Fall Photos

Grayson as Thomas

Mommy and Thomas

In his swing

Laying in the leaves

Beautiful boy

10 weeks waiting!

We've been on the waiting list 10 weeks today! Numbers 9 and 10 on the Island of Sodor are the Scottish Twins, Donald and Douglas. With the referrals seeming to take longer and longer, we are probably just now halfway through our wait. There are still 10 people ahead of us waiting on a boy or either gender. But, overall the wait continues to go smoothly. Although, I think things will get a little tougher over the holidays. I found myself at the mall today wondering if I should buy a picture frame ornament for Abram's picture. This is what we did with Grayson's referral picture the Christmas we spent waiting for him to come home. I really doubt we will have a picture of him by Christmas. So, maybe I will just buy a letter "A" instead. That way we have something to remember that we spent this Christmas in anticipation of his homecoming! Well-intentioned people like to say that waiting for a referral or for a court date or for an embassy appointment is like being pregnant and having to wait 9 months before your child is born. But, I can't imagine that they are really much alike at all. Yes, I'm sure being pregnant over the holidays makes you even more anxious for the upcoming holidays you will spend with your new child, just as in an adoption. However, though you can't physically hold your child or see your child, he/she is there. You can cradle your stomach, feel his/her tiny kicks, and talk or sing to him/her knowing your voice will be heard. With an adoption, you have the benefit of seeing pictures once you've received your referral. But, you don't have any way of feeling each other's presence. I can remember with Grayson, I just kept trying to feel closer to him. I wondered if we thought of each other at the same moment would he somehow know I was there, thinking of him, loving him. I never thought for a second that Grayson spent a single minute of his life unloved or uncared for. I had the peace of mind of knowing that Marta picked him up at 7 hours old and loved him as her son until the day we picked him up. But this time, I don't have that same peace of mind. There is a good chance that Abram is already in an orphanage being fed, cared for, and loved. But, what if he's not? I'm thankful for any time that he gets to spend with his birth family, but what if he's hungry? What if he's sick? What if his birth family, not being able to care for him, has left him somewhere in hopes he'll be found? What if he hasn't been found? Is he scared? These are the questions that begin to torture you as you wait longer and longer. But, as I've mentioned before, this time I have the benefit of knowing that the time we wait for our children to come home is all a part of God's perfect timing. And though I can't see it now, there is a plan in place greater than anything I could ever fabricate in my mind. I'm so excited to see what God has in store for us and Abram! Until then, we wait!

9 Weeks!

That's right, 9 weeks folks! Oh, and a Weightwatchers update; I've been sticking with the online program and have lost 11.5 pounds in 6 weeks! It feels great to not have to dance around the bedroom to get my jeans on after they've just come out of the dryer! I've almost TOTALLY cut out Mountain Dew, very sad I know. Now, I need to concentrate on getting more exercise. The first few weeks the weather was so nice that we were walking almost every evening. Now I'm going to need to make myself get on the elliptical machine...much harder to do. I'm hoping to be down about 20 pounds by Christmas!

I can't believe I'm 5 days late posting this entry! Last Wednesday marked 8 weeks of waiting! Today marks exactly 2 months! Number 8 on the Island of Sodor is Duck, though his number is not painted on him like the other engines. The time is continuing to fly by. Not only am I staying busy with Grayson, bible study, and now volunteering, I think more than anything the idea of another baby just seems so surreal! I put the crib up in the guest room a couple of weeks ago and I occasionally just look at it and it still just seems too far off to really imagine. But, the crazy thing is, it will be here before we know it! Thanksgiving will mark about 3 months on the waiting list and Christmas will mark 4 months! I know the holidays will make the waiting seem to go that much faster.

The Thomas Birthday Extravaganza!

Yesterday was Grayson's birthday party. I was such an amazing day. I kept finding myself looking at him and thinking, "wow, he's really here, he's really our son." I don't mean to brag, because I really don't take credit for much, but he is just such a wonderful little boy. He's just so sweet and happy and his smile just lights up a room. I remember waiting impatiently for his referral, thinking the day that we would get to hold him our arms would never come. And now, here he is, 2 years old, having been home with us for a year and a half. This is what makes the waiting so much easier this time around. We are almost at 8 weeks of waiting and I just feel so much peace knowing how wonderful it will be when the time comes that we get to bring our 2nd little boy home.

As far as the party yesterday, Grayson had so much fun. He loves having family and friends around. He was just in the best of spirits yesterday, playing with his cousins, opening presents, eating cake. The child got more Thomas stuff than we know what to do with! We teased that now he won't need anything for Christmas...hehe...yeah right! He got new Thomas engines, DVD's, Thomas slippers, and enough clothes to last him all winter! But more than anything, it was just so extremely special to have all our family and friends there to celebrate his birthday, and just celebrate him being a part of our family. I've thought a lot about his birth mother over the last few days, and though I know his birthday is probably a difficult time for her, I just pray that she feels how much he is loved. I think yesterday was probably more than she could have ever dreamed of for him - not because of the presents, because of the amount of love and joy that is a part of everything Grayson does. He just the center of our world and I can't wait to experience that and share that with another child.

Here are a couple of pictures from yesterday and from the pumpkin patch today. Thank you to everyone that made yesterday so special for us and for Grayson!

7 weeks waiting!

Today marks 7 weeks on the waiting list! Time continues to "fly" by! Number 7 on the Island of Sodor is Toby the Tram Engine. One of my personal favorites.

We've been busy this week preparing for Grayson's party this weekend! I can't believe he will be 2 on Friday. Where does the time go? As you could probably guess, his party will be Thomas-themed. I can't wait to see his little face when he sees the decorations and all the Thomas presents! In light of the upcoming presents, I spent the evening last Sunday going through toys and organizing. He has a toy box full in the family room, an entire playroom full, a Rubbermaid in the closet, and now several toys in the basement. We bought a carpet remnant and are storing some furniture for friends in the basement, so he now has a nice play area down there as well. It has been nice to take him down there when I'm doing laundry and let him play. I donated a few toys and plan to donate more around Christmas, but I just can't get rid of his nice toys. I keep telling myself we need to save them for Abram. But, at this rate there will be no room for Abram by the time he comes home! I really think rather than asking for any gifts for Abram, we will ask for donations for the orphanages we will visit in Ethiopia or donations for a college fund for the boys. We just already have so many nice clothes and toys.

Another exciting thing this week is bible study. I will be helping out in the children's program tomorrow. So, I will get to see what the program is all about just in time for Grayson's first week next week. I can't wait for Grayson to go! I think he will really enjoy all the little fun things I remember doing as a preschooler at bible study.

I've also been thinking ahead to preschool for Grayson next year. He will miss the cut-off for the 3 year-old programs by one month. So, I really don't want to send him to preschool because he would then be in preschool for 3 years. I think I will try a homeschool curriculum with him next year. I don't want him to just not learn anything until the next year, but I don't want him to be in preschool for so many years. So, it's kind of the best of both worlds. I found a nice curriculum online where I can just print off lesson plans. It really looks pretty simple and would probably be very easy to do. We could use the new area in the basement as our little homeschooling "area" to keep him from the distractions of the playroom. It would probably only be for a couple hours a day, if that. I think it would be a lot of fun for me and him. And, who knows, if we all love it, we may do it again the next year and the next and the next until it doesn't work for us anymore. I think it would give us the freedom to do fun things and learn things other than just the basics. I would love to incorporate Guatemalan and Ethiopian history into our history lessons, etc. He could get music time through local programs and would also get social time through all the programs we participate in in the community. So, we'll see, I think I'll at least give it a try.

An exciting week for Gladney families

This has been a very exciting week for those of us using Gladney Center for Adoption! On Monday, the Darlings, a family we met at the Lafayette cookout this summer, received their referral! They waited about 5 1/2 months, but I'm sure that wait seemed very insignificant after they saw the face of their beautiful 13 1/2 month old daughter! Yesterday, another family received a referral! This time, a little boy that is turning one year old today! They waited almost 5 months! We also heard that 2 families received their court dates for their little ones.

So, as you can see, the wait times are definitely closer to the 5 month mark than the 3 month mark. According to the unofficial waiting list that is maintained by a Gladney family, we are about 30th on the list. Though that seems daunting, when you look at those families requesting a child of either gender or a boy, we are only 11th on the list! Now that's exciting! Even though I know it will still be a 4-6 month wait, 11th sounds so much better than 30th!

6 weeks waiting....halfway to the "window?"

Today marks 6 weeks on the waiting list. Gladney has officially changed the wait time from 3-5 months to 3-6 months. So, technically, we're about halfway to entering the "window," the time in which we may receive a referral. However, I can't tell you the last time I saw anyone receive a referral in less than 4 months. So, in order to keep myself from getting too anxious upon entering the window period, I am setting my own window period of 4-6 months. This means I don't expect to hear about a referral before Christmas. I think I have to begin thinking this way so that I don't set myself up for disappointment. I know I will be getting anxious around the holidays and just want to know who our baby is going to be. The Christmas after receiving Grayson's referral was definitely hard. We knew who he was, we had seen his face, heard his voice over the phone, and already loved him. But, rather than being able to spend the holiday as a family, we instead had to settle for looking at adorable pictures of him in his Christmas sleeper and opening presents that people had gotten for him without him. It was a very bittersweet holiday season. I really hope that if I can get in the mindset that it will be January or February before we receive a referral, I can thoroughly enjoy the holidays this year. This will only be Grayson's 2nd Christmas home with us, and it will be his first that he understands a little about what is going on. I want to be able to completely enjoy these milestones in his life and our life as a family of 3. This will be the 2nd, and last Christmas as the 3 of us! Santa's Christmas expenditures are about to double! I am really looking forward to establishing some traditions of our own this Christmas. I think we will go and buy a real tree this year. I'm excited to decorate the tree together, bake Christmas cookies, and all the little things I remember about Christmas as a kid. I bought an advent house last year after Christmas, so I look forward to putting little pieces of candy in the house and starting our countdown on December 1st. Maybe I should put little Thomas stickers in it. I think Grayson would enjoy the Thomas much more than candy.

Family Pictures

This past weekend we traveled home to Liberty to have a friend of my sister's take some pictures of the 3 of us. I figure we should have at least SOME professional pictures of the 3 of us before we become a family of 4. Wow, 4....just saying that makes me nervous and excited all at once!

We had our pictures taken on Miami University's campus. It was a gorgeous day and we got some great pictures. However, I definitely felt like I had run a marathon by the time they were over. Grayson just didn't want to sit still...perfectly understandable for a 2 year old. Plus, he really doesn't like strangers getting really close to him and especially when they have hair clippers or cameras. But, Grayson eventually warmed up to Aryn and we played a little game where she chased him onto our laps and then would snap a picture! So, Grayson would come charging at me, I'd scoop him up, flip around, and smile! I felt extremely disheveled, but somehow we managed to get some good pictures! I think it's safe to say that it will likely be this time next year before we have pictures taken again!

Week 5 down!

We've completed week #5 of waiting! Number 5 on the Island of Sodor is James, the only bright red engine on the island! Time is still flying by for the most part. I really think that has a lot to with the fact that we're not in the 3-5 month window yet. I remember at this point in the wait for Grayson's referral I was a total mess! Up until that point, families had been receiving referrals for little boys in 2-4 weeks! When we reached week #5, I didn't think I would live to get his referral! We ended up waiting 7 weeks. Oh, what I would do to wait only 7 weeks. But, then again, I'm not ready for another little boy just yet. Grayson is getting closer and closer to being 2 everyday and it shows! I don't think I could handle another little boy on top of our multiple daily melt-downs! Hopefully we will have established a good time-out routine or maybe the tantrums will have lessened by the time we bring Abram home. But, however trying the 2's may be, they are also a whole lot of fun! Grayson is getting to the point that he is just so much fun to play with. Yesterday, he put Mickey at his little table and chairs and he sat down across from him and I got out the play food for him to play with. He had a blast getting it out and giving some to all of us and getting up to feed Mickey. He's just such a nice and caring little boy. Here are some pictures of him and Mickey.

4 weeks waiting!

That's right...we've been on the waiting list for 4 weeks now! The No. 4 engine on the Island of Sodor is Gordon, the strongest engine (and therefore a little arrogant) on the whole island! For the most part, time is flying by! We're staying busy playing, going to bible study, and going to campus to walk and play on the playground in the evenings. The wait is definitely the hardest on me. I asked Aaron the other day if he even knew how long we had been on the waiting list and he said, "no," just as I suspected. I think to him, and many men in his situation, it's just not real until the referral. He just kind of dives into work and home life and when we get a referral, great, but until then, no sweat. I think he's also still a little concerned about Grayson getting enough attention with another baby around. So, while I know he's excited, I think he's just trying to savor every minute of being a family of 3 while he can. Oh, if only I could be as calm as he is! I think it's just that I remember so well the feeling of getting Grayson's referral. Who wouldn't be extremely anxious to do that all over again? I'm also very curious to know how old our little guy is. He could be 3 months, or he could be 11 months. It's such a big age range when you're talking about infants. Will he already be crawling, or walking? Will he have teeth and a head full of hair? Will it be straight or curly? I try picturing him in my mind, based on pictures I've seen of other families who have received referrals, and I come up with a modge-podge of faces and eyes and hair. But, with all the uncertainties, there is one thing I know for sure. We will receive our referral in God's perfect timing, not a minute too soon or too late. And, when that day comes, that little boy will have been brought into this world to be our son. Or rather, we will have been brought into the world to be his mom and dad, just as we were brought here to be Grayson's parents. Oh, I can't wait to see my little Abram's face!

It's Monday and I'm Very Motivated!

Not sure what has gotten into me (maybe it was the lack of sleep last night) but I'm feeling really motivated today! Not like my typical, run around and clean the house motivated. This time it's more, I'm young and I need to being doing more to be a better person, motivated. I had seen a little blurb in our church bulletin yesterday about at Walk for Life being held here in Lafayette in a few weeks. It's a little late to get registered and get sponsors and do all that stuff. But, I did get online and look a little more in depth at the organization. It's a non-profit organization whose main goal is to offer pregnant women an alternative to abortion. I've always been pro-life, but feel even more so now that I have Grayson and another one on the way. What if my precious boys' birth mothers lived in societies accepting of abortion? Would they be here today? Their birth mothers chose to give them life despite all they had working against them - it's the kind of courage we need to inspire in expecting mothers in the U.S. So, I called about some volunteer opportunities. Sounds like they really need people willing to do pregnancy tests and counsel the women about the results. I would have to go through some training, but can do it at my own pace. I think this would not only be an excellent opportunity to help in the community, but also a way for me to feel like I'm having an impact on the world outside the home. It would also be a great resume builder and networking opportunity for when the time comes to head back to work. So, I should be receiving some additional information in the mail soon.

I also decided today to sign up for Weight Watchers Online again. I did the program for about 4 months after Aaron and I got engaged and lost quite a bit of weight. I decided it was time to give it another try. With the stress of Grayson's adoption, I gained about 10 pounds. I really don't want to do that this time so I figure I've got to make a preemptive strike! Plus, it really wouldn't hurt to shed a few pounds and be in better shape before the next one comes home! I stay busy enough as it is...I can't imagine how physically demanding 2 boys will be! So, here goes nothing!

I'll leave you with a few pictures of Grayson from today!

3 weeks waiting....

That's right...we've been on the waiting list for 3 weeks today! We're moving right along. And, once again, we've enlisted the help of one of Sodor's favorite engines, Henry, to illustrate the number 3. I'm telling you, this Thomas stuff is addicting. I sometimes think I'm more into it than Grayson is.

Yesterday we went to Aldi's to pick up some groceries. When we got home, Grayson had a great time playing with the boxes we used to carry in our groceries. So, while he took his nap, I transformed one of the boxes into Thomas using some construction paper and markers. He has had a great time playing with his new Thomas box! Who needs to pay $275 for a battery-powered Thomas when you can use $1 worth of paper and make one!?! He has been doing everything in his box. He sits in it to watch TV, have a snack, or to play with other toys. And, he's been pushing it all over the house so he gets much more exercise than if he was riding around on a battery-powered one! It's definitely the best hour I've spent in a long time. Here are some pictures of Grayson and my Thomas box creation. We have another box just like it, but I think I'll hold off making another engine!

Dossier is in Ethiopia!

Aaron got online last Friday to pay some bills and noticed a FedEx charge of $30 and one for $140! I suspected the $30 charge was the cost of Gladney sending our dossier to the State Department in Washington, D.C. and then on to the courier who would deliver it to the Ethiopian Embassy. But, I was a little baffled by the $140 charge. So, Aaron logged onto our FedEx account and sure enough, there was the charge. He called FedEx and they informed him that it was our dossier on its way to Addis Ababa, Ethiopia! All 1.4 pounds of it cost $140 to ship! Holy cow! I guess I won't be shipping any little care packages over to our baby boy! But, the cool thing is that it only took like 5 days to get there! Sometimes it takes 5 days for Mom to send me a package from Liberty to Lafayette! The dossier went from D.C. to New Jersey to Paris to Dubai to Addis Ababa. How neat! So, this means our dossier arrived in Ethiopia on September 8th and is now being translated to Amharic (the language spoken by many Ethiopians). This will take several weeks as our dossier was upwards of 30 documents! It's comforting to know that while we wait, we're still making progress!

Big Boy Bed!

So, for a couple months now, Aaron and I have been debating on when to switch Grayson from his crib to a big boy bed. And then there is the question, do we go to a toddler bed or right to a twin? It becomes this big, life-altering decision of, well if we do this then we have to buy this, this, and this. But, if we do that, then we'll only be using this for a few months and so on and so forth. SO, after much debating on my part (I don't think Aaron cared one way or the other), we settled on going straight for the twin bed. This decision was made due to the fact that we were just given a twin bed (for free) by our neighbors this past week (thanks Herm and Carol). So, that meant no buying of toddler beds and freeing up both the crib and crib mattress for baby boy #2.

So, with that big decision behind us, I went to Target and bought some Thomas sheets. I thought for his birthday we could get his big boy bed all set up. Then, I found someone selling a bed rail for $8 on Craigslist. Well, with that taken care of, I couldn't possibly wait an entire month for his birthday to roll around. So, on Friday, Aaron took the crib down and carried up the twin bed. We then all went upstairs and started putting the bed together. When I started putting the Thomas sheets on, Grayson could hardly contain himself! He was soooo excited about his new Thomas bed that he got up on the bed, covered up, and laid down in the middle of the day! I didn't think we would ever get him out of bed.


That night he did really well going to bed. He laid right down and fell off to sleep within a few minutes. Nap time and last night didn't go as well. His first nap time he got out of bed two times. One time he must have gone right up to the monitor and yelled because it was EXTREMELY loud! He then stood on his bed and started taking things off of a shelf hanging above the bed (we take the things off the shelf now). But, he eventually fell off to sleep. Last night it took him about an hour to fall asleep. But, I think it will continue to get better and better as we go. A lot depends on how tired he is when he goes to bed. It wasn't unusual for him to take a long time to fall asleep in his crib - we just didn't have the worry of him getting out of bed!


So, once again he is growing up too fast, but it is so exciting! Here are a few pictures of him in his new bed!

BSF and the YMCA

Today was the first day of Bible Study Fellowship! Until Grayson turns 2, he will be going to the YMCA while I go to bible study. Aaron and I were both a little nervous about Grayson being at the YMCA for almost 3 hours. I have to admit I actually had knots in my stomach on the drive there. But, he did extremely well. I took him in to the little toy room and told him I was leaving and would be back soon. He watched me all the way out the door but didn't cry! When I came to pick him up he was playing and was very excited to show me what he had been playing with. I thought I might never get him out of there! He was in a very good mood and "danced" all the way out to the car.

Since today was my first day of BSF, I was with a group of other newcomers and filled out registration cards and listened to the introduction of what BSF was all about. That part was a little boring since I knew a lot about it from Mom having gone for several years. I was ready to just dive in! But, it sounds like there will be room in the class for both me and Grayson and I should be getting a call from my small group discussion leader in the next couple of days. I'll have to say I was a little surprised that the average age of the women attending was much higher than I thought! It just really made me realize once again that stay-at-home Mom is becoming a thing of the past. I was, however, very pleasantly surprised to see my neighbor Laura! She and her family are one of the families in Lafayette adopting from Ethiopia! So, it was very nice to have a familiar face in the crowd.

Since I was busy filling out registration stuff and haven't yet been assigned to a group, I didn't participate in any of the small group discussions. However, I did get to stay for the lecture at the end where all the small groups come together. I couldn't believe my ears when the first verse we looked at was Genesis 12:1-3! This is the verse where God asks Abram to leave his country, his people, and his fathers' household! Wow, could it be any clearer that our next son should and will be named Abram? So, I think we're sold on Abram Beckett (insert African birth name) Jarvis!

So, I had a few minutes this morning before we left and snapped a couple pictures of Grayson. I know, it's not like it was his first day of school or anything, but a monumental moment nonetheless! Enjoy!

2 weeks...but who's counting?

Today marks 2 weeks on the waiting list! But, like I said, who's counting? To illustrate 2 weeks on the list is Edward, the kind, little engine.

As I mentioned yesterday, I have been working on a photo collage for the play room. I finished it up last night and will post a picture. I had one picture frame with 4 wallet-sized openings. I wasn't sure what pictures I would find of Grayson in black and white to fill that space, so I decided to spell the word, baby. We know Grayson is technically a full-fledged toddler, but we still refer to him as our baby and he in turn calls himself baby. We realize we will have to teach him to say Grayson when asked his name instead of Baby before his first day of school! But, until then, I'm Mama, Aaron is Dada, and he is Beebee!

Tomorrow is my first day of bible study and Grayson is heading to the YMCA. I hope he does okay with me being gone that long. The better question is probably will I do okay? Hehe.

Here's a picture of the finished photo collage.

Staying Busy

My philosophy on waiting for a referral is that the busier I stay, the faster the time seems to pass. And, I think it may be working so far, tomorrow already marks 2 weeks on the waiting list!

Today's project to keep me busy was in the playroom. I painted it a few weeks back and am now working on getting things on the wall. I've started a collage of photos on one wall, but am still waiting for a couple more pictures until it is complete. My other project was buying some cheap clocks at Wal-Mart ($3.77 to be exact) and making labels that say Guatemala and Ethiopia. I thought it was a cute way to incorporate these countries in the kids' daily lives. They'll always know what time it is where they were born!

The second picture makes the walls look a little brighter than they actually are! I'll post pictures of my photo collage once it's complete.

In other news, I'm really excited about a play date I'm hosting at our house next week! Me and 3 or 4 other ladies adopting from Ethiopia are getting together to spend some time together and to let our kids play together. I'm just so excited that there are other wonderful families in our area that are as excited as we are about adopting and realize the importance of networking with other adoptive families. I know that we will face some challenges as a transracial and transcultural family and I know that these relationships we are building will help us through those times.

Double Stroller

So, I think I made my first purchase for our growing family! I had been keeping my eye on a double stroller at Big Lots for a couple of months. When I went today, they only had the display left! Oh no! So, I looked at it really close, asked the sales associate about, and found out they would take 10% off the price since it was the display! So, it was only going to be $90! Quite a steal for a Sit n' Stand double stroller. For those of you not up on your stroller lingo, the sit n' stand is a model that allows your little one to sit up front and your bigger one to either stand on a platform on the back or sit in a little "jump seat." I thought it was a good model considering Grayson won't need a full-fledged stroller seat much longer.

The only think keeping me from buying the stroller right then was the fact that it didn't have a manual. Double strollers are anything but simple and I didn't want to spend $90 if I couldn't even figure out how it worked! So I called Aaron, got his advice/approval and then headed home to see if I could find a manual online. Sure enough, I found one! So, I went back a couple hours later and bought it! It's official...we're ready for baby #2!

Here are a few pics of Grayson's new ride!

Story time and Baby names

Nothing too exciting to post. Grayson and I went to story time at the library downtown today. It was his first day in the toddler story time versus the baby story time. He did fairly well. He doesn't quite grasp the concept of sitting on the carpet squares. He preferred to stand. And jump. After each book he would clap and then say, "DONE?" I had to keep explaining that we weren't done yet. I think he was hoping for more of a run around the room and jump and scream free-for-all. But, he was very patient and listened to 3 stories and participated in the little songs and games. At the end of story time they have a craft. Today's theme was "Things that Move." So, we read books on cars and trucks and then made a little book with cut outs of different vehicles. He did pretty darn well for his craft time. He liked the glue stick. His cousin, Coleson, King of Arts and Crafts, would be very proud. I of course dated his little craft and intend to save it for the rest of my life.

I've been giving more thought to baby names. This is what happens once you're placed on the waiting list...you begin obsessing about all the details! Aaron and I both really like Beckett. But, my new favorite is Abram. I don't know if I would use it as a first name or middle name, but would like to incorporate it somehow. I was drawn to it in church the other Sunday. We were reading scripture from Genesis. In Genesis 12:1, God asks Abram to leave his country, his people, and his father's household and go the land God will show him. Abram up and leaves without questioning God. I think this is the kind of faith we are asking of the children we adopt. Without question, our son will leave his country, his people, and his father's household and come to live with us. So, I feel Abram would be very fitting. We'll see. Only time will tell!

One week down, several to go!

We've been on the waiting list one week today! And, in honor of Grayson's hero, Thomas the Tank Engine, we have used Thomas to illustrate the number one. So, we have one week down and, honestly, I haven't been thinking about our referral too much. More than anything, I think I'm just glad to be done with the paperwork for awhile.

We had a very nice holiday weekend. We started off by heading home to Liberty to see Aaron's family. On Saturday, we had a surprise party for Aaron's grandma's 70th birthday. It was really nice to see everyone. Grayson played very well with all his second cousins. He was so tired by the end of the day, but he was a trooper! On Sunday morning we headed down to Tennessee to Mom and Dad's boat. It was VERY HOT! We had a good time grilling out and relaxing on the new raft Mom bought to tie to the back of the boat. It has a little mesh area that Grayson could sit down in and play. He wasn't too sure about the cool water at first, but quickly got used to it and had a great time playing. We got back to Lafayette around 8 p.m. last night. Even though we were sad the weekend was over, it was nice to be back home. And, it's nice that it is already Wednesday!

I'm getting excited about starting my bible study class next week. Since Grayson is a month shy of two, we will have to take him to the YMCA while I am in bible study. Once he turns two, I can take him with me and he will go to a bible study at the same time I have mine. I think it will be great for him to have a couple hours a week of structured fun. I know he's only two, but I don't think you can begin teaching good listening and following direction skills too early. And, it is so nice that he will be learning the same bible stories I'm learning.

Well, I believe that is about all that has happened in week one of waiting. Here are some pictures from the weekend!

Long time, no blog

Wow, I can't believe how long it's been since I last posted! So, last time we had just received our approval from Immigration. I then took our entire dossier down to Indianapolis to have the documents authenticated by the Secretary of State. The next day I headed to post office to send our dossier to Texas. Talk about having trouble parting with all those documents! I had worked on those for the last 3 months and was terrified something may happen to them in the mail.

Gladney received our dossier the very next morning. However, we were still waiting on some documents from the Secretary of State's office in Texas. All documents have to be authenticated by the Secretary of State in the state the document originated. So, the adoption agency has some documents (they are in TX) that had to be authenticated as well. I was getting very anxious, but at the same time I knew this would give our coordinator plenty of time to look over our documents. She got back with me within a couple of days and let me know the dossier looked PERFECT! Wow! I was half expecting to have to redo at least one document.

I tracked our documents coming from the Sec. of State in TX and found out they arrived on Monday. So, I called our coordinator last night and she said the whole dossier would be sent out to Washington, D.C. today! This means we are on the waiting list as of TODAY! So, start counting...we will see our little boys face 3-5 months from TODAY! Honestly, it is really surreal and I don't think it's sunk in. It probably won't until we actually receive our referral.

So, now I just have to keep myself busy for the next several months. Which, won't be that hard to do. We have Grayson's 2nd birthday in a month and a half. Grayson and I start Bible Study Fellowship next month, then we get into the holiday season and that always flies by. It would be wonderful to receive a referral by Christmas, but I don't want to start getting my heart set on a particular day.

I am also going to keep myself busy by focusing on saving and raising money over the next few months to take to Ethiopia as a donation to the orphanages we will be visiting. So, I should definitely stay busy!

I haven't posted pictures of Grayson in awhile, so here are a few.

UPDATE!

Thursday evening when Aaron checked the mail, he found we had received our approval from Immigration! YEAH! The Indy office has been SUPER fast...we received approval only a little over a week after they had all our paperwork!

So, we are well on our way to submitting our dossier. We have all our documents done and are just tying up all the loose ends on our mound of papers. Monday I will run the whole stack of papers to Indianapolis to be authenticated by the Secretary of State. We are lucky in that Indiana does this free of charge! Some states charge from $5-$20 a document! Considering we have twenty-some documents, we're talking a lot of money.

After we have all the documents authenticated, we will scan them and burn them to a CD for our agency. This way they have a copy and if something were to happen to a document, they could help us out. We will then send the documents to our agency who will forward them on to the Department of State and the Ethiopian Embassy in Washington, D.C. The Ethiopian Embassy is not free of charge...we will be sending them a check for $189.60! Boo!

Once Gladney (our agency ) has all our documents, we will be put on the waiting list. We should have our dossier to them by Tuesday or Wednesday of next week. However, we won't be put on the waiting list right away because we are waiting on a couple of documents that Gladney has to send to the Secretary of State's office in Texas. So, it may still be 2 weeks before we are actually on the waiting list. Either way, it will be soon! And, that means we can be rid of all the paperwork for awhile! Yipee!

I can't believe we're getting so close to seeing our little baby boy's face!

Speaking of little baby boys, Courtney had her baby on Wednesday morning! She went into labor at 2:30 in the morning and I took her to the hospital since George is doing his training for the Navy. They gave her an epidural within an hour of being there and she felt so much better she was able to sleep from 6 am - 8 am! When she woke up at 8, it was time to push! She pushed for 10 minutes and Baby Henry came right out! I got to cut his cord! He has a pretty good head of dark hair. Very different than Coleson and Ellie. He still doesn't have a name (this is normal, Ellie was not named for several days), but their leaning towards Cooper Knox Henry. I'll repost if this changes! It was a really cool experience to be there for Courtney. I've seen/helped with many childbirths, but this was the first where I knew the person giving birth!

A child of our own

It seems that not a week goes by that we aren't asked, "when are you going to have children of your own?" These people are family, friends, neighbors, and strangers. They mean us no harm.

And, though I know that by "our own" they mean biological children, I cringe everytime we are asked this question. To us, and someday to Grayson, this implies that somehow he is not our own.

Just the other day, I witnessed my older sister give birth to my youngest nephew. I have seen many women on my trips to Africa give birth. Every childbirth I have witnessed is nothing short of a miracle. It is the most beautiful gift of all when God places a child in our care. I hear mothers talk about the discomfort of pregnancy, the pain of labor, and the rush of love they feel when they hold their child for the first time.

I have never given birth, but I too have experienced all these emotions and have been blessed with God's greatest gift of all. We were called on October 30th, 2006 and were told our son was 2 weeks old and waiting for us in Guatemala. We then waited nearly 3 months before we had a chance to visit him. When his foster mother placed him in my arms for the very first time, I knew in that instant, I would trade my life for his. At the end of our weeklong visit, we had to hand him back over to his foster mother, not knowing when or if his adoption would ever be finalized. That day, and in the three months to come, I experienced emotional pain so deep that there were days that I was physically in pain. One year after Grayson was conceived in our hearts, he was placed in our arms forever. I experienced love and joy so great that I swear it will never be duplicated.

After witnessing my sister's childbirth, everyone visiting the new baby made a point to ask, "do you think you'll have children of your own now?" We have not prevented pregnancy because I'm scared of being pregnant. When we began talking about adoption it was because that is what God had placed on our hearts. Now, with Grayson home for over a year, we're adopting again. Not because we have anything against being pregnant, but because the outcome of our first adoption was so precious and sacred, we'd be crazy to not want to do it again. For everyone out there that feels they have to know if and when we will have biological children, the answer is, we don't know. We will continue to follow our hearts.

In the future, when asked if we will have children of our own, I will say, "we can't imagine any child being more our own than Grayson."