The Adkins Family

We are #5 on the waitlist for a baby boy!!  Wahoo!!  We are hoping July is the month we get "the call."  The courts in Ethiopia are closing for 6 weeks over the summer, sometime between August and October.  At this point, we are just thinking we aren't going to get a court date before the courts close and we are going to have to wait until some time after October.  Then we will go over for court, love on our baby boy, and then come home without him until the Embassy clears him for travel to the US.  Maybe 8 weeks after court.  We might have a Christmas blessing in our arms!  We are leaving it all up to the Lord, because his timing is always right. 
As for my hip, it is still hurting, but it is healing slowly.  I am hoping by next week I can come off crutches and go back to work.  It didn't help in Seattle when our hotel had a fire and I had to go down 34 flights of stairs!!
Lilia is happy and having a great summer.  Swimming and playing with her cousins and friends.  This was our cute conversation this morning.  Mom: "so Lilia, you have to forgive people, just as Jesus forgives us."  Lilia:  "Mommy, if we make chocolate chip cookies and we forget the egg, Jesus still forgives us."  What a cutie pie!!

We just got back from a great trip to Hawaii.  We went to the big island and saw the volcano, then to Maui for a week and then to Oahu for 3 days.  Lilia loved the ocean, and learned how to snorkel.  We saw a ton of dolphins on a boat trip to Lana'i and she loved that.  We pretty much relaxed a lot because I was on crutches for a hip stress fracture.  The weather was nice and warm, but not too hot.  Lee got to see Pearl Harbor which was his highlight.  We went to the Dole Pineapple plantation and then spent the last day driving all around Oahu.  The resort in Maui was awesome, and the beach was nice.  There were flowers everywhere, and they were very fragrant.  We had a nice time with Lee's family, too.  Lil and her cousin got along great.  She is a tan little beauty as always.

     Our yahoo chat group has an "unofficial waiting list" of families in the process and keeps track of what our number is in line.  For an infant boy, we moved up to #8 today!!!  3 referrals for little boys and one for a set of siblings in one day!  We are excited and anxious for our turn.  It seems as though the families who recently got referrals for infant boys had been waiting about 4 months between the time they turned their paperwork in until they received their referral.  Our date was March 19.  So hopefully in July?  Maybe sooner?  Whatever God wants to happen is okay with us.  :)
     Lilia is doing wonderful.  She has a busy week at school next week with a bunch of fun stuff, then has her preschool graduation June 1st.  It is hard to believe we will have a kindergardener.  She is ready and excited about going.  She is also moving up a level in gymnastics next week which she still loves.
     I hurt my hip this last week running.  I have been training with 2 of my best friends for a half marathon in Seattle on June 26th and my hip is hurt.  Could be a stress fracture, muscle tear, who knows.  The doctor says no running for 2 weeks, then an MRI if it isn't better.  I am probably not going to be able to run the race, but I have sort-of let it go and am planning on just having fun in Seattle.
     Our family is going to Hawaii the first week of June and we are super excited.  We could use a little fun.  Plus, it will be our last hoo-rah before we become parents to a little baby boy.

We had such a great time on Easter.  Lilia knows Jesus died on a cross for us, and on Easter, she said "he's not dead anymore.  He's alive and in our hearts."  She knows the real meaning of Easter, but still loved her basket and looking for eggs.  She was so excited every time she found one and would shake it and say "something's in here!"  We went to Church and the kids got to dance on stage for the last song.  Then we went to Gramma and Papa's house and got to spend the day with the whole family, including Great grandma. 
We found out about the 2 visit thing for Ethiopia, then they changed it back to one visit.  Then this last week, they changed it back to 2 visits!  We are just going with the flow.  We will get him here somehow.  God is in control.

    We just found out that Ethiopia is changing their court procedures and now you have to be there for court.  Which means we have to travel twice.  We did it with Russia and thought we wouldn't have to this time.  Even though it is going to mean more money, we feel there is a divine plan and we just have to look at the end of the journey.  Not how we are going to get there.  We are hoping our paperwork goes to Ethiopia this coming week and we will just be waiting for our referral.  After that, we will travel in 2-4 weeks for court.  Then if we pass, we come home until the US embassy will issue him a US visa, which because of the fact they have to investigate every case, could be anywhere from 8-12 weeks.  It is going to be a long haul.  Not to mention the fact that the court closes late August through early October.
    But we know it is out of our control, and we just keep seeing a little face in our minds.  That little face from Russia is what kept us going last time and we know it will be the same this time.  Keep us in your prayers!

 

      We FINALLY finished all our paperwork and sent it off to our adoption agency today!!  It feels so good to have it out of our hands.  It took about 6 months to complete it all, and now we just wait.   Our dossier (all our paperwork) should go over to Ethiopia some time next week.  Then we should receive a referral hopefully in 6 months or so.  What a relief.
      Lil is great, as always.  We went to the zoo yesterday and she had a blast.  Then to the park today.  I found out she can swing and pump her legs all by herself.  She learned from her friend at school, and I didn't know she could do it until today.   What a big girl.  
      We are ready for spring so we can go outside and play.  We have a vacation planned to Hawaii for our 10 year anniversary in June and can't wait for that.  Lil is coming along of course!