While We Wait

A Peace That Passes

It's funny....on our agency's FB group page, you can clearly identify where people are (emotionally) in their wait.  It has been true for me that my emotions and ability to cope has been ever changing as the months tick by.  For the moment, I am resting well in God's plan for my family but I know that, almost without notice, that could change.  I'd like to think, at this point (SO very close to getting "the call"...hopefully), that the one thing that will disrupt my peace will be the news of our referral, but if our  wait continues and my resolve weakens, I pray that I will remember all I've learned in these many months and intentionally leave it all up to Him.

The Name Game

Occasionally, Jeff & I discuss names for our girl.  Sometimes I think it would be nice to have a name in mind that we could begin to refer to her as (and maybe have something monogrammed.....after all, the girl is going to live in the south; it's a rite of passage, right?); but, for the most part (even though we do have some favorites), we don't feel that we can come up with something just yet.  After all, she will have a name and we will incorporate that in some way.  We will either use her given Ethiopian name or use it as her middle name.

For now, we'll stick with "LG".

Unexpected Blessings

(Well, here's a little teaser....one of the names that we are considering means, "unexpected blessing"; stay tuned:).

I have likely mentioned this before but one of the things that has been such a blessing for me has been the friends that I have made through this process.  There are several moms that I enjoy "chatting" with (though, at this point, it's all done electronically and we haven't met in the real world) fairly regularly regarding adoptions and life, in general.  Two of those are Lindsay (who received her referral in January and is waiting for a court date) and Ashley (who received her referral YESTERDAY:); would you pray for their cases with me; for quick movement for both.  Oh....and April also received a referral yesterday.  Extra excited for her since a previous referral was lost.  And, selfishly, I'm hoping and praying that we have our referral by the time that they travel because I know I'll be able to depend on them to love on and take lots of pictures of our girl while they are in-country.

A Teensy Little Pity Party (or just awe)

I guess it's a little ironic to share this next thing (since the beginning of this post talks about peace) but, because I want to remember everything and because I hope that something read here may someday help someone else (or at least make them feel "normal"), I'm going to do so.

Several weeks ago, I got the distinct feeling that our referral wasn't going to happen anytime soon and also that my heart needed to be prepared for families behind me (on the wait list) to receive their referrals first.  Specifically, I felt inclined to message Ashley (mentioned above) and let her know that I was expecting her to get her referral before me and that I was okay with that and wanted her to know, ahead of time, that I didn't want her to feel badly when that time came.

So yesterday, when she received her referral, she messaged me to say that they had just gotten "the call", and can I just tell you that I was (and am) SO over-the-moon excited for her!  Moments after I got her message, I got into the car to head to the school to pick Braeden up and while my radio played a worship song (that I can't recall right this moment), big crocodile tears escaped from my eyes.  I'm not really clear, even now, if those tears were out of happiness for Ashley or pity for myself.  I think it was a combination of both; but mostly I am in awe of a God who places the lonely in families and then, being the Master that he is, carefully coordinates all of the pieces to make the puzzle of that family complete.

Just the Facts (on Details)

Our fingerprints expire in April (they were good for 15 months).  Jeff & I have received our new appointment paperwork and will be repeating that fun process this coming Friday.  Unfortunately, Jordan's paperwork (he has to do fingerprints too; because he's over 18) and appointment haven't come in yet (they were processed separately last time too).  I am praying that they come in in time for him to have his fingerprints done next week while he is home for Spring Break (if the paperwork comes in, we will try walking in next Friday to take advantage of his being home; even if his appointment is technically for another day).

Thanks for sharing in our journey to "LG".....someday (soon) she'll have a name, a face, a home and a forever family.  We appreciate your prayers to that end!

Next fun thing......update home study (expires in July)