On My Mind

We were sent Wynston's schedule in the orphanage. Now my thoughts are filled with his daily activities. When I wake at 6am, I know that he is waking up and being cleaned and dressed for breakfast. My heart just breaks just thinking of him sitting there waiting for staff to get his turn. We sent him a photo album of us so that he can see his new family. We hope that this will help him know that we are waiting for him to come home. I don't know how much he can process with him being so young. We have a picture of him with the rest of the family photos in the family room. He just looks like he belongs with us. I apologize that I can't share his photo until everything is final but I can tell you.....he is SO CUTE!!!! I can't wait to introduce the little man to ya'll. In the meantime, please continue to pray that God wraps His arms around Wynston and whisper in his ear that he is loved. And please pray that court goes smoothly without delay and that we can bring him home before Christmas. That would be a wonderful gift.

Saying Goodbye to Summer Vacation

Well the summer vacation is coming to an end. School starts next week for the girls and I start at a new school. It is an exciting time for us. S starting 3rd grade and R starting 7th grade and I get to work with K-6. We spent a lot of time with family and friends. We went to Great America, spent time in Chicago and Michigan and most of all ....time on the water. It was a relaxing summer. Since summer doesn't officially ends until after Labor Day, we are going to spend as much time in the water until the pool closes and the lake water gets too cold:)

Shots

Today we got our shots to go to Ethiopia. We are all ready to go to the Motherland. My arm is sore but it is well worth it. I thought waiting without the picture of the baby was torture. Now, it is a different torture. Can you tell I am just a liiiittle anxious. I keep thinking about... does he share a bed with another little boy, what is he doing , all kind of crazy thoughts. To top off all of the crazy thoughts, we had to get fingerprinted again!!! I am so ready for this paper pregnancy to end. It is like when you are in your last trimester and you are so uncomfortable you could scream. But when I look at his little face in the picture, I say to myself, he is almost home.

Change

We have finally calmed down (a little). Well at least I can think straight again. I keep thinking about the movie "Coming to America" with Eddie Murphy. I know I'm silly but those of you who know me know that I am silly. Seriously- I've been thinking about how life as a family of 4 is getting ready to change to a family of 5. How a family with 3 women and one man is now a family with 3 women and 2 men and Prince our lovely dog. (We still out number) Now we can't walk around in our underwear anymore. My girls love to do that. How there will be two people to blame about leaving the toilet seat up. I am sure that will make J happy. But this is a well welcomed change for our family.

We went looking for boy clothes and there just aren't many places with cute boy clothes. It felt funny looking in the boy section. I am used to looking at bows, ribbons, pretty dresses, PINK things. I don't think PINK will go for a boy. He has to be a man before he can sport anything that is PINK and wear it with confidence. J keeps telling us to calm down but it doesn't hurt to window shop. (Smile)

Referral !!!!!!!!

What a wonderful day. We finally got that CALL!!!! The girls and I were at the grocery store and I saw that our social worker called and I said to myself she is probably calling about getting our new fingerprints so I will call her when I get home. But when I got in the car, something told me to call her. When I did........I just couldn't believe my ears. She mentioned updating our fingerprints and immigration stuff and then she said....we have a referral. I just screamed. The girls were in the back looking at me like what is going on. She went on telling me about him and that she would email me the specifics. When I hung up, I called J and told him to stay home until I got there because we had a referral. We went home and the whole family gathered around the computer and opened the email. We just ooed and ahhhed. S said, "that's my little brother." I cried like a baby. R said what's wrong and I just told her that I was just so happy. I just held on to my girls and cried and continued to thank God. I cried when both of the girls were born and I just didn't know how I would react when that call came. It took me by surprise. It is so funny because lately I've been having these vivid dreams about a little boy. Well enough for now. This has been one emotional filled day. Please keep us in your prayers and pray for our little boy. I am still in shock and it is just too hard to write all of my emotions and thoughts right now. Let me just let this moment sink in. God is good.

Happy 4th of July

We had a soggy 4th of July however, we made the best of it. We went to our friends and had a good time and then to the fireworks. It was a little chilly but we had a good view. We couldn't have a 4th of July without fireworks so we had to suck it up. I can't wait to bring our son with us next year. Hopefully (: This waiting will drive you crazy but I keep telling myself "in His time".

Update

We collected 250 pairs of socks for Sock It Up. We are so proud to see that so many people still have a giving heart. We thank you very much for participating in our first Sock It Up. For those of you who missed this opportunity, we will be doing it again real soon.

We donated the socks last week to HIP (Homeless Inititiave Program) who provides services to homeless families from shelter/housing, job training, clothing,...you name it-HIP provides it. They go to the streets and help people who are either too proud or don't know where to get help. They were so appreciative to get the socks. It was like watching your child on Christmas open up their presents. The staff just kept saying, "thank you, thank you, thank you." It felt good to have my family give the socks to them and explain how Sock It Up came about. Afterwards, my children talked about how good they felt and how proud they are that they are giving back to people who are less fortunate. If I can offer any advice to anyone, you must do this with your kids. I can't explain the feeling I had when my children talked about their feelings. It is one of those life lessons that I think will stick with them when they become adults. There are so many children only knows receive, receive, receive, and my children were like that. I was like that as a child. I am not saying that this has changed them to not like to receive, but I am sure that it has changed the way they look at how blessed they really are. After we gave the socks, our family served dinner at a church who serves meals to the marginalized. The girls really enjoyed serving and asked if they can do it again. It is amazing how good it feels to give.

Well here's the update on the adoption-still patiently waiting. The courts will be closing soon in Ethiopia for a hiatus however our agency said this shouldn't hold up getting our referral. Just keep us and our son in your prayers.