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.