Leap of Faith

It has been too long!

2010-06-05T21:50:00.000-07:00

I must admit that I do check my own blog, but only to use it to get to other blogs! Okay, I at least need to update with a new picture of Grayson and Gavin. Grayson is doing wonderful. He is talking, walking and loving life. I am so looking forward to this summer, because he loves being outside. We will have so many adventures to share and I am hoping to keep up with what is happening. For now enjoy the recent pictures... :)

Above: Grayson at Easter with Grandpa and Grandma

Below: Grayson trying to lure the new baby chicks out of the coop!

Busy Summer Days!

2009-07-17T13:50:00.000-07:00

I cannot believe it is already July 17!

Gavin is having a great summer and is doing really well in Junior golf and enjoying the time to see Daddy. He has caught on to how to be a big brother and loves it. In fact, yesterday he got Grayson out of his crib, carried him down the stairs and outside to where I was mowing! I told him thank you, but maybe that should be a job for only adults.

Grayson has learned how to army crawl to everything! He is learning the word "NO" now too. He uses his voice in different tones instead of just the basic scream and is starting to babble. He has also learned how to do "soooo big" which is adorable, but I haven't been able to get a picture yet.

Here are a few pictures from this week:

Our pool party was canceled on Wednesday so we called cousin Colton and went to Chuck E Cheese instead!

On the way home, we stopped to get a golf cart ride from Brandon.

Thursday we went to the zoo with friends from school.

Nathan and Grayson love to touch each other.

1st 4th of July!

2009-07-05T18:21:00.000-07:00

We had a great 4th of July weekend complete with parades, fishing tournaments, and relaxing in the water (a little chilly but that was okay).

Saturday morning we went to the Grandville parade with Great Grandpa and Grandma, Aunt Wendy and our cousins. Grayson did a great job and wasn't even worried about the sirens!

Our next stop was the cottage for an overnighter. My Dad and I have a friendly fishing competition when I am there. We always say it is based on numbers not size, but I think I lost the argument on this 12 inch bass!

Brandon was able to join us for dinner and I convinced him to where the Baby Bjorn while I fished, what do you think?

Grayson really enjoyed the water and swimming, but we would have to let him sit out on the dock for a while to warm back up again!

Grandpa was a fishing fool this weekend with another bass on Sunday, but he let Gavin count it.

He also caught a pike that was 22 inches, what a fisherman!

Overall, I would say we all had a great 4th of July weekend. As Gavin said after fireworks, "Happy Birthday United States of America!"

Ethiopia

2009-07-02T13:30:00.000-07:00

Once in a while people will ask questions about our journey in Ethiopia and what it was like. Today, I had the opportunity to share Grayson and a few stories of Ethiopia with people from Brandon's work. At that moment it takes me back and I realize I travelled to a different country, continent, culture and community... and brought home our son!

I really long to go back to Ethiopia. The people are amazing and the country is the most beautiful place I have ever been. I haven't shared much about the experience on this blog, maybe it is time.

Let me share a few pictures...

Absolutely amazing don't you think? These pictures were all taken on our trip North of the city about 3 hours.

Friends, Anniversary, Sadness

2009-06-28T10:05:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was an eventful day.

Gavin, Grayson and I met several other adoptive families at PF Hoffmaster State Park. It was such a great reunion to see people we traveled with. Gavin was excited to know that other families did in fact look like our family too! The picture is of "Big Girum", his sister Rose, "Little Girum" (Grayson), Dawn and myself. We traveled with this family and it was so great to see them again. We will definitely have to do it again some time soon.

Brandon and I also "celebrated" our 11 year anniversary yesterday. I say "celebrated" because we attended a graduation open house with the boys! We are hoping to find a babysitter and enjoy a nice dinner together on Monday night. Brandon is an amazing man and I feel blessed to have him in my life. We really have been together for 16 years including dating, engagement and marriage and I wouldn't change it for the world.

Sadness came at the end of the night. I got a phone call from my father-in-law that my horse was not doing well and in a lot of pain. We waited for the vet to come and they really could not do anything for her. She was colicking and suffering from some neurological damage that we don't understand. After several doses of pain medication, I couldn't watch her suffer. We made the difficult decision to put her to sleep. I think I am still in shock that everything happened so quickly. Gavin and I spent last night remembering the times when we would give her a bath or the day Gavin was riding her down the street and the man asked to buy her.... We may have not seen her as often as we would have liked lately, but she has left a lasting impression and wonderful memories. Today is a sad day....

Bad Blogger!

2009-06-25T06:54:00.000-07:00

Okay, I use to get so frustrated with people who came home with children and then suddenly became to "busy" to post! I must apologize because I have turned into one of them!!:)

This is my new renewed commitment to keep things up to date and posted.

First, thank you for all of your prayers and help with my leg. I have a nasty scar, but things are healing very well.

Since I last blogged I had to go back to work for 7 days! It was difficult to leave Grayson with a day care provider, but overall was a great experience for all of us. By the end of the week Grayson was trying to go to Deanna and really enjoyed being with all the children. The best part was He was overjoyed to seem me at the end of the day!

We are now enjoying summer vacation with a lot of activity. Gavin is involved in junior golf and just finished T-ball. Grayson is learning how to relax and "go with the flow". Gavin has had three episodes of poison ivy and so we became eco-friendly poison ivy killers and bought two baby goats! Yep, I said it, we have Bella and Edward as a part of our family and they LOVE to eat poison ivy. Gavin has a great time giving them a bottle each night too.

My next post will include pictures too, I promise!

OUCH!

2009-04-29T16:52:00.000-07:00

Well, I don't very often post about myself! Yesterday was a once in a lifetime event though (at least I am praying that it is). I was trimming our cherry tree standing on a ladder in the back yard yesterday afternoon. It was a beautiful day and I love doing things outside so this was not an unusual event for me. The problem with yesterday is that I lost balance on the ladder, fell off and impaled my leg about 4 inches with a 1 inch diameter metal stake! I will spare you all of the gory details and the pictures, but needless to say I was taken in the ambulance to the hospital (first time in my life).
Today I am in a lot of pain and it is difficult for me to take it easy and relax especially with two very active little boys. My mom was at the house today and my mother-in-law is coming tomorrow. The doctors have put me on strong anitbiotics and pain meds and are concerned with infection sooooo walking to the bus stop is out of the question at this point.
Please pray that I have patience because I am already going stir crazy!:)

Happy Birthday Gavin!

2009-04-20T06:28:00.001-07:00

I cannot believe it, but Gavin turned 6 yesterday! We had a very busy, but fun filled weekend.

Gavin has been doing a little testing of the boundaries lately, as if to say mom and dad do you still care? He lost a few privileges on Saturday when we were cleaning the house and all of a sudden I had my old Gavin back! It is amazing how much kids crave that structure and security. The rest of Saturday and all of Sunday he was happy, respectful and Brandon commented that it seemed that his "voice" was back.

Grayson is doing amazing. He did well at the party, but was definitely tired after all of the commotion of five boy cousins running around. He has slept in the past two mornings until 8:30 and goes to bed about ten. He has also found his voice in the past two days. He is doing much more cooing, along with the smiles. We had our second doctor appt. on Thursday and he has gained weight, he is now 14 lbs and in the 3rd percentile! The doctor commented on how happy and alert he is! We have started him on some solid foods too.

Enjoy the pictures of the weekend activities:

Gavin's new baseball gear

It was a Star Wars theme party and boy did he get a lot os Star Wars stuff!

Grayson just hanging out and enjoying all the people

First Outing

2009-04-11T07:02:00.001-07:00

I need to post about our travels to Africa, but please understand that it is difficult to put into words. The trip had a lasting impact that I will not forget.

In the meantime, we had our first outing! My mom invited us to go to Fredrick Meyer Gardens to see the butterflies. The day was beautiful and both boys did wonderful. Grayson is so much like Gavin as a baby, he goes with the flow of the day, sleeps when he can and eats on schedule!

Grayson smiles all the time too! His eyes smile first and then his whole face lights up. Check out the picture...:)

Okay, sorry I don't know how to change the direction!

Doctor and Update

2009-04-09T17:45:00.000-07:00

Grayson slept through the night the past two nights, YEAH!!!:)

We went to the doctor on Tuesday and he weighs 13.9 lbs and is 24.75 inches long! The doctor said that he is not the percentile scale yet, but at least he is gaining weight. We went on Wednesday for all of the bloodwork, stool check and urine sample (that was interesting). They are all standard procedure for international adoption and we will have the results next week at our next appt. Gavin had a really hard time when they drew blood because he doesn't like to see someone hurt his little brother. He actually started crying and had to step out of the room!

I will try to post pictures tomorrow, but for now I have to go and make a bottle!

Home!

2009-04-06T19:26:00.001-07:00

We are home.
We are adjusting to our new time schedule, actually waking in the middle of the night!
We are loving this new life.
We haven't had time to post pictures.

My brother made a u-tube video you can check out on his blog: www.mattdewitt@blogspot.com

Please excuse the hair, dirty clothes, lack of make-up. The trip home was an experience to say the least!

I will post more later...

Thank you.
Brandon, Julie, Gavin and Grayson

Coming Home

2009-04-04T11:16:00.000-07:00

We spoke to the kids this morning from Washington. Their flight from Ethiopia was 1 1/2 hours delayed and this made their wait at Washington shorter. That was great, however, they knew the process at Immigration could take 2 hours and they wanted the extra time at this stop. Grayson has been an angel. He is sitting in his Baby bijourne on the front of Julie. At one point they were literally running thru the airport to get to their flight for Detroit and he just giggled away. Oh to be a baby. Mommy and Daddy are frantic but life is a blast!!!! Julie says he is so much like Gavin. He never cries, loves everything, and sits so quietly and patiently.

They are anxious to get home now. Everything is on time at this point but it will be close at Detroit to get to the plane for GR Flight 1010 with Northwest. There is a flight later if they miss this one, but we are still planning on a 4:21 pm arrival in GR.

Gavin can't wait. For all of you coming, he has made a great big welcome poster for them and wants you all to sign his poster. You won't be able to miss him. The little guy with the shirt that says "I'm the Big Brother and a picture of him and Grayson on the front.

Only a couple of hours now. See you at the airport.

Sandy

He's here!!!!!

2009-04-01T18:33:00.000-07:00

7:am EST time (Ethiopia 3:00 PM) Julie & Brandon went to the orphanage to meet their son. It is a very short process after 18 months of waiting. They changed him out of 3 layers of his orphanage clothes and redressed into his new clothes. Julie was very concerned about what size to bring. Fortunately he is just barely into 3-6 months sizes and that is what she guessed. He is very tiny. After a brief chance to meet, hold, & dress him, they got to ask the caregivers how to comfort him. Julie said "what do you do so I can make him the most comfortable?" They answered in broken English, "who, little Girum? He never cry, he good baby, always happy baby. Big smiles. "

That was as many notes as they got on him. Out the orphanage they went and back to the hotel to get acquainted with their new son. I called Julie at 9:30 am EST, they had him for about 90 minutes and if it is possible to feel a smile through the phone lines,I think I could feel it. She said " oh, Mom, he is just PERFECT. He smiles, and smiles, and smiles. He always wants to suck on something, his first 2 fingers, his toys, his blanket or anything he can get his little hands on. Brandon plays pee-a-boo with the blanket over his face and he acually giggles and coos. She was sooo happy she could hardly stand it.

At 7:00 pm tonight they called again. It was 2:00 am and guess who decided to be hungry. I am sure this is one of many nights that they will be getting up to feed him. They were very anxious to talk to Gavin. I am happy to report, although he didn't go to school today due to a diagosis of strep throat, he is on meds and is doing much better. She said,"we told Grayson Gavin had all kinds toys that he could suck on and his big brother would be glad to share." That got a shocked reaction from Gavin. He hadn't thought about a baby brother really wanting his toys. He quickly reacted " mom, I will share some of my old toys but not all of them." Gavin has always been good about sharing but being a big brother is going to be a whole new story. He faithfully prays for Grayson every nite and every meal, but there is no sense of reality. Three days to go for the arrival. We will hear from them again on Saturday morning when they get to Washington DC. I will update the blog to make sure anyone who wants to be at the airport for the arrival has the latest info.

Thanks for all of your support.

Calls from Africa

2009-03-29T13:40:00.001-07:00

Julie & Brandon sent us a number today to call them. It was 11:30 at night Sunday night. So far, she says the country is so much more beautiful than she ever imagined. Everything is very green and the number of types of flowers and trees is amazing. Upon arrival they found themselves exhausted and it was hard to get used to the higher elevation. Julie says there are mountains all over. They went for pizza Saturday night with their group and believe it or not Brandon actually ate it. He has said all along he was going to live on protein bars. From the start of their trip, their host has picked Brandon to be a leader with the group. When he receives the calls from Alemu, he then updates all of the families and gets them organized for their outings. This has been a great distraction from the lack of amentities. Although they are in a "version of modern" hotel, there are certain things that are not quite the same. The bathroom in particular.

Today they were taken by a driver to a couple of museums that helped to explain the proud past of Ethiopia and it's people. Julie was amazed to see all of the Christian artifacts. Actually the whole city has crosses everywhere you look. They spent some time shopping and Brandon discovered he is a natural born shopping negotiator. He had others amazed at his talents and they were able to get some great things. They were treated to a traditional dinner and native dancers where they were offered either Ethiopian or International cuisine. Julie stuck with International "chicken kabobs" and they were good. Brandon bonded with a protein bar. They were asked to sample some kind of Honey wine, which was warm all the way down.

They are busy packing up to get ready for the journey to the Blue Nile. They were happy to find out that rather than stay in a village they have found the group a hotel. The Blue Nile area is pretty undeveloped and Brandon wasn't sure how much adventure he was up for. This would not be a typical camping trip. None the less a hotel was good news. Julie says the people are very friendly, but the sights of poverty are difficult to see. Even though the city is modern for its country, you don't get away from seeing poverty on just about any street.

The next time we can here from them will be on Tuesday evening when they return to the city. They were so glad to hear Gavin's voice. he asked them if they were in Africa yet and did they see the lions. They haven't seen lions, but at night the wild dogs from outside the city come in to hunt through garbage. She said you can hear them fight out side.

Unfortunately, Gavin has been sick all weekend and that made it hard for them to hear that news. We are laying low this weekend and praying he will feel better in the next 24 hours. He seems to be better today, so give it another 24 hours and he will be back to pestering his Grandpa again.

That's it for now,
Sandy

Update on Their Travels!

2009-03-27T10:49:00.000-07:00

This is your new friendly reporter Sandy De Witt, Julie's mom. I have been given the task to post the details of their travels as they come in.

We received a call around 8:00 pm Thursday night. They had safely and uneventfully arrived in Washington DC. They will be meeting a few other couples that will be taking Ethiopian Air. The first thing Julie said was, Mom you have to tell the Physics students that all I could think of as we took off in the airplane was inertia and momentum. She told me you would understand because she is such a science geek. They spoke with Gavin for a few minutes. Frankly, Gavin is doing well and was not even all that interested in talking. My how quickly they forget. Brandon was unable to get any international phone service, but they are told a phone might be available through their host once they arrive.

Thanks for all of your prayers and interest.

Today is THE Day!!!

2009-03-26T08:31:00.000-07:00

I am sitting at the computer knowing that we have 1 hour before we leave on this journey to our son. All I can say is "YEAH!!!"

Gavin did great this morning and is so excited to stay with my parents. He and Grandpa have a secret shopping trip planned for Friday and that is all her could talk about this morning. All I heard was something about peanuts and ice cream...:)

Several people have asked about our travel schedule and return flight plans, so here it is:
*Leave GR at 3:00, arrive in Washington and sleep overnight
*Leave for ET at 10:30 on Friday morning and arrive on Saturday morning.
*Saturday and Sunday we will be doing excursions around the city.
*Monday we leave to travel north of the city to Blue Nile Bridge and Gorge, as well as the Debre Libranos Monestary. We will stay over night in that area. (If you have time Google this, it is incredible)
* Wednesday is "gotcha day", we will pick-up Grayson
* Thursday is the Embassy appointment
* Friday we will pick-up Grayson's passport/visa and head home at 10:15 pm
* Saturday we will arrive in Washington at 7:55 am
*Saturday afternoon we will fly Northwest 2561 to Detroit and arrive 2:20 pm
* Leave Detroit at 3:28 on Northwest 1010 and arrive in GR at 4:19.

We welcome any friends and family that would like to welcome us home and meet Grayson. Please remember that it will be an emotional time for all of us and I apologize in advance if I don't talk with each person individually. Be sure to ask Gavin about his adventures with Grandpa too!

Thank you for continued prayers for safety.

Generosity

2009-03-25T10:37:00.000-07:00

When we give a gift to someone we give freely and willing. We wish to bless the other person we are giving to. This week we have been on the receiving end of the gift giving.
I must admit sometimes it has been difficult because I feel like I want to give something back too.
God has opened my heart to accept the gifts as they are given, a way to bless our family in this time of need.
Generosity this week:
* Friends at school had a cake reception and gave gifts and donations to the orphanage.
* My Aunt and Uncle from Oklahoma sent gifts for Grayson, the orphanage and a sweet baseball mitt for Gavin (thanks guys he loves it).
* My brother met us to fit a new car seat in the car and payed for the new car seat too!
* My sister-in-law called to donate an outfit.
* My grandparents and parents donated 48 onsies to the orphanage.
* A lawyer donated his time to finish our trust this week.
* My Aunt pulled strings to complete our new life insurance policy on time.
* My students held a surprise shower for me on Tuesday, with a lot of help from the team teacher (thanks Krista)
* Cash donations from friends

Above all of this we have been blessed with prayer and words of encouragement.
Words cannot express how grateful we are.
I thank God for each and every one of you.

Plugging away!

2009-03-16T17:42:00.001-07:00

I don't have much to post except that we are leaving in 10 days for Washington!!!! Grayson's room is full of luggage and clothes, although nothing is in the luggage yet.
I did want to mention a few things in this short post.
First, I wanted to thank Rob, my student, for making the pictures for Grayson's room and managed to make a full size R2D2 for Gavin too. I appreciate your artistic ability!
Second, we were blessed with an anonymous gift last week. It was given with a letter that simply asked for us to bring home treasures for our boys from Ethiopia. I don't know who you are, but thank you. You have blessed our family.
Well, until next time...

D-U-N done!

2009-03-09T18:02:00.000-07:00

When Gavin is done doing something he will spell "D-U-N" and then say done! That is how I feel about the Grayson's bedroom. We are D-U-N! We added the final touch with a rug tonight and now that is one more thing that I can check off the list.

Gavin was such an incredible helper in the whole process.

Above is a picture of the new crib. Did I mention we were able to get that for free due to a manufacturer defect in Gavin's old crib? God blesses us even with the details!

This is a part of the bedroom. Thanks to one of my students for drawing the vehicle patterns for me and all I had to do was trace and paint!

This rug and lamp was the finishing touch that we added tonight. A few books on the shelf and it should be just right...

New picture!

2009-03-07T08:51:00.000-08:00

We have a new picture of Grayson! The original picture I posted was our referral picture when he was 2 months old. This picture is at 5 months old. We don't have any new measurements, but last we were notified he is 9lb 9oz and 22 inches long.

Such a cute little peanut don't you think?

Okay, now I am distracted from my "to do" list that I posted earlier this week. I must get back into my clothes search in the attic! :)

Travel Date!

2009-03-05T18:49:00.000-08:00

My friend just e-mailed me today and asked if I had a travel date yet. I did change my ticker on the top, but realized that I forgot to post our plans (sorry Tracy)!

We will be leaving for ET on March 26 and arrive back in GR on April 4.

Last weekend we spent finalizing travel plans and buying our gifts for travel. This weekend the goal is to unpack some of Gavin's baby clothes and see what we actually have in Grayson's size and season. We also have a goal to get all of our travel documents notarized. After this weekend, I will be working with a long term sub to set-up arrangements for my classroom. I know I have several things to do after that but I am not sure how it will all get done... Still praising God for the opportunity though! :)

Family of Four!

2009-02-26T19:02:00.000-08:00

We are officially a family of four! God performed miracles this week and we passed court on our first time!

Welcome Grayson Girum Roby to the family.

God, Master of breakthroughs

2009-02-22T19:20:00.000-08:00

We prayed as a congregation today. Favor in adoption. The devil is on attack. He wants to rob my family of our joy and keep us apart.
Pastor was speaking to our family today...
"Decide to stand against the devil and God will stand with you. God will bring victory."
"The devil/situation may be a giant to us, but not to God."
"God is the master of breakthroughs. When a situation seems impossible it is his speciality."

We will stand up and pray for a breakthrough!

Congratulations!

2009-02-14T18:58:00.001-08:00

Great baby news in our family! Brandon's sister had a little baby boy on Tuesday night. We welcome Haiden Christian into the family. He was 7lb 7 oz and is 21 inches long. Cameron, older brother, is adjusting well. Gavin's comment, "I will be a better big brother than Cameron because I am older!" Wow, he is protecting his role already. :)

One step closer...

2009-02-04T13:01:00.000-08:00

Brandon and I went for our shots on Monday! I must say that my arm still hurts from that Tetnus booster. It will all be well worth the pain when we bring our little guy home.
I am going to start calling him "G" on the blog until we announce his name, when we pass court.
We did get new pictures of G yesterday. He is definitely growing and still definitely very cute. We don't have any new measurements at this time, but at last report he was 10 lbs and 21 inches.
Keep praying for February 25!

Lack of Posts

2009-01-31T08:37:00.000-08:00

I apologize for the lack of posts lately.
I am thankful that we are in the month of February, the month of our court date.
I am hopeful that we will get some new pictures of our little guy soon.
I am believing that God's timing is perfect and we will get to travel soon.
I am appreciative of the love and support you all offer are family.
Thanks for stopping by:)

Growing...Yeah!

2009-01-07T18:35:00.000-08:00

We have an update on our little guy and it is good news!! He is now 12 weeks old and weighs 9 lbs 4 oz and is about 21 inches long! Although it is not the size of a typical American child, he is growing.
We were so happy to get this report because today is Christmas in Ethiopia. Merry Christmas little one, we hope to see you soon!

New Understanding

2009-01-02T19:50:00.000-08:00

Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight. Proverbs 3:5-6

Thank you God for a court date.

I have a new perspective! Isn't it great that God has patience to teach us lessons over and over and over again... We have moved a step closer to bringing our little guy home and if things all go well it looks like we may be traveling with a pretty large group of people who all live in the area. What a great opportunity:)

Please pray that we ALL pass court the first time.

Court Date!

2008-12-30T13:00:00.000-08:00

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

2008-12-28T19:39:00.000-08:00

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!

2008-12-13T16:55:00.000-08:00

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

2008-12-04T18:11:00.000-08:00

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?

2008-12-02T06:49:00.000-08:00

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!!

2008-11-20T09:36:00.000-08:00

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

2008-11-08T10:40:00.000-08:00

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...

2008-11-07T06:52:00.000-08:00

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

2008-10-17T16:40:00.000-07:00

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!

2008-09-21T16:37:00.000-07:00

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)

2008-09-09T18:25:00.000-07:00

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

2008-08-01T06:36:00.000-07:00

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!

2008-07-07T21:06:00.000-07:00

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!

2008-06-18T13:37:00.000-07:00

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

2008-05-19T17:24:00.000-07:00

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

2008-05-13T11:19:00.000-07:00

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!!

2008-05-05T10:32:00.001-07:00

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...

2008-04-29T18:26:00.000-07:00

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...

2008-04-29T18:22:00.000-07:00

Gavin is 5!

2008-04-22T06:38:00.000-07:00

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!!!

2008-03-29T12:48:00.000-07:00

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

2008-03-24T17:11:00.001-07:00

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

2008-03-22T12:51:00.000-07:00

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!!!

2008-03-03T18:25:00.000-08:00

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

2008-02-26T17:56:00.000-08:00

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!

2008-02-26T17:51:00.000-08:00

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

2008-01-22T13:31:00.000-08:00

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

2008-01-09T18:13:00.000-08:00

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!

2008-01-06T11:09:00.000-08:00

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!

How does the process work?

2007-12-25T20:40:00.000-08:00

Well, now that all family and most friends know about our upcoming adoption a lot of people have questions. I would like to give a quick and easy summary of the stages of the adoption process. If you have further questions or would like clarification please feel free to ask!
1. Submit formal application to adoption associates (we did that)
2. Work with adoption associates social worker to complete a home study ( a total of 4 meetings and a lot of reading, which Brandon is loving:)! (we are in this process)
3. Send paperwork to USCIS (working on this)
4. Wait for government to give approval to adopt
5. Send dossier (several documents insurance, employment, criminal records etc.) to US embassy and Ethiopian embassy
6. Send documents to Ethiopia and wait for the referral of a child
7. Accept referral of child, Ethiopia sets a court date to make child legally ours and plan for travel
8. Travel to Ethiopia and pick up our beautiful baby boy!!!

This is a quick snapshot, the actual process takes about 1 year. We are praying for smooth transitions in paperwork so that we will be able to travel at the end of October or beginning of November. We have contact with several people who are also adopting from Ethiopia, unfortunately we are very aware of how things quickly change in this process!

We will do our best to keep people updated with changes and what we are working on, but right now I have to get Brandon back to reading!!!

Hope this helps,
Julie

Just the beginning...

2007-12-19T18:02:00.000-08:00

Well, I guess all I can say is that I made a blog site. I don't know how to do this!!! Thank goodness for computer savvy teenagers that I can ask for help. Hopefully you will see this blog change drastically as I learn how to manipulate things.

Thanks for your patience!