Homeland Security Rocks ...

... because we just received our NEW and UPDATED APPROVAL in the mail!! We were re-fingerprinted on the 12th of this month and sent in an amended home study to raise our age range just 2 weeks prior to that. We asked about it at our appointment and now have in our little hands all we need to bring both our girls home!!! We are so excited for this coveted piece of paper to be received so quickly (we are talking government here people) and now can't wait to just get over there!!

I must give a shout out to those who received ref. in September (so many "little" ones!) and to my most gracious friend who has been on a long road who just received their ref. on Friday for a little guy!!! You know who you are you have traveled this road with so much grace and love ~ you are an inspiration!!

AND I must report that I have the bestest husband in the whole wide world!! I WILL BE GETTING ON A PLANE TO FLY TO PORTLAND FOR THE VAN WETTEN FUNDRAISER IN A WEEK AND A HALF!! I am so super excited to be able to "see" and visit with some other 10+ families (mommies) who are on this journey with us!! Our Africa coordinator will also be there to speak so this will be nothing short of a super, wonderful, awesome fun weekend!! Thank you hunny!!!

I am still trying to comprehend how much our lives are going to change in the next 8 to 10 weeks (Lord willing) and yet it still seems surreal some days that they are actually going to be here to sleep in these beds and mess up this home even more with kid toys!! We are getting closer girls ~ We love you!!!!

Ethiopia Travel Guide ....

It is Official!! We have received our package of information in the mail (email) to guide us to Ethiopian travel!! 15 pages to be exact!! Travel information, travel process, info sheet, visa instructions and of course the famous 3 government papers with extra copies to take with us. Lots of paperwork and so naturally now I am thinking "can I do this" again. I have never traveled internationally before and Savannah is so wanting to stop over in Paris on the way. Hence, the Eiffel tower photo on top. Who knows when we will make such a trip again and I think Paris would be AMAZING but we still don't know about all the details yet so we will be gathering info for now. It is do-able to travel there with a stop in Paris and then a direct flight on the way home so the girls will not have to have travel visas. That is another entire story that I am hoping to not have to go through (and don't really want to according to my YG)!
We are still hoping to be through court the end of October or the beginning of November. Our agency no longer tells families when their court date is so we will just get a call/email one day saying "they are officially yours"!!! Then we can confer with them and will probably travel 2-3 weeks after that date. Their are 7 families right now that are scheduled for court on the 8th of October and then tentative travel dates of the 24/25; then their are about 15 of us that have referrals and do not know our court dates. Our coordinator said 1 group in October and 2 in November and then probably only 1 in December w/ the holidays; we SHOULD be in the November group but remember (as I keep reminding myself) we are dealing with a foreign government and really can only guess for now. The courts do open back up in 2 weeks from now so we all are counting down the days for passing and travel to begin. Praying for MIRACLE October and I already know that no matter what November is going to be crazy!!
We normally do a family Christmas photo in November to send out in our Christmas cards but this year we are totally NOT doing anything like that until we are home with our girls!!

God through 8 year old eyes!

It was written by an 8-year-old named Danny Dutton, who lives in Chula Vista , CA . He wrote it for his third grade homework assignment, to 'explain God.' I wonder if any of us could have done as well? [ .... and he had such an assignment, in California , and someone published it, I guess miracles do happen ! ... ]

EXPLANATION OF GOD:

One of God's main jobs is making people. He makes them to replace the ones that die, so there will be enough people to take care of things on earth. He doesn't make grownups, just babies. I think because they are smaller and easier to make. That way he doesn't have to take up his valuable time teaching them to talk and walk. He can just leave that to mothers and fathers.'

God's second most important job is listening to prayers. An awful lot of this goes on, since some people, like preachers and things, pray at times beside bedtime. God doesn't have time to listen to the radio or TV because of this. Because he hears everything, there must be a terrible lot of noise in his ears, unless he has thought of a way to turn it off.' 'God sees everything and hears everything and is everywhere which keeps Him pretty busy. So you shouldn't go wasting his time by going over your mom and dad's head asking for something they said you couldn't have.

Atheists are people who don't believe in God. I don't think there are any in Chula Vista . At least there aren't any who come to our church.

Jesus is God's Son. He used to do all the hard work, like walking on water and performing miracles and trying to teach the people who didn't want to learn about God. They finally got tired of him preaching to them and they crucified him But he was good and kind, like his father, and he told his father that they didn't know what they were doing and to forgive them and God said O.K.' 'His dad (God) appreciated everything that he had done and all his hard work on earth so he told him he didn't have to go out on the road anymore. He could stay in heaven. So he did. And now he helps his dad out by listening to prayers and seeing things which are important for God to take care of and which ones he can take care of himself without having to bother God. Like a secretary, only more important.

You can pray anytime you want and they are sure to help you because they got it worked out so one of them is on duty all the time.' 'You should always go to church on Sunday because it makes God happy, and if there's anybody you want to make happy, it's God!

Don't skip church to do something you think will be more fun like going to the beach. This is wrong. And besides the sun doesn't come out at the beach until noon anyway.

If you don't believe in God, besides being an atheist, you will be very lonely, because your parents can't go everywhere with you, like to camp, but God can. It is good to know He's around you when you're scared, in the dark or when you can't swim and you get thrown into real deep water by big kids.

But...you shouldn't just always think of what God can do for you. I figure God put me here and he can take me back anytime he pleases.

And...that's why I believe in God.'

Week-end Away ...

We were able to have a little time to our selves this week-end. This is something that we try to do as a couple at least twice a year. This was our first time this year! There just seems to be so many changes and things going on and one of the kids having something we need to do that it just kept getting changed. The above is a photo of the place we stayed at. We love it there!! All of the rooms are themed and so you get to choose what setting you want to be in for the evening, all have 2 person tubs, big TVs, some fireplaces, and breakfast delivered to your door at the time you choose in the morning. We love to visit different rooms! We really thought alot about how this will probably be the last time "we" are able to get away for a long time. Not a bad thing just something different we will have to work out.

I don't have much news on the adoption front except to say that courts re-open in about 3 weeks!! Need I say more!! I really am excited to get through court and bring home our girls! Tracy and I did some shopping this week-end as well and now, well we have these cute girl outfits we can't wait to see them in!!! Please continue to pray for all the many families that are waiting in this process with us. We are coming girls, we love you!!

Ethiopian New Year!!

Today is the Ethiopian New Year = Addis Amet and is also referred toas Enkutatash = gift of jewels (Enku is jewel).Enkutatash is celebrated on September 11th. Ethiopia follows theOrthodox Julian calendar (7 years behind the Gregorian calendar) whichconsists of 12 months of 30 days and a 13th month of five or six daysdepending on the leap year. The years run in a four year cycle bearingthe names of the Gospels, Mark (Markos), Mathew (Matheos), Luke(Lukas) and John (Yohannes). A very formal new year's greeting will be"Thanks to God for our making it through the year of X to the year ofY (e.g. from the year of Markos to the year of Matheos).So today is Meskerem 1, 2001 and is the start of spring ending the 3months of the rainy season. All the fields in the high lands of Ethiopia will be filled with the yellow daisies (Meskal flowers) which are typically called "ye Adey Abeba' or "ye Meskal Abeba".

'Enkutatash' - Ethiopian New Year
The Ethiopian New Year falls in September at the end of the big rains. The sun comes out to shine all day long creating an atmosphere of dazzling clarity and fresh clean air. The highlands turn to gold as the Meskel daisies burst out in all their splendour. Ethiopian children clad in brand new clothes dance through the villages giving bouquets of flowers and painted pictures to each household.
September 11th is both New Year's Day and the Feast of St. John the Baptist. The day is called Enkutatash meaning the "gift of jewels." When the famous Queen of Sheba returned from her expensive jaunt to visit King Solomon in Jerusalem, her chiefs welcomed her back by replenishing her treasury with enku or jewels. The spring festival has been celebrated since these early times and as the rains come to their abrupt end, dancing and singing can be heard at every village in the green countryside. After dark on New Year's Eve people light fires outside their houses.
The main religious celebration takes place at the 14th-century Kostete Yohannes church in the city of Gaynt within the Gondar Region. Three days of prayers, psalms, and hymns, sermons, and massive colourful processions mark the advent of the New Year. Closer to Addis Ababa, the Raguel Church, on top of the Entoto Mountain north of the city, has the largest and most spectacular religious celebration. But Enkutatash is not exclusively a religious holiday, and the little girls singing and dancing in pretty new dresses among the flowers in the fields convey the message of springtime and renewed life. Today's Enkutatash is also the season for exchanging formal New Year greetings and cards among the urban sophisticated in lieu of the traditional bouquet of flowers.

We Got an Update!!

Today marks 1 month of waiting since our referral call and it just so happens that today we got our 1st update on the girls!! We received new photo's and though I can't share them with you just yet ... you know I am going to say they are absolutely adorable!!!
B is a sweet child, who is a little bit reserved. She is friendly, easy and obedient. T... now she is the wild, funny, and entertaining one! Neither of the girls speak English ...
So, I guess we are in for a treat with both of them ... and how do I correct a non-English speaking Ethiopian child in Target? I have told many of you, you will be getting phone calls from me very regularly for the first 6 months 'cause I am pretty sure I can't go out alone with everyone!! :):) Tell me you will bring me milk, eggs and such ... Well, mostly my White Chocolate Carmel Mocha!!!! What blessing I just wanted to share with you all!!!

Photo Fix ...

I must say today was a great day and I am very happy to say I got a photo fix, from a dear friend, in the mail today!! I was so excited we just put it in the computer and told it to print all before we even viewed all the pictures! :):) It is SO SO wonderful to "see" the girls in outfits we sent them and holding goodies from us ~ I love to look at the pictures and see the many different personalities coming out!! Some are together, some are not and some are with some friends!! It is a joy to see them with friends and yet, is it time yet Lord? I know the answer is no right now and it maybe for about the next 3 months but I know our day will come!!!
We also had a good weekend of bowling, park and fair!! Bowling ... I beat my husband both games! The park is always good and we wore-out everyone with tag! The fair ... what can I say but the kids liked bigger rides this year and yep, I ate to much!! :):) I love the fair because you get to see so many people and walk around and visit with them all! It was a all-in-all good weekend!!