It's God's child, we just get to be the parents.

Photo Book

2012-01-02T14:29:00.001-08:00

Click here to view this photo book larger

Shutterfly baby photo books are the perfect way to preserve your baby's precious moments.

Adoption Shirts

2011-12-10T08:44:00.000-08:00

New items added to the Ordinary Hero store. In case you were planning to buy any adoption/orphan advocate shirts anytime soon, can I ask that you mention my name (Niki Johnson) at check-out? 40% of the proceeds purchased (if you mention my name) will go toward our next adoption. This is the only fundraiser we plan on doing this time. I personally love their stuff and know that so many others do as well.

Charcoal hoodie

kids long-sleeve

Added bonus: there is a grant contest going on right now with Ordinary Hero. The top 3 sellers will receive $500 toward their adoption. Contest ends Sunday night 12/11... so all purchases must be made by tomorrow if you want to help us win the grant.

Happy shopping!!

A year ago today...

2011-10-16T20:40:00.001-07:00

Was a huge day in Judah's life. He was transferred from his native Kembata region to the capital City of Addis Ababa. We're told that Almaz picked you up and delivered you to HH. The girl in the photos is one of the special mother's who loved you at HH. This is the first photo of Judah that we have, these are the clothes you arrived in.

I can only imagine what was going through your mind as your world was turned upside down. My heart still breaks for you.
On our end of the world, we received a message from one of the mothers who was there at HH meeting her child. A few on the top of the list got this message, "We saw your babies today, they arrived at HH, were bathed and are now laying in the sun." 10 new babies had arrived at once and it was safe to assume as #2(unofficial) for a boy that one of those HH10 was ours.
What was a traumatic day for you was a burst of joy and hope for us. Its the sad truth of adoption and so this week, you can expect me to be emotionally fragile. So many feelings rushing around in my heart... and I should assume that you are feeling the same things. I promise to be extra vigilant with your needs and recognize that you may need extra hugs and kisses. I'm definately up for that.

Judah is going to be a big brother!!!

2011-10-16T12:58:00.000-07:00

Announcing the beginning of baby #2!!!!!!
That's right we're in it again. We made it through the first time and now that the scars of labor (that lasted 18 months) have faded, we've forgotten (enough) the struggles and only see the joy. For those of you who have met Judah, you would understand. He is an amazing little guy and our family is sooo good together. How could we not want to jump right in there again?
We have signed on with Adoption Advocates International and are now working on our Homestudy... I know that word may make you want to cringe and yes, we do have to do EVERYTHING over again but our agency seems pretty flexible (awesome) and ... it doesn't look so bad compared to what we've done before... I say that now...
We will be setting our parameters for a boy or girl from Ethiopia, age 2 and under. We can expect this adoption to take 2-3 years (yikes, good thing we're starting now) or we could get a surprise... I'll leave it at that :)
For those of you who love adoption and orphan support T-shirts, we are partnering with Ordinary Hero
I've always loved their mission and their products (I have several of their shirts). If you purchase a product, be sure to enter our name in the affiliate section when you 'checkout' under the name, Johnson, Niki. Half of the proceeds will go directly to our adoption costs. Really, these are great shirts, comfy, light weight, stylish and exacty what we hope to draw attention and support to: Orphan Care and Adoptions. I can't say enough about the Ordinary Hero Organization.

The next one I plan to buy

My favorite (I already own)

Day at the Pumpkin Patch

2011-10-13T21:24:00.000-07:00

Our first year at the Pumpkin Patch!!! Needless to say Judah Loved the pumpkins and it was difficult to pry him away from them. Lots of pictures!

We have a Toddler!!!

2011-09-27T11:44:00.000-07:00

He has been taking one step at at time and then sitting down. But on Saturday, Nana and Pop came to see him and he walked straght to them. We were all suprised. I guess he wanted to be sure he knew how before he made any big attempts.

Ive said it before but here I go again. This little man is such a joy and I cherish every little 'new thing' he does. I had no idea how much fun being a parent would be. Thank you God for our son and the joy he brings us.

Judah 14 months

2011-08-26T17:55:00.000-07:00

Its been a while since I've posted but this little man is keeping me busy!!!

Judah is 14 months old today

He has 4 teeth on top that came in all at once (ouch, poor guy) and 2 bottoms

says: di di (diapers) Dada, daddy, ah da (all done) ni ni (good nite) ba ba (bottle), Mama, Nana, puh (puppy) and these things he has says once, clearly, perfectly and never again... air plane, shoes... we were shocked!

31.5 inches and 22.8 pounds he is a lean, long, crawling muscle machine!He eats everything, feeds himself (no spoon yet) and sips from a straw

Favorite foods: bannana's, melons and berries. He does not like chocolate (crazy kid)

He pulls up on everything and climbs everything.

Loves water and trees and puppies (squeals for puppies)

Loves to growl. What does the bear say Judah? Grrrr raaaa

Judah 14 months and looking like a kid...rather than a baby (sigh....)

oooh the many expression of Judah

...always include his tounge

and... look at his new trick!!!
still waiting to see if he'll do it again, at least I caught it on camera.

His best buddy (cousin) Cash. They're 6 months apart

Judah and his Poppa (my dad...sigh)

...he did it again!!! Nice catch Nana (my mom <3)

more posts to come soon, I have some catching up to do!

Just a video

2011-07-26T19:21:00.000-07:00

1st BIRTHDAY

2011-06-27T20:15:00.000-07:00

I dont know if this comes from waiting so long to have my child home but I so appreciate everything about Judah. His smile, his giggle, his easygoing personality. He has a sensitive little heart. Too stern of a "no Judah" will bring him to tears. This little man has me wrapped around his finger and I dont mind one bit. I rock him to sleep put him in his crib and try to walk out of the room and a wimper will have me turned around and doing it all over again. Every morning and every nap I look forward to getting him out of his crib.

When I'm tired and I feel like being selfish, this smile makes me forget myself.

We celebrated Judah's first birthday on Sunday and we are so proud of our little guy. He's has conquered so many milestones in the 4months that he has been home. As I type 4months I have to recalculate, its seem like he's been home so much longer. He just fits in our lives so perfectly. We love you more than I can say in words little man.

You have brought such joy into our lives and we truly appreciate every second with you.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY JUDAH BABY!

All of a Sudden...

2011-06-18T21:10:00.001-07:00

It seems like just last week we though he may skip learning to crawl...but now look at him go.

His new fascination is the washer/dryer...I think he's waiting for it to start again.

From Judah

He's pulling up and everything. If it's above his knee level, he's gonna climb it.

From Judah

Look mom, one hand!!!

"Look at that form!" says his proud daddy.

and in honor of Father's Day, he's are some sweet daddy-son moments:

From Judah

...and now for some FUNNY ones... kissing the windows (daddy was on this side)

From Judah

see, he does take bad pictures.

'..groaning together in the pains of childbirth..'

2011-06-07T16:32:00.000-07:00

I read this ... ARTICLE

A man is qoted in it saying, "it really is so very terrible" as I read those words I thought, those words are an understatement. Now that I am faced with describing this article I realize there are no words to describe this level of dispair. I will warn you, it will be difficult once you know. I feel like my heart and stomach are physically being squeezed. After I caught my breath and stopped crying I thanked God for breaking my heart for what breaks His and prayed, "Come quickly Lord Jesus."

Romans 8:19-23
For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God. For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of him who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to corruption and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God. For we know that the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now. And not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies.

ARTICLE

I will hug my son extra tight today and wait for word on what God will have us do.

June Photo Shoot

2011-06-02T11:04:00.000-07:00

"Da da"

2011-05-31T17:12:00.000-07:00

And the first word is... drum roll...

"Da Da"

I claim that "ah" means MaMa ... which he said way before Da da, but that's just my opinion.

How He Rolls..

2011-05-31T17:10:00.000-07:00

He hasn't really figured out the forward crawl... but he still gets there...

First Hair Cut

2011-05-31T16:43:00.000-07:00

From Drop Box

11 Months

2011-05-25T22:56:00.000-07:00

In just a few days anyways...

Judah is now:

putting himself into a sitting position
making sounds "thhhh" "ta ta ta" "pu"
rolling to go in a direction
pulling up on things to stand
getting into cabinets and drawers
pointing to "Judah" when asked "where's Judah?"
eating everything that's puree-able

I've been tyring to video capture the big moments, waiting for that 1st pull-up or 1st crawl but now Ive realized that he's changing so fast and some of the cute little things that we loved so much are already gone forever... So now I've decided to video everything, no matter how mundane it may seen. If he does it and we like it, or if he starts something new, I'm gonna capture it. He's growing so fast and I'm cherishing every second I get with him.

This little one brings me SUCH joy.

One thing I've been thinking over a lot lately is the beautiful relationship he has with his daddy. Ive said it before but he just lights up when daddy enters the room. I get more kisses and snuggles but just the mention of "daddy" sends Judah into a smiling frenzy. He will turn his head to look all over the room for him then try to look behind me (like I'm hiding him behind my back?). It's really precious.

He is much more shy in public now. Pretty much no smiles for strangers. But he still does well in public and loves new places.

Something I admire about him already: his positive attitude. When he is tired or upset (which is rare) he will try to cheer himself up. He crinkles his nose and forces a smile. On long car rides when he's tired and wants to get out of the car, he will let out a whine and then follow it up with a forced laugh. If that's not enough he will start clapping to make himself happy again. Its almost like he's giving himself a pep-talk. He tries so hard to be happy. I need to be more like him... or at least try not let my pessimism carry over to him.

While waiting to bring Judah home, I read a million blogs. The common theme of post adoption families was, "God matched this child so perfectly for our family" and "its feels like they have been in our family forever." I agree completely! He fits with us just perfectly. Have I mentioned that he sleeps 13hours a night? Yep, 7pm-8:30 am... for a fire fighter and evening shift RN... I can't think of a better plan. Thank you Lord!!! (thats a small reason in the scope of all the great big reasons)

He's such an awesome little guy!

Here are a few of the videos we taken since he's been home

Judah 11 months old

Playing with Daddy

and a few videos from last month...

Slobbery kisses... 9.5 months old

Funny Faces of Judah

2011-05-14T11:00:00.000-07:00

Judah is 10 months now. He ha such a HUGE personality and so many great, expressive faces. He is becoming more shy around strangers which is healthy but I have to admit, less entertaining in public. He is still a little ham when he's at home...Here are some of the great faces that he makes. Some are outta focus but he moves SO fast! ... Oh and notice the teeth!

9 Months

2011-04-20T20:30:00.000-07:00

Its been a big month for Judah, especially this past week.

He now can roll over. I sleep a lot less lately as he rolls over to his tummy to sleep. It makes me nervous and I found myself watching his chest rise to make sure he's breathing (video monitor).

He plays peek-a-boo. We've been playing it with him but didn't think he got it. The other day in the car he screamed at dad which meant "pay attention to me." As soon as J looked at him, Judah lifted the blanket over his eyes for peek-a-boo. And now he loves it!

He lock his legs to stand, we hold him as he grips our fingers. He's getting soo strong.

He crawls backwards. It more of a push-up, then back... but hey, its a crawl to me.

He's eating purees. He loves fruit and hates peas. All the rest, he just tolerates.

He loves people, especially the ladies. We call him lady-killer. Any chance he gets to flirt, he takes full advantage of. The other day at the grocery store a lady passed by without noticing him. As she was just about passed, he screamed (again, that means "pay attention to me") as soon as she looked his way, he turned on the charm, killer grin... hence "lady killer." How dare she pass by without noticing him?

He loves loves loves daddy. As soon as dad walks in the room, he grins, knowing 'fun' is about to take place. At any minutes he could be swept off his buns, thrown in the air, or spun in circles/flips. He always has to be prepared when dad is nearby... and he loves it!

He has 2 new teeth. He has been drooling since we met him in January. Every time someone meets him, we hear,' Oh he's really drooling, he must be teething." Not so... until this week. Finally an excuse for all the drool. He's been a champ, other than the drool, he never showed any signs of teething.

He has grown, 2 inches and gained 2 pounds since he came home.

Go baby!!

Trying to crawl....

Put him there...

notice the ground clearance

Still holding...

Its hard work!

Judah's belly laugh

2011-04-01T19:28:00.000-07:00

Pictures Come Easier Than Words Lately

2011-03-22T10:07:00.000-07:00

This little man makes my heart explode with joy. Often times I find myself in tears as I rock him to sleep, thanking God for this amazing blessing. I get to be his mom.

This child I prayed so long for is finally in my arms. It's surreal.
He falls asleep and within the hour, I'm hoping he will wake up ... I miss him while he sleeps.

Lord, I ask that you would help me to be a good mom and remember to cherish him always as I do now.

Same pictures I posted on facebook, but really I'm supposed to be documenting here... He just makes me smile and often times, BUST out laughing. He has such a killer personality. These were taken about an hour before bedtime... impromptu little photo shoot. He was playing by himself on the floor and kept looking at me making goofy faces. I had to get the camera out. I seriously cant look at these without joy zinging through my heart.

My cute kid

2011-03-19T13:53:00.000-07:00

I couldnt resist sharing... he just melts my heart

first weeks home

2011-03-17T10:19:00.000-07:00

This is long post... you can cheat and skip to the video/photos at the bottom...

We made it back to the States after a long, long, miserable flight from Ethiopia. I would love to say he did well but in reality he acted like a scared baby with infected ear drums, on a 17 and then 5 hour flight. Can't say I blame him.
He had 3 personalities, "people-pleaser," "withdrawn baby" and the "shrieking screamer." He would switch personalities at the drop of a hat, or by an Ethiopian traveler passing by. We were so grateful to the few African women that would make eye contact with him mid- scream and return our "people pleaser" baby to us, even for a short time.
We did not arrive early to the airport (first come, first serve bassinets). We decided arriving 4 hours early in hopes of getting one, and prolonging our 28 hour travel time, was not worth it. So we showed up at the airport (Johnson-style) 2 hours before departure and sat with Judah in our laps, in our tiny (window and center) seats for the 17 hour flight to DC. Miserable, but I don't think a bassinet would have helped the situation. We were tired, still recovering from stomach bug (Justin still had not eaten yet) and Judah was freaked out. We knew we would be met at the airport by family and AGCI friends and we were looking forward to our "people pleaser" baby's reaction.
Sweet USA! I cant say enough, how glad we were to be home.
Judah was wide-eyed at home and we soon realized that as glad as we were to be home, he didn't realize he was "home." Home was just as foreign to him as the airport and he did not feel the same relief we did. We tried to limit the parts of the house we introduced him to by only taking him through the main travel areas. By about the 3rd day home we showed him the whole house, you know the west and east wings and all... Kidding. Those 3 days he was really smiley, happy and playful.
Day 3 home: we had his first international pediatrician appointment. We had already decided in Ethiopia (based on us and everyone who met him) that there was no way he could be the stated 8 months old. He looked and acted much more like a 6 month old. By comparison to his peers, he looked like a baby-baby. His given name is ZINABU which means "Rain." He was named for the rainy season of Ethiopia, which starts July/August. His stated birthday is June 26th...So when we arrived at the clinic we immediately told the pediatrician that we believed he was 6 months old and that his birthday was not correct. After she assessed him we were told that developmentally he was at a 4 month-old stage, showing none of the appropriate milestones achieved. We were told to spend lots of 1:1 time with him (not that we needed to be told that) and not to put him in the bouncer/jumparoo. He needed lots of floor time, exercise and needed to be tought daily how to eat solids. Doc decided that after a few months home with "mommy and daddy time" he will catch up to what ever age he should be and we may all be suprised at how old he is. She also told us that she did not trust foreign immunizations to be accurate (not FDA approved) so she planned to re-immunize him for everything. 4 shots later, I don't know who cried more, me or him. Daddy held him. Then I carried him down to blood draw. 2 pokes later, they had all the blood they needed and I had had it with this place. Keep in mind I'm an RN, adult and pediatric, I poke people for a living, but I did not tolerate this well. I hid behind the lab coats so he wouldn't see me. As they drew his blood he screamed and looked for me but I couldn't make eye contact... is that better or worse, I don't know, but I didn't want him to think I had anything to do with the pain. Poor baby.

So after being home now for 2 weeks, we are feeling like there may be a faint schedule forming. We are learning to pick up on his cues and anticipate his needs before 'meltdowns.' There are still many challenges but he is learning that he can trust us and we do everything we can to reinforce that.
How's he doing?...

He is now sitting on his own. He cannot yet put himself in this position but he can hold it for a really long time (been sitting on his own since day 5 at home).

He has rolled over 3 times now from tummy to back but we haven't seen it again for a week now so maybe it was an accident. His arm stops his roll and he gets really mad. He tolerates tummy time now for about 5 minutes, whereas before he hated it the second we would put him on his tummy.

He can lock his legs to stand (we hold his hands).
He loves his toes

He loves his jumparoo and loves it when we cheer him on

He is eating puree's. He made an awful face at everything I tried the first time but with a 2nd and 3rd attempt, he loves it.

He loves baths

He is attaching very well. Lots of eye contact, face touching, baby kisses (open mouth and slobbery). He gets excited when me or dad walk in the room.

He wakes up 1-2 times a night for a bottle and easily goes back to sleep.

He hated the cocoon. I know I will probably get some flack over this one but after 1 week at home, with just us and no outings, he was getting pretty crabby so we started with small outings (to RedBox machine) and he started to thrive. Turns out Judah thrives on socializing and gets his love bucket filled from social interaction. We still are the only ones to hold him and meet his needs but just making giving him more things/people to look at besides dad and I seems to be benefiting him.

He has grown 1/2 inch and gained 2.5 pounds after 2 weeks home.

He is happy and healthy and doing really well.

JUDAH IS HOME

2011-03-01T05:11:00.000-08:00

I know I know, I'm behind, way behind. It all just happened so fast and now I find myself writing blogs in my head while wingin it through the joys of first time mommyhood.

The weeks between trip 1 and 2 were becoming agonizing. My mind was on Judah. I couldn't concentrate, I couldn't multitask, work was difficult for me. I just wanted to be holding my baby and if I didn't have an immediate thing to concentrate on, my mind would be wrapping Judah in a blanket and rocking him on the marble steps of HH. Thinking of him was like a dream awake. If I had a moment to think, I was there with him and irritated when I'd be snapped back to reality...especially by my work pager. It was time to get back to my baby.

The embassy call finally came on February 14th, the day of Love, the perfect Valentine's gift from God. We learned that Feb 19th we would be holding Judah in our arms forever (my sister's birthday). We had 4 days notice to buy plane tickets to Ethiopia (not nearly as expensive as I would have thought). Life was a blurr for 4 days, packing, working, FMLA papers, cleaning, babyproofing, trying to update people(sorry if you didnt get the update) on Judah's arrival...then we were notifed by our agency the day before we left that Judah had pneumonia and was starting antibiotics. In my strange nurse mind I saw this as a blessing. Here's why: I had an ear infection when I was 5 and flew, it was the most intense pain I've ever felt and I was worried that Judah may have one for no particular reason other than the fact that orphanage babies are sick and they frequently get ear infections that are undetected. So I researched what antibiotics kids take when they get ear infections, called our MD for a prescription in case he appeared to have ear problems. They said "No, bring him in when he gets here" (after his ear drum ruptures?)
So when I heard that he had pneumonia I was thankful for these things:
1)It was his first reported illness since we were matched with him. When I wanted to jump on a plane to Africa to take care of him, I could.
2)If he had a lurking ear infection, he'd be on the antibiotics he alredy needed.
3)On our first trip we saw the MD in the orphanage 4 times in 1 week. I knew he was in good hands.
So much to do in 4 days, we barely had time to breathe and get on the plane. 23 hours later we arrived in Ethiopia.
I love Ethiopia! It felt like we had never left. Even if Judah wasn't our reason for being there, I would still love Ethiopia. The people are incredible, so friendly and have such a respect for each other. The mood is laid-back, the weather is perfect and the coffee is amazing. I was glad to be back.

We were due at HH an hour after arrival. Never mind the jet-lag, it was mommy time!

Judah was napping when we arrived at HH, we decided to let him sleep and sat by his crib until he woke up. 1.5 hours later we couldn't stand it any longer and we woke him up. It wasn't the moment we dreamed of but then we can't have 2 perfect gotchya moments. We were standing over his crib while he looked at us sleepy but wide eyes that said, "who the heck are you and why are you staring at me?"
He's just a happy, people-person baby, it didn't take long to win him over again. Within the hour it was time to leave HH. We loaded up into the van and he left the gates of HH for the first time.

We rode in the van with the other families to our hotel and I could only imagine what was going through his mind as he stared out the window. He had spent the last 4 months of his short little life at HH and his world had been limited to 3 areas - the courtyard, his room and the hallways between the two places. His world now was changing before his eyes and although we had prayed for him for 2 years, stared at his picture for 4 months, and loved him from across the ocean, he had no idea who we were. He was so brave and trusting and Justin and I both felt an overwhelming sense of responsibility as we now realized, this is it, we're parents.

The rest of the week was pretty miserable, I have to say. Within 24 hours of becoming a full-fledged parent I got a stomach bug, 12 hours later, Justin got it as well. We ate 2 meals the entire week we were in Ethiopia. I praise God that Judah didn't get sick and also that he was so easy going. If you're gonna be sick in a 3rd world country with a baby, as new parents, this is the kid to do it with.
Our Embassy appointment went very smoothly. After each family went up to the clerk's window they would return with another American citizen and the group would clap and celebrate the words, "your adoption is final and complete."

DONE . . . NO LONGER IN THE ADOPTION PROCESS

We had 2 more days in country waiting for Judah's passport to be processed. It was long and difficult as we continued to fight the stomach bug and watch as it passed through our other AGCI travelers. At this point we were exhausted and weak and could not wait to get our baby home.
The flight was long: 29 hours of traveling. Judah was exhausted, scared, and confused, and once beyond his "sleep window" he was inconsolable at times. I don't say this to complain; I want people to know who are approaching this 2nd trip that it's hard and even if you have an amazing, easy-going baby, it's really difficult for them and for you.
Once we arrived in Seattle we were met in the airport by our AGCI friends and family. All the exhaustion and frustration melted away as we came around the corner and saw their excited, welcoming faces. Finally we are able to introduce our son to the people we love.

JUDAH IS HOME

Homecoming Banner

2011-02-26T12:57:00.000-08:00

When we got home home, we were welcomed by this banner and a snow shoveled driveway/side walk! What an amazing welcome home and a very thoughtful way to show we are loved. Thank you SO much to our neighborhood friends. YOU are the BEST!!! Judah is going to love growing up surrouded by such wonderful friends.

What are we waiting for?

2011-02-11T10:18:00.000-08:00

The processes are never ending and confusing and frustrating. So I thought I would detail it out and explain where we are in the waiting. Pretty much at any moment we could hear of our departure date. Just in case, my phone is fully charged and with me at all times. Its a lot like waiting for a referral all over again.

Self reminder: Jesus is my best friend, not my phone.

I highlighted our position

1. Once your adoption is approved at the Ethiopian courts, our staff in Ethiopia wait to receive the official Court Decree. It can take the courts anywhere from a couple of days to 1 week to issue this decree. Once our staff receive this they will be able to request your child’s passport and US Embassy medical exam.
2. After all the necessary passport information and documentation is gathered by our staff they will submit this to the US Embassy for review. It can take our staff anywhere from 1-3 weeks to submit this paperwork to the US Embassy.
3. Once the paperwork is submitted to the US Embassy our staff must wait to hear word from them regarding your case (ours has been in for 1 week). Recently it has taken the US Embassy approximately 1-2 weeks to respond to our staff regarding their review of a case. After they review the case they will do one of two things:
- They will clear the family to travel to an Embassy date .

- Or the US Embassy will request additional documentation on the case.

Court & Birth Mom

2011-02-08T14:36:00.000-08:00

We were scheduled for pick up at 1:30. I was already on edge becuase it wasn't clear if court started at 1:30 or if pick up was 1:30. Either way I couldnt sleep and was up at 6am. In my (every) spare second I was uploading pictures and videos for families who were back in the States waiting to meet their kids. It so delighted my heart to receive pictures of Judah from other families, that I couldnt not wait to return the favors. I really enoyed taking pictures and sending them home... it drove Justin nuts, how obsessed I became with it.

After spending a few hours uploading pics in the lobby I went back up to find Justin and Laura (my sister-in-law who traveled with us) were already up and dressed.
9:00, the phone rings, Danny (driver) is waiting in the lobby to pick us up for court! Thank God (literally) we were dressed for the day since our schedule said 1:30. The good thing about this is, we're getting it over with and dont have time to sit around all morning getting worked up over it.

Rush to court! We make a stop on the way, pick up the HH Social Worker who has a **manilla envelope** in his hand (key moment). Lets go back to fill in some history here...

10 referrals went out pretty much all at once. We were 1 of 3 that went out in one day. So when people started receiving court dates... and we didn't get one, I was devastated, not exagerating. I threw the biggest pity party and actually left work early one day sobbing, when a well meaning friend asked, "did you get a court date yet?" Long story short, we got our date a week later and it was scheduled to be 3 days after eveyone elses... hence the 3 days I talked about in the last post.
Timket is HUGE Ethiopian holiday that celebrates Jesus' baptism and the Ark of the Covenent. It lasts for 3 days. The roads shut down, businesses shut down and people take to the streets to celebrate. We happened to arrive in Ethiopia the week of Timket. The large group who 'all got court dates before we did' had court scheduled during Timket, which is why no one passed court. The MOWA letter (**manilla envelope**) didnt show up becuase they were closed for Timket.
Do you see where Im going with this... While I was throwing my pity party and thinking God had forgotten me, He had a plan that was better than my own.

Back to the story, we arrive at the court building, walk up tons of stairs and are crammed into a medium sized room filled with Ethiopians and Americans. We waited about 45minutes to get called in, meanwhile Ive cried (nerves) on/off maybe 3 times and then we hear our name. We are usherded into this small room with our social worker. Asked a few question to which the answers were all 'Yes' and at the end we hear,
"He's all yours."
After the bad news of everyone else, I didnt want to jump to conclusions as to what this meant. I heard Justin ask the SW 'if we passed' and he said, "Yes Yes, he's all yours." Thats when the flood gates broke. Some how I manged to walk down the stairs with tear filled eyes, and at that moment I literally felt like I put a weight down that I didn't even know I was carrying. I felt like I was flying.
In the next few moments we met his birth mom. Again, another chance were we could have had time to build anxiety like the "1:30 court date." Then before I knew it, she was standing next to me. This wasnt the scheduled meeting, we just happened to be standing next to each other when someone put it together that we had a son in common. Or maybe she new who I was... I dont really know how it happened. It was awkward and wonderful at the same time.

There are many more details that we will save just for Judah since it is his own personal history to tell.

The day was a whirl wind of perfection and timing. I could not have planned one moment of it to go better. In fact, I didnt plan any of it. It all happened in Gods timing and completely out of my control and it was beautiful.

I dont know why God wanted us to pass that day. I may never know. It is bittersweet to celebrate knowing that others will have to wait longer to hold their babies. Im not sure what celebrating while suffering with others looks like. But I did learn that God is in control even when we think we are fogotten. We were simply allowed to see the mechanics behind this plan. How many other times has He had my best interest in mind and I never realized it... all the times I guess.

Please continue to pray for my friends who are waiting to pass court.

Next step is an embassy date where we get Judah's Visa and are able to bring him home.

Ethiopia -the days in the middle

2011-02-08T10:35:00.000-08:00

HH Staff: The HH drivers shuttled us back and forth from the Riviera (our hotel). It was phrased as a question"If you want to come back for lunch ... or we can take you back now" Ethiopian people are so polite and accommodating that we had to take cues as to what it really meant (its time to go). HH runs like a very efficient machine. I'm in awe of how well they care for our children and how selflessly they love each of them.

With such a large travel group we had to be careful not affect their schedule too badly. HH is kind of like a mini campus: 4 main buildings, a few courtyards and few school rooms enclosed by a gate...

Imagine being in charge of a baby, keep up their feeding, napping, changing, bathing schedule while they're being carried all over the place by their doting new parents. Now imagine that x32 babies and you can see how talented these women are.

I'm aware that daily we would arrive, ruin their schedule, tucker the little ones out and then leave (not by choice) them with their special mommas. Yet I never felt like I was in the way and they always encouraged us in our parent/baby bonding. These women truly have a special place in my heart and I can honestly say I missed them when we left.

Judah: He is really the most amazing little guy, I know I biased and I'm supposed to say that but he really is just perfect for us. Content is the word for him. He fussed twice if you can call it that. He would wrinkle his forehead a bit and make a grunty noise. That was his 'fuss' and it meant "I need to be changed" and then he was back to his happy/content self. He is very engaged, so observant and just so easy to please. The first few days we would arrive he would look at us and smile easily, kinda just taking it all in. By about day 3 he would recognize us as 'the people who payed lots of attention to him' and show whole body excitement, kicking his feet and smiling as we approached him. He's so fun. I get teary eyed just remembering his smile...

He loves daddy: Justin would hum close to his face and Judah would freeze until he stopped humming. I think he was fascinated by the deep voice since he's surrounded by women, it was something different. When I would hold him, he would look for Justin. He also loves to be up in the air, kinda like the airplane game. He would just giggle and smile... we learned not to play 'air plane' after lunch, rookie parent move :) We loved spending every moment with him and daily it was hard to leave.
The group:

Traveling with a large group has good and bad sides. The people are amazing. Our bond is like no other. We all been through the same things and truly understand the season of life that each of us is experiencing. There were fun times on the bus, the stories we shared at dinner, the way we walk together and care for each other as we are away from home. The hard part is when one family hits a bump in the road, we really all feel it. This is where I was for most of the week. We were 3 days behind every ones schedule, for that reason we were getting a preview of what would happen to us in 3 days.
Court & Birth Moms: To be honest, I had not really felt much towards these 2 topics until we got to Ethiopia, there is always chatter on the listserve about 'dealing with birth mom feelings.' I didn't have any feelings and was kinda wondering if I was missing something (a heart maybe). We were at HH and it was court and birth mom meeting day (for the others). I saw a group of Ethiopian women (not special mothers) and as soon as I realized 'those are birth moms' I burst into tears. All of a sudden I had this overwhelming heartbreak mixed with a flood of awe and respect and I couldn't contain it. It came over me and I couldn't even lift my eyes. Its such a tender, personal moment and to know that my friends were experiencing their birth mom meeting, I had no words. The only way to pay respect was to be silent and give space. We soon learned that the families before us did not pass court. Already being overwhelmed by emotions from glimpses of 'birth moms" and then learning the devastating news of not passing court, it was too much for me. At this point I couldnt even look at my friends without crying, all I could do was stare at the floor and try to comprehend the heartache of the day. I couldn't offer consolation because really what can you say? Nothing that makes it better. I had to come to terms with the fact that this could be happening to me in 3 days, I had to prepare my heart to meet our birth mom and fail court.
The other AGCI familes left the next day and it was heartbreaking to watch them say good bye to their babies/kids not knowing when they would pass court, not knowing if the children they fell in love with would ever get to come home. Again, another day of crying and heartache. It was more than I could comprehend. That's what I mean by good and bad. You want to people to walk along side you, you want people to understand but there is a point when walking through theirs and mine, was too much. I was an anxious, heartbroken nervous wreck and we hadn't even got to our own hard part yet.

Ethiopia-Meeting Judah*** Day 1

2011-01-31T21:43:00.000-08:00

Ive been intimidated by this post and am finally feeling brave enough to attempt it. It will be broken down into days. Ethiopia was such an overwhelming mix of emotions, the highest of highs and the most devastating lows, I don't know how to put it into words. We waited for so long and then it was over so fast. I still wonder if it was all a dream and if we really already went but I have pictures that affirm I have a son waiting for me in Ethiopia.
Seattle - DC - Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

We arrive a in Ethiopia after 26 hours of travel and are greeted past baggage claim by the Riviera driver. The thought running through my head: I cannot believe I am finally in Judah's country. I'm trying to look at everything and burn every image into my mind. I want to remember every part of Ethiopia. A twenty minute bus ride later we arrive at the Riviera (hotel where all AGCI families stay) and are ushered up to the 7th floor, our room 706. The city of Addis Ababa is at a high elevation (I don't remember numbers) and with no elevator, my heart literally felt like it would jump out of my chest climbing the stairs, Ive never felt it beat so hard. I know that soon after we arrive at the hotel we are supposed to receive our schedule for the week so I ask the front desk. They tell me they don't have it but that the Hannah's Hope (our agency orphange) driver Danny, will be returning soon and that I could ask him for it. Simply that fact that I could intersect with someone who knows my son, who works at the house my son is staying at, was enough to keep me planted in the lobby. I've seen Danny's picture in the travel packet that was mailed to me and I stalked the lobby for anyone who could possibly be him. We decide to eat lunch in the restaurant lobby so I chose the seat that faces the door; there's no way that Danny can get past me, I'm not taking my eyes off that door. We eat lunch and no driver... I hang out in the lobby... no driver. I took my eyes off the door for a few seconds and the next thing I hear is, Vanessa saying, 'Is that Niki?" Somehow the HH (Hannah's Hope) van has slipped past me and the families who had arrived 3 days before us, had already made it into the lobby.

If you follow adoption blogs, facebook, listserve, whatever, you know that there is a tightly knit community of adopters who journey together praying, encouraging and advising each other. The friends I have gotten to know through this 18 month process have been invaluable to me. Vanessa is one of those friends I could not wait to meet and there they all were, a huge group of friends that Ive been following online, are finally real and standing around me. It was a whirlwind of "hello's" and short summaries of how their meetings went with their children but the words that stuck out the most were, "HH is walking distance from here," and already my mind was walking to HH. I wish I could say that I was more focused on the conversations (I truly love these people) but all I could really think about was getting to Danny to ask for my schedule and scouting out the possible walking routes to HH.

I make my way to Danny, introduce myself and ask if he has a schedule for us. He scans through his papers for the day, see's that we are not on his schedule (because we arrived a day early) and says, "ok, I'll be back to get you in 2 hours." I cant believe my ears, I just wanted a schedule. I run up the the room (stopping to gasp for air on the 3rd flight of stairs) and tell Justin, "we get to meet Judah in 2 hours." I would have screamed it but the altitude and need for oxygen was too great.

Justin wasn't as excited as I was, he looked sick actually. While I was literally dancing and jumping up and down trying burn off my excited energy. Justin was trying to comprehend the idea of meeting his son a day early. He wasn't prepared for 'today' and his nerves were getting the better of him. The phone rings and it's Was, the other driver.

Was: "I'll be there to get you at 1pm."

Me: "We aren't supposed to go until 2pm."

Was: "ok then, I'll come get you at 2pm"

Me: "No No, I like 1:00 better, we can do 1:00"

Was: "Ok, I'll see you at 1:00"

At this point Justin is laying face down on the bed, mumbling something... and we leave in 40 minutes. No rest for these weary travelers, we're of to HH...

We arrive at the famous gate of HH, the gate swings open the most prominent thought in my head was: I'm so happy to see this cobblestone court yard, the back drop for so many of Judah's pictures Ive been starting at for 3 months.

As we enter the gates, there are families that are already there motioning from the balcony for us to come up the stairs.

Lauren: "Judah is up here, come up stairs."

We hesitated for bit not knowing if we should wait for the staff but after a few moments, I couldn't stand it any longer and we went up the stairs. We rounded the green staircase, up to the 'elephant room' and there he was, that awesome curly Mohawk and those big brown eyes. He was laying on that same flashy colored play rug Ive seen pictures of so many times. I was hesitant at first to pick him up because I didn't want to scare him but once I realized he wasn't freaked out by me, I scooped him up and held him.

To be honest I don't remember much past this, I don't know if it was the tears that I couldn't see through, or if it was just too much to absorb. Laura was taking pictures so I can see what happened but the memories are more based off of the pictures. I know that I had 'dibbs' on holding him first, we had settled that on the flight over. Its kind of like when someone asks you, 'do you remember when you used to do... as a kid?' You're not really sure if the actual memory is yours or if it was just planted in your head by the suggestion of it.
Time just stood still for me.
Shortly after we met Judah we were ushered (in Amharic) down the stairs for what we soon figured out was his Doctors appointment. This is where the memories start coming back... tears cleared out enough to make my eyes functional. Judah had just come down with a cold and was having some labored breathing. He was checked out by the doc, nothing really to worry about but I loved that I was there for it. Our first doctors appointment, I felt like such a parent... in my 7 minute history with my son. He was then handed back to me and I paraded him through the halls, showing him off to the special mommies/nannies (as if they hadn't already been loving on him for 3 months)

We we able to spend a couple of hours there with him, we gave him (our first) bath and a bottle. We showed him the photo book of his 'mommy and daddy.' Told him how much we loved him, how we've prayed for him and waited so long to hold him until he fell asleep in our arms. Then we told him that we would back tomorrow.

The day was perfect. We were so well prepared for him to cry or reject us at first. We had to be prepared for the worst case scenario and it was the complete opposite. I could not have dreamed it any better.

He is so happy, so curious and most lovable, content little guy. We are head over heels in love.

....day 2 next....

Last minute gift

2011-01-13T19:11:00.001-08:00

The reason for posting the luggage... Like an old pair of shoes we didnt know how tattered and ugly our luggage had gotten until packing time. We were going to be traveling through Africa, London and Paris with the red and black and purple and yellow stuff. I was literally sewing the zipper back on the red one when my friend Anne sent us "a little something for our trip."

I put my needle and thread down (cause lets face it, I cant sew) and went straight Costco and bought this very stylish black swivel, luggage set. Anne seriously, perfect timing. Friends and family had offered theirs but I just knew with all the miles, we'd be returning it less than perfect.

Here is the end result and now that we're packed, the "freak out" is over and I SUPER EXCITED.

Thank you so much to all those who have supported us in so many ways, some financial, some emotional, most in prayer. God is using each and every one of you (some even strangers) to help carry us through. We are so blessed :)

We're coming son....

We leave for Ethiopia on Saturday

2011-01-09T22:17:00.001-08:00

I know my posts have been few and far between but really there hasn't been much to say... just waiting...

I put the excitement of meeting Judah for the first time, at a tempered pace in case "something went wrong" but a week ago, I let it turn on. There is only so long you can be excited about something, in this case Ive been excited for 17 months. 17 long months of "hurry up and wait" and being excited about every step forward. I wondered how I would handle the culmination 1.5 years of excitement coming to fruition and meeting our son. I assumed if the excitement kept building, I would eventually burst (but hopefully not until I got on that flight to Ethiopia). Now that the count down in looking like it might actually come to an end, the escalating excitement has been replaced with stress. How can I not be prepared for this? Ive obviously had plenty of time.

I HATE packing. I will do any and everything before I will pack. In this case procrastination looks like: signing up to work EVERY day, sanitizing the house, paying all the bills 2 months forward, making a travel notebook, reorganizing the travel notebook, and then deciding it needs dividers ... with sub-dividers and lists... of things to buy, things to do, things to see, pictures to take, it goes on and on. All that to say, I haven't packed a thing, yet the only thing I can think of is packing. I lay awake wondering if I should start, then decided I should not, because "I may need those things before we leave," probably not since Ill be at work everyday, but ya never know. I have many packing list from previous travelers and they're very good lists but I keep adding to them in my head.

Can I sit on a plane for 18 hours?

How many pillows should I take? (high maintenence sleeper)

Will his birth mom like me, will she show up?

Will we pass court in the first attempt?

Will I be able to hand him back when its time to say goodbye?

How long will it be until we see him again?

How nauseous will I get? (car sick, altitude sick, travelers sick)

Can I eat random food for 2 weeks? (very picky eater)

How do I pack for London/winter and Ethiopian/summer in the same trip?

I haven't even mentioned the fact that we are going to London/Paris for week. I'm a home-body. Dont get me wrong it's the trip of a life time but Im a little freaked. Prayers for our week would be much appreciated. Specifically, safety, health, peace and an extra dose of grace/patience for Justin :)

Notice I re-did the blog decor? (instead of packing)

We're coming little boy!!!

Accross the world

2010-11-25T21:00:00.000-08:00

I picture your day in my mind. I know your schedule and I imagine you throughout each part of your day. My heart aches to hold you in my arms and kiss all over your face. Its unfathomable that one day I will meet you and then never have to let you go.

Hannah's Hope Daily Schedule
6-6:30 AM: Wakes up, this is followed by a feeding
6:30 AM: Bath
8 AM: Feeding
8-9 AM: Nap
9-11:40 AM: Outside playing/laying in the sun, massage, etc.
11:40 AM: The babies go inside for a nap and feeding in the living room/nursery
4:30 PM: Upstairs for a bath until 5:30 PM and pajamas.
6:30 PM: Feeding after bath and bedtime
10-11 PM: Wake up and feeding, diaper change, etc.
Wakes up 3-4 times per night for diaper changes and for feeding

The new Addis Ababa Time clock on the side of my blog is my way of keeping up with your day. It's silly how excited I got when I found that ticker, I felt like I was peeking into a window of your world.

I miss you son.

Judah's Nursery

2010-11-25T11:50:00.002-08:00

Lets just start out with the AWESOME Mohawk or as my Ethiopian friends say "Cuncho." I just love it and already it tells me that he is going to be one very cool little man.

I've been done with his nursery for quite a while now. That means all my nesting is done and I'm just waiting for him to arrive. So in the meantime, while I don't have a lot to say, I thought Id show you Judah's room. I'm so proud of his daddy (my very own handy-man) who did all the wood work, wains coating, closet shelving, window trim etc. Pretty much, I imagine it and he builds it. But before you go thinking I'm design inclined, Ill be honest and tell you I had an inspiration room (pottery barn website). I just baby-ed it up a bit.

the closet is my favorite part

I painted the fire truck, the original was $299 (not in the adoption budget)

Glider, crib and night stand: craigslist

The curtains were my 1st sewing project

5 foot giraffe from Papa

waist high Teddy Bear from Nana

(the pic makes them look small)

$1 coat rack

I doubt he'll be spending much time in here since he will sleep with us for a while but I think it's suited for toddler as well, not too babyish.

Now I just need my little Mohawk home . . .

Tickets to Ethiopia

2010-11-20T10:11:00.001-08:00

WE HAVE TICKETS!!!!!

We're going to Africa. We leave Jan 15th and arrive in Ethiopia the morning of the 17th. We wanted to get there at least 1 day early so that we can be tourists and take in the city. And I know that after I meet Judah I'm not going to want to leave Hannah's Hope ("orphanage") until they kick us out. There are so many things I want to see there, I'm hoping we can pack most of them into the day. We are scheduled for our first day at HH on the 18th. I cant believe how real this is becoming.
There are families that are there this week (at HH) who offered to take pictures and love on Judah for us. I cant tell you in words what this means to me. We will miss the first 7 months of his life and would only have 6 pictures of his life, all taken on the same day. We do not get updates unless there is bad news. The gift of these photos will help to fill in his history. Imagine looking back on your child hood and seeing only one day of your life captured and having no one to help you fill in the gaps. Now we can say, 'we were not able to be there but we know people who saw you in the orphanage, who loved on you and can vouch for the first 7 months of your life.' Somehow its validating. Those photos are a tremendous gift to us and will be to him when he wants to look back on his life and heritage. Needless to say, I'm eagerly awaiting these photos. I cant wait for the day when I'm able to give this gift to to others. Imagine walking around HH snapping pictures of all the beautiful children and knowing what joy it will bring to their waiting families. I can't wait!

Our court date is Jan 21st. The hardest part of the entire adoption has been (so far) waiting for our court date. It was excruciating mainly because we were the only ones to not get dates in a huge cluster of family referrals. Naturally I expected it was a mistake and that surely mine would come "first thing tomorrow morning." It didn't and the waiting nearly tore my heart out. Advice to those approaching this stage: While waiting for court dates, GET OFF the list serve. I was prepared to wait 4-6 weeks (agency timeline) but when people who got referrals after we did, started getting court dates before us, I freaked. It may be nearly impossible to tear your self away from the list serve but if you're anything like me, it will be in your best interest (until you get your dates).

So, being that there are 2 required trips now, we decided to make a vacation out of one of them. On our return flight to the States we will stop in England for ONE WEEK.

Yeaaaaah!!! European Adventure!!!!

Leaving Judah at HH is going to be really difficult but maybe a little more enticing knowing that we're going to spend the a week traveling abroad. We don't have detailed plans yet but so far, we know London, Paris and a castle (any castle). We are both so so so excited ! ! !
We decided that Justin will not go on the 2nd trip (when we get to bring Judah home). This will help offset the cost of our 'layover' in England. We thought it was important that we have a babymoon (honeymoon also) before our lives are drastically changed by parenthood. That being said, my mom will be my travel partner for trip #2. She's is more than willing :) and I know how special it will be that his Nana will be ale to share stories with Judah 'about where he came from.'

Ok so now we're all caught up on the adoption travel/progress. Now for the count down...

THE CALL

2010-10-24T10:10:00.000-07:00

This is it. This is the moment we have waited for for 14 months. Every bit of paperwork, training, counseling, saving, fundraising and WAITING, all that built up to this moment when we saw his face for the first time.

There are 3 specific things Ive been asking God for lately.
1) That we would get the call at a time when we are able to be together. With our schedules this is rare and when at work, we really can't get away.
2) That we would get our referral before my baby shower on Nov 6th. Cause lets face it, a baby shower without a due date is just weird.
3) That we could travel for trip #1 before the end of the year because I have holiday time (paid leave)that will expire. This still possible. Back to the story . . .

Background:

We knew that we were #2 because Jenny (my first AGCI friend) was #1 and she had not gotten her call yet.
Justin is fishing with our dear friends (who by the way have sibs from Ethiopia)
Ive made a contact group on my phone so that I can text everyone at once when we get the call (19 people)
Ive told work that I will come in early today because well, we're always slammed, and we always need baby money.
Its Friday, October 22nd 2010

When I reached the top 5 on the boys list, I became desperately attached to the list serve. This is where all the buzz is, where referrals are announced, where we encourage one another and ask for prayer (if you're not on AGCI list serve and you're adopting, you need to be). I should have been getting dressed already but there is always time to read "just one more post" I finally cut myself off and literally ran to get in the shower. I lathered up my hair and heard an unfamiliar noise and quickly realize its the ring tone for AGCI (I changed it so theirs would be different but I hadn't heard it yet) I run out of the shower grab the phone (hair still lathered) and the thought running through my head is, 'Jenny hasn't gotten her call yet and its too early (10:25 am) for them to be on referral #2 for the day. Don't get your hopes up, they're probably calling to clarify something paper work-ish.'

K: Hi Niki how are you doing

N: I'm fine (nonchalant, getting shampoo all over the phone)

K: Is this a good time to talk to you about a little boy we have for you?

N: Nah Uuuuh ?!? Really?!

K: Yeah Really

N: Are you sure?

K: (laughing) yeah, I'm sure.

N: I cant talk, I'll call you back (and hung up on her)

At this point I literally could not talk, I was sobbing and squealing and stopping my feet in the shower. I run out of the shower (again, the floor is soaked by now) and call Justin. No answer. I text him "Come home now. We have a boy." Then I text my contact group (see above) "We have a boy, that's all I know. Waiting for Justin to get home. Please don't reply until you get the next notice." The last thing I wanted was for 19 people to call me at once while I was trying to call K back.

Justin gets the notice (by word of mouth, since he fishing) and will be home in 20 minutes (4 years in my mind). I quickly get dressed, call work and tell them, I wont be in early, in fact I'll be a few hours late.

Justin comes home, we set up the camera, set up the computer and call her back. She explains how to open his file documents and the very first thing that pops up is his picture.

HIS PICTURE. This the face Ive been waiting to see.

Justin: "He has a Mohawk"

He is just perfect, BIG sparkly eyes that are looking directly in the camera in every shot, just taking it all in. He has the most flawless creamy caramel skin. His little tongue sticks out in a few of the pictures. His given name in Amharic (native language) means "Rain." He has perfect little lips and that classic Ethiopian forehead.

He stops my heart.

We tell K that 'yes' we want to move forward with the referral. And now we work as fast as possible to get to him (doing paper work).

Physically let me say what seeing my son's face for the first time did to me. Incredible adrenaline rush. It was like bungee jumping for 6 hours. Literally shaking, gut twisting, nauseating, sweaty. I felt physical tingles in my arms for 6 hours.

I did go to work, i was there by 2pm (mostly because i wanted to show off my boy). I couldn't start an IV to save my own life. My hands were shaking so bad. The people I work with have been absolutely amazing. There has not been one day at work in the last 14 months where I haven't been asked "did we get new numbers yet?" "how's the adoption?" or "when are we getting our baby?" I could not wait to get there and finally show them what we have all been waiting for.

The best day ever of my life.

We can't post his picture online until we bring him home (that's why his face is blurred).

"So, what happens now"

We complete our referral acceptance packet and turn it into AGCI. Then we wait (1-2 weeks) for our file to "open" in Ethiopian court.
We are assigned 2 court dates. The first is for the birth mom (we do not attend). The second one is for us. We will travel to Ethiopia attend court (hoping for end of Dec), testify that we do want to be Judah's parents. We will visit him and spend time at HH. Then we will return home (without him).
We will wait (estimated 2-8 weeks) for a US embassy appointment in Ethiopia (our second trip to Ethiopia). This will be a short 3-4 day trip. We will return home with our son.

Maeli's Miracle

2010-10-13T20:47:00.001-07:00

Some of you have probably heard me (in person) talking about Maeli but for those of you who haven't here goes:
My parents were in Honduras a little over a year ago. What was supposed to be a vacation, turned into a sort of mission trip, where they met a 10 year old girl named Maeli, that launched a ministry, The King's StoreHouse. This is the image associated with the ministry, its on my blog side bar in case you're wondering why it looks familiar.

Click here to see how it all began. Its a really amazing story filled with miracles of God's provision and opening of doors.

Back to Maeli. Like I said, a 10 year old girl, who lives in a remote village in the mountains of Honduras. She has a deformed foot and is the outcast of an unknown city, in one of the poorest countries of the world. This is the story of how God used the outcast of "the least of these" to launch a ministry that is meeting the needs of so many people.

That's my dad's voice filming the video. In his limited Spanish, he so badly wants her to know that she is "bonita" beautiful.

I'll cheat a little and give you the summary up to date. In one year's time, Maeli who didn't even have a birth certificate, is now scheduled for surgery Tuesday and is in California!!! I cant even begin to tell you how much work has been done in the past year to get her to this point. This girl didn't even have a birth certificate. She had to get a visa to travel to the US... had to have X-rays (she had never even seen electric lights). Had to be cleared for surgery. Its amazing the amount of work that needed to be done to get her to this point and ONLY God could acomplish a task with that time line.
So, if your interested, jump over to the Maeli's Miracle, my dad has been journaling her experience in the US. It starts as basic as her first car ride, her discovering running water, her fascination with widows. (they have none in her village). It really makes me appreciate all the things I take for granted... The world through Maeli's eyes.

Judah Blaise

2010-10-13T12:01:00.000-07:00

Its not our "official" number so I wont do a fancy picture of it. . . but

We're #3

My heart is absolutely giddy with the though of what comes after 3.

There a million different ways to count down from 3. Two then One, that's not very far. . . Or, two more orphans get a forever family and then we get to meet our son . . .Two more parents gets referrals and then I get to see my SON'S face . . . After Kindra and Jenny get their calls, we get ours.

I can say it all these different ways and each way I think about it or say, it sinks in a little more. When did this happen? I mean, I know we've been on a list and the plan has been to get a referral at the end, but really, in 2 more calls, we will get ours. I didn't really think there would be an end to the list.

I need to start thinking about things like, is my phone charged, will I be at work when the call comes, will Justin be on shift, what happens if we are both at work? I cant believe its really working.

In the last week, maybe because Ive showed people his nursery, he's become more real. Its no longer a list and a count-down, its our son. With almond shaped eyes and cocoa skin, and that beautiful Ethiopian hair. I CANT WAIT TO SEE HIS FACE. Ive started to miss him in the last week. This is different than the anxiety of lists and numbers. I'm ready to be his mom. When Justin and I have talked about him we've always referred to him as "the kid" as in, "when we get our kid." It was a great defense mechanism, it distanced him from us, in case it didn't work out. But now we call him "OUR SON" or

Judah Blaise.

called to adoption, what Im learning

2010-09-26T17:07:00.000-07:00

Adoption is much more difficult than I thought it would be, full of 'hurry up and wait'. Exposing your deepest secrets to strangers and hoping for (homestudy) approval. You come up with miraculous amounts of money in very short amounts of time and then you give it all to an agency hoping that its legit. You take courses, read books, write autobiographies, complete workbooks and then try to prove that you are able to care for a child. Then you wait, and wait and wait and the whole time you wait, God is molding your heart. Teaching you compassion, opening your eyes to the atrocities of the world, exposing you to the things that break His heart. My eyes have been opened to Africa in the past year. The things that have gone on in the world while I have been alive, Ive been so ignorant. I think back to 2003 while i was in college, the center of my own world. To think there was genocide going on, famine, rape, the AIDS crisis. I didn't even know. Its still happening. Now I'm aware, and why? Because God has told me I have a child in Africa... At times my heart is so heavy I feel like I cant breathe and to breathe again means sobbing. Once I wrap my mind around these things, the evil occurring just outside my suburban world, God opens up my eyes to the world of my child.
Is he enjoying the last few days of his mother holding him. Is his mother hoping she can keep him for just one more day if she can find another meal. Does she know where she will leave him when she walks away. Is she trying to build up the courage, maybe she has already tried and couldn't leave him. Does she wonder if we will be good to him, if we will love him enough, swaddle him the right way, comfort him the way that she know how to.
All these things, I've never had to think about. The magnitude of the blessing I'm about to receive. A women across the world who can no longer care for her son, entrusts him to me and prays that I will love him. It's too huge to understand.

Proverbs 24:12 tells us that "Once our eyes are opened we cannot pretend we do not know what to do. God, who weighs our hearts and keeps our souls knows we know and holds us responsible to act."

What Ive been learning in the past year and things I recommend for having your "eyes opened."

There is No Me, Without You" a book by Melissa Fey Greene Gives an excellent description of the AIDS crisis and the orphans it leaves behind. It also describes the culture and history of Ethiopia.

Too Small to Ignore, a book by Wes Stafford (founder Compassion International) describes how hopelessness is at the root of poverty and how hopelessness destroys the heart of a child.

The "cursed" people of Korah, Ethiopia

Darfur, I vaguely remember this word in college but had no idea what it was. I know its not Ethiopia but its an example of how clueless Ive been. See the full documentary on Netflix (instant play)

What does Fair Trade mean?

Operation Silent Night

2010-09-03T15:46:00.000-07:00

You really must go to Andrea's blog to read about how this will work.
And bring tissue... and... $45

Its almost Monday

2010-08-29T13:34:00.000-07:00

In the adoption world, Mondays are like Christmas morning . . . and then Friday is when you realize you've opened your last present and didn't get what you wanted. Its a vicious cycle

I'm Nesting...

2010-08-05T18:26:00.001-07:00

Our Nursery theme is Fire Engines

4 feet x 2 feet

Big Surprise right?! Seeing as his daddy is a fire man (and grandpa and uncle). It just seem to fit. I'll post pics of the entire nursery later, its still coming along. It's more grown up than age appropriate but I figured, Im the one who will be spending the most time in there and the baby age stuff just didn't appeal to me.

I'll stole the idea from Pottery Barn. Except theirs was $299. Yeah, thats right! No way was I gonna pay that much for a Fire Engine painting. So I painted it myself. Total cost $60. I had to purchase everything, paints, canvas'and brushes. Still more than I expected but at least he will like it (if not now) for a few years.

I'm Nesting!!

August Numbers

2010-08-05T11:52:00.000-07:00

This month isnt much of a surprise because I've been talking about being #7 for a few weeks now. That was unofficially (the underground list) but now these are our OFFICIAL numbers.

BOY

SIBLINGS

GIRL

Ive been busy decorating the nursery for a boy, so I hope Im right is assuming its gonna be a boy. If not, I hope she like fire trucks :)

Korah

2010-08-04T11:02:00.000-07:00

I may have metioned this to you in person already, I cant seem to get it out of my mind/heart. Not that I want to anyways. I read this post "Korah Day" by Jody at Talk is Sheep blog. Its about the Village of Korah in Addis Ababa. It captured my heart and I have NOT stopped thinking about it since then. Then I saw this video that she posted.

The Village of Korah - A short documentary from Session 7 Media on Vimeo.

Please read the blog before you watch the video. It will mean so much more to you in that order. Jody went on a mission trip to Addis Ababa with the Ordinary Hero crew. She writes daily entries about her whole experience there. They are posted before and after the 'Korah' post. You'll want to know that because once you've finished the (long) post about Korah you'll want to hear about every other day she spent there. It's amazing and I'll never forget what I've read. Please go check it out when you have a spare 5-10 minutes.

Seattle Adoption Picnic

2010-08-01T20:31:00.000-07:00

Levi was our intro to Ethiopian adoption. Thank you Weiseths for listening to the call to adoption and being instrumental in the journey to our own adoption.

I couldn't resist posting the handsome daddy-to-be (aka hubs)

The newest arival from Ethiopia. Beautiful!!

These little guys were travel home buddies from Ethiopia.

All the rookies (Poulin Family in this case) want the inside scoop. Thank you Janice for indulging us all.

The Group

We had our Seattle area adoption Picnic on Saturday. Five of us (Darcee, Megan, Tarah, Janice and I) have been meeting since the spring and just love our get-togethers. We decided there had to be more great people out there like us so we opened it up to anyone in the area who is/has/will adopted from Ethiopia and invited them out for a picnic. Turns out, there are lots of great people in our area who have the same heart for Ethiopia and adoption as us... and they are awesome, fun and soo cool. Cant wait to see these people again (aside from the fact that the next meeting will be to celebrate our referral!)

If you live anywhere near us and want to hang out next time, I encourage you to be brave and speak up. You will be so glad to have a group who is traveling a similar journey as you are. Such a blessing of wisdom, encouragement and experience.

On to the next subject. . . I feel referrals in the air!!!

For those who love Adoption Ts

2010-07-21T00:50:00.000-07:00

A new Family just launched their adoption T-shirt. So exciting! Isn't this shirt so great!? There are other designs as well, but I didnt want to steal all their pictiures. Im sure I'll be ordering this one also . . . if I dont win the giveaway.

Here's the family's blog site, go check it out.

Its gonna be a boy....?

2010-07-20T19:29:00.000-07:00

So to add another twist to the story, we decided to stay on the boy list. No, we aren't pregnant.
I know that until this point we have been saying "we're waiting for siblings" but the more we talked about coming off the boy list, the more hesitant we became and so we prayed. . . A few days later, nothing.
The common communication between justin and I for days was:
"So, has God said anything to you yet?"
"Nope, you?"
"No."
Then a few days later while at work I though about "my son" and my heart leaped. By that night Justin's heart was anticipating a son as well. And to confirm it, we became sick (to near death) of this adoption process/wait and couldn't imagine delaying it any longer.
It's funny cause until now I haven't been eager or anxious about this list. It seemed like there was no reason to get excited cause no one could give us a estimated wait time. Now I'm scouring the boys list hoping every time I look at it, it may be different than the last time I looked. So the "ultrasound" is looking like a definate boy! And what was once an indefinate wait for siblings, now has a foreseeable ending. Yeah for baby boys!! And to think this whole time, I haven't even been paying attention to the boy list.
Now, if we could just get those referrals moving again...

143,000,000 Orphans

2010-07-08T20:31:00.000-07:00

Speaking of numbers... I found this on another blog and wanted to share it as well. I couldnt comprehend a number like 143,000,000. Big numbers dont make sense to me. This video clears it up.

July Numbers

2010-07-08T12:20:00.001-07:00

GIRL

BOY

SIBLINGS

Things have been moving so painfully slow in the adoption world, Ive been reluctant to post updates. Very small changes in numbers but since I skipped the post in June it makes it look bigger than it really is. So there they are, our July Numbers

Adoption T-Shirts

2010-06-09T16:03:00.000-07:00

I love Adoption T shirts!

Besides the fact that they are so fun and go so well with jeans (and scrub pants), they support adoptive families, financially and emotionally. It's a win-win on so many levels. When we designed our shirt, I was obsessed with perfecting it. It went through so many stages of design, redesign, production. It was quite possibly the most frustrating thing Ive ever done in m life. Yes, I'll just say it, it was the absolute most aggrevating project I've ever done. My blood boils just thinking about the trouble we had with them. On one of my break downs Justin asked me, "whats the big deal, why is this so important to you?" When I acutally stopped to think about 'why it was so important' for me to make them perfect and have them completed. I realized this was my only outward sign of pregnancy. Pregnant moms have growing bellies and everyone knows someone very special is coming soon. With adoption, my T-shirt was my way of showing the world "IM EXPECTING." No one asks an adoptive mother, when is your baby due? But when I wear my T shirt, people ask "what's the story on the adoption shirt" And I cant wait to tell them all about it. Adoption T-shirts are so special and so specific to families. When you wear them you aknowlegde that yes, someone very special is coming soon!

I've spent many hours scouring blogs and websites looking for the shirts that families so lovingly design and thought it would be a great idea to put them in one place. So this blog is a short-cut to all those cute T shirts.

If you have an adoption T-shirt you would like to add please comment below and I will add it to my post.

Husons' Family
Stutzman Family
Walling Family
Rossi Family
Wiphan supports Widows and Orphans
Go See Love supports different families every 6 weeks
Burleigh Family
Jewett Family
Vega Family
"Rwanda" Family
Jon & Lindsay Family
newly added....
MyCrazyAdoption
Shubin Family
Marquez Family
Treece Family
The McBs

Enjoy!!

Daughter waiting

2010-05-27T13:17:00.000-07:00

There is a daughter waiting for her parents, could it be you?

Many of you are familiar with Lucy and her momma. Please visit her site to read more about this little girl that is looking for a home. It might be you or someone you know.

May Numbers

2010-05-17T11:59:00.000-07:00

It took a little while to get our May numbers. Our case manager was visiting one of the orphanages under AGCI so the the work load was double for the ones that stayed in office. I dont feel super anxious to get numbers every month because I have a pretty good idea where we are (number wise) based on the referrals that go out. So I say, stay busy handing out referrals and I dont mind waiting patiently to hear what I already know.

So here they are, the official May Numbers.

SIBLINGS

BOY

GIRL

Thank You!

2010-05-01T15:39:00.000-07:00

Thank you so much to all who participated in the Raffle and Silent Auction. It means so much to us that people are supportive of our family building and more importantly that you chose to care orphans. Not everyone is called to adopt but we are all called to care for the orphans.

"Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world." James 1:27

Thanks you for the suport you have shown to help us answer our calling.

And, for my very loved Grandma Carol: I giggle when I imagine you screaming at your computer "trying to turn the @$#* music off" . . . I took the music player off, so you can relax and read the blog. Love you!

Raffle/Auction open until APRIL 29th

2010-04-21T16:59:00.000-07:00

For those of you who don't already know, we are adopting siblings from Ethiopia. We are currently #16 on the wait list and as we pass the time, we are trying to raise funds. This art work has been hand painted in Coffee (to read more click here) and donated for use of adoption fundraising. With the much appreciated advise of others, we have decided on a raffle for the two Zebra paintings and a silent auction for the Lion painting and Elephant painting. Please note the frames will not be included for (free) shipping ease.

Raffle and Auction entries will end APRIL 29th @ noon. We so very much appreciate everyone's involvment and hope that this turns out to be a fun event. Please spread the word by letting others know how they can contribute to our adoption fundraising and hopefully win a very special painting!

(8x10) and (18x24)

Here is how the Zebra raffle will work:

$5 per entry, no limit on entries. Enter through the orange button over there ------>

Example: if you'd like to enter 3 times you can donate $15 and this will be counted as 3 separate entries. Your shipping and email address will be sent to us when you enter. I will notify you by email if you are the winner. If you prefer to be reached by phone, please add it to your transaction comments.

Another way to enter: post this raffle/auction link on your blog or facebook and send me a comment letting me know you have posted it. This will get you an additional free entry after one has been purchased.

(20x17)

(8x10)

The Lions and Elephants will be separate, silent auctions. Here is how they will work:

Send me an email, nikiwarren7@hotmail.com with your highest bid. I will notify the highest bidders via email at the close of the auction. Be sure to include in the email which item you are bidding on. The highest bidder will then donate the bid and the painting will be mailed to you.

Coffee Paintings

2010-04-20T13:59:00.000-07:00

As I mentioned previously these are painted by the soon-to-be Auntie Laura Johnson. She boils and concentrates the coffee to make the dark/light shades. Pretty incredible already, then add her artistic talent and you get some very special Ethiopian adoption inspired, art pieces.

My lousy camera doesn't do these justice. There are so many brush strokes and details missed, (like the whiskers) so I tried to show them with a close up shot.

Those big paws next to the little guy, so sweet!

Baby elephant following its mamma

The collection. It would look really great in a nursey. It's gonna be really hard to let them go.

Gift From the Heart

2010-04-20T12:34:00.000-07:00

This beautiful art piece was painted in Ethiopian Coffee and given to us by the soon-to-be Auntie Laura Johnson. This gift is so special to us for many reasons. It celebrates the Ethiopian culture of our awaited children and shows the support and excitement of the extended family that is waiting to welcome them home. Its an amazing gift that blew us away. I took close up pictures of the scenes scattered around Africa. The detail and insight are crazy and to top it all off, this was her first attempt at painting with coffee. The verse in the center of Africa was the verse that called Justin to go forward with the adoption. To read more about this special verse click here.

As we expressed to her how much we loved the gift and how very special it was to us, the idea came up that maybe others who are adopting from Africa would be interested in paintings to decorate their homes or nurseries with. I know one of the things I'm looking forward to when we go to Ethiopia is shopping for cultural items to decorate our home with. We want to integrate the Ethiopian culture that we have grown to love with our home so that our children can see these items and feel proud of their heritage. The strength and beauty of Africa has always drawn me in!

So with that small suggestion/idea she whipped out 4 incredible new painting and gave them to us to do as a fundraiser. Generosity, talent, love and support in action! We haven't decided yet if it will be a raffle or a simple sale but I cant wait to show them off. I'm open to ideas or suggestions. I know that many of us have done fundraisers so there is lots of wisdom to be gained by asking all the fundraising adoptive families. Please comment below or email me privately at nikiwarren7@hotmail.com

no updates yet..

2010-04-09T18:31:00.000-07:00

We expected number updates today but they haven't come. It seems the referrals have been really slow lately and then all of a sudden when Numbers were due, lots of action happened. So, we wait until next week (Monday-ish) for our updates and hope that as we're patient, big number changes happen.
The weekend should go fast. I'm hoping tomorrow will be the start of garage sale season and with the advice of some fellow AGCI adopters we're gonnna start decorating the nursery. Ive been kinda stuck on where to start since our parameters include a range of ages and gender. So what we've figured out is, toddler items can't go wrong. A crib that can be converted to a toddler bed, sippy cups, books... items that if not used immediately, will be useful later. Genius!! So let the garage saling (sailing) (sales)begin. Then Saturday afternoon will be dinner with my newly engaged sister-in-law and many other Johnson family members. Sunday morning is church then Justin and I are cooking dinner at our house for some great friends (and an inspirational family) on Sunday night. Before we know it, it will be Monday and the updated numbers will be rolling in. Life is good and God is awesome! I'll post numbers ASAP

My love of Furniture

2010-03-29T17:42:00.000-07:00

I am proud to announce that after months of research, trial and comparison, I am the owner of an upholstered, swiveling, glider and ottoman. Pinch me, I must be dreaming. . . Let the nesting begin.

Oh, and I got a fantastic deal on craigslist (as if it wasn't excitment overload already).

New Numbers ! ! !

2010-03-13T12:03:00.000-08:00

Girl

Boy

Siblings

Auntie Cocos' birthday weekend

2010-02-25T09:51:00.000-08:00

Me and my sister (auntie Coco)

Coco and Tyler

Dad (papa) he's showing his muscles...

I wish I had one of my mom but she was too happy looking for stray golf balls. That's where I was too.

My honey, he must have made a nice shot, walking away from the Tee box with a smile like that is rare. :)

Tomorrow is Friday that means changes... I love Friday and Mondays now too.

2010-02-23T10:46:00.000-08:00

Thank Jenny for my 1st blog award, you are so sweet. My brain seems to be turning to mush with all this relaxation and lack of paper work to freak out over. I haven't had anything to write about so this is a good excuse for a posting.

The goal is to answer everything in one word

Where is your cell phone? Here
Your Hair? Up
Your mother? wonderful
Your father? Strong
Your favorite food? Meat
Your dream last night? Lots
Your favorite drink? Root-Beer (does the hyphen make it one word)
Your dream/goal? Mommy
What room are you in? Den
Your hobby? Snowboarding
Your fear? Cancer
Where do you want to be in 6 years? Re-adopting
Where were you last night? Migraine
Something you aren't? Jealous
Muffins? Nah
Wish list item? Glider
Where did you grow up? Everywhere
Last thing you did? Blogged :)
What are you wearing? Sweatshirt
Your TV? Off
Your pets? Dust Bunnies
Friends? Far
Your life? Blessed
Your mood? Eager
Missing someone? Mom
Vehicle? Black
Something your not wearing? Scrubs (I should be getting ready for work)
Your favorite store? White House Black Market (I cant help that one)
Favorite Color? Blue
Last time you laughed? Yesterday
Last time you cried? Yesterday
Your best friend? Far
One place I would go over and over? Hawaii
Person who emails you regularly? Justin
Favorite place to eat? Home

Well not too bad, some I just could not help. Have a wonderful day everyone. Its my Monday and a week day full of potential for referrals and list number changes. . . Workdays have a new positive spin on them since getting on the list, and the weekends seem to be less of something I look forward. Adoption sure is crazy!

Relax and enjoy the pretty numbers

2010-02-11T14:41:00.001-08:00

I know this sounds silly but I like to view my own blog just to look at my numbers... the're so pretty. Im so relaxed. I wouldn't mind if we had to wait a really long time . . . other than the adoption tax credit expiring in December. I have no stress and no reason to hurry any more.

We have NUMBERS ! ! !

2010-02-09T11:14:00.000-08:00

GIRL

BOY

SIBLINGS

We discussed the possibility of siblings over Christmas and after prayer and discussion we decided if they came available we'd take them. We got approved (by our social worker) for siblings under the age of 1year.

Getting to the point of wait list numbers has been such a struggle. Ive said before, everything paper work has been returned (sometimes multiple times) and dragged out for 6 months. It was anxiety torture and I did not handle it well. When I'm given a project I tackle it and don't stop until its done. That's how I operate and the Application/Homestudy/Dossier did not cooperate with my personality. Sunday afternoon I said to Justin, "We're getting siblings, this is too hard, I'm not doing this again!" Suddenly it made perfect sense. In my head I said "Oh!" like a light went off and I put it together. Maybe that's the whole point. God needs a home for siblings and I've been in determination boot camp. I'm determined, Ill stick it out. And when I say "I'm not doing this again". . . isn't that what moms scream just before the moment they meet their babies. . . and then forget how awful it was.

Husband + Babies + Furniture!

2010-02-07T21:46:00.001-08:00

I know our next hope for "number day" was supposed to be Monday but now it's changed to Tuesday, cause that seems to be the way things go . . .

So, to pass the extra day I've decided to combine my 3 favorite things. My husband, babies and furniture. I'm going glider shopping. Not to buy (I cant seem to get myself to buy anything baby yet) but Ive really been looking forward to taking him to sit in the gliders at a Babies 'R Us. So tomorrow we'll be the people siting in the gliders all day. I'll sit in everyone one of them, deciding which one is the best, most comfortable, best looking, best price. Then I'll make a mental note of all its details and search for months for a better deal. Then much later, I'll decide, "I should just get the one at Babies 'R Us." And that's how I get the most out of my shopping experiences. I also do this with shopping carts. I love to put maybe items in my cart, walk around the store, browsing at everything else I'm not gonna buy and then when I'm ready to leave, I look at the items in my cart and decide, "I don't really want them." So I put them all back. Somehow this is satisfying. (I don't do this at the grocery store though cause that would be gross).

I'm still clueless enough about baby gear that I can spend all day just trying to figure out what things are for and why I don't want them. Yep, sounds like a fun day.

One more thing, this keeps echoing through my mind....

"He knew it was the intensity of that longing to be a mother that made me press on to adopt this incredible child who is clearly a part of His perfect plan for my life. I may otherwise have been content to continue on childless, or wait until God provided a child by birth."
-Renee Luwis (Adoptive mother & founder of America World Adoption)

Happy Monday!!

No numbers yet.

2010-02-06T08:51:00.000-08:00

No numbers yet.
Our Dossier was reviewed yesterday, they found that a few of the papers that are notarized will expire this summer (the notary's commission will expire). Since our adoption will go to court after they expire, AGCI asked that we redo them. I appreciate that they are so experienced that they notice little details like these. I would hate to have a child waiting for us in Ethiopia and fail court because of a little notary expiration.
On the other hand I was deflated and defeated yesterday. The one joy of my day was hearing that my new friend got wait listed yesterday, praise God for letting me share in her joy! I'm beyond exhausted with paperwork, past re-excitement, past anxiety, past hopeful and done anticipating when things will happen. As Justin so perfectly put it into words I'm "weary." I told him a few days ago that if the dossier didn't pass the first round, Id be done. Everything we have handed in has been returned at least twice, starting with our pre-app. I would hand the adoption to him to take over. And he did. We were notified last night that we needed to get a new employee verification letter re-notarized, add a phrase into our Ethiopia father letter, and have a referral re-notarized. At 3:30 on a Friday he got my straight-faced, emotionless body in the car and knocked out 3 task that should have taken 3 business day. We live 30 miles into the middle of nowhere so just driving into Seattle rush hour traffic (on a mission) is enough to freak me out. He got everyone of those things done before 6:00pm. If people didn't answer the phone he called again and left messages, then started driving in their direction assuming they could help us. We drove 200 miles last night completing documents and will have them on the AGCI desk monday morning. When we got home, I should have been relieved but there was no emotion left. He asked me if i was anxious, I said "no" he asked if I was disappointed I said "no," are you mad? "no." Then he said, "you're weary aren't you?" "Yes, that's it, you named it exactly." He understood.
There is so much relief in knowing that someone (even more powerful when its my husband) understands exactly how I feel. Then he prayed for me and asked God to give me Joy and renewed strength. Seriously, where did I find this guy and where can we get more to stock the world with? So today, I feel the joy coming back, I think it will arrive after 1100am (since I'm not a morning person). I will continue to praise Jesus and when paperwork creeps into my mind and I start to feel sorry for myself, that it's been 6 months and we're not even on the list yet (there I go already) I will praise Him.
I will worship, not beacuase I have Joy but because worshipping Him will bring me Joy.

Slowly, steadily, surely

2010-02-04T20:06:00.000-08:00

"But these things I plan won't happen right away. Slowly, steadily, surely, the time approaches when the vision will be fulfilled. If it seems slow, be patient! For it will surely take place. It will not be late by a single day." Habakkuk 2:3
This verse was given to me by a friend a while ago, she adopted last summer. I use it frequently, thought I should share it with others.

D O S S I E R ! ! ! ! !

2010-02-01T11:03:00.000-08:00

49 pages of blood, sweat, tears, angry outbursts, patience learned, lost and relearned, hope and love and WHaaaLaaa! . . . . . Dossier . . . . We're running to the Post Office (or FedEx or UPS). I'm gonna look each one in the eye and decide who looks responsible enough. And if need be, Ill interview the clerks for experience before handing it over.

Jan 22

2010-01-26T00:03:00.000-08:00

Justin had an interesting moment on January 22. I'm writing it here mostly to remember it for later. He was driving between fire stations and felt an urgent need to pray for the baby's mother. He felt God say, pray now, with an emphasis on peace and strength. Justin said there have been few times in his life when he has had that feeling and it was unmistakably God calling him to pray. He told me about it a few days ago and we both wondered what was going on at the time. We may never know but God has already tied us together. Justin is already responsible for them as the head of the household, as God called him to pray for his family. I would like to be able to look back on Jan 22 and try to figure out what the urgent need for prayer was, maybe someday we'll now. Until then were are blessed with the opportunity to intercede.

He told us to adopt...

2010-01-22T15:14:00.001-08:00

So we found out our next unexpected adoption payment of $5000 is due. Nice surprise, right?! So we hold out to see what God can do before taking out a line of credit... little longer... not yet... wait... Its due Monday... Suprise: Justin gets his holiday bonus 3 months early "clerical accident" $5,200. OUR GOD DELIVERS!

A Grampa's Heart

2010-01-22T10:43:00.000-08:00

I wanted to share what my dad sent me this morning. He's looking forward to being a grampa and wanted to post it himself but grama/my mom (we still don't know what she will be called yet) was "worried it may send a red flag to CPS." I decided to post it anyways. . . .

My darling daughter, it seem like yesterday I was running through the house pulling a blanket behind me with you perched on it like it was your magic carpet. I still recall your squeals of laughter as we got up to full speed running down the hallway and then corner into the living room doing 90mph. And now I have to get back into shape so I can do the same with my grand babies when you bring them over to see their grandpa. Just keep in mind, now that you're going to be a mom, you might be a little concerned when I ride a piece of cardboard down the stairs....with your babies in my lap. Have NO FEAR, I haven't lost a passenger yet! You and Justin will make wonderful parents and I am so proud of yall. Justin, . . . . I do provide flight training for fathers so they can take their kids sledding of the roof of the house when the snowfall almost reaches the eves of the house. Of course, here in Washington . . . . . you may have a little more "air time" than we did in Alaska!
Love you guys, DAD WARREN

He was a fun dad!

Adoption Tax Credit- Take Action

2010-01-20T15:18:00.000-08:00

I'm sure we are all aware of the Adoption Tax Credit HR 213 but I wonder how many of us have done anything about it yet...Its up for renewal in December and it should scare us all that our estimated $11,500 tax credit per child can disappear if congress feels there isn't enough interest in the subject. There are so many other budget issues currently (and more to come I'm sure) that it seems the adoption credit could easily take a back seat. So what do we do? That button I have on the right side of the page is a link for action. I just wrote to both my Senators and my Representative asking them to consider advocating for the renewal of the tax credit. I've found that when advocating for an issue, if a letter is pre-written for me, I'm more inclined to send it. So If you'd like to borrow mine and put your name in it, you have my permission. Here's the meat of it, feel free to plagiarize or spruce it up if you'd like. But please send it. The more attention we bring to it, the less it can be ignored.

Dear_________
My husband and I are the process of adopting our first child from Ethiopia and are hoping to finish the adoption before H.R. 213 Adoption Tax Credit is up for renewal in December. I would like to ask you to do whatever you can to ensure that this tax credits stays in place for the future. Many perspective families are able to take out loans with the security of knowing they will receive this credit soon after adopting. It gives us the courage to proceed with the dream of adoption which would otherwise be financially impossible for us. It saddens me to think that other families may not have this opportunity should the tax credit expire. This is a very important issue to me and many others and we would be more that willing to advocate for it in anyway that would be helpful. Thank you for your time and all the important work you do.

Sincerely,
(expectant mother)

Copy or tweak it and then go to
http://adopttaiwan.wordpress.com/2009/02/20/federal-adoption-tax-credit/
Now you have no excuse. Thank you for your time and love, I know this issue touches all of our hearts.

When we get our number...

2010-01-20T00:39:00.000-08:00

Our home study report is FINally complete and our social worker has sent our final draft (19 page story of our lives) to AGCI (our agency). From this point, we wait for them to approve it, or tell us how they want if fixed, then we add it to the stack of other really important papers and whaalah! a Dossier is born. Then we get on THE LIST. I say THE LIST in a very special voice, one of reverence and awe. We've waited and waited so long just to be on THE LIST. It means we have a number to count down from and when people ask, "how much longer do you have to wait?" I can say, "well, we're number ___" and I wont have to explain the whole process and what step we're on.
At this point of paper work exhaustion and answering a million questions for the millionth time, THE LIST is surreal. A magical place where all the soon-to-be mommies begin to connect on some level with their babies. They begin to grasp that there is a real child out there waiting for them. I'm can't imagine what it will be like to be on THE LIST, to have my own number... I hear it's lovely. Where ever our number starts, I will love it. I will wear it proudly, (at first) I wont look at my number and wish it were smaller, I wont make little items that symbolize it and subtract them away for fun. I'll appreciate it for what it is, Ill look at it and see the hard work, tears and stress that made it the number it is. And when we get on THE LIST, you can be sure I'll be telling everyone all about it.

Learning to "wait for Selah"

2009-12-14T11:19:00.000-08:00

Things aren't moving as quickly as I thought they would. We just learned that our adoption will be slowed considerably by our home study. We crammed our social worker meetings in as quickly as possible hoping to avoid getting derailed by the holidays but our social worker informed us that she wont be done with our Home Study report until "probably the 3rd week of January." So that means we will not even hope to be on the waiting list (for baby referrals) until February. Things were moving so steady until this step. I'm disappointed of course but what can you do, right? We are also 99% sure that we will wait for a girl which means even longer.

Until our vacation last month, I couldn't get this adoption going fast enough. I wanted everything done yesterday so I could start the next step now. That's how I do most things. On our vacation in Hawaii (we purchased this trip before we decided to adopt) over Thanksgiving, for the first time in a long time, I slowed down and enjoyed being where I was.
My "motivation/drive" to accomplish things inconveniently kicked in two weeks before college graduation. I decided to go back to school for Nursing (I actually applied myself to studies) and wanted to get that done as soon as possible and get started with my career. After that was my move to Washington, the purchase of my Condo, then meeting Justin. I was head over heels in love and planned our wedding pretty soon after meeting him. The next year was courting and planning a wedding. Once we got married, the goal was saving for our house and house hunting. As soon as that was accomplished it was adoption beginnings. There has been a goal and a sense of urgency in my life for the last 5 years. I've been accomplishing goals as fast as possible so that I can look for the next thing on my life "to do list."
We knew we had this vacation coming up so I planned to get everything done that I possibly could with the adoption so that I wouldn't be stressed and thinking about it in Hawaii. It worked, I hardly thought about it. I enjoyed myself, I enjoyed having nothing to do and I loving on my husband. We had a great time. If we wanted Shaved Ice (heaven in a sugar free cup) we bought it and if I wanted a stupid straw hat, I bought that too. We've been working so hard on saving money. No saving, no rushing, no planning. It was a new me, and I brought her home. We decided there, that we didn't need to rush through the adoption and if a girl took longer we didn't mind the wait. I have a lot to enjoy right now in my life. I will adore my child once she's here but until she is, I have a pretty great life.

So the news of our Home Study bringing us to a screeching halt was taken pretty well. The pre-vacation me, probably couldn't have handled it and would have manipulated a way around the delay. Estimated time (my estimate) until we bring our little one home... I'd say, October and hope that's plenty of time. I'd be happy with sooner but Ive allowed my heart and mind to prepare for that much time. I think this is a good thing. By this fall I'll have more time banked to take off work (to be a mom) and financially we'll be more prepared as well. The title of our blog is "waiting for Selah." I guess that was one of the things God wanted me to learn when he whispered the words to me. And while I'm learning to wait, we'll have some fun.

2009-12-14T00:18:00.000-08:00

I've never really enjoyed Christmas decorations. Even as a kid I would try to talk my parents out of "doing a tree" because it was a waste of money. Scrooge, I know Ive heard it. It's funny how that has changed. Last year, my first year as a wife, I decorated our little apartment because I knew it was important to Justin. I enjoyed watching him appreciate it. When I pulled those few items out that decked our tiny apartment last year, they were unoticable in our new house. And thats when the shopping for Christmas decorations bug hit me. Im not going crazy or anything but that fact that I willing purchase items to be used once a year, then boxed up and hidden, and I really like it. Im suprised. Decorating for Christmas is as much for me this year as it is for Justin. Is this some new selfless, inherant quality that Ive grown in preperation of becoming a mom?

Trick or Treat

2009-10-31T20:22:00.000-07:00

Justin and I had fun carving pumpkins together this year for our own porch. First year in our new house-with our own pumpkins and porch. It was fun to be the adults on the other side of the door, handing out the candy and enjoying the costumes. The kids are so cute and it amazing how much candy can fit in those tiny little hands! Next year we'll be taking our little one door to door showing of their incredible cuteness. Life is good!

2009-10-31T19:20:00.000-07:00

We had 21 people attend our wine tasting. It was a great day, we had a chance to see friends and family we dont often get to see and update everyone on the progress of our adoption.

My family (the Warren's orginally) Including Grampa and the Uncle.

Me, the god mom, Auntie Coco and grama (she's still deciding want she wants to be called, it wont be grandma)

friends (sportin the ONE LESS) and Me

Justin, updating everyone on the adoption progress....

Justin's sisters (auntie's and uncles to-be) and me.

Levi, seeing his adoption process inspired us to start our own adoption

Neighboors who happily announced they will be starting their own adoption...Yeahhh! Its contagious!

Thank you so much to all the people who came to show their support. Its an incredible feeling to know that our child has so many loved ones looking forward to meeting and welcoming him/her home.

Wine Tasting Fundraiser

2009-10-05T11:11:00.000-07:00

Save the Date: OCTOBER 24th @1pm

What better excuse to get together and sample wines than for raising money to provide a baby a home!? The excellent idea was offered by our generous friends who own/operate WineStyles in Bothell, Wa. They had a fundraiser event there last spring before they brought home their little angel from Ethiopia and suggested we do the same. We are excited at the opportunity to get together with friends and family, discuss our adoption progress and share life with each other, meanwhile a percentage of the proceeds will go towards our adoption expenses. Its a win-win for all.

We've invited everyone we know and hope to have a huge turn out. Even if its not a fundraising success, people will have a chance to see adoption in action. We hope to encourage people and show that adoption is not impossible. The Weiseth's showed us adoption was possible with an open heart, a little faith and a Big God... and here we go. We would love to be the light for others as well. If you missed the invitation (facebook) consider this your formal invite. It would be amazing to meet the strangers we share our lives and adoption story with. Please come.

Here's how the fundraising will work:

$10 admission- will get you in the door, enjoying some appetizers and a great crowd. If something comes up and you cant make it, the $10 will go towards our adoption fund. Your tickets will be emailed to you along with a map to the location.

$10 Wine Tasting- will have you sampling some Ethiopian wines and a few of the house favorites. This part is optional and can also be shared between 2 people. We realize not everyone drinks or likes wine.

10% of the sales of WineStyles merchandise (bottles of wine and accessories) will go towards our adoption fund.

We will also be selling the ONE LESS T-shirts we designed.

One more thing, we have been approved for a tax deductible fundraising grant which means, if you need a tax break, you can donate to adoption rather than Uncle Sam. That might feel better around tax season. We will have more info there.

Man Shirt

2009-10-04T16:45:00.000-07:00

Nothing is more sexy than a man wearing an adoption advocate shirt. He wore it to church today and to Target. I just know all the girls were thinking "what a stud, he cares for orphans!" .....Sighhhhh.....

You know those posters of the bare chested man holding a baby? This was better.

Why dont you adopt?

2009-09-27T20:02:00.000-07:00

I was watching the interview of the women who was accidentally impregnated with the wrong embryo (not hers genetically). My heart broke for her as she told her story. She was given the option to terminate the pregnancy or carry it to birth and return the baby to its biological family. True story, she's almost to term. Its awful in so many different ways. I understand infertility I cried over it for a year. Often times in the middle of my day, at work or in the grocery store Id be confronted with a pregnant tummy that would remind me to face reality. I know what its like to so badly want to be pregnant you would go to extreme measure. How could someone with such an intense desire have their dream come true and then be asked to give it away. Its unimaginable. At the end of the interview they pointed out that she still has embryos frozen and she was asked what she would do with them. She said after such an awful experience she couldn't go through it again and that they would use a surrogate mom to carry their baby. At this point my jaw dropped and I yelled, "WHY DON'T YOU ADOPT!"

A few months back in a small group discussion of girls, where infertility was a common discussion, my friend posed the question to the group "why don't you adopt?" And now I understand. Her heart was probably burning, she probably wanted to stand up and scream those words (she very respectfully and compassionately did not).

As I yelled those words out at the computer screen in a crowd of people, I was overwhelmed with love for all the children who have no one. Millions of children with nothing, not just children, mothers trying to feed their babies, struggling daily, sacrificing the little food that they have so that their children can have one meal. I am overwhelmed with sadness, all at once its come rushing over me and I am undeniably aware of the poverty and unfairness in the world.

One of my blog friends posted a video, Beggars in Addis Ababa. http://www.ethiotube.net/video/5865/The-Beggars-in-Addis-Ababa
Poverty is real, we all know it. But when I saw the conditions in the video, I made the connection that the child we are waiting for and praying for is coming from the same situation as that documentary. It became personal. I became painfully aware of the reality that this is much closer to home than any poverty that I have callously tried to ignore before. I cant ignore this, my baby is out there.

As children of God we are image bearers. Tiny sparks of what our Father's heart looks like. I cant stop thinking about it. I look around my house and think how stupid granite counter tops are. Can I sell them on ebay and help a mother to know that her child will be fed? How does God manage it? In one day God has opened my heart to see the hurting of his people and I wonder, if I am a tiny spark of God's compassion, what must it be like to look at the world and see all the children and widows that He loves personally and not have His heart explode in a burst of overwhelming grief. And then I realize how how strong He must be. What amazing strength He must have to hold the weight of compassion for the world.

As my dear friend pointed out, "once our eyes are opened we can't pretend we don't see." My eyes are open, my heart is broken and Im finding that adoption is just as much about learning the heart of God as it is about giving a child a home.

Updated Fundraiser Tshirt

2009-09-18T09:37:00.000-07:00

FRONT

Finally!!! They're done! We decided to print them up as they are ordered to save on cost. I am so excited to be able to wear mine and cant wait to see them on other people

BACK

We only have a few shirts left so we have taken away the automatic order button. If you are interested in purchasing, please email me nikiwarren7@hotmail.com to check size/style availability. Thanks so much!

CLose up Of the Design

Fundraiser Garage Sale Success

2009-09-15T10:47:00.000-07:00

Thank You, Thank You, Thank You to all who donated items to our Garage Sale Fundraiser. I'm amazed and excited to announce we raised $2,057! Who makes 2 grand on a garage sale!?! God surely had His hand on this one. The crazy thing is we entered into adoption knowing that we had none the money that we need. We know its gonna come because we're doing what God asked and we know He would not ask us to adopt if He didn't plan to provide. But it's still a crazy shock when it happens. We get to be blown away by God's provision and His orchestration of events for the next $18,000. It's so much fun to take a step and expect God to pave the road before us.

I'm so glad I never worked retail, people are so messy about scattering clothes, its just poor G-sale etiquette.

The men, trying out the toys...errr fishing gear. I think my dad must have caught something!

The Guys side

This is my mom, she is one of the hardest workers I know, she will not stop until the work is done and would help a complete stranger, in fact she often does. She is such a blessing

I wish I would have gotten my sister in this picture, she baked some amazing choco bread to sale and donated some really great stuff.

The weekend was exhausting and so much fun, a family event that everyone worked so hard for. Saturday night we a big family dinner and my sister (only sibling) announced their pregnancy. Two babies on the way! I'm guessing our babies will be nearly the same age since we're about a year away from bringing home our little one and he will be a few months old when we meet. He will probably be born around the same time! The closest thing to experiencing pregnancy would be through my sister. So now I get experience my baby's pregnancy through hers and pick my child up soon after hers is born. Its an amazing gift!

Ive also been working (in my very spare time time) on our T-shirts. I have been obsessed with getting them done, its seems to be the impossible task with a million snags. I realized last night that its the only tangible thing I have of my baby, I cant feel it inside, I cant buy things cause yet because I don't know how old he will be when we get him. If I could wear our adoption Tshirt, would it make me feel connected? I think so, a dumb T-shirt has been so important to me and now I realize why. My very understanding husband, who loves me perfectly, made a run to the craft store after a weekend filled with exhausting adoption work and helped me work on it, yet again. We finally completed the design, had the last piece in place, ironed it on and realized it was upside down. It was comical at that point, he offered to take me back to the craft store again (my firefighter husband at a craft store asking the fabric lady about iron on's and fabrics) but I declined. I think it was most important for someone to understand how important it was to me. I felt understood and laid it to rest for the night. However, he said he have one made for me when I get home from work today and then Ill be living in it till it falls off... or I bring home my son.

This sheep is in Ethiopia.

2009-09-04T21:32:00.000-07:00

We're having our first fundraiser next weekend (Sept 12/13). My parents have offered to host it at their house in Bellingham and I am overjoyed with their generosity. It doesn't come as a surprise to me that they offered, anyone who knows my parents have experienced their gift of generosity. But the sacrificial part is that they have a charity/foundation, "The Kings Storehouse" that they are passionate about. They have been raising money and collecting supplies (shoes, clothing, medical equipment, water filters...) for a tiny village in Honduras, La Potenciana. They have been dubbed "the godparents" of this village and have been passionately collecting items to aid it. They planned on having this garage sale as a fundraiser for a little girl named Sarai Mariella. She lives in this village and has a club foot. When they met this little girl their hearts broke for her and they have been pursuing avenues to have her foot surgically corrected. My parents told me a few days ago that this garage sale fundraiser would be for "our baby."
It was an odd mix of feelings; I was happy to have the potential income for the upcoming expenses, humbled that they chose my fundraiser over theirs and touched that God would use them to show His love through such and act of service. I know how important "The Kings Storehouse" is to them. Ive watched them sacrifice for it continuously for over a year now. My metaphor to explain this: Jesus, our Shepherd will at times step away from his flock to rescue the one lamb that has gone astray. This sheep is in Ethiopia.
Its amazes me how many times in my life God has shown his love for me through the actions of my parents. I'm so blessed to have such wonderful parents as role models. I look forward to loving my baby like they love me some day.

Approved!

2009-08-29T07:19:00.000-07:00

We Finally got approved for All God's Children. God sure is teaching me patience right from the very beginning. After a more than a week of phone tag and extra paper work we got it all accumulated and sent in. I can't for the life of me figure out why Justin started calling me "Rotty" short for Rottweiler. Anyhow, we're officialy started! Is this where I get to start counting down the estimated time?

The Blessing of Infertility

2009-08-16T01:08:00.000-07:00

Its a paradox, the blessing of infertility. Let me preface with a quote that changed my perspective:

"He knew it was the intensity of that longing to be a mother that made me press on to adopt this incredible child who is clearly a part of His plan for my life. I may otherwise have been content to continue on childless, or wait until God provided a child by birth."

I've wanted to adopt since I was 14. My mom was adopted and we met her biological mother that year, Ive been fascinated with adoption ever since. As a teenager the idea of a big round belly wasn't very appealing. I wanted to skip the pregnancy thing and adopt. In college I had this strange inkling that I wouldn't be able to have kids. No reason, it was just there in the back of my mind and my solace was that it didn't matter because there was always adoption tucked right behind my heart.

I met Justin and soon into dating I told him about my desire to adopt. He wasn't interested, pretty straight forward. I fell so hard and fast for him that it didn't matter to me that our adoption dream didn't match. I didn't mind letting go of that one and I figured I would soon forget it. The thought of having his babies, little miniature versions of him made my biological clock tick, loudly. Both of us were eager to get our family started and after 3 months of "negative" results my old intuition/fear returned. What if we couldn't have babies? I asked Justin if he would consider adoption if we found ourselves unable to get pregnant. He didn't even want to discuss that possibility, he wasn't concerned. "We'll just keep trying and praying." More time past and the roller coaster emotions of hope and disappointed played their cruel tricks on me. Justin remained hopeful and continued to pray for God's blessing of children. We had agreed that after a year of trying, we would discuss other possibilities. "Other possibilities" didn't mean adoption, it meant we'll consider that we have a problem and get tests done. I got back on the roller coaster and waited for it to end, counting down the months to a year. About 10 months into trying and praying I noticed Justin began to slide adoption into his prayers. I'm not sure if he did it out of obligation because we prayed out loud together or if was from his own heart. It would go something like this, "God we would reeeeally like to get pregnant, please bless us with pregnancy...and if adoption is something you want for us please open my heart to it." My love for him grew every time i heard this because I know it wasn't what he wanted to ask for.

A year came and went and much like my approach to buying a car, I don't test drive unless I'm pre-approved. I intentionally didn't research adoption because I knew the desire would overwhelm me. But when I went to church (our church has a big adoption community) I would look the faces of the children that didn't match their parents and try to imagine my little one. I would look forward to seeing these special families meanwhile holding back tears of joy that God had brought them together. I'm not good at holding back tears.

One Sunday Justin was working, I went to church alone and when I came home the flood gates opened, I couldn't resist the adoption research. I read blogs and researched agencies until 2 am. I read stories of adoption families, perspective fears of adoptive mothers and fathers who held out hope for biological children. This is where I found the quote, "He knew it was the intensity of that longing to be a mother that made me press on to adopt this incredible child who is clearly a part of His plan for my life. I may otherwise have been content to continue on childless, or wait until God provided a child by birth." That gave me hope and I joy I couldn't contain. I cried with relief and joy as the sadness of our infertility left me. God changed my heart that night and I couldn't wait to share it with Justin.

The next day I prayed that God would bring the subject up somehow. I've been hearing for the last year from Christain women, "don't nag, wait for God to change his heart." When viewing our history on the Internet scroll bar Justin said, "looks like some one's been researching adoption." That was my cue! I prefaced by explaining my intentions were to tell him how God changed my heart it one night, not to convince him to adopt. I wanted to share with my husband the joy I felt and that God had taken away the sadness of infertility. I had him read one of the adoption stories I had read the night before. He didn't say much, just did what I asked and that was the end...
The next day I was online researching again and found a pre-application. I started filling it out with no intentions of sending it. I equate this to how a teenage girl practices her signature with her crushes last name over and over on her notebook. (Nothing wrong with me doing it in my 20s when I met Justin either). I wanted to fill it out and erase it and fill it out again. Anything to make me feel closer to my future adopted child. Halfway through the second time filling it out I got distracted and walked away from the computer. 30 minutes later panic struck my heart as I realized I had left a half filled adoption application on the computer screen downstairs. I ran downstairs to find Justin sitting at the computer typing. Not sure how to approach the situation I acted nonchalant and glanced over his shoulder to see what he was looking at. He was finishing the application. I was speechless in disbelief. I said aloud, "this is my shocked face, do you know what youre doing." He replied by saying, "you had me read something last night, now let me show you what I read this morning." Justin has Bibile time every morning and he reads in sequential order. His morning devotional was Isaiah 54.

Isaiah 54
"Sing, O barren one, who did not bear;
break forth into singing and cry aloud,
you who have not been in labor!
For the children of the desolate one will be more
than the children of her who is married," says the LORD.
"Enlarge the place of your tent,
and let the curtains of your habitations be stretched out;
do not hold back; lengthen your cords
and strengthen your stakes.
For you will spread abroad to the right and to the left,
and your offspring will possess the nations
and will people the desolate cities.
"Fear not, for you will not be ashamed;
be not confounded, for you will not be disgraced;

This is one of those moments when God so clearly speaks to you, the only option is to listen and obey. Justin agreed that it was God's clear instruction to pursue adoption. In my perspective it explained to him the change God had made in my heart. "Sing O barren one" my soul was singing! I could hardly contain the joy of God's comfort and I couldn't explain it to Justin, but our God could. It also addresses Justin fears, "Fear not, for you will not be ashamed; be not confounded, for you will not be disgraced." Having never discussed a desire to adopt, he wondered how people would react. And as all parents who decide to adopt and child of another race, they wonder how the situation will be received socially. God's words covered it all; my joy, his fears. There is no better comforter than our God, he knows our hearts, our unspoken fears and concerns and reassures us to move forward in His will.

So this is the beginning of our exciting adventure. We've chosen Ethiopia, its always been the picture in my mind and it seems to suit us best as far as requirements for adoptive parents. We've began telling people, its a release for me to spill this joy and the responses we are getting from friends and family are planting seeds of excitement in Justin's heart.

I look forward to meeting the child God has chosen for us. I'm already enjoying the process of finding her and although I will not carry her in my tummy for 9 months, she has been tucked behind my heart since I was 14.

Please keep us in your prayers

It's God's child, we just get to be the parents.

Photo Book

Adoption Shirts

A year ago today...

Judah is going to be a big brother!!!

Day at the Pumpkin Patch

We have a Toddler!!!

Judah 14 months

Just a video

1st BIRTHDAY

All of a Sudden...

'..groaning together in the pains of childbirth..'

June Photo Shoot

"Da da"

How He Rolls..

First Hair Cut

11 Months

Funny Faces of Judah

9 Months

Judah's belly laugh

Pictures Come Easier Than Words Lately

My cute kid

first weeks home

JUDAH IS HOME

Homecoming Banner

What are we waiting for?

Court & Birth Mom

Ethiopia -the days in the middle

Ethiopia-Meeting Judah*** Day 1

Last minute gift

We leave for Ethiopia on Saturday

Accross the world

Judah's Nursery

Tickets to Ethiopia

****** THE CALL******

Maeli's Miracle

Judah Blaise

called to adoption, what Im learning

Operation Silent Night

Its almost Monday

I'm Nesting...

August Numbers

Korah

Seattle Adoption Picnic

For those who love Adoption Ts

Its gonna be a boy....?

143,000,000 Orphans

July Numbers

Adoption T-Shirts

Daughter waiting

May Numbers

Thank You!

Raffle/Auction open until APRIL 29th

Coffee Paintings

Gift From the Heart

no updates yet..

My love of Furniture

New Numbers ! ! !

Auntie Cocos' birthday weekend

Relax and enjoy the pretty numbers

We have NUMBERS ! ! !

Husband + Babies + Furniture!

No numbers yet.

Slowly, steadily, surely

D O S S I E R ! ! ! ! !

Jan 22

He told us to adopt...

A Grampa's Heart

Adoption Tax Credit- Take Action

When we get our number...

Learning to "wait for Selah"

Trick or Treat

Wine Tasting Fundraiser

Man Shirt

Why dont you adopt?

Updated Fundraiser Tshirt

Fundraiser Garage Sale Success

This sheep is in Ethiopia.

Approved!

The Blessing of Infertility

THE CALL