Ethiopian Coffee and Our Baby Girl

You know it's bad when a customer hands you a bag of coffee to grind and you start crying (not that anyone noticed, thankfully). And when your heart goes pitter patter every time a black person walks in to the store, just because he or she vaguely resembles your daughter. Well I started back at Starbucks 3 weeks ago, and that's exactly the kind of soppy mess I have been.

That's right - we have a daugher! She is 3 months, 1 week, and 1 day old, born on March 26. We received her referral on May 25, the day after returning from getting fingerprinted in Portland. Her Ethiopian name is Tirfe Abera, meaning "saved from death." We are naming her Katelyn Joy Tirfe Harp.

Though we were told we would not receive new pictures for months, less than a week after our referral we received a surprise update! What a cutie! Apparently they woke her from a nap for picture time (notice the drool spot) :)

Number 5!

Wow! Holt said they did not expect to receive any referrals until the end of May, but we moved from 14th to 5th in only 24 days! :) We're getting closer and closer . . . fingerprints Monday!

Help the Orphans and Win and IPod!

Visit send.Megan2Africa.com to help my sister become a missionary AIDS orphans in Ethiopia and Uganda this summer. Get 1 raffle ticket entered into the drawing for an ipod nano 16 g for each $10 you donate!

Number 14!

Called Holt on Friday. Narrowly avoided the gal I normally speak with. Apparently there are unspoken rules about how often you can call your agency because while she was extremely friendly and helpful at first, over time, she has become inreasingly curt. For this reason I was very excited to speak with someone new on Friday. This lady told me that our paperwork is on its way to Washington DC and that we are number 14 on the wait list! Woo hoo!!!! That is amazing news...except...we were desperately hoping to receive our referral and get our paperwork into Ethiopia by April 30 in order to avoid two trips. Alas it does not appear that this will be possible. Not that we ever had much of a chance, but hey, I figured that despite whatever obstacles blocked our way, we had a 60/40 chance. 60/40 because we asked God, and He can say 'yes' or 'no' and Jesus says He likes to say 'yes.' But either way, we'll have a baby one day. Yay!

And Holt really should give waiting families some guidelines on how often is appropriate to call. (Honestly, I call as little as possible!)

Homestudy Check!

They say that 2-4 months from now we'll be getting our referral! Woo hoo!!!!!! Our homestudy went beautifully, and we are approved. Spring, sunshine, and baby pictures are headed our way!

Also I purchased the mobile on ebay today to match the adorable bedding set we bought a few weeks ago. We found the set on craigslist, and its previous owner was adopted. What a sweet surprise from God :)

DHS Approval

I'm sorry I've neglected you, dear little blog, but today I have wonderful news. My hubby and I arrived home from celebrating sunshine with pizza in Ashland to find our DHS approval letter tucked in our mailbox! And 1-3 weeks earlier than expected! Thank you Jesus!

A Mom Event!

AH! I am about to attend my first Mom event ever! I have been invited by many wonderful people to the Westminster Presbyterian Church this evening for the adoption mom's group. I feel a bit more grown up just thinking about it.