I can't say anything real exciting is happening in our adoption process at this time. We are basically filling out paperwork, making copies of our government documents, and getting lots of criminal background checks. Our home study will hopefully begin at the end of March and beginning of April. The girls still constantly talk about the little brother they will get from Ethiopia. I do not think they understand how long of a process this really is. I have begun to realize that our little one could already have entered this world. When we started this process I figured he probably was not born yet. I have started to pray for him, his birth mother, and his caretakers at the orphanage. I pray for simple things. I pray he sleeps well, receives a hug and a kiss, and is spared from disease and illness. I recently put a photo collage on our wall, and realized soon we may have to add a few more frames. I hope this happens sooner rather than later. Thank you to all of you who pray for us and follow our journey. I love reading the comments some of you leave.

Alexa took a great nap this afternoon. The negative was that she had a hard time falling asleep at bedtime. We heard her singing in the monitor, so I decided to go down there and lay with her for a while. Our conversation went like this:

Alexa - " Mom, you have blue eyes."
Me - " No honey, mom has green eyes."
Alexa - " Boys are more handsomer and girls are more pretty. Gabbie and me are pretty and daddy is kind of handsome."
Me - " Yes honey, daddy is kind of handsome."
Alexa - "God made all of us different. He had to make us different. It is good we are all different."

I sat and looked at her for a bit, and then she said this..
Alexa - "Mom, crocodiles can bite you and you should not go by them. They have teeth that could really hurt you. If you ever see a crocodile you should run away."

I laughed and gave her kiss goodnight. I love how a 3 year olds mind can switch subjects so quickly. It was one of those "your so cute I want to squeeze you" moments.

I just finished filling out a personal profile packet that was 51 pages long! I had to answer questions about myself and my life that I didn't even think I knew the answer to. If you are wondering exactly what your spouse thinks of you and your relationship just fill out this personal profile. Jason and I found out things about each other that we had never known. In addition to learning a lot about myself, I also realized that I have terrible grammar. I am sure many of you who read my blog already know this about me. By the end of the profile all of my sentences were fragment sentences and often consisted of one word. We only have a few more papers to get to AGCI so that our homestudy binder can come. Our social worker gave us a few items to work on while we wait. The list is long, but not too daunting. I will keep you updated.

Surrender

The devil has been hard at work here at the Boersma home. However, do not worry, he has not distracted us from our calling and our dependence on God. Last week our toilet broke and ruined our bathroom floor in the basement. I am so thankful to my brother who came over and fixed it. He is always helping us out of our plumbing problems. Our next step will be to find cheap flooring to replace the ruined. In addition to the toilet, our van needed a new battery. Not a huge expense, but one that was not exactly welcomed. If this was not enough, yesterday Jason was on the phone with our bank because our credit card number had been stolen and used in Florida. They had successfully charged almost $800.00. I am so thankful to Lake Michigan Credit Union for closing our account when a few of the transactions were declined. The devil may feel that he has stressed us out, but through all of this I felt such a peace. I know that God is incontrol. If this would have happened at the beginning of this process, my reaction may have been one of anxiety. God is definitely working on me. I have always struggled to surrender ALL to Him. Why do I feel the need to hold onto the things that I cannot control. It an odd sort of way I am thankful for the events of the past few weeks. I cannot honestly say that I have given ALL to Him, but I have definitely made great progress.

It is amazing how many people have commented on my blog that I have never met. Other families who adopt must be similar in the fact that they all look for other families who have blogs that are going through the adoption process. I admitted in one of my earlier posts that I am a blog stalker. I love to find blogs of families adopting from Ethiopia. I have learned so much from these families. I also am amazed how many of them are Christian families. Satan seems to use the internet all too often to get his work accomplished. We forget how it also can be such a great tool for our God to overcome the work of Satan. What a testimony this process can be to following God's leading even when it is scary and unknown. Thank you to all of you who follow our blog and continue to pray for us. Your prayers are felt daily.

Finding treasures for our baby boy already!

I found this great rocking chair at a thrift store for only $10.00. I recovered the seat and added a pillow. I think when our precious boy comes home it will have to be moved into his room. For now I want to enjoy it in our family room.

It's Official

It's almost official!! We sent in our contract and more paperwork to AGCI. We also sent in a big fat check. Jason did all he could to be sure a child from Haiti wasn't an option before he parted with our first large payment. We were told the process through Haiti will probably be longer now than it was before. Our next step is to begin our homestudy. A home study or homestudy is a screening of the home and life of prospective adoptive parents prior to allowing an adoption to take place. Gabbie informs me that when the social worker asks her questions she will tell them what a great big sister she is. I am not sure Alexa will be able to brag about the same thing. She is very loving, but in a dominant sort of way. I often find her with her hand on Maia's head trying to lead her around the house. Maia is not a fan of this method of affection. I am looking forward to this part of the adoption.