Our Quest to Become Five!!!

Well...

Thank you for all of the support and prayers.  Please keep them coming.  Len, Sarah and I are leaving here shortly for our journey across the ocean to bring our little boy home.  I am so thankful for our friends and family for helping us thru this journey.  You have been a true blessing to us.  Please take a moment and listen to this beautiful version of one of my favorite songs with an African Childrens' Choir.

Until we are in Ethiopia....goodbye.

Hugs!

Michelle

Oh the Roller Coaster...

Sometimes roller coasters are a blast and other times...not so much!

After truly hitting a wall on Monday night, Len received a magical email from the US Embassy in Addis Ababa at 7:30 Tuesday morning.  We were being offered an appointment.  This means we are going back to Ethiopia to get our little one.  I have waited a bit until I had all of the details before I blogged.  SO here is what I have!

Len, Sarah and I are leaving on Sunday morning at 6am from Dulles-Washington DC.  We will have a few hours in DC and then head to Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.  We will arrive Monday morning.  We will get settled in and then head to the orphanage to visit our little one and introduce Sarah to him.  We will bring our donations to the orphanage at this time.

Monday afternoon will be a very special day and time for all of us.  We will return after naptime to pick up Joshua and begin our bonding as a family!  He will see the blue gates of Toukoul for the last time.


Tuesday afternoon at 1pm we have an appointment at the US Embassy in Addis.  We will arrive with our kids and our passports and be interviewed by the officials there.  If all goes well, we are confident it will, back to the guest home we will go!


On Thursday at 3pm our passports will be ready for pick up.  Hopefully our lawyer snaps them up and we will have Joshua's highly revered Ethiopian Passport with his American VISA!

Friday night we will leave Addis as a family of four.  We will not be complete until 1:27 May 7th when Hannah holds her brother for the first time.  I am in tears just thinking of it!

I am running around like a maniac.  After all of this time, you would like to think I would have made a list of what needs to be done when we got the "CALL".  Of course...that would be too easy.  

After all the roller coaster ride is not over yet.....but I can see the end  of the ride....thankful that our Lord has gotten us this far.


Prayer Requests:
Please continue to lift our family up in prayer as we travel.  Pray for Joshua and his nannies as they painfully end their relationships and  we begin ours with our little one.  Most of all, pray for the families that continue to wait for "the call".  The wait is soooo hard but the Lord knows what we can handle. 

The Door Shuts Yet Again!--nine weeks

Ahhh!  One might think we might be immune to this by now.  We heard nothing from our agency today which always means just that..."nothing".  It has been nine weeks since court and we were so hopeful just a few days ago.  I know it is the enemy trying to thwart the Lord and his quest to help the orphan.  But someone please tell that to my heart.  It is breaking.  I cannot commit to anything other than day to day life for fear that we will get the email or the call.  I am afraid to start ignoring this whole process but I am close...I have to protect myself from what is left of this process.  I am told it is all worth it in the end.  But can someone please explain how leaving a child in an orphanage makes any sense?  This process is redonkulous!  Yes I said...redonkulous!

Now we will have more hoops to jump through...notarized I600's, money wired to Embassy....just more time wasted.

Well...back to everyday life.  I wish I could say the same for my little one who is on the other side of the world.  We are trying Joshua..there is nothing else we can do.

The Light??????

Well...It is Thursday...The day that our agency has the opportunity to turn complete files into the US Embassy in Addis Ababa.  Of course...no email today.  After spending the morning with Leah, a wonderful new friend, that we made in Ethiopia...and seeing her beautiful girls with her adorable bio kids...I was a determined woman.  I checked my email like crazy today.  Of course, today is gymnastics day...so the gym has free wi-fi that does not work today of all days!  I need to keep up my obsessive compulsive behavior that I have developed post homestudy visits!  Just kidding of course!

At five thirty...enough was enough!  I chatted with Len and told him to call Tami.  I needed to know one way or another.  Please just a miracle...we had one at Christmas, a court date!  Is it too much to ask for one at Easter?  :-)

Len did not call back for what felt like an eternity.  I sat with my favorite adoption friend...Megan.  Very few people understand what it is like to leave your child in another country after meeting them and hugging them. I am so thankful for you friend!

So the phone rang and I almost jumped out of my skin... I ran into the hallway and Len said the most amazing words I have heard...."Our paperwork is complete...we have everything from the region that we needed."  We do not know if we have been submitted.  We do know that Dove has been working like mad to prepare as many files as possible to get them in before Monday of next week.  At that point, there are a bunch of new requirements...which of course will delay things even more.  I mentioned them in a post a couple of weeks ago.

It is Easter in Ethiopia.  The country is shut down to celebrate our risen Lord.  On Monday, we will hopefully find out from Tami that she has chatted with the lawyer in Ethiopia and we are submitted!  If that is the case...we wait to see if we are approved for a visa appointment.  It could happen as soon as next week....A visa appointment given to us asap means we could leave as soon as April 30th!  I could have my little boy in my arms for Mothers' Day!

I am not going shopping this weekend but man.....diapers and formula here I come if we get the email on Monday.

I am soooo thankful for this amazing phone call.  What a relief...even if temporary.  I will sleep a bit more soundly tonight.

Please pray for our Embassy process...It is time to bring our son HOME!

Eight with Thanks.....

Eight weeks since court.  We really are not looking any closer than last week.  But this is on my heart....


R's Mom,

One year ago you gave birth to a beautiful and precious little boy.  You kept him close to you for just 6 short weeks.  Thank you for holding him, nursing him and loving him. I know you will treasure those weeks for the rest of your life.  I will never have the opportunity to thank you in person, to hug you and to assure you of our love for your little one.  Please know...we will raise him in the Lord.  He has two big sisters that are waiting with great anticipation of his arrival.  Sarah is so excited to meet your little one...she is traveling around the world, has received 4 additional shots to be able to be able to "see him first".
I cannot imagine the anguish you must have, knowing that just one year ago your little one arrived.  I am so sorry for your pain.  We will forever honor you in our hearts and home.  Thank you for giving us our son.

Praying for you,

Michelle

Seven......

And the drama continues

Well...I thought for sure we would be in Ethiopia by now or perhaps even home by now.  Yes...not my luck I guess.  Everyday, I wonder if we are getting our mystery paperwork in.  I know that all of this is in our Lord's hands and the reason for this delay is his purpose and his reasoning.  It is so hard to be here and wonder if he will ever get home.  I have begun to answer the ever fabled question with...."I hope to meet him again before he comes knocking on my door asking for his college money".

I seriously do not understand this process or its delays.  I do know that the Embassy added some new requirements in March and now we are waiting due to that.  I know that the paperwork comes from his region....which is two days away from Addis Ababa.  I now think that it is a court piece from the region.  Seriously...Grrrrr.

We now have seven days until his birthday and I am not planning on purchasing any birthday boy shirts.  I feel awful not being able to be positive with those that do ask....how are things?  When do you travel?  Got a date yet?  A great friend put it in beautiful perspective for me...."It's like being pregnant for two years and on the verge of miscarrying everyday".  Honestly, she is right.

My heart hurts everyday.  I wonder if this will ever end.  I am doing my best to rest in Him.  I am just so tired, friends, just so tired.  Praying that God sees this resolved and soon.

Making Plans!

Trying to be optimistic, yet again!  :-)


Some things are really coming together so will we be submitted soon?  Boy I hope so!


Len's backpack from REI will be picked up this afternoon.  Sarah's shots are done.  Joshua has a room with clothes in the closet!







The girls room is done and all is put away...ordering curtains as I get new coupons from JC Penney!  :-)










And the newest development....Sarah is sponsoring a little girl from Compassion International.  Here is how this works!  Sarah writes to her sponsored kiddo and prays for her and Len and I write a check for the kiddo to receive the following:

• Ongoing Christian training
• Educational opportunities
• Treatment & training to maintain child health
• Development of self-confidence & social skills
• Key life skills & vocational programs

Sarah receives:

• Learning about different parts of the world 
• Discovering political & economic realities your sponsored child faces
• The joy of helping someone in great need

So with the help of our friend, Compassion Advocate, Anji...Sarah has sponsored a little girl, age 6 from Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.  While we are there..Sarah will meet her, perhaps play with her, and bring her a gift.  This will be an amazing opportunity for Sarah and her precious new friend on the other side of the world!

Hannah continues to write her friend, Stephanie.  A precious and adorable nine year old girl in Haiti!

Are you interested in making a world of difference for one child?  Compassion International is the way!

More good news on the adoption front....another family that we have been praying for...been in Ethiopia for 80+ days is coming home on Tuesday!!!!  Congrats Wes and Nina!  Thanks for sharing your journey!

Praying for our paperwork to land in our file soon!  I am ready to goooooo!!!!


I just received an update on how the US Embassy has changed things again...


In addition to the current intake procedures, effective Monday, April 25, 2011, all cases submitted for the Embassy's review must also include the following information.

1) A signed, notarized I-600 petition by the prospective adoption parent(s).
2) Copies of the PAP's Ethiopian visa indicating travel to Ethiopia for their Federal First Instance Court Appointment.
3) Payment of all fees associated with the Embassy process, including the $404 immigration visa fee.
4) A signed Privacy Act Waiver.


So later this afternoon, I will be sending via pdf/email our copies of our little passport/visas to our agency.  I will wait to hear how they want the funds transferred.  Oh good grief!  Welcome to my world!  :-)

The Emotional Strain is Beginning to Take It's Toll

Just plain sad.  It started as a very emotional day with no shoes on.  I could not help but shake the faces of the many that I saw and did not know and now pray for.  I am "shaken by the Lord" right now and am not sure where to plant my feet and where he wants me to be in my life.  Truly just looking for guidance and what is the next step for me.  I cannot read enough about human trafficking, modern day slavery, poverty...shall I go on?  Now the question is what to do about all of this that is rattling me to my core.  Ugh!

In the meantime, I finally got up the courage to call rather than email my agency.  I have been emailing but not receiving much in the way of information or even a response.  So while Sarah was spinning on the uneven bars I hid in the utility closet of the gym to call.  Well it was certainly not what I wanted to hear.  Basically, we are missing paperwork.  We cannot be submitted to the US Embassy without all of the goods.  Well we could be submitted but our file would be unresolved as it would be missing pieces.  Our attorney will only submit paperwork that is complete and has every last detail in place.  That is the good news I guess.  So, get what is missing!  We are missing paperwork from Joshua's region that is basically contact information for the witnesses that are involved with his case!  Nice eh?!?!?!  So the US Embassy is creating a database that allows them to track all of the witnesses.  They are trying to uncover any and all child trafficking.  While I am all over that and am really thankful for their diligence....grrrrr!  So until that missing stuff is in our lawyer's hands....we will remain in Illinois while our son remains in an orphanage.

I am so discouraged and heartbroken.  Please pray for that missing paperwork....

Six weeks down.........

Well it has been six weeks since we passed court and just one day shy of six weeks since I held my little one.
  Will you think with me for just one minute... I want you to imagine dreaming of having a child...waiting for the child knowing he is out there somewhere...holding that child....hugging him and smelling him...listening to him giggle...and then giving that child back not knowing when you will see that little person again.   Perhaps that will give you just a small sense of the challenge that this is for Len and I.  Joshua's room is ready now.  He has some clothes in his closet.  A shelf in the kitchen for his bottles and formula.  I am doing my absolute best to try and stay positive and to rest in the Lord.  I know this is all in his hands but I am so darn impatient!   We still have heard zippo about our Embassy date.  So in hopes of getting my "Ethiopia fix" we are going to Ethiopian Diamond in Chicago.  A good friend that I work with brought us there a few days before we received our referral.  So yummy!  This time we are bringing the girls and some family members and other friends.  I cannot wait to be there and just BE!  Heaven!  Tomorrow is no shoes day....will you have naked feet?  I will!  Please continue to keep those families who are on the paperwork roller coaster in your prayers!  Thanks!

Are Things Coming Together???

Well it has been a busy week.  I would do anything to crawl back into my bed for some good quality sleep in my new and improved bedroom!!!

Len has spent every minute of his entire Spring Break moving stuff, painting and moving stuff again!  The bedrooms look awesome.  The new carpet was installed.  I am still going thru closets, of course, but we have really cleaned house in a BIG way!  Thanks Len, you are a superhero!

On the Joshua front, a couple of things.  I have heard nothing still from our agency regarding being submitted to the US Embassy.  :-(  But we have seen a bit of movement and a God thing for sure!  We need to add our little one to our health insurance.  So we asked our friends at Dove to provide the necessary paperwork.  They did and he will be added on Monday at Maine Schools.  But here is the God thing.....he has a different birthday!!!  Now how can that happen, typing error perhaps.  We are going to celebrate whatever day they give us as we will never know the true birthday of our precious Joshua as we know nothing about his birthmom.  So we have an extension on my dream...can we be in Ethiopia on April 19th?  If so.....we will celebrate Joshua's birthday!

On another "coming together" moment, our backpack that has been on backorder for three weeks for the trip has shipped out of the REI warehouse.  The infectious disease specialist moved up Sarah's appointment from April 8th to April 1st!  So Sarah is ready to go!  And she is just sooooo excited.

I am so thankful for the wonderful little envelope that I opened yesterday from Dove.  It had my little one's birth certificate inside with our names listed as his parents!  So fun to see the real stuff!  Even if it is just a copy.

Please continue to pray for our paperwork as well as the families that are in Ethiopia and cannot move to the next stage in the process to be able to come home.  They are truly struggling and are being tested.  Please pray for their paperwork to be processed so they can come home to the United States.

I told my dad yesterday that we were going to Ethiopia in April, boy I hope so!

Have a restful weekend!

Michelle