See ya' Doss-c-a!!!!

We mailed off the last of our paperwork TODAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!Don't let these faces fool you, they are excited about their sister.
{It's the whole boy/always have to take picture faces. Some of you can relate!}

Would you join with us in praying for this sweet package?

Pray for:

*it to make to our Agency in the mail
*for all of the dates/spellings/figures to be correct
*for the other mailings to be successful
*for the translation to be easy
*for Ethiopia to find favor with us

I can't go any further without a few "thank yous!"

To the friends/families who have written referral letters!
To the notaries!!
To the Employers for references!
To the ones who waived fees for us bc we are adopting!
To the "dumbo" ears for all the questions, you know who you are :)

Thank you for your time in helping us get this done!!

This is a HUGE step in the time line friends!!

Once this packet of paperwork is translated and approved we will officially be "in waiting!"
The average wait time for the current families in our agency are averaging 6-12 months.
This sounds so long but the past 9 months have FLOWN by. It's been 9 months since we were accepted into our Agency. AND we got news yesterday that our agency has partnered with an additional orphanage so hopefully this will speed up wait time a little!

All in all, we just trust.

Trust: Firm belief in the reliability, truth, ability, or strength of someone or something.

Trust in our Mighty God.

Part of me feels like this journey is just beginning.

From here on out, their won't be any paperwork milestones, no goals to reach, just sitting in the waiting room. Waiting for our name to be called.

God made the length of pregnancy 9 months for a reason. Every month something vital to that child's life is happening inside of the womb. Every month we wait, there is something vital happening in the life of our daughter. And in our lives. There is more preparation needed. Other events have to take place. Strengthening to take place.

For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow.

James 1:3

He is the orchestrator of it all. We are trusting in His sovereignty.

Sovereignty: Supreme power or authority

While we wait we will seek His face and lift our hands high in praise for all He has done and all He will do!
And pray for our precious one!
For rain in Ethiopia so the farmers will have a great crop and she will have plenty of food.
For her mental & physical growth to be right on track.
For the Lord to send missionaries to her orphanage to love on her and pray over her.
For the orphanage workers to know Christ.
And for Lily to know we are longing and praying for her daily!!

Yes I am confident I will see the Lord's goodness while I am here in the land of the living. Wait patiently for the Lord. Be brave and courageous. Yes, wait patiently for the Lord.

Psalm 27:13-14

So the Lord must wait for you to come to him so he can show you his love and compassion. For the Lord is a faithful God. Blessed are those who wait for his help.

Isiah 30: 18

My best friend gave these to me today.

We'll just call these my Dossier (Doss-c-a) Beads.

It's been a good day friends, a good day!

May the things of Earth grow strangely dim in the light of His glory and grace,

Kim

Music in the waiting room....

Finga-prints & BEACH!

We had a great family day last Friday and went down to Jacksonville to have our fingerprints done at U.S. Department of Homeland Security!!

What exactly does this mean & what is it for??

It means the United States is giving us permission to bring an orphan from another country into the US. When we finally receive her referral (aka-know who she is) we will be able to have her name (birth name) listed as the orphan.

The more of this process we get to do as a family the happier it makes this momma! We pray/talk about Lily all of the time and try to include the boys in as much as we can when it comes to what the Lord has done, how we can save in preparation for her, rearranging their rooms to make room for her etc but THIS was as all inclusive as you can get!
Greeting the guard at the door, going thru security, sitting and waiting for our number to be called, the whole 9 yards they got to see! It was great! We couldn't take the camera in, had to have our cell phones off & they even threw my gum away! #worthit

{side note} This particular day we chose to have this done, was "Ceremony Day" and we didn't know it! As we sat on one side of the room we watched the other side of the room fill up with people of all sorts of nationalities & race. They were all becoming US Citizens on this day!! They all wore their best dress and all had the biggest smiles ever! Some brought their families along. Such an exciting day in their lives!!!
I couldn't help but think of the day I became a daughter of the King and celebrated in baptism. What a beautiful reminder of what Christ does for us! He just brings us ALL in. No matter our skin color or nationality!!! Brings tears to my eyes!!

All of you together are Christ’s body, and each of you is a part of it!

1 Cor 12:27

We took pb&j and ate it on the way to the beach!! It's been several years since we have all been at the beach together!! We had such a great time and even found a little pink seashell to bring home with us <3

So what's next and HOW MUCH LONGER??!?!?!

We are in the process of gathering our last little bit of paperwork!

Here are a few examples of what this includes:

* Original/certified copies of: Birth Certificates/marriage license/divorce decree
* Reference letters from 3 friends
* Bank Letter
* Medical Examinations
* Letter of Intent to Ethiopia {Basically explaining why we would like to adopt a child from ET.}
* Power of Attorney
*Home Study

This is for our Dossier (doss-c-a) and will go directly to Ethiopia. Once it's translated/approved we will be placed on an official WAITING LIST! Our estimated wait time is 6-12 months. My prayer is that by Christmas we have at least been on the list for a few months!!! Trusting in the Lords timing all the way!!

I can't WAIT to show you a picture of us mailing off this Dossier!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

May the things of Earth grow strangely dim in the light of His glory & grace,

Kim