And so it begins...

Well here we go at a blog. Yikes. So here is the latest. We've been accepted into the Ethiopia program with our adoption agency. We raised the fees for this first step through the pancake breakfast we held at Ruby Tuesday. We begin our home study this coming Friday (the 13th) and will be finished with it on the 23rd. The home study is basically a visit (4 visits actually) with a social worker who asks us every question under the sun regarding our family, etc. After this is completed we'll have to get a bunch of documents together (called the paper-chase). This process can take 4-6 months. Once all the documents are together it will get sent to Ethiopia and shortly after that we'll receive a referral of our little guy. If we accept the referral then we'll move forward to getting a court date and then J and I will both have to fly there. We'll be there about a week and get to meet him. But then we'll have to leave :( One of us will fly back a month or so later to pick him up. So that is a very short summary of what our next year or so will look like. There will be lots of paperwork, praying, waiting, praying, money, praying and waiting involved. Adoption was something we planned to do "someday" and God has told us someday is here. We're excited, scared and amazed all at the same time. This is so much bigger than we are-everything about it is. This isn't something we planned to do this year, this isn't anything we prepared for or even could prepare for. God doesn't work the way we do, He is not limited by resources and if He wants His plans accomplished, He accomplishes them. He even uses people like J and I. People who have the faith of a mustard seed who are telling this mountain to move. (Matt. 17:20)