**Update** I wrote this post a few days ago and just wanted you all to know our dossier(all paperwork) is on its way to DC to get the great seal to be able to send it to Ethiopia!! Yahoo!! Finally...I'm so glad to have that part done and out of my hands.
So I got an email from our agency director. She wanted to let us know that while she was in Ethiopia last week she told our kids about us wanting to adopt them. She said they were very excited and asked her if they would all be going to the same family and she said "Yes...God is faithful." That's right, He is!! We are getting a photo book together to send to each of them. One of my new adoptive-mom friends told me this will be their most prized possession. She said when she picked up her two kids this was all they had to their name! We just got back from buying each of them their first outfit to send over also. It was fun and challenging since we have never seen them in person...I just approximated their size based on their height and weight. Don't worry I didn't leave S. out he will get some shorts too...just haven't found any I like yet since the stores are just putting out shorts here. Ethiopia is already seeing highs of low 70's so I thought shorts may be a better choice.
Just so you guys know what to pray for specifically. We are waiting for approval from immigration to adopt from Ethiopia instead of Nepal. Also, our paperwork is just about ready to be sent to Ethiopia to be reviewed. They will issue us a court date(maybe in April). We will go to Ethiopia for the court date and be able to spend time with the kids...Yea!! When we pass court (pray that all documents that need to be there will be) our case will be submitted to the embassy. They will investigate to assure that the kids meet the U.S. definition of an orphan. Once this is determined they will give us travel clearance to go for an embassy appointment. From what I understand the U.S. embassy will interview us and give visas to the kids if all goes well. So there are several more hurdles in this process. Please pray that all these things fall into place as they are supposed to so these kids don't have to be heartbroken.
This is where trust in God comes in. This is what is so hard for me. But I have realized more and more that God is in control and always has been even though in my pea-brain I thought I was for a long time. It is so frustrating to know your fate, so to speak, lies in someone else's hands (agencies, governments) but all along it wasn't in our hands to start with. It was/is in His. I get aggravated sometimes and think to myself ‘you know, families that are able to have children biologically get to just decide - ok now we are ready to have kids’ but God is in control of that too (we just think we are). Boy are we fooled!!
Thank you so much in advance for praying with us through this!!
May God have all the glory,
Jessica
