4 months.....

So we've just entered our 4th month of waiting. Today. I really hope we are past the halfway point, but you never really know! The good news is that 2 families received their referrals today. YAY! My friends and fellow-ohioans Roscoe and Julia are #1 in line for a boy! Their blog is http://www.richardsons2ethiopia.blogspot.com/. I've been checking and rechecking our tentative list to see where we are in "the line"!!! So far we are anywhere from #20-#25 in line for a boy. Much farther down the line for a girl, as we've been told it's VERY likely we'll get a boy. And the reason the # is kind of vague is because there are some mystery familes out there, and I don't know if they are asking for a boy or girl, older child or infant, etc. So we really need everyone to pray that the referrals will roll out hot & heavy in December!! :) I really want that line to start moving!! It already makes me feel nervous! I can't imagine what I'll be like in 2 or 3 more months.....

30.18.5. Party

So on Saturday we had a Party/Fundraiser for our adoption. My sisters threw a party for Jen's 30th birthday, Katie's 18th birthday, and our 5th anniversary. Hence the name of the party....30 18 5! It was a fantastic night! We had a great time & I hope everyone else did too! Josue and I are overwhelmed at the support from our family and friends!! God has blessed us beyond what we could ever imagine! We want to thank everyone who helped get things ready, baked cookies, made food, drove from Michigan(to sleep on the floor!) and let us borrow tables and chairs. But there are no words to thank everyone who gave so generously!! Our fees for the adoption were raised as of Nov. 1 by about $5,000. This is because of the price of food and other supplies for the kids being taken care of in Ethiopia. So we need to pay an extra $3750 by January 19. We were not expecting this, so we were concerned about this extra payment. Well, God is truly amazing!!!! Our friends and family gave us $3000! What a blessing. I still get teary eyed writing about it! So thank you, everyone. Thank you for your obedience to our Father. It means more than you know. Here are some pictures from the pary....Enjoy!!

Here is our house before!

Josue getting things ready

.The weather outside was not what we were expecting! We wanted the party to be outside, but it was so cold & snowy!

Mom, Josue, & Beth

.Learning to play Bunco with the Wolfe's.

Jen and her Peeps playin' Speed Scrabble.

So cute!! Luke, Levi & Carter wearing their Ethiopia shirts! Our baby already has friends waiting for him (or her)!

Sarah!! Thanks for all you help! You're my friend too, not just Beth's! :)

Amy & Rachel, you guys are the best! They baked 4 dozen cookies each for people to munch on!

The best form of entertainment is toddlers!

Yes everyone, be jealous! My brother can dance like Snoopy. He's just that good.

My Fantastic Family. We still look good after a long day!

By the way, for anyone reading this.....We have T-Shirts for sale if you want to help us with our Adoption costs. We just ask for a donation. Whatever God lays on your heart. We appreciate everyone willing to help us bring our baby home! Peace!

“Patience is waiting. Not passively waiting. That is laziness. But to keep going when the going is hard and slow - that is patience."

4 weeks of waiting

These last 4 weeks have gone pretty fast! We were invited to our first conference call for waiting families at the beginning of the month. I cried when I got the email! I know, I'm so sappy! But it was very informative!! The best news being: The wait time has gone down!!! YAY! The wait time from being DTE(dossier to ethiopia) to getting a referral was 7-9 months. Well, for boys the wait time has gone down to 5-7 months! I think that is sooooo exciting! Also, Duni(our family coordinator) says that if you are asking for either gender it is VERY likely you will get a boy. Now, things in the adoption world change quickly, but for now this gives me HOPE. I have been looking at cribs, diapers, nursery decor! *sigh* It is really nice. I'm also considering using cloth diapers, so I've been doing some research on that. AND I found the baby carrier I want! I really like the Ergo Baby Carrier!! It's on the expensive side, so we'll see what happens! :) I want to enjoy this time of waiting and anticipating, though! I know that sometimes the days will crawl, but overall the time will pass quickly. So if it seems that I am not being content, call me on it! :) But, now I have to go. My sister just called and wants me to help her shampoo the carpets in the house she's moving into! The things we do for family! :)

Just for you, Amy...

So I know I've been really lazy about blogging! I was having some problems uploading our photos, but apparently the problem was me, because today they uploaded just fine! So here goes......

This is me with our newly authenticated papers!

Josue and I with our 3 copies of our Dossier...

This is the size of our Dossier! No joke, we had to mail 3 copies of that!

The very nice lady at our Post Office! What a sweetie! It was a weird feeling to let those papers out of my hands! At least she didn't think I was crazy!

Josue and I in the car with our USPS tracking slip! I checked that website at least a couple times a day!! Seriuosly.

Me at SOS

This is me after getting our papers authenticated at the Secretary of State! I had tears in my eyes when the lady gave me my papers back! *sigh* It was a great feeling! So, I celebrated by having a crazy weekend with my sisters & my good friend, Trudy! By the way, thanks Katie for going along with me to Columbus! That might bump you up to favorite aunt status! ;)

Photo Update

Here's a few pictures of our last day with our dossier! The first one is just when I was working on our photo pages. And the second is Sara notarizing the last of our paperwork! YAY! I'm also glad to say that our dossier has arrived safely in Ethiopia, and now we're waiting for our AWAA in- country rep to pick it up! I'll be sure to post when that happens!

Great News!

I know I haven't written anything in quite a while! BUT, that's because we've been busy finishing our dossier! And I am happy to report that we are officially done paperchasing! YAY! We are now in the "waiting" stage. It feels good to no longer be waiting for this or that paper, and then do this step or that step. No, our next step is the call telling us about our baby! *sigh* It's been a busy month, and I have pictures I want to post, but I'll have to do that later!

Finally.

And here it is. One piece of paper. Months of waiting. We have our 171-H!! Praise God! Who knew one little sheet of paper could make a grown woman cry! :) Now I just have to figure out what to do next!?! I think it's a pretty simple process of notarizing, certifying & sending! It feels strange to be so close to finishing our dossier. How will it feel to actually be Waiting For a Referral?!?!!? Wonderful. So, now we take a deep breath and away we go! It's been a crazy last couple of weeks, but God is faithful.

For the revelation awaits an appointed time; it speaks of the end and it will not prove false. Though it linger, wait for it; it will certainly come and will not delay. Habakkuk 2:3

God's timing is not mine. And I'm glad for that! He knows the real reason we've waited. Maybe someday we will too!

and the waiting goes on...and on...and on!!

well, stil no 171H! but we're keeping hope alive! josue has the day off on tuesday, so I think he's going to call again then. because we can only call and talk to someone about this Monday through Friday 1 pm- 4pm! So, the waiting continues!! keep praying!

Still Waiting.....

....for our 171H! We're just praying for this last paper to come quickly!

Seriously, all I wanted was one nice picture to put onto my photo pages. I have to put together some pictures of our family life. Well, is it to much to ask for ONE nice pic of a couple sisters and their mom??? Apparently for the Inkrott girls, it is!

A couple weeks ago Josue & I went to get our fingerprints taken for Immigration. Our appointment went fine, Thank you God! We decided to make a weekend out of it when we found out that there is an Ethiopian Restaurant there! We were so excited to try the food & get a little taste of Ethiopia! Well, the place was great! I didn't particularly care for what I ordered, it was called "Dorowat". But Josue had "Doro tibs". We both liked this! It was basically chicken with peppers & onions, but really good. All the food was eaten with a bread called injera. It is a spongy, thin bread. You scoop the food with injera & eat! No silverware needed! We met the owners, who were so sweet! They were a married couple, the wife from Ethiopia & the husband American. The place was just really neat and we had such a good time there! It made me feel so much excitement about our trip! And it's a nice connection to have when we bring the baby home. The owners even told us to call them before we go to pick up the baby & they'll help us with anything we need! It's amazing to see how God makes the world seem small! So if anyone has a craving for Ethiopian....:)

Happy Mother's Day!

Happy Mother's Day to my Mom! Love ya Big Momma!

Well, last night Katie had prom! I thought she looked so cute I had to put her picture on here! Plus I wanted Jen to see her hair. I think you'll appreciate it! Everybody now "awwwwww......"

Some Details

I'm not much of a writer, so whoever reads this, please bear with me! :) i just wanted to give a little run-down on what's been going on with Josue and I lately. We decided last summer to adopt. We had been trying to get pregnant, but felt God leading us in the direction of adoption. It is something we had talked about before we got married & knew we would do some day. Well, God said "Now is the time!" So, here we are. That is definately the condensed version, and some day I will write all that happened to bring us(me) to that point, but it would take too long now! :) So, we knew we were going to adopt, but from where & through what agency? We thought about Guatemala first, because Josue is Guatemalan. But the US is pretty much stopping adoptions from Guatemala. We prayed & asked God "where" & "through what agency?" & "domestic or intenational?" We definately felt called to international though. We are already an international family, so why not?! :) Seriously though, countries usually have requirements for parents and we did not fit many of those. Ethiopia had less strict restrictions & had been at the top of our list. I think God was just nudging us. Until one day I went for a walk & realized...My child is in Ethiopia!!!! If I could have ran there, I would have! I had such an overwhelming feeling of sureness. It fits us & we are soooooooo excited about this! Already we feel so blessed that God is using this beautiful way to build our family. We're almost done with our "paperchasing"!! We've had a successful Home Study, which is exactly what it sounds like. :) A study of our home! :) And a study of us, as well. The Agency that we are using is America World Adoption Association. They have been really great! Really helpful whenever we need it. Our whole experience so far has been wonderful. So, here we are waiting for our I-171H. I'll probably talk about this alot. I really don't know how long it will take to get. And unfortunately, I have gotten the form back in the mail not once....but TWICE already! The first time I overpaid & the second I had forgotten to fill in the line that I had been married 0 times before! I almost cried when I got it the second time. So i really have no idea how long until this comes! Pray it comes quickly! I hope this catches everyone up a bit! Now, I just need to figure out how to upload pictures on here......

First blog EVER!

I've finally done it. I've been wanting to start a blog for a while now, and here it is! I'm going to talk mostly about our adoption, but maybe a few more things! Wait.....yes, you read right folks! Josue and I are adopting a baby from Ethiopia! YAY! We started this wonderful journey in November. At least that's when we sent in our application. We didn't really do much until January. I'll have to fill in the details, but we are only waiting for ONE more paper. The ever elusive I-171H. Dum Dum Dum!! This is our official form from Homeland Security saying we are fit to bring an orphan into our family! So, I will write more in later posts, I really just wanted to get started tonight! :) Hope everyone enjoys this blog as much as I've enjoyed reading others!