Psalm 18:30

Waiting 8 Months

Some of you might be wondering what is going on with our adoption, shouldn't we have a baby by now? Well there was a long wait for our UCIS approval, which slowed us down, and then there was a lot of changes going on within Ethiopia concerning adoption, which has slowed everybody down.

We have been on the waitlist for over 8 months now (16 months since we began the process),and we are expecting to wait at least 10 more months before we receive a referral (a picture and information on our recommended child). After we receive our referral, we will travel for our court date and then travel again later to bring our child home. What that means is that it will take us about 14 more months before we bring him home. So hopefully March 2013, we will have our family of 5 together!

It is difficult to wait for a child, especially when you think about all the children waiting in the orphanages all over the world. You develop a bond for the child who is not yet in your arms, a child you have yet to see, but pray for everyday. I would definitely compare it to pregnancy, just a really, REALLY long pregnancy. Your heart aches, you want to hold your child, you want to care for your child, you want to love your child. I can't deny that I already have so much love for him. It might be hard for a lot of you to understand how I can love someone I haven't even met, seen a picture of, or felt. I'm not going to lie, it seems strange, but it's real.

Ellie and Ainsley are great distractions. They keep me busy, my love for them is tremendous and distracting too, and they wear me out. It also helps that I still have so much more to read and prepare for, adoption is a whole other world of parenting. I'm waiting patiently, but my heart still aches in the process...

Stinkers for the Day

The girls are giving me a hard time today. I love these two little ones to death, but they can be so difficult at times.



Stinker #1 is showing me what it's like to have a teenage girl. She has been very disrespectful, giving me a LOT of attitude and disobedience. I shouldn't complain too much, because I know I definitely deserve this from my teenage years. It's just I'm definitely failing in the area of patience and gentleness today... Trying to work on that.



Stinker #2 kept me up all night, she's not feeling so well. Unlike stinker #1, she requires a LOT of attention and love. I shouldn't complain, I love the cuddles and being needed. I again just fail in giving compassion and being patient.

Parenting is hard.

On another note, I can't believe my bulbs are blooming in January. Can't deny it's been warm here, I would love at least one snow though. Maybe for my birthday?

HAPPY BIRTHDAY AUNT COCO!

The girls love singing happy birthday, so I absolutely had to make a video of them singing for their special auntie. Enjoy. Happy birthday Carla, we love you oh so much :)

2012 Resolutions

I'm not a big fan of resolutions, but I can't deny the fact that each new year it's nice to have a time to evaluate and make new goals (or most likely begin to restart an old one). I thought it would be fun to list my 12 goals for this next year, and look back and see what I was able to accomplish. I hope that I will be proud. We'll see.

My Twelve for 2012:
1. Seek to know God more intimately.
2. Wake up early. This has been a consistent goal for the past 3 years, one I have consistently failed to accomplish more than a few months.
3. Stay fit. I continually want to strive to be healthy.
4. Do #2 by working out with hubby. He loves his workout philosophy, Crossfit, and it has done wonders for him. I want to encourage him and share that with him.
5. Read 6 ADULT books.
6. Cherish and enjoy my children more, even in the terrible twos and threes.
7. Be more humble.
8. Be more patient.
9. Be a better wife. Especially in encouraging and respecting my husband.
10. Keep up the blog.
11. Start a journal to my girls.
12. Cook an Ethiopian meal. The food is yummy, my son is from there, I want to at least try it!

We will see what this year holds. I'm hoping it will definitely include a referral of our little boy, finally knowing who our son is, we cannot wait for that day!

Welcome Back!

You might assume that I am welcoming you back to my blog, to the contrary, I am actually welcoming myself back. Yes, I am terrible. I completely gave you false hope in my last entry over 4 months ago, I failed to return.

As this new year began, I couldn't stop thinking about my blog. I love the history in it, a place where people can see my life who don't get to experience it with me frequently (especially my family), a place where I can share my joys, my hopes, my thoughts, and any randomness I want to. I remembered how much joy, even if not in this moment but when looking back, this blog brings me. It's a part of my life, stored here in one place.

So bare with me as I begin to catch up and get back in to this wonderful world. I have missed you and have so many plans for you. I hope you enjoy the new look, and the new and old posts. It's partly for you, and mostly for me. Yea, I'm a little selfish. I'm working on that.