Everything on Our End is Done

We received our 171H on Monday!  Start to finish, it took two months.  The age is wrong on it, but it shouldn't be difficult to fix.  It says we're approved for a child age 0-3.  But Little E turns three very soon, so the age should be 0-4.  This needs to be corrected by the time we have our embassy appointment to get his visa, which will hopefully be early next year.

It's a relief to be done with the last piece of paperwork on our end!  We are, unfortunately, ready to be submitted to court right as they close for two months for the rainy season.  Hopefully, we'll be submitted as soon as everything reopens at the end of September.  We are a little frustrated with the timing, but as I was doing my Bible reading this morning I came across this verse:


For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. - Jeremiah 29:11
I am sad because I don't understand how Little E being in an orphanage for over a year and a half can be part of the plan.  But today I realized that I should look at this verse from Little E's perspective.  God is not just promising to give me a hope and a future.  He's promising that to Little E, too.  We have to trust in His divine plan, not only for our own lives, but also for the lives of those around us.  Little E is in a place where, by all accounts, he is very loved and very well cared for.  That gives us such peace as we wait. 

We recently got word from Brittany's Hope, our granting organization, that we have successfully fulfilled all of our obligations to them!  We are so grateful to them and the work they do to bring children home to their forever families.  You can learn more about their organization here: Brittany's Hope

Now we need to decide if we are getting vaccines and if so, which ones??  This is a difficult decision for us, since we've just recently moved from being a non-vaxing family, to selectively vaxing.

In other news, I'm starting the kids back to school next week.  The last of our curriculum should have arrived by then.  *fingers crossed*  We usually don't start until the third week of August, but I don't want to be worried about the time we'll have to take off while I travel to Ethiopia twice and we adjust to having a new little guy in the house.  Besides that, the kids are to the point where they beg to be on the computer or Wii constantly.  It is time.  :)

And, finally, we are officially counting down to Justin's law school graduation in months instead of years!!  Ok, technically it's exactly a year away --- but I'm choosing to call it 12 months and it's downhill from here.  C'mon next August!!