Time Crunch PRAYERS

So it has been more than a month since I have updated on here. It doesn't feel like much has gone on in the past 5+ weeks, but behind the scenes I am sure there is a lot!

To catch you up, we received our referral of a beautiful 6 month old girl on May 24th! Since then, we have received several photos and a few videos of her from our agency and families that have been willing to take pictures of our girl while they are visiting their own child(ren). (LOVE this adoption community!!!) We watch those videos every day and it is really bittersweet. I love seeing her smile and watching her grow, but it is also a reminder of how far away she is right now. Oh how I wish that I could scoop her up and kiss her cheeks right this moment!! In the meantime, I know she is being well taken care of and loved on by many.

So, we got our referral the end of May and 17 days later our case was submitted. This basically gets the ball rolling. After that, we wait for a preliminary hearing. This is a birth parent/relative interview. (We do not go to Ethiopia for this). The estimated timeline to wait for your "PH" is 7-13 days after submission. Right now, we are on day 22 of waiting for this step. :(    To say I am discouraged is an understatement. I always anticipated delays and bumps, but I really thought that they would come later.

 I don't think I would be so impatient about this, but the Ethiopian courts are closing for the rainy season in the beginning of August. This puts us on a major time crunch. We need to have our preliminary hearing, wait for the courts to say everything went well, and that they have scheduled a court date for us. This would be considered trip #1! We would fly to Ethiopia, meet Eliana, and then go to court to officially become her parents!! If we don't get through these steps before the beginning of August, then we will have to wait until the courts open sometime in October!!

Right now, there are a couple of families that received referrals a couple weeks after us, and they have their preliminary hearings tomorrow. This makes me more anxious about getting a date! Ours seems "overdue." ;)

I have been talking to God a lot about this. And I KNOW in my heart that if we don't get to Ethiopia this month, that we will survive waiting until the rainy season is over to meet our little girl. I KNOW that he will take care of us and her during that time and that one day this wait will just melt away. I KNOW that He works everything out for our good. We may be able to encourage other families that have a similar delay....I KNOW that. I just need Him to work on my heart about being OK with all of this. :) Just being honest. It will be a hard summer/fall....

So, if you would pray for us, we would greatly appreciate it. Here is how you can pray:

1. Pray for Eliana Nardos as she is waiting. Pray that God would prepare her little heart for all of the changes ahead in her life.

2. Pray for us as we wait. That God would begin to prepare our hearts for whatever "timeline" he has planned for our story.

3. Pray that if it is His will, we will hear about a preliminary hearing TODAY and that a court date would SOON follow, so that we could travel in JULY to meet and adopt our little girl.

Thank you for taking the time to pray for our family!!!

I have to order a "disc" for Eliana. But for now, she is still represented on my necklace by the Africa and Hope disc. :) (I can't wait to post a picture of her on here when we pass court!!!!)

But here is just a glimpse of her little feet!

These boys are ready for their little sister to come home! This morning, they decided that they wanted to change her middle name. So, we are praying that Eliana Cat-Woman Videon would come home quickly! ;)