Holding our son in 27 days!

Well, we're back in Lafayette after a wonderful Father's Day weekend spent in Liberty with family. To back up a couple of days, we were literally walking out the door on Friday at about 11:40 when my cell phone rang. I didn't think too much of it because I wasn't expecting Jessica to call for another hour at least. When I saw the 817 area code my heart started racing. Jessica immediately said she had wonderful news for us (they cut right to the chase so as not to induce stress-related heart attacks, strokes, etc.)!!! She had gotten an email from Belay saying we passed court! She then wished Aaron a Happy Father's Day times two! I of course couldn't just jump in the car and drive 2 hours to Liberty. I had to run back inside and update my blog! I've been reading blogs for over a year and was looking forward to the moment I got to introduce our newest son to all my blogging buddies...it simply couldn't wait another couple of hours!

So, we are leaving Indy on July 19th and will be returning to Indy on July 26th. If anyone would like us to take a small care package and/or photos, please let us know.

On Sunday, we went to Day out with Thomas in Connersville, IN. It was extremely hot, but Grayson had a wonderful time seeing Thomas, riding Thomas, and buying a few new Thomas items:) Here are a few pictures of our day with Thomas.

Grayson and Daddy with Thomas.

Junior Engineer certificate.

And, a little mini-golf.

Introducing...

Our son, Abram Kembata Jarvis!

We passed! We just got of the phone with Jessica! We were on our way out the door, but I came back in to update the blog! God is so, so, good! He gives us so much more than we deserve!

4 years ago!

In all the excitement/nervousness/anxiousness of court, I didn't mention earlier that four years ago today I married my best friend! And while today's news about court was slightly disappointing (though promising), today was a wonderful day. So many times today God reminded me that I have so much to be grateful for. First and foremost, a wonderful marriage. Without this solid foundation we would not have our amazing son, Grayson, or our soon-to-be (tomorrow?) son, Abram. It would be a gross understatement to say I hit the husband lottery! Happy Anniversary, Aaron! I thought today might be kind of neat if I could say, "4 years and 2 kids later!" But, I may have to settle for, "4 years, 1 day and 2 kids later!"

Praying for tomorrow!

We didn't pass today, but the judge left our file open! Praise God! No waiting on a new court date. It is Gladney's hope that the needed document will be taken to court tomorrow and that we will pass at that time. Could be sometime next week. Only small problem is that communications between Ethiopia and the U.S. have been really crummy lately and they may not be able to get an answer to us tomorrow. Please continue to pray...we're so close!

He never lets go...

Clinging to this as we wait to hear about our court date....

Starting to get a bit antsy!

Well, here we are, less than 24 hours away from knowing the outcome of our first court attempt. We're probably less than 8 hours (due to time difference) from our case actually being reviewed by the judge. I'm getting nervous. I'm more than nervous...my stomach is starting to feel all weird. I just want to know...one way or another...I just want to know. Do I keep on with this super-motivated, organizing, packing, doing laundry thing? Or, do I just chill out for awhile and face the reality that it's not quite time yet. I just want to know how I should be acting/what I should be doing:)

With all that said, I'm still at a pretty good place with all this. I know this will happen. And, I'm fairly certain it will happen relatively soon. Best of all, we're continuing to have faith that God will bring us together in His perfect timing and we're learning each and every day to trust Him more and more. I remember a particular lesson in BSF in which the Israelites had done something to turn their backs on God and God had told Moses that He would not lead the people into the Promised Land...they would have to go alone. This just absolutely crushed Moses. He pleaded with God to go with them. He basically said he would rather spend a lifetime in the desert with God than one day in the Promised Land without Him. Wow. So, I dare to say, "Lord, I would rather be in limbo/up in the air the rest of my life with You, than spend one day of certainty without You."

At the water park, taking our mind off our court date:)

T minus 2 days...

Only two days until we find out the outcome of our first court date! It seems that lately, families are taking a couple attempts before passing, but it's absolutely possible to pass the first time around. Either way, we will be that much closer to bringing Abram home. As we approach our big day, there are a few specifics that I ask each of you to pray for:

1. That Abram is safe, healthy, and happy.
2. Safety for birth relatives traveling to be in court.
3. That the Ministry of Women's Affairs issues a positive opinion.
4. That all the paperwork needed is in our file and just as the judge wants.
5. That the electricity is on and our case is able to be heard.
6. That the judge rules in our favor and that we legally become Abram's family.
7. That we will handle the outcome, regardless of what it is, with grace.

Aaron and I spent last weekend at Dale Hollow with some friends while Grayson stayed in Lafayette with the grandparents. It was great to get away and take our minds off the upcoming court date for a few days. And, it was comforting to see how well Grayson did away from us for a few days. I think he will do great while we are in Ethiopia. However, I know we may have a few rough days as we get home and make the transition. Yesterday, Grayson was not very patient with me and seemed to get upset over little things but, he was back to his normal, easygoing self as of this morning. I am so excited to see how he reacts when he meets Abram in the flesh! I think it will be a dream come true!

Great week for Gladney families!

This has shaped up to be another AWESOME week in the world of Gladney families. After a long, long wait, Ryane received a referral for a handsome 4.5 month-old boy. THEN, doubly exciting news came when Kat received a referral for 2 month-old TWINS! A boy and a girl! Also, very precious.

The icing on the cake, Ellen passed court TODAY! Woohoo!! They are leaving to meet precious Teamir next week!

Let's hope we can keep the ball rolling by passing court next week:)

Making progress...

Well, our court date is quickly approaching....only 10 more days for those of you who dare lose track! And, I'm beginning to feel as if we are ready to add another little one to our house, logistically speaking. As I mentioned, I've gotten clothes and toys together. This past weekend, I put some final touches on the nursery...just a few decorative items left to add here and there.

I'm also beginning to feel like I have a handle on all that will need to be packed if we do in fact pass on the 18th. Thanks to a local family that has gone before us, the Darlings, I have some great advice on what kind of foods to take for Abram as well as how to go about packing our humanitarian aid. The travel packet we received from our agency mentions that children over 12 mos. old are drinking whole fat powdered milk. Nestle Nido is the specific brand. I remember seeing this A LOT in Guatemala, in fact, Nestle Nido was the brand of formula Grayson was on. So, I thought I would try the Hispanic foods section at Wal-Mart and sure enough, there it was! So, that's a relief. I also need to figure out the bottle situation. I may take a sippy cup or two, but I think he may still take a bottle at night, if not all the time. We of course have the Dr. Brown's bottles which seem like a sanitary nightmare with all their pieces. I think I'll grab some basic Gerber bottles for the trip, or, maybe the Playtex with disposable liners...AHHH, maybe I am no where near ready!

I'm also educating myself on caring for Abram's hair. Unlike me, who needs to shampoo my hair DAILY to avoid looking like a grease pit, Abram will need to hang on to the oil. Shampooing too often can cause his hair and scalp to become too dry. Part of caring for his hair will also include a rinse-out conditioner as well as a leave-in conditioner that can be used in between washes. It's also important to avoid certain chemicals as they can make his hair more brittle and/or clog his pores and retard hair growth. So, I'm thinking of going with a line of products called It's a Curl and Curly Q. A local family and friend use these products for their son and love them.

Okay, so enough with packing and hair care details...here are a few pics of the nursery. Grayson is kind of like "Where's Waldo" in the first couple!

Pictures and an update...what a great week!

This week has been wonderful! On Monday, we received an update and new picture of Abram. Here's what they have to say about him this month.

All the toddlers were playing outside when I arrived. I finally spotted K. And he was right where he wanted to be: in someone's arms. He is so loving and snuggled up to me as he observed the other children on the ground. His beautiful face was lit up by the sunlight. He gazed down at the kids in a sort of "I know something you don't know" kind of way. Every picture I took, he looked at the camera with the same no nonsense expression!

Tuesday, of course, was the day we received our court date. And then today, a lovely family that just returned from picking up their son, sent us 5 more pictures of Abram and a video clip! What a blessing to continue to get updates and pictures all along the way! The video clip was cute; he had a kind of deer-in-the-headlights expression the whole time. And, from the pictures we were able to see that he has 4 teeth on the bottom! We hadn't seen any teeth in any of the other pictures, so, this definitely helps us know what kind of foods he will be ready for!

AND, to make this week even BETTER, Chris and Dawn FINALLY received their referral! He is a precious 2.5 month-old baby boy. They had such a long wait. Please pray they will receive a court date before the court closes for the rainy season.

I can't believe our court date is only two weeks away! We're hoping to keep busy so the time flies. On the other hand, I feel like I have A LOT to do to prepare for the possibility of passing the first time around. Grayson and I have been going through his old clothes, pulling out summer things we think will fit. We've also been incorporating some Abram-appropriate toys in the playroom. Grayson is so excited about Abram that he doesn't seem to mind at all that Abram will have a stake in the toy collection. Please continue to pray with us for our court date!

We have a court date!

That's right folks! June 18th is the big day! Can you believe it? That's only 2 weeks away! And, it happens to be the anniversary of Aaron and I's "big day" 4 years ago! Once again, this happened when I least expected it! Grayson and I were at the zoo with some friends (also adopting from Ethiopia) and I saw I had missed 3 calls on my cell phone! I saw the # and called back. After not getting through I listened to my messages...and, there it was, our court date! I wish I had gotten to talk to Jessica in person, but I'll talk to her tomorrow. So, this means that if we pass on the 18th we will be traveling 2-5 weeks later...I can't believe it! Please begin praying with us that we pass on the first attempt. There are so many things that have to happen. So much paperwork, a birth relative that has to travel from out of town, power has to be on, etc. Please pray that all things will fall into place on this day and that we will legally become Abram's mommy, daddy, and big brother!

I just want to add that we are serving a loving, faithful, merciful, prayer-answering God. From the day of our referral, my specific prayer has been to receive a court date by the end of May and be assigned a date in the 1st half of June...it doesn't get any better than that.

More court dates and Grayson' new ride

Two more families were assigned court dates this past Friday! Yay! Their court date is June 17th! Just about 2.5 weeks away! They received referrals about 3 weeks before us, so, we could still have several weeks to wait, or, we could be assigned a court date any time now. Either way, we're patiently waiting. This part of the wait is so much easier. Sure, it's hard having a picture and wanting a specific child home, but it's also SO wonderful to have a picture and to be praying for a specific, sweet face and name. Please continue to pray with us as we wait to be assigned a court date. Pray that we would continue to feel comfort in God's sovereign plan. We are praying for a June court date.

In more exciting news, Grayson has a new ride. He has strollers and wagons and now he has a bike trailer. Yup. We've been talking about getting bikes and a bike trailer and we finally did it. We bought a couple used bikes off Craigslist and a bike trailer at Wal-Mart. We had a great time! And, it's a much better workout than just taking a walk! We were really huffing it up the hills! The bike trailer seats two and, of course, Grayson has already pointed out that Abram will ride too.

We've also completed our 5th day of potty training. We realized several weeks ago that he would go and use his potty if he was naked from the waist down, like before bath time. So, I started letting him run around without any pants or undies on in the house. Sure enough, no accidents as long as he's naked. This past week, we started working on wearing underwear. He had about 3 accidents a day for the first 3 days and is now down to just one accident a day. But, it's of course when he needs to go #2. No fun to clean up. He's had NO accidents when we leave the house! He definitely realizes he needs to hold it. And, he has no interest in diapers anymore. We had been putting them on at night and last night he kept taking it off! We did get him to settle on a Pull-up at night. I'm not quite ready to change the sheets in the middle of the night! Once he consistently wakes up dry, we'll do the underwear at night. So nice that we will only have 1 child in diapers when Abram comes home!

Grayson's new ride!

I'm still here!

So, I've definitely been slacking a bit lately! Tomorrow marks 3 weeks waiting for our court date. I'm happy to report that we have had an amazing peace about this whole process since receiving our referral. Sure, I have moments where I just want Abram home so badly. For instance, today I was pushing Grayson on the glider and was wishing they were both on it giggling hysterically as I try to tickle them as they go by. But, overall, God has given us comfort in knowing He is in control, and just as He was faithful and brought us our referral, He will give us our court date and someday we will have our littlest boy home.

It really helps that I get to talk about Abram all day long. I try not to constantly obsess over him around friends and acquaintances, but Grayson and I talk about him ALL DAY long. And, I am rarely the one to bring it up. Grayson starts his morning by saying, "Abram sleep in Wall-E bed," or "Abram wear Thomas underwear," or "Abram eat waffles." And, it goes on like this all day long - I'm really not exaggerating. Grayson is already SO in love his baby brother. He is going to be the sweetest big brother!

Time is passing quickly as we are enjoying the summer months. We are officially done with bible study and have no commitments! We've been working in the yard, organizing things in the house, etc. I have this urge to go through every nook and cranny, making sure we are rid of any clutter before we add another person to our house!

We've also been taking weekly walks with our wonderful neighbor, Laura, and her kids. Grayson LOVES it! They are the sweetest kids ever!

I'll leave you with a few pics of Grayson...and, I promise I will try to be better about blogging!

Feeding the fish at the park.

On the merry-go-round.

Coming down the big slide!

Driving the big boat!

Guaca-mal-doo

So a week or so ago we got a new camera that takes HD video. We decided we need to capture some of the things Grayson says or someday we will forget them! Here's a clip of him talking about being born in Guaca-mal-doo and bringing him home to eat, sleep, and play (he came up with this list of things a while back). Enjoy!

Abram's birthday celebration!

To celebrate Abram's 1st birthday, we had cake! Grayson was pleased, to say the least. Here's a short video of him blowing out the candle and wishing Abram a Happy Birthday!

Starting to see some court dates!

A couple people were assigned court dates today! These families had been waiting for their court date since the middle/end of March. Their court dates are for the 9th and 10th of June...less than a month away!!! Please pray with us that this is the beginning of court dates being assigned for a whole host of people including us. Please pray that we would receive a court date in the first half of June! Congrats Ellen and Meredith...it was a long wait!

Happy Birthday Abram!

Abram will be a year old tomorrow! We're still on a high from getting his referral; but, I have to say I don't know that I was prepared to miss such a major milestone so fast! We love him so much already. Grayson goes around telling anyone who will listen, "Abram come!" And, he goes about his day mentioning how Abram will eat Fruit Loops and drink apple juice and sleep in his bed with him, and on and on. Just picturing him in our lives has already brought us so much joy! I do have a peace of mind knowing he is so happy and well taken care of. And, a very sweet family is taking him a photo album with our pictures when they travel next week AND taking pictures for us! What a blessing is has been to go through this process with such wonderful people as support.

So, Happy 1st Birthday Abram! We love you! I think we'll have a little cake and take pictures so he'll have some pictures of his first birthday...even if he's not in the pictures:)

Finally getting around to the details!

Whew! Things have been absolutely crazy around here since 4:06 p.m. on Wednesday, May 6th! Let me start by saying that there is no such thing as a bad day to receive a referral. However, if there was one day last week that would've have been super crazy to get the call, it was Wednesday! I volunteer on Wednesday evenings and Aaron had called earlier to say that he was doing some consulting work right after work. Now, he has not been called in to do consulting for the last 8.5 months...no joke. So, I was on the phone with him at about 4:05; he was leaving work and heading to his next assignment. If I had been thinking about the referral call at all that day, it was the last thing on my mind when someone was beeping in on the other line (thank goodness for call waiting)! I looked at the phone, saw Gladney's number and quickly told Aaron I had to go. The next couple of minutes went like this:

Me: Hello
Jessica: Emily, how are you?
Me: Oh, pretty good.
Jessica: Well, I got your email and I thought these things would be best handled by calling.
Me: (trying to hide disappointment) Oh, okay.
Jessica: Especially when I have a referral for you!
Me: Oh my goodness...I was going to say....if you called me just to talk about my email....!!!
Jessica: I wouldn't do that.

At that point I told Jessica I would call Aaron immediately and he would be home in 15 minutes. I called Aaron and told him to get home right away! I have to say, after over 8 months of waiting, when the call finally came, a peace just kind of washed over me. I was excited, but not sobbing, or hysterical, or about to jump out of my skin. It was just so nice knowing when I would get to see our little boy for the first time. At that point, I felt like I could wait longer if I needed to...as long as I knew when it would be. The uncertainty is the hardest part.

So, Aaron got home just a few minutes later and we sat and waited for Jessica to call back. The three of us gathered in the office and we prayed. We thanked God for the news we were about to receive. We praised Him for giving us the strength to make it to this point in the wait. And then, we asked Him to stand beside us through our call just as He had been doing for the last 8 months. We asked Him to prepare our hearts for some of the things we may hear....some of the heartbreaking news we would most definitely learn about our son. Because, we knew that our wonderful gift of a son means death, pain, and heartache for others. We asked Him to help us be sure that this was the son He had chosen for us before the beginning of time.

Jessica then sent us the emails with his information and pictures. We opened the pictures and just smiled and laughed....he's beautiful! We knew he would have tough shoes to fill seeing as that Grayson is the most handsome, beautiful, stunning little boy I've ever seen. Let me tell you, we now have TWO handsome, beautiful, stunning little boys! He has the biggest, brightest, brownest, olive shaped eyes and eyelashes that go on for miles! He just looks so happy and healthy; such a blessing! When we saw that he is almost a year old we were ecstatic. Grayson will have a best friend and sibling all in one like I do! I can't wait to see what these two will get in to!

We have decided to name our little guy Abram K. Jarvis, keeping his birth name as his middle name. We are so extremely blessed to have the opportunity to bring this child into our lives....so, bring on a court date!!!

The Lord had said to Abram, "Leave your country, your people, and your father's household and go to the land I will show you. I will make you into a great nation and I will bless you. I will make your name great and you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you.." Gen. 12:1-3

8 months, 1 week, and 2 days later......

We finally got to see our little boy's face!!!!!!!!!!!!!! That's right, we got our referral call this afternoon at 4:06! It has been a crazy, crazy few hours around here. More details to follow...he is beautiful and he is almost a year old!

Tomorrow marks 2 years home with Grayson!

It's hard to believe that 2 years ago tomorrow, Aaron and I were on our way to Guatemala! So many details of that trip are still so fresh in my mind. We were so nervous, so excited, wondering what life would be like as a family. I could not have in my wildest dreams imagined the joy this precious child would bring to our lives. We are so incredibly blessed to have the privilege of calling Grayson our son.

When you're in the thick of the adoption wait, it is hard to remember that all the months of paperwork, all the months of sitting and obsessing over "unofficial" lists, etc. is worth the wait a million times over. I would wait my entire life for Grayson. And, I know when it's all said and done, I will feel the same about Abram.

Until then, here are some picture of Grayson over the past couple of years. We will celebrate tomorrow with a Wall-E cake that reads, "We're so glad you're home!"

Embassy Day.

Home, at last!

First Birthday!
Second Birthday.

35 weeks down...how many more to go????

Well, today makes 35 weeks on the waiting list! My feelings about this are mixed. It's become an hour to hour struggle to stay positive. For the most part, we're holding up great! But, occasionally I allow myself to think about the fact that we're a year into this process, or that at this point in Grayson's adoption we were bringing him home, or I allow myself to compare our process with others with shorter wait times, etc. Luckily, these heavy-hearted moods typically only last a couple of hours and then we're off to do something and my pity-party is interrupted:)

One great thing about our referral taking longer than expected is that the court dates seem to be going faster. A couple of months back, referrals were only taking 6.5-7 months; however, once the court date was assigned, the court dates were 12 weeks away! Now, they are up to 8 weeks out! So, as long as we can get a referral and a court date before the courts close for the rainy season (the courts close each year from the beginning of Aug. to the end of Sept.) than we may come out of this just as quickly as people receiving referrals a couple months before us. Honestly, I'm trying to take it one step at a time and haven't given too much thought to what needs to happen after referral. I'm just getting SO anxious to see our little boys face! And to know how old he is so I can buy the little guys some clothes (not that he needs any)!

Oh, how ecstatic I will be when that phone rings and it's FINALLY our caseworker with our referral. Pray that it happens soon, soon, SOON!!!

Here are a couple of pictures of Grayson outside helping us water the grass. He typically gets wetter than the grass:) Oh, and a couple of pictures of our first taste of corn on the cob this season!

8 months tomorrow!

Tomorrow will make 8 months of waiting. I think I'm holding up pretty well all things considered:) Last week was a bummer as no one on the "unofficial" waiting list got a referral. But, I have high hopes for this week! We are still praying for an April referral; though it's looking less likely, we know God is capable if it is His will! Please continue to pray that it IS His will:)

On Friday morning, Grayson and I were taking a walk and saw our wonderful neighbor with her precious son, Taye! He seems to be making a wonderful transition to his new home and 3 new siblings:)

And, today after church, Grayson's friend, Toby, came to play! Toby is expecting a sister from Ethiopia! What a blessing it has been to have this community of adoptive families in Lafayette!

Here are a few pictures from our play date today:) The boys played non-stop for 2 hours!

Drawn from Water

Over the past year, Aaron and I have been looking for organizations in both Guatemala and Ethiopia to sponsor on a monthly basis. Though there are hundreds of organizations, it's not easy to find just one, that one that speaks to your heart. Well, I ran across this website on someone else's blog the other day and am pretty sure this is the real deal. Please, please, please, take a minute to visit their site and watch their wonderful video. If I can figure out how to download the video and then upload it on my blog I will do that later.

After hearing how these children are rescued from the Omo River, I had to think of my bible study this year and of baby Moses. Just because these children are left in the river does not mean God doesn't have wonderful things planned for their lives. God chose the leader for His people from the river. Who are these children? What great things does God have planned for their lives? Please look into this organization and consider sponsoring them.

One week away from 8 months!

It's hard to believe that next Monday will mark 8 months on the waiting list. And, while there are days that this fact is very hard to face, lately the thought has been almost encouraging. Sure, it's not the timeline I imagined; rarely is anything. But, being this close to 8 months mean we HAVE to be getting close to our referral. Currently, the person at the top of the list has been waiting about 8.5 months. Hopefully, Hanna and Maarten will get their referral this week!

I want to say thank you to everyone who has been keeping us in their prayers! Boy, have I really felt them lately. I have suddenly become very patient with this wait and had a period of several days where I thought very little about it. We had some wonderful weather last Thursday through Saturday and we literally spent 8-10 hours each day outside working in the yard and playing with Grayson. It was so wonderful. Just what we all needed after a long winter! We're back to a couple of days of rain now, but so far I'm still doing pretty well with the home stretch of this wait. Please continue to keep us in your prayers. We have decided to be more specific with our prayers. We are asking for a referral in April and a court date for May. We know this is not the norm for court dates right now, but we also know God is capable. We will pray for this multiple times a day and if it's God's will, awesome; if not, at least we tried!

Thank you all again!

33 weeks down...onto week 34!

Today marks 33 weeks on the waiting list. I have decided to begin focusing on all the ways God has been faithful in the recent years, including in Grayson's adoption and this adoption.

1. God placed my family in Liberty, IN about 20 years ago. This is when mine and Aaron's friendship began.

2. God placed an urgency in my heart to start dating Aaron just after high school graduation. Any sooner or later, and the timing would not have been right.

3. Aaron and I both attended Indiana colleges (because I was not accepted to the out-of-state one's I applied to, thank you, God). This allowed our relationship to continue through college.

4. God gave me a faithful, committed man in Aaron. This would be important when I chose to spend a semester in D.C. during college or 6 weeks in Zimbabwe during our first year of marriage.

5. God gave me a father that had been adopted. This opened my heart to adoption.

6. God gave me a husband that was not scared off by this new idea of adoption.

7. God gave us families that were accepting of our decision to adopt.

8. God made us wait longer than we expected for Grayson's referral. He had not been born yet and God knew he was our son.

9. My sister and brother-in-law's house burnt down around Christmas that year. They gave us some of the money they got from the fire to buy our plane tickets to visit Grayson for a week. God worked that tragedy to benefit others.

10. God placed Grayson in a Christian foster home.

11. God allowed us to complete Grayson's adoption in one year, despite the turmoil of Guatemalan adoptions.

12. God had prepared Grayson for the transition he was about to make and Grayson made the transition into our family seamlessly.

13. The day we picked up Grayson in Guatemala is his birthmother's birthday. God gave us a way to always remember Gloria.

14. God made so many things come together with the timing of selling our house which resulted in us living in the house we do now; a house we love and see our children growing up in.

15. God gave us neighbors that are also adopting from Ethiopia.

16. God once again gave us accepting family and friends when we announced we would be adopting again.

17. God has helped us find a way to financially afford another adoption.

18. God has given us a network of families in Lafayette as well as online that have been extremely supportive during this tough process.

19. God has given me Bible Study Fellowship. Not only does this keep me busy, it keeps me thinking about God and all His attributes.

20. God has given us more time to be a family of 3. We have had so many precious moments with Grayson over the last several months.

Based on past experiences, I have NO reason to doubt the timing of this adoption.

Good times despite the never ending rain!

After Friday's rough day and all the obsessing over the waiting list I've been doing, I decided I needed a much deserved break from all the adoption stuff. I decided I wasn't going to spend as much time on the computer or thinking about the adoption and Grayson and I were going to do more fun stuff together. Well, wouldn't you know it hasn't stopped raining since. But, we've managed to find some fun things to do inside.

Yesterday, Grayson didn't take a nap so we decided to run to Wal-Mart just to get out of the house. There we stumbled upon a Wall-E t-shirt for $5. Grayson loved it so we bought it. He put it on right when he got home and it hasn't come off yet (I did convince him to let me throw it in the dryer to freshen it up a bit after sleeping in it all night last night).

This morning we got out the play dough for something a little different to do. We made a play dough pizza with all the toppings. We even cut it into slices.

Well, the pizza got us thinking about food. So, for lunch we used cookie cutters to make Easter-themed peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. Grayson devoured them in record time!

And, tomorrow after bible study, we have a picnic playdate at the park with Grayson's friend, Toby. So, all in all, this is shaping up to be a great week, even if it has done nothing but rain thus far:)

Notice, the pictures span a period of 2 days; yet, Grayson's shirt remains the same:)

Congrats Amy and Joe!

Amy and Joe got their referral today! They had been waiting since August 5th...over 8 months! They were requesting either gender and everyone assumed it would be a boy...IT'S A GIRL!!! We're now number 1 on the list for a boy. However, we were not placed on the waiting list until August 27th so their may be several families before us that just aren't listed on the "unofficial list." Realistically, we may still have several more weeks. But, this is much more encouraging than what I was beginning to think:) Woohoo!!

Never did quite understand why it's called Good Friday...

So, before I go into my recap of our wonderful Easter weekend, I have to start with Friday. Earlier in the week I had called and left a message with Jessica, our wonderful caseworker at Gladney. I had a question about our medical reports (must be updated annually and we are 11 months into this process...yeah, it stinks big time) and about a recent change to the waiting list. So, on Friday she calls back. Let me just say that these caseworkers are amazing people. Day in and day out they work with people who are waiting for their children to come home. A kid on Christmas Eve doesn't even begin to explain the anticipation we feel. This anticipation goes from excitement to worry to frustration and, at times, down right anger. So, Jessica is so kindly trying to answer a question for me she is not at liberty to comment on. She tells me that it's inevitable that it will happen, we're getting closer, we've been waiting so long; there's only so much she can say without disclosing something she's not able to. And for some reason, I was just getting this hopeless feeling - I just started feeling like it was still going to be awhile. And, before I know it, I'm on the phone with her, crying. Yep, after 7.5 months of waiting the tears I've been repressing for months now, finally came. And, wouldn't you know it was to a complete stranger. But, there was something comforting about the fact that she doesn't really know me. I could hang up the phone, dry my eyes, and continue to wait. Jessica was so sweet and understanding as I let 7.5 months of tears work their way out. I have a feeling I'm not the first adoptive parent to let loose on the phone:) So, it was just not a great day. I was just feeling like we've caught so many bad breaks along this wait. First it was 3-5 months, then 6, then 7, now 8, and I have a feeling it could be even longer. It seems that every time we move up a week on the waiting list, the line gets 2 weeks longer. We seem to be getting so close, and then suddenly get further away. And on Friday, it had just been enough.

And, to make the phone call a little more stressful (now kinda humorous); Grayson had dumped a huge thing of balls behind the chair in the office. He can't reach them so he goes to the closet to get the Swiffer sweeper out and tries to reach the balls. Well, he loses control of the Swiffer and knocks the clock off the wall, breaking the glass in it. All the glass was behind the chair so he was fine. But, he then shoves the Swiffer under the chair to try to work the balls out. This time the Swiffer gets stuck under the chair and he breaks the Swiffer handle in half. Yeah, I'm pretty sure this added to the tears.

Anyway, we had a great Easter weekend and it did provide the distraction and rejuvenation I needed. I know we still have a while to wait and I have to be okay with that. It's getting harder and harder to be patient, but I have to in order to keep myself sane. I have about 5 weeks of bible study left and lots of things I could be doing around the house and outside. I'm going to attempt to separate myself from the computer a bit to make days go a little faster. I believe that God will work this long wait for the good and someday I will look back on this wait and it will seem like the blink of an eye.

So, I will leave you with a couple of pictures from the weekend. I hope you all had a wonderful Easter!

Pretty much the weekend:)

Yesterday was 32 weeks on the waiting list...on to week 33:) That smiley face is my poor attempt to show that I'm okay with 32 weeks of waiting:) Oops, there I go again.

Well, this weekend will be a nice distraction from adoption world; although, holidays do always make me wish I had a picture to pass around. We will be heading to good ole' Liberty, Indiana to spend time with parents, grandparents, siblings, etc. It's always nice to get away from the computer for a few days and not sit and obsess over whether or not someone has gotten a referral.

Grayson will have 2 Easter egg hunts. With my sister's recent move to Virginia, he will be the only one hunting eggs at both hunts. I guess that means that all the eggs will be put in one basket:)

Well, I think that is all there is to report! Have a wonderful Easter!

Swing set success!

Well, we had the perfect day on Saturday for putting the swing set together! Aaron's friend, Drew, came over in the morning and they worked for several hours. We took a break for lunch and after lunch, Aaron's mom and dad got here to help. Aaron, Earl, and I spent the day putting the swing set together while Grayson and Cathy played. It worked out perfect...we finished up just a little after dark. And, just in time. Sunday it rained the ENTIRE day. Today, the rain stopped and the SNOW moved in. But, we took Grayson out for a few minutes today after lunch so he could try out his new swing set!

Willing to share...on one condition:)

I had to post this funny story before I forgot about it. Today I was folding some laundry. Amongst the laundry was Grayson's winter coat. He points to the coat and says, "Baby's coat." He calls himself "Baby." We tell him his name is Grayson all the time, but he insists on "Baby." I said, "yes, that's your coat. But, hopefully you won't need it anymore." Then I added, "would it be okay to save it for Abram?" Grayson shakes his head and says, "no, Baby's coat." I said, "Oh, but Grayson, Mommy already got you a NEW coat for next year." He takes a second to think, smiles really big, points to the coat, and says, "Abram." I think he'll be perfectly willing to share as long as he has something new to replace what he graciously hands down:)

It's the weekend:)

Well, today makes 7 months and 1 week on the waiting list! Maybe only a few more weeks to go??? I'm glad the weekend is here and I'm hoping it will mean a reprieve from "waiting" (if there is such a thing). I'll certainly be thinking of the 2 families on the waiting list who will be entering their 9th month of waiting this weekend (unless, of course, they get a phone call today)!

We're supposed to finally get a break from the rain. So, Aaron and his dad will be attempting to put the swing set together this weekend! I say "attempt" because from the reviews, it seems to have taken most people several days to put together. I'm hoping it will come together in record time without sacrificing quality construction:)

Well, that's all for now! I'll leave you with a couple pictures of Grayson:)

31 weeks down and Ellen got her referral!!!!

Today has been a good day. We've been on the waiting list for 31 weeks and I'm starting to get the hang of this waiting thing. I have been "blogging" back and forth with my fellow waitlisters today and today was a particularly antsy day for Ellen. Then, I come downstairs, sit at the computer and get ready to focus on my bible study, but have to check my email first. I find a message from Ellen saying she got "the call" TODAY! AHHH! I have been telling myself that I have to stay cool, calm, and collected about this wait at least until Ellen gets her referral! This Friday would have been 8 months on the waiting list for her. So, I know that realistically we may still have several more weeks, but, it's so, so exciting nonetheless!

A day late or a day early

Yesterday marked 30 weeks of waiting...onto week 31. Tomorrow marks 7 months of waiting. Whew! I never thought I would survive a wait this long...but, here I am! You're not getting rid of me that easily. The longer we wait, the easier it gets in some ways. It becomes easier to convince yourself it may never happen, or some days, it just gets easier knowing we have to be getting close. We are officially 5th on the unofficial waitlist (#3 for either gender/boy). As the weather gets nicer, it becomes easier to fill our days - walks, trips to the park, working in the yard, all those wonderful Springtime activities!

There is also a lot to be excited about here in Lafayette. Three different families in the area will be traveling in the next few days to bring home their little boys! I can't wait to meet them at our next get-together. In some ways, seeing others make progress is a little hard. Embarrassingly enough, it causes little pangs of jealously, though I'm so extremely excited for each of the families that have been waiting so long to see their children. But, the flip side is, it gives hope. Hope that this crazy process does come to an end at some point and the outcome is worth the wait ten times over! I remember after Grayson's adoption was final I actually had times that I missed the excitement of the adoption process. Yes, crazy, I know! But, I missed checking my email and finding a new set of pictures. Or, checking my email and finding that we had passed family court or that our DNA was a match, etc. Yes, I actually missed waiting for that call saying we were officially Grayson's parents because though the wait was so painful, the call was more exciting than I could have ever imagined. So, while this 7 months has been painful at times, I am still hanging in there, knowing that when the call does come it will be more joyful than I could ever imagine (and trust me, I have tried imagining it thousands of times in the last 7 months).

So, here's to 7 months of waiting...lucky 7 right? It will happen sometime in this 7th month????

6 months, 3 weeks...but who's counting?

The closer we get to our referral, the more I feel the need to blog! I LOVE checking other people's blogs, and get really excited when they've posted something new. Thank you to all of those who are feeding my need to read blogs!

According to the recent referrals, people have been waiting around 7 months and 2 or 3 weeks! This means we could have another month. Or, it could mean we have another week. Or, let's face it, it could mean we have another 2 months (I'm only half kidding). But, I'm feeling pretty calm about it all and focusing my attention on other people getting their referrals. When I see Ellen finally receive her referral, I will start to get really antsy.

I'm excited to be spending a weekend at home with not a lot to do. We had plans of painting the fence, but am not sure the weather will be as warm as we hoped. Next week is my bible study's spring break, so I won't be spending the weekend worrying about lesson plans! Yippee! We are planning on buying Grayson a new swingset for Easter/"we already feel guilty about having to leave you for a week while we're in Ethiopia (someday)." I've been calling all the Wal-Marts just waiting for them to get their spring merchandise in stock. That may give us something to do on Saturday or Sunday. Oh, and tonight at 11 I'm heading to Wal-Mart to buy Twilight! I finally caved and read the books (still on #4) and LOVE them! I'd really like to buy a "Team Cullen" shirt, but I'm afraid I may lose some friends over the whole charade. I mean, what sane adult wears a T-shirt endorsing a high school romance novel involving vampires. I'm sure I'll end up with some sort of Twilight paraphanalia at some point.

Well, enough rambling. Everyone have a wonderful weekend. Here are a few pictures of Grayson from last weekend. I'm telling you, Ralph Lauren NEEDS this boy for their spring catalog!

29 weeks down, on to week 30!

Tomorrow (in a few hours) marks 29 weeks on the waiting list. I'm calming down a bit after the excitement of a boy referral yesterday and another little girl today! Wow, lots of referrals lately. This makes me cautiously happy. Happy because it's great for families to be receiving referrals and for us to move up the list. Cautious because with all the referrals lately, I'm thinking we may be coming up on a "drought" of sorts. In January there were like 10 referrals, then only 4 in February. I'm hoping with all the referrals in March, this doesn't mean very few in April. Oh well, what can I do but wait and enjoy this BEAUTIFUL weather we've been having:)

Grumbling against God

I know I've mentioned how wonderful Bible Study Fellowship is on numerous occasions, but here I go again!

This year we've been studying the life of Moses. And, several of our lessons have talked about the grumbling Israelites. I mean, these people were unbelievable. God spared them from several plagues, delivered them from Egypt, parted the Red Sea, gave them manna and water for 40 years and they still complained! Every time you turn around these ungrateful people were complaining to Moses about something. They didn't trust that God would take care of them, so they complained. WOW. That's what complaining is isn't it? It's a statement of our lack of faith in God. And, even more convicting, ANY complaint is a complaint against God. Ouch...that hurts. How many times have I grumbled in my heart about our wait for our referral. I'm not just complaining against the process of international adoption. I'm complaining against God. I'm flat out saying, "God, I don't trust the situation that You have put me in. I don't believe that you will provide for me." Not only that, but I'm also being ungrateful. God has given me a loving, supportive, domesticated husband, a son that will light up a room with his prescence, a family that would go to the ends of the earth for us, a stable job in an unstable economy, a beautiful house, a group of local families adopting from Ethiopia, and the list goes on and on. But, that doesn't keep me from complaining the first time I encounter a speedbump in this adoption.

I'm done being like the Israelites. I'm ready to be more like Moses. I'm ready to fall facedown on the ground in front of the Lord and cry out to Him and no one else.

AND...there was another baby boy referral today! That makes us 3rd on the list for boy/either gender. Now, the boy referrals have been a little slower coming lately and there are about 6 other families in front of us. So, this means it could still be awhile, but we're getting closer with each day:)

28 weeks

Today is 28 weeks on the waiting list. I've had a few rough days lately as I allow myself to think about MY timeline for this adoption. At one time I thought we may be traveling now, and never did I dream we wouldn't even have our referral! Oh well, good thing I've learned to not put much stock in my timing:) As excited as I am for warm weather, I am a little sad that this summer will not be spent as a family of four. Oh did I have grand plans for Grayson, Abram, and I. But, it will be nice to have another season to focus my attention solely on Grayson and have a lot of fun with him before little brother demands some attention.

Yesterday, Grayson was upstairs and walked into the nursery/guest room. He pointed at the crib. I asked him whose bed that was and he said, "Abram!" He then looks at the crib, puts his hands in the air, and says, "Abram GONE!" Yes, Grayson, Abram is gone. We don't know where he is. He's hopefully in the Gladney Care Center by now growing bigger with each day that passes. It was a great moment to talk about Abram being in Ethiopia like he was in Guatemala and how we loved him even though we didn't know him yet.

In other, exciting news, Aaron passed the exam he had been studying for for months! He is now a CCIE (Cisco certified internet expert)! This is a HUGE accomplishment as there are less than 20,000 in the world and only about 6,000 in the U.S. He worked so hard for this and I am so proud of him for achieving this HUGE goal! I have to admit, it is nice to have him back in the evenings. Most nights for the last several months were spent studying...and it paid off!

Here are a couple of pictures from last week. Grayson and I went to the Children's Museum and met my sister, my nephews, and niece there. The kids had a great time playing together. Grayson cried for his cousin Ellie as we left the museum that day!

Posting a little prematurely.

Tomorrow marks 27 weeks. I'm not really sure how I feel about that. On one hand, I'm getting impatient to the point that it's getting downright hard. But, on the other hand, I know each day is one day closer. It just begins to become hard to constantly adjust your expectations. I had told myself back in January we still had a long time. Then, there were several boy referrals in a matter of a couple of weeks. I let myself believe that it would be sooner than I originally thought. Now, we're back to maybe one or two referrals a week. And, none of them have been boys lately. So, I'm back to thinking it will never happen:) The upside to this mindset is that when it does finally happen, I will be totally surprised!

Right now, I'm focusing on praying for the families that have court dates this week and next. There are 3 families in Lafayette with approaching court dates. One is this Friday. I am so prayerful that they pass this first time around. She visited her little boy in Ethiopia in January and he was very sick. They have obviously been extremely worried about him since then. It is very important that he get to come home soon. The other two families have court dates next Friday. One family is our neighbors! I am excited that their little boy is very close in age to Grayson! The other family has been waiting so long. Their referral took NINE months! I cannot handle 9 months, Lord, please don't test me in that way! Please keep these families in your prayers!

On a happy note, Grayson and I had a wonderful day yesterday. We met up with two other moms and their little boys and went to the Children's Museum! Both families we met through our Lafayette Ethiopian adoption group. The boys (and moms) had sooo much fun! It was a great day. We were laughing about what it would look like next year when we try to go with our 6 children! I forgot my camera, but will try to get some pictures from one of the moms that remembered her camera.