28 months since DTE!

It has been 28 months since our dossier was sent to Ethiopia!

There really isn't any news to share... we continue to wait! 

27 months DTE!

It has been 27 months since we sent our dossier to Ethiopia. This means we are 27 months closer to holding our daughter in our arms.

I wish we already knew who our daughter is going to be. On the other hand, I know that the wait will be even harder when we have a little face to yearn for, after we get our referral.

God knows what he is doing!

26 months since DTE!

Oops, we have been 26 months DTE for 10 days. I completely forgot to mark the day. I guess it's not a bad thing that time went by so quickly I didn't notice...

To give you an idea of what I've been up to this last month, here is a painting I created of an Ethiopian Coffee Ceremony. It's not quite done, but it's getting close.

Ethiopian Coffee Ceremony, 8x10 watercolor

We had to renew our fingerprints with the USCIS for the second time last week. It's kind of silly that they 'expire'... but hey, the government needs to earn money somehow...

Ah yes. And since this post is supposed to be part of the DTE count-down (or count-up, rather), here is the monthly picture of #26:

We're waiting for you, sweet girl! I can't wait to hold you in my arms!

25 months DTE!

Our dossier has been in Ethiopia for 25 months now! At this point, our waiting time is higher than our number on the wait list... but we could very well find ourselves waiting for another year.

Many families had their court appointments last month, and we rejoice with them, as well as with the families that get to travel this month to go to Embassy and bring their kids home.

September 11 is the day that Ethiopia celebrates New Year. Melkam Addis Amet!

Some of you might like a print of my newest painting: an Ethiopian market scene! I have 8x10 and 11x14 prints available in my Etsy shop HERE.

My newest painting: Ethiopian market

I am really looking forward to seeing Addis Ababa myself some time next year. Hopefully I'll be able to take lots of pictures for future paintings!
More importantly, I can't WAIT to meet and hold our daughter... we continue to wait (more or less patiently) for our referral!

24 months since DTE... goodness, it's been 2 years!!!

August 12, 2013 marks 24 months since our dossier went to Ethiopia! Can you imagine?! That's 2 whole years of waiting!

I really wish we had some news - but at this point we are still 'just' waiting. Things are moving forward, slowly, at all stages: families are receiving referrals here and there, many families are going to their court appointments in Ethiopia, and the Embassy is clearing families for travel, so children are coming home.

We have no idea how much longer it will be for us. There are still quite a few families ahead of us, and with the rainy season's court closures in Ethiopia everything slows down a little more until October.

A lot of our paperwork expires soon, so we will have to go on another document hunt in a few months... which means a lot of work and a bit of extra expense. We know it is worth it, and will do it cheerfully.

This wait is so very long, but we are hanging in there. Life is good, and we experience God's blessings every day. I love seeing pictures of children who have been united with their families and are coming home - and I hold onto God's promise of a daughter. The knowledge that God has a good plan for our family gives me strength to continue waiting for as long as it takes!

23 months waiting since our Dossier arrived in Ethiopia...

Last week was a busy, busy week, with Vacation Bible Extreme at our church and a whole slew of projects and commitments. I zoomed right past our 23-month date - oops!

Happy 23-months-waiting to us. It is good to know we are getting closer... right now the families who are getting referrals have been waiting for about 27-28 months, so we will be within the window of possibility soon-ish!

Life is busy, and it's (almost) easy to forget sometimes that we are waiting... and waiting... and waiting for our little girl. We remind ourselves to pray for the other families who are waiting, or who already have a referral. We also pray for our daughter (whoever she may be), for her birth family, and for everyone she will encounter on her way into our arms!

22 months since DTE

Our dossier has been in Ethiopia for 22 months! That is 22 months closer to getting our little girl... and so we celebrate. 

This week I am feeling frustrated and discouraged with the long wait, and the prospect of the wait continuing to lengthen.

In spite of my heavy heart, I continue to trust in God's perfect timing. He has the right little girl in mind for us, and she will come into our family at the right time.

21 months since DTE!

Woops, we zoomed right by the 21-month-waiting mark. On May 12 was 21 months since our Dossier went to Ethiopia.

It's good when time flies like this. The wait is hard, and the last few weeks weren't always easy. We continue to trust God and His perfect timing...

20 months DTE!

Yesterday marked 20 months since we sent our dossier to Ethiopia.

Life has been wonderfully (and sometimes a little stressfully) busy this past month, so time has flown by.

The current projected wait time that our agency quotes is 24-30 months, so in 4 months we will be 'in the window' for receiving a referral. However, looking at how many families are still ahead of us on the wait list, we are counting on waiting longer than that.
Don't get me wrong. As far as we are concerned, RIGHT NOW would be a great time to receive a referral. But we trust God's perfect timing, and we trust our agency.

Please join me in praying for our little girl, who very well could already be born at this point. We are praying for health and for protection of her little body and her little mind. We are also praying for her birth family, whoever they may be. Adoption always comes out of a situation of brokenness, and we don't want to ignore this as we eagerly wait to hold our sweet daughter in our arms...

19 months DTE

Our dossier has been in Ethiopia for 19 months now!

The last month has actually been really encouraging. There were 15 (!) referrals, and we moved up by quite a few spots on the waiting list. Wouldn't it be wonderful to see a few more referral-rich months?!

18 months waiting since DTE!

OK, it has officially been 1.5 years now since our dossier was sent to Ethiopia. That is 18 months, or about 548 days. *Phew!* We could very likely find ourselves waiting for another year or more before receiving a referral... so we continue to wait... and pray... and wait... and update our documents... and pray... and wait...

Life is very busy and kind of normal these days. I don't have much time to sit and pine over the fact that we miss our daughter-to-be, can't wait to meet her, and to hold her in our arms and grow her into our family. We've reached the point in our wait where people start asking us: "So, are you guys actually still adopting?!" - YES! Yes we are! It just takes a really long time!

Please join me in prayer for MOVEMENT in all stages of Ethiopian adoptions. There are so many families who are waiting, and so many children who need families. Please pray for expedient (and ethical) processing of the clearances each child must receive before being able to be referred. Please pray for families to get referrals, and that the process of court and Embassy go smoothly. Please pray that the hearts of the children who need families are protected while they wait... after their losses, the wait is so much harder for them than it ever can be for us!

17 months DTE!

I forgot until another family from our agency who has the same DTE date as we do posted on Facebook.

Our dossier has been in Ethiopia (DTE) for 17 months today!

Sometimes it's nice when you are so busy that time flies. We are trying to be patient, and rejoice with the families ahead of us as they get referrals, go to court, and pass Embassy. Hopefully by this time next year we will be home with our little girl, but we trust God's perfect timing!

We still have a ways to go, but once we get into the 20s on the wait list, we'll start posting pics of the boys counting down...