The Kepleys' Journey to Ethiopia

Update 2 from Ethiopia

2008-09-01T03:52:00.000-05:00

Update 2 from Ethiopia

We are still doing well. Mary, Ciara, and I have had some minor stomach issues. None of us think that it is related to the food. Sean’s been completely fine the whole time. Isaac continues to bond with us. He has a special closeness with Ciara and visa versa. They laugh and talk a great deal. We had a few tough moments with Ciara getting tired, but she has been an amazing trooper and we are so thankful that she is here to experience God building our family again.

Here is a breakdown of our days. Some of it may be repetitive, but I want to get it all down. We have to come to the Hilton for internet service and you pay by the minute, so I’m not reading over our blog to see what I have already covered.

Monday—arrived, got settled, received Isaac, and chilled out for the night. Sean, Mary, and Ciara picked us up some pizza from Hill Bottom restaurant (near where we are staying). We went to bed around 7:30pm and woke up the next morning around 7. Isaac slept through the night. When they say rainy season, they mean it. It poured like a hurricane and hailed. We are staying at the Wadel guesthouse, and Mr. Wadel came in to tell me it was “snowing.” Isaac seemed terrified the first day.

Tuesday—got up, got showers (low water pressure, but hot water), and went to Beer Garden Inn for lunch with Gladney’s in country representatives. Picked up a few groceries. Restaurants are very cheap, but the groceries are more than at home since almost everything is imported. Tip: if you are adopting an infant, bring your own baby food if you want to feed your child baby food over table food. We’re giving Isaac a mix of each. A small jar of baby food runs around $1.90 (USD). Children really don’t eat baby food here. Isaac has eaten injera, shiro wat, noodles (spaghetti, Chinese, etc.) and anything he can get. The boy is serious about food. We learned that early. The rest of the day we just spend bonding and relaxing.

Wednesday—We were able to visit the Gladney foster homes for infants. We waited for our driver who was late, until someone informed us that the foster homes were right behind where we were staying. So, we enjoyed a nice stroll with several cows and goats to the homes. Isaac’s caregivers were so excited to see him. One gave him a traditional Ethiopian outfit. They were all eager to get their picture taken with him. We plan to send them letters and photos in the future. We also hope to be able to back and talk with them again to learn more about his first 10 months. We then went to lunch with Belay at the East Dragon Chinese restaurant and then to our Embassy appointment.

Thursday—Ciara needed some mommy time on Thursday morning, so she and I stayed at the Wadel house while Sean, Mary, and Isaac went to tour a historic church where former emperor Halle Salasse (butchering the spelling) is buried, with the rest of the Gladney group. Thursday evening we attended the Ethiopian cultural dinner. I can’t remember the name of the restaurant now, but it was amazing. The atmosphere was incredible. The ceiling was beautifully painted, there was a tree growing through the ceiling and the architecture was just neat. We had shiro wat (chickpeas stew), doro wat (chicken stew), greens, kitfo (spicy cooked ground beef—normally served raw, but they cooked it for us), and lamb tibs (chunks of meat). The food was better than back home but not as spicy, which surprised us. The restaurant featured traditional Ethiopian dances. Several in our group joined in the fun. It was hilarious.

Friday—I was out of commission for the morning. Sean, Ciara, Mary, and Isaac went to visit three state run orphanages: the orphanage for younger children, Kechane (older girls’ orphanage) and Kolfe (the older boys’ orphanage). Sean said that Kolfe was his favorite. He got especially close to two boys who took him on a tour. He was amazed that none of the kids asked for anything. They were very interested in asking Sean questions about America, his education, job, grades, etc. They very much want to excel and are quite impressive. They did embarrass Sean by challenging him to a game of ping pong. They told him that he wasn’t too good. They were very polite. Ciara has a great time playing with the children. Dinner was from Hill Bottom again. It is very convenient as we can walk there and the food is not bad.

Saturday—We slept in and then went shopping at the souvenir shops. We bought a few baskets, a musical instrument for Ciara, a salt/pepper/sugar/toothpick holder made out of olive wood, some hand painted plates, an Ethiopian dress for Ciara, and a few other things for only $85. I can get used to this kind of shopping. We then dropped off our things and rode with another family (staying at the Ayat house two doors down from us) to dinner at Dreamland Resort. The restaurant overlooks a volcanic crater filled with water. The sunset was amazing. When we got ready to leave, Belay presented us with a quilt from the girls at the Kechane orphanage. It has Hussen’s (Isaac’s) name in English and Amharic embroidered on it. We will always cherish it. We got in a huge traffic jam on the way back when a truck began leaking fluid. It was total chaos, but I was never scared—just in awe. If we had been driving, we would have wound up in the ditch or worse. The drivers assigned to the adoptive families are really amazing. They all love children and are so helpful. Each one of them would do well in NASCAR. Driving is truly structured chaos over here, but everyone is used to it. So far, we have only seen one wreck, which is good since none of the vehicles have seatbelts. Some roads are paved and some are rock/puddles. Belay informed us that everything had been updated with the National Visa Center and that our new appointment with the US Embassy here is for 9am on Tuesday. We should (note I said should) receive Isaac’s passport and other documents on Thursday (the day we are scheduled to fly out). If they are not ready, we have already made the decision that Mary, Ciara, and I will go ahead and fly home and Sean and Isaac will stay until everything is ready. We really don’t think this will be a problem, but please be praying about this situation. With the issues we have encountered with our adoption, we don’t really have any expectations of problem free steps. We do know that God is in control and we’re pretty relaxed about things.

Sunday—We had a nice surprise call from my mom. A great start to our morning. The power was out, so we had to go with the flow and we didn’t look our best for church, but it didn’t matter. We attended the English service at the International Evangelical Church. The church has had as many as 39 nations represented. It was amazing to see so much diversity in a church of about 200-300 people. We felt very welcome. The service had many songs that we were familiar with and a beautiful Amharic song. After church, went to lunch with another Gladney family at the Paradise Garden. The food wasn’t as good as some of the other places that we have eaten at. The atmosphere was nice, but we thought it was a bit pricey compared to the other places (around $8/person, which is expensive here). We then stopped at a market to pick up some berbere and other things and then returned home. Sean and Ciara went back to Hill Bottom to pick up supper (pizza and lentil sambusas) and Ciara played with about 20 of the local children on the playground. The rest of the night we just chilled out.

Monday plans: Update blog at Hilton, exchange money, lunch at the East Dragon (I’m telling you this place it awesome), shopping at the souvenir shops and then to the Leprosy hospital and a few other stores.

About Wadel House: Mr. Wadel is rather like a grandfather to all of us. His family has been very welcoming. Wadel House is a great place to stay. They will do your laundry and love to take the kids into the courtyard to watch the birds. We have felt completely safe and are so thankful that we chose a guesthouse rather than a hotel. Being here for almost 2 weeks and having two kids, it has been great to have the gated courtyard to play in and plenty of room in the house. By the way, if you are wondering how the laundry is, it is much better than when I do it. They worked all day on it though—hand washing it, hanging it to dry, and then they ironed it (even our underwear—so bring good ones J). The only downside is that while they have a kitchen, it is lacking a stove. We have managed just fine. We would definitely stay at the Wadel house again, but we would pack a little hot plate. They will make the beds (even when we already had), change the linens (we told them the sheets were fine), wash the dishes or whatever you need. We have tried to keep their efforts as minimal as possible, but they just go out of their way to make us feel at home and to make our stay as comfortable and restful as possible.

We do have tons of pictures, but there are no card readers on the computers here at the Hilton and since I am not able to use my laptop, I’m stuck. I will post pictures as soon as possible when we get back. We know that many of you are praying for us and we truly appreciate it. We can’t wait to see everyone.

We're safe and have the most precious little boy!

2008-08-28T06:52:00.006-05:00

Quick flight update: our flight from Charlotte to JFK got off a little earlier than expected. Something happened to the plane at the gate, so we had to walk to another plane parked on the tarmac. Our take off was delayed a little by two intoxicated passengers who were arguing and were not allowed to board the plane. It was an interesting start to our journey to say the least. We arrived at JFK around 8:30pm (again arriving on the tarmac instead of a gate with no directions on where to go). When we finally found the Air Train and made it to the international terminal, we found out that we only had until 45 minutes to be ready to board the plane. We also found out that our travel agent had not taken care of the hotel in Dubai for our 12 hour layover. It was a nightmare, but the Emirates agent quickly requested us one, but stated that he could not guarantee us that a room would be available. We made it to the gate and had to spend $48 on 4 sandwiches, some chips, and 3 small drinks, but we were able to eat before boarding the plane (another one which was on the tarmac). The flight from JFK to Dubai was long, but Emirates is really nice. We all had our own TVs with headsets, goodie bags, and Ciara got a coloring book and colored pencils. She loved being able to watch movies (Kung Fu Panda twice). We were able to sleep a little on the plane, but not too much. We arrived in Dubai a little later than expected and went on about a 2 hour trek to figure out our hotel. We finally got things situated and got about 4 hours of sleep. The airport in Dubai is massive and confusing, but the people were wonderful and very helpful. I'll explain later why Sean and Mary had to turn over the passports to the police later (it has to do with trying to claim luggage after leaving the airport, since we were told that we didn't need to claim it).

Ciara did great on all three plane rides. She was very excited. On the first one, she actually feel asleep and slept right through the landing. She watched movies for a while on the one from JFK to Dubai and then slept well. None of us have had problems with jetlag. It has to be God, because I don't know how else you can totally avoid it. We were tired, but we adjusted the first night in Ethiopia (going to bed around 7:30pm Ethiopian time and waking up around 7am the next morning). I've had some stomach issues, but I truly don't think it is related to the food--more emotions and trying to take everything in. Mary has had a few headaches, but they are greatly improving, with non today to my knowledge. Sean was a little tired but has done great and hasn't had any real issues. Ciara doesn't seem phased, although last night she did want to sleep with me and needed some alone time with Mommy this morning.

My stomach issues started on the flight from Dubai to Ethiopia. Having stayed up most of the flight from JFK to Dubai and then only getting around 4 hours of sleep in Dubai, we were all pretty tired. Ryan Brown and our driver, Tsega, picked up at the airport (you have to tip twice when they help you with your baggage). They took us straight to the Wadel house, the guesthouse we are staying at and said that they would be back in about 1 hour with Isaac. We got our luggage in the right bedrooms, used the bathroom and then it was time to finally see him in person. He is so much cuter in person. Travis brought him in and handed him to me. I still don't think I have taken that moment in fully. Isaac's breathing was very off and you could tell he was terrified. It was really hard to stomach knowing how much his world was being turned upside down. We all took turns holding him. Sean, Ciara, and Mary walked to a nearby restaurant for dinner and I stayed at the house with Isaac. I went out and talked with Wadel and his family after a little while. Wadel's wife wanted to hold Isaac and I thought it would be really good for him. She talked to him and he seemed to relax a good bit. After a little while, it began to rain and Isaac and I went back inside. He seemed to start opening up more at this point and smiled one time. As the night went on, Isaac became more and more relaxed.

Isaac is sleeping in a pack n' play in our room. The first night he was with us, he woke up and just babbled and said, "Da Da." Of course Sean is proud even though he knows that Isaac isn't really associating him with the words.

The uncertainties Isaac felt towards us on Monday were decreasing significantly by Tuesday morning. He woke up a happy, talkative boy. On Tuesday, we had lunch at the Beer Garden Inn with all of the other Gladney families currently in country, as well as with the in country representatives (good bathrooms by the way). The rest of the day, we spent at the house bonding with our precious baby boy. Ciara has done great with him. She is so patient, helpful and thoughtful. She did get her feelings hurt a few times when Isaac cried when she was trying to help him, but overtime, she has been able to realize that he was scared and trying to get used to us.

On Wednesday, we went to visit the Gladney Foster homes for babies and toddlers. We were able to meet Isaac's caregivers. One gave him a Ethiopian outfit, which we will always cherish. They love the babies so much. Even though it never helped for me to hear that during our wait, I can tell that Isaac has benefited developmentally and emotionally from the love and care that he received. We were able to hold the other babies and also take pictures for other families waiting to travel. We were able to see the traditional coffee cerimony. We then went to lunch with Belay at the East Dragon Chinese restauarant (a must if you like Chinese food). It was the best Chinese food that Sean and I have ever eaten and we all want to go back. We then tried to purchase a 3 prong to 2 prong adapter (my laptop is dead, which is why I haven't been able to post---we are at the Hilton now) and a SIMS card. We then went for our interview at the Embassy and found out that the cable that the US Embassy had received form the National Visa Center had a different expiration date that what is on our current I 171 H. What would you expect after all that has happened? So, we are in the process of getting USCIS to reissue another cable to the NVC who will then submit it to the US Embassy here. Why does this matter??? We can't leave Ethiopia with Isaac until we are able to get through the embassy interviews/paperwork, because they are the ones that will issue his passport. I don't anticipate this being a drawn out problem, but it could come down to us getting the passport on the day we leave. So, we are just waiting to hear when this paperwork has been recieved and then we will get another Embassy appointment. My minutes are running out, so I will have to end this post now. I will update more later. Blessings to all of you and thank you so much for your prayers. There are so many more things we want to share.

Delayed

2008-08-23T15:41:00.002-05:00

We've made it past all of the security check points. Everything has gone smoothly until they announced our flight has been delayed. We are now scheduled to leave at 6:20pm. We are so excited. Ciara is already asking how much longer till we leave. She's enjoying exploring the airport and seeing the planes. We're just hanging out. Hopefully we will make out 11pm flight on Emirates. Till our next update...Blessings!

We're leaving on a jet plane in less than 72 hours

2008-08-20T14:47:00.001-05:00

Wow. Life has turned into a whirlwind. I can't keep my days straight, but we are so excited that in a matter of days, we will have Isaac in our arms. I do hope to be able to post while in Ethiopia. Please keep us in your prayers, especially for safe travel, good health, and that God will be preparing Isaac's heart for the changes that he will soon face. We're hoping to finish packing tonight. I still can't believe that we are so close to getting our little boy. God is so good and faithful! We did receive an update on Isaac today. He's growing!

From our caseworker, Natalie:

"I received a brief update on Isaac Hussen today with his current measurements:

Height- 26 ½ inches Weight- 19.40 pounds Foot Length- 4 ¼ inches

Waist (around belly button)- 19 inches"

Here's our flight schedules:

23 AUG 08 - SATURDAY
DELTA 5614 COACH CLASS EQUIP-CANADAIR JET
LV: CHARLOTTE 445P NONSTOP MILES- 541 CONFIRMED
AR: NYC/KENNEDY 644P ELAPSED TIME- 1:59
ARRIVAL TERMINAL-3
AIRLINE RECORD LOCATOR DL -QPEDWD

EMIRATES AIR 202 COACH CLASS EQUIP-77W
DEPART TERMINAL- 4
LV: NYC/KENNEDY 1100P NONSTOP MILES- 6848 CONFIRMED
AR: DUBAI 745P ELAPSED TIME-12:45 ARVL DATE-24 AUG
ARRIVAL TERMINAL-1
AIRLINE RECORD LOCATOR EK -FJDJ7J

25 AUG 08 - MONDAY
EMIRATES AIR 723 COACH CLASS EQUIP-AIRBUS A340-300 JET
DEPART TERMINAL- 1
LV: DUBAI 825A NONSTOP MILES- 1562 CONFIRMED
AR: ADDIS ABABA 1130A ELAPSED TIME- 4:05
AIRLINE RECORD LOCATOR EK -FJDJ7J

Return Flight

04 SEP 08 - THURSDAY
EMIRATES AIR 724 COACH CLASS EQUIP-AIRBUS A340-300 JET
LV: ADDIS ABABA 735P NONSTOP MILES- 1562 CONFIRMED
AR: DUBAI 1245A ELAPSED TIME- 4:10 ARVL DATE-05 SEP
ARRIVAL TERMINAL-1
AIRLINE RECORD LOCATOR EK -FJDJ7J

05 SEP 08 - FRIDAY
EMIRATES AIR 203 COACH CLASS EQUIP-77W
DEPART TERMINAL- 1
LV: DUBAI 200A NONSTOP MILES- 6848 CONFIRMED
AR: NYC/KENNEDY 745A ELAPSED TIME-13:45
ARRIVAL TERMINAL-4
AIRLINE RECORD LOCATOR EK -FJDJ7J

DELTA 5613 COACH CLASS EQUIP-CANADAIR JET
DEPART TERMINAL- 3
LV: NYC/KENNEDY 155P NONSTOP MILES- 541 CONFIRMED
AR: CHARLOTTE 357P ELAPSED TIME- 2:02
AIRLINE RECORD LOCATOR DL -QPEDWD

Introducing Isaac Hussen Kepley

2008-08-06T22:32:00.002-05:00

Make video montages at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Introducing Isaac Hussen Kepley

2008-08-06T21:51:00.004-05:00

We officially have a son now. On January 23, 2008, we saw his precious face. Today, he is officially our son. The photo to the far left is the most recent photo that we have of Isaac. The other photo is our referral photo. More to come soon.

On the verge of an emotional breakdown

2008-07-27T20:52:00.002-05:00

First of all, this post has nothing to do with our adoption. However, I do feel as though I am on the verge of an emotional breakdown. My mother-in-law called tonight to say that my sister-in-law had gotten a new job, but that we could not go to the beach the week that we had planned next year since someone else already had that week off. So, we were in the process of figuring out what weeks would work. I jokingly mentioned that we could just move it to later in August or sometime in September. I'm all for cheaper rates and cooler weather. Well my normally loving and sensitive husband had the nerve to shatter my fantasy world (which I didn't know I was living in). He had the nerve to matter of factly tell me that the boys (our nephews) would be in school, and "Besides, she (meaning Ciara) might be in school." Still oblivious to reality, I was thinking, "you mean she can't miss a week of preschool. I know it is great, but it is preschool." He further pushed me to the edge, when seeing that I wasn't getting it, he added, "You do realize that she may well be in kindergarten next year, right?" With what I'm sure was a rather dumb look for several minutes, I liked to have died when I put it all together. You see, my baby girl will be turning 4 this Thursday, July 31st. Logically, most parents would have realized that she would be old enough to start kindergarten next year. However, I guess I have been rather emphatically denying all reason or logic and instead have clung to the belief that Ciara will not be entering kindergarten next year or maybe even after that. After my heart and respiration rates slowed down and the tears had dried, I maybe not so politely (but in a joking way) told my husband that I didn't think she would be entering school next year and that we might home school after all. All he had to say was "Well, you're not teaching her math and I would have to give her some pop quizzes." He still can't believe that I'm just realizing the inevitable--my baby girl is growing up.

Please Join Us in Prayer

2008-06-03T08:20:00.002-05:00

We were informed on Friday that it will likely be a week or so before an opinion is issued on our case. Tonight Gladney adoptive families, friends and families are gathering together to pray for Ethiopia, the orphans in Ethiopia and all of our cases. I would like to invite you to join us as well.
The details:
When: Tuesday, June 3rd 7:30-8:00 pm EST
Where: A quiet place, in your home, with friends, alone, anywhere!
How: Pray for Gladney, families, children, MOWA, and all of the orphanages.

You can invite your friends and family to join you in this prayer!
There is strength in numbers!
"For where two or three come together in my name, there am I with them.", Matthew 18:20 NIV

Not Today

2008-05-29T16:02:00.003-05:00

Our caseworker called a little while ago and said that Belay had gone to court but that MOWA has not entered their opinion yet. MOWA has not requested any additional paperwork, however, so we are taking that as a good sign. I think they are simply swamped due to the scheduled power outages and more people adopting from Ethiopia. It was ironic, because I had an Ethiopian Cultural Awareness training today with AWAA. At the end, Duni, the Director of the Ethiopian program at AWAA, stated the same things. Last year, the number of adoptions from Ethiopia doubled. We don't really have a new court date. Our file is considered open with the courts. Other matters regarding our case have been heard in court, so it is just a matter of the judge receiving MOWA's opinion. While we're ready to travel to Ethiopia now (okay, not literally--I don't even have a packing list yet), we're trusting God's perfect timing. I'm so thankful that He sees the big picture and we don't have to worry. Please continue to pray for us, Isaac, and our case. We will update you the minute that we receive the good news.

Delays

2008-05-26T10:21:00.002-05:00

Well, we just got a call from Natalie. I was hoping that she would call today, even though it is a holiday, so that we could know if we passed court or not. Prior to the court date (the day before court), the Ministry of Women's Affairs (MOWA) has to write their opinion on our case. Due to the extreme drought (Ethiopia uses primarily hydroelectricity), there have been scheduled power outages in Ethiopia. MOWA did not have electricity on Friday or today, so they were not able to write their opinion on our case. Natalie said that MOWA would work on writing their opinion of our case tomorrow. Wednesday is a holiday in Ethiopia, so our court date is rescheduled for this Thursday, May 29. Please keep us in your prayers. Ethiopia is eight hours ahead of us, so hopefully we'll know something before lunch on Thursday. We'll keep you updated. Blessings!

3 Months, 2 Weeks and 3 Days and We Have a Court Date!!!!

2008-05-12T13:23:00.004-05:00

Oh, what sweet words we heard this morning. We heard on Friday that our file had been submitted for a court date. Just a little while ago, we received a message from Natalie saying that we have a court date for May 26th. Please keep us, Isaac, and other involved in the court hearing in your prayers. We are so ready to hold our little man. Yesterday was so tough.

Conference Call

2008-04-18T12:04:00.003-05:00

We were able to have a conference call with our caseworker and some other representatives from Gladney today. They were able to provide us with details about our case. Our file has reportedly been completed this week and will be submitted to request a court date next week. They anticipate receiving a court date (not the actual proceeding) for us the following week. Please continue to pray for our case, for Isaac, and for his birth mother. Thank you to those who have left us encouraging comments or who have emailed us. Your words, prayers, and support have been a tremendous blessing to us during our wait for a court date.

Update

2008-04-17T08:31:00.001-05:00

Gladney is still working on finishing Isaac's file before it can be submitted and a court date requested. We have a conference call on Friday with Natalie and hope to learn more. Please continue to keep us in your prayers! Blessings to each of you!

No Court Date Yet

2008-04-15T22:44:00.002-05:00

We continue to wait on a court date. Our desire to hold Isaac and have him home grows stronger each day. We continue to trust God's timing. In the meantime, we did receive an update on Isaac:

“Isaac is looking good! He is bright eyed and totally aware of his surroundings. Isaac is alert and ready to play and notices a potential playmate in his presence! He is fine on his own or with friends. Isaac’s belly-button is almost completely flat as of today and is beautifully healthy! He wakes up at night to eat a couple of times.”

Current Weight- 15 ½ pounds

No Word on Court/Update on Isaac

2008-04-02T16:52:00.003-05:00

Well, we still don't have any news about a court date, but we did receive an update on Isaac. We also received a memory card from the Rooneys who just got back from getting their son. They took a number of photos for us which we are so excited to receive. He is sporting a Mohawk as mentioned in the update. He's really growing and it so cute. We just can't wait to hold him. We also can't wait to share photos with everyone.

Here's the update: "Isaac is so easy to get along with! He may be everybody’s best friend!Isaac is sporting this natural Mohawk right now that makes him look a little edgy. Now Isaac’s mood changes a little at dinner time, to say the least, but whose doesn’t! His belly button seems to be flattening out a bit or maybe the rest of him is just filling in!”

The Wait Continues

2008-03-31T09:50:00.002-05:00

Sorry I haven't blogged in a while. It is rather hard to at times. Friday marked our 9th week of waiting for a court date. We were able to talk with Natalie on Thursday of last week. It is looking like it will be another week or two (minimum) before our file is ready to be submitted for a court date. We are thankful that Natalie talked with Belay and was able to share more details about our case with us. The wait is hard. On Thursday, I totally broke down and just sobbed while talking with my mom. We are all ready to have Isaac home, but we are also thankful that the courts in Ethiopia and Gladney's Ethiopian team work to make sure that adoptions are done correctly and legitimately. Please keep us in your prayers.

No Court Date Yet

2008-03-25T08:20:00.002-05:00

Well, I haven't fallen off the planet, but I have been traveling a good bit doing some home visits and have not had a chance to update our blog. Good Friday marked our 8th week of waiting for a court date. I had a phone call with Natalie, our case worker on Thursday afternoon and basically I didn't learn too much. It seems there isn't any rhyme or reason to court dates, so we are just stuck waiting some more. I never thought the wait would be this long. It is hard not to think about all the ways Isaac is growing without us, but we continue to trust God and know that His timing is perfect (notice I said trust, I definitely don't understand it, but I am trusting in Him). Natalie is hoping to hear good news for us this week. I'm not getting my hopes up until we get the call or email.

For those of you who have court dates tomorrow, I will be praying extra today and this evening. I'm hoping for successful court dates the first round for all of you. Blessings!

"Tagged"

2008-03-18T12:46:00.002-05:00

I was "tagged" by one of my friends also waiting to adopt from Ethiopia, and now must share 10 interesting things about myself.

Here are the rules: You have to tag 5 people and you can't tag the person that tagged you. You leave them a comment on their blog letting them know you are tagging them and why. Also, direct them to your blog for instructions. It is also asked that you notify the tagger when you post your list so that they can enjoy reading the responses.

Here are the 10 somewhat interesting facts about me:

I met my husband, Sean, on a blind date. His sister had us over to her house for a spaghetti dinner. Spaghetti dinners have never been the same since.
Ciara and I were both born on full moons.
My favorite recent movie is The Bucket List.
One of the things on my Bucket List: ride on a hot air balloon (more than just 50-100 feet up which I have already done).
When I was little (around 3 years old), after learning the Bible story about Jesus walking on the water, I tried to walk on water in a fish tank at a Chinese restaurant. It didn't work.
My favorite TV shows are LOST, House, and The Closer.
Best Childhood Memories--Most Cherished--learning John 3:16 with my dad (he died when I was 5), Most Touching--remembering the way my grandma Virgina's face lit up when she saw me, Most Exciting--a sled ride on a piece of laminate counter top with my cousin, Christie (we went really fast and ended up ducking under a fallen tree and landed in a mud muddle that wasn't totally frozen over).
Worst Childhood Memory--a bicycle accident the summer before my 3rd grade year. One pedal went into my ankle and one of the handlebars went through my upper lip. The saga continued when some family members tried taking me down a paved road in the mountains in a wheelchair. I did master bowling on crutches that summer, though.
I first started wanting to adopt when I was somewhere between 9-12 and saw the Save the Children commercials. I told my mom then that I wanted to adopt instead of having children biologically.
God provided me with an awesome husband who started thinking about adoption before we even met. We knew we would build our family through adoption before we were ever married (not that we wouldn't rejoice if we had a child biologically).

Now, the lucky ducks who get tagged... John and/or Dottie, Dana, Becca, Christy, and Shelley.

A New Update on Isaac

2008-03-18T11:01:00.003-05:00

Yesterday we received an update on Isaac, along with a new photo.

"Isaac is really an adorable little guy! He is even a cute sleeper, with his two middle fingers in his mouth sucking in his dreams! And then for the icing on the top, he wakes up laughing – no joke! Isaac is definitely a boy! His “grunts” and “umphs” are means of expression! Isaac is very active and energetic during the day and likes people! He does not cry much and is just an easy-going person! Weight- 13.89 pounds”

We still are waiting on a court date. We know of two families who received court dates yesterday for April 9th. One received their referral on January 21, 2008 and the other received their referral on February 27, 2008. We are hoping for news very soon about our court date.

Another Update on Isaac

2008-02-28T17:30:00.003-05:00

Today has been such a confirmation of God's love for us, His sovereignty and how He is moving in so many ways that we cannot see. This morning we received an update from Natalie. I mentioned in the post below that an adoptive family had taken a blankie, letter, and photo to Isaac for us. Well, I was busy working away, when I received an email from the adoptive mom. It was just what I needed for today. I've copied it below.

"First let me say your little man is the sweetest thing. We saw him on Wednesday the 20th. When we got to the foster care house he was being held by Travis downstairs, like he was ready and waiting for us to get there. I recognized him right away and pulled out his gift. I gave him his blanket toy that he grasped onto right away and the other hand had the picture. I read him his letter and his little face just lit up. Travis said that they would start calling him cutie pie for his big sister. I held him for about 20 minutes and he never stopped smiling. He has such a sweet spirit and you could tell he knew he was loved. I held onto him until they made me give him back! I hope you enjoy the pictures."

She sent us lots of pictures. It meant so much that she held him and loved on him awhile for us (and that she read him the letter).

An Update on Isaac

2008-02-28T14:29:00.002-05:00

We just received an email from Natalie, our case worker, with an update on Isaac along with a new photo. In the photo, he is holding his new little blankie that we sent him via an adoptive family who was traveling to pick up their son. It is so nice to get an update on him. We're still waiting on a court date. Here's what Natalie sent from Gladney's in country representatives:

“Isaac is definitely a people person. He loves to play and laughs out loud at funny faces or funny noises. On his own, Isaac is a mild mannered little man who is sweet and fairly quiet. His little doggy blanket says “lovable” and it suits him perfectly!”

We are so anxious to hold our little man and hoping that he will love us holding him.

A Big Sister's Longing

2008-02-26T10:11:00.002-05:00

I'm at a complete loss as to what to say to Ciara these days. We've done our best to explain to Ciara that God has a plan for our family and that He will bring everything about in His timing. But she is having such a hard time. All week she has been practicing how she holds her baby dolls and making sure that she is holding them the way she should hold baby brother. She has asked daily since we got our referral about when he will be coming home, but this morning, I saw a glimpse into her little heart that has totally broken mine. I was buckling her up to take her to preschool this morning. Big tears welled up in her eyes and she asked me, "Mommy, when is it going to be time for baby brother to come home?" I didn't realize until this morning just how full of love her heart already is for Isaac and how much she wants him to be home. She talks about things that she wants to teach him or do with him everyday and is very excited, but I had no idea how much she is longing for him. Please lift her up today in your prayers and ask that God would minister to her little heart and help comfort her. Please also pray that He would give us wisdom in how to explain things to her and support her while she waits for her "Cutie Pie" to be in her arms too.

One Month and Holding...and Trusting God

2008-02-25T18:26:00.003-05:00

Today is the official one month mark that we have been waiting for a court date. We do not have any news to report, as we have not received any. One of the families who recently traveled did email us some pictures of Isaac, which were a welcome sight. We are trusting that everything will come about in God's perfect timing, but as I've said before, it gets really hard and then it gets harder. For about a week and a half, I didn't even go into Isaac's nursery. I still haven't been in there except for a brief period on Friday night. I sat in the rocker and thought about when the day actually arrives that I can hold him and rock him. I was then on the verge of tears and so I'm avoiding the nursery again. Ciara asks daily when Baby Brother will be home. We keep telling her that God has a plan for our family and that He will bring Baby Brother home in His timing. Ciara has said that she is ready now. We are too, but there is more waiting to be done, more lessons to be learned, and more time to grow closer to our Heavenly Father.

We are preparing to cook our first Ethiopian meal on our own. We have grown to love Ethiopian food so much, but it is quite expensive, so we're hoping to become expert chefs. We found a new international market in Garner that has many of the spices, red lentils, etc. that we need at really good deals (no berbere, however), so we've decided to have a feast this weekend. It would be nice if we had something to celebrate (a court date), but we're just going to have fun cooking together. I'll be sure to post a photo our our feast.

Lessons for a Social Worker, a Mommy, and one of God's adopted daughters

2008-02-15T23:56:00.000-05:00

This week has been really, really hard. On Sunday afternoon, we had a wonderful opportunity to attend a birthday party/get together for the Mestas' one year old twins. There were a number of families there who have adopted from Ethiopia, including two families who just returned last Wednesday. We got to meet the Martins who just returned with their little Felicity. On Monday, I received my sling that I have been so excited about. I have not been able to find a carrier that seems at all natural, but I love the sling that I ordred from http://www.sleepingbaby.net/index.php. Also, on Monday, Sean and I went to get our taxes done so that we can pay our final payment (due before the court date) for the adoption. We also have pretty much finished the nursery (I'll post pictures later) except for hanging the curtain, hanging one model airplane, and putting the photos in the frames (we have to get more pictures of Isaac and photos of our trip for that). All of these are wonderful things and have been very exciting, but now I just feel we are ready. We plan to finish putting up the siding on Sean's shop this weekend (it is really easy and pretty fast by the way and a lot cheaper than having someone do it). I'm also making really good progress on finishing up the home studies, post placements, and addendums that I have on my plate to finish ASAP. Up until this week, I have pretty much just been chilling out and not having any problems (except for brief fletting moments) just waiting on God to say, okay, it is time to go. This week, however, I have struggled just about hourly. It reminds me very much of the revocation period with Ciara's adoption. Yesterday I had to pull myself together before going into the bank and this morning as I opened up my laptop and saw Isaac's face, I had to pull myself together again. I have always told people that nothing in my life has grown me in my walk with the Lord, like Ciara's adoption. I think I've hit the point in this adoption where God is ready to grow me up some more. For that, I am thankful. One thing that I am understanding so much more clearly is how hard this time period is for my families that I work with. Before, I've felt that I understood pretty well the emotional roller coaster that families experience and to an extent, I think I did understand more than someone who hasn't adopted. Now I understand so much more clearly how hard the wait for a referral is, and then how much harder it gets to wait to receive your child after you have their little faces ingrained into your mind. For my families that I am working with, I can tell you that this experience is helping me to understand how much more I need to be a prayer warrier for each of you. I know that without asking, many of you are lifting us up in your prayers and we are very grateful for that. Please continue to pray for us and that our hearts would be sensitive to what the Holy Spirit has for us to learn during this time. Please also pray for Isaac. I really am not anxious about the care that he is receiving. I know that the staff takes excellent care of the babies and that more importantly, God watches over him every minute of every day. A family who is leaving today has graciously offered to take Isaac his little blankie, our photos, and a letter (I know he can't read it--it was really for me), so he should receive that sometime in the next week. We hope that he will love cuddling his little blankie (the lady at the post office about cried with me when she realized what I was sending, to where, and why).

"Like cold water to a weary soul is good news from a distant land." Proverbs 25:25

2008-02-08T10:47:00.000-05:00

We received a special gift this morning--an update on Isaac. Below is the email that we received from Natalie. Gladney's in-country representatives sent the update to her. I did change his name as we are only supposed to post non-identifying information.

"Isaac is simply a normal little boy! He is innocent, and apparently, very adaptable. Isaac is progressing nicely, and starting to investigate himself and his surroundings. His hand is the main point of interest right now, and he is easily entertained by it – for now that is!
Current Weight: 11.68 pounds”

Introducing Cutie Pie to Ciara's Preschool Friends

2008-01-30T23:57:00.000-05:00

Ciara attends our church's preschool three days per week. She loves all of the teachers and her friends. She was so excited to tell them all about her Cutie Pie. I took the printed photos that I have for her to share, along with a book called E is for Ethiopia. We had told her teacher about our referral on Sunday. She said that she would share the photos with Ciara's class on Tuesday. When I picked Ciara up on Tuesday, her teacher told me that she wanted to wait and share the photos and book during library time on Wednesday morning with all of the 3 year old classes. Their is a little girl in Ciara's class how was adopted from China, so Ciara's teacher wanted to help the children better understand adoption. So on Wednesday morning, Ciara showed the pictures to all of the three year olds and told them that his name was you guessed it, "My Cutie Pie." I think this is a battle we won't win. One of the teachers read the book to the students about Ethiopia. I am so thankful that all of the teachers and staff understand the blessing of adoption and want to help prepare these children to understand adoption and that God builds families in different ways. They have been so sensitive in answering child's questions.

The Name Has Been Chosen

2008-01-27T23:24:00.000-05:00

This morning we went to church as usual. What wasn't usual is that I cried through just about the whole service. All I could think about is how good God is and how awesome it is to feel His love in such a personal way. It never ceases to amaze me how God continues to pour out His love to us when we don't deserve it one bit. While we haven't held our son, he certainly is a tangible expression and gift of God's love to our family.

After the service, we had lunch and then went to look for a rocker. We never did find the rocker that we wanted, but we did find a great deal on a dresser. We continued to discuss the different names on my list (Sean liked all of them by the way and couldn't think of any to add. His favorite two were also my favorite two when I made the list a while back.). We said the different names in different ways (the you're in trouble tone, the my baby's hurt come here tone, the Hello, my name is ____ tone for job interviews down the road, and the very important first, middle, and last name tone of you're past being in trouble and better be changing your behavior now tone). All the while, we kept asking Ciara which name she liked best. She repeatedly said, "My Cutie Pie." Can you tell that she is a strong willed, but incredibly loving and precious child? Well, we hope we have your curiosity up by now. We would like to introduce you to our son, Isaac (but we still can't show you any pictures). Just know that he is totally precious and mighty handsome even with snot in his nose (you'll see it in the referral photo when we can post them). So to get on with the story, we told Ciara that we were going to name Baby Brother, Isaac. Ciara said quite boldly, "Mommy, I not going to call him Isaac. I going to call him "My Cutie Pie." We gave up and just told her that Mommy and Daddy are going to call him Isaac and that she can call him "My Cutie Pie." One day, he can try to set her straight about that, but I'm about certain that she will always call him, "My Cutie Pie." After this great debate, we went to a favorite gift shop of ours so that Ciara could pick a pacifier out for Isaac. Would you believe that they had one with "Cutie Pie" written on it? It is waiting for him.

The Nursery Makeover Begins!

2008-01-26T22:59:00.000-05:00

This morning started out early. I had to meet with a family for a final home study visit, so I got up around 7. Sean got up at the same time and figured that he could get started painting before Ciara got up and wanted to lend her painting skills. Well, Sean's plan backfired. By the time I got out of the shower, I heard a little voice saying, "Daddy, I want to help. I want to help." I have the most patient husband. By the time I got dressed and over to the nursery, sure enough, there was Sean rolling away with Ciara right beside him with a paint brush. She was beaming. Of course, I had to run get by camera. She was so excited to be able to help.

Last night about 1am, we emailed some people about a white crib, changing table, and glider rocker. We're big craigslist fans. Also around 1am, we were looking at photos that my mom had emailed us of a crib set that she had bought for her house but was offering us. We loved it and couldn't believe that it will match the color that we picked out. Right before I walked out the door, the phone rang and I heard Sean setting up an appointment for me to pick up the crib after I finished up with my visit. So, after meeting with my family, I drove to Cary and bought the crib. We didn't have any luck with the other two items, but we felt like we were making progress.

Once I got home, we headed out for Babies-R-Us. There we found a changing table and some other items for the nursery. We came home and put together the changing table, all the while still trying to decide between two names. While looking at the pictures, Ciara promptly told us that her little brother's name was "My Cutie Pie." My Cutie Pie is the only name Ciara is interested in calling her baby brother. I can just imagine how this will go over when he's 13.

Doctor's Appointment and Nursery Planning

2008-01-25T19:04:00.000-05:00

On Thursday, I called our pediatrician's office, hoping that we could get an appointment for that day, but we had to wait until today. We met with our pediatirican to discuss our referral info. Our pediatrican said that everything looked good and that she felt that our son's herniated belly button would resolve on its own. We went over things to take when we traveled and she stated that she would talk with a fellow collegue at Duke Medical Center and get him to review our son's paperwork as well. After the appointment, I called Mary and officially accepted our referral. She said that they would notify the in country representatives so they could begin working on a court date right away (any day next week sounds good to us:).

This evening we went to Lowe's and decided to pick out a paint color. Since we didn't specify a boy or a girl in our request, we haven't done anything as far as planning for, thinking about, or decorating the nursery. Now that we know that it is a boy, we headed for the blues. Within about 15 minutes, Sean and I had agreed on a color. Neither of us expected it to be that easy. Normally, we bring home a ton of swatches, tape them to the walls, and debate about the colors for a week or so. Of course, we explained what we were getting the paint for and Ciara was determined to help. We got home and Sean immediately began clearing out the room. I had to head upstairs to work some more due to those changes with USCIS. Every little bit, Ciara would come up there to tell me that we were going to paint baby brother's room. I finished up with work (very late) and found that Sean was still prepping the room. Ciara was 100% ready to begin painting. We had to tell her that we couldn't paint tonight and she just cried. She wanted to get baby brother's room ready so bad.

Ciara is already so in love with her baby brother. Tonight, while we were looking around in the room that will be baby brother's, Ciara announced that she wants to give Baby Brother her silkie (her very cherished blankie). Sean told her that she didn't have too. We told her that we would go to the store over the weekend and that we could all pick out a blankie for her to give him. Ciara just shook her head no. She said, "But I want to give him my silkie." Sean explained that it would be fine if she did, but that she could think about it awhile and change her mind later and it would be okay. We will just have to see if this lasts.

Is this really happening?

2008-01-24T19:51:00.000-05:00

Today I kept thinking, "is this really happening." We stayed up so late last night calling family to tell them about our referral that Ciara and I slept in this morning. She was supposed to go to preschool, but I decided to just let her sleep. Last night when Sean was talking to his mom, she asked had we decided on a name. Sean told her that we hadn't really even thought about it yet. I corrected him and told him that I had a list ready for his review. He wasn't at all shocked. I continued calling family and friends throughout the day today. All were very excited for us. This evening, Ciara begged to go to CiCi's Pizza (not Mommy and Daddy's pick). We couldn't say no after she slept through us celebrating last night. So, we went out for a nice helping of heartburn this evening and had a blast celebrating again. She is ready for Baby Brother to be home now.

3 months, 1 week, 3 days and a Phone Call

2008-01-23T23:25:00.000-05:00

I have been extremely busy with work lately. New changes with USCIS regarding home study updates has created a huge influx of work for me. Yesterday I was conducting a home visit and my cell phone rang repeatedly. I normally don't answer the phone when I'm with a family, but I got worried that there might be an emergency. I excused myself, explaining my concern, and answered. It was Sean. I was a little frustrated and said, "Hey honey, I'm still with a family. Is this an emergency?" He said, "Yes it is. Mary called and said we have a referral." He asked when could I get home. I knew that I couldn't make it home before Gladney closed for the day, so I said let's call Mary back and see if we can do a conference call and if I can use this family's internet access. We had really wanted to be together when this moment happened, but we both were willing to sacrifice that notion for the reality and sweet news of our new baby. So, I explained what was happening to the family. They were excited for us and were more than willing to let me use their internet connection. So, I called Mary, explained what was going on and asked if she could do a conference call. A little while later, Mary called back. The moment had arrived. She introduced us to OUR SON!!! She lead emailed us pictures and on the count of 3, Sean and I opened them at the same time. He is so handsome. Tears just poured down my face. I couldn't believe this day had arrived. Sean and I both were expecting to receive a referral near the middle or end of March because we were requesting a child 0-6 months old. Mary then continued to walk us through the medical, social, and developmental info on our son (official in our hearts, not in court yet).

Now for the really good stuff. We can't post pictures of our son until after the court date but like I said, he is very cute. He is 2 1/2 months old. He was born on November 3, 2007 and his latest weight was just over 11 pounds. He appears to be healthy and developing well. We still have take the medical information to our pediatrician but thus far, we don't have any concerns.

After receiving all of the referral info, I finished up my visit with the very understanding family. I called Sean back as soon as I got in the van. We decided to go to our local Ethiopian restaurant to celebrate. We planned to tell Ciara over dinner, but she slept through the whole thing. She woke up as we were getting ready to leave. We stopped and got her a happy meal on the way home and waited until she had finished eating to tell her. Sean got out the video camera and I pulled up his pictures on my laptop. I asked her if she remembered what we had been praying for and she did. I told her that Ms. Mary had called us and told us that we had a little baby waiting for us in Ethiopia. I asked Ciara if she wanted to know if it was going to be a baby brother or a baby sister and she said, "yes." I then told her it was a baby brother. Her eyes got so big and she gave me a big hug. We then showed her his pictures and she was excited to see him. We then called our family and shared the news with them. We are planning to use his birth name as his middle name and are still trying to decide on his first name. We'll share that info when we make a decision. Now, the final count down begins!!!!

Merry Christmas!

2007-12-20T22:06:00.000-05:00

I know that it has been awhile since we have updated our blog. Part of the reason is because we have been so extremely busy and partly it is because of the flood of emotions I have been feeling. My longing for our little one seems to grow each day. Sean and I follow a number of blogs and it seems that Christmas is particularly tough for all of the families who are waiting on the little one(s) that God has specifically created for our families. During the revocation period of Ciara's adoption, Sean made the comment that he was glad that he didn't have to go through 9 months of me being pregnant. Needless to say, it might have had something to do with me crying one minute and laughing the next. He hasn't made the same comment again, but I have a feeling that it has crossed his mind, and he has just learned a few lessons in the past three years and is wisely choosing not to say anything. Please do keep us in your prayers as it is constantly on our minds that one member of our family isn't with us this Christmas. On a different note, Ciara has discovered Santa this year. For a few weeks, it seemed like Santa was all Ciara talked about when Christmas was mentioned. Sean and I aren't opposed to Santa, but we definitely want the focus of Christmas to be on the birth of our Saviour, Jesus Christ. So, we have tried to reinforce that Christmas is really about His birth. Last Friday night, I was busy wrapping Christmas presents. Ciara was "helping" me. All of a sudden she asked, "Mama, what are we going to get Jesus for His birthday?"

I was thrilled but a little speechless for a few seconds. We talked about that Jesus has everything that He needs, but that what He would like most is for us to do something for someone else. Our Sunday school class has already “adopted” a family for Christmas, but Ciara hasn’t been a part of that (something I will remember next year). So, we decided to go buy some food for a local Christian food/necessity pantry. Wednesday afternoon, Ciara and I went shopping for Jesus' birthday present. She had the best time picking out the food items that she thought Jesus would like for the people to have. Peanut butter and hot chocolate mix were two of the best items, along with peaches and macaroni and cheese. She kept saying, “Mommy, do you think Jesus would like this?” I’m not sure what other people going down the aisle thought, but I’m thankful that she is getting what Christmas is about. Tonight, Ciara and Sean wrapped up the food/presents, complete with gift tag, "To: Jesus, From: Ciara." We’ll take the food over to the ministry tomorrow. She is so excited. It did me a lot of good too. Even though we have tried to reach out to some other families for Christmas, I haven’t thought about or haven’t gotten excited about picking out a present for Jesus. It’s humbling when our children teach us BIG lessons! Happy Birthday, Jesus!

Celebration Time!

2007-11-15T19:23:00.000-05:00

Today is the one month mark since we were officially placed on the waiting list for a referral of a child. I just checked my email and received word that Gladney's in-country representatives have indeed picked up our dossier. We are so thankful to know that it has arrived in Ethiopia!!! We figured that it was already there, but sometimes it takes awhile for the in-country representatives to actually receive it and then get word to the agency. Gladney's in-country representatives will now take our dossier to be translated into Amharic and to be authenticated in Ethiopia. They will then hold our dossier ready to be submitted to the courts once we have received and accepted a referral. Now the real wait begins. This is the first year that I am actually glad that I'm way behind on our Christmas shopping so that I will have plenty to occupy my mind and time (but I'm not 100% sure it will work). Enough blogging--it's time to celebrate!

No News

2007-11-08T10:25:00.000-05:00

We haven't heard anything from our agency since October 15, when they told us that we were officially placed on the waiting list. We have been told that the average wait time for a referral is 3-5 months. We know that our dossier has been sent to Ethiopia, but our caseworker has not confirmed that it has arrived or been picked up by Gladney's in-country representatives. We are staying quite busy these days, so we haven't had too much time to get impatient. As the holidays approach, however, it is hard to think about our family not all being together. Waiting truly is much harder than all of the paperwork, but we know that it is all about God's timing.

Past Due Update

2007-10-16T09:54:00.000-05:00

Hello all! I've gotten quite behind on keeping our blog updated. At the end of September, AWAA of NC went through the relicensing process with the State. All went well, but I needed some recovery time afterwards. Following that, Ciara had two mosquito bites that turned in to cellulitis in both her lower legs, and we've just been busy. Things are getting back to normal now.

We did receive our I 171 H on September 19, 2007. AWAA of NC's site visit was on September 25, so I did not get a chance to work on anything until October. On Friday, I scanned in all of our dossier documents (a total of 29 documents, 79 pages all together), obtained four money orders (two for the US Department of State and two for the Ethiopian Embassy), and overnighted everything to our agency. Yesterday, we received the response below:

I am sending your dossier by FedEx overnight this evening to the courier in Washington, DC. He will hand carry your dossier for final authentication at the Department of State and Ethiopia Embassy. Your dossier will then be sent to Ethiopia to Gladney’s in-country representatives. They will take your dossier to be translated into Amharic and to be authenticated in Ethiopia. They will then hold your dossier ready to be submitted to the courts once you have received and accepted a referral.

You are now officially placed on waitlist to receive a referral! Currently, families have waited up to three to five months to receive a referral. Please keep in mind that this timeline is subject to change at any time. Congratulations on making it through the tedious dossier process!

I will be in touch with you as soon as a referral is ready for you. I ask for your patience during this time and completely understand that “waiting” is probably the most difficult (yet exciting!) part for most parents.

So, now the real wait does begin. I will try to be better about keeping this blog up-to-date.

Update on Our Wait for USCIS Approval

2007-09-14T09:23:00.000-05:00

We received an update from our agency about the status of our I 171 H approval from USCIS. Below is the message that we received from our agency.

"She (USCIS) reported that she is processing applications filed May 9-11, 2007. She reported that your I-600A was filed 5-11-07, so she said that you should be hearing from CIS within the next week or so."

I'm very excited with this news!

Four Months of Waiting and Preschool Begins

2007-09-11T18:06:00.000-05:00

Today marked four months since we submitted our I 600 A to USCIS (Immigrations). We had our fingerprints done at the end of July and our home study arrived at USCIS at the beginning of August. After four long months, we still haven't received our I 171 H. This is the only piece of paper that is keeping us from finishing up our dossier and getting our paperwork off to Ethiopia. I can't say that Sean and I are patient, as much as, we've just given up being excited each day as we check the mail thinking that it has arrived. Our 6 year wedding anniversary is Saturday--so we're hoping that maybe we will receive an anniversary gift from USCIS on Saturday. We'll update everyone when and if it arrives.

On another sad note (at least for this Mama), Ciara started Preschool today. She's in Mrs. Angela's 3 year old class and seems to really like her teacher. She was exhausted after I picked her up and took a 3+ hour nap. The picture included is of Ciara getting ready to go to preschool today.

Trainings Completed!

2007-08-23T21:28:00.001-05:00

Good news to report! While we still don't have our I 171 H from USCIS, we did finish up our training hours that are required for this adoption this evening. We so far have accumulated a little over 14 hours of training (10 were required), but we do plan on continuing our education as we wait for our little one.

On another note, Ciara sat down on the bed beside me this morning and asked me, "Can we go get my baby sister." Oh, how I wish it were that simple. I explained to her that one day we will receive a call and will find out if it will be a baby brother or a baby sister. She interrupted me with a squeal of excitement (I guess we will be printing out her own set of those pictures when we receive them. I can't imagine all the people in Wal-Mart and other stores that she will tell the good news to and all the questions that will lead to.) I then explained that some people would have to finish up some really important paperwork and then Mommy and Daddy would fly to Ethiopia to get baby brother or sister. All the while, I was thinking that I was going to completely confuse my child's thinking about how children come into this world, that adoption is just paperwork, etc. but I didn't really know how else to explain it. I know that a three year old can't comprehend all of this, but I really wished that her Daddy hadn't already left for work this morning and could have answered this question.

We had our picture taken for the new church directory tonight. Both of us can't wait to have to get our family portrait redone and were busy calculating just when that might be. It will be so exciting to be a family of four and then who knows what! Sean keeps on talking about starting our second phase of parenting when we are in our 50s. On that note, I'll close for tonight. I need to go hit the bike if I'm going to be able to still run around and chase little ones in my 50s.

Just Waiting

2007-08-21T10:27:00.000-05:00

I know it has been awhile since we have posted. We are simply just waiting. We are almost done compiling all of the documents for our dossier. Our home study, the agency's license and a few other documents are now finished being authenticated by the Texas Secretary of State. We are still waiting on our I 171 H from the US Citizenship and Immigration Services. Once we receive that, we will take it, our certified copies of originals of our passports, our limited power of attorney, and our last reference to be authenticated by the NC Secretary of State. After that, we have to scan all of the authenticated documents (and make a copy for us) and send everything to Gladney. Then, our dossier will be sent to the US State Department for authentication before finally being sent to Ethiopia. Our wait for a referral officially begins when we receive our Gladney approval (we've already received this), our USCIS approval (the I 171 H) and have submitted our dossier to Gladney.

Sean and I taught two Transracial Parenting classes this past weekend for the NC Division of Social Services Post Adoption Conference in Greensboro, NC. While there, we ran into a family that I had worked with while I was the Director of New Life Christian Adoptions. I got to see there children (one of whom was adopted through New Life). He had just turned a year old in July and is as cute as a button. He let me hold him and gave the best hugs. I was doing pretty good with this waiting until then--holding a little one again felt so good. Ciara is going through her independent phase now, so cuddle time is usually only allowed by her at bedtime and in the morning or if she gets hurt.

Fingerprinting, Home Study Completed, Gladney Approval and Passports Received

2007-08-02T20:39:00.000-05:00

We just returned from vacation yesterday afternoon. It was wonderful to have time together and a break from our regular jobs and this paper pregnancy. Our vacation was filled with many firsts...Ciara's first time playing putt-putt, her first time flying a kite, her first time fishing (she caught two, Sean caught three, and I caught none), and her first time eating the fish that she caught (she said they tickled her tummy). The picture above is of one of the fish Ciara caught (with Daddy's help, as she dropped the pole when she saw a fish was on it) and of Ciara and Daddy at Tweetsie.

We went on the 28th for our fingerprints. We left Garden City, SC around 7:15am and traveled to Charlotte. Our appointment wasn't until 2:30, so when we arrived around noon, we decided to go ahead and get a bite to eat. Around 1:00, we decided to head over to the Application Support Center and just see if they could go ahead and fingerprint us. We were in and out in about 15 minutes for both of us. To our knowledge, they were able to get clear fingerprints on both of us. We then traveled on to the NC mountains where we continued celebrating Ciara's birthday (it began at the beach with Sean's side of the family and continued in the mountains with my side of the family).

After grabbing a bite for supper yesterday, we hurried home to check the mail. Sure enough, both Sean and I received our passports (they are still processing Ciara's). We also received our official letter of approval from Gladney and two copies of our home study (both dated on July 31--Ciara's birthday). We will work on completing our Power of Attorney (we needed our passport numbers first) and notarized copies of an original of our passports this week, as well as getting our home study sent to the Texas Secretary of State for Authentication. We also received my employment letter and our "Statement of Accounts in Good Standing" from our bank back from the Virginia Secretary of State without any issues. The only item remaining that we need to receive before we can finish our dossier is our I 171 H from USCIS. I must say that it feels like we need to celebrate a little more with all of these documents coming in.

Fingerprinting Appointment Times and Other News

2007-07-18T20:16:00.000-05:00

Today we got the long awaited actual fingerprint notices. We are to appear at the fingerprinting office in Charlotte at 2:30pm on July 28th. The notice stated that we could expect our USCIS approval (I 171 H) by late August or September, which is much sooner than either of us expected based on recent info. The USCIS website currently states that they are processing I 600 A applications dated March 26, 2007 (ours was dated May 11, 2007). We are very excited.

Today I took the first round of our dossier paperwork (our FBI clearance packets, our letter to the Ethiopian government, two letters of recommendation, our physicals, letters from our physicians, our dossier financial form, Sean's employment letter, a letter confirming our health and life insurance, our birth certificates, and our marriage certificate) to the NC Secretary of State to be authenticated. I am supposed to be able to pick it up tomorrow after 11 am. I also mailed off my employment letter and our "precious" bank letter (5 rounds before we got it approved) to the Virginia Secretary of State. We anticipate that our home study will be completed soon. We have completed all of the paperwork that we can at this point and will just have to wait for our home study, passports, and I 171 H to complete our dossier. After that, we send everything to our agency, it then goes to the US State Department, and then it is off to Ethiopia. Then, the real wait begins.

Fingerprinting Appointments :)

2007-07-16T12:20:00.001-05:00

Great news! We finally have fingerprinting appointments. We have been excitedly checking the mail for about a week and a half now with nothing from USCIS. Today, I finally decided to email the public email account, since I have known a family who had their notice from USCIS lost in the mail, only to arrive right after they left for vacation. The family missed their appointments and had to have them rescheduled. I was careful to explain that we were not asking for any special consideration, but that we just wanted to be sure that we were not going to miss appointments while on vacation. The USCIS representative emailed me back quickly and told me. "We have far more applications than we have available fingerprinting appointments.However, today you both were scheduled for fingerprinting on Sat., July 28th at the Application Support Center in Charlotte. Those appointment notices are going out in today's regular outgoing mail. Kindly watch your mail for these important appointments." I was so happy. The date could not be more perfect. We will be leaving the beach early on the 28th to go to the NC mountains, so we will be traveling right through Charlotte. It will perfect timing, and Sean will not have to take any additional vacation time off later for the appointments. God worked this one out beautifully. I am thankful that I emailed the USCIS Charlotte office. We are hoping that everything arrives by Friday, so that we will have all of the necessary paperwork and can leave early on Saturday as planned.

Slowly, but surely!

2007-07-05T13:12:00.000-05:00

Well, I do have some exciting news to report. I emailed our home study social worker on Tuesday to make sure that she had everything she needed from us. With all that is going on, I wanted to make sure that I wasn't overlooking anything. She emailed me today and said that she is finished writing the report and has sent it to the main office for review. She said that she would notify me when she received an "OK" from Gladney. So, it isn't officially finalized, but it hopefully should not be too much longer before it is finished. Once it has been finalized, Gladney will send it to USCIS. Once we receive our fingerprinting appointments and are fingerprinted, USCIS will review our home study and fingerprints and will then issue us a highly valuable piece of paper called an I 171 H, which approves us to enter this country with a child from Ethiopia between a certain age range. We must receive our I 171 H before we can submit our dossier to the US State Department and then to Ethiopia.

The other valuable documents that we are waiting on is our passports. We heard this morning on the news that the State Department is sending a number of people to New Hampshire and New Orleans to try to catch them up on the backlog of passport requests. All that I can tell from their website is that ours is being processed. We must receive our passports in order to complete our Power of Attorney for the representative in Ethiopia who will go to court on our behalf to finalize the adoption before we travel to Ethiopia.

I received our new bank letter on Saturday. I wanted to cry. In my excitement over the fact that it appeared it would be rather quick and easy to obtain a new letter which was notarized, I neglected to tell the bank that the notary's commission must be valid for at least one year from the date the document is notarized. This is important to carry us through the documents being authenticated at the Secretary of State and then the US State Department. So, on Tuesday I called Wachovia and actually reached the woman who notarized our new (second) letter. I explained everything to her, and she said that they would work on issuing us a new one. Due to the holiday, it will probably be Saturday or Monday before we receive it. I'm just so thankful that they have been so pleasant to work with. On Saturday, we also received the second of three letters of recommendation for Sean and I that must be submitted to the Ethiopian government.

I'm staying pretty calm during this whole journey, but I am getting a little more emotional about our child being half way across the world. I think it is really starting to hit me for two reasons. One, every baby toy, food, swing, seat, etc. that Ciara sees she is interested in for her "baby sister." Two, Sean and I realize that our child really could have already been born and is waiting for us. Sean and I both are relishing this time alone with Ciara. In 2 1/2 weeks, we leave for a week at the beach, followed by a long weekend in the mountains. We are so thankful that we will have some free time with Ciara on probably our last vacation before our new addition joins our family. At the same time, my heart is longing to get to know this child God has created for us and to get to see him/her. Please lift this little child up in your prayers. Please also pray that if it is possible that we will get to meet our child's birth parents and/or family. Our agency has never worked anything like this out, but that is because they have never had anyone request it. Gladney apparently has a number of birth parents who actually relinquish their rights to their child to the agency, similar to a domestic adoption here in the US. It is our deep desire that they will encounter a birth mother/father who will have a desire to meet the adoptive family and that this experience will work out. It would be so very special for our child to know something about his/her birth family, what they looked like, etc.

A Craving for Ethiopian Food

2007-06-28T21:22:00.000-05:00

Tonight we went out to celebrate finishing up with our homestudy interviews/visit. I will admit that I am the last person that I ever thought would have a craving for Ethiopian food, but I kept thinking about a lentil sambusa all day (and no, I've already told Sean I'm not pregnant, or at least to my knowledge I'm not). We went back to the Ethiopian restaurant in Raleigh and really enjoyed the food. I've taken quite a liking to Ethiopian food. Ciara really liked the katagna (slightly fried injera, buttered and spiced with berbere) and wanted more after it was all gone. We tried doro wat tonight along with the two lamb wats that we had before. The doro (chicken) wat was super spicy, and Sean loved it. It came with two hard boiled eggs in the middle of it (neither one of us could eat them). There was also a type of Ethiopian cheese on the side. It kind of reminded me of tofu. The owners always take an interest in Ciara, and we hope that we will learn a little more about the Ethiopian culture each time we go. By the way, I'm getting close to mastering tearing off the injera, scooping up the wat, and feeding myself all with my right hand and without touching my mouth. Sean has a way to go :).

We continue to work on our paperwork. Sean's supposed to be writing his letter of repentance for those traffic tickets but is still trying to think of what to say (let's face it, most of us have had one or two). My big task today was to try to work on getting our bank (Wachovia) to issue us a new letter of good standing for all of our accounts. They had already issued us one but it was not notarized. I had read online how this can be an awful ordeal and our representative at Gladney also warned us that many families often run into snags with this bit of paperwork. Thankfully, one of the sweet tellers at the Clayton branch made one phone call to the person who issued the letter initially. They said that they would get it done and notarized today, and we should have it in a few days. I was so thankful and can only say that Wachovia has been super to deal with regarding this letter.

There isn't much else to report except that somehow Ciara thinks her baby sister is in her belly and is going to come out of her belly button. We haven't talked with her at all about where baby's come from, but we do have a dear friend who is due at the end of July. Ciara knows that there is a baby growing in Mrs. Lisa's belly and then jumped to the conclusion that her baby sister is in her belly (yes, it continues to be a sister and now she just thanks Jesus for her baby sister, instead of asking for one) . I've just told her that her baby sister/brother is not in her belly but is in Ethiopia. If any of you have any other words of wisdom--please share them. This is new territory (I was thinking we still had two years or so).

Home Study Interviews/Visit Completed!

2007-06-26T10:26:00.000-05:00

Good news! We were able to finish up with all of our interviews and home inspection yesterday with our Social Worker, Connie, from Gladney. We are so excited that we are continuing to move forward and make progress on getting our little one from Ethiopia. We are hoping to get most of our documents for our dossier completed in the next two weeks, which will leave us waiting for our home study to be completed, to receive fingerprinting appointments, to receive our I 171 H from USCIS, and to receive our passports. We are hoping to be able to submit our dossier sometime in September, but we continue to realize that the most important thing is that everything happen in God's timing. We will continue to keep you all posted.

Update

2007-06-16T11:18:00.000-05:00

This has been a fun and busy week. Ciara's cousins, Caitlin and Collin came back with us Sunday afternoon and spent all week with us. The week culminated with all five cousins, Ciara, Caitlin, Collin, Andrew, and William playing together yesterday afternoon before Melanie traveled with Caitlin, Collin, Andrew, and William to Concord to visit family for the weekend. We had a blast bowling, playing in the pool, watching movies, going to the park, and just playing around. Going from one child to three was fun and a challenge (coordinating medicines, baths, meals, etc.), but it has increased my excitement to fill our home with with more children and for Ciara to be able to enjoy (and I know there will also be lots of arguments) a sibling.

William is about 14 months old and last fall, Ciara screamed every time I would try to hold him. It had been a while since we had seen them, and I was anxious to see how she would react. To my surprise, she was very attentive to his needs and didn't cry at all when I held him (although he did--he's quite attached to his mama). The funniest thing (and the grossest) was that Ciara saw his baby food and formula. She asked me if her baby sister would drink and eat that stuff (she continues to state that it will be a baby sister and we continue to remind her that she needs to talk to Jesus and that the most important thing is that we receive the child (boy or girl) that He has planned for us) . I told her that her baby brother or sister would probably drink/eat that stuff, and she wanted to try some of the milk after William had his bottle. Melanie was generous with the "liquid gold" (aka-formula) and let Ciara try some. She drank a number of swallows before she decided that she didn't want anymore. It made Melanie quite nauseous. It was also quite amazing that when William cried, Ciara ran to get her stuffed "Brandi" (a dog) to bring to him to try to cheer him up. When they left, she told me, "He's a good baby boy." Yesterday evening she couldn't stop talking about William. I asked her if she still wanted a baby brother or sister. She said, "a sister" and then asked "Does Jesus have me one?" I reminded her again that she just needed to spend some time talking to Jesus, and so she said (while sitting on her tricycle), "Dear Jesus, Ciara want a baby sister."

We did make a little progress on the adoption journey this week. Our social worker is scheduled to come out on Monday, June 25th to finish things up for our home study. Sean was able to obtain his employer's letter, and we received approval of it. We're still waiting on fingerprinting appointments from USCIS and hoping that they aren't scheduled for our beach/mountain vacations, but it will be worth it if we have to travel a day to Charlotte and back to get them done.

And, one last huge surprise, I'm actually ready to go back to the Ethiopian restaurant and craving the food/experience a little. We couldn't convince the twins to try it with us.

Fine Dining

2007-06-06T09:45:00.000-05:00

Last night was so much fun. I was really scared about how spicy the food would be and took a preventative dose of Pepto on the way. The restaurant actually had the traditional "basket" tables, but we chose a regular American table since we had to get used to just using our hands (in Ethiopia, you can only use your right hand and you have no plates or utensils). It was tough to master tearing off a piece of injera (a spongy pancake looking sort of sour bread) and then scooping up some of the wat (a thick stew). We tried a number of things: beef sambusa and lentil sambusa (a thin pastry filled with beef or lentils cooked with green peppers, onions, and herbs; dabo colo (wheat nuts); katangna (fried injera, buttered and sprinkled with berbere (red pepper); and three types of wat (thick stew): kay wat (prime beef cubes simmered in berbere sauce seasoned with exotic spices), Yebg wat (pieces of lamb slowly simmered in spicy berbere sauce, garlic, onion, and butter), and Yebeg Alicha (tender pieces of lamb braised very slowly in turmeric sauce with touch of ginger, garlic and green pepper). I was very pleasantly surprised. My favorite thing was the lentil sambusa and the non-spicy lamb wat (I will have to clarify next time which one is the least spiciest). The Kay wat wasn't too spicy, but the other lamb wat set my mouth on fire, although everyone else thought I was nuts. We are both excited to go back and try some more of the foods.

Good News!

2007-06-05T12:23:00.000-05:00

Oh, I'm so excited. I just received word from our Ethiopia Program Coordinator that we received a "passing" score on our medical examinations, physician's letters (both of which took 4 trips to our doctor), our birth certificates, marriage certificates, one of our reference letters to the Ethiopian government, and my employment letter. We still have a number of documents to complete before our dossier is finished, but it is nice to have this set of paperwork completed. After all of our dossier documents are reviewed, I will have to get them authenticated at the NC Secretary of State, prior to sending them to our agency and then the US Department of State. It is great timing, as we are going with two of our friends tonight to a local Ethiopian restaurant in Raleigh (for the first time). Now, we can make it a time for celebration as well. I'll be sure to share with you details about our dining experiences.

By the way, I have enabled it where you can add comments. Blogging is new to me, so I didn't know about this setting. Feel free to share your comments or questions. As always, please continue to keep us in your prayers!

We're making progress!

2007-05-30T19:45:00.000-05:00

Today, we feel like the ball is finally rolling. Late yesterday evening, we received an email stating that our social worker should contact us soon to set up our interviews for the homestudy. We were very excited to receive this news. They said that the process normally takes 8 to 10 weeks (counting from yesterday's date). Today, on my 4th trip to our doctor's office, I believe we have all of our physical forms completed and notarized properly, along with our letters from our doctor. I'm going to scan a bunch of our dossier documents (employer letter, birth certificates, marriage certificate, physical exams, letters from our doctor, and one of our reference letters) and send them to our coordinator for approval. I'm praying that we get an all clear on these documents and can start on the next "chunk" of paperwork.

Sean received notice yesterday that he has to write a letter of repentance for his two speeding tickets that showed up on his county criminal background check (one was 10 years ago). In his letter, he has to show deep remorse, state why he was speeding, and explain what he has learned from these encounters and that how is has not, nor will not, happen again. My one speeding ticket and a few more for Sean didn't show up on the county check. We're thinking we may wait for our FBI clearances to come back and then see what all we need to write about. I'm sure my mom is beaming with the knowledge that I have to write a letter of repentance (I still hear about that ticket occasionally). You all never knew that we were such criminals, did you???

This whole experience is really humbling me. I have felt like I can relate pretty well to all that my families are going through, since we have adopted before. Sean and I have total peace about God's timing and are okay whenever we receive our child, but all of this going back and forth for this paperwork is a test in patience. I guess I need to hurry up and learn my lesson!

Potty Issues

2007-05-29T20:34:00.001-05:00

Well, we had a terrific Memorial Day weekend. We had some special family time together and Sean was able to get a lot done on his shop. Monday afternoon we spent shopping (trying to finish decorating prior to the arrival of our second child). We continue to pray about whether or not to take Ciara with us. My reaction to one of the vaccinations concerns us a little, but then I am allergic to about everything, so it isn't a big surprise either. The biggest thing that hit us in the face on Monday, however was the time spent in an enclosed area (the van, which is so roomy compared to an airplane) with a 33 month old and potty issues. I honestly think that God gave Ciara an extra burst of energy to give us a glimpse of what a 22-33 hour (or more depending on layovers) plane ride would be like. I've never, ever, ever heard Ciara talk so much. It was constant questions, comments, and imaginary disasters to avoid with imaginary people (and we were only gone about 7 hours). On top of the constant talking, singing, and questions, there were the potty issues. We stopped somewhere along the way to get a drink, and Ciara downed hers. Well, of course, nature took its course and before long, she told us she had to go potty. Sean took her to the bathroom the first time and she immediately changed her mind and said she would wait until she got home. A little while later, almost in tears and a jog, she told me she had to go. She didn't want to sit on the toilet, but I made her, as we had no change of clothes and she was crying to go to the bathroom, I figured she couldn't possibly hold it any longer. She sat there and refused to go. We then hit Target and she went to her Daddy again, begging to go to the bathroom. Seeing as Sean can move much quicker than I can, he took off jogging with her to the bathrooms (all three so far have been remarkably clean). I can only imagine what people thought. They made it in the bathroom and then she refused again. We then went to eat, our final stop on this journey. While I was getting my food, she managed to get Sean to take her again--this time she refused and Sean said he wouldn't have let her use that one. So then Ciara and I are sitting at the table and Sean is getting his food. She starts squirming all in her chair and starts begging me to take her. Both Sean and I had about had our limit thus far and so I calmly told her that if we entered that bathroom, we were not coming out until she went to potty. Then I went jogging through the Chinese restaurant and plopped her down on that seat so quick she didn't have time to react. She finally went. When we got back to the table, she loudly told the whole restaurant "I did it." Now, you may ask what all of this has to do with thinking about taking Ciara to Ethiopia. Well, we've been informed that 1) carry your own toilet paper. It is not provided and it costs a lot for a few squares, 2) use the bathroom at your hotel before you go anywhere and 3) public restrooms outside of the capital often consists of little more than a trough. Sean and I just laughed and laughed a what Ciara would have to say about such a toilet.

Questions Answered

2007-05-26T11:02:00.000-05:00

Yesterday we received our notice that USCIS had received our I 600 A (the petition you must file with immigrations to begin the process to gain approval to adopt an orphan from another country). It will still be awhile before we receive notice about our fingerprinting appointments from USCIS (we have to travel to Charlotte for those). We are hoping for appointments some time in July. Our progress has been slow this week, but we are remaining steady. We were able to get our criminal background checks for our homestudy, Sean got his physical exam (I had mine back in April), and we both received our statements from our doctor regarding our overall health (which has to be redone because the notary's commission expires in August). I had a reaction to one of the two vaccinations I received, which thankfully was only a local reaction (although my arm has hurt all week). I'm hoping the rest of my vaccinations go smoothly.

Ciara continues to pray for her brother and sister, although we have just requested one. She is remaining firm that she is getting a sister, but we repeatedly explain to her that it is about who God has planned for us as a family. Which brings me to answering the many questions we have received--do you know if it will be a boy or a girl, when do you think you will get them, do you have to travel, and why on earth Ethiopia? First of all, Sean and I spent a lot of time discussing and praying about whether to specify a boy or a girl. In the end, we are standing by faith that God is sovereign and completely in control, and we would much rather He decide how to build our family than the two of us. Statistically speaking, there are more boys available for adoption, but there have been a number of prayers offered up for a little sister, so we will all have to wait and see who God is/has created for our family. I'll answer the next two questions together. No, we don't have to travel to Ethiopia, but we want to. Ethiopia is one of the countries that allows families to have the child escorted back to the US. However, we both feel strongly that we need to have some time to experience our child's birth country, their customs and culture, their people, to see the orphanage where our child stayed, etc. We know in the long run that all of this will be important for those questions that our child will have later in life. Our agency has never had (according to the person that we talked with) a family request to meet any of the birth family, but we are hoping and praying that this will be a possibility for us. We realize all to clearly that with extreme poverty and disease, we may only have one opportunity to meet our child's birth family and to gain some valuable information for him/her. As far as when we may travel, Ethiopian adoptions can take anywhere from 6-8 months. We submitted all of our initial paperwork on May 10, 2007, so we are hoping to travel somewhere around the end of this year or the beginning of 2008. Generally, it takes about 3-4 months to complete your homestudy, dossier, get your passports, etc. After that, it is about 1-2 months until you get a referral, then you accept or reject the referral, a court date is set, and you typically travel about 2-4 weeks after your court date. Of course, with international adoptions, there are all sorts of events that can take place to slow down or halt the process. Lastly, given that our first adoption was a domestic adoption, many people have asked why Ethiopia? I don't think that either one of us can state 100% why, but it is more like we can't say no. We both feel that in the US, an agency will be able to find a family for an infant regardless of race or other conditions. We simply aren't ready to do foster care due to Ciara's age and that reunification with the birth family is the goal of foster care (at least in NC). For the past year, we have kept checking into adoptions from Ethiopia. The more we have learned, the more our hearts have been drawn to the children of this country. For us, the reality that adoption for many of them may be the difference between life and death really hit us hard. We realize that with 4-5 million orphans (some sites state more), one child won't make much of a difference, but it certainly will for that child and so our journey began.

One Day at a Time

2007-05-22T11:46:00.000-05:00

This has been some week and it is only Tuesday. I took Ciara to the doctor yesterday for her asthma. The doctor said that in addition to her wheezing, she also has the croup, so she has been pretty uncomfortable. I praise God for giving me a job where I have so much flexibility and can be at home with her for all of her treatments and special cuddle time. We are slowly continuing to make progress on our paperwork. Yesterday we were able to mail off a chunk of paperwork to our agency (for the homestudy) and our FBI fingerprint cards to the FBI (part of the dossier) and that was about it for any progress on this adoption. I thought that I was going to be able to start getting some of our dossier documents authenticated with the Secretary of State, but we received an email late last night stating that both of our letters need to be redone.

I've shared with many of you that I don't know of anything that has grown me in my faith like Ciara's adoption. I'm so thankful for these opportunities where God uses everyday events to draw us nearer to Him. I don't know how we (or anyone) could go through this process without God, because quite honestly, it gets a bit overwhelming and frustrating to keep having to back track and redo documents. This experience is definitely humbling me in that I'm getting a real dose of what all the families I work with have to go through (for those of you who don't know what I do, I am the Director of Social Services for AWAA of NC, a Christian international adoption agency). Last night, I was driving home with Ciara, and I was talking with her about all the things in the world that God has made for us to enjoy. We talked about the trees, the birds, family and friends that He has given us, and the sunset. She then asked me if God painted the sunset. I told her that it is kind of like He does and that He creates one for us to look at everyday. Thinking back on our conversation last night, I can't help but think of Psalm 139 and how God is or has created a child specifically for our family, that He has/will know that child in his/her mother's womb, and that He knows all of his/her days before they come to be. From the sunsets He gives us to the unique masterpieces He creates when He creates each of us, He truly is an amazing Creator!

This morning, Sean and I were able to get our bloodwork completed for the adoption and our TB skin tests (Mom stayed home and loved on Ciara). We also got started on our vaccinations, receiving our Hepatitis A (we both already have had the Hep B vaccines) and the Meningococcal (menigitis) vaccine (about $100/person that the insurance doesn't cover, so it had better work!). Since we will be staying in Addis Ababa, the capital city, we (and our doctor) feel pretty safe that we shouldn't have to worry about rabies. Because of Sean's work, he has already been vaccinated, so I have warned him that he will have to be the one to deal with any rabid animals on this adventure. Because of the strict documentation that is required for the yellow fever vaccine, we're going to have to call around to try to find a clinic that has it . We'll get our typhoid vaccine and start taking antimalarial meds after we get a court date (which is months down the road).

Psalm 139: 1-16

1 O LORD, you have searched me and you know me. 2 You know when I sit and when I rise; you perceive my thoughts from afar. 3 You discern my going out and my lying down; you are familiar with all my ways. 4 Before a word is on my tongue you know it completely, O LORD. 5 You hem me in—behind and before; you have laid your hand upon me. 6 Such knowledge is too wonderful for me, too lofty for me to attain. 7 Where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence? 8 If I go up to the heavens, you are there; if I make my bed in the depths, ^[a] you are there. 9 If I rise on the wings of the dawn, if I settle on the far side of the sea, 10 even there your hand will guide me, your right hand will hold me fast. 11 If I say, "Surely the darkness will hide me and the light become night around me," 12 even the darkness will not be dark to you; the night will shine like the day, for darkness is as light to you. 13 For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother's womb. 14 I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well. 15 My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place. When I was woven together in the depths of the earth, 16 your eyes saw my unformed body. All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be.

The Paper Pregnancy

2007-05-20T15:20:00.000-05:00

Well, we are busy at work on what is called our paper pregnancy this afternoon. We are getting ready to submit a big chunk of paperwork for our homestudy and a number of documents to be reviewed for our dossier. We are both anxious to get this paperwork done before summer vacation time hits. I gave Sean his birthday presents early (an Ethiopian travel guide, an autobiography of an Ethiopian refugee who grew up in America and graduated from Harvard, an Amharic phrasebook, and some history book about the political system of Ethiopia over the past 100 years). First of all, I don't think we will get any of those phrases down and be able to pronounce them correctly with our Southern accents, but we are going to try. The guidebook has been very humorous. We've learned a lot about the culture and customs (i.e., you are only supposed to eat with your right hand, as in the Muslim culture, the left hand is used for personal hygiene only, at meals, it is customary for your server to feed you the first bite, and that there is an Ethiopian delicacy called kitfo (raw ground beef, minimally heated, not cooked, and covered with seasoned butter) which we do not plan on trying. We will be responsible for arranging our own travel plans and lodging. We've discovered that you can, if you dare, survive on $10 US per day, including meals and lodging. Sean has tremendously enjoyed telling me about the various places we can stay. I'm holding out for the Hilton. The Sheraton (which has a villa that costs $8,000/night) is renowned as the best hotel in all of Africa, but it is out of our price range. We do hope to see what all the hype is about though. Please continue to keep us in your prayers!

God at work.

2007-05-19T00:53:00.000-05:00

It never ceases to amaze me how God puts people in our paths. I was conducting a home visit today for a family adopting from China. In the course of my interviewing them, they asked about taking there three kids with them to China. I talked with them about the pros and cons and what other families had shared. In the end, I told them that they needed to pray about it and make the decision that was right for there family. I shared with them that this was something that Sean and I are praying about and that we are adopting from Ethiopia. They just smiled and said, "We've actually been to Ethiopia." My jaw dropped. They told me a little about the food (I think a trip to Ethiopia will be a great diet plan for me), traveling, the people and the culture. In the end, they said that they wouldn't have any hesitations about taking a 3 year old with them to Addis Ababa (where we would be staying). Now, if we were trekking across in the bush, that would be a different story, but you all know that this is a big enough adventure for our family without the bush experience. This family was very open to us talking with them more as we gather questions. We're just praising God for putting this family in our paths.

Passport photos or mug shots?

2007-05-15T14:05:00.000-05:00

Well, we got most of the things accomplished today that we wanted to. We were able to get all three of our passports ordered. I took a few practice photos of Ciara before we headed to the Post Office for our appointment and explained to her what we needed the photos for. She is going through a phase where she is camera shy. When we got there, she wasn't about to let them take her picture, but I reminded her that we had to have them made in order to be able to adopt her brother or sister from Ethiopia. She agreed to sit on the stool, but she would not smile for the camera and so her picture looks a great deal like a mugshot of a child who got caught stealing candy. Of course, as a mom, you never really think about all the ways a child can interpret your comments, so after getting our pictures made, Ciara thought that we were getting her baby sister today at the post office. That would be so much quicker and less tiring! I am thoroughly excited about my passport photo--I love that camera. Somehow I have a great tan, which if you know me is an impossible feat. (For those who are wondering, we are praying about whether to take Ciara to Ethiopia with us, but we decided to go ahead and get her passport since they take about 12 weeks to process now.)

Getting started with the lady doing our passports was quite amusing. First, she asked us where Ciara's biological parents were. We just smiled and said that we were her parents and then after a brief pause, we explained that Ciara was adopted. I quickly explained that I had all the documentation that she would need, and she seemed quite relieved. After explaining that we needed the passports for an adoption from Ethiopia, she then paused and said, "I just have to ask. How will you know that they are her siblings?" Sean just said, "Oh, we know they won't be." She seemed a little confused, but we'll let her figure it out in time. As she got to talking with us and seeing us interact as a family, she really warmed up and hopefully began to see the rich blessings that God gives families through adoption.

After the passport appointments, we headed to the Courthouse to obtain criminal record checks and our fingerprints for the FBI clearance. The computer system was down for the criminal record checks, but we were able to be fingerprinted. We had to actually go down to the county jail with inmates walking alongside of us. Children were not allowed, so I went in first and then we traded off. It took quite a while, but part of it was that I got to talking to the lady who fingerprinted me. She asked about Ciara's race and then proceeded to tell me that she is Puertorican, African American, and Caucasian and was adopted. Well, being an adoptive parent and a social worker, I had lots of questions and the two of us had a nice talk. When she walked me out and I took Ciara, Sean rolled his eyes at me (meaning he knew that I had been chatting). However, when he came out (which was a good while later), he said he felt like they had known each other their whole lives. It is amazing how adoption opens up conversations and experiences with people that you ordinary wouldn't have such conversations. The highlight of this adventure for Ciara was seeing a policeman drive through the security door with a "bad guy."

The Journey has begun!

2007-05-14T18:52:00.000-05:00

Well, the journey to bring home our child from Ethiopia has begun. On May 10th, we sent off our I 600 A to the US Citizenship and Immigration Services and received our application for our International Agency. Our I 600 A was received in Charlotte on May 11 and now the long wait to receive fingerprinting appointments begins. In the meantine, we are busy getting all of our paperwork together to have our homestudy completed and to compile our dossier (the big set of documents that proves we are who we say we are, that we are fit to be parents, etc.). Tomorrow we are scheduled to apply for our passports, to get our criminal record checks, and to be fingerprinted for a FBI check (so they can ask us about those speeding tickets). We hope that you will follow us in our journey. Please keep us in your prayers, along with our child that we haven't yet seen, but whom we already love.