Just The Same

This Poem was published in our church's monthly magazine, The Ensign.

I love it.

Just The Same

By Diana Lynn Lacey.

Sometimes-

God sends rain

Straight from the sky

To nourish the young flower

and it grows.

Sometimes-

God sends rain from the sky

To the mountaintops,

Then over hills and through valleys

Until it reaches the flower

and it grows, just the same.

Sometimes-

God sends a child

Straight from His realm

Into a mother's arms

and love grows.

Sometimes-

God sends a child

From heaven to another's arms,

Then over hills and through valleys

Until he reaches the arms of his mother

and loves grows, just the same.

We're Getting Closer

I bet you're all wondering, "Hey, what's the deal with Carrie and Zack? When are they going to bring their baby home from Ethiopia?"

Aw, thanks for asking. You are too kind to think of us.

Here's where we are:

The next couple waiting for a girl sent their dossier in July of 2009. Our dossier was sent in September. Sounds like we are pretty far down the list, right?

WRONG!

There's only, like, 2 people ahead of us now who are waiting for girls! Possibly even just one couple ahead of us! That means we could get a call any day now...ooor we could still wait for another month or so. You just never know.

If we had kept with our original plan to accept a boy, then we'd already have a referral. We think it's pretty amazing that the timing was just perfect and the wait was just long enough for us to feel like we needed to change our preference to getting a girl. If things hadn't gone just as they had, then we'd have a referral for a boy right now and we would have missed that little girl waiting for us. The Lord is definitely in charge of our family.

The other night Zack was feeling pretty sad because our baby has most likely been born by now and he was picturing her all alone in a crib in some orphanage. If you have kids, just for a minute imagine your child in that situation right now. Kind of rips your heart out, right? But then Zack got the feeling that our loved ones who are in the Spirit World right now are watching over her and keeping her company. Just picturing that in my mind gives me so much peace. She's in good hands.

Fingerprints or How to Feel Like a Foreigner

Today we got fingerprinted for the 3rd time. When you adopt you need a background check and you need to be fingerprinted so the powers that be can check to see if you are felon and deem you unworthy to have children. Because our I-171H expired (the piece of paper that says we can bring an international orphan home) in February, we have to have it renewed. Being fingerprinted is a key part of that renewal process.

Getting fingerprinted is fun! You first have to ask permission to be fingerprinted. (We had to ask permission from USCIS. If you want to know who or what that is, google it because I'm not even really sure who they are or what the letters stand for. I just know they are the ones who grant us permission to bring an international orphan home.) Then you wait for them to send you a piece of paper telling you what time you get to be fingerprinted. Then you go to the designated place at the designated time and they get all your info and then you sit and wait. While you are waiting you notice that EVERYONE around you is either a) Hispanic or b) from some other foreign country. (And you are reminded that this is an immigration office and you are actually here on behalf of your child. And you think "If I feel uncomfortable here because I don't look like anyone else, just think how my child is going to feel growing up with this feeling ALL THE TIME." And then you make a mental note to read another book on trans-racial adoption and/or possibly move to Clearfield where there is more diversity.)

After you get fingerprinted (It's electronic! Not messy! And won't take a week to get to the USCIS office!) you walk out of there feeling happy that you have checked off yet another item from the continually growing list of things you need to do to get your child home.

BTW, the next item on the list is: Wait. It shows up on the list multiple times!

A side note: The first time we were fingerprinted it was just me and Zack. The second time we were fingerprinted is was me, Zack and Caleb. The third time we were fingerprinted it was me, Zack, Caleb and Noah. I'm not sure I'm comfortable with this pattern.