It's a girl!!!

On Monday afternoon at about 4:00 pm, I received a call from Carrie letting me know that Adoption Advocates had called that morning to tell us that we had been chosen to be the parents of an amazing little girl.

Even though I was on my way to a retreat in the California hills, thanks to the magic of "the internets", within hours, I was looking into the eyes of our daughter:

Well, hello!!

Her name is Mhiret (or Mhiret), which means "Mercy" or "Pardon". We have other names chosen for a little girl, but will probably keep this because of the connection that it has to her story.

She was found by the police in the city of Nazaret (Adama), having been abandoned at three months. Authorities made sure that she was taken to a local hospital, who then referred her to Layla House in the capitol of Addis Ababa. The photo above was taken at four months, and she has received a clean bill of health (and a lot of admirers from AAI staff).

If it weren't for the mercy of the police in Nazret, and for the grace and mercy that God has shown to us, we wouldn't be able to be a family.

We are working diligently to get our paperwork into the Ethiopian court prior to the end of July. This way, right after the two month, August/September court sabbatical we'll be able to have a date to complete our process and bring our daughter home in October or November. There's a lot to do between now and then... visas, airfare, preparing her nursery, making sure that her father is ready... all that stuff.

You may have heard the idea that "it takes a village to raise a child", and we are so grateful to the people who have been with us to this point, and who will continue to support us and care for our daughter as she grows. She is very lucky to have such a great "village" to bless her life.

Especially since her dad is somewhat of a village idiot. :)