It's 10 o'clock, Do You Know Where Your Children Are?

Last night at 10 o'clock, we knew Isaac and Dane were down the hall sleeping, but we had no idea about Iris' whereabouts.  

Today at 10 o'clock AM, she has been FOUND!!! The investigator knows where she is at and is going to have an update in the next week about the ability to adopt her!  We know the orphanage she is in normally does not do US adoptions, but we are praying they see fit to let us adopt her.  Please pray with us! 

Life Is Hard, But God's Still Good

Well, it's been a while.  A long, long while.  Because we've been waiting for some good news.  Truth is...We don't have it.

The orphanage Isaac and Iris called home has been closed. We currently don't know where Iris is.

We have hired a private investigator to find her and help unite us together.  They will help us work with an agency that can process her paperwork.  (The agency we were working with will not be able to work in Ethiopia starting in July so we are likely moving to another agency once they locate her).

It's hard to talk about this without getting choked up or wanting to walk away from the conversation.  It's a little too much reality for me.  

To think she has lost her first and now second families.  The amount of pain and loss she has gone through at her young age astounds me. When I think of her and put a movie reference to my feelings I think....The force is strong in that one.

And when I pray and ask God what we are to do, what we are to learn from this His answer is to remain steadfast,  "This little girl needs an advocate and our minor inconveniences could mean everything to her.  Don't give up. Keep following this until there are no more leads."

In reality, the orphanage move may make it easier for us to work with her.  The "old" orphanage director has been holding things up.  This could be the answer to prayers we have been asking for.

So while we may seem a little "off" or distracted lately, it's because our hearts ache for our baby girl...

Meanwhile, the boys are making forts and playing cars and havin' fun...

"Life is hard, but God's still good." ~Matthew West

PAIR Process

Well...The latest news is confirmation that we will only make one trip for Iris.  This is a blessing in many ways, but while most are thinking financially, I'm thinking about attachment.  Going to meet your little loved one, moving them from all they know and love and the leaving them is not a great way to build attachment (IMHO). So, this is great news! We are encouraged that our dossier is on it's way for US authentication and then onto the Ethiopian Embassy this week!  And the financial benefit is awesome too!! God is good!

Drumroll Please....

Dossier is rolling on out today!!!!!  One step closer to baby girl!

Iris...The Great News

When I was in Ethiopia for our Embassy date and to bring Isaac home, Kevin and I were chatting over email over a little girl who needed a home, Iris, and how we could bring her into our family.  Our hearts were broken when we she hopped in the van with us in August and thought we were her parents, so when we learned that she still didn't have parents, we felt called to help her.  We attempted to find out how we could adopt her, but it was not possible at that time in August, and when we attempted in October/November it was not possible then either.  With very different languages, it was hard to  understand the why's and how's, but after recently joining a Facebook group for parents of the orphanage Isaac is from, we found out that little Iris has been claimed by her birth father.  Now, I know for a fact that this was an impossibility, we were actually working to provide her and other children in a similar situation at the orphanage (are not eligible for adoption, so will be in the institution until they come of age without any education, without any life skills that a normal Ethiopian family would provide, without a support system, in other words, without much hope) educational opportunities.  But as we prayed and asked God to reveal to us how we could best do this, we continued to ask that her birth parents would come for her.  This seemed like the only way.  So when someone asks me if I believe in prayer, and if I believe in miracles, yes, yes I do.

Praise God for little Iris and the hope her story can provide to others.

And as far as the other children, one of them is being matched with a family now.  It appears that God is providing the solution to the bigger problem, and not our short-sided view. :)

2011 - The Year of Isaac

2011 was an amazingly quick year.  It feels like just yesterday we were telling you we were embarking on our international adoption journey and now Isaac is home and adjusted pretty well and we are so blessed.

Isaac, Age 2

Senior Portrait, note the hand in his pocket. It says it all!

Don't let his happy face fool you.  He did not like lunch this day!

Sometimes we have to stop and think, wow, he's only been home for 6...7...8...9 weeks, so it's okay if he {insert not so good action here}.  It's amazing to think that it was only in March that we first saw his cute little face in an email, and almost immediately following that our case was held up because of the change in staffing in Ethiopia and then the US Government changes, yet here we are home with him.

It's also hard to think that it was just a few months ago that we traveled 20,000 miles together to meet Isaac for the first time, and then have the HUGE garage sale and then I traveled the 20,000 miles to pick our little man and bring him home.  It's amazing how the access to world class medical care, supplies and doctors healed many of Isaac's issues so quickly too.  Sometimes we wonder if God brought him home sooner, because he needed the immediate medical attention.

Today we went to the mall and we ran into another family with a little boy from Ethiopia.  I actually had bought the same hat in Ethiopia for Isaac as the little boy was wearing, so it was pretty need to see how the two boys interacted and how the parents and siblings were so excited to see another Ethiopian-American family!

As we look to 2012, I am almost immediately heading back to work, the boys are heading to my Aunt's while we work.  More changes and more blessings I am sure.

But the part of 2012 we really hope to see is how God will use our knowledge and experience to bless others.  There are still other children waiting to come home of families we met and know, and yet other children, waiting to be matched to a family and come home.  While our prayer is that Ethiopia will be able to keep more of the children in their families and in their country, with 1/6 of the population orphaned, we pray that international adoptions can continue to move forward and more children can have families that care for them and love them.

We pray God will bless you in 2012 as much as he has blessed us!!!

Busy as a Beaver...Or a Crocodile as Dane Likes to Say

More and More and More....That's what it feels like:

• New Mirror for the F150, oil change and troubleshooting on issue
• Made a GREAT stew!  Everyone ate it without complaint!
• Lots more work-work accomplished and a big project is winding down!
• Kevin had 2x as many patients as a normally busy day, 4 of them new patients!
• Made a fun project with Dane that is a game too.  Seems kinda like he makes up the rules as he goes, but that's okay.  It's fun.
• Purchase the stroller and final decor (including bedding) for they boys' bedroom (this was painful, as I had to make sure I got the best deal on everything, and probably spent 10 hours over the last two weeks on searching upon searching)
• The boys put the train set back together in the playroom.
• Taught Dane some things you can and can't do with little brothers.  (Yes to putting weird socks on them, no to spitting in their eyes - You're welcome Paul) ;)
• Camera for the Foster Home arrived!
• Laundry supplies arrived!
• Bought supplies for orphanage at Spokane Discount.
• And re-prioritized list of things to do before we leave.
• I'm working on ordering photos to put in the frames we have had for a while and finish up some decor around the house I have bought, but never put up. 

Tomorrow's agenda includes some big items on the list, and we hope to take Dane to eat at the local Ethiopian Restaurant and explain to him how the food tastes different and how this will be what Isaac is used to and what all of our food will seem like to him (strange, flavorful, and sometimes hurt a boys tummy).

I'm thinking it will seem like a million times busier every day with two busy little boys, but I can't wait!