Hello all! Ok, I know, it has been a hundred years since I have blogged!

We have had a great Fall! We have been busy but have had the chance to do a lot of fun things with Ivy. We went to the Fair, visited family, and now we are getting ready for Ivy's birthday next week. She will be 4, sad, sad, sad. I really need her to stop growing! It is killing me slowly each day when she acts a little bit older.

We just got our November numbers from AGCI and for the girl list we are 71 and boy list we are 52. Many of you have been asking how long we have been waiting and how far our numbers have come.... We began the adoption process in January 2011, made it on the waiting list by August/September and we started at 130 girl & 101 boy. At this rate we suspect it will be about another year. We know the timing will be right but we sure are ready for baby #2 to join the family!

Thank you all for praying for us and following our journey. It means the world to us!
With love, Hannah

Long time, no....

Long time, no news. I haven't blogged in quite sometime for two reasons: We have been crazy busy & we really haven't had much adoption news to share lately.

As far as our adoption our numbers, we have only been moving 1-3 spots a month. However, this month we jumped 12 spots! It feels great! We are still probably a good year away from knowing anything about our child but it's okay. John is starting a new job & I a new schedule so we will have plenty of time to adjust. We will have one more Christmas (hopefully) with only one kid on the Christmas card, one more year of spoiling Ivy since she is the one and only, one more year of a family of 3.

Thanks to all of you who keep up with us, pray for us, and those that have supported us in our fundraising. We are blessed!

April

Hey Everyone, We got our March numbers last night and we are now # 83 on the boy list and #105 on the girl list! So we had some decent movement this month, I think it will still be this time next year before we are home with our new babe. As far as our only babe, she will have her Easter party at school and Egg Hunt and all that jazz, so this is what I have been up to tonight.....

Peep Cupcake Pops. I got the idea on Pinterest. I will not show you my inspiration photo, you will no longer be impressed!

Hello, I Love You

Hannah normally keeps everyone updated with adoption news, so I think this is the first time I've added anything to our adoption blog (which I don't think I've ever blogged before, so bear with me). I have been reading a book about foreign adoption that I wanted to share with those who may be doing the same thing. Hello, I Love You is written by Ted Kluck. He has written other books such as Why We're Not Emergent & has received awards for some of his work from ESPN the Magazine, Sports Spectrum Magazine, etc. The book is written as a memoir, a compilation of his personal thoughts during the adoption process for he & his wife's two boys from Ukraine. What I really liked about the book is his seemingly total honesty of the process.

"There's nothing like adoption to make a grown man cry. Repeatedly. 'They called Svetlana tonight & told her we have to go to America & wait sixty days for you. Sixty days! I punched the wall. I paced the room like an animal. I looked at your diapers & your book & I cried angry tears. I can't leave you like this. I miss you already.'"

He & his wife began the adoption journey because of infertility, faced all kinds of financial troubles preparing for & during the adoptions, & trying to understand & get over the culture barriers of a post-Soviet Union country. Kluck adds bits of humor throughout, probably more for himself as he writes than for the reader, but also shares & explains all of his frustrations along the way. It really opened my mind when he shared about the types of flats they stayed in, the people they came across in Ukraine, the major differences between what we're used to here in the U.S. & overseas, etc. I know there will be nothing to prepare Hannah & I before we actually go, & I know there is probably not much in common between Ukraine's processes & Ethiopia's, but this book helped me to really think about & pray for our trips over. It also made me aware no matter how well we plan & prepare, there may be things that don't go our way. We will, just as Ted Kluck & his wife did, trust & obey God along the way.

I have a few other adoption books I'm going to try to go through over the next bit. When I'm finished I'll add a little about them also. Thanks to everyone for all the prayers for us & our families. We love you, & without your intercessory prayers wouldn't be able to do this.

John

January Numbers

Hi All! We received our January Numbers this week..................................................Girl #115 Boy #92
You may have notice we only moved 1 number this month! That is kind of depressing! At this rate we will not get a baby until Ivy is graduating high school! PLEASE join us in praying that the adoption system will speed up in Ethiopia & all countries with a high orphan populations.

We know that the timing of this adoption is in God's hands, just because we don't want to wait doesn't mean we shouldn't. There is no telling what God will do in this time of waiting. Maybe John & I will have time to go to Ethiopia for missions, or maybe God has other plans for our family but whatever it is, I am praying that we will be listening and we will be ready.

In other adoption news, Tony Dungy has a video promoting adoption & foster care that is available for Super Bowl half time shows. Here is the link:
http://www.adoptionjourney.com/share/dungyhalftime/

Just waiting....

Hi Everyone! I  have not had much opportunity to blog recently and I have really missed talking about our adoption! We should be getting our new waitlist numbers in another week or so.

Now that we have settled in to the New Year, we are preparing for all this year may have for us. We have planning our summer family vacation, which will hopefully be our last with only one child! We are also planning some more fundraising opportunities! But, most importantly, we are praying that 2012 is the year we get to bring home our Ethiopian baby! Now, as far as the adoption process goes, this may be a long shot; however, we are praying that God is going to do something big and not only help bring home our little one soon, but also all of the Ethiopian children who are currently being waited on here in the U.S. by loving families. We are praying for the ET government that they will decide  on whatever changes they feel are necessary but also while doing what is best for the orphans. And mostly, we are praying that they do it QUICKLY! Please join us as we seek God on these topics!

As those of you are in or preparing for a multi race family, you know that you all of a sudden notice all things that have families of all types- commercials, magazine ads, books, etc. Whenever I notice something like this, it just warms my heart a little. That is why I wanted to share this book that Ivy got for Christmas from our family.

It is a very sweet book about the children of the world and how God dreams that boys and girls of countries can hold hands and play together. That they will share, care and love because they are ALL God's children. It has great illustrations and Ivy loves anything that has pictures of kids in it!