Court Date!

I remind myself and re-read a post that I made just a few days ago. Adoption has many lows, when we are reminded that our strength is in Him alone. Today we found out our court date. This time should be a big high in adoption, but the date is set for February 25! I am not sure why it is so far away and I don't want to seem ungrateful for a date. I just want my baby home! God will use me in the next two months and I know that He has a plan. Right now it is just hard...

Blessed

It is not the New Year yet, but Brandon and I cannot help but reflect on this year. God has allowed us the opportunity to experience so many emotional highs that confirmed our journey in adoption and yet lows that reminded us our strength and trust is in Him alone. Each prayer of thanks lately, seems to bring me to the verge of tears as we continue to be blessed. Our extended family surprised us with an amazing Christmas donation toward the adoption (thank you!) and a person from Brandon's work has offered to do our trust before we travel at no cost!
I continue to pray for strength and health for our little one. I continue to pray for a court date. I continue to praise God and give Him the glory for the things he has done.
We are blessed.

Baby night!

Gavin had a sleep over last night with his friends from day care (thank you Deanna). Brandon and I went to a friends house to play cards. When we arrived their daughter was "babysitting" for a little 8 week old boy. I say "babysitting" because the daughter was getting her hair cut and colored and wasn't even home! Sooo, the only thing I could possibly do in this situation was hold the baby, feed the baby, rock the baby to sleep right?!?! It was such an awesome night. I forgot how great it is to care for something so tiny and dependent on you for everything. I just kept thinking, I want my baby home! For now though, last night was a wonderful little taste of what our life will be like.

6 months 2 weeks

What does 6 months 2 weeks mean? The amount of time that we waited for a referral because... yesterday we got a referral!!! Yep, we have a little, tiny baby boy. We cannot share too much information on the blog, but I can tell you about how it happened.

I have to start with the fact that yesterday was my husband's birthday. He had to work and cannot have his cell phone. He turned off his phone at 10 am, but thought "wouldn't it be cool if today was the day."

At 10:27 my phone rang in my purse, in my file cabinet, in my classroom but I wasn't there to answer it! Brandon's phone rang at 10:37, but he had already shut his phone off for the day! I was team teaching with another teacher and typically people have a hard time figuring out where I am during the day and need to just leave a message on my voice mail. For some strange reason (divine intervention) the phone rang in the classroom it was during a lecture from the other teacher. I answered the phone, "Hello, Mrs. O's room."
"Is Julie there?"
"Yes, this is her," I was completely bewildered how someone made an outside call to this room for me!
"Julie, this is Chandra do you have a minute?"
"Um, Hi, well yes I do but I cannot really talk from this phone. Can I call you back?" I was scrambling for a piece of paper and pen.
I looked at the other teacher and said, "I need to take this call."
I literally ran to the conference room and called Chandra back. It couldn't possibly be a referral so I just asked, "so what's up?"
"Julie, this is the "call"!"
"Are you sure because I didn't know where I was on the list?"
"It doesn't matter where you were on the list because this is the call, would you like to hear about your son?"

The rest is history. I called Brandon and we agreed to meet before looking at the actual pictures of our little guy. We spent the rest of the day showing him off to family. Oh and we still had to celebrate Brandon's birthday too.

I cannot even begin to express how we feel as a family right now, but the feeling is good!

New crib?

I gave Brandon a few "honey do" things while he was off for the winter. One thing on the list was to put the baby crib together and finish the baby room. We should probably start working on that don't you think?
On Saturday he decided to start the crib, but we are missing the bolts from our move to our current house (3 years ago)! He got on the website of the manufacturer and found that the crib had been recalled. All we need to do is send in a bracket and they will send us a voucher to go to Babies 'R Us and pick out a new crib at the same value of our previous crib. I am so excited! I didn't really like the white crib in this bedroom, but didn't think it would be very responsible to buy a new just because of the color. Now we will be able to get a new one and have it match the room. Wow, I am going to be having a baby in my house again! Reality hits at such odd times don't you think?

God is Good!!

Our God is good and faithful all the time! Two quick stories of God's faithfulness.

Gavin and I went to a Thanksgiving event at our church last night. At the end of the service they passed the offering buckets around and told the children they could take out what one of what was in the bucket. Gavin was so excited to see what it was and in the bucket... a shiny, gold one dollar coin! He held that coin so tight and cherished it. The pastor then asked all of the children to look at him, Gavin was sitting on the edge of his seat as he looked intently holding his coin. Pastor continued... I know you all love the coin and think it is precious, but I want to challenge you to give your coin away as Jesus gives to you everyday. The faces of the children were priceless!!! I was a little worried about what Gavin would say or do, but he simply looked at me and said okay I will give it to ------ (a friend). Isn't it amazing how precious, simple faith of children can be? They hear a commandment from God and act on it! What happened to us as adults???

My other story of faith, is that God is continuing to work in our adoption. Two families were offered referrals this week for baby boys! Of course, at the exact moment that I was starting to worry again. I don't know what number we are on the list...I will practice the simple faith of my son.

Check it out

If you haven't taken the opportunity to look at other blogs on my website you NEED to check out "A bushel and a peck" blog spot! It is truly inspiring and will bring tears to your eyes. Watch the you tube on the right side of the page. My heart is so filled with love for these children of Ethiopia.

Moving up...

Two weeks ago 3 infant boys were referred at our agency! What does that mean for us? We have moved up on the list (actually by four spots). I didn't know where we were on the list before the referrals and I don't know where I am now but.... we have moved up! I am trusting that everything will happen in God's timing so do I really need to know what "number" I am?

Faith

Well, I am posting this weekend instead of last weekend because I am sane again! If you would like details you will need to talk with my husband, but it wasn't pretty. :) To say the least, the adoption process can be difficult at times.
When I was "down" I started reading a new Karen Kingsbury book, she is a great Christian author. In the book she referred to Phillippians 4 over and over and over again. I started to think, should I be reading that verse and the answer was clearly YES I should! Read on...

Phillippians 4:4-9 Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable - if anything is excellent or praiseworthy - think about such things. Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me - put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you.

Wow Lord, you couldn't have been more clear. So now instead of worrying about the adoption and feeling anxious about not knowing I take a deep breath, pray and put God into practice. Needless to say, I had a great week!

Second Verse Same as the First!

This week we did get an update from our adoption agency. The referrals that they talked about the end of August have not come through yet. They are HOPING to give referrals before October. We are not sure if we will get a referral in this group anymore.
On a lighter note, Gavin loves school!!! It is keeping us very busy. I also start float building for homecoming this week so that will be fun too! The busier I am the less I have time to think about the "wait" or check the internet:) Have a great week everyone!

Just Waiting (again)

A lot is changing in the past month, BUT I don't have a lot to report on the adoption front! I know that our agency is working hard in a new area in Ethiopia to establish trust and build a relationship with the people to help the referral process (referral is when a person gets matched with a child). At this point the referrals having been happening in small groups every couple of months. The courts are still closed until October, but people can still get referrals during this time. I think the most difficult part is that Gavin prays for him every night and then asks, "Mom when is my brother coming home? I really miss him!" It is amazing how much we already love him and haven't even seen him or know him yet. We continue to trust that timing is in God's hand, but trust me it is extremely difficult!

One thing I did want to share is a web site for Ethiopian calendars. The calendar has pictures of children and the country along with Ethiopian holidays and writing. The best part is that the donation for the calendar goes directly to help Ethiopian children! The website is: www.shuruba.com/ethiopia.htm Check it out!

Gavin has started school. He attends all day. In the morning he is at a kindergarten extension program called K+ and in the afternoon he is at kindergarten. So far he has met a lot of new friends and loves his teachers. Of course, the best part of school is lunch, recess and the bus ride! I really have to work hard to get any information about what they "learned".

I have also started school which has come as a great release because I am very busy. I know that I will be holding our little baby some time this school year, which seems to be a short amount of time (great advice from a friend of mine, thanks Julie)! Brandon is also starting to slow down his season in the golf business so we have a lot more time together as a family which is nice.

Thanks for all the support and prayers we are so blessed to have such wonderful family and friends. Keep praying for that referral!!:)

Summer Update

I cannot believe it is August!!!! It is at this point during the summer that I try to figure out what I have been doing all summer. Personally, I am taking a class that has kept me busy writing papers. Gavin and I have been having a lot of fun too. I am going to try my first hand at posting some pictures below. As for the adoption, we had a very successful garage sale last week. It is so wonderful to continue to see God's hand working! We haven't had any referrals from our agency in a while, I am hoping to hear an update soon. The courts in Ethiopia will be closing on August 7 and re-open in October. We could still get a referral during this time, but could not move forward with court processing. I am praying that we will get a referral during the court closure. Please pray with me that this will happen.

Enjoy the pictures!!:)

Gavin's newly added tree house, thank you Gary!!

Gavin at the Hershey store in Chicago, boy did he get a lot of candy from turning that wheel!
Africa exhibit at Brookefield zoo. Does his baby brother live in one of these?

Learned to ride a two wheel bike, I was so proud and so sad at the same time! He is growing up fast.
Look carefully, can you see the little baby chick? This was the first time chicks were born at our house! I had already bought babies, but had five born from this hen. We will have lots of eggs next summer.
Oops, I don't know how to flip the picture. This is our first Zucchini of the year (should have picked it sooner). The garden has been growing wonderfully!

10 year anniversary!

Brandon and I celebrated our 10 year anniversary on June 27. We went out for a nice dinner together and he totally surprised me with an anniversary band! The best part was that he said that given a choice he would marry me and do everything all over again, what a guy! :) We then went with Gavin to Chicago and Brookefield Zoo for the weekend. It was a wonderful time that we enjoyed together as a family. I must admit though, I do get a little antsy about this waiting..... I would really like to add our new little guy sooner rather then later:) The courts in Ethiopia will be closing August 8 for the rainy season, but it seems the families that did get referrals (about 6 of them) made the courts before they close and could travel by the end of August, what great news for all those children.

Summer is here!

Well, summer is officially here and I am officially out of school!! Gavin and I have been busy with the garden already. We are also tending to our chickens, ducks, dogs and cats. Gavin has a new tree house already this summer thanks to a friend on mine at work. He loves it and it should provide for many hours of fun! I will try to post pictures when I get a chance. As for the adoption, we continue to wait... The courts in Ethiopia close the first part of August, families can still get referrals, but cannot get finalization and travel dates until the court re-opens in late September or early October. The summer will keep me busy so I won't have a chance to think about it as much (or at least try not to obsess). We will also spend the summer finishing the baby room, taking junior golf lessons, celebrating a 10 year anniversary, taking a class, and going to my parents cottage. I continue to trust that God has perfect timing!!

Dossier arrived

Wonderful news, it has been confirmed that our dossier has arrived in Ethiopia! We are officially waiting for the referral of our little boy. We have been told that the wait lately has been at least 4 months. We continue to pray that God will again bless this time of waiting in our lives. I guess we should get the baby room ready and get our shots (this will be hard for my dad)! Thank you for all of your prayers during this process.
Brandon, Julie and Gavin :)

Authentication

Well, I didn't make my Wednesday deadline (I hope I never have to us a notary again)! BUT I did get everything sent to the courier service on Friday, May 9. I confirmed that they did get the package and were going to bring it to Washington today!!! They will get the dossier authenticated in Washington at the US embassy and Ethiopian embassy and then send back to our adoption agency. After dropping it off at Fed Ex, I got in the car and said a little prayer for the paperwork and my precious son Gavin commented, "Mom, was that really necessary?" If he understood what that paperwork meant he would know that YES it was necessary!!:)

Golden Ticket!!

IT is here and I cannot believe it! On Friday we got the I-171H, I was talking with Brandon on the phone and opened the mailbox and it was there. The funny thing was that I had a feeling when I got home from school, but thought it was too early to get it so why even check the mailbox?!? I was walking around while one the phone and decided hey why not just get the mail.... What an awesome surprise! We have a few documents to finish for the dossier, but talked with our agency and should be all set by Wednesday.

Try again on continued waiting...

Sometimes I think this computer has a mind of its own!!! I don't know what happened to the last post.
Anyway, several people have been asking how things are going. I can honestly say that I have stayed too busy to think for a while. BUT... Gavin's birthday and parties are over and the high school prom is complete. Now it seems all I do is think about that I-171H! I will admit we have parts of the dossier to finish and I will keep myself busy completing that while I wait. I also enjoy reading blogs of others that have already returned home and dream about what that will be like for us.

Continued waiting...

Gavin is 5!

Gavin turned five on Saturday! He was supposed to have a little party with eleven of his friends, but had a fever on Friday and Saturday. Soooo the party is re-scheduled to today after school. I don't know what I was thinking doing it during the week at 4:30. He is very excited though and has been patient battling through being sick. I was thinking last night how things will be so much different next year at his 6th birthday party with two children!!!

On the adoption front, we are still waiting for our I-171H. Brandon and I also need to finish a few dossier papers and get them notarized. I did get my passport pictures taken Saturday, but they didn't dry properly and I have paper stuck to my head!!! I guess I get to do that again...

Love my job!!!

Well, today was my last day to be in control of my classroom. The student teacher officially takes over on Monday for 6 weeks. That will be very hard for me, but she is wonderful. I decided to buy donuts for my classes, celebrate the last day of the semester and FINALLY announce the adoption. They were soooo excited!! The girls wanted to right away see pictures, they all had great questions and were full of great comments. I love the opportunity I have to touch lives of young people!

Posting Comments

I have been told by friends that they cannot leave comments on the blog. I think I have it fixed!! Thank you for the help. Tomorrow morning off to fingerprinting...

Gojo

Well, Thursday was a very eventful night for our family. We met with about 15 other families at an Ethiopian restaurant in Eastown. It was the first time Gavin was able to meet or see other Ethiopian children. It was the first time Brandon and Gavin were asked to eat the food.... Gavin turned out to be incredibly shy, he was surveying the situation all night and kind of watching the other children but not interacting!!!! Both Brandon and Gavin bravely tried the food, but neither liked it and had a bowl of cereal when we got home! The evening of fellowship was great though, I was able to put some names with faces and look forward to the next time we will be able to meet other families.
Each experience is new and exciting:)

In the mail!!!

Wow, we finally have sent our paperwork to USCIS! Yeah for us! Now we are officially waiting for our government. I am thankful to have made it this far and this is only the beginning....

Innocent Minds

Just a funny little story to share. Ever since we have decided to adopt from Ethiopia we have been showing our son pictures of children, orphanages etc... What my husband and I have noticed is that now he purposely will look for children who are from "Ethiopia" to play with! We were at a play area and he waited and watched until other children with brown skin came in to play and then joined with them. I asked later, "Did you have fun playing with the kids?" His reply, "Yes, but I forgot to ask what country they were from!" It was soooo cute that I didn't have the heart to tell him that we have kids with brown skin in the United States too!

Moving forward ... FINALLY!

Many have been asking "what is going on!" Well, Brandon was told about two weeks ago that it would be at least another week before they moved forward on making any job decisions. At that point, we talked and decided not to wait any longer on finishing the home study. Soooo we contacted the agency and were told it would be done by the end of the week!!! I have the paperwork ready and actually am exited about waiting for the US government! I know others at this stage are not so happy about waiting, but at least the first stack is out of my house and I figure that must be a good sign. Thank you to everyone who has been asking and keeping our family in your prayers.

Small pause

I haven't had anything to post lately because we are at a small pause in the process. During our home visit Brandon received a phone call and was asked to apply for a different job. The coordinator suggested she not complete the home study until we find out what happens with his job. It costs money to change the home study information and get new employer paperwork. Although I want to save some money, this is really hard to sit and wait! In the mean time I have enjoyed looking at other blog sites and laugh each day at Gavin. His new thing is that only Ethiopians are allowed to put him to bed!!! He stands at his bedroom door and says "stop you are not allowed to enter because you are not Ethiopian." I asked him why he was playing this game (after I went downstairs and became Ethiopian)! He replied, it was because he is so excited for his baby brother. We are so blessed!

Home Visit

Well, we had our home visit today and everything went really well. The social worker spent some time talking with Brandon and I again about the books we have read (Yes, Brandon has completed all of them)! She also had a few questions. As we were talking Andrew, my cousin, showed up with his gun and shovel to shoot the oppossum that we had caught the night before in the trap!!! What great timing was that, she laughed of course! Gavin couldn't wait to show her around the house and explain everything for his baby brother. "this is the stairs he will walk down, this is the toys he can play with" he continued, "this is the toilet he can use, but we will get him a little one too like when I was a baby!!!" It was so precious and so totally Gavin to be sure that everything is taken care of in his new brothers life. We will finish some of our paperwork while we wait for the homestudy to be written and then it will be time for USCIS and immigration documents. Time flies when you are having fun!!!

Check it out!

Just a few quick updates. We will be having our final home study visit on Wednesday. The social worker will be coming to the house to meet Gavin and all the other little critters running around! Hopefully once this visit is done we will be able to send our documents to the USCIS for approval.
The second thing I wanted to let you know is to click on the blog spot Journey2number4 on this page. This couple is in Ethiopia picking up their daughter. They have done a great job providing stories and pictures of the adventure. It is a great way to get some more information. I have been checking it faithfully everyday!