Our September update came through this morning. We are up a total of 10 spots, from back in June, to #53. There are 25 referrals coming up but there have been some delays on the Ethiopia side. Hopefully by mid October, we will start seeing some of these come through. That will give us a nice bump up on the list! I'm not good at this waiting game, but to be honest these last few months have gone by quickly (thank goodness). We still have a super long wait ahead though. Even if we get that referral around June, we will still have around another 6 months of waiting to bring them home. I will just keep myself busy preparing for them. We did get Aden's room moved to the basement. He LOVES it! It still needs a few things (minor decorating) but he's down there. I will get that finished up this fall and then we will start on the upstairs room for Kaitlyn. Poor Kian is not happy that he is not getting a new room! He wanted to have the downstairs room too! Aden is just not up for sharing with him though. :)
I keep thinking I will do better posting on our blog. I have good intentions and just never post. I am trying to make a new recipe every week (which doesn't always happen) but I am going to try to start sharing them. I love cooking and trying new things, but I do not love cleaning up my messes! I also have several Kian stories to share. He is a funny kids and is always saying the funniest (sometimes very embarrassing) things! We have a family trip coming up, so I will definitely be sharing about that. We are all super excited for some beach time!
I have also become somewhat involved with a couple of moms who have also adopted from Ethiopia through our agency. They have partnered up with Children's Hope Chest to start a care point in the region of Ethiopia where their children were born, Wolisso. After traveling to Ethiopia, they decided they wanted to become involved in some way to help that area. There were not able to come up with anything, so have teamed up with Children's Hope Chest to open up a care point there. Pretty Exciting! They are searching for people who would be interested sponsoring children. They will have 150 children who will need a sponsor. Sponsorship is $34/month and will provide the children with warm meals, water, and and education. In that area, if you cannot afford private education, you do not go to school. This provides those many children with that opportunity. After getting all the children sponsored, they will begin raising money for development projects, such as building wells, a school, etc. If you think you would like to sponsor a child, please contact me and I can get you more info or in touch with these two wonderful moms! We sponsor a child already through Children's Hope Chest. She is 11 years old and just started school. She lives with her grandfather and has lost both of her parents. We are able to send her letters and photos. Our site leader is going to be traveling to Ethiopia soon, so we just mailed a care package to her to deliver for us. It was so hard to choose only a few things. I picked out a light jacket, T-shirt, underwear, socks, toothbrush, Lip balm, hair accessories, and some snacks for her. I can't wait to get some pictures of her with her new things. Things she has never been able to have new before! When we travel to Ethiopia, we will have the option of going to her care point and meeting her. Of course, I will be doing everything I can to make that happen! Another family that has traveled and also has a child sponsored through CHC, was able to meet and take a package to her sponsored child. So cool! There is another mom who shared a story with us....she actually met a young lady who had shared with her that she had been a sponsored child and what a difference it made in her life. She was able to go to school and I believe is now a teacher herself and able to support her family. I'm thrilled to be able to do something so small on this side of the world to possilbly make a huge impact in some child's life on that side of the world.
