Read a very good post from fellow blogger Building the Blocks here.....

I have been SOOO restless lately. I'm not entirely sure why, but I suppose it has to do with our status on the waiting list? We have marked off one after another after another after another families who received their referral. We are moving up and up and up the list. Then just this week there have been several families who submitted just before us.... get matched!!! We are currently family #26 (but how many of those families are waiting for older/siblings/little boys is anyones guess...which means we could be much higher up the list).
I am REALLY trying to be patient but the fact that it could be any day now that we get THE call that changes our life, just kind of makes me crazy. Or it could still be months away.
One hard part is that out of the dossier submitted before us (about 20 or so families) , almost none of them are on the adoption board. So from here until we are matched we really won't get to see our names moving up the list as the other families are matched. We will have to wait till the end of each month to see where we are at. But on the other hand we could be matched tomorrow with the little girl the Lord has for us. I'm planning on calling our social worker this week to see if she can give me an idea of our status.
We are still very busy with several big projects but always looming in my heart is my desire to hear my phone ring with our BIG news!
Thanks for letting me vent. I know I need to be patient, but until you have been here, you have NO CLUE how hard that is!!! Just keep taking it to the Lord and I also find that praying very specifically for our baby girl makes me feel like I am taking care of her in a way. Please just pray for us for patience and for our baby girl.

Becoming A Family Of Five: Yezelalem Minch - Help For Ethiopia

This is a post from a fellow adoptive family. They got to go visit Yezelalem Minch (a WONDERFUL ministry in Ethiopia). Right now they are trying to find 50 sponsors in 50 days....Please check it out!!! See how the Lord would have you help!!!


Becoming A Family Of Five: Yezelalem Minch - Help For Ethiopia

2 Months Waiting!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Today not only does my baby girl officially turn 1. But we have hit the 2 month mark of waiting for her sister!

I have so many emotions that I am starting to deal with on a daily basis. Knowing that half a world away there is someone who I already love so much, and not knowing what is happening to her today. Not knowing if she is scared or hungry or tired and not being able to do anything about it if she is. It literly makes my heart hurt when I think about the loss that her birth family is going to have to go through. The loss that she will go through. Typically the kids will go through 4 different 'homes' by the time they come home. Their birth home then to an orphanage then the transition home (after we receive her referral) then home with us. Sometimes I try to imagine how hard that would be. I imagine if that was Bethany and she was sent from place to place with nothing concrete in her life. I know that she would NOT do well with that.

We are learning and educating ourselves about what it will be like when we finally get to see our daughter face to face. You kind of have this picture perfect meeting in your mind. Like your swooping in as the savior of the day. But that is almost never how it works. We understand that she will probably be unsure or even scared of us at first. And rightly so. She has never known who will be around the next day so she probably won't know right away that she can trust us.



We have been so blessed to be a part of the Bethany Christian Services adoption board. Families who are in all different phases of their adoption ask questions and share wisdom from what they have learned. We have had the privilege read the stories from countless families who have already traveled to pick up their child. Each story is totally different.

One thing I really enjoy is seeing the pictures these families post of the orphanage and the transition home. It's really surreal knowing that my baby girl will be there soon or is already there. I'm a very visual person so it really helps me to picture what her days may be like.

One more neat thing about the Bethany boards is that once we are matched with our baby, families that travel before us can love on her and take extra pictures for us. I'm sure those pictures will go with me everywhere until she is home safe in my arms!



We are getting ready to start month #3 of waiting and still hopeful that we will be matched sometime in November! Trying to keep my head on straight and know that this date may change. BUT........ this mama still hopes that November will be our month. Although we would be more than happy if it was earlier=)

My baby girl is 1 !!!!

This is how my day started 1 year ago...


This is how it ended....


I got to take this precious bundle of joy home with me!


Her brothers thought she was just the greatest gift in the world....


Over this last year this is what we have learned about her....

She is a great sleeper....



She is a goof ball....
She likes when mommy dresses her up all girly....



She smiles from the time she wakes up till she falls asleep. Even when we wake her up from sleeping she smile immediately....




She enjoys sucking her thumb....

She has a variety of facial expressions......


She REALLY enjoys walking.....

She enjoys snuggling with mommy....

She is just about as cute as they come!!!!

Happy Birthday my sweet Bethany Joy! Mommy and Daddy love you so much and can't wait to see what the Lord has in store for you this year. Your a VERY special little girl Bethany!!

Ober Gatlinburg

We finally got to go to Ober Gatlinburg to celebrate Stephen's birthday this last weekend. We had such a great time together. I found tickets a while back for about 65% off the regular ticket price so we decided this would be an awesome gift to give stephen.

I came here with my parents and little sister when I was a little girl. I have such fun memories of going on the chairlift with my dad, who is EXTREMELY afraid of heights. He actually offered to pay my little sister to ride with him since she weight the least. Then mom and I got a good laugh when we started rocking ours a little, that didn't sit to well with him!





Stephen and I beat Izzy, Daddy and Bethany on the maze by a full 5 minutes!!

Disregard the face Bethany is making. She really had a good time!

The boys were obsessed with going on the water rides. You had to be 7 years old to go by yourself so that really made his day!! I couldn't believe it he went on the one that drops straight down. Crazy! Then he made me try it. Yikes!

Happy Birthday Stephen

I can't believe I have a 7 year old!!! Good grief where has the time gone? Really seems like just yesterday when we got to bring this wiggly little bundle of joy home!!


























We got the privilege of celebrating Stephen birthday last week. We had a GREAT time.

As always my kids get to choose what they eat on their birthday. Stephen had me hopping. He chose:

Breakfast: Pancakes & Sausage

Lunch: Homemade sub sandwiches, chips, blueberries, juice

Dinner: Hamburgers, French Fries, Orange Soda, Homemade chocolate cake and Reese's ice cream



(he actually didn't even eat any of his cake. Decided he had had enough sugar for the day!)

He got a few gifts from grandparents and aunts and uncles and his brother and sister. He was so blessed by the things given to him.


One thing I'm so proud of Stephen for is his thankfulness. We attempted to give him our gift ( a trip to Ober Gatlinburg) two days after his birthday. Well we got there and it started raining and didn't stop. So we decided that we would have to postpone our trip. After about 3 minutes being bummed he said, "Well I'm just thankful that we get to spend the day together!".

This is one thing we have poured into our kids since the day they are born. There is so much in this life we have to be thankful for. All you have to do is look. What a blessing a thankful child is!


So our day got rained out but we had a great time walking around Gatlinburg then went swimming in the Little River.