Our Referral: Finally

Dear Friends and Family,

We are so excited to announce that we finally received our referral today for our two children from Ethiopia.  Our son, G, is 4 years old. We believe he is probably older than 4. Our daughter, N, is 2 years and 9 months old.  Our children are not blood related, but they will soon be brother and sister.  There is a strong possibility for 5 kids in AYSO soccer next year. 

We have been asked many questions so I thought I'd do a FAQ's section to answer all of them.

How are you feeling?

Elated, overjoyed, anxious, and completely overwhelmed.  When we received the call, we cried the whole conversation and it felt surreal.  Wow, we were finally here, the day we have been dreaming about for years.  I was and am also torn with emotion, broken hearted, as our children are orphaned for a reason, they have lost their parents.  In both cases, the moms are alive, but have handed them over to the orphanage for reasons unknown.  This is the hard part of adoption and one that grieves my heart.  I know, though, that this is right and God ordained, even though is it painful and so hard to grasp.

Can you see a picture of them?

We do have pictures of them, but due to sensitivity of how they can be shared, they are not allowed to be posted on blogs or Facebook, we will only show them in person.

What's next?

Our agency will submit our paperwork to the Ethiopian government and we will be granted a court date. This could take about 3-6 months to happen.  We will go to Ethiopia for a week for the court date.  Then we will return home for about 2-6 weeks and then return for our embassy appointment. After that, the children will return home with us.

Are you okay with the ages and genders?

Yes, we are.  We have thought long and hard about the disrupting of the birth order of our family.  Zach will be squished in the middle of the two and we are at peace about this.  We knew that this was a huge possibility.  We have always felt that when the time came we would say "yes" to whatever God placed in front of us.  

How can you pray?

First, let's praise God for answering prayers and in the mean time teaching Dave and I how to be patient. This has been a refining six years of waiting and I am very thankful for what I have learned.

With that said, pray for more patience as the next six months will be hard to wait for our court date and embassy appointments as our children will be in the care center. 

 

Pray for our children who are in different orphanages and that they will have a smooth transition to the care center in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia's capital (run by our agency), where they will wait for the adoption to happen.

Pray that the remaining money we need to complete this adoption will be provided.

Pray our adoption will be completed by March.  That is when our homestudy will expire, which means more money, paperwork, and time. 

Pray for our children!  We are uncertain of medical, behavioral, and emotional difficulties.  Pray for their protection.

Pray that God would prepare our family for this next part of the journey. The hardest work will be when the children come home due to tough transitions and emotional damage the children might have endured. 

How did our kids respond?

They are sooo excited.  When the call came, we were all able to gather around the computer and look at the pictures of our children and listen to the details. They have been waiting a long time too.  Katie loves that she is going to have a sister.  Matthew remarked, "Wow, 4 boys!"

Are they related?

No.  N is in a orphanage in the west part of Ethiopia near the Sudan border, 17 hours away from the capital city. G is from an orphanage near the capitol.  In the pictures you can tell, that they look very different from each other. 

Are the kids healthy?

Yes as far as the reports show they are healthy.

Do they speak English?

No, they don't.  They will start learning English when they are transferred to the Care Center, which is the place where they will wait for the adoption. I have been told by many adoptive parents that they will pick up the language very fast when they come home. 

What will we do with our kids when we travel?  

We are hoping to have Caleb, Katie, and Matthew travel with us on the first trip. Matthew is really concerned about any shots he might have to get, but I think he will get through it and go with us!  We will travel alone on the second trip. 

How much money do we need to raise before we go?

We have covered most of our agency fees and will need to cover all our travel costs and a fee other embassy costs at this point.  It could be between $15,000-$20,000. 

What will their names be?

We are having a family discussion about this soon.  We believe that we need to give them new names. 

What size bus are we going to need?

A BIG one!

Will you still homeschool?

I love homeschooling and until it stops working we will keep doing it.  Katie and Caleb are starting to become more independent which makes it more feasible for me to continue.  

Thank you so much for partnering with us in this very long journey. We are so grateful for each of you and especially for your prayers.