Still in disbelief!!!

WOW! I am just still in complete SHOCK that we received our referral. A perfect, precious little girl! Jason and I have been grinnin' from ear to ear since we got the call last Wednesday. We are SO thankful to our wonderful God. Tonight we realized that if our immigration forms hadn't been delayed due to our lost homestudy, we very well may not have received this particular referral. Sure, we would have loved whoever they had called about - but it wouldn't have been THIS precious little girl. She just entered the orphanage in June. Our paths could have never crossed. When we look over her paperwork and stare (and stare, and stare....) at her pictures, we know THIS is the little girl God has chosen for our family.

So - now what? Well, we had our pediatrician look over all of the medical information we received, and he gave us a big THUMBS UP regarding her health. Yes, she is malnourished. Although she is a year older than Houston, she is much smaller than he is. But she just needs some good ole' southern cookin' to help that. We received our official acceptance packet in the mail on Friday, and I have it ready to be notarized and shipped off first thing tomorrow morning. Once WACAP gets our paperwork and $$$, then they will be able to start the process to book our court date. Our caseworker says we should know our court date by the end of this month. We can then book our travel arrangements and HOPEFULLY travel in early October.

When we travel, we want to help the precious kiddos in the orphanage. PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE consider helping us do this! We need: formula, diapers, blankets, protein bars, over the counter medicines, vitamins, toothbrushes, underwear, bandaids, toys, shoes - all kinds of stuff! Anything you can give would be MUCH appreciated! I received a $20 donation in the mail the other day, and with that I was able to buy 2 cans of formula, 3 pairs of tennis shoes, and 2 pairs of flip flops. All for $20! I also found out over the weekend that although the orphanage that Macy is in RIGHT NOW is excellent in the way of care from the nannies, there are very, very few toys. (In one of Macy's pictures, she holding the rattiest, nastiest looking My Little Pony you have ever seen.) This is a new orphanage, and is not yet equipped with things for the kiddos. So there is a small television that all the kids sit around. How sad is that? An adoptive Mama that just went to pick up her child said that the orphanage really needs some well made, quality toys. All she could find in Ethiopia to buy is super cheap, plastic ones. And think - these toys are being played with by a BUNCH of kiddos. So if you have any toys you could donate, that would be AWESOME! Puzzles, art supplies, soccer balls, blocks, etc. (Nothing with batteries please, as they can't replace them.) Or if you would like to donate $$$, I can buy the items myself and save you the work. :)

Thanks for all of your sweet comments and emails. We love sharing our JOY with you!