Seven

In Hebrew, seven comes from a root word meaning "to be complete, full, or satisfied." As portrayed in the Bible, seven can be symbolic of the whole, the completion, the ideal situation, or the perfect picture of things. So it seems only fitting that 7 years after our engagement and seven years after the strong desire to adopt appeared in our lives, that this desire-this dream-is now becoming a reality!
From the day we were married, we knew that adoption would be part of our story. What we did not know was that our road to parenthood would be rather lengthy, including many mountains and valleys. The road was often filled with heartache but never without hope...a hope that promised us that we will be parents some day, no matter how long that road that may be. It is that hope that has led us to this time in our lives.
So just what have we been up to, and who is "Baby E?" Well, if you take a look at our timeline to the left, you can clearly see that we've been very busy over the past few months. We wanted to send out our blog well before now, but we instead have been devoting all of our time and energy to completing the huge amounts of paperwork. Many of you are aware of the daunting task that is the dossier...a set of legal documents for international adoption. The time and energy have paid off--because in record time we are finished with everything for the dossier, with the exception of the CIS approval letter which we can only wait for at this point. Once this arrives, our dossier can be sent and logged in Ethiopia at which point we will wait for several months to receive our referral...the name of our baby, along with pictures and general health and other stats. After we receive our referral, we will wait (are you noticing a theme?!) for several more weeks before Jeff and I travel to Ethiopia to bring home our baby. We have requested an infant of either gender, so the day of the referral will be an exciting day in the Nix household!
The "E" is for Ethiopia. Not very original, I know, but "Baby E" does have a nice ring, right?! Some of my dear friends decided that this baby needed a "name" already...so "Baby E" it is!
Again, we're excited that you're following us on our journey. Please check back often for updates, including the next one re: "Why Ethiopia?"
Until next time, "We wait in hope for the Lord; he is our help and our shield." ~Psalm 33:20