Just Keep Moving

The I 171 H came today.... what's that? Another piece of important paperwork. It is the approval in advance for us to bring children from another country into the US as citizens through adoption.  Thanks Lord for keeping us moving. Yeah!!!!

Submitted

Submitted to court, which means we are in line to be assigned a court date. Hoping to find out when our date will be sometime in June. This would be the first of 2 flights to Ethiopia for Dan and me. Hoping to beat the Rainy season, August and September, in Ethiopia when everything stops moving. Please pray with us for the Lord's perfect timing on a court date and that we would stay submitted to Him.

Waiting...

Ms. Sue leaves today for Ethiopia. She is taking our care package to the boys. She will see S and I can only imagine picking him up in my arms as she does this week.

E's orphanage is in a different location. She is planning on making the trip to see him and the other children there that have new families and packages. She said it will be like Christmas giving them their packages. :o)

I find I am a little bit ancy today, wanting to know more. Wanting to be another step closer to seeing them and getting them home. I've heard that for all the paperwork and things we have had to do before, the actual wait can be the hardest part.

Resurrection Sunday

 We went to church in Indiana with Dan's niece, Julie, her husband, Jeff and their two kids, Abbey and Austin. It never fails to amuse folks that Dan is Julie's Uncle. It was no different this Sunday. It was fun. Dan showed up as a surprise blessing for his Mom and Dad when she was around 40. We often hear how he kept his parents young. I think of this at times as we start over with the boys. E is around 7 years old...so mathematically, I would have been in my late 30's... but S.... he would have been an early 40's baby. :o) Here's to keeping us young!!! Ha.

At church I saw a dad caring his toddler into the sanctuary. I leaned over to Dan and told him I could see him with our little brown skinned toddler next year. Hmmm.

After church we did family photos and dinner at Aunt Sarah's. Jim started our meal with grace and blessing those who could not be with us that day. He include E and S. Thanks, Jim.

Signed, sealed, delivered - I'm yours.

Toby and I mailed off the care packages today. At the post office we saw many people putting children's gifts in boxes to mail for Easter. Our package went out with many others, however I felt a significant weight of value and love go with our simple gifts, not because of the material items but of the connection it would make between us and them. Most of all for the boys I want our care package to bring HOPE for a future. Ms. Sue, our agency director from Celebrate Children International, is headed back to Ethiopia on Monday, April 25 to escort a couple of children home to their forever family. She will have the joy of personally taking several gifts to kids that will be receiving the news that they have also been chosen by a family and receiving their first gift from their new family.

Hey FYI....today is Dan's birthday. Happy Birthday Dan! You are a dad of 5 kids now. Next year we will have 2 more around our table singing “Happy Birthdaaayy, dear Da-ad, Happy Birthday to you!” :o)

Love you, honey...thanks for taking this journey with me.

Shopping Flurry

Found out I could send a little something with our photos for the boys but it needs to be in Florida to our international agency by Friday. What started as just a t-shirt grew to just a little more and little more. We are allowed to send 1 care package during our adoption. Madeline, Toby and Mae went with me to Walmart. Toby just loved standing around in the boys and baby clothes section while we girls day dreamed about the boys in this shirt or that one. If you did not read the sarcasm in that sentence put some in...:o). Clothes or shopping are not big on his priority list. We finally agreed on 2 outfits for each - one pair of pants, shorts, 2 t-shirts and socks. I hope E and S like receiving them more than my first son liked shopping for them. Ha. Even though Toby doesn't care about the clothes, he did pull together all his match box / hot wheel cars to give to E and was a good resource on other boy stuff. We added in some gummy bears, stickers, silly bands, pencils, a stuffed animal, a match box car, a small ball and the photo book of us for E's bag. S also got a blanket, a stuffed animal, a rattle, a teething toy and a huge laminated picture of our family along with his clothes. Sure wish I could send a hug.

Planting a Seed

Tonight I have been sifting through a few older photos of our family as well as some quick snapshots from this afternoon. I'm putting together a little book for E. I wonder what he will think of us? His first introduction to us will be photos in a picture book. Will he think we are strange? Will he be excited? I guess our first thoughts and affection for him started with 1 little mug shot we saw on our computer. It planted a seed that has truly sprouted in our hearts. :o)

BTW...I've heard it is good to make 2 copies of the family photo books. One to send now and one to take with us when we go get him. These books become a treasured possession that are looked at over and over and slept with and carried around. Other parents that have gone before us said the well loved books are often tattered and falling apart when they arrive and it is handy to have a replacement. I hope E. loves his book...and it plants a seed.

Shared my hope with M. Miller who has already adopted a boy from Ethiopia. Her little man was definitely influential in our choosing Ethiopia. That boy just radiates joy. She assured me that it was the LORD who connects our hearts and not only chose E. for us but us for him. Thanks, M.

I choose JOY! - Referral

Sue, the agency director from Celebrate Children International, returned from Ethiopia this week. We spoke on the phone. We talked about E. and if there was another child available to adopt with him in our age range. She presented some options to me because she did not have any other children 2-7 years available. From the beginning, we always prayed for “the boys” and felt there were two, but said we were willing to do just one if that was what God wanted.  Then she asked about a baby boy? This option did not seem like an open door to me either. I didn't think our home study was approved for one that young. After talking to Sue, I called the social worker who did our IL home study to ask about other things, siblings, room sharing, etc. She got out her copy of our home study. I grabbed mine. As we looked it over, it stated our approval age range. She said, you could adopt the baby if you wanted... AND....it was as if the Lord said...HERE is Door # 3. I called Sue back. She sent us photos of a beautiful little boy with big eyes. My heart leaped as I saw him on my computer screen. So did the girls.  We were all squealing with glee!!  His name means “blessing” in Amharic.

Door #3 - I choose joy. God willing, both boys will be a part of our family. 

USCIS and IKEA

Dan and I got fingerprinted in Naperville (USCIS) as part of the application for our future adopted children to be pre-approved for Visas into the country. Mae went with us as she is still recovering from her tonsils / adenoid surgery. Fingerprinting went quickly, so we stopped by IKEA for some cinnamon rolls and shopping. Glad to get this big step in our adoption done. Mae was not so glad to make the trip with us. She missed CC and all her friends at our co-op home school group.

He knows best.

First week of April

Dan and I are still praying.(The kids too!) We sense the Lord's leading with E. but do not understand the whole picture. Is there only 1 or does He have 2 children in mind for us? I was not settled. We gave back to the Lord our thoughts about 2 children and said if He just wanted 1 more for our family, He knew best. If He had more planned, He would need to show us.