We are home :)

We are so grateful to be home with our precious little guy. He is pure joy!! His name is Terefe (pronounced Tah-Rah (roll the "r")-Fah) Levi, and most people here are calling him Levi. I was able to meet his birth mother - AMAZING experience - and she told me why she named him Terefe which means "He saves". It was a very powerful story, and that is why we have chosen to keep this name. Right now, the 5 kids, no sleep thing is kicking my booty, but I know that it is only for a short time. Please enjoy the pictures

Travel!!

Okay, so we leave Atlanta on Friday, and our little guy should be in our arms on Sunday. We are SO excited!!! Our Embassy appointment will be Monday, and we will have a few more days to soak in the culture before leaving on Thursday night. We should be back in Atlanta on Friday night and home to our house Saturday. It will be a whirlwind, but I could not be happier!! Please pray for our travels as well as the 4 kiddos that we will be leaving at home. The next time I post you will FINALLY get to see our handsome little guy.

P.S. Laura, I promise to change my background very soon :)

We Passed Court!!

Hooray! We are thrilled to share that we passed court! If our paperwork moves along quickly, we may be able to travel at the end of June for our Embassy date. Thank you for all of your prayers and encouragement! To God be the glory!!

Court Date

Yay!!! We finally have a court date! I received the phone call on Monday afternoon, and we are scheduled for Monday, May 31st. Our caseworker has told us that we only have a 50/50 shot of passing the first time, but I am trying to be optimistic. In order for us to pass, we need to have a letter in our file from the Ministry of Women's Affairs (MOWA) in Ethiopia. Our agency has NO control over this, so we just say lots of prayers. Also, the bio mom has to make the journey and be present in court. Again, this is a source fo much prayer. Please join our family in praying that all these things are in place, and we are able to pass the first time. Thank you!!

outblessed

Two of our friends are adopting from Ghana right now. They were having a huge yard sale today to help raise money for their adoptions. I decided that it would be fun to go to the yard sale and buy a few little things to help them raise funds. When we got there, my friend Kristie said that she wanted us to have these t -shirts. She wanted to bless us since we are all on this journey together. How sweet is that!?! My son took a picture of us in our new t-shirts although you can't really see the design. You can go to their blog to purchase your own fromGodtoGhana.blogspot.com The t-shirts are adorable, and the family is precious, too!

P.S. We are still waiting on our court date and would love your prayers!

Not much

Dear Sweet one,
I do not have much to report on your adoption. We are waiting to receive a court date for you, and I am praying that it will be this month! We turned all of our paperwork in within 24 hours of receiving it, so we ARE trying! As a matter of fact, your daddy stopped the UPS
truck in the middle of his route to get our packet :). I am suppose to be creating two photo albums (one for you at the orphanage and one for your bio mother). Also, I am working on a letter for her. These are a pretty big deal, and I am very open to suggestions! We can not WAIT to meet you in person! You are prayed for and talked about much in our home!! Missing you so much -
XOXO
Mommy

P.S. Has anyone tried snapfish to make albums?

The Call !!!

Oh, how I have longed to write this post! So, here goes -
I had a call in to Julie (our case manager) on Tuesday about an adoption question. Normally, it takes a day or two for the case managers to respond. So yesterday at 5:30 when my phone rang, and I saw the 971 area code, I was at Dollywood. Not only was I at Dollywood, but I was responsible for 10 children while there. Everybody was waiting for me at the gate to leave the park. I saw the number on my screen, and OF COURSE, I answered. Julie said, "Hi, I got your message, and I am calling you back. But, I also have something else to talk to you about. Is now a good time?". Me - little sob - "Sure, now would be great!". I ran over to the benches where all the kids were waiting for me, explained that it was the referral call, and put someone in charge of Gigi (my 2 1/2 year. old). Julie started telling me about little man, and I had nothing to write with etc., but I completely did not care. I just listened to what she could tell me, kowing the whole time that this little guy is EXACTLY who we have
been waiting for!! I had been praying the other day, and telling the Lord my "perfect case scenario" for the details on our little guy. When Julie started telling me details about him, those details exceeded even my "perfect scenario" (Ephesians 3:20). So, finally we HAD to leave the park because I had to get everybody to church; but, I was still talking to Julie. She just got to hear the tram operator in the background and the crowds of other people. We finally made it to the car, loaded everybody in, and started the 1 hour ride home. I kept checking my phone for Julie's email, and finally received it in the drive-thru line at Taco Bell. The first time I ever laid eyes on our precious one, I was in the middle of ordering 16 burritos ;). We are beyond thrilled and covet prayers for a quick court date, and the Lord's favor to pass court the first time.