MORE CUTE TEES

...designed by yours truly ;)

Here's the deal guys, my friend Rachel needs to sell about 15 more shirts before she can pay for her order! All the proceeds will be going to fund her adoption. I just know we can help her meet this goal! Go buy one in her etsy shop now!!

WE'RE GOING TO ETHIOPIA IN A MONTH!

Friday we received a call from Ashley with news of our court date! We will be headed to House of Hope in beautiful Addis Ababa June 22nd! Arthur was just transferred to House of Hope today! We're anxiously waiting to hear back from our travel agent with itinerary options. So excited, nervous, overwhelmed and thankful for what is about to happen.

WE'RE SO CLOSE!

First off, what do you think of the new digs?? Pretty schnazzy, huh? After a photo shoot with Scout Photo I was inspired to create a new look. It actually felt really good to take the other header down. Even though those kiddos are super cute, we have our very own now! Also... I have to tell you something... Those kids aren't even Ethiopian, they're Haitian. Anyway, hopefully soon I'll get to share Arthur's picture. We got another email from our consultant yesterday and she said that we are next in line to get a court date. Based on the other families dates, we will likely be in Ethiopia the first week of July! AH! It's so crazy that just last week, we thought we probably would be able to bring our boy home for another 6 months or longer and now it's possible he'll be home in August! what? Just so you know... none of this really makes sense with the news we heard a few months back, but I don't really care. I'm just going with it!

and here's another picture... just because.

HEY, LOOK!

The JAMBO shirt made it's way to Tanzania this week. This is so special to me because this is the place that inspired the shirt! Aaron's mom and sister are there for a couple weeks with Omega. And yes, that's Aaron's mom in the picture, not his sister. so pretty :)

GOOD NEWS!!!

By now you know that this process is sort of a roller coaster and very unpredictable. This might be why I don't react too quickly to news, well at least bad news. I've been able to remain hopeful when things don't look that great. I credit that mostly to your support and prayers over us... thank you!

Ok, the good news... you ready?

Today court dates were given to three families. These families received their referrals just a week before we received our referral. They travel to Ethiopia in three weeks!

We could be meeting this boy very soon, people!

THANKFUL FOR THESE WISE WOMEN

Just in case you didn't read the comments on the blog post a couple weeks ago I thought I would highlight them and just tell you guys how much these words have helped me!

"it's heart wrenching... i'm so sorry. our wait after getting photos was six long months and it was so hard. take good care of yourself... do your favorite things whether they be bubble baths, coffee treats, losing yourself in a good book, or lots of ice cream. just be extra gentle with yourself during this time... don't focus on what your missing, but imagine all the beautiful memories you'll make once he's home. praying this time moves quickly and he's in your arms very, very soon!"

-Kristin

"I still remember so well what it was like those days before we were able to get to Zinashi, especially the time while we were waiting for a court date. It was hard, hard, hard. I distinctly remember putting my head down on the desk at work and asking any saint who would listen to pray to God on Zinashi's behalf and ours. I was all out of words; I couldn't do it anymore. I just felt so lost. Up to that point, there were things I could do to participate in the process, but suddenly there was nothing to do but wait. It's a rough time, and like Kristin said, you should do your favorite things now, whatever they are. Admittedly, I took a LOT of naps. It's pleasant and it passes the time!

In the end, when you hold Arthur in your arms, it won't matter anymore how long you waited. You will remember how hard it was to wait, but it won't matter. You can hold on to that. The day is coming, and each day brings you closer. You will hold your son in your arms, and everything else will fade away. You'll get there. Take a deep breath. We are praying for you."

- Mary

The first two weeks after receiving our referral were so tough... almost unbearable, I didn't know how I would ever get through this long wait. I wanted so badly to put all of my energy into staying connected to him while we were apart thinking that it would some how keep us together and we wouldn't lose any time. After reading these two comments I'm wondering if that's the best use of my time. We have no idea how long this wait will be and while it feels selfish, we just have to keep living our lives. In a lot of ways (mostly budget and thought) we have sort of rearranged our life to accommodate this baby. In a lot of ways this was necessary, but I really think that in the coming months it's going to be important for us to take opportunities as they come... maybe even cheat on the budget! I don't want to put our life on hold. I don't want to look back on this time and have regrets about things we didn't do.

Mary and Kristin, thank you so much for your sweet words!