Our adoption journey formally began in January of 2013, and now we are excited to announce that our family has moved to #8 on the waiting list for our adoption referral! We joined the waiting list about 18 months ago at #29 when our finalized dossier arrived in Ethiopia, so we are hopeful that it won't be too much longer before we receive that call we have been longing for. There is no guarantee on how much longer it may take, but we are hopeful to find out who our next child will be within 6-12 months. That will initiate our travel process of taking 2 trips, the first to initiate the paperwork with the Ethiopian court system, and the second to bring our child home. Just as a reminder, we are open to a girl or boy from birth through 4 years 11 months. We can't wait to meet them!
Just a few family updates...
We moved houses (just across Homewood) to a house that is much more family friendly. J. Henry will only be 1 block away from school and we are now half a mile to our church. There are lots of children on Woodland Drive and J. Henry and Amelia are spending much more time playing outside. This move coincided with our need to update our home study for the adoption, so it was perfect timing. And, our new home has been approved as suitable to welcome our newest family member. We are very thankful to enjoy such a family friendly neighborhood, especially while the children are younger. Here are the kiddos taking a bow while playing in the sprinkler in the front yard earlier this week:
While we have been praying and waiting, we have enjoyed a summer full of activities. Kameron flew to Baltimore, MD to sit for her LSLS exam she has been working toward for 3 years. She hopes to receive her results within a few weeks. J. Henry and Amelia enjoyed a week at my parents with their cousins, and have enjoyed many other activities around Birmingham. I am preparing for my second residency for school this August, and work at the church continues to be challenging and hopeful. Trinity United Methodist Church is an incredible faith community filled with devoted and talented staff and members. It is a joy to belong to this congregation.
Earlier in the summer we enjoyed some vacation time in Florida, pictured below:
Next week, J. Henry will begin 2nd grade at Edgewood Elementary and Amelia will begin 3-K at Trinity. This year, Kameron is moving from full-time to part-time, only be working two days per week at the Alabama School for the Deaf in Talladega. We are celebrating that she no longer faces a 500 mile commute each week!
We are hopeful that our new child will be joining our family before too long. We are beyond grateful for the incredible support we receive from friends and family who regularly inquire about the process and offer their kind words and prayer of support.
We deeply desire to show God’s love to one of His own by making him or her one of our own. Please pray for all five us during this journey.
In God’s Grace,
Nathan, Kameron, J. Henry, Amelia (and Baby #3!)
