Our Christmas Tree

We weren't matched.  Once again disappointment.   Advent is the season of waiting and so we continue to wait.  Only one family was matched from Canada this time and one from Lesotho.   Things are continuing to move just as slow as ever.

I must admit that I have had something distracting me lately from obsessing over when this adoption will ever take place.  We are also awaiting news from a searcher we have hired in Addis Ababa to find our son's birth mom.  I can not promise you that if and when we hear news or find her that I will be able to share everything here because that is not my story to tell.  But I will be able to tell you if we can find her and make contact.  So far the search has been much more complicated than any of us could ever of imagined.  All I can think about lately is where is she?  How is she?  Does she know that Moses is loved and doing well?

The other week we went and cut down our Christmas tree.  When we brought it home my husband noticed this one branch that seemed more like a new tree growing off of the main one.  He called it a nurse tree.  I don't think this is an actual nurse tree as per the actual definition but as soon as he said it I thought to myself this branch symbolizes how Moses' birth mom is a part of our family.  She is here in everything.  In our son's smile, in our hearts, in our Christmas.  We would not be this family without her.  I continued decorating the tree with the kids and found our one special ornament I had bought from Ethiopia.  It is made of wood and quite heavy and so I began to look for a strong branch and quickly remembered "the nurse tree".  It was the perfect spot.  Everytime I look at it my heart thinks of her.

Update

Wow, I had no idea it had been THIS long since I last updated here.  As you might of guessed, we are still waiting.  The last meeting was a few months ago and we were not matched.  Adoptions in Lesotho have really slowed down.  In fact, our agency in Canada has only had 2 completed Lesotho adoptions in 2015.  We really hope things pick up in 2016 and more children can come into families.  The reason for the slowdown is apparently issues in collecting paperwork.  Children are really not adoptable without paperwork so it is so important for the social workers to be diligent.  Our agency can only do so much.  And of course many of us waiting families wonder if perhaps Lesotho just does not want to process more than a few adoptions each year.

Either way, we are still in it for the long haul.  Every time I see my 7 year old son interact with a toddler my heart is full.  I love seeing the nurturing side of my kids come out.  A side I rarely see in the way they interact with each other!  So it is nice to see when they are with their younger cousins.  I can't wait to see them welcome a new sibling(s) into our family.

Next meeting is in two days.  I promise to update sooner this time!