Thursday, August 28, 2014

Update on my Mom

http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/joannebodien

Friday, August 22, 2014

Adoption Video

I have been wanting to put this together for months now. I finally did it today! Enjoy!


Sunday, August 17, 2014

Birthday Girls!

What a day it will be!! It's my birthday today ~ and our sweet Samara turns TWO today and it's her first birthday home!!!!! I can explain the pure delight in my heart. To wake up to my smiling little sweetheart today and wish each other a Happy Birthday was almost more than my heart could handle. I am so grateful to have her home to celebrate this year. What a difference from last year when I celebrated our birthday but she was a world away and I had no clue when I'd be able to hold her in my arms.

I'm reading this book - http://www.today.com/books/waiting-birth-mothers-quest-meet-her-daughter-2D79627749 - and last night, I ironically read the part where the birth mother has her daughter and then when she leaves the boarding house, without her daughter whom she is relinquishing her rights to. My life has been touched by adoption in many ways at various times. I've been blessed to experience it through so many different angles. So today, not only do I celebrate this wonderful daughter, born from not under my heart but in it. But I also grieve for the mom who does not get to sing to her daughter on this perfect day. I am pained for the mother who does not get to give her daughter a sweet treat to enjoy and know that it's all for her. I hope that, some day, I can have the chance to meet the woman that gave my sweet Samara the gift of life, and who so selflessly decided that she should go to another mommy and daddy who can give her more opportunities in life. What a privilege it is to be her mom, but I pray to meet her first mom some day, as that bond could never be taken away.

Until then, each birthday will be special. I bought her a gift from Ethiopia for her next several birthdays. I can't wait to spoil this little girl who is so deserving of all the love I have to offer!!

Here she is one year ago today - her first birthday... Taken by someone while she was in the orphanage. My how her eyes have softened since then!!


This morning...

Friday, July 18, 2014

Three Months Home

I can't believe little Samara has been home for three months already!  After waiting for three and a half years, the past three months have really flown by!

We are doing really well.  Our two older kids are 100% in love with their little sister.  She is their constant source of laughter, hugs, and entertainment.  I love to watch them play together.




We are beginning to get more sleep, usually.  I think sleep will be our biggest challenge for some time to come yet.  That's just how it is.  I've come to expect it.  Other than that, I think Samara is feeling right at home with her new family.  And we are quite happy to have her here, finally! 




Saturday, May 31, 2014

7 Weeks Home

I can't believe Samara has been home for seven weeks. They have flown by so quickly.

We are doing great. Samara is a happy girl! She loves her brother and her sister so much. She spends much of her days playing with them and laughing with them. Her personality shines every day. She loves to laugh and make others smile. She is quite the socialite and is taking after her big sister in a big way!! Naps and night time are still a bit challenging, especially if we have been around large groups of people, but I have more realistic expectations of what that looks like now, and that is helpful. Patience and grace get us through. And her smile just melts me!!






Monday, April 28, 2014

A Little Over Two Weeks Home

I know you have all been waiting for an update. . .   ;)

We have been home just over two weeks now. Samara is a completely different girl! Most days get better and better as we provide her structure and love.  Our first week home was a blur.  Almost no sleep, trying to get on track, catching up on laundry and cleaning from the trip... Wow.  Last week, our two older kids were on spring break. This was a real blessing for many reasons - one being that I really hate my oldest being gone at school all day every day anyway, so I got to enjoy his presence around here all week! Also, Samara just LOVES interacting with and playing with her big brother and sister.  Being around other kids really makes her smile and laugh. It is so fun to see.  Also, it was good to give the two older ones a week to bond with her.  I have to say though, because we are in lock-down therapy mode, I was grateful when some family and some friends picked up the two older ones and took them out and about for a bit.  I knew they were enjoying themselves and they were out of the house for a bit. That was helpful!!

Samara still has difficulty being alone. This is understandable, as I'm pretty sure she was NEVER alone for her whole 20 months of life. There was always a nanny from the orphanage working or a crib neighbor close by. That being said, sleep is somewhat of a challenge.  Most often, Samara likes to sleep on top of me.  They say "sleep when your baby sleeps," well, I've been doing a lot of that - or reading while she sleeps.  The past few days, she has slept in her pack n play during naps and that gives me a chance to quick change laundry around, or clean a bathroom, or load/unload the dishwasher. Also, she usually sleeps for about an hour (two if we are lucky) at night before demanding that I join her - giving Jaden and I a chance to catch up quickly or sneak in a tv episode.  That has probably been a challenge for me, because if you know me at all, I'm a tiny bit of a busy-body/clean freak/mover (first step is admitting it, right?)  But anyway, I've been reading  a lot about adoption parenting during all of this down time and I'm educating myself about Samara's special needs as far as bonding and attachment goes and I am grateful for the opportunity to research what this looks like from professionals' eyes and rest assured that I'm making the best choices I can for Samara's future.

Adoption parenting is quite different that parenting your bio-kids - at least at first anyway. And understandably so considering what her life has looked like until we got her home! I'm sure it's not easy for some of our family/friends to understand why we don't take her out and about much or why we can't let her cry herself to sleep or why no one else can hold her/feed her/change her for the next several months. If you want to know more about our reasoning behind all of this, just ask. I am open to sharing what I've learned.

We did take Samara to church yesterday. It went well while we were there, but I think we may have pushed it a little much; once we got home, she was not so happy or content. It was worth a shot, as I was glad some of you could at least see her and I was able to see some of you!! This hunkering down thing can be a bit lonely at times!! Unfortunately though, we'll be returning in a few weeks - when Samara is more ready.

Many people of dropped off food for us. I can not say thank you enough!! Last week was full of doctor appointments, lab tests, football practice... There just wasn't much time or opportunity for grocery shopping or cooking! This week is quite similar, so I really can't thank you enough for blessing us and caring for us in this way. Thank you!!

It is so great to finally have our little peanut home. She fits in so well with our family and each one of us just loves her to pieces!! She is funny and sweet and full of smiles. We are thankful for our new little girl!!


First time at the park... She lasted a few minutes in the swing! :)

Saturday, April 19, 2014

So Much To Do, So Little Time!

Hello everyone!

We hope everyone is well. We are finally home with Samara and we are grateful for the prayers and support you have provided while we have worked to bring her home. We have written this letter in order to share what we’ve learned about adoption and attachment, as well as ways you can assist with helping Samara transition and adjust to her new family.

In many ways, Samara is much like Drew and Carissa and she will be raised the same as they have but there will be a few, initial differences. For years now, we have researched bonding and attachment in children who are transitioning into a loving family from institutional orphanage setting.

Firstly, Samara does not yet know her new mom and dad. She has been taken from the only home she has ever known. The people, the language, the sounds and smells, the customs and routines at home are all new to her. She will need ample time to get to know us and trust us. Research shows that it is crucial that this bond is established as early as possible upon Samara arriving home and it must be done with only immediate family present.

For the first 19 months of her life she has not had her basic needs met. She has spent 22 of 24 hours a day in her crib and she has not learned discipline or learned how to express her emotions. As you can imagine this presents challenges that must be met in a nurturing environment and only by mom and dad.

After consulting with other adoptive families from our community, and at the advice of adoption professionals, our plan is to have a no-visitors policy for 1 month. This is our time as a family to adjust to new family dynamics and develop a highly structured and nurturing environment for Samara, which is something totally new for her. After this time, we will begin branching out, but will still minimize our outside contacts until we see that she is feeling secure in her new environment.

Thank you in advance for your understanding and respect of how important these next few months are for Samara. We want to start off by doing what is best for her but we understand that some aspects may be difficult for the rest of us.

Monday, April 14, 2014

Our Time in Ethiopia Part Two

Here is a pic from our visit to the orphanage the day before we took custody...

After the farewell ceremony that Monday we were able to return to the Guesthouse with Samara. It was so great to finally have her with us 24/7.
That Tuesday was our Embassy Appointment. It was very quick and very painless. And after that, our Samara was officially ours according to both the Ethiopian Government and the US Government!! Oh happy day!!!!

The next few days and nights at the Guesthouse were a very big mix of wonderful and challenging. We had moments like this, where Samara wanted to play and smile and have a good time...



And then we had many, many challenging times. See the orphanage is the only place Samara has ever known. The nannies at the orphanage are the only caregivers she has ever known. There is a lot of grieving that takes place when you pull an almost 19 month old from the only place and people she has known. Let alone that she has never ridden in a car before. Had never really left the walls of the orphanage before we came and snatched her out. There was a lot of both fear and grieving since we left. And, unfortunately, it's not over...

Sunday, April 13, 2014

Our Time in Ethiopia

We got home late, late Friday night. To say things have been busy since, just doesn't do it justice. So, I'm finally getting the chance to write about our trip.

Less than 48 hours before we were scheduled to fly out, we found out that Lufthansa canceled our flights. Their pilots went on strike the three days surrounding our flight out. Ugh. I can't even explain the panic we were feeling. Thankfully, our travel agent got us scheduled on a different flight with Turkish Airlines (I DON'T recommend them in any way... in case you were wondering). So we ended up arriving in Ethiopia on Saturday morning very, very early in the morning. We checked in to our guest house, unpacked and got about two hours sleep before waking up to get on with the trip! On Saturday, we went shopping with a friend that previously lived in Wisconsin and now resides in Ethiopia. We spent the day and evening with her and her family. It was AWESOME! So great to be able to connect and understand and spend time with someone you are familiar with when everything else is so unfamiliar (and often uncomfortable). Next to getting custody of Samara, this was my favorite few hours, hands down!

On Sunday, we got to go visit with Samara for a few hours in the afternoon. Thankfully, we had another couple from New Jersey that I had connected with often before leaving that we spent tons of time with while in Ethiopia. This also was a huge blessing for us. It was great getting to know them better and chatting while sitting at the orphanage and holding and playing with our girls!

On Monday, we went to the orphanage for the farewell ceremony. This was a long, hard day. The nannies at the orphanage really do the best they can and they really grow to love the kids there. Samara has been there almost 16 months, so these ladies have come to know her quite well and have been like her mother figure this whole time. Though the conditions at the orphanage are painful to see and experience, we know that our girl was treated well and was cared for. That is most important. During the farewell ceremony, many other kids were there - younger and older. There was cake, coffee, soda, singing... it was so so so precious.

More later.Cant'.Stay.Awake.


Tuesday, April 1, 2014

Unexpected Changes/Challenges (again)

Hello all!

So there have been some unanticipated changes regarding our trip to Ethiopia. Less than 48 hours prior to departure we learn that 5,500 pilots from our airline will go on strike from Wednesday night to Friday night. Yep, our flight was scheduled for Thursday and it has been canceled along with 3,800 other flights. We have switched some things around...we now have a new flight booked! The flight schedule will be very, very challenging (especially the 7 hours in Turkey with her on the way home and the 1:00 a.m. flight times) but in the end - the whole reason for the trip and everything surrounding it will be worth it. 

We will now be flying in and out of Chicago instead, so I am guessing that, unfortunately, our welcoming committee will not be meeting us at the airport. Bummer. We were so excited to meet our girl to many of you for the first time. But we also don't expect anyone to drive to Chicago either, so I guess we can hope for soon after we return for that meeting to take place.

If you are not reading our blog, please do so. We will try to post pictures and updates during the trip (but from what I hear the internet at our hotel has been down for some time now so we may not have that option). Also, I have an interesting read a few posts back that talks about what these first few days, weeks and months home may (who knows?) look like for us that some of you may want to read for an explanation of why you don't get to meet our precious beauty immediately upon our return (besides the fact that her mother will be not letting her go from her arms for at least the first two weeks).  ;)  You can find our blog here: http://thomasbabyadoption.blogspot.com/

We so appreciate everyone's support and encouragement and prayers and love throughout this journey with us. It's been a long one - three and a half years!! Just as we are grateful that God put this call to adopt on our hearts, we are grateful that He has seen it through to completion (almost there!!!) and it is so worth every moment. Can't wait to get her home and for her to see this love surrounding her all this time - a world away!!

Also, I've gotten a ton of emails and texts and facebook messages from many of you the past few days and between working and taking care of the kids and packing and then switching flights around and figuring out Chicago and well - so much more - I have been a bit delayed on responding. Thank you for your grace and I will keep in touch soon!

Thank you for your prayers for our health and safety on our trip. We can't wait to share her picture with you all in just a few days!!

Much love,
The Thomas Family

Thursday, March 27, 2014

Tonight

Tonight is a very big night for us. There is an interview taking place in Ethiopia that we do not attend at 11:30 p.m. our time tonight. We have reason to believe that, immediately following this interview, there is a good chance we could clear and be ready to fly out in just a few days to bring our girl home. While we are not certain of this - we are hopeful.

PLEASE  be praying that...
1) All goes well with the interview and we are notified early enough in the night to request our embassy interview.

2) We receive our confirmed embassy interview date before 4:30 a.m. tomorrow morning so that we can save big $$$ by booking our flights tomorrow, as opposed to waiting through the weekend.

3) Endurance to hold on these next few days, as they are extremely emotional for both us and our little girl's biological family.

4) For our time to be multiplied these next few days, as we have lots on our plates right now with work, home, taking care of the kids, packing everyone up, figuring out our kids' schedules in our absence, kids activities, etc. It's a lot to manage.

5) Health and safety for our whole family (of FIVE) for the next few weeks.

If anyone happens to have any frequent flyer miles that they would care to "donate" to us, our travel agent is looking into this possibility. We are hoping to be booking flights by the end of the business day tomorrow, so let me know if that is something you are hoping to do. I know people have mentioned in the past that they would like to donate, so let me know if that is something you are thinking of asap.

Thanks all! Soon, you will get to see a picture of our precious girl's face!

Saturday, March 15, 2014

When We Finally Get Her Home...

This week was exciting. I started packing Samara's bag. I bought a few (okay, five but that's still a few) bottles of hair product. I bought diapers and baby formula and bottles. All this preparing is FUN - especially for an organized person like me. Any chance to make list and cross stuff off and add to it, I'm all over it!

But I've also started really thinking and praying about when we finally get Samara home. You see, adoption is a BEAUTIFUL thing - and wait till you see my girl - she is take your breath away BEAUTIFUL. But, what you don't always see from the outside looking in is the "hard" stuff. You don't see the loss Samara has faced over and over again in her short 19 months of life. You don't see the grief she will feel leaving behind the only life she has known and flying across the world with strangers who are a little... ahhh... white? and look nothing like what she's ever seen before. And there is more to it than, well little baby - this is it. This is what life looks like for you now. Get over it. There will be lots and lots of sleepless nights. There will be times we are so lonely and tired and unsure how to get through this phase of attachment parenting. We will need all the love and support and encouragement we can get after we finally get her home (and you thought we were already requiring extra love and support and encouragement now?).

Here is just a little blog post I have been reading that I'd like to share with those of you that know us. This is a little window into what life will look like when we finally get her home...

Supporting Families After the Airport  - Jen Hatmaker

You went to the airport. The baby came down the escalator to cheers and balloons. The long adoption journey is over and your friends are home with their new baby / toddler / twins / siblings / teenager. Everyone is happy. Maybe Fox News even came out and filmed the big moment and “your friend” babbled like an idiot and didn’t say one constructive word about adoption and also she looked really sweaty during her interview. (Really? That happened to me too. Weird.) 

How can you help? By not saying or doing these things: 

1. I mean this nicely, but don’t come over for awhile. Most of us are going to hole up in our homes with our little tribe and attempt to create a stable routine without a lot of moving parts. This is not because we hate you; it’s because we are trying to establish the concept of “home” with our newbies, and lots of strangers coming and going makes them super nervous and unsure, especially strangers who are talking crazy language to them and trying to touch their hair. 

2. Please do not touch, hug, kiss, or use physical affection with our kids for a few months. We absolutely know your intentions are good, but attachment is super tricky with abandoned kids, and they have had many caregivers, so when multiple adults (including extended family) continue to touch and hold them in their new environment, they become confused about who to bond with. This actually delays healthy attachment egregiously. It also teaches them that any adult or stranger can touch them without their permission, and believe me, many adoptive families are working HARD to undo the damage already done by this position. Thank you so much for respecting these physical boundaries. 

3. For the next few months, do not assume the transition is easy. For 95% of us, it so is not. And this isn’t because our family is dysfunctional or our kids are lemons, but because this phase is so very hard on everyone. I can’t tell you how difficult it was to constantly hear: “You must be so happy!” and “Is life just so awesome now that they’re here??” and “Your family seems just perfect now!” I wanted that to be true so deeply, but I had no idea how to tell you that our home was actually a Trauma Center. (I did this in a passive aggressive way by writing this blog, which was more like “An Open Letter to Everyone Who Knows Us and Keeps Asking Us How Happy We Are.”) Starting with the right posture with your friends – this is hard right now – will totally help you become a safe friend to confide in / break down in front of / draw strength from. 

4. Do not act shocked if we tell you how hard the early stages are. Do not assume adoption was a mistake. Do not worry we have ruined our lives. Do not talk behind our backs about how terribly we’re doing and how you’re worried that we are suicidal. Do not ask thinly veiled questions implying that we are obviously doing something very, very wrong. Do not say things like, “I was so afraid it was going to be like this” or “Our other friends didn’t seem to have these issues at all.” Just let us struggle. Be our friends in the mess of it. We’ll get better. 

5. If we’ve adopted older kids, please do not ask them if they “love America so much” or are “so happy to live in Texas.” It’s this simple: adoption is born from horrible loss. In an ideal world, there would be no adoption, because our children would be with their birth families, the way God intended. I’ll not win any points here, but I bristle when people say, “Our adopted child was chosen for us by God before the beginning of time.” No he wasn’t. He was destined for his birth family. God did not create these kids to belong to us. He didn’t decide that they should be born into poverty or disease or abandonment or abuse and despair aaaaaaaall so they could finally make it into our homes, where God intended them to be. No. We are a very distant Plan B. Children are meant for their birth families, same as my biological kids were meant for mine. Adoption is one possible answer to a very real tragedy… after it has already happened, not before as the impetus for abandonment. There is genuine grief and sorrow when your biological family is disrupted by death and poverty, and our kids have endured all this and more. So when you ask my 8-year-old if he is thrilled to be in Texas, please understand that he is not. He misses his country, his language, his food, his family. Our kids came to us in the throes of grief, as well they should. Please don’t make them smile and lie to you about how happy they are to be here. 

6. Please do not disappear. If I thought the waiting stage was hard, it does not even hold the barest candle to what comes after the airport. Not. The. Barest. Candle. Never have I felt so isolated and petrified. Never have I been so overwhelmed and exhausted. We need you after the airport way more than we ever needed you before. I know you’re scared of us, what with our dirty hair and wild eyes and mystery children we’re keeping behind closed doors so they don’t freak out more than they already have, but please find ways to stick around. Call. Email. Check in. Post on our Facebook walls. Send us funny cards. Keep this behavior up for longer than six days. 

Here’s what we would love to hear or experience After the Airport:

1. Cook for your friends. Put together a meal calendar and recruit every person who even remotely cares about them. We didn’t cook dinners for one solid month, and folks, that may have single handedly saved my sanity. There simply are not words to describe how exhausting and overwhelming those first few weeks are, not to mention the lovely jetlag everyone came home with. And if your friends adopted domestically right up the street, this is all still true, minus the jetlag. 

2. If we have them, offer to take our biological kids for an adventure or sleepover. Please believe me: their lives just got WHACKED OUT, and they need a break, but their parents can’t give them one because they are 1.) cleaning up pee and poop all day, 2.) holding screaming children, 3.) spending all their time at doctors’ offices, and 4.) falling asleep in their clothes at 8:15pm. Plus, they are in lockdown mode with the recently adopted, trying to shield them from the trauma that is Walmart. 

3. Thank you for getting excited with us over our little victories. I realize it sounds like a very small deal when we tell you our kindergartener is now staying in the same room as the dog, but if you could’ve seen the epic level of freakoutedness this dog caused her for three weeks, you would understand that this is really something. When you encourage us over our incremental progress, it helps. You remind us that we ARE moving forward and these little moments are worth celebrating. If we come to you spazzing out, please remind us where we were a month ago. Force us to acknowledge their gains. Be a cheerleader for the healing process. 

4. Come over one night after our kids are asleep and sit with us on our porch. Let me tell you: we are all lonely in those early weeks. We are home, home, home, home, home. Good-bye, date nights. Good-bye, GNO’s. Good-bye, spontaneous anything. Good-bye, church. Good-bye, big public outings. Good-bye, community group. Good-bye, nightlife. So please bring some community to our doorstep. Bring friendship back into our lives. Bring adult conversation and laughter. And bring an expensive bottle of wine. 

5. If the shoe fits, tell adopting families how their story is affecting yours. If God has moved in you over the course of our adoption, whether before the airport or after, if you’ve made a change or a decision, if somewhere deep inside a fire was lit, tell us, because it is spiritual water on dry souls. There is nothing more encouraging than finding out God is using our families for greater kingdom work, beautiful things we would never know or see. We gather the holy moments in our hands every day, praying for eyes to see God’s presence, his purposes realized in our story. When you put more holy moments in our hands to meditate on, we are drawn deeper into the Jesus who led us here. 

Here’s one last thing: As you watch us struggle and celebrate and cry and flail, we also want you to know that adoption is beautiful, and a thousand times we’ve looked at each other and said, “What if we would’ve said no?” God invited us into something monumental and lovely, and we would’ve missed endless moments of glory had we walked away. We need you during these difficult months of waiting and transitioning, but we also hope you see that we serve a faithful God who heals and actually sets the lonely in families, just like He said He would. And even through the tears and tantrums (ours), we look at our children and marvel that God counted us worthy to raise them. We are humbled. We’ve been gifted with a very holy task, and when you help us rise to the occasion, you have an inheritance in their story; your name will be counted in their legacy. 

Because that day you brought us pulled pork tacos was the exact day I needed to skip dinner prep and hold my son on the couch for an hour, talking about Africa and beginning to bind up his emotional wounds. When you kidnapped me for two hours and took me to breakfast, I was at the very, very, absolute end that morning, but I came home renewed, able to greet my children after school with fresh love and patience. When you loved on my big kids and offered them sanctuary for a night, you kept the family rhythm in sync at the end of a hard week. 

Thank you for being the village. You are so important. 

Monday, March 10, 2014

18 Days

So here's the latest on the adoption...

We have been submitted to the US Embassy. They have an investigation process that they do to triple check things. The last part of this process involves an interview. In our case, the interview is scheduled for March 28th. We do NOT go to this interview. Hopefully that day, or just a few days after that interview, we will be "cleared" and will schedule an Embassy appointment. THAT is when we will travel to get our girl! This could happen quickly after the 28th so we will be ready to go!! Please join us in praying that all goes well on the 28th - 18 days away - (the late night of the 27th here) and that we travel to get our girl just a few days after!!

I just ordered our whole family (all FIVE of us) custom t-shirts for when we bring her home. I am hoping that many of you will be able to meet us at the airport when we fly in to meet our newest beauty. This is getting real!!

Tuesday, March 4, 2014

Another Step Back

Just got an email that the interview date that we do not attend got pushed back. It is now 24 days from today. . . My patience is being tested and I'm tired of it.

Monday, March 3, 2014

Too Long...

301 days of looking at my sweet girl's picture.
89 days since going to court and becoming her parents.
84 days since I last got to hold her in my arms.

21 days until the appointment that we do not go to - and begin waiting in anxious anticipation for the email with our interview date.

I've had good days lately and bad days. This wait to go and get her seems to be taking forever. Please join us in praying that all goes well in 21 days and that we get to travel just a few days later to bring our baby home.

Friday, February 14, 2014

Two Steps Forward

Well, good news! We were submitted to the Embassy this past Tuesday and our case was screened by the Embassy today. These are two big steps forward! I am hoping for no more steps back and a quick and easy process from here on out! Next step: The Embassy does their own investigation of our case. There is an interview that needs to take place in Ethiopia with some people from our daughter’s past. It appears that it is taking about 3-4 weeks (from being screened) for that interview to happen. IF all goes well with that interview, it appears most families get cleared quite quickly and are able to go and pick up their children just a few days after. In other words, if all goes well, it appears we could be bringing our daughter “home” in March! I can’t even tell you how excited we all are about this ~ but ofcourse, we are a little cautious as well. With international adoption, you never know what is challenges may occur in your case and you have no control over any of it. I am optimistic, at this point though, that we will have our daughter “home” and in our arms before the beginning of summer! I can’t wait to have three kids to hang out with this summer. It’s going to be awesome!!

So, next we will hear is the interview date in Ethiopia (that we do not attend). When we do - I'll let you all know!!

PRAYER REQUESTS
-          For our travels – that we would be safe and healthy the whole time.
-          
    For the next part of the process (the Embassy phase) to go quickly so we can bring our baby girl home!

Thank you all so much! We are very blessed by each of you!

The Thomas Family

Friday, February 7, 2014

Who Knows?

Want to know whats new with our adoption lately - yeah, so do I - but who knows? Our agency has been closed due to inclement weather all day. . .

On Tuesday, we received an email saying that we had been submitted to embassy but our case was rejected because we were missing a document that needed for one agency to upload it for a different agency to see. I spent Tuesday afternoon and evening on the phone, begging and pleading people to take care of the paperwork quickly.

On Thursday, we received word that the document had been located and we should, hopefully be submitted to embassy on or before next Tuesday. Then, yesterday (Thursday) afternoon, we received another email saying that a different document may be out of date and they may not be able to submit us in the next few weeks after all. I called and emailed yesterday, but couldn't get a hold of anyone. I called today and the office is closed because of inclement weather. So, now we sit this whole weekend, uncertain of if we have been submitted to embassy or not yet and if we will be in the near future. . .

As you can imagine, it's been a rough week of setbacks for us. Neither of us are having an easy time dealing with it at all. We are both so anxious to go back and pick up our girl. Waiting is hard, having no control is hard, missing her is hard... It's all hard these past few days.


Saturday, January 25, 2014

Immigration Paper Work -- Check!

Well, our agency received our immigration paperwork this afternoon! This is a HUGE step for us returning to Ethiopia to bring home our girl. Once our agency looks it over to be certain I filled it out correctly (I pray so - it took hours) they send it off to Ethiopia. Then we are submitted to the embassy. This part will probably take about 2-3 weeks. Once we are submitted to embassy, the US Embassy in Ethiopia reviews and investigates our case. Once that is complete, we will be free to go and pick up our girl and bring her home to her forever family!! In looking at other people who have been through this last part of the process in the recent months, it looks like it is taking cases and average of about 6 weeks to clear embassy. That means, we could be traveling back to Ethiopia in about 2 months!! I am so excited, I can hardly see straight! I understand and support the embassy doing their due diligence in this process, I am just praying that it goes by super quick so that we can get our girl home and start loving on her and bonding with her and all that great stuff that I've been looking so forward to for over three years now!! 

So, next we will hear is that we have been submitted to embassy. When we do - I'll let you all know!!

Wednesday, January 15, 2014

Patient

I am one of the least patient people I know.  This can be good.  I am a hard worker and my effort is usually consistent.  I remember signing up for the adoption process and asking our social worker how long it took the average family to complete their home study.  She said about 5-6 months.  I had ours done in 3 months. When I get an idea in my head, I will run around like a crazy person until it is completed.  

This can also be not such a great thing.  I can have too high of expectations of others and be judgmental or a big complainer when they don't get things done as quickly as I had anticipated.  I can also rush through things and I miss the forest for the trees - or really for the ground - because I've got my head so buried in the dirt and busyness that I forget to even look up and see the trees!  Also, when you have a lack of control over a situation and the process and the people take way longer than you think they should - it is hard to stay patient (even just a little) and press on.  It's hard to stand firm and wait on the promise. 

That gives you a little idea of where I am at lately.  Christmas is over.  New Years is over.  A big event at work is over.  I'm struggling with some things and praying about how to handle them.  And I'm having to wait and be patient ~ and I don't like it.  

Don't feel sorry for me.  I know I need to persevere and stand firm and wait for the promise.  Along the way, there are SO MANY blessings that I am trying not to overlook and miss out on.  I have two wonderful kids that bless my socks off seriously like 100 times a day.  I have the most amazing husband who I know loves me and prays for me all the time.  

I was struggling this morning with how do I fill the time until we get to go back to Ethiopia and bring our little girl home.  I was struggling with having no clue about how she is doing, what she is doing, what size clothes she wears, how often she eats, what she eats, what her sleep schedule is like...  And then I began mulling over everything else in life I have no control over and am impatient about.  Very fitting that I would then be praying and asking God to take away this worry impatience and replace it with steadfastness and perseverance. Open up my Bible and this is what I read...

James 5:7-11
Be patient, then, brothers and sisters, until the Lord’s coming. See how the farmer waits for the land to yield its valuable crop, patiently waiting for the autumn and spring rains. You too, be patient and stand firm, because the Lord’s coming is near. Don’t grumble against one another, brothers and sisters, or you will be judged. The Judge is standing at the door!
Brothers and sisters, as an example of patience in the face of suffering, take the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord. As you know, we count as blessed those who have persevered. You have heard of Job’s perseverance and have seen what the Lord finally brought about. The Lord is full of compassion and mercy.