New Waitlist Number!

Here's our new number!!!  We enlisted the help of Trapper & Chloe which was no small feat!!!  There's a reason they say never work with animals or children!  Hilarious!  Chloe, our lab who never misses a chance to go bolting out the front door was sooooo embarassed by the giant medallion thing around her neck, she WOULD NOT come outside despite us calling her name and yelling, "Cookies!"  (her only motivation for doing anything!)  Mike finally went in and got her.  15 minutes, 11 pictures and 17 cookies later we had one picture we thought would work!  I'm sure it was quite entertaining for our neighbors!  I think our cat Sadie who watched from the comfort of the kitchen window had her feelings hurt she was left out of the script.  I told her our next number was hers.  Mike can't wait. :)
   With Thanksgiving being just a couple of weeks away, I'm thinking of all that I have to be thankful for.  There's a lot!  I'm thankful for "being # 21" and for what that means for our family.  I'm thankful for all the excitement and anticipation as we wait to find out who our daughter is and the chance to finally hold her in our arms and bring her home with us!  I'm especially thankful that this past year God closed a door and opened a window that brought us to where we are today!  Happy Thanksgiving to all from the Rabells

P.S. I will try to not let so much "dust" accumulate on my blog between posts! (cough, sneeze, choke :)

New Waitlist Number!!!

Today we got the much anticipated e-mail we had been hoping for!  Our new waitlist number!  I am full of joy as I write this and slightly frustrated that I cannot post it the way I'd like to.  I wanted to post a picture of the number but I can't seem to find a good resource for clipart that isn't some goofy cartoon.  I wanted a photo of the number like something you'd see on an old house or country road sign.  If anyone has any ideas please let me know.  Well, without further adieu........We are #33!  Yes, 33!  What a surprise!  We were expecting to be 36.  God is so good!  We moved up 7 spots in less than a month!  Okay, now I really need to get busy, I have a thousand things to do in the next few months but first, I'm going to find an old barn door with the number 33 on it! :)  Have a great week! Lori

Thank You Nikki!

Thank you so much Nikki for our new look, I love it!  You're just amazing and sooo fast!  If anyone is starting a blog and you need help with the design, Nikki is your girl!  To visit her website go to
http://www.madebynikki.blogspot.com/   You won't be dissapointed!

Changes Coming Soon!

Big changes taking place here soon!  For once I'm not referring to our little Ethiopian princess that will soon inhabit our home and our hearts.  I'm referring to our blog!  See how "plain & boring" it is now?  That is about to change!  As creative as I like to be, my talents do not include doing anything artistic on the compuer.  That is why I've enlisted the help of the experts!  Or "expert" I should say.  Her name is "Nikki" and she does an amazing job of bringing blogs to life!  She is a university student living in Canada.  She has a HUGE heart for the orphans and her humanitarian work has taken her to Ethiopia, Haiti and the Dominican Republic.  Come May when she is finished with school she will head back to the DR and continue working with various orphanages.  She hopes to be there a year doing various tasks such as teaching english, working with families, tutoring, constructing homes and working with feeding programs.   She is able to do this with the money she raises designing blogs.  However, she needs our help!  If you are just starting a blog and need help the way I did, please consider contacting Nikki.  (Your blog doesn't have to have anything to do with orphans or adopting.)  To read more about her work and to see samples of her designs visit her blog called, "Blogs For A Cause"  Heres's the link http://www.madebynikki.blogspot.com/ 
Be sure to come back soon and see my "New Look."  Have a great week!  Lori

Thanks Mom!

I'm so excited!  This is my first post on my first blog!  I've gone from reading other peoples blogs for hours on end to having one of my own!  I'm feeling the pressure...all you pros out there do such a wonderful job of telling your stories, the good, the bad & the ugly.  Just everday life but you do it without being boring!  I have learned so much especially from the families who have gone before us in adopting children from Ethiopia.  Thank-you for the gift of sharing your experience!
   Love and thanks to my mom who gave me the title for our blog.  She knows the years it has taken us to get where we are and I can't help but think how perfect it is for us.  When I see it I'm reminded that we will have our daughter in God's perfect timing.  Thanks mom for coming thru for me again, you're the best!  I love you!
   By the way, I have learned the importance of posting pictures along with the posts but I'm new here and "Baby steps" people, I'll try to figure it out in the next few days!  Hope you have a great week!