us during this wait. We have been able to keep busy with our jobs and kids and have a lot going on in the next month or so, so I am sure that time will go quickly!
Thanks for checking in.