2 Months!

We have been waiting for 2 months as of today! The wait time right now for an infant girl is still 7-11 months. I have been so encouraged lately by several of our friends who are in process or who have brought their children home. This wait seems so long, and there are no exacts. It is such a growing process for me.

Monday night I was feeling very discouraged. I was sitting filling out paper work for grants. First my mind went to funding. HOW ARE WE EVER GOING TO PAY FOR THIS? When we started this journey I sat down with my friend the calculator. I figured if we save x amount, Dan should get X amount for his bonus, I can do X amount in extras to bring in money. But my plans are human plans. Bonuses were record low this year, something major has come up each month keeping us from saving the full amount planned, and my extra money making is not consistent.

I remember talking to a friend right after we had started all of this. We were discussing the cost and she said something that just rings so true. I told her the adoption cost and her response was "That's awesome. because you know you can't do it. Only God can fund that!" That has been some of the best truth. I tell myself that constantly.

So back to Monday, I was already a little frazzled and lies were beginning to creep in. As I am filling out a application there are several questions about attachment and how we plan to handle this. Again more lies start flooding in and fear starts to creep in. I decided to take a break and head over to the Yahoo group for our agency. Some one was asking about hair products. By this point I am already an internal mess. I start thinking about hair. What am I going to do with this girl's hair?! I can hardly braid my own hair. This is a mess.

God is good and he gave me a husband who is sane. (Praise the Lord, one of us needs to be) So he told me it was time for bed and we shut down for the night. The next morning I ran into a friend at the store who is also in process for a little girl from Ethiopia. Their wait has been so much longer than anticipated (they are with another agency). It was so good just to get her perspective that the wait is long, but when our girls are home it just won't matter any more.

In filling out the application we realized God has provided over $11,000 already. The realization came to me that I am just like the children of Israel in the desert. God continues to provide over and over and yet I am still not putting all my faith in him. Shame on me. God has made it clear it is his plan for us to grow our family through adoption. He LOVES adoption. Of course he will provide. Yes, our daughter may take time to adjust, but there is no need for fear God has this under control. And the hair thing, seriously, I am ridiculous!

So, there is my brain purge for the evening. All said and done. God is faithful, He is good, He loves us and cares for us. And some day that will sink in to my thick skull and STAY there. I love that God is using this process not just as a time to wait, but as a time to refine me. He is teaching me so much right now. GOD IS GOOD.

Things to come

Yet another day where I sit and longingly wish we were closer to getting our baby girl home. However, God is good to keep me busy and we have lots to be excited for during our wait.

Coming up:
-Tonight we are going bowling to celebrate a friend's 30th b day.
-This weekend we have no plans!!! I think we might try and take the kids to go see Mega mind now that it is in the cheap seats. Or go to the Cinci children's museum. Either way family time!!
-Back to babysitting next week. Yay for baby money!
- Going out west to see my fam in AZ in Feb
- Isaac turns five in Feb. and Dan will turn 28 so we will be partying it up. :)
-End of March we will be going to a home school conference. We booked our hotel room. Now all we need is a sitter and we have a productive get away for us.
-Getting ready to put together a few more  fundraisers. Yay, for more baby money!

What's funny is that we are less crazy than normal. It is kind of nice. However, busy is good. It keeps me going and time passing. So, hopefully we will keep busy until our referral. :)

Goodbye 2010

When I look at this year so much of it is a blur. The major event that sticks out is adoption. We have been paperchasing and fundraising much of the year. We have had friends get married, several of our friends are having babies, and we have met several other adoptive families. We are so thankful for the friendships God has blessed us with new and old. 
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I am looking forward to 2011. My hope is that our big events next year include a trip to Addis Abbaba, Ethiopia and of course, bringing home our little girl!

Amazing how a year can make a difference. Here is a look back to how my little boys have grown this past year

 Early 2010

Here they are at Chritstmas. 

They get so big so quick. I can't wait to have another little one added to this brood! We will be praying for 2011 to be the year that many babies come home to their forever families! 

Happy New Year!

Parents night out fundraiser

Last Friday we did a Parents night out fund raiser. We joined forces with the Rogers again for this and we had a blast. We had so many amazing volunteers. So many of our friends who do not have their own children showed up to help watch 23 kids! Other friends who have their own little ones dropped them off and got a night out. We had so much fun with all these little ones. Here are a few pictures of our fun.

Thank you to all who volunteered. Thank you to all who dropped off your little ones. We are so blessed that we have so many who have helped support the adoption. Thank you, thank you, thank you!!!

One month and counting

As of yesterday we have been DTE (dossier to Ethiopia) for one month. The wait is still sitting at 7-11 months for an infant girl. So, now we are one month closer to getting a referral to see our little girl. We can't wait. Thank you so much for your prayers as God continues to work on us while we wait for our daughter.

Christmas letter

Hello Friends and Family,

This year I have decided to do our Christmas letter on our blog. I realize this isn't as great as if I were to print and mail it out, but honestly I think it will actually get done this way.:)

2010 has been a great year for us. Our biggest news is that we are growing our family through adoption. We felt God nudging us in that direction in April and before we knew it we were accepted into the Ethiopia program at America World. We have spent most of the year in the paper chase phase. Collecting paperwork and putting it all together in the big file they call a dossier. Our dossier was mailed out on 11/19/10 and now we are in the waiting phase. The approximate wait right now is between 7-11 months for a referral. Then we must make two trips to Ethiopia before we can bring our little one home. We are anxiously waiting, fund raising, preparing, and praying for our little girl. We are all so excited for her to come home.  The boys can't wait to meet their sister.

Levi has had a big year this year. He turned one, got his first (and only so far) two teeth, started walking, and started saying a few words. His favorite things to say are milk and Thank you. He is such a snuggler. He loves to give hugs and is so much fun to watch. He loves to try to do all the things his big brothers do. My hope is that he will really want to do what they do and go potty on the big boy potty early. :)

Asher also had an exciting year. He started his first year of Tuesday school. Tuesday school is a free preschool a local church does as a ministry to the community. We have been very blessed to watch how much our boys have enjoyed it. He also turned three this year. He is so big and so smart. Some of the things he says amaze us. Also, this is Asher's first year to do Awana. He loves hearing stories about Jesus and learning verses. He is getting so big.

Isaac is continuing to get big as well. He turned four in February. He also started his second year of Tuesday school this year. He is loving his first year of Awana as well. We love hearing him say his  memory verse. The first verse he learned was in 2 timothy and now everything is 2. 2 Matthew, 2 Luke, I think it is pretty cute. We have started doing some preschool at home to prepare for our home school venture. So far we are really enjoying it. Isaac is so social and talkative. He makes friends where ever he goes. It is so fun to watch them all grow.

Dan and Abby are keeping busy as well. Dan is still working at Heapy. He is playing soccer once a week and keeps busy being a wonderful husband and Daddy. I have the privilege of staying at home with our boys. I love to work on coupons and I get to hang out with students from our youth group on a regular basis. Dan and I still love that we get to be involved with student ministry. God has blessed us with so much great stuff to make our lives feel very full. We love the busy because it is all a joyful busy. 

We hope you all have had a good year as well. We are excited to see what 2011 has in store for us. May God bless you this Christmas and in the new year. 

With Love,

The Garmans

Thinking and praying

I just can't help it. I keep thinking about my little girl today. I look at our stocking all hung with each name on it. I want to know her name. I want to have a stocking up for her. I held my friend's precious little one today and I can't wait to hold HER. I want to see her little face and touch her little hands. I want to kiss her little forehead and snuggle her all up. I am so excited to meet her. We have a long wait ahead of us, but it is fun until then to dream about her and keep praying for her.