November Waitlist Numbers

As time moves on, we continue to find ourselves in this place of waiting...

To be honest, it's a hard place to be.  Yet, I know that it is all part of HIS plan!  There are moments, days even, when both Travis and I feel discouraged - when we feel as though we will never see this journey end. We received our new waitlist numbers a couple days before Thanksgiving. Here they are...

Girl:

August - 70

September - 64

October - 59

November - 59

Boy:

August - 52

September - 49

October - 46

November - 47 (due to other families changing their referral parameters)

Siblings:

August - 28

September - 25

October - 20

November - 22 (due to other families changing their referral parameters)

As I'm sure you can imagine, we were feeling a bit discouraged after this news.  In fact, that's one of the reasons for the delay in this post.  We long to hold and love the one (or two) who have already captivated our hearts.  Yet, as the difficulty of the wait increases and as we come across setbacks, we ask, Lord Jesus, is this really your will?  Will our adoption go through?  And we hear a resounding YES!  Trust in Me, and keep following...  

And so we will.

We will follow, and one day the fruits of our labor will come.  This we are sure of.  And it is clear that though we are ready, our baby(ies) are not!  And that's OK.

prov·i·dence

noun

God...directing the universe and the affairs of humankind with wise benevolence.

In other words, God is in control, and even when it appears as if nothing is happening, He is working and using His providence to align things to work out in our favor.  As I reflect upon God's providential hand in other difficult journeys I've experienced, I can truly say that His plan is the best plan.  And it is His plans that are far richer than we anything we can ever conceive of in our finite minds.  So, we find peace in trusting God's plan.  And in the meantime, we live life to the full...

The girls continually draw pictures for our baby(ies)...

We continue to enjoy homeschool...

The Nevada Day Parade!

Halloween...

Fall...

New pictures of the girls...(courtesy of the very talented Erin Holland of iSpy Photography!!)

We rented new ski gear...getting ready for ski season!

Avery's ballet recital

Our thankfulness tree...

...and our Grandmother appreciation tea party!

So here we are...another month down.  We truly are waiting with eager, hope-filled, trusting hearts!  And we know that Jesus if faithful...

October waitlist numbers are finally here...

With much anticipation...we continue to wait!  BUT we're that much closer to our gotcha day!!!

In the meantime, here's what's been going on in the Coombs household...

Ella turned 6!!

Our friendly leaf bug returned...

 Homeschooling...

We took our annual trip to Apple Hill!

 The girls participated in their first 5K run/walk to benefit research for Multiple Myloma...

And many, many pictures have been drawn of our much anticipated baby(ies)!!

We're all so very excited for what's to come!

Our new numbers...

Girl:

August - 70

September - 64

October - 59

Boy:

August - 52

September - 49

October - 46

Siblings:

August - 28

September - 25

October - 20

And we continue to wait...

September Waitlist Numbers...

I can't believe it's time for another update on numbers already.  We've had so much going on that it seems like I just posted August's waitlist numbers!!

A lot has been going on here at our house in the last month. 

Travis just celebrated his 33rd birthday...

I began homeschooling the girls...

We took a trip to Utah to celebrate the life of Travis' grandmother (Oma Margie), who passed away in late August...

...and Travis and I went backpacking to Paradise Lake (in the Sierra Nevadas) to celebrate our 10th wedding anniversary!  I truly can't believe it's been 10 years!!! 

It's been busy!  But oh so fun!!

And the time has been flying by, which brings us closer to the day we will be able to bring our baby(ies) home.  What's exciting, is that we've had movement despite the fact that the Ethiopian courts have been closed, which is GREAT news!!

Here are our new numbers...

Girl:

April - 93

May - 81

June - 81

July - 74

August - 70

September - 64

Boy:

April - 73

May - 64

June - 62

July - 56

August - 52

September - 49

Siblings:

April - 41

May - 34

June - 35 
July - 29

August - 28

September - 25

So...there they are!  Yet another month has passed, and we continue to wait...  To wait for the day we receive our referral call...  To wait for the day we board that plane to meet our little one(s) for the first time...  To wait for the day we get to hold him/her/them in our arms... To wait for the day our family will be complete!  We yearn for that day, and we pray that it comes soon, yet we know that it will happen in God's perfect timing.  

Thank you!!

A HUGE thank you to EagerHands!!!

We cannot express enough our gratitude and thanks to Lora, owner of EagerHands, for her generous and gracious donation to our adoption fund!  Several months ago, Lora told us she felt led to donate 15% of all of her August proceeds to our adoption (which she later increased to 20%!!)  ...what a blessing she has been to our family and to our adoption.  God has, truly, displayed His grace through this faithful woman!

So, from our heart to yours, Lora, THANK YOU!!!

Additionally, those of our family and friends who purchased from EagerHands during August, a heartfelt THANK YOU goes out to you as well!!!

If you haven't had a chance to visit Lora's shop on etsy.com, check it our by clicking here!

We are so blessed...

The support we continuously receive is beyond words!!  And we are grateful!