Introducing Isaac Hussen Kepley

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Introducing Isaac Hussen Kepley

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

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

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

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

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!!!!

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.