Six.

** As of January 1, 2012, we have been waiting 6 Months.

To Our Daughter,
Half a Year! We have been waiting half a year for you, little one. This month, I want to focus on how great your father is. He is handling this wait much better than I am. Sure, he gets impatient like I do, but he is far more calm, and can really see the big picture. He is like this with the adoption, as well as every other area of life. We are opposites. I get completely absorbed by details, and he can really see the end game. His eternal perspective is inspiring. I need him in my life. If he wasn't here to balance out my type A self, we would all be a mess. I am always amazed how the Lord has matched us up perfectly.
He really is the best husband.He is so good on knowing how to love me. He tells me everyday that I am beautiful, even if my insecure self has a hard time believing him. I am so incredibly thankful for him and his leadership of this family.
He really is the best dad. He and Ryann have such a sweet relationship.Ryann looks forward to his return home from work every night. He plays pretend with her every single night. It is the highlight of her day. I often think it is the highlight of his day as well. They are two peas in a pod, sharing the same face (I think they look so much alike) as well as sharing the same silly personality traits. I love how he loves Ryann. I look forward to him having a relationship with you too. I know he will love you so well.

Some of my favorite pictures of Mark

1. Travelling and learning about loving other cultures well makes Mark so very happy.

2. Mark and Ryann being silly. This was a big day, the day where we were fingerprinted and filed all our paperwork with Citizen Immigration Services. It was a big milestone,for sure.

3. Mark and Ryann on one of their Daddy/Daughter dates. This was when he took her to see the musical, Mary Poppins...I don't know which one loved it more.

4. Mark and Ryann at a Seattle Mariners game last Summer.Love.

Five.

Merry Christmas from the Lambs: Mark, Erin,Ryann Cate, and Waiting Patiently for #2 from Ethiopia.

**Way behind on posting, so let's all pretend the date on this post reads December 1, 2011**
To our Daughter,
You have been on my mind so much this month. Christmas is a time for family. We consider you already a part of our family and felt like we had to represent you in our Christmas card this year. Ryann wanted to put your name on the card as well,but we don't know what we are going to name you yet, little one...although Ryann has a different name for you each week. The name of this week in Ryann's mind is Jane, after the little girl in Mary Poppins, one of her absolute favorite movies. We all actually love the name, Jane, but we are waiting to officially "meet" you(get a referral) before we decide on a name for you. We talk about you so very often, Ryann and I often wonder and talk about what are you doing at a specific moment.She told me just today, that she (Ryann) is getting to be such a big girl and will help me out all the time with you when daddy travels all over the world. That is a good thing about this long, long, long, wait...Ryann is growing older too. She is understanding more. Throughout all of our conversations about you, she seems to be "getting" it. It truly is a beautiful thing. A precious reminder, that my timing is not "it". I like neat little boxes, checklists that correspond with my timeline for my life. But, Nope, that is not what the Lord has for our family. He has called us to adopt. A process that definitely is not in a neat little box with a neat little checklist. And that is a good thing. A very good thing. It is leading us to YOU. A question I got a lot this Christmas was if we thought that we would have you by next Christmas 2012. I had to say over and over again,"I don't know." That's the truth, I have absolutely no idea, and I am okay with that, today. The Lord knows...and He has proved over and over to me that His ways are best and "it"

Four.

As of November 1, 2011, we have been waiting on that waitlist, 4 months. I was talking to a friend, another adoptive mother, the other day about that waitlist. It is so nice to have people in my life that truly understand.I am so incredibly blessed to know someone who has been there, or is almost there, or is right where I am. I am so completely fortunate to have friends in my life that are in all of these categories. So Amazed by the goodness of the Lord to allow this to be true. When I get overwhelmed, it is comforting to just know that people are right there with me on that waitlist, or have just welcomed their blessing home, or are in the process of raising their little one from Ethiopia. Often times, people will say things, "oh it's just like you are pregnant, waiting for your baby to be born". Not really...Unless your baby has the gestation of an elephant. It is such a comfort to have people in my life that understand. And are waiting. And are Trusting. I am thankful for that today. I am also incredibly thankful for the people in my life that want to understand, that ask questions, that call and ask how we are doing with this process, and above all, that pray for us. Words cannot my gratitude for all of you. This Adoption is not an island, it is something we want to share.
Proverbs 3:5-6
New International Version (NIV)
5 Trust in the LORD with all your heart
and lean not on your own understanding;
6 in all your ways submit to him,
and he will make your paths straight.

Three.

To our Daughter,
We went on a family vacation this month to Disney World. Ryann kept saying over and over again that the next time we go to Disney World, she will have a little sister. I love that. I love that she is thinking ahead, and her view of our family includes YOU. I am thinking ahead too. I have to be careful about having my thoughts too far out there, anxious that I will miss the present. BUT, isn't the future fun to think about? Our family of THREE, longs to be a family of FOUR...you, my dear, are definitely the missing link.
We made shirts for our trip, each one having our names on them. Ryann, said to me that we HAD to make you one when we go next time...and we will..we look forward to all the next times and the new times in our lives with YOU in them. We love you.

Disney!

This September was our epic Disney World vacation:) We have planned this trip for months and months, so I cannot believe it is already over. If you know me and Mark well, you know we are obsessed with Disney World. Yes, Obsessed is the right word;) We wanted to take Ryann on a special trip before we get our next little one, so we planned the trip a long time ago, thinking we would get our nextdaughter shortly thereafter...HA!Boy, were we wrong! Fingers crossed that Ryann remembers the trip when it is actually time to get her:) I know she will, It was one of the best times we have had as a family:) So Thankful!

Family!: When we tossed out the idea to each of our parents of meeting us at Disney World to join with us on our vacation, we were absolutely thrilled both sets of parents said YES. Living far away from family is a hard thing. Having your daughter not live close to her grandparents is even harder, BUT I think the time we have with family is much sweeter, because I never take for granted the time we spend with family. We made lots of memories on this trip, due to our parents being with us, SO fortunate to have such wonderful, loving, supportive people in our lives.





Characters!: These are just a few of Ryann's favorite characters (I took so many more pictures of all the characters Ryann met).Ryann's grandma gave Ryann an autograph book for all the characters to sign as she met them,and Ryann completely filled it up! So sweet to see her get so excited!






I know the highlight for us all,was the Bippity Boppity Boutique, where a fairy godmother turned Ryann into Cinderella. Following this, we went into Cinderella's castle, and *gasp* had breakfast with all the Princesses...this 4year old and 31 year old were in heaven.


All in all, this was a Wonderful trip, a moment in time...So incredibly blessed to have made all these memories with our girl and our parents.

Two.

To Our Daughter,
It is September 1, 2011, that means we have been officially waiting 2 months for you. I often wonder if you are alive or not. Either way, I think about you every day, multiple times a day. With our age window being from 0-3yrs, you could be an energetic toddler right now,you could be a needy newborn, cuddly baby, or you could not even be a thought yet. The other day, I was recording things in Ryann's baby book (yes, I realize it is 4 years too late).I was putting things on the page in her book that had, popular songs on the day she was born, popular TV shows, etc. I googled,"Most popular song on April 4, 2007" to write down, and the answer was "This is Why I'm Hot"by MIMS.I laughed out loud about how ridiculous that was to write down in a book for posterity...but that is what google said, so I wrote it down.After many minutes of the line, "I'm hot cause I'm fly, you aint cause you not" going through my head...I wondered what I would write down in your book, since I have NO idea when you will be born...so let's pretend. If you were born TODAY, these are the things, me and your dad are loving...not what google says...

Our current favorite books are:

I realize we are not teenage girls, but this trilogy is soooo addicting. I read them all in 6 days. We are Dorks.

Your Dad's Current Favorite TV Show

Oh, how we love Mike and Frank

Your Mom's Current Favorite TV Show (I realize I am years behind the times, but have been watching the DVDs this summer on the treadmill)

Now, I can't endorse/recommend all that goes on in Dillon, TX;) But, I am in serious denial of there only being 5 seasons...RIP Friday Night Lights...Clear eyes, Full hearts, Can't lose.

Current Favorite Band for both Mom and Dad

Mumford and Sons!

Our Current Favorite Movie(we both loved the book, too)

So there you have it, if you were born today, these would be our current favorite things! This second month of waiting has been a good one. My attitude, only by the grace of God, has been less self-centered than previous weeks in regards to the long wait. I am sure next month I will be an "all up in knots" stressball again...but this month I was at peace with the wait. I am praying daily that I will rest in this period of waiting, to prepare my heart for what is to come. My all time favorite song is below. This song, to me, perfectly describes how much LOVE the Lord has for us, His children. His ways are perfect. I love the line in the song that says,"Why do I worry, Why do I freak out...God knows what I need." As a type A freak, I have this song on repeat often, as I strive to yield my wants and desires to Him.I also love the line that says, "Not a note is out of tune or out of place..." His will for us, is His, perfect will, not mine. If He says that we are to wait, we are to wait...nothing is out of place for what He has for us...

All that to say, we are waiting with GREAT EXPECTATION for you, little girl. We love you.

Hold me Closer, Tiny Dancer...

Ryann starts ballet/tap in a month, She just HAD to try on all the gear...

Nobody Puts Baby in a Corner...