Lots of Yays!

As I'm sitting down to write this with my cup of Gobena Coffee (YUM!!) in my hand, I'm feeling very cozy and sleepy with the overcast, crisp day outside and the smell of delicious coffee permeating the air inside. I LOVE chilly fall days! Anyway, if you love coffee, please try Gobena. For each package that you buy, you will be feeding an orphan for a month. YAY! A very worthy cause! You can buy coffee from Ethiopia, Guatemala, or Colombia, as well as Gobena t-shirts, mugs and tote bags. (Note: the women's shirts run a bit small. Order one size up from what you would normally wear.)

On to other things...... Another referral went out yesterday for a 2 1/2 year old boy. YAY! It's so exciting to watch as children are united with their forever families. This family entered the waitlist one week before we did. And now, we're unofficially #3 in line for a two to three-year-old boy. The 2 families in front of us went on the waitlist the very same day that we did. We're definitely getting closer!! We are unofficially # 4 for three-year-old girls, and unofficially #8 for siblings in our age group. The official list does not take into account anyone's age parameters, so we're still pretty high up on the list. But when you look at the fact that most people are waiting for an infant and we're willing to go up to three years, our numbers are actually a lot lower than they seem. That's what I mean by 'unofficial.' Ok, is anyone confused yet? I don't think I actually explained that very well, but let's just leave it at this: we're getting closer! YAY!!

And here's a little project that I've been working on. A while back, one of my friends asked me to repaint a doll house that her grandfather had made for her when she was little. She now wants it for her daughters to play with. I took some 'before' pictures, but somehow they were either deleted off of my camera before they made it to the computer, or were deleted from the computer afterward. Anyway, I can't find them ANYWHERE. The house started out all white with a dark brown roof and windows. It was very plain. So, I painted the house pink with white trim and a nutmeg-brown roof and door. I added extra details, like shingles, rosebushes, and shutters. Overall, I am pretty happy with the way it turned out, and my friend seemed really excited when I delivered it to her this morning. YAY! Here are some 'after' pictures:

And now that the doll house is complete, and the desk in my scrapbooking room is free again, I'll definitely have to get some more scrapbooking done. (I'm really behind, and haven't worked on it for a LONG time.)

Alright, I'm off to take a walk with Malia and then I'll spend my afternoon making calls to line up an international adoption pediatrician. That way we'll be ready when we get our referral call! I'm hoping it's soon!! And by the way, the Ethiopian rainy season is now over, and the courts have opened back up. Families will start traveling again soon to meet their children, and hopefully the referrals will pick back up as well. YAY!

Have a happy Tuesday, everyone!