good words

Today was a good day. It was the first day in a long time that i have felt like we are really going somewhere with the new agency. On that bad, bad day in July, i really felt like it was the end of our road to parenthood. I really did not believe that the agency could be revived - i thought that people needed to deal with their grief and not play mind games, getting hopes up. Boy have i been proved wrong. I usually don't like to admit i am wrong - but this time i sure am glad!!

So, today the first good words i heard were The Board will post an update from the team that has recently traveled to Ethiopia. We got an update email - which in itself is great. It is so nice to get info and feel like we know what is going on!! I was excited that we would get an update on the trip to Ethiopia. The rest of the email was just answering questions and general info kind of stuff - but stuff that reminded me what it was like to be excited about our adoption. We also know that we will be told where our place is in line. It is such a relief to know where we sit and i think will make waiting much easier.

Then the report was posted on the BDO site and i saw words like: MOWA reassured the group that they are pleased and looking forward to continue working with Imagine Adoption Wow!! MOWA is the ministry of women's affairs in Ethiopia. That was a hurdle that i worried about. But the Ethiopian gov't is on board and 'pleased'!!! Such great news!

Then i heard: Kingdom Vision and Selam orphanage have given the Board confidence that referrals will start sooner than we have anticipated. Here is another kicker!! Great news - amazing!!! The doubter in me says not to get to excited about that and still wants to guard my heart a bit but to me that sounds pretty darn good.

The next bit made my heart so happy!! There is no plan to exclude single applicants Yippee for my friends who can now sleep better at night knowing that they are included in the process!!

And finally the sweet words: ALL GOALS WERE ACHIEVED! That pretty much sums it up. Kudos to the new board and employees for getting so much done, so fast.

So, our contract is signed and will head out in the mail tomorrow. We weren't waiting for this info before we signed, but it sure makes signing all the sweeter. The realist in me is telling me to slow down and not get too excited - remember: international adoption has no guarantees. We still need to get the minimum of families to re-sign but i am feeling fairly confidant that this will happen!!

I also heard some words of validation today. I won't tell you the whole story, right now it seems so personal. But i will tell you that they were words i needed to hear. They were words from an African man who validated to me our international adoption. I some times wonder what African people think of us white folks adopting their kids - its a debate i won't get into now. But this friend encouraged me and then thanked me. I told him that we are the ones who are blessed. And we really are.

So - good words today. I feel that spark of hope growing. I feel like i can open the nursery door a bit more and take some steps inside.