I was able to speak with Duni this week and get some clarification on exactly what age range we are eligible for and exactly where that puts us in line. Having said that I hesitate to write it down...because if I have learned anything in this process it is that things can change quickly or slowly. There is no formula! So, we are close. But close is a relative word in the adoption world!
God is continually showing us how much He is in control of the whole thing! This week I was at my wits end and very sad. I said to God "I'm done with this. You are on your own. There is nothing I can do any more. I don't even know how to talk to you about this!" How arrogant of a human being I was. I'm not quite sure exactly what I thought I was in control of? But now I know I was in control of holding the situation in my hand with white knuckles! The last couple of days I have felt a release. My hand is starting not to hurt as much from the grip I had. As my hand is loosening up, my eyes are seeing more clearly God in the details.

I just wanted to let the one person (you know who you are, Mandi!)who checks my blog everyday that we have no news on the adoption front. We are trying not to have expectations of any until August or September. And even then it will just be hoping. A very wise mom of 3 adopted children and 3 bio. children keeps reminding me not to put a time frame on it! So I'm trying not to-I'm just not having much luck with it!

On Thursday we received an email from Terra, one of the Ethiopia family coordinators. It was pictures and a little history on each child in the Waiting Child program for Ethiopia. The Waiting Child program is children that haven't been able to be placed. The reason can be because of a medical condition or age,etc.
Rob and I both received the email, Me at home and him at work. As I looked over the email God kept bringing to my mind Abraham and Sarah. God had promised them that they would have a child and in fact their descendants would be as numerous as the stars in the sky! But as it was taking a lot longer than their time frame would allow they decided to take the matter in their own hands. While they were controlling the situation it blew up and not in a good way.(don't you love my paraphrasing!?) Although there were consequences to their poor choices, God still chose to bless them like He promised!
So with all of that in the back of my mind I got a call from Rob. "Did you see the email?" "You should call the pediatrician and see what she thinks." I knew right away which child he was talking about. So I called our pediatrician's office... She was off. She could call us back tomorrow."Ok, good" I thought,"This will give me a chance to talk with Rob a little more and let him know about the whole Abraham,Sarah thing!" Not too long after I hung up the phone Rob called me back. "Heather, That isn't our child!" "I know". I said We talked a little more and agreed. Despite it being her day off our wonderful pediatrician did some research and called me back. She confirmed our thoughts and was such a blessing to talk with.
I can tell you that already God has done much more than we expected. In the beginning we were being obedient to what God wanted us to do,we knew there was a person in our family missing. We never anticipated the changes He would do in us as a family and as individuals! Daily He is revealing Himself(I love this time in life!). It isn't always a love like "This is so much Fun!" at times ,yes. But more often it is softer, more humble adoration and unbelievable thankfulness.

The conference call did happen on Tuesday but I have been so busy getting ready for Princess Belle's birthday parties(yes, I did say parties,plural!) that I haven't had time to post.
So here is the news. We learned that our wait time has increased AGAIN! It is now 7-9 months,which means we shouldn't be expecting a referral until July at the earliest. So now we are looking at July, August or September for a referral and traveling November, December or January.(Hopefully) So you are asking "What is the hold up?" There are two factors in play for our situation. 1. The lack of power has slowed everything down. Government Agency s don't have generators and they only have power 2-3 business days. 2. There aren't that many children in our daughters age range in the orphanages. With Ethiopian adoption becoming popular a lot of children are being adopted as babies.
The good news is that our agency has signed on another orphanage. That makes the count 3.
Please continue to pray. We are confident in the Lord and know He has it under control but the wait is still difficult.

Sorry I was unable to post any updates after the conference call on Thursday. The reason was is that there was no conference call. It had to be rescheduled until today,Tuesday. The reason... You aren't going to believe this but... No electricity in Virginia where are agency is located!(bad storms swept through the area!) Power problems in Ethiopia and now in Virginia. I feel like God is trying to tell me something. He is more powerful than anything! that despite our lack of control he is in control. He doesn't need electricity to do His thing. He is still working even if the lights are not!
So, we are looking forward to this afternoon! Oh,the forecast for our area-Thunderstorms! I have my cell phone charged!

I wanted to give an update. This is what our understanding of our situation is right now. Originally we were given a 3-6 month window to get our referral for our daughter and then a 3-7 month window. At 7 months that would put us into July. And if we received a referral then we would need to be given a court date and the date would have to be before the courts in Ethiopia close down in August until October, which is very unlikely because as of late it has been taking over a month for families to receive a court date. So where does that leave us? Well, it looks like we won't be traveling to Ethiopia until after October. We could still get our referral this summer but not travel until after the courts open back up in the Fall. Praise God that most days "it is well with our souls." We are understanding that God is using this time for all of us to grow. We know there is a reason why our daughter needs to be in Ethiopia right now.
On Thursday all of the waiting families(those with their Dossiers in Ethiopia) were invited to a conference call. Duni will update us on her trip to Ethiopia and we will receive any new information. Hopefully she will tell us we can all go get our children!(Ha,Ha) God tells us to hope,right?!