Back from Camping

We got back from camping yesterday, so I thought I should give you all something new to read. I'm hoping that this was our last memorial day camping trip without our baby. We went to Santa Cruz and went to the Boardwalk one day. We also went down to Monterey Bay Aquarium which was a lot of fun. We were approached on our way into the aquarium and asked to be a part of a study. Ben did a survey on the way in and again on the way out, the lady followed us around at the aquarium, and we all got in for free. It was great!! Sometimes I think God just decides to bless us, just because he can.
Nothing new has happened with the adoption. But we should be getting our T-shirts in today which I am very excited about. We haven't even got our first order yet and half of them are already gone. I think I'm going to end up wearing mine all the time because in some way it will make me feel like I'm doing something for the adoption.
Anyhow, please continue to pray for us: pray for my sanity as we wait, pray that God would provide for our needs, most importantly pray for our baby, whether born or unborn that she and her birthmother would be safe and nourished and that her birthmother would give her life to Christ.

Impatient

Today is one of those days where I feel like this adoption is never going to happen. I'm terrible at waiting for things especially when I dont know how long the waiting will continue. Sometimes I feel so positive but today I feel overwhelmed by the distance we have left to go. I just want to go to Ethiopia and get our baby. Can someone push the fast forward button! I have to keep reminding myself of how God has provided so far. His timing is perfect this I know. Maybe I should go read my bible and quit complaining. :)

T-Shirts Ordered

Today I turned in our T-shirt order. Yay! I've been really excited about this idea and now we can really get started on it. So, I'm not sure when they'll be done, but it's in their hands now. The design can be seen on the right side of the blog. You can even order them right here through paypal. Just dont forget to note which size you want in the area it allows you to write a note. :)
This weekend was mothers day which was pretty torturous. I just kept thinking all day that I feel like a mother in my heart already, but I don't have my baby yet. I wonder if she is born yet, I wonder if she's with her birthmother this mother's day. Or is she in an orphanage waiting for me to come get her. And so once again I prayed for her and entrusted her to my Heavenly Father's care.

Approved!

We are approved for adoption! Yay! Last night we checked our mail and found that we received our letter of approval from CIS. This means we can send our dossier whenever we have enough money to pay the fees. I also still need to finish the dossier, which I will be more motivated to do now. This is really happening! Even though we have been in the process for over five months, sometimes I still think, oh my goodness we are really adopting a baby from Ethiopia. I've always talked about adopting internationally. And now we're really doing it! And have I mentioned that I can't wait to hold my baby in my arms. How can I love her so much when I've never met her?

Almost Approved

Today we got finger printed. I always feel silly that I get so excited about something that is such a small step in the process. But every step is a step closer to my baby. SO what does this mean you may be asking. It's the last thing that had to be done before they send our approval letter. So while we wait for our approval we will be focusing on fundraising. I am confident that the Lord will provide.
Aly has been working on our Tshirt design. Hopefully that will be done soon.

Homestudy sent to CIS

Yesterday our homestudy was sent to CIS (immigration services) for their approval. This is our official approval for adoption, if we don't get approval from the state then we can't adopt. SO, pray that we will be approved. :)
It will probably take a few weeks but once we get our official approval we are free to submit our dossier. (of course included with our dossier must be a check so keep praying for those finances!)
Today I received an email from CWA about the court delays they are having in Ethiopia right now. They are having court cases that go on for weeks or months. That means, these families have a picture of their baby and they are having to wait several months before they can go get them. I think that would cause me to lose my mind. So please pray for those families and maybe we can pray that we wont be stuck in those circumstances.
So that pretty much catches everybody up. Thanks for visiting!

Paperwork etc.

Have I told you all lately that I can't wait to get my baby! I wish I could be one of those people that can patiently and peacefully wait for something. Not me, I obsess about it and torture myself with anticipation. Right now I can release my obsessive anticipation by working on documents that we need and trying to think of new ideas. But once we turn in our dossier and we just have to sit around and wait for the referal of our baby. I might completely lose my mind.
Anyhow, last week I got a lot accomplished on my dossier. I only have a couple of documents left to gather. Then we have to get it all notarized. Still no progress on our homestudy. Still waiting for the approval of CWA before it can be sent to the state.
We are going to be doing something new. We stole this idea from someone else :-) We're going to be making Tshirts. We have a design and Aly is turning it into a graphic for us. I'm really excited about this idea. So, when we get the graphic and more of the details I'll post all the info on a blog. Hopefully it will be sometime in the next couple of weeks.
Well, I think that's all for now. Thanks for stopping by!