Merry Christmas from the Bullington Board

Happy Birthday, Davis!

Davis' First Birthday from Leslie Bullington on Vimeo.

The song in the video is from Andrew Peterson and Randall Goodgame's Slugs & Bugs & Lullabies. This is the soundtrack of our life these days.

Davis looks like he is whistling a lot in these videos because he is, in fact, whistling. I've never known a baby who could do this, and I will post video of just that soon!

Happy Birthday, my baby boy!!

Fish Camp Nativty

Tonight David's Dad came through town and took us to dinner at a fish camp. There are always plenty of goats, ducks, and chickens wandering around to delight the kids, but tonight there was an added attraction - just outside the parking lot in the field next to the restaurant a group was performing the nativity every half hour. After we ate, we huddled in the cold next to the makeshift stable and watched the very first Christmas take place. At least, what Faith saw was the actual first nativity. Even though we've had many conversations about real v. not real (i.e. the young woman dressed up as Ariel at Disneyworld is a real person, but she is only pretending to be Ariel, the Little Mermaid) there is still some misunderstanding. This evening Faith asked all of the following questions and then some:
Where is the bright star?
Why aren't the angels flying?
IS THAT JESUS!!!!????
Where is the inn that had no room?
Where are the wise men? (That question came up about 10 times because the wise men were not part of this production)

When Faith came into the room the other day dressed in her green fairy outfit and I said, "Hey, Tinkerbell!" She said, "I'm not Tinkerbell. I'm just a person dressed up in a costume LIKE Tinkerbell." So she has this level of understanding, yet tonight she sincerely believed that the baby doll Joseph was showing the shepherds might be Christ himself. It really confused her when we saw one of the angels walking through the parking lot after the show. "How is that angel walking right next to us?" She asked. It is kind of funny and kind of inspiring, really.

We were a little late to the show and as we walked up, the beautiful song "Labor of Love" was playing over the loud speaker and as Joseph carefully arranged the hay in the manger to make a bed for the baby it really struck me how humble a beginning this was and is. How tender and mild, the moment in which our history turned.

These are too fun. Get your own here.

This Show On the Road

We've been traveling like crazy lately. We saw SEC CHAMPS THE ALABAMA CRIMSON TIDE play UT Chattanooga in Tuscaloosa (where Faith pointed at the opposing teams cheerleaders and asked, "Why do they not want Alabama to win?") We spent Thanksgiving with family in the mountains of NC, and this past weekend we went to Florida to surprise the kids with an early Christmas present - a two-day stint here:


It was pretty magical:






For more pictures of these events, visit our photo site and enter our town as the password.

Faith Made

The Ugliest Cookies Ever

I'm going to try to balance out the hideousness of that image with double-Davis-cuteness:
Look who has four teeth!

And can stand!

Full Hearts

Our hearts are full of gratitude for all of you who helped and supported Reaching Hands Adoption ministry at our Adoption Celebration and Benefit Auction last Thursday night. It was a beautiful evening to focus on our Father's love for us and the love of earthly adoptive parents for our "chosen children." Wow. Personally, it was awesome (in the true sense of the word) for us to be able to bring Davis with us this year, when at last year's event we were still in the hoping and dreaming phase of waiting.

Love to all of you who came and saw and heard and GAVE through auction donations and auction spending. We raised over $22,000 to help other families with adoption expenses. Words are not enough.

Adoption Celebration and Auction

We have our second annual adoption celebration and benefit auction coming up on THURSDAY of this week. Stop by if you are in the area and a fan of vacations, golf, hunting, photography, auto maintenance, hair care, restaurants, jewelry, etc. etc. etc. because you are sure to find something you will want to BID BID BID on! Every penny raised goes to provide grants for Christian families in the CSRA who need help with adoption expenses. We'll be sharing encouraging stories from several local families who adopted this year, and celebrating the adoption of all Christians through Christ.

Our family's story will be part of the program this year, and I can't even say how awesome it is to be in this position. We have seen our hopes met beyond any understanding through our adoption journey, and it is truly a blessing to be able to share this with so many friends and those who support adoption.

And there will be lots of desserts. That is not a small consideration for some of us.

Hope to see you there!

Today is Orphan Sunday

Go here for more information.

The Sound of One Hand Clapping

Faith and I are dancing and singing to - what else? - our rockin' blog music. Davis is standing at his music table using his arms to prop himself up. Since he can't stand independently yet, but still wants to clap along with us, he has to take one hand and slap it against his face or chest or just wave it frantically in the air. Too cute.

boo!

We had a fun day yesterday, though David and I relaxed our usual one-treat-per-meal rule and Faith developed a case of candy-induced indigestion. This morning she asked me, "Why did you say 'yes' to all the candy? It made me have a stomach ache." Everything is already all our fault.


Here are our darling children - Tinkerbell and Peter Pan:

For more photos click here. Password = our town.

Go! Go! Go!

So glad it is sweater weather!!

Go Go Go Go GO you gotta go because
You can't go fast if you go too slow!

That is a Backyardigans song that plays in my head all the time these days thanks to Mr. Busy. Also, sung urgently, it is a useful parenting tool to bring out when faced with a meandering four-year-old. (I can't think of the word "tool" without thinking Backpack! Backpack! - Backpack! Backpack!) Can you tell someone has been watching too much educational programming?

I can't hang out here much these days because a certain nine-month-old has the following philosophy: "Why be here? When I can be there? Or there? Or down the hall in the bathroom?" One moment he is sitting right beside me in the childproof playroom gnawing on/playing with a developmentally appropiate toy and then there is a flash of light and he is at the very back of the house drooling over some not-so-developmentally-appropriate-choking-hazard. We are both fortunate that I, as all moms of tiny tots, move faster than the speed of light.

I have been doing a little better at keeping our photo site current, so you can always check it out here, if you know where we live. Right now I've got some cute zoo photos over there and some of Faith enjoying her first live theater experience.

I'll leave you with this drawing. Faith has been quite the prolific artist lately and recently created this gem. Try to guess the title/subject before scrolling down.

It is a dinosaur drawing a picture of a dinosaur. Of course.

Davis and I are telepathic

I know because I just heard him say in my mind, "But, Mama, I'm too busy for a nap." And then he grinned. And grinned. And grinned.

Check out this sweet video from our friends the Story's that shares their referral day excitement and some beautiful photos of them with their gorgeous daughter, Evangeline.

New Photos

Not here. On our dropshots page. Password = our town.

Isn't it nice. . .

when people keep their blogs updated. I'm really sorry we are so delayed in posting and I will try to at least get our fun-end-of-summer photos up later tonight. We really do love all of you who keep up with us here.

Goodbye, Goldilocks

Faith got her first real haircut yesterday and boy was it a big one. She was so ready. And Mama was so not. Here is the before and after:

She went from blonde to brunette in an instant. And also aged about three years. But it is very cute, and she is very happy. As we entered the salon she was explaining to me again the reasons why she really needed this haircut, reason number one being that the long hair "gets in my syrup." She had enough length to donate her hair to locks of love also, so that was good. For more pictures of this and of Faith's first day of school you can visit our photo page and type in the name of our city.

The Bitter and the Sweet

We lost our beautiful dog Scout last night to a sudden, lethal problem with her spleen. She was a dear, smart, wonderful dog, and we are very sad. She was ten-years-old but full of youthful energy and this was totally unexpected. We are grateful that she did not suffer long at all, and David and I were both able to tell her how much we loved her and pet her until the end.

And then today we went to court to re-adopt Davis in the U.S. This will clear the way for us to apply for formal citizenship, and we will also receive what is called a "Certificate of Foreign Birth" which is the equivalent of a regular birth certificate and filed with the state in the same way. We were sworn in to affirm that we did want to go through with the adoption and that was it. Then photos!

Davis is waving in this picture! He learned how last night, and he was so proud he started doing it again the minute I took him out of bed this morning. He stretches his arm out and twists his wrist slowly like royalty.

Asked and Answered

Our papers are on their way to immigration today. Yaay China 2011, 12, 13, or beyond!!

And what now?

This morning I had the strangest dream. I dreamt that Davis was almost eight months old. Then I woke up and realized that Davis IS almost eight months old. WOW. He is scooting around cleaning our floors with his poor little onesies already and I am looking for the all out crawling to strike very, very soon.

We have been very busy the past few weeks playing catch-up on our China adoption. Due to a comedy of errors on our part (ha!ha!) and the fact that the need to complete a bunch of appointments and paperwork came right on the heels of our trip to get Davis, we have run into a problem. Because our wait for our daughter from China has been this long, our visa application for her has expired. If we do not have all of our renewal paperwork sent to immigration by Wednesday we will miss the deadline for a free renewal and will have to apply again, at a greater expense, in the future. Fortunately, it does NOT affect our timeline with our China adoption if we fail to have things in place by the deadline, but it sure would be great to be able to take advantage of the free renewal. Please pray that things fall into place with the one last form that is holding us up.

And back to our Ethiopia adoption - we are going to court this week to re-adopt Davis in the U.S! Hooray!

Prophecy

Faith and I were having a heated discussion today about who has greater vocal talent, me or Dan Zanes. She pretty much closed debate with this:

"Mama, Dan Zanes is a better singer than you are - I know because God told me in my heart."

Good News

http://chronicle.augusta.com/stories/2009/07/26/met_542140.shtml

My guys were looking really great on the front page of the paper this morning! WOW! We are very grateful to have had this opportunity to share our story as part of the Chronicle's report on faith-based adoption. The video they ran with the online version of the story is very nice, too. I love that the videographer captured some fun and funny brother/sister stuff. Classic. I also love that she edited the piece so well. We had a hard time speaking with the camera there, so she had a lot of very rough edges to smooth out!

This weekend was wonderful also because so many sweet friends and family turned out to celebrate "Davis Day" at Rooster Ridge - my Aunt Molly and Uncle Steve's home. Everyone loved on Davis until he was sufficiently welcomed into the family--and he reciprocated with plenty of grins and giggles. We appreciate everyone's love and support so much - pictures will follow soon!

Career Planning Faith Style

Yesterday: "When I grow up I'm gonna play golf while my husband takes care of my kids and Daddy can be my golf club carrier."

Earlier in the week: "I think that when I am a grown up you will listen to me singing on the radio when you are driving around in the car."

Faith is FOUR!

My baby is officially a big girl. And she is ready to move out. Here's the conversation we had Tuesday morning:

Faith: Me and my kids are going to live in Atlanta.

Me: Well, maybe I will move to Atlanta, too.

Faith: Why?

Me: So I can live near you guys.

Faith: Then I'm going to move to Lizella.

Me: Well, then I guess I'll move to Lizella.

Faith: Then I'm going to live in North Carolina.

Me: OK, I'll move to North Carolina, too.

Faith: Well then I'm going to move to GROVETOWN!

All I could do was sigh.

Video from Gotcha Day

Finally, some video! We arrived in Ethiopia on Sunday, met Davis for the first time on Monday, and went back to the transitional home to GET him and take him with us on Tuesday.

Is Ethiopia Close to Heaven?

Faith asked that question as we were looking at videos of Ethiopia on this blog this morning. I was glad she was sitting in my lap facing the screen because I could not stop the tears. It was such a tender moment. And according to our family's map - the answer is yes. Here's why:

Heaven is where God's glory shines so brightly there is no need for the sun, and where all is made right. We couldn't help but see the glory of God all over our adoption, and I cannot describe the rightness that began for us the very moment they placed Davis in our arms. The beauty-for-ashes was blinding as we were blessed to see a tragic situation being turned into hope for him, as he gained a future with a family; joy for us, as we had had such a desire for this little one; and in some unknowable way comfort for his birthmother and her family, who undoubtedly wanted a good life for their boy. And though this miracle was first seen by us in Ethiopia in May 2009, it began before the beginning of the world when all of our days were ordained by our adopted Father in heaven. So we do see an intersection between Heaven and earth in the city of Addis Ababa. I don't think I can overstate this.

Of course the glory of the kingdom of God is not completely visible (yet) from our earthly point of view. For example, we saw the people of Ethiopia suffering the injustice of poverty which leads to there being so many orphans there as in many other destitute places, but we also saw small(?) pockets of love reaching out - in the giving of these children by their original families, the caring for them by men and women who spend their days working in orphanages and places like our agency's transition home, and in their adoption into new families - seems like the kingdom of heaven to me. A kingdom that begins as a mustard seed. Or a hidden treasure. And in kingdom economy - blessed are the poor - Ethiopia is a mighty rich nation.

And then there's also the altitude of Addis to consider. And the halo-ish light of sunlight trapped in smoke. And if heaven is full of beautiful, gracious people we're getting even closer. . .

Of course, the answer I gave Faith was a bit more simplified.

On a much lighter note, David and I took Faith to play putt-putt tonight and I would like to report that while I wore Davis in the bjorn the entire time we played, I still had a respectable score. David did very well, as always, and Faith had several really awesome shots. She is too funny to play with because if she doesn't get the ball in within a few tries, she picks it up and sets it about 4 inches from the hole and announces "This time I'm going to try to get a hole in one!" I must have heard that sentence 15 times this evening. . .

Faithful

Owlhaven is a blog I read fairly often. It is a great resource on adoption and raising a large family. Mary, the author, has 10 kids - 4 adopted from Ethiopia. This week she wrote a beautiful post about her sorrow for the orphans of the world and referenced as one of her favorite songs a song I've relied on a great deal for encouragement in the past - Sara Groves "He's Always Been Faithful." (It is playing here if you are current on your blog reading and have the volume turned up.)

Where are the Bullingtons?

And why aren't they posting anything on the Board?

Well, I don't have any excuses. Only reasons:

1. I am a rookie at managing family life with two kids.

2. I'm kind of lazy. And it is really hot outside. Somehow that affects everything.

3. I'm still too overwhelmed by our whole trip/adoption experience-so-far to put things into words coherently. Believe me, I have tried. We will all appreciate it if I spend more time in thoughtful contemplation. Of course, thoughtful contemplation is a bit hard to come by these days (see reasons 1-2.)

Oh, and we are starting paperwork on adoption #3 RIGHT NOW. Our homestudy is expiring, along with our visa application for our daughter from China, so we are in the process of renewing those. And there is post-placement work to be done for Davis that needs to be scheduled and/or completed.

And we did go to the beach - those photos and some from today's All-American celebration at our church are in the online album. Click here and type in the name of our city to see them

A Thousand Words

The Sweetness of Today

Davis giggling up a storm while watching Faith's silly dance. No one makes him laugh like this funny girl.

Faith hugging Davis VERY tightly to herself and whispering into his ear "I love you!"

As we were listening to a praise song Faith noticed that the woman singing was referring to "my God." She said, "He isn't just her God! She has to share!" I wish I could reproduce the conversation that followed that one. Do they cover this in those devotionals you can buy to read with your preschooler?

Amazed by Grace

We are back from Addis Ababa with our bundle of absolute joy - Davis Berhanu. Thanks for all the prayers and love that carried us through. I finally finished updating our photo page [password hint: our city] with the new pictures. We've got some video and plenty of travel stories that will be here soon as well, so don't give up on the Bullington Board! It is just so hard to look at a computer screen when instead I can look at this little face:

But he does nap sometimes. Until then. . . .

Oh My Goodness

We are busy, busy getting ready to go meet our son! I wish I could say more about that but for now all the emotions and thoughts are just too much for words.

Today we took Faith out for a "special day" to celebrate the end of our status as a three person family. We have browsed in the Build-a-Bear store many times but she has not been allowed to shop there, so today David and I took her there and let her build a friend to help her through this next. . . umm. . .transition. She got to build one for her brother as well. For herself she chose a light gray cat and for him she chose a dark brown bear. We let her record her own voice and ours on soundboxes inside each of them, and I think we [well, I] got a little carried away when making the bear sounds. We may terrify Davis with this one.

When it came time to choose names for the animals (For their birth certificates. How weird.) Faith had a hard time deciding on the kitten's name. She had no trouble at all naming the bear. She called him Chocolate. Then after hesitantly tagging the cat with Hannah she had a brainstorm and started calling her Vanilla.

So Davis has a bear named Chocolate, and Faith has a cat named Vanilla.

Please pray for my parents as they keep watch over Miss Priss. I am a little concerned about them because of a conversation I had with Faith last night:

"Faith, you be sure you listen and obey MeMa and Pop-Pop and Aunt Lindsey when you are with them. Do you understand?"

"Mama, I don't think I will be able to remember those words when I get to MeMa's house."

Beautiful Boy

Visit our dropshots page to see new photos and a video of our beautiful boy. The password is the name of our city. Many thanks to the Rutland family who were sweet to our son, sent photos to us, and made the awesome video.

Affording Adoption

Just checking in for a moment to link to this blog post on financing adoption.

We are waiting for one last thing to fall into place to finalize our travel plans. We'll post more soon.

Photo Sharing - Video Sharing - Photo Printing

Hallelujah!! WE PASSED!!!

Pictures and details to follow! Thank you for the prayers and kind words of support throughout this process.

Davis Berhanu Bullington is now legally our son!!!!

The adoption process: It's not so unlike pregnancy. . .

. . .in that there is a lot of eating involved in both. I haven't lost my waiting-for-referral weight and now I'm adding waiting-for-court-date weight. Wow.

Please pray for our family as we wait for what Faith calls "the meeting"-our court appointment - which will be taking place as we sleep (or don't sleep) Wednesday night.

Actually, to be more accurate, Faith calls it THE MEETING as in "Has THE MEETING happened yet?? I hope it is a GOOD MEETING!!"

She's an awesome big sister already.

An Apology

I am so sorry that we have not written anything lately. It is partially because I've been frustrated by slow-computer-syndrome and using all of my meager processing capabilities to add and rearrange my photos on our dropshots site. We do have Easter pics there they are just on weird dates so you'll have to scroll through a bunch of days to see them all. Remember, you have to know what city we are in to view the photos, thanks to my rampant paranoia.

We'll be back again soon with a proper update.

Good Friday

We have been busy painting at our house during the last few weeks - trying to get all of our projects done before baby gets here and rocks our world! So there has been little opportunity for me to hang out here. I did find the audio clue to match up with this blogpost of a few weeks ago and add it to our music box. So if you have your volume up, that is what you are enjoying (right?) now.

A tree near our house is decorated with eggs, and Faith is perpetually surprised to see it every time we ride by - "It is STILL EASTER!?" We've been coloring eggs and talking about Easter for weeks so she is a little lost in time. This is the first year I've had the privilege of sharing the good news of Easter with her and it has been amazing. She has a much greater understanding of who Jesus is and what He did and what that means than ever before. Of course, at three, she doesn't totally get it (or does she - she of the naturally child-like faith?) but she has been full of questions about Heaven and death lately and this has given us a lot of opportunities to share our faith with Faith. And when I am sharing it with her I am sharing it with myself over and over (and over some days) which I need, too. I can definitely use a daily, hourly reminder of how God so loved the world. And how He loves me. And how that means I should love.

We have done a lot with Easter eggs as a representation of life from death - an egg looks like a stone, which is a dead thing, but it contains a chick which is a live thing. Just as Jesus was dead, yet he conquered death and rose again. I read this somewhere, and I do think it has really helped Faith remember this fact. Though she does like to tease me and sometimes when I ask her why we color eggs she says, "Because of the Easter bunny" with a big sly grin. And she also likes to point out that our eggs just have more egg inside them and not chicks.

We don't talk much about the bunny. I don't really have anything to say about it. I don't want to share Easter attention with it, but I also don't want to make it a big deal, since it isn't. That is not really a struggle - the candy it brings on the other hand appears to steal attention from all other aspects of life. I long for the days when Faith thought candy was just something you held and played with by rattling it's wrapper or squishing it up. We managed to keep her from knowing that candy is for eating until her fourth Halloween! Now that candy is in season again she asks me repeatedly - some days from the very moment she opens her eyes - for "candy or a treat." I was telling my sister today that I hate being the candy police. Today, I thought I was going to have to restrict access after I allowed her to have a candy egg after lunch and then she brought another one into my room shortly thereafter. I said, "Faith, you can't have any more candy right now."

She looked at me sweet as pie and said, "I know. I was bringing this one so I could offer it to you." Yes, she said it just like that. haha. I think she really meant it, too, since she looked totally unconcerned when I took her up on it. So maybe candy teaches good lessons after all - generosity is a fruit of the spirit, right?

As far as adoption news goes - we are getting ready for our trip, looking at travel(!) itineraries, and just trying to steady our emotions daily. We got new pictures of him (which I can't share here for various reasons) and they are just so sweet. Our beautiful boy. I can't wait to see him and hold him and have him home.

OH, the towering feeling! . . .Just to know somehow you are near.
In time if not in space, little man.

April Court Dates Bring May Travel

At least in our case. If we pass on April 30 we will go on May 23rd. I wish I had something clever or more meaningful to say about this, but actually all I can say is WOW!

Court Date! (with introduction by Faith)

We're getting Davis at the end of April! Isn't that right? April the end - April at the end. hmm. Backyardigans are sneaky sometimes and sometimes they're nice. Are you writing Backyardigans things? [lots and lots of giggling] Hey do you want to say how much I did again? Hey are you typing all of it? Are you? Can I say something? [more about Backyardigans]

What she is trying to say is that WE! HAVE! A! COURT! DATE - April 30th!

We are all giddy with excitement. This means the courts in Ethiopia will look at our case on April 30 and decide if they have all the documentation they need to legalize our adoption. We do not need to be present for this "meeting" [that is what we call this for Faith - she actually does understand it somewhat and is very excited about it which is why I thought I could transcribe her description of this for the blog, but as it happens she was more interested right now in discussing her favorite TV friends] If everything is approved we will travel to Ethiopia 2 to 4 weeks after that. So we will actually go "get Davis" in May at the earliest. Thirty percent of the time there is some additional documentation needed and therefore additional wait time for us - an additional wait that may be measured in days, weeks, or months.

We are so excited to have this next milestone set in place (did I mention that we're excited?) and would greatly, greatly appreciate your prayers for favor in the courts for us on that day.

Thanks-Patricks Day!

When I woke Faith up yesterday morning the first thing she said when she opened her eyes was, "I am a leprechaun." Then she commenced her "sneaky" leprechaun business - stealing hairbrushes and hiding them, etc. I loved that she kept calling it "Thanks-Patricks Day." I corrected her a few times, but then corrected myself for messing with something so cute and decided it will be Thanks-Patricks Day for the Bullingtons forevermore.

After she went to school I went out and about with my mom putting together a care package for Davis. Some very kind folks, the Whipples, are traveling next week and agreed to carry some love over for our little boy. I found a super sweet little outfit/blanket set and a photo album to send over with them.

Then we went to the parade. AKA the slow-moving bead-necklace and candy dispensery. It was too fun. So sunny and perfect and Faith loved all of it but the loud noises, of which there were many.

Even though I got lost on the way (typical) we made it to the post office just in time to mail our precious package. So within a few weeks Davis will have a little piece of home with him. Wow.

Referral Week Mega-Post - With Pictures!

The Day we got the Call:

That Tuesday (3-3-09) I had taken Faith to school and done a few errands. I came back home to clean up for a while before meeting David for lunch. I was talking to my sister on the phone when suddenly our caller ID alerted me that someone was calling from Virginia. Our adoption agency is located in Virginia. I yelled at Jamie, "Virginia is calling! I've got to go!" (She thought I was talking about a person named Virginia and that I must get no phone calls to get that excited.) All I could think was "This is it! This is it!" Then I switched over and the voice I heard was of someone other than our family coordinator. So I started thinking "Oh, this is not it." And then she said, "I've got your husband on the line. . ." And I thought "This is it! This is it!" And then she said, "This is it! This is your referral call. . ."

She told us a little about him - his name, a little of the information in his file, his age, etc. And that he was "adorable." I could not stop shaking. I walked all around the house shaking and crying the whole time we were on the phone. And there may have been some squeaking. David sounded excited but calm enough to have presence of mind.

She said she would email us pictures and his information as soon as we got off the phone, so we made sure she had both of our email addresses and hung up. David called me right away, and we waited on the phone together for the email to arrive. His computer at work is quicker than mine, so he saw our baby first. I heard him laughing, and then my computer finally caught up and I saw my baby's sweet face.

He took my breath away. Beautiful and, to put it simply, ours. All our hopes and prayers for this child met in an instant.

We got off the phone and both of us had the opportunity to make "THE CALL" to our family - I spoke with my mom and sisters. My mom called me back again when my dad got done with a meeting and I told him as well. Everyone was so thrilled. And appropriately emotional.

David and I kept our lunch date. We couldn't stop looking at our boy and each other in amazement that we had a son. David moved an appointment back so that he could go with me to pick up Faith from school and we could tell her together. I told David that if she was in a bad mood, we would wait and tell her later. I didn't want any typical-three-year-old grump fest to spoil the special-ness of her seeing her brother's picture for the first time. But she was all smiles when she saw us both there to greet her after school, and so we showed her right there in the hall of the school. She grinned and grinned. She could not stop smiling.

Later I took Faith out so that we could buy ingredients to make the "Referral Day" cake I'd been promising her for some time. The list of my misadventures in food now has another entry since this was the result:

Hey, it's not that pretty but at least it tasted. . . well, it was delicious to us and our close friends and family who came to celebrate this most momentous occasion with us. And Faith helped make it:Here's her "sister" piece:

The Day We Said Yes

There were papers to sign, including what is called a Referral Acceptance Statement - the official yes-we-would-like-very-very-much-to-proceed-with-this-adoption-please-make-it-legal paper. We sent these back to the agency as soon as we could. Here are some pictures of us at the post office express-mailing these important documents.

Further Thoughts

"I have often walked

down this street before

but the pavement always

stayed beneath my feet before"

I used to sing this song a lot to Faith when she was a baby. (This and the theme from the love boat - it is strange what surfaces when you are trying to come up with lullabies and haven't had much sleep yourself.) It is from a song in My Fair Lady, and it is the song that comes to mind when I think of what the last week has been like. The whole world the same and yet different.

Like when you fall in love and hope and possibility come into clear view.

We've learned so much about love, hope, and faith through this experience already. Now we are trusting in Him to complete His good work and sustain us and Davis through the court proceedings and travel that will legally and physically join us as a family, if that is His will that is to be done. Thanks to all of you who have prayed with us this far - please continue during the next few months as we wait again. For homecoming.

BEAUTIFUL DAY!!!

WE GOT THE CALL!!!!

We have an absolutely beautiful baby boy! He is two months old - a smiling, sweet-faced, lovely little one. We are so super excited. I could go on and on and on, but I can hardly get my hands to quit shaking long enough to type this.

It is a good thing I wrote last time about what happens after this! Scroll down to read that, and we'll post more here soon. Thanks to all of you who prayed for this day to come. We are rejoicing in His timing - perfect even though we (particularly I) got so impatient. Totally worth it and then some.

We have our Davis.

One Step Closer to Knowing

Hey, How are you? We're fine, just a bit tense and busy and not hanging out here lately. I've been regretful about having no news to report. At a certain point you start feeling like a liar - telling everyone it is so soon and then - a while of nothing much to say. At this point it might be wise to fill you in on what happens after we hear that our agency has found a baby boy who needs a family as much as we need him:

After we receive THE CALL from our agency they will email us a description of the boy they have available to us and his medical history and we will have a chance to review this information and accept or decline the referral. When we accept a referral, our agency will arrange for a court date for us in Ethiopia. This is not a date that we will be present at - we have given our agency power to act on our behalf to legalize our adoption in Ethiopia. Our agency will be making all necessary arrangements to organize documents needed for this critical day in court. Right now it appears that our court date will take place around 3 months after we receive a referral.

If at our first court appointment all of our paperwork satisfies the judge, our adoption will be legalized and our boy will become a Bullington. We will travel to pick him up a few weeks later.

And then he will be home.

Sounds simple, right? According to our agency around 30% of families do not "pass court" the first time. This means additional documentation has to be provided and your case may be delayed by weeks or months.

And courts are closed during August and October. So if we are delayed by much we will have an additional wait time tacked on. I try very hard not to think about this, but it is out there on the horizon like a dark cloud that may come this way or may not. So I feel compelled to mention it so you can see what I see.

This morning I woke up gripped by the fear of that scenario.

But overwhelmingly right now the feeling is of hope. The Rogers family, whose paperwork travelled to Ethiopia in the very same package as ours got referred an infant girl yesterday! They had requested either a boy or a girl baby, so that means we are very close to the front of the line.

I hope to have more to tell any day now. . . .

Our Funny Valentine

Next year the heart will have to be bigger!

"Love is a good thing. It'll fall like rain on your parade, laugh at the plans that you tried to make, it'll wear you down till your heart just breaks and it's a good thing."
Andrew Peterson - Love is a Good Thing - Resurrection Letters vol. II

No News for Us. . .

Is not no news for anyone! Our agency has arranged a few forever families this week. And we are everyday closer.

When we were in the car (of course) today listening to Sara Groves sing the lyrics "live in peace" Faith asked me if she meant real peace or pretend peace. I finally figured out she thought the word was "peas."

We are living in peas here, folks.

Monday, Monday

These past few weeks the days have seemed particularly long. I've been dragging Faith around more than usual to avoid sitting at the house where the wait by the phone seems too hard. Thus, we've had the chance to hear a lot of radio music.

I've been off of Christian radio since they started playing Nathalie Grant's Our Hope Endures every other minute. My apologies if this is your favorite - it is a powerful song but so heavy and intense to hear ALL THE TIME. So I've taken refuge on our fifties station. Where the heartache is heartfelt but usually related to high school break-ups. Little did I know that waiting-mom-ears can make everything about the baby. "Come and Go with Me" - I need you, darling, so come go with me - made me cry. "Sweet Dream Baby" - How long must I wait? - made me miss him even more. And today. Monday, Monday. Can't trust that day.

No news yet.

While we wait - a few funny moments

Yesterday Faith and her friend Caroline, 2, were discussing the babies about to join their families. Caroline's mother is due to have a baby brother or sister for Caroline in March. Faith asked Caroline, "What color is it going to be?"

"I don't know," said Caroline. She scrunched up her nose a bit, thought for a moment, and said, "Pink?"

One of Faith's favorite Bible stories is about Jesus healing a blind man named Bartimaeus.

Last night at dinner I was extolling the virtues of broccoli, a food that is not her favorite, saying, "I know you don't like broccoli, Faith, but sometimes we eat things we don't like because they are so good for us. Broccoli helps our eyes and our.."

Faith broke in with "Maybe Bartimaeus didn't eat enough broccoli."

And Even Closer

This week there were a few more referrals. We believe we are third in line for a boy from our agency. I can't tell you how amazing it is to be so close after so much waiting. It has been wonderful to see so much progress for so many families waiting with us these past few weeks! I hope we'll have some more news for all our anxious friends and family very soon. (Isn't it nice how I can make this sound like it is really all about you guys. Because of course, we are not anxiously waiting. haha.)

The Only Thing We Have to Fear. . .

Faith showed up in our bedroom around 3 a.m. this morning.

Faith: Can I get in your bed?
Me: No, Faith, it is not morning time yet.
Faith: But I see a little light shining outside.
Me: That is just moonlight. Go back to bed.
Faith: But I'm scared.
Me: What are you scared of?
Faith: I'm scared when you say "No."

Any thoughts?

I think I finally fixed this thing so that folks can comment without complication. Hope this helps some of you (mom) who have expressed frustration in the past. We really would love to hear from you here!

The people I asked for prayer for a few days ago, the Kulp and Semlow families, have experienced another setback on their adoption journey today. My hearts aches for them. Please pray that they will be sustained as they endure an even longer wait to be united with their kids.

And I couldn't help but think of our adoption journey and the community of families struggling (yes, struggling!) in this way to bring home these children when Obama said this today:

"With hope and virtue, let us brave once more the icy currents, and endure what storms may come. Let it be said by our children's children that when we were tested we refused to let this journey end, that we did not turn back nor did we falter; and with eyes fixed on the horizon and God's grace upon us, we carried forth that great gift of freedom and delivered it safely to future generations."

After all, it is truly an audacious hope that guides us forward.

Overwhelmed with Gratitude

"The fact that we are continually struggling in our human relationships is not surprising considering what complicated messes we humans can be. But what is surprising and most amazing is that there are in fact those instances when we find ourselves fellowshipping with other human beings in a most "real", "safe" and loving way. Experiencing the blessing of true fellowship "walking together in the light" with other children of God is perhaps the greatest gifts of God to us in this life."

I was reading this on Kerry Hasenbalg's blog the other day and thinking how beautiful the fellowship we've had with our Sunday School friends has been during these past few years and what a blessing they have been to our family. They have supported us with their prayers for so long and been right there with us on our adoption journey. And then today they had to go ahead and completely overwhelm us with their kindness and generosity. We are drowning in love for you and appreciation for all that has been given to us. It is very, very humbling. Our friends presented us with the sweet, sweet video you will see if you scroll down a bit (be sure to scroll all the way down and pause the music player at the bottom before playing the video.) And a VERY GENEROUS contribution to our adoption fund. It made my heart ache in a good way - just too much for it to process I think. We are still reeling a bit. We were totally surprised.

This past week was marked by one of the great joys of this journey - getting closer to seeing our son and watching other families receiving information about their children through our online group of folks adopting through our agency. But it has also been marked by the sorrow of seeing families facing some of the more difficult aspects of this journey as well. Feeling so helpless and so far away from those children and holding such heavy burdens. I started thinking, "I don't know how we're going to do this." This next part of waiting, when we will know our child and yet not be able to hold him or do anything to control the process. It will be a spiritual battle. I consoled myself with the fact that I know God will be there with us, and we get grace when we need it and not before. But I was feeling weak.

And then today, having the strong encouragement of our friends felt absolutely heavensent. The light made clear by this fellowship. Thanks to all of you, our friends. Those who were there today and contributed so mightily and those of you who support us in your prayers and your encouragement always. We can't wait until you meet the boy and the girl you've been praying for and waiting for with us for so long. I am so grateful that all of you are with us in this. It is so much bigger than us.

Thank YOU, Sweet Friends

Photo Sharing - Video Sharing - Photo Printing

Please Pray

For the Kulp and Semlow families. They are adopting through our agency and facing some tremendous obstacles. We are praying for a miracle for them. Please visit the Kulp's blog for more details on the situation.

"Wow!" seems inadequate. . .

But it is all I can say - WOW!

Faith was right. It really is still Christmas. There have been several more referrals for children through our agency, and we have moved even closer to our boy. It feels like a dream.

Faith, Future Trial Attorney

I can't remember how this conversation began, but on the way home this evening Faith started asking me about what happened to all the Christmas decorations. I told her that we had taken ours down because Christmastime was finished. She asked after about ten of our friends and family as follows:

Faith: Did Nona take her Christmas lights down?
Me: Yes
Faith: Did Jamie and Arie take their Christmas lights down?
Me: Yes, because it isn't Christmas anymore.

And then this:

Faith: (pointing out the window) But I see Christmas lights right there?!
Me: Well, yes, I saw those, too, and there is one house in our neighborhood that still has Christmas lights.

Faith (in triumph): Then it IS STILL Christmas!

This is related to her asking me earlier today if this was the last Christmas or if we would have Christmas next year.

Even Closer!

A few days ago I wrote about Faith's optimism in waiting and how it should teach me something. Well, our hopes have been met within the last few days as several families adopting through our agency have received referrals! We are very, very excited. They have begun matching families who sent their paperwork to Ethiopia in early April. Our dossier took the trip on April 28th, so now we really are even closer! I have tried very hard to remain even-tempered about everything and to appreciate the fact that this part of the wait will probably seem easy compared to the next part, when we already know who are son is and are just waiting to go get him, but I don't know how to keep calm, cool, and collected over this.

I've definitely got to get moving on preparing a new bedroom for Faith and a new nursery for her baby brother!

Stranger Danger

Yesterday when we were out eating lunch, Faith was playing nice with everyone within eyesight--waving and smiling at several other folks who were eating nearby. I decided that all this friendliest comes with some risks and it was time to have a discussion. I leaned in close to her and said, "Faith, what if that man over there said, 'Hey, little girl, will you please come with me and help me find my lost puppy?' What would you say?"

She frowned and said, "No?"

"That's right," I said, "Strangers are people who we don't know, and you should never go anywhere with anyone we don't know without Mama and Daddy."

"And, Mama, if that man over there said 'Little girl, will you wear my coat?' I would say 'No!' and run away."

I guess that means she understood.

Pondering the Pink Pig

When Faith and I were visiting my sister and her family during the week before Christmas, we were able to go to the Pink Pig. The Pink Pig is an Atlanta Christmas tradition. It began in 1953 as a monorail ride that circled above(!) the Rich's toy department and later it was taken outside so that kids could ride around the big Christmas tree on Rich's roof(!). After being retired for years, it was refurbished by the Junior League and became a more sedate train ride under a tent in the Macy's parking lot at Lenox Mall. The pig-like train winds around a storybook set while a pig character with a broad southern accent narrates a tale that is entirely beside the point. It is fun, fun, fun for kids of all ages. The only problem is that while the ride itself lasts about 3 minutes, the line for the ride lasts somewhere around 90 during peak travel time, which is certainly when we found ourselves there.

After waiting in line for tickets, you wait in line for the line for the ride itself. I did not mistype that. There is a big line outside the tent, and a small line inside the tent where the ride is located. Because they move only about 30 folks into the tent at once then wait until that line empties to call in the next group, the big line moves very slowly.

Faith loved every minute of it. While we were in line, she made friends and played with other kids and the toys their thoughtful parents brought for them to play with. (I had brought nothing.) It was so funny to see her join this group and then that, laughing and talking to whoever was willing. Finally we were near the front of the line. They called the last big group before us up to enter the tent, and as the attendant set the rope behind that group several people at the very front groaned in disappointment since they were going to have to wait at least twenty more minutes to get to the ride itself.

At the same time, Faith yelled out "Yaay! We're even closer!"

I'm trying to keep Faith's pink pig perspective as we enter 2009 and begin our ninth month of waiting to be matched with a son. I'm officially resolving to make the most of our time waiting and celebrate the fact that every day we are even closer!

Happy New Year

Hope everyone had as merry a Christmastime as we have had, and, in fact, are still having since we are keeping the house decorated and the carols playing until January 6. This year we decided there was just too much busy-ness in the days leading up to Christmas to stop celebrating after just one day. The twelve days of Christmas tradition is making a lot of sense to me now, so we intend to carry on with all the cheer (and, who am I kidding, all the eating) for a while longer. Our Christmas pictures will be up on dropshots as soon as I can get them there. Click here and enter the name of our little town for access.