a little and a lot

Thursday, January 20, 2011

Year of the Faris

It all began with that impressive Trivial Pursuit win in the first hour of the New Year (after trailing behind with one chip in the previous hours).

Then, this happened the following weekend:




Yes, my friends. It is the Year of the Faris.
If you have any doubts, the morning of Thursday, January 13th, 2010 will win you over for good...

We had celebrated the Auburn victory on Monday, driven back through the frozen tundra on Tuesday, made a feeble attempt to catch up with life on Wednesday...

Thursday morning, shortly before 8am, my cell phone rang its default "You say goodbyyyye, I say helloooooo, hello hellooooo..." (Beatles, of course). Fumbling for the phone with sleep in my eyes, I read "Blocked" on the caller ID.

"Hello?" my crazylady sleepvoice answered.
"Hi Jesse! This is Erin! I think you know why I'm calling...!" our adoption coordinator's voice rang through my brain.

Referralday referralday referralday...
My brain was like that dog in the Kibbles-n-Bits commercial, just repeating over and over...
Referralday referralday referralday!

"Referral Daaaaay!" I opened the door to the bathroom and yelled to my showering husband!
"Aughhhhh!" he yelled.
The dogs barked.
Erin laughed.

She gave me a bit of information.
Nick joined me at the computer.
And we opened that glorious email together.

Sleepy-eyed & overjoyed in front of the computer
30 minutes later, we called and accepted the referral for our DAUGHTER!

She is 9 months old
16 lbs
27 inches
She can sit up, pull up to standing, and crawl
(Lord, have mercy!)
We will call her Rhet.

(All other identifying information, including pictures, must be witheld until we pass court. Sorry, internet buddies!)

Speaking of those pictures...goodness gracious, she is the MOST BEAUTIFUL THING ON EARTH! She's a smiley little cutie with big eyes and 3 bottom teeth showing in one of her pictures.

Thursday, January 13th was filled with:
Phone calls, texts, video chats...
A yummy lunch at Abbysinia (Memphis' delish Ethiopian restaurant)
Printing 20 copies of her picture to plaster around our house
Prayers of humility, gratitude, and joy

What happens now, you ask?

Well, our case will be submitted to court.
Then, we'll be issued a court date.
We will travel to Ethiopia for the court date.
When we pass court, that will signify that we are the legal parents of Rhet.
(Then we can go crazy sharing her cuteness with the world.)
We will wait to be issued an embassy appointment.
We travel to ET for the embassy appointment, be issued a visa allowing Rhet US citizenship, and then we'll bring her home to Memphis.

WHEN will that happen? Well we all know better by now than to ask such specific questions. ;) We're "hoping" for a March/May combo, but we shall see! ("Definitely" and "surely" are no longer words in our vocabulary!)

In the meantime, we are just completely over the moon for this sweet little girl, and we are biding our time in the "nesting" process. We began saving for this adoption in the fall of 2008. We began our homestudy in September 2009. We then waited 11 months after our dossier was accepted to see Rhet's adorable little face. A few more months is NOTHING, people! ;)

Please join us in praying for our baby girl--for her body, mind, and heart to be nurtured while we wait to bring her home...for the rest of this process (completely out of our control!) to run smoothly and quickly. We are so thankful to God for His everlasting patience that He continues to share with us--"strength will rise as we wait upon the Lord!"

13 comments:

Angie said...

Congratulations! Praying for you guys!!1

Alison said...

What a wonderful story! I am looking forward to continuing to watch it unfold! Congratulations!

The Davis Daily said...

Jesse- I am absolutely ecstatic for you both. Such exciting news! I am so sad that I missed seeing her pictures at bunko. She and Lincoln can be buddies. They will be doing all the same things when she arrives.
Anywho, next time I see you we need to exchange numbers for playdates.
I hope and pray that everything will go smoothly for you.

Sara said...

CONGRATULATIONS!!!! There is nothing like a referral day! I have amazing memories of our own day....Always such fun stories!!! Praying that you receive a quick court date and can bring her home soon!!!!

The Strahan Family said...

YEA!!!!!!! So excited to read this post. I have been anxiously awaiting this news every time I open your blog! Will be praying for your precious baby girl and for the next few months to go quickly and smoothly! Praise God!!

Jane said...

That is wonderful news! How exciting for both of you! And to have a PICTURE! Congratulations!

McKinney Madness said...

God is so faithful! I cannot wait to see precious pictures of baby Rhet, and I absolutely could not be any happier for you!! God is good, ALL THE TIME!!

Unknown said...

hooray!!!! times a million

Becca said...

hip hip hooray!!! I am so happy for you guys and can't wait to meet Rhet!!
Our prayers are with you!

WendyLou said...

Praise God from Whom all blessings flow!! Jesse!! This is so very exciting for y'all!! I cannot wait to meet sweet Baby Rhet!!

Laura said...

Jesse,
I don't know if you remember me, but I go to church with Ashley & I met you once when you came to visit. I am SO excited for you & your husband! Your baby girl is almost the same age as ours, and oh what a fun age it is! I pray that you will be able to meet her sooner than later. God bless your journey!!
~Laura
P.S. The nursery sneak peek looks awesome. :)

Unknown said...

I'm so happy for you, Jesse & Nick! And what a blessed little girl, Rhet is.

Laurel said...

We're so excited for you and Nick! God is good!!


Adopting Rhet: Click on the timeline above to read more