Going to Ethiopia!

It is with great anticipation that I type this post! This time we have news and it is great news! On Monday June 11th at 7:55 AM we got the wonderful news that we have a court date in Ethiopia! Our court date is June 26th, and we need to be in country on June 23rd. That does not give us much time to plan or secure tickets but we know that God has it all covered! You might be reading this and think that we get to pick up our son this trip...I wish!!! Ethiopia requires two trips. (Read more about that in my previous post)

I can't even begin to put into words the feelings that I had after I hung up the phone with our agency. I screamed, cried, jumped up and down and really had trouble breathing for awhile. As most of you know we hosted this little boy we are adopting so I know what it feels likes to hug him, to play with him to see his silly quirks. My prayer has been since I put him on a plane on August 9th, 2011 was that I wanted to see him before one year mark had past. Well God is honoring that request. When we are there next week I will get to hold my son and it will be just shy of one year since I have seen him! We get new pictures every month and he is getting taller, has all of his front teeth now, and he just looks so darn happy! I would like to think that the beautiful smile he carries has something to do with him knowing we are coming for him and he will finally have a forever family!
     We are still hard at working and fundraising trying to fund these two trips to Ethiopia as each one will run us around 7,000. We don't have enough in our adoption account but I am positive God will provide for our need, he has every step of the way and many times He did it through the generous hearts of people who gave to our cause to get our son home. 
     If you know the whole story with us you know we started this journey pursuing the adoption of two children...there is not a day goes by that we don't think of the other child we tried to adopt. With the great news of going to see our son comes the finality that we are not going to see her again and not be able to bring them both home. (We praise God thought she did find a forever family though) There are still times I don't understand but I know God's plan is much bigger than mine and what we can see. I wonder if God has laid it on Daniel and I's heart to be willing to continue to grow our family...He might of just wanted us to be willing to do more, love more, love bigger! I often think that he will someday fulfill the whisper to my heart that I will have at least 4 kiddos someday :) I guess I just hold on tight and see how he unfolds that....another great story I am sure that comes with the amazing adventure of following Jesus! (As long as there is 5 million orphans in Africa I will be feeling the pull!!!)
     We are still in awe of the love and support of those we know and many we don't. Lots of people are still asking how they can help us in this stretch of our journey. Here is how you can join us:

• Financially contribute towards our adoption, we have $7,000 left to raise to bring him home. (All you donate can be tax deductible if you choose) It's seems like a large amount but even $10 dollars brings us closer to being able to bring our son home! There is a donate tab here on our blog for easy online giving or you can mail in a donation. Thanks for considering it!
• Pray! There is nothing closer to the heart of God than adoption...after all each of us is adopted into his family as his children. Pray for our fundraising, travels and our son's safety and heart in between our trips.

We thank you for taking the time to read this update and ask that you share this post with others. The more our story gets shared the more the cause for adoption is out there and we never know who wants to join our journey!

We love and appreciate you all more than words can ever say. God is good and I get to see my son next week! Yahoo!

Still waiting...

Hi friends and family! Here is our big update: We are still waiting! We are supposed to be hearing this week as to when we go to court in Ethiopia. We are (im)patiently waiting for that phone call!!! But we know that God has got it and we completely trust in his timing as we wait to bring our boy home. The good news is that yesterday we got updated pictures of him and a short update on how he is doing. He has gotten so much bigger, just in the last month!!! So tall and he has all his front teeth now! 


Lots of you have asked what the end stretch looks like and I am so glad to explain.  There are two required trips. The first trip is for a court appointment. The purpose of this trip is for the adoptive parents to meet their child(Which we already did since we hosted him) in person and to be present at an Ethiopian court hearing to give their consent for the adoption. This trip is approximately 5-7 days.

The second trip is for a visa appointment. The purpose of this trip is for the adoptive parents to pick up their child and to be present at an appointment with the US Embassy to secure a US visa for their child. This trip is approximately 3-5 days. 

Right now we are waiting to hear about our first court appointment. I struggle thinking about going but again having to say Good-Bye until the final trip. I don't like goodbyes and it is hard to explain to him why they can't just come home with us the first time!!! 

We are still fundraising to be able to do both of these trips, take care of all inter-country fees and all the last minute expenses that come up within these two trips. 

We sure appreciate your prayers and support of our growing family in this journey. We will keep you updated! God Bless!