We still wait.
Thank you for all your love, questions, prayers, texts, and messages about praying for us as we continue to wait for our referral. We are 4 months in to what is, on average, a 3-6 month wait to be "matched" with our daughter. So, we continue to wait. In the waiting, as I have written many other times, God remains faithful to encourage us on the days that are the hardest. Mark mentioned to me a few days ago that the perfect birthday gift would be getting our referral (his birthday is Saturday). Perhaps our talking about it made yesterday "one of those days." It was a day where every thought started and ended with her... our loved, missed, longed for daughter. Throughout the day I received several texts and messages from friends letting me know they were praying for us as we waited. Also throughout the day I was growing in frustration because Corbin repeatedly said, "I want to get bacon." like. seven .hundred. times. I finally had to explain for the millionth time that I wasn't making him bacon and I had no intentions of getting him bacon right then. It didn't stop his persistence. He kept on and on. And on. Finally after several hours of asking me for bacon he finally said, "I show you." So, I followed him to the empty chair around our dining room table, the one that no one sits in (yet) at our meals. He said, "I want BA-CON." Then it hit me. I got down on my knees in front of him and said, "Oh, baby, you want to get Lakin?" A huge smile and giggle came over his face and a sigh of relief came over my spirit. My sweet 3 year old hadn't been asking for bacon for 3 hours, he had been asking for his sweet sister. Just when I think he has no idea what is about to happen, God reminds me He is working behind the scenes preparing each of us in the wait.
Lakin.
We, of course, can't wait to know our daughter's name and see her face. When we have named all of our other children we have loved choosing a name with a significant meaning. And, as it turns out, we have something for names that end in "n." So, we have agreed all along that we will use our daughter's given Ethiopian name if at all possible. If, however, we feel like it would be too difficult, we will move her given name to her middle name. But, then what? Where do you start to name a child who already has a history, a story, wounds, and depth? We wanted to find a name of African decent and one that would also have symbolic meaning. As we began to research Amharic names we quickly realized that a feminine name ending in "n" is rare. We were starting to think we were searching for the impossible. Then, I came upon "Lakin." I had to reread the computer screen three times to make sure my eyes weren't deceiving me. Lakin is a feminine name with Amharic roots. The best part? It means "a found treasure." sigh. It is perfect for her. Our found treasure.
As we press on in this waiting journey we are so grateful to have each of you along for the ride with us. We will keep you updated on any new developments. In the meantime, we would be humbled by continued prayers for us and our Found Treasure.
