The Journey

Yesterday, we listened to our adoption agency's monthly conference call. I will say that these conference calls can be very discouraging. There hasn't been one referral the whole month of November, and there was only one in October. With our government and the Ethiopian government both having shut downs, things have definitely been moving slowly. Not to mention that there is now another step that we have to go through with our government. We are praying for a flood of referrals to come soon! We were happy to hear that several families have cleared embassy and have brought their children home during this drought of referrals. I assure you the referrals have nothing to due with lack of children. There are plenty of children who need homes; they just are paper ready to be placed with a family. This process is confusing, frustrating, and challenging, but we know in the end it will be so worth it. One thing I am sure about is that I do feel we picked a great adoption agency th

Last night, my family watched the new Superman movie. Although most people probably wouldn't really focus on the adoption aspect of the movie, it obviously gripped me. Don't get me wrong, I loved the special effects (especially on my parents' 3-D TV). In the movie, the story starts in Krypton where Kal-El's parents have to make the tough decision to send their baby to a world far far away. As you watch the movie, you see how this was a difficult decision for his mother. She had after all just carried him in her womb and gave birth to him. She clearly loved her son, but knew he would not make it in their world, so she chose to send him somewhere else. I think sometimes as an adoptive mother, it can be easy for me to feel the pain and longing for this child who has a special place in my heart, but to forget that adoption comes from a much more painful place than just my waiting. I never want to forget about the woman who is probably enduring so much more pain th

              With November being National Adoption Month, I wanted to                   provide our friends and family with simply ways to educate                themselves about adoption and orphans. My goal is to write at least                one opportunity a week. Some weeks I may get a little ambitious                  and write more than one!                This week is easy. All you have to do is watch a movie. Months                  ago, I told you all about a movie that was being shown in theaters.                This movie is now available on Netflix. Click here. You can also borrow the movie from us. We have it at our house. We wanted to have a showing at our house this month, but with Thanksgiving and other prior engagements, it was hard to find the time. The movie is about four orphans around the world. The film shows how some international adoption laws are making it almost impossible for orphans to come home. There are children who have families who are

Wow! First of all, I am sorry I have been such a blog slacker. Life has been rather chaotic lately. As you know, the month of November is a time of year where people express their thankfulness maybe a little more often than other times of the year. People do the daily thankful post on Facebook, they may sit around the dinner table and talk about what they are thankful for, and a wide variety of other ways to show their gratitude.  At first glance and looking at where we are in the adoption process there can seem very little to be thankful for, but as I look deeper into what we have learned throughout this year, we have so much to be thankful for. 1. We cannot be more thankful for the friends and family who have stood with us as we stepped into this crazy journey. You have prayed for us, encouraged us, and financially supported us. We could not be where we are without all of you! On days that have been tough, some of you have come with just the right words. When we have had fundra