So tonight we were getting everything ready to send in to USCIS (immigration) to get our clearance updated. When we originally filled out our clearance forms, they were for a child from birth to 24 months. Since our child is now over 24 months, this will not work. They literally won't let her in the country if she does not match our paperwork. So, we were sending in the necessary items to get this updated to 3 years of age. While going through our paperwork, we discovered that we never sent in the updated homestudy that we had done in November. Each update you do has to get sent in to USCIS as well.

So, we had a bit of a panic attack when we realized this and were trying to figure out if this was a big deal or not. We don't actually know for sure, so we would like you all to pray that USCIS will get everything they need on this attempt and our oversight would not delay the process. We think that it will be okay because our homestudy (as far as immigration goes) was not actually supposed to expire until June or so. Please pray that this will go smoothly!

We have not heard about a court date or travel dates yet, but hope to hear sometime this week. I will let you know when we do. We are praying for our little girl a lot this week- that she remains as happy as she looks in her pictures.

Referral is here!

I didn't update this right away because there were so many people we wanted to tell in person. Then time just got away from me I guess. We got our referral on December 23, 2009. A referral is when they refer a specific child to the adopting family and they can either accept that child or not. They send medical records and pictures and what they know about his/her background. So John got a phone call from our adoption agency, America World, the day before Christmas Eve to let us know that they had our referral and they would be emailing it to us that day. It was so great that it happened that day because it was the last day the office was open until after New Year's!

John called me to let me know because I was out with my mom's side of the family having our annual Women's Holiday Lunch. We checked the email later that day together and got to see pictures of what might possibly be the most beautiful little 2 year old that ever lived! Until she's officially ours, we can't post details about her, but we will put pictures up as soon as we can. She has beautiful big eyes and she looks sooo happy in her pictures. We are ecstatic of course and mailed back our acceptance letter as soon as we could!

So, what now? Well, our agency is setting up a court date in Ethiopia. This is where a judge will look over all our paperwork and decide whether we can be this child's parents. We don't have the date of when this will happen, but we should know very soon. Then our agency will set our tentative travel dates (we don't actually book travel until we pass court of course). We travel 2-4 weeks after we pass court.

My mind has been going crazy lately about all this. I'm so excited to be able to finally have a face and a name to go along with all my daydreams and prayers. When you don't know how old your child will be when you get her, it is hard to imagine things (Will she be walking yet? Will she need a crib or a bed? Will she still drink out of a bottle?) Now that I have an age and face, I have been imagining so much more. Also, John is still looking for employment that is full time and as the time draws near we are both getting more anxious about it. I go through waves of believing that God is going to provide something right at the right time- he will show his glory in a way that only he can! And at other times, I will admit I'm frustrated that he hasn't done it in my timing. I only allow fleeting thoughts about what it will look like if John doesn't find something soon- but I feel deep down that God put a desire for me to be able to be the primary care taker of my daughter and he will provide a way for me to do it.

This week is the 6th annual Week of Prayer at our church, Second Mile. The whole community prays and fasts together. I really feel like God is going to reveal himself to John and me more than he has before, especially on this issue. I read a blog yesterday of a family that used our agency and adopted a one year old last year. It was amazing to see their videos and read their thoughts and experiences. One thing that stood out to me was how well taken care of the children seemed to be at the transition home. Their nannies love them and really showed it. That makes me so happy I start to cry every time I think about it. Even if we can't go get her for a few more months, she is in good hands. The kids seem to be individuals to the people taking care of them- not just another child. This makes me soooo glad!

Thank you for praying for us during this time. Remember to pray for a way of provision for our family and for our little girl to be loved and healthy while we anxiously wait to bring her to her forever home. Please also pray that I would really process this all during this week as I do have a tendency to ignore things that are hard. Let me feel the full emotions that God has for me, this week especially!