50 pounds of formula looks like this...

I am leaving in less than 2 weeks to pick up my sweet little girl, but my heart is heavy. Ethiopia is facing a critical formula shortage that impacts the whole country, but especially the orphanages.

I borrowed this from Charisa's blog, because she did such a great job explaining it and is heading a formula drive through our adoption agency. Please read and see how you can help.

From Charisa:

Hello friends!

We have recently been made aware of the formula shortage in Ethiopia right now because the birr (Ethiopian currency) has lost value due to the downturn in the Ethiopian economy. Because of this trading with the Middle East, the normal source of formula, has been hampered.

This has resulted in a shortage of formula in the country and more specifically, dear to our hearts, the orphanages. Imagine trying to care for those precious babies and not knowing how you were going to feed them! I cannot fathom the heartache that must be. They are desperate for formula. This comes straight from Almaz, the director at Hannah's Hope.

Some of those same babies that I loved on, specifically at Enat Elam, are becoming sick from lack of formula and being fed powdered milk.

I have talked to Julie, my case manager, about specifically what we can do, here it is:

If you want to purchase powdered formula (no liquid!) , specifically up to about 12 months of age, you can give it to me (AMY). If you are further away, email me and I can give you the address of a traveling family to send it to. We will send this with traveling families as they go to Ethiopia. This is the best way to get it to Ethiopia.

Monetary Donations-- Because God is faithful and we are going to receive an enormous amount of formula (I like to think big with God) and sometimes people would prefer to just give money, we can collect money to help pay for the extra luggage charge to send over with formula with families traveling to Ethiopia. This is the cheapest way to get it there.

As far as monetary donations, they can be marked Formula for Ethiopia and made out to AGCI and sent to address at bottom or you can also give monetary donations to me and I will send them on.

I know that I am always coming to you guys with one cause or another...and I am so grateful for your help each time. I just really want to help these precious babies! It absolutely crushes my heart to think that they are without the formula they need to grow and live. They already have so many odds stacked against them.

If we each just send one can of formula, what a difference we can directly make to those babies!

I can't imagine the pain and heartache the orphanage directors are going through...trying to feed all of those babies and not having what you need to do it. Can you imagine?

All God's Children

3308 NE Peerless Place
Portland, OR 97232
http://www.allgodschildren.org/

***************************************************

So far I have collected 50 pounds of formula to take with me and I probably have enough money to purchase another 50 pounds worth. God is faithful and He is working through people just like you, but the formula I have collected is not enough. If you would be willing to donate a can, you can give it to me or I can pass along contact information for a traveling family that is closer to you. You can also make a monetary donation to AGCI. Thank you for being "secret agents" of God and helping live out the Kingdom of God here on Earth.

Leaving on a Jet Plane...

That's right, we passed court and are tenatively scheduled to travel January 10th-16th. Praise be to God. Thank you all for your continued suport and love. I am in a state of shock.

Thank you!

I just wanted to say thank you to everyone who has kept us in their thoughts and prayers. I have felt pretty peaceful about our court date the past few days and know it is because we have been absolutely covered in prayer by our family and friends. I have felt like I was in a Verizon commercial and there is a band of people following me throughout my day in love and prayer. Probably the most touching example are my three friends who are in Ethiopia right now picking up their babes. They took time together yesterday to hold my little girl and pray over her. Thank you for the peace everyone.

Now that the big wait until the court date is over, a new wait begins. Waiting to hear news about our court date! I continue to be in prayer that we passed and that this wonderful peace I feel continues!

Please join us in prayer

"May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in Him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit." Romans 15:13

Well, we are a little over a day away from our court date (with the time difference, our court date is Tuesday night here on the west coast) and I am a bundle of nerves and hope. I am able to find peace knowing that God's timing is perfect. I know that we serve a God that can move mountains. He is sovereign over all. We are all His children and He holds each of us in His hands, even our little one who is so far away from us right now.

I ask that you join us in praying specifically that:
*Our case is heard on the 10th (our scheduled date.)
*All our documents are complete, in order and in the file.
*Any of little girl’s birth family that needs to attend the hearing does so. Please also pray for their travel, and that they will be given an amazing amount of peace.
*That Jason and I will be filled with patience and peace as we wait to hear news. (It may take up to a week.)

I know God loves our little girl more than I can ever imagine and trust that His plan and timing are perfect. I will continue to hope, because I know He will fulfill the plan He set for us.

"But these things I plan won't happen right away. Slowly, steadily, surely, the time approaches when the vision will be fulfilled. If it seems slow, be patient! For it will surely take place. It will not be late by a single day." Habakkuk 2:3

Thank you for supporting us through your love and prayers on each step of this journey.

I also ask for prayers for Autumn's brothers and their case. Her parents are adopting two little boys and their court date is on the 9th (or tonight on the west coast.)

Feeling a little...

scared, nervous, excited. I am just a ball of anxiety right now. Each step of the wait in this adoption process has gotten progressively harder. You think that when you finally see your child's face it will all get better. Well I have been looking at her beautiful face for just shy of 2 months now. The wait is even harder now and I know that it will only get harder still until my little one is in my arms.

I fully trust in God, but I don't think trusting in Him excludes feeling scared of what the outcome will be. I pray that His will be done, but I also know as a mother I will be truly heartbroken if His will does not mean bringing her home at this time. Whatever happens I will trust in Him and His plan.

I feel like I can't let myself get too excited, because I don't want to have an even bigger let down if we don't make it this time through.

One week from tonight (Ethiopia is 11 hours ahead of us on the west coast) a decision will be made. I just continue to petition God that all our paperwork is together and the judge looks upon us favorably. I don't want to wait any longer for this child that God placed upon my heart so long ago.

New pictures

I wish it was my hand this cute little one was holding!

I found a great surprise in my e-mail when I got home this afternoon. One of our case workers has been in Ethiopia for a few weeks and she took pictures for everyone. I got about 10 new pictures of our little sweetie. What a way to make my day!!! I can't believe it has been 6 1/2 weeks since I saw her beautiful face. Hopefully it won't be too much longer until it is my hand she is holding! 20 days and counting until our court date!

5 is a magical number

Today is an important day for both my little girls. Today the Bean is 5 years old and our little one turns 5 months.

I am so thankful that God has entrusted me with these two little girls. Although I have yet to meet my littlest one, my heart knows her already. I am so excited to be her mother and every time I think of her tears well in my eyes. They are mixed tears for they come both in joy and sadness. Joy that I have the privilege to raise this child and sadness that she is not already in my arms. I trust in God's perfect plan and cling to that.

5 Things I Love About My Bean
1. She has a beautiful heart.

2. She loves and nurtures her brother. She loves to read to him, teach him new things, and help him however she can.

3. She is a girly girl and would wear dresses everyday if she could!

4. The Bean is pretty quiet, but once she gets to know you that girl can talk.

5. She loves to learn and asks to do school all the time.

the bean's first 5 years in pictures

6 weeks old, with a very tired Mom

3 months old and the light of my life

1 and 1/2 and very much a little girl. pink is already her favorite color

a new hat from her auntie lindsey

2 years old and a new brother courtesy of mom and dad

3rd birthday with the love of her young life "gussie." gussie is a horse she rode at the fair.

posing for mom

this child loves her horse and she loves to dress-up in...interesting outfits

the bean is a big old scaredy cat. feeding these chickens was particularly out of character for her

the bean on the real "gussie." she has ridden him every year at the fair. she wants him for her birthday, but we told her the other kids that love him would be sad if he wasn't there for them anymore : ) i love horses, but my grandparents had them and i know how much work they are. i have three children...i can't take care of horses too!

5 years old now. her beautiful smile that sometimes takes some coaxing to get, but is certainly worth the effort

Photo Tag!

I have been tagged by Michelle and and am supposed to post the 4th picture in the 4th file on my computer and tell about it, so here it is...

Here is the Bug, feeling much better, after two days in the hospital for RSV. He made it out the day before his first birthday!

I am tagging Melissa, Dawn, NellAnn, Erin and Sharon.

P.S. The tags are kinda nice to help keep the time passing : )

My heart is smiling

It is amazing that a few sentences can make my heart soar. When we receive our referrals we get just the facts. No one really gives us any insight into who our child is or what they are like. Connie helped me get a small glimpse of my daughter and I am grateful for the time she took to be with her.

I saw your little girl in Ethiopia! She is so beautiful. She had the prettiest eyes and those cheeks are so fun to squeeze :). She takes in everything, and then smiles a big toothless grin. She has a little more hair now and it is these soft ringlets! While she is a good sized baby, she is STILL a little baby :). It was an honor to get to see/ hold her and touch those beautiful curls. I cannot wait to hear how your case is progressing through courts. Keep me posted! Connie

28 days until our court date...but who's counting???

32 days and counting

until our scheduled court date of December 10th. We are overjoyed to hear news as we continue to move closer to bringing Dora (ha,ha!) home.

We pray that we pass on our first scheduled court date. Families don't always pass through on their first try, because there has not been enough time for their file to pass through all the proper places. If we don't make it on the 10th, we will be rescheduled for a later date. Right now, they are rescheduling about 1 1/2 months out, which would be the end of January. We are joyful that there is a possibility to have Dora home early next year, but are also aware that this may not be God's plan. We will trust in Him no matter what the outcome of our court date, but our hearts long to hold our little girl. Please join us in praying for our heart's desire.

Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:5-7

Also, my dear friend Autumn and her husband Brian have experienced some delays with their adoption. They had some paperwork done incorrectly and although they have had their referral for almost two months now, they do not have their paperwork submitted. Please join me in prayer for them as they wait. May God move mountains for their little guy and may He grant them peace as they wait on His perfect plan.

Praising God for the mountains He has moved

Many, O LORD my God, are the wonders you have done. The things you planned for us no one can recount to you; were I to speak and tell of them, they would be too many to declare. Psalm 40:5

God has been working this week on behalf of some families who have been waiting since early this summer to meet their children. In their hearts they have been the parents of these children from the day of their referrals, but Monday Michelle and Jana legally became the proud parents to some beautiful gifts from God and will be leaving in two weeks to wrap their arms around them for the first time. What a miraculous gift God has given them. What a gift for us to witness their journey. Glory to God!

Shots

My daughter has decided she does not want her birthday. What little kid does not want a birthday? She has one coming up on the 17th. Anyway, after much prying into her little 4yo old brain, I come to find out it is because she knows she will have a doctor's appointment after her birthday and she will have to get shots. She does not want shots and figured if she didn't have a birthday she wouldn't have to have any!

Our health department only does shots one day a week in the morning, so I had to drag the kids with me to get some of my travel shots. I thought this would be a good experience for the Bean to see mommy get hers and live to tell about it. Shots don't bother me at all, but the Bean came and held my hand each of the four times I got poked. I told her I would do the same for her at her appointment. Somehow, I don't think it will help and I am sure when we visit the doctor the sounds of her screams will be heard round the practice.

In God We Trust

Change is hard. It is scary. We do not like leaving what we are familiar with for something unknown.

This week the Ethiopian government implemented changes in their adoption policy that effect us and our adoption. They have added another step in the approval process to ensure that all adoptions are done in an ethical and legal manner. It is a part of the growing pains of a country whose number of international adoptions have multiplied over the past few years.

When a family decides to move forward with a referral, their paperwork and the child's are submitted to the Ministry of Women's Affaris (MOWA) and then had previously been sent on to the courts. Now, after MOWA has given their approval, the documents are forwarded to the Central Authority's Civil and Social Affairs office where they are again checked and given an approval. From the Central Authority they are sent on to the courts. If your paperwork has not made it through either one of those steps by your assigned court date, your court date is rescheduled. This rescheduling is currently over a month out.

Our agency is not sure how this added step will effect our timelines, because the new policies just went into effect. They are sure that it will add additional time onto our 3-5 month wait.

We are glad God led us to a country that cares for its children enough to ensure the legality of their adoptions, but we are saddened that this will add more time to our wait for our little girl.

We completely trust that God's hand is in this process and pray that His will be done. We choose to be thankful that our little girl is in such good hands at Hannah's Hope while we wait for her.

One outcome of this is that our agency is changing their policy about court dates and will now be informing us of our date when it is scheduled. I think that all the information we get is helpful as we wait.

I will continue to pray for all of us involved in these adoptions as we adjust to these changes. May we continue to pray for God's will to be done and may we continue to trust in God and His plan. These children are not ours, but His.

Pumpkin Patch

I know another pumpkin patch post, but here are my two cuties

and me ready to head out the door and meet our homeschooling group.

Bright, cheery rubber boots. I wear mine every chance I get!

Not so sure about the tractor ride out to the pumpkin patch

I am still not happy, but the Bean gave me a smile. Although all

we get right now are the fake, cheesy kind.

Slide fun

How did the goats get way up there mom?



Tickling our hands

Pumpkins, pumpkins everywhere

Almost Wordless, Almost Wednesday Post

Only a 2yo can go from this

to this in less than 30 seconds!

I have a problem

Isn't the first step to dealing with a problem admitting you have one? Well I have one. I am addicted to changing my blog! There are so many gorgeous backgrounds I can't commit to just one!

Zoo day

Sunday was a beautiful cold, but sunny day here in Washington. We played hookey from church and headed to the zoo. We have a combined membership to the zoo and NW Trek. Any of you who live here and haven't been to NW Trek need to go. It is our favorite spot.

Northwest Trek Wildlife Park is a treasure for wildlife enthusiasts. The signature tram tour through the 435-acre free-roaming area offers the opportunity to spot different species of animals as they wander through forests, wetlands and meadows. In the core walking-tour area, visitors can get a peek at native wild canines and cats as well as forest and wetland critters. The 723-acre park has a little bit of everything: lakes, trails, meadows and plenty of animals. Located near Mount Rainier in Washington state just south of Seattle and Tacoma, Northwest Trek is home to more than 200 North American animals representing more than 30 species.

Anyway, we didn't go there today, but we did have a nice day at the zoo.

Bean & Bug on the Polar Bear carving at the entrance to the zoo.

What 2yo boy is not fascinated with sharks? His hands and face were pressed to the glass for a good 20 minutes.

Mom, I want to be a gymnast like the gibbon! The Bean is all into gymnastics after watching the Summer Olympics with her mommy.

The walruses were the favorite of the day. They kept swimming right up to the glass and rubbing against it. The male was huge. At first, Bug was a little scared. By the end, we had to physically remove him from the viewing area or he would still be there right now

What a great day! We are really trying to savor being a family of four, because before long we will be 5!

Momma's favorite part of the day was a trip to REI after the zoo. I got a new backpack that will double as a diaper bag. The one I have now just won't cut it for three kiddos!

Care package sent

I talked to Christy and AGCI received our care package for our daughter today. It was just in time for the box that left this afternoon for Ethiopia! It is nice to know our little one will have a little piece of us with her soon. She has melted our hearts and we can't wait to travel to pick-up DORA (ha,ha-see this post!)

I was going to post a picture, but they all have our photo album in them. The first page of our album is a picture of the four of us holding a 8X10 of our little one, so I can't post it!

Today was not my finest day

I have been a mom for 5 years now. I have only been a mom to a boy for 2 years 7 months 7 days and 23 hours. That is long enough to know better than to leave your son alone with markers...even if they are washable. Maybe he will be a tattoo artist when he grows up.

The worst part of it is that there is no way he did the part around his ear or on his back. His partner in crime is also in a timeout right now. Serves me right to think I could get some laundry done without supervising the little monster : ) Between this and my error on the list serv, today was not my finest day!

Heard Around the House

Bug keeps running around the house saying, "Where Dora is? Where Dora is?"He does not know who Dora the Explorer is. He is looking for his baby sister and her name is not Dora...but I can see why he got confused. They do sound similar.

Tagged...

I have been tagged by my friend Lori, so here are seven random/weird things about myself.

1. I love flip flops. I would wear flip flops all year long if my toes wouldn't fall off from frostbite. I hate shoes and flip flops are as close as I can get to going bare foot. You could say I am a flip flop connoisseur (if there is such a thing) and my flip flops of choice are Reefs.

2. My feet are black 8 months out of the year. I do bathe! I just wear my flip flops so much that the rubber sole turns them black.

3. I hate to bake, but love to cook. Don't ask me for recipes, because I don't use them! That is why I am no good at baking! I just throw stuff together and never measure anything.

4. I am a total introvert. I love small group settings, but throw me in big party and I am uncomfortable!

5. I am addicted to reading. I often stay up way too late if I am involved with a good one! Why can't a 2yo understand that you were up until 3am finishing a fabulous novel and just give you a little break and not wake up before 6am?

6. I yearn for a housecleaner. I love staying at home with my kids, but in my fantasy world I would have a housecleaner! Just someone who came once or twice a month and did a great job. I could totally keep it up in between.

7. I hate my name. I have always hated my name. I could never just be Amy. I was always Amy D. or Amy S., because there are so many girls my age with my name. Curse President Carter and his daughter for being in the White House the year I was born : ) (My mom is a huge Little Women fan and named me after a character in the book, not President Carter's daughter.)


Ok, I am not a huge fan of tagging people, but we need something to keep us busy as we are waiting for our children to come home, so I am tagging these new and soon-to-be mommies:
1. Autumn
2. Bethany
3. Michelle
4. Melissa
5. Emily
6. Whitney
7. Jana

Official Acceptance

One of the requirements of accepting our referral is that we are required to have all N's medical information and photos checked by an international pediatrician. They specialize in adoption and can read faces for signs of genetic disorders, etc. and are able to read the medical reports and know what is typical of children in foreign countries. The doctor was pleased with her growth since being at Hannah's Hope (they are superstars at plumping up these babes) although by American standards she is still relatively small for her age. My heart skipped a beat when the pediatrician said she had a diagnosis for us...she diagnosed her as being terminally cute! : ) Of course we think so, but then we are a little biased!

Since that is done, we have officially accepted N's referral. It is not legal at this point and that is why we can not share her name or photos. The next 3-5 months are going to be a mixture of excitement and difficulty as we wait to bring home the newest member of our family. We know God's timing is perfect, we just continue to pray for peace as we wait.

A mother of three

Today I became a mother of three. In a sense I got to meet my daughter. The fuzzy images that came to mind when I used to try and imagine her have been replaced with a clear picture. I know what she looks like. I know how old she is. I am a mother of three.

(Warning this is a little long, but it is my place to remember this day.)

Monday is story time at the library so we headed there as we do every other Monday morning. I slipped my phone in my pocket (yes, I wore jeans and they had pockets!) but I turned the ringer down in case anyone called. Now NO ONE ever calls my cell phone (remember I have a real aversion to phone conversations) but I didn't want to be the mom that interrupted story time because my phone rang for the first time in 100 years (yes, I do have friends.) Now I shouldn't have worried about interrupting story time because with over 30 kids 5 and under it isn't too quiet. Anyway, I digress. I saw Traci there and she was asking me how it was going. She really didn't have to deal with the wait list because last year there were only like 10 families adopting at a time. After story time, we stayed and played for a while.

At almost 11:30, I dragged my children from the library (they love it there) and loaded them up in the van. As I was about to get in, I pulled my phone from my pocket and noticed I had a message that had been left at 11:06 a.m. I figured it was my dashing husband, because he is the only one that calls me. Much to my surprise when I listened to the message it was Christy. She said, "Hi this is Christy. I have something I want to talk to you about. Give me a call when you can." I KNEW what that meant. I absolutely started shaking with excitement. I ran to Traci as she was loading her boys up and she was like CALL HER BACK! I misdialed the AGCI Washington number and my favorite social worker in the world answered and I was slightly confused. After explaining that I was trying to return THE CALL, I hung up and redialed the correct number. It went straight to Christy's voicemail! How dare she be away from her phone when she had such news for me! I left her a message and said I would be home in about 35 minutes and to call me after noon.

We arrived home at 11:50 and I got the kids playing, advised them to please play quietly for a few minutes and called Christy back. As soon as I knew positively that this was THE CALL, all I heard was blah, blah, blah, your daughter's name is.., she was born...., blah,blah,blah. I heard all the good stuff and just kind of tried to listen to the rest, without much success. Luckily they know you are only focused on the child and e-mail you everything they are telling you!

I didn't respond how I thought I would. I figured I would be blubbering, but no tears I feel like I am in a state of shock, that I am sure will wear off soon. I can't believe God has finally let us meet our little girl.

I immediately called J and told him me was a father of three! He told me I was crazy if I waited for him to get home to see the pictures, so I of course opened them! I rechecked my e-mail and realized that Christy had sent 5 more e-mails all with pictures. We were blessed to receive over 70 pictures of our daughter! I told him how adorable she is, but of course I may be a little biased!

We called everyone we needed to and now am so pleased to share the news with everyone else. Unfortunately, we aren't able to share any information about her until we pass through courts and she legally becomes our daughter. So no names or photos until we bring her home which looks like it will be January or February.

I went to my small group tonight (two of my closest friends are in it) and shared my news. They have really been instrumental in helping me through this journey, as have so many others. When one of them closed in prayer and thanked God for the gift of my daughter I was brought to tears. All the emotions that I have felt for the past 10 months were finally all let out and the fact that I am now a mother of three started to sink in. Praise be to God!

Reflections

Some of you may remember this picture. I posted it exactly 24 weeks ago. (No I am not a huge Keifer Sutherland fan, but he is on the show 24 and it is a pretty important number in our adoption.) Tomorrow marks 24 weeks that we have been on the waiting list and our first number on the waiting list was...24.

During my quiet time tonight, I was reflecting on this journey of adoption. Journey is defined as a process or course likened to traveling. I can't think of a better way to describe adoption. It has been like a loooonnnngggg trip. At times, the weather has been beautiful and we are all singing with the windows rolled down and the wind blowing in our hair and at other times it has been like driving through a thunderstorm with screaming kids in the back seat. The thing is, that whether this trip has gone through a rough patch or an easy one God has been with us the ENTIRE way.

No matter how much I prepared for this trip, I could not foresee how difficult it was going to be. I shored myself up for a long time by not letting myself get too excited and by reminding myself how far we still had to go. That worked for about 4 1/2 months. But while I wouldn't let myself get excited, the adoption almost seemed unreal to me. I felt no real connection to it and I think I lost out a bit.

I prayed to God to help me feel connected and He made me realize I was the one hindering the connection. So I let myself feel. I slowly took down the wall around my heart that I had placed to protect myself from the wait. It felt good to have it down, because I found I had feelings for this little girl already. I have posted before how I knew I would never have problems loving or attaching to a child that was not born of me, but I truly never thought that that love would come before I met her.

There have been times since I started feeling this love that I wanted to put the wall back up because it hurt so much to love her and not even know her. But then I realized that this love was actually a gift. A gift that God had given me to help me prepare for our daughter.

God has been the gas on this journey, by constantly nurturing me along the way. My relationship with Him has only been strengthened. I have learned that no matter how much control I think I have over situations, I truly have none. God is the great author of this story, not me.

My prayer life has also been enriched. I felt God calling me to look beyond my adoption and focus on this AGCI community and the needs that everyone else has. I am a doer and I wanted to be able to go help someone with their garage sale or comfort Sharon and Karen during the hold-up, but distance prevented me from helping. But God has given us the gift of prayer. Maybe I could not go get poor Michelle's FDL (yes, I remember the sleeping in the snow pictures waiting for the mailman), but I could help pray it into her mailbox! To pray for dear little Abby, to pray for the families waiting to travel, to pray for each family wherever they are on their journey.

After the difficulties I had dealing with the last two weeks of waiting at #1, God has really given me peace. I am no less excited, but I am utterly aware and assured that His timing is perfect, that I focus on my situation while only God can see the whole picture, and that I love a little girl who lives on another continent that I have never met with all of my heart.

Lovey

My children have all had their own special blanket or animal that we helped them attach to for security. Bean's was more like a little blankie, but Bug's was more like a squished animal. I decided we better order a lovey for our little girl, because it is one of the things I want to send to her when the time comes (hopefully very soon!). We all love Bug's the best and so the family got around the computer the other night to look at all our options at the North American Bear Company . They have some really cute options and they are all safe for babies-no buttons here! After a long deliberation, we finally settled on the elephant. Pretty cute, huh!One of the best tips I can give any new moms is that if you get a security blanket or animal of some kind for your child-get AT LEAST TWO IDENTICAL ones. If you have two, one can be in the wash or one could get accidentally left at nana's house or one could get lost and you still have an identical one for the child so there is no trauma. Just make sure you rotate and wash them often, because even babies can tell the difference between a new one and their previously loved one.

Just to make you smile

I just don't understand my husband sometimes and creamer

It amazes me how God made men and women sooooo different. How I have handled the waiting for our daughter is completely different than how my husband has handled it. I wear my heart on my sleeve. I talk about it all the time. My husband is no less excited. He just doesn't show it like I do.

He is always curious about what I am posting on the blog. The other night he was looking at the pictures of Bug's tantrum and he saw the ticker on the side and asked about it. I told him that the 5 months, 1 week and 3 days was how long we have been on the waitlist. His brilliant words were, "Wow, that is a long time!" In my head I was thinking, "Now you know why I have been going a little crazy lately!"

P.S. Since this revelation of our time on the waitlist, he is getting a little antsy too!
P.P.S. Now it is 5 months, 1 week and 5 days...but who's counting : )

*********************************************************************

Look what I found at the store yesterday! I love this stuff, but I thought for sure it didn't come out until at least Novemeber last year. It isn't even October and the holiday creamers have hit the shelf. I don't usually indulge in creamer, but all reason goes out the window when peppermint is in the picture : )

The return of Almaz

I e-mailed Christy today to tell her I hate waiting (like she hasn't heard that one before.) I asked her if she could at least tell me not to expect to hear anything until Almaz gets back to Ethiopia. That funny woman told me that she could positively say that I wouldn't hear anything until Almaz gets back........because she gets back tomorrow (or today in Ethiopia.) I think they take lessons at AGCI on how to be evasive and not answer questions! : ) Well, for anyone who cares Almaz is returning!

Read the comment from Suzi for a further tidbit of information!

David's Prayer

David praised the LORD in the presence of the whole assembly, saying,
"Praise be to you, O LORD,
God of our father Israel,
from everlasting to everlasting.

Yours, O LORD, is the greatness and the power
and the glory and the majesty and the splendor,
for everything in heaven and earth is yours.
Yours, O LORD, is the kingdom;
you are exalted as head over all.

Wealth and honor come from you;
you are the ruler of all things.
In your hands are strength and power
to exalt and give strength to all.

Now, our God, we give you thanks,
and praise your glorious name.

"But who am I, and who are my people, that we should be able to give as generously as this? Everything comes from you, and we have given you only what comes from your hand."

1 Chronicles 29:10-14

This was a great reminder for me. I don't want to get to the point where I take anything for granted. It amazes me that I can fall so short and yet God still showers his blessings upon me. He gives me everything...from the breath I just took to my children to the paycheck I deposited last week. He gives freely. He gives without guarantee from me that I will be a good steward with what He has given me. There is no way I can thank God enough for my life. I am just a humble servant trying to honor God by living a life worthy of Him. May I try each day to bring glory to my creator.

I am not the only one unhappy

Bug is 2 1/2 and so he loves to test mommy and this is the tantrum he threw when he was put in a timeout. He was not too happy when mommy wanted to capture his tantrum on film!

(Weird picture with the dissolving hand!)

FYI about updates: When I talked to Christy last week, she said if I am still waiting, they will be sending out updated numbers via e-mail the first full week in October. Just thought some of you might want to know, so you aren't expecting them this week.