We have been prayerfully considering expanding our child request, as
we are currently in the process of updating our home study (it expires in
July). This is the best time to make changes and we realize that so many people
would like to have a baby. We finally decided that we just want to be parents
and help a child(ren) have a family & place to call home. So, we chose to
change our request pretty drastically. In fact, just last Thursday we received
approval from our social worker to request 1 – 2 children, 0 – 5 years!
So, as though this were not a big enough change in and of itself, we
received a phone call from Jennifer (our family coordinator from AWAA) on
Monday afternoon. She had a referral for us!!!!! Although we anticipated that
these changes would slightly decrease our wait time, we would have never guessed they would have made this
big of a difference! Just 2 weeks ago, we thought we still had 10 – 16 months!
At this point we cannot post too much (due to strict restrictions on
confidentiality), but we would like all of you to know that we have received a
referral (pictures and medical & social information) for a 5 year old
little girl from Ethiopia!! She is absolutely beautiful : ) One of my favorite
features of her is a small dimple on her right cheek – I have a dimple on my
right cheek that I inherited from my Grandpa Cunningham. Because I am the only
grandchild that inherited this trait, I have always been so proud of it. I
think it is so amazing that God allows us to share that feature : )
So, we are currently waiting to hear back from the international
adoption clinic in Chicago and then we will mail in our acceptance paperwork.
We hope to receive a court date before the courts close for the rainy season in
Ethiopia, but there is a chance we may have to wait until after the rainy
season. We will certainly keep you posted : )
Thank you for your continued prayers!!
