Summertime

I know that many of you check my blog to see updates about our adoption process.....sorry to say, there isn't any new developements yet. In the meantime, I will share some other things that we have been up to.

We got a membership to a pool this year, along with my sister-in-law and Isaac's cousins. Although it has been alot more crowded than we had anticipated, the price of membership was amazing and the kids are having fun being able to swim several times a week. We noticed that there are several adoptive families there every day too....It was so encouraging for me to see this....I am hoping this will be encouraging for Hailu also, if he is home in time to enjoy the pool with us.


Isaac and Lucas (his cousin) made muffins for the first time without any help from me. I put them in the oven and took them out, but they did the rest! I was so proud of them and the muffins tasted great! The video I am posting is just a little taste of how cute they were with it all.

We have picked strawberries, we had crabs on Father's Day (Mike's FAVORITE!), and we have spent some really good times with family and great friends! Summertime is in full-swing, and I am loving it! Now we just need our other sweet little boy home to share all this fun with us!

Isaac picking crabs by himself for the first time.....he was so proud of himself and he announced that he now LOVES crabs and rootbeer together! (:

We are almost there!

Yesterday we got a call from our homestudy provider, who informed us that USCIS contacted them and said that our approval letter was in the mail ! This was GREAT news!! I also got the letter through email and forwarded it immediately to our agency....they then immediately forwarded it to Ethiopia! STEP 1 DONE! YAY!
We are only half-way there though.....We were told that it could take up to ten days for something called a cable 37 to be wired to Ethiopia. This is something in relation to Hailu's visa approval. The process can take that long, because there are a couple of steps involved.
After this takes place we will FINALLY get our travel approval and embassy appointment!
There was a bit of drama that went on yesterday with all of this, that I can't post online....so, family and friends, I will have to tell you about it when we talk.
Someone that has been "with us" from day one at our agency emailed me yesterday. It was so comforting to hear them say to us that this whole situation was confusing and not normal at this stage in the process. Someone that we trust and respect and that knows the very most about Hailu and our whole situation ,confirmed our feelings. There are only a few people whose opinion would have a lot of weight in this situation.....this person is one of them! I guess it's just nice to know that we aren't crazy for being a little frustrated and confused about all of this.
So, unless God chooses otherwise....we most likely aren't going to be traveling to pick up Hailu this month. There is a reason for all of this.....and we have no choice now but to wait, and trust the Lord that He will take care of all the details. It is hard to balance sometimes, trusting the Lord and letting Him work it out, but also making sure we do all that needs to be done on our part. My friend Ajay sent me an email the other day to encourage us...she is going through a lot right now also with her adoption process. She referred to a verse that peirced my heart and brought tears to my eyes.....Exodus 14:14 " The Lord will fight for you, and you have only to be silent. " The amazing account in Exodus of God delivering the Israelites out of Egypt...the miracles that took place then.....how hard it must have been for them to "be silent" when they were so scared. The Lord DID fight for them and won! He IS fighting for us too....we just need to be silent and let him work His miracles HIS way!

Every day we hope that THIS will be the day that we hear that all has been settled and we are approved to travel.......Today we didn't hear a peep from anyone...no calls or emails......No good news today....still waiting.

Delay or no delay?.....that is the big question!

I have waited several days to update everyone on here for a couple of reasons.....I needed to de-stress a little first, and also I was busy trying to get this small mess cleaned up. I am not going to go into all the details here online, because the whole thing can't be properly explained without going into some things that are very personal for Hailu.
Basically the U.S. Embassy physician has decided that Hailu is MUCH older than what everyone else thinks he is. Therefore, our original paperwork must be changed before we can get travel approval.

I panicked at first and even shed some tears, but the Lord is faithful and so good......I think it is all going to be o.k. now. We got an adendum from our home study provider and Mike called our state representatives office......I went there, filled out a form and faxed them our adendum and they are working on getting things expedited with a connection that they have in Washington DC! They have been amazing there! I also had the adendum overnighted to USCIS. Now the big question is.....will this cause a big delay or not? Everyone seems to think that it should be a quick fix....we will see!

I have to admit that I was so frustrated and disappointed to get a call on Wednesday, thinking it was our "travel approval call"....only to get this news. I will just say one thing on here about this issue......We absolutely agree that Hailu very well COULD be 2 to 3 years older than we originally thought, but not 5 or 6! I think this was a DEFINITE overestimation for many reasons.....we have our theories on why this may have been done, but at this point we really don't know for sure....Mike and I just are baffled. Also, at this point it is completely IRRELEVANT......we just need to get this paperwork changed, get that travel approval, and get OUR SON home!!!!

I am praying that all goes well this next week and we can still make that 29th embassy appointment! God knows all that is happening ,and He loves us and Hailu, and this is what brings peace in these times. I am so thankful for the people that worked so hard for us this week and got things done so fast.....this was a true blessing!

New photos!

We recently sent Hailu a notebook. Isaac and my nephew and niece drew pictures in it for him, and I also put maps in it of the United States, Africa, and a world map with stick figures of me Mike and Isaac near PA with arrows drawn across the ocean to Ethiopia and a little stick figure of Hailu there. I wrote that we are coming soon! I also sent him a necklace because I haven't seen him wearing the other one we sent him since he got to Addis. I don't know if it broke or if they just didn't let him wear it, but I decided to send him another one either way~It is a little shield that has the verse Joshua 1:9b on the back of it: "Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go." I also put crayons and pencils, a little American flag, and a pack of gum in the pocket inside the notebook. I wrote to him that he can write or draw in it while he waits for us and show us what he did when we come to get him.
WELL, we received photos of him today with all these things! I was so excited and thankful once again for this gift from the staff there in Addis. In the photos I see him trying to read what I wrote to him, and he wrote a message to us....It is hard to see in the picture, but it says "I love you Isaac- I love you Mama- I love you Papa" I was so impressed with his writing! I am not sure if someone may have had to tell him how to spell each word, but he still knew how to write all the letters correctly! It looks like he is doing really well....oh and of course we LOVED what he wrote! WE LOVE YOU TOO HAILU!!! What an exciting way to start the weekend!

Misiker met Hailu!

Once again God gave us an amazing gift!