Friday, May 30, 2014

All Of A Sudden

After 4 years........
My phone this morning....
Philip trying to get a hold of me
to tell me the news :)
After so many delays.......
After so many tears and headaches and spastic moments.......

We have been cleared by the US Embassy!!!

Yes.  We can go get our kiddos now!!!

What happened?? Well, on Monday we received notice that we had cleared the Ethiopian court.  We were excited, but as there were still things that needed corrected, we did not get our hopes up.  In fact, I had not gotten around to writing a blog post yet because I have been busy.  We didn't expect to hear anything for another few weeks.  Well, God has a sense of humor!

So, we are praying and hoping to travel next Saturday, the 7th.  We hope to appear before the US Embassy between the 10th and 12th of June.  Once we have that appointment set, we can confirm plane tickets and travel plans.  (Last call for our puzzle fundraiser!  All donations go directly to airfare.)

We're doing well, and a little freaked out and spastic right now!  This next week is going to be crazy, but God is just that amazing and perfect and wonderful!  Praise Him!


Hang on, precious kiddos-- just a few more days.  Mommy and Daddy are coming!  





A few pics from today.  God blessed me and allowed me to see some special friends this weekend!

Cutest Aryana
Malachi, Naomi and Ary


Photobomb!

Maturity at its best

Mama/son scone-making endeavor


Monday, May 19, 2014

Fresh Air

This morning was a breath of fresh air.  After weeks and weeks and months of delays, differing stories, ineptness and frustrations, this morning we had a breath of fresh air.

We have been re-submitted to court!  Praise Jesus!  

The Ethiopian court system now has our case, and can approve it (again) based on the new information they have been given (new life-history forms and police searches).  This should be a quick step, though nothing is quick in our country of sundials.  We have no timeline for this step.

After our case is approved, we will be resubmitted to the US Embassy.  Now that the Ethiopian paperwork and the American paperwork are congruent, the Embassy should have the documentation/interviews/whatever they need to approve our case.  Again, this should be a straightforward process, barring further delays.

Thank you so much for waiting with us and holding us in prayer before the Throne of God.  As indicated in my previous blog post, the last few weeks have been some of the most difficult that we have experienced.  Today was a step in the right direction.  There is hope for us, yet.

We are not holding our breath.  We still have no timeline.  We are not re-packing our suitcases yet.  But, we are not biting anyone that comes within arms reach anymore.  At least, not today.  Today we are smiling.

Wednesday, May 7, 2014

Sundials

So, many of you are wondering (and many of you are graciously not asking) the status of our adoption. Three weeks ago, our agency gave us an "educated guess" of 4-6 weeks.  Eh, we will get excited when we have plane tickets in our hands.

We have been in regular correspondence with our agency here in the States, and they have been great about giving us any and all information that they know.  Unfortunately that information is sketchy at best, coming from the Ethiopian culture that is reputedly lax regarding timelines.  One of the agency directors compared the U.S. view of time to a stopwatch, while Ethiopians operate at the speed of a sundial.  True.  Very, very true.  A lethargic sundial.

So, that super-annoying question: "How are you?"  It is kind, concerned, gracious, caring, sympathetic, and currently very annoying.  If you are wondering, let me tell you: we're going nuts.  We trust God.  Our faith is in-tact and growing.  But, we are exhausted.  We are not overly busy, our schedule is not
complicated, and we are not working too hard.  However, we reasonably expected our kids home 4 months ago.  In these past 4 months, we have experienced more delays than I can count: a birth mother lying, paperwork needing to be redone, court needing to be redone, a birth mother missing, Ethiopian agency directors taking international trips, delayed search letters, a second Embassy appointment, regions in Ethiopia celebrating a 100-year anniversary (so naturally they would shut the government down for a week, right??), and the list continues.

Honestly, we are exhausted.  I was complaining to a friend yesterday about not being able to plan anything more than two weeks out, including work, ministry, a mini-vacation, a day at the beach, eloping to Mexico....  nothing.  Philip and I cannot remember the time that our lives were not influenced by adoption in some way.  Fingerprinting appointments, piles of paperwork, phone conferences, doctors' appointments, notary appointments, and running all travel plans by our agency so they know how to get a hold of us with any important news while we're out of town.

 I would like to hole up in a hole with Philip and just block out the world and enjoy the time we have together.  Twice in the last two days I have canceled plans with friends simply because I feel as though I have used up my quota of words for the month.  Impending social interaction makes my stomach knot and panic fills my mind.

On a sunnier note, I got lost in a memory about playing with Jayce, and caught myself smiling.  That's good, right?  Also, my best friend didn't hang up on me when I went on a 20 minute rant about how much I didn't want to talk.  Other adoptive moms are understanding.  (Ok, seriously, I had a conversation that went like this: "How are you?" "I'm irritated at the world and don't want to talk about it.  You?" "Likewise!" "Ok!  Bye!" ...it was so refreshing!)

So, please continue to pray for us.  Please excuse me if I seem distant or grumpy.  It's nothing personal.  Some days are better than others.  If I give short answers to adoption-related questions, it's not because I don't care. My quota of words is--