Over the River and Through the Woods...

I wrote last week about our trip Northwest to visit the Seever Family. We truly had a blessed time. They were wonderfully welcoming to the 3 of us and we had great fun and great conversation. We spent the afternoon talking, took a trip to the Toledo zoo, and ate yummy soup for dinner. It was great learning about how God led them to adoption and to see them so excited! We hope to see them again soon.

As far as the waiting process goes, the time has been going by quickly. I knew this would be the case over our busy holiday!! I thank the Lord that the first few months are flying by. We are still praying that our agency would see more movement as far as court dates and embassy dates go. There are families that have been waiting and hoping for court dates and embassy dates and we are praying that they hear something soon! The "back up" is causes my several things. First of all, there is a rainy season in Ethiopia. Every year the courts shut down for over a month during the rainy season (September and October). When this happens EVERYTHING backs up and it can take months to get back on track. Secondly, they cannot give out any new referrals for children if ALL of their documentation is not in or if they are sick (obviously the children are sick a lot). Josh and I also have a feeling that the new 2 trip policy (once for court and once for your embassy appointment to pick up your child) is making things take a bit longer. So all this to say we are praying that God would move mountains and that families would be able to bring their precious children home sooner than ever. We pray that God would teach us many things during our wait and that he would help us to simply enjoy the time with A and cherish the joy she brings to our lives.

Speaking of the here and now, we made the "mistake" of telling A that she was going to Nana's house this week. Now every five minutes she asks if we are going to Nana's and she cried at nap time today because she thought we were leaving!! I don't blame her at all though:) We are all very exciting to be with family this Christmas AND celebrate Josh's brother getting married to Christy! God has blessed us with wonderful family. Yes, we will be very busy over the next few weeks and are looking forward to it. We pray that you are your family have a wonderful Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!