Time Keeps Passing by...

Hey everyone, Sorry for the lack of updates. We have been on the waitlist for almost 4 months now and I continually pray for the comfort and blessings upon our child OR children everyday! Yes that is right...I said CHILDREN :) lol We have officially decided to put our names on the waitlist for one boy under the age of two OR siblings under the age of three. We feel that if it is in God's plans, we would love to bring two sweet babies home! Life will change drastically in the next year or so and I am full on ready (or at least I would like to think so) to care for our little blessings!! God has been good and faithful even when we seem to get impatient and frustrated but we thank Him for the opportunity to be able to adopt children in need! What an awesome year it has been :)

On the other hand, I am really praying about starting a non-profit in Ethiopia....please just pray for guidance and a good listening ear for myself to follow the Lord if this is His will. I greatly appreciate the prayers :)

Drew and I are doing well in Tampa....we are constantly busy with work, friends, church and just life in general! We sometimes wonder how we are going to have time for kids but I keep reminding him that all of our priorities will change and we will be busy with them and not so much all the extra activities we participate in....hard to think that we may be parents next year (or at least we would like to hope so) but I'm extremely excited for God's new adventures for the Vasquez family!

Thanks for reading our blog and I promise to stay on top of it a little more...

"For this child I prayed; and the Lord has given me my petition which I asked of Him."

1 Samuel 1:27

Blessings,

Jess

xo

WAIT LIST!!!

Wow! We have been wait listed for about a week or so now and I still can't really believe it :) I know the wait will be long and I hope to hear more good news in the future about Ethiopia but I know God will provide and as long as we keep our faith strong, everything will be great!
Thanks for all the prayers and I will keep the blog updated on any new information.

Jess
xo

Immigration Approval

Well,

As you know, if you have read my facebook page, we finally recieved Immigration Approval last week! We are super excited for the next step in the adoption process...WAITING! lol Like we haven't done enough of that already but we have complete faith in God and know that one day we will have an adorable child from Ethiopia! What a blessing that is :)
I am hoping that we get wait-listed this week and then we will be on the long journey to getting a referral....I tear up as I write this because I know that day will be so surreal! Thanks for the prayers and please pray for the Ethiopian govt. and for wisdom and smoothness within the adoption process. We are so excited to be parents and to show God's love to an adorable child that might not otherwise know Him! God is so good :)

Jess
xo

YAY!

My hubby is officially back in the United States! So blessed to have him home in a couple days...
That is all...

:)

Mr. & Mrs. Williams

Let's just say that I saw two really good friends of mine get married this past weekend. I was so excited to be a part of their big day and Amy looked so beautiful! The wedding was at the Chateau Elan in Braselton, GA and it was incredible....wine tasting, girl talks and seeing the cutest Ethiopian flowergirl were definitely the highlights of my weekend :)

Looks like things are still looking up in regards to the adoption. MOWA has officially lifted the pause on Gladney adoptions and they are going to be getting refferals for families this week....so excited for all those families that have been patiently waiting since the beginning of the year! I'm still waiting for that darn Immigration Approval so hopefully soon....

Drew may possibly be coming home next weekend so I am super excited to finally see him again! It has been a long 7 months but with all my travels, busy work schedule and adoption paperwork, it seems to have gone by a lot faster than expected. Hard to explain the butterflies that I get since I haven't seen my husband since the end of September but I'm really looking forward to it! And our trip to Hawaii :) YAY

I will keep you updated on Drew's return and our adoption status....keep us in your prayers!

Jess

xo

Gladney Approval!

As of today, we are approved at Gladney and I am patiently waiting for Immigration Approval! I'm so excited about everything...God is looking out for us and our future child :) Keep you posted on future news! xo

......

Waiting for Agency approval....... Hopefully getting agency approval soon and shortly after, getting Immigration approval which means......WAITLIST TIME! Yay! xo

Update

Hey everyone,
I got an email from our agency today and it looks like things are back to normal in Ethiopia! I'm so thrilled that we won't have to wait any longer :) God is so good... They are back to processing 40 adoption cases a day instead of the dreaded 5 they were going to decrease to....

Thanks for all the prayers and I will let you know more details when I get them!

xo

MOWA

Well, I haven't posted in a while and it's honestly because I have recieved nothing but bad news from our agency since the new year. It all has to do with the govt and MOWA (Ministry of Women's Affairs) over in Ethiopia. We have been praying heavily for the continuation and easy flow of adoptions coming out of the country...since March 10th, MOWA has decreased adoptions by 90% meaning it will take many years to adopt from Ethiopia. Well, this is not good for anyone or any agency right now! We are all hoping this is a temporary change and that things will be running normal in a few short months.
Please pray for Ethiopia and that they are wise in the decisions they make about adoptions. We have complete faith that our baby is waiting for us :)
On a good note, Drew should be home in about 6 weeks which is AWESOME!! It has been a long, yet quick 6 months so far....I have kept very busy with work, vacations, the doggies and friends. Thankful to have a loving and serving husband :)

Jess
xo

Waiting....

Why do I feel like I will have a lot of posts labeled as waiting in the future....lol. Well that is exactly what we are doing right now. Just waiting on Immigration Approval and then we will get put on the wait list at Gladney for a referral!! So excited for that day to roll around. I am most excited for my hubby to return home in two months! Seems like time has gone by pretty fast since he has been deployed and I am very thankful for that!
Hoping my next post regarding the adoption will be for the wait list....cross your fingers!

Jess
xo

It's a Miracle!

Our homestudy is officially complete! I almost thought this day would ever come....I actually never thought we would have to deal with such delay and complications with our homestudy but I'm glad to say that it is complete and now we just wait for immigration approval and agency approval. The waitlist is close and we look forward to the day we bring home our child :)
Thanks for all your prayers and we will keep you updated....

Jess
xo

Half Marathon Training

Well, I have been officially training for a half marathon that is in the end of February for 8 weeks now....It is exhausting but feels good in the end. I am up to 8 miles now and hope to keep pushing myself everyday! I'm definitely trying to get tone and in shape before Drew comes home (I figured that would be a nice surprise for him) lol

Hope you all had a blessed week and I hope to recieve our homesutdy this week so keep praying for us :)

Love you,

Jess
xo

Homestudy Update

Hey everyone,

I have been very bad about posting lately but I am glad to say that our homestudy is complete! I still have to mail it to Immigration, New York (dossier) and to our home agency so I am praying that there are no mis-haps or revisions....
I had a wonderful time in Arizona with my parents and the rest of the family. God really blessed me with a relaxing vacation. I am in the process of praying about what is next for my career. Possibly opening my own store or whether to continue my business doing alterations at Alfred Angelo. I know some of this will depend of my availability after having a little one :)
Drew is doing great in Afghanistan...really loving his job with special ops but definitely excited to come home! (As am I) We will probably find out in the next couple of months when and where we may be moving to, so we will see where God leads us next!
I will try to do a better job with updates and will definitely let everyone know when we make the OFFICIAL wait list!!

Jess
xo