Updates

Hello everyone!! I know it's been a while since we've posted anything. It's amazing how fast time flies. Friday we received the finalized home study in the mail... praise the Lord! I was just saying the day before that I was going to start sending emails to everyone I could to try and find out where it was and then the very next day there it was in the mail! God is always faithful! Today I mailed a copy of the home study to the USCIS (immigration) as they need that to complete our application. Hopefully that is what they've been waiting on and is the reason they haven't set up our fingerprint appointments yet. I'm going to try and contact them later in the week to make sure they received the home study and see where we are with our fingerprints.

We are going to get background checks done at the local police station this week and write a cover letter for our Dossier and that is it. We'll be done except for the fingerprints. Then we can send everything off and hopefully be on the waiting list by the end of December. Pray, pray, pray that this timeline works out! If it does, then I think that by Thanksgiving next year we'll have our little one. Wow that sounds like such a long time. I'm sure the time will go quickly though, just as it has been so far. :-)

So what have we been up to lately? Well we spent some time with family for Thanksgiving which was lots of fun, put up our Christmas tree and put the lights up on the house and we are just about ready for Christmas. We went to the Parade of Lights downtown last Friday and watched them light the 54' Christmas tree. It was very festive and put us in the holiday spirit. We had a really good time. I just love Christmas! Ben's gearing up to start all of the rehearsals at church for the Christmas Eve service which is supposed to be really great this year. I'm really looking forward to it!

On the adoption front, since the courts opened back up in Ethiopia in October we've seen about 15 - 20 families go over to pick up their babies. It's been such a blessing to watch and read how their journey is going and to see them finally joined with their child they've been praying for for such a long time. It keeps me encouraged just knowing that one day that will be us. I have to say that I am so thankful for my family. For their support and encouragement and prayers. I don't know what I'd do without them. I'm so thankful for our friends and church family too. It's so evident to me that God is right here in the middle of everything; involved and moving in our lives every day through each person that He has strategically placed in our lives for a special purpose. More and more He's showing me what really matters in this world...each and every person, those we've already encountered and those we have yet to meet...forming relationships and loving them they way Christ loves us. Honestly this is not always an easy thing for me, developing relationships, but I know that as long as I stay faithful to His will, God is molding me and making me into the person He needs me to be for His glory. I say I'm a slow learner but it's all in the Lord's time, and His timing is perfect. :-)
So I guess that's it for now. More later!
L