Lilypie Waiting to adopt Ticker

Monday, May 17, 2010



Our baby girl is here: Mussie Orphanage. It is located in Southern Ethiopia. It is a single story building that I believe has somewhere around 60+ orphans currently. Last night, I was researching this orphanage and found a blog of a gal who has just returned with her son from there. They were actually there when our little girl had just been placed just 2 weeks ago. It is so possible that she may have even seen her. As I read about her experience, I tried to place myself there. That is so hard to do! More though...my heart cried out. She said that the orphanage had a great need for baby clothing and that the infants and babes wore no clothes during the day but a simple cloth to apparently act as some sort of diaper. She said that the babies were placed in diapers in the evenings so as to conserve the diapers as much as possible. Instantly, I pictured our little girl with no covering. Although the picture I have of her displays her with a cute little outfit, it is highly possible that she was simply dressed for picture day. I have not stopped crying.
I could not help myself today but to run over to Goodwill and find as many onesies, tops, and outfits I could fit in my armload so that we can bring them to the orphanage. I got 17 of them. 17...that is nothing. There are so many needs. I pray for wisdom as we prepare to travel and for the means to get us there and for the treasures that we can bring them.
I will post more later of the process that is still to come. ;)

Sunday, May 16, 2010

We got the REFERRAL!

May 7th, 2010 at 2:42pm the phone rang. Chris and I were getting ready to take a quick nap. He had worked all day..been up since 2am. We heard the phone ring. My heart jumped as usual but I was not expecting THIS call. Chris leaned over and glanced at the caller i.d. He said, " It is someone from Twin Cities, MN". I could not tell him to answer it fast enough! He gave me the phone but wasnt sure that THIS was THE call. I could tell he was skeptical, as was I. After all, we have had so many discouragements, it has been almost better to not expect the call than to expect it. Sweet Amy, our sw, quietly said, "Hi, Shannon". In her solemn tone, I was sure she was responding to an email I had sent her earlier this morning expressing more discouragement. I was preparing myself for her comforting words of how we are close to the top or we are almost there....but she didnt say any of this. Instead, the next 4 words will forever be engraved in my memory. Amy said, "Today is the day". Her soft tone was so calm and collect. As I type this, I am crying. It was beyond a sweet moment. I said, "really?"...."yes!", she said. She asked Chris to get on the other line. Funny how it seemed to take.him.forever.to.get.to.the.other.phone. My hand gestures of 'hurry up!' were not seeming to help either!
When Chris got on the phone, Amy sweetly and slowly began to give us the details of our daughter. OUR DAUGHTER! "She is 6 months old. She was born in the Southern region of Ethiopia..." Her history was so beautiful to hear. I clung to every word. I scrambled to write down the details even though she promised to send them via email within minutes. Chris and I looked at each other across the kitchen counter as she spilled every word about our daughter. I couldnt see half the time as tears filled my eyes. "Do you have any questions?", she asked. Nothing..nothing came to my mind. I have been waiting for 2 1/2 years and I had NO questions. "That is okay", Amy said. "Usually there is not much to say at this time." Chris popped up with a question about travel time. Good question, honey! She told us that we would be traveling to court in 2-3 months and then we will travel 6 weeks later to bring her home! Glory to God! We have our girl. Our prayers are that everything goes according to plan: that we travel safely, before courts close, that we pass court, that we bring her home before her first birthday, that she remains healthy, that our children are covered during our travels, that we stay healthy before, during, and after travels, that there are NO complications.
PTL! We got the call!