Ethiopia update and time with great friends!

It's been a few week since our last update! Most of that is due to the fact that there isn't much of an update. The good news is that some of our adoption friends that we have met through our agency received court dates and referrals this week (very exciting thing to get that before the courts close for rainy season)! We were so very excited for them!! They have also been waiting and praying for their child/children and are so very excited to meet them and bring them home. They still have a bit of a journey ahead of them, but we are constantly praying that the journey would be quick and that their children will be home soon. AWAA had a conference call today to update us on the situation in Ethiopia. As I said before the information is mostly the same as before. MOWCYA (Ministry of Womens and Childrens, and Youth Affairs) is up to writing 10 recommendation letters a day in Ethiopia. That is up from the five they have been writing so this is good news. Our agency said there are still many meeting going on between the courts/MOWCYA/leaders of Ethiopia, but that they still seem to be committed to adoption in Ethiopia. So, we continue to pray! They aren't exactly sure when courts will close down for the rainy season in Ethiopia, but it will most likely be some time the first or second week of August and last through September. Our agency has also said that they are sticking with current wait time of a 7-10 months for infant boy referrals, although things could always change (as we've seen before). So, all that to say that we keep praying and we'll keep you updated!

In other news, I had a very special weekend with some very special ladies! A few of my college friends were in town and it was wonderful to spend time with them. Isn't it great to have friends that you can just pick up with no matter where you left off? Such a great feeling! I hope I can continue to see more of them no matter how far the distance is or how big our families get!!
Here are a few pics from the weekend.

Rachel and Kelly (baby will be here soon! YAY!)















Debbie with Claire and Lindsay















Janelle, Me, and Rachel














Me, Rachel, and Kelly