Lucas's Wisdom

My four-year-old son is a very wise little guy. Our family prays everyday for our Ethiopian kids. Yesterday, knowing that the courts are now assigning courtdates, I prayed "Lord, please let us get our courtdate this week." Lucas said, "Mommy, we keep on asking God for "one week" and that just makes the time longer!" Not quite understanding, I assurred him that I understood how long it was seeming to take (That's an understatement!). He said, "No Mommy! Praying for "one week" takes a long time! Instead, we should pray for a courtdate tomorrow!" Duh! We're supposed to talk to God truthfully from our hearts, right? Well, my heart isn't really desiring a courtdate this week! I want a courtdate right now! So, we prayed again, this time specifically asking God for a courtdate "tomorrow" thanks to my most wise four-year-old!

Warm and Fuzzy

"Warm and Fuzzy"- I stole this title from Rich over at No More Counting the Cost. I just read this recent post of his, and it moved my heart deeply. This is exactly what the cry of Avery's and my heart is these days. The Mother Theresa quote says it all. I was so angry recently when somebody suggested that Africans are poor because they're not as smart as Americans! What a ridiculous notion! I guess I'm still a little bit fired up about it! Check out Rich's post: Warm and Fuzzy.

YeKaitlyn Biciklaet!!- Kaitlyn's Bike!!!

On Saturday morning, Kaitlyn came to me an announced that she is old enough to ride a two-wheeler without training wheels now. Well, what can a mother say to such determination?! So, I assurred her that indeed, she is old enough and I took the risk of telling her that "today will be the day you learn to ride your bike." Sure enough, after just a little bit of trying, she was sailing along all by herself! She was so proud of herself too! Now, I do have to mention that we took her around the block on her bike and she was going so fast that she couldn't make a turn. She ended up hitting a car parked on the street and flying off her bike where she landed in the grass. Thank God for helmets! And for good rear bumpers too!

Ferd Bet (Hulet)- Courts(Two)

Well, I finally broke down and called our agency today. I already knew before I called that I'd be told "When we have news, we'll call you," but I thought I'd take a shot. At the very least, I was hoping for some sort of update. What I was told is that while the courts are opened, the judges have not yet returned, therefore, there will be no courtdates! NOT what I wanted to hear! Then, to top it off, I went home and in my mailbox was a picture of one of the most beautiful Ethiopian babies I have ever seen in my life. His name is Daniel, home from Ethiopia with his forever family for just a few weeks. Thank you to Daniel's mom for thinking of me! I'm serious, this is one of the cutest little boys I've ever seen. He's so tiny, just 12 pounds and nearly a year old. And he has the biggest eyes you can imagine. Well, while this is obviously a good thing, seeing this darling little baby with his new family was the last straw for me. The melt down that has threatened for weeks finally came. Now mind you, I think melt downs are good once in a while! All is well again. And I don't care if the judges are back or not; I'm still going to keep my ticker at the top of this blog! I have to have something to mark time and show progress!

Ferd Bet- Courts

Well, supposedly the ferd bet (courts) in Ethiopia that finalize adoptions are reopened now following a two month intercession during the rainy season. We still have not heard anything about the ferd bet or our case from our agency, but I know that families from other agencies are having their cases heard this week. So, I am cautiously hopeful and optimistic about our own two Ethiopian kids. I do know that their paperwork is 100% ready for their case to be heard. I'm about a million times worse than a 4 year old trying to sleep the night before he heads to Disney World!

Take notice of my new ticker at the top of my blog. Somehow, in a very troubled psychological way perhaps, I achieve a sense of satisfaction in seeing each day of this wait counted away by my ticker. Perhaps it's because it validates what has felt like an eternity by adding a day to my ticker each midnight. Well, when we hit the 12 month mark, my ticker ceased to count the days. Rather, it will count the weeks from here on out. But, I need to be validated each and every day! So, I've added a ticker to count the days since the ferd bet reopened. I am hoping that this ticker will only count one or two weeks away. Then, I can make a ticker that counts down the days until I leave to go to Ethiopia to bring my beautiful burak (blessings) home to our family at last!