HOW MUCH LONGER!!!

We really had a wonderful Christmas... but I could not get past this feeling like I was missing one of my babies... All day it just felt like something was missing and I could not come out of the funk. I had a few moments of tears while I thought of Grace and how far away she is. I thought she would be here by now....? God's amazing timing is everything and I am thankful for that, I am working on being patient with the timing.

So anyway, there it is... me missing Grace again and we haven't met yet. Praying that she was safe this weekend while we all comfortably sat in our jammies and opened gifts...praying that God will use our family in a mighty way to change lives. That we would stop being so comfortable and start being used.

Thank you Lord for what you have given my sweet family and the blessings of our life, please radically use us to change lives around us. You know I want to.... we are waiting for your calling. Protect my sweet Grace.... please Lord, make this part of the process faster... I can't take it anymore. Help me trust YOU! - Amen

In order to keep life interesting...

Carter broke his little arm yesterday! After an ER trip, a visit to the Pediatrician and a nap we headed to Los Angeles to Children's Hospital to be seen by a Pediatric Orthopedic Specialist. We were so blessed to have someone we love very much treat us to a hotel the night before the appointment so we didn't have to spend 4 hours in the car with Carter being miserable.

After all of that.... a sling is what the doctor ordered. Because of the location of the break.. they can not cast it. He broke his Humerus at the top and all the weight of the cast below it would be more trouble than good. So we have orders to make sure he doesn't act like a regular boy for at least three weeks. No Running. No Jumping. No Climbing. No Wrestling. Hmmmm..... I am not sure how this will all play out.

Here are a few pics from our adventure over the last 36 hours =)

Everyone LOVES an Ethiopian Girl....

  Just been thinking about my baby girl so much this Holiday Season.... missing someone I have yet to meet is a weird thing for me. I guess its exciting and a little sad all in the same moment. Excited for this little girl that I am all but googy over and sad for a the time that we are missing. We don't know anything about her. We don't know her age. We don't know her Ethiopian name. We don't have any information about her medical history and to be honest... it doesn't at all mater to me. I LOVE HER!!!

ACCEPTED AND WAITING!!!

We got a wonderful phone call yesterday... really it was wonderful!! Our social worked called to tell us that our paperwork had been translated and accepted by Ethiopia's Women and Children's Affairs. This is such wonderful news as we are now officially on the waiting list to be matched with our sweet little girl.

How it works now: We wait! There is nothing else that we can do at this point, we are just waiting and praying that God will match us quickly with the little girl that He has already picked out for our family. I have no idea how long the wait will me... 6 weeks, 6 months... 8 months... 12? I don't know, but I am resting in the peace that God has His perfect timing already in motion.

Will you please pray for our family while we wait?!

Stats...

Every month there is a blog from Bethany Christian Services that shares updates on how many Dossiers are in Ethiopia, how many referrals, etc. I thought I would share some of that with you all...

Number of Dossiers Sent to Ethiopia: 21
Number of Referrals: 14

Hoping that the referral number goes up quickly and we included in that number~!

We would love if you all could be playing for us specifically as we make arrangements to have my pacemaker battery changed before we travel.... not sure on the timing, but we are trusting God and knowing that all of this is perfect according to HIS WILL!!

Dossier in ኢትዮጵያ

We are excited to announce that our Dossier is officially in Ethiopia and is being translated into Amheric, the written language of Ethiopia! I have no idea how long this will take as it was over 100 pieces of paper....

On another note, we are having some shirts designed that will reflect our hearts for Ethiopia and the people there... we are going to have those for sale on our Blog and an Etsy page hoping to raise funds for the Orphanage in Ethiopia where we will get our baby Girl from =) We are hopeful to have them ready and for sale by Black Friday!

Also, another fund raising effort is our Coffee! We know there are a few of you who are faithfully getting coffee every month, and it is so appreciated. I am hoping to have log a total of funds that have been donated so we can keep a tracker of those and all rejoice in what is being raised for the Orphanage!

We love you all! Please leave a comment if you are interested in a shirt! 

Day of Excitement....

We are so blessed to be surrounded by people we love who are on the same journey as us, this crazy road of adoption. Some roads are bumpier than others... last year we watched as our beautiful friends grieved the loss of their foster/adopted daughter go back to her birth mother. While their strength has been amazing, the ability to see God through the tears and heartache was inspiring. We have been honored to have many conversations about how God does truly have a plan for our children, that sometimes we don't understand.

This week, they have been given the exciting news of a new daughter to enter their home... she is just a little thing and we are all excited to watch as she gets to grow into this amazing family. So with hopeful hearts we pray for this little person, her heart, our dear friends and their tender hearts. Hope you can join us as we pray for them!
Here is her blog...  http://kuhldays.blogspot.com/

On a little side note, we got word that our Dossier was on its way to Ethiopia today!! I am so excited for such a wonderful day full of wonderful news!