Leaving Tomorrow!

Over the past few weeks, it has been fun to notice certain dates. I was driving by the local bank where the sign announced: August 3, National Night Out! The other day, I noticed the expiration date on our milk: It has been almost surreal to realize that we will be in court on August 3! This is finally happening, and we are so excited!

So, we leave tomorrow. We are excited, scared, thrilled, pumped, etc! It is tough to leave our kiddos for 10 days, but it will be worth it when we are able to see little Isaiah's face on Sunday. So, here is our schedule:

Friday: Arrive in Addis
Saturday: Do some exploring
Sunday: See Isaiah for the first time. We will spend one hour with him in his orphanage. We are thrilled that we will get to see his home for the past four months.
Monday: See Isaiah for the second time. (Another hour visit.)
Tuesday: Court! We will testify before a judge that we indeed want Isaiah. Wow. This is just going to be powerful.
Wednesday-Friday: Experience as much of Ethiopia as we can
Friday night: Start the trip home
Saturday night: Get home!

Please pray for safety for us and our kids. We pray that we will be able to take in as much about Ethiopia as possible in order to share it with Isaiah some day. We cannot wait to share it with you! We will try to blog/facebook while we are there; however, we are not sure if we will always have internet access. So, we'll see!

Thank you, Jesus, for bringing us to this place.

It Has Been a Full Month!

I want to do a quick "catch-up" post on our last few weeks. We have been BUSY with many fun events.

We have been bowling. . . and Cherry-picking and Peach-picking. Oh, these cherries made a yummy pie! I still need to make peach pie!
We have played lots of baseball in the back yard.We had a family birthday party, complete with two birthday cakes. (Thank you, Jeanne!)And, Sydney and I were blessed with free tickets to the Music Theater's production of Annie. We LOVED it, and it was even more sweet because we were able to share the night with friends.
It has been such a fun and full month!

God Continues to Provide

This week, we were busy organizing a fundraiser luncheon for after church today. Everything went so well. We want to thank all of you who contributed to making the lunch a success.

Melanie and I serving hot dogs and chili.

Overall, I am just amazed at how God continues to provide for our adoption--and other adoptions. This was a "surprise" fundraiser for us because it was initiated by a different small group in our church, and God showed up in a big way to provide so much for all three families involved. All three families were each blessed with $890 to add to our funds. This pays for most of our in-country expenses for our upcoming trip.

Chris is ready to eat! Here is his Masterpiece!

So, another thank you to all who came and ate, donated extra, helped cook, clean, pour drinks, etc. And, thank You, Jesus, for continuing to provide so much more than we expect.

The kids all congregated in the table closet and entertained themselves while we finished cleaning.

Notice our great t-shirts! If you still want to order, you have a few days left. I really want to get them ordered this week, so let me know by Wednesday if you want one.

Birthday Extravaganza!

Both Sydney and Raegan have celebrated their birthdays this week.

Yesterday was Sydney's 10th birthday. We actually started celebrating last weekend by getting her ears pierced. We were both a little nervous, but no one passed out, and she has beautiful rubies in her ears to prove it! Sydney invited 10 girls over to help her celebrate yesterday with a cooking-themed party. (They had to make their own food!) They made their own pizza, salads, fruit kabobs, and dirt desserts.

While the girls cooked, Jackson dressed up in order to properly serve the girls. He is becoming a pro at this! (And, doesn't he look smashing?!)

After all the cooking and eating, the girls were ready to be silly.
We had such a sweet time with them!

In the evening, we celebrated with a yummy birthday steak dinner,
complete with cheese cake! YUMMY!

I am amazed that my firstborn is already 10 years old. Sydney is a sweet, sweet girl. She strives to do her best on everything, and I can already see she has a heart for others. I am so proud of her, and I look forward to seeing her continue to grow in the upcoming years.

Today was Raegan's fifth birthday. Again, I am amazed that she is already five. Raegan is also a sweet, sweet girl. She loves to give hugs and kisses, sometimes on her brother and sister's tummies! Funny, I know. She works hard to keep up with Sydney and Jackson, and she does a pretty good job. The past five years have flown by, but I am so thankful for each day. I am also excited to see Raegan move into the role of "big sister" soon.
Raegan wanted to celebrate at the zoo, so we met a couple of friends for the morning.
We had a fun time eating donuts, looking at the animals, and playing in between.
We finished the day with a yummy macaroni and cheese supper, complete with cherry pie! (Thank you Roger and Sara for the cherries! We picked them from their tree, and they made a yummy pie!)

We actually have family coming over on Saturday, so the extravaganza continues. . . :)

T-Shirt Fundraiser!

T-Shirt Blitz! We are partnering with another adopting family, The Coppocks, in selling t-shirts to help raise money for our adoptions. Order yours before July 26. I want to be able to get the first order in before we leave for Ethiopia!!!

These are awesome t-shirts. We love the message of "Simply Love". We are all called to love God and love people. This shirt reminds us to look for ways to love the needy. They are super soft and comfy, and this is my favorite shirt! Because these are a women's cut, you may want to order a size up. I usually wear a medium, but the large fits me perfect.

Here is the men's shirt. It is also super soft. These are mostly true to size.

We are offering kids' shirts as well, and they will be the same design as the men's; however, if your girls want a "pink" design, they could probably order a Women's small since these run a bit smaller.

Prices:
Kids = $20
Womens = $25
Mens = $25

Until I can get my PayPal set up, just leave a comment or e-mail me, and I will get you set up! Thank you for helping us bring Isaiah and two other little kiddos home from Ethiopia!

We PASSED!

Yesterday, we found out that we passed court! We are soooo excited. Tickets have been booked, and we are heading to Ethiopia in less than three weeks. This is all finally happening! We are so thrilled, and we are thankful for all of you who have joined us in this journey. Thank you for walking with us!!!!!

Here are the kids in their excitement! We have imagined singing this song, "Sing, Sing, Sing," since the beginning of this wait, and it is fun to praise Jesus now!

Getting closer. . .

Well, we didn't pass court; however, we got close! The MOWA recommendation was there, but Isaiah's birth father was not able to make it. Fortunately, he is on his way, and the judge agreed to hear his statement tomorrow (tonight our time). Hopefully, we will hear, "You Passed!" tomorrow.

Until then, we will be praying for a father who has to surrender his son, just because he lives in a place of poverty. This is the hard part of adoption. I don't like to think about it, but I will today so that this reality can continue to soften my heart for people.

Thank you for praying for this process. I could feel the Peace that passes understanding last night.

More to come. . .

1st Court Tonight!

Please pray with us today. Tonight when we are sleeping, a judge in Ethiopia will review our case for the first time. In the "olden days", before the two trips were mandated, this would make Isaiah officially ours, and we would travel to go get him shortly after. Now that Chris and I have to also appear before a judge, this is like Step 1. Then, our court date on Aug. 3 will be Step 2.

Fifty percent of families do not pass the first time at court. This is either because the birth family is unable to appear or because some of the paperwork is missing, usually due to power outages or other uncontrollable issues. If we do not pass, we are not sure how this could affect our trip in a few weeks.

So, it would just be fabulous if we could pass the first time. Please pray that God would orchestrate everything. It seems like we are so close, and after holding an Ethiopian baby, my heart is ready for Isaiah!

1st Ethiopian Get-together!

I thought this deserved its own post even though it was a part of our weekend. Brenda organized our first get-together with Ethiopian adoption families! We got to meet the Voth family who brought Jude home three months ago! Here, we are eating a YUMMY dessert!

It was sooooo sweet to be able to hold him.
As you can see, he is just a bundle of sweetness, and he made my heart so happy! Thank you Gail and Darrel for sharing him for an afternoon! Thanks, Brenda, for the yummy food and for coordinating this. I look forward to many more play dates when we all have our boys home!

4th of July Weekend!

We had a busy 4th of July Weekend!

First, I got to celebrate my mom's birthday with my two sisters-in-law by going to the Anita Renfro concert. I haven't laughed that hard in a long time. It was so fun to get a girls night out with Mom, Katy and Becky--oh, and baby Sheperd! Here is Mom with her new necklace from Junk Posse jewelry. I LOVE it and am so excited that Tracy donates some of the profits to Children's Hopechest. If you are ever in the market for some amazing hand-made jewelry, I highly recommend looking at Tracy's site!

On Saturday, we hosted a brunch to celebrate Mom graduating with her Masters of Nursing! Way to go, Mom! You are amazing! I am so proud of you!!!

On Sunday, we went to the Gerber Family Reunion. I'm not sure why I didn't get any pictures. I guess it was because it was pouring rain, so we were all squeezed into the basement and were too busy catching up!

We did get some fireworks launched and then got to go to our deck and watch the amazing display of wonder in our neighborhood. Apparently, all of our neighbors go wild for the 4th, so we had a great view as we celebrated our freedom.

The Countdown is On!

It is July, so the countdown is officially on until we can hold these little dimpled hands! This is what we need to accomplish in less than a month!

1. Pass our first court date on Thursday, July 8! This is next week. We pray the birth family can be present as well as all of our paperwork.

2. Book plane tickets to Ethiopia. We need to leave around July 28 or so. Yikes! That is soon! Oh, I am so glad! :)

3. Celebrate Sydney's and Raegan's birthdays!

4. Finish teaching three online classes. I should be done July 22--just in time!

5. Pack and get everything ready to be out of the country!

As you can see, July is going to be FULL. Please pray that we thrive in the busyness!

Remembering Grandma B

Grandma B lived in Denver, so it was always a huge treat to go see her. She went to live with Jesus five years ago. It is easy for me to remember how much time has gone by because I was pregnant with Raegan. Unfortunately, since I was due any time, I was unable to go to Grandma's funeral.

I always remember the treats in Grandma's lazy susan corner cabinet. I remember her collection of Denver Bronco gear. I remember the smell as we would walk into her house. I remember her very pink bathroom. I remember the fun dress-up clothes in her closet. I remember how she would always give us something of hers. I remember eating yummy breakfast treats in her breakfast nook. I remember getting to watch cartoons at her house--and this was a treat for us! I remember getting to spend my birthday at her house many times. Really, there are a lot of details I remember about going to Grandma B's house; however, the best part about remembering Grandma B is remembering how delighted she was to see us. I still remember her hugs, and I can't wait to see her again some day in heaven.

In the meantime, I am so glad that mom wanted to plant a bush in her honor. This will be a fun way to pass on some of these stories to my kiddos about their Great Grandma B.

Father's Day Fun

We were able to go out to the farm over Father's Day. We had a great time. There were kittens. . .
A working Go-Cart. . .

Oh wait. . . maybe not! No, it kept working, but we wondered when a little oil spilled over, making a lot of smoke!
Races down the driveway. . .
And fun at the lake! The kids loved jumping off the tube into the water.

We were tuckered out at the end of the day!