Creating a Network of Adoptive Family Friends...

I think I've written before on this blog that we are involved in a small group at our church that includes many adoptive families and/or people who have hearts for orphans. It has been a great place for us to find support as we dove into our adoption process. Since joining our small group, one of the other couples has adopted a beautiful 2 year old daughter from Ethiopia.

Recently, I heard that the Faulkners live in the area. They were one of the first families to adopt through Gladney's Ethiopia program. In fact, they traveled with the Bottomlys, and they make an appearance in the Bottomly's book, From Ashes to Africa.

We had dinner with the Faulkners tonight and got to know their three year old son, Deacon, who is a joy! I'm always so encouraged to meet other families who have adopted/are adopting from Ethiopia. My hope is that our child/ren will get to know these other kids, and that they will find strength in their shared experience. I certainly feel that is the case for me every time I meet another adoptive family!

Go Go Galindos!

In the spring, shortly after Brian and I began the paper chase phase of our adoption, I met the Galindo family through their adoption blog. Then I found out that we live close-ish to each other, and I got together with Nell Ann. We talked about all sorts of things during our dinner together. Mostly, we talked about their adoption of this cutie pie:

At the time, they were just a couple weeks away from traveling to pick up their beautiful son.

One of the other things we talked about over dinner that night was my photography business (Starshine Photography). Recently, Nell Ann asked me if I would photograph their family. Of course, I was happy to! Whenever I get to meet a child adopted from Ethiopia, it is such an honor, and so encouraging to me as I wait for my own child(ren) to join our family.

Here's their little guy in his Halloween costume:

And he's already learning to play jingle bells!

I was completely smitten with him! Isn't he just the cutest baby?!

1 month

We've been on the waiting list one month!

One down... 7-ish(?) to go!

The Dream

I guess it was bound to happen. I had a dream a week ago Sunday. For the first time ever, I dreamed I was holding my child. She(!) was very tiny, fragile, and floppy, like most newborns. (Those floppy heads always make me nervous). I was standing with her in my arms and leaning back, trying to prop her up on my chest so her head wouldn't flop around and so she would be more comfortable. Her eyes were closed. She was so fragile. Her name was Joy.

The Redhead likes the name.

WAIT LIST!!!!

Today, we received an e-mail from our caseworker at Gladney, and the subject line was the same as the title of this post! Normally, hearing that you've been placed on a waiting list is mediocre news, at best. Not today, though! We've never been so happy to be put on a wait list! We are now officially waiting for a referral for our child(ren). The average wait time to receive a referral for an infant through our agency is currently 8 months.

This is what we have stated for our referral preference: 1 child of either gender or twins, age 0-6 months at the time of referral. We are also open to an older sibling (of a single child), either gender, up to the age of 5 years.

This means that we could be matched with one or two children of either gender. If it is just one child, it will be a baby 0-6 months old at the time of referral. If it is two children, it could be twins (age 0-6 months old) or a baby age 0-6 months old with an older sibling age 0-5 years.

So now we wait to see what God will do! It is a relief knowing He is in control and so very trustworthy! It truly is in His capable hands.

"God sets the lonely in families." Psalm 68:6 I can't wait to see who He sets in ours!

Dossier Completed!

We just got an e-mail confirming that our Dossier is complete and is en route to the Dept. of State in Washington, D.C. and then on to Ethiopia! This means that we can now be placed on Gladney's wait list! I'm not exactly sure when this will happen, but I'm hopeful that it will happen tomorrow! I'll keep you posted.

For those of you who aren't familiar with adoption terminology, the Dossier is the body of paperwork required by the Ethiopian government which we have to provide to be able to adopt internationally from that country. We have made more trips to get documents notarized for our dossier than we can count, and it feels like such an accomplishment to have arrived at this point in our adoption process!

If you are an adoptive family, and feel overwhelmed by the paperwork, we used Kate at KBS Dossiers. It was money well spent, in our humble opinion! She is one organized person, and I found her to be very trustworthy in getting this mammoth paperwork job done.

In all of the "to dos" of adoption, I have felt so aware that although we may be running around trying to get stuff done as fast as possible, there is also so much that is out of our hands...waiting for certain documents to arrive in the mail, how long we will be on the waiting list, even the child(ren) who will be referred to us. In this dance of doing what I can to make this adoption happen and surrendering to what I can't take control of, I am so thankful to my God in Whom I trust. His is the unseen Hand that is truly in control of the whole thing. I love You, Lord.

Thank You for Praying!

Praise the Lord! I got an e-mail from the Houston Department of Homeland Security this morning telling me that our CIS Approval notice was sent to us YESTERDAY!

Thank you so much for praying!