In the Interim

Jason and I are home and in full swing!  Leaving our three in Ethiopia proved to be as difficult as we had thought, but we were so comforted by the sweet nannies that are caring for the three of them.  They love the children, and the children love them!  Honestly, our hearts are divided between our four at home and the three in Ethiopia.  We long to have them all together!  Our friend, Lori Burdette, created a collage of our family "together" from two different continents!  :)

As we reflect on our time in Ethiopia, we are still processing.  
We're amazed with how perfectly God has knit our family together!  
We're in awe of what we've learned about God's grace and mercy in our own lives!  
We're beyond words at the outpour of love and prayer from family, friends and even strangers!  
Jason and I can't wait to share the messages and love from so many with Samuel Yohannis, Sophie Serkalem, and Titus Fiekre!  To hear how so many love them without meeting them fills our hearts!  Thank you for your notes, comments on the blog, and messages from FB.  

So...what do we do in the interim?  LOTS!  We have to prepare their rooms which includes changing beds around, finding a few beds, adding dressers, and carving out some space for each of them!  We finally know their sizes, so we'll need to find some clothes and shoes for the these little feet.  We're fresh out of toddler toys, so we're starting to wrap our minds around that, too!  We're seriously nesting around here!

How long will we wait?  At this point in the process, everything is in the hands of the US Embassy.  The Embassy must clear all three for visas so that we can bring them home.  We understand that this might be a 6-8 week process...or longer.  We're waiting patiently, but praying that the process will move quickly and smoothly.  When we receive news from the Embassy, our return trip to Ethiopia should be quick.  It's been two years since we started the adoption process. We are certain that these final weeks to wait to bring them home will feel like it is moving at a snail's pace.  However, we are confident that these three will be worth the wait!

He has made everything beautiful in its time.

Ecclesiastes 3:11