They Made It!

They called to say they are in Ethiopia with all their baggage and of course they are exhausted. It is perfect because since it is night in Ethiopia right now, they can head straight to bed and rest up for tomorrow.

And They're Off . . .

John and Jeanette left early this morning and we know they made it to Chicago. Also, we have an awesome praise and answer to prayer to report. The airline allowed them to take the extra bag of humanitarian aid for free! They should have been charged $250 for an extra bag, but the Lord provided! Keep praying that they get through Germany fine and arrive in Addis Ababa Saturday night as scheduled.

ETHIOPIA -HERE WE COME!

as you can see -we're packed and ready to go ~you can even see the scale on the left...been weighing and re-weighing each bag to maximize space and get as close to 50 pounds as humanly possible!

we're checking 5 bags -1 over the limit that will most likely come at a hefty price...please pray the airlines have mercy on us and waive the fee. 90% of what is in our checked bags are donations for the people in Ethiopia. All of mine and John's clothes and 1/2 of the boys' are in the 2 small carry-on duffels you see on the right. Those carry-ons are right at their weight limit too!

SO-the airline we're taking is slowly ramping up operations and the flights we need to take on Friday and Saturday look to be fully operational today..so hoping and praying they stay that way!

In case you're wondering :)...our itinerary is as follows:

Friday -leave home EARLY AM

Saturday -arrive in Ethiopia in the evening

Sunday -rest in the morning and visit Kolfe Boys Orphanage in the afternoon

everyone often forgets the older children that are orphans. When most people think of adoption, they want a baby or toddler....the older children are often referred to as "the forgotten". There is a ministry we are involved in with Kolfe...the gist is that we are a penpal family to a young man there. He has never known a family -being placed in an orphanage as a baby. There are over 130 boys/young men at Kolfe....and we are beyond excited to go meet these boys and spend time with them -if only for an afternoon! If you want more info on Kolfe -just Go*ogle it ~Tom D*avis of Children's Hope*Chest is just now starting to get involved there too!

Monday -we meet Eyob and Biruk!! Not entirely sure what our day entails, but I know there is some paperwork and hopefully, a sweet fun time with our new sons.

Tuesday -Embassy Day


Wednesday -looks like a full day for us ~a party at the Thomas Center (where our boys have been for roughly 8 weeks) and traditional Ethiopian dinner!


Thursday thru Saturday -we should get the boys visas on Thursday...we have opted to stay an extra few days in Ethiopia in order to meet the boys' family, shop, and spend time with some of the ministries YWAM is involved with over there.

Saturday -leave Ethiopia for the US

Sunday -arrive home in the early evening....FINALLY a family of 7!

We ask for continued prayers for the flights, for our safety and health, for our bonding time with the boys....and for my parents as they are graciously watching the 3 we leave here at home.

as for blogging ....we're told internet is sketchy at best over there..SO, I have asked my nieces and nephew to keep this blog up to date if they can. We are intending to call home to my parents as often as possible~so they will pass the info along to my nieces and nephew so they can blog. :)

We would love comments on the posts so one day I can print them out for the boys and they can see how many friends and family followed along on our journey to them!!

Thanks for hanging in there with this long post...and for everyone's prayers and support on this adoption journey!!!

QUICK UPDATE~UPDATE PRAYER REQUEST

I wanted to give a really quick update while I had a few minutes

Thank you ALL so much for your prayers. Elizabeth was better by Wednesday...but Wednesday afternoon Becca started running a fever. Becca fought a 103 fever all day Thursday but woke up totally fine Friday morning. PRAISE GOD!!!

So far John, Andrew, nor I have come down with anything ~again, praising God!!

Wednesday afternoon we received a call from our agency -the US Embassy allowed our agency rep in Ethiopia to return and turn in our adoption paperwork (and that of 7 other families). On Thursday we were given a verbal "you're approved for April 27th".

we're cautiously excited!

Our agency needs it in writing before they can give us the official approval to go.

We're hoping that comes on Monday.

BUT ~there is now another complication.

Anyone heard of the volcano erupting in Iceland? Well it's shutting down airports in Europe. Guess where we need to fly as a stop-over to get down to Ethiopia?

YEP

Europe.

SO...even though we may be given the green light to go get our boys we still may not be able to travel due to the volcano ash.

Please pray the plume of ash either dissipates, goes somewhere else, clears enough for airports to open up.....whatever it needs to do so Europe can open back up. Selfishly, I really want to just go! BUT again, I know God is in control and if He uses a volcano in Iceland to cause us to wait, then I trust in His timing.

AN UPDATE WHICH LEADS TO PRAYER REQUESTS

We have an update or 2 to give.....which like the title of the post says, leads us to ask for prayer!

We received a call from our agency this morning. The agency rep in Ethiopia went to the US Embassy today to submit the necessary paperwork for us to get an Embassy Appt of 4/27.
When he arrived, he was told the department handling the adoption visas had decided to close for the week.

ugh.

That leaves us in limbo.

The agency rep is going to do all he can to get our paperwork processed in time for us to make the 4/27 date....but we need the good ole US Embassy to work with and for us!

We may not be given notice until next Thursday the 22nd -which is less than 24 hours to get on a plane!

We have decided to be packed and ready to go at a moment's notice...but if it doesn't happen by next Thursday, our trip will be delayed until the 2nd week of May.

Please pray with us -that if it's the Lord's will, the US Embassy will re-open this week and is able to quickly process our paperwork so we can get the boys now instead of having to wait until May.


BUT -we also know everything happens according to His purpose so if He chooses to have this trip delayed, we will rest in Him and know that He is in control.

update #2

nasty stomach flu is approaching. My sister's kids had/have it....Elizabeth came down with it yesterday.

It's a tricky bug -it comes and goes.

I've just Lysol'd my entire house, the kids aren't allowed to play with Elizabeth right now (which is fine cuz she pretty much wants to be left alone to sleep!), we're taking immune system boosters, etc.

Please pray that this bug stops with Elizabeth...and if it doesn't stop and goes thru our whole family, please pray John and I are well enough to travel IF we are given the chance to leave next week.


On top of the snags we're dealing with, we're also dealing with new tires for both our vehicles. Both the Yukon and my van had flat tires this past week.....not exactly what we wanted to add to our to-do list nor our credit card bill...but you roll with the punches!

We would really appreciate your prayers for the next couple weeks!

GOAL!

Look what I found yesterday at a garage sale in our neighborhood?!

Andrew, Becca, and Elizabeth are excited to have the "real" soccer goal in their backyard BUT, I cannot wait to see Eyob and Biruk's face! Soccer is HUGE in Ethiopia and I just love how God provided something so small...like a used soccer goal (for $5!!)....to hopefully help ease the adjustment to their life with us.

Command Central

it looks quite disorganized doesn't it?!
Actually it's not -on the bed are the boys' clothes -washed and ready to be packed...the laundry basket in the foreground is full of snacks and meds we're taking over...

AND
the 2 tubs and duffel are already packed to their weight limit -
you're looking at 150 pounds of donations going over with us -clothes, formula, vitamins, etc.

We will still have almost a whole 'nother suitcase of donations to pack -then hopefully our measely items will fit in our 2 carry-ons and a checked bag!

EASTER PICS

First of all, can I just say I'm having trouble wrapping my brain around the idea that in 3 weeks we'll be IN Ethiopia and will have had our boys for 2 days by now?!

crazy to think about!!

yesterday I reserved our guest house, we have plane tix on hold, and 1 bag of donations is already packed.




Now -on to our Easter pics. :)

It was a gorgeous Easter Sunday -mid 80's, sunshine, church, family...throw in an earthquake in the afternoon (we didn't feel it cuz we were driving, but our pool felt the quake as the water was sloshing all around!)...and it was a perfect day to celebrate Christ's resurrection!!

we're gonna have to get a wide angled lens to be able to get ALL the cousins in next year!

this is the best pic -can you see Jameson in the middle?! He was crying SO hard poor guy! But makes the pics funny as everyone else is smiling. :)

the big kids hide the eggs and the littles get to hunt for them

then, as is tradition for Easter, Mother's Day, and Father's Day -my parents set up the water toys and the kids PLAY!

This year was a slip * and *slide, water guns, and some big ball you fill up with water and as it rolls around acts like a sprinkler. :)

Jameson is getting in on the water gun action!

another tradition is for the big kids to run onto the slip/slide and grandpa or John will throw a football to them to catch while sliding.

Jordan caught this one!

I have more posts swirling around in my head...but need time to get them onto the computer! Time is a precious commodity these days as I try to keep up with regular life AND prepare to travel to the other side of the world to get our sons!