We are finally number one on our agencies waiting for a referral list! What an amazing feeling when we heard the director of our agency tell us this! She told us since the end of August that there is a little girl in an orphanage in Ethiopia that is meant to be ours! We were just waiting on medicals and paperwork to be cleared so she can legally give us all the information and pictures of this beautiful girl! We were so relieved to hear that our future daughter was in an orphanage where she was getting food in her belly and has clothes on her back. Finally, we are in the last part of waiting before we can see her precious face!
After three months of patiently waiting to see her precious face, we called the director again to see what is going on. We have heard that UNICEF was in the region that she if from, and is almost stopping the process while they are there. We lost our referral. The one that was meant to be ours (or so we thought). Our hearts hit the flour, our emotions were/are raw and ugly, but real. Real pain for this baby who we had absolutely no information and haven't seen, except the peace in our hearts that she was alive & safe. UNICEF took her from the "safe" environment of the orphanage to find her a "foster home" in Ethiopia. Yes, apparently they have a right to do this. So now what?!? We wait some more, while mourning the loss of the baby that we have grown to love but never have seen. Luckily, we have not told the girls, we were waiting for pictures since they would have wanted to see her beautiful face.
We were warned that we need to protect our three daughters and ourselves, by telling the girls nothing and basically only telling a few select people once we get a referral because of this situation. The UNICEF organization is able to take the children out of the orphanage, even after they have been referred to a family that would love and care for them forever. We have been warned to not get attached to the little face in the pictures because this is happening more frequently. This is the reality of adopting from Ethiopia. We have to decide if we can protect our hearts, because if we can't handle it the only option is to back out now. How do you not get attached? How do you keep it a secret from family & friends when the moment you've waited for for over a year has finally arrived? How do you not make this personal? We do not have an answer for this, but I guess we will find out since we are not giving up. We are praying for the referral we lost, and that our future referral is not taken from us. Yes, ladies and gentleman we live in a messed up world.
It feels lately as if adoption is a game of waiting. You pick an agency, and wait for approval. You complete your home study, and wait until it is approved by your agency. Complete your dossier, and wait for a referral. Once you receive your referral, you wait for a court date. I understand the necessity of all of the paperwork (you need to fulfill both country's requirements), but it also feels like the governments are making the journey almost impossible to get through. Why is this? Are they trying to rule those out who are not willing to go the extra mile, or want to make sure that the parents have patience? I'm really not sure, but they could simplify the process a little to get more children to their forever families.
We recently paint our dining room with some lovely, peaceful green paint. We have a wall with nothing on it, except family pictures. We have a frame for each child, and a frame for a family picture. As I was hanging up the pictures on the freshly painted wall, we decided to put an extra nail hole in the wall for our next lovely little lady. Our five year old decided to draw a picture of what she thinks her baby sister will look like. So, instead of hanging an empty frame on the wall in the fourth spot, the frame is now graced with her picture, and what a great job she did!!
As the weather is getting chillier, and more warm soups are being consumed, we are passing the time by praying for our next little one, spending time with our ladies, and having fun with craft projects with them! We are so blessed to have three lovely girls who are so sweet and creative! They are each unique, and we are so in love with them! We are truly blessed, and the next will be one one lucky girl who is already loved by her parents and sisters!
September is gone and we didn't receive a referral. We are a little disappointed, but were keeping ourselves busy with fun fall crafts and activities! Autumn has officially hit Ohio with the cooler temperatures, beautiful changing leaves, and yummy baked goods! This is the season that I love here in Ohio! We love going to our local pumpkin patch trying to find our perfect pumpkin, walking through crunchy leaves, baking yummy treats together, and snuggling with our gorgeous ladies under cozy blankets!
During this season of Autumn, we are praising God for what we have- a happy marriage, three beautiful and very sweet ladies (who are healthy & intelligent), income that keeps a roof over our head and allows us to purchase healthy meals, great family, and wonderful supportive friends! Although we are a little sad and disappointed with what didn't receive (a referral), we are faithful that God will grant us permission to someday see our beautiful girl's face.
o 
