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.

A lot to be thankful for.

This week our family went to Florida to visit our friends. We had a great time just hanging out and cramming as much fun as possible into our week. Since we were DTE the Friday before I was crazy and obsessively  tracking our dossier's trip to Ethiopia. I thought it was very cool that on Thanksgiving day our dossier was delivered to Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. What a great treat for Thanksgiving.

So this year on Thanksgiving we have a lot to be thankful for. I am thankful for this waiting period. I know it holds a lot for me to learn. I am thankful for my family, my friends, my husband, my kids who are home, and for our little girl who will hopefully be with us next year.

DTE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I have three fave letters as of today and they are DTE! We are officially on the wait list for our little girl! Oh, I am so happy, excited, and crazy in love with some one I have yet to meet. I am jumping up and down, screaming, dancing, and crazy happy over these three little letters. 

DTE or dossier to Ethiopia means that all our papers are on there way to the birth country of our baby girl. It means that all our paper chasing is over and our waiting begins. It means that again we are in awe of God's goodness and provisions through this entire process. It means we are that much closer to having four little blessings in our home. It means I am that much closer to PINK! It means that we have so much to be thankful for as we come into Thanksgiving week. 

Please be in prayer as there has been a slow down in referrals as of late and much of our wait time is pending on how quickly other referrals come through. Please also pray for us as we continue to save and fund raise for next portion of the adoption. Please join us in praying for our baby girl; her  health, her birth family, and that God is preparing her for us as we try and prepare for her. And finally please pray for us as God continues to graciously teach us more everyday through this journey.

We are so overwhelmed by God's goodness!