Tomorrow Night!

I have a constant feeling of butterflies in my stomach. I can think of nothing else but our court date tomorrow night. I have waited SO LONG for this day and can hardly believe it's here. I feel like every part of me is on edge, eagerly waiting. Like riding in a roller coaster to the top of the hill. Each hour the goes by is like the clicking of the track while I wait for the exhilaration of the ride on the other side. In a little over 24 hours, I could be Violet's mom. Right now I can imagine nothing I want more.

Merry Christmas

I dreaded the holidays this year. The thought of going through Christmas again without my babies was unbearable to me. But having a court date has given me so much more hope, and I ended up having a wonderful Christmas. Violet and Tytus have no idea how loved they are. They are going to be a part of a family that is full of so much love. I felt so blessed opening multiple presents this year for my children who are not yet home, and yet already considered to be family by my parents/brothers/sisters etc.
I'm already a mommy in my heart but in 5 days I may legally be the mommy of one of my children. Christmas may be over but I'm hoping the most wonderful day of the year is yet to come.

COURT DATE!!!!

On monday December 7th we received our Court Date for Violet on December 30th! I can't even begin to explain how happy I was to get that call. I was crying and laughing and shaking and screaming. I was also driving which proved to be quite dangerous! :) It felt like the best day of my life. I woke up early and found snow outside which NEVER happens where we live. I think it's only snowed once in my life. AND my nephew was born that day, and I got a court date. Could I be any happier? Well, maybe, come December 30th. :) PRAISE THE LORD! He is always good!

If you would have told me in February when we first layed eyes on our baby girl, that we would wait until now, I wouldn't have been able to handle it. I think I would have lost it. Not that I didn't lose it several times along the journey, but God has been so faithful and so gracious to me. I have experienced his comfort, his joy, his peace, his goodness in new ways. But the journeys not over yet.

PLEASE join me in praying that we pass court on December 30th. There are many reasons that a person fails court. If we don't pass they will reschedule for another day. SO please pray that we pass.

As for Tytus, we are still waiting on his paperwork. I will keep you all posted if we hear anything :)

Rambling

Each time we take a step forward a few days later I find out we've taken a step back. I know God is still working. He's working in Ethiopia and He's working in me. I find myself so thankful for what He has taught me. This is what I want. I want God to refine me and make me more like Him. I had no idea how wicked my heart can be. I want Him to draw me near. And yet I SO want to be done with this trial. Even as I give my burdens over to the Lord and even while I declare my devotion to Him I can feel myself taking it all back.

There's a perfect peace and joy in knowing that this world is temporary, in knowing that our real home is in heaven with our savior, in knowing that our God is sovereign and just. That knowledge gives us hope in our trials and indeed it is my hope. But I'm still learning what it means, what it looks like to have peace and joy. I'll lay on my face and pour it all out to God and get up and still feel wrecked inside. So maybe I'm missing something. But I read a verse recently that encouraged me greatly.

Psalms 103:11-14
"For as high as the heavens are above the earth,
so great is his love for those who fear him;
as far as the east is from the west,
so far has he removed our transgressions from us.
As a father has compassion on his children,
so the LORD has compassion on those who fear him;
for he knows how we are formed,
he remembers that we are dust".

And so I think it's okay that we struggle. It's okay that I fall apart sometimes. Because God knows how I am formed. And He is compassionate. I am not strong. But He is.

Happy Birthday Violet

Today my baby girl turned one years old. This post is for her:
Violet, I love you more that I could ever express in words. Though it breaks my heart to not be with you on this special day. My heart is full of joy as I look at your pictures. I am so honored that I will be your mommy. You are more beautiful than I could have ever imagined. And your sweet spirit shines through in every photo. Your life is a blessing from God. I can't wait to hold you in my arms. There are many more firsts to come, and I can't wait to share them with you.
I love you Violet.

God is Good

Wow, how many times can God work me over before I REALLY REALLY get it! I have so much to share, I wrote pages in my journal and still don't feel like I fully expressed myself. But I will once again try to summarize the things that God is teaching me.
On Wednesday of this week I was hoping to find out our paperwork had been submitted to court. Instead I found out that their was a missing signature and it was sent back to the local official. I felt so angry and frustrated at first. Why does every step have to be such a battle!
Then Sam told me how he felt bad about expressing so much frustration about the adoption because he really does believe that this will happen in God's perfect timing. And WHAM! It was like God through a glass of cold water in my face! (except God is so much more gentle than that!). Do I NOT believe in God's sovereignty, in His Goodness, in His Faithfulness. Why must I fight him on every step. I am so much like the Israelites wandering in the dessert... God parts the red sea and the next day I'm all worked up about having nothing to eat. Didn't He just show me how capable and powerful and miraculous He is!
That night was youth group and we were having an all worship night. During the service we sang two songs that have specific meaning for me. One that reminds me of a time in my life when I feel like God moved heaven and earth to fulfill one of my dreams. The song is called O Praise Him. It instantly reminded me of all the events that God orchestrated to make it happen. At that time I was committed to only have Praise for God on my lips. And hearing the song convicted me of all my griping and complaining through this adoption process. When in the end, God is doing something good. That's a promise.
The other song is called Sanctuary of God and was written by the pastor of my old church. It's based on the story of Asaph. And God used that Psalm to teach me about His goodness. God's goodness does not depend on our circumstances. He is always Good, and our good is in being near HIM. And singing the song moved me deeply as God reminded me all the things He has shown me.
I felt as though God just said, "Hey, calm down and look to me! Don't you remember who I am?" I wish that my first reaction would be to trust God. I'm so thankful that He doesn't give up on me when my first response is poor.
I KNOW that God called us to this adoption. I KNOW that He lead us down this path. And I WILL follow Him all the way. God is GOOD! All the time!

Courts Open

The courts are open again! I found out last wednesday the 7th, that our paperwork was signed by the official and should be ready to be turned in when the courts opened. Well courts opened today but I wont get an update until wednesday. I've been awake for 2 1/2 hours and the anticipation is already killing me! I'm so happy that we've finally had progress on the adoption, but will feel more relief when I know the papers are actually at the court.

So the process from here: If our papers were turned in for Violet we will get our court date appointment sometime in the next few weeks. The date will probably be for several weeks away. Then when the court hears our case IF they approve us the first time then we would travel 6-8 weeks later. So the earliest we would travel would probably be in December.

As for Tytus, I dont have an update on the status of his paperwork.

Thank you for your continued prayers!

Second Medicals for Tytus

We got Tytus's second medicals on thursday! YAY! This is a big step. As soon as my pediatrician looks them over, then they will begin gathering the paperwork to submit to court. So basically Violet and Tytus's adoptions are in the same place. I'm really starting to wonder if we're going to end up getting Tytus first. Wouldn't that be crazy!
Violet's paperwork is still spinning in circles. So, I'll spare you the details, honestly they're so confuzing and we take two steps forward three steps back so it's hard to follow. We haven't actually made any progress since April.
God continues to work me over and turn me inside out. The last few weeks He has been giving me a glimpse into my own heart. About how I was allowing bitterness to take root. About how I was blaming my problems on the adoption and not realizing, it's my heart that is the problem. I've once again strayed from depending on Him everyday. I'm not walking closely with my savior. I'm thinking only about the adoption and pretty much nothing else. And basically that amounts to worshipping the adoption and not Him. I find myself crying out, "How long O God? How long will you not answer me?" And last week I heard him say back, "How long O Katy? How long will you not worship me?"
He is remaking me, refining me. Though I may hate to admit it, I'm going to be a better mom because of all of this. I've prayed that God would prepare my heart and I just didn't realize how much work it needed.
I will choose this day to worship the one and only God, because He alone is worthy.

Maybe soon

Tomorrow I am really hoping to get some news about the adoption. Supposedly our paperwork should have been done this week. But they haven't been able to confirm that yet. The offices in ET were closed thursday and friday for Ethiopian new year. So I'm anxious to find out more info tomorrow. I'm not letting myself believe it's done until it's actually turned in to the court. I did receive some new pictures of Tytus. He is SO cute. So, I'm hoping that since they were able to email pictures, they should have been able to email his second medicals. We'll see.
I was feeling really frustrated/angry last week about the whole thing. But for the millionth time God worked on my heart this morning and reminded me that He is ALWAYS working. And that He is ALWAYS in control. I'm not hopeless because my hope is in Him. And He never changes.
People continue to whole heartedly support us, and I continue to be amazed. Several people told me this week that they are praying everyday for our babies and for us. And it boosts my heart everytime I hear that. It's been a long wearisome journey. Sometimes I feel lonely. But God is quick to remind me how many people are fighting this battle with us in prayer. Tytus and Violet are two very blessed babies, they just don't know it yet. Thank you for continuing to love and support us. We could NEVER have endured this without all of you.

Keep Praying

Remember when I said I wasn't going to post anything until we got a court date. Who would have thought we'd still be here now.
Well, things are moving in a positive direction. It's hard for me to think that we wont just hit another snag, because that's what's happened for the last 5 months. But in a nut shell, Aster was able to meet with the official. They are trying to get things moving with the orphanage. The official sounds like she is willing to work with the orphanage director and that is a good thing not only for my adoption but for all the other little ones in the orphanage.
Thank you all for your continued prayers. This has been a LONG process. I appreciate your support so much. We would never make it without you all.
We still don't have Tytus's second medical report. So please pray that it comes in and we can move forward in his case.
Pray that the official will sign Violet's paperwork.
Thank you!

Growing Weary

The last week has been tough for me. Sometimes I just feel so weary of the journey. God has taught me so much but sometimes my heart is still so heavy as I receive more pictures of my baby and she gets bigger and bigger.
Here are my prayer requests. Pray that we get Tytus's medical report back so they can begin the paperwork to get ready for a court date.
Pray that Aster (a CWA employee) is able to gain the favor of the official in Violet's region so that she can finish her paperwork.
Pray that when the courts reopen on October 6th both cases will be ready to be assigned a court date.
And lastly, pray that I keep my eyes fixed of God. That I remember that He is always working. Even when we can't see it.

My Baby Boy

Well, I waited as long as I could to post this. But I must share with the world. I am adopting a beautiful baby boy! Sam and I got our second referral on July 28th. We plan to name him Tytus. He is about 5 months old. He is SO cute. We officially accepted the referral last week, while I was at camp. So I am going to have two babies about 4 months apart. God is so awesome!
So the courts will close until October 6th. So be praying that both Violet and Tytus's cases are ready to go when they re-open.

God's Children

A lady I met online made this video. I really liked it and thought I would share.

News

When I started this journey, I pretty much had no idea what I was doing. And I certainly had no idea what God was doing. After getting our referral in February and waiting and waiting and waiting and praying that we would be able to bring our little girl home. There have been many times I've wanted to question God and His ways. Many times that I felt that God had forgotten us and wasn't hearing our prayers. But he has shown us that He indeed has heard our prayers and indeed has been working. Though the whole story would be too long to write out, we believe that God has called us not to adopt one baby, but to adopt two. That's right! We are adopting another child. We started the paperwork and are on the waitlist for another baby between 0-18 months, either gender. We have no idea when either child will come home and it's quite possible that we may have to travel twice. But we are so excited! I feel very cofident that this is the path God has for us. And it was the plan from the beginning...we just didn't know it! I'll post again later and share more about how God lead us to this decision. For now I just want to leave you with this verse once again:

"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, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen."
Ephesians 3:20-21

Unlikely

The most recent update is that the Ministry Of Womens Affairs (MOWA) has closed for two weeks. That means people who had court dates in the next two weeks will be postponed. Which means the likelihood of anyone not already in process, getting a court date, is pretty much zero.
In our case. The official is finally ready to sign the document we need and now the birth mother is missing. She has to be there when they sign the document. So we're waiting for the same document, for a different reason now. So pray they find the birth mom. I am hoping that our case will at least be ready for court by the time they re-open.
I expected to fall apart once I knew that we definitely wouldn't be getting in before the court closed. But God is moving. He knows exactly when Violet is going to come home and He is the one leading us on this journey. I will keep my eyes fixed on Him.

Going Crazy

Sometimes I feel like a crazy person. My emotions are all over the place. And as I try not to be controlled by them. Sometimes I wonder if it's making me more crazy. I can swing from feeling peaceful and trusting in God's sovereignty to overwhelming frustration in the matter of moments. I'm constantly trying to keep my emotions at bay. And it's exhausting.
Today I was already feeling frustrated again about the adoption when I learned that I need to re-do my fingerprints because they expire soon. And if we don't travel before September we will have to update our Homestudy. Which will be an additional cost. So needless to say I felt so much more cheery after hearing that. (Do you hear the sarcasm in my voice) It's not so much about the money. It's that we're waiting and waiting and then to add insult to injury, we've waited so long some of our paperwork is going to expire. Can we just get passed this already!
I can't describe the ache in my heart. I want to hold her in my arms more than anything. I want to look into her eyes. And sing her songs. I want to rock her and read to her and kiss her cheeks. I want her. I want her. I want her.

Trusting God

What a journey this is. I never fathomed that I would still be waiting but here I am. This was a great week but a hard day. This week I listened to a sermon series on Trusting God. It was a study on the book of Habakuk. It challenged me SO much. He talked about so much of what God has already been teaching me, but said it all in a much better way.
Part of me wants to question God. Part of me wants to be mad at God. Why doesn't he answer my prayer and miraculously process my paperwork so I can get my baby? If God's heart is for adoption then why can't I adopt my baby? Sometimes I feel like God has forgotten my case. Sometimes I feel like God is witholding good from me. My mind knows the answers. But sometimes my heart doesn't listen to my mind. But when I am in the midst of this storm. When all I can see is what's going on right here, in my life. And I am still waiting. I don't have the whole picture. I have limited information and limited perspective. And that's when I have to rely on what I KNOW about God. I know that God does hear my prayers and is answering. He is working in Ethiopia, He is working for the cause of the orphan, and He hasn't forgotten. God IS faithful. God IS Just. And God IS good. When my heart wants to question God and be angry. That's when I need to preach to my heart. Because in God's character there is fullness of Joy. I think I need my baby now. But God is doing something so much bigger than me and my ideas. I'm not suggesting that it's not okay for me to be sad. I'm not pretending that it's not painful. But my hope must be in God. He works for His glory and for our good. I will know God's blessing in the end. If my hope is in Him. Because whether I get what I want or not. God's character does not change. And in God there is fullness of Joy.

Habakuk 3:17-18
"Though the fig tree does not bud
and there are no grapes on the vines,
though the olive crop fails
and the fields produce no food,
though there are no sheep in the pen
and no cattle in the stalls,
yet I will rejoice in the LORD,
I will be joyful in God my Savior."

A Song

This song has been particularly meaningful to me lately. So I thought I'd share the Lyrics with you.

Blessed is the One
by Daniel Doss Band

Blessed is the one who trusts you
Like a tree that cannot be moved
You say jump to arms wide open
I am scared but I am willing

For blessed is the one
Blessed is the one who trusts in you
Faithful, Just, and Good
Shepherd of my heart
Lead me to where you are

I remember all your goodness
Suffering through the desert places
You never said it would be easy
You just promised you'd be with me

For blessed is the one
Blessed is the one who trust in you
Faithful, Just, and Good
Shepherd of my heart
Lead me to where you are
You who holds my destiny
I follow foolishly
Your love will be my song
So I will trust you

I will trust you in the pain
When I can't see past today
When it's hard to lift my hands to praise you
I will trust you

More Lessons

So as not to lose all of my blog followers I thought I should post something. Our adoption is still in the same place. We've been waiting on one piece of paper for about a month now. And we have no idea when that is going to happen.
Over the last several weeks God has really given me a lot of peace. I still have bad days but I've been much less consumed by the whole process. God continues to teach me SO SO much. And he continues to surround me by people who are so supportive and are standing in the gap and interceding for us.

I often don't know what to pray. Do I pray with faith that God will bring her home before the courts close? He hasn't promised me that. But he says to pray and believe it will happen. And that sometimes we have not because we ask not. But he also says to pray according to God's will. I don't know what God's will is. So I cling to this verse:
"In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express. And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints in accordance with God's will." Romans 8:26&27

The promise I DO have is this: "And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of his Son..." Romans 8:28&29
God promises to work all things out for our good. And I cling to the knowledge that God is good. But he has opened my eyes in a new way to His goodness. God promises to work things out for our good, meaning to be conformed to the likeness of His son (as verse 29 states). God IS good and my ultimate good is not getting what I want. It is being conformed to His image. Psalms 73:28 "But as for me, it is good to be near God. I have made the Sovereign LORD my refuge; I will tell of all your deeds."

God has truly stretched my faith and stretched my understanding of Him. And for that I am thankful.

Still No News

So I guess I lied because I said I wasn't going to update my blog until I got a court date. But shortly after my last post, God had a little talking to me about my attitude. So I thought I'd share some of what God is teaching me. First of all, I am continually amazed at how much God is working in my life. And it would take way to long to type it all out. But I'll give you a brief look.
I read a devotional that talked about being a picture to the world of what God is about to do. And it ended with the question: How can my life be more of a picture of God's heart? I felt so convicted. I felt like God slapped the back of my head and said "HEY! IT'S NOT ABOUT YOU!"
This story, this adoption, is about God. It is for His glory and to demonstrate his redemption. It's not about me, and my desires. God is not with holding good from me. He promises to work all things for good for those that love him.
I also read a couple of passages. Psalms 130:5 "I wait for the LORD, my soul waits, and in his word I put my hope."
And I can't type out the whole passage, but I read Isaiah 40:21-31. But verse 23-26 says, " 23He it is who reduces rulers to nothing,
Who makes the judges of the earth meaningless.
24 Scarcely have they been planted,
Scarcely have they been sown,
Scarcely has their stock taken root in the earth,
But He merely blows on them, and they wither,
And the storm carries them away like stubble.
25" To whom then will you liken Me
That I would be his equal?" says the Holy One.
26 Lift up your eyes on high
And see who has created these stars,
The One who leads forth their host by number,
He calls them all by name;
Because of the greatness of His might and the strength of His power,
Not one of them is missing.

Goodness, I can't even begin to tell you all the ways that this (and the rest of the passage) speak to me. But the gist of it is this: my heart needs to be waiting on God. This adoption is not being controlled by the paperwork, the agency or the "judges of this world" God is in complete control. I need to lift my eyes up to him. My hope is in HIM. He will give me strength. He has not forgotten my cause.

So I realize, that seems long. But that is as brief as I can put it. Please continue to pray for me, for Violet, and that we get a court date.

Forever waiting

So, we had heard our paperwork would be done. It's not. We're still waiting. I don't know when it's going to be done. So honestly, at this point when I hear updates, I'm not really getting my hopes up. We'll get a date when we get a date. I'm not going to keep expecting it to be soon just to hear, we're still waiting. We're both pretty frustrated and discouraged. So, I don't really plan to update my blog again until I actually have a date. Thank you for your prayers.

New Blog

As you can see, I fancied up my blog. Do you like it? Well, usually Wednesdays are the day that I hope for a court date. But Sue had told me that I would not be getting one this week. Since our paperwork should have been finished on friday, hopefully they'll turn it in to court this week. But so far I have no confirmation of that. She didn't receive any of the updates yesterday, so hopefully tomorrow we'll hear the status of our paperwork. BUT, please keep praying for a May court date. AND please keep praying for Violet. AND, please keep praying for me. The waiting is so tremendously hard. I can't possibly explain how badly I want to go get my baby. I want to hold her more than I've ever wanted anything in my life.

He Still Answers Prayer

So, after finding out on Wednesday that they expected it to be a few weeks before they got the paperwork together to submit to court, I completely fell apart. I cried and cried and vented to my sister and my friend, and cried and prayed and read my bible and prayed some more. I prayed that God would do something. I begged him to do something, because I felt like I couldn't do this anymore. Yet there's nothing I can do to change it. It wasn't this beautiful spiritual moment with flowery words. It was me bearing the ugly parts of my heart to God.
Then Thursday I got an update from Sue (my caseworker). They spoke with the Orphanage director and he said he was working on the paperwork and thought he would have it done by today. PRAISE THE LORD!!!! So our paperwork should be turned into court next week. So hopefully we'll find out what our court date is either the 15th or at latest, the 22nd. Things are moving.
I'm so encouraged for so many reasons. Not only because this puts us SO much closer to getting our baby. But because I poured my heart out to God. And He listened. And He answered. We don't always get the answers we want when we ask the Lord, because we don't always see the magnitude of what He is doing. But He's still faithful, He still answers prayers, and He still moves the mountains. Praise the LORD!

A Few More Weeks

So here's the gist of what I got today. We did get an update but no court date. And it looks like we will not be getting a court date for a few weeks. So here's my prayer requests: Pray that the paperwork would miraculously be processed quickly. And possibly more importantly, pray that I would let go, and God would give me peace.

"Any News???" " Nope still waiting"

This Tuesday will be one month since we got our second medicals and have been waiting for a court date. The good news is that court dates have sped up and more people are passing court. The bad news is no matter how I look at it, I still don't have a court date! :) Once again, I'm hoping for this Wednesday. I have been doing very good during the week at trusting the LORD and not obsessing over the adoption the way I had been in the past. And believe me, the peace that I feel is ONLY from the Lord.
I am going to try to turn in an order for more T Shirts this week. I am ordering the black ones which can be seen on the right hand side of my blog. So if you are interested in buying one, let me know what size so I can be sure to include enough on the order.
A friend of mine came across this verse and shared it with me. I have since read it almost everyday. So I thought I would share it with you.

"Humble yourselves, therefore, under God's mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time. Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.

Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that your brothers throughout the world are undergoing the same kind of sufferings.

And the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast. To him be the power for ever and ever. Amen."

This song encouraged me today.

Be still my soul
The Lord is on your side
Bear patiently
The cross of grief or pain
Leave to thy God
To order and provide
In every change
He faithful will remain.

Be still my soul
Thy best, thy heavenly friend
Through stormy ways
Leads to a joyful end.

Be still my soul
The waves and winds still know
Still know
His voice who ruled them
While he dwelt below.

Oh what peace we often forfeit
Oh what needless pain we bear
All because we do not carry
Everything to God in prayer.

Lessons while waiting.

This week we got some new pictures of our beautiful baby. She looks happy and content. I love seeing new expressions on her face. It makes me feel like I know her a little bit better. I found out that the agency receives updates on court dates on Wednesdays so I wont know if we have a date until Wednesday. I am very anxious to get a court date but God has really been working in my heart this week.
On wednesday I had a really hard day of waiting. Though I was happy to receive new pictures it was hard for me to see that she's a little bigger than she was in the last ones. I cried and complained to my friends and whined at God. And then my husband reminded me that God does not rejoice in our suffering but He does have a plan and He does want to teach us something during this time. And maybe instead of focusing on how much we don't want to be in this stage anymore, we should focus on what God wants to teach us.
I have learned SO much during this process but I also know that lately I've been putting God off. I sometimes feel so sad and overwhelmed because I can't see my precious baby right now. I pray to God and ask him to make me feel better. And I can hear him saying "Come to me". And I respond with "maybe later, but can you make me feel better NOW." You see what I'm doing is praying so that I feel like I'm in control, instead of praying and giving it over to God. I'm still holding on to my dreams and my desires. God has proven himself faithful over and over during this process. Yet still, I'm holding on. And so I recommitted myself this week to let go. To trust that God knows best and to give in to His will. I don't want to just get through this time. I want to learn everything I can. I want to take advantage of this opportunity to trust God. And so I am going to go to Him. Everyday. And everyday let go again.

Second Medicals Came

Today we got our second medical report. YAY! Our doctor will review it and probably call us or email tomorrow. Then if everything checks out okay, they will start gathering our paperwork to submit it for a court date! Agghhh! I'm so excited! I can't wait to meet my little Ethiopian Princess! PLEASE keep praying that the court dates speed up. Things have gotten a little bit better on that front, so your prayers are working!

Update:
I heard back from the doctor just a few hours later. And everything looks good so tomorrow they should start getting us ready for court!!!

I love her.

So, right now we are still waiting to get our second medical report. Once we have that and get it reviewed by our doctor they will submit our paperwork for court. YAY! I can't even explain how excited I am about my little girl. I think she must be the most beautiful baby in all of Africa. (I might be biased) ;) I want to hold her in my arms and rock her to sleep. I can't wait to hear her coo and giggle. I love her so much!

We got the call!!!!!

We got our referral!!! Monday February 16th we got to see our baby girls face for the first time. She is unbelievably beautiful. I still can't get over how perfect she is! I love her so much. Right now she's about four months old. I can't wait to show you all her picture. Unfortunately we are not allowed to post her picture until after we pass court. And I don't know how I am ever going to make it the next few months. I want to go get her right now! Oh and did I mention that she's GORGEOUS! God is SO GOOD!

We're #1 We're #1

Oh my goodness we're NUMBER ONE!!!! The next time they get a baby girl it will be ours!!! I'm actually going to get to see a picture of my baby! I'm so happy. I'm so so happy! I keep walking around her room and touching her blanket and her doll and her crib. And then jumping up and down and doing the happy dance. :)

Still Waiting

As far as I know we are still number 2 on the waitlist. In the past they have received more than one referral at a time. So we really could get a referral anyday. Everytime my phone rings my heart jumps and I think "Maybe it's Sue". (our case worker). And every night I fall asleep thinking maybe tomorrow I'll get my first glimpse of my daughters beautiful face.
I have been praying for a couple of months that Ethiopia would asign more judges to the adoption cases. Until now there has been 1 judge for all adoptions in Ethiopia. I read from someone else's blog this week that they recieved notice that Ethiopia has assigned some new judges. But they are not authorized to work yet. So please pray that they would be able to start soon. This could make a huge difference in my case. We could see our baby several months sooner!
Thank you so much for your love and support and all of your prayers. It means the world to us.

We're #2

Yep, that's right! We are number 2 on the waitlist! Can you believe it! Oh my goodness, I'm so excited! Today I actually feel like it's really going to happen.
So, I thought I'd explain what will happen next. When we get "the call". Our caseworker (Sue) will tell us that she's matched us with a baby. She will give us some info and then email us her picture and medical information. We will have 10 days to accept the referral. Once we accept they will do a second set of medical tests. Once those come back and we approve them, we will be in line for a court date. Once we pass court. (which less than 50% of people pass the first time). Then they will assign us an Embassy appointment. The Embassy appointment determines when we travel to pick her up. So there is a bit of a wait even after we get the referral. Right now the courts are really backed up so people are waiting several months for their court date.
So, please be praying that people will start passing court, so that they can get caught up. And continue to pray for Violet. Thank you all so much!

Violet's Room

We've done a lot of work to Violet's room. We still have a little to do but I thought I'd post pictures anyways. Enjoy!

Merry Christmas!

Yes, you read it right. Today is Christmas in Ethiopia. Actually they celebrate on January 7th. But with the time difference that makes it Christmas right now! :) So we decided to go out to eat to celebrate Christmas in Ethiopia, which is called Ganna. This was also our first taste of Ethiopian food. It was very spicy!