Hosting, school days & Life!

Hello blog world! Long time no write! HA! I just cracked myself up! Anyway, lots has been happening in our world. Just a quick update.

Lily started Pre-K 5 days a week and is doing so well!! 

This is the first day of school!

Annie is...well Annie! Sometime in the Spring she decided she was no longer answering to Anna and would forever now be Annie. She is stubborn, hilarious and so happy! 

This is really and truly such a good picture to describe the awesomeness of her personality.

We also decided to host a foreign exchange student from Liberia Africa for the school year. Raphina is 16 years old and in the 9 weeks we have had her she has taught us so much about her culture, customs and country. She will be staying with us until the end of school year and in that time we will go to Colorado, California and some other parts of Texas. We are excited to share America with her and also our culture and customs. 

Raphina's first day of High School in America!

Lily also started attending small groups at our church and at this point it is the highlight of her week. I think she may be the next bible drill champion! She also started playing soccer for the 'Twinkle Toes' this fall coached by her Daddy!!

GO TEAM!!

I'm sure there is tons of other things going on in our lives this fall but this covers the basics. For those who have asked...yes we are still adopting. We are currently number 47 on our list. That means 46 other families in front of us asking for the same (Infant boy 0-18 months). We are about to resubmit a lot of paperwork to the embassy that has updated information. As of this month all of our time dated materials will have expired. And as of 10/28 it will be one year exactly that we submitted our dossier. As of 11/1 it will be 2 years exactly that we started the adoption journey. Tons of dates and facts that seem tedious and useless but are days that have meaning in our life and our little boys. Please continue to pray for us. Pray that time goes by fast enough that we forget it has almost been 2 years and pray that as it goes quickly we don't miss anything! (Best of both worlds right?) Thanks and hopefully I will get on this thing again soon!!

The Waiting Game

Well, as usual we have been slammed with activities, trips and life in general. Scott took 21 students, teens and adults to Kenya Africa with Tin Roof Society  and they had a wonderful time exploring Mombasa while serving in schools. They also went into Nairobi and visited places I'm sure most of these kids had never imagined even existed. And while Scott was in Africa the girls and I went to California to visit my mom and brothers. And while both trips would be considered a success it is always hard to come back together and find common ground. Scott had several encounters with God while serving in Africa, while I played at Disneyland and the beach. We didn't really have the same goals or focus. But God is so good in bringing our family back together with a shared purpose.

A couple of days before I left California I decided to check our "unofficial" referral list. This list is simply a basic cataloguing of all the people in our agency adopting from Ethiopia. It lists families by last name and is placed in order by DTE or Dossier to Ethiopia. (Our DTE is 10/28/11.) Then it gets even more detailed based on requests, male/female, age...etc. I can honestly tell you I rarely check this list. Most people are probably wondering why...& I can tell you, it can be frustrating and rather discouraging for me. When we landed on the list the beginning of November we started at 61. Meaning 60 other families were "in line" before us for the same request. Male infant 0-12 months. And in the next 6 months we did nothing but go up. At one point our number was 63 then 65 and back down to 61 where we have stayed. 8 months and we have essentially seen no movement. But 3 days ago I happened to check and YEAH...we were 57! Now 4 numbers may seem insignificant to most people but 4 numbers was like manna from heaven as far as I was concerned. 4 numbers can sustain me for quite some time. And then today I went to show Scott and guess what....54!! 3 more numbers down! Apparently almost 10 children had clearance in country and were able to be referred to loving families. Meaning families have now been matched with children and orphaned children are no longer orphaned. John 14:18 coming to life!

I also received an email from our agency with a detailed attachment answering a lot of questions while we play "The Waiting Game". And with some of these answers Scott and I find ourselves wondering what are the best decisions for our family. So I ask for you to please pray for us as we pray and discuss our options.

Adoption is a roller coaster ride and until you are on it you cannot understand all it entails. But we know that this roller coaster is one we want to take and one we are humbled and excited to be called to. Love y'all!

The Windham's

Prayerfully Struggling Through it!

Well, It has been almost 6 months since the last time I have updated my blog. Not good at all. To be honest I have written blogs out but in the end decided against posting because they just seemed whiny and repetitive. So, I am hoping this one does not sound that way.

The most recent update is...We are still adopting!! The stinky part of that update is that we are moving nowhere. We started with a number in the 60's and if you can believe it, in 7 months we have only gone up (Meaning our number has gotten higher)! So we are further on the list than when we started. I have sent emails and asked tons of questions but no one seems to be able to explain to me this phenomenon. I spoke with our family coordinator and she said at least another 18 months to go. And thats on the low end of things. Could be as much as 24 months.

That being said...I am struggling. At the beginning you realize this is a possibility, an option, but the reality is really no fun. I envy those who walked into adoption and under a year had their child home. We are looking at a total of 3-4 years start to finish. Like I said I knew it was an option but realistically I didn't think it was for us! There I have said it...you never think the bad case scenario happens to you right?

Bad case scenario meaning my arms are still empty and my heart and head thought they would be full by now. Please don't misunderstand, I am a mother who has two happy healthy little girls at home and Scott and I thank the Lord every day for them. They do keep me busy and our life is full of laughter and fun...but 18 months ago I decided something was going to happen and it hasn't happened as I thought it would. I know...my bad! And now I'm struggling through my own disappointment in my expectations of adoption.

But we continue to pray. Pray for God's timing, God's peace, God's will! All of these things are good and right and yet I'm struggling. We are praying that the country doesn't close entirely (that would be worse case scenario!). And we are praying that in the wait God prepares our hearts.  We are also praying that financially God continues to provide. This November all of our time dated items in our dossier expire which means more money to renew what has already been done.

But ultimately I wanted you to know that although I am struggling through this time...I am prayerfully struggling through. I would love it if you would pray with and for me. Again, thank you to everyone who has supported us in so many different ways. We could not do this without you.

I hope you read this and know that it may sound a little, 'yucky' for lack of a better word, but I am confident that God is refining and working on me and my trust in Him through this wait. Doesn't mean I like it...But I know His way is better and His time is better and His peace makes it bearable.

Love y'all!