Another project

I've been in "organization" mode since getting the girls' referrals. The thought of adding more people and stuff to our house has me motivated to get everything in its place. One area of the house that tends to clutter quickly is the back entryway and laundry room. We come in and take off shoes, coats, and backpacks. Several months ago, we bought this for shoes. This has by far been our best Ikea purchase!



Over the last several weeks, I've been working on painting the laundry room and bathroom at the back of the house. We have another door coming into the laundry room, and also have shoes and coats gathering here. So, I chose a nice light, blue-gray to brighten things up, and painted the trim and door white. I don't have much wall space because the washer/dryer covers one wall, windows cover the opposite wall, and doors are on the other two walls. So, I decided to make the most of the space under the windows. It was the perfect height for hanging hooks for the kids' coats and backpacks. I decided to make it more fun by buying little chalkboards off Etsy and using chalkboard markers to write their names. Now, they each have a hook with their name on it:)

Not exactly what we wanted to hear....

I emailed our coordinator today, thinking she may have some insight as to when we are expected to be submitted for a court date. Our dossier has been in Ethiopia for going on 7 weeks. Unfortunately, she got back with us saying that the last few cases have taken every bit of 3 months. Boo. So, looks like we still have a good 4-6 weeks before we'll hear anything. At that point, we expect our court date will be another month out. This puts us traveling for our first trip at the end of June. We're continuing to pray that things will move much faster, but we are not counting on it.

So, we will send another small care package with another family this week. This family spent time with the girls several months ago and said they would love to visit with them again. This time around the wait has seemed harder. I think it has to do with the fact that the girls are older. With Grayson and Abram, though I longed to see them and hold them, I knew they didn't REALLY know the difference. The girls have seen our faces and know they have a family waiting for them. I find myself wondering what they're thinking. Do they think we've forgotten about them? They seem very happy from the pictures I've received. And, I know they're very well taken care of. But, I'm ready to meet them...to hug them and kiss them and tell them that I love them...that we all love them.

But, in other news, we had a wonderful Easter weekend with the boys. This is the first year that they both "understood" the true meaning of Easter. We did get the boys each a game for Easter, but we didn't do the whole Easter bunny thing. In fact, I let Grayson in on the fact that it's just pretend. I have a hard enough time with the Santa thing; I'm not doing the Easter Bunny thing too. So, instead we've spend a LOT of time talking about Jesus dying on the cross and forgiving our sins so that we may one day go to Heaven. We've talked about it so much between home and school that Abram has been declaring, "I don't want to die on the cross! I don't want to go to Heaven!" Overall, I think they "get it" as much as you can at 5 and 4:)

Here are the wallets I ordered of the boys in their Easter digs:)

Prayer

Our dossier has been in Ethiopia for about 5 weeks now. We are hoping that we will soon hear our paperwork has been submitted for a court date. Could you join us in praying for a court date? This Mommy is getting very anxious to meet her girls:) Her are some specific things to pray for:

- Pray that the paperwork that needs to be gathered will be done quickly and without any set-backs.
- For the staff in Ethiopia that works very hard on our behalf.
- For the courts that once our file has been submitted, they will issue us a date quickly.
- For the girls! That their hearts and minds are prepared to meet us!
- For us! That we will continue to be patient and trust in God's timing.

Thank you! We know how powerful prayer is! I look forward to updating you all with our court date:)