WE PASSED!!! We are OFFICIALLY Parents to FOUR Kiddos!!!!

24 Hours From Now...

24 hours from now a judge in Ethiopia will be looking over our files and deciding if T****** and M********* will be ours forever. All I can say is, "WOW". I am trying not to get my hopes up high...but let's be honest, they are! I know 50% of families don't pass court the first time through...but that means 50% do, right? I guess I am a "glass half-full" kind of girl and am praying for success.  

Donations

People have been asking what kind of donations are needed. Below is a list we have created to share with others. 

If people/churches want to donate items for us to take to the orphanages to Ethiopia, here is what they are hoping for:

-small party-favor type toys, bubbles, balloons (or happy meal toys)...no stuffed animals

-twin bed sheets

-baby formula

-baby wipes

-play dough

-clothes for older children (7 years and up)

-shoes (crocs or sandals)

-vitamins

-iron supplements

-cough syrup

-baby Tylenol

-granola bars

-beef jerky sticks

If people/churches would like to donate things to our family specifically, we need:

-girl 5T-6 size clothing

-a booster car seat

-a toddler car seat

-gift cards to Target or Walmart so we can get bedding for their new beds

-gift card to ikea so we can get dressers for their clothes

We appreciate anything people are able to give to us or to the Ethiopian orphanages. This is a huge blessing to us!!!!! Let me know if you have any questions. Blessings!!!!

Pray for Us!

Will you be praying for us on Wednesday night? In Ethiopia on Thursday morning (they are about 12 hours ahead of us), a judge will be deciding if T****** and M********* will be ours forever! We are hesitantly excited because 50% of families to do not pass court the first time through. We are trusting God's plan and God's timing for our family. Wednesday night pray specifically for: our kid's birth mother to show up to court...she has a very long way to travel, for all of our paperwork to be filled out correctly and thoroughly, for our Power of Attorney to have everything she needs, for our court case to actually be heard and for the judge to be in a good mood! My heart is already leaping...I don't know how much sleep I will get Wednesday night!

New Updates on Our Kiddos!

The Wells Family who are in Ethiopia right now getting their beautiful kids, Jeremiah and Rachel, took our first care-packages to our kids on Tuesday. This morning I had the wonderful surprise of more new photos of our kids and the below information Angela sent about our kids!!!


"T****** is very friendly and came with us easily. She is very inquisitive. She couldn't wait to tear into her bag and M's too. She really wanted to get a hold of it herself rather than me hand her things. She really liked the ring that lit up and looked at her photos. She knew exactly what to do with the hairbrush and the pony. She was very protective of her things and didn't want any help putting them away. She wanted to put M's things in her bag too. She really liked his squishy ball and played with it quite a bit, so you might want to send her one in the future. I scoped out the size of her dress and it was a 5T - it seemed to fit very well.

M********* was somewhat shy at first. He came willingly and gave me a sheepish grin. I pulled his photo album out and he lit up. Robel helped to translate to the kids that it was pictures of their family on the shirts. M grinned at that and seemed to warm up as we pulled things out of the bag. He was actually pretty scared of the squishy ball at first. I did get him to touch it a few times, but he was hesitant. He loved his cars. He had them on the ground pushing them around. He didn't have tags in his shirt. My guess a 3T, but I could be off.

Thanks for letting us have the blessing of delivering your care packages and passing on your love. You have precious children who will be a wonderful addition to your family.
Thanks for letting us"


We are soooo thankful to the Wells Family for serving our family in this way!!! Photos and information updates are priceless to us!!! We look forward to being able to do this for other families when we travel to Ethiopia!!!!

We Have a Court Date!!!

We got our court date today! Our big day is February 25...10 days from now!!! Woo hoo!!! We are very excited, but are trying not to get our hopes up too much as 50% of families do not pass court the first time through. Ethiopia is about 12 hours ahead of us...What this means is that on the night of February 24th (while we sleep...yeah right!) a judge in Ethiopia will be hearing our case and making the decision if T****** and M********* will be "officially" ours. Will you please join us in praying like crazy for us to have success the first time through? I think I will probably sleep during the day on February 24th, so I can be awake at night to pray and fast while the judge in Ethiopia makes his/her decision. We would LOVE. LOVE, LOVE, your prayer support!!!! It is crazy to think that in 10 days I could "officially" be the mom of 4!!!!!!!!!!!

New Photos!

The Paravis Family who traveled to Ethiopia to pick up their beautiful boy, sent us some new pictures of our kiddos they took for us while they were there. I can not even begin to explain how important getting pictures is to us...we live for new pictures!!! It was the first time we received some input about the personalities of our kids. They said T****** is very out-going, friendly, spunky, can hold her own, and is very protective of her brother. They said that M********* is quiet, shy, and very sweet. They said our kids are absolutely amazing and we should be so blessed to have them. The Wells Family who are in Ethiopia picking up their incredible son and daughter now are taking our first care-packages to our kids on Tuesday. I can't wait for our kids to get our first gifts and pictures from us!!!! I will have more new pictures when the Wells return home early next week...woo hoo!!!