"All Yours"

"You understand that this commitment cannot be canceled for any reason?"

YES!

"The court grants your petition and these kids are all yours."

Life changing words.  Eternity changing words.

God has placed two orphans in families, He has provided an earthly father to the fatherless.  And we are overwhelmed and grateful.

There you have it!  This morning, at 8:30am was our court appointment (which happened at 9:30).  And in a matter of minutes, we officially became parents to the two most beautiful kiddos in the world.

Last night Anya came in from Gambella.  Goodness, she is BEAUTIFUL!  She has such large eyes, an expressive face, and loves to look and wonder at the world.  She was kinda overwhelmed and content to just be held and stare, which was refreshing after more screaming from Jayce.  (That boy's lungs are healthy!  Have I mentioned that before??)

We introduced Jayce to Anya and they were quite enraptured with each other.  More staring.

This morning after court, we went back to the orphanage.  Jayce began his customary holler, and I took Anya out into the yard area to get some peace and quiet.  She promptly peed all over me.

After about 45 minutes of crying, Philip called me into the room where he and Jayce were- Jayce was now just whimpering and not struggling nearly as much.  Anya and I settled down and, praise God, they both fell asleep!  Yup.  Jayce fell asleep on Philip.  And snored.  Anya fell asleep all cuddled up with me, after peeing on me a few more times.

Both kiddos made huge progress today, we're so proud of them!  We're so thankful for your prayers- after hours of screaming, having Jayce settle down and be held was an act of God.  I expect more screaming in the future, but for today, we gained ground.

Anya certainly loves motion and activity, she is most comfortable when I'm walking around and is observing life around her with very wide eyes.  She becomes worried when Jayce is crying, and will fuss a little when he's unhappy.  She also looked worried when Philip and Jayce left the room.  If I tried putting her down, she fussed and reached for me, which was wonderful.

Jayce is all eyes for his sister (who wouldn't be?).  He seems to prefer to be stationary and too much activity is scary.  As Philip sat with him and comforted him for so long, he began reaching to hold Philip's neck, which was super encouraging.

So, we're walking on thin ice here... It's legal but not really appropriate to post pics of our kids right now.  Because adoption is born of great loss and pain, it is important to remember the hurt in the midst of our joy.  That being said, we desire to introduce you to our children.  So many of you have prayed for them, even before they were born.  You have encouraged us and blessed us, have shared in our joy and craziness.  Because of that,  please join us in welcoming:

Jayce Andrew Niyal Ahrens

and:

Anya Nebiyat Rose Ahrens

A few more momentous pics:

Jayce asleep with his daddy

Jayce and Anya meeting for the first time

A daddy-daughter moment

Please continue to keep us in your prayers in the coming weeks as we continue our stay in Ethiopia, and as our kiddos continue to adjust and get to know us!