Yellow, Black, & White...

With Fall Comes Coustumes!

2009-09-28T22:23:00.001-07:00

The Disney store had a sale on coustumes! Since "Trick or Treating" is another first for Sege....we splurged for all three of the little girls! The cheerleader, Mulan, and Alice are all so excited, I just don't know how I can keep them out of these cute outfits for almost another month! I'm sure I will have to find just the right one for the baby too! When I do I will let you all have a peek!

Opportunity NOT Missed!

2009-07-07T22:18:00.000-07:00

I am amazed when I consider just what God has done in my life. When He first asked me to reconsider my ideas on children, that is, that all children are a blessing, I had a 360 degree turn around at that point( see my earliest postings). Once I made the proper switch in my mind about my purpose and God's power it did not take long before my family size began to increase. I also am frightened by what I would have missed if I had not obeyed what God says is the right thing to do. Of course at first what He was asking me to do(open my heart to His children) seemed like the scary thing, but God's will usually seems that way. It's why we walk by faith and not by sight. Many people are freaked out by the number of kids I have, but I am not. God knows what is best, not the people around me. Just look at the faces of these children I have surrounding me. Three of them would have grown up in a foreign orphanage(if they had lived that long), and one would never have existed if I had continued in my "What's best for me" lifestyle!

Most of all I am eternally GRATEFUL for the awesome blessing all my children are in my life, from the oldest to the youngest. Sure, things are hectic and stressful sometimes. But when I hear their laughter and see the wonder in there faces when they learn new things I stand in awe of what God has done and I am so happy that this opportunity was NOT missed!! I know how frightening "bungee jumping" for God is, but I encourage you to consider what it is that God is saying. Your opportunity awaits...Don't you miss it!!

More Vacation Shots!

2009-07-05T01:12:00.001-07:00

The Sea Lion Caves were a hit...

...but they stink!!!

Did I tell you the Sea Lion Caves stink?

The next highlight was the Trees of Mystery, the Giant Redwoods of Northern California!

What an amazing experience!

Then off to the Oregon Caves!

Last stop before heading back towards home was Rouge River! The jet boat river trip was a blast! We all started out very hot in the 90 degree + weather, but by the end we were all cooler and loving it!

All in all it was a fabulous and much needed vacation for all of us! We relaxed and talked and just enjoyed each other so much. We definately missed the three older kids that all have full time jobs, but life changes and we are grateful that we had this opportunity.

VACATION!!!

2009-07-01T23:35:00.000-07:00

Yahoo!!! We are officially on summer vacation and I love it. We are traveling down the Oregon coast and it is beautiful. This is the first time beautiful E has seen an ocean(more firsts I so love to experience with my older adopted kids!).

(forever friends!)

One of our first stops was the beautiful sand dunes of Florence. 47 miles of natural sand dunes can best be experienced riding in a dune buggy!

A Meeting of Encouragement

2009-06-20T23:18:00.000-07:00

I was encouraged today by a meeting we had at a coffee shop. My husband and I were asked by another couple to meet with them about adoption. I can tell you we have spoken with countless folks about this subject and have implored people to consider as followers of Jesus Christ to save a life for the Kingdom. Usually we are considered somewhere between a freak show and sainthood. This meeting was different. The first thing that struck me was the view this couple had of their family. They have a uniquely peaceful home and feel that this should be shared, that there is a child out there that needs to be safe within this peace. Most people would not want to take on this change and rock the boat by bringing a stranger into their family. The second thing was their faith that God is in control of their finances. Usually when we talk to people about adoption the first turn off, especially for the men, is expenses. But this couple was different. The husband had a quiet confidence when he spoke of God being in control of all the wealth in the world and he was certain that money would come as necessary with an adoption. Well, when a man talks like that it is certain that is heart is fixed on God and his own family. He is not controlled by men or the world. I was excited to see the first stage in the birth of a child into a family. Today this couple walked through a door on their journey to get the child of their heart. It was obvious that God had called them to this. It is hard for me to understand why more Christian couples have not heard this call. I know many others who have adopted and they feel the same way. But I cannot focus on this. For today God encouraged me. I cannot adopt every orphan in the world...but today I can rest in the thought that one more orphan will have a safe home and will come to know Jesus because this couple is not afraid to hear from God that there is work to be done. I believe they see as we do that it is not enough to just encourage others to do the action. We are the workers and the fields of the orphans are ripe for the picking. Jesus knows this and so he will continue to call those who have ears to hear and a few more children will be snatched out of the enemies hands. I thank God that he woke us up from our lethargy before it was too late and I am grateful that He has awakened others to travel this journey as well.

A Day at the Zoo With 7/9

2009-06-16T01:16:00.001-07:00

A perfect day at the zoo with seven of my nine children!
Such fun! Thank you Jesus for my kids!

Naked mole rats are the best!

Brothers and sisters are a gift from the Lord!

Finally... a Moment to Update!!!

2009-06-14T00:48:00.000-07:00

After only 5 months of schooling here in the States, Beautiful E passed her first grade English exams! At the end of each school year we have our children tested by an independent testing organization. This year E was able to participate and to our great joy she passed with flying colors. She basically started homeschooling in January of 2008. She passed her total battery of tests in the 79Th percentile. She is now officially in second grade English and will continue in her 4-5 grade math. We finished up the school year with bugs, snakes and lizards! The " House of Reptiles" brought their show right into our living room. We invited about 20 other home school kids to come join us for our end-of -the-year fun! It was a creepy good time!
Last week was day camp for 5 of the 9 kids. The three little girls were first-time campers and experienced all kinds of new things : canoeing, hiking, archery, the"big swing", and lots and lots of fun camp songs. Our 14 and 15 year-olds were counselors. They had a lot of fun helping with all the little ones and they were able to get tons of hours of community service. A great time for everyone.
Three of the girls were also in the ballet Alice in Wonderland. The two little 6 year old girls were ladybugs that danced around the rose bushes and A was the Caterpillar. She has been dancing for about twelve years now and she was fantastic! I never thought I would say I was proud that my child smoked(a hookah), but of course after watching her I can so that...I am. She was so funny and flexible as she danced I was truly amazed!
While the kids were at camp I was able to organize my books and buy all the curriculum for next school year. This is a huge blessing since last year I did not have my curriculum until right before the school year began. Last summer I was very involved with the adoption and the fund raiser. I am relieved I will be starting in the Fall on top of my game!
Our oldest son finished his high school education a year early at the local community college. He made honor society and held a 24 hour/wk job. Sometimes I can't believe all that he can accomplish at 17, but then he has always been focused and goal oriented. He was also just promoted to frozen food manager at the store he works at.
As for our two oldest daughters...our 21 year old is busy with work at Cold Water Creek Spa. It is fabulous having a daughter that is a professional when it comes to pedicures! I love them and she is so gracious to comply when I am tired. ( I try not to take advantage). Our oldest daughter just finished her college education. I was able to view her thesis defense. WOW!!! is all I can say. She wrote on the Filioque Clause of the Apostles' Creed. By the way, it was this clause that was the main root of the Schism between the East and West churches. The topic was difficult and controversial to say the least and I was blown away at her ability to maneuver through all the difficult and challenging questions her board threw at her. She handled her subject like a pro and was unflinching as she calmly addressed their challenges. She passed without a problem. I was so thankful that I was able to be there and witness just how far she has grown since her homeschooling days. She is a beautiful, intelligent woman who will make a great contribution to this lost world. We are excited for her as right now she is on a three week tour of Europe. She was able to go with a good friend and the girls are having a blast. Holland, France and Germany are on the lists of stops. She called today and said she toured the Louvre museum for 11 hours. What a wonderful way to finish her education!
We are looking forward to a restful summer vacation. I am hoping I will be able to update more often now that things are slowing down...or are they???? We will see. I will try to post some pics soon...

Precious Gifts!

2009-05-13T00:13:00.001-07:00

Each gift I received this year for Mother's Day was a gift of the heart! My husband got me the can opener I wanted and my son scrap booked a handmade card and put a Starbucks gift card in it.

The baby got me a gift card from J.Jill, which was really a surprise. My 6 year old was so excited for me to open the cat pot holder that she was jumping up and down saying," You are going to LOVE this gift mom!" Of course I did too! My other six year old gave me a cheese grater that we each got a turn at later that day when we had spaghetti. Sege was very thoughtful and made sure I had mustard, mayo, and ketchup squeeze bottles. One of my older daughters took pity on me and got me a pair of REAL potholders. (As you can tell I was potholder deficient) Two of my richer children bought me a certificate for a pedicure. Candles were even purchased by my starving college student. All in all I made quite a haul on Mother's Day...but the best gift of all was just having my children all home and present to celebrate with!

10 Things Boys Can Do When They Have 7 Sisters

2009-05-12T00:19:00.000-07:00

1. They know to buy The Best of Deanna Durban Movie Collection for their sisters at Christmas.
2. They can sing all the songs from "Meet Me in St. Lois" with Judy Garland, and "Singing in the Rain"with Gene Kelly.
3. They can change a diaper.
4. They open doors for girls.
5. They can knit.
6. They win a blue ribbon at the fair for best homemade strawberry jam.
7. They can swing dance
8.They have actually read Pride and Prejudice, not just watched the movie.
9. They can make peanut butter cups from scratch.
10. They scrapbook Mother's Day cards better than girls.

Casting Out Fear!

2009-05-05T22:46:00.000-07:00

Wow, I can't believe we had our second post placement report today. Our social worker was at our house bright and early this morning at 9:30am. That might not seem so early to some, but considering our entire family woke up an hour later than we expected things were a little rushed this morning. We are pleased to report that E has been extremely easy to adjust into the family! She is a dear, sweet, and helpful child who really has a love for God and is able to talk about her feelings easily with me. She has worked through a lot of grief since the last post placement and we are so proud of her and thankful God choose us to be her parents. E is enjoying the relief of being just a little girl without a lot of other stresses in her life.
Baby M is growing so fast and is very mobile...I mean fast! She is generally cheerful, yet of all our adopted children she has had the roughest time with her adjustment. I have had many sessions of serious holding time to help her work through her mistrust issues acquired from her earlier traumas. There have been times after these sessions that my arms are shaking from exhaustion. But I must report that as difficult and at times scary as it seems we are definitely seeing progress. Just to encourage any of you other adoptive parents that are experiencing attachment problems, hang in there and get outside help if you need it. Yesterday was a particularly hard day. At one point she was raging and I felt fear. Immediately it was like God spoke to me and said, " Love has no room for fear. Rather, perfect love casts out all fear..." I got a mental image of myself coming towards a ball and picking it up and throwing it far, far away. It seems that in order to get rid of fear it is necessary to move closer to what is frightening us and actually cast it away. It will not just miraculously go away by itself and running away from it or ignoring it is not Biblical. So for one more session in my rocker with my raging baby I sat until her anger subsided and a calmness came over her. She ended up falling asleep. With each of these sessions her anger is a little less. Tonight we went through the routine I have started...music, massage, blanket, rocker, bottle, singing and holding. It was better...much better! I know the brokenness in my baby came from the sin of man...she was the recipient. So as her mother I will hang in there even though it is exhausting and after six months we are still seeing her pain. But things are improving and she is worth every sore muscle and fit she can muster. She smiled and laughed tonight...what a joy. Maybe she still has more to "get out" and work through, but I am not afraid of tomorrow. I understand that I need to move toward the fear and literally "cast it out". No one will deter me, not even my angry baby who acts like she doesn't want me to hold her sometimes. I will win so she can understand that is exactly how God is and as time goes on she will learn she can trust both of us.

God-made Siblings!

2009-04-26T14:16:00.000-07:00

How do older children adjust to the idea of adoption? Well, from my experience there are phases they go through. In general children understand the need for adoption much more than their parental counterparts. Kids understand that children need parents, so when they are presented with the notion that there are children without families they tend to say, "Of course we should adopt." Similarly, when they first hear about the concept of abortion they are horrified that any mother would choose to kill her child. Innocence generally tends to bring clarity when it comes to moral issues.
After the initial introduction to the possibility of adoption my children have been supportive through the next phase which is the paper pregnancy. All my kids have donated as much as ALL of their money for any given adoption. When we were in the initial phase of adopting the first time our oldest daughter(she was 15 at the time) gave us all her money one Christmas to help to get her sister home. This second phase consists of love that develops in the heart of one child for another. It is special and I found that as I watched my children get excited and help participate in the adoption process my excitement grew as well.
The next step is the welcoming of the newest family member. It is much like bringing in a bio child except there is an almost missionary feel to it. We were fortunate enough to have our bio kids travel with us on our first adoption and the experience for them was transforming. They seemed to grow in depth of spirit when they realized what they have compared to the rest of the world. They also felt a sense of responsibility for the adopted child, as if they actually were participating in the birth of a family member. So far all of these phases are natural and exciting for the entire family.
The last of the adjustments is the final phase once the newest child comes home. Like my mother told me so long ago, " Don't let anyone fool you in saying..,'Oh, what is one more child? Remember, another child IS another child.'" I have found this to be very good advice that I have always taken very seriously and taught to my kids. Yet as much as you warn the siblings that adjustment can be difficult that does not mean they" get it" until they experience it. Just as innocence brings clarity with moral issues, there is a blindness when it comes to reality. So now the adjustment begins and along with it the growth of each individual. During this time each of my children has learned about themselves and their own weaknesses than at any other time in the process of adoption. They learned to share more and care more. When a child invests themselves in adoption only to see the pain in their newest sibling as they adjust into the family it changes everyone. Sometimes I have seen selfishness rear it's ugly head as bio kids remember what they would consider their entitlements. We have had many talks about laying down our lives. But even in the selfishness that I see a normalcy kicks in because this adopted child who has taken so much time and effort is a real person and they are going to be with us forever.
The adjustments fade into life and the adoption is complete as the reality of permanency occurs. Almost without realizing it the miracle of adoption has taken place in each child's heart and siblings are bonded together for the glory of God!

New Spring Pics!

2009-04-23T22:49:00.001-07:00

Easter Egg Hunt!!

Easter dresses!

Zoo fun!

Fun in the sun!

Craft day once again!

Spring time is here!

The Grad

2009-04-19T00:39:00.000-07:00

Our oldest son is graduating from high school next month! It is hard to believe that he is old enough, but of course time flies. We have had the privilege to home school Noah up until this year. He is finishing his last year of high school at our local community college while obtaining his freshman year credits. Not bad considering he is also finishing high school a year early and working 24 hours/wk at his job. Smart Boy! We are so proud of him! Here is his graduation video which is just a snapshot of our precious son...Enjoy!

Photo and video editing at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Oldies but Goodies

2009-03-25T23:05:00.000-07:00

I visited a friend's blog tonight and it made me laugh and feel glad that I have the privilege of being part of a very special club...The Old Mommies Club. I am 47 and I have nine children ages 1, 6, 6, 10, 14, 15, 17, 21, and 22! She wrote on the trials and joys of being a mother again at the age of 42. I understand her completely. Let me tell you about a week in the life of mom like me...
This week happens to be Spring break. Most of the time, since we home school, we take our breaks at times when everyone else is in school(it makes for shorter lines). But this year it just worked out that this was the week that most of my older kids had events with friends. So, this left me to be the break coordinator for the three little girls with baby on my back. Day one was The Children's Museum. I rubbed elbows with millions of mommies twenty years my junior. I love the look I get whenever people realize all these little girls are sisters. Inevitable someone will ask the questions of how many children I have and the usual jaw-drop happens. Actually, when it happened today for the third time I really was a little fed up. Sometimes I feel like an oddity, somewhere between an angelic host and a circus freak. Day two was rollerskating. I must admit I was not able to actually skate since Meseret was on my back again, but I was the walking guide as not one of the three little girls had ever skated before. Luckily, my fourteen year old son went with me and helped take the girls around the rink a few times. The next day the little girls stayed home with one of the older kids so I could go to the Social Security office(once again...baby on my back) and get Etsegenet and Meseret's numbers. This took almost two hours. Day four, that was today, I took them to the Science Museum. They spent a couple of hours looking around and I spent a couple of hours watching them look around and taking people to the bathroom and getting everyone a lunch. Again, I was fortunate that my 15 year old, Angelina, pushed Meseret all day in the stroller. After the museum it was dentist appointments and then tonight our family went to a play. I have not planned tomorrow yet, but Ray is taking the day off so we can do it together!
I hope this gives you an idea of one week in my life. Although it is not usually Spring break, the activity level daily is like this or greater: Homeschooling, ballet classes, soccer games, gymnastics, piano lessons, an occasional lunch with my mother, doctor appointments, dentist appointments, birthdays, play group....the list goes on and on. Sometimes I am exhausted by all the energy I expend on a daily basis and I must admit that this week my back definitely feels my age. But, God provides the times of refreshment I need to keep up with my family( yes, I do take naps, and Ray and I have date night once a week). I think too many woman miss the opportunity of embracing their own motherhood to its fullest extent because they feel they will miss out on their own time. Yet, I am happy and thankful when God opened my eyes to the knowledge that children truly are a blessing from Him I was able to cast out my fear of losing myself and open my heart to the joy of motherhood all the way through to its maturity!

The Heart of a True Mother

2009-03-22T01:13:00.000-07:00

I have thought long and hard about how to explain to my adopted children why a mother gives her child up. Since I have never been in a position to have to do this I asked God to help me find the truth when it comes to this question that all my adopted children will eventually ask. As usual God gave me the answer from his infinite wisdom. The truth came to me as I read from the book of Kings. Solomon was presented with a curious dilemma...two women, one child. Both women had given birth within three days of each other. After one mother had accidentally smothered her baby as it slept she exchanged her dead child for the live one. When the mother of the live baby awoke to find a dead baby next to her she was horrified. As she examined the little one more closely she realized that the dead baby she found was not her own. Both women appealed to King Solomon for a solution. Of course you know that the wise king called for a sword to cut the infant in two halves so each woman would get a fair share of the baby. One woman shouted, "Let the child live, give it to the other woman." The woman who had switched the babies said, " Let the child die. If I cannot have it, then no one shall have it." As these words are spoken it becomes clear what the heart of a true mother looks like...Life, not death. I have often wondered how a woman could choose to abort a baby, or why another woman in very difficult circumstances would choose to give her child to another woman to nurture and raise. This story makes it clear that a woman who truly is the mother of the child, regardless of her situation, will care more for that child than her own circumstances. Where one woman would choose death, another would release her child into the arms of a stranger in order that her baby might live. Each of the birth mother's of my adopted children have chosen to give life to their babies. There will never be a question about if their birth mothers acted with the heart of a "True Mother" or not because they need only to look at their own life to see that her noble act is complete and they life because of it.

Daddy's a Little Teapot!

2009-03-10T23:21:00.000-07:00

"I'm a little teapot short and stout!"

" Here is my handle, Here is my spout!"

When I get all steamed up, hear me SHHHOOOUUUTTT!!!

Tip me over and...

pour me out!!"

YEAH, DADDY!!

KISS!! KISS!!

I love you Daddy! Goodnight!

Grieving our Way Back to Continuity

2009-03-02T23:24:00.000-08:00

I am a poor substitute for a birth mother. At least it seems that way from my perspective. If I were asked as a child, "Would you like to be adopted, or would you like to keep the mom that gave you life?", I would have to answer, " I want my mommy(meaning my birth mom)!" Now being an adoptive mom that may seem hard to swallow, but really as I help my adopted children work through their different stages of grief I believe it is the only reasonable and loving attitude to have. Of course for various reasons each of my children's mothers were not able to raise them and if my kids were to have stayed with their birth moms I know that in some cases that it would not have been safe either emotionally, physically, and/or spiritually. Still from a child's perspective a heart yearns for that continuity. Each of my adopted kids have grieved the loss of their parents and as they grieve my heart grieves as well. I wish I could change it for them or at least carry their undeserved burden and give back to them what never should have been taken from them. But alas I am incapable, so my only option is to pray for their healing and simply hear their pain and remain steadfast in my love. And interestingly enough I have found that this is the road to find that continuity which they lost. Their pain has surfaced in each a little differently: Sometimes it looks like anger or rage, sometimes it looks like coldness or rejection, sometimes bed wetting, bad dreams, night terrors, under eating, over eating, depression, tears, running away. But make no mistake all these behaviors comes from the same spot...it is trauma due to a break in parental continuity. As I have worked through loss with each of my adopted children, healing takes place more and more. I believe that in some cases the best I can hope for is not total healing, but scarring. But with scarring comes strength in the broken places. We will see what God will do in the lives of my children that he chose to be the ones who survived the great difficulty of the separation of parent and child. Although I am no replacement for a birth parent, I have been chosen as well. And because God chose me for this job it is not hard to say to my children, " I am your mom and you are mine! God said so and he does not make mistakes! "Together we will forge the bond that is real, as real as any birth child and parent can know. These are my babies! Each one as precious to me as if they were from my own womb. And with time and consistency the message God has for them will be made clear..." You are loved, and you are home!" Once the bridge is built from birth parent to adoptive parent continuity is restored and trust and love can be reestablished in the heart of the child.

Finally an Update!!

2009-02-26T23:00:00.001-08:00

Eek! I haven't blogged forever. Just to let you all know we are still here and are doing great. Adjustments are continuing, and we are finding our new norm. In the midst of all the adjustments God is continually showing me his hand and I am finding joy as we grow as a family. Here are a few updated pics...
Top to Bottom:
1. My husband assures me he still is my best friend with beautiful roses.
2.The three girls learn to love the USA as we sing patriotic songs for school and learn the pledge of allegiance. Abigail is the Statue of Liberty!
3.We go on a little get-away to Seattle while Daddy is on business there. We are on top of the world at the Space Needle.
Meseret is exploring.
4. Isabelle and Abigail are exhilarated by the height.
5. Baby and Mommy enjoying the view.

6. Denis takes a look at Seattle from up above.
7. Etsegenet experiences a carousel.
8. Abigail, Anna, and Sege go round and round.

9. International friends are the best part of our home school group. They come from the USA, India, China and Ethiopia. What a blessing!
10. Miss Abigail just turned six. Hurray!

Pressing On

2009-01-30T23:20:00.000-08:00

This is the second time I have taught a ten year old how to speak, read, and write in English as their second language. I must say that I am thankful as I begin this undertaking again that I have some experience(although it is not that much). I have created a method to this task at hand. Math(thankfully) is a universal language, and since Etsegenet was attending school in Ethiopia she is at grade level in this subject. I have other friends who have adopted older children and they are starting at the beginning in mathematics. We begin each day with this subject. I read all the story problems and make sure that the concept of the day is understood and then E is on her own for most of the lesson. Once she has completed it I correct it right away. That way I ensure she is comprehending most of what is going on. Then it on to the major task of learning English. We have begun with a kindergarten/first grade level phonics program. It is called Explode the Code. When we first started, which was basically the Monday after she arrived from Ethiopia, we only did this subject. It covers the basics in short vowels and beginning blend sounds so she can begin to read. She is very fortunate to have learned most of her vowel and consonant sounds, although many are not being pronounced correctly. We have now added reading aloud, a grammar/English book and handwriting. In a week or so we will add spelling and parts of speech. All in all it is going great. By the end of this school year I will have her tested at the first grade level. Next year we will bust through 2ND and 3rd grade English and the next year will be 4Th and 5Th grade level which should bring her up to speed. This program worked so well with Denis that he is now able to do a high school level American Literature class at a ninth grade level even though he is technically only an eighth grader. We are excited about how she is doing and we are looking forward as we press on.

New Order

2009-01-19T14:01:00.000-08:00

Before I start this post I want to say that I am not an expert on adoption or claim to have all the answers. This post is simply to share with you some insights I have come upon through my own family experiences after having five biological children and adopting four others.

Every time a new child comes into a family a new order needs to be established. I have experienced this phenomenon with each birth or adoption. As a child enters the family there is a disorder that occurs prior to the "new norm". It takes about three to six months to see the completion of this reordering process. It is the most difficult time for the family since not one of us is able to escape the process. For me the biggest challenge is learning how to balance my mothering between the children that have been in the family longer and the ones that are just entering. I lower my expectations of how much I can accomplish as a good deal of my time will be taken up with helping various children find their new spot after displacement happens. As the ones that have been in the family begin to adjust to their new roles many feelings emerge. I have noticed that at this point any or all of my children may go through a grieving period. For example, our middle daughter was the youngest child for ten years. When our new little Abigail was born Angelina was very excited to be a big sister, yet once we got the baby home reality hit and Angelina went through a swing between joy and loss. She loved her new baby sister dearly, but now needed to find out where she fit in the family. She felt a little guilty at these feelings, but once they were validated she was able to move into her new role with grace.The nice part about this rather difficult time is that it is a process with a beginning and an end. As the adjustment is worked through new roles are established between the family members and new bonds are formed. If worked through properly the result is a closer family as individuals find value and confidence in their new spot. Most of us that have had more than one biological child have seen this take place. But if you add to this natural adjustment a traumatized adopted child the process is much more complicated. A mistake I have seen others make is to ignore or try to go around this adjustment process. Many times we are uncomfortable with the changes ourselves and might not feel qualified to deal with the amount of emotions that run through the family. But regardless of ones ability to deal with interpersonal relationships( that many times looks very ugly especially in an new adopted child) the process will continue. Your final result depends on to what extent you are able to work your family through this process. Make no mistake...you need tools to help you.

I want to focus now specifically on the process of adjusting an adopted child into a family. It is clear that each adopted child has had trauma. Whether they have been given up at birth or later. The trauma can range anywhere from loss of a parent to severe abuse. Once a child's normal path has been interrupted by trauma they no longer function out of trust, but fear. The fear based reactions of an adopted child can look pretty unusual. With our children we have seen everything from disassociation, hitting, yelling, and reverting to infant behavior, to running away and complete rejection. And although this is very dramatic behavior I will reiterate that when dealt with properly it will go away. As each incident is dealt with the erratic behaviour diminishes and the child's true self begins to come out as trust replaces fear. If an adoptive parent shies away from dealing with the true fear and grief a child comes into the family with they are dooming themselves and their child to a much longer adjustment period. I mentioned earlier that tools are required and we have always been open to all that we could find. Books such as Beyond Consequences by Heather Forbes can help or adoption support websites like: A Family 4ever. One tool that has been very effective for us with older foreign adoption is having an interpreter on hand for the first two months to allow our children to speak in their native tongue until they can acquire their new language. Another tool we use is asking hard questions to get at the truth of what is really going on. For instance we have asked our adopted children, " Do you know why you are here and what happened to make this necessary?". We deal with their situations truthfully when they are ready to handle it. We do not expect the healing process to be quick or go away after a few weeks. Some of the deepest level issues have emerged after years of having a child in our home. Before we adopted we decided to make sure our expectations were in check. My husband articulated this in a way that really helped me," We should not expect this child to love us. But we will love this child through our actions of taking care of his needs and after a lifetime of working with him if he reciprocates this love it will be a cherry on top! Surely he will be better off here than on the streets." This changed my perspective on the goal we were shooting for. My goal was not to have a perfect mother/child bonding experience. It was to help a child come to the spot where he could see who he is from God's perspective and inside a family is the safest, most effective way this occurs. Now I could do my work without having any expectations that my son should or would give anything back to me. My focus was not on what I might receive from this broken child, but what I needed to do to help him heal. It was a good thing because at first he was not very fun to be around. And of course at first you do not see an end in sight so it helps to have your emotions in check. Homeschooling has been one of the most effective tools when adjusting our older adopted children into our family. With Denis it allowed him to move to a healthier spot without the added burden of peer pressures. I was able to give him plenty of one on one attention so he advanced quickly with his English. If an issue came up I was better able to tell what was bothering him since I was around him all the time. He learned what a family was like and moved away from institutionalization. I am finding this to be true with Etsegenet as well. I will put a disclaimer in here...each family is different and their children have needs that do not match ours. I am not saying this is the only way, it has just worked well for us. Lastly, a quick list of "no-brainer", must have tools: PRAYER, lots of family meetings to work through feelings and character issues, regular Bible studies, and a network of people you can go to for advice. If you are wondering how we find time for all these gatherings, we do not watch network television at all(that's another post altogether).

I have just touched on a few of the tools we have used to help our family come to a new order as we continue to grow. I am sure others have different and just as effective tools. I would love to hear some of your suggestions as well. As we learn from one another may God be glorified and children grow in families that seek his face.

It's Never Too Late...

2009-01-11T14:09:00.000-08:00

This is my sweet father. He is eighty-seven and a new convert to the Christian faith. He will be baptized in just two weeks and will receive his first communion. All I can say is, "WOW! and Praise God!" I hope I never get too rigid to remember that God is not finished with any of us yet and you are never too old to be born into the family of Christ! We are celebrating along with the angels in heaven!

Cutest Baby EVER!

2009-01-09T00:52:00.001-08:00

Need I say more!

Grafted

2009-01-01T01:04:00.000-08:00

How long do you think it takes to heal the pain of abandonment? I don't know the answer and probably you do not either. But for my six year old the pain is still there. Not all the time like it was the first few months after we brought her home from China at one year old, but it still is present. I recently read a post on a friend's blog relating how her adopted daughter has trouble watching her sister(who happens to be bio)open birthday presents. These two siblings are very close in age just like two of my girls. My daughter Isabelle from China is just 5 months older than her sister Abigail. On Abigail's 5Th birthday Isabelle was visibly disturbed, which shortly turned to anger. My sister-in-law had given both the girls a small gift and then had given Abigail one more for her special birthday present. We made it through the evening, but the next day Isabelle was still angry. When I brought her into my bedroom to discuss what was going on she burst into tears and bawled, " I just want to go back to China!" I thought this was an interesting response to Abigail getting a birthday gift. She continued crying,"Why didn't she want me?" It turns out that this perceived inequality on Abigail's birthday reminded Isabelle emotionally of the inequality that occurred around her first birthday. That day on my bed Isabelle cried and I cried for my precious child and for the loss of her mother in China. We prayed for her China mom and Isabelle realized that day that the way God worked it out allowed her to not only have a mom who loved her as much as any birth mom, but also he gave her many siblings who will always be there for her too.This aspect of security and family strength gave Isabelle the ability to focus on the good work God had done in her life. I have never grafted a branch on to a tree, but this grafting that occurs with adoption takes a lot of tending and salve and nourishment. I bet it is quite a bit like that with a real tree. I would guess that you do not just drill a hole and stick a branch into the trunk and sit back and watch it grow. With adoption you cannot just bring a child into your home and think they will not need specific nurturing that will help them bond to your family tree. After an emotional issue like this one is worked through and resolution occurs we rarely see it as big again. As we talked through Isabelle's feelings about the loss of her mother and her country I saw in her a new sense of security with the family that God gave her. She knows for certain that the family that God grafted her into will hold her up as she continues to bond and grow. And as I watch this grafting process continue I see Isabelle flourish and I am certain that one day when she is fully mature she will bare much fruit!

Yahoo!

2009-01-01T00:18:00.000-08:00

It is the New Year and all I can say is, "I can't wait to see what God has in store for 2009!" We are celebrating all that He has accomplished in our family this year and are grateful for the love of God in our home and lives! Happy New Year to you all and blessings in the year to come!

Christmas Fun!

2008-12-28T02:12:00.000-08:00

Pictures are worth a million words! We are blessed and God is good!

Bonding

2008-12-23T08:29:00.000-08:00

Does God hold us even when we struggle to get away? Does he continue to keep us close and gently talk to us when we won't look him in the eyes? If we turn our back away from him when he is trying to give us milk, will he not turn us back his way to finish feeding us? The answer to all of these questions is,"Yes!" We sing about how God does all these things for us in church...we call it the love of God. It is no different with an adopted child. I have marveled over and over how I am role modeling God and man when I first begin to parent my adopted kids. I remember a time four years ago in Russia. We had only had our 10 year old son a few days and we were in Moscow finishing all the paperwork so we could go home. We had been running all over the city with Denis getting his physical, having official papers stamped, and buying souvenirs for everyone back home. One morning it was time to go to our embassy appointment and I could not find Denis. Finally,I came into the bathroom of our hotel room and found him sitting curled up with his arms around his knees and his head down, crying! I tried to comfort him and he would have none of me. There was a telephone in the bathroom so I called the front desk and asked if they would translate for me so I could understand the problem. I handed Denis the phone and after a few minutes of talking he handed it back. I asked the front desk person what the matter was and she said, "He just wants to know where you are going next." I told her where and she translated to Denis. After that he got up and got ready and came easily with us. I stood there a moment and realized how this boy and I are so much alike. Many times God will take us here and there without our understanding where we are going simply because we do not understand him. We cry and complain and sometimes refuse to go anymore. But when we hear his voice in a language we understand and he reminds us where we are headed then we relax and keep going with him.
So now with this adoption of Baby Meseret I understand that when she will not look me in the eyes or she struggles to get away from me when I rock her, she is having a common human reaction when trust is the issue. She has no idea if this person feeding her will stay or go, be nice or mean. Her random world has taught her well to be careful and to guard herself. So what do I do about this "rejection"? I know if this brokenness is not repaired she will remain broken emotionally always. So I simply do what my heavenly father does for each one of us. I hold her closer when she is struggling to get away until her tears stop. I interact with her on her level until she can look me in the eyes and I will continue to do this until she knows she can trust that I will not leave her or forsake her. She is my baby before I am her mommy...that is the way God made it, just as he is our father before we become his children. He adopted me.
It has been a month and a half since Meseret has been home and her bonding is going great. She still has times that are difficult for her when she does not want to draw near, but she will learn just as I have learned. Trust will continue to increase as time goes on and distrust will decrease because love is safe, even if the world is not!

My Crazy Little Christmas Elves!

2008-12-20T00:16:00.001-08:00

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

First Snow!

2008-12-16T22:39:00.000-08:00

In the Willamette Valley snow is a novelty! So at the first hint of it everything shuts down and kids run to
catch the first flakes. On Sunday our first snow fell and we all scrambled to find something warm enough to stay out as long as possible since the chances of it actually sticking are rare. Some of our kids actually got one of their Christmas presents early...snowsuits! Well this year we hit it big, three inches has stayed for three days and the forecast says more is on the way. Driving can be very scary since we are all novices here in Oregon. Etsegenet was hilarious throwing snowballs in flip-flops until her toes and fingers could not take it any more. Abigail was so excited she ran out of the house in her jamies, flopped herself down on the walkway and proceeded to make a snow angel. And although there was only a half inch of snow on the ground it looked pretty good and she could not have been happier about it. The big kids got in on the fun and I made the family our traditionally snow treat of cinnamon toast served warm outside in between snowballs fights! I love these days and I thank God for the breaks he sends us in only ways the he can...this time it was SNOW!

Tradition of the Heart

2008-12-09T22:56:00.000-08:00

One of my favorite Christmas traditions our family has is called, "The Jesus Box. Years ago when my kids just got old enough to be curious about the gifts under the tree I realized that there was no way they would focus on others when they kept wondering what was in each box for themselves. So I took all the presents out from under the Christmas tree and stored them back into my closet. Then I took a shoebox and wrapped it and cut a slit in the top. I attached a pen on a string to the box and cut up little pieces of paper and stacked them on the package. I told the kids that if they noticed anyone in the family doing something nice for someone else they could write what they saw on one of the slips of paper and put it in the Jesus box. The rule was they could only write about what they saw someone else do and not anything they did. That of course meant that if they wanted their name in the box they actually had to do nice things! This activity went on for the entire month of December. On Christmas morning the kids came into our bedroom so we could all go downstairs together. The Jesus box was brought out and after a prayer time it was the first present that was opened Christmas morning. Each slip of paper was read individually and the result was astounding. We realized how many nice things everyone really does do throughout our weeks. The little slips of paper said things like, "Angelina made coffee for Mom this morning." or, "Noah vacuumed without being told". We really felt like this put the focus of Christmas back where it belonged...others not self. This has remained one of our favorite family traditions for more than ten years and I am sure each of our kids will continue it on in their homes.

Candy Canes and Christmas Dresses

2008-12-07T23:59:00.001-08:00

The Christmas season has officially begun at our home! The annual tree cutting took place last weekend as well. We drove out to the tree farm and selected a beautiful 10ft noble. After the women selected just the right tree, it was the guys tough job to cut it down and put it on the car. Of course the gals stayed busy while the men worked by securing the photos for posterity and shopping at the quaint Christmas bazaar on the property.

The lights are another one of the guy jobs at Christmas time and ours do a fabulous job!

The little girls picked out their own Christmas dresses this year and had a wonderful time getting all dressed up Saturday night for their first Holiday party.

SHOTS!!!

2008-12-03T16:06:00.000-08:00

Yikes! We had to go to the doctor today for Etsegenet's first checkup. What an ordeal that was! Luckily they got an interpreter on the phone so that everything was carefully explained to E. Still, no matter how much explanation you give a child shots are traumatic, and this was no exception. At the first sight of a needle E began to wail! Two nurses were needed to hold her for her two shots in each arm and a TB test. After all this they brought out the blood draw kit and two more nursed were needed to keep E's arm still so they could retrieve a sample. She just cried and cried! Poor little thing. Once it was all through she clung to me. So many changes for one child, it is hard for her to understand this really is good for her. But after it was all over I let her pick what she wanted for lunch. The choice was pizza so we went over to the local mall's food court and had a lovely familiar lunch. She even tried a bite of my Indian food and liked it. Overall, even with the trauma of the shots, we had a great day of mother-daughter bonding. I must say that of all the brave people there are in the world, I think adopted children rank right up there with the bravest of all!

All is Well

2008-12-02T23:02:00.000-08:00

I am amazed at how well our newest daughters are adjusting into their family! We have had a few issues with food that is unfamiliar and some homesickness tears from Etsegenet, but overall she is doing great. We were able to get our Christmas decorations up last weekend. Going to find a tree was a real adventure for E. She loved roaming around and helping pick just the right one. I was able to start E in a grade appropriate math book this week and she is doing great with her English. She is very bright and is really enjoying homeschooling a lot. Today we played store so she could learn US coins. Etsegenet, Isabelle, and Abigail went "shopping" in the family room(grocery carts and all), while Angelina played the cashier. It was a great intro for all the girls into coin counting.

Meseret, our baby, is the princess of the house. She expects to be kissed regularly by as many lips as there are in the room. We of course, being her loyal subjects, comply without any problem. Her chubby cheeks just scream, "Kiss Me!" We all love it! This morning she woke up at 3:30am. I woke up not to her crying but to her singing and babbling. She must have played in there for 45 minutes. before I went and changed her diaper and gave her a bottle. It was so fun just to lie in bed and listen to her voice chattering away. I think she likes it here...I think they both do! I said to my friend yesterday that I keep waiting for the other shoe to drop, but I don't think it will. You have heard, "God never gives you more than you can handle." Apparently God did not think I could handle much since he gave me these two precious easy-going children. So for now all is well!

Completly Inadequate

2008-11-26T20:14:00.000-08:00

I just got done rocking my baby and I know I am completely inadequate to be the one who will convey the message of her worth. How can I ? She is absolutely precious, and beautiful, and a gift from God! I know you will believe this when I tell you, but will she? How can I convince her of her worth when her mind will tell her she is worthless? Would you believe me if I told you of your value? Many of you probably would not. Most of us will never understand the treasure we truly are and we will believe the lie of our worthlessness! How will this precious baby believe me when I tell her she is wanted and loved and treasured. All she will need to do is look to her beginning and say to herself..."That cannot be true, no one wanted me then, why should I believe you now?" It is not unlike most of you. How many of you had a past that was less than conducive to building your self worth. I asked God tonight to grant this child the ability to see her from His perspective. If she can do that she will be powerful! She will be gracious, and giving, and she will have the ability to share herself with others. If she does not believe the message that I will convey to her throughout her life than the opposite will happen. I felt what God must feel when he looks down on His precious creation and they say about themselves, "Yuck!" His heart breaks and Satan laughs! I wrote a poem some years ago and it is appropriate now for the message I want my Beautiful Baby Meseret to know. Read it and know your worth as well:

God's Perspective

Before you were born I knew you
Be aware of my love just for you!

I saw all the others I'd already made
And began to design anew

The way that you were from the day you were born
Is the way that I want you to be

And the worth that I placed on you before you became
Is the worth that I want you to keep

When I wove you together inside the womb
I saw your delicate soul

In you I could see all that you could become
And I made you completely whole

I'm aware what you think of the person I made
You think that your not so fine

But how can you put more worth on things
Than you do on what I designed?

You can say in your head and repeat in your heart
The lies you have heard all your life

But if you listen to them and forget what I've said
You will never be done with your strife

Do you know the reason I made you? Listen to this!
It's for you to be close just to me

Because no one can love you a fraction as much
As the one who made your heart beat

You look to the hills and see beauty outside
Yet pass over the most beautiful of all

The one in your mirror that you run from in fear
The one that I long to call

Could coming to me be harder
Than the life that you already have?

Or do you think that the things I will ask you to do
Will be more than your willing to give?

So now you decide, turn to me or just hide
But my love will not go away

If you keep turning your face you can never feel my grace
Even though I'm there always

Draw near to me and I promise
I never will let you down

For the closer you step the closer I'll come
Beside when I hear your voice sound

Now look to my work and notice
That the love that I talk of was proved

So long ago I came into your world
And died on a cross to save you

Whatever in your life you've done
is not what matters to me

It's only what will happen in the future
And what you choose for eternity

So don't take too long to decide if I'm wrong
For I wish only to be with you

For the rest of your days down on earth and always
Child feel your worth through and through

God's Timing

2008-11-25T22:29:00.000-08:00

As you know with this adoption God had his perfect timing with its planning and completion. For instance, we had wanted to pass court in August, but since we did not, God gave us a vision to plan and execute a fund raiser. If we had passed court in August that fund raiser and the money that it produced would not have come about. We do not know the eternal results of that night, but I am sure lives were saved because of it. What amazes me most is that this is not just my experience, but so many others as well. We have some friends who are adopting for the second time from China. When they first heard about their little girl in China they had not even considered adoption. Yet the day after they heard of her they began taking steps to adopt her. Many miracles occurred that confirmed this was the decision that God wanted. While they were in China they received two photos of their daughter playing on a slide. In those pictures was a little boy slightly older than their girl with the same unusual wrist condition that she has. They were drawn to this child immediately. After they went home from China with their daughter this family began to search for this boy on every special needs waiting child list they could find from any agency they came across on the web. This search went on for a year and a half. Now keep in mind that this referral could have gone to any country that adopts out of China. If it did come to America his referral could have landed in almost any agency. Well one night as they were at a discipleship group that we attend as well, the mom overheard me telling of the AWA blog where Beautiful E's photo had been posted because they had had a birthday party and she was one of the kids in the picture. She went home and, although she was tired, that mom went onto that AWA site and looked at the waiting child's list and found that same little boy they had been searching for all that time. They are now in the process of adopting that boy and, while they are having delays just like we experienced, we can say with confidence that this boy will come home! To find out more about their story check out their blog. So for all of you still waiting to get paperwork done, or waiting to pass court, or waiting to travel, be assured God knows what he is doing and he will see it through in His timing.

The Fun Firsts!

2008-11-24T22:24:00.000-08:00

As I said in an earlier post, one of the things I enjoy about this part of the adoption process is seeing the wonder and excitement as my child experiences "firsts". I thought I would share a few of E's with all of you!

(playing dolls with Big Sister)

(listening to a piano duet)

(coloring with Little Sisters)

(swinging on the swings in our backyard)

(first beauty salon expeirience)

(awesome braids!)

(first day of home school)

Goodbyes and Hellos!

2008-11-22T23:42:00.001-08:00

How does one say goodbye forever to a child they love? It is hard for me to speak to this because it is a difficulty I have not had to face. But from these photos taken by Ray of the parting at the AWA Transition House I would say these women instilled themselves into my child and sent her to her new life with a great deal of love and hope. That is what I see in the eyes of this child...love and hope! What gracious, selfless women these are!

(One of the nannies lovingly gives Beautiful E a send off kiss)

(Fortuna, the TH nurse and a second mother to Etsegenet)

(Etsegent and Zenesh, the older girls' live in nanny. They love her so!)

(E's school teacher)

(Where it began...and now the goodbye)

(A new adventure!)

(New Friends with a warm welcome)

(New sisters with plenty of love to share)

(And of course, a sweet reunion!)

Although sometimes we must give something very precious up and take a leap of faith, let's learn the lesson that Beautiful Etsegenet has learned so well. Our mighty God never leaves you empty, and he always provides abundantly to overflowing! E is safe now. My prayer and longing has been answered and satisfied. This journey that we began seventeen months ago has come to completion. We are forever grateful to our Lord for growing our family not according to the world's standards or expectations, but according to His. I want to thank all of those who have sustained us with prayer. The battle has been won!

Straight From a Dad's Heart

2008-11-21T10:10:00.000-08:00

Day Six, Friday, November 21st

Ray emailed me as soon as he landed in Washington DC. This is his note to me, it speaks volumes! He is on his way home and we will see them at PDX at 6:00pm. Let us Rejoice!!

Etsegenet and I are doing really well, we just landed in Washington after a very long flight from Ethiopia (as you know). Still to my amazement Etsegenet is so happy to come to America without any sadness in leaving Ethiopia and all her relationships. Saying good-bye to Barrett and Rachel was tearless, Rachel had tears of happy/sad emotions, but I think she will be okay.

This trip has really been the trip of many lessons for me:

1. Trust God with everything, Big or Small. HE actually knows what HE is doing!

2. Ethiopian culture is completely kind to all types of people and situations. The poor in this country probably give more than 10% of their wealth to their neighbors.

3. To be a better Father for all my children, Etsegenet really loves me because she now has a father who will provide and protect her...she has shown me her on-going appreciation through her action...she holds my hand everywhere we go, rubs my hairy arms, kisses me on the cheek with thanks, and smiles at me and says "I'm happy".

4. Acknowledge that truth in my life is you Theresa. I know I have been "gray" in my relationship with you and the kids and that will change. As we have done many "truth" projects in our life, they all have been driven by you! Thank you for enriching my life with opening my eyes to real purpose.

May God continue His work through us...

Love you and all my children very much,

Raymond John/Dad

Etsegenet's Peace

2008-11-20T18:42:00.000-08:00

Day Five, Thursday Morning, November 20TH 8:30am
(Wednesday Night, 7:30pm Ethiopian Time)

A sweet note was sent to me this morning from Rachel. It sums up the answer to my prayer: That Beautiful Etsegenet will be confident and contented heading off to her new life in America. We have prayed for her for many, many months and the Lord is good! Here is the email that was sent:

Hey,
I'm totally thinking about ya'lls big family reunion at the airport. How fun!
I wanted to share this with you....I hung out with Ray and Etsegenet for the couple of hours before they left. Towards the end Etsegenet and I were in the kitchen, and she started singing "I've got peace like a river, I've got peace like a river, I've got peace like a river in my soul....I've got joy like a fountain, Ive got joy like a fountain......"
it just made me cry....that was just a total expression of how she is feeling. She is SO excited to get on that plane and get to her family! She is feeling totally peaceful and joyful about it. So I was crying in amazement at this little girl, thankfulness for her, etc.

Lots of love,
Rachel

This note reminded me that while I was in Ethiopia two and a half weeks ago Etsegenet did a similar thing. After we left the transition house and all the families were getting on the bus to go back to the hotel( E got to stay with us at the Addis View for the week), Etsegenet burst into song in English,"My God is so great, so strong and so mighty, there's nothing my God cannot do!" She sang the entire song and the adults that were on the bus began to sing with her. If there ever was a moment in this adoption process that I doubted the sovereignty of my God I apologize! This child born across the sea, was placed first in my heart, then tomorrow she will be placed in my arms as a blessing to me, and although I am sure I do not deserve such a rare gift I will most gratefully and humbly accept her for the glory of God and His kingdom to come!

Finally Some News!

2008-11-19T22:49:00.000-08:00

Day Four, Wednesday Night, November 19Th
(Thursday Morning Ethiopia time)

Finally I received a call from Ray tonight. He was not able to call yesterday as the guesthouse attendant did not allow it. Apparently he did not understand that Ray would pay for his own call. Bummer. Well better communication today allows us to talk!
The embassy appointment went well and all documents are signed and the visa and passport should be ready today sometime. After the embassy yesterday, Ray was able to get a little shopping done. He purchased many more scarves for all us women in various vibrant colors(all of us love these scarves!). Apparently Etsegenet does as well as Ray told me she confiscated the fuchsia one for her own(smart girl...she grabbed it early). After shopping Ray got a taxi and he and E went over to the Sheraton Hotel for a swim. The original plan had been the Hilton, but the pool was closed. Etsegenet had never been in a pool before and briefly went under while in the shallow end. Although the water only came up to her waist she was disoriented for a moment. Ray grabbed her and she clung to him. It was a little fright. After that he took her to the little kids swim area where there was a slide and the water was a little more shallow. Once she was there she had a blast! Her new red swimsuit and matching cover-up look great Ray said.
Just a side note for any of you thinking of adopting older kids. One of the most enjoyable aspects of older child adoption is when you get to see one of their "firsts". For example: Riding an elevator, trying on new clothes at a department store, skiing, seeing the ocean, sleeping in a full length twin bed with new sheets, their first pet, Christmas with the family! The list goes on and on.
Today Ray was going to do a little more shopping, visit the orphanages and distribute the gifts we had brought for Fortuna(the TH nurse), Rachel and Barrett. We had bought a few clothes for Robel, our guide, and they were a hit. Everything fit and he loved them. The Lusse family sent some glow sticks for him. He had seen them and thought they were great when we came last time. Thanks to the Lusse family he now owns his own! I'm sure this day will fly by for Ray and after he receives the final passport and visa he and E will be heading over to the airport. They will get their by 6:30pm Ethiopian time and fly out at 10:15pm. Please, please pray for a peaceful and safe trip for my sweet husband and newest daughter. We miss them so and are praising God for his powerful hand as this adoption is finalized and completed. You know Ray and I both agree that once the adoption is finished it is all just good parenting from then on and I cannot wait for Beautiful E to get home so we can do just that!

Is That the Finish Line?

2008-11-18T09:01:00.000-08:00

Day Three, Tuesday Morning, November 18Th
(Ethiopia Time: Tuesday Night)

I heard from Ray this morning. He finally made it to Addis with almost no sleep. He is working on negative energy. When he arrived at the Addis Ababa airport he was met by Justine Gamble who was there retrieving her luggage that was delayed by a day. All her baggage is now in her custody. All Ray's bags arrived safely.
The transition house goodbyes were beyond sad. ALL the nannies were bawling and poor little Meti (Etsegenet's best friend at the TH) was very sad, as we all expected. Our only comfort is that she will be very much doted on by all the loving nannies until her mommy and daddy pick her up in January. E's birth mother was there for the send off. Ray was able to get photos of E when she was younger. This goodbye was sad, but not as painful as we expected. It was the nannies that were the most difficult for her to leave. As you have heard so often, they REALLY love these children. This is not just their job, it is their life.
Ray and E are now at the second guest house some five blocks away from the rest of the AWA families. This is not the best situation for them, but he will manage just fine with lots of Uno and coloring. Angelina sent her newest sister her last care package. It had games, candy, new fun socks and a teddy bear. We were able to talk to E on the phone today and she thanked Angelina for her gift. She is such a sweetie. I can't believe she will be home in just three days!!
Ray is planning on emailing me and calling me tomorrow night. They will be sleeping today and by the time I wake tomorrow they should be preparing for their embassy appointment. I will keep you informed as soon as the information comes in. Keep praying, we are almost at the finish line! Praise God!

Updates from Ray

2008-11-17T08:00:00.000-08:00

Day One, Sunday, November 16TH: Check in United Airlines at PDX:

Theresa,

The blue tote full of the donations was 74 lbs and the first United personnel said "that will not work!"...but once again God sent the same angel, actually the same lady that checked us in two weeks ago. She wanted to hear everything that happened two weeks ago and her associate next to her remember us as well. They both wanted to see pictures and I told them both that on my business travels that I would swing by and share them...once again "no charge" for the bags that according to the first point of contact this morning stated "that will not work!"

All things are possible when God is in control. I really need to remember that on this trip.

Love you,
Raymond John

DAY TWO, Monday, November 17TH: Check in Ethiopian Airline at Dulles

Good morning my wife.....

Same guy checked me in from two weeks ago, no discussion took place he just processed the ticket and checked-in the bags...no charge. Only bummer right now is that I have a center seat.

I love you,
Ray

PS. Manute Bull, the basketball player is on this flight...he is so tall! I asked him if he remembered you from the sidelines:) By the way I was able to obtain an aisle seat!

To the Rescue!

2008-11-15T22:58:00.000-08:00

Two weeks ago while we were in Ethiopia Ray met his nine year old daughter for the first time. A bond began to form between them and by the end of our week it was clear Etsegenet was happy to have a father.
Ray played Uno at least twenty-five times, gave Etsegenet Sees candy, made her a spaghetti dinner from our store of dehydrated camp food, and colored with her. For part of the time Etsegenet just wanted to watch her dad color in her new Barbie color book.

So one day Ray colored a beautiful picture of a prince riding through the forest to rescue the beautiful princess. He crossed out the names on the page and inserted Dad for the prince and E's name for the damsel in distress. He gave this color page to her with a promise that in two weeks her daddy would indeed come to get her and bring her safely home. She carefully stored the picture in her new carry on. The look of hope on her face is an image I stored carefully in my mind.

Well tomorrow morning at the crack of dawn Prince Dad will begin his arduous trek to bring our Beautiful Etsegenet home. He said to me this week that the only cure for the plight of the orphan is to give them a home and now their in one less fatherless child in the world. I don't know about you, but I think every girl wants a daddy just like this.

Birthday Baby!

2008-11-13T22:37:00.001-08:00

Tuesday November 11Th was our Baby Meseret's first birthday! I thank the Lord that she is here with us on this day. She decided to give her family and birthday surprise by taking her first steps. She dazzles us with her laughter and brightens our home with her presence. The transition into her new life has been incredibly smooth and I attribute this to the excellent care she received at the AWA Transition House. Meseret Joy means a foundation of joy, and she is just that!

Bringing Etsegenet Home!

2008-11-06T07:35:00.000-08:00

Well here we go again! Just 10 days until Ray makes the long trek back to Ethiopia to pick up our Beautiful Etsegenet. As we parted last week her tears were flowing as she clung to us. She kissed us and Baby Meseret goodbye and we promised her it would be just two weeks before she would come home forever. I did not think I would have to experience leaving another child in a foreign country again as I had to with our son Denis in Russia. It hurt just as badly this time. As we left it was bittersweet. I had my Meseret in my arms cooing while by Beautiful Etsegenet faded from sight as we drove away! Such agony. After we got home our Ethiopian coordinator wrote what happened with Etsegenet after we left the hotel:

Theresa,
Its 8:15pm here….i just dropped Etsegenet and Meti off at the TH. And ya'll probably haven't boarded the plane yet! Etsegenet cried for a long time…she wouldn't even talk to Meti. We went and got dessert…she didn't want ice cream but she ordered a piece of cake. But she didn't eat it. On the way back to the TH I called Furtuna…she was at a café that was on our way home. So we stopped, so that Furtuna could talk to her. It was only about 5 minutes, Furtuna came out to the car. Immediately after that Etsegenet was feeling better…we could tell because she started talking to Meti. Back at the TH she took her suitcase up to her room….I peeked in and all the kids were gathered around and she was showing them every item. Then I saw one of the kids go to the kitchen to get a serving tray….so I think they were breaking into the food. She gave Furtuna the whole bag of apples. I love that about their (Ethiopians) nature… they love to give whatever they have, whatever they receive.
She's gonna be okay.

My only comfort was that we did pass court and we have custody of Etsegenet. It takes about two weeks to get her paperwork in line. Well the paperwork is coming together and the tickets will be purchased today! We are so close to having this battle for our child be over. Rachel our coordinator in Ethiopia is fantastic! She cares for each case as if it is the only one on her plate. I don't know how she does it. We will keep you posted as the time gets closer. Continue to pray for protection over E as she waits for her Daddy to save her and that nothing hinders Ray's quick return to Ethiopia to bring our child home.

The Formula Trip

2008-11-04T07:19:00.000-08:00

After the Project Impact fundraiser Ray and I were asked to speak at a midweek family discipleship group. At the end of our talk there was a gracious outpouring of funds that, when all was said and done, came to close to $1000.00. We bought 200lbs. of formula, repacked it into airtight, vacuumed-packed bags to reduce the weight, and lovingly placed it in 18gal tubs to make the long trip to its final destination....Kids Care Orphanage, Ethiopia. Here is a photo essay on the trek of this precious commodity that I am sure will save more than one child's life. Thanks to all who participated financially and prayerfully in this endeavor!

We're Home

2008-11-02T22:53:00.000-08:00

After a grueling thirty-four hour trip we made it back home! Our family and friends were at the airport to greet us and one family lovingly took photos and video of the entire welcome home. What a gift! We stayed at the airport and visited for a short while then Ray, and I, and our children went home to just be together and love our new baby. She is the perfect center of attention and had no problems fitting into that spot!

Tonight we had a birthday celebration for our 15-year-old daughter. All the family came and brought food and we enjoyed the togetherness. We missed our children so much and it is good to be reunited with them. But a huge piece of our heart remains in Ethiopia until we can bring Beautiful Etsegenet home so she can be in our next family photo. It won't be long until our hearts sing for joy!

Our Daughters!

2008-10-30T11:37:00.001-07:00

	Come see Our Daughters in Ethiopia 8/6/08

Theresa has shared Our Daughters in Ethiopia 8/6/08, a montage created at One True Media.

A personal message from Theresa:

This is the day that the Lord has made. Let us rejoice and be glad!

See Our Daughters in Ethiopia 8/6/08 online.

Our Daughters in Ethiopia 8/6/08

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God Has Spoken!

2008-10-30T11:09:00.001-07:00

Dearest friends and family the miracle that we all have fervently prayed for has come! Etsegenet passed through the Ethiopian court system today and she is ours! I cannot express the amazing miracle this is. God has moved and I am in awe. After ten attempts it took us coming to fight for this child ourselves before the hold on Etsegenet was broken and she is set free! It still will take two weeks for her documents to be obtained (birth certificate and passport) in order to get her visa, but very soon you will meet the most prayed for child in all of Africa!!! God be praised and glorified for what he has accomplished for his good will. Thank you all for not giving up and never doubting God's sovereign power. Enjoy the pictures!

More Suprises and Prayer needs

2008-10-29T12:21:00.000-07:00

Well the day has come to sing our praises to the Lord. Many months ago I wrote on Meseret's garment of praise and today she wore it at her embassy appointment. There were many days when I wondered if this dress would fit our daughter by the time she got to put it on, but it fit perfectly. God is good and we are blessed! Another surprise happened this morning. Rachel our guide came to our room unexpectedly and told us that Aster, the director for Kids Care orphanage, was going to take us to court to appeal for Beautiful E! Apparently this was possible ONLY because Ray and I are in Ethiopia. So after our embassy appointment we were escorted to Kids Care to meet Aster. She graciously offered us an amazing Ethiopian meal. Apparently she was already having guests from Sweden and we were able to eat with all of them. It was delicious. As a side note, Meseret is a BIG eater and she helped herself to the meal as well. After we finished eating we went with the administrator for Kids Care (I can't remember his name, Aster, and the legal aide, Germachew to court. We sat and sat and sat and finally those three had some business to do, then came back and sat some more. All said we were there at court for two hours. Both the girls did great waiting so long. The final decision for the day was that Beautiful E's medical paperwork needs to be translated by tomorrow and we need ANOTHER favorable letter from MOWA stating they approve our adoption. IF all these things are together by tomorrow we will obtain custody of Beautiful E. It will still take another two weeks to acquire all the necessary paperwork for her to travel home. At any rate I am not getting my hopes up until we get through this tangled system. Keep us in your prayers! Continue to pray for Meseret's paperwork as well since she needs one medical clearance to finish this up. We are expecting it to come through Friday morning. Thank you to everyone who is taking such good care of our children at home. We are blessed to have friends like you.

Watch and See!

2008-10-28T13:25:00.001-07:00

I really want everyone know how much we appreciate your prayers and the love you have shown to our family in our absence. And I also want to thank you for your patience with me as the blogging has not been as frequent or as full as I would have liked. I know everyone has been waiting to hear our news. First, we now have Meseret in our arms! She is even more beautiful than we had imagined. This goes for Beautiful E as well. Beautiful E was given permission to stay with Ray and I this week at the hotel. She has not been able to pass through court this week and there are no allowances on any court appeals. We will not be brining her home until late November. But before everyone feels that this was not the answer to prayer that we wanted, let me correct you….this was the BEST answer for our beautiful daughter. Please understand that our prayers were answered in the most amazing way. We all prayed that E would pass through court, we just did not know when we prayed this that it was not E that needed to pass, but it was Ray and I that needed to pass through the court of a mother's heart. We were given an opportunity to meet with E's sick mother. She is a most amazing, beautiful, and Godly woman and Beautiful E resembles her in all of these ways. We were sanctified through a process that only God could have brought about. In a small dark room two mothers and one father joined together in unity to assure the safe keeping of a child's heart and soul. E's mother was given the gift of eternal peace knowing that she would separate with E for this short time of life only to be reunited with her for all eternity. And God was present in that tiny room. This is E's time to be with her mother in her last days and on November 8 all the paperwork will be at court for the tenth time and we will see if it passes. If not, it really does not matter because it will eventually. God told me was E does not need to pass through court. She needed to pass from one mother's arms right into the arms of another. The paperwork is just a side note in a miracle that God planned long ago when a dying mother sent up a petition to the maker of the universe and requested that her daughter be safe for eternity. I do not understand how I got to be the one to complete this work that God started on the day this child was born, but I am. I do not feel qualified or worthy, but I can see how much God loves this child and I am sure that the tools I need will be provided. This work that was started will be finished as the love of God is revealed fully in the life of Beautiful E…just watch and see!

Working it Through

2008-10-26T23:35:00.001-07:00

We have been here in Addis for two days now and it is hard to describe or process the feelings about what I have seen and experienced here so far. I find it hard to sleep tonight. My mind repeats the images of poverty and brokenness all around: Mothers nursing babies on the roadside with only an umbrella as a home, staring blankly, Old men with one pant leg safety pinned around the stump of what was once their other limb, A blind beggar woman reaching into space hoping for a coin, and the vista from the Addis View Hotel…a shanty town of tin shacks. Yet as disturbing as these images are I have also seen a side of Addis that brings hope: A few, like our guide, a young man of twenty-six, have lifted themselves out of the depths of poverty and despair by shear grit and determination. Step by step they mark a road to a better life for others to follow. As I sat next to him in church today and worshipped the same God who loves this man and these people I felt unity in that place. Yet I cannot understand this puzzle I have experience here. I am sure there is much God wants us to learn. In his time revelations will happen.

In a few hours I will meet my children for the first time. Ray and I will be the first in our group to be introduced to Beautiful E as she is the oldest child meeting parents today. I wonder if she will like me, I wonder if she is as nervous as I am right now. I love her although I have not met her. I have committed my life to this child. It is a lot like an arranged marriage, you choose to become family with a complete stranger and the feelings will grow into an inseparable bond as time goes on. We will have our time with Beautiful E while the other families in alphabetical order will hold their children for the first time. The bonds will be welded together in that courtyard past the green gate. Then it will be Meseret's turn to come home into my arms. I love this baby that came from a difficult beginning into her life of love, and family, and hope, and eternity. How is it that these few precious little ones are the chosen? There a five million people in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia alone, yet only five babies were chosen this day to have a ticket to the land of opportunity. Beautiful E has a family, and a bed, and new clothes, and food, and education waiting for her in America, yet one piece of paper and a rubber stamp keep her back from her future. It is a puzzle I cannot solve tonight. So my prayers have gone up to the God of the universe that loves each man, woman and child on this entire planet and knows each of them individually. I have petitioned, and pleaded, and cried out for a chance that my daughter will be released from her paper jail so that her future is secure. God knows and I await his answer on my daughter, in faith, regardless of the outcome. We are in his hands.

We Made It!

2008-10-25T05:58:00.001-07:00

We finally made it to Ethiopia! No glitches. All the bags were in tact and the formula is SAFE! We are staying at the Addis View hotel which really doesn't have much of a view, but the room is clean and we even have a little balcony. After we got unpacked we went to a large market that reminded me of Mexico. We found a few things, but mostly we were just tired and overwhelmed by all the poverty and filth. The one highlight though is the beauty of the Ethiopian people. Tonight those of us that are here(Lusse, Redfern and VanWetten families) will go out with Rachel and Barret for dinner. I am looking forward to meeting them. Tomorrow we will go to church and....well I don't know yet! I thank everyone for their care for us and all the prayers you have sent up and all formula you sent! I am sure after what I saw today it will be a huge blessing!

We're OFF!!

2008-10-23T15:59:00.000-07:00

So we made it through the first leg of our journey and God is with us! We had absolutely no problems with check in and the gal from United Airlines was an angel I am sure. Our flight seemed to....well, fly by! And once we were in Washington D.C. we made our way down to baggage claim. A sweet young gal came up to me and told me she and her husband were with AWAA as well. She seemed to know me and when I looked confused she said she has watched my blog, knew my name, and saw it labeled on our cases of formula. We hugged and it was like a little touch of heaven. I had prayed this morning that God would continue to show himself so my faith remains strong through this journey. This unexpected surprise of meeting the wonderful Terwilleger family was just the confirmation I needed to let me know once more that he is in charge of all of this. Next stop...Ethiopia!!

Complete!

2008-10-21T23:39:00.000-07:00

I am thrilled to inform all of you that our packing is complete and everything comes in at the 50 lb. mark. This is the before...
This is the after...

And another unexpected surprise came in tonight. A friend put an ad on Craig's List and received 40 more cans of formula for us to take along. She also acquired about 40 single serves and 24 single servings of extra nutritious formula for sick infants!! We ended up taking out the clothing donations which will now travel with the Gamble family to Ethiopia in several weeks. We decided the formula was more important now. The clothing can wait just a bit. We give God the glory for his provision for these children!

Packing, Packing, Nothing but Packing!!

2008-10-20T22:22:00.000-07:00

Usually I love puzzles: sudoku, crossword, or even an occasional very complicated 1000 piece puzzle. But can I tell you, I am sick of this suitcase puzzle. Hundreds of items...no, more likely thousands of items must not only fit into our luggage, but each suitcase is not suppose to weigh over 50 lbs. Just a side note here: I am using my VERY old bathroom scale and so far each case is weighing in very accurately at exactly 50 lbs. What I am afraid of is when I get to the airport I will find out that I actually have to go on a diet because my suitcases will weigh in five pounds over their allotted tonnage and I will know the truth about what I have suspected all along. My scale has been lying to me all these years! Back to my problem. See if you can help me...Each of us gets just two pieces of luggage that cannot weigh more than the allotted amount. We can have one carry on each with one personal bag. Here is the real glitch: I have two hundred pounds of formula alone. So much for our check in bags. That leaves me with only two carry ons for our clothing, plus the baby's clothes, plus care packages for our friend's children, some food for our trip, a computer, a camera, a video camera, nanny gifts, gifts for the orphanage, toiletries, medical kit, documents, baby backpack, some clothes and goodies for Beautiful E...well, you get the picture.
O.K., so here is my solution; Bite the bullet and pack two extra suitcases at the unhappy tune of $130.00 each. Oh well, I see no other way. So for tonight I will rest and in the morning I will go at it again until I win and there are no more Ethiopia essentials scattered all over my living room and family room floors. I will try to show you a picture tomorrow. Good Night!

Encouragement in the Lord

2008-10-17T01:11:00.000-07:00

Last night Ray and I were asked to speak at a youth discipleship group. Some of the leaders have a heart for adoption and were extremely concerned when they heard of the dire need the orphanage in Ethiopia has in regards to a lack of formula for the babies. At the end of our talk the group was informed that we will be taking as much formula to Ethiopia as they want to fund. By the end of the night we were blessed with $807.00!! We were blown away by the generosity in the room. Kids were handing me wadded up twenty dollar bills. A couple of young men gave somewhere around two hundred dollars.
Today I went to Costco and purchased 85 cans of formula. A woman who was shopping was curious about what it was for and I explained how we are going to Ethiopia to pick up our baby and did not want to go there without food for the ones left behind. She was so touched that as I was leaving the store she came up to me and gave me all her cash, about $17.00. I was so shocked that a total stranger would care about the kids I care about; I got tears in my eyes and we hugged. As I was about to start to load the formula in my car the same woman's husband and son came and insisted they would load all the product for me. Then the man dug into his pocket and handed me another $20.00! He gave me the biggest hug and told me they must have driven all the way from Idaho just to help me today. I was speechless, but not too surprised because it is clear that God loves these babies and wants them to eat. I told him that it is very possible that he just saved a child's life and he said,"I hope so." As they left I went back into the store to purchase the four more canister's of formula they had just funded. The word's from the Bible came to my mind..."True religion is this: that you take care of widows and orphans in their distress and keep ones self from being polluted by the world."
Tonight some of my kids helped my vacuum pack the formula into sealed bags so we could fit it all into the suitcases. Here are a few pics to show you the result of this unexpected blessing!! I can't wait to give it to the workers in Ethiopia, and I hope it encourages them in the Lord as much as it has encouraged me.

Suprise Party!

2008-10-13T09:27:00.000-07:00

We are blown away with new information that our baby did pass through court last Tuesday and is our newest family member. We will continue to fight to pass Beautiful E through the Ethiopian court system and are believing for a miracle. Ray and I will be traveling out on the 23rd of October to bring our baby home. While we are there we will attempt to appeal on behalf of Beautiful E. Her paperwork now has all the required pieces and she does have a new court date of November 8, but we will try to get it pushed through while we are there. Who knows? God can do anything. In the meantime I would like to introduce our new little girl...Meseret Joy VanWetten.

Quick update!!

2008-10-12T22:20:00.000-07:00

Project Impact exceeded our expectations by thousands of dollars! We raised 40k last night! How can we thank the Lord enough for his abundant provisions for the helpless. 100% of the monies will go directly to buying formula, diapers, food and everyday provisions for the children awaiting their forever families in the AWA transition house and Kids Care Orphanage! We hope this helps stabilize this program and give encouragement to all those who work on behalf of these children in Ethiopia.
The AWA families that attended the event came from five different states and joined hearts with a unified bond that comes from adoption. We love them all and thank all those who prayed so hard for this event. God heard and was faithful!

Refocus

2008-10-09T07:20:00.000-07:00

The news we received yesterday is still painful and raw. But now I must turn my attention to what is at hand and what God has asked me to do. In two days our fundraiser will go on and I have no time to think of what ifs. My children will remain in Ethiopia for more time now and funds must come in to supply the ever increasing need. There are fifty children residing in the AWAA Transition House and many more than that live at the orphanage. With the skyrocketing costs facing not only Ethiopia, but the world, how do you think the room and board for these children is covered? The answer...it is not. There is a shortfall. These homes are not self-sustaining. When we entered this adoption program our fees were set to cover that cost. Yet as the economy has changed globally and with delays in getting the children out of Ethiopia, these fees fall far short of the actual cost of the elongated stay these children must endure in the transition house. We trust in God that he knows what he is doing by not allowing out paperwork to pass through court yesterday. I do not understand everything that He is doing, but I do know what he has asked me to do. So for now my faith must increase as I wait for my babies to come home and my focus must remain not on what I cannot touch, but on what I can do. Let His will be done this weekend with Project Impact and I pray that the funds that are raised will allow these orphans of Ethiopia to thrive until God brings them home to their forever families.

Heartbreaking!

2008-10-08T08:16:00.001-07:00

We have such sad news. We did not pass court last night. Apparently the rules have changed and not all the paperwork was there for our older child. Our new court date is November 8. The battle will continue, but I feel numb. I have no words to express the situation. I will post again later.

A Plea

2008-10-07T09:54:00.000-07:00

I am feeling very emotional today. The Ethiopian courts are now open and running. Tonight as we sleep(well you not me) our case will go once more before a judge and await an approval that will give us custody of our two girls. This adoption battle, once all is said and done, will have taken one and a half years. I appeal once more to God that he will grant mercy on all of us so we can travel on October 25Th to Ethiopia and bring these children safely home.

Sun Kissed Mountainside

2008-10-05T00:10:00.001-07:00

I feel as though I am on the cliff of a mountain perched, ready to jump once again into the eternal free fall that I have taken before with adoption. In less than one month I will see the faces of my newest children and I can't help but wonder once again....Will they love me too? I made a decision long ago to take them into my heart, will they do the same with me? I think this may be one of the scariest things about God. He asks us to do things that require unconditional obedience, regardless of the outcome. Yet tonight I was calmed a little by a chance meeting I had at a cancer research fundraiser. I met Solana tonight. A beautiful young soul. Her name refers to the sun as it first touches its warm raise on the mountainside. She is twenty-nine, not much older than my oldest daughter. A woman, yet in some ways just a little girl. I felt she could have been my child. As we talked tonight I saw her beauty and her pain. I wanted to touch her heart and let her know how eternal she is, how important her life is to eternity, and how I did not want her to miss the things that will make her happy and make her live. I wanted to tell her not to listen to the world and its lies about career and self ambition. I wanted to tell her the things she should have been told all her life: her value, her beauty, her strength and her purpose. I wanted her to know that she has choices and they include life and happiness and family and stability. I wanted to influence her so she could see her value. But she was there and then she was gone and a moment seems inadequate to direct this precious life. My hope is that she heard. Later as I reflected on this evening and the conversation I had with Solana I realized the hope there is in this adoption. These children I will bring into my life from Ethiopia, no matter their beginning, will now hear my voice speaking of their value and teaching them the truth about who they are. They will hear these truths spoken not just for a moment but day after day, year after year. I pray that the brief conversation with beautiful Solana made an impact on her because she is worth much, yet it is uncertain. I realize tonight with certainty that the voice of truth that I speak into my newest daughter's lives about their worth will impact them for eternity. I am ready to jump off that sun-kissed mountain.

Amazing Transformation!

2008-09-23T22:25:00.000-07:00

It was almost four years ago that we brought a small chubby-faced 10 year old Russian boy into our family. It was the first time I had adopted an older child and did not know what to expect. He could not speak our language nor understand what a family really was. His adjustment was as I expected...difficult. Not for me as much as for him. For me most of my life remained the same: Same husband, same kids, same home, same country, same food, same bed, same life. For Denis everything changed: Different smells, different people, different rules, different sounds, different bed, different life! It was hard and he let us know it! Yet ever since I met Denis I realized that I had never met a braver individual. He came with us on an airplane away from everything he had ever known and entered an unfamiliar life with his head up. I will not deny that at first it was hard for all of us, but we made it through and now Denis is a my son. Don't get me wrong, in my heart he was always my son ever since the first decision was made to adopt him. What I really mean is, he feels he is my son and that is an amazing transformation that only God and adoptive parents ever truly get to fully experience. At first Denis wanted to run from us, he did not trust that love was his, but today he wrote a poem that speaks of the profound change in his life. He would not have been able to write these verses four years ago or even one year ago. But somewhere in time love broke through the distrust and my son arrived where he always belonged...here at home!! Here are his words:

The Saddest Place(A Poem)

It was gloomy that day
When my family took me away
From the saddest place
But only God could see what I had to face
And my dream came true finally
And now, I am here with this loving family
That God gave me to love and adore
And I am happy that I do not live on the other side of the shore

Back on the Roller Coaster

2008-09-18T23:42:00.000-07:00

It is less than three weeks before our court date! How do I feel...Well have you ever been on Disney's California Screamin' roller coaster ride? Yeah, it's something like that and ironically once I get to Ethiopia I will probable get sick just like the last time I went on that ride! The difference is after this adoption ride is over I will have two new people in my family to go on the real ride for me so I can just sit back and watch them scream and I won't have to get sick anymore. GREAT IDEA!

Here is a fun thing I did yesterday...went shopping. Some of you might not think that is so great, but I got to shop for Baby M. It made this adoption seem more real than ever before. I can picture her in the pale green overalls and onesie that says, "I love ewe!", with the mama sheep kissing the baby sheep on the front. Next week I will shop for Beautiful E.
Some prayer requests are:
*Pray for safety and security for our girls in Ethiopia
*Start praying now for success in court so we can finally get these girls home.
*Our I-171h form has a discrepancy. It states we are approved for two children yet the National Passport Center has us only approved for one baby. Pray I can get it worked out quickly!
*Continued prayer for the details coming together for Project Impact and that the funds that have been committed will come in.

The latest update on Project Impact on October 11th...
Our tables are almost sold out! We only have about twenty spots left. That is a blessing. Many contributors have donated some wonderful auction items. There are just a few details left to finalize. The silent auction brochure needs to be written and the singer has not said if the new date change works for him. It is not a big deal though since we can live without a music presentation, it would just be a cherry on top if it did work out. We have accommodations figured out for all the out of town guests. So everything is coming together. Praise God!

Spaghetti Math!

2008-09-11T23:22:00.000-07:00

I love starting up school in the fall with my kids. Summer is over, but in Oregon the weather is still hot. Home school is the best because whatever fun thing you can think of to help your children learn, you can do. You are only limited by your imagination. My six year old has been having trouble remembering the numbers 7,8,9, and 10. She can count them but if I change their order she gets them mixed up. So today we tried a different approach...Spaghetti Math! I had the two little ones finish their seat work and I put on the noodles to cook. Once the noodles were loose and squishy I brought my pupils into the kitchen(of course they needed to wear their chef hats). We proceeded to practice making all their noodle numbers 1-10 on the counter. They never realized that we were actually accomplishing our goal of really learning those numbers and the best part was they were able to eat their homework and not get in trouble.

School's In!!!

2008-09-10T23:00:00.000-07:00

Well school is definitely underway around here. We are up at 7:00am. I take a walk with my 20 year old daughter while our 13 and 14 year old kids do math. The little girls(5 and 6) are still sleeping. Our 16 year old boy is starting at the community college this fall while keeping his part time job. He will be out of the house each day by 8:00am just as I am returning from my walk. After I am home it is shower time for me while the older kids get breakfast and practice the piano. At 9:00am the little ones eat and get ready for the day with our twenty year old. She helps out around the house until she has to go to work. Also at 9:00 I start Bible with the older kids and then read to them. At 10:00 the older kids work on science together, while I work with the little ones on math and phonics. At 11:00 the big kids finish English or foreign language, and history while I do Bible, Wee Sing America, math facts, science, and read aloud with the kindergartners. Lunch time for everyone is 12:30pm. After lunch it is recess for all the kids, even the big kids go out to do laser tag or swim while the weather is still good. When the weather changes the kids love to listen to Odyssey or old time radio dramas. (Yes, it is true, if you take away all television and video games your kids will actually resort to old time radio, books, playing with each other, board games and 1000 piece puzzles!!) The little ones are done for the rest of the day. We have quiet time from 1:30-3:00, this gives the older kids peace and quiet for them to work on their American Literature class(I take a nap). Once quiet time is over I go lift at the club or clean house (depending on the day), the older kids take a break and watch the little ones. Afternoon activities include soccer, ballet, or gymnastics on various days and with various kids. I try to do once-a-month cooking so I only have to heat up our dinner from the freezer. It allows for a variety of meals and is less stressful with our big and busy family. Our schedule changes on Wednesdays due to piano lessons and Lit. Circle class, but for the most part it is like this and it works pretty well. Although with two new children on their way(11 months and 10 years) flexibility is always the name of the game.

Things Have Changed

2008-09-07T23:02:00.000-07:00

We needed to change the date of our fundraiser from October 4 to October 11. We are very excited though because the new location is much better than the one we had previously secured. Many auction items have come in just this weekend and things are starting to come together. Please continue to lift Project Impact up in prayer as we want God to be glorified and the transition house and orphanage to be helped in a big way!!

Coming Together

2008-09-04T23:30:00.000-07:00

The fund raiser/auction for Project Impact is top priority for now! The official date is October 4, Saturday from 6-9pm. It will be held in Canby, Oregon at the Cutsforth Town Hall. Invitations will be sent out this weekend, so if you want one let me know. Many people are willing to help with this effort which makes it that much more exciting. Our family coordinator is flying out from Virginia to speak at the event and inform the guests about Ethiopia, its culture, and all the efforts AWAA is doing to aid the orphans of that country. We will be dedicating this evening to the memory of Baby Julia who died of pneumonia before she was able to come home to rest in the arms of her forever family. I pray that God's mighty hand will be over this event and his awesome will will be done.

Feeling Gloomy, but Hopeful

2008-08-30T01:12:00.000-07:00

I am sad tonight. It is still weeks away from our court date and only God knows how it will all go. If it goes as planned we will travel at the end of October, but we will see....All I want is to hold my kids and bring them home safely and there are so many miles and difficulties separating us. Today was my birthday and my family gave me the most precious gifts: Binkies, bottles, sippie cups, a rattle and baby spoons. These gifts gave me hope, but at the same time I feel like crying. I have said that adoption is like bungee jumping for God, but this is the longest free fall EVER!!!!
In the meantime things are coming along with Project Impact. A facility is secured for the fund raiser and the date is set for October 4Th. We will send out 120 invitations to key colleagues, friends and family. We are praying for a windfall of funds to come in that night to secure the transition house and orphanages with much needed supplies. Although we were hoping to send a container of product things are looking bleak. It seems the Ethiopian government requires a tax on most imports including food and supplies even for non-profit organizations. Many times this tax is more expensive than the actual products. We have one last hope that the Orthodox Church in Ethiopia might be able to help us, but it is a long shot. As a result we will focus our attention on the fund raiser. There is much planning to do in a very short time, but with God's help we will accomplish this task for him. Pray for our strenght and determination as we set about putting this night together and for it's abundant success.

Gaining Momentum!

2008-08-21T22:36:00.000-07:00

After posting about Project Impact on the AWAA yahoo group today there was a generous outpouring of support! Many families have e-mailed their desire to help. We will be doing a large fund raiser at the end of September to raise monies either for shipping product over to Ethiopia or buying supplies in Ethiopia for the transition house and orphanages AWAA works with. My heart is full of praise as God uses his people to take care of these orphans. We are still seeking non-profit status in Ethiopia so this container does not get hit with taxes. One organization is looking into cooperating with us by receiving our shipment in Ethiopia in exchange for us shipping some product for them. We will see if this is possible. Others have suggested other organizations that might be able to help in this area. God will bring in what we need so we can help these little ones who are so vulnerable. We are still looking into where to have the fund raising event. We could use prayer for this. We will keep you posted as the events unfold. We are excited about what God is doing and feel grateful so many others want to join with us as we watch a miracle happen!!

Such Sad News!

2008-08-21T00:01:00.000-07:00

One of the AWAA families that recently received a referral of a beautiful baby girl were given the worst kind of news today. Their precious daughter had recently been in the hospital with pneumonia and did not make it through the night. It is a stark reminder of the vulnerability of all these little ones. As this family unravels the grief and the whys we lift them up in pray. May they have peace in their time of need.

Project Impact!

2008-08-13T23:16:00.000-07:00

As you know our family did not make it through court along with the other three families last week. We appreciate all the prayers that were lifted up on our behalf. I struggled with the fact that we were before a judge seven times and still no success. I asked God why...and his answer, "I have more that I need done. You can do more to impact Ethiopia than just bringing two children home."

My husband has been in the grocery industry for thirty years and many people in the industry have watched our family grow through adoption and have been very interested, but never have offered any help and we have never asked. But in the last two-three weeks our family has received enough offers from various vendors to fill either a 20ft or 40ft containter (depending on logistics)with supplies for the transition house and orphanages that AWAA works with in Addis. Diapers, formula, wipes, peanut butter, peanuts, almonds, beef jerky, powdered milk are just some of the items that have been committed. ( For those of you adopting older children I am sure you have noticed the lack of protien they are receiving in their diet! Another footnote: After a golf tournament Ray was in three weeks ago they gave our family all the left over snacks: cases of peanuts, protien bars, Cliff bars, and candy. My garage is full of these products! How random is that! We have a lot of kids, but we could not eat that many peanuts!) We received two large finacial donations that would cover a potion of the shipping costs or simply be used to purchase supplies in country.Please understand that we never asked for any of these items to come our way. This is why we believe this is a movement from God. I have been in contact with our family coordinator and the costs to run the TH have skyrocketed since the "Green Famine" has impacted the country! If we could get this container into Ethiopia we could ease the burden for quite a while. The big question is "IF". I ask anyone who reads this to pray about what God is doing here. Ray and I have never shipped a container overseas and the process is very complicated and expensive. God is putting us in contact with very knowledgeble people that can get this done, but we need wisdom about all this. At the same time we are investivaging the possibiliity of raiseing funds for some much needed items like cribs and clothing for the kids. AWAA is setting up a separate account for the funds to begin to be collected for this project. Our desire has always been to help those who really need help. We certainly do not feel qualified to accomplish this task although we know if it is of God it will be accomplished.

Our prayer is for wisdom with what God is asking us to do. Do we ship a container or just buy the supplies in country? We also ask that many people in both the US and Ethiopia would be impacted for God because of his mercy and grace in this project. Let us know if you want to get involved.
Here is another article to help explain what the "Green Famine" is and how it is effecting the Ethiopian economy.

No Go......

2008-08-08T14:17:00.001-07:00

Sadly the outcome of our last ditch effort to pass through the Ethiopian court system before it closed for two months failed. We now resort back the October 8 court date. We have been on an emotional roller coaster ride along with the other families that have been trying to pass. If these families had passed yesterday six kids would have come home to their forever families this month. Unfortunately we must all wait. Their are several other families that have their court dates on October 8 as well. The good news is that if we all pass in October we will probably all travel together and what a party that will be. I must remain positive even with this apparent setback. I will tell you I had a good cry this morning. My heart longs to have my children safe with me, but God knows this and he will see this through. We are still gathering donations if anyone wants to participate in this process let us know.

It's Not Over Until It's Over!

2008-08-06T12:45:00.000-07:00

How bazzar is this.... Our paperwork has now been before a judge six times now and each time the answer is, "Wait until another day." This time the judge was unavailable so another judge said she would hear our case on Friday. My motto has been all along, "It's not over until it's over!" So, we are in waiting and praying mode once again until Friday. For those of you praying as well, Thursday night while you sleep is Ethiopia's Friday. So think about it as you fall asleep and I will post on Friday as soon as I hear. Hopefully I will be able to show everyone our beautiful daughters' pictures. Our director reminded us today that seven is a holy number and in 2 Kings 5:12 Naman needed to dip into the water seven times before he was healed.

Court News and Updates!

2008-08-04T16:44:00.000-07:00

Our coordinator has informed us that we have been given a court date of August 6th. We were very surprised and are waiting prayerfully for a positive answer. If we are successful we are hoping to travel at the end of August. Please join us as we pray for success in court, not just for our family, but for the three other families that have this same date!
We also received an update on our children today. Their medical issues are still bothering them, yet they are very resilient and happy. Both girls are eating and sleeping well. We are told time and again that Beautiful E has such a sweet heart and is so helpful with the babies. She has a wonderful sense of humor and is doing great with her English. This is such good news as it will make her transition that much easier. Baby M wakes once at night for a feeding and generally has an easy-going personality. She has extremely long and beautiful eyelashes...lucky girl!!
We are wanting so much for them to be home with their forever family! Please pray for peace for us as we wait for the judge to make the final decision to give us our children now or in the fall. We will wait on the Lord and we trust him for the protection of our girls during the most challenging phase of our adoption.

A Garment of Praise!

2008-07-28T22:45:00.000-07:00

I have purchased one beautiful white linen dress for Baby M. She will wear it home from Ethiopia as a garment of PRAISE. I bought this dress on faith with a prayer that God would allow her to wear it before she grows out of it. It is displayed on her dresser as a reminder to us that God will complete this good work that he started. These verses from Isaiah 61:1-3 speak of the mission that God has sent us on with this adoption. "The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me, because the Lord has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners, to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor and the day of vengeance of our God, to comfort all who mourn, and provide for those who grieve in Zion- to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair. They will be called oaks of righteousness, a planting of the Lord for the display of his splendor." It is our hope that through this adoption our girls would be eternally safe and comforted and their lives would speak of the righteousness and splendor of our Lord.
(The little ceramic plaque also resides on her dresser and says, "Ask and it will be given to you, seek and you will find, knock and the door will be opened to you".)

Stil Waiting

2008-07-27T09:10:00.000-07:00

It seems we are caught in the Ethiopian court closures. We have been given a court date of October 8th. Although this is not what we were hoping for we are still rejoicing as now there is an end in sight. The extra time will afford us the opportunity to begin to collect donations from friends and family. We have been offered a tremendous opportunity to make a list of supplies and give it to some co-workers in the food industry. They have generously decided to supply various much needed commodities for the transition house our children are in, and the orphanage they are from. Our family will stuff our suitcases full of everything from new children's clothing to school supplies and medicine. If you have a desire to participate in this opportunity to help these orphans during this most difficult time in Ethiopia(it is being called The Green Famine since crops are growing, but none will be ready for food supply until September or October), please contact our family via e-mail. We will be happy to transport whatever you feel led to give. As we wait through the next few weeks for our successful court date please join us as we pray for the safety of our children, and the desperate needs of the orphans and the people of Ethiopia.

The Day Satan Tried to Take Me Down.....and failed!

2008-07-20T22:26:00.000-07:00

So Thursday was the day that Satan tried to take me down. Want to hear about it? Nothing extraordinary was taking place that day except my oldest daughter needed to have three impacted wisdom teeth extracted. All was going beautifully... in fact, the sky was blue and the temperature outside was perfect. Her teeth came out fine and I drove her home to get her into bed and begin to administer a little TLC for a couple of days. It was as I walked through the door that things took a turn for the worst. I entered and my kids said, "Call Terra at AWAA, she needs to talk to you about Baby M!" My heart began to pound! I knew that unless there was trouble she would not call me on only one of my two girls in Ethiopia. I got Natalie in bed and had a pit in my stomach. I called AWAA as soon as possible and immediately Terra picked up the phone. Another sign of urgency. I can not tell you specifics on the conversation, but I can tell you that I got off the phone and thought doom and gloom in regards to Baby M's health. Of course my husband was on a business trip and would only be able to console me over the phone. I told the older kids that Baby M was sick, but since I did not have all the details at this point I did not want to alarm anyone so I just kept in my real feelings of dread to myself. In the mean time my mother who lives a few houses down the road is recovering from a neck injury. She was on heavy pain medication. My brother who had been visiting her that day called me very concerned and said he had just left Mom and Dad's house and had called as he was going home just to check on them one more time. Dad had told him that Mom had fallen down and he could not get her up. Since my brother was now stuck in traffic he wanted me to go and see what was going on. I was very scared not knowing what I would find. When I got there she was on the ground next to her bed and her breathing was very shallow. Since she had a neck injury my dad and I did not want to move her so I had to call 911 for the first time in my life(and I hope the last). My sweet mother was taken away in an ambulance with my dad in attendance. I needed to get back home to all the kids so my brother met them up at the hospital. I felt so small and inadequate... like there should have been two of me to take care of everyone. I walked back down to my house sort of stunned. But was the attack over??? NOOOO! Because when I got home the door had been left opened and my new little kitten and my 8 month old Newfie puppy were gone!! O.K. at this point it became obvious that this was a major spiritual attack. All I was thinking was: my oldest daughter is sick, my youngest daughter is around the world and sick and I can not hold her, and my mother is maybe critically ill. Then to boot I loose my animals and my husband is gone. Yet the funny thing was that I had a strange sense of calm and strength. Satan was trying to rock my world yet God gave me all the tools to tackle each crisis as it came up. That night I was on the phone with my brother every half hour checking on the situation in the ER all the while taking my kids to and from VBS(so their world seemed normal), getting dinner, tending to ice packs and anti-inflammatories and trying to get more information on Baby M's situation. It was a tough day and night to say the least, but since I am not controlled by randomness I was not defeated. I have a God who is bigger then illness or trauma or chaos. My God brings peace, clarity and a sense of calm in a storm.

So now it is three days later and you want to know how it all came out right? Well, Natalie is swollen. but is fine and recovering. Baby M was not as sick as we had originally thought. There had been a miscommunication. One of our AWAA families was able to confirm this since she was in Ethiopia last week picking up her daughter. She e-mailed me dozens of beautiful photos of Baby M as proof that she is, "healthy as a horse!" My mother fell, not due to her neck injury, but because we found out she was actually allergic to the pain medication and it was causing weakness and confusion. She ended up with pneumonia due to her shallow breathing, but she is now back home reunited with my dad right down the street where she belongs. My cat was actually sleeping under the computer desk and the dog was roaming around having a great time but came back wagging her tail behind her. My husband came home after everything was back in place and squared away. I guess this was something God wanted me to learn...With him I am tougher than I think and with him I do not have to fear at all. "Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways be mindful of him and he will make straight your paths. "

Working Out the Kinks!

2008-07-16T01:01:00.000-07:00

As we prepare our lives for two more precious children there are a few kinks that have needed to be worked out before all is ready...

The first kink was in my back. I tweaked it several years ago while pushing the little girls in a stroller. I ignored it at first(a very bad idea), and after about a year I had a severe back problem that physical therapy didn't even touch. Finally, I decided to take back my health. I started by visiting a chiropractor to realign my back. It took about four or five adjustments. Then in order to keep the problem from reoccurring I began lifting weights three times a week and walking five days a week. It has been a year and a half since I started this program. I am pleased to say that over the course of that time I have lost a little weight and it has stayed off, I am so much stronger that I feel I can carry a baby again, and the best part of all...the kink is gone!!

The next kink is my age...I'm 46! Are you surprised that I tell you this? Well don't be because I worked this kink out too. Physically I feel great...and emotionally I am mature enough to not care about what people think...and Spiritually I always listen to the Word of God which does not say anything about retirement, but does say a lot about finishing the race strong. So this brings me to another one of my poems. (Yes, I did write the adoption poem on this blog!) Here it is...

Aging Ladies

An aging lady droops just a bit where once all was tight and firm.
A jiggle is seen where it never had been and her waist's a bit hard to discern.

Little lines now appear like the feet of a crow 'round her eyes as she laughs through her day.
Though the cream in her jar states, "Miracle Cure!", her smile proves they are here to stay.

She aches a bit more at the end of her day, she sighs at the changes she sees,
When out of her head pops a long silver thread that she yanks out triumphantly!

Her children cheer as she jogs 'round the block gaining muscle tone with every lap.
But the sweat and the pain convince her again that it's healthier to take a cat nap.

But not all is grim as time marches on, there's a positive thing that is true,
Those baby stretch marks that were purple and dark are faded to a light shade of blue.

Though her body will fade as the years go by, you won't see a frown on her face,
Because this lady has learned to be more concerned with laughter, and wisdom, and grace.

The last kink we worked out was how to fit eleven people in a four bedroom house. O.K. here is the answer...with lots of love, lots of cooperation, and a little creativity. Of course my husband and I took one room for ourselves. We told everyone that we share a room and so will they. (It's good to start practicing life skills early don't you think?) So our twenty-one and twenty year old young women graciously share a bunk bed trundle with their five year old sister. Our fourteen year old sweetly resides with our other five year old girl. And when our newest 10 year old daughter comes home it will be a bunk with a trundle set up as well. Our two boys share a room downstairs. And as for little Baby M....she will be in one of our two walk-in closets that has been transformed into the most elegant miniature nursery you have ever seen(complete with a small window)!

So now that we have worked out all the kinks we are able to it will be up to God to work out the one that we cannot....Court Date ASAP! Praise God for His abundant provision for our family!!

Thoughts on Safe and Happy Travel

2008-07-12T00:06:00.000-07:00

As we wait with expectant hope for our court date before the closure this is the time to prepare for safe and enjoyable travel. This will be the third major trip our family has taken outside the United States where a great deal of precaution and planning must occur if safety and health are to be maintained. Some areas I will focus on to equip us for a successful trip will include proper clothing(minimal amount with maximal usage)and footwear, food and water safety, medications, camera and laptop equipment, and preparations for a long plane flight. Unlike our other two adoptions where all of our kids accompanied us on our trips abroad, this time we will bring only two of our children. Our thirteen year old boy and fourteen year old girl are coming along to welcome our newest family members and help with bonding.
When packing each traveler will only take one carry-on suitcase and a backpack for incidentals. Since this is a quick trip(one week) clothing should be at a minimum so that most of the carry-on can be left available for new clothes for Baby M and Beautiful E as well as gifts for caregivers. I will bring Forever New (a travel laundry soap) for washing clothes in the sink. In case you might wonder if taking only carry-on suitcases will be enough room for all we need in Ethiopia... we accomplished this for both our two week trips to China and Russia....one carry-on and one backpack. Rolling clothes into "tootsie rolls" and squeezing them into one gallon Ziploc bags works great!
Bringing much of our food along with us rather than eating out saves money and the stomach. Dehydrated camping meals, Lipton's Cup-O-Noodles, Oatmeal packets, power bars, peanut butter, crackers, tuna packets, dried fruit, Chrystal Lite, and other foods of this kind can be life savers. We also have a water filter that is very compact and is Army tested for extra precaution. I brought this to China and even though I boiled all our water in a hot pot I still filtered our water we used for food and tea and not one of us got sick that two weeks. Many others on our trip had trouble. Taking cool showers so your pores are not open to bacteria and not allowing your face to get into the water prevents waterborne illnesses. Of course bottled water for drinking and brushing teeth is a must. If you forget and dip your toothbrush into the sink water boil it or you'll be sorry.

Another area I took extra time planning out was what medications should I bring. I packed a little of everything for our family from Benadryl to Tums to Band aids. For our baby in China I brought a prescription of Antibiotics(which we used). The Scabies medication we brought along not only got rid of our baby's problem, but since I was the only one to bring it I was able to share with the group and about six or seven other children found instant relief. What a blessing good planning can be. Lice medication was brought to both China and Russia and was not necessary to use but I was glad I brought it just in case.
Camera equipment of course with video capability is mandatory. Our laptop can show movies so we will pack a few it a flat storage case. That make the plane ride easier for the kids in case the airline movie is inappropriate. It also give the kids an option in the room since we are not big TV fans.
The last thing we will bring on this trip to Ethiopia is an attitude of gratefulness and humility. Gratefulness to God and to the Ethiopian people that they will allow us to adopt two of their precious children.And a humbleness that comes from knowing that as this country gives up these children we are the ones who receive the unmerited blessings. It is truly God's grace in action.

Plumpy-nut!!

2008-07-09T22:59:00.000-07:00

I have recently heard about a new miracle cure for malnourished children. It is touted to be as important a breakthrough as penicillin. Its name is Plumpy-Nut and it is a simple concoction of peanut butter, powdered milk, powdered sugar, minerals and vitamins. This creamy paste is highly nutritious, calorie-packed, and has a shelf life of two years. This is important because refrigeration is non-existent in the areas where this product is needed most. It is given as an outpatient regimen and yields results in days after treatment begins. It is currently being produced in four African nations (including Ethiopia), and is extremely cost effective(less than a dollar a day per patient). To further educate you on this product and its success here is a link to a 60 Minutes interview with Anderson Cooper. Also here is a website for more information on Plumpy-Nut.

Let the Heavens Rejoice!

2008-07-08T23:12:00.000-07:00

I have to laugh when it comes to the common question that naturally arises at one of my husband's business functions or at a dinner party...."So how many kids do you have??" As my husband says, "It's like they tee up the ball!" After a small pause, I get into the right position so I can really see their full expression...and I say calmly, with a slight easy smile,"Seven." Eyes bulge, awkward gawk, long pause, slight gasp . I can almost see the mental picture form in their heads. Me barefoot, hair askew, dark circles under my eyes, rolling pin in hand with two babies, three toddlers and a four and five year old hanging on my legs. Finally they answer with some inappropriate response like," Your kidding...right??", or "I could never do that!", or "You must be a saint!" , or" I'm soooooo glad it's you and not me!!" The answers to these questions are, "No!", "Yes you could if you chose to!", "No, I only wish I could be that holy." and, "So are my kids!"
The sad thing is that it is not just the secular world that feels this way. I get these responses from the church as well. Many prefer to sign up for the curses of debt and reject the blessings of God. Sometimes I feel I should apologize for my behavior(you know... being willing to mother so many) because it simply makes people feel so uncomfortable. Two's snug, three's a crowd....but seven...talk about cramping ones style??? The funny part about it is I feel like I'm the one who is free. I'm not confined to the societal rules of how many children are appropriate(1.7) or what they should be(one boy and one girl). I do not have to live by the rules that dominate most of the lives around me. My standard is set by a much higher value system...Heaven. And in that place all who come into the family of God are welcomed. And when spiritual children are born angels rejoice. No moaning and gasping. Can you imagine the angels responding to spiritual babies the way people respond to (too many) children being born into a family? What like Gabriel would say," Not another one, we already have so many up here!"And so I choose to respond as the heavenly host and praise God for His blessings of children and for his provision of a way for each of us to be born again into the family of God through his son Jesus.
And so after the adoption of our two newest girls from Ethiopia is finalized I look forward to that inevitable question.... and the answer will be (with a twinkle in my eye), "Nine!!!!"
Praise the Lord and let the heavens rejoice!

AHOPE

2008-07-07T00:22:00.000-07:00

If you want to directly help orphans in Ethiopia with AIDS here is a way. Check out this website...All proceeds directly benefit the Ahope orphans.

Calling All Comments!

2008-07-04T10:20:00.000-07:00

I recently discovered that not all our readers are able to comment on this blog. I changed the setting so that now everyone can leave a response if they want. So please feel free to leave a response so we know you have visited us!

The Vacant Spot!

2008-07-03T10:12:00.001-07:00

As I wait with much anticipation for the miracle of a court date before the August 7th closing, putting care packages together for our girls has helped ease the longing a bit. With the help of a dear friend I was able to sew a beautiful photo album for Baby M. My friend is a real quilter and she let me "shop" at her house for all the fabric. I was able to use flannels and Minke(an extra soft baby blanket material) to bring texture and warmth to the book. Baby M will also receive a summer sleeper, booties, and a bright, soft yellow teddy bear. Beautiful E will receive a nightgown, colored pencils, a drawing book, jellybeans and a camera for her to take pictures of loved ones in Ethiopia. It is nice to have a project and give our girls something to express our love for them while we wait. Saturday, July 5th, one of the AWAA families will be traveling to pick up their precious two-year-old boy. They most generously agreed to deliver our cargo of love to our children. This is the second time another Christian family has literally been the hands and feet of Jesus for us to deliver these packages and I cannot express my appreciation. My heart has an vacant spot and a desperate longing for my children that is hard to describe. I know it will only be filled when we bring our two newest children home and they are safe!

Baby M's Photo Album

2008-07-03T10:10:00.000-07:00

More Photos of M's Book

2008-07-03T10:08:00.000-07:00

Noah's Ark

2008-06-28T23:57:00.000-07:00

Of course every ark must have a Noah and ours is no exception! Although our Noah is quite a bit younger than the original he still seems to attract

animals. He started with bugs as a youngest, then graduated to frogs, salamanders, and newts. He talked me into a bunny that was being given away for "free" at his day camp one summer. He slept with our cat until his eyes swelled so badly and his throat began to close that he had to give that up. Our dog Zorro slept in his room for years without ever bothering Noah even though the old dog stunk to no end. One time Noah found a young crow that was having trouble flying and insisted that it would be cruel to let it go considering it might be eaten by a cat or something. He was fully prepared to raise it like a son. The only way I could convince him it would actually be harmful to the wild bird to keep it in captivity was to call the Audubon Society and have them explain that this bird was actually called a fledgling and needed to hop around a bit for a few days so that it could learn to fly. He tries to feed the backyard squirrels by hand when he is outside weeding and mowing(which by the way he actually enjoys and does it beautifully). After our first Newfoundland died we recently got a new one, a bouncing, huge puppy we named Nana. Within the first day I gave up any hope of bonding very much with the fluffy black fur ball because Noah claimed the dog as "his baby"!

This brings me to what happened this week. I was sewing in the kitchen when Noah came home for his lunch break(he just got his first job as a courtesy clerk at our local Thriftway Store). I glanced up and what do you think was clinging to his green Thriftway uniform shirt????? A small black and white kitten he had found it in the bottle room in a box and just had to save it. No asking permission, nooooo, he just carried it home like.....well, like Noah saving one more on his ark! I knew I didn't want another cat! We still have Barkley(you know the one that makes Noah's eyes swell and his throat close when he gets too close). But several days have past and "Mittens"(a name personally selected by Noah) is still here. Permission was granted by Dad when Noah and his entourage of siblings promised to feed, scoop, and pay for shots. Oh well, I guess I can't be too upset. I see in Noah what I want him always to keep. A heart for the lost and an ark to keep them safe in!!!

The Perfect Gift!!

2008-06-25T00:11:00.000-07:00

When you start a journey that God has called you on you can plan all you want, but in the end it is His road you are following and not your own. When we began this adoption journey to Ethiopia our intention was to bring one more child onto our ark of love. God spoke to us about taking in an infant and because of the set up of our family a baby seemed to be the best choice. But as time went on God opened our hearts to one of his older children and we were told by our adoption agency about a 10 year old girl in urgent need of a family! She was intended to come with a toddler boy and when we first agreed to our "potential referral" both of these kids were moved to the transition house. As the weeks dragged on no "official referral" came and soon we learned there were complications with the toddler boy's paperwork and he would not be able to be referred out to us. In the meantime we were able to sign papers on E(the 10 year old). She would definitely come into our family! As many more weeks went past no baby referral came. I have to say that since the first time I heard about E I was calm and at peace knowing that God needed her to stay in Ethiopia for a little longer. There are some circumstances that led us to understand this. But then our agency called me with some disturbing information... we were told that E had some medical complications. As a mother my maternal instincts kicked in and I began to pray for a way to get the other referral of a baby soon and get both kids out of Ethiopia before the courts closed for three months from August 7-October7. My sense of urgency began to grow. It was as if God said, "Go Now!!!" Our agency was just as concerned as we were, yet the babies in the transition house were little and would not be available for some time. Then just when we were about to give up on the idea of getting a baby at all God did what only He can do. We got a call from our agency letting us know they had a referral for us of a beautiful seven month old baby girl! She was relinquished and would be considered for an expedited court date!! Although most people including ourselves thought we would be getting a baby boy all our paper work was approved for two kids either gender any age. Our family has been joyfully celebrating this turn of events. Now we will have seven girls and two boys that God in his awesome wisdom has ordained for us to raise to be warriors for His kingdom. So in the end what we thought would be the perfect scenario...one baby (probable a boy) turned out to be God's perfect gift of one baby girl and one lovely 10 year old girl!! Thanks be to God!!!

Now we ask for God's awesome power to move the impossible mountain in front of us to get these children a court date and for that court date to be successful so we can bring E and her sister M home to the safety of their forever family!!

The Letter

2008-06-23T23:38:00.000-07:00

I was able to correspond with our 10 year old daughter in Ethiopia as she waits patiently in the Transition House for her turn to come to a forever family. Here is what I wrote:

Dearest Little E,
We hope you enjoyed the gifts and photos we sent over to you. I wanted you to have something that would let you know we love you and are very anxious for you to be with us. We were able to see a few picture the Wests took of you in the yellow dress. You look so pretty! We are all praying that God makes the court date happen very fast so it won't take too long for us to come and get you. Please will you pray too; I know God hears you very well. I want you to know as you fall asleep at night that you don't have to worry about how things will turn out. We will take care of you and will help you with whatever you need.

Love, Your mom in America,
Theresa

We were blessed and touched in our hearts by E's precious response:

My Beloved Mother,
How are you? I am fine. I'm also longing to meet you. Let the Lord be with you. I will pray for you. Kiss everybody in the family for me.

By E, who loves you

Move Mountain!!!!!

2008-06-08T23:01:00.000-07:00

Three AWAA families will be going to court on Tuesday June 5th to receive custody of their children forever!! Please join our family as we fast and pray that these court dates are successful the first time through. In Mathew 17:20-21 Jesus says to his disciples..."I tell you the truth, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there' and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you." So as his disciples we say MOVE MOUNTAIN!!!! It is time for these children to be in their forever families!!! Thank you Jesus!