We love you so much Sunshine. We went through so many changes in Ethiopian adoptions which made our wait longer than expected. We went through some hard delays from the time we knew your name until we finally were able to get a plane to bring you home. But God was with us the entire time as He was also with you. Some days he carried me through the day because I was not able to make it on my own. God was and is in control. That wait brought us to you. It's hard to believe that on Saturday, you will have been home for 6 months! You have grown and changed so much, but the one thing that has remained the same is your spirit. Your joy is contagious and your laughter spreads throughout our home. Our mornings have never been the same. You greet each one of us by name and with a smile. You make US feel special and make me aware of how I need to treat others. You are truly and blessing, Sunshine.
Wednesday, October 19, 2011
One Year Ago Today
One year ago today, we received the best phone call ever. We got to see the beautiful face and hear the name of the little one we had been praying for. We now knew who the daughter was that God had planned for our family. We heard the story of how she came to be our daughter. It was a day of both joy and sadness. We were so excited and ready for this little one to join our family, but also knew that someone else on the other side of the world had to go through so much sadness. Laughter and tears... Oh, how I pray that she will come to know Jesus and that He will provide her comfort in times of sadness.
We love you so much Sunshine. We went through so many changes in Ethiopian adoptions which made our wait longer than expected. We went through some hard delays from the time we knew your name until we finally were able to get a plane to bring you home. But God was with us the entire time as He was also with you. Some days he carried me through the day because I was not able to make it on my own. God was and is in control. That wait brought us to you. It's hard to believe that on Saturday, you will have been home for 6 months! You have grown and changed so much, but the one thing that has remained the same is your spirit. Your joy is contagious and your laughter spreads throughout our home. Our mornings have never been the same. You greet each one of us by name and with a smile. You make US feel special and make me aware of how I need to treat others. You are truly and blessing, Sunshine.
We love you so much Sunshine. We went through so many changes in Ethiopian adoptions which made our wait longer than expected. We went through some hard delays from the time we knew your name until we finally were able to get a plane to bring you home. But God was with us the entire time as He was also with you. Some days he carried me through the day because I was not able to make it on my own. God was and is in control. That wait brought us to you. It's hard to believe that on Saturday, you will have been home for 6 months! You have grown and changed so much, but the one thing that has remained the same is your spirit. Your joy is contagious and your laughter spreads throughout our home. Our mornings have never been the same. You greet each one of us by name and with a smile. You make US feel special and make me aware of how I need to treat others. You are truly and blessing, Sunshine.
Monday, October 17, 2011
Fall
Fall is my favorite time of year...all the colors...playing in the freshly raked leaves...pumpkins...parades...hot cider...soups and chili...warm soft sweatshirts...football...marching band.... It has been so fun to "introduce" Sunshine to all the fun things our family enjoys this time of year. I am so thankful she is here. I love her so much and can't imagine our family without her. God has blessed us beyond measure.
The girls and I raked leaves last week and Sunshine had so much fun playing in them.
She makes us laugh all day every day. So much joy!
High school homecoming has also been apart of Fall for us for the last 3 years. I have to admit...the shopping stresses me out. Our oldest is 5'11" and it is close to impossible to find a dress that is long enough. This year we shopped in 4 different towns before we finally found one. And then there's the shoes....I did finally figure out that the only store that carries her size is Nordstroms or we have to order them online. Although all of this was stressful and frustrating, it was all worth it when she finally found the perfect dress and shoes. My saving grace was the we had found a dress for Chesswava in the summer, so she was all set. It was fun dressing up and taking pictures. They are growing up so fast!
The girls and I raked leaves last week and Sunshine had so much fun playing in them.
High school homecoming has also been apart of Fall for us for the last 3 years. I have to admit...the shopping stresses me out. Our oldest is 5'11" and it is close to impossible to find a dress that is long enough. This year we shopped in 4 different towns before we finally found one. And then there's the shoes....I did finally figure out that the only store that carries her size is Nordstroms or we have to order them online. Although all of this was stressful and frustrating, it was all worth it when she finally found the perfect dress and shoes. My saving grace was the we had found a dress for Chesswava in the summer, so she was all set. It was fun dressing up and taking pictures. They are growing up so fast!
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| Even R got to dress up and join in on the fun!
We are still waiting for our state to approve our home study. B just asked me last night how long I thought it would be before we got on the wait list. My prediction...unfortunately... 2-3 more months. All in God's time though. We got on the wait list for our first adoption in January of 2010....hoping we will get on the wait list for this next adoption by January 2012...at the latest! But I remember so well how my predictions went with our last adoption, so holding those time frames loosely. :)
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Friday, October 14, 2011
Happy Birthday, T-mac!
Our oldest turned 19 years old on Sunday, and it was the first time we were apart. But we did get to spend a couple hours with him on Saturday. We went to his football game first. When we got there, I took Sunshine down as close to the sidelines as we could get to say Belle. I tried to point T-mac out to her and she looked and looked for him. I wish I had my video camera when she finally found him. She was jumping up and down, waving both arms wildly, laughing, squealing, and saying "Hi, T" over and over. She was so happy to see him and the smile that she brought to his face was priceless. We had a nice dinner after the game and then it was time to say good-bye. I miss him so much, but I think he really likes it there.
Our agency approved our home study this week and now it's off to our state to approve. I forgot about that step...not sure how long it will take...anywhere from 2 weeks to 2 months. So many unknowns in adoption, but the good thing is I know God is in control. I have the hope and assurance that God has a perfect plan...to prosper and not harm. (Jeremiah 29:11)
Our agency approved our home study this week and now it's off to our state to approve. I forgot about that step...not sure how long it will take...anywhere from 2 weeks to 2 months. So many unknowns in adoption, but the good thing is I know God is in control. I have the hope and assurance that God has a perfect plan...to prosper and not harm. (Jeremiah 29:11)
Friday, October 7, 2011
Much needed Retreat
I am so excited about being able to go to Created for Care , a retreat for adoptive moms in March! There originally was one in January that filled up in 9 hours! I missed my chance! But some incredible ladies knew that there were so many more mamas who needed this and planned an identical retreat in March. I waited to sign up for this one too. The problem for me is that it is in Atlanta, which means I would need to fly there all by myself and then drive an hour to the lodge...not very good about traveling alone...actually, I just haven't ever done it. But connected with a sweet friend whom we traveled with to Ethiopia to meet our daughter and she wanted to go too. So we have arranged our flights so that we will meet and leave Atlanta at approximately the same time! I am so excited and also very nervous. There are not many times that I can say I have been away from my kids overnight. If you are interested, there is still time to register for the March retreat.
Also, we are still waiting for our agency to get back to us about our home study. It has been there for a week now. Honestly, I'm a little disappointed it has taken this long. Our first agency took less than two days to review and approve our home study. Makes me wonder what might be wrong. It seems like we don't get emails from them until evening, when everyone has gone home for the day and even if we do get an email approving our home study, we can't do anything until Monday. All in God's time. Even though I know this time the wait involved and try not to get timelines in my head, I still hope. So when my hopes are dashed, it's a little disappointing. Well, at least hoping to hear something today either way.
Also, we are still waiting for our agency to get back to us about our home study. It has been there for a week now. Honestly, I'm a little disappointed it has taken this long. Our first agency took less than two days to review and approve our home study. Makes me wonder what might be wrong. It seems like we don't get emails from them until evening, when everyone has gone home for the day and even if we do get an email approving our home study, we can't do anything until Monday. All in God's time. Even though I know this time the wait involved and try not to get timelines in my head, I still hope. So when my hopes are dashed, it's a little disappointing. Well, at least hoping to hear something today either way.
Tuesday, October 4, 2011
Home Study Finished!!
Our agency received our home study to review yesterday! I'm so excited to have that behind us. Just a little bit more to do to complete our dossier. But we still have quite a bit of time before we will be able to submit our dossier. Our agency needs to approve our home study, which hopefully will be by the end of this week and then our state needs to approve it. THEN we can send it to USCIS to approve and assign a fingerprint appointment. Which means waiting AGAIN....it could be another 2 -3 months before it gets through all those approvals. BUT after being through this once, I realize that the timeline doesn't move how I want it to move. We are not the only family going through this process so we will have to wait our turn...wait until they get to us. I am choosing to keep my eyes on Christ, not on the "process" or the "wait". We are praying that He opens the doors that need to be opened at just the right time, so we find the child He has for our family.
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