Bumping UP!

This was an exciting week for families in the America World Ethiopian program! There were 4 families who received referrals on Friday, and another family will get theirs early next week!! We are rejoicing with them and are happy to be closer to our own referral!

I believe there are 4 families traveling this week. They left Friday and Saturday and will return home with their babies next weekend!

Our friend Brenda has extended the deadline for giving us 25% of her Mary Kay sales through the end of May! You must buy through her link for us to receive credit! www.marykay.com/brendabillington Thanks!

Most of our Saturday was spent at the soccer. We had games at 8:30 am, 11:30 am, and 1 pm. We baked in the sun, and out of desperation sat under umbrellas during the last game. Jeremy began a growling movement during his game. He would charge the ball and growl at the other team! Before we knew it, there were 16 growling, snarling, and screaming boys on the field! It was wild and hilarious! (I hope our new little guy is just as crazy as the rest of us!)

Waiting...

Psalm 37:7 "Be still before the the LORD and wait patiently for Him..."

This morning, God used our KLOVE devotional book to whack me in the head again...Today's blurb is entitled, "REST IN THE LORD, AND WAIT PATIENTLY FOR HIM. Be patient, it'll happen in God's time!"

Honestly, this isn't really what I wanted to hear today! I want to hear the phone ring with news that a specific little boy in Ethiopia is waiting for me to be his mama. I want to open an email and see his precious face.

I'm not at all upset with our agency since we were told that our wait for referral would be 4-7 months (or sooner), but this wait is worse than waiting to give birth (although physically, I am more comfortable!) We have been pregnant for almost a year, and there is more waiting to come before we can bring our guy home. Those who have been here before or are here with us understand.

Please, pray for us as we wait. Pray for our son. Pray for the people who are loving him and caring for him and for those who are working hard to get him home.

Thank-you!

Sunday Funnies

A couple of months ago, Jeremy made up a silly song which Annika poached and revised into what you see / hear in this clip. The words go like this: "I ride my ukulele on the low way . . . no the highway . . . no the low way"

Enjoy our little freakshow.

Six Months!

Our paperwork left for Ethiopia 6 months ago today! We are getting close.

I'm really trying to guard my heart and not let myself think that we are going to be in the next batch of referrals that I think will come this next week or two. (But we could be! Please?)


Last week, we also celebrated the number 9! Our family relocated and William began his job 9 years ago last week! I'm so thankful for the life we have here and the friends that we have made since our big move! We have a lot to show for our 9 years!



We had a pleasant day for soccer! Marissa's team got pounded so hard that I lost count! She seemed pretty beaten down afterward. Jeremy had an exciting game that his team won 5-2. They were rewarded with Twizzlers for keeping the other team at bay and for scoring. Jeremy ended up with 18 Twizzlers! He is known as "Da Fence."

Required Reading

As part of our agreement with our adoption agency, we are required to read 5 books that we chose from a list.

How we chose the books: I had bought There is No Me Without You and asked our social worker if we could use it for required reading. It is so insightful into Ethiopia and the orphan crisis there, so she said that it was good. Then, I called my friend, LJ, and asked her which ones she owned, but she only had one. Next, I got online and checked the library to see which ones we could read for free, and they only had one. It didn't end up being free after the fine, so I ended up buying it as well as the others in the end. So, we own all but one now!

Here are Susan's reviews:

There is No Me Without You: One Woman's Odyssey to Rescue Africa's Children ***** Loved it! I've begun reading it again with new insight! I posted about it HERE back in June.






Shepherding A Child's Heart * Ok, I get that it is important to deal with heart issues and attitudes, but the use of corporal punishment seems to be the only way this author can deal with it. He totally equates "the rod of correction" with spanking. Children can be taught how to behave without being smacked. A painful read. I took what I needed and left the rest.


The Whole-Life Adoption Book *** An easy read, short book! Lots of real-life examples of situations that may arise.






Raising Adopted Children *** Another easy read. It covers a lot of issues and problems with adoption in general.






Parenting with Love and Logic **** A lot of it makes sense. The first half of the book talks about giving your children choices so that they can learn to be responsible for themselves. The second half is has parenting "pearls" explaining how to use the tactics for specific situations. I can't say I could do everything they suggest, but I would recommend this to any parent.

I am finished with my required reading!! Now, give me my baby boy!

Fundraising Updates!

Sorry, but I need to do some fund raising housekeeping!

We have ZERO sets (was 3 at the time of original post) of play silks left! So many who have purchased them have told me how much their children LOVE them! I don't think I'm going to make anymore.

April 30 is quickly approaching, so please order some Mary Kay! We get 25% of your purchase from this link: www.marykay.com/brendabillington Thank you!

If you need any work on your house like a roof, gutter work, or cabinet refacing, please consider Eastern Surfa-Shield and tell them the Schmidts sent you! (We've got a referral deal with them.)

Also, several have asked about the limit of our Eternal Family Fund. We recently found out that when America World receives the check(s) that would put us over our limit, they will contact us so that either America World or we can then contact the donor to see what they want to do with their donation. If you have any questions or concerns, please don't hesitate to call or email us!

Thank-you for your prayers and support!

Hanging in there...

Before you get too excited, THIS IS NOT OUR BABY! Please, read on...

We are still eagerly awaiting our phone call from the agency. Next week, on the 19th, we will hit the 6-month mark of waiting. A year ago on April 18th, was the day that God told us to go to Ethiopia for our child!

This cutie holding the doll that I made him is Abel. He is happily living with his new parents and big brother in New Mexico! What a blessing for all! Seeing photos of children at home is really helping me during this wait. He is real. He is cute. He is part of a family!

Two AWAA families passed court on Friday and will be bringing a total of 3 children home in a few weeks!! Praise God!

We had another conference call with our program coordinator. It is nice to have that communication and the opportunity to ask questions. Our program coordinator is leaving on Friday for a month in Ethiopia, but she says there will still be referrals during that time! We're hoping to be in the next batch or the one after (or the one after that)! Stay tuned...

Yesterday was for soccer games, of course! For Jeremy's game, there was a pleasant coolness was in the air; however, during Marissa's game it poured! It was funny to watch all of the little girls' hair becoming soaked as they turned into little drowned rats running up and down the field. Thank God for the rain! We have been down-graded from a severe drought to an extreme drought.

The recent rains have proven our 10 year-old roof to be inadequate, so we got our new one last Monday. The folks at Eastern Surfa-Shield are adoptive parents and offered to work with us to get the roof taken care of. Thank-you so much! Their company offers an array of services, so check them out if you are in the triangle and need anything done to your home. They are great people with which to work!

Plan B = Happy Birthday!

I had a great birthday! The kids went shopping on Wednesday and had been dying to give me their present! So, shortly after waking up, Jeremy and Marissa woke up Annika who came in bearing the treasure that had been sweetly wrapped by them. (No tissue paper because that just gets in the way according to Jeremy!) I'm now the owner of a Lil' Kinz black lab name "Olive." My user name is JMom97 if you'd like to be my friend in Webkinz World!

We had chocolate chip pancakes, Johnsonville sausage links, Ethiopian coffee, and mango juice for breakfast. My BFF, LJ, and Mim stopped by with a gift which was a very pleasant surprise!! I set up my Webkinz account, and we just hung out for a while. The girls dressed up in pretty dresses in honor of my special day.

After a bite at 5 Guys, we went geocaching. We headed to Lake Crabtree, but the trails were closed because they were flooded -this is actually a good thing considering the severe drought we're in! So, we found two other caches at office parks. We came home to a pile of packages on the porch for me!!

We headed to my mom's for the family birthday celebration! She made one of my favorites, cubed steak and mashed potatoes! YUM! William created a delicious cake inspired by the Hostess Snowball! It was a devil's food cake with a layer of homemade marshmallow between the layers and covered in butter cream and coconut. He even made it pink! It was delicious!

Thanks for all of the birthday wishes and to those who made my day so special!! Love you!

Icky Weather = Canceled Trip

Before packing up our clothes for our camping trip to Ocracoke Island, I decided to check the weather. This week is not pretty -cold and rainy. Nobody wants to celebrate my birthday being cold and miserable, so we're postponing our adventure. (William had checked the weather, and it had forcasted "partly cloudy" with which we could have lived.)

After the disappointing decision was made, William took the kids shopping. This was the first time that the kids have wanted to buy a gift with their own money! He says that they had a difficult time agreeing on what to purchase, but they did accomplish their mission. They also popped by Chocolate Smiles to get some truffles to cheer me up.

Now, we're trying to figure out what "Plan B" is!