It has been a while since I updated our adoption blog, mostly because there is not much to tell. I have been watching our name slowly move up the list. It is starting to get really exciting. We are somewhere around #20 overall on the list of families waiting for referrals. In the sibling category, however, we are around #6! Some of the families ahead of us on the sibling list have requested either an infant or siblings, so I'm not sure which way those will go.

There has been an average of 15 referrals per month handed out, so if you do the math, we're not that far away!

The Ethiopian courts close every year for about two months. This year, the dates are August 7th-September 27th. What this means to us is that if we receive a referral during that time, we have to wait until the courts re-open and the backlog of cases is cleared before our case will be presented. There are 25-30 children coming home in the next month with our agency, which means that they will have more room in the transition home to bring in more children. There are others waiting to pass court and if they do, even more children will be coming home. I am longing for the day when it's our turn to go pick up our children and bring them home. I know that the Lord is holding our family in His hands and that He will time everything perfectly.

Please pray: (1) that our children will be comforted during whatever transitions they are facing right now (2) that they will receive the love and care they need until we can go pick them up (3) for their birth families and whatever circumstances are leading to the children being brought to the orphanage. Pray that their hearts will be comforted.

Keep checking back, it has been almost 4 months since we submitted our dossier. Wow, it is going by quickly!