We got some GREAT news today in regards to our adoption. I can't share any info until I talk with our social worker. It isn't a referral or anything of that nature. But Great news nonetheless!!! Can't wait to share it !!!

1 Month Waiting!!!!!!!!!!!!!

We have officially been waiting for an entire month already!! Can you believe it?!! I can't. This month has flown by. I know it doesn't seem like much to have been on the wait list for a month but when I look back on all the work that it took to get us to this place, I just can't believe we are already here. I remember looking at the wait list when we were up to our ears in application paperwork, the appointments, notaries, county sealing, state sealing, doctors visits and on and on and on. At that point the wait list seems like a distant dream=) But here we are!!

There have been some referrals on the Bethany boards, some of which only submitted their dossier 4 months before us. Now I'm not saying we will get a referral in 4 months. I know that international adoption changes in a heart beat. But a girl can hope can't she??=)

There have been a few new changes to the program within the past month or so :

#1 we now have to have a birth certificate issued by the local districts before our case can be submitted to court.

#2 we also have to have pictures of the their previous guardian (except in abandonment cases) before going to court.

These two things can increase the time from referral to court date. But we also got some good news that the Bethany team in Ethiopia was able to work with the government and now both adoptive families and birth families can have court on the same day. Previously you had to have two court dates anywhere from 1-2 months apart. So that will help to bring the wait time down some!!!!
We have been reading up a lot on Ethiopia and adoption, attachment and all the other things that go along with this journey. I have read some really good and heart touching books. I plan to share some of them with you soon!!

Meanwhile we have started our new year of homeschooling rather early this year since I know that we will be missing a few months in the middle when our new little miss comes home. Kids are LOVING our new curriculum. Bethany Joy is doing great. She is walking all around the house with the help of her newest toy. She really is such a joy in our family. Her smile and personality are just super sweet.

Summer Time

This has been one busy summer!! I just realized I hadn't posted anything for a long time now. Now that we are done with our paperwork we have so much more free time to enjoy this HOT HOT summer=)

A few weekends ago we went to our first drive-in movie. It was so much fun. They were having a double feature, Toy Story 3 and The A-Team. It was so much fun to watch the movie with the lightening bugs twinkling all around us. The kids really enjoyed Toy Story but our little princess was starting to get really fussy because it was way past her bedtime and unseasonably warm. So my wonderful husband donned his manly ergo and popped our sweet little girl in there and she was out like a light. Only problem was that he had to stand the entire time=) So needless to say we didn't stay for the A-Team.

The kids also got to celebrate their daddy for Father's Day and they all bought him something special with their limited funds=) Isaac took Daddy to Taco Bell and bought him a taco and Stephen took him to Sonic later that evening and bought him an ice cream Sunday. They were so excited to get to bless their daddy, precious!!! And well Bethany just gave daddy sloppy kisses=)



We had a wonderful 4th of July weekend. Saturday we hung out at the house and worked hard on the farm. Killed 4 chickens, weeded the entire garden, picked 2 dozen cucumbers and a pail of tomatoes and I made 2 diapers. I'll post a picture of our garden instead of the 4 dead chickens hanging from our backyard tree=)

That night we shot off fireworks and then Steve and I watched 'Henry Pool is here' (very stupid movie in our opinion=). Sunday we went to church, took naps, night church for communion night. After that we left and went to the 12th floor of Stephen's office and watched the fireworks in Worlds Fair Park. It was so sweet of Stephen to take us there so Bethany and I didn't get all hot and sweaty and eaten up by bugs!!! Monday we had friends over for a July 5th party. The boys welcomed everyone by hiding on the roof with their water guns and shooting them=) We ate and had water balloon fights. Plus I got to spend time chatting with my best friends and their new babies=) All in all it was a fantastic weekend!!! But we didn't get any pictures of it!!

Here is a picture of our finished adoption paperwork just before we turned it in. We are SO beyond excited to be in this next phase of our adoption!! Although it is rather hard to just sit around and wait, knowing that your life is going to change so much with one phone call. But wait we must. In the mean time I have been pouring over adoption books and websites learning all I can about adoption and attachment and anything and everything related to it!! The other day the kids and I left the grocery store and I was SURE I had left someone. I kept counting the kids and thinking no they are all here? But then I realized our sweet baby girl is already so much a part of my heart. This is what I have been praying for for months now. That the Lord would prepare her for us and us for her. And you know what.....He's doing it!!!

Even though our paperwork is done I still have a mile long list of stuff I want or need to get accomplished in these next 5 months before we get our referral. One of those things was getting our travel vaccinations done. So our appointment date came and we all went to the International Travel Clinic. Stephen found out that he had to have 3 more vaccines than I did=) Stephen and I each got 3 vaccines on this first visit (Hep A, Polio, DTaP) and have to go back for 2 more visit in 1 month and 6 months. I am TOTALLY used to being stuck. I have had 3 c-sections and 2 knee surgeries in the past 6 years not to mention having my thyroid checked every few months!! But my sweet tough husband well he's not so used to it=) He can take pain. He cut his leg bad with a chain saw not that long ago, stepped on a nail and removed it himself but needles are a whole different story!

After his shots he just about passed out. He had to go outside to get some fresh air. At this point I'm trying to be a good understanding wife but I could not hold back my laughter. Well he didn't think it was funny at the time but now he can laugh at it=) Needless to say he's not looking forward to his next appointment!!!!

Boating Fun

THANKS Cara and Justin for having us out on your boat!!! We had a GREAT time=)

Let the wait begin!!!

Yahoo!!! We got an email from Leah our social worker that our dossier is done being authenticated and is back at HQ!!! It actually missed today's shipment to Ethiopia so it will go next Friday=( But we are SO VERY VERY excited that the paper chase is behind us and now we start the wait for our referral!!! The earliest that we have seen other families get a referral was 5 months so that's what we are hoping for. Realistically it can be anywhere from 6 months to 1 year and we know that. We are trusting in God's timing to bring our precious little girl into our family. We would very much appreciate you all if you would pray for our little girl.
On much more uninteresting news we got a puppy this last week. There is a little of a story behind why we got her. See two weeks ago the kids and I were doing school so I decided to go sit on the porch for a few minutes while they worked. That's when I heard one of our chickens start swaking out in the woods. This was not a normal laying an egg noise. It was more like this is the end of the world noise. So I hopped up to see what had spooked it. Usually it's just a rat snake or ant hill they layed on. This time however I saw the chicken running out of the woods and into the barn. At that point I saw a coyote come walking out of the wood like, "Man I didn't get it !!". Talk about shocked!! The coyotes usually kept their distance from the farm because of our dogs. However we lost Sago about 6 months ago and Samson our other dog has turned into a true country dog. Lazy as all get out! So I immediately called Stephen and we decided right then we needed another German shepherd to keep the coyotes away from the chickens. We just happened to find 6 week old baby German shepherds on craigslist. The boys LOVE playing with her. We named her Delilah=) Stephen jokingly said we should name her Delilah to go along with her partner Samson, and well it stuck.

No news yet=(

We haven't had any news yet=( That means our dossier is still in DC being authenticated. Hoping to hear news this week or next!!!

More Work

Got a call from our social worker that we were not totally done with our paperwork. Bethany Christian got a new director for their Ethiopia program and we had already filled out the power of attorney forms with the former directors name on it. So we needed to get two new power of attorney forms. Sounds simple right?=) We got the papers printed out signed, notarized, county sealed and overnighted it to State to get the Great Seal affixed to it. So for just two new little forms it cost $60!!!! Crazy!! But we should have it back in a few days then it will be off to Grand Rapids to meet-up with the dossier. It's kind of maddening to finish your paperwork then have it put on hold. I just want to hear those sweet words that it's on it's way to Ethiopia!!
Stephen and I have spent the last few nights going through a baby names book trying to pick out names for our little pumpkin. We always like to have their name picked out so we can start referring to them by their name and feel like we are already bonding with them. Generally in our family I choose the boy names and stephen has chosen the girl names. So he has come up with a few good ones and the kids and I have had fun the last few days calling her by that name and seeing which one we like and which one 'fits'. But as soon as we choose one we'll let ya'll know=P
We have been BUSY BUSY BUSY on the farm. Between the garden, the chickens, mowing our SERIOUSLY large yard, trying to finish the fort and the zip line, landscaping. Feels like we are getting no where on our to do list! But we are enjoying this early summer weather and it's lightening bug time which the kids are having a lot of fun with. The other day we found a big black snake hanging around the chicken coop. The same day we found one on the other side of the yard near the fort, which steve chased up into a tree.

Boys thought it was GREAT=)