5 Months and Waiting...

Its been 5 months and waiting since we have been "paper ready." (In March, a year we started the process.)  We were officially put on the waiting list August 19th! At that time we were number #69 on the waiting list, we are now #59. Not much has moved. 

When we first started this process, at that time adopting an older child as we are, was almost an instant referral for our age range request. A lot has changed. Ethiopia's Ministry of Women's Affairs (MOWA) has started looking into international adoptions more now, thus more time, and many orphanages in southern Ethiopia have closed. We know of some cases in which families were given referrals and then these children were taken back to the original orphanages or areas in which they came; most likely not adoptable anymore. Hard to comprehend why a child is better being an orphan, than a child who would be loved and adored into a family... a HOME? 

We try and not focus on the waiting list number, as our circumstances our different then the majority. (older child versus baby) But its easier said then done. There has NOT been a lot of referrals happening and court dates are taking longer. At one point, we were hoping to have our daughter home by this last Christmas, then Valentines Day, now its moved to summer and soon the reality may be next Christmas.

Her room is ready, we talk of her often, she's prayed for at the dinner table and her sister Avah, always is thinking of what she will do with her new sister when she comes home, what she should save for her etc... this for her is a daily conversation.

Adoption is a journey. Its a faithful journey. And its a journey you really don't do unless your heart is into it and its your families calling. It will test you, it will make you question, but I believe in the end this part will all be a blur as she naturally blends into our family and we get to see her face daily and embrace her with hugs and love as she will now be ...HOME.