Still inching forward

Our dossier has now been in Ethiopia a little over a month. I know we still have months to wait before we will get our referral, but it's so nice to check "one month" off the anticipated waiting time! According to our adoption agency and other ET adoptive parents we know, processes are still moving along in Ethiopia.  Each week seems to be different than the next (some slowly moving cases through, while others are faster), but referrals are still being made, court dates are still being assigned, and adoptions are being finalized on a regular basis. What fantastic news! In fact, friends of ours just recently received their court assignment of May 27th! We're SO ecstatic to see their process moving forward and can't wait to hear about their trip and experience.  They will be heading to Ethiopia in just about 3 weeks to meet their precious little girl for the first time.  It's so hard for me not to tear-up each time I picture them cuddling their daughter for the first time, seeing her smile, hearing her laugh, sootheing her cry. What an incredible time that will be for them.  Please keep them in your prayers over the next few weeks as they prepare for their trip, and then continue to pray for them as they return home without her.  The return trip home will definitely be the most difficult part of the entire Ethiopian adoption process.  Leaving their child at the orphanage to return home while paperwork is being completed will undeniably be painful, emotional, and stressful. Please pray for a quick resolution to the impending process so that they, along with all other adoptive families will be able to return for their child(ren) within a short amount of time.

Our other friends (the couple adopting the F-O-U-R children!) moved their kids in almost 2 weeks ago!! I can't believe how fast the time has gone since they received their call - and how naturally they seem to have slid right into the role of parents. I was able to spend a few hours with them earlier this week and the kids are so sweet! I loved hearing them call our friends "mommy" and "daddy" already.  It's like music to the ears, and definitely pulls at your heartstrings. The kids (and the parents) are adjusting well to this new change and like I said before, the new parents seem to filling their new roles very well. :) It was such an overnight change (literally), but they've been 100% committed to this change since they began their process, and it's evident as you watch them interact with their little loves.   Watching their story unfold has given me such a huge respect and admiration for them as friends, as a couple and now as parents.

Random excitement for us:

Recently, my Aunt Kim made me aware of was that our fundraising T-Shirt is now kind of famous! She and her family had been selling some of our shirts in their hometown of Bath, NY.  One of their friends who is in a Christian Hip Hop group "Press Play" in Los Angeles bought a shirt and recently wore it for one of their photo shoots (see below)!

Pretty cool to get some West Coast love!



A special thanks goes to....

????? We don't know who!  This past week we received an email from our adoption agency that an anonymous gift of $300 had been deposited to our account.  We have no idea who it was and they would not give us any further info. We'd really like to thank whomever sent this gift, unfortunately we don't know who you are!

If you're reading this and you sent the gift, THANK YOU SO MUCH, we appreciate your thoughtfulness so very much. You are helping to change the lives of 2 sweet children, and you are now a part of their story. We'd love to know who sent the gift, so if you would want to reveal yourself, please send me an email. If you wish to remain annonymous, please know that your gift did not go unnoticed and we thank you from the bottom of our hearts!

Celebration Week!

...no not for us, but for our friends! A few months back, I had asked you to pray for friends of ours who were pursuing a domestic adoption.  This week, they were matched!!! Just yesterday they got to meet their 4 children. Yes, that's right, they're adopting 4 precious little sweeties! Talk about empty house to full house literally overnight!

We are overjoyed for them! We've been praying for this match for months, so to see it unfold this week was amazing! In the state of Pennsylvania, adoptive parents must have 3 visits with the children before they are placed permanently in the new home, this helps the children's case worker "prep" them for their adoption. Yesterday, Sarah and Jordan met their little munchkins for the first time at a bowling alley to spend several hours getting to know them beyond the single picture and profile page they've been pining over. Sarah told me that after the initial nervousness, there was a lot of smiling, laughter, high-fives, and hugs to go around. The visit went extremely well!  The children's caseworker is hoping to have them moved completely into their new home directly after or possibly even during their 3rd visit, which could be as early as April 16th! Wow, talk about a fast transition!

Please continue to pray for Sarah and Jordan as they quickly get their home ready for 4 children with furniture, clothing, toys, etc. Pray that the children's hearts would be in a place of acceptance of a forever family, pray that they would come to know and understand that they will be loved unconditionally. Pray for healing in any broken area of their young lives, and that attachment and bonding will happen quickly for this family.

I am so thankful I was able to walk this road with them. It has been a true blessing to watch their faith grow from the start of this process until now.  I believe God has HUGE things in store for this family...I mean, He sent them 4 kids at once, that says something, right? (smile) We love Sarah and Jordan so much and cannot wait to meet the newest members of the family!