One Additional Note

I just want to add one additional post tonight. My husband Jim lost his Mother (Catherine), Father (Clair), and Sister (Betsy) 40 years ago today. He was 3 years old. His sister Pat took him in and raised him to be the man he is today. On that same day 40 years later, he saw the beautiful face of his new daughter half way around the world. If anyone has any doubt about how great God is, the events of today should leave no question - Laura

REFERRAL!!!!!

We just got the call from Natalie....She is absolutely precious. 7 weeks old, healthy, and adorable. More later :)

Laura and Jim

On Top

I must say that being in one of the top positions on the FBI List is by far one of the most emotional rides I have been on. When the phone rings, I just about stop breathing. By the end of the day I look like I belong in a strait jacket. I even went to the health food store for some calming tea :) Didn't work...... Thanks for letting me share - Laura

7 Months Waiting for Baby N

Hopefully, 7 will be the lucky number for us. After stalking the blogs this morning, I was surprised to see that we are "unofficially" #1 for a girl 0-6 months old. I pray every day that we will see her face soon. Just the thought of knowing that she is in the Gladney system somewhere and that some of you who have traveled recently may have seen her warms my heart and provides me a sense of peace.

We have had a busy month otherwise. My oldest is getting ready to set out on his own soon. We are in the process of searching for an apartment for him and getting his paperwork together for full-time work until he goes to community college in the spring. Nikolaus is preparing to go back to school on August 11th. He will be moving up to junior high and wants to make sure he "looks good" for the move. You gotta love the egos at this age..... He will also be going to football camp an starting basketball practice for the travel team.

Jim and I are both working on summer grants, writing, and analyzing data (what fun). I will keep the blog up to date and as soon as I hear something you will be the first to know.

God Bless....Laura

Where O' Where Are the Referrals.....

Where are the referrals.... I know I am whining (just a little). I had surgery last week on my shoulder and have nothing to do but sit and think. I am unable to type for any length of time and summer travel plans had to be rearranged. Too much time is a dangerous thing for me. I wake up and go to sleep wondering... Will we get a call tomorrow, next week, next month. Currently we are "unofficially" #3 for a girl 0-6 months.

I am desperately trying to stay in the moment but it is not working very well. I guess I should try to find a project (other than paying bills) to keep me occupied :)

Congrats to all getting court dates before the rainy season. We will pray that all goes well.

Six Months Waiting for Baby N

We made it to six months... Whew. We have had a busy few weeks with end of school celebrations, graduation (our 18 year old graduated this year), basketball camp, and traveling. It helps to keep busy during this time. I continue to wonder if a referral will come in time to receive a court date before the rainy season. There is still hope, I think. It seems that the "unofficial list" is moving slowly.

I received some great news from our church yesterday. We received a $3000 grant for adoption expenses. This is going to help immensely. We still need to work a little harder with fundraising as we need another $5000 or so for travel (now that 2 trips are required).

We will be leaving for our annual pilgrimage to Wisconsin next week to visit family and friends. It will be nice to relax a bit and catch up with everyone.

Congratulations to all the families that are home with their new family member(s), are traveling, or are waiting to hear about court dates. This community of people we have become acquainted with are so giving and supportive. I don't know how I could make it through the wait without the daily interaction.

Promises and Questions

I promised myself at the beginning of this adoption process that I would not be one of those parents-in-waiting that would try to predict when we would get a referral and constantly be bothering our caseworker at Gladney. Well, so far I have fulfilled the promise of not bothering our caseworker but I am failing miserably at avoiding the predictions and speculation.

I am by nature a Type A personality on speed with major control issues (surprise...surprise). I know myself and my tendencies very well and vowed to live "in the moment" and believe without question that God would provide and when the time was right he would reveal our daughter. I have tried to stay busy with both of my sons activities. Nikolaus plays sports year-round and my oldest son is graduating from high school tomorrow. However, now that school has ended and I am done teaching for the semester, I find myself constantly online and wondering....

Will we get a referral this month?

If we get a referral, will we make a court date before the rainy season?

How will Jim and I travel in the fall if we don't make it this summer (we both teach at and will have to arrange for class coverage)?

Will I be able to take Nikolaus out of school and football to travel in the fall?

And on...and on...and on...

I figured I would let it out here in an effort to regain some sanity. I am not wining (0k maybe a little bit), and I know I should trust the process. Hopefully, things will move along in the month of June and I will find some peace again. Does anyone else feel this way or is it just my nutty personality? -Laura