Spring is HERE!

Finally the grass is turning green and the flowers are blooming. (The pictures are from the magnolia tree in our front yard.) I love this time of year, before it becomes hot and sticky and the bugs arrive. It is a joy to be outside enjoying the crisp fresh air and comfortable temps. The sun seems so intense and bright and the sky so blue. Thank you, LORD, for spring and the changing of seasons.

As the seasons change, we also tick off one more month of waiting. April 23rd will end our third month and begin the fourth month in this time of "anticipation." So far the patience in the wait has been very tolerable, but that is probably due to the fact that we KNOW in advance that the end is not around the corner. However. . . . we are beginning to wonder: Has our precious one been born yet? If so, what is his/her life like? Are they with family or are they already at the orphanage? Has he/she been abandoned? Are they in good health?

So many "what if's" but one thing remains for sure, they are in the LORD's hands. And there is no safer place for us to put them.

A Few Up-dates

Here are a few things we know about our current "status" in the wait. . . according to my best sources (the Ethiopian Forum through Bethany).

There are 6 families waiting to travel: One family with travel dates for mid April.

• This means that they have passed their court date successfully (over in ET) and are now waiting for a US Embassy appointment.

There are 5 families waiting for a successful court date.

• This means that they have been "matched" or referred a child/ren and are waiting for their court date to come (and to pass with all the paperwork properly completed).

There are 26 families waiting (ahead of us) for a referral

• This means we have completed our dossier and it is now over in ET going from desk to desk so that we can be matched with a child God has picked for our family. Only there are 26 families to be matched first. :)

So we are two months into the waiting process and we have moved up the chain a few spots.

ALSO, I wanted to up-date on Eric's health. His "spots" and rash are nearly gone. He still has a few twinges of pain from time to time, but we are grateful to have the experience of shingles behind us. It is no longer known to us as "a strange and ambiguous disease that older people always seem to get." We are now in the "know."