fingerprints & luck

aaaaand now its november.
november???
thankfully, it still looks as though we will be able to turn in the remainder of our dossier to ghana by the end of the year.  WOOHOO!  yesterday, we had our biometrics/fingerprinting appointment with immigration in west sacramento.  everyone told us it would be a breeze....and it was.  our appointment was at 12:00, but because i'm not one to be late, we arrived at 11:30am.  they saw us right away and we were spared the wait when 15 people showed up at 11:50am.  praise God for the small things!  so now we wait for a week or two or three until we get our I600 approval.  once that is in hand, we take the (hopefully) last round of paperwork to be notarized, state sealed, shipped to the corporate office in michigan, and then off to ghana!!!

our needs right now:
1. peace.  it is hard to wait.  it is.
2.  endurance.  as with bringing any child, biological or adopted, into your family, it takes a lot of work.  and it wears you done when there are so many other things screaming for your attention at the same time.
3.  funds.  we currently have about $3000 of the $8000 we need to officially be on the "waiting list."  ashley still has photography sessions going strong until the middle of december (photo blog) and ben is working feverishly to repair music instruments with his home business.  so many friends and family members have donated...what an overwhelming joy to come together and make one less orphan!

in other news:
we have a lot of people say things like, "wow.  that child from ghana will be so lucky to have you as parents."  its a strange thing to hear quite frankly.  first of all, because we don't believe in "luck."  the almighty creator God is in charge of all things and nothing happens by chance, but by His direct will!!!  secondly, "they are so lucky" sounds like we are some sort of saint or martyr.....let me clarify: we.  are.  not.  we are normal, average, everyday people like you who simply heard the call of children in need and answered.  no superheroes.  just love in action.  i read a really great post by another ghana-adoptive family that answers the "they are so lucky" dilemma even better:
The View from 36.5 inches

thank you for your encouraging words.  you don't know how much that pushes us to keep on keeping on.  its a long road.
and OH SO worth it.