High Hopes!

We got word today that one of the social workers rented a bike and hopped on it for a long trip from Addis to Soddo to pick up a document needed for the U.S. embassy. This is the rainy season in Ethiopia right now and the roads can be quite dangerous and travel can be very difficult......it took him all day to get there....but he made it!! There are high hopes and many prayers that when this document is submitted to the embassy, they will in fact accept it and then give Hailu his visa. After that we would then get our approval to travel!! We are so greatful for this individual that was willing to take this hard trip for us and for Hailu! There are many details that I don't feel the freedom to post here publically yet about the situation, but I will just say that it could go either way....there isn't any way of knowing if the embassy will want something different or if they will in fact accept this and move forward. It is all in the Lord's hands and He will be the one to decide how much longer we will have to wait. I trust Him and know that He loves us and Hailu and He will bring our family together when the time is right. We should know more within the next week or two.

A picture says a thousand words!

I anxiously got on the computer this morning at 6:00 a.m. hoping that my friend Shannon had posted something about meeting her son for the first time today in China! SHE DID!!! I didn't even read what was written yet, but saw this picture and instantly started to cry.....tears flowing with a smile on my face....I still haven't stopped crying as I type this now. Jace is deaf and Shannon hasn't gotten any updates on him the past year, so that first meeting could have been very hard. Imagine not being able to hear or talk and some stranger just comes in and takes you away from a place you have been living for over a year now.

This picture shows that God can work miracles! Shannon I love you and I am so happy for you! I hope you don't mind.....I had to share this with my blog followers! Shannon and Ron's blog is www.ourdeafson.blogspot.com if you want to continue to follow their journey with Jace!

NEW PHOTOS!!

We got new photos of Hailu today! In the midst of the mess of trying to get his visa, this was a huge "pick-me-up"! I am so thankful for the gift of these photos ! I do not take them for granted at all! They are treasured ! Please continue to pray for us to have calm hearts and minds...Hailu is healthy and being well cared for and this is a blessing...it is just hard, because WE want to be the ones caring for him! We don't understand why this road block has come in our path to him, but we HAVE to trust God and know that He loves us and Hailu and is allowing it for a reason.

1 year of photos of our sweet boy! at OneTrueMedia.com

Make video montages at www.OneTrueMedia.com

We got confirmation this morning that the embassy has all our paperwork and they are working on our case! Hopefully the next few days will bring the news we have been waiting for...approval to travel!

Progress finally made today!

I am so thankful that God provided such wonderful people to work hard on ours and Hailu's behalf! We couldn't have done this without you! Thank you Donna, Laura and Janna for all the calls and emails you have made.....you all worked with urgency and stood by our side to get this resolved!
I will give more details later, but for now the new update is that because our information hadn't been located yet, the necessary information was re-sent to the visa center and we are told that it was sent to the embassy in Ethiopia today. We will find out tomorrow morning whether or not the embassy has received it.
One hurdle jumped over, now one more to go! We aren't giving up Hailu! We love you sweet boy and we are coming soon!

Where is our paperwork?!!!

Well, it is official....NO ONE KNOWS where our paperwork is. I can't go into too much detail yet, for fear that making all the details public could be detrimental somehow to our case.....I don't want to make things worse....better safe then sorry.
I will just ask you all to please pray that we can get this figured out soon! We have had some individuals working with us that have really tried hard to help us crack this mystery. The addendum and new approval letter was sent to the NVC and was expected to be wired to the embassy within 10 days....it has now been over 3 weeks and no one seems to know where our information is. We have been tossed back and forth to different people and gotten contradicting advice from all official parties involved. This is the short version of the story....there have been several days of tons of emails, phone calls only to end up each day, more frustrated. Tomorrow is a new day with a new plan at hand, so we are hoping that we can either figure this out or, that our new ideas will pan out.
We know that God knows all of this and He has the ultimate control...but we also know that we feel responsible to keep at it, otherwise our paperwork could be shoved in a pile with thousands of other cases and go unoticed for quite awhile....leaving our son to wait for us even longer. We have passed court, we are already approved! This was just supposed to be a simple, quick addendum because of the embassy changing Hailu's age.....
Then there is the "simple" court appointment in Soddo that had to take place last friday concerning Hailu's records....also a requirement of the U.S. embassy. This didn't turn out to be "simple" and we are still waiting to hear about the resolution to this.
I probably shouldn't be posting today, because I am not doing well....not freaking out, but still...not where I should be. I am at a place where I feel that I trust the Lord and His timing, but I am having trouble accepting that He may be using people's mistakes and pride and opinions to accomplish His will.....
Wow, this is hard!

Just What We Needed!

Last night we had a wonderful evening with wonderful friends! We left the Kebede's house with some Ethiopian coffee and Kollo and with hearts filled with joy and peace! Misiker shared all the details last night, of his time with Hailu last month. In the midst of all the delays and all the feelings that go along with that, God knew that this evening was JUST what we needed and He provided it at the perfect time!!

We have been worried about Hailu.....we were worried that he might not understand why he has been in the foster home so long....seeing other children leave, and wondering why we haven't come to get him yet. These worries are gone.....

Misiker told us that Hailu is very aware of the adoption process and that he could tell that the staff had been explaining things to him clearly.....He said that when he was talking to him about it , and why it was taking so long, Hailu kept saying "I know".....he understood......but then Misiker said that he ended that particular conversation with...."but I can't wait! I am so excited"!!! Words can't describe how that makes us feel! He REALLY wants to be with us! What makes it even better, is that, Misiker told us that the staff was truly wonderful.....he said that the two women he saw with Hailu, treated him with so much love and affection and acted as if he were their very own child. The men he met were spoken of highly also........he said that the staff showed a genuine love for God and these children. He said that Hailu seemed relaxed, happy, healthy, and so comfortable.

What more could we ask for!!!? He is happy where he is and being taken care of very well, but at the same time will be so excited when we come to take him home! This is a gift from God for sure!!!
There is much more to tell, but I will save it for another time. I will leave off now, with HUGE thanks to Misiker for spending time with our son, joking with him, playing with him, and telling him how much God loves him and how much we all love him ......and giving him extra hope and confidence for the near future. Also, with all of my heart I give thanks to my Heavenly Father who continually takes care of our every need, and has blessed us with another amazing son that we will soon have in our arms!!

Small Update

We received some new photos and an update of our sweet boy yesterday! We also have little bit more insight on what is going on with our case...although we hope to know more by the tomorrow.

I have to start by saying that I am so thankful to God for the peace that only He can give! I still have moments where my heart literally aches with anxiousness and this is when I have to return to Him....and rest in Him. He is VERY real and the work He is doing in our lives is VERY real.........one thing I am learning is that, this can't truly be seen until we reach a point of TRUE surrender! Once I reach that point, it seems that true peace from Him starts trickling in.....nothing beats the feeling of this confidence and peace!

So, on to the update....July and August are slower months in Ethiopia due to vacations for embassy workers etc.....therefore, they have cut the normal 10 children per embassy appointment to 5 children. Because of this, obviously those spots are filling up much quicker, and pushing travel times and embassy appointments later and later for many families. July 13th is filled, and there are only 2 spots left for the 27th, last I heard....but this was a couple days ago, so that could have changed by now. We are probably looking at traveling in August, or possibly even September. Our updated information STILL has not reached the NVC and now the embassy in Ethiopia has brought up an inconsistency in our paperwork....I am assuming this is nothing we have done wrong, because we haven't been asked to change anything yet. I hope to find out more about this today...... I feel like, COME ON!!!! Will you just cut this out and let us bring our son home!!!!! UGH!!!!! Obviously I need to be praying about this some more....I am getting all fired up again just typing about it.

So on to the update of Hailu! One of the staff at the foster home said that he has been spending a lot of time in his bedroom drawing and writing in the book we sent him......they said that he was quiet and shy but that he is always willing to play if a child comes in and asks him. This is a different description of his personality from when he was at the orphanage. They said there, that he was involved with all the small children, helping them read and write in English and that he was always outside playing soccer and exercising with his friends etc.... I said to Mike, that I wonder if this is a way he is "connecting" with us.....we sent that book to him and maybe when he thinks of us he draws in it. I did write in it ,that I would love for him to draw in it and write in it, and he could show us what he had done when we came to get him. Maybe not, but this is just a thought that crossed my mind since he seems to be more to himself and more quiet than described in the months past. I don't know......but one thing I DO know is that he is quite the little artist!!! They sent a picture of him drawing as "proof" that he draws really well (:
He has two uncles that are amazing artists and cousins that love to draw and are really good at it too! He will fit right in with that! Isaac said to me...."It seems like all the boys in our family can draw good except me" I told him it is because that is what they love to do and they practice all the time.... and it is a talent that God has given them. Isaac has never really been interested in drawing or coloring....he seems to gravitate to anything having to do with a ball or nature.....it will be fun to see if Hailu will bring out a new interest in drawing for Isaac.

Ok, so here are a few of the new photos of Hailu, and photos of my brother's artwork......just a little bragging all around (: My brother Dan does concept art and my little brother Jon is a painter.

www.jonathanhardesty.com www.radikinstudios.com