Time to Register!

*Update after registering* The Target I went to is a very small Target. I hope to get to a bigger Target next week which will have Pack N' Plays and other things I am excited to add to the list!


The day I truly thought would NEVER come has indeed come! After attending DOZENS of baby showers, printing off all those lists at Target... it is my turn! I really never thought I would be blessed with the opportunity to scan baby items. Brandon is very busy right now, so he might want to add some things to the list when he returns home, but I will get it started today! I am nervous and excited!

I will not be scanning any clothes (OK, maybe a few things if they are REALLY cute) as we don't know the exact size, and we were just given LOTS (3 huge totes) of hand-me-down clothes! They are so beautiful! We even got 4 pairs of Robeez slippers! Wow! Other friends have send us hand-me downs, and we even got some super cute brand new baby clothes this weekend from my parents! We are very blessed in the clothes department!

Off to Target to get a price gun!

Agency Donation Request List!

Friends,

If you would like to contribute some gently used items you would otherwise toss to the children waiting for forever families that would be awesome! This is something you don't have to spend money on and you know know it is blessing children around the world!

We will be taking two trips so if you would like to send something but can't get it to us soon we can take it over for trip two! We will be seeing our families (most likely) before trip two so you can give them donations as well!

Here is the list of items our agency is requesting we bring. This is a VERY new list and I realize it is more updated that I told some of you previously:

Paint brushes,
bubbles, (we are a bit nervous to travel with these)
stickers,
cloth diapers/diaper covers (THIS IS A BIG ONE!) (OLD SCHOOL KIND, not Bum Genius)
A &D ointment,
toothpaste,
and KG/Todd clothes. (4-7)

Remember to give us things that have lots of life left in them so they can be used by many!

He Sits!!!

We received a new photo of our son on Monday morning!! He received his "welcome bag" last week and was wearing the little "I love mommy" shirt we sent. He was holding FROGGY (read story by clicking here)! It was such a special photo. The photo will always be a miracle photo for us as he is sitting on his own in the photos! Traveling families who saw him two weeks ago know he wasn't sitting at that time! God has answered our prayers and he is getting stronger! He is still quite tiny and the 9month little shirt is huge on him. I am OK with him being a bit tiny at first as I will then get to see him as a little guy! We feel so blessed and are so excited to think that 2 weeks from right now we will be on Ethiopian soil!

Our tickets have been purchased, our hotel is reserved... we are getting closer each day!

BIG NEWS! Three weeks from today...

we will be holding our sweet Baby-M. We will meet him in person. We will know him in more than two dimensions! Even as I type I am in total shock! This is news we knew would come sometime, but for it to come now, so quickly, is causing us to just fall on our faces before our great King who has a plan so much bigger than ours!

So are you curious for details?

We had been praying that we would hear of a court date by the end of the month. We didn't think it would really be possible, but we we hoping and praying big prayers. Last week we learned that we would be able to travel to Ethiopia for either court date. In the past (since the two trip rule) two dates were given to families. The first court date was where the bio family could come and much other legal things. The second court date was for the family to say they did want to adopt the child. They now decided that families can come to the earlier court date. This will also speed up the process to the Embassy date when we will actually get to take Baby-M home.

What, you don't get to take him home?

It is true, if you are new to following this blog you might not know that we indeed have to make two trips to Ethiopia. We will be home for a month or two between trips. Yes, that will be the hardest thing I have ever done, to meet and then leave my son, but by God's grace I will be able to do it!

How did you find out?

After a great two day retreat I was hoping to come home to a phone message or email. Sadly, we received neither. Last night, just as Brandon headed to a meeting, I checked my email and we got the best email ever. It was entitled "court" and told us that we indeed had a court date!!! I then was shaking like crazy and had to wait almost 2 hours to tell Brandon. I did as much research as I could in that time though we still have SO MUCH to do!

When do you travel?

Our court dates are in mid-November, actually pretty early November. We will give you specific dates in you really want to know (to pray). We will be in ET for about a week so we can see the beautiful country of our son and get to know him!

We have much to do now as we count down the days. My "to-do" list is so long (flights, places to stay, things to do etc) that I can't write too long! Please join us in praising God for this great news!! We will post prayer requests soon, but now, just praise God with us!

Time passes so quickly... time is standing still... adoption update!

Celebrating our Referral of Baby M with a candlelight dinner!

Most days I feel like I blink and it is bedtime! Our fall schedule is so packed that the days fly by! This has really helped the last month since our referral of Baby M go by very quickly... THEN AGAIN...

sometimes it seems like Baby M is growing up so fast and we are missing it! Today we were blessed by photos and video of Baby M. Oh the videos are amazing! I just keep saying over and over as I watch them, "there is my son" but the thing is... THERE is my son... not here! I just want to jump on a plane and never leave his crib (yes, I know that I can't do that and yes, I am a rule follower and would never really do that).

Brandon and I signing our acceptance papers before a notary!

Baby-M update and general update:

-Baby M is now 14 months old! I keep wondering how old he will be when we meet him and how old he will be when he comes home!
-He is most likely currently wearing 9 month clothing. I am not sure if this means he will be in 12 month when he gets home or still in 9 month.
- Our case was submitted to court! We don't know the exact date (though hope to find out this week) but are thankful that we are "in line" for a court date!
-Our agency said that we would learn of a court date by the end of the month, though we are going to give a little grace on this and recognize it could still be a month from now before we hear of a date!
-When will the court date be? Great question! Sometimes families receive a court date 2 months away or sometimes less than 3 weeks away! We are praying for one trip before Christmas!
-Baby M's welcome bag should be arriving in ET in about a week. When he receives it we will get a photo of him in his new gear, and hopefully hugging Froggy!
-We learned that the way we have said Baby M's name is different than the way the nannies say it. Yet another thing to figure out! We are still TOTALLY up in the air in the name department!
- In the video Baby M is out of the Bumbo which is a HUGE PRAISE!!!! Baby M has spent a lot of time in the Bumbo seat. This is something that a few years ago I would have been pumped about as I thought they were so cool, but I now know that they do nothing for posture or back and tummy muscles and when your 14 month old can't sit, you want him in positions that stimulate his muscles. Anyway, he was on his tummy in the videos and photos. We saw him roll to his left side and on to his back. He was also putting much weight on his arms and almost seemed to put some weight on his legs as well! We are praying that we get to see him sit on our court trip!

There is so much else I want to say! We are so in awe of God's hand in our lives right now! We feel so blessed to be in this wonderful place and part of such a wonderful church! I wish I could say more, but know that we are thankful!

We appreciate your prayers for our son and also for my grandma F. Some of you know that my grandma has been dealing with some scary medical stuff! She seems to be having good and bad days! She is an amazing woman and we are praying that the medicine would start to work well with her body. It is sad when the very thing that can heal you does scary things!

Grandma and I at a family reunion Summer 2008

Our house: Our yellow house is now red!!! It looks great! We are excited to landscape in the spring, but we think the improvement in every area is amazing!

Move in day 2009Fall 2010

One final note: Our agency is dealing with an interesting situation right now. They have many waiting young children. Many boys who are between 4 and 6 years old. They are healthy, beautiful, young, and need forever families so badly. Please pray for these sweet children and the millions they represent all over the world who yearn for a mother's embrace and a father's encouraging word!