4 months

It has been four months yesterday since we were on the waiting list with AGCI, so it has been eight months since we began the application process. My how time flies. I have to admit, I honestly thought we'd have a referral by now with our age parameters being 0-3 years. Most of the families with our agency are 0-12 months. This month has been very S-L-O-W for referrals b/c the courts are closed in Ethiopia in August and September. We are hoping though since 9 children just came home on Friday that referrals will be coming again REAL REAL soon. While I wish I could see his/her face, I know it's all in God's timing. Sometimes I just wish I knew if it was a boy or girl or siblings or both. Other times, I wish I knew the age so I could begin gathering age appropriate clothes and toys. I think, "what size clothes?". How should I decorate the room? So many questions that will not be answered until that call comes. In the meanwhile, I have one child's face in my mind from when another girl went to the government orphanage a couple of months ago. She took pictures of so many of the children in the orphanage. Who knows if "the one in the yellow shirt" might be him or her. I sure have said a lot of prayers for that child. I don't know his/her name, but you know when you look at a picture of a bunch of kids and one just leaps out at you. You begin to love and pray for that child and wish you could hold them and read them a story.

This weekend, we cleaned our garage. arghhhh....It was a 7 hour gig, b/c all my school stuff was in there. I had to sort and go through all kinds of things. One thing I enjoyed though was going through all the books. I ran across my favorites like, "The Little Mouse, The Red Ripe Strawberry, and the Big Hungry Bear", "Brown Bear, Brown Bear", and many many more. I actually longed to hold another little one and make the goofy sounds that I made with my first two many years ago.

It is funny.....people will ask me, "So, what do you do with all your time now that you're not teaching?" so I thought about that....Here goes....Just a few things I've done in the last three weeks:
cleaned the house
shampooed all the carpets in the house
cleaned the inside of the van
shampooed the carpets in the van
cleaned the garage
weeded the gardens and landscaping in the front
taxi the kids bath and forth from school, horseback, and cross-country practice
done quiet times and Bible reading
volunteered to order scholastic for the 4th and 5th grades at Natalie's school
sponsored a teenager from Korah and went on a scavenger hunt to find goodies he might like
went on a hunt for teacher's wish list items (Did you know you can get 32 dry erase boards made from a 4 X 8 piece of showerboard at the Home Depot for less than $12??!!)
sorted through my teaching stuff to give others things for their classrooms
balance the checkbook
rode bikes with Natalie
walked Lilly many, many times
had lunch with my mom every Friday (We can now go to real restaurants that the kids don't like. :))
caught up with friends
cooked regularly (Trevis was main man chef when I was teaching.)
taught math to Spencer every afternoon as I check his homework.
helping Spencer get organized (This is a joke really b/c I need help in this department.)
eat lunch with Natalie on Thursdays and help out as needed there

One of Natalie's friends said, "Mrs. C....Are you bored not teaching?" I said, "No, I miss teaching, but I'm definately not bored." Somehow, I always have things to do. I do enjoy being available to my family more and getting prepared for a new one to join our family. A couple of days ago, I read this psalm in my quiet time......Psalm 33:20-22
We wait in hope for the LORD;
he is our help and our shield.
In him our hearts rejoice,
for we trust in his holy name.
May your unfailing love rest upon us, O LORD,
even as we put our hope in you.

Please continue to pray for our family to be hopeful as we wait. Waiting is hard.....

 With Much Love,