Group S

My mom with her great granddaughter, Hadley. Remember I got to assist in her birth?? :)

Mihiretu, who is NOT afraid of the pumpkin guts, scooping away.

Misganaw's finished product.

Katie and De with their masterpieces. Katie would be thrilled that I put this picture of her here for the world to see, but what she doesn't know, won't hurt her, right??

A construction worker and a little fireman at our churches Harvest Party. Sorry about the blurry picture.

I just called and got word that we were added to group S! This means we are in a group with Jill, my friend who is adopting a good friend of Tarikwa's. She's a wonderful Christian lady and I've been praying that maybe, just maybe, we could travel to get our girls together. Wouldn't it be great to see them get to leave the orphanage together to go HOME to their families??

We should hear about a court date assignment in within 10 days. I was told not to count on a court date any earlier than Nov. 25th, but quite possibly it could be early in Dec. If she passes court on the first try (pray that she will), Katie and I would travel to get her 6 weeks later, give or take. So I think it looks like end of January, but of course in the world of international adoption, one never knows until it happens! But it is great just to make some progress. It feels more real when you hear talk of court and travel.

We sent a long letter down for her with a traveling parent who is in Ethiopia now. It is a special letter since each of the kids wrote to their new sister, told her they loved her and how much they think about her. Mihiretu drew a picture of the pool table, Tarikwa and him holding pool cues, playing pool:) Then he wrote his name. Not to be left out, Misganaw did a little scribble, too! I FedEx'ed it to the traveling family so it would get there on time and I'm sure glad I did since it appears that there will be no traveling families during the month of November, which means no letters:( I'm just glad this last one was a very special one for her. So now we await her reply and expect she will write to us and send a letter with the family that brought ours to her. Can't wait!!

We did a little more clothes shopping for Miss Tarikwa the other day. Boy, it's fun to buy girl clothes! Of course, Katie must be along to approve of her sisters clothes! She has a great sense of style and I must admit, is usually right about these things so I defer to her. Actually, I thank the Lord for her...that she cares so much about her new sister.

Can I just make a suggestion about Halloween next year? Can we skip it? We'd all have to agree on this one to make it work. Is anyone else ready to pull their hair out with little ones begging for and sneaking candy? Let me know if I can count on your support;)

Blessings,

Laura