Wednesday, March 30, 2011

'round here...

Things have been going very well 'round here. We're just waiting for our phone call to tell us to come pick up Joleigh:). We are hoping it will be the 2nd or 3rd week of April.

While we wait...

-We've been getting Joleigh's room ready. Here's a pic I painted to go above her crib:)


-I've been doing TONS of paperwork at school. As a special education teacher, I have to hold Annual Review Conferences (which involves TONS of paperwork) every year for my students and I have just THREE left! That is HUGE news:) They "should" be completed by next week!

-We've been watching some Cosby episodes on our Free Trial Netflix instant watch through the Wii:) We love it!

-I've been sewing a little. I made a couple of shirts for the girls and one for Joleigh. I've actually made several like the one for Joleigh for some of her friends at the transition home:)




I got the idea for the little owl shirts from this blog:) BUT I had NO idea I was using the same fabric. I saw this onsie a while back and wanted to make one so I pulled out some material I had on hand from something else I made for Piper and it was the exact SAME:)

Thursday, March 17, 2011

She's Ours and We are Hers:)


We got the call today that she is OURS! We were so excited!! We actually passed court yesterday but our in-country director didn't send an update to our agency letting them know we passed so we had to wait to get the news today. We cannot wait to get our hands on this little koala bear!! We should get to travel in 3 to 6 weeks.



Monday, March 14, 2011

Prayers please:)

Our papers were not submitted to court in time for our first court date. We have a new court date this Wednesday, March 16th. PLEASE remember our family in your prayers Tuesday night and Wednesday morning. If our papers are there and we pass, then Joleigh is OURS!! We will then wait for her to go through the process of getting her VISA and travel back to bring her home within 4-6 weeks. ALSO... let me add that there are two other families who are hoping to pass on Wednesday. Please pray for our friends, also!!

Wednesday, March 9, 2011

Once you have seen...

you can NEVER forget. One of the best parts of our trip was visiting Korah. In the city it was hard to see the PEOPLE of Ethiopia. I felt like so many we came across were so desperate they were trying to figure out what they could get from us. It was somewhat uncomfortable in a lot of places but not Korah!! Oh the people of Korah were amazing! The children oozed of passion for life... a life that we cannot even fathom living. Watch this video to find out a little more about the village of Korah. They are in need!! Watch the video... it'll definitely make you think as you eat your next meal.

Here are some pics of our time in Korah! I will never forget these faces. I met many sisters in Christ here who shared stories of suffering but they were also stories of LIFE!!



For some reason you can't view the width of the video... here's the link on youtube.




Tuesday, March 8, 2011

Our daughter


We met Joleigh Saturday morning. The director's wife brought her in and handed her to me. She cried just a little but was easily consoled. She is very, very reserved and does not care for meeting new people. I think definitely part of that has to do with her age. Piper had terrible stranger danger at 18 months. Joleigh has many reasons for it to be elevated though. She's gone through a whole lot in her short life. She's had to tell the closest people goodbye. I think another reason she was reserved is because the other families were all getting babies so when we were all together in the parent's room, there wasn't anyone her age. The last time I got to be with her, she was able to be around a 3 year old and you could tell she really enjoyed it. Cameron was not able to hold her b/c she just wasn't ready for that. She will come around but it's going to take a little warming up first:) Oh but I had the best time just letting her snuggle me like a little koala bear!
Joleigh's mother is an angel! She's had a tough life. We were able to meet with her for about 30 minutes. When we first introduced ourselves, she hugged us SO tightly and didn't let go. One of the first things she said to us was how Joleigh got her Ethiopian name (I'll post it after court is totally final). She said she knew she would be a blessing from God and that's why she wanted to name her that. We were able to ask her a lot of questions and video tape her answers, as well as write them down in a journal. It was such an incredible peace meeting her. Literally I felt as if she were passing off the baton. I know that sounds strange but I feel God has called us to care for her and raise her b/c her mother is unable to do so. I feel Joleigh not only has one mommy but now has two. Joleigh's mom was able to spend some time with her again. I am SO thankful for that time she had with her. She held her and loved on her. Very, very sweet!!! I even have a couple of pics of Joleigh with her birth mom. Cam and I have several pics of us with her mother, as well. She is short!!! Probably same height as me. I love that:)
I can't post pics until we officially pass court. The Ministry of Women's Affair did not have a paper turned in on time so we had to have reschedule for that info. It happens but OH it's so discouraging when it does. It actually happened to 3 out of 5 families in our group:( Please be in prayer for us about this... they are once again making some changes into the process and since our stuff will not be finished by March 10th, these changes could really have an effect on when we get to bring Joleigh home. Right now we are hoping mid to late April.
Well, I am going cross eyed. I have spent over 30 hours either in a plane or in an airport waiting on a plane. I.must.get.some.SLEEP!! Lots more to share later. Hopefully tomorrow I'll be awake enough to share some of our trip!

Thursday, March 3, 2011

And we're off...

We board a plane in a few hours to go to Ethiopia! Oh we've waited for this day for soooo long! We are full of emotions. Goodness it was hard to say bye to our kiddos. It was HARD!! We so look forward to meeting Joleigh and her family. Please pray for our trip and all of our children.
Thank you guys for all your support!