God's timing is ALWAYS perfect!!
We did not pass court today. We found out right before we walked in that our MOWA letter was not there, so we knew we wouldn't pass today. But some of the people have been getting their MOWA letters within a few days, so I was OK with that. The whole court process was about 2 minutes. We walked in and the judge asked us a few questions, then she said a few things in amharic to a AWAA representative and we all walked out. Once in the hallway we asked what happened and they said they needed a police clearance letter and the MOWA letter was missing. The judge gave us another court date of 18 days, we think. Later in the day we found out that there is a chance the letter from the police could be in by Monday (praying hard for that!!) and then we would wait on MOWA which hopefully will be written soon! I'm pretty sure that the judge said she would review the file when the letters were there and we won't have to wait until the next court date. We know that God's timing is Perfect and we will cling to that as we wait for Jacob to legally be our son. I really wanted to cry after hearing about the missing police letter and it taking 3 weeks, but I didn't. Then I got back to the guest house tonight and read all the prayers and encouraging words from many friends and family and I had a good cry!! The love and support from all of you is amazing!! Thank you for coming along this journey with us!! It's awesome to see God at work in all of our lives!!!
A bright spot of today was meeting a woman from the orphanage where Jacob was before the AWAA transition house. She remembered him and has pictures of him from when he first got there. We are going to visit the orphanage and the woman said she will give us those pictures!! So grateful for that!! We will be going there next week and we are looking forward to that!! God is good in all things!!!
Thursday, March 31, 2011
Wednesday, March 30, 2011
Court tomorrow
As you go to sleep tonight, we will be getting ready to attend court. We need all the papers in place to pass. This isn't to see if they think we are fit to be parents, we have already been approved for that. We need all of the papers to be signed and at the court office before our appointment. Then the judge will ask us a few questions. Only about 1/2 of adoptive families pass court the first time, usually what stops people from passing is the MOWYCA letter. After all the confusion from the last couple of weeks, it looks like they are trying to get caught up on letters missing from cases the past couple weeks or months. So we have been told to be prepared not to pass. Hopefully they will get caught up with the letter writing soon. If we don't pass tomorrow, then hopefully it will be VERY soon! As soon as we pass court, we can keep Jacob with us at the guest house. I CAN'T WAIT FOR THAT DAY!!!
Thank you for all your continued prayers!! And as you go to sleep tonight, please pray for MOWYCA to get as many letters written today as possible, not only for our family, but for all the waiting families!!
Thank you for all your continued prayers!! And as you go to sleep tonight, please pray for MOWYCA to get as many letters written today as possible, not only for our family, but for all the waiting families!!
Monday, March 28, 2011
Days 2 and 3
On Saturday we visited Holy Trinity Cathedral and a little museum in the morning. The church was beautiful, it was the biggest Christian church in Addis until recently. The paintings on the ceiling and the stain glass windows were beautiful. Then we ate lunch at Blue Tops, we ate chicken again J. After lunch we got to spend more time with Jacob. He is very cuddly in the afternoons. He fell asleep in my arms! It was so nice to have the cuddle time with him. We get to spend about 2 ½-3 hours each day with him. I wish it was more, but I understand why they don’t want people hanging around the Transition Home all day, every day. Jacob is such a joy to be around! He just laughs and smiles all the time! It’s amazing how much we can love a little boy that we just met!!
Sunday morning we started the day out at an International Evangelical Church. The pastor said there were people from over 50 countries. It was awesome that we all came together to worship the same God! They sang songs we knew, and the pastor was originally from North Carolina, but he has been in Ethiopia for the last 15 years or so. After lunch at Island Restaurant (spicy Mexican), we got to go back to the Transition Home for more time with Jacob. He was sleeping when we showed up, but they told me to pick him up. He started to try to go back to sleep until he heard voices. He likes to look at what is going on around him. He also started to recognize our voices today. Jacob loves to see what’s going on and turns his head to see who is talking all the time. So he was up for a while and played and laughed. Then he took a quick little nap on me! But he woke up when the nanny came to change his diaper. I have gotten to feed him a bottle everyday. They give him about 6 oz every 3 hours. He has yet to finish a bottle. I don’t know if its too loud and too much going on around him or if he’s just not that hungry. He gained another 1 ½ lbs this past month, so I know he’s growing!
We have been eating lunches out with AWAA families and staff, then dinner is on our own. We have been eating most nights at our guest house. The food here hasn’t been agreeing with me lately, I’m really hoping that changes soon! This will be a long stay if I get sick everyday. It is worth it though if I get to see Jacob everyday!!!
Sunday morning we started the day out at an International Evangelical Church. The pastor said there were people from over 50 countries. It was awesome that we all came together to worship the same God! They sang songs we knew, and the pastor was originally from North Carolina, but he has been in Ethiopia for the last 15 years or so. After lunch at Island Restaurant (spicy Mexican), we got to go back to the Transition Home for more time with Jacob. He was sleeping when we showed up, but they told me to pick him up. He started to try to go back to sleep until he heard voices. He likes to look at what is going on around him. He also started to recognize our voices today. Jacob loves to see what’s going on and turns his head to see who is talking all the time. So he was up for a while and played and laughed. Then he took a quick little nap on me! But he woke up when the nanny came to change his diaper. I have gotten to feed him a bottle everyday. They give him about 6 oz every 3 hours. He has yet to finish a bottle. I don’t know if its too loud and too much going on around him or if he’s just not that hungry. He gained another 1 ½ lbs this past month, so I know he’s growing!
We have been eating lunches out with AWAA families and staff, then dinner is on our own. We have been eating most nights at our guest house. The food here hasn’t been agreeing with me lately, I’m really hoping that changes soon! This will be a long stay if I get sick everyday. It is worth it though if I get to see Jacob everyday!!!
Saturday, March 26, 2011
Our first few days
am going to go back to recap the first few day of our trip for you….
We left home around 9am on Wednesday. We arrive at the airport at 10am. As we start to unload the van, my Dad and Cathy show up to surprise us and send us off. We visit for a bit, then unload everything and get all checked in. We head to secruirty and they tell us that our flight has been CANCELED. I thought they were kidding because we just told them we are going to Ethiopia to adopt our son. They weren’t kidding. Two minutes after we checked in and they processed all 9 suitcases, they canceled our flight. We turned around and went back to the ticket counter and of course there was a REALLY.LONG.LINE. When I saw the line I lost it. Yes, I was having a minor meltdown at the airport. They other passengers were annoyed, I was upset. Now, I knew God had this under control, but I couldn’t help myself. Getting ready for the trip was a little stressful, I thought I had gotten through the waiting and bumps. I was wrong. We get up to the counter about an hour later. They pretty much tell us there is nothing they can do that day. Maybe 2 of us (Brads parents came with us for the first 2 weeks) could fly out from St. Louis (about 4 hours away) the next day, or we could try the same flight to Minneapolis the next day. BUT then we would have to spend 24 hours in Amsterdam because no flights leave there on Friday, ugh. Seriously, taking 13 suitcases someone in Amsterdam and just find a place to stay, I don’t think so. Also that would mean we wouldn’t show up in Ethiopia until late on Saturday. Finally we got ahold of our travel agent, actually our travel agents fill-in. Our travel agent was actually in Ethiopia attending court to adopt her daughter. So the travel agent was wonderful and told us there was a flight out of Chicago if we could get there in 4 ½ hours. It usually take a little over 3 hours to get to Chicago and it was going to be close to rush hour, so it could be longer. Thankfully we were able to get all 13 suitcases back to the van and drive to Chicago and still had about 30 mins to sit at the gate. Praise the Lord!!! We were then able to catch the same flight from Amsterdam to Ethiopia and arrived at the same planned time.
Since our flights were so crazy and we rushed around all day Wednesday, we didn’t really eat anything. We planned to eat at the airport, but we didn’t have any time with the flight canceling, etc. So we started this medicine without much food in our stomachs. Brad got really sick. He threw up many times especially when landing and taking off. Thankfully he didn’t throw up anymore since we got off the plane!
So Thursday night we arrived at 10pm Ethiopia time (2pm IL time) and two AWAA employees picked us up and took us to the guest house. We got checked in and tried to get settled a little bit. It was well after 1am ET time when the others went to bed. I couldn’t sleep. I was too excited. Finally I slept from about 3am-4am. Then I was up and ready to go meet Jacob!!
Friday morning they came and got us around 9:30am to take us to meet Jacob. It is about a 25 minute bumpy ride. There were 3 other families that rode with us, they all met their children before. So they offered to take pictures for us. That was awesome!!! So thankful for them!! Read my last post about meeting Jacob. It was simply AMAZING!!! Its still a little surreal that we are here and we have held him in our arms and kissed his sweet face! We had to leave the Transition House around 12:15pm to get some lunch at Lucy’s. We all had chicken, it was good! Then he went shopping in the Post Office District. Not sure why it’s called that but its just a bunch of shops set up along the side of the road. We were able to get a few things for Jacob! We wanted him to have some things from his birth country. They sell a lot of wooden animals, wooden spoons, drums, scarfs, coffee pots, etc. After shopping we went back to our guest house. Brad and Randy took a nap. Mary and I uploaded pictures and tried to email and update facebook! We ate dinner downstairs at the guest house and then tried to go to bed early.
Its hard to sleep because its not quiet here. There is always dogs barking, people chanting, kids playing, and in the morning roosters crowing. I can’t believe how early everyone is up and going here. It was about 6am when I started to hear people everywhere. All the kids were up playing and people were walking all over.
I was a little sick Friday morning, but somehow as soon I saw Jacob I was feeling much better!! So everyone is now feeling better and we are ready for a great Saturday!!
We left home around 9am on Wednesday. We arrive at the airport at 10am. As we start to unload the van, my Dad and Cathy show up to surprise us and send us off. We visit for a bit, then unload everything and get all checked in. We head to secruirty and they tell us that our flight has been CANCELED. I thought they were kidding because we just told them we are going to Ethiopia to adopt our son. They weren’t kidding. Two minutes after we checked in and they processed all 9 suitcases, they canceled our flight. We turned around and went back to the ticket counter and of course there was a REALLY.LONG.LINE. When I saw the line I lost it. Yes, I was having a minor meltdown at the airport. They other passengers were annoyed, I was upset. Now, I knew God had this under control, but I couldn’t help myself. Getting ready for the trip was a little stressful, I thought I had gotten through the waiting and bumps. I was wrong. We get up to the counter about an hour later. They pretty much tell us there is nothing they can do that day. Maybe 2 of us (Brads parents came with us for the first 2 weeks) could fly out from St. Louis (about 4 hours away) the next day, or we could try the same flight to Minneapolis the next day. BUT then we would have to spend 24 hours in Amsterdam because no flights leave there on Friday, ugh. Seriously, taking 13 suitcases someone in Amsterdam and just find a place to stay, I don’t think so. Also that would mean we wouldn’t show up in Ethiopia until late on Saturday. Finally we got ahold of our travel agent, actually our travel agents fill-in. Our travel agent was actually in Ethiopia attending court to adopt her daughter. So the travel agent was wonderful and told us there was a flight out of Chicago if we could get there in 4 ½ hours. It usually take a little over 3 hours to get to Chicago and it was going to be close to rush hour, so it could be longer. Thankfully we were able to get all 13 suitcases back to the van and drive to Chicago and still had about 30 mins to sit at the gate. Praise the Lord!!! We were then able to catch the same flight from Amsterdam to Ethiopia and arrived at the same planned time.
Since our flights were so crazy and we rushed around all day Wednesday, we didn’t really eat anything. We planned to eat at the airport, but we didn’t have any time with the flight canceling, etc. So we started this medicine without much food in our stomachs. Brad got really sick. He threw up many times especially when landing and taking off. Thankfully he didn’t throw up anymore since we got off the plane!
So Thursday night we arrived at 10pm Ethiopia time (2pm IL time) and two AWAA employees picked us up and took us to the guest house. We got checked in and tried to get settled a little bit. It was well after 1am ET time when the others went to bed. I couldn’t sleep. I was too excited. Finally I slept from about 3am-4am. Then I was up and ready to go meet Jacob!!
Friday morning they came and got us around 9:30am to take us to meet Jacob. It is about a 25 minute bumpy ride. There were 3 other families that rode with us, they all met their children before. So they offered to take pictures for us. That was awesome!!! So thankful for them!! Read my last post about meeting Jacob. It was simply AMAZING!!! Its still a little surreal that we are here and we have held him in our arms and kissed his sweet face! We had to leave the Transition House around 12:15pm to get some lunch at Lucy’s. We all had chicken, it was good! Then he went shopping in the Post Office District. Not sure why it’s called that but its just a bunch of shops set up along the side of the road. We were able to get a few things for Jacob! We wanted him to have some things from his birth country. They sell a lot of wooden animals, wooden spoons, drums, scarfs, coffee pots, etc. After shopping we went back to our guest house. Brad and Randy took a nap. Mary and I uploaded pictures and tried to email and update facebook! We ate dinner downstairs at the guest house and then tried to go to bed early.
Its hard to sleep because its not quiet here. There is always dogs barking, people chanting, kids playing, and in the morning roosters crowing. I can’t believe how early everyone is up and going here. It was about 6am when I started to hear people everywhere. All the kids were up playing and people were walking all over.
I was a little sick Friday morning, but somehow as soon I saw Jacob I was feeling much better!! So everyone is now feeling better and we are ready for a great Saturday!!
Friday, March 25, 2011
Our MEETCHA Day
Today was AMAZING!!! Meeting Jacob was such a special moment!! AWAA has you stand on the porch and they bring him out to you while people stand and take video and pictures of you!! Thankfully Brad’s parents and 3 other families were all there to take LOTS of pictures and video for us. I love that we have this special moment captured on video and in pictures. We watched the video tonight and we all cried, again. They were thankful and amazed tears!!
Jacob is the sweetest little boy, so happy and content. He came right to us and was all smiles from the beginning!! He even gave us some belly laughs. He also rolled over!! We have video of it all!! We LOVE him so much and can't wait to go back to play with him again. He liked to spread out on the blanket and be on his tummy. He can hold his head up pretty well on his stomach. He likes to move around a lot in our arms. I got to feed him a bottle today, he is a messy eater.
The nannies love the kids there so much. I have heard that from other adopting families, but it was so nice to see it myself!! As I kept holding him in my arms, I kept thinking how lucky we were that God choose us to be Jacob’s parents!! God has truly blessed us on this adoption journey!! I can truly say that the waiting was so worth it, and I can’t even remember how hard it was at times anymore. So for all you waiting families- know that the hard waiting time will pass, and once you get that child in your arms, it is SO WORTH IT!!!!
Our MEETCHA day couldn't have been any better!! Praise God!!
Jacob is the sweetest little boy, so happy and content. He came right to us and was all smiles from the beginning!! He even gave us some belly laughs. He also rolled over!! We have video of it all!! We LOVE him so much and can't wait to go back to play with him again. He liked to spread out on the blanket and be on his tummy. He can hold his head up pretty well on his stomach. He likes to move around a lot in our arms. I got to feed him a bottle today, he is a messy eater.
The nannies love the kids there so much. I have heard that from other adopting families, but it was so nice to see it myself!! As I kept holding him in my arms, I kept thinking how lucky we were that God choose us to be Jacob’s parents!! God has truly blessed us on this adoption journey!! I can truly say that the waiting was so worth it, and I can’t even remember how hard it was at times anymore. So for all you waiting families- know that the hard waiting time will pass, and once you get that child in your arms, it is SO WORTH IT!!!!
Our MEETCHA day couldn't have been any better!! Praise God!!
Wednesday, March 23, 2011
Today Has Finally Come!!!
Today is the day we have been waiting for for a VERY long time. We are leaving today to fly to Ethiopia!!! Many people have asked how long it will take us and what the details are. So here you go:
Wednesday, March 23rd
9am leave for airport
12pm fly to Minneapolis, MN
4pm fly to Amsterdam
Thursday, March 24th
3:30am fly to Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
arrive in Addis Ababa at 2pm IL time (10 pm Ethiopia time)
Yes that is 26 hours from when our 1st flight leaves and our last flight lands.
We will then go to our Guest House and try (yeah right) to get some sleep and meet Jacob on Friday!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
(Just in case there are any creeps reading this we have someone staying at our house)
As we start on this leg of the journey we are asking for some prayers. I'm sure there are many more things we need prayer for, but here are a few things that I can think of:
-safe travel and no sickness on plane (thats just uncomfortable for everyone :) )
-our luggage makes it (nervous about this)
-we can sleep when we are supposed to (not sleeping much now and heard its hard to sleep in Ethiopia with howling dogs and chanting outside the windows)
-our MEETCHA Day with Jacob!!!! We can't wait to get this precious boy in OUR arms!!!!
-for MOWYCA to get letters written so families can pass court
-March 31st-our court date- we will be going in front of a judge to state our intent to adopt; all the papers need to be there and signed for us to pass court
-health and safety in Ethiopia. We plan to stay until we are cleared to bring Jacob home. We really hope that it is sooner rather than later!! We are also worried about the food a little bit. We brought some meals and have heard of some other places to go to as well.
-that we start to bond with Jacob right away and he is comfortable with us
-us as we start this new journey of becoming parents, we want to do the best we can to raise Jacob in a Christian and loving home. We want Jacob to grow up to love The Lord.
-that we have opportunities to be the hands and feet of Jesus to others while in Ethiopia
Our small group just finished studying the book of James. This really stuck out to me:
James 5:16 ".....The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective."
Prayer works and we are so thankful we have many prayer warriors along with us on this journey!!
A big thank you to each person that has helped us on some part of this journey. Your prayers, love, and support has helped us get to this day. Thank you just isn't enough, you helped us get to our son. The child God had picked out for us since the beginning of time!!!!!
Wednesday, March 23rd
9am leave for airport
12pm fly to Minneapolis, MN
4pm fly to Amsterdam
Thursday, March 24th
3:30am fly to Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
arrive in Addis Ababa at 2pm IL time (10 pm Ethiopia time)
Yes that is 26 hours from when our 1st flight leaves and our last flight lands.
We will then go to our Guest House and try (yeah right) to get some sleep and meet Jacob on Friday!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
(Just in case there are any creeps reading this we have someone staying at our house)
As we start on this leg of the journey we are asking for some prayers. I'm sure there are many more things we need prayer for, but here are a few things that I can think of:
-safe travel and no sickness on plane (thats just uncomfortable for everyone :) )
-our luggage makes it (nervous about this)
-we can sleep when we are supposed to (not sleeping much now and heard its hard to sleep in Ethiopia with howling dogs and chanting outside the windows)
-our MEETCHA Day with Jacob!!!! We can't wait to get this precious boy in OUR arms!!!!
-for MOWYCA to get letters written so families can pass court
-March 31st-our court date- we will be going in front of a judge to state our intent to adopt; all the papers need to be there and signed for us to pass court
-health and safety in Ethiopia. We plan to stay until we are cleared to bring Jacob home. We really hope that it is sooner rather than later!! We are also worried about the food a little bit. We brought some meals and have heard of some other places to go to as well.
-that we start to bond with Jacob right away and he is comfortable with us
-us as we start this new journey of becoming parents, we want to do the best we can to raise Jacob in a Christian and loving home. We want Jacob to grow up to love The Lord.
-that we have opportunities to be the hands and feet of Jesus to others while in Ethiopia
Our small group just finished studying the book of James. This really stuck out to me:
James 5:16 ".....The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective."
Prayer works and we are so thankful we have many prayer warriors along with us on this journey!!
A big thank you to each person that has helped us on some part of this journey. Your prayers, love, and support has helped us get to this day. Thank you just isn't enough, you helped us get to our son. The child God had picked out for us since the beginning of time!!!!!
Tuesday, March 22, 2011
Showered in Love!!
On Sunday, some of my dearest friends showered us in LOVE!!!! My friends and church family came together (about 50 women in all) to show their love and support for Jacob, us, and our adoption! It was so nice to see so many friends just days before we leave!! I got many hugs and promises of prayers for our journey, which means the world to me!!
At church, before the shower, our church family prayed over us. Pastor really blessed us with his prayer!! Pastor prayed for safety, health, and a speedy process, etc. But he ended the prayer by praying for Jacob to grow to love the Lord, and that is certainly the biggest responsibility about being a parent. It is our greatest desire to have Jacob grow up with faith in God and a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. I was humbled and amazed when I turned around after the prayer to see just how many people love us and are covering our trip and Jacob in prayer. Needless to say, I shed some happy and humbled tears!!
Here are the ladies responsible for the WONDERFUL day!!
Larcy, Marie, me, Angie, and Tanya
Here is Megan Snyder, another AWAA adoptive mama!! She lives only 45 minutes away and we got our referrals on the same day!! She will be coming to meet her 4 year old daughter the week after we get to Ethiopia!! I have been blessed by our friendship and so happy we live close to each other!!
Jacob is one very spoiled boy already, look at all these gifts. And yes, I really opened them all in front of 50 pairs of eyes watching me. It took about an hour, I really hope people weren't bored. I am very thankful for all the love and support shown in many ways!!
I had Angie's daughters help me so I wasn't sitting up there by myself!!
At church, before the shower, our church family prayed over us. Pastor really blessed us with his prayer!! Pastor prayed for safety, health, and a speedy process, etc. But he ended the prayer by praying for Jacob to grow to love the Lord, and that is certainly the biggest responsibility about being a parent. It is our greatest desire to have Jacob grow up with faith in God and a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. I was humbled and amazed when I turned around after the prayer to see just how many people love us and are covering our trip and Jacob in prayer. Needless to say, I shed some happy and humbled tears!!
Here are the ladies responsible for the WONDERFUL day!!
Larcy, Marie, me, Angie, and Tanya
Larcy and Marie are pregnant and Tanya has a baby just a little bit older than Jacob. I can't wait for all our kids to grow up together!! Angie's girls are a little bit older, so they might be our babysitters one day!!
My sister Amy, niece Kylie, and my Mom came up for the day too!!
Here is Megan Snyder, another AWAA adoptive mama!! She lives only 45 minutes away and we got our referrals on the same day!! She will be coming to meet her 4 year old daughter the week after we get to Ethiopia!! I have been blessed by our friendship and so happy we live close to each other!!
Jacob is one very spoiled boy already, look at all these gifts. And yes, I really opened them all in front of 50 pairs of eyes watching me. It took about an hour, I really hope people weren't bored. I am very thankful for all the love and support shown in many ways!! I had Angie's daughters help me so I wasn't sitting up there by myself!!Here is the yummy cake!!
Many friends and family also brought or have given us donations to take to the orphanages in Ethiopia. We have 2 suitcases full of wipes, diaper rash cream, infant vitamins, crocs, soccer balls, play dough, 1,200 pencils and several other items that we can't wait to deliver to people of places that we meet! Thank you to all of you!!
Many friends and family also brought or have given us donations to take to the orphanages in Ethiopia. We have 2 suitcases full of wipes, diaper rash cream, infant vitamins, crocs, soccer balls, play dough, 1,200 pencils and several other items that we can't wait to deliver to people of places that we meet! Thank you to all of you!!
From the Mouths of First Graders
I teach Reading Recovery to first graders, along with some small group Reading groups as well. My excitement about Jacob and going to Ethiopia, has bubbled over into them. I love it!! Here are some things I heard some 1st graders last week:
I love this one. This kid drew Jacob waiting in a building for us! I even have my purple purse!!
"I can't wait until you go and get Jacob!"
"Springbreak is coming up. Ohhhhhhh! Mrs. Mowen gets to go get Jacob on Springbreak!"
As they he was picking a book from my shelf, he said "Do you think Jacob can read this?"
Hahahaha! I love that Jacob has already become a part of our daily conversations around here!!! All three first grade classes drew my pictures or wrote us a letter about going to meet Jacob. Here are a few of my favorites! (again sorry I can't figure out how to rotate the pictures)
I don't think I will be wearing this fancy dress when I meet Jacob, but it's still cute!!
I love this one. This kid drew Jacob waiting in a building for us! I even have my purple purse!! I love how the students drew Jacob with brown skin and me and Brad with tan skin. This was unprompted, and I thought very observant from a 6 year old!
Most the letters were about like this: bring pictures of animals and the baby! haha
Again animals and baby in the pictures!!
I really hope that we are back by the end of the school year. The students can't wait to meet Jacob and I can't wait to introduce him to all of them too!!
Sunday, March 20, 2011
THIS WEEK!!!!
This is the week that WE.WILL.MEET.OUR.SON!!!!!!!!!! We started this journey in November 2009, now 17 months later we will be meeting OUR SON!!! I don't even know how to describe all the things I am feeling. Excited, anxious, nervous, emotional, happy, but mostly SO STINKIN' EXCITED!!!! It's almost surreal. We have been waiting so long and dreaming about our Meetcha Day for a long time, its hard to believe that Friday is the day!!!
We have been busy finishing up many things this past week or two. Lots of packing and repacking. Thankfully Brads parents are coming along for the first 11 days, so we can use some of their suitcase space. So far we have 6 large suitcases, 4 carry on suitcase, and 3 personal bags packed. With all the donations we've received recently from Brads school and friends, we are thinking that we might take one more large suitcase, and just have to pay the extra luggage fee.
Today my friends are having a shower for me at our church. I'm so excited that our last few days here will be filled with love and fun with our family and friends!
We have been busy finishing up many things this past week or two. Lots of packing and repacking. Thankfully Brads parents are coming along for the first 11 days, so we can use some of their suitcase space. So far we have 6 large suitcases, 4 carry on suitcase, and 3 personal bags packed. With all the donations we've received recently from Brads school and friends, we are thinking that we might take one more large suitcase, and just have to pay the extra luggage fee.
Today my friends are having a shower for me at our church. I'm so excited that our last few days here will be filled with love and fun with our family and friends!
Thursday, March 17, 2011
Ethiopia Update
Keep praying for MOWA, now MOWCYA, it seems that the changes will be good, eventually. We aren't sure how the next couple of weeks will pan out, but it sounds like they will be catching up as soon as possible with writing the letters. With our court date in 2 weeks from today, we might be caught in a little of this, but it will all work out. In the end, God is in control!! So I don't need to worry!!
Here was the email we got from our agency:
We are writing to update you on the current situation in Ethiopia. While meetings between Ethiopian government officials continue, we have seen positive steps. Within MOWA, there have been significant and positive personnel changes which have resulted in overall staff turnover and changes in the adoption unit. This unit is now called the Ministry of Women, Children and Youth Affairs (MOWCYA). We are hopeful and expectant that the new leadership will not only support processing an adequate number of favorable recommendation letters, but also implement policies that will best serve the children. Due to the staffing changes, we anticipate much transition over the next few weeks. However, we expect that once everyone is settled into their new positions, MOWCYA will work to process a higher number of recommendation letters than they currently are able to process.
We have continued to receive optimistic feedback and have seen how the Ethiopian government is very committed to adoption. I hope this information is an encouragement to your family. We will continue to update your family with any confirmed information we receive.
Another adoption agency posted today......
Today we want to update you on the feedback we received yesterday from our foreign staff in Ethiopia, which was confirmed in a discussion with our adoption colleagues in a Joint Council caucus call later in the day.
At this time, all Foreign Staff on the ground in Ethiopia are reporting that MOWA has completed their staffing changes and are now currently working at full capacity to complete those adoption cases currently re-scheduled or assigned a court appointment through the courts of Addis Ababa. Our staff believe this to be around 800 cases they are working at full force to complete with no restrictions on the number of cases processed each day. This is great news! We are thrilled to hear these drastic changes do not seem to be going into full effect.
We are also pleased to report that for new cases moving forward; it appears the original changes proposed by MOWA will not be implemented to the degree of 5 cases a day. At this time it is unknown whether or not MOWA will issue a formal statement regarding how they will process cases in the future, but from all discussions it will not be a drastic decrease from before. Through the continued work, meetings, and advocacy of many Foreign Staff members in Ethiopia, it appears any future changes within the case processing for MOWA will avoid sweeping and disproportionate alterations to the number of cases processed each day.
Here was the email we got from our agency:
We are writing to update you on the current situation in Ethiopia. While meetings between Ethiopian government officials continue, we have seen positive steps. Within MOWA, there have been significant and positive personnel changes which have resulted in overall staff turnover and changes in the adoption unit. This unit is now called the Ministry of Women, Children and Youth Affairs (MOWCYA). We are hopeful and expectant that the new leadership will not only support processing an adequate number of favorable recommendation letters, but also implement policies that will best serve the children. Due to the staffing changes, we anticipate much transition over the next few weeks. However, we expect that once everyone is settled into their new positions, MOWCYA will work to process a higher number of recommendation letters than they currently are able to process.
We have continued to receive optimistic feedback and have seen how the Ethiopian government is very committed to adoption. I hope this information is an encouragement to your family. We will continue to update your family with any confirmed information we receive.
Another adoption agency posted today......
Today we want to update you on the feedback we received yesterday from our foreign staff in Ethiopia, which was confirmed in a discussion with our adoption colleagues in a Joint Council caucus call later in the day.
At this time, all Foreign Staff on the ground in Ethiopia are reporting that MOWA has completed their staffing changes and are now currently working at full capacity to complete those adoption cases currently re-scheduled or assigned a court appointment through the courts of Addis Ababa. Our staff believe this to be around 800 cases they are working at full force to complete with no restrictions on the number of cases processed each day. This is great news! We are thrilled to hear these drastic changes do not seem to be going into full effect.
We are also pleased to report that for new cases moving forward; it appears the original changes proposed by MOWA will not be implemented to the degree of 5 cases a day. At this time it is unknown whether or not MOWA will issue a formal statement regarding how they will process cases in the future, but from all discussions it will not be a drastic decrease from before. Through the continued work, meetings, and advocacy of many Foreign Staff members in Ethiopia, it appears any future changes within the case processing for MOWA will avoid sweeping and disproportionate alterations to the number of cases processed each day.
Newspaper Article About Brad and Churchill Students
The students at Brads school have been collecting pens, pencils, and a few other school supplies for us to take to Ethiopia. The students also had the opportunity to "Jam the Jug" with change to be donated to an Ethiopian orphanage too. One day the students could pay 50 cents to wear a hat to school. So far they have collected over 1,000 pens and pencils and are still filling the jug up with loose change. It so neat to hear students want to help and to hear their excitement for our upcoming trip. The local newspaper went to their school yesterday to interview Brad and some of the students. Here's a link to the article
http://www.galesburg.com/newsnow/x2011272258/Churchill-Jr-High-class-collects-to-help-Ethiopian-orphans
http://www.galesburg.com/newsnow/x2011272258/Churchill-Jr-High-class-collects-to-help-Ethiopian-orphans
Wednesday, March 16, 2011
Packing, Unpacking, and Repacking
First, thank you for the prayers! We were fingerprinted last Wednesday! The situation in Ethiopia is finalized yet, but it sounds like it won't be as bad as we first heard. But please continue to pray for MOWA and the Ethiopian officials and that they do their part in fulfilling God's will for these orphans.
We have been packing, unpacking, and repacking for the last 3 weeks. Once we received a court date we started packing. We packed 2 suitcases full of food, diapers, and wipes. Another suitcase has mostly formula and baby cereal, with a few other things crammed in there. Since we plan to stay until we can bring Jacob home, we need to bring everything we will need for us and for Jacob for our stay. Some items are hard (or impossible) to find in Ethiopia or they are just very expensive. We also packed all of Jacob's clothes, then we got a precious video of him and they looked at his clothes and said he was already in 6-9 month clothes (he was only 2 1/2 months at the time). So we unpacked all the 3-6 clothes we had for him, and packed 6-9 month clothes with a few 9-12 month things. I figured it was better to bring clothes too big, than too small. All that we have left to pack is our clothes. I think we will be doing that in the next 2 days. So this weekend we can relax with our friends that are coming to visit and some of my family will be here Sunday-Monday. My friends and church are having a shower for me on Sunday. I can't wait to spend time with all of them one more time before we leave!
We have been packing, unpacking, and repacking for the last 3 weeks. Once we received a court date we started packing. We packed 2 suitcases full of food, diapers, and wipes. Another suitcase has mostly formula and baby cereal, with a few other things crammed in there. Since we plan to stay until we can bring Jacob home, we need to bring everything we will need for us and for Jacob for our stay. Some items are hard (or impossible) to find in Ethiopia or they are just very expensive. We also packed all of Jacob's clothes, then we got a precious video of him and they looked at his clothes and said he was already in 6-9 month clothes (he was only 2 1/2 months at the time). So we unpacked all the 3-6 clothes we had for him, and packed 6-9 month clothes with a few 9-12 month things. I figured it was better to bring clothes too big, than too small. All that we have left to pack is our clothes. I think we will be doing that in the next 2 days. So this weekend we can relax with our friends that are coming to visit and some of my family will be here Sunday-Monday. My friends and church are having a shower for me on Sunday. I can't wait to spend time with all of them one more time before we leave!
Tuesday, March 8, 2011
Another prayer request
We still need to be praying for MOWA and the process of writing approval letters, but today we have another prayer request. On Saturday we received our USCIS notice of being re-fingerprinted. They scheduled us to be fingerprinted on Feb 23rd. Ugh! Thats the day we leave for Ethiopia. So we are driving 3 hours tomorrow to beg them to let us be fingerprinted early. Please pray they will be gracious and allow us to be fingerprinted tomorrow. We have heard horror stories of people being turned away without any explanation or people at the fingerprinting office just being so rude. We were there last March for our first appointment and everyone was very nice to us, so we are really praying and hoping that is the case again.
Thank you!!!
Thank you!!!
Saturday, March 5, 2011
Please Pray
Yesterday we received an email from our agency asking us to please pray for Ethiopian adoptions and the officials over seeing and approving the adoptions. Here is part of the email:
We are writing to ask your family to join us in prayer for the Ministry of Women and Children’s Affairs (MOWA) regarding the number of cases they will be able to process each day. They have made statements that they desire to decrease the number of recommendation letters they write each day. We understand that because of these statements, the Court and MOWA are in the process of meeting to discuss and work out any potential changes or new processes regarding adoptions in Ethiopia. We want to blanket these meetings with prayer and ask you to come along side us in this.
Please join us in praying for all the orphans in Ethiopia, the government officials, their meetings in the coming weeks, and all the waiting families.
We are writing to ask your family to join us in prayer for the Ministry of Women and Children’s Affairs (MOWA) regarding the number of cases they will be able to process each day. They have made statements that they desire to decrease the number of recommendation letters they write each day. We understand that because of these statements, the Court and MOWA are in the process of meeting to discuss and work out any potential changes or new processes regarding adoptions in Ethiopia. We want to blanket these meetings with prayer and ask you to come along side us in this.
Please join us in praying for all the orphans in Ethiopia, the government officials, their meetings in the coming weeks, and all the waiting families.
Friday, March 4, 2011
Care Package #2
Care package #2 is off to Ethiopia today!!! Carmen and Garth Druckenmiller are on their way to meet their 2 boys today!!! I'm so excited for them!! Carmen will be staying in Ethiopia until they receive clearance to bring their boys home, so I am looking forward to meeting her in Ethiopia!!
This month we sent Jacob two little outfits, a taggie blanket, two books, a teething ring, and a picture of Brad and I. I made two of the taggie blankets and sent one now and kept the other other to give him when he is with us. After I sent it I read somewhere that they don't like cloth items because of germs, etc. So oh well if he doesn't get to keep it, I tried. He will have the one I kept at least! I am not sure if anyone has shown Jacob a picture of us yet, so I am excited for Carmen to show him the picture and tell him this is your mommy and daddy!!! Thank you for this gift of your time and suitcase space Carmen!!
His package is all packed up!
This month we sent Jacob two little outfits, a taggie blanket, two books, a teething ring, and a picture of Brad and I. I made two of the taggie blankets and sent one now and kept the other other to give him when he is with us. After I sent it I read somewhere that they don't like cloth items because of germs, etc. So oh well if he doesn't get to keep it, I tried. He will have the one I kept at least! I am not sure if anyone has shown Jacob a picture of us yet, so I am excited for Carmen to show him the picture and tell him this is your mommy and daddy!!! Thank you for this gift of your time and suitcase space Carmen!!
His package is all packed up!
Thursday, March 3, 2011
Precious feet
Aren't these feet so precious? Thanks Monica Munn, we received 8 new pictures this morning!!!!!!! A few pictures we have includes one of his nannies. What a joy to be able to share these pictures with Jacob when he gets older and show him all of the people that loved him before his mommy and daddy could get him home.I can't wait to take pictures for other families when we get to Ethiopia because I know what a joy it is to receive them of Jacob!!
Wednesday, March 2, 2011
February Update
Today we received our February update from AWAA. This update included a few more pictures and some information about him. I have read this at least 20 times already, because its about all we know about him.
As of February 22, Jacob is 14 lbs and 24 inches long. He put on 1.5 lbs in one month!! He has been healthy all month too!!! Praise the Lord!! Many families receive word of their child getting an URTI or pneumonia or something and it seems all the kids pass it around and around. But so far Jacob has stayed healthy. A few days after we got our referral, I started thinking about getting one of these emails (because it seems like almost every family gets one at some point) and I think about how helpless we would feel that we can't comfort him when he is sick or help do anything. So we have been praying for him (and all the kids at the Transition Home) to stay healthy! It does this mama's heart good to have not worried about that!
Here is some other information we learned today:
-he eats 5oz of formula 7 times a day
-he can lift his head up while on his tummy
-he is making babbling sounds
-he is happy and content
-he gets fussy when he wants to sleep
-he is active and playful
Oh!! I can't wait to see him!! We leave 3 weeks from today!!!!! I can't wait to get there and have our "meetcha" day!!!!
As of February 22, Jacob is 14 lbs and 24 inches long. He put on 1.5 lbs in one month!! He has been healthy all month too!!! Praise the Lord!! Many families receive word of their child getting an URTI or pneumonia or something and it seems all the kids pass it around and around. But so far Jacob has stayed healthy. A few days after we got our referral, I started thinking about getting one of these emails (because it seems like almost every family gets one at some point) and I think about how helpless we would feel that we can't comfort him when he is sick or help do anything. So we have been praying for him (and all the kids at the Transition Home) to stay healthy! It does this mama's heart good to have not worried about that!
Here is some other information we learned today:
-he eats 5oz of formula 7 times a day
-he can lift his head up while on his tummy
-he is making babbling sounds
-he is happy and content
-he gets fussy when he wants to sleep
-he is active and playful
Oh!! I can't wait to see him!! We leave 3 weeks from today!!!!! I can't wait to get there and have our "meetcha" day!!!!
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