So very real

It is all so very real now. We have a beautiful face to look at...and you had better believe that his picture is always close at hand :) I remember after my babies were born that it felt that I could just hold them and watch their faces forever - and love every minute of it. Funny how it seems very much the same with this little guy. I wish that I could put the world on hold so that I could study his picture for a very long time. For now, though, I must be content with carrying him close by and stealing glances whenever I can.

This weekend post-referral has been so unlike I had anticipated. Wonderfully happy, but also chock full of many emotions I hadn't anticipated. I'm not ready to blog about specifics, but wanted to let you know that we are LOVING this little guy!

So...on the agenda to blog about in the near future

• What we will name him
• What it was like to share the news with the kids and Craig

Also wanted to fill you in on the process from here on out. There is a small, but very real chance that something would happen where this little guy would not be the child that we would adopt. Much has to fall into place from now until he would be deemed our child. We are praying for a smooth processing of paperwork and that people will be in the right places at the right time for this little guy to be our son, but are still resting on the Lord and His sovereignty to do what He knows best for all involved. This week we will be doing paperwork to formally accept his referral and from there we await to hear when a court date can be scheduled in Ethiopia, which is expected to be 6-12 weeks from today. Then there is a good chance that we will be required to have a second court date approximately 6 weeks later with travel scheduled 2-6 weeks after that. So, we can tentatively expect to travel 4-6 months from now.