Updating...

...because I haven't been blogging despite the fact that I was really looking forward to it! I know there are a few people following along here, and I really should update you all or else you will disappear! Well, maybe nothing that dramatic would happen but I do feel bad that I haven't posted anything since.....drumroll please.....October. Yes, that is right people. I stink. Sorry about that.

So we remain on the waiting list with our agency, Gladney. People have been asking us how we have been handling the wait. We are doing great. I think that we are at peace for many reasons. Firstly, we are completely confident in our agency so we know that they are doing what they need to on our behalf. Secondly, we are being kept busy with an almost 4 year old who renamed herself Roxanne recently. Thirdly, we know that God is totally in control of everything and we know that his timing is perfect. We are, of course, eager to be matched with our child and to bring him home. But we know it will all happen when it is supposed to.

I have bought cute crib bedding for Jonas' room (it is a farm theme) and the other day I found myself buying a cup for Lucy and then automatically buying the boy version of the cup for Jonas. So that was pretty cool. We need to prepare his room by removing some furniture and rearranging, but since we already have nursery furniture we don't have much to do. Thankfully, I am inheriting my nephew's clothes so I do not have to go out and buy a bunch of clothes. My sister has great taste so all of the clothes are cute which is another wonderful bonus! I have plenty of "baby" toys, which Lucy (oops, I mean Roxanne) says she wants to wrap up for Jonas.

Lucy is eager for Jonas to come home. She will often say, "It takes a long time for my brudder to come home." Kinda breaks my heart but it is so sweet she wants him here. Today a plane flew over our house and she said, "Maybe they are going to Ethiopia." Actually, she says "Efiopia" which is so cute. She then told me that she would change Jonas' pee pee diapers, but that her imaginary friend Jungle Jane would change the poopy ones. So neither one of us has to deal with poop. Pretty nice arrangement I think!

I know that it is going to be a major transition for Lucy when her brother comes home, and it will be rough at times. But I know that she will benefit tremendously in the end, and we would be depriving her if we didn't grow our family. A friend of mine wrote very poignantly about her biological daughter changing through her younger sister being brought home. I just know that Lucy will be a great big sister and her heart will be changed forever, as will ours.

We are so fortunate that we are surrounded by people who have adopted or are adopting. We know that this isn't an accident, and we feel really humbled by it. There is a friend I have never even met face to face that has provided me with so much support, information, and care. She is an amazing mom and person, and she always knows the right thing to say to me. It also is amazing that she is Christian so we can talk about God's role in all of this. So thanks Lindsey for being there even though we are separated by a few time zones! I hope to someday be able to repay you for all of your kindness to me. You rock!

We had been thinking that Lucy would travel with us to Ethiopia, but we decided against it for many reasons. One major reason is that she does not handle being overtired very well, and she certainly would be tired travelling over there and back. So instead of contending with a child crying inconsolably that her cup was the wrong color, we will be leaving her home with her Aunt Anne whom she adores. The will have a blast and she will still have her routine. We will have the time to get to know Jonas while in country, and as my friend Lindsey described it, "to memorize the pattern of his eyebrows." I just love that image as I remember totally studying Lucy's face when she was a newborn and memorizing every magnificent inch of it. So we will have some time to just concentrate on Jonas and marvel over every little square inch of his precious face.

So friends and family, that is our update. We have been waiting to be matched for a little more than 4 months, and the average wait time is 6 months. So we are kind of "in the window" which is exciting. Thank you all for reading along and caring. I will try my best to update with a smidge more frequency (shouldn't be that hard to achieve!).