Adoption Update

We mailed in our adoption application on Monday, October 5th and it should have arrived on Wednesday, October 7th. I know that they (American World Adoption) have received it because our check has cleared, but I've not yet heard from them to know where they are in the application process. I'm hoping to hear something either today or tomorrow because they said we should hear from them within 10 working days. I'll keep you posted.

I've been thinking about and praying for our child every day. My dad has affectionately nicknamed him "Flash" (because so many of the world record runners come from Ethiopia). So, until we decide on a name for him, I guess we'll call him Flash! The age range we requested was birth-2.5 years. There's really no way to know how old he'll be until we get the referral, but my guess is that he'll be on the older end of that spectrum just because so many people request 12 months or younger. If we do end up getting a 2.5 year old, that means that he is likely about 1 year old right now. The thought of that blows my mind. I have a son somewhere on the other side of the world that I have never seen. Someone else is helping him take his first steps and teaching him to eat solid foods. It really makes my thoughts run wild.

I wonder what kind of living conditions he's in and who's taking care of him. I wonder if he's sick or healthy. I wonder if he will be abandoned due to poverty/inability to provide care, or if his parents will die. I wonder if he will be an orphan his whole life or not until he's a little older. I wonder if the people caring for him are nurturing and loving. Do they hold him often and kiss him and put their faces next to his little face? How often is he being told "I love you?" Is he getting enough to eat? Is he scared or hungry or cold? Is he lonely? Will he be scared of me and Andy when we bring him home? Will he ever attach to me with the same depth that Caedmon has attached to me?

It is the strangest feeling to love someone so deeply who you've never met. To think of my own child being hungry or without clothing or affection makes my heart ache. Every night as Andy and I go to sleep, we pray for him reminding ourselves that God is the Father to the fatherless and He will care for our son.