Adoption Update

Today marks two months of waiting since our dossier was sent to Ethiopia. These first two months have felt like they've gone by quickly! I'm sure by the time we reach the fifth, sixth and seventh months of waiting, it probably won't feel that way but for now, we're glad that the waiting time hasn't felt too 'heavy.' We've been keeping plenty busy and that's good. Lots of good things happening for us.

This past Friday evening, we were so glad to spend time with another family adopting from Ethiopia, Dan and Jana. They have a beautiful little boy and are looking forward to adding another child to their family. We really enjoyed spending the evening with the three of them. Mark cooked a delicious Ethiopian meal for us and we had a great time getting to know each other. We continue to be amazed at the number of people we're making connections with who are also adopting from Ethiopia. For example, I just heard of another family that I know through my time in Elgin, Illinois! We never imagined these kinds of connections when we started this journey but we are grateful.

Our agency posted a wonderful video on YouTube about their work in Ethiopia. Here is a link to the video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OGcO3DpABdA It's inspiring! They do so much more than just facilitate international adoptions. They really try to help families stay together and to provide job training and education.

Within our Lafayette Ethiopia adoption group, one family is waiting to hear that they have passed court and can travel to pick-up their son -- could be any day now! And another couple is traveling to pick up their two sons -- actually, she is in Ethiopia right now and he will travel in two weeks. I think that she is so courageous to have traveled there on her own. And two more families have their referrals -- one girl and one boy -- and are waiting to be assigned a court date. So, lots happening! While Mark and I sometimes feel discouraged and like we want things to move faster, we are learning so much from those who have gone before us.

So that's it for this month's adoption update. I hope that everyone has a good week!