What we have been up to in "the wait"...

  

We have had a lot of GREAT memories in "getting everything in" before 2 big trips to Ethiopia and bringing a new baby home!

 Ellyana getting to go to a fun birthday party painting her first pottery...turned out so neat!

 Swimming with cousins

 These 2 determined to be in the Olympics...he's got the strength to do the high lifts...she's got the graceful moves...it is a funny duo!

 Fun egg hunt with cousins.

 Loved this one!

 LIVING UP Spring Break...ordered their personal pizzas they got for Reading Month.

 Having a great time with the Adoption Playgroup.

 Cowboy/Chef

 2 favorite games of Spring Break

 A couple of GREAT parent reads...on top of adoption books and devotional books we have been trying to get good reading done.

With Symonne coming home this summer our summer family vacation is off, so we did an overnight trip to the town nearby on Spring Break.  Great fun was had by all, just wish it was a little longer!

 The kids loved the arcade.

 Boys first time playing laser tag...they loved it!

 Out-to-eat.

 Hotel pool swimming.

 Joining into the other kids' races.

 Pizza party at night. 

 The free breakfast and more swimming, we were so thankful for our great little trip!

 And now that the weathers warmer, Zach's been having a great time playing with the neighbor boy.  He's quite the little cowboy.
  Brian and I are living by the motto "get another thing off the list" while trying to make the most of our time with our kids, each other, family and friends.  It has made for some late nights but it feels good and we are having a lot of fun!  

As for our "loose" trip planning...we may go to visit Symonne in June and get to pick her up in July!

Can't wait to bring her home!!!!

Don't get STUCK not doing anything

The conversation has come up SO many times...

 

Why does international adoption take SOO long?

What happens to all the kids when a country slows down or 

stops adopting?

We have had some answers we give.

Zach's adoption start to finish...13 months.  

Guatemala later closed to international adoption.

Ellyana's adoption from Ethiopia start to finish...15 months.

Symonne's adoption from Ethiopia start till now... 

33 months and counting.

In reality, it actually feels like a BIZARRE situation 

that is very hard to describe.

Yes, there are precautions put in place for the protection of the children

but what is the reality of all of this for most of the children?

WHY? WHY? WHY?

This recent full-length documentary answers these questions and so much more.

You can download the movie 

and it is also on tour across the US and may be coming to your area.

Watch the movie, it is worth your time.

Share the information, the kids are worth it.

Do what you can, don't get STUCK not doing anything!

 

Go Blue!

Don't worry college friends...we are both still VERY loyal to our old almamaters...

but in an effort for family unity...Go Michigan!

Easter Blessings

 

 This story has been a very favorite of mine for over 20 years.  Since then Easter has been my very favorite time of year.  This year there has been some freshness to death and it makes looking forward to heaven all the greater.  So thankful for Christ's sacrifice and his power over the grave!

Edith Burns was a wonderful Christian who lived in San Antonio,
Texas.  She was the patient of a doctor by the name of Will
Phillips.  Dr. Phillips was a gentle doctor who saw patients as
people.  His favorite patient was Edith Burns.

 One morning he went to his office with a heavy heart and it was
because of Edith Burns.  When he walked into that waiting room,
there sat Edith with her big black Bible in her lap earnestly
talking to a young mother sitting beside her.

 Edith Burns had a habit of introducing herself in this way: 
"Hello, my name is Edith Burns.  Do you believe in Easter?"  Then
she would explain the meaning of Easter, and many times people
would be saved.

 Dr. Phillips walked into that office and there he saw the head
nurse, Beverly.  Beverly had first met Edith when she was taking
her blood pressure.  Edith began by saying, "My name is Edith
Burns.  Do you believe in Easter?"

 Beverly said, "Why, yes, I do."

 Edith said, "Well, what do you believe about Easter?"

 Beverly said, "Well, it's all about egg hunts, going to church, and
dressing up."

 Edith kept pressing her about the real meaning of Easter, and
finally led her to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ.

 Dr. Phillips said, "Beverly, don't call Edith into the office quite
yet.  I believe there is another delivery taking place in the
waiting room."

 After being called back in the doctor's office, Edith sat down, and
when she took a look at the doctor she said, "Dr. Will, why are you
so sad?  Are you reading your Bible?  Are you praying?"

 Dr. Phillips said gently, "Edith, I'm the doctor and you're the
patient."  With a heavy heart he said, "Your lab report came back
and it says you have cancer, and Edith, you're not going to live very long."

 Edith said, "Why Will Phillips, shame on you.  Why are you so sad? 
Do you think God makes mistakes?  You have just told me I'm going
to see my precious Lord Jesus, my husband, and my friends.  You
have just told me that I am going to celebrate Easter forever, and
here you are having difficulty giving me my ticket!"

 Dr. Phillips thought to himself, "What a magnificent woman this
Edith Burns is!"

 Edith continued coming to Dr. Phillips.  Christmas came and the
office was closed through January 3rd.  On the day the office
opened, Edith did not show up.

 Later that afternoon, Edith called Dr. Phillips and said she would
have to be moving her story to the hospital and said, "Will, I'm
very near home, so would you make sure that they put women in here
next to me in my room who need to know about Easter."

 Well, they did just that, and women began to come in and share that
room with Edith.  Many women were saved.  Everybody on that floor
from staff to patients were so excited about Edith that they
started calling her Edith Easter; that is, everyone except Phyllis
Cross, the head nurse.

 Phyllis made it plain that she wanted nothing to do with Edith
because she was a "religious nut".  She had been a nurse in an army
hospital.  She had seen it all and heard it all.  She was the
original G.I. Jane.  She had been married three times, she was
hard, cold, and did everything by the book.

 One morning the two nurses who were to attend to Edith were sick. 
Edith had the flu and Phyllis Cross had to go in and give her a shot.

 When she walked in, Edith had a big smile on her face and said,
"Phyllis, God loves you and I love you, and I have been praying for you."

 Phyllis Cross said, "Well, you can quit praying for me.  It won't
work and I'm not interested."

 Edith said, "Well, I will pray and I have asked God not to let me
go home until you come into the family."

 Phyllis Cross said, "Then you will never die because that will
never happen," and curtly walked out of the room.

 Every day Phyllis Cross would walk into the room and Edith would
say, "God loves you, Phyllis, and I love you, and I'm praying for you."

 One day Phyllis Cross said she was literally drawn to Edith's room
like a magnet would draw iron.  She sat down on the bed and Edith
said, "I'm so glad you have come, because God told me that today is
your special day."

 Phyllis Cross said, "Edith, you have asked everybody here the
question, 'Do you believe in Easter?', but you have never asked me."

 Edith said, "Phyllis, I wanted to many times, but God told me to
wait until you asked, and now that you have asked ."

 Edith Burns took her Bible and shared with Phyllis Cross the Easter
Story of the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

 Edith said, "Phyllis, do you believe in Easter?  Do you believe
that Jesus Christ is alive and that He wants to live in your heart?"

 Phyllis Cross said, "Oh, I want to believe that with all of my
heart, and I do want Jesus in my life."  Right there, Phyllis Cross
prayed and invited Jesus Christ into her heart.  For the first time
Phyllis Cross did not walk out of a hospital room, she was carried
out on the wings of angels.

 Two days later, Phyllis Cross came in and Edith said, "Do you know
what day it is?"

 Phyllis Cross said, "Why Edith, it's Good Friday."

 Edith said, "Oh, no, for you every day is Easter.  Happy Easter,
Phyllis!"

 Two days later, on Easter Sunday, Phyllis Cross came into work, did
some of her duties, and then went down to the flower shop and got
some Easter lilies, because she wanted to go up to see Edith, give
her some Easter lilies, and wish her a Happy Easter.

 When she walked into Edith's room, Edith was in bed.  That big
black Bible was on her lap.  Her hands were in that Bible.  There
was a sweet smile on her face.  When Phyllis Cross went to pick up
Edith's hand, she realized Edith was dead.  Her left hand was on
John 14:2

 "In my Father's house are many mansions.  I go to prepare a place
for you.  I will come again and receive you to Myself, that where I
am, there you may be also."

 Her right hand was on Revelation 21:4:

 "And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes, there shall be
no more death nor sorrow, nor crying; and there shall be no more
pain, for the former things have passed away."

 Phyllis Cross took one look at that dead body, and then lifted her
face toward heaven, and with tears streaming down her cheeks said,
"Happy Easter, Edith --- Happy Easter!"

 Phyllis Cross left Edith's body, walked out of the room and over to
a table where two student nurses were sitting.

 She said, "My name is Phyllis Cross.  Do you believe in Easter?"

Our Referral Call and the Silver Bullet

 Well, after years of being on the waitlist for a baby girl from Ethiopia, months of being #1 on the waitlist...you often wonder what it will be like to get THE CALL!?!!

 

I remember just where I was when we got Zach's and Ellyana's referral...it is an amazing, wonderful experience!

Most days in the past few months, I had woke up and thought through what it would be like to get our referral that day.  But Monday, March 4, a referral phone call had never crossed my mind.

We were at my parent's house out-of-state for the weekend.  Ellyana had been up around 4:00 AM, so I had been up with her.  My dad was scheduled for open-heart surgery the next week so we had some special time together early in the morning.  I drove him to work.  We were trying to get a lot in that morning because we wanted to head home on Monday instead of Tuesday because of the big snowstorm coming through on Monday night.

We visited my Grandma in the nursing home with cousins.

 We went and ate lunch with my neice at her school.

 We packed up and tried to get headed out as soon as possible to try to beat rush-hour that afternoon.  The day felt like it was playing in fast forward.

After about 2 hours on the road, we got a call on my cell phone.   Our caseworker had a baby girl that she wanted to talk to us about.  WOW!!!!  The only problem...she wants us to be in front of a computer so she can talk through things with us, she wanted to schedule a time to talk!  We still had about 4 more hours till we got home.

Panic!  We made a plan we were going to try to track down a place but unfortunately we were trying to get through an area before rush-hour and then we had to find an place with internet to try to use our IPad in hopes that it would work!?!

We were able to figure out there was a Panera (which was the only place that we knew for sure had Wi-Fi) a few hours down the road, so we planned to talk to our caseworker then. 

And then we went as fast as we could to get there (hoping and praying we wouldn't get a ticket).  We wanted to make every effort to be there at the scheduled time and also to make sure we got the phone call before our caseworker left for the day.  

The mini-van and Brian can really get you there when you need to be ;)

All of a sudden though everyone started to need to go to the bathroom.  We tried to convince ourselves we could make it another hour, but it wasn't working.  We hadn't allowed for time for a bathroom stop before our scheduled call with our caseworker.  We pressed on and then found a rest area (quick, we figured).  We peeled in and then all jumped out of the car as fast as we could.  We raced in and race out (you should have seen the faces of the people at the rest area...really funny!)  I was thinking they either thought we thought the rest area was on fire or had just robbed the place.

On we went and much to our great delight we saw a billboard for Panera 2 minutes ahead.  Yes, this was 40 minutes ahead of our scheduled time to be at the other Panera.  We quickly called our caseworker and asked if she could talk sooner.  She said that was fine and that we should call her when we were settled.

We got off the interstate and ordered dinner.  The kids even got drinks this time (hoping free refills would bide some time for us and we even ordered cookies for dessert).  The kids did not know what was up.  We felt that we didn't want to get their hopes up in case the referral didn't work out.  They should have been suspicious of our unusual behavior (getting pop, cookies and setting them at a table by themselves).  They were just thrilled with all this and felt quite important to be sitting at a separate table.

We were blessed with a little room off the main eating area with no one in it (actually one guy was in it and then saw all of us...and got up and left).  Brian and I took a table and the kids took one nearby.  We were settled enough to call our caseworker.

It was very exciting and actually quite hard to think straight!  The call lasted about 45 minutes and we felt very peaceful.  At the end of the call our caseworker said she would send us pictures, so we hung up and proceeded to check e-mail every few seconds to see if the pictures would come through.  Nothing!

We went to the bathroom, got refills, took pictures at Panera, stalled as long as possible...still no baby pictures.

So figuring it may be a problem with the Ipad not being able to get that big of documents, we eventually had to leave.  We headed for home still hours away.

As disappointing as that moment was, it actually worked out fine. The kids played in the back seat while Brian and I had hours to talk through everything (all without the distraction of her cuteness).  So we talked and thanked the Lord for His goodness, it was very much a blessing.

When we finally got home, the computer could not boot fast enough.  And there she was...precious as could be.  We knew she was ours before we ever saw her face but oh, once we saw it was amazing.  This is the child we have prayed for years, 

this is our daughter and we love her so very much!

The next few days were a whirlwind to get everything official...calls with the International Pediatrician, stacks of paper work, more phone calls, visit to the notary and FedEx, more calls.

On Tuesday evening, we had one more final call and then went to tell the kids the news (actually we had found BJ laying on the floor outside our room listening in...he was quite proud that he had figured things out just then ;)The kids were super excited and we had fun gushing over the pictures with them.

 

Amazingness of timing on this on, Brian's schedule was more free than it has been in months.  And the "call" came before I left for awhile to go back for my dad's surgery.  We were able to get paperwork signed and notarized Wednesday morning.  It was FedEx'd.  

 

 This was the poor lady at our bank who had to notarize our pile of documents...

she actually was pretty happy to be part of the story!

And as of Thursday, March 7 our Referral Acceptance was "official".  Hoorah!!!!!!!!!!

We had great joy telling family and friends and the boys took a little announcement to school.

Ellyana has loved telling the world "I'm going to get a baby sister".  Any random person that talks to her usually gets the announcement. It has been a very fun time!

We thank the Lord for His goodness and for our precious baby girl!

As her name suggests, Symonne...God hears.  And indeed He has!

We are jumping right in!!!

 

We had fun with this picture this summer and I decided to wait to post it until we got our referral.   Because from past experience THIS is how it feels with the referral...

HERE.WE.GO! 

Sometimes feeling "underwater" with the wait. 

And coming up happy, thrilled and sooo excited!

 

Baby Symonne, oh, how we love you!  Oh, how we pray for you and we know Jesus is taking care of you!  And oh, how we miss our precious baby girl that we can't even wait to meet!

 

Update

A special thank you for your prayers for my Dad and family this past week!  He is continuing to recover at home.  God has been very faithful!