Expected wait times extended... *sigh*

Today we got an eMail from our agency that the projected wait times for an infant have been extended to 18-24 months now.

Deducting our 7 months that we have already waited since DTE, this means we will most likely have to wait for another 11-17 months before we get a referral.

The projected wait times may change again - you never know with international adoption. Things may speed up, or they may (more likely) slow down. The hold-up is in the rate at which the Ethiopian government is processing cases and clearances for the children.

My initial reaction is to feel discouraged, but at the same time, we knew from the beginning that international adoption is unpredictable. We hold fast to the knowledge that God's hand was in WHEN we began this journey, and HE has just the right little girl in mind for us. Our daughter will come into our lives in God's perfect timing!

~Just think, how special our little girl must be, that God would have us wait for her for such a long time!

7 months waiting since DTE!

Has it been this long already? We applied to AWAA's Ethiopia program a year ago, and sent our dossier to Ethiopia 7 months ago.

It has been encouraging to see how many AWAA families have been getting referrals (for children of both genders, infants and older kids!), passing court, and passing Embassy lately. Things are moving slowly but steadily. As they say in the military: slow is smooth, and smooth is fast!

~It is strange to wonder whether our faraway daughter has been conceived yet. I'm praying for her and for her first mother...

Fundraising Goal has been reached - THANK YOU!

I can't believe I'm announcing this more than a year out from when we expect a referral:


... *drum roll*...


WE HAVE REACHED OUR FUND RAISING GOAL!!! 

I feel so blessed by God's provision, and am so thankful to everyone who has helped us. Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you. 

Now what?!
Have no fear, our hands will not be idle:
-I am going to continue selling my art on Etsy, and 20% of my Etsy earnings will go directly to buying formula and diapers etc. for the orphanages in Ethiopia. We will bring the money with us when we travel to ET to meet our daughter, and will buy everything locally, to support the Ethiopian economy at the same time.

-I am very happy to help other adopting families fund raise with my art. Don't be shy to contact me!

~We are ready for you, sweet girl! I can't wait for you to come into our lives and make our family complete!

6 months since DTE!

It has now been 6 months since our dossier was sent to Ethiopia.

This week I am thankful for the many referrals that were given to families last week - including some infant girl referrals! This bumped us up by a few spots on the inofficial waiting list. Yay for progress!

Speaking of progress, our agency has also informed us that the Kilil (khalil, killil) clearances from the Southern Regions of Ethiopia are starting to come through for some of the children waiting in the transition home. This will hopefully speed things up a little. At the same time, the necessity for more in-depth investigation prior to referral, as well as extra bureaucratic hoops to jump through after passing court, before submission to Embassy, may still keep things going slow-ish. I am choosing to focus on being excited about referrals and the  Kilil clearances coming through.

We continue to cruise along in life, excited to see what God has in store for us, and eager to find out who the little girl is who will become our daughter. We MIGHT have a referral by this time next year. 

...as mentioned before, time is passing slowly... and quickly at the same time. 

Waiting is hard, ...and easy... and hard.

A few days ago at the craft store I couldn't resist picking up a few (free) silk flowers that had fallen on the floor. I never particularly liked silk flowers until I knew we were going to have a daughter. Now, every time we go to the craft store, I ask the cashier if I may keep the flowers that have fallen to the ground. I have a whole drawer full of silk daisies, pansies, and other blooms in different colors and sizes. I plan to sew or glue them onto hair clippies, head bands, hats, or tutus for our daughter some day... 

Life has a fairly regular pace around here, and time neither seems to fly nor drag by. Life is good, and we are happy. It is so fun to see and experience our boys growing. I feel content. 

At the same time, little things throughout our day remind me that a piece of my heart is in Ethiopia. I yearn for our little girl, wonder if she has been born, even conceived yet, far away in Ethiopia. 

These past two weeks two families from our agency got referrals for infant girls. Several others met their little ones for the first time in Ethiopia, and still others passed Embassy and got to bring their sons and daughters home. All of these things are GOOD because they mean that little ones are united with their Mommas and Dads, and (selfishly) because this means we move up the wait list (yay!). Every time children go home with their families, the open spots in the Transition Home in Ethiopia can be filled with more children who can in turn be referred to families... 

I will protect You.

We've hunkered down for a long wait. We applied to AWAA in March 2011, and sent our dossier to Ethiopia in August 2011. Friends have started to ask us "if we are still adopting" - the answer is YES, we are. Then they ask us how long we will still have to wait... to which I answer, "judging by current projected wait times, between 5 and 18 more months, but it could be longer."  

The day WILL come when our phone rings with the amazing news that we have a daughter. I feel anxious to see, meet, hold, love her. Last weekend I framed an 8x12inch print I made of my "I will protect you" painting and hung it in our entryway. It is my reminder to myself that the day WILL come when my daughter will be ours, and we will be hers. 

~Please continue to pray with us that everything goes smoothly with our adoption process. 

Please pray with us for our daughter's birth mother and family.

Please pray for the Ethiopian officials who will be deciding the course of so many adoptions. 

Please pray for our hearts as we wait.

Thank you.

We fully trust in God's perfect timing. He knows who our daughter is, and He will watch over her. 

5 months waiting since DTE!

 Right now I feel like we're cruising along. We've gotten the hang of waiting. I think of and pray for our daughter every day, but I know that God's timing will be perfect, so I don't worry.

There has been some movement in the "girl" line of our agency, and the news coming out of Ethiopia regarding the kallil clearances finally starting to be processed is encouraging, too.

Melkam Genna! (Happy Ethiopian Christmas!)

Did you know that today is Ethiopian Christmas? 

We celebrated by making a home-cooked Ethiopian dinner of Doro Wat (spicy chicken stew), Mesir Wat (lentils) and Ye'abecha Gomen (collard greens, Ethiopian style). All this was served on home-made mini injera. The meal was a lot more work than I normally put into preparing a meal - I cooked on and off since 10:30am. The chicken has spicy and delicious, and the collard greens turned out just right. The injera turned out pretty good, too (not quite as fluffy as I remember). The lentils were kind of 'bla' in my opinion, but then I don't particularly like lentils. Mark thought the Doro Wat was delicious, which I was kind of surprised at, since it was quite spicy. It had a multitude of flavors that unfolded as you chewed: first the spicy flavor from the berbere mixture, then the cardamon and the ginger, then the lemon and tomato. 

Our dinner.

The story of how I came by the berbere is kind of cool. There's a Momma at Mark's school who I was pretty sure is Ethiopian. We smiled at each other and greeted each other every day (for months) but I've never officially met her. On Wednesday I went up to her and asked her point blank if her family celebrates Ethiopian Christmas. She was surprised and delighted! I asked her where I could best buy berbere to make Doro Wat, and she was even more delighted, and told me she would bring me some the next day that her family in ET makes and sends her. The next day she brought me a vat of berbere, and I brought her a little loaf of cinnamon sourdough bread that I had baked. We talked and I admitted how nervous I had been to ask her, because I wasn't even sure she was from ET. She laughed and said she was just so happy to find someone in our community who even knows about ET holidays. I wished her a Melkam Genna, and she clapped her hands and wished me the same. :o)