11 Months Waiting

December 22nd marked 11 months waiting for us.  Wow a lot has happened in 11 months. 

Webster's defines "Waiting" as:  to stay in place in expectation of; to remain inactive . . .

I must be doing something else then. I don’t feel like I’m inactive or in a place of expectation. I feel like every day that goes by is one less day of waiting instead of one more day of waiting… if that makes sense. We’ve also been crazy busy with pregnancy stuff, constant appointments and preparing for Baby Faith, but I have not one day felt inactive in our adoption process.  We have never felt like Baby E is not going to come.  Baby E is still very much a part of our family. The boys talk about her constantly. We refer to Faith and E as “the girls” and it’s so funny to hear us say that after it just been us and ‘the boys’ for so many years. The girls’ room is quickly becoming a paradise of pink, posies, butterflies and dainty little things. We continue to collect things for E, as we are purchasing things for Faith. Oh what a happy day when these 2 girls finally meet… and how wonderful that God chose them to be sisters. We are beyond thrilled!  I recently saw this quote, and I think I’m going to get it for their room as I think this has such a unique meaning for these 2 little girls:

Sisters are different flowers from the same garden.

I must admit, however, that in a world of instant gratification, I’d love to snap my fingers and have both of the girls here right now. But, Faith’s not quite ready to enter the world yet, and E is not yet ready for our family yet. I fully believe that God’s already chosen her for our family, but have no idea if she's already born, still in her mommy's tummy, or what her circumstance is.  But, trusting God is the only thing I can do.  I think the transition from having 2 children to 4 will be good to happen in stages as well, and God is fully aware of that. Plus, as a mommy who now has 2 pretty self-sufficient boys, going back to the infant stage and sleepless nights is going to be a slight challenge. God knew that as well and He has it all perfectly under control. (I hope I do when we have these 2 little girls)

So, as we wait, and have many things to keep us busy, the reality is, it’s still not our timing so we will see what God has in the plan for 2011. We are desperately hoping to have E home by next Christmas, but we know all the twists and turns international adoption can take, so we will continue to wait and hope. Once Faith arrives (in less than 4 weeks, hopefully!!), we will be back in adoption-mode full force getting our home study amended and re-doing most of our dossier documents. Hopefully, we should be back on the list and receive our referral in August or September.

In the meantime, I’ll lean on the one scripture that keeps me focused:

He gives power to the faint, and to him who has no might he increases strength.


Even youths shall faint and be weary, and young men shall fall exhausted;


but they who wait for the LORD shall renew their strength;


they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint.    Isaiah 40:29-31

Happy New Year

Happy New Year Baby E!

It's 2003!!!   Huh?

September 11th is the New Year in Ethiopia. Enkutatash is the word for the Ethiopian new year in Amharic, the official language of Ethiopia, while it is called Ri'se Awde Amet (Head Anniversary) in Ge'ez, the term preferred by the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church. Of course I have no idea how to pronounce that!  They still retain the Julian calendar, in which the year is divided into 12 months of 30 days each, and a 13th month of 5 days (6 days in leap year). The Ethiopian calendar is 8 years behind the Gregorian calendar from January to September and 7 years behind between September 11 and January 8. So it is now 2003 in Ethiopia! Confusing, huh? I wonder how that affects the paperwork as it goes back and forth from Ethiopia to the U.S.?

I tried to remember what I was doing 7 years ago in 2003. At the time, we were living in West Virginia, and our boys were 7 and 4. Wow! That was the year we went to Disney. Here’s a picture of the boys on the famous Tea Cups... too cute!

~Colton & Dylan - Disney 2003~

As the New Year begins in Ethiopia and as our year is coming into its last quarter, I wonder if Baby E has been conceived yet or if she’s been born yet? It’s still going to be about 11 months until we will know her face and story, which seems so far away. It makes me sad, but I also know that E will have a brother or sister around the same age as her to play and grow with when she comes home…. As well as 2 big brothers to look after the both of them! (I'm still hoping my belly-baby and E are close in age... maybe even having the same birth month!). 

Life continues to takes twists and turns for our family, but it is all by design. I just wish I had the blueprint! Our path that we began almost a year ago has detoured slightly, and although it’s frustrating to a ‘planner’ like me, I am still learning that everything happens for a reason, and that God’s timing is always perfect, even if it doesn’t match our own understanding.

Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight.  Proverbs 3:5-7 NIV

6 Months Waiting

Wow... 6 months waiting was last Thursday!  We've been a little busy lately so I haven't had time to post, but stay tuned.  .  Sorry for those of you who have been checking daily for an update....Hopefully I can post something by this Wednesday

Exciting stuff going on in the Baxter world!

4 MONTHS & SOME DISCIPLINE

Happy 4 months waiting (tomorrow). We've been so busy preparing for our sale that the last month has flown by. We have sweet moments that we dream about when "E" will be home with us, and then honestly, I personally have moments when I think, "Oh my goodness, what are we going to do when "E" comes home!" We have been so overwhelmed by the busy-monster lately. Some things are out of our control, but others are because we need to set better boundaries.


God has his hand on us... prompting us to slow down. He's allowed a few melt downs, missed appointments, and such, but we get it now. God (our Father) is disciplining us (his children) to help us mature and prepare us for what's ahead. (similar to how we are trying to teach our boys). He's not 'punishing us' out of meanness, but out of Love. He knows what's coming down the road for us, and He's softly preparing us to make better choices and make better use of our time, efforts and energy. He wants us to relax, prepare, and slow down (which will make the waiting harder). But, that is part of the process and part of our stretching... learning to say NO...creating boundaries. Knowing that WE can't do ANYTHING, but with God, all things are possible. He gives us strength when we are weak; He gives us rest when we are weary; He gives us hope when we think things are hopeless. People tend to run from hardship, difficulty and pain (and there is no guarantee that God will "fix" things the way we WANT him to), but-- God wants us to fully embrace it, and rely upon him and see his love, mercy, grace and glory in it all!

With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible

Community Yard Sale

Wow.. timing was perfect for this.  I was contacted a few weeks ago by a neighbor who has been planning a Community Yard Sale since last fall.  YAY!  We had contemplated having a yard sale as a fundrasier, but because of our rural area, we were nervous about drawing a big enough crowd.  Luckily, this gal is going to take care of all of the advertising, etc., plus, it's about 15+ families that are participating so there should be a good turnout that brings lots of traffic. 

DETAILS: 

1st Annual Stonehead Community Yard Sale

Saturday, May 22, 2010

(rain date: June 5, 2010)

COME TO SUPPORT INTERNATIONAL ADOPTION!!!

All proceeds (of our family sales) will go towards our International Adoption Account

How can you help?


Before the Sale:
SPREAD THE WORD. Help us promote the sale to your family and friends so we'll have a good crowd.
PASS OUT FLYERS. I'll be printing some flyers soon to pass out in my neighborhood. If you are able to do the same thing in your neighborhood, contact me and I'll get you some!
DONATE ITEMS. We are accepting any items that you think will sell. Contact me at baxter075@comcast.net and we'll figure out a way to get them from you between now and the big day!


At the Sale:
DONATE BAKED GOODS. We'll be selling individually wrapped baked goods, such as brownies, muffins, cookies, Rice Krispy treats, or anything else that would sell.  We hope to bring in a lot of funds this way!
MONITOR A STATION. Depending on what we have, we may have, for example, a book & DVD Station, a Toy Station, Clothing Station, Bake Sale Station, etc.
TABLES OR EZUPS? If you got em, we’d love to borrow them!


Items being sold:  Household, toys, games, clothing (adult/children), seasonal, recreational, etc.

MOST OF ALL --- COME SHOPPING & BRING YOUR FRIENDS

Adoption Tax Credit Extended & Improved

Considering adoption?  Now might be the perfect time to start the process!

 We have just found out, that the Adoption Tax Credit (ATC), which was scheduled to expire in 2010, was extended for one-year (through December 31, 2011). This is awesome news to those in the process or considering adoption. This will especially be helpful to those couples (like us) who have to travel to Ethiopia two times (adding $5,000-$7,000 to their expenses).


What is the ATC: The ATC is a critically important element in finding permanent families for children in the U.S. foster care system and the children of our world, who live without permanent parental care. The ATC makes adoption a viable option for many families who may otherwise be unable to afford to adopt.


The highlights of the credit are:
* The maximum credit was increased from $12,150 to $13,170
* The ATC is now retroactive to January 1, 2009. This represents a potential increase of $1,000 for adoptive families.
* The ATC was made refundable. If a family has no tax liability, the IRS will refund the amount due.

 I haven’t read all the small print yet, but this is such good news for those (like us) who will not be able to complete their adoption process in 2010, as previously thought. Goodness, I hope we have our baby home in 2011!

We know this won't cover all of our expenses, but it's a great start.  Plus, no matter what, we would still find a way to get Baby E home, regardless of the tax credit.  So to us, this is just a really nice BONUS!  God is good. 

Two Months Waiting

Two Months Waiting

Not a whole lot to report.  Just the changes that are already posted.  But something to ponder -- We recently went to the Skillet/TobyMac Concert with the boys (which was totally awesome, by the way....).  TMac sang some of his new songs, but some old ones too.  One of his songs reminded me of something. . . he didn't sing the whole song "Irene" just the chorus, but it goes something like this . . .
 

Hush little baby baby don't you cry

Daddy's gonna sing you a lullaby

Everything's gonna be alright

The Lord's gonna answer your prayer tonight

Hush little baby don't you cry

Daddy's gonna sing you a lullaby

Everything's gonna be alright

The Lord's gonna answer your prayer tonight

He just kept singing those words over and over.  Suddenly those words sunk in and spoke to me.  Of course everything is going to be alright.  As believers, we know that, but it's so easy to forget that in the middle of a crisis or situation.   I think in a world of instant gratification, it's easy to lose sight of the grand plan of things and get caught up in one little detail or set back. 

But we have to remember, all those little things and set backs were already figured into the grand scheme of things, unbeknownst to us.  These little things are not changing our path or His plan for us or for our family-- He already figured them into the 'package deal.'  There's no fine print or hidden costs in His plan for us -- he already PAID it in FULL -- and guess what.... It's a free gift.  Have you accepted it? 

Thanks Toby for reminding me of something I already knew, but had forgotten for the slightest moment. 

Department of State - Ethiopia Adoption Notice

More information about the delays in Ethiopia:

Adoption Notice

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE
Bureau of Consular Affairs
Office of Children’s Issues
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Change in Processing Timeline for Adoption Cases
March 5, 2010

The Department of State shares families’ concerns about recent media reports alleging direct recruitment of children from birth parents by adoption service providers or their employees. In response to these reports, the U.S. Embassy in Addis Ababa has implemented some changes to adoption visa processing. Adoptive parents should be aware that an I-604 (Determination on Child for Adoption, sometimes referred to as “orphan investigation”) must be completed in connection with every I-600 application. Depending on the circumstances of the case, this investigation may take up to several weeks or even months to complete. Therefore, adoptive parents should not plan to travel to Ethiopia until they have confirmed with their adoption agency that their visa interview appointment has been confirmed.

Adoption agencies submit case paperwork to the U.S. Embassy for review before the Embassy schedules the immigrant visa appointment. In some cases the I-604 determination could take several weeks or more from the time a case is submitted to the U.S. Embassy to the scheduling of a visa interview appointment. We understand that in such cases this will result in a longer period before parents are able to bring their adopted children to the U.S. However, this additional scrutiny is required to ensure that the adoption is legal under both U.S. and Ethiopian law. The U.S. Embassy will work with adoptive parents and their adoption agency to ensure that each case is processed in the most expeditious manner possible in accordance laws and regulations. Families should continue to work through their agency to schedule immigrant visa appointments and answer questions regarding pending cases. . .

No News

For those of you who have asked -- No news on our end, but we don’t expect to hear anything until this fall or later. We have no idea where we are on the waiting list, and we are not planning on asking anytime soon.  I'm afraid it will just discourage us.  In January, they were giving out referrals for those who submitted their dossier in June 2009.  Probably not too many referrals have been given out since.  (but notice our snail is still smiling!!)

Things are still slow in Ethiopia with ongoing investigations, referrals, court dates and embassy appointments. (Embassy appointments have now gone from 2 weeks after court to 8 weeks after court). We are hoping that is only a temporary thing. We also hope that somewhere along the line, all of the investigations will somehow improve the process and flow of paperwork in Ethiopia. Please keep families that are SO CLOSE to referral and traveling in your prayers. I’m sure it’s difficult to know your little ones face, but be unable to get to Ethiopia to get them.   Also, please keep all the babies and children who are currently waiting in your prayers. Some of these babies are stuck in orphanages that (due to on-going investigations in their region) are unable to give out referrals or move already-referred children to their interim care homes.

We know that everything has a purpose and reason, so we are trusting that God has His hand on this and will make things happen when its time. In the meantime – we wait and take pleasure in all the blessings we already have -- which are too abundant to count!