The Trip

Well, look at that--writing not even one day later! Luke is taking his morning nap so I thought I'd try to quickly write. I just want to tell all of you who are in the 'thick' of the adoption process right now, it is all worth it! All the ups and downs that we went through were erased once we had that little boy in our arms! (Don't get me wrong, we still have our moments, but all in all, things are pretty darn good!) Luke sleeps for about 11 hours each night...although he did decide to scream for an hour last night. I have to admit, that's pretty good for only being home for three weeks.

Like I said yesterday, Ethiopia was great. Luke didn't seem to have too much trouble adjusting to us, although he sure didn't sleep a lot while we were there. (Scot and I soon realized that for years, although we had thought that we were tired, you truly don't know the meaning of exhaustion until you're up all night with a baby!) We stayed at the Desalagn (I think I spelled that wrong) and I would highly recommend it. The staff went above and beyond to help us---they'd bring up boiling water for us to wash Luke's bottles and it was great to have the room service for ordering food. The rooms were also very clean, too, which is important if you are a neat freak like myself!

Alemeu, Gestachew, and Sami were also absolutely wonderful. Our luggage actually didn't arrive until 2 days before we left (lovely, huh!) but Alemeu was great and took us shopping the first day so we could buy stuff for Luke. We also had a great time with Alemeu at the Ehtiopian dinner. I think that was our favorite part of the trip. The dancers are amazing!!! Ethiopia is such a beautiful land, too. Like I said, it was just really great. I am so excited for all of you who are traveling soon!!!! You are going to have such an amazing time.

Life As a Family of Three

Hello! I apologize immensely to everyone who was following our blog. Life got VERY busy VERY quickly. We've been home for three weeks today. Luke is doing great! He is a happy, healthy boy. (He weighed 18 pounds at his last doctor's appointment and is 27 inches long.) He turned 7 months last week and Scot and I have enjoyed seeing all his changes. He's rolling over tons and gives us lots of smiles! We had a GREAT time in Ethiopia. To all of you who are yet to travel, you are going to have such an amazing experience. We can't say enough nice things about all the people and the staff from AAI. Sorry so short, but that's all for now. I can't make any promises, but I'll try to write more soon!

He's Ours!

We are the official parent's of Tensae!!! Just writing that feels so great! Yesterday was a whirlwind of emotions. Both my husband and I had the day off so we tried to keep ourselves busy. We went to church, worked out at the gym, went grocery shopping, got me a coffee, and picked some things up at my school (remnants from the Valentine's party with my 1st graders...if being in a room full of 24 first graders on Valentine's Day can't take your mind off the adoption, I don't know what will:) Well, that took us until about 1:00 and then we were just sitting at home WAITING and WAITING and WAITING. I can't tell you how anxious we felt everytime the phone rang. (You gotta love telemarketers!) Although I had done pretty good earlier in the day of staying calm, by 2:00 I was a mess...my stomach was in knots. And my poor husband. I've never seen him more anxious! Although we both had been optimistic about this court date, we didn't think it was a good sign that we hadn't heard any news yet. My husband couldn't wait any longer and called the agency at 2:30. The receptionist told us our consultant was on the phone and she'd call us back. Finally, at 3:30 the phone rang. It was our consultant and she told us that we were officially Tensae's parents. I can't tell you how great it was to hear that!! I, of course, started bawling. My husband said he didn't know if I was crying more now than I would have if we had heard bad news.

We spent the next hour calling our families and friends. Then Scot and I went out to dinner at my favorite restaurant for a long-awaited celebratory dinner. We're both still in shock. Our journey to becoming parents has not been easy and there were many times along the way that we wondered if it were ever going to happen. All I have to say is thank you, Lord, because you DID bless us with a little boy and we couldn't be happier!!!

We are not completely sure of our travel date yet. We should know on Monday.

Having shared my good news, please keep the families in your prayers who are still waiting an upcoming court date. I know how anxious/sad/frustrated/confused they feel and I pray that things work out for them soon. Please pray for my sister and her family, too, who are welcoming their 2nd baby this coming Wednesday.

Sad

You know that expression, 'These are the times that try men's souls'? That's all that I can think of right now. Our court date was rescheduled for the 15th. I appreciate everyone who sent prayers our way. I feel so bad for my little boy...for the other families whose court dates didn't go through....I just feel bad.

Anxiously Waiting

Our court date is on Wednesday and my husband and I are SO anxious I can hardly stand it!! I have been waiting for this day for so long, but now that it is getting close, I am petrified that something is going to go wrong and there will be a delay. I know all we can do is pray, and trust me, we do a whole lot of that. Any extra prayers sent our way would be greatly appreciated!

On a more upbeat note, I had two baby showers recently. My mom and mother-in-law threw a family/friend shower at my parent's house. We had a great turnout....no exaggeration, I opened gifts for an hour straight. I have to say, my mom is the best. My dad and her left on a cruise the next morning at 5:00 a.m. but she was a trooper and never complained even though her house was overtaken with guests! Scot and I had a lot of fun putting things away and getting the baby's room organized. My work also hosted a shower for me. It was very sweet and made me think of our little boy, which always makes me happy!

Please keep us in your prayers. Pray for a smooth court date. Please also say an extra prayer for my sister and her husband who are expecting their 2nd baby very soon!

Thank You, God!

God does work in miraculous ways. My husband and I were feeling down this morning as we realized that today was 1 month since we received our referral. We decided to call our consultant to see if she had heard any news about our court date. W were absolutely THRILLED when she told us that yes, she did have news......our court date is scheduled for Jan 30th! I can't tell you how excited and thankful we are!!!!! Our prayers were once again answered!

More Pictures!

We received some good news from our consultant this afternoon. Tensae was moved into ADERA, Addis Ababa so we won't have to travel outside the city to pick him up. We are VERY excited that he is in Addis Ababa! Hopefully we will now be able to get some more pictures of him from someone who is traveling in late December. Our consultant did send us two more pictures today. He is adorable! I can't wait to get my hands on him!!!



Now let's just pray for a court date....