Good news!

No...no referral yet! Maybe soon...

But, the form I-171 that I mentioned a couple of posts ago that we needed?

Turns out we had it the whole time...

It's just also known as I-797. Which we found out today.

So 4 months of fretting for nothing...isn't that the way it always is?!?

AAI is just about done, if not already with Aug 2008 referrals. There were a lot of dossiers sent that month, and not as many in Sept or Oct. Don't know about Nov, but we are at the beginning of the month for that group.

The group that sent dossiers in Dec have about 30 families in front of them, and that is including families waiting for girls, boys, siblings, etc. So we are one of those 30 families. That's where we stand as of now. We are closer than we have been! And that is exciting!

Our prayer request as of now is just that we would love to have our referal before July 15. Due to inflation in Ethiopia, our agency is having to raise its fees a bit. That will take place on July 15th. Any referral before that date will not affect our fees.

But again...He has it all in control.

So that's the latest update...still waiting...still praying...still EXCITED!!

Crap.

Double crap.

Didn't get another grant that we applied for.

Have to sign/notarize/send to AAI/send for state seal another power of attorney form. AAI has hired a new POA (the previous one is coming to our side of the pond) so that requires all families with dossiers in ET to get this new form taken care of.

Double whammy on one day.

On the up side...I just photographed my first wedding last weekend with my best friend as
co-photographer. What fun we had...but boy, were we tired!

All 3 girls are doing great. They ask frequently if we will have EG by the end of the year. My answer used to be, "yep"...but now I have to say, "I just don't know".

Boy is this process mentally exhausting.

Thank the Lord for my 3 princesses that keep me busy.

We are just waiting on Him. In the right time everything will come to fruition.

Just keep praying for our patience and peace of mind.

Thanks!

He will provide...

We found out a few weeks ago that we did not receive a grant from Shaohannah's Hope.

To be honest, I was quite bummed for the afternoon. I just "knew" that we would receive this grant. But God obviously has other ways to provide for us. Now we just keep waiting.

We have applied for 3 other grants, so we'll see what happens with those.

This. Waiting. Is. So. Hard.

There is no other word except hard.

I guess I could get out the thesaurus and look up some synonyms, but I won't. Though it would help pass the time a bit faster. Anything would help at this point!

We appreciate the prayer support more than you know!

We Passed!

...our fingerprints did, that is!

So now we just continue the wait. For our 171H. The Atlanta office apparently moves very slowly. They are currently processing the applications from March 2008.

If that lack of speed continues, that would put us having our 171H by September or so.

Only one problem. If we have our referral this spring and if we pass court the first time (before the rainy season starts in August) then Ellagrace can't leave the airport without that piece of paper.

Again, something else that is completely out of my control. Oy vey...

Just have to keep remembering that the perfectly ordained time for our family will happen when it's supposed to.

Can't really do anything else!

Two months...

...waiting for our referral! Doesn't seem like it's been that long already, even though I know that 2 months is really nothing in the grand scheme of this whole process.

I got an e-newsletter from AAI today. There are about 63 babies or so in the orphanage there. An influx.

I couldn't help but wonder, "is one of those babies mine?"...

In reality, the answer is "probably not"...there's no telling how many AAI families are in line ahead of us.

Then it hit me. I am almost desperate to see her face.

This is the hardest part...the waiting.

Now don't get me wrong. I have plenty to keep me busy! And they're all under 45" tall!

Between homeschool, church, a few photo shoots here and there, spending time with my hubs, and trying to carve out time for myself when I can, there have been days that I hardly think about this process. And that's just the honest truth. Now that the paperwork is done, there's nothing staring us in the face on a daily basis.

So now here we are, two months into the wait and I get this e-newsletter, and I'm almost in tears because I am so ready for that phone call.

But since today is not the day, I will continue to wait for the day that He ordained for our family when the foundation of the world was laid.

And that's the only thing that keeps me together.

Cool news...

We received a letter from AAI while we were gone over Christmas.

Basically, it said the wait time for a referral of an infant is now shorter than we had been previously told.

Referrals are now being made to those whose dossiers were sent to ET at the end of July.

So if this affects us at all, that could possibly mean that we could expect a referral toward April or May. Or not. Who knows.

So our prayer is that we receive a referral and our court date before August, when the courts shut down for rainy season. For 3 months.

So that's all we know for now.

Just one step at a time.

But we sure are ready to see our girl's face!

Just thinking...

We spent Friday afternoon/evening putting up and decorating our Christmas tree.

We do this each year and end the day watching "A Charlie Brown Christmas" by the glow of the tree lights, while munching on cookies and drinking hot chocolate.

The girls love helping with the tree and each year look forward to hanging their ornaments that we have been collecting since they were born. (When they are all married and have their own trees, mine will be so empty!)

I usually hand out the ornaments and Billie assists with the hanging, to avoid the "cluster" effect.

As I watched my girls do something that is so normal to them, my thoughts drifted to the daughter that I've not had the privilege to meet yet.

What will she think of this tradition that we have? Will she approach it by jumping in with both feet, or will she hang back to see what happens?

Will she even be old enough to realize what we are doing? Or will she be so young that she just merges into this part of our family like she will merge into so many other aspects of our family life? Just as a newborn biological child just "picks up" these things that we do as a family.

Then I started thinking about the fact that we could have her home by next Christmas.

Wow.

That's an exhilarating and terrifying thought all at the same time.

What a blessing for Billie and I to have one more daughter to love and teach about the greatest Love of all.

What a blessing for our girls to have one more sister to share a room with...laugh with...play with...fight with...and love.

What a blessing for our family to have one more daughter with which to share the true meaning of Christmas.

This season, I am so thankful for this journey that the Lord has brought us on. It hasn't been without its bumps in the road.

But because of those bumps we will be even more grateful when we reach our destination.