Holding God's Hand in the Journey

A HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY 2012

2012-02-14T12:48:00.000-08:00

Our house was FULL of LOVE this Valentine's Day! And what a precious ending to a precious day!

So HAPPY to be sharing the day with Kaleab at HOME! What an amazing Valentine's present this year!

We had fun playing together today ~ his belly laugh still fills my heart to overflowing. Unfortunately for him, he also had his medical check-up this afternoon, which included a blood draw and two shots. Poor guy. Mama got teary when he cried so hard, as it broke my heart to see him so sad. Thankful being in my arms immediately calmed him.

And we were sending massive amounts of love overseas today to Big Brother!!!!

My ever-so-sweet friend, Tara, was kind enough to give us the SWEET present of SEEING and TALKING with our "S" today!!!! She visited the Transition House in the morning {midnight our time} and brought with her an internet card........

..............so that we could SKYPE with our precious son!!! There is no internet at the orphanage so this was a first time event for us all! She didn't tell him what she was doing, in case it didn't work out {bless her heart}, so it was a surprise for him to see us!!!

Oh, what it did to my heart to SEE him and be able to talk with him!!! His smile absolutely lights up his face and melts my heart! Oh, how my heart is SO FULL!!!

What an incredible way to bring Valentine's Day to an end.

THANK YOU, GOD, for our amazing and precious boys!!! And for giving me such an outstanding husband to share all of this with!!!

Feeling so blessed! ♥ ♥ ♥

My heart is FULL and HAPPY!!!

WE ARE HOME!!!

2012-02-05T22:32:00.000-08:00

WOW. What a trip HOME!!!

Parting from Big Brother was difficult, though God covered us those last few days. Tears rolled, but I really felt S understood we would be back for him as soon as possible!!! I had a cake made that said, "WE LOVE YOU S*** MARQUEZ!" And the director of the orphanage gathered all the children and allowed me to express to S that this cake was celebrating HIM and our love for him and how we are excited to come back as soon as we can to bring him HOME!!!! I could tell he felt special and loved and it helped seal the promise that we would return!

Kaleab and I left Addis Ababa Thursday night at about 10:30pm. There was no bassinet seat available, so that meant that all 35 hours of the trip would be in my lap! I openly admit to being nervous about that! And when Kaleab started crying the first 15 minutes (or at least if felt that long), I got even more nervous!

But he travelled like a ROCK STAR!!!! I am so PROUD of him!!!

Thirty minutes after arriving in Washington DC, I am sad to say, my ergo carrier was stolen! YIKES! This was SUCH a LIFESAVER to me all five weeks in Ethiopia, as well as on my travels up to this point! I was SO BUMMED!!! Even still, Kaleab travelled wonderfully. My arms were more tired, but all went well!

We had a scare that we would get stuck in Denver due to the largest snow storm there e.v.e.r!!! But, God pulled through and brought us HOME Friday night!

We were welcomed by so many amazing and wonderful people, screaming and cheering for us as we walked through the glass doors! I first saw Jeff waving our huge Ethiopian flag, wearing his bright yellow Ethiopian soccer jersey. Sweetest site ever!

Then, as I kept walking toward him, I realized all the people that were there with him! And realized that they were there for US!!! They all cheered so loud, I couldn't help but cry! Oh, the emotions! I was HOME! I was heading toward Jeff and being in his arms! AND KALEAB WAS WITH ME!!!!! It all seemed so surreal!!!!

I felt like I wanted to say a sort of speech or something. Or have our precious pastor, Trevor, say a prayer or something. But there was so much cheerful noise and chaos, that it just seemed best to let the positive energy flow!

I cannot find the words to express how MUCH it meant to have so many people there to celebrate with us and praise God with us!!!!! A very momentous occasion for sure!!! Here is a sample of the love and celebration at the airport Friday night! I will post more pictures as I receive them from other friends ~ we were too busy hugging each other and others to take pics!

HOME. SWEET. HOME!!!

CLEARED EMBASSY!

2012-02-01T00:13:00.000-08:00

It's official!!!!

WE CLEARED EMBASSY!!! WE ARE COMING HOME!!!

Leave late tomorrow night and arrive Boise airport 8:34pm!!! Would LOVE to see you at the airport!!!

Feels like I am floating!!!!

So surreal!!! ♥ ♥ ♥

THANK YOU, GOD!!! A 2 year journey.......that is worth every.single.tear.and.set-back!

EMBASSY INTERVIEW!

2012-01-31T19:23:00.000-08:00

I have been invited to embassy for my interview this morning (Wed)! The appointment is at 9am!

I am up and running to the shower, in hopes of getting a shower and even getting my hair dried before peanut wakes up ~ rare occasion but will feel like I am pampering myself if the plan works! {smile}

Please continue to pray that all goes well at the appointment and that they agree to grant me Kaleab's visa by tomorrow so we can keep our Thursday night departure tickets!

Did I just say tomorrow!?!?!?!?!? Is this really happening!?!?!?!?!?

It has been SUCH a loooooong road to bringing Kaleab HOME!!!!! Praising God for finalizing this with these last steps!!!!!

On the bitter side of this sweet news, I told Big Brother we would be leaving Thursday, and I have never seen the life be sucked out of someone's face so fast. We cried and prayed together. This is going to be one difficult departure! No child or parent should have to endure this! ONE trip should be all it takes! THANK YOU for covering Big Brother in your prayers..............until he is HOME with us too!!!!

SO IN LOVE WITH OUR TWO BOYS!

WE CLEARED EMBASSY!!!

2012-01-30T10:32:00.000-08:00

You heard me right! WE CLEARED EMBASSY TODAY!!!!

PRAISING GOD!!! And pinching myself every now and again to see if this really is REAL!!!! I am feeling so ELATED!!! I read and re-read the email from embassy many times before it actually sunk in as true!!!!

The birth mom showed up and embassy said, "the interview went smoothly....and we are ready to proceed with a visa interview."

YUP! You got it! We cleared embassy with the birth mom interview and the next step is to get my interview scheduled, which we are hoping is tomorrow or the next day!!!!!! Kaleab's visa should be produced within 1-2 days following my appointment!

Cannot seem to feel like I have THANKED GOD ENOUGH!!!! Feeling so BLESSED and not sure how to express my gratitude to our Loving Heavenly Father!!!! So glad He knows my heart and what words I lift to Him communicate what my heart is feeling! He knows!!!! THANK YOU, JESUS!!!

Know what all this means!?!?!?!?!?..............

Kaleab and I should be on a plane toward HOME Thursday (or possibly Friday)!!!!!

We honestly cannot THANK YOU ENOUGH for your persistent prayers!!!! They have so lifted me, carried me and are helping to bring us HOME!!!!! Each of you have been such an integral part of this journey to our boys!!!! Thank You!!! Thank You!!! THANK YOU!!!!!

Hoping you will continue to pray us home as well as pray for Big Brother as we approach the day of "See ya soon." While very excited to be getting home, I just can't imagine leaving a son behind. Again. May God fill him with His divine peace and joy and may He fill S with a divine confidence in Christ's love for him as well as a divine confidence in our love (his mom and dad) for him!!!!!

Blessings to each and every one of you! May you feel God's love and see His great works in some form of your day today!!!!

Tomorrow!

2012-01-29T01:52:00.000-08:00

When I stop striving to create a life for myself, I find the life God creates for me.
~ Rachel Olsen (Proverbs 31 Ministries)

When my plans were interrupted with embassy mess-ups, I freaked. But once I was able to let go of how I thought things should go, God provided me the life He created for me these past weeks. And I will be forever grateful.

LOVE what GOD is showing me amidst my time here in Ethiopia. A love unending. A grace awe-inspiring. A peace beyond my wildest imagination. A bonding with my boys that will carry us a lifetime.

Thank you, Lord. For meeting me right where I am. For providing me just what I need.

My prayer is that amongst these aforementioned blessings, you are orchestrating every detail that needs attention to bring us embassy clearance TOMORROW (very early Monday morning in US). My mind tries to cover the details, so I that I can ask for your assistance at every detail in my prayers. I can drive myself crazy with this. Only YOU know what hearts need to be touched. Only YOU know how to protect Kaleab's birthmother's travels. Only YOU know every detail and how to cover them. And so, I lay it all at your feet and ask you.........PLEASE! BRING US EMBASSY CLEARANCE TOMORROW! And may you grant me my embassy interview Monday afternoon or early Tuesday, Lord. Thank you for covering this. For covering me and our boys. AMEN.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, DADDY!

2012-01-28T08:08:00.000-08:00

Today, in America, it is Jeff's birthday.

He is home and the three of us are in Ethiopia. Doesn't sound like much of a birthday present, does it!?!?

But what a precious birthday it is! Jeff is a Daddy! He has a beautiful 11 month old baby boy and an amazing and precious 11 year old son!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, DADDY!

We miss you and love you and can't wait to be with you again! Praying that is SOON!!!

Honey, know that you are already an amazing Dad. To both our boys! There is something about watching you with either one ~ or both ~ of our boys that just melts my heart. You love them in such a beautiful way. You love me in such an amazing way! It is YOUR birthday, yet I feel like WE are the ones who are blessed!!!! Thank you for praying us home. Thank you for fighting the good fight. Thank you for helping to keep GOD the center of this family and this adoption. Thank you for being YOU!

Know that I desire to seek God in every way to help me be the loving, Christian wife and mother He created me to be. For you and for our boys. I want to be all you deserve and more. Every day.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, MY LOVE!!!!

{May it be just a matter of days before we are with you again! Lord, please show up BIG Monday! Please!}

THE PRAYERS ARE WORKING!!!

2012-01-27T03:28:00.000-08:00

Everyone's prayers are working!!!!

I cannot believe today is Friday!!! God has SO sustained me EACH and EVERY day of these weeks! What I have experienced is a true miracle!!!! I literally felt as though I could not even stand, say nothing about parenting our baby and bonding with our older son! I couldn't imagine getting Kaleab ready by 9am and being gone each day until 5pm ~ visiting Big Brother and lunch in between....

...But I have experienced God empowering me and literally carrying me on His path! I have been able to dive into each day and enjoy it for what it brings me, and {try to} not worry about the future!

He has blessed our days with wonderful play with Big Brother (BB) and the bond forming between me and BB and our two sons is beautiful!!! Some of you commented that maybe my time here was to deepen BB's understanding of our love for him and that just might be one of the great things that comes from this extended stay! Our driver commented yesterday how BB's face lights up when he sees us!

God has also blessed me with a solid understanding that it is not me and my independent self, nor is it even my dear and loving husband in whom I am to need. It is my Heavenly Father. God is ALL I need! He removed Jeff and any ability I may have to take care of our court and embassy dates, and He left me here. Alone. With GOD as my only protector and provider. The Lover of my soul.

And, indeed, He HAS protected, provided and loved. Not just me, but Jeff in the US, and each one of our boys as well! It has been beautiful!!!

After one week here without Jeff, I heard of our embassy fiasco, and learned that they gave her an embassy date almost two weeks away! Seriously, I crumbled! I couldn't imagine how I would ever face two more WEEKS here without Jeff! And now, the weekend is approaching us with the birth mom interview around the corner on MONDAY!

Please continue to PRAY THAT ALL GOES WELL ON MONDAY!!!!

It is difficult to want to be HOME so BADLY! Yet, not want to say "see ya soon" to Big brother!!!! Such a dichotomy of feelings!

Poor Kaleab......I am not doing much of anything we learned in Karyn Purvis training, in the sense of cocooning and staying home for multiple weeks, anyway. This little boy falls asleep in the van and wakes up at some new restaurant every.single.day! Poor guy! He is handling it awesome though!

Well, he was until he got sick anyway. He is on antibiotics for an ear infection and upper respiratory infection. He vomitted up the medicine this morning, so I am not sure how much of it he got. Could explain his fussiness today. Aaaahhhhh, but BB was a great medicine. He got Kaleab smiling and giggling and forgetting for a while that he was so sick.

IN LOVE WITH OUR BOYS!!!!! As hard as this has been, I mean it when I say they are SO WORTH IT!!!!!

Now, as much beauty as I can see that is coming from this extended stay, my body is tired and I am more than ready to try to parent our baby in the luxuries of America. PLEASE PRAY that God is going before us, paving the way for us to be cleared by embassy this MONDAY, January 30!!!!! No more mess-ups, Lord, PLEASE!!!! Not because our family deserves it, just because of your grace and mercy on us. Please, Lord, Please!!!! Let Monday be OUR day!!!!

If we are cleared, most likely my embassy interview will be Tuesday and it will then take two days to get Kaleab's visa. We should be on a plane to HOME next Thursday, February 2nd! All depending on how embassy goes! May God be moving the embassy employee's heart already in favor of victory for our family!!!!!

Thanks to each and every one of you.

You have been God's hands and feet to ME!!!

And I have been truly BLESSED!!!

KALEAB IS 11 MONTHS TODAY

2012-01-25T06:31:00.000-08:00

HAPPY 11 MONTH BIRTHAY, SWEET BABY KALEAB!

As HARD as these past four weeks have been ~ okay the past two weeks, because Daddy was with us the first two weeks! ~ I have to say that I am SO VERY THANKFUL that I don't have to say that I have missed ANOTHER month of Kaleab's life!

I am sad that he is already 11 months old. But on the same note, I am SO VERY THANKFUL that he is healthy and is on target with his developmental milestones! THANK YOU, GOD, that our baby is healthy !!!! And yes, he is growing! I swear he has gained a couple pounds in the month he has been in our care at the Guest House! Either that, or my arm is getting tired. Ha!

Our sweet baby has just not been himself the past four days or so. On Monday I took him to the kind doctor at the Transition House (where he lived before we got to bring him into our care) and she put hydrogen peroxide in his little ears and a saline solution up his nose, and asked me to bring him back today. Which I did.

He is now on antibiotics. His ear infection is full blown in his right ear. His poor nose expels the yucky green stuff we are all familiar with. He is pretty fussy all day and just doesn't want to be let down. Ever. Can you blame him?

I sure don't mind holding my baby all day long! Just wish he felt better.

On another note, I had to say good-bye to Katie Reaser, a sweet fellow AWAA adoptive mama who has been here with me. THANK GOD they were finally cleared to take their sick baby girl HOME to Kansas yesterday! I also had to say farewell to the Coulombe family. They were here for Court for their 6 yr old daughter (they passed!), and return home tonight. We visited our children together these past few days and have really developed a sweet bond with one another. {LOVE how adoption families have an instant connection!}

Big Brother watched this last visit with their daughter, and like other times that people have had to depart after court or come to take their children home..........I've watched it stir emotions in our sweet son. He has such a tender and loving heart! He was asking who was leaving today. He wanted to know specifically if their daughter was leaving with them. I'm not sure if the fact that she was staying was a good thing or a bad thing in his little mind.

It provided me another opportunity to remind him of how excited we are to return to ET to bring him HOME!!!! To remind him that we WILL be returning! And that Mom and Kaleab will still be here to visit him daily for at least another week {this brought a smile to his stressed face}.

It also provided me further insight into how HARD our own personal departure is going to be! I SO LOVE THIS BOY and I DO NOT want to leave him here! Yet, I cannot stay another 2-3 months! Oh, the tugging of my heart! Such a dichotomy of feelings. A grave dreadfulness of saying "see ya soon" to our oldest son, along with a strong desire to be HOME ~ in America, with Jeff, starting the transition with Kaleab, while also finishing Big Brother's room, finding the best school for him, etc.

Ufdah. Emotions all over the board. Think I'm gonna go FaceTime my hubby. That always lifts me up....

DID NOT PASS COURT FOR BIG BROTHER

2012-01-23T21:40:00.000-08:00

Shouldn't be surprised.

Yet I am.

Ppwk discrepancy wasn't corrected over these past THREE weeks....orphanage not feeling too rushed to correct it....so NO mowcya letter!!!!!! Email from Kristen said we will NOT PASS today. Heartbroken.

"S" and I prayed over this together yesterday. Dreading having to tell him "No, not this time. Again." Pray I can present it in a positive way. I don't want his little heart feeling the devastation mine is.

THANK YOU for continued prayers. Some days I just have no words. :(

NO GO.

2012-01-20T04:00:00.000-08:00

Our agency showed up at the US Embassy yesterday with the birth mom WITH her identification, and the embassy turned them away! They told them to come back January 30th!!! They would not take the 3-5 minutes to interview her and clear this case! Can you even believe this! The US Embassy is suppose to be our advocate!

They know that I am still in country. They know how FAR away Kaleab's birthmother lives from Addis. And still, they turned her away and told her to come back in almost two weeks! This girl is trying to go to school! And I am trying to get HOME!!!!

And here I sit. Yes, I am grateful to be with our boys. But it does not remove for me the strong desire to be HOME! I dread saying "See ya soon" to Big Brother, but baby Kaleab NEEDS to be HOME where we aren't leaving by 9am every day and not returning until 5pm every evening {we go visit Big Brother}. Kaleab needs a regular routine, constant surroundings and one-on-on attention from his mommy and daddy to help the bonding process!

I do praise God for the bonding that is occurring with BOTH boys!

I am just READY to be HOME! Three weeks is long enough! And now there is TWO more weeks {minimum} ahead of me! Oh, may God uplift me and strengthen me to endure this!

I can only think that God has AMAZING plans for our boys! Otherwise, the enemy wouldn't be trying SO HARD to fight us bringing them home!

Please join us in praying for:
1. Big Brother's second Court Date ~ Jan 24th
2. Kaleab's birth mom shows on Jan 30th and we are CLEARED!
3. For my heart and spirit. I am in the middle of a HUGE spiritual battle and I want to feel God's presence.

Love to each of you!

EMBASSY MIX-UP!

2012-01-18T11:01:00.000-08:00

WOW. WHAT.A.DAY!

The birthparent embassy interview was scheduled for today. I re-met the birth mom and sister today. Twice. That is another story in itself. However, knowing that they were HERE in Addis Ababa built my encouragement that this stage of the adoption just might go without a hitch!

Wrong.

I came back to the Guest House to an email from US embassy stating that our agency failed to bring the birth mom to her interview because she lost her identification. Turns out, there was a miscommunication, as US Embassy never communicated to AWAA that they could bring her without her ID!

Ugh!

Our agency requested a reschedule for tomorrow or Monday (embassy is closed again for another holiday Thurs afternoon and all Friday). This request was denied. The final email stated that the interview would be rescheduled for JANUARY 30th!!! TWO MORE WEEKS AWAY!!!!!

I will be honest. I threw a huge crying fit. I questioned why God would allow every.single.stage.of.this.adoption. to be difficult and prolonged. I questioned where God was in this. I questioned "why are you forgetting me!?"

I was in a bad place.

Amidst my "fit" God was busy carrying out His plan. An hour after I talked with in-country staff and Jeff spoke with our coordinator State Side, I received an amazing phone call.

The in-country embassy rep was calling me to tell me that AWAA had made arrangements to obtain the birth mom's identification by tomorrow morning. He then proceeded to tell me that there was another family from another agency that could not make their appointment and that our birthparent interview was going to be TOMORROW!!!! I was floored. Shocked. So much so that I asked Muli to repeat himself, and still asked for clarification like three more times!

I am cautiously hopeful that this interview will actually take place TOMORROW instead of two weeks from now!!! I am not confident if this interview slot is "stand by" or a real slot. I think I am letting my doubt and fear sneak in.

Either way. My understanding is that God is pulling off a HUGE ~ HUGE ~ HUGE! miracle tomorrow!

I feel like I am always asking for prayer, but I am confident it is these prayers that God is hearing! Please join us in praying for this interview to happen! And for our family to receive embassy CLEARANCE tomorrow! What a BLESSING in itself! But to happen after being told it wouldn't for another couple of WEEKS..........this is nothing short of a GOD MIRACLE!!!!!

Praising Him as I lay my head on my pillow tonight.

Thanking Him for each of our family and friends who are praying for us! And thanking Him for hearing all of our prayers and blessing our family with His miracle!

I will keep you posted as to whether this interview occurs and if we clear!!!!!

Day 1 - Trip 2

2012-01-15T06:24:00.000-08:00

WOOHOO! FINALLY! Access to blogs! I have been unable to get on my blog (or any others for that matter) since arriving here in Ethiopia! For some reason today it is working. I will begin posting about our time here day-by-day. Before I start the first post, I must fill you in.

WE ARE IN LOVE WITH OUR BOYS!!!! We feel SO incredibly BLESSED by these two precious souls! God sure has blessed us beyond our wildest imaginations!!! THANK YOU, JESUS!!!

Please keep us in your prayers:

1. We did not pass court for Big Brother on Jan 3rd. Paperwork issues. Pray we pass Jan 24th!

2. Kaleab's birthmom is scheduled for an interview with embassy THIS WED (Jan 18th)! Please PRAY that all goes well with that so that we CLEAR EMBASSY for Kaleab!!!

3. Jeff was here for almost two weeks, but had to leave us here in ET on Jan 12th. Please pray for him as he is away from his family and for the three of us half-way around the world! "Single parenting" in a third world country is definitely breaking me into parenthood at high speed! God is good, and we feel covered in prayers!

I will keep you updated! THANK YOU for your continued encouragement, support and prayers!!!!

This first post was written in the air on the way to our boys......................

----------------------------------------------------------------------

Daddy and I are in the air! Flying to you. OUR SONS!!!

Connie, Rick and Emily were kind enough to take us to the airport yesterday (Wed, December 28^th)~ THANKS, guys! We had a beautiful reminder of God’s presence covering our family story and our travels to you, by learning that United was going to WAIVE the $400 fee for the two extra bins we were taking!!!! A surprise that moved your hormonal and emotional mama to tears! THANK YOU, LORD!!!!

We left Boise and arrived in Denver for a couple hour layover. We enjoyed talking with family and friends during this time, which helped this layover fly by. And “S,” Daddy downloaded the Angry Birds game onto his iPad and my iTouch for you to play. Let’s just say we tried out the game we are ADDICTED!!! {chuckle}

We landed in Washington DC last night about 11pm. Daddy convinced me to tried to stay awake through the night, in hopes that it would help us sleep on the L-O-N-G (13 hour) plane ride today. We walked to a pub/grill, but it was SO smokey we just couldn’t muster walking in. So, instead, we walked to a 7 Eleven, got ourselves some snacks and a cappuccino and took it back to our room in Embassy Suites.

It was a pretty hotel. Even has two swans swimming in this pond/nature area!

Well, we lasted until about 2:30am. We went to bed and got a highly restless 3 hours of sleep, if you can call it that! I was so beyond excited knowing that we were ON OUR WAY TO YOU BOTH, that I could hardly stand myself, say nothing about staying calm and quiet to sleep! {smile}

And here we are. Eleven hours into our flight. It has been a long one. Just can’t seem to tell my brain to shut down. Nor do I WANT to stop thinking of being together the FOUR of us! The way it has been meant to be from the beginning!

Daddy and I have learned how to count to 10 in Amharic. I have reviewed some of my flashcards of other Amharic words ~ don’t quiz me, though! Ha! I keep staring at your faces via pictures on my laptop!!!! Next time I look into your faces it will be IN PERSON!!!! AAAAAHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!

I wonder. Kaleab, will you remember us? How will you react when they place you in our arms again? It has been a LONG five months since we last held you sweet K. My heart aches and my arms yearn to hold you! But will it be a sweet reunion like it was on our first visit for Court? What will you think when we take you with us to the Guest House? How will you react when you realize that you are staying with US that night? Regardless. Easy or hard. WE LOVE YOU!!!! And we have been praying that God would gift us with the insight to what it is you need at every moment, sweet baby.

“S”…..we hope that AWAA has told you of our soon arrival! We often talk of what it is you must be thinking. And feeling. We hope that pure JOY covers any fears you may have about leaving Ethiopia. Daddy and I cannot WAIT to give you a great big hug! OUR SON!!!

Honey, we so KNOW that God orchestrated having you stand out to me so obviously as I was surrounded by so many children at your orphanage! And now, as we are blessed to share time together as a family, I pray that God covers every single moment. I pray that we can communicate to you how very MUCH you are already loved! We can’t wait to have fun and play games with you! We want to see where you live. Where you sleep. Where you eat. Where you go to school. We want to soak in all that we can about you!!!

My heart aches at the thought of having to say “see ya soon” to another son. To you, “S.” I pray and pray that God will let me leave the sad anticipation for such a time as that, and be able to just focus on every moment we have with you! Who knows! Maybe God will create a miracle that allows us to PASS Court on Monday and expedite your Embassy clearance so we can ALL FOUR COME HOME TOGETHER!!! Excited to see what God has in store! Whatever it is, I pray that God prepares your ~ and our~ hearts for it. Either way.

Well, babes, I cannot believe how CLOSE we are to being with you!!!! I wish I could just click my heels together and be there, sweep you both up in our arms and click our heels to bring you immediately HOME!

It has been a long journey, Yes. And each one of you are more than worth it! Daddy and I are both listening to our Christian music these last few hours of the flight. Basking in His glorious story of our FAMILY. Reveling in His miracles. Praising Him for the TWO OF YOU!!!!!

Oh, how FULL my heart will feel to have you in our arms. TOGETHER!!!!

Betta Seb! Zeh-lah-lum!!!

Family Forever!!!!

MERRY CHRISTMAS, BOYS!

2011-12-25T13:33:00.000-08:00

WISHING YOU A VERY MERRY CHRISTMAS,

KALEAB AND "S"!

Sattie and Dub gifted these ornaments to each of you!

(we will show "S's" ornament as soon as we pass court)

Each of yours were hung next to daddys first ornament on their tree!

Daddy and I have been rushing around packing (to come see you!) and have been enjoying picking out things to bring to Ethiopia for each of YOU! You may not be here in person, but you both so fill our hearts!

Daddy and I walked into church last night for a beautiful candlelight Christmas Eve service, so full of gratitude and love. You may not have been there in person, but you both were so in our hearts.

My sweet friend, Tara, (now in Ethiopia) has been sending me daily updates and oftentimes pictures of you both ~ many of them are of the two of you TOGETHER! Melt.our.hearts! We may not be there in person ~ yet! ~ but we so are in our hearts!

Christmas is the time when we all reflect upon the most beautiful story of all. The precious birth of Christ. We reflect upon God's love. A love so vast that He sent His only son to earth. To walk the human walk of life. To eventually be crucified and buried. All to take upon himself our sin. Our burdens. And on the third day he arose from the dead. Bringing to each and every person a way to be forgiven. A way to enter into heaven. A way to develop an intimate relationship with God.

What an amazing love!!!!

It is because of this unconditional, unending love that we can have hope. Hope that we have a Heavenly Father who loves us SO MUCH that He would give His only begotten son. FOR US!!!

Our whole journey to you two boys has brought your Daddy and me to our knees. Several times. Laying each one of you at His feet. Laying our desires for a family at His feet. Clinging to our faith in Him. Our faith that His love is True and His plan for our lives GREAT. The more we cling to this faith, the more we see our Lord and Saviour move. On our behalf. Carrying out plans He ordained for each of us so long ago. Long before we were even born.

As pastor Tri said last night, the more faith we have the more hope we develop. As we see God's faithfulness to those who trust in Him. And as our faith and hope develop, our hearts overflow with love. With His love. His steadfast love. His unconditional love.

We feel this agape love overflowing. And our journey to you has increased this flow. Boys, each one of you has brought us closer to God, deeper in our trust in Him and buried in our love for Him and His love for us. We are filled to overflowing a love deeper than we have ever known. For each one of you. And for Heavenly Father.

The two of you are our personal stories of children gifted from God. As empty as we are, not having you home (yet!), we can't help but feel a fullness of love, protection and provision. For the birth of Christ and the birth and referral of each one of you! BOTH of you will always remind me of God's steadfast love. His provision and yearning to fill the desires of our hearts abundantly more than we can ever even imagine.

We pray for you daily. And we prayed a special prayer last night. Christmas Eve. Our last one without you home.

Thanking God for you both. And thanking Him for the precious gift of allowing us to be with you in a matter of DAYS!!!! As well as the ability to celebrate Ethiopian Christmas with you on our January 7th!

Precious, precious gifts, indeed! Christmas is the celebration of God's love. And this year, it is also the celebration of how God's love brought us each of YOU!!!!!

MERRY MERRY CHRISTMAS, MY SONS!!!!!

WE LOVE YOU WITH ALL OUR HEART!!!!

Please leave a message to Kaleab and "S." This will one day be a book for them. What a precious gift to know so many already love them and have been praying them home!!!!

MERRY CHRISTMAS TO EACH AND EVERY ONE OF YOU!!!!

WE ARE SUBMITTED TO EMBASSY!

2011-12-21T10:03:00.000-08:00

WE WERE SUBMITTED TO EMBASSY TODAY!!!!!

GOD HEARD OUR PRAYERS!!! We have been asking God to bless us with an embassy submission TODAY ~ a week earlier than anticipated! ~ and He answered our prayers! We are now in the FINAL STAGE of Kaleab's adoption!

I had asked Kristen, our coordinator, almost weekly since passing court, if things were looking like an earlier embassy submission was even possible. The answer was consistently no, that things were not looking good. So, today I didn't even THINK about it when I sat down to check my email! And what a sweet surprise to see an email from her titled, "Embassy Paperwork." I took a double take and re-read the email three times before this truth actually sunk in!

GOD HEARD OUR PRAYERS!!!! THANK YOU, LORD!!!!

Okay, so once US Embassy receives our paperwork, they have five business days to inform us of their plan: a) To clear us to bring Kaleab HOME!; or (b) To request an interview or further paperwork; or (c) To send our case to Nairobi, Kenya ~ they do this when a case is too challenging to prove orphan status {this is THE WORST scenario and could hold things up by 2-3 months!}

Of course we are PRAYING for a quick embassy clearance, and hope you will continue to join us in our prayers! WE ARE ON THE HOME STRETCH!!! The recent pattern has been a hold up of a couple of weeks for further "investigation" by US Embassy {i.e., paperwork or interviews}. Therefore, we will not be surprised by this if it happens to us as well. However, this will not keep us from asking God for the desires of our hearts, which is immediate clearance! Nothing is impossible with God (Luke 1:37)!

Either way, we pray that God's will be done and that His will is for efficiency and smooth sailing with our clearance. Once again, we lay Kaleab at His feet and ask for His divine protection as we now step into the FINAL STAGE of his adoption!

MERRY CHRISTMAS TO US!!! Kaleab is submitted to embassy AND we have a January 3rd Court Date for Big Brother!!! Amazed!! Awed!! Tears of JOY!!!!

May I also beckon your prayers for two families that have walked out with us the extended delay since meeting our children? Both the Boosalis and Russell families are awaiting submission as well, and are as desperate as we are to finalize their adoption of their sweet baby girl and boy, respectively.

It is our prayer that they may still receive this news TODAY, and if not, that they for sure hear the sweet sound of "Embassy Submission" by next Wednesday! {They can only submit on Wednesdays} May God bless their holiday with such Joy that this next week flies by for each of them if they are called to wait another week!

Again, I cannot THANK YOU ENOUGH for storming the heavens with all of your prayers! The heavens are moving and shaking because of them!!! Please keep praying! For us, The Boosalis' and the Russells'.........

"For when two or three gather together as my followers, I am there among them." - Matthew 18:20

THE PAST FEW DAYS.

2011-12-19T22:33:00.000-08:00

What have we been up to these past few days?

Well, taking the sweet advice of others, of course! Between making lists and trying to complete more tasks than I add to the list each day, we have been enjoying doing things that may be a bit harder to do once the boys are home! {big ol' smile inserted here!}

Here is a quick peek into our past few days......

THURSDAY NIGHT our small group came over for some taco soup, brownies (thanks for bringing dessert, Andrea!), and great conversation. It was so GOOD to see everyone! Our dear friends Kate and Kyle brought their one week old son, Ti, for dinner! SUCH a sweet baby boy!

Kyle, Kate and Brooks before baby Ti entered into the world!

SO PRECIOUS!

Jeff holding Ti the day after he was born.

Big Brother, Brooks, already enthralled by his little baby brother.....

{Okay, so I confess to forgetting to take pics when everyone was at the house, so Kate's FB pics had to do. Thanks, Kate!}

Following dinner, we went to the Botanical Garden to see their incredible annual Christmas display of lights! Thanks for taking the pics, Josh! {I've GOT to get better at remembering my camera!} As you can see, I have not yet lightened one of them up.

So you can hardly tell, but this is me and Andrea.

Have to include this one because I love this friend so much!!!

Me and sweet Hubs.

It was a special night, indeed! We are so blessed by each and every one of you in our small group! We missed you, Howard and Miles families!

Speaking of being blessed.........

Don't you just LOVE how God unexpectedly intertwines lives!?!?!? He has blessed me ABUNDANTLY through my new adoptive friends, "old" friends, family as well as through many of my patients {I am a physical therapist}.

FRIDAY NIGHT Jeff and I were blessed by with an evening with Frank and Sandy. Who are these two wonderful peeps, you ask? Well, at one point, Frank was my patient following a total knee replacement. But he has become a lot more than just a patient to me. He and his wife, Sandy, have become like family, and we were able to share Friday night with them!!! It was sooooo fun!!!

First, before going to dinner, they gifted us this oh-so SOFT and ADORABLE blanket and pillow that Sandy made for Kaleab! It has such cute little critters on it and she made a pillow for us to take to ET with us so that it will have the ET scent for Kaleab when we return home!

{Ok, just realized the blanket is upside down! oh boy!}
Aren't the critters cute!!!???!!!

After much ooohhhhhing and aaaahhhing over this sweet gift of love, we went to dinner together. Okay, gang, we are talking incredibly good Mexican food! It was a quaint authentic restaurant that neither Jeff nor I had visited before......but will definitely be returning to! THANK YOU, SANDY and FRANK! It was such a special evening for us! We cherish you both! And look forward to many more sweet times with you when our boys are home!

Our precious friends, Frank and Sandy.

Ha! The blur indicates just how FAST this guy

chops ingredients to make a GREAT guacamole!

SATURDAY MORNING was shared talking with a sweet adoptive friend, Randee. We have been connected through our adoptions, though we are using different agencies, and we continue to enjoy the growth of our friendship. I ask you to pray for this precious couple, as they await their referral for a sweet baby boy! Click here to follow their journey to him! THANKS, Randee! It was like we went to coffee together!

SATURDAY NIGHT was like old times! Our friend, Lisa, came over for dinner and a movie. We've been friends for a long time {Lis was in our wedding} but sometimes life interrupts how often we get together with her like this. All three of us were in our jammies, sippin' our hot apple cider with a bit of cinnamon/fireball whiskey thrown in! This drink is called a Cinnamon Apple Jack, and it is GOOD! I'm no expert on alcoholic drinks, but this was perfect for a cold winter night {even if there STILL is no snow}!

Well, it was fun to be productive toward getting ready for our trip to the boys ~ WE LEAVE IN NINE DAYS!!!! ~ but it was also fun to share time with such wonderful friends!!!

Hoping you all had a productive and FUN weekend too! And that the love and friendship carries on into this Christmas week for all of us!!!

Busy, Busy, BUSY!!!!

2011-12-14T11:14:00.000-08:00

Wow! This past week and a half have been FULL of knocking things off of my "To Do List!"
All great FUN!!! Most fun I have had checking things off my list! {big ol' smile}

Ordering Kaleab's Car Seat: DONE! {should arrive Saturday!}
Update ET Travel Packing List: DONE!
Christmas Shopping: DONE!
Wrapping of Presents: DONE!
Shipping of Presents: Almost DONE!

Now to begin the PACKING for our trip to our BOYS!!!! LOVIN' LIFE right now!!!

My sweet friend, Kylie, reminded me of an eye-opening fact. This is my LAST TWO WEEKS ~ EVER! ~ of not having our boy (or boyS!) HOME!!!!! How EXCITING!!!! SO MUCH still to be done before we go! But Kylie also reminded me that this is my last two weeks to take time for myself to relax, read, pray, and relax some more!!!

Sounds weird, but that had not hit me before our chat last night. I have been so focused on all that needs to be done, that fact hadn't registered yet. HHHhhhhhhmmmmmmmm.....struggling to find items on my "To Do" List that I can scratch off and do when we get home. Ha! Okay, I guess cleaning mop boards and light switches can wait, huh!?!?!? ;)

Well, here are a couple sweet pics we received today from Kris Huckaby, who just returned home from meeting their son and PASSING COURT!!!!!

We also received precious pics of Big Brother.....AND A VIDEO of Big Brother talking to us!...Telling us that he prays for us!!! SO LOVE THIS BOYS HEART!!!!! Melting. My heart is melting!!!

SO MANY FAMILIES have passed court these past two weeks!!! GO, GOD!!!! PRAYING that this trend continues and carries over into our January 3rd Court Date for Big Brother!!!!

Also still praying that God blesses us with an embassy submission for Kaleab by Christmas!!!

Oh, Lord, I hate to ask for more, when you are blessing us in abundance, but I pray you will continue to watch over our CD and embassy submission and help expedite the bringing HOME of our BOYS!!!!

Wishing all of you a sweet Wednesday!!!

SNEAK PEAK!

2011-12-12T07:57:00.000-08:00

MY OH MY!!! Remember the saying "A picture is worth a thousand words"...???????

Oh, be still my heart!

Our sweet friends, Angela and Darrin, are in ET meeting and loving on their Josie girl. And they visited our boys yesterday!!!! It was so good to see Darrin playing with "Big Brother"in the yard of his orphanage! We SO can't wait to be doing that too!!!!

Angela and Darrin live in OR and we already have plans to continue our friendship when our kiddos are HOME! Including camping together in the summers! And they told "Big Brother" to look forward to some fun camping! AAAAHHHHH!!!!!! When I read that it just melted me! I hope it melted BB's heart too! I hope it helped things seem even more real for him too!!!!

Oh, and even though I cannot show you "Big Brother's" pictures ~ yet! ~ I can show you a sneak peak at what pictures we woke up to in my inbox this morning!!!!

How PRECIOUS this is, to know that our friends were just loving on our boys!!!! They also sent this ever so sweet picture of Ang and Darrin (holding their sweet Josie) and Kaleab with one of his nannies!!!! SO PRECIOUS!!!! I'd post it but I cannot.......until they pass court, that is!!!! Please join us in praying that they pass court this week ~ DECEMBER 16th!!!!!

Oh, the blessings of adoption are abundant!!!!

THANK YOU, Angela and Darrin!!!! We love you guys!!!

{P.S. Momma and Daddy can't wait to go camping too!!!!}

WE ARE COMING, BOYS!!!!

2011-12-09T11:04:00.000-08:00

WOOHOOOOO!!!!! We finally have tickets purchased!!!!

We leave for DC December 28th, spend the night, and head to ET December 29th!!!! And guess what detail God included in all of this travel preparation!?!?!?!?!? He placed us in the EXACT TWO SEATS ~ one row behind ~ my sweet adoption friend, Kimberly Kulp, and her hubby!!!! Can you believe it!?!?!?!? Who says God doesn't pay attention to detail!!!!! Kimberly and I met 11 months ago in Georgia at the first Created for Care retreat!!!! And now......we will be traveling together to ET!!!!! GOD IS SO GOOD!!!!

We are hoping Daddy, Kaleab and I all travel home together, but if we have not yet received embassy clearance when Daddy has to come home, Mama is staying in ET until we are cleared!!!! Would LOVE a miracle where I could just stay until Big Brother cleared too! Can't wait to see how God works out the remaining details!!!!!

Please pray for expediency and efficiency with embassy as well as PASSING COURT for Big Brother on January 3rd!!! What a fabulous way to start our year as a family!!!!!

Not sure how I will make it through ANOTHER 3 weeks of waiting, but knowing we will be WITH OUR BOYS December 30th will somehow get me through!!!! Thank You, Jesus!!!!

AAAAAHHHHHHH!!!!!!!

♥ ♥ ♥

WE ARE COMING BOYS!!!!! WE ARE COMING!!!!

A WILLOW TREE DAY!

2011-12-06T12:26:00.000-08:00

So what is a "Willow Tree Day," you ask??? It is a day FULL of blessings from sweet and thoughtful friends. Here is how mine went at the end of my week last week......

I went to work and it was sweet Kristy's last day for treatment. She came to the clinic carrying two beautifully wrapped presents in black, white and red paper and a precious bow with bells! They were SO PRETTY I hated to tear off the paper and bow!

One box held the Willow Tree called "New Dad". You know how each item has a description that comes along with it? Well "New Dad" had the message......"In awe and wonder of what's to come."

The other box carried, "Mother and Son"....."Captiviating the bond of love between mothers and sons." How beautiful is that!?!?!? Choked up and teary Kristy exclaimed, "There is your family, Debb! All four of you!" Brought. me. to. tears!!!!! SO BLESSED by you, Kristy! And blessed by your amazing heart!

So, I finish my day with a dance in my step and joy in my heart, and make it home......only to find a box at our doorstep. Jeff is always getting things delivered for work, so I thought nothing of it, until I saw MY name on the box! This one was for ME!!! {girlish giggle inserted here}

I immediately saw it was a dear friend, Lynne Elliot, whom I knew in college! She has been SUCH an encourager throughout this journey to our boys! Guess what it was!?!?!?!?........

The Willow Tree "Quietly"...."Quietly encircled by love." It is a momma sitting with her baby and older child hugging her!!!!! CAN YOU BELIEVE IT!?!?!?

WOW! To be blessed once like this is AMAZING, but TWICE!?!?!? With pieces that fit our family story so beautifully!?!?!?!? I felt so LOVED! Not just by my two precious friends, but also by God! He knew that I needed a gentle sweet reminder that He IS orchestrating our family to be together!!!

Keep in mind, we had learned that Kaleab would likely not be submitted to embassy until late December, and I was feeling sad about that. This was also the day before we heard of "Big Brother's" January 3rd Court Date!

So, yes! This past weekend was GRAND for me! Basking in the love of my friends and their beautiful thoughtful hearts, and praising God for not only speaking to me through these two precious women, but then, the very next day gifting us a Court Date that will bring us to our boys for Christmas!!!!

Hope each of you had a good weekend as well!!!!!

CHRISTMAS IN ETHIOPIA!

2011-12-02T12:15:00.000-08:00

Guess who will be spending CHRISTMAS with their SONS! IN ETHIOPIA!!! Yupper!!! Jeff and I will be WITH OUR BOYS for both US Christmas as well as Ethiopia Christmas, which is January 8th!!!

We received word this morning that we have a January 3rd Court Date for our sweet "S!" {Big Brother}

Kristen tried to call my cell this morning and when I didn't answer (didn't hear it), she called Jeff's cell. He was walking into one of his hospitals and still had reception to take the call. It was SO MUCH FUN for him to receive such a GREAT NEWS phone call!!!! I have gotten all of the other calls, so this was a special treat for Daddy! He was so excited to share the news with me, knowing it would lift me out of the "funk" I have been in since learning we would not get submitted to embassy until, most likely, December 28th.

Boy, did it EVER remove the heaviness in my heart, as well as the questions and doubt!!! God had this beautiful plan in mind all along!!!! CHRISTMAS WITH BOTH BOYS IN ETHIOPIA!!!!!

I cannot believe the details God has orchestrated! Oh, YES I CAN believe it!!!! Details that only God could bring together!

Jeff is already scheduled to have Christmas and New Years off this year! I have vacation that I have to use this month ~ or lose it! ~ so I have time to get all the details together before we leave!

On top of this great news, we received today the I-171H form that show US government approval for a boy "Big Brother's" age! We have been waiting for this for a few weeks now! What a glorious day to receive it!!! The blessings continue to pour in today!!!

Do you see how God coordinated Kaleab's embassy submission (and hopefully clearance!) to be right around Big Brother's Court Date!?!?!?!?!? A.w.e.s.o.m.e!!!!!

All of this AND it looks like we will have time to visit BOTH boy's birth villages while in Ethiopia!!!!!

My heart is racing FAST with excitement! I am OVERFLOWING with JOY!!!!

In pure amazement at our Heavenly Father! How He coordinates so many details is beyond me. I am just awed by all He has done, is doing, and will continue to do in our lives and in our family!

WE ARE COMING, BOYS!!!! WE ARE COMING!!!!

THANKSGIVING EVE.....

2011-11-30T18:41:00.000-08:00

Many of you have asked me how it was the night before passing court. Words are hard to find that describe those exciting and nerve-wrecking emotions storming throughout my mind and body that night! I could not get myself to go to bed until 2:30am. I fell asleep praying and awakened every 45-60 minutes. I swear! And each time I awoke, I felt as though I was still praying! I would continue with my prayers until I fell asleep again. Only to repeat this all. night. long. Or at least the 5 hours I spent in bed that night! {smile} I felt as though I prayed all night long.

And it brought me peace. Amongst my cautious excitement. And amidst the fear stirring within me. The fear of hearing another "no." Oh, the struggle of BELIEVING and not letting myself get too excited, to protect my momma heart.

I guess the best way to explain my experience is to share with you a letter I wrote on Thansgiving Eve. To my son and to my Heavenly Father.

Wow. It is THANKSGIVING EVE 2011. Yes, the night before we awaken to the news. Praying the news is that YOU, our little man, are OUR SON!!! FOREVER!!! Oh, my, has this road to bringing you home been a long one. I still can’t believe it has been four months today since we held you in our arms! Our second Court Date is November 24^th, which is starting in a matter of minutes in Ethiopia.

I can’t get myself to lie down and go to bed. I can’t quiet my mind or calm my thoughts. I just jump from one activity to another. Physically, and/or in my mind. Either way, it keeps my mind going. Fast. In my effort to have distractions ease of the waiting.

Will you ask me to wait longer, Lord?????????????

I can’t seem to concentrate on any one thing tonight. I stop to pray and sometimes I feel I have no words left to pray. Other times I pray so fervently I feel my prayers alone are storming the heavens! {That’s a good thing, dear son! That’s a good thing!} J

We all are storming the Heavens with our prayers!

There are SO MANY people praying for you tonight! Praying for that Mowcya letter to be in our file, for favor from the judge on our family case, for sweet glorious news in the morning!!! Seriously, you would babble loudly if you knew just how MANY people are praying on our behalf, dear son!!!!

Adoption is a spiritual battle. What God designs so beautifully, satan tries to destroy. The GOOD NEWS is that whenever the enemy battles Our Heavenly Father, he never wins! GOD wins!!! Every. Single. Time!!!! THANK YOU, LORD!!!! For battling on our behalf! For loving Kaleab so much that you have brought him to his family. For loving Jeff and me so much that you brought US to Kaleab! THANK YOU, Lord, that there is POWER in our prayers!

Please, God. PLEASE! Let the morning greet us with song. Oh, how I desire to hear a beautiful song ~ song that celebrates the union of our son with us, and us with him. FOREVER!!! We know this to be your will, Lord, and we ask you to finish this waiting. There is still so much more ahead with embassy. So. Much. more. Please let us step off of this stage of Court and move FORWARD toward embassy and bringing our sweet Kaleab HOME!!!!

If the APPROVAL letter is completed, won’t you please place it in our family file and place our file on the top of the day’s pile? If the letter is not yet written, won’t you please place our family heavy onto a mowcya staff member’s heart…..so much so…..that s/he cannot do anything until s/he writes our APPROVAL letter AND gets it to the judge before the days’ end! And Lord, won’t you PLEASE expedite the sharing of this information to in-country staff, and then to Kristen and then to US in a swift and efficient manner!?!?!?!?

My arms ache to hold our son again. I walk with such a void, as my heart is in Ethiopia. Loving on BOTH of our sons. Please help to fill part of that void with finalizing “Baby K’s” adoption. This very night.

I CAN give this over to You. I NEED to give this over to You. YOU are the one to make this all happen. YOU are the one who put this ball in motion. You always finish what you started……and we cannot WAIT for You to finalize this step for us!

Oh, how we would LOVE to spend Christmas with our boys! Ethiopia ~ picking up Baby Kaleab and PASSING Court for "Big Brother!" All in one trip! YOU can do this, Lord! You can do this!!!! I pray this be your will for our family!!! Starting with Passing Court over the next few hours!!!

You have gifted us these precious boys. And I TRUST you to bring them HOME to us!

I BELIEVE, Lord! I BELIEVE!!!!

In Your Name I Pray……..

So eternally grateful for our Thanksgiving gift of a divine "YES!" Thank You, Lord, for gifting us our son ~ KALEAB WILLIAM JEFFREY MARQUEZ!!! On Thanksgiving Day, you made Kaleab more than our son in our heart and soul......you made him legally and officially OUR SON!!!

Still pinching myself to see if THIS is REALLY my life!!!!

Life. Is. GOOD!

Next Step.....

2011-11-29T21:20:00.000-08:00

We just received our travel/embassy e-mail today.

The next step in bringing Kaleab HOME is getting our case submitted to the US Embassy. They say that it usually takes 2-5 weeks to be submitted ~ time needed to gather passports, court decrees, birth certificates, MOWCYA letter etc. The recent trend for families is around 4 weeks.

Once submitted, Embassy has 10 days to review our case and declare: 1) our case approvable and invite us over to bring him HOME; or (2) determine they need more information, resulting in further delays -UGH!!!!

Please pray for all of these details! Please pray for a December CLEARANCE!!! This is a bold request and will require a God miracle ~ but our God IS a God of miracles!!!!! Please pray that God covers our case with favor, and that divine efficiency and timeliness dominate this FINAL STAGE of BRINGING. KALEAB. HOME!!!!!

TECHNICAL DIFFICULTY

2011-11-29T06:41:00.000-08:00

For those of you who have seen the video.....THANK YOU for all the Kind Words either on this blog or Facebook!!! We are so happy to share our Journey to Kaleab with each one of you!!!

If you have not yet seen the video, we are having technical difficulties and we are working on fixing the issues.

Come back to the blog this evening. Hope to have it rolling again by then!

Have a stellar day!!!

Here's another picture to tied you over....from the orphanage.

VIDEO ~ Our Journey to Kaleab

2011-11-27T15:39:00.000-08:00

Wow. What a journey this has been! And what an amazing story it is!!!
God's handprints are seen all over our family adoption story!

So much so, that we made this video to capture it all up to this point! I say we, but really, I only helped pick out pictures and wording....Jeff did ALL the techy stuff!!! THANK YOU, DADDY, for giving us such a precious way to remember our journey forever!!!!

We are so blessed to walk this road with so many loving and prayerful friends and family members! We are excited to share this video with each one of you!!!!

Please scroll down to the bottom of the blog ~ hit pause button to shut off music ~ then come back up here and press play button on our video.

A Day of Thanksgiving!

2011-11-25T01:17:00.000-08:00

Now, our God, we give you thanks,

and praise your Glorious Name" 1 Chron 29:13

I don't want to go to bed tonight. Guess I don't want this glorious day to come to an end. The Joy and Celebration of today ~ and the Thankfulness ~ will carry on into each new day. Scroll down a post if you missed the REFERRAL POST earlier today!

Thanking God for making Kaleab officially our son today. And for making every day a great day. Even the days our boys are not home. Yet. {I must remember this!}

GREAT things are so worth it. Even when it gets a little hard.

Feeling my Joy and my Strength revived!

THANK YOU, LORD, for a most glorious Thanksgiving Day 2011. So looking forward to future ones as well ~ with our boys!!!! {sigh with a smile}

Thank you for bringing us both Kaleab and "Big Brother." We are blessed beyond our wildest imaginations!!!!

And Thank you, LORD, for ALL of the love and prayers covering our family. Our friends and family astound us!

I Praise God for our sonS and cannot WAIT to have them both HOME!

For now......I'm going to go crawl into bed with my honey and count my blessings once again today......

Good night sweet boys!!!! God has YOU!!! Mommy and Daddy carry you both in our hearts and can't wait to see you again and bring you both home very, very soon!

SWEET DREAMS, WORLD......I know I'm sure gonna have them! {BIG SMILE}

HE IS OURS!!!!!

2011-11-24T10:54:00.000-08:00

We are SO HAPPY to inform you that today ~ this very special THANKSGIVING DAY ~ at 8:36am, we received the call from Kristen telling us that WE PASSED COURT!!!! {yes, you heard me right!}

He is OUR SON FOREVER!!!!!

I swear my neighbors and peeps miles away can hear my squeals ~ and down right screams ~ of JOY!!! Tears keep strolling down my face!!!!! Tears of gratitude, awe and PURE EXCITEMENT and JOY!!!!

PRAISING GOD for our precious little boy!!!!
And we THANK each of you for ALL of your precious prayers!!!!

May I proudly introduce to you..........

KALEAB WILLIAM JEFFREY MARQUEZ!!!!!!!!!

Those beautiful eyes melt. my. heart!

We find him captivating!

Sweet, Sweet Boy!

Chompin' away on a toy we sent over.

In his crib with teddy bear we made for him

MOMMY and DADDY SOOOOOO LOVE YOU, BABY!!!!

On this beautiful day of THANKSGIVING, we are SO THANKFUL for our TWO precious blessings! And to have us pass court for Baby Kaleab on THIS day, well......that is just icing on the cake!!!!

May each of you have a very blessed and grateful day on this THANKSGIVING DAY, as you too, reflect upon the ways in which our Heavenly Father has blessed your life in big and small ways.

The LORD has done great things for us,
and we are filled with joy.
Psalm 126:3

Update

2011-11-23T15:00:00.000-08:00

TONIGHT IS THE NIGHT!!!!

Tomorrow is THANKSGIVING, and although we already have TWO extra-SPECIAL blessings to be Thankful for this year, we are praying for another reason to be Thankful!!! Our second court date for Baby "K" is November 24th! That's right! Tonight, while we rest our heads on our pillows, the Ethiopian judge will be re-assessing our case! PRAYING that our Mowcya APPROVAL letter is already written and its place, and that we hear the words tomorrow, "HE IS YOURS FOREVER!"

Our sweet coordinator, Kristen, promised to call us from her cell phone, since the office is closed the remainder of the week. That saves us having to wait to hear ~ either way ~ another four days!!! THANK YOU, Kristen, for knowing how hard this extended wait has been and how MUCH it would mean to us to hear on THE day......THANKSGIVING DAY!!!!!

THANK YOU for joining us in storming the heavens with fervent prayers that we hear awesome news tomorrow! The long-awaited news that our Baby "K" is not just OURS in our hearts, but in the eyes of the Ethiopian Law as well!!!!!

Gosh........I don't anticipate sleeping a wink tonight! That's okay! All-night prayer can only be a GOOD thing!!!!!! May God fill the ache in our hearts TONIGHT!!!!!

UPDATE:
Stephanie and Arnold were a couple that we met when we were in Ethiopia. They were meeting their baby boy and shared the July 21, 2011 Court Date with us. They did not get caught up in the court closures, but they did get held up on the embassy side of things. They just got home with their son!

Stephanie's email update from ET let me know that our Baby "K" is CRAWLING on his hand and knees!!! She described him as "so adorable" and "sweet" and she said that he was so happy when in his crib and with his bear that we sent over to him!!!! {he IS still that happy soul that exudes joy and peace, after all! I was worried, as the last three sets of pics we received he wasn't smiling in any of them....NOT typical for our sweet baby}

Stephanie went on to say that they visited Big Brother and told him, via translation from our dear friend in ET, Jonas, that we love him and cannot WAIT to bring him home! When they asked Big Brother if he wanted to send a message home to us, he said yes, tell them "I LOVE THEM." Stephanie said Big Brother is such a sweet boy and was so happy to have pictures taken of him knowing that they would be sending the photos to us!

My sleep has been restless lately, with my heart in Africa. Needless to say, I slept MUCH more soundly Friday night, after reading Stephanie's email!

And now, tonight, another restless night ~ FILLED with faith-filled prayers from all over the world, on behalf of our sweet baby boy!!!! THANK YOU for joining us in storming the heavens with prayers!!!

SO. LOVE. OUR. BOYS!!!!

Beautiful Heartbreak - Every Step

2011-11-18T10:38:00.000-08:00

(scroll to bottom of blog; pause my music player; click play button on video)

A friend of mine, Elicia, posted this video on her FB page just the other day. She said,"What a beautiful reminder that (the THREE YEARS she spent, after first laying eyes on their daughter, waiting for her to come home from Haiti!) was not wasted and that as God tells us, 'God WILL restore the years that the locusts have eaten.' We all have heartaches....it is what we let God do with those heartbreaks that matters!"

I have been crying. A lot lately. I am literally leaning on God and friends and family to help me get through each and every day as of late. {THANK YOU for lifting me up and walking out each day with me! Your FB messages, emails and comments really do lift me up!}

This video put me in a puddle of tears.........I responded to her post with the following words, "Praying that one day (SOON!) I can look back at this stage of my life and see it as just that ~ a beautiful heartbreak. Knowing the sons that are coming to us, I know that I will."

Here is what encouragement Elicia had for me after I responded to her post.

"Debb...I promise that you will {be able to see this time as a beautiful heartbreak}. I can say that with confidence because that is the heart of the God that we serve. HE WILL USE THIS TIME FOR GOOD. He will finish what He started! You can't see it now, and I couldn't either during the pain and the heartache. BUT, because He loves you and your boys so deeply, He will bring all of this to an end someday. Praying that it is VERY VERY soon. Please know that I know right where you are at. You are not alone. It hurts. So bad that sometimes you just have to use all the strength you have just to get out of bed. Sometimes, I remember there weren't any words left to pray. BUT....I know that the Lord hears the groaning of your heart! My heart was breaking for you when you said that in the last pictures of sweet baby K he looked sad. UGGGG. That is salt in a wound. He will smile again, you will smile again, and someday this will be over. And when it is, I promise you that you will cherish every hug, every smile, every time they wake you up at 2m because you know what a gift it is. Praying for you sweet friend and know that I am here to talk to, to cry to, to rage at, to pray with and to lift you up. YOU ARE LOVED!!!!!"

Wow. I am totally and completely AMAZED at the wonderful friends that God has bestowed upon me! ALL of you have shared this journey with us, and for your prayers, encouragement, and your continued belief, we will be eternally grateful!!!!!!

I cannot post all of your encouraging words, but know how very much they help me believe. Hope. Cling to God. Even breathe some days.

So there you have it. This is where I am. Struggling daily with the continued wait. Walking around with a doubly deep void in my heart. Yet, simultaneously, thankful for our boys, our family and friends and for this journey that is leading us to two very precious and dearly loved boys! Definitely worth the heartbreak of waiting. Definitely two beautiful reasons for heartbreak. Definitely WORTH the agonizing wait.

Next week it will have been SIX MONTHS since first laying eyes on our sweet baby K. Second Court Date is next week for our baby ~ we should learn ON THANKSGIVING DAY if we finally passed!!!! Meaning, that that all-important letter was present, and our baby boy will be legally and officially OURS!!!! Still waiting for a Court Date for Big Brother as well. Hoping that is in December.

Thank you, each and every one of you. For loving me. Jeff. And our TWO AMAZING BOYS!!!!

FRIENDSHIP

2011-11-16T23:44:00.000-08:00

Oh, how FUN it is to re-connect with a dear friend! That is exactly what I got to do one Saturday afternoon a number of weeks back. My dear friend, Cheryl, was in town and we got to spend the afternoon catching one another up on our fun summers, families and futures.

Although we get to chat on the phone whenever we want to (which is never often enough), it was such a special treat to be sipping on coffee sitting right next to one another!

Oh, and how sweet!!! She came with gifts for sweet Baby "K!"

Funny ~ when she was visiting, we shared our hearts for a boy we met while in Ethiopia, and that we were waiting for chance to review the file for "Big Brother!" She was pretty stoked for us! Cool to see how that all has since come to be a REALITY!!!!

THANK YOU, Cheryl! For taking the afternoon with me! And Jeff and I (and soon Baby K) THANK YOU for the wonderful outfits you gave us! I will think you you every time we dress him in these!!!!

SOOOOO LOVE YA, GIRL!

Your friendship is a priceless gift in my life!

What Tone Are YOU Setting?

2011-11-15T07:00:00.000-08:00

"I will praise the Lord at all times. I will constantly speak His praises"
Psalm 34:1

This is one of my devotions I received a while back from C. Rich. I came across it again today. Huh. Guess God knew I needed it. I've struggled to keep that inner Joy that comes from having great expectancy ~ but not expectations........and He wanted to remind me that HE IS IN THIS ADOPTION!!!! HE HAS THIS!!! He wants me to live with GREAT EXPECTANCY OF HIS FAVOR! He wants me to continue in HOPE, TRUST and JOY!!!!

When you wake up in the morning, do you expect the goodness of God in your life? Do you set the tone for success, favor and blessing?

This last year may have had some hardships and difficulties, but it's time to set the tone for a new season.

Psalm 34:1 tells us that the darker it gets in the world, the brighter it's going to be for God's people. Things may be bad all around you. People may be negative, complaining, and discouraged, but don't let that spirit rub off on you. The worse it gets, the brighter you're going to shine. Be determined to set the tone for the new season by praising God and speaking words of faith over your future. As you do, you'll enlarge your vision and make room for God to do amazing things in every area of your life!

Father God, I choose to bless You at all times. I choose to set the tone to receive Your favor, grace and mercy. Thank You for Your faithfulness to me at all times! In Your name, amen.

May the Lord bless your day,

Empower, Connect, Correct.

2011-11-13T17:08:00.000-08:00

Wow. Jeff and I returned last night from a wonderful training on how to EMPOWER our children, CONNECT with them, while also CORRECTING them. All at the same time!

I must admit. Jeff and I would have BY FAAAARRRRR preferred to have our baby boy home long before now ~ as well as wish we would have received a Court Date for Big Brother last week with everyone else. However, neither of these have happened. Yet. Therefore……..

We are SO THANKFUL that during this VERY extended wait, God has blessed us with ways in which we can be productive with our time, and “dig deeper” into this role of Parenthood that He has blessed upon us.

Remember how we went to the Empowered to Connect conference in Denver this Spring? Well, we just returned from a more intense training of this parenting perspective based on Dr. Karyn Purvis’ 10 years of research in the field of child psychology. The days were long (8:30 to 8:30), but oh was the time precious and worth it!

WE FEEL SO BLESSED to have been able to receive such incredible training from Michael and Amy Monroe! Not only are our hearts FULL of compassion for our kiddos, our heads full of wisdom based on valid research, but our bellies are STILL full from ALL the GOOD food Amy made sure was available throughout the whole weekend! I still haven't felt hungry since leaving Texas yesterday afternoon! I’m serious! They do it up right over there in Texas! {smile}

Here are a few pictures of one of our dinners! We all went to La Hacienda Ranch, just a few miles away from the church met at each day. The word DELICIOUS doesn't do it justice!

Enchiladas, Texas style!

Fajita Platter!

Aahhhh....apple pie with cinnamon ice cream and

some kind of YUMMY carmel-butter sauce!

(Any concern regarding sugar and calories was out the window!)

We met so many amazing couples who are also on this blessed journey of adoption. Some were already home with their kiddos and three of us couples are parents-to-be! One family was expecting, another was five months into being DTE, and then there was us!

Sweet Kelsey and Ted ~

5 mos DTE and live in Oregon!

Love you guys!

We kept hearing people say how they wish they had known this parenting approach before now. The three of us couples, who have not yet parented, were SO THANKFUL to have this information before we learned our own way of doing things! Not to disregard the benefit of parenting experience, but also finding the bright side of having less to “unlearn” so-to-speak.

Along with making new and lasting friends, we delved further into our 7 weeks of pre-training, and learned of ways to bring this parenting perspective to other parents. Michael and Amy were so thorough in their teaching ~ they even helped each couple begin strategic planning on how and when we can begin providing support to other adoptive families!

Wow! Such a rich time in Texas!

Ironically, Dr. Karyn Purvis teaches and researches at Texas Christian University. Yes, you got it. The very team that beat our Boise State Broncos yesterday! By ONE point, mind you, 36-35! Yes, the very team that broke our amazing 35-game home running streak! The very team that put us out of the running for a BCS game as well as a MWC Champion title! Oh, how this sours my tummy! {Michael, we sooo wanted your Alabama team to play our BSU, so you could hear OUR school anthem!}

Nontheless, as frustrated as we are with TCU football, we cannot help but PRAISE the GOOD that is coming out of that school via Karyn Purvis, MD!!! Her research is amazing and life-changing for so many families!

We THANK The Monroes’ for their generosity of time and for their dedication. They so firmly believe in the GOOD for this parenting approach, that they dedicate as much to this ministry as if it were there full-time job!

And they believe in it so strongly that they are happy to have us share what we can with all of you, our friends, family and fellow bloggers and adoptive families! I’m not sure where to begin with ALL of the information, but I am happy to share with you in future posts!

Hope you all had a blessed and special weekend. May you feel refreshed and energized to begin your week!

Tonight, Jeff and I pray for our sweet boys in ET. May we hear THIS WEEK that Big Brother has a Court Date for December! And, although unlikely, we continue to pray that we hear the miraculous melody that God touched the heart of a Mowcya member, and our APPROVAL letter for Baby K will get written this week!

Dream big! Pray Hard, right!?!?!?

More Love Poured Down!

2011-11-07T22:56:00.000-08:00

Wow! I was SO BLESSED by my dear friends at work!!!
They threw me a shower too, on October 26th!

I am stunned when I think of how many precious people our son's already have in their lives, praying them HOME!!! Seriously, girls, I am so darn lucky to be able to work alongside each and every one of you at Foothills PT!!! You make me laugh, you lift me up when the road seem long, and you brighten my days just by being YOU!!!

THANK YOU for loving me and wanting to shower me with your love and friendship! It was SUCH a sweet shower! And Teresa, I hope you let you mom know how MUCH I LOVED the decorations!

As much fun as it was, we need to do a girls' night more often, gang!

THANKS for your generosity, your friendship, your love and prayers. You really do help me get through the tough days, and you genuinely share in the JOY of this journey to our sons!

Here is a sneak peak at the fun evening!

Tanya, Teresa, Michelle, Lisa

See the stork in the background?

Teresa's mom made it....

........with a brown skinned baby in its mouth! =)

Dana, Teresa, Kathy, Linda

Michelle, Lisa, Pam, Dana, Teresa

Danielle and me

(with a mommy-to-be hat they gave me!)

I LOVE YOU GIRLS!!!

Our Boys Have a Family this Orphan Sunday!

2011-11-06T16:35:00.000-08:00

Today is Orphan Sunday.

I SOOO wish our boys were HOME, but even though they are not home YET, I am PRAISING God that today, THIS orphan Sunday, they BOTH have a family!

Feeling SO BLESSED to be the family that God chose for BOTH amazing and precious boys!!!!

Orphan Sunday is a day when, nationally, we all are asked to step back and recognize just how many orphans there are (140 million!).....consider the needs of these orphans.....and then take it one step further....

.....and ask what WE can do about it!!!

PRAYING that God moves the hearts of MANY today and throughout November (Orphan Month), as He places desire to live out James 1:27 in the hearts of His believers.

Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world. (James 1:27)

You may be called to adopt, OR maybe you are called to to support a family who is. You may be called to go on a mission to reach out to orphans, OR you may be called to financially support someone else who is. You may be called to provide foster care, OR you may feel lead to support someone else who is already doing so.

HOW we love on the orphan may look different for each person, and is up to God to lead us. Whether we move on God's divine prompting, is really up to us!!!!

Let Faith Arise...

2011-11-04T14:00:00.000-07:00

I REALLY hope you take the time to scroll to the bottom of my blog to "pause" my playlist, and then come back up here and click the "play" button.

I was driving around for errands this morning, after having a sweet time of morning coffee with dear friends, Erica and Mallory (and running into my wonderful friend, Frank!). This very song came on over the car radio.

And it filled my being. To the core.

I had to keep my hands on the steering wheel, but I was lifting my hands in spirit, as I listened to these words. And tears strolled down my face.

I'm lifting my hands to the Heavens...........

........and I AM feeling my Faith Arise!!!!!!!

THANK YOU for praying, gang! I feel it!!!

Waiting on you with a renewed Faith, Heavenly Father! THANK YOU for not turning against me when I am feeble and weak ~ and my "wait meter" is plum empty. THANK YOU for, instead, loving me gently and refueling me with YOUR strength and power!

YOU. ARE. MY. REFUGE!!!!

UPDATE

2011-11-02T16:00:00.000-07:00

UFDAH!!!

This has been tough to swallow. We were called last Thursday and told by our agency that we were going to have a court date, and that AWAA anticipated the court date being some day this week!

Soooo, of course I got SUPER excited at the thought of FINALLY passing court and having BABY K be officially and legally OUR SON!!!! W-e-l-l........we didn't get a date Friday. Nor Monday.

And as those of you on Facebook already know, we DID get a date assigned to us yesterday, BUT we are DEVASTATED with how far away the Court Date (CD) is!!!! We are assigned a CD for November 24th!!!! YES, that means our baby boy will grow yet ANOTHER month older with NO PROGRESS made toward bringing him HOME!!!!! I am crushed.

Adding to the devastation, is the realization that a CD that late will make it nearly impossible for him to make it home by Christmas!!!! Now, I have not forgotten that we have a God who can do ANYTHING ~ "For nothing is impossible with God!" Luke 1:37. But things are looking grim from my human perspective.

The intent for the second CD is for MOWCYA to write their letter and for the judge to reassess our case, with the HOPE of finally passing court!!! It has been 112 days since we went to court in Ethiopia! Cannot BELIEVE that we have still not passed......and have no chance of doing so for ANOTHER 23 more days!!! {major frown inserted here}

Suffice it to say.........my nerves are worn thin. My hope ebbs and flows. My heart deeply aches. My arms YEARN to hold our baby boy! Oh, yes, and keep in mind.......if court does not assess our case until then, this delays when we get to spend time with Big Brother too! Which delays when his CD can be, which in turn, delays when he can come home too!!!!

My drive to wake up in the morning is nil.
I. AM. DEVASTATED!!!

Learning of this news yesterday morning, my dear, sweet husband allowed me to "check out" yesterday after work, and just do whatever it was I needed to do ~ curl up and cry, withdraw form the world, pray, do mindless activities..........until it was time for bed.

I ate lots and lots of chocolate (Halloween leftovers) last night, and that didn't even soothe my soul! (May have to try that one again tonight! Ha!)

I WILL say THIS though.......we received precious precious pictures of BOTH our sons ~ when? ~ Yesterday!!! Our first pictures of Big Brother being visited on our behalf! Pictures of him receiving his very first care package! Oh, how it melted my heart to see the big smile on his face as he showed his family photos to his friends! Melt. my. heart!!! We even got to see his silly side as he enjoyed wearing the goofy glasses we sent in the care package!

Oh, and Baby K......wowzer! Growing and changing. And still so precious and cute!!!

We are SO BLESSED by these boys!!! Thank you, God!!!

Amazing. God knew that I was going to NEED to look into the faces of our sweet boys to regain strength to endure this. For them. I can do anything for my boys! Even this.

Only because I need to do this. I have no choice.

THANK YOU, Shannon DeVol, for sending us our precious pictures on just. the. right. day!!!!

In addition to the sweet photos, we also received TWO presents from our near and dear fellow AWAA adoptive friends, Angela and Darrin Ditchen!!! SUCH a surprise! They sent us the lamp and wall pic that totally matches our nursery safari bedding and theme!

WOW! Blessed beyond what we deserve! Your friendship is such a precious present in itself, Ang and Darrin, and we cannot THANK YOU enough for these sweet gifts! We will think of you every time we see them in his room! {huge grin inserted here}

So, there you have it. I have been quiet on this blog for a reason. I am trying to keep my eyes on God. Knowing that nothing surprises our Heavenly Father. Not even this. Knowing that He is still in control ~ not the people writing our letter! Reminding myself of God's faithfulness. As once again proven by the many precious souls He blessed me with on Facebook.

FB friends, please know that your comments yesterday helped my breathe. They literally helped me make it through my day. YOU helped me keep my eyes of the Lord.

I am eternally grateful and indebted to all of you who are walking this long and rocky road with me! I hate to even thing about where I would be without each one of you!

And I certainly don't want to know what this journey would be like without our Loving Heavenly Father. Lord, please know that I desire to remain on your path. No matter how rocky and gut-wrenching this path seems to be right now, I don't want to be outside of your plan. Thank you for understanding my weakness and frustration. Thank you for carrying me these days when I feel I cannot even stand on my own. Thank you for moving the hearts of the people working on our case ~ may you find a miraculous way to get them to move the court date up to an earlier day. And may you continue to bless our boys. Nurture them, Lord. Love them. Protect them. Please be with them.
In Jesus' name we pray,
AMEN.

SHOWERED WITH LOVE!!!!

2011-10-30T16:00:00.000-07:00

OH. MY. GOODNESS!!!

Can you say BEST SHOWER EVER!?!?!?!? My sweet friends, Amber and Allison, threw me a shower last weekend (October 22, 2011), and it was SUCH a precious day!!!

I cannot even BEGIN to thank the two of them as well as EVERYONE who attended!!! I am still in awe of the WONDERFUL and FANTASTIC friends I have!!! Several different moments I would take a second to scan the room full of thirty AMAZING women, and THANK GOD for so many precious souls who are not only incredible and genuine friends, but are also so stinkin' excited for us to bring our BOYS HOME!!!!!

Whenever I stop to consider how many prayers are being said on behalf of Jeff and me and Baby K and Big Brother "S," I am stunned. God has surrounded us with the most supportive, real, genuine, passionate people we could ever hope to travel alongside on our journey to our boys! Each and every one of you ~ and those who wanted to attend but could not ~ you have NO IDEA just how very MUCH your prayers, thoughts, positive energy and support have meant to us!

You have lifted me when I felt low. Inspired me to continue to believe, when doubt would creep in. Encouraged me to keep my eyes on the Almighty Creator, who has never once left the director position of our family story. You have given me love when I felt forgotten. Friendship when I needed to laugh, cry our just plain shout. Each and every one of you have shared in our journey, and I cannot THANK YOU enough!!!!!

Oh, the JOY of having you meet our sons! Oh, the blessing of having you involved in their/our lives! Oh, the gratitude I feel deep down, for every single one of you!!!!

I will admit, there were days when I would ask God if I would ever walk out of BabiesRUs with items for OUR children. If a shower would ever be held for OUR kiddos!..........

Never could I have imagined how beautifully this shower for Baby K would quickly become about celebrating TWO sons!!! TWO!!!!! We learned of "Big Brother five days before the shower!!! A sweet present in itself! THANK YOU, GOD!!!!

Feeling DOUBLY blessed by our TWO boys, and eternally blessed by each of YOU ~ friends whom I hope to grow old with!!!!!

THANK YOU for showering me and our boys with your love! THANK YOU for sharing in our Joy! THANK YOU for walking this journey with us ~ holding our hands, and yes, even carrying me at times.

I CHERISH EACH AND EVERY ONE OF YOU!!!!!!

Words cannot express the joy of the day! Nor can they explain the beautiful details Amber put into the decor!

Allow me to share with you some pictures of a precious day where love rained down!

Allison, me, Amber

(the great hostesses)

Me and MIL, Jenni!

Amber had everything looking so pretty!

Sweet mantle decor....

The banner matched the invite!

Jenni made this AMAZING diaper cake!!!

Last minute details.....Allison, Amber, MIL Jenni and Caycee!

My teary attempt to share with everyone how VERY MUCH they mean to me!

Maril, me, Laura.

Krista, me, Andrea.

Jenni, me, Vicki (childhood friend of Jenni's)!

Me and Sarah.

Sweet little Maude, Erica, Julie and her sweet Lucy, Mallory and me.

Alyson, Maude and me.

Kare-bear, me, Amber.

Me and Connie-girl.

Me and Karie.

Check out the Shabby Chic house Amber has!

Kate, Karie, Natalia, Tanya, Mallory, Andrea, Erica, Krista...

Dianna, Melissa, Julie, Jess, Morgan.

BEST adoption book EVER! Thanks, Kate!

Me and Annie (the recycle queen!) =)

THANK YOU, Mom! Love the babyfood maker!

Ok, so we didn't think of a group shot until over half of you were gone,

but know that the presence of ALL of you made my day!

"Big Brother League!" Perfect!

Laura, Annie, Caycee, me, Allison

(Amber and Melissa in background)

LOVED the invite!

The PURE JOY on my face pretty much sums up the day!!!!

(photo compliments of Maude!)

AS WE SLEEP TONIGHT.....

2011-10-29T21:10:00.000-07:00

As we sleep tonight.....likely in the wee hours of tomorrow morning.....our dear friend, Shannon DeVol and her husband.........will be loving on our sweet son, "S," in our name!!!

They will bring "Big Brother" our care package!

This will be his very FIRST CARE PACKAGE!!!!!

In this package our sweet boy will find a photo book FULL of photos of his family members! From Jeff, me and the doodles ~ to his grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins!!!
He has seen a few pictures of me, Jeff and the doggies (which we included in our Dossier) but this photo book will introduce him to his WHOLE FAMILY!!!!

We also included a shirt, some toys, healthy snacks and candy for him. Oh, how I wish it was US loving on him and gifting him the package! ~ though I am grateful to Shannon for doing it in our place! She is currently in Ethiopia to MEET her precious baby boy, and before leaving for ET, she was kind enough to offer to love on BOTH of our sons while over there! THANK YOU, Shannon!

We sent another package over to Baby K as well, and given that the boys are not at the same orphanage, Baby K was given his near the end of the week, and "Big Brother" gets his tomorrow/tonight!!!

As I lay my head on my pillow tonight, I will pray ~ as I do every night ~ for my dear, sweet sons. But my heart will carry with it an extra beat of JOY knowing that "S" will soon be receiving his first package of LOVE from his Emaye (momma) and Abaye (daddy).

We Love You, Son!!!!

The Road To Big Brother....

2011-10-21T10:27:00.000-07:00

Oh, MY, how BLESSED we are to have such wonderful family and friends to join us in the jumping up and down; the praising of God and His miraculous works; and in the screaming out in PURE JOY!!!! We are awed by the wonderous works of our Heavenly Father! Bringing us one child is such a miracle and blessing.......but blessings our socks off with the surprise of TWO BOYS is.......well......I'm speechless! (and that doesn't happen very often! ha!)

I'll try to catch you up on the details that lead us to "Big Brother." As with Baby K, we cannot announce his name until he is "officially" and legally our son ~ even though BOTH boys are OURS in our hearts already!!!

Remember how we felt lead to add our names to the list for two children, back before we were ever matched with our Baby K? We just really felt God putting it on our hearts that He had chosen two children for us, so we asked AWAA to open us to the availability of two children, while keeping us also on the "singleton" list ~ one infant boy 0-6 months.

Following that change, we were laying on a blanket at the park one sunny day, reading "From Ashes to Africa," which shares the Bottomly Family story of their first adoption from Ethiopia. There was a section of the book that spoke of an older boy in the orphanage that they referred to as "Denim Boy" (because he was wearing denim the day they met him). It expanded upon this boy's story, and it moved me to tears. So much so, that I turned to Jeff and said, wiping my tears so I could see him, "Maybe our second adoption will be an older child." Jeff's heart melted when I shared what I had just read, and after reading the book, himself, he too, felt like God had spoken to his heart about a child of an older age.

Then, weeks after reading this book, I saw a 10 year old boy on the Waiting Child List (meaning he was available for adoption), and my heart was burdened to pray particularly hard for him ~ which I did. And when his family chose him, we were blessed to be asked to take Gabe a care package for his family. Oh, the FUN of hanging with Gabe! It melted my heart that day to watch he and Jeff interact and play, and both Jeff and I felt that similar "heart-thing" toward an older child. Jeff shared that he believed both Denim Boy and Gabe were placed on our hearts to further prompt us to consider adopting our own older child one day. The very next day, we interacted with a sweet, precious girl at the Transition House, and guess how old she was!?!?!?!? Yup! Ten years old! "What is this 'hear thing' for ten-year-olds?" we'd ask one another.

Two days later, we met who is now Baby K's "Big Brother." We were visiting an orphanage that was bigger and busier than any other we had previously visited. The children were so excited to see us, hug us, and play! When I looked down and caught the beautiful brown eyes of this sweet boy, I felt my heart literally LEAP and start beating faster. I immediately prayed for him, as I could not deny that God had him stand out to me above any of the other precious children. It was as if God had shined a light directly over this boy for only me to see!

I asked God what the prompting meant, but only felt Him encouraging me to reach out to him. It was a busy time, with so many children, but I was able to ask "Big Brother" his name, and he shared with me his beautiful name and tole me how old he was. Yes, as you already know, he too, was TEN YEARS OLD!!!!! It gave me chills to hear him say it. I turned to get Jeff to meet "Big Brother" but could not find Jeff amongst all of the kiddos, and when I eventually found Jeff, I could no longer find "Big Brother." So, unfortunately daddy has not yet met his older son....well, face-to-face that is......

Jump forward to our last day in Ethiopia. Very early that last morning, I had gone up to the rooftop of our Guest House to have some "God time." While greeting the sun as it rose, I was praising Him and thanking Him for our precious son, Baby K. I was thanking Him for His felt presence all week and especially this heavy morning, knowing we would be leaving our sweet baby boy in Ethiopia that night. I was praying over all of the children we had met that week, and asking God to bring each one to their family. I was praying over our personal family ~ sweet Baby K and any other children God already knew He would be bringing to us. I especially prayed for the 10 year old girl and 10 year old boy we felt drawn to, asking God to move mountains if one of them was meant to be our child. I was, once again, laying all of our children at His feet, asking Him to intervene and complete the good work that He had begun in building our family.

Although my heart was heavy, God's presence was near. Honey came up and joined me in greeting the day and praising, thanking and beckoning our Lord. It was peaceful. It was beautiful. And then we saw him. One single boy standing in the yard of the nearby orphanage we had visited a few days before. I waved to the boy, and he waved back. Tears started rolling down my cheeks, as I knew that I knew it was that sweet 10 year old boy, "S." Jeff tried to help me understand that many boys live there, and I couldn't know it was "S," but I assured him with confidence, "That is him! I know it! I feel it! I know him!" With the zoom of our video camera, it was confirmed. Of all the children, this little boy was the one standing below waving to us and blowing us kisses. I begged God to help "S" feel the love I was hoping to shower on him with my returned blown kisses. "What if he is meant to be our second son?" I asked Jeff. And my faith-filled husband replied, "Then God will bring him to us. Then God will bring him to us." After a time of engaged waving and blown kisses with "S" and the other children who had now joined him, it was time to for them to go inside. And time for us to go downstairs and start the day. The ache in my heart that morning, knowing I may never lay eyes on that boy again, just added to the agony I was feeling over leaving Ethiopia that night.

Low and behold, not long after returning home, AWAA had gotten all of "Big Brother's" paperwork in order. He was now adoptable. I was, once again, looking into the eyes of this sweet boy, as he was posted on the Waiting Child List. He was ready and now waiting to be adopted!

God kept him on our hearts throughout the next couple of weeks, until one day we both felt prompted to ask how we could review his file. We were told we needed our caseworker to write a letter stating she would approve us for a child of this age, should we decide to pursue adopting him. While she was writing this letter, another family asked to review "Big Brother's" file. We were shocked, because, by now the excitement was building and we were feeling as if we were hearing God that this might very well be our second son!

I read one blog that night. ONE. And hadn't been in the blog world much the last few weeks! The ONE I read was about a family who was so convinced that a little 4 year old from their agency's WCL was their daughter. However, while trying to get their paperwork in order to review her file, another family chose to review this girls file. The couple was devastated. Until they watched God lead that family away from the girl, so that the blog family could become her parents! An overwhelming peace took over me. God is the Almighty God. Nothing happens in life without first passing through His hands. "God has this!" I assured myself. What a blessing for this boy! TWO families seeking him! I went to bed that night with the peace of God, knowing that if this boy was meant to be our son, God would gently guide His precious child to exactly the parents He has always intended for him! Days later, we learned that we could review this boy's file! God had done it! He had kept this boy available for US! We felt it!

Needless to say, all fell into place and we have completed the Referral Acceptance paperwork! "Big Brother" is going to be our second son! THAT is why God prompted us to become approved for two children! THAT is why He kept opening our hearts to ten-year-olds! THAT is why this boy stood out so clearly to me! THAT is why we got our own special "good-bye" waving/kissing session with this boy from the rooftop! THAT is why this precious boy has never left our hearts since leaving Ethiopia!

PRAISE GOD!!!!

Oh, and yes, as many of you have said, the good that has come out of this extended wait for a mowcya letter, is THIS!!! Because we have not yet passed court, we can quickly get approved by our government for an older child, and AWAA is going to try their best to include this adoption as part of our first Dossier! "Big Brother" is the second child God put on our hearts from early on in this adoption!

WE HAVE TWO SONS!!!!!

I know this is a long post. SO MANY beautiful details on this road to "Big Brother!" I wanted to capture them here! THANK YOU for wanting to share in the tapestry of God's work! I cannot even believe how beautifully he has orchestrated all of this! GO, GOD!!!!!

So what now? We have been approved by our caseworker for an older child, and we have sent off the request for our government to update our I-171H (showing government approval of an older child). All in four days! Wow, God, you are on the MOVE!!! LOVE IT!!! If things keep up like this, we should be able to have our first visit with "Big Brother" when we go to pick up "Baby K," and "Big Brother" should be able to come HOME 1-2 months later!!! Can you believe it!?!?

Only God could orchestrate such details! Only God could bless our socks off like this!!!

Praying for continued favor over our boys! Praying for a QUICK I-171H form and for Baby K's APPROVAL LETTER SOON!!!!!

And in the meantime..........living in utter AWE and GRATITUDE for God answering our prayers far better than we could have ever imagined!!!!!

"He has made EVERYTHING beautiful in its time" Ecc 3:11

MARQUEZ DOUBLE BLESSING!!!!!!

2011-10-17T23:21:00.000-07:00

DO WE EVER HAVE B-I-G NEWS!!!!

WANT A HINT?!?!?!?!?!?........

THAT IS RIGHT!!!!! YOU GUESSED IT!!!!!

BABY K HAS A BIG BROTHER!!!!

TODAY WE HAVE ACCEPTED A REFERRAL

FOR A 10 YEAR OLD BOY!!!!

Jeff and I are AMAZED!!! HUMBLED!!! Truly AWED by the works of our Heavenly Father!!! EXSTATIC and EXCITED!!! OVER THE MOON HAPPY!!! And YES, feeling BLESSED beyond our wildest imagination!!!!

Cannot WAIT to share with you the details of how beautifully God orchestrated these details of blessing us with another son!

God REALLY IS a God "...who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine..." (Ephesians 3:20) and we are soooo doubly blessed by our TWO BOYS!!!!

In addition to putting ourselves on a list for an infant boy, God prompted us several months ago to place ourselves on a list for two children......because. He. knew. from. the. very. beginning. that He had TWO amazing sons He wanted to bless our family with!

Flying HIGH and walking on Cloud NINE!!! Still soaking in how distinctly he pointed us to this sweet boy, and now we have been blessed with accepting his referral in addition to Baby K!!!!

God is SOOOOOO GOOD!!!! I want to capture every single step that brought us to our second son!!! Details of God's amazing work to come!!!!!

THANK YOU, GOD!!! THANK YOU for helping me cling to the belief that you are still working amidst the darkness. Amidst the extended waiting. Amidst what felt like the absence of you. THANK YOU for blessing me with a better understanding of our "hold up" with court issues, so that you could create this beautiful tapestry of our family! THANK YOU for your faithfulness! THANK YOU for loving all FOUR of us!!!

THANK YOU for drawing us to "S" and him to us!!! We will be eternally grateful for such a precious gift as this! What a story! Both our boys will forever know-that-they-know that YOU had your eye on them from the beginning of time, and Jeff and I will always remember your faithfulness!!!

"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." Jeremiah 29:11

Be Courageous. Be Strong.

2011-10-10T14:22:00.000-07:00

I may not always feel God's presence.
But to remain in Him is a choice. My choice.

I feel my knees buckling from underneath me.
My legs feel wobbly and weak.
I struggle to see the mile marker ending this stage of the race.

I breathe in deeply, asking God to sustain me. To fill me.
With HIS strength and HIS power to endure this never-ending wait.....
.....For an APPROVAL LETTER.

God is supplying me with His strength.
Minute by minute. Day by day.
Via bible verses as of late.
He has seriously gifted me a verse a day these past few days.
And within each one, they carry a theme. The same theme.
See if you notice their same common thread..........

“Be on guard. Stand firm in the faith. Be courageous. Be strong.” 1 Corinthians 16:13 (NLT)

"Be strong and courageous, all you who put your hope in the Lord."  Psalm 31:24

“Do not be afraid. Stand firm and you will see the deliverance the LORD will bring you today. The Egyptians you see today you will never see again. 14 The LORD will fight for you; you need only to be still.” Exodus 14: 13, 14

And so........as I struggle to wrap my brain around having TWO MONTHS of waiting, and STILL no approval letter, I am gently reminded by my Heavenly Father to let it all go. Again. He encourages me, once again, to stop trying to make sense out of it all, and instead...............

STAND FIRM IN MY FAITH. BE STRONG.

TRUST GOD and HIS PLAN FOR ME and MY FAMILY.

BE COURAGEOUS. DO NOT BE AFRAID.

If I look at these words as just letters on a page, they do not make a home deep within me. However, if I look at these verses as God's instruction for me. God's promises to me. If I believe these words to be His Divine words, then I cannot help but look UP and....

Stand firm. In my faith.

Trust. In my Heavenly Father.

and

BELIEVE. That He is fighting for me and will deliver me.

Funny. Our small group is going to a movie together tonight.

What movie?

COURAGEOUS.

Courts re-open Oct 12th. Yes, this Wednesday.
The judge just needs that letter to make Baby "K" officially and legally OUR SON!

On my knees in fervent prayer for an APPROVAL letter.

THIS WEEK.

THANK YOU to all who join me!

HOLD ME TOGETHER

2011-10-03T21:52:00.000-07:00

(scroll to bottom of blog; pause playlist; return here and click play button; enjoy
these words that reflect the promises of God)

Without God holding me together, I am falling apart.

I know He sees me. Even when I cannot see Him.

Or what He is doing.

Some days I feel like I am drowning in the silence.

Sometimes it feels like each "nothing" day takes our Baby "K" a little bit further away from me.

But just when I feel that way, God intervenes....
and reminds me of His presence.

In my life.
And in my son's life.

He is near.

And He holds me together every time. Every day. Every minute.

He is still in control.
He is not surprised by any of this waiting. And

He continues to orchestrate the details of our son's HOMECOMING.

Thank you, Lord, for understanding when I fall apart.
Thank you for giving me your strength when I am weak.
YOU are my hope.

My hope is not in the progress of our adoption.

My hope does not even lie within my son.

YOU. ARE. MY. HOPE.

May you PRETTY PLEASE (with sugar on top!)
bring me to my son.

May you PRETTY PLEASE (with even a cherry on top!)
bring our son HOME.
SOON.

And may you continue to hold me together
each and every day.

A legend of love.

2011-09-30T14:35:00.000-07:00

Okay, so I was waiting to post this so I could include pics, but we just had a flood in our basement (due to a broken water heater) and I don't want to wait any longer. So, here is an update on us without pics! :)

Jeff and I made it home late Sunday night from Scottsdale, AZ. We spent an extended weekend there, where we had a memorial for Papa, Jeff's grandfather (who passed away on Father's Day this year).

It was a good weekend of family and friends sharing in sweet memories of Papa. We are amazed at how MANY lives one man can touch in such a positive way. People from all over travelled to share in this time of celebrating the life of Papa.

What an inspiration.

Papa loved many openly. He blessed many naturally. He encouraged many genuinely. He inspired many to do things beyond their belief in themselves. He lived life fully. He held back nothing, and went forth with such enthusiasm and passion ~ and passed this passion on to so many others.

His love for Grama was so complete. All who knew him quickly knew how very much he adored his bride. She was his diamond. His jewel. And he took care to make sure she knew it. Daily. They would even race to the calendar each morning, to see who could be the first one to write the other a love note on the day's date. This, after 63 years of marriage.

Their love has inspired many. Including my sweet, precious husband. Jeff carries on this legend of love, demonstrated by both of his now deceased grandfathers. He also has his parents' example of true, unconditional, unguarded and genuine love..........

And I am the blessed recipient of Jeff's amazing love. The beautiful generational examples that have so inspired Jeff, have now resulted in our own wonderful marriage. What a precious gift from them to Jeff. And from Jeff to me. And it is my hope and intent, from me to Jeff.

We love you, Papa.

Your legend of love carries on.

May you rest in peace.

TWO "Good News" Days!?!?!?!?

2011-09-21T15:02:00.000-07:00

WOW! I'm so out of practice of getting GOOD NEWS!!!! I am sooooo very THANKFUL to each and every one of you who are holding our son ~ and us ~ up in prayer!!!!! IT. IS. WORKING!!!!!!

We got the GREAT NEWS that the clearance decree from the orphanage arrived at our AWAA agency TODAY!!!!!

I feel like SKIPPING!!!!
{about to go for a run.....I might just SKIP instead!} =)

Kristen said they will deliver the decree to MOWCYA and encourage them to write our recommendation letter soon. PLEASE keep praying the next recommendation letter is an APPROVAL LETTER!!!!!

SOOOOO PRAISING GOD FOR THIS FORWARD MOVEMENT!!!!!!

And praising Him for all of YOU who are traveling alongside of us!!!!!

Jeff and I are going to make our son a "Build-a-Bear" bear tonight in celebration!......so he can hear our voices in our absence!!!!

Every step counts in this journey and we are so excited to be taking forward steps again. I have sooooo longed for this feeling of making progress toward seeing him again, holding him again and bringing. him. HOME!!!!

My-oh-my how GOOD I will sleep tonight!!!!! May you be having precious, precious dreams right now, as I write this, sweet son!!........and may you feel the presence of God in your dreams as well as in your hours awake!

I LOVE YOU, BABY "K".......I LOVE YOU TO THE MOON AND BACK!!!!!

Small ~ but GREAT ~ Step Forward!!!

2011-09-20T15:38:00.000-07:00

This picture pretty much describes how I am feeling right now!

Although not a final step, it is a BIG STEP, nonetheless!!!

After crying several days in a row and feeling totally and utterly depleted; "wait meter" on empty; desperate for some sort of progress toward bringing our son home...........

We received word today that, although the document is not yet in the hands of AWAA, the orphanage has informed AWAA that the clearance decree is complete and on it's way to our agency!

Kristen says they should literally receive the ever-needed clearance decree ANY DAY!!!!

AWAA will then immediately provide this to MOWCYA, who had requested it six plus weeks ago, and we will be "in line" for MOWCYA to re-assess our case.........and prayerfully write us that long-awaited letter of APPROVAL!

Once MOWCYA writes an approval letter, our case will then be brought before the judge once the courts re-open. Word is that the courts should re-open early October (depending on the rainy weather).

If you recall, the judge already approved our case and stated she just needed the approval letter from MOWCYA. Therefore, we are praying, PRAYING, P-R-A-Y-I-N-G that once MOWCYA receives this document, they will be able to write us that letter!!!!

Although we have no real timeline, we are breathing easier just knowing that the needed document is on its way to AWAA! The ball is F-I-N-A-L-L-Y rolling!!!!!!!

After so many weeks of no progress, this news has significantly lightened my heart and refueled my source of hope! THANK YOU, GOD!!! You heard my cry! I felt as though I could not endure even one more day without some sign of forward movement..........and you provided!!!!!

Trusting that our Heavenly Father is STILL IN CONTROL and that He is holding our sweet son in his arms every moment. May He protect this document and its delivery to our agency. May He guide its placement in the MOWCYA office. May it be His will to push our case through with efficiency and ease! May He protect and provide for all of us who got caught in the closures as well as for the others in various stages of their adoption!

May our BABY "K" officially become OUR SON soon upon the courts re-openning!

Please God, PLEASE!!!!!

YELLOWSTONE!

2011-09-18T18:38:00.000-07:00

Well, the weekend after Wallowa Lake was spent helping our friends celebrate their sons' birthdays! Jordan turned 8 and Felix turned 6, and we helped them celebrate Saturday, August 27th. Fun to watch the kiddos play.....and picture our Baby "K" joining in the celebration next year!

The following weekend was Labor Day weekend (Sept 1-4), and a number of us had made reservations for this log home just outside of Yellowstone in Island Park. It was a fabulous four day weekend (we left town on Thursday afternoon) with wonderful friends, a GREAT time in Yellowstone, and a b.e.a.u.t.i.f.u.l. log home!

Out of fourteen of us, eleven of us got the "bug" that Devin had gotten from school. He had since recovered, but we all took our turns experiencing the "joy" of the sick bug. Ironically, we all felt great on Monday.....not one of us was sick!.......but it was travel home day.........

Aside from feeling sick a day or two each, we all managed to have a great time, and it started what we all have agreed will be an annual event! Only next year.....NO SICKNESS!!!!! ;)

Easiest way to share the weekend is through pictures, so here they are...............

Detour/Backroads on way to Yellowstone.

Friends that came with us, The Wernette's.

Picking edible berries, according to our biologist friend, Karie.

Aaahhhh......relaxing in the hot tub.......

Doing the walk around some geysers....
Paige knew I had just gotten sick and said,

"Debbie, I'll hold your hand if you want me to......"
Such a sweet girl.

Me and Paige.

Me and my honey pie.

Devin and Grady.

Grand Canyon of Yellowstone.

Babe and me.

Jeff and Devin.

Geyser Jeff caught "in action" bubbling away.

OLD FAITHFUL!

Ice cream break with Isabella!

Geographical Amazements!

Jayden and his fruit buddy.....

Both of us Feelin' GOOD....on Monday.....the day to travel home.......

THE GANG.

We all thought that our Baby "K" would be joining us on this trip, when we planned back in the Winter. Sad that he wasn't there, physically, but he was definitely there in our hearts! Can't wait to take him along next year!!!!!

Good time. Good friends. Good memories!

WALLOWA LAKE

2011-09-17T18:00:00.000-07:00

What have we been up to during the Court Closures????

Labor Day was Yellowstone (pictures to come) but about two weekends after returning from Ethiopia/Germany, we went to WALLOWA LAKE with Jason, Karie and their two kiddos Felix and Isabella. Allow me to share the weekend with you via pictures......

Firepit. Kind of a cool pic.

Enjoying the fire with Isabella while chatting it up with Karie.

Beautiful hike.

Happy Girl on the hike.

(World's largest tongue!)

Kids made their own teeter totter at the beach.

Jeff's turn.

Karie helping Felix build a damn.

Now THAT's relaxed!

Family at the beach minus one......

Dutch Oven dinner. Enchiladas. YUM!
THANKS, Jason!

nap time. hike wore them out.

silly kids...

Good times. Good fun. Good friends.

{WALLOWA LAKE is the place we have made plans to meet annually with Angela and Darin, once we all have our kiddos home!!! First annual event should be next summer, Ditchens!!!!!}

He is WELL!

2011-09-16T12:58:00.000-07:00

My heart sank when I saw an email in my inbox titled...........

"K***** Health Update".......

Every time and any time I have received an email with that title, it has been to inform us that our sweet baby boy is sick. He has battled multiple upper respiratory infections, several ear infections as well as conjunctivitis.

It is so sad to think of how many bouts Baby K as had with these illnesses! And to think of how many doses of antibiotics he has had to be on. Ugh. But hey ~ when you need 'em, you need 'em, right!!?? Just would have liked him to get his antibiotics here, in the US, in hopes that maybe he wouldn't have needed quite so many doses.

Well, we are THANKFUL to our AWAA doctors who are taking such good care of our son and are grateful that they even have access to such antibiotics to help make him well each time!

Back to the September 7th email.......

I opened it up, anticipating another ear infection or upper respiratory infection, or worse.....only to see these sweet words, "Today our in-country staff reported that K****** is healthy and in good condition. I just wanted to let you know."

THANK YOU, GOD!!! For getting our son healthy and helping him to stay healthy!
THANK YOU, PHYSICIANS!!! For tending to our Baby "K" so thoroughly and wonderfully!
THANK YOU, CAITLIN (our family coordinator)!!! For caring enough to let us know that we had a week with GOOD news of his health!!!!

Caitlin usually only sends an email to update us of sickness ~ and then another one when he is healthy again. We received the email telling us he had overcome his URI and ear infection the week before. THIS email was just to give us peace of mind that he was STILL healthy! I SO needed that ray of sunshine in my week! God knew that I needed that, and Caitlin followed His prompting! What a sweet blessing!

Oh, what it does to our hearts to know that he is HEALTHY!!!
We did not get any email this week.......which means he is STILL healthy!
WOOHOO!!!!!

THANK YOU to each and every one of you who continue to pray for our sweet son!!!! YOU are helping to keep him healthy through the POWER of prayer!!!!

And we cannot THANK YOU enough!!!!

Stay STRONG, our sweet Baby "K!"

Lord, we praise you for watching over our baby. For loving, protecting and providing for our son. We ask you, Lord, to continue to orchestrate the details to get this decree from the orphanage to MOWCYA; to help it result in an approval letter; and that you then guide the approval letter straight into the judge's hands. Without delay. We pray this all happens before the courts re-open. We KNOW you can make this happen, and pray it is Your will! AMEN.

Habakkuk ~ Words to Hold Onto

2011-09-14T21:16:00.000-07:00

Trying to BELIEVE that God IS DOING SOMETHING. That we WILL have our own day! That He will blow our minds and bless our socks off as He finalizes this adoption. I am trying to hold fast to this belief ~ even amidst the silence of this rainy season.

No progress has been made. The orphanage has not yet provided the needed clearance decree for MOWCYA. Therefore, still no MOWCYA letter. The rainy season makes it very challenging to accomplish tasks such as these.

The silence is deafening. And I am growing weary. So, I remind myself of God's infinite POWER and of His ever-loving plan to bring us together as a family.

I remind myself (often daily or even moment-by-moment) of this verse.......

For I am doing something in your own day,
something you wouldn't believe
even if someone told you about it.
~ Habakkuk 1:5, NLT

Melkam Addis Amet!

2011-09-12T15:22:00.000-07:00

Melkam Addis Amet!

(Happy Ethiopian New Year!)

Enkutatash is the first day of the New Year in Ethiopia! This lands on September 12 on our calendar (the Gregorian calendar). Ethiopia retains the Julian calendar, in which the year is divided into 12 months of 30 days each and a 13th month of 5 days (6 days in leap year).

The current year according to the Ethiopian calendar is 2004, which began on September 12, 2011 AD of the Gregorian calendar. Therefore, there is a 7-8 year gap between Ethiopian and US calendars.

Yes, they are celebrating the New Year of 2004 today!!!!!

HAPPY NEW YEAR, DEAR SON!!!!

May this new year bring you much health, happiness, love, provision, and blessings in abundance.......including coming HOME and FOREVER being with YOUR FAMILY!!!!! We LOVE you so SO much more than you could ever know!!!! We pray for you daily and cannot WAIT to have you in our arms once again!!!!!

GERMANY

2011-09-11T19:36:00.000-07:00

We left Ethiopia late Saturday night around midnight, heading back to Frankfurt, where we planned to spend a few days to unwind, soak in the most incredible week we just shared with our son, and take in Germany as a "babymoon."

We rented a car in Frankfurt. Awwww, shucks! The car rental place had to upgrade us from an Audi to a BMW.....drat! Ha! Nice ride. Very nice ride!

THANKS to our dear friends, Kerry and Anna, who were basically our own personal travel agents (Anna lived here for ~5 yrs), we immediately hit the back roads of the German countryside. Our first stop was St Goarshausen, which is on the Rhine River, and we then headed north, along the east side of the Rhine river to Koblenz. We had lunch in Koblenz and quickly learned that English was known by more peeps in Ethiopia than in Germany! They did have an English menu, thank goodness. We then walked around the quaint town before hitting the road again. Germany is so QUAINT!

Beautiful church in Koblenz.

Our destination for our first night was Castle Hotel Auf Shoenburg. Nestled atop a hill, this intimate middle age castle was built in the 10th century and overlooks the Rhine. We arrived and had time to check out the many floors of this spectacular masterpiece before dinner.

I-N-C-R-E-D-I-B-L-E!!!!!

This magical place had many old antiques throughout, carrying with it the history of its ancestors. As guests, we were allowed to inspect every inch of the castle ~ both inside as well as outside on the grounds and fortresses! Here are some pictures of our room.....

My honey in our room

This was the old school room.

Cute window from outside the castle.

Sitting down to a 7 course meal!

We tried to enjoy this amazing dinner that evening, but somehow a seven course meal (after having just left Ethiopia, where we know many people struggle to provide their family ONE MEAL a day), the two extremes left my heart in a quandry.

View from our room after dinner......

I have a thing for doors.....

"Auf wiedersehen, Auf Shoenburg!"

Vineyard.

View of Auf Shoenburg from the vineyard.

After a sweet morning of driving through vineyards just outside of Oberwesel, we headed north again, back toward St Goar. St Goar is where we toured the Rheinfels castle. Well, what was left of it, that is. The ruins were open ground for us to roam. We found many dark tunnels to explore that eventually brought us to its other entrance. I would often be holding onto Jeff's shirt, as I literally could not see a THING, and neither could he! Nothing like having the saying, "see the light at the end of the tunnel" develope literal and real-life meaning! It was great fun to imagine the grand lifestyle of those who once lived in this amazing castle! It made me want to put on a dress with a big hoop skirt! {smile}

After our Rheinfels adventure, we continued north and then west ~ now following the Mosel River to BERG ELTZ Castle. Now this castle made me think of Disneyland! ~ though it is not the one that Disney designed their first castle after (that is in another town). Never tiring of history and castles, we toured this one as well. The guide walked us through and gave us great history of the families that once lived there, and each room was kept much like it was originally created and decorated. {they didn't let us take pics inside of it.....bummer}

Continuing up the Mosel to Kochem, we then crossed the Mosel river and took in the beautiful and serene backcountry/countryside for a couple of hours. The views were breathtaking and the peace of it all quenched our souls. We then came to a place where we had to cross the Rhine by ferry, taking us to Rudesheim. We arrived quite late that evening and were welcomed with complimentary champagne.

Did I mention that our breakfasts in Germany were spectacular? Wow! Both ET and Germany know how to put on a spread for breakfast! Of course I was in heaven, being the breakfast girl that I am, always have been ~ always will be! {smile}

The next day we went on to Heidelberg, where we toured the Heidelberg castle and took in the town. This castle was incredible (of course each castle blew us away!). The hundreds of acres for their garden had walkways and various areas with flowers and structures that were just majestic!

Break time in the courtyard (above and below pics).

This part of the castle struck by lightening and never repaired.

Jeff was feeling pretty poorly by this time, so he could hardly eat anything for dinner, but we did manage to take in some stores and sites and enjoy a relaxed evening together. We spent the night in this town and enjoyed a Starbucks (yes, a REAL Starbucks!) the next morning. After trying out an authentic German pastry shop, we drove to Rothenberg and stayed here for our last two days.

Poor Jeff slept that day while I shopped and took in this quaint town. They have this huge, HUGE Christmas store that has any possible Christmas decoration you could possibly think of! In remembrance of our childhood days, we bought a candle chime to bring home with us. Remember those? The heat from the candle flames gets the fan-like part to slowly rotate..........this one is so precious! It will be so fun to bring this out every year and remember the trip ~ and better yet, the REASON we were in Germany in the first place.....we had just met our SON!!!!!!!

Rothenberg had so much to offer it was fun taking it all in. Jeff was starting to feel better after a two hour nap, so we attended the night watchman's tour ~ where this man dressed as a watchman and gave us a tour of the city while sharing with us it's rich history. Quiet informative and entertaining!

The second day we did more shopping, took in the mideival crime and punishment museum (which creeped me out, truth be known), climbed the look-out tower, and walked the city wall ~ which was the old fortress that soldiers tended to keep the village safe. Here are some snapshots of Rothenberg.....

Entering Rothenberg.

In the courtyard of Gasthof Greifen

(where we stayed ~ WILL go back!)

Center Square.

Our hotel was the green one!

Right in the center of it all!

We visited a beautiful church one of the days.

We said a prayer and lit a candle for Baby K.....

Jeff asked if they had a big beer (thinking liter).

They brought him TWO Liters ~

biggest beer we have ever seen!

View from the tower.

Sweet window that reminded us God was with us.

We bought Baby K a precious teddy bear from a teddy bear specialty shop.

Enjoying the day turn to evening.

YUM!

Pretty picture along one of the entries into the town.

The fortress wall (looking out one of the windows).

Outside The Christmas Shoppe.

How sweet. It was our last night in Germany.

We stopped for a cappuccino, and this is how our waiter made it for us.

PERFECT.

For a trip whose soul purpose centered around

L.O.V.E!

We LOVE you, our sweet little Baby K!!!!!

ETHIOPIA ~ Day 7 (Saturday)

2011-09-06T18:22:00.000-07:00

Wow. I woke up this morning with a HUGE ugly pit in my tummy. I kept trying to stay in communication with my Heavenly Father, as that seemed to be the only thing that could bring my heavy heart peace. I awakened this particular morning even before the rooster and dog!

Both Jeff and I got up earlier than normal this morning. I asked Jeff if he wanted to join me for some "God time" on the rooftop, and he was happy to join me. As we climbed the stairs to the rooftop, we held hands. In silence.

Again in silence, we recorded the Muslim chanting {though it sounded eerie at first, it began to sound calm and serene by our visit's end.....if you didn't think of who they were worshipping, that is} and soaked in the fabulous view. The sunrise was spectacular.

We prayed for Baby K and for the creation of our family, and laid it all at God's feet again that morning. We praised Him for all He the details He had orchestrated to bring us together as a family. And for bringing us to this point of our adoption. We praised Him for passing us with the judge ~ and for all He was doing with MOWCYA to get us that letter. We thanked Him for bringing us to AWAA and for bringing our son to "A" orphanage and then to AWAA's Transition House. SUCH good and genuinely loving care. And cleanliness too.

We asked God for strength to endure the day, knowing it will be our last with our babe for some time ~ and for strength to endure the waiting to bring Baby K home. We asked God to continue to cover our sweet baby boy in His love, protection and provision. Both in our absence as well as after bringing him home. We asked that He might help us ENJOY our last day together and soak in every minute with Baby K, and not let the upcoming "see ya soon" steal from us one second.

He filled us with His peace.

He blessed us with children from KVI (just a few rooftops over from where we stood), who saw us and kept waving to us and trying to vie for our attention, waves and yes.....blown kisses. When they saw me blow kisses to them, they blew some right back to me! Melt. my. heart!!!!

One particular boy "S," kept standing there looking at us. Then he would move to another part of the yard. And wait to see if we would find him and shower him with love and attention from afar. Which we did. This went on for some time, and other precious children joined him. It moved my already tender heart to tears. With one final blown kiss, and one final prayer, we walked downstairs to start our final day in Ethiopia.......

Instead of going to the "Holy Trinity Cathedral," Jeff and I and some of the others from the travel group opted to go shopping. We had made a list before arriving in ET, and though our first shopping adventure was a success, it was a quick one, and we still had items we wanted to get. The other half of the group toured the Cathedral and came back to pick us up so we could all go to lunch together at the Avanti Restaurant.

Because it was a weekend day (Saturday), we could not go to the Transition House until the afternoon. Needless to say, by the time we were heading to our Baby "K," we were more than ready to see him! We rushed right into the infant room and I swiftly picked him right up, bringing him close to me. He was all smiles as I did so.

And then Jeff saw it. The copious amounts of "yuck" oozing from Baby "K's" poor little ear! We showed the nanny right away and she immediately got us to the doctor, who then immediately began cleaning out his ear and giving him medicine. Sweet boy didn't even cry when they cleaned out his ear......it was taking the medicine that brought his tears. My momma's tears filled my eyes just watching him try to be so brave as they cleaned out the gunk. Totally ripped my heart that there was nothing I could do to take his problem away.

Oh, how I bet there are going to be many more of those times of helplessness as we raise our sweet boy. Lord, help us be strong. For our precious babe. Always.

Even though it was obvious Baby "K" had a massive ear infection, he was so giggly, cuddly and interactive with us. We engaged in more "babble play," more pictures and more hugs, cuddles and kisses. He gently fell asleep in my arms as departure time crept near. Yonas and David gave us all extra time with our children this day. I think they could feel our heavy hearts and wanted to give us as much time as we could possibly have this last day with our babes. THANK YOU, Yonas and David!

When we were given the final "it is time. we really must go" Jeff and I walked ever so slowly into the infant room. I gently laid Baby "K" in his crib.......and he immediately began to cry. Not fuss. Full-on cry. I leaned over him and quietly spoke love over him, hoping the sound of my voice would calm him, but it didn't. We just couldn't leave with our son crying, so I swept him back up into my arms.....and he IMMEDIATELY stopped crying. And he nestled right into my chest.

"Wow," Jeff said, "YOU are exactly what he wanted. That is amazing. And beautiful.....Honey, he knows you are his momma!" The whole scene melted my heart for sure. While it broke my heart at the same time. "I know," I replied, "but it breaks my heart that he wants me and I have to leave him.....and we won't be back tomorrow......we don't know when we will be back!"

And the tears came.

I tried so hard to be strong. I tried so hard to remain calm. While my insides were going crazy out-of-control berzerk! I held "K" and softly spoke to him. And prayed {again} over him, as he drifted back to lala land. When I thought he was deep enough asleep, I tried to lay him down again in his crib. He fussed this time, but not a full-on cry. We waited. He continued to fuss. The nannies were there if he needed them.

And we had to go. We had to leave our sweet baby there. In good care, yes. But we could not stay there. We could not be the ones to meet his needs. We could not keep him and bring him home. Nor could we could return tomorrow to shower him with more of our love. And prayers........

.........And I lost it. I completely broke down in Jeff's arms.

I am bawling right now. Typing through a raging river of tears, as I so vividly remember the ache that began that day. And continues today. Typing as I re-live the gaping hole that made itself a home in my heart as we said, "See ya soon, Baby K. We WILL be back. We will see you soon." That hole in my heart that I walk around with daily since leaving Ethiopia. Since leaving our son......

I am amazed at how WHOLE I felt that week, prior to this moment. How beautifully the three of us melded together as a family right from the start. How amazing it felt when they placed Baby "K" in our arms ~ like "We did it! We're here! God, Jeff, me and Baby "K".....Team Marquez. Family."

Jeff kept saying all week how I glowed. How I took to motherhood so naturally. I assured him it was because I was finally "home." I was with my ever-loving husband and we were with our precious, beautiful son. Gifted to us from across the world, by our Heavenly Father. I was finally holding and looking into the face of the baby boy I had waited so long to meet.

I was a mother. But not just any mother........I was Baby K's momma. Just as it was meant to be from the very beginning. My life was FULL.

And now, just days later, we were being asked to say "See ya soon." We were being asked to leave our son, travelling half way across the world. WOW. I have never done anything harder!

And so, with God's help, we boarded the plane to Frankfurt, Germany. Still feeling the beat of our son's heart on mine, his bodyweight on my chest and his sweet little hand on my shoulder.

Unsure of how long until we would return. Unsure of HOW to even survive each day until then.

Yet we were certain of this.........God would hear our cry for Him to cover our sweet son with His love, protection and provision. Sure that in my weakness, I could not survive one day without God's strength uplifting me.

Certain that we knew ~ beyond a shadow of a doubt ~ that this precious little boy was meant to be OUR SON. Our Baby "K"would be HOME. It was just a matter of when.........

Lord, hold all three of us as we await your plan.

ETHIOPIA ~ DAY 6 (Friday)

2011-08-31T17:00:00.000-07:00

Wow. Time was flying by so fast! We were cherishing every single moment with our baby and trying so hard to not focus on what was going to take place tomorrow. We were leaving. U-G-H!

Okay, but I had a talk with myself and I said, "Self, you are still here in Ethiopia with Baby K! Do NOT!! I repeat.....DO NOT waste a single moment of it on worrying about tomorrow!!!! Take in all that you still have left NOW! Today!"

And that is what I tried so hard to do. Soak. in. every. precious. moment.

We went to the Transition House right away in the morning {I so LOVED starting my day like that!}. Our sweets was in a bouncy chair, bright eyed and happy. When he saw me, he smiled big! Love it!!! One of the younger nannies was in the room and she just beamed at me. I think she knew how easily he turned my heart to mush with such a big smile of recognition and joy to see me! {sigh}

We had just laid our blanket on the ground outside and were getting settled in for some more quality family time. He was so HAPPY (then again, when WASN'T this sweet boy happy ~ aside from being tired, poopy or hungry). Our Baby "K" was all giggles, and was excited to play our family babbling game. He quickly learned that if he babbled, "bababababa" to us.......then we would babble, "babababababa" back to him as we came in close to his face and would plant a sweet kiss on his precious face. HE. LOVED. THIS. GAME!!! We were enjoying this sweet enagement of babbling, when all of a sudden a couple of the nannies approached us.

"Please tell me they are kidding!" I pleaded to Jeff......no such luck......no kidding.......for real.......they were wanting to take our Baby "K" to the clinic for x-rays! Right then! Right when we were just starting our family time on our second-to-last day of being with him!

My heart absolutely sank. I wanted him to get the xrays, as the doctor wanted to make sure his lungs were clear, since he had not totally gotten over his upper respiratory infection. I understood the need for the xrays......but at the same point........I DID NOT WANT TO MISS OUT ON OUR LIMITED TIME WITH OUR SON!!!!

The sweet nanny recognized the fear/agony/total distrought/near panic in my face, bless her heart! And she immediately offered to have us join them. Which we were MORE than happy to do! Thank you, Lord! Time in a van and in a clinic far surpassed spending our time at the TH without him! Whew!

So, we climbed into the van with a number of children of various ages and a couple of nannies. I could not help but look at the other children with us, wondering if they were some of the other AWAA family's children!

Okay, so I think I commented on an early post how CRAZY the driving is in ET. Crazy does not cut it, let me tell you! We had so many ~ what I would call ~ "close calls" to getting in an accident, yet our drivers, never flinched. They knew what they were doing and how to maneuver in such chaos. However........

........now sitting in a van full of children and holding our son on my chest as he fell into a deep sleep....(they don't use seat belts in Africa, remember!)........I found myself MUCH more worried for the safety of our son and the other children! Of course, we made it to the clinic safe and sound. When Baby "K" awakened, he was hungry and the nanny gave me a bottle to feed him. Sweet moments. I so LOVE feeing him! No matter WHERE we are! Such connection and bonding! He loved looking at me and holding my finger as he drank from his bottle.......{a little slice of heaven!}.

Well, long story short, they did not do xrays afterall. Good thing we were with him! I would have been so bummed to miss out on time with him for no reason! Ufdah! We were glad to find out that the people were going to re-take xrays, because when they tried to get them the other day, the machine broke down. They thought his did not turn out, but they did! So they spared him unnecessary radiation! Thank You!!!

The driver then took us to lunch and I handed my sweet baby boy to a nanny. {sinking heart inserted here} We met the others in our travel group and enjoyed lunch at the Makush Restaurant. Our tummies were pretty gnarly by now and I was feeling pretty yucky, physically. I wasn't sure if it was a "bug" that had been with me all but two days of the week, or if now, it was just the ickies stirring in me ~ anticipating only one more day with our precious son. Either way, my body wasn't tolerating a whole lot food-wise.

My heart ached throughout the lunch for the quality time we missed out on at the Transition House. Grateful for the clinic, yes. Lonesome for the family fun we could have had if we weren't at the clinic, definitely. OHHHHH......how I could have kissed David and Yonas when they announced we could go back to the TH to be with Baby K after lunch!!!!

WE. GOT. THE. WHOLE. AFTERNOON. WITH. OUR. SON!!!!!

This was SUCH a treat, since we only got to share about 3-4 hours together as a family once-a-day all the other days!!! We were so excited to have more time with him!!!! Now we REALLY soaked up every single extra minute given us!!!!

All the families so enjoyed this extra time with their babes. A truly precious gift to all of us!

Of course, even with this extra bonding time as "the three of us," when it came time to go, we hated to hand our son back to the nanny. Hated it. Never enough time, I guess. Never enough time to soak in his precious expressions. Take in his alertness and intrigue. Shower him with our love. Snuggle him in our arms. Nonetheless, it became time to go. Again. So we did, but this time, with such gratefulness for the extra afternoon spent with him!!!!

Dinner was at the Transition House and Jeff and I began the dreaded packing.

And went to bed with FULL HEARTS for the time spent with "K".......and a foreboding sense of dread for what was coming in the morning.........

Prayers were sent up all night again. For Baby "K." For our momma and daddy hearts. For God's covering over all of us. And the dreaded "See ya soon".........

ETHIOPIA ~ DAY 5 (Thursday)

2011-08-30T15:48:00.000-07:00

DAY 5 in Ethiopia was our "big day".......our.....COURT DATE!!!

As I said last post, Jeff and I prayed together before falling asleep the night before this big day. And I awakened several times throughout the night, feeling as though I was still praying. Does anyone else ever do that? Fall asleep praying and awaken feeling as though your prayers never stopped? I do. Quite often, actually. Especially if something or someone is laid heavy on my heart.

Well this night of restless sleep, our SON was on our heart! I was fervently praying. Though I was also beginning to fear that we were not going to pass court. I began to fear that our MOWCY letter would not be present. Afterall, this was the pattern as of late. This was what we were told to expect.

However, I would "thought-block" such thoughts ~ and replace them with verses that built my faith. Strengthened my ability to continue to BELIEVE. Believe for a miracle. From my God who was the creator of the world. Lover of my soul. My heavenly source of just such a miracle.

I awakened that morning earlier than any other, so I climbed the flights of stairs to the rooftop, and enjoyed another sweet "rooftop experience" with my Heavenly Father (there is a patio on the roof of our guest house that provided me great one-on-one moments with God, while also providing me a serene and amazing view of Addis Ababa). I was there alone. Just me and God. Taking in the view of my son's birth heritage. Feeling God's presence. Feeling Him assure me that no matter what resulted from Court, He still was on the throne. He was still in control of bringing our son home to us!

I could hardly eat breakfast (though it was as delicious as the previous ones), and I felt almost like I was walking through the morning routine without really being present ~ I was still in my head and heart, in fervent prayer, I guess.

We all climbed the stairwell and walked the long narrow hall to the court room. We filed into this medium-sized empty square room. Empty, that is, except for the many others who were there waiting to see the judge as well. I called it "empty" because there was no court stand or anything grand and court-like in it. Just a square room with a few chairs lining the walls. We all entered and, together, awaited our turn to be called before the judge. With so many peeps in this room, it actually became quite warm.

A highlight of the wait was meeting in person, Bridget Sullivan and her family! She is a precious friend from "early AWAA days" {aka.....the first couple of months of us joining the AWAA yahoo group}. Bridget and her husband were adopting Eyob when we started this process, and have since brought him home...and were there for a court date for their two older daughters they are now adopting!!!!! Such a sweet treat to meet them in Ethiopia!

All five families were called before the judge simultaneously ~ us, the Kleins', Boosalis', Seevers', and the Masons'. We all sat down before the judge (who sat at a regular-looking desk) and she asked us general questions that we all answered yes/no to as a group. We were in there less than five minutes, and she told all of us that "All things look good to me, however, I need the MOWCYA letter for each family. They are one month behind on their letters. As soon as I receive those letters, you will have passed."

That was it! We were done. Grateful for "passing" according to the judge, we were all celebrating the passing of this step TOGETHER!!! Now, we all just needed God to move BIG on all of our behalf and bring in those letters before court closures! This brought us all to our knees, as we knew we only had sixteen days left before the courts closed......and the judge had just told us that MOWCYA was one month behind!

"Nothing is impossible with God!" Luke 1:37

Court took long enough that we were unable to do the coffee factory tour that AWAA had planned for us to do. So, we went to lunch at the Amsterdam restaurant. I was so overjoyed that the judge did not see any issues with ANY of the familie's cases! Praise God! However, if I were to be honest, there was also a part of me that was disappointed that we did not pass court.

He was not yet "officially" OUR SON.

It kind of felt like we had just gone to the hospital, thinking "this is it!" Thinking that Baby "K" was going to be "delivered" to us today! And being sent home.........after being told, "It is close to time, but not quite time."......"False alarm".........."These are just Braxton Hicks contractions"..........

The judge sent us away with her APPROVAL!!!!! Such GREAT "contractions" to be experiencing! We were getting so close we could begin to feel the reality of this baby officially becoming our son!

He SO was already our son in our hearts......nothing a judge would say could alter that! I just wanted to celebrate the JOY that the Ethiopian courts acknowledged this fact too! So, the wait continued.......

After lunch, we were able to then go to the Transition House and spend the afternoon with our children!!! It was so special to go into OUR Baby "K's" infant room, swoop him up into my arms, and snuggle him close ~ knowing that although we did not get all of the good news we had hoped for, we DID get good news! And we were one HUGE step closer to finalizing this precious adoption!!!!

We had an extra-special day with Baby K that afternoon. And when it came time to leave, I struggled to place him back into his crib. Even though he was sound asleep in my arms. I just loved feeling him breathe. Watching him sleep. Feeling his heart beat next to mine. Holding him close. We had come so far in this adoption, and I didn't want to lay him down. Not just yet. So I didn't. Until it was absolutely time to go. The van was leaving. Then, Jeff and I placed him in his crib and watched him remain deep in his slumber. Only then were we able to quietly tip-toe out of his room. Until tomorrow........

After sharing the afternoon with our beautiful babe, we went back to the Transition House. Boy, were we tired! The emotions and previous long night with little sleep was catching up with me! I "took a nap" and woke up with 10 minutes to get ready for our "Ethiopian Traditional Dinner."

Great food ~ though Jeff's and my tummy was so upset we could hardly eat anything. We weren't sure if we were actually sick, but our bellies were definitely upset after about day 3 and thereafter..... The Ethiopian dancing was unlike anything I had ever seen before! As a physical therapist, I could not kinematically make sense of how these people were moving that way! Especially the men! C.R.A.Z.Y!!! I would post a video, but I hate to ruin the surprise for anyone. You will be amazed. Trust me!

What a great night this was! Here are some photos of that evening.......

We ate dinner (front row seats!) while they entertained us

with Ethiopian traditional singing, music and DANCING!

Close-up view of some of their instruments.

This was my dinner on a Mesob table.

More dancing ~ love the colorful dresses!

And men's skirts.

Okay, so this doesn't quite capture how FAST this woman

was shaking her head in circles! I'm talking Crazy amazing!

David and Abram ~ our drivers who took us everywhere all week!

OH! How this SO doesn't even TOUCH the

crazy dance moves this guy has!!!!

After this night of FUN, we all went back to the Transition House and pretty much went to bed.

One full day.

One blessed day.

One huge step closer to bringing our son HOME!!!!

THANK YOU, GOD!!!!!

ETHIOPIA ~ DAY 4 (Wednesday)

2011-08-23T17:55:00.000-07:00

Okay, so I got wrapped up in our baby for the remainder of our stay in ET, and then news of not passing court came quickly upon our return home.........so I never got to share the remainder of our trip with you! Sorry for the interruption. Hope you still want to hear the remaining details! Besides, I want to record it ALL for our family memories! So here goes.....

DAY 4 was Wednesday, July 20, 2011.

Because it was a week day, we got to see Baby K in the morning. I LOVED being able to begin my day holding our son!!! It was so sweet ~ when we got to the Transition House, I went right into the infant room to get Baby K. He was in his crib with his head turned to the side, half awake, half asleep. As I leaned over the crib and softly spoke his name, he immediately turned his face to mine and gave me a great big smile!!! Melt. my. momma. heart!!!!!

I quickly swooped him up and never let him go, aside from the times Daddy got to hold him, of course! {smile} Some of the older girls came over to swoon over Baby K and we took pictures of them lovin' on him. I wish that I could share the photos, but we are not suppose to, for protection of the children.

This was the day we got to shower other AWAA adoptive family/friend's children with love! We took photos of them to send to the children's families, as we know all-to-well the pure JOY of receiving pictures when you cannot be with your child in person!!!! These kiddos made us laugh and giggle. We are soooo excited for each and every one!!!

We also got to meet the TH doctor this day. What a precious lady! She SO cares about our children! We were impressed with how thorough her report of K's health was. She let us know how many colds, ear infections, and upper respiratory infections he has had and how each one was treated. Poor baby has already had the chicken pox. K still had an intermittent cough, and she told us that she recommended an x-ray to rule out pneumonia. She assured us we would have the results before we left, which we did, and it was negative, thank goodness.

We thanked the doctor for all she was doing to care for Baby K. She told us that it was God's work and that they pray over every child, "Really.....every child.....we pray over each and every one." We got a photo with her, so we can always remember the angel who doctored our son in his first months. Boy, do Jeff and I feel BLESSED that we are with such an amazing agency and that our son is in such amazingly capable and loving hands ~ both the doctor as well as the nannies!!!

We again enjoyed sharing treats and stickers with the children at the TH today. I was again amazed at the pure excitement over simple toys. They were plastering the stickers all over their faces, hands, and arms. One sweet girl, even came over and gently placed one on K's forehead. Precious.

The afternoon was lunch at Lucy's and then on to the Museum. Jonas was our "tour guide" and he did a fabulous job of revealing to us the history of Ethiopia. The present-day museum is actually in the large home of a past king. Historical items were all about and we were able to tour his bedroom as well as his wife's {they did not sleep together}. It was a fascinating tour that sparked within us a desire to understand even more of ET's history so that we could one day share the stories with Baby K.

Here are some pictures from this day:

RANDOM PICTURES FROM OUR GUESTHOUSE ROOFTOP:

THIS is the rooster that "greeted" us every morning at 5:30am!

Yes, this is SCAFFOLDING! You'd never see ME walking this,

even if it was to earn some money! Schnikers!

PICS FROM LUCY RESTAURANT:

There were various statues in a pretty area

in the center of the restaurant, open to the outside

My dear BFF from Georgia, Anna; her sweet son, Cooper; me.

Mark being the funny man he is.

Mark and Cimbrey Brannan; Jeff and Katie Seevers; Megan and Dusty Snyder

Part of our AWESOME Travel Group!

Aliya (Snyders' daughter); Riley (Dreyfus' daughter); Tim and Anna Dreyfus

Dinner was at the Guest House, providing us with more opportunity to connect with our wonderful travel group families.

We went to bed this night, anticipating our big Court Date the next day!!! Jeff and I prayed together before going to bed, asking God to cover our Court Date. Asking that it be His will to let that MOWCYA letter be there, and allowing our adoption of Baby K to be official and final. I fell asleep continuing in prayer.........

Wait.

2011-08-18T14:46:00.000-07:00

Desperately, helplessly, longingly, I cried.
Quietly, patiently, lovingly God replied.
I pled and I wept for a clue to my fate,
And the Master so gently said, "Child, you must wait".

"Wait? You say, wait! " my indignant reply.
"Lord, I need answers, I need to know why!
Is your hand shortened? Or have you not heard?
By Faith, I have asked, and am claiming your Word.

My future and all to which I can relate
hangs in the balance, and YOU tell me to WAIT?
I'm needing a 'yes', a go-ahead sign,
or even a 'no' to which I can resign.

And Lord, You promised that if we believe
we need but to ask, and we shall receive.
And Lord, I've been asking, and this is my cry:
I'm weary of asking! I need a reply!

Then quietly, softly, I learned of my fate
As my Master replied once again, "You must wait.
"So, I slumped in my chair, defeated and taut
and grumbled to God, "So, I'm waiting.... for what?"

He seemed, then, to kneel, and His eyes wept with mine,
And he tenderly said, "I could give you a sign.
I could shake the heavens, and darken the sun.
I could raise the dead, and cause mountains to run.

All you seek, I could give, and pleased you would be.
You would have what you wan t~~ but, you wouldn't know Me.
You'd not know the depth of My love for each saint;
You'd not know the power that I give to the faint;

You'd not learn to see through the clouds of despair;
You'd not learn to trust just by knowing I'm there;
You'd not know the joy of resting in Me
When darkness and silence were all you could see.

You'd never experience that fullness of love
As the peace of My Spirit descends like a dove;
You'd know that I give and I save.... (for a start),
But you'd not know the depth of the beat of My heart.

The glow of My comfort late into the night,
The faith that I give when you walk without sight,
The depth that's beyond getting just what you asked
Of an infinite God, who makes what you have LAST.

You'd never know, should your pain quickly flee,
what it means that "My grace is sufficient for Thee."
Yes, your dreams or your loved one overnight would come true,
But, Oh, the Loss! If I lost what I'm doing in you!

So, be silent, My Child, and in time you will see
that the greatest of gifts is to get to know Me.
And though oft' may My answers seem terribly late,
My most precious answer of all is still, "WAIT."

by Russell Kelfer

shared by a fellow AWAA adoptive momma, Brandy!

FINALLY!.....continuation of our time in Ethiopia.....next blogposts!!!

Giveaways and Helping Other Adoptive Families!

2011-08-17T15:48:00.000-07:00

Pitter Patter is having another GIVEAWAY to mark their NINE MONTHS of waiting for their referral!!! She makes such amazing things ~ and yes! THIS is the wonder-girl who made my pink/zebra Africa shirt so many of you have complimented!!! Anyway, check out her GIVEAWAY and other creative things she makes to help raise funds for their adoption by clicking HERE!!!!

OH,and guess what I got in the mail today!?!? THIS!!!

I can't believe I actually WON something! And get this ~ purple is my favorite color! Only God could arrange for her to draw my name for the PURPLE cup and necklace! Yeah, He hasn't forgotten me. Not by a long shot!!! Thanks, Kelly!!! LOVE the cup and necklace, and LOVE to be able to help you in some small way to bring home your child from Korea!

This family has a GREAT line of things with the "Got Love? Adopt." theme. Shirts, bags, these cups, and they have the magazine necklaces too! Check out their fundraiser items HERE!

And let's remember our friends, Rick and Connie!!! They are still gathering items for their big GARAGE SALE this Friday and Saturday!!! All the proceeds will go toward bringing home their daughter form Ethiopia!!! You can bless them by donating items for their sale, and/or volunteer to help set up or take down each day!!! And if you are not local, you could bless them by praying that God blesses their sale!

So FUN to see God moving families toward their children and children to their families!!! I stand in awe each time I watch Him bring a family together from half way around the world! {shaking my head in pure amazement!} And to see Him provide each family with the funds to adopt is yet another opportunity for me to remember God's sweet faithfulness!

LOVE witnessing such miracles!!!