Gladney Approved!!!

Well friends and fam - We have received our official Gladney (stateside agency) approval for our adoption. Now, this does not mean we are on the waitlist yet. We still have to get our dossier (docs that go to Ethiopian embassy) finalized. We sent off another packet of those documents on Friday. We are waiting on the results of our FBI fingerprints and we have to call CIS (customs and immigration) and get our appointment to get that set of fingerprints done. We heard from CIS (via text, no less) that they had received our application on Friday. Wait list times are ranging from 7 months to 8 or 9 months and right now there seems to be several families wanting twins or other sibling groups, so we are going to need some patience and more patience as we wait. But, we certainly trust God's timing in all of it and we are excited to see where the Lord has us this time next year :) We are getting ready to start applying for several adoption grants, so please be in prayer for us with that -

love, tamara

Slow Movement is STILL movement

This summer has been one of constant movement and many activities for our family. I had the privilege of going to Haiti to serve on a mission team in July. It was a blessing for sure and I pray the Lord allows me to take a team there in the near future. I am still processing some of the implications for me personally as a result of going to Haiti where the destruction is immense, the poverty is ravaging, and the hope in Christ for those that are His is high. I plan to blog soon about some of the personal reflections and applications for me and our family. Our kids did swim lessons and and the boys played football. We won the championship (1st & 2nd grade) last Saturday night and both boys played really well. It was a lot of fun to coach them and other boys their age in a game that I love and was very helpful in my formative years in the areas of team work, authority, and doing things you weren't sure you could do.

We were told at the beginning of the adoption process there would be times that were slower than others, and it feels like we are in one of those seasons right now. We know we are making progress but it seems like slow progress with our Foreign Dossiers. It is really something to pray at night with the kids and to be praying for a son or daughters or both or two of each that I have never met and yet love already. We are excited and trusting God with all the details! Pray for us, for our children (all of them...even those we have never met), and pray that we will continue to trust God with all the details. It is amazing to know that my God knows the plan for my family and He has or will soon breath life into the child/children that will be a part of our families and your lives at His appointed time. Hopeful and Grateful for He is my Provider!