another 5 months

So here it is 5 months later...have I mentioned that I've never blogged before? Apparently 5 months between blogs is becoming a pattern! How pathetic! I want to post so much more than I have, but between getting into the habit, fighting for the laptop and making time to sit down and write, I have failed miserably! Here's where I'm going to try to play catch up...well, maybe. Right now we are simply waiting...our dossier is safe and sound in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. We were able to send it off in February...which surprisingly turned into a very emotional day for me. You would think that I would be more than ready to hand that thing over but it was hard to let it go. I had spent so, so, so much time going over every little detail and studying that check list, then double checking, and triple checking, again and again....that when it came time to mail, I had a meltdown. I knew it was complete and ready to be sent, so I took it with me to work that day, I printed the address and drove myself across town to Postal Plus. I got there with a huge lump in my throat, made sure that it was in the perfect type of package and filled out the address forms, the clerk asked me if I'd like insurance on it and bam....out came the tears! Poor girl...she had no idea what to do with me! I did my best to explain how priceless this package was and she almost cried with me! I managed to gain some composure, pry the box out of my sweating hands, pay for shipping and get to the car...where again, I cried! This was the beginning of a whole new phase...where no longer would anyone be waiting on us, we were pretty much finished, this was out of our hands. The dossier would now be looked at by people who don't know our family...had I done the best I could in telling them who we are? They would read about why we wanted to adopt...did I convey that well enough? They would look at pictures of our home...did I capture how much love is in it? They will ultimately be matching us with our daughter...oh my...our Aamina! Do they know how much we already love her? This was a big day and I'm thrilled to have experienced it. I'm trusting God with all of the above questions, we know that He has been and will continue to be at work in this adoption. We expect to recieve our referral (the name, picture and history) of our daughter sometime this fall. We found out in March that Ethiopia has changed the adoption laws, so now after we recieve our referral, we will travel to meet her and appear in court then come home for 2-3 months before traveling back to bring her home. So our hopes are: referral this fall, travel this winter, homecoming this spring! (if not earlier!) Thank you for your continued prayers. There is so much more to share, but I'm hoping that will help me post something sooner...God bless!