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Last weekend we were at Windy Gap Young Life Camp in Weaverville, NC for a work crew weekend, and so since we were just two hours away, we decided to hop over and see our peeps in TN for a couple of days!!! It was a VERY short visit, and we certainly didn't get to see everybody, but we treasured the time we got with my immediate family and some of our good friends. It was a sweet, encouraging and rejuvenating visit!!

I took some pictures of our friends and fam, and even of my parent's house and land. I wanted to remember it perfectly. It was the last place that I lived before I grew up, and I really have a special place in my heart for it. Sara Groves has a song on her latest album that makes me think of my own second story window. Here it is:

This House

it took me by surprise this old house and these old feelings walked round and looked inside familiar walls and halls and ceilings where I'd dream and plan every moment of sunshine this was my whole world it was all I knew like the hull of a seed this old house cracked wide open as I grew hadn't given it much thought hadn't been back here for a while everything looks so small seen through the memories of a child who would dream and stare from that second story window that was my whole world it was all I knew like the hull the of a seed this old house cracked wide open and I flew sad fruitful broken true sad fruitful broken true memories for miles and miles summers falls winters and springs Ruby you take it in see he's withheld no good thing

Me and my Mom

The Bird

the ice cream

Love you guys!!! Thanks for hangin'!!!

Home study: check!

It's done!!! We had our home study this morning at 10:30! Our social worker came from Greenville and we had a great time. All the things I was worried about last night (and I did have just a minor minor break down) were no big deal, everything's great, and a my friend of mine said, we're one step closer to our baby!!!

It's funny, I think I expected to be scrutinized a lot more closely than we actually were. I mean, don't get me wrong, she was thorough and it took a good 4hrs as predicted, but what I didn't expect was that she was a human, and not a drill-sargent, robot, crumb-detector, child-proofing dictator. Quite the opposite in fact, she was totally supportive and nurturing, really out to set us up for success. We had a great day with her!

All that being said, I wanted to post pictures of the last-minute home improvements and details that we put together in preparation for the visit!!! All fun stuff that I'm glad we did, even if some of it was over the top... but really, how often does a girl get to use her fine china?

I got a fern for our front patio. I think it made the apartment look more homey. First impressions, you know.

Our big flowerpot finally found a place to live right outside out front door.

The nursery/office as-is right now. Notice the giant crib-sized space on the right!!! :)

Our couches: the final look!

Pretty little pictures all in a row! Ethiopian landscape on the left, and Italy on the right.

Curtains to hide our DVD player and movies!!!

Setting the mood with daffodils and tulips, cause my sis says they're seasonal.

More flowers. It was fun to pretend like it was no big deal, but inwardly feel so fancy for having flowers around the house!

Aaaaand, the breakfast spread! Thanks friends for the banana bread just in time!

I'm pretty tired this afternoon, but I have a real peace deep down in my soul. I'm not generally one to put words into God's mouth that He didn't say, or claim that I know His intentions, but I sure do appreciate the blessings He's giving us along the way!!! I prayed this morning that our SW would be a Christian, because I wanted to be able to relate to her on that level. Because I felt like that would make a giant difference in her understanding us as a couple. She totally was!!! Not only that, but she'd gone to Young Life when she was a high school student, so she totally understood what my husband's job was about!! I'm so thankful for that, it makes me cry a little as I write this. And guess what else, I got my birth certificate at the end of last week. It took it two and a half weeks to get here. It was supposed to take 4-8 weeks. Praise the Lord, I'm thankful for these blessings as they come.

This one's for those we love who are far away

Our apartment so far...

On getting closer and big changes

This week was so fun! We've been working on decorating our apartment like crazy, we bought a bed (like a real one with a frame and everything) and couches from craigslist, and we got a BUNCH of adoption stuff done too!!! I'm surprised to say that I've really enjoyed setting up our home. I feel like I'm finally learning my own likes and dislikes. I've been tackling it room by room and wall by wall, and it's so satisfying to be able to look at a wall and say "yeah, I really like that, I feel like it really captures my style!" Pictures of the whole apartment are coming soon for those of you who've requested them.

In other news, we heard this week that the Ethiopian government is making some changes to the way they process adoptions. There have been some reports recently that maybe not all of the children that have been adopted from Ethiopia were in fact orphans, and the Ethiopian government has responded swiftly and responsibly to address the issue. The changes, as I understand them, are as follows: every potential adoption will undergo an in-depth investigation to ensure that the child is indeed an orphan, AND prospective adoptive parents will now be required to travel twice to Ethiopia. Once to meet the child and attend a court hearing (which was previously attended by a representative for the parents), and a second time to pick up the child, receive the visa, and bring him or her home. All together this can add a few weeks to several months on to the process, and all right at the end, after the referral's been accepted. I have to say my only reaction right now, besides being relieved at the steps that are being taken in the name of ethical adoptions, is to say "Ok, we'll deal with it when we get there." It does represent an added expense, a logistical dilemma, and a potential emotional roller-coaster that we weren't planning on. I also know that God has been over-the-top faithful and encouraging to us in this whole adventure, and I'm finally learning what it feels like to just trust that He'll work it out just as it's supposed to be. And as my dad says, it won't just be A way for things to go, it'll be the BEST way! Oh, and by the way... did I mention I get to go to Ethiopia TWICE?!?!

As for this week's accomplishments (only read if you care to know every detail of my life!!!):

-Just yesterday we got our appointment to get fingerprinted for USCIS!!!! This is a milestone for me, cause I can remember reading on other people's blogs the day that they got that done, and it felt so far away in my mind, unreachable. Guess not, huh?!
-We each finished 8 out of the 10 hours of online training, and we're gonna do the other 2 tonight!
-We got back our FBI background check results (which was supposed to take like 11-13 weeks, but only took one!), well, one of us did anyway, my fingerprints had to be re-done, so I'm hoping for another one-week processing time!!!
-We sent off:
*our medical papers for our agency application and our foreign dossier
*Husband's new birth certificate
*passport-sized photos
*photocopies of our passports
*power of attorney papers
*proof of insurance
*AND most of our references are in!!! Thanks you guys!!!

We're getting more and more excited about our sweet sweet baby!!! Just in the daily stuff we do we have this ongoing conversation of how things will change; driving places, carrying groceries in, setting up the rooms in our apartment, and even just laying in our new bed talking. Everything's going to be different, more sweet. Can't wait to meet you babe, we miss you every day!!!

Here are some pictures of our fun picnic with friends!!!