Happiness!!

This winter has been full of surprises and disappointments.   We received an email on Thanksgiving afternoon, as we were preparing a couple of dishes to take with us to our family's Thanksgiving meal.  With it came pictures of this beautiful little girl with big brown eyes, and an adorable little nose.  Of course, we were ecstatic, and said yes (we completed & sent the ppwk out the very next day to say that we intend to adopt this sweetie)!!  Oh, what a challenging Thanksgiving day as we sat through a meal with our entire family and did not mention that we finally received a referral!  Oh, there were glances exchanged between us, but we did not mention it until that evening when the festivities were over and all three girls were tucked soundly into bed.  We felt conflicted.  We were so happy that after 2 1/2 years, we finally have a referral!  We couldn't wait to tell people and show her beautiful face to the closest people in our lives!   However, the first people we wanted to see her lovely face to be our children, and we still wanted to protect them.   The reality is that she is still not ours (which is why we legally cannot post any pictures), and the only thing tying us together are a bundle of papers and a few pictures.  As much as we would LOVE her to be ours, we are still not her parents and we could still be told no.  She could still be swept away from us in an instant, and I cannot imagine what that would do to her three potential big sisters.  The day finally came when we saw her adorable face, however we did not celebrate it with others.  At least, not yet. 



As we were getting through the holidays, our paperwork went through the PAIR Process.  As we were decorating trees, wrapping gifts, and playing in fluffy snow,  the Embassy in Ethiopia was investigating, conducting interviews, and approved her portion of the paperwork!  We are one step closer to finally bringing her home!  However, she is still not our child.  She can still be taken away from us at any point.  We were told to not get attached to a referral, but how do you look at a picture of a child that God made for a purpose and not want to be her momma?  How do you protect your heart because the ET Govt is becoming more strict with paperwork and is turning more and more families away?  The only way I can is by giving it to God.  We have three children who need a mother and not a blubbering mess of a person.  I rely on God to keep her safe, keep her fed, that she is shown love everyday,  and that MOWA accepts our paperwork on the first round.   Our agency recommended that we update our ENTIRE dossier this month, so we have been running around obtaining documents, bugging friends for new reference letters, attending doctor appointments for new medical letters, completing fingerprints, etc.   The bundle is officially authenticated, and is beginning it's travel to ET today!   



In the mean time, as we wait for another MOWA review date, I continue to school our lovely ladies!  As I look back to this time last year,  we were uncertain regarding how our first year of home schooling would go.  Do I had the patience and intelligence to school not one, but two of our children?  Could I remain on task and complete work each day?  Can I teach effectively the subjects that are not my strong suit?  I viewed taking on our children's education as intimidating, and something that I cannot fail at.    Today I see it as one of the best decisions for them (and I am loving it too)!  I cannot believe that I almost have one year under my belt (we will be finishing our 32/36 weeks soon)!  Both ladies are excelling, maturing,  finding their unique individuality, are loving the curriculum, have more family time, and have sped though math so quickly that they are now working through a Singapore Math book that is the next grade level!  There is no question that we will be home schooling next year!  It may not be right for everyone (and it may not be perfect for us the entire way through their schooling), but for now we are seeing positive results!   


Since it has been four months since I have updated the blog (sorry about that, we were digesting the referral, and not quite sure how or when would be a "safe" time to tell others), I am loading this post up with a few pictures from the fall and winter.  Enjoy!


Pictures from our Fall zoo trip:

Our youngest daughter's favorite animal!  She could have stayed here all day!

This guy was pacing in front of our children, looking hungry! The glass was pretty thick, but it still made me a bit nervous (the girls LOVED being that close to the big cat)!

Of course we have to do this, TWICE!! This is our middle ladies' favorite animal!



The wonder of a gigantic, white bear!






Yes, we are THOSE kind of parents who get their children a puppy for Christmas (I know, we must not be busy enough with home schooling and all of these adoption updates)!  We were not looking to add another four legged family member, but he stole our hearts!   Meet Jack (AKA Biscuit, Milky Way, Butterscotch, Buddy-Boy, fluffy boy, etc).  He is a laid back Cocker Spaniel Mix that will happily come to any name!  Adding him has been a great experience in responsibility for our girls.  Puppies take a lot of work, and they have stepped up to the plate with helping!

He LOVES snow!  He loves to bury his face in the cold stuff!  Check out his feet, his scruffy hair makes mini snowballs!! He still has not mastered boundaries of our yard, which is why he is on a chain.  Gotta keep the little guy safe. 

Sleeping with our middle daughter's stuffed animal (it must be love for her so share her beloved Charlotte)







Please keep the sweet little girl in your prayers as we patiently wait to see if MOWA accepts our updates.