Project 52: October 11-20

Sunday Snapshot:

These dresses are so special.  Aunt Ashley and Uncle Kyle brought them to the girls when they visited Ethiopia.  So of course, I always put them on the girls together so they match.  And I was happy to pull out this shirt for Colt from Declan's old clothes.  Mimi had just picked the shirt Declan is wearing in a consignment shop and sent it to us in the mail.  :) Matchy matchy!

 

Elliana is growing up SO much lately! She is talking more and more all the time.  The other day I counted and she is saying seven word sentences! She has also figured out how much fun it is to turn the lights on and off....and she is smart enough to put things under so she can reach:)

 

  

Colt is usually up when I clean the bathrooms....so the other day I'm scrubbing the sink and I turn around and he has unwound the toilet paper, ripped it up in pieces, then was standing and spinning the empty roll around and around.  It was quite entertaining for him.....I may just have to put it on there for him to play with!

 

I try to clean the house when the kids are awake and involve them.  Gave Raelynn a new job the other day to wash the baseboards.  She did SO well.  Sometimes the jobs get done but leave things leaving just as messy as before the cleaning.  But this one she did so well and it was noticeably different and clean! The next day she asked if she could "wash the bases".....and of course I didn't say no!

My SUPERBOYS!

On Saturday we went to Vertuccio Farm.  It was our first time and we had a wonderful time!  Had to get a couple family pictures:

 

So sweet!

How cute are these? And don't they just look delish?! Kyle, Ashley, Jackson, and Harper--affectionately known as The Frazey Four--are all enjoying vacation in California over the 4th of July. So they sent us these cookies in the mail since they won't be here to welcome home Elliana. How cute! I hope I can save some for Brent!

Go get her!

Brent left on Sunday morning, June 30 to go get Elliana!! It is so surreal and just so hard to believe we are actually at this place in our journey.
His flight took him from Phoenix to Dallas, then to Frankfurt, then Khartoum to refuel, and finally to Addis Ababa, Ethiopia!!
He was supposed to arrive at 8:45pm but did not arrive until 2:30am. He didnt take a phone this time but I was tracking him online. I kinda felt like I was a kid again tracking Santa on Christmas Eve! He emailed me when he arrived at the guest house. Said he didn't sleep at all on the flight and was really exhausted. He was extremely hungry, so the driver (who he was familiar with because he was our driver last trip) took him to a pizza place. Oh boy....an Ethiopian pizza place at 3:30 in the morning? I sure hope he doesn't get sick!
So as I write this, it is about 9am on July 2nd in Ethiopia. He will get to see Elliana today then they will drive him to his Embassy appointment at 1pm.

He will spend the rest of the day at the transition home with Elliana then go back to the guest house to sleep. (On our last trip, we stayed on the same site as the transition home and could literally look out the window of our room and see her room. Policies changed and now they stay at a new guest house which takes over an hour to drive to!)

Then on Wednesday, Brent will go back to the transition home to be with Elliana and take her to the airport. The flight leaves at 10pm.

I am hoping he can upload a photo to me today:)

For Elliana...



 



 



 

 My sweet and mighty talented sister, Andrea, made a beautiful quilt for Elliana! It is the perfect size for her to just snuggle up with and the bright colors will be great for her while she does tummy time.  Andrea is so thoughtful and carefully chose each color and pattern for the quilt.  Elliana is going to love it. Her inspiration was the 'African sunset' :)

 

 

 



Another sweet woman that I have never even met had this blanket made for Elliana! A woman that goes to my parent's church had her daughter sew it.  It is so well done and a perfect choice of colors! Love the giraffe too! And it's nice and big! Great for blanket time as she starts moving around and even for her bed as she is bigger.  Such a thoughtful gift.

 

Ethiopia, Trip 1

We were in Ethiopia April 5-April 12 for our first trip to appear in court.  Here are a couple pictures of us meeting Elliana and then a little photo shoot we had with her after we gave her a bath and dressed her up:)

 

Meeting Elliana Genet

I had started a post a long time ago to tell about our trip and never had enough time in one sitting to finish, so I just kept putting it off.  So here we are at time of clearance and the post still isn't up!!!  So the post just isn't happening. 
But we have to have our video of meeting Elliana Genet as well as a couple pictures from our trip :)
This video is from April 5, 2013

Elliana Genet Frazey
Born in Nazaret, Ethiopia on November 10, 2012
Made ours forever on April 9, 2013

 

Meeting a child that has grown in your heart for MUCH longer than a physical pregnancy is the most incredible and indescribable moment.  Words really cannot do justice for this and all the emotions that were exploding in our hearts and minds.

All glory to God for His precious gift of adoption. We are humbled that He allows us to take a part in something so much greater than ourselves.  Something that is a model of what God has done for us. Adoption is all about Him and nothing about us. 

 

Prayer Requests and Flight Info

If you would like to pray for us while flying, here are the specific times and places we will be:

Depart Phoenix April 4 @ 11:20pm
Arrive in Charlotte April 5 @ 6:10 am (3:10am AZ time)

Depart Charlotte April 5 @ 7:30am (4:30am AZ time)
Arrive DC April 5 @ 8:50am (5:50am AZ time)

Depart DC April 5 @ 11:00am (8:00am AZ time)
In the air for 13 hours and 30 minutes!!! 
Arrive in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia April 6 @ 7:30am (9:30pm on April 5 in AZ)


We would ask you to pray for comfort for us and our children, Raelynn and Declan, who will be staying in the US as we depart from Phoenix tonight.  We'll be getting to the airport around 8:30pm.  Please pray for our safety while we are in the air and in country, but also for our children who will be back here with their grandparents.  We pray that God would keep them safe and there would not be any sickness (although Declan has an ear infection right now!) and there would not be any emergencies. 

April 9 is our court date in Ethiopia.  We have not been told what time it is yet.  It will probably take place while America is sleeping.  We ask prayer that the judge would have favor upon us and allow us to adopt Elliana.  We do not foresee a problem, but you really never know what could happen.  We praise God for the smoothness of the process so far and pray it continues that way.

April 12 we leave Ethiopia, which means we leave Elliana.  Please lift us up in prayer specifically that day, as it will be so so hard to leave her.  Our flight leaves at 10:15pm on April 12, which is 11:15am April 12 in Arizona and 2:15pm Eastern Standard Time. We'll be in the air 17.5 hours and arrive back in DC at 8:30am on Saturday, April 13. We get back home for good at 6:00pm.
We know separation is only temporary, but it does not lessen the pain of being separated.  We know we will leave her in God's hands and trust that he will protect her and keep her until we will be united again forever.  Please pray for her health and safety until we can bring her home.

We lay ourselves down at the thrown of grace and are ready and willing to be changed.  We know this experience is something that is going to change us forever and we pray that God would give us open eyes and hearts to see what he wants us to see and be open to how he wants to use us while we are there and in the future.  We never did this for us.  It's all for him and for his glory alone.  Our ultimate prayer is that God is glorified and that others would be drawn to him through this.

We would love encouragement through God's word that you would like to give us.  His Word is the rock that we can stand on and his faithfulness and steadfast love endures forever. It is living and active and will be the help and encouragement we need.  We stand on every promise of His word because we are his adopted children through the blood of Jesus Christ!

Can we all just be on the same continent, please?

Today has arrived.  The day we have been waiting to come for so long.  It's all so surreal! Maybe once I'm actually on Ethiopian Airlines it will hit me.  It just doesn't seem possible!

Today is hard day.  So many emotions have been going through my body.  My entire body! Because I feel nauseous. I think it's a mix of butterflies to travel to Africa and leaving my two babies here in the USA.  I really can't let myself think too much about either because I have broken down into tears a couple times.  And yes, one time was in Walmart.  :)

I went to Walmart to grab some earplugs, cheap flip flops for the shower, batteries, wipes, and A&D ointment for the Transition Home.  West Sands posted on facebook today that if anyone could take any over, they needed it.  A seemingly harmless trip to Walmart, right?  Well it sent a gut wrenching reminder that I am buying these supplies and bringing diapers for Elliana, but then we have to leave.  They don't even have access to diaper rash ointment.  And even if they did, that wouldn't make it any easier to leave her there.  But the fact they don't--that definitely does make it harder.

I'm trying my hardest not to look ahead to next Friday yet.  Is that just me? or maybe a woman thing? Why am I already dreading the worst part!?  I pray that I will be able to soak in the moments we have and will be able to enjoy them to the fullest.  I don't think I'll have a problem doing that once Elliana is in my arms:)

Another factor into all this emotion are these two little cutie pies.  Come on, I know you can understand why I'll have a hard time leaving them!

 

I know, I know, they probably won't even know we are gone.  Raelynn totally gets it.  For months she has been saying "Airplane.  Africa.  Elliana.  Mommy.  Daddy."

Then she started saying "Elliana home later." and that was the sweetest thing ever!

She knew Mimi would be coming to stay with her so it's all becoming very real to her as well, since Mimi is now here and our suitcases are now packed.

 

So, to make her time away from Mommy and Daddy fun and give her something to look forward to every day, I made a few things for her:

A card for every day with a variety of stickers, candy, coins, and activities in them

Everyday, Raelynn and I always get the mail.  While we are gone, I have left the cards for Mimi to leave in the mailbox for Raelynn to find when she gets the mail with Mimi.

I know, my grammar is funny here.  But I realized it after and really didn't care:)
Raelynn loved the advent calendar at Christmas and loved opening the resurrection eggs at Easter each day, so I thought she would like a little 'countdown' until we get home.  There are little treats behind each box

Mimi arrived on Tuesday, April 2.  Raelynn is already having so much fun and wants Mimi to do everything with her, so I think she will be just fine!  And how much fun that Mimi will get some great time with her granddaughter she doesn't see very often!

These two make my heart burst.  I will be sure not to wear mascara to the airport tonight.

Everyone Needs to Cuddle

We have the privilege of taking hand sewn blankies to the children of the West Sands Transition Home and possibly some of the orphanages we visit.

Leigh's Blankies is a local organization that donates blankies to kids around the world.  Everyone needs to be able to cuddle up to something! These children are without a family or have not yet been united with their family and they need something to hold and to cuddle.  We are so thrilled for the generous donation by Audra and her team at Leigh's Blankies.  A big thanks to Ashley Frazey who heard of the organization and wrote in a nomination for us to be selected.  I was even able to take home a kit to make some of the blankies to be donated to someone in the future.  If you have a sewing machine and are interested in a take home kit, check out their website and contact Audra!

Raelynn chose the blankie she wanted for her sister.  It was no surprise she chose this zebra print because she has a blanket just like it! So now they will match:)

Elliana's Song

I've been singing a song over and over out loud and in my head.  all. the. time.
The song has had a very special meaning since December 28, when we knew we were going to have our little girl.  And as I am singing along, I thought I should share it with you! I may be a little biased, but I think it's a great song to have stuck in your head.

A little background on how we chose the name Elliana:
I had heard the name Elliana from a friend of my sister's little girl and loved it and had planned it to be our second girl's name. (Side note--really funny thing is that her Eliana also has a sister named Raelyn! But that one we came up with on our own! And they both spell them differently than us;)
At the time I heard it, we had already started the adoption process and I had recently found out I was pregnant. We didn't know the gender of either baby that was on the way, so we just decided that the next girl that was to come into our family would be named Elliana.  We found out I was carrying a baby boy and so the name Elliana remained on the shelf for a future daughter.  We did not make a specific request of gender for our third child, but I have to say, something in me way down deep may have hoped just a wee little bit that it would be a girl so we could name her Elliana:)  Three reasons:

1. It sounds beautiful and is a unique name, which we like:)

2. It means "God has answered my prayer" which I think fits perfectly into our adoption story:)

3. Have you heard this song? It is by a group that I love (had one of their songs sung at our wedding!) and now their song is pretty much perfect for our baby girl.

So have a listen or just read the lyrics:

Elliana's Song
By: Watermark

Listen Here

Baby woman, tiny in stature now
But your heart is a treasure
Little princess come follow behind me now
I am reaching for you

(chorus)
Elliana, God has answered my prayers
Elliana, God will conquer my fears
To mother a daughter, to look you in the eye
To know that I had everything, to walk with you in life
To give you to Jesus that He would impart
The wisdom that I'm longing for to mother your heart
Elliana, God has answered my prayers

There will be others to lead and to guide you girl
But only one you'll call Mother, the honor is all mine
To show you what a woman's like
I'm so glad you're mine

(chorus)

Tenderness of God is twirling around
In our living room tonight
Lighten up your daddy's eyes
And know that he just wants to freeze you in time

(chorus)

They Are ALL Our REAL Children

As we have progressed through our adoption journey, the understanding of our own adoption into God's family has taken on a much greater meaning.
We are God's children because He chose to adopt us. As Ephesians tell us, " He predestined us for adoption as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved." What a wonderful truth. God's plan all along was to adopt us into His family. We are his OWN! And, we thank God for that truth. Adoption was not God's back up plan, or last resort, adoption was His intention from the beginning. How much sweeter this truth has become has we get closer to bringing our little girl home.

Although adopted, Elliana will be our OWN child. She will have no less privileges as a member of the Frazey family because she was adopted. Its a funny thing when you hear others talk about considering adoption but wanting to have their OWN children first.  Their intentions are probably not to sound as if they are creating separate classes within an adopted family, but that would be the result of such a statement. "I could adopt, but I need to have my OWN children first." As if the adopted children are any less your OWN. What constitutes one's OWN children? Is DNA structure the only thing that matters? Its not that the sentiment offends us, but it does sound rather naive when we think about adoption in light of our adoption in Christ.
More than having a different DNA structure, we hated God. We were at enmity with him, and yet, as His adopted children, we are His OWN. We are "heirs of the promise." We are viewed as sons & daughters.
Now obviously, we do not think there is anything wrong with having biological children. Or with desiring to have biological children. That isn't the point. We also are not upset about this, but we feel the need to educate a bit:) 
When we hear the statement, "We have talked about adopting, but want to have our OWN children first,"  Do they mean our daughter, who is adopted, will be less our OWN child than our biological children? Will our daughter be any less our REAL child?  Of course not! Yet, isn't that the result of such a statement? It sounds silly, when it is put forth that way, but that is the logical conclusion of such a statement. Children with our DNA structure are more our OWN children than those who do not share common DNA? What hypocrisy! Hopefully, anyone who calls them self a child of God would not make such a statement. They realize that all children, whether adopted or not, are our OWN children. Our real children. Just as we are all God's OWN children because he adopted us. Yet the statement, "We want to have our OWN children first," makes the assertion that certain children are of more importance or worth than others. Without explicitly saying it, that is how that comment is interpreted by parents with adopted children. 
We pray that Elliana and any future children God has for us never has to hear those words. We want to shield them from such ignorant statements. We do not want Elliana to think that because we adopted her she is any less our OWN child or that we value our biological children more because they are our REAL children. She is our OWN daughter because we chose to grow our family through adoption as a response to our command in scripture to care for orphans and the fatherless. We chose to have a child share in the blessing of being a member of our family with the same standing and privileges of all our children. 
This brings us back to our standing before God. God views us, who were adopted, "as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved." We share in the blessings of the Beloved because he adopted us. J.I. Packer helps to summarize the importance of adoption when he says, "

    

 “…adoption is…the highest privilege that the gospel offers: higher even than justification… That justification- by which we mean God’s forgiveness of the past together with His acceptance for the future- is the primary and fundamental blessing of the gospel is not in question. Justification is the primary blessing, because it meets our primary spiritual need. We all stand by nature under God’s judgment; His law condemns us; guilt gnaws at us, making us restless, miserable, and in our lucid moments afraid; we have no peace in ourselves, because we have not peace with our Maker. So we need the forgiveness of our sins, and assurance of a restored relationship with God, more than we need anything else in the world; and this the gospel offers us before it offers us anything else…And as justification is the primary blessing, so it is the fundamental blessing, in the sense that everything else in our salvation assumes it, and rests on it- adoption included.

But this is not to say that justification is the highest blessing of the gospel. Adoption is higher, because of the richer relationship with God that it involves… Justification is a forensic idea, conceived in terms of law, and viewing God as judge…Adoption is a family idea, conceived in terms of love, and viewing God as father. In adoption, God takes us into His family and fellowship, and establishes us as His children and heirs. Closeness, affection and generosity are at the heart of the relationship. To be right with God the judge is a great thing, but to be loved and cared for by God the father is a greater."

We are loved and cared for by God the father. He loves us no less because we are adopted. In fact, the very reason He loves us is because we are adopted. We are his OWN because he adopted us. When we consider the marvelous truth of adoption, we realize the naivety and ignorance in making comments about having our OWN children first. DNA structure is a byproduct of having biological children, but it does not mean that biological children are any more important than adopted children or any more your OWN. So, before making any such comment about 'your own children first' or separating children of an adoptive family into two categories, consider your own adoption and rejoice that God calls your his child because you were adopted.

If you want to grow your family through the blessing of children, we encourage you to be open to God's plan for your family.  Maybe you will have biological children.  Maybe you will adopt children.  Maybe you will do both.  It doesn't matter the order. But regardless, the bottom line is that they are all your children.  Declan has two sisters.  Raelynn and Elliana. He doesn't have one real sister and then the one that was adopted. Both of these girls are our own and real daughters.  They are all real siblings.  Yes, really. wholely. completely.

Today's Purchase

Friday is grocery shopping day around here, so I picked up some more items for the trip! It was recommended to me to bring Starbucks VIA, the instant coffee. Now, I thought we were going to a place so well known for their fabulous coffee, but I will take the word of the parents that have gone before us and take the VIA. It was on sale and I had a coupon, so I figured it was a good time to try it. Otherwise, I may have just passed it up. But then I think of how I'm going to need my coffee and am very glad I have it. But I promise, first I will try to soak up the culture by drinking Ethiopian coffee before breaking open the Starbucks;)

Also bought lots of protein bars, which were recommended if we want to snack between meals. Since both us love to snack and both of us are always hungry, I got plenty! I wonder what snacks they have available when we are there? I know there won't be a Taco Bell on the corner, but maybe a gas station with some pretzels? I have no idea!

The most exciting item is the Johnson's baby lotion :) Shea and cocoa butter is what a fellow adoptive mama who just brought her son home said that she loves to use on him. I am so beyond emotions to have this lotion. It represents the touching I will get to do with my baby girl. Baby massage is such a good form of bonding because it promotes such interaction and eye contact. I cannot wait to lather her up and kiss her ten little toes, give her zerberts on her belly, and tickle her neck.

This morning when I woke up at 7:30am, my first thought was that next Friday when the clock reads 7:30am, Lord willing, we will be landing on African soil and are just minutes (ok, probably hours since we have to get luggage, visas, find our director, and drive to the transition home) until we will see our sweet Elliana!!

She is Growing!

We received updated measurements again! And new photos! Those are the BEST emails to open! But soon we will be holding our sweet little girl in our arms and see her face to face.

On March 19, 2013, which would be when Elliana was five months old, she weighed 13.2lbs and was 22.4 inches long.

She grew a lot during the last month! And we will get to be with her when she turns six months old. Exciting!

I can't wait until after April 9 so I can put her beautiful face on here for you to see!! But for now....

She is already a little sun devil fan! Daddy's little girl!

In other news, we made a little run to Walmart for some needed supplies. Looking over the packing list, the only thing left to get is 100% deet, which we could not find at the store. We'll try an outdoor store instead. I have the suitcase out and am starting to put things in it. I didn't want to do it too early so it just sat there taunting me, but now that I have thins to put in it, and we only have ONE WEEK to go, I figured it was finally time:)

We got lots of sanitizer, flushable wipes, pepto bismo, deet for our bodies, sleep aid, Tylenol, lots of batteries for my handy dandy medela, and an awesome new sleep mask! I still need to go see if I have earplugs in my bag from my shooting range days. Ashley is letting us borrow her adapter so we can keep our cameras charged!! :)

This is my carry on that will contain all my belongings for the week! We can take two 50lb checked bags each, which we will be taking. Three of the bags are perfectly measured to 50lbs and are filled with supplies for making jewelry as well as clothes for the women of the hope house in Ethiopia. (More to come on that in a future post!) The fourth suitcase that will be checked will be filled with the blankies we are taking (more to come on that I a future post!) as well as medical supplies that we will take to the Transition Home.
We are allowed one 15lb carry on with us, so that will be what each of us take our personal things in. One thing we will take is a bar of soap to do our own "laundry" while we are there:)

Thank you for your prayers. One of the families I had asked for prayer to be submitted to embassy WAS submitted today! They had court on Dec 26, so they just passed the three month mark of waiting. Their little girl shares a room with Elliana so we will get to meet her.

Please pray for our preparations to come together and that nothing would be overlooked. It seems we have everything in order, but I'm sure I will forget something! So hopefully it isn't anything important:)
Also we would ask you to pray that the judge would rule in our favor and that the MOWA letter would be ready when we are in country so everything can go forward with the process.

We give God all the glory and praise for all He has done and is doing through this process. I know those of you that have adopted can relate when I say we have been changed through this process so much and it isn't even over yet. We understand our adoption by God our Father so much more than we could have ever tried to imagine before this. It is simply unexplainable. So thankful to Him that He didn't leave us as orphans and has redeemed us. And so humbled He gives us the opportunity to live out the gospel at it's core on a horizontal level here on earth.

Updated Measurements

We got measurements today! This is the first time for this, so that was a nice surprise!  The measurements were taken on February 19, 2013.  Elliana was 9lbs 11oz and 19.6 inches long.  She was 4 months and 1 week old at the time. Our little peanut:) I can't wait to get my hands on her in a couple weeks!!

In other news,  we are pretty much ready to go!!  We haven't started packing clothes yet and still need to make a run to get little things like sanitizer, sleep aid, tylenol, ear plugs, snacks, etc.  But we'll probably wait a little bit to do that as well.  But we have all the paperwork ready, copies made, notarized forms complete, immunizations done, and tickets booked!

We covet your prayers as we prepare to leave our home and two children here and go to the other side of the world.  Raelynn is very excited and we know she will be just fine because she knows we are going to visit her sister.  Please pray for the judge's favor for our family that we would pass court.  Please pray also that the papers needed would all be ready and be quickly handed off to the US Embassy.
Would you also please pray for the families waiting for court submission?  There are many families that have passed court and are waiting to bring their child home.  They have been waiting months. several months.  Please pray that God would be pleased to work quickly in their situations and that their paperwork would be put in the right places and their children would clear to come home. 
And also that all the children there remain healthy and comforted as they wait for their forever familes to return for them.

16 days until we leave!!!!! :)


and here  is a picture of her little rolls....love those little legs! She was sleeping in this picture--it is one of my favorite pictures that I have :)

WE HAVE A COURT DATE!

We got the call!!  We have a court hearing date in Ethiopia to appear before a judge and give our consent so Elliana can legally be a FRAZEY! Forever!  Even typing those words give me chills and bring tears.  I can't believe we are at this point.  It has been a long. time. waiting.

April 9, 2013 we will appear in Ethiopian court.  I cannot say a time, because apparently they are pretty loose about following times and appointments....so please, just block the entire day (actually it will be April 8-9 for you in the USA because we'll be 11 hours ahead) and pray.  Please! Pray that the judge would rule in our favor and we would hear the sweet words that Elliana is ours.

So, what other details are there?  We have purchased our tickets and we will leave Arizona at 11:20pm on Thursday, April 4.  Hopefully since it is a red eye we will get some sleep (haha, yeah right!)  It is a huge blessing this worked out for this flight so Brent didn't have to take Thursday off work. 
We will fly to Charlotte then to DC.  From DC we have a straight flight to Addis Ababa, which is the capital of Ethiopia and also the city where we will stay.

We hear that we will get to spend a couple hours each day with Elliana.  We are told to be careful not to attach too much for our sake, but more for the child's sake, since we will be leaving and the child is left there to return to day to day activity for at least a month. or two. or three.  Join us in praying that it will not be that long before our second trip.  God continues to pour blessing on us as we continue this process.  We were told it could be 2-8 weeks from preliminary court (which ours was on Feb 26) to the court hearing for consent.  If you do the math, we got our phone call exactly 15 days after our preliminary hearing.  Now, the time between the preliminary hearing and the court hearing for consent is actually going to be exactly 6 weeks. 

Let me tell you though, what a blessing it is that we have heard already.  First, for obvious reasons, so we don't have to keep waiting and wondering.  We have a date, we have a timeline, we have something to look forward to.  But also, for the sake of purchasing plane tickets!  We have communication with all of the families working with West Sands and I have never heard of this much of an advance notice.  Since we have had a referral and started actually paying closer attention to the timelines, most people have had TWO days notice!!  Two days.  We were prepping for that, but it is saving us a lot of money to be able to get tickets three weeks ahead of time rather than just days.

We have an amazing travel agent and are so thankful for her! If you are an adoptive family reading this and need an agent, please consider using Erica Shubin with MKI travel.  She was recommended to us by fellow West Sands families.  She is an adoptive mama herself and travels to Ethiopia for her ministry.  She is AWESOME and has been a blessing to get to know and work with.  Can't say enough good things about her!!  Her email is erica.shubin@mkigrouptravel.com

So we have our tickets, so we figured it was time to get our vaccines! We were going to do it a while ago, but insurance wasn't going to cover them and I couldn't get several of them because I'm nursing.  Then when I did try to make appointments it was so hard to get us in and well, you know how that goes.  I just never scheduled.  So, now that it is crunch time we figured we better get it done! 
And yet, another blessing of God's provision--turns out our insurance covers them 100% for preventative vaccines! It was SUPER easy because we just went to the CVS Minute Clinic after Brent got home from work.  (wow, those clinics are so cool! I'm never going to a doctor's office again!)
So we got vaccinated for Hep A and I got a flu shot, too!  Addis Ababa doesn't have malaria biting mosquitoes, so we didn't have to get that and Hep A was the only thing safe for me to get anyway.


And because every post is better with a picture.....

What's Next?

I've been meaning to write this post for a while and knew I could keep putting it off...but now we are finally at the stage that it is all relevant.  Many people ask what is happening and when Elliana will be home.  This is, from our understanding, the way things have been moving along and what will happen in the near future:

We received and accepted our referral on December 28, 2012.  Elliana G. was 2 months old at the time.



When I upload this picture it is right side up! You'll just have to turn your head:)
This is a beautiful canvas from Grammy and Papa Adams for Elliana's room

 

On February 26, 2013 we had preliminary court.  From my understanding, this court is for the birth parents, when applicable, to appear and relinquish rights.  In the case of an abandoned child with no birth parents found, the person who found the child appears to testify as well as the director of West Sands in Ethiopia.  

In the preliminary court, the child is declared an orphan.  The judge, director of West Sands, and MOWA (Ministry of Woman Affairs--which is equivalent to our human services type of organizations) go over the paperwork and make sure everything is correct and that no one is opposed to anything in the adoption.

We had our court and have not heard word about it in one whole week!  Looking at the calendar today, I couldn't believe it has only been one week since then.  Everything seems like so much longer than it really is in this process!! Our agency told us that "no news is good news" and the next thing we should hear is that the MOWA letter is ready, and that should be within a couple weeks.

The typical timeline for families between preliminary court and their court date to appear in Ethiopia is 2-8 weeks.  What takes place during this time, we are not completely sure.  I can say that the timeline is definitely different for each family and that our agency can't give us any exact dates, but they did say it should be soon! :)

When the MOWA approval letter is ready, then our agency will call us to give us our court date.  We need to arrive in country before court and the most recent families from the agency were only given a two day notice before leaving!  It all adds to the excitement :)
When we travel, we will get to meet Elliana before court.  Then later in the week we will appear before the judge and it will all be made official!!!

The hard part though, is that we will only have custody of her in Ethiopia.  We will not be able to leave with Elliana.  A lot of important things have to happen between our first trip and our second trip to bring her home.

The director of West Sands will prepare all of the documents that need to be submitted to the United States Embassy.  The US Embassy will require there to be additional medical appointments and testing, an orphan status investigation, and the preparation of her passport and her birth certificate before Elliana can become a US citizen. Once all of the documentation is gathered it will be submitted to the US Embassy to review and make their determination. All the things that must occur are good and beneficial.  Basically, the US Embassy has to satisfy their needs that Elliana is truly an orphan and won't recognize our custody of her until we get US Embassy clearance.

So we will return home with full hearts but will have empty hands.  The time frame they give between court and Embassy submission is 2-8 weeks.  Once we are submitted to the Embassy, we know we are close but we don't quite get to jump on a plane at that point.  We have to wait for full clearance before scheduling the second trip. 

In the second trip, Brent will go to Embassy and have an interview with them. (the plan right now is that I will stay home)  They will then issue Elliana's travel visa and she will be ready to come home forever! 

Doesn't everyone love baby feet?  So thankful for this photo sent to us!
 (well, we got the entire photo--but I'll just show you what I can!)

Anything can happen in international adoption, and we would ask that you continue to pray for the process to move ahead smoothly and to completion quickly.  We wait with great anticipation, but we wait with great peace knowing that God is in control and not one detail is out of His plan.  We do pray that it would be His will to have Elliana home in our arms before summer!!

Things to Look Foward to!

I'm behind on updating this! Here is what is happening....

We have preliminary court date set for February 26, 2012.  We are so so very happy that we have a date and that gives us something concrete.  It's a bit reassuring to have a date and know that the case is still progressing and we haven't been lost or forgotten!  In all honesty though, we were hoping we would have had the PH (preliminary hearing) in January so we could travel in February.  And in my sinful heart, it was hard at first not to be disappointed even though it was such great news and something to be so thankful for!  But my God is a god of grace and the One who provides.  He provides that grace just when we need it and calms the aching heart.  So, by His grace, I am so at peace with this date because I know that His timing is perfect.  Maybe I don't know why it is going to be timed out like this, but regardless-I know it is just the way it is supposed to be.  The agency told us to expect to travel for court one month after our PH.  So, we are praying for a March court and travel date!!! It would be so lovely to not have to wait until April. (And just a little information....the PH is the one we do not have to be present for.  It is the court hearing that basically declares Elliana as an orphan.  A representative from our agency and the orphanage will be present. Once she is legally declared an orphan, then she can legally be declared OURS at the second court hearing, which is the one we DO need to be present for.)
 On March 11, Elliana will be 5 months old.  I realize the sweetness of being postponed a bit later than we would like is that we will see her when she is 5 months old--a time when she will be smiling and possibly laughing.  Holding her head up and interacting with us.  Now, don't get me wrong...I wish I could go see her and hold her RIGHT NOW--but since we only get ONE trip to see her before we bring her home, it will be nice that she will be a tad older so she is alert and active.  I wish we could go over once a month and see her.  It's hard to know that for the first 8-9 months of her life we will only have seen her one time.  In the years ahead, maybe that will not matter as much.  But still, right now it is no fun and stinks pretty bad. 

Today is a great day.  Some families at our agency have court! (yay! excited for them!)  And they were so so kind to take some photos for us of Elliana!!! :)  I am a crazy email checker right now because I want to see those pictures!!!!!  You have no idea how excited I am.  So, if you live close...you will get to see her beautiful face again soon:) 


And because blog posts are always better with pictures....here is what we have been up to:

Went to Hobby Lobby and bought an "E" for Elliana's side of the room!  I can't wait to put it up!

Cleaning out the garage, Brent found a world map puzzle from my teaching supplies.  It's made out of foam.  Raelynn pulled Africa out right away and started saying "Af-ica" and Declan enjoys teething on it!

I LOVE this new shirt I got!! You can order yours here: arecklassabandon.bigcartel.com

Erica, who is selling these, is actually our travel agent and a really awesome gal who has a big heart for our Lord, adoption, and Ethiopia.

 

 

God Provides

I think the repeating theme of our adoption is God Provides.  Over. and. over. again. 
When He has abundant plans for our life; when we allow Him to direct our steps; when we trust in Him and take a leap of faith, He will provide.  And why should we be surprised? We shouldn't! 

 

If God loved us when we were sinners, and reached out and gave us life--while we were dead and at enmity with Him, then why are we so surprised when He meets the needs of His children over and abundantly? While we were dead in our sin-so dead we didn't even see our need for a Savior-God sent His Son to live a life on our behalf and then die in our place. 

He did that for me.

The rest is just easy for Him. It is pleasure for Him. And it brings Him glory.

A few extra dollars? He's got that covered.

We applied for a grant from Show Hope in October.  Thank you to those that knew about this and were praying for our application to stand out and have favor.  We were hoping to get something from them, but didn't expect to get a lot.  They have a lot of applications and only so much money each application period to give out.  We were amazed floored overjoyed speechless when we opened the envelope and saw that Show Hope has granted us their maximum giving.  four thousand dollars.

ALL glory and praise go to God for His provision!

Can I just take a moment to remind you (in case you missed it earlier) that God provides and cares for His children?  If you have a desire to adopt but are scared about the money side--we were there. I don't know too many people anyone who has an extra $30,000 laying around.  But nothing is impossible with God and I hope if you have any inward nudging from the Holy Spirit, that you examine those if they are truly from Him and do not quench them.  Ok, off the soap box.  But there will be more to come on that another day I'm sure. :)

 (And that goes beyond money.  If you are nervous to adopt because of emotional reasons and the huge change and probably hard transition it will bring, God will of course provide for you in that too.  His grace is sufficient.)

And I will leave you with this quote I came across...a great quote, but I found it especially perfect when I read it yesterday just after we received our letter.

"Life isn't ever normal.  Timing isn't ever perfect.  Conditions are never really right.  If you know there is something God wants you to do, move forward anyway.  Dare to do what you can because you serve a God who can do more than you can even imagine" -Holley Gerth

Here is a link to the website.  It's Steven Curtis Chapman's ministry:  Show Hope

Orphanage Donations

We will be taking a suitcase full of donations to the orphanage in Ethiopia.  We have checked into it and they are in need of:

clothing, shoes, bedding, hygiene products, medical supplies, lice treatment, and toys (these would have to be small for our suitcase!)  But, if you would really like to help donate but don't have time to shop or don't know what to get--they have recently told families that donating money is a great way to help.  They will use it as they see fit as what is needed the most and are also trying to purchase computers.  We will collect all donations and take them with us.  They don't have to be brand new clothes--you can go to a second hand store or clean out your own closets at home. 

Let me know if you'd like to help! Thank you!

Any News Is Good News....

 Eeeeek! So excited!! I saw an email last night just before going to bed (and with all my might said this blog post could wait until the morning!) that said  "Case Filed" in the subject line.  Our email shows the first couple words of an email before we actually open it.  I read 'Congratulations!' Oh boy, I couldn't get that email opened quick enough!

The words I read don't change anything.  We still don't have a court date and still don't know when we will go to court and travel to see our sweet baby girl.  However, at this stage in the process, ANY news is good news! It's just something to hold on to and know that things are progressing along. 

So what did the email say? 
Our case was filed with federal court on Thursday, January 3, 2012. We are now waiting for the Ethiopian courts to schedule our first hearing.  Our agency said we should receive the dates for our first hearing in about 2 weeks.  We do not need to travel for the first hearing.  From my understanding, this is the preliminary hearing and the director of West Sands in Ethiopia as well as a representative from the orphanage will appear to represent us.
And the best part of the email said this: "You should plan on traveling in as soon as 6 weeks."

YAY!!! :)

In other news....
Checked in to immunizations.  There are no safe vaccines for nursing mothers for malaria.  BUT, the lady at the Maricopa County Adult Immunization Center (so I'm assuming she's pretty knowledgeable) said that malaria mosquitoes only bite at night and there are none in Addis Ababa, which is where we will be sleeping each night.  So she said as long as we don't stay over night anywhere else, I should be fine.  The agency told us to wear 100 deet at night at 30 deet during the day.  Hep A is safe for both of us, so we will go to get those.  However, yellow fever is not safe at all for me either because that is passed on to the baby and can make their teeth black.  So, we'll be passing on that one too!




Printed off our 20 page packet for travel that the agency sent us.  We have lots of information including a packing list, information on cultural norms, weather, and what we can bring for Elliana.  We also will be taking an extra suitcase (or 2...just depends what the airline will allow) full of items for the children at the orphanages.  How fun!! If anyone has any children's clothes they want to donate or diapers, we would be glad to take them. (But check with me first so we can get a variety and don't have more than is allowed).



Stay tuned...