3 months

In April, when our paperwork was approved and we were placed on our new agency's wait list, they estimated that it would take about 4-6 months or less before we would receive a referral. Today marks 3 months waiting. We presumably are very near the end of this long long long journey (although I probably won't fully allow myself to believe that 'till it's here).

We are sooooo ready to see those little faces; so ready to finally have our family together!!! We are praying every day that today will be the day we get that call... Please join us :)

See??? Ready!

Thank You!!

A big THANKS goes out to everyone who came by our Chick-fil-a Spirit Night last night!!! Y'all are awesome!!! We feel super loved and supported :) 

And thank you to Chick-fil-a for inviting us and making it all possible!!

Milestones

Yesterday was a very special day for two big reasons-
1- We celebrated one month on the wait list with our new agency's Ghana program!!
2- It was our 5th wedding anniversary!!

Both of those things are a big deal to us. It's been so special to start to notice how God has been leading us to the specific children He has always intended for us to love and parent. Had we not been on such a long wait list or had to go on hold or experienced so many in-country changes and slow-downs, we would have had different children than the ones God is preparing us for. We can't wait to get that referral phone call and find out who it is that He has been preparing us for for so long!!!

Please continue to join with us in prayer. We're praying for protection for our little ones, that they are being loved and held, fed and warm, healthy and safe in our absence. We're praying for speed and protection over the whole court and embassy processes when they come. And we're praying for incredible blessings over our whole family once we're together; that our children would know that they are home in our arms, that we would all be crazy in love with each other, and that husband and I would have loads of wisdom from the Lord in how to love and shepherd our new little babes through grief and fear and what it means to be a family.

Waitlist 3.0!

From two years ago, when we finished our first dossier :)

Our dossier (paperwork) is on it's way to Ghana today!! It left from Ohio late last night, and it probably won't get where it needs to be until May 2nd. After it gets there we can officially expect a phone call from our agency any day!!!

We have no real concept for how long it will actually take to get a referral, since our in-country staff is in the process of making introductions, gathering information from the orphanages, and examining paperwork. There are a lot of standards to adhere to when determining whether a child is legally and ethically adoptable, and it is time well spent.

Once we do get a referral, we hope to be able to travel to Ghana soon after (within a month or two). Generally this is a two trip process, but we are blessed with circumstances that will allow me to stay beyond the first trip and for the duration of the legal proceedings, which is usually 6-8 weeks barring any delays.

We are excited and tired and overwhelmed, but excited :) Praise the Lord!

Okay, So, Big Stuff Around Here!!!

The end of January marked two years since we'd begun the process of adoption from Ethiopia, referrals were few and far between, and considering we had about 67 families in front of us, we knew we were now looking at a good 2-3 more years to finish the adoption, and longer than that for siblings. On that day we finally decided it was time to look at other options.

After a month of praying for clarity and leading, and researching 50 or so agency/country combos, we still weren't finding the right fit, it was all much too complicated... that is, until yesterday!!!

Yesterday the wonderful social worker who has performed our last two home studies emailed me and said she'd thought of us that afternoon when she heard that another agency was opening a couple of new programs in Africa. Well, it turns out that yesterday they launched a new program in Ghana, and because we found out when we did we had the opportunity to be the very first in line!!! So to Ghana we go!!! 

The extra great news is that it should be a much faster process because we're the first family, maybe 6 months?!?! That's just a guess, but it should be really fast!! And we're still adopting two young children, which is something we thought we'd have to give up on. We've heard good things, and are excited to work with our new agency. They've been bending over backwards to help us get our paperwork in order as fast as possible.

Praise the Lord for His amazing, mind-blowing provision!!! He is so good!!!