Thankful, Day 9

Today, I am thankful that while cantering during her riding lesson, and being thrown from the horse, that Abigail did not suffer any injury other than a rather sore and bruised hip, upon which she landed. My girl would spend every waking moment up at the stable if she were permitted, and I love and am thankful that she has the opportunity and ability to enjoy something she loves so much. Today I am also deeply thankful and grateful to God for keeping her safe while she rides.

Thankful, Day 8

Today I am thrilled and thankful to hear that we have a new niece/girl cousin on the way!! Congrats to Aunt Sandra and Uncle Keith!! We’d have been super excited, boy or girl, but it’s pretty impressive to be the ones responsible for breaking a six-in-a-row streak of boy cousins. Since Josiah was born in 2005, we’ve been blessed with the very manly additions of: Matthew, Isaac, Judah, Jacob, and (also still on the way!) Elisha, but it looks like pink is making a comeback in the family!! Here’s the happy big brother sharing the great news:

Thankful, Day 7

Today I am very thankful that God invented oranges, partly b/c while I have a nasty cold they are about the only thing that tastes refreshing to my “feels like it’s stuffed with cotton” mouth.

And I am oh so thankful for three wonderful and goofy boys, who today decided they have the makings of a garage band and therefore got to work dragging out and setting up instruments in (somehow very appropriately) the garage, and commenced to practicing. Here, for your listening enjoyment, is one of their first attempts at music:

 

Thankful, Day 6

Today I am thankful for homemade cinnamon rolls that I got to eat with the people I love the most, for the blessing of easy access to even the simplest of medicine — which made Jonathan’s bout with high fever today so much easier for him, and for movies* that make us laugh, cry, and even inspire us.

*If you haven’t heard of Bethany Hamilton, first go read her book, Soul Surfer, (which she wrote at the tender age of 14 – local friends, it’s in our Dallas libraries) and then grab a copy of the movie which was released earlier this year. There is a documentary on the DVD’s extras that is not to be missed which features interviews with this remarkable young lady as well as great footage of her awesome surfing! Our family was encouraged and inspired by Bethany and the way she simply lives out her faith, touching many lives with her story and testimony.

Thankful, Day 5

Today I am thankful for Saturdays, and the wonderful break they represent from the normal routine: seeing our little jammied boys snuggled on the couch watching cartoons quietly in the morning, family pancake breakfasts, 4-square matches in the driveway, working together on stuff around the house, having time to just sit down and talk things out, and everyone pitching in to help make supper. I am thankful for Saturdays at home.

Thankful, Day 4

Today I am thankful for weather so ridiculously gorgeous, it couldn’t be any prettier than if we’d ordered it (how I LOVE fall weather!), for answered prayer that brings hope to my heart, and for a date night out with my dear one.

Thankful, Day 3

Today I am thankful for the incredibly wonderful smell of pinion wood burning in a chiminea, for bedtime snuggles and kisses from my sweet Little Jo, and that despite being terribly in-between girls and women’s sizes, my lovely daughter now once again owns a pair of jeans that actually fit her and that only cost $10.50 and a couple hours of earnest shopping.

Thankful, Day 2

I am thankful for feeling cozy indoors on cold windy autumn evenings, guacamole, Cosby Show reruns with my kiddos, forgiveness, and a sweet Hubby who helps schlep our little darlings around when I have a fever, even though he’s sick as a dog himself.

Thankful Day 1

Today I am thankful for:

The first pomegranates of the season, delicious and easy home made pizzas on naan bread, the grace of modern medicine, and friendly grocery store personnel!!

Ten Months Waiting…..

Hello and WELCOME!! to any blog readers who still stop by House of Horne to peek at what is not going on around here. 🙂 Summer and the start of school have come and gone while my little neglected blog sits here patiently. It’s not really that there is nothing going on, more like there is too much going on to sneak in any bloggy time. I have started several entries only to leave them unfinished. And thought of many more I’d love to sit down and write, if only I could find the time.

But today is important enough that I have to write. Today marks 10 months since our family was put on the waitlist in Ethiopia for our little girlie.

Back in November of 2010 when we reached this huge milestone in our adoption process, we were told that the longest we’d be waiting for a referral for our daughter was 10 months. The actual window given us was somewhere between 8 and 10 months. So you can imagine that we felt pretty confident (in that naive, never-before-navigated-the-waters-of-international-adoption sort of way) that by today, September 16th, 2011, we’d for sure already know the name and face and history of the little girl whom God in His providence planned to be a part of our family.

In reality, a lot has changed in Ethiopia this year, and these various changes and transitions mean that the wait time for referrals has increased rather substantially. So much so that a more accurate timeline for a referral now is about double that which we originally anticipated. Nowadays when someone asks me “How much longer?” I truly don’t have a concrete answer for them (though I love everyone who checks in with us — thank you!). We hope for a referral sometime in 2012, and pray that we have our daughter in our arms not long after. But we just don’t know…and on some days, like today, that is harder to digest.

In the meantime we remember what we do know: we continue to see God’s goodness to us in so many ways, and we are so grateful to be on this journey. Admittedly, it feels like there is someone missing until she comes home (I actually sometimes count heads and after reaching 4, look around for #5 only to remember that oh yes, she’s not here yet.)  But we know it’s out of our ability to control the timeline of events. And so….we pray for her and for her birth family and whatever they may be going through in these months before our stories and lives intersect. We don’t yet know who our daughter is or what she may be experiencing, but God knows and we trust in His loving care for her, no matter what the circumstances.

And for now…we continue to wait.