ALMOST!!!

I just got off the phone with Nicole Weigold, our Family Coordinator with America World! We were reviewing all our documents making sure everything was in order - signed, notarized, certified, etc!!! We're getting our fingerprints done for Immigration tomorrow - and it seems like a 2 weeks wait until we get the I-171....which means we'll be DONE with all the paperwork!!!

I asked Nicole about the judge in ET cracking down on abandonment cases. She said it's just on abandonment cases in the capital of Addis Ababa - which is where about 25% of their referrals come from. PRAY that this will be resolved QUICKLY!!! These poor children have waited so long already for a forever family....and the families currently affected by this - I can't even imagine!!! Nicole said it looks like it's just 1 police officer & 1 agency that have been having lots of "abandonment" cases - thus making their paperwork much easier. God has given me an absolute peace about all of this - He's going to make the system even BETTER!!!

I asked her about the timeline until we get a referral. She said they're still saying 9-11 months...although because our age range is 0 - 24 months we'll be closer to the 9 month end!!!! Tears are streaming down my face right now....we're almost PREGNANT!!! Who knew you could be "almost" pregnant - but we are!!! Soooooo.....if we submit the Dossier (all the paperwork) by the end of June - we might have a referral by next MARCH - and travel next June! YEAH!!! What we REALLY want to avoid is the court closures Aug-Sep. It's the rainy season in ET & they just shut everything down....so we don't want to be waiting for a court date during that time period - or we'll be waiting EXTRA long!!! So PRAY for a referral no later than next MAY!!!

She said once our Dossier is submitted we'll be called a "waiting family" and be in on a once a month conference call!!! YEAH!!! Information!! I always do better with lots of information!!!

It made a difference for that one...

The Starfish Story

adapted from The Star Thrower
by Loren Eiseley (1907 - 1977)

Once upon a time, there was a wise man who used to go to the ocean to do his writing. He had a habit of walking on the beach before he began his work.

One day, as he was walking along the shore, he looked down the beach and saw a human figure moving like a dancer. He smiled to himself at the thought of someone who would dance to the day, and so, he walked faster to catch up.

As he got closer, he noticed that the figure was that of a young man, and that what he was doing was not dancing at all. The young man was reaching down to the shore, picking up small objects, and throwing them into the ocean.

He came closer still and called out "Good morning! May I ask what it is that you are doing?"

The young man paused, looked up, and replied "Throwing starfish into the ocean."

"I must ask, then, why are you throwing starfish into the ocean?" asked the somewhat startled wise man.

To this, the young man replied, "The sun is up and the tide is going out. If I don't throw them in, they'll die."

Upon hearing this, the wise man commented, "But, young man, do you not realize that there are miles and miles of beach and there are starfish all along every mile? You can't possibly make a difference!"

At this, the young man bent down, picked up yet another starfish, and threw it into the ocean. As it met the water, he said, "It made a difference for that one."

.....the more I learn about Africa (and this world in general) - the more I was feeling like the "wise" old man. How can helping ONE make a difference??? During worship time at church this morning God reminded me of the story above - that it's worth ALL my time, my money, and my energy to make a difference in the life of even one! Ellie's life will FOREVER be changed because we took the time to CARE!!! to extend ourselves! to spend a little less and save a little more! and our lives will be forever changed! my prayer is that as a family we'll care far less about the temporal and much more about the eternal....that we'll see the world more and more through God's eyes....and that the use of our time, talents, and treasure will be a direct reflection of that!!! Ellie - my life has ALREADY been FOREVER changed by you!!

I was reading more about Katie Davis and AMAZIMA (see button on the right). Her work in Uganda is nothing short of miraculous!!! God is using that woman in AMAZING ways!!! For just $300 a year you can send a child to school, give them 2 meals a day, and a trip to the doctor & the dentist! As we all know without an education the downward spiral continues - yet Katie is reminding ME that I can make the difference in the life of one child - and that child's children - and that child's children - and so on for ETERNITY!!! I know I'm starting to sound like a commercial here - but Africa is under my skin & I can't stop thinking about it!!! PLEASE take a moment and visit the AMAZIMA site! You won't be the same!!!

Pictures FOR (not of) Ellianna!

We have to send a pictures of our home and family to Ethiopia - I thought I'd show you what they'll be seeing - hopefully VERY soon!!
Ben riding my niece's horse, Jazz.
Jack & Caleb riding bikes in Kentucky on our trip across the country! Little did we know that later that same day we'd be meeting the family that planted the seed to adopt from Ethiopia! I SO wish I'd gotten their contact info!
Caleb swimming in Palm Springs!
All the boys hanging out in Palm Springs.
I think the funniest part of this pictures is Gabe still has marshmallow stuck to his face from the smores the night before!
The wanted a picture of the room we spend the most time in - our living room!

We had to send a picture of the outside of the house too - Matt is so proud of his cows!

Hiking on Kamiak Butte last summer. I love this picture of us!

The boys hanging out in Palm Springs.

We also included the 2 family photos that I posted a few weeks back!

It's not WHY? It's - WHY NOT?

I've really been dwelling a lot lately on the why of Ethiopia. I guess with each new person that we tell we get to relive the decision to adopt. I was sitting in church today diligently listening to the sermon - which is NOT hard to do if you know my pastor, he's fantastic - but it hit me! The question isn't why Ethiopia? - it's why NOT Ethiopia?!?!? Bill was talking about the blind man in John 9. Everyone wanted to know why he was blind - Jesus told them it wasn't b/c of something he or his family had done - but so that God's glory could be revealed! He challenged us to see thru the "obstacle" illusions. The obstacle isn't the mountain - but the fact that the mountain seems immovable - that's the obstacle! But God promises that HE will go before us and LEVEL the mountains!!! AMEN!!! Not even the Ethiopian government cracking down can stand up to THAT!

Isaiah 45:2-3 says:

I will go before you and will level the mountains;
I will break down gates of bronze and cut through bars of iron.
I will give you the treasures of darkness, riches stored in secret places (like ETHIOPIA!!)
so that you may know that I am the LORD, the God of Israel, who summons you by name.

If our adoption journey has struck a cord in your heart I CHALLENGE you to follow it through to what God has for you!!! He can move ANY mountain - the mountain of no money, lack of security, not knowing what the future holds - ALL OF IT can MOVE!!! There are SO MANY children that need a loving and caring home. If you're a friend of mine I already KNOW that you fit that bill. Please PROMISE me you'll pray over it! What fun it will be to have our Ethiopian reunion TOGETHER! You can't even imagine how beautiful these children are. What an amazing testimony to everyone around you...and most importantly your children. I am constantly reading stories of families that have taken their older kids with them to Ethiopia. What a GIFT - the gift of seeing the world through someone else's eyes! It doesn't matter how many kids you already have.....and honestly, the more you have the less adding one more will matter....at least not to you....but to your new son or daughter it will mean EVERYTHING!!!

Here's a picture of Zoie Gibson! Isn't she GORGEOUS??
Here's a picture of Michah Kulp - LOVE the smile!!

If that doesn't warm your heart....how about this!!

This is from a family that adopted a little boy from Ethiopia - and is now in the process of adopting a sibling group of FOUR from Ethiopia!!

We had Orphan Sunday at our church this week and Elle (their 15 yr old daughter) made the poster above for our Orphan Care table. When I brought it in the house on Saturday night Levi became so upset. He said, "Oh, no, oh, no--baby hurt!" over and over. So, to comfort him I told him that we can pray for that baby. Well, he stopped right then and stood in front of the picture, folded his little hands in prayer and began praying from his 20 month old heart for the child in front of him. He prayed, "God, baby hurt--give daddy...and mama...and AAAllle (Elle) and NaNa (Nash) and MattMan (Nash's friend, we love as our own). And he prayed that over and over, then he said, "No starvin God" and threw his arms in the air "Amen!" By the time he finished the whole house was standing around him watching in amazement at how this little child of God was so connected to the needs of the child in the picture. He knew exactly what that baby needed...he didn't hesitate in asking God to do it and he finished with the confidence that everything was going to be OK.

How does he know that the cry of every child's heart is for a family who will love him and for the basic needs of comfort? Does he remember being left by his birthmother? How does he, with all the luxuries of his life now, so closely identify with the suffering of the child in the picture?

It's because he is blessed. "But blessed are your eyes because they see, and your ears because they hear." Matthew 13:16

I challenge you to stop asking WHY and start asking WHY NOT?!?!?!

PRAY!!!!!

Some VERY bad news came from our agency today...

*From Cindy Foote's Blog*
There are 2 different kinds of cases - there is a "relinquishment case" in which the child is relinquished to the orphanage by a parent or family member through signed paperwork, etc. And there are "abandonment cases" in which the child's family/relatives are unknown or are deceased. I may even be oversimplifying those definitions, but that's how I understand it so far. Until yesterday, that was kind of the least desired case because the biological parent has to show up for court and in Africa that is way more difficult to have happen than it is here. Many of the biological parents are from remote villages with no transportation, no sense of being on time and sometimes they can be difficult to locate to communicate these needs.

Now the bad news....

Due to an unusually high number of abandonment cases, Ethiopia is suspicious of corruption and must do an investigation to make sure agencies are not just saying "abandonment" in order to ease through court and -well - be involved in criminal activity resembling baby trafficking. In order to do that investigation the MOWA is refusing to write "Letters of Recommendation" (which is necessary to present in court in order to have a successful court appointment) for all abandonment cases in Addis Ababa. That means that families who received their referrals 2 and 3 months ago - who have waited all this time for their court date (which many are this week - one was supposed to be last night!) - and who have looked at their baby's faces change and grow as they wait - now cannot received that necessary letter from the MOWA and therefore cannot pass court until this investigation takes place. This in an indefinite delay as we have NO IDEA how long ET will take to do this investigation. There are A LOT of families in complete grief today as they were SO CLOSE to getting through court and getting their babies and now they have NO IDEA when that will happen.

To make sure you know this - it is NOT our agency who is under investigation. It is the entire system. I KNOW with certainty that our agency is above reproach as I have met the president of our agency and know his heart is above all concerned about integrity and making sure the babies being adopted through our agency are TRUE ORPHANS.

And second - Ethiopia's judges are, in light of this new problem - being VERY STRICT in court. I know of about 7 families with our agency who have had court in the last 2 days and only ONE family passed the first time and one other family passed on the second day. Most of those who did not pass are either indefinitely delayed or now have a second court date in late May.

I am sharing all of this with you for several reasons...

1. For you to pray for the families and babies/children caught up in this court issue who are heartbroken and grieved.

2.For you to realize the DESPERATE NEED FOR PRAYER on our behalf and on our daughter's behalf. Anything can happen. International adoption is hard and requires a lot of endurance and miracles!

3. For you to pray for Ethiopia as they are trying to do the right thing to protect the children of their country.

I see black babies everywhere.....

To coin a line from a VERY creepy movie - but I AM seeing black babies everywhere! It's funny - when I was pregnant suddenly their were pregnant women everywhere....now that we're adopting a black baby, suddenly there are black babies everywhere!!! Maybe that tells you how myopic I am! HA! or some people would just call it self centered - I prefer the term "focused!"

Anyway - I can't even explain it! I really am seeing the most BEAUTIFUL black children all over this white people area!!! It's so funny how God just changes your whole focus - I don't even know how to explain it - but when I see white babies they just seem so....boring looking!!! all pasty and white!! It's hysterical! Initially when we were looking at countries to adopt from Ethiopia stuck out because of how (relatively!) easy it was to adopt from. And I remember thinking that adding a little black girl to our family would be fine. I am SERIOUSLY blown away at how God has completely changed my outlook on that!!! Fine doesn't begin to describe it! If you told me right now that we could adopt a blond haired blue eyes little one - I'd say "no thanks - I want our Ethiopian Princess!!!" Fine....I'm embarrassed to admit that I even thought that.

Oh Ellie! I can't wait to squeeze your brown little cheeks and kiss your curly black hair. You're going to look GORGEOUS in PINK!!! WE CAN' T WAIT!!!!

Our paperwork is CERTIFIED!!!

WOW!! That was sooo quick! Who knew ANY government agency could get something done in 1 weeks time!!! YEAH!! We received the documents that had to be certified by the Washington Secretary of State.....now it's just the I-171 from Immigration that we're waiting on. We have our fingerprinting appt for May 27th (at 8am in Spokane...yuck!) and then we just need to wait for them to send us our I-171 which allows us to bring an orphan back into the US. Of course the timeline for that is different for every state - and I have yet to find our what Washington's timeline looks like. Some states get it back to you in a week! So let's pray for that to happen!!!! We're not even in line to get her until all this paperwork is turned in.....it's ironic that the waiting doesn't begin until you've got nothing to focus on but waiting.....my friend Bettina (who adopted from Ethiopia last year) said it best - pregnancy is very physical, but adoption is very emotional! At any point in this paperwork process if you stop doing the paperwork you're not pregnant any more :( what a journey it's been! And we're just beginning!!!

We have our fingerprinting appointment!

It came today!!! We have our fingerprinting appointment!!! It's set for May 27th....but I'm hoping to see if we can get in earlier - or course! I know only God can make it rain - but we can plant the seeds, right?!??!?!

Once our fingerprints are done - we wait for our I-171 to come back from Immigration. That will allow us to bring an orphan back into the states....each state is different so it's hard to tell how long it will take.

We're also waiting to hear back from Olympia - the Secretary of State has to certify that our notary is really a notary! That should be back long before the I-171

Once we get the I-171 and the certification back WE'RE DONE with all the paperwork!!!!

I CAN'T BELIEVE IT!!!!!

We'll then send 4 copies of everything to our agency in Virginia. They'll make sure everything is correct (which they've been doing along the way too) - and then it's off to Ethiopia!!!!

From that point the wait right now for an infant girl (0-2yrs) is 9 - 11 months. We'll receive the referral and then it's typically 3 months before you travel to bring them home.

How you can pray:
*That God will give us grace through all this waiting....it's the hardest thing I've EVER DONE!!! And if you know me - that' saying a LOT!!!
*That God will protect and nurture our little angel as she has to go through some pretty terrible stuff in order to be our daughter....Mommy's sorry baby :(
*That God will gift her with the sense that we're her FOREVER family! It kills me to think that we'll have loved her for so long....yet we'll be complete strangers to her.
*That God will continue to raise up families with a heart for Ethiopia!

Ellianna Jewel we can't wait to meet you!!!! We'd do all this paperwork silliness 1000 times over....but we're glad we only had to do it once ;)

Mommy

A few more additions to the Ross *household*

They just keep on coming!!! Meet the newest members of the clan - from left to right - Big Bertha, Hamlet, Oreo (duh!), Cyclops (he's got a lump on his forehead!). Jack and Ben are planning to show Bertha and Oreo at the fair and Cyclops and Hamlet are freezer fodder for us & 2 other families :(

And we FINALLY got our 2 family pictures taken today! Ethiopia wants two different "posed" family pictures....so took one at church - thanks Bill....and then came home changed our shirts & took one on the porch - thanks Kirk!!!