Waiting, waiting, waiting

Why is it that the wait seems to be getting longer. Our paperwork has been in Ethiopia for 5 weeks now. We got an email today from CWA stating that due to difficulties getting birth certificates printed in the country for adopted children that the wait after a successful court date has increased from 5 weeks to 10 weeks. Are you joking??? Also there has been difficulty in getting court dates to be successful, because there is a back log of paperwork and often times the documents for the children are not ready by the time the date arrives and the court date has to be postponed. I look at my friends who have their kids here and I'm jealous. It looks like we still have a lot of waiting to do.

Spring Break Vacation

It is a wonderful day, great Georgia weather as the happy family left on Monday last week to go on their spring break camping trip. The weather report said snow...WHAT???
So here's what happened. We get to our KOA cabin which consists of 2 rooms and 2 space heaters and 2 doors that Bryce can't open. It is raining and we play tether ball in the rain. What could be more fun. Then it actually does start to snow. Did I mention we were in Georgia in April? Okay, so everyone but mom is in the cabin playing board games cuddled around the space heaters. Mom is outside trying to make a spaghetti dinner on the camp stove in the snow. Unfortunately it is too cold and the water won't boil in the big pot. By the way, you can make spaghetti without ever boiling the water. Our evening treat that night was camp stove popcorn. Everyone bravely trooped outside to pop it and then ran back inside to sit on the floor, eat popcorn, and listen to Dad's ghost stories that can't be too scary because then no one will sleep. Somehow it was about a lost 6 foot tall chicken...

Tuesday - still snowing. The boys and Dave go on a trek to try and find the 6 foot chicken while I look for indoor activities. We decide that caverns under a mountain count as indoor, so we go on a cave tour. We sit down to share a 24oz hamburger for lunch then head back to camp. We go on another hike on the trails around the KOA when we get back. We climb trees, rocks, and see who can balance the best on fallen tree trunks. The evening is filled with smores and fire.

Wednesday - We GO SEE ROCK CITY. For those of you who do not drive in Georgia or Tennessee, you see these words painted on barns and billboards all around the Lookout Mountain area. We have fun and decide to get annual passes because the place is so stinking expensive to visit once. Then we head back to the KOA for a campfire treat of roasted apples. That goes well so we roast all our bananas too.
"Dave where is the water bottle?"
"It's in the camera case."
"Where is the camera case?"
"X@#%$^ It's at Rock City!"

Thursday - We SEE ROCK CITY AGAIN. Did find the camera and case intact, went to the Battles for Chattanooga and were delighted to use our newly bought season passes.
So we come home and I have several bug bites on my arm and face and neck. I suffer through the weekend at work itching like crazy. Everyone else is fine...or so we thought until today.
I noticed some red spots on Bryce's back. I asked him if he was itching and he states "Oh it's just the bugs that are eating me." I take his clothes off and he has over 100 bites on his body. We believe it is chiggers. GREAT! We've been home for 3 days and he has slept in his bed with his brother. All children and beds get stripped, everyone gets scrubbed with hot water and I'm still working on the laundry. That child!!!!\
So when are we going back?

JOY

Hello all,
I just had to share my joyful moment. We have been waiting for a certified copy of my birth certificate to be sent to us from the US government since I was born in Germany. We asked for it in December and have only received a letter stating that we may need to go to a formal court hearing to get it released. A man from the Secretary of State's office called me today to let me know that they cannot give me a copy of my Certificate of Birth Abroad, but that they did find my US birth certificate and were going to send me 2 copies of that and refund the rest of my money. Hallelujah, finally!! I would have been a big problem to submit the Ethiopia paperwork without that document. Now forward we go.
Maia

Countdown to babies

The Countdown Begins…
The Timeline:
February - I600A submitted to immigration. 90 days processing, expected approval in the beginning of May.
- Dossier and all outstanding fees sumbitted to Christian World Adoption for approval.
March - Dossier sent to the US embassy for authentication then to the Ethiopian embassy for authentication
April - Dossier sent to Ethiopia for translation and approval.
May - We receive names and medical reports of the boys and immigration approval.
Possibly July - 8 weeks from immigration approval is the court date.
Possibly August - 5 weeks from the court date is the embassy date when we get to travel to Ethiopia to pick up our children.

The above timeline is VERY hypothetical in that there can be delays at any stage of the process. Still we are hoping that our two newest children will be in our home as soon as possible. At this time we are pulling together the final documents for the dossier and the rest of the CWA fees.
Our friends have been extremely generous to us. We have some who have showered us with baby furniture and clothes. We have others saving clothes and other baby things for us. Children’s Heathcare of Atlanta, Maia’s employer, has given us $10,000 toward the cost of this adoption. We are grateful that Maia works for an outstanding company. We thank all of the others of you who have given us monetary donations. Every little bit moves us closer to bringing these children home and we are so grateful to all who have participated with us so far. We will continue to keep all of you updated on how things are progressing. Again, Thank you. Dave, Maia, Bren, Jace, Joel, Bryce, and soon to arrive Seth and Quinn.

Sleepless nights

I am up late tonight unable to sleep so I thought I'd put up a post. Christmas was a unique experience this year as the boys were a surprise to all who asked them what they were getting. There were no presents underneath our tree this year as we bought the boys a trampoline a few months ago and are saving our money for the adoption. When asked what they were getting for Christmas the boys would launch into a dissertation about the new boys in Ethiopia and how expensive it is to bring them to the US. They would tell people how they are contributing and how Jesus gave the greatest gift of all. Those were proud moments for both Dave and I to witness. My mom made the boys each a small tote bag and filled them with underwear and socks. When they opened them they were thrilled. They were so grateful and excited that they received anything. The feeling this Christmas season was so much on giving and the gift. I hope to replicate it somehow in the future.

Disappointment

I am reminded today that my worth comes from who I am in Christ rather than my accomplishments in this world. It matters not how much one works, is ethical, and praiseworthy. In the end it is up to the fickle nature and agendas of those who are in power over you. I should look to my work and know that those things that I do that are prompted by His Spirit are approved and not look for commendations by man. Still I am disappointed. The workings of this world state that one should be rewarded accordingly for good work. I need to not believe the lie. We are here to serve God, to glorify and enjoy Him. This is what I must hold on to. He has other plans for me and they are for my good. I can grieve but I must not dwell. Lord help me move on from this place.

Home study

The Home study should be complete January 5th as long as we have all of our paperwork together. I'm excited that things are moving along.
My mother has made color specific quilts and decorations in our home for the boys. Bren is yellow, Jace is blue, Joel is red, and Bryce is green. We spoke about what colors the new boys should be. After a couple of days of thinking we decided that the colors of the Ethiopian flag would be appropriate. They are orange and turquoise. I couldn't believe it because Christmas 2007 when she painted a pirate ship in the boys bathroom, she made each of the sails their color. There were 2 extra sails so she mixed paints and just painted them colors that she thought would look nice. Those 2 sails are orange and turquoise.