ONE YEAR DTE!!
August 31, 2013
We celebrated with a little Kroger Cookie Cake (fancy huh? :)) while we watched the Bulldogs play!
We had the camera set to take automatically and we loved this picture of Miller after the camera snapped! He was licking the icing!
Sweet boy posed a little better in this one!
For those of you new to our journey, Saturday August 31 marked ONE YEAR that we have officially been on the waiting list with our agency.
DTE = Dossier to Ethiopia
August 31, 2012 was the day that ALL of our paperwork finally made the trek across the world to Ethiopia!
CLICK HERE to see my blog post from last year on our DTE date.
So.... Where does that leave us in the process?
Still waiting :(
I honestly thought that I would be extremely excited on our 1 year anniversary.
However, if I am being honest, I have stared at that date on our refrigerator calendar all month and my heart has been VERY HEAVY!
So heavy that it was hard for me to celebrate on Saturday.
Don't get me wrong... I ABSOLUTELY haven't changed my mind about adoption.
But the wait is hard.
A friend of ours who recently brought home his son from Ethiopia said to me on Sunday, "People underestimate the stamina it takes to keep your joy during the wait. It's hard."
When we first began this journey, our agency told us to except a 12-18 month wait before referral.
Then last year the wait increased before we were DTE to 18-24 months.
And this year... on FRIDAY Aug 30 to be exact... I received an email that said the wait time had once again increased to 30-36 months or longer.
If we have been officially waiting for 12 months... and they expect 36 months at least... then we can safely say we have 24 more months until we receive a referral. :(
There are so many reasons for increasing wait times. '
It's red tape. Paperwork. Clearances. Etc. Etc.
Forgive me for not desiring to go into detail tonight.
Don't be confused. There is NOT a lack of orphans in Ethiopia. The hold up is in the paperwork clearing these children to be adopted.
Orphanages are full. Children are waiting (which is honestly more painful than me waiting).
Last year, I HONESTLY believed that Malachi would be our next child.
However, God had other plans.
He was not surprised by the increased wait times, or by my pregnancy (obviously He is the creator of life).
So today I cling to the Truth that God is not surprised by any of the governmental red tape, but instead, He is using it to put together His perfect plan. God is in control of all of it.
Pray for us in the wait. Pray for children to be placed in families. Pray for governments to become more efficient in adoption cases.
Oh yeah... my sweet co-workers gave me plates for all 3 boys recently at my baby shower.
Miller ate his eggs off Malachi's plate on Saturday to celebrate DTE :)
Isn't this plate precious??
So.... Where does that leave us in the process?
Still waiting :(
I honestly thought that I would be extremely excited on our 1 year anniversary.
However, if I am being honest, I have stared at that date on our refrigerator calendar all month and my heart has been VERY HEAVY!
So heavy that it was hard for me to celebrate on Saturday.
Don't get me wrong... I ABSOLUTELY haven't changed my mind about adoption.
But the wait is hard.
A friend of ours who recently brought home his son from Ethiopia said to me on Sunday, "People underestimate the stamina it takes to keep your joy during the wait. It's hard."
When we first began this journey, our agency told us to except a 12-18 month wait before referral.
Then last year the wait increased before we were DTE to 18-24 months.
And this year... on FRIDAY Aug 30 to be exact... I received an email that said the wait time had once again increased to 30-36 months or longer.
If we have been officially waiting for 12 months... and they expect 36 months at least... then we can safely say we have 24 more months until we receive a referral. :(
There are so many reasons for increasing wait times. '
It's red tape. Paperwork. Clearances. Etc. Etc.
Forgive me for not desiring to go into detail tonight.
Don't be confused. There is NOT a lack of orphans in Ethiopia. The hold up is in the paperwork clearing these children to be adopted.
Orphanages are full. Children are waiting (which is honestly more painful than me waiting).
Last year, I HONESTLY believed that Malachi would be our next child.
However, God had other plans.
He was not surprised by the increased wait times, or by my pregnancy (obviously He is the creator of life).
So today I cling to the Truth that God is not surprised by any of the governmental red tape, but instead, He is using it to put together His perfect plan. God is in control of all of it.
Pray for us in the wait. Pray for children to be placed in families. Pray for governments to become more efficient in adoption cases.
Oh yeah... my sweet co-workers gave me plates for all 3 boys recently at my baby shower.
Miller ate his eggs off Malachi's plate on Saturday to celebrate DTE :)
Isn't this plate precious??
No comments:
Post a Comment
Thanks so much for your comments!