Patience is a virtue, right?

I'm so not patient.  I know I've mentioned it a few times on here already...but this adoption process is definitely giving me a chance to work on the virtue of patience.  God's way of giving me a chance to become holier, right?  ;-)

Anywho, we're still in waiting mode.  Paperwork is done, dossier is ready to go to Hong Kong....as soon as we get our fingerprint clearance from Arizona.  Everything else is just sitting at the adoption agency, ready to send off.   Unfortunately, we could still be waiting another two months or so for that clearance.   I'm not sure how I'm going to handle two more months of waiting around before we can even cross off the next step!  Lots of reading, I suppose.  

Once the dossier is sent off, we're told that Hong Kong adoptions typically average about a year.   While we're still hopeful we might be able to bring Peter home by the end of this year...I'm trying to be realistic and not get my hopes up.  Instead, I'm trying to focus on his new life with us starting next spring, just as new life is blossoming like crazy outside.  (And let me tell you, spring in Arizona is awesome.  Definitely the best time to visit, in my opinion!)

We're getting ready for the big bbq in a few weeks.  It sounds like it's going to be a big turnout, and one of the things that excites me most about the bbq is the fact that it's pulling together almost every aspect of our lives:  friends, family, coworkers, our church family, etc.   People that we've come to know and love in the past 8 months (how long we've been in AZ) are coming from every part of our lives to join us in celebrating this little guy and his journey home.  It's kind of spectacular, really.  Even more exciting are the people we haven't yet met in "real life" but have met through different adoption forums and blogs that just so happen to live in the same general area as we do.   When we started this process months ago, I didn't realize just how much our "village" was going to expand.  Since we "went public" with the adoption journey, our little village has really just exploded with new members.  I'm very grateful for that, and very excited as to where we are being led with these new friendships.  

A lot of this village expansion wouldn't have been possible if it weren't for a certain advocacy group, Reece's Rainbow.  Through RR, we've met some amazing people, and found an incredible source of support.   If you have a minute, please take a look at their website.  They do such amazing work, advocating for orphans throughout the world.  Right now, they are in the middle of their "21 Days of Hope" campaign.  This campaign helps them raise the funding needed to continue on for another year.  If you can donate, please do.  Families like mine are so grateful for the support and advocacy that RR provides to our children, and your support would allow them to continue their work and help many other families (and children).   If you cannot donate at this time, maybe consider becoming a prayer warrior or guardian angel for one of the children on their website.   Support for RR can be given in so many ways....please click here to check out the information (or follow the button at the top right of our blog).  THANK YOU!

I want to say thank you, again, to our growing village.  You are making this experience one so memorable for us.  I cannot express my appreciation enough!