Next fundraiser

We are going to have a big yard sale/car wash!! We have friends putting this together for us. If you have anything in the garage to get rid of we would love to get it out of your way!! We'll pick it up, just let me know!

Changing our request

Clay and I have planned on adopting more than one child from Ethiopia in the future. After going through this process I will be honest and tell you that the paperwork isn't something that I look forward to doing again. It is lots of stress and work. Plus, the financial aspect.


So we started praying about adopting two children now. Meaning we would pick up two children instead of one while we were in Ethiopia. We then realized that with Anslee only being two that it would be nearly impossible because they want a 2 year age difference between her and the baby. So the only way that we could bring home two children is if they were TWINS. Yes, we are changing our request to an infant male or twins. Twins are VERY, VERY rare but if God wants us to have twins then he will move those mountains. The thought of it excites me.


Our social worker is working on the addendum to our home study now and that will have to go back to USCIS for approval.

Moving video

I found this video right before I went to bed. Got to bed and I just couldn't sleep. I kept thinking what can we do? Right now all I know to do is pray. I pray that God will use me to help!



I am so thankful that God has given us the opportunity to save a child from ever going through this pain. It just isn't right with all of the money around the world that people still live like this! I am so thankful that God allowed these people to find these children and get them help.

Pray about what you can do to help! If you cannot personally adopt you can still do your part in living out James 1:27 "Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world."

We have actually teamed up with Jonathan Freeman who is organizing people to support an orphanage through Children's Hope Chest. For more details visit his blog here.

1 MONTH DOWN!!

This first month flew by!! Yes!

1 month down, ?? to go!


As, I've mentioned before it fluctuaes from 5 to 9 months for a infant boy referral.

I am so excited that we don't have to do anymore paperwork and we can just wait and pray!


Prayer Request:
Our son is more than likely in his birth mother's belly right now. In Ethiopia they do cherish their children, so pray for this mother as she is probably in a hard situation right now.
I pray that God gives her peace. That little boy is going to be loved and taken care of probably more than she can fathom.


We applied for a couple of grants, just pray that we get good news from them!

Laura has another piece to raffle

Laura Kelley with Pitter Patter Art donated another piece to the Freeman family who are adopting another child. Its another raffle for $10 per ticket going to a great cause! Check it out here.

January updates and facts

Falls at Lake Tana, Ethiopia are the source of the Blue Nile.

All we can do now is wait. During our wait one thing I want to do is learn more about Ethiopia. I want to know about my son's home country to teach him all about this beautiful place. I would like to share what I learn with you too. I'll try to do this monthly with an update on the adoption process.

ETHIOPIAN FACTS

Most people reside in the western highlands as does the capital, Addis Ababa—the highest capital city in Africa at 2,400 meters (8,000 feet). The population is almost evenly split between Christians, living in the highlands, and Muslims inhabiting the lowlands. The Oromo, Amhara, and Tigreans are the largest ethnic groups.

Hunger and war plague this nation, whose history spans 2,000 years. Most Ethiopians are farmers and herders. But deforestation, drought, and soil degradation have caused crop failures and famine during the past few decades; seven million people face starvation.

ADOPTION UPDATE

Well, we just found out that our agency went from 5-7 month to 8-10 month wait for an infant boy. This can fluctuate monthly. This wait is effected by a lot of different factors through our agency and the Ethiopian gov't. Things like no internet connection, droughts, ect.. can push things back. In December there were only 3 referrals given to families, our agency shoots for 10 per month. It was b/c the internet cables that connect us, the major ones were severed by a boat’s anchor. And then, right around our Christmas here in the US, as the lines were being repaired, they were damaged again by an earthquake. Isn't that crazy something like that can stop the adoption process. We know that God is in control and only he can control these things.

"Rescue the perishing; don't hesitate to step in and help. If you say, "Hey, that's none of my business," [i.e. "that's not for me"] will that get you off the hook? Someone is watching you closely, you know— Someone not impressed with weak excuses." -Proverbs 24:12 (The Message)