Our passports arrived in the mail today. I sure am ready to use them. This baby girl is all I can think about tonight.

I haven't forgotten our New Year's letter, it just might be more like a Happy Valentine's Day letter. We've had quite a week with Eric's accident and I'm a little behind.

Sweet Baby Girl,
Your mommy already loves you and can't wait to hold you. Your big brothers pray for you every night. Tonight the two year old prayed, "Dear Jesus, please be with baby Nana way way way out there." They ask about you all the time. We pray Jesus holds you tight tonight, that your dreams are sweet and peaceful. We pray that you will remain safe and healthy until you are in our arms. We pray for your caretakers, that they give you all the love and attention they possibly can. Some day soon, sweet girl, you will be home. What a party we will have then!
Love,
Mommy

We have decided it would be best to not post pictures of our new daughter on line at this time. Instead I will be working on a New Year's letter that I'll be sending out which will include a picture of Nana. I'll be using snail mail for this, so if I don't have your home address and you would like a more complete update and picture, leave it in the comments section here or email me at kerristetler@gmail.com

At this point in time, things seem to be moving forward as they should be. We're praying this continues.

Please continue to pray for our daughter and for her caretakers. This past week our family joined the rest of the Stetler gang at Fort Rapids, an indoor water park. Riley and I were standing at the very top looking down at all the water. I asked my son to stop and pray with me, that his sister would have clean drinking water this week. We take so much for granted here. We were literally playing in our extreme abundance, while so many simply need a new well. Join with our family, as we all anticipate the arrival of our daughter from Africa, and educate yourself on life in Africa.

I've always believed in Christmas magic. Seriously, I was that kid in 6th grade who knew in my head that there was no Santa, but my heart still thought that just maybe he was real. Last night we got a bit of our own Christmas magic. We have now received an official referral for our baby girl, Nana. I'll be posting pictures soon, but I want to make sure it's okay to do that first.

Friends, your prayers and support have meant the world to us through this process and now we need them even more. Now it's time to pray her home!

By the way...we went back and bought the doll.

I've been trying to track down paperwork for our baby girl all week now. What a good Christmas gift it would have been to have received her paperwork before Christmas. I just made one last ditch effort phone call, only to get a voicemail stating that the office will be closed until after New Years. I felt God clearly tell me it was time to set it aside and enjoy Christmas with the three children I have with me now, and that He will be very near to our fourth child this Christmas.

I almost bought a baby doll today, but I stopped myself. Next year.

The stockings have been hung by the chimney with care. I remember very clearly hanging these last Christmas. I was so hopeful that in a year's time we would need to add a stocking or two. But, there are three again this year. Three beautiful boys live in this house, full of energy and life. Maybe next year we'll be able to add one or two.

A glimmer of hope today. Praying for more information to post here soon.

It's the first week of Advent. The candle of hope has been lit at our dinner table each night this week. It's almost as though she is home with us, represented by the hope of this flame.
Last November my mom bought a ring for me. I wear it every day. It's a simple silver band with the word HOPE inscribed on it.
We continue to hope and pray. There is nothing else we can do right now.
May His Hope fill you and your family during this season of Advent.

I have been waiting about a month now to post our latest news. Every time I started to post an update here, I decided to wait because I thought we would have more information soon. But, the information we have been waiting for still has not come, and as our anxiety level builds I decided now would be a good time to post this information because we need some prayer support.

We are in the process of accepting the referral of a baby girl in Liberia. She is now about 9 months old. This is not at all what we expected when we began this process, yet at the same time it is very clear that God has guided us to this place. We are waiting now for more paperwork from Liberia regarding her medical exam and social history. We cannot finalize this referral until we receive this paperwork and we cannot move forward with this adoption until the referral is finalized. So, we wait. I feel completely powerless, because I am. I can do nothing right now to help this child that we have made room for in our hearts.

So, friends, we ask for your prayers. Please pray for our family as we wait, and more importantly, please pray for the baby girl we hope to bring home soon.