Blessed Indeed!!!!

It arrived! It finally arrived! I've never been so happy to receive a bill for $3000! Our dossier invoice arrived today along with our home study approval letter. As soon as Daniel gets on the bus, I am headed to FedEx to overnight our dossier to Holt. Months of paperwork completed and ready to leave my possession. Shooo! Couldn't have come soon enough! Early next week, we should be officially on the wait list for a referral.

Blessed!

We're still waiting for our dossier invoice so that we can send our dossier to Holt. It's been 4 days since they received our notarized home study. It feels like it's been a month. Waiting stinks - especially for a control freak like me! During this waiting time though, I have noticed a few things. First, my prayer time has increased. Second, I've been thinking about things a lot. Adoption does that I guess. Forces us to rely on God and forces us to consider many things.

Lately I've been thinking about our blessings. Each time I read another news article about Ethiopia or get an update from Holt or read emails from other Holt families about the updates they receive, I'm reminded of how blessed we are and how much we take for granted.

They are doing road construction around the capital of Addis Ababa right now. As a result, the limited electricity that they have is being diverted for use for the construction and, therefore, communication with the capital has been difficult or impossible this week. I am irritated when road construction causes a 5 minute delay in my trip somewhere. Can you imagine losing all electricity for construction?

I was looking over the list from Holt regarding needed donations at the care centers in Ethiopia. Mosquito nets, anti-fungal cream, diaper wipes. Things that we either don't need or things that are so readily available that I can run to the nearest dollar store and buy a case if need be.

Toilet paper, clean running water, antibiotics, electricity, internet, email, cell phones, Diet Coke, Power Bars, Dairy Queen, beds, air conditioning, transportation, silly gummy bracelets in a variety of shapes for my kids to trade with their friends, ice hockey, schools, pharmacies, hospitals, TVs, phones, mail delivery, grocery stores, libraries, the zoo, food, shelter, healthy family members. How blessed I am!!

My devotion for this morning was on this very subject. The author wrote:

If we take it all for granted, if we think life just shows up with this stuff already in place, if we trick ourselves into believing that everyday household items come from the grocery store rather than from a gracious God, we walk right past countless reasons for worship without even knowing it.

Every good gift and every perfect gift comes from above, coming down from the Father of lights with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change. James 1:17

We are blessed to be a blessing! And, we are SO VERY blessed!!!

So, although I hate this waiting, I am blessed even in the waiting as I learn to trust in Him and as I am reminded of all that I have to be thankful for. My devotional questions for further thought asked,

• What are ten things that I have taken for granted recently?
• Have I allowed myself to have an "entitlement" mentality?
• What does God really owe me?

Good questions to think about. He owes us nothing, but he chooses to give us a lot. What will we do with all that we've been given?

Road Trip!!

I left home around 8:15 this morning and went to the Stumpfs' house to pick up Julie. She graciously offered to be my companion on the journey today. (we joked that we were Thelma & Louise) Then, with the guidance of Google Maps and Garmin, my GPS, we set out for Greensburg to pick up the signed, notarized copies of our home study and the notarized copies of our home study agencies' license.

Once we had the home studies in hand, we got back on the turnpike & started driving East to Harrisburg. At least, I think it was East...yes....definitely East! :-) (It's a good thing we had the GPS!) After a few hours and a few bathroom breaks - plus a REALLY, REALLY good cinnamon roll from Cinnabon - we reached the state capital. It was actually quite pretty despite the construction.




Unlike our male counterparts, we had no trouble asking the security guy at the door for directions to the appropriate building and found our destination fairly quickly. Within about 10 minutes, I had the all-important, state-certified documents in hand and we were on our way to find a restaurant for lunch (which proved to be the most difficult part of the whole trip! Don't people in Harrisburg eat?!)

Anyway, all went well. I was grateful for a friend to chat with along the way, the beautiful weather (until we reached Pittsburgh anyway - what's with that?!), and the ease of this final paperwork step. Next stop, FedEx!!

7,363 miles...

ONE WAY!!

I was just looking at an online mileage calculator. The distance from Pittsburgh International Airport in Pittsburgh, PA to Washington Dulles in Washington, DC to Bole Airport in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia is 7,363 miles. That's a LONGGGGG flight. After our flight to France's effect on my back last year, this time, I will definitely remember to pack my muscle relaxers in my carry-on luggage, just in case...

Home Study Approved!

Yay! One more step closer! We received an email today from our home study agency indicating that Holt had approved our Home study, and requesting that we review & approve the draft so they can have the copies printed and notarized for us tomorrow. I am waiting to hear back from them, but if I can work out the details with getting Daniel on the school bus & such, I am hoping to drive to Harrisburg on Thursday to have our home study and our power of attorney for Holt state-certified. Once that is complete, we will be ready to send our USCIS application to get orphan immigration approval from the Fed. gov't and we will be ready to send our dossier off to Holt. Once Holt approves our dossier, we will be "official" and will receive our referral waiting list # and officially start waiting for "the call"! Seems strange to be excited about waiting some more....but, we are! At least we'll be waiting for something different. :-)

The Starfish Story

adapted from The Star Thrower
by Loren Eiseley (1907 - 1977)

Once upon a time, there was a wise man who used to go to the ocean to do his writing. He had a habit of walking on the beach before he began his work.

One day, as he was walking along the shore, he looked down the beach and saw a human figure moving like a dancer. He smiled to himself at the thought of someone who would dance to the day, and so, he walked faster to catch up.

As he got closer, he noticed that the figure was that of a young man, and that what he was doing was not dancing at all. The young man was reaching down to the shore, picking up small objects, and throwing them into the ocean.

He came closer still and called out "Good morning! May I ask what it is that you are doing?"

The young man paused, looked up, and replied "Throwing starfish into the ocean."

"I must ask, then, why are you throwing starfish into the ocean?" asked the somewhat startled wise man.

To this, the young man replied, "The sun is up and the tide is going out. If I don't throw them in, they'll die."

Upon hearing this, the wise man commented, "But, young man, do you not realize that there are miles and miles of beach and there are starfish all along every mile? You can't possibly make a difference!"

At this, the young man bent down, picked up yet another starfish, and threw it into the ocean. As it met the water, he said, "It made a difference for that one."

***

There are 145 million orphans worldwide. Eric and I can't make a difference for all of them, but we can make a difference for one.

Why Ethiopia?

One of the most common questions that we're getting about our adoption is..."why Ethiopia?". It's a long story as to how Eric and I arrived at this place, but the simple answer to the question is - need. There are millions of orphaned children in Ethiopia who need homes. Africa is described as "a continent of orphans". If you want to read an eye-opening book, check out Melissa Faye Greene's "There is No Me Without You", or visit her website to watch a short video clip about the book.

www.thereisnomewithoutyou.com