Decision Time!!!

Because of these girls.....


And the impact they have made on our family.......



I am vowing that by THIS WEEKEND we will make a decision about our adoption. WE are emotionally ready and we have been waiting to decide which agency we will choose and whether she will be from Uganda or Ethiopia. So stay tuned.....

I have been meaning to send the girls our letters since October some time (they were here in July) and it just never happened. I needed to get the photos developed and make a collage, as this is the only way they can take them back to Uganda. So that took me forever...and we don't have a printer right now, so I couldn't print them out. Well, I went to Walgreen's online and put my order in and made a collage for each of the girls--yay--one task accomplished!! Then I looked at the paperwork we got from the International Children's Network (they handle all of the choir's business) and found that they had a Christmas wish-list for the children in case we wanted to send them a gift. We have put some money in our "charity box" and decided this is what we wanted to do with it. So.......I spent TWO & A HALF hours trying to find something special for each of our girls...within a budget...not knowing what the other items they have already received look like. So it took a little while. :0) I got our 12 year-old, Shalom (Sharom), the prettiest dress ever and some tights to match---and found little Berinda , (pronounced Belinda) our 8-year-old, some sweet dress-up shoes and stockings, as well as a Polly Pocket and some toiletry items. Anita (our angel-12 year-old), had already received everything on her list--I can believe it--she makes an impact on everyone she meets. So we sent some money to go towards her big items that can only be purchased in Uganda (like a mattress, blanket, school uniform, and shoes & socks). The items that were not sent as gifts had to be purchased by the ICN and they were grateful (so I sent an extra pair of shoes I found on clearance so they would have one less pair to buy).

The greatest thing about doing all of this was that I felt like I was with them all day long--remembering their smiles and glowing personalities, picturing what their new items would like on, and imagining how excited they will be when they open them up. I had tears all day--some of frustration, but mostly of joy. They have surely made a dent in my life.

I ran home and got all of their items packed into a box (man I wish I had a scanner so you could have seen the picture Luke drew of all of us together in front of their Matsiko van) so I could get it to them quickly. The deadline was December 10th and I really cut it close!



With all of this chaos I vowed to myself that Dic and I would finally come to decision on our adoption and get started. We are ready...we are soooo ready!! I even have some clothes saved for her!

Our biggest hurdle with trying to decide is that Uganda takes one 2 week trip vs. Ethiopia's 1 week trip, and having our boys at home for such a lengthy time would be difficult. Uganda is in our hearts forever and it would be my first choice, but logistically I'm not sure it will win.

So I will pray....and Dic will pray....and the kids will pray.

We'll let you know!!!