Making sugar cookies.

The kids got a new tether ball set which was a big hit with everyone. Here are Tyler and Zach duking it out.

Labels: Adoption, christmas

Labels: Adoption, Advent, birthdays, christmas

Yesterday the long awaited Drivers license arrived and Zach and I went down to USCIS in L.A. to get his fingerprint appointment and clear up what else was holding up our extension approval. It seems that the man who was processing our extension did not see Zachary's name in the original home study. As a result he thought this was some new kid we had just thrown in the mix, and that is why they were requesting an entirely new home study. I asked for my file and then showed him where Zachary was mentioned and talked about. He apologized repeatedly and then gave us an appointment for today for Zach to have his fingerprints taken. He said he should receive the results early next week and would process our extension as soon as possible so our trip is not delayed. Yippee!! Please pray all goes well from here on out.

It seems Zach's drivers license was delayed because there was another person with his same name that had several out of state tickets that were not paid. After several days on the phone they finally realized it was not my Zach and they released his license.

It just seems that we were not meant to make the Visa appointment on January 5th. I have no idea why, but I KNOW that God does. We are leaving on Sunday, January 17th on the journey of a lifetime. Exactly one month from today I will lay eyes on my beautiful babes for the first time. We are all so excited!

My friend Missy is in Ethiopia right now picking up her sweet little girl. She took presents for Levi and Amelia and is going to love on them for me. Of course, she will also take some pictures for me. I can't wait to hear all she has to say about them.

Thanks for all the prayers and words of encouragement I have received lately. Our entire family appreciates them more than you could ever know!

ETHIOPIA, HERE WE COME!

Labels: Adoption

Behold the cuteness.....
My girl is sitting up!!

Labels: Adoption

At times through our adoption journey I have had doubts. Could I love a child who I did not give birth to as much as I love my biological kids? Should we risk bringing a child into our home who could potentially disrupt the entire dynamic of our family? How will we bridge the language barrier? What if we just don't like each other?

In the dark moments when the enemy invades my conscience these are the things I ask myself.

Then I feel guilty.

When we first started on this journey, over two years ago, I prayed to our Heavenly Father that he would bring us the children that were meant for OUR family. I asked him to prepare their hearts for us and our hearts for them. I asked that he would allow me to have the same feelings for my adopted children as I feel for my biological children.

You know what?

He has.

I look at the pictures of Levi and Amelia and my heart swells with love. I KNOW they are OUR CHILDREN. The ones God has picked out for our family.

The more I learn about them, the more I stare at their pictures, the more I love them. A love that could only come from our Heavenly Father.

At times I complained about how long it was taking for us to complete this journey. Now, as always, I can see God's hand in the timing. Our other children are so ready to welcome Levi and Amelia into our home. I'm not so sure that was true six months ago.

Last night Samantha had her Christmas piano recital. The students had to get up in front of the audience and place an ornament on the Christmas tree and make a wish for someone out loud. She made a wish for her new brother Levi and her little sister Amelia. I didn't know she was going to do that, but it blessed my heart that she did.

The children talk excitedly to their friends and others about their new brother and sister. They carry pictures around to show others, and are genuinely happy we will now be a family of 9.

Don't get me wrong. I am not going into this with stars in my eyes. I know their will be challenges and some adjustments that need to be made once we bring them home. However, isn't that what happens whenever you bring a new baby home? I think what God has taught me is that all change requires adjustment. He has been reassuring me that everything will be fine if I just trust in him.

I like to worry. Something I am working on. My latest worry has worked out to be just one more way God has showed us we are walking in His will for our lives.

My boys play travel baseball through an organization that is run by ex-major league players. It is a great organization and I love it because it is just not some Dad running the team. There is none of the politics that goes on with regular baseball leagues (if your kid plays club sports you know what I am talking about) and we have loved watching our oldest son play for them over the years. Now it is Garrett's turn to start playing for them, however, I was worried. We think Levi is closer to 9 than 7 and if he ends up liking baseball he might want to play for this organization also. Their is no way we could afford to pay for two kids to play. It is a little pricey. For that reason I had been asking Dave to not let him play right now. Lets just see what happens.

Well, last night at the piano recital we saw the head of this organization. It seems his daughter had just started taking piano lessons and this was their first recital.

This gentleman takes Dave aside and tells him that if Levi decides he likes baseball that he can play for their organization for as long as he wants for FREE.

Free!

Another one of God's blessings just fell from heaven and landed squarely in our laps.

Not only that, but his wife then tells me that she has all these little girl clothes she would love to give us for Amelia. She tells me that her girls had so many clothes they hardly ever wore something twice and she had been hanging onto the clothes not knowing what to do with them.

God's Blessings. They are abundant.

Labels: Adoption, faith

All of the warm wishes and kind words that were written after we passed court were such a blessing to our family. Thank you from the bottom of my heart. I was truly touched.

Yesterday my sister and niece had an adoption shower for our family. We received lots of things for the kids. Levi got a brand new bike from a neighbor as well as a cool Star Wars blanket. People were so kind and we feel so blessed. I can't wait to put Amelia in all her cute new clothes!

I would share some photo's except I cant find my cable to download them to the computer. My life is kind of crazy right now. Paige and Amelia's room is torn apart and all the contents are in the upstairs hall due to the paint and wallpaper that has just been put in there.

Zachary's drivers license still has not come. Don't get me started on trying to deal with the DMV. Ugh. Supposedly we should get it this week. Remember, he has to be fingerprinted before they will give us our updated approval? I'm feeling a little sick to my stomach knowing this could delay our going to pick the kids up in January. Still trying not to freak out, however, the battle may be lost on that front if the license is not in the mailbox tomorrow. Prayers would be greatly appreciated regarding this situation.

I am trying to make a little photo book for my friend Missy to take to Levi in Ethiopia next week. It is really hard to pick out a picture of yourself when you know this will be the first image your child has of his new mommy. Another thing I am stressing myself out over. Pretty ridiculous, right?

I am so happy that Missy will be with the kids over Christmas and able to give them a few small gifts from us. She will also be able to take pictures which will be wonderful.

So, basically I will be packing and planning and stressing for the next six weeks. I am sooo excited!

Can I tell you a secret Internet friends?

Don't tell my kids but I have not bought one Christmas gift for them yet. This is so out of character for me. I usually am done early. The kids asked why there wasn't anything under the tree yet. You know, like for Grandma or ANYONE? I just sort of evaded the question, not wanting to lie and all.

I guess I'll try and get a little shopping done this week. Maybe there are better sales the longer you wait. One can only hope.

Labels: Adoption, christmas

Our court date is almost here. Yippee!

I have been praying for a picture of our son smiling. He looked so sad in his referral pictures and he especially, for some reason, has been weighing heavily upon my heart. I so wanted to here that he was happy and adjusting well.

My prayers were answered when my adoption friend, Elisa, sent me these words about the children upon her return from Ethiopia with her beautiful daughter on Monday.

Hello Julie,

Here are your pictures as promised. I have to tell you that Getaneh is absolutely so sweet! The first day I was at HOH, he came straight up to me and played in my hair and stroked my arm. As if he was mesmerized by a fluffy American...lol! Such a sweet kid and very tall! Tigist was in a baby room having tummy time with about 7 other babies. She looked very healthy! She was a little timid of me, but was very comfortable with the nannies!

She sent some wonderful new pictures of the children, and guess what? Yes, our son had a huge smile on his face.

God is so good!

********************************************************************************
Today is World AIDS Day. Go visit Mary and read her wonderful post.

Labels: Adoption

My stomach feels like it did when I was a child on Christmas Eve. I know something good is coming and I just don't want to wait!

I went to Toys R' Us last night and did some shopping to occupy my mind. I feel so guilty because I am not in the mood for the shopping/gifts part of Christmas. When I was checking out I made the cashier void my order, not once but twice, because I had changed my mind about what I wanted to buy. I am sure she thought I was a psycho. I then go to Target to buy a Yankee Candle to make the house smell pretty and my credit card is denied. For a $26.78 purchase. What the heck? Seems when I had the cashier void out my order it red flagged my credit card. Chase called Dave to make sure it wasn't stolen. Never a dull moment around here.

Last night was the official start of the Advent Season (always starts the 4th Sunday before Christmas). Two years ago we read Jotham's Journey, last year it was Bartholomew's Passage, and this year we are finishing up the Trilogy with Tabitha's Travels.

We make it a fun family time before bed and always have lots of good snacks to go along with the reading. Last night Paige did my hair while we read. Don't I look lovely?



I think all that shopping did me in! Although, Dave looks happy and it's a good bottom shot of the dog furiously wagging her tail. (Photography by Paige)

Labels: Adoption, Advent, christmas

I can't believe that next week at this time we will know if Amelia and Levi are officially a part of our family. Friday is the big day ( it will be Thursday night here in the U.S. when the court proceeding are actually going on). They are already firmly planted in my heart but it will be so nice to know that the Ethiopian government agrees and they are our children "officially".

Dave is upstairs painting Paige and Amelia's room. We are decorating it with lady bugs and dragon flies. We found the cutest wallpaper boarder. I can't wait to show you all when it is done.

Next Saturday my family is giving us an Adoption Shower. I feel so blessed to have so many people who are supporting our decision to adopt. This afternoon one of our neighbors called us from Toys r Us and asked if it was OK if they bought Levi a bike? How nice is that. I have been weepy all day thinking how loved our children are going to be.

I really feel like I am pregnant. My hormones are running crazy and I cry about everything. I hope I can get through the shower next week without totally losing it.

One things for sure....Friday I will be crying either way. I just hope and pray they are tears of joy and not frustration. Will you join me in praying Levi and Amelia home this week?

Labels: Adoption

Labels: Adoption, Family Fun, holidays

The week so far:

Monday: Get a letter from USCIS stating they cannot process our one time extension of our I-171H until we have our now 18 year old son fingerprinted by the FBI. They also state that we will need a completely new home study. What? At the bottom of the form their is information about people that do not belong in our family. It seems they have our paperwork mixed up with another family.

I can totally understand why Zach has to be fingerprinted, although, we thought it would not be an issue because our petition was excepted a week before he officially turned 18. I talked with our social worker and she also does not understand why we would need a completely new home study. We have emailed, faxed, called, etc. and can get no one to answer our questions.

Tuesday: Decide to have Zach go down and have the live scan fingerprints done that are needed for our social worker to update our home study. Oops, can't do that, as my child has lost his drivers license!!!

Wednesday: All government offices closed.

Thursday: Send Zach down to DMV, where he waits in line for three hours to get a new drivers license. They give him a temporary and tell us the new one will arrive within two weeks. Two Weeks??? Eeeks.

Basically, we cannot take care of this situation until he gets his new drivers license. It is possible we will pass court and not be able to travel because the paperwork will still not be complete.

I want to cry!

Please, please pray that we get his new driver's license in a few days. I know that if we storm the doors of heaven our Heavenly Father will not ignore us.

I have talked with our local Congressman and he has assured me that once we pass court he will do everything in his power to expedite the paperwork. We just need to get Zach's fingerprints done so the process can start.

I am really trying to stay calm, but my insides feel just sick over this whole situation. I am so mad at myself for not looking at all the paperwork more carefully and not catching this mistake a month ago.

I know our children are being well cared for right now. I just don't want anything to keep me separated from them one moment longer than I have to be.

Thanks for your prayers my friends. You are the best.

Labels: Adoption

My mom turns 90 next week. So, besides all the excitement over our court date and trying to get the house organized and ready for two new additions, we decided to throw my mom a giant celebration.

Because, you know, we have nothing else going on.

Seriously, I love my mom so much, and am thrilled to have this party for her. However, the timing, it could have been a little better.

The party is at our house. Tables and chairs have been delivered. Catering ordered. Cake ordered. Etc. Etc. Etc......

My brother and sisters have been a huge help getting everything ready. It has just been a much larger undertaking than I had originally thought.

We are expecting around 90 people. Please pray for no rain. There is no way I can put all those people in my house.

We went and had our hair done.


Samantha modeling her new do.

Our sweet friend Shauna cuts our hair. Paige brought her giraffe for a quick trim too!

Very intently watching Shauna do her magic on Mr. Giraffe.


Doesn't he look great.

Our friends have been so fantastic to us during this adoption journey. Samantha and I both had our hair washed and styled plus our eyebrows waxed. Shauna charged us $20.00. It was the "adoption" special apparently. Yes, we are very blessed.

Well, it is 5:00 a.m. and I am off to Walmart to pick up a few extras for the party tomorrow. I'll post pictures after I take a long nap tomorrow evening.

Labels: Adoption, Family Fun

December 4th is our day!

Yahoo!!

I could be holding my babies in January!!!

I am so so happy!

Labels: Adoption

*disclaimer: if you are a male reader you may want to skip this post. I'm just sayin.

At times, the adoption journey can be frustrating. And long. And expensive. And faith building. And completely wonderful!

Yesterday I had a new experience to add to our adoption journey.

While having my yearly "woman's" exam my cell phone began to ring. I ignored it. A few moments later the phone began to ring again. The doctor tells me that she is going to grab it as it might be one of the kids. OK, fine, I think.

I answer the phone with my annoyed voice really not wanting to speak to anyone while I am in the dreaded stirrups. It is not my kids. It is officer Johnson from the Los Angeles office of United States Customs and Immigration Services office. He wanted to inform me that they had our extension ready to go but were waiting on our updated home study to finish processing it. I told him I understood this and we were waiting for our updated finger prints so I could send it to him. He was very nice and I was extremely impressed that they would take the time to call me.

Two thumbs up for L.A. U.S.C.I.S..

However, the next time I talk with them I would prefer to not have my feet three feet in the air and a cold metal object being probed inside of me.

He gave me lots of information that I should have written down, but alas, I did not have a pen on me. When my doctor asked me who that was I got to giggling so hard I could hardly answer. However, when I did, we both had a good laugh about it.

After I got the call from Officer Johnson I received an email from our social worker saying that they had received our fingerprints report from the state. It only took 9 days! Thank you Lord for answered prayer. She is sending the report to us overnight so I can send it to USCIS tomorrow. I am hoping Officer Johnson gets it and processes it asap.

So, we are still waiting for our court date and hopefully we will hear something in the next week. I can't wait to hold that new I-171H in my hands so I will know that nothing can stop us from going and getting our kiddo's once we pass court. Amen to that!

What do you think Officer Johnson would think if I had told him what I was doing as we talked? Poor guy probably would have had a heart attack!

Labels: Adoption

I had so much fun this weekend shopping for crib bedding and buying little girl clothes. We planned decor for the room the girls will share. I am going to go and buy paint today and start the makeover this week.


My fabulous friend Roxanne and her hubby Terri are giving us this crib.

Isn't it pretty? They are also giving us the mattress they bought. Neither piece has every been used. I love the drawer underneath for blankets, etc.. What a blessing this is for our family!

I bought this cute ladybug bedding and was so excited when I saw it because Paige has been telling me she wanted her room decorated with butterflies and ladybugs. This is perfect!

By the way our beautiful baby girl will be named Amelia Tigist. We are keeping her Ethiopian name as her middle name.

Our son will be named Levi Getaneh. Again, both the name his Dad and I picked for him, plus his Ethiopian birth name.

I also did a lot of thinking about Levi this weekend. I almost bought him some clothes but I am waiting for some updated measurements first. I had a very strong urge to buy some trucks and cars but my niece who was shopping with me stopped me. They are giving us an adoption shower next month and I think they want the privilege of buying him a few things first.

Our children are so loved by our entire extended family already. We are all so anxious to get them home so they can be with us forever.

Levi will share a room with Garrett. It is the room that all three boys share right now. We are going to move our two teen boys down to the office and give the two younger boys there own room. I told Garrett we will wait until Levi is home to repaint, etc. so they can pick out decor together. That should be lots of fun!

Unfortunately, I am loosing our office school room but I am trying to think of some creative ways to put the stuff (and when you homeschool you have lots of stuff!) around the house. I definitely need to fit in some more bookshelves around. I'm sure it will all work out.

I am hoping that after the kids are home and settled we can convert our third car garage into the school room/office. That would work out great. I just need to save the $$$$$$ to get that done.

Amelia and Levi, we can't wait until you are home! Praying hard this week to hear about a court date!

Labels: Adoption, kids

If I want to make my children really happy I show up in the morning with a fresh box of donuts. Its amazing the giant smile the treat of a sprinkle donut can produce.

I have been feeling like my children lately. Blessed by so many in ways that I am sure the giver was really unaware of. It has made me realize how powerful a kind word or a smile really is. I think at times we all tend to forget this.

Through our adoption journey we have been blessed beyond measure. Our family and friends are supportive and excited about our new family members. Even those who, I am sure, think we are CRAZY have been overall supportive and loving.

We have had family members offer to throw us a shower (a new baby in the family, yeah!), buy our new son toys and clothes, paint rooms or help us get ready in any way possible, some have given us money to help pay for our expenses and others have just been there when I needed to vent my frustrations at this whole process. No one has said "I told you so.". Love has surrounded us.

A few days ago I got an email from my friend, Roxanne, saying that they had a brand new crib and crib mattress they would love to bless us with. They ended up adopting an older child and had no use for the crib. What a blessing to our family! She had no idea we were in need of these items, but God knew. I know this family has been praying for our children as we prayed for their adorable son Eric before he came home.

In the past I have been much more comfortable being the one blessing someone. It is hard for me to receive. However, I now understand that I was withholding the joy from our friends and family by not letting them bless us. God has answered our prayers by sending his followers to do his work in our lives. How dare I try and block that work!

So, I am learning to be a better receiver. Feeling so blessed and awe struck as I look at our journey and see how Jesus has truly been with us for this entire trip. I read my journal and prayer requests over this past 18 months and marvel at how prayers were answered that I didn't even realize.

I'm not really sure where I wanted this post to go. Just that I wanted to remind us all how easy it is to really bless someone. It doesn't take a lot of money or time. A warm word of encouragement and a smile goes so far.

My children's faces light up when I happen by them with a encouraging word for no reason but just because I love them. When my children come up and give me a big hug, just because, I am also blessed. It can change a bad day into a good day in a moment.

Have you blessed someone with a warm smile today? If not, go now. You won't be sorry you did.

Labels: Adoption, faith

So, we are waiting for a court date. I so want the children to be home by Christmas but I know many miracles would have to happen for that to become a reality.

One of the families at our agency, who got a referral right before court closure in July, was notified on Monday that they had a court date on Friday, yesterday. I just got an email that they passed. How wonderful for them that after waiting all summer they could get a wonderful blessing like this so quickly? I am also thrilled they passed because they have said they will take some new photo's of our kiddo's for us and check in on them for me. Our little guy looks so sad in all his photo's. I really need someone to lay eyes on him and give me a report on how he is adjusting. That truly would be a blessing to this mama's heart.

Early last week I almost had a heart attack when I looked at our "golden ticket" which in the adoption world is your I-171H document issued by USCIS. The approval is good for 18 months, and you cannot adopt a child (from anywhere) without it. Ours was set to expire on October 10th, so when we requested that our age range be increased a few months ago I asked that they also give us our one time free extension on this document. This is a $650.00 piece of paper and believe me, no one wants to pay this fee twice.

Well, when I received our amended approval with our new age requests approved I must not have looked at the paper really carefully. This was during the time that we lost our first referral and emotions were running high. I had to copy our approval last week and when I looked closely at the document I realized they had not processed our extension. Just the age change. Our approval had EXPIRED. You cannot bring an orphan into this country without that approval! I FREAKED OUT!

Now, as I stated previously you are allowed a one time free extension if you request it BEFORE the expiration date. Ours was already more than a week over due. I wanted to cry, and I did.

I spoke with our social worker at our agency and she talked me down off the ledge. She said the approval has nothing to do with us getting a court date as it was current when we got our referral. However, we would not be able to travel to pick up the children until we got a new approval.

I called USCIS in Los Angeles and amazingly (thank you Lord!) actually got someone on the phone. I told him what had happened and how I was panicked we would not be able to travel and pick up our kids. He was very nice and told me to overnight our request for an extension and he would try and get it through without charging us the fee again.

However, there was one problem. Because our approval had lapsed we had to have our fingerprints redone by the state before our home study agency could give us an updated home study. Something we had to send with our new request.

So, I overnighted the documents to the officer I spoke with explaining that the home study update would follow soon. This all happened last week. We got an appointment for Monday morning to get our fingerprints redone and were in and out of the building in 25 minutes. The girl who took our prints said that results have been taking anywhere from 2-30 days to come back. Believe me I have been on my knee's praying for the two day turn around. Everything else is ready in our update, but they cannot give it to me until they receive news that we have not turned into wanted child molest*rs in the past 18 months.

Here is the real deal. Once I send our home study to USCIS they will process our request and then send us a new "golden ticket". However, they then need to cable our approval to the visa office in Addis Abba, Ethiopia. This can take a few weeks.

If we pass court and are given a Visa appointment in Addis before all this happens WE CANNOT TRAVEL. To say I am a little stressed over this fact would be a grave under statement. I don't want anything to stop us from getting our kids as soon as possible. I am so mad at myself for not looking at that piece of paper sooner, however, I am trying to show grace to myself for a change and not beat myself up to much.

The adoption process is a great faith builder. If God wants those children to be a part of this family he will take care of it. He is a big God and no "golden ticket" is going to stand in his way. Prayers would be appreciated for a speedy resolution to this paperwork glitch. We will get the approval, no doubt. I just want it to be quickly so we have no delays.

Labels: Adoption

Labels: Adoption, baby stuff

A few days ago I gave Paige a picture of her new Ethiopian brother and sister to have for her very own. She was very excited, and yet, she kept looking at the pictures a little skeptically.

I asked her what was wrong.

She very seriously stated to me that she did not think that this could be her baby sister.

Why, I asked?

Well, my sister is suppose to be brown and this sister is peach colored.

I almost fell off my chair laughing.

You see, our children are not real dark. I hadn't really thought about this fact but obviously Paige was concerned.

I explained to her that people in Ethiopia have all different shades of skin. Some of the people have darker skin and some lighter. Her sister just happened to be lighter.

She still wasn't so sure, but then I told her I was sure that this was the sister God was sending her.

She seemed fine after that.

Yesterday during the P.E. class she goes to on Thursday mornings I heard her talking to one of the little boys in the class.

"Do you remember I told you about my new brown skinned sister that is going to come and live with me?"

"Oh, yeah", said the boy.

"Well", said Paige "She isn't brown anymore, now she is peach."

"Cool" said the little boy, seeming to understand exactly what she was saying.

And off they ran to play on the swings.

Labels: Adoption, kids

Feeling a little stressed:

Waiting for the documents to officially accept our referral. They were suppose to be overnighted yesterday but still haven't arrived.

Trying to plan a 90th birthday party for my mom with my sisters. To many idea's not enough time. How will I ever get my house clean before the party?

Home schooling a high schooler is kicking my butt! I think I am being to anal about everything, I really need to relax.

I have no clean clothes. Bills need to be paid. What to make for dinner?

All I want to do is sit and stare into the beautiful brown eyes of my Ethiopian children.

Why can't all this other stuff just go away?

Labels: Adoption, Home Schooling, Mom Stuff