I Need Africa

For several months now I have been struggling with how to convey all that we experienced while in Ethiopia. This was not our first time traveling abroad or even to a country overwhelmed with poverty and injustice. Our hearts have yearned to share all that we saw, both in pain and in joy, but the words are hard to find...very hard to find... to paint you the wonderful picture of all that we experienced.

And it is not just the difficulty of finding the right words. We, I especially, can hardly let our minds begin to replay all that we journeyed through while in Ethiopia without being moved to tears that bring up even more overwhelming emotions.

So we are searching.... for the right words...how to correctly convey our emotional and amazing experience....and how to best advocate for these people that so quickly stole our hearts.

I don't know how we came across this video, but it brought tears to our eyes and we felt that this says so much of what we have been feeling in a much more beautiful way than we ever could.

The video is created by an organization called Mocha Club. I encourage you check out their website.

Aching Heart

Tonight I was up late working on my final research paper for a class while also trying to move through how awful I felt from being sick with a cup of tea.

I took a quick break from writing my paper and went to check our agency website. Periodically I look at the waiting child list out of curiosity and to put some faces to my prayers.

My heart sank as I stared at the photo of a little boy we had met while in Ethiopia. This particular little boy was in the same room as the little man and within the first minutes of playing with the children had gained a very special place in my heart. And now here he is waiting for a family to give him the loving home that he and his birth parents long for him to have.

My heart aches for him.

This little guy has a beautiful smile and a laugh that shakes his whole belly while filling the room with joy. I smile now just thinking of him laughing.....

I specifically remember asking Micah while in Ethiopia if all of the children in the care center are waiting to travel home - he said yes - and maybe he was right....

This little boy's profile description matches so much of our little man's story.

That is part of what brings an overwhelming sense of sadness up for me.

I think about those first twenty minutes after our referral phone call and questioning whether or not I could raise a toddler. Whether or not it would be what I had been waiting all this time for. Could I handle the challenges? Was this the right child for our family?

I wish I could say that I knew without a doubt, but I didn't - we didn't. We had to pray about it - and calm ourselves down emotionally. But I can tell you now that it was the right child for our family - WITHOUT A DOUBT. As a matter of a fact it is hard to ever imagine why we were questioning.

But as I checked the website tonight - looking at this little boy's photo - my thoughts immediately questioned if this is what would have happened to our little man if we said no. I want so badly to be there to love on the kiddos and hear his laugh again. I want him to know that he will be provided a family - and that there is nothing he has done wrong or has wrong with him that has caused this wait.

It also reminded me that our family can not be done with the fight for orphans around the world. There is still so much more that needs to be done and so many more that need to be made aware.

So tonight, with tears in my eyes and a heart full of sadness I begin to pray for this friend of little M. placing him in the hands of the Father.....

Inspiration from Malawi

I came across this story and thought it was inspirational.

I would love to see some of our students striving this hard.....

Orphan Sunday

Today is Orphan Sunday.

A day to defend the fatherless (Isaiah 1:17).

I wish all churches would take the time to acknowledge this day-to fight for this like they spend countless hours fighting for other causes....

We are a people called to defend the fatherless…to care for the child that has no family…to visit orphans in their distress.

Here are just a few ways you can get involved this Orphan Sunday. For more ideas and information check out the website: www.orphansunday.org

• Teach a class on "God's Heart for the Orphan."

• Encourage your pastor to preach on a Biblical theme related to orphans

• Partner with the Faces of the Forgotten Google Earth project to highlight visuals of orphan needs worldwide to your community or church family.

• Host a prayer gathering at your home or church

• Host a "Movie Night" on Friday, Saturday or Sunday at your house with a film including orphan-related themes. Plan questions beforehand to stimulate post-movie discussion.

• Partner with local artists for a concert or other performance that raises funds and/or awareness for orphan issues.

• Show a short video during your Sunday morning service.

• Host a campus gathering or lecture on orphan issues at your college.

• Give up one meal on Sunday; devote the time to praying for orphans and the money saved to help orphans.

Adoption Month

The month of November is National Adoption Awareness Month. This provides the opportunity for celebration, education and advocating for the many children still awaiting homes.

It seems to coincide appropriately with the month in which we also give thanksgiving for the many wonderful things we have in our lives.

Adoptive Families has created a calendar with ideas to help celebrate on a daily basis. Check it out here.

Happy Adoption Month!

A Journey from Eritrea

While driving around town to accomplish some errands I heard this story on NPR's All Things Considered. It reminded me of the various situations people are encountering while I remain comfortable in my own shoes partaking in many indulgences along the way, while all the while they are on a quest for hope.

Ethiopian News

Ethiopian Journey and Aid for 6 Million
Both of these articles appeared in the news today.

Ethiopia continues to be on our minds and in our hearts for so many reasons....

A Little Preview

Meeting M. in the care center for the first time.

Holding M. for the first time.

Playing with M. the next day at the care center. He was playing peek a boo with the bear.

Just after bath time and manly enough to not mind pink!

Leaving the care center for the first night of staying with mom and dad!

M. christening Micah into parenthood by peeing on him.

Playing in the hotel.

After our visa appointment. We can finally bring him home!

M. exploring a toothbrush for the first time.

First time on an airplane.

First ride in the car seat.

Introducing M. to his new bike at home!

Home at Last

We are home, oh we are home!

Our trip was an amazing journey and we pray that we will find the words to describe it all. We were moved to tears many, many times and our hearts were overwhelmed with joy and thanksgiving many more times.

There are sooo many beautiful stories to tell, but for now we are all trying to catch up on sleep - and of course enjoy getting to know one another more.

We will try to post pictures and stories soon!

We're Leaving...

On a jet plane....

TOMORROW!!!!

We can hardly put into words our excitement for this journey to Ethiopia.

We can not wait to meet our son and bring him home.

Thank you all for the support, encouragement, prayers, support, encouragement, .... we could not have made it this far without all of it, so thank you, thank you, thank you!

We will try to post as we travel, but no promises.

Can't wait to return home and share with you pictures of our little guy!

Soon baby soon!

The news

WE PASSED!!!!

He is officially ours!!!

We feel so thankful and privileged!!!!

T'was

T'was the night before court date

and all through the house,
all creatures were busy stirring,
EXCEPT for a mouse!
M.'s room was decorated.....
the curtains not yet hung,
as we anxiously awaited to know

if M. is legally our son.
We pray for electricity,
the judge to arrive,
For all necessary papers

in the right pile.
We'll wait and we'll hope,
praying more as it nears.
'Cause baby we love you,
and can't wait till you’re near.

Weighing Heavy

Our minds are consumed with thoughts regarding our court date, which is quickly approaching.

It is so hard to hand something off completely that you have NO control over.

Daily we are being given opportunity to practice trust and faith for things to work out as they should. Although we can't determine how things will look on the other side, we trust that eventually....eventually we will get there.

We are learning to appreciate this gift of waiting and the privileged opportunity we have in becoming parents.

We just pray all roads lead to Ethiopia.....soon.

What is This Thing....

Called Court?

We've had a few people ask, so we thought we would share some of the final steps that take us that much closer to our little one.

Once you receive a referral, which we did on June 10th, then you must sign more paperwork informing others that you are willing to accept placement with this particular child. Turning over a nice big check also signifies that you would like to be a parent! :)

These acceptance papers then make the long journey to Ethiopia and land on a desk of some lovely person at Ministry of Women's Affairs (MOWA). This person reviews our life on paper (otherwise know as dossier) and determines whether a recommendation should in fact be given for a placement match. This letter of recommendation is essential for our court date.

So our court date rolls around and hopefully everyone is able to be present (judge, birth parent, etc.). The judge reviews our paper work and determines whether or not things are in place for our family to pass court or not.

We anxiously await to hear news from Ethiopia about the outcome of our court date. If we pass then we wait for a visa appointment to be scheduled at the U.S. Embassy, allowing us to travel and return home with M. If we do not pass, then we wait until another court date can be scheduled and give it another go.

So as you can see, very little of this is actually in our control, which can be difficult to not fret over. We pray continually that there will be electricity, the judge will arrive at court, that necessary people will be there, paperwork in line, etc. etc.

And that my friends, is this thing called court.

New Date

In addition to our updated information that we received yesterday regarding M. we also received an update on our court date!!!

We are now scheduled for court on the 31st of July. 

If all goes according to plan we could still be traveling in September. 

Soon baby soon.

Another Picture

We received another picture of M. today! 

He looks so different from his first photo. 

His hair is growing, his eyelashes are longer.

He has this HUGE beautiful smile that makes our hearts melt.

This HUGE beautiful smile reveals his little teeth.

His eyes are so alluring. 

We can't wait to cover him with kisses and see him smile in person. 

Soon baby soon. 

A Book for a Baby

To help M. become acquainted with our home and family we put together a photo book that we will sent to him. 

We had fun working on this together and imagining what he will think of the photos we included. We pray that this photo book will somehow convey our excitement and love for a little boyt hat we have yet to meet in person. 

The finished product....almost.

We long for the day that we can take our photo together as a family and be together under the same roof. 

Safari

To keep our minds occupied we have been busy decorating M.'s room. It has been a lot of fun and makes us more and more excited to bring him home.  We had found the bedding on sale while home in Rapid City, and decided it would be appropriate for a little boy's room. Here are a few before and after photos of the room.

Before: We touched up paint and rearranged for M. to have more of an open area to play!

After! We love it and hope the M. will too!!!

Buried Treasure

We have been on the hunt for a dresser. We had the option of using several, but Micah has something very specific in mind. Little did we know that specific dresser was sitting in our friend's garage all along. They were more than happy to donate it to the cause and Micah was convinced that this was the most perfect dresser he has ever seen. It wasn't even in our possession for 24 hours before we started making it even more right for M. Now we will have the perfect place to put all his little clothing items!

Micah hard at work. 

The finished product.

Call to Action for Haiti

CALL TO ACTION ~ please forward to friends and family to join this effort: Urgent Advocacy Needed On Proposed New Haitian Adoption Law ~ July, 2009 SUMMARY: Haiti is currently operating under an adoption law that was decreed in 1974 by Jean Claude Duvalier. The 1974 adoption law is outdated, has serious limitations that are not in the best interest of children and causes confusion in its application resulting in significant delays in legal processing of adoption cases. Children in Haiti matched with adoptive families are waiting as long as 4 years to complete their adoption. Other children awaiting adoption will endure this same wait unless a law is passed now. With the help of UNICEF and others, a new adoption law has been developed for both domestic andintercountry adoption in Haiti. The law clarifies adoption processing protocols and mandates clear government oversight responsibilities which will correct many of the problems with the present adoption system. Many Haitian children are in desperate need of adoptive families and will benefit from this new law. This includes children who have been waiting in the adoption system (many up to three years) due to confusion and difficulties surrounding the outdated law. URGENT ACTION NEEDED: The Haitian Legislature will convene soon. It is URGENT that the new Haitian Adoption Law be included for approval in the agenda for the upcoming session. Contact your Congressional Representatives [click here for direct link and letter to your Representative] and urge their strong support of the new proposed adoption law in Haiti. Please ask them to contact the Haitian authorities. Please share this Call To Action with friends and family to join this effort:

Going Green

After another day of teaching summer school, we ran some errands and then returned home to start painting M's room. 

We are all about reusing items, so we were grateful to receive cans of paint from our friends who just bought a house. We cleared the room, turned on some music, and started painting. 

We couldn't help but feel excitement. Excitement for the day we can bring him home, excitement for the memories that will take place, excitement to see our little guy playing in his room...... 

We long to hear his laughter bouncing off these walls. 

Soon baby soon. 

I'm Bringing Home a...

This weekend we had a garage sale to help raise some more money for the adoption. We finished summer school Thursday afternoon and came home to get started on sorting items for the sale. We received donations from friends and family, allowing us to sell more than just our two boxes of unwanted items. We worked until 11:00 Thursday evening with the help of some friends to sort, sort, and sort some more. Friday morning we awoke early and started setting up. We had only been outside for 20 minutes when a mischievous group of older men showed up. They were more than ready to pay us a quarter for everything we had available for sale. They were even willing to buy our items in the garage that were NOT for sale! We were also able to share with several people about adoption, our personal journey, and get to know some of our neighbors better. 

All in all we had a great turn out on Friday and Saturday. Our combined total of earnings will help to pay for half of an airline ticket! We could not have done this without our many friends who donated items, baked goods, their time, and much needed support. We are so grateful for them and very humbled to have received so much support for our personal cause. 

We can't wait to share these beautiful stories with M. - sharing with him the involvement of a community to bring him home. 

The beginnings of sorting on Thursday.

The ending of sorting on Thursday.

Our yard converted for the selling of stuff.

Micah and friends hanging out.

Peter sporting a suit coat.

Micah chatting with Koren, Lisa, and Nate while manning the goodies/money table.

Micah with a picture of M. 

Already!?!

We received this e-mail yesterday:

Congratulations, your court date in Ethiopia has been scheduled for July 15, 2009!

There is a possibility that if we pass court on the 15th that we will be traveling in September. 

WOW!

We can't wait to be together as a family and loving on M. Our hearts long to hold this little man and whisper prayers in his ears. 

Are You Sure?

I returned home from my trip to Honduras...... and it still is hard to believe that we have a son!!! Let me just sit here for a moment and let that sink in..... 

A SON!!!! 

Oh my goodness I am so excited! 

We will have many stories to share with M. when he arrives in our arms. 

It still makes me smile when I get to say I have a son or when people ask me if I have any children... I do, I DO, I DO!!!! I HAVE A SON! 

Many things were running through my head while on my trip--it was overwhelming to process everything and to not be able to ask all of the questions I had and get immediate answers. It was hard to not just sit and stare at his picture, dreaming up ideas about who he is, what his personality is like, how he will feel about us. But I am trusting that this little boy will be joining our family for a reason. Whatever that reason is, we will deal with things as they come and enjoy each moment before it passes too quickly. 

I met two women on my trip that have also adopted and they both provided me some truths about the situation we are entering into as a family. These truths provided me something to hold onto and find peace in, and for that I am extremely grateful towards them. 

We feel so fortunate and humbled that we have the opportunity to be M.'s parent's. We pray that this little boy will know the depths of our love without a doubt. 

Soon baby soon, I will hold you in my arms!

It's a......

BOY!!!!!!!!!!!!!

WOO HOO!!!!!!

Today we received the phone call that we have long been waiting for!!! It definitely came at an unexpected time. We awoke today with plans to finish some spring/summer cleaning and get SaraJane packed for her trip to Honduras. 

At about 4:30pm the music was blaring, SaraJane was making piles of things that needed to be packed in the living room, in addition to dusting and vacuuming, and Micah literally had his head in the oven scrubbing it clean. Micah's phone rang and he muttered some frustration with it being another long distance number that probably just wanted to sell him something. BUT, it wasn't!!!! It was a gal from our agency and she wanted to inform us that they have a little boy waiting for us in Ethiopia if we would be willing to consider. (We tear up even as we write this!)

He is older than the original age span that we requested (o-2 years), but has only been in the orphanage since April. His parents will forever be our heros and we are extremely humbled by their love for their child. We will have to update our home study and immigration papers in order to finalize things since he is over the age of 2. We are praying that all of this happens without much complication. 

As soon as Micah got off the phone we anxiously awaited the e-mail with M.'s information and picture. He melts our hearts. It is overwhelming to sit looking at a photo of a child on the other side of the world, knowing that he could be the child we have spent hours dreaming about and longing for. We hope to share pictures as soon as we pass court and he is officially ours!

We are amazed at God's timing, which is what we will trust as Ethiopia nears court closure in August. It is so difficult to determine if anything will happen prior to closure. We were told to expect the possibility of traveling at the latest in mid-winter. It will be extremely difficult to be away from our son for such a long period of time, but we will wait and trust that all will work out the way it should.  

Until then, we will continue to stare at M.'s picture and get lost in his big beautiful eyes. 

Soon baby soon.

Three

Today marks the three month mark since we have submitted our dossier and have been awaiting our referral. 

Three months that we have dreamed of the child who we will one day 

            hold in our arms,

                                                               share bedtime stories with, 

fill our camera with photos of, 

                                               remind us of the simple joys and discoveries in life, 

and 

               fill our rooms with their sweet sound of laughter.