Jumping For Joy!

I wonder why they are jumping for joy!


We are officially in the first batch of families who will travel twice to Ethiopia. Our first court date (which we will not attend) is July 8. This is when the birth family will testify and documents will be reviewed by the judge. This is the "regular" court date which has always happened. Then, we will travel at the end of July in order to get there for a second court date on August 3! We will first spend time with Isaiah; then we will go to court and testify that we want him to be our son. Wow. I cannot wait for that moment.

The tough part of all of this is that we will then have to leave Isaiah there for a few weeks (4-8 weeks) until we can get an embassy date. At that point, we will return to Ethiopia in order to get Isaiah, go to our embassy date, and come home!

Yeah! I can hardly stop shaking! I am so excited that we actually have a date. I am so thankful for everyone who has been praying with us. Thank you!!! God has really kept us full of His peace these past few weeks as we've waited. Please continue to pray that we pass our first court date in July.

Hooray for now! We had to toast to the good news!

Travel in July?!

Our case worker just called, asking if we were available and willing to travel before August 6. YES!!!!! So, we are officially on a list of willing parents. She said it is very possible we could get a court date before courts close!!!

Oh, please keep praying that we can squeeze in. I was praying this morning that God would multiply court dates for families waiting, just like he multiplied the loaves and the fish. I just want every family in our position to get through court before the recess. Oh, I pray!

Great Hits!

Many of our evenings have been spent at the baseball diamond.
Check out this great hit!

Papers Submitted!

Today, our case worker e-mailed to let me know that our papers have been submitted to the courts! We will now wait for that long-awaited court date. In the past, it seems like these dates were given out fairly quickly; however, since the procedures have changed and families have to appear in court, we aren't sure how long we will have to wait. Keep in mind that courts will close in early August, so we are praying we can squeeze in. We just have no way of knowing when we will hear. But, it is definitely a relief to know that we are at this point.

Hammering Away

Well, the birth certificate is in, and the certificate of adoption was signed by the orphanage director. (I had thought the birth certificate needed to be signed, but I was mistaken.) So, I thought we were good to go. Wrong. There is still one more thing that needs to be added to our paperwork in order for it to be submitted to court: a picture of the birth parent.

It really feels like we are in this crazy carnival game, similar to the one where we have to hit the groundhogs with the really big hammer. Every time we "hit" one, two more pop up! We are getting weary of hearing, "One more thing. . ." We are just ready to get to the end.

Please pray with us:
1. That the orphanage would be able to get this picture quickly.
2. That we would still be able to get a court date before they close in August.
3. That we would be able to know the balance between waiting in anticipation and trusting God's timing.

Busy First Week of Summer!

Our first week of summer was packed full of activities!
First, we worked on baking for our friends' Adoption Fundraiser Garage/Bake Sale! The next four days, we spent most of our time over there helping to organize and run the sale. They had a LOT of stuff! I can't wait to hear how much they made to start their adoption fund!It was so fun! We are so excited to help bring home two other kiddos from Ethiopia!

In the meantime, Jackson had tennis camp each morning.Today (Saturday), we had make-up games.
Jackson played at 11:30, and it was already HOT!

He hit the ball into the outfield, and he played catcher for a couple of innings. Very fun!

Here is Raegan enduring the heat!

Then, it was Sydney's turn to play at 1:30. Yes, it was even hotter! But, she also hit the ball into the outfield, and they won the game. In our first year of kid-pitch, it is nice to be getting to the point where we see improvements!

On the adoption front, it has been one month since we saw Isaiah's sweet face. I still love looking at him! We also heard several pieces of encouraging news. We received our little guy's birth certificate; however, the orphanage director has to sign it before CWA can submit our papers for a court date. Luckily, she is due to be back in the office on Monday after being gone last week; therefore, we should have our papers submitted next week!

We also found out that courts are supposed to close some time in August vs. July like we originally thought, so that was a huge relief. We are still right on the edge as far as getting a court date before they close during the rainy season, so please continue to pray for us to get through the court process in the next couple of months. We have right at two months. We just really want to be able to kiss these little lips sooner vs. later!

Priceless!

Ooooo--it came! Today, I received my free copy of Tom Davis's new book, Priceless. I am already busy reading, but I was able to put it down just long enough to post this! Oh, you are all going to love this book. It is intense so far, but it presents a message that so many of us need to hear. Child trafficking is just all around. This week, I heard about this very thing that happens in my own city--right here in the midwest! How can this be? Anyway, more on this later. For now, I am going to whiz through this book! Book review to come shortly! (Notice the Simply Love T, the box of my new Toms shoes in the background. I was sad because my new Junk Posse earrings are covered by my hair! I love being a walking advertisement for items with a cause!)