One Year Ago

It was one year ago today that God called us to adopt. Although God had been preparing us for the past 13 years before, (yes, he really planted this seed THAT long ago -before we were even married) I will forever remember this day, one year ago -the day He spoke to us. I was checking out a great friend's blog. The blog included a video of children in Ethiopia who were literally starving to death. The video showed two young girls, each laying on the ground, half dressed, with bones showing through their skin in a clearly unhealthy way. They clearly didn't have enough energy to lift themselves up, and likely had no motivation to do so considering they had no food to eat even if they could get up. The video was approximately 19 minutes long, although I don't think I made it past the first 60 seconds. I don't have any idea what the rest of the video was about, but it didn't matter. I immediately began crying and looking around my home at the things we had. We don't have a big house. We don't have all the things our society tells us we need to have to be "successful". I looked at the Starbucks cup sitting on the table, and I wondered what the $3.85 we spent on the drink could have done for these children who were literally without ANY food. I felt conviction and wondered what we could do to make a difference in the lives of these children. It was at that moment that God showed me His plan for our lives, and I knew we were called to adopt.

That evening Sean and I had the fabulous opportunity to go out on a date together, which was something we hadn't done in MONTHS. We went to my favorite Mexican food restaurant and ordered our meals. While we waited for the food to come, I shared with Sean what I had seen earlier in the day and again began bawling my eyes out. Before I could even tell him more, he looked at me and said, "We're going to adopt!"

That was the beginning. We said YES to God one year today.

Number 11

I have an update of our status! We are number 11 on the list. This simply means there are 10 families who have been on the list longer than we have. Approximately six of these families are waiting to be matched with a child similar in age/gender as we are hoping to adopt, although some of these six families are also open to other options as well (ie siblings, boys, older children), which essentially means that we could move up the list quicker.

Although we don't know for sure, we estimating that we MAY be matched with our daughter in a couple to a few months. Yippie!!!

Referrals like crazy....

I keep up with a Yahoo chat group for families who are adopting from Ethiopia and using the same adoption agency we are using. It has been an incredible resource for me. I have learned so much and have enjoyed hearing about other's experiences with the adoption paperwork process including homestudy and dossier processes and getting immigration approvals. I have also followed several families who have been waiting for referrals just like us. I have been able to share in other families' joy when they finally received referrals to their children. I have then followed families who then began the next wait for a court date, and then the wait to hear if they passed court and are legally parents of another child or children. I've also been able to hear about their journeys as they have prepared to travel, the actual travel experiences and then what it's like once they come home with their precious child or children. It has been a fabulous place for me to visit and feel like a part of a bigger picture. Remember this is God's plan -for these children to have forever families. It has helped me to not feel so anxious and to know that we're not out here alone in this place waiting for God to reveal the addition to our family to us.

So I logged on today expecting to read a few postings about this and that. But it was like a rush of water. I started reading and read about a family who received a referral, and then another, and then another, and then another -all this week. It just kept on going. I heard about 9 referrals of 12 children total. Now remember that not every family who is utilizing our adoption agency is a part of this chat group, so this is only SOME of the referrals that have come through. I heard there were others also.

I think there have been more children referred to families this week than in the entire time we have been on the waiting list (since July), so this is amazing news. I am trying not to get too excited because I know there are still other families ahead of us, but it just means we're getting closer to meeting our daughter who is waiting for us in Ethiopia. More news to come in the coming months.... I hope!