Waiting 16 weeks Now!

I cannot believe we have been waiting 4 monrhs now. And very soon, courts in Ethiopia which have been closed for the rainy season will reopen and I feel that referrals will come quicker. I still anticipate to get our referral ( which is when we first get our call about our baby girl and see her for the first time in an e-mail pic) at about Christmas time and travel to bring her home the first of the year. Maybe we will be pleasantly surprised though and hear sooner. Anyway, I have been doing a little bit of nesting and spent today in her room getting her crib put together. And as soon as Bradley got home from school, he noticed it and climbed in. He fits in there pretty good and wants to sleep with Annsleigh. I thought that was sweet. In the meantime, her first doll "Anna" is patiently waiting there for her.

Random Pictures Having Fun!

A hole in 1 for Bradley!

You might be a redneck if you fish with a BB gun!
The Stones River is literally a stones throw from our house.

JesusPainter.com

Mike Lewis, better known as The Jesus Painter came to our church today and what we saw him do was truly moving. It is as if Jesus uses Mikes hands arms and fingers to move them in such a way to give us a glimpse of Jesus in a portrait. He has worked with Steven Curtis Chapman, Michael W. Smith and at the Dove awards. What a blessing for him to visit our church , and he will visit yours too. Just go to JesusPainter.com and have your church book him. He will paint the most amazing portraits of Jesus in about 10 miin using big paint brushes and coarse strokes. He splatters red paint at the portrait to put the blood of Jesus on it. It is something you have got to see and if you go to http://www.jesuspainter.com/ you can watch videos of it. His paintings are also for sale. Take a moment to check this out. God definitely is using this young mans talent to convey messages and meaning. It left the entire congregation speechless.

Threee More Referrals Yesterday!

So happy for all the families! Another 9 month old boy (unless it is the same one as the day before, but I like to think not!), a 6 month old boy, and a 6 year old girl all got forever families yesterday. That moves us up up up the list! And things should really keep moving as October nears and the rainy season comes to an end. I feel like I want to work on Annsleigh's room, but I am waiting for my sister in law to finish painting a "garden" in her room before we get the crib together. It would feel more real if it was all done. But, I have learned that it is very true that good things do indeed come to those that wait. ( We are about # 53 now in line for Annsleigh!)

Happy Ethiopian New Year!

Today is New Years Day in Ethiopia, the year 2001. And I am sorry to say I really cant explain yet why it is only year 2001 for them, other than they follow a different calendar year than we do. They have 13 months and the 13th month is like only 6 days long, etc etc. and there are other different days and numbers to months too. Anyway, I cant think of a better way to celebrate the Ehtiopian New Year than with a referral. And no, not ours yet, but one family did get a phone call today for a referral for a 9 month old boy! Moving up to number 56ish now! Keep 'em coming!

More Referrals!

Finally, after 2 long months, our agency has called 2 families today with news of referrals! What lucky families they are! Both babies are boys. One is 9 months old and the other is only 6 weeks old. How precious is that? For those not familiar with what this means, it means these families are called that they have a baby picked our for them. These families are e-mailed their first glimpses of their baby by e-mail along with any info on the infant/or infants birth family. The families have to contemplate accepting the referral. ( I think as soon as I see the pic, it's a done deal for me). All this really means that we move up the list to about #57ish. But, not all the waiting families are waiting for a less than 6 month old baby girl as we are. Some are waiting for boys, older baby girls, or siblings. So I realize that this number is bogus. But, trying to keep track of it helps me focus on any movement closer to us getting our referral call about Annsleigh. Hope there are more referrals soon!