Referral --- Merry Christmas to us!

Finally, we officially received our new referral. Baby A is a 3 month old boy, healthy, and paper ready! Sharon, the director of the Ethiopia program, called us herself on Christmas morning to give us the news. We were so thrilled and appreciative that she would take time out on her holiday, even while she was out of town with family, to call us and give us this wonderful Christmas gift! ... YEAH!!!!

My perfect timing must not be His!

Yesterday, December 12, was our 10 year wedding anniversary. I told God that would be a great day to get the call for our new referral. I even told Him that it would be perfect timing! Laughingly, I also told Him that He probably doesn't care what my perfect is, because His ways are higher than mine. I guess He proved me right....No call yesterday...or today, for that matter! Oh, well, there's still tomorrow (before another long weekend waiting!).

By the way, though, we did have a great day celebrating. We left work early, skipped church, and had a free babysitter. It was a fun night of movies, fine dining, and Christmas shopping. Just perfect to be together (alone) for a change!

Time to Break the Silence

I have taken the last 2 weeks to sort through my feelings on what I am about to share, so I'm very sorry for the silence. The day after Thanksgiving, the director of the Ethiopia program called and told us that things had not gone well in court. The court did not rule in our favor. There was an issue with the birth family (nothing to do with our papers or our agency). Unfortunately, Baby Z will not be coming home to live with us; but I do hope that he will be reunited with his family and sibling.

That has been my prayer for him since the day we learned of the details surrounding his relinquishment. I believe God placed him in our hearts for the last two months so that we could pray the will of the Lord over his life. Despite sounding like a platitude, I truly do trust that God's will has been done in this situation.

Our family has grieved somewhat over the loss. In fact, I have felt similarly to what I experienced after my miscarriage. Although I did not know this baby, he already lived in my heart and so the loss was real. His name, his pictures, the things around the house that were bought especially for him, and the hope of bringing him home for his 1st Christmas...those things were all very real to us and had to be laid at the foot of Jesus, trusting that He is enough for us and for that little one. I have to believe that His Heavenly Father loves him more than we or his birthparents ever could. That is why I trust that this story will have a good ending for Baby Z.

In the meantime, we have been offered a referral for a one month old. We are currently awaiting the remainder of the medicals so that the agency can officially present us with the referral package. I am hoping it will be tomorrow, but it will most likely be next week. We don't anticipate traveling until mid to late January at this point. But, I'm sure that will help with the cost of airfare and help our little ones here at home adjust to the new idea. It would have been hard for me to leave them over Christmas, anyway, so I am glad that I won't have to deal with that emotion on top of everything else!

Yes, we have a court date!!!

Um...TOMORROW! Very unprecedented, I think. Most people have been getting notice that their court date is in 2 weeks or so. For some reason, our director did not know until today that our court date is tomorrow, November 20. So, I have been pacing the floor all evening and calling friends and family with the good news. I feel like I should be doing something right now to get ready for the trip, but have no idea what I can do this evening. Plus, we don't know if we will for sure be traveling in 3 weeks as we are working with the State of Illinois to get approval for travel (long story:) I know it will all work out and somehow God will provide all the money, time and energy it will take to be ready to go get our little boy. So, I will be praying tonight that God will cause things to go smoothly tomorrow in order for him to be officially ours. Then, I will post pictures! ....Yeah!!!!

Apparently, A Mother Doesn't Know!

Yes, we are still waiting for our court date. I guess my last entry was a bit premature...I was just so sure! Oh, well. There is nothing we can do to move things along and I have plenty to keep me busy here at home right now, so I will keep praying and hoping for the phone to ring! Maybe he won't be home for Christmas this year, after all! That does make me a bit sad, because it would be the perfect time to bring him home and have him here for all these firsts. God knows what's best though, so I'll just be patient!!!

Still Waiting

Of course, we haven't waited all that long, so I shouldn't be complaining; but we are still waiting on our court date. Based on the amount of nesting I've been doing around this house this last week, I'm guessing that we will get the call in the next few days! (Last time I spent a week nesting like this, we got our referral the following Wed:) So, maybe not hard, scientific data here; but, still, a mother knows... right?

OK...Scratch That!

I just heard from the head of the Ethiopia program that we can't send care packages to infants, only to older children. So, I guess I will not be sending the first gift. I'll just have to hold onto it until we meet him. I think I'll let him wear it home.