Way to keep us updated..

Well, if you haven't noticed, neither one of us have been very good at keeping up to date with this blog. As is life, things sometimes get set aside.

That isn't the case for our adoption, or the fact that we don't want to keep you up to date.

This being just a few weeks before Christmas, I thought it best to spend a little time to let you know where we are at.

Still waiting to put it fairly blunt.

We had hoped that by now we would be sending out invitations announcing what an exciting gift we had the opportunity to bring home and share with the world, but we can't, quite yet.

All of the forms, fingerprinting and information required of us has been supplied to our agency, the Ethiopian government, as well as our government (We have been cleared by the FBI and Homeland Security to be parents....that's reassuring). Our information is in Ethiopia, we believe, and are currently in line waiting for our referral. We had recieved information from our agency that the process had slowed slightly in October, and that it would mean that we would have an additional 3-4 months of waiting, not what we wanted to hear obviously, but it's not our plan, it's God's.

Right now we are hoping for a referral sometime in the March/April time frame, with travel to happen shortly after. Again, we don't know when any of this will occur exactly, but we certainly hope to have it happen sooner rather than later. Austin is anxiously awaiting Baily and Emily, yes he is now convince he has two sisters in Ethiopia, and that they should come sooner rather than later.

I will try to be a little more diligent in updating this blog, and obviously will use this as a source of information when we have more information, and especially as we get closer to the referral and travel phase of this incredible journey.

For better or worse, we sit and wait, continue on with our lives, and pray daily for the health and security of our child or children that are waiting for us. As Leigh so eloquently says, it's a different kind of pregnancy when you aren't in control. With Austin we controlled his safety and well being from his first minute in the womb. With this, we have to have faith that God has provided careful hands to watch over our child(ren) and to ensure their safety and security. Trying to imagine Austin in that situation, only makes us want moreso to be united as the family that is intended for us.

Thanks for your patience, your thoughts and prayers, and let's celebrate this Christmas season in a joyful chorus celebrating the birth of our Lord.

Matt and Leigh