One month down...

and only 11-17 more to go!!! Wow, thinking of how long this is going to take really wears me out sometimes.

I have to confess, I tend to be a little DrAmAtIc at times. Sometimes on the harder days of all this I will look over at Dil and say "do you think at the end of all this we are really going to get our baby?". I think I am really just needing him to reassure me to keep hanging on.

Someone told me the other day that I might go thru all of this waiting and not even be able to adopt in the end. WOW!! Major blow to the gut!! Talk about taking the wind from my sails!!

The truth is she is right. Nothing is guaranteed. Anything could happen.

The question is, am I willing to take the risk? You bet I am!!

I know that we serve a BIG GOD and that for some reason if this all ends in heartache instead of a baby then that is for my own good. This was part of my reading this morning..."You and I must boldly ask the Lord to let us see Him, even if the light of His presence is best seen against the veil of darkness". This hit me hard. I don't want to endure suffering or loss. Who does? But, if it brings me closer to my Savior and shows me more about Him is it worth it? You bet it is!!

On the other hand, if we wait this thing out and it is God's will for us to have this baby, I can only imagine the blessing we will receive. A beautiful gift, straight from God, that is hand picked just for us. Every detail aligned by the creator of the world to take us to one specific day in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. The day we will hold our daughter in our arms and be overcome by God's love for us all. Only God can do something so amazing!! It will be nothing less than a miracle!!

"So do not throw away your confidence; it will be richly rewarded. You need to persevere so that when you have done the will of God, you will receive what he has promised." Hebrews 10:35-36

To my sweet girl,

I think about you constantly little one and long for the day you are home with us. I imagine you playing with your brothers and cuddled up in your daddy's arms. I think about rocking you to sleep and singing Jesus Loves Me as you drift off. I can't wait to dress you up and put BIG bows in your curly hair. Oh the hair, that is going to be a challenge.
You are our treasure and we will do whatever it takes to bring you home. It is amazing that we have never seen your face and yet our love for you runs so deep. You are changing us for the better and we need you just as much as you need us. We cannot wait for the day that God brings us together. He made you for us and us for you. He loves you so much and I know he has amazing things in store for you. I can't wait to teach you about him and the wonderful thing he did for you on the cross.

All my love,
Mommy

October Numbers!!

It was very exciting to get our first set of new numbers. It was even more exciting to get an updated set of numbers a few hours later. As my case worker said "you gotta love human error"!!! :)

So, for a girl we are number....


And for siblings we are number...


10 spots for a girl and 3 spots for siblings...waaaaahoooo...praising God for so much movement and praying for the families in the top spots who are waiting for referrals, for the families preparing to travel this month, and the ones waiting for court dates. :)

Family Friday :)

We met the crew up at the office this afternoon for the annual homecoming parade. The kids were way excited about getting some candy!!!!!

Here they are(minus the 2 babies)...there are 10 cousins altogether ranging from 4 mo-8 yrs. old. They absolutely adore one another and everyone has their special buddy. I am so blessed to have each of these special kiddos in my life and that my boys get to grow up surrounded by family.



Daddy made it just in time for the parade to start...



This man seemed a little too big for his pony but it was extremely nice of him to stop during the parade and let the kids pet him...


I'm not sure if Con enjoyed himself or not...LOL...as you can see, he lost another tooth last nite...


Aunt Mea getting some love from the Deacster...


Oh, the joy of candy...


Me and my girls(Dillon's two sisters). I don't know what I would do without them. They keep me sane and make my life sweet!! :)


Happy October everyone(yeah! rainy season is over!!)...hope you all have a wonderful weekend!!

I-600A is on its way!

What is an I-600A you might ask??

It is the application for U.S. CIS approval of our adoption.



When they review our paperwork they will notify us about the date they set up for our fingerprints. U.S. CIS will then send our fingerprints to the FBI.

At that point, it could take several months for them to be processed. Once they are we will then receive our Favorable Determination Letter. That paper will mean we can bring our little girl into the USA. Waaahooo!!

This is the last step we have to do in our paperwork process until we receive our referral(I cannot wait for that day!!).

So we are praying that everything was complete and accurate when we sent it off, that it all gets processed quickly, and that we will have the FDL in our hands soon. At least we have plenty of time. :)

A penny for your thoughts :)

It all started with some flarp...you know that stuff that you mush around and it makes tootin' sounds. Tuck wanted some today and it was only a dollar so I said it was fine.

I was regretting my decision once we got to the checkout and realized he had a big wad of it stuck in his hair. Oh well, it had kept him busy while I was getting my shopping done.

Later this evening I looked at him and noticed he had something in his hair.


I moved his hair back and took a closer look and couldn't believe what I found...




It was stuck on with the flarp or "goob" as Tuck calls it. I could not quit laughing and he had no idea it was even on there.

These boys are a constant source of entertainment. There is not a dull moment around here. One good thing is there is always something new to blog about!! :)

Jackpot!!

We have been noticing a shortage of pacifiers around here lately...or pappies as we like to call them. I just couldn't figure out where they had all gone.

The mystery was solved when I took a look behind the crib. I couldn't believe it.

I found all of these back there...

13 pappies!!!!! JACKPOT!!!!!

My hero!

For those of you who don't know, I am terribly afraid of snakes. It doesn't matter how big or small they are...they just FREAK me out!!

Thankfully Tuck man came to my rescue today when I needed some help.

Okay, truth be told, the snake was only about 6 or so inches long and about as big a round as a pencil. This momma was still scared.

Tucker, being a boy and all, already had a weapon in his hand and immediately began chopping away.



I was so relieved that I didn't have to worry about that snake being in my garage because I was not getting close enough to kill it.

I told Tuck how brave he was and thanked him for taking care of me. He said something about being the "man of the house". He is so funny!!

I yelled at the older boys(our 2 nephews are staying the week with us) to come and see what he had done. They thought he was so cool.

I was proud for my little guy. Being the younger brother, he sometimes gets the "you're too little" speech from the older ones.

Not today. Today he is the hero.