We're BACK!!!!!

Oh, I'm jumping up & down, over the top, hang on to your hats EXCITED!!!!

We're BACK in it baby!!! as in we've already met with the social worker, submitted our application, having the references update - BACK!!!!!

We knew the day after we picked up Ellie that we'd be back....we just didn't know it would be this SOON!

Here's the short version - I'll post the long version too - just so I don't forget it!!!

We're adopting 2 children (siblings) a 5 year old boy & his 3 year old sister from Ethiopia through Celebrate Children International!!!! WOOO HOOO!!!!

So the long story :)

Back in August we decide that now is the time. We'd thought we'd wait until we could get the remodel done on the house, Ellie was older, blah blah blah....but we can't stop thinking about all the children we left behind. Our excuses are real, yet very lame when compared to what these children are dealing with on a daily basis. My favorite blog to read is www.weloveourlucy.blogspot.com. Well Kristi (the gal who writes the blog)'s sister started a non-profit called Ordinary Hero (www.OrdinaryHero.org). Kelly (Kristi's sister) took a missions trip to Ethiopia & took a bunch of pictures of the children on Celebrate Children International's (www.CelebrateChildren.org) waiting child list. Kristi had posted that Kelly was back from ET & that if you wanted to see the waiting children's photo's to let Kelly know. So I did - duh! and staring back at me through the 150+ pictures was the face of a little 7 year old HIV+ gal. Before we even had the chance to get excited about her the harsh reality of health insurance reared it's ugly head....in the form of the 6 month pre-existing conditions clause. Which means that unless you have a group policy even your adopted children's pre-existing conditions won't be covered for 6 months. An argument over faith vs. the need for health insurance quickly ensued.....the need for health insurance won.

Fast forward to September. I get a call from Ellie's health insurance provider. She was initially covered under our group plan with the military. Now that Matt's out we've got her covered under our state's high risk insurance pool - WSHIP. I get a call from WSHIP, she wants to know if we have any questions, etc. I told her everything was going great - but what if we ever wanted to adopt again? Even WSHIP has a 6 month pre-existing condition clause. She excitedly told me that with all the health care reform they created a Federal High Risk pool with NO pre-existing conditions clause!!!!

Fast forward to October. My dear friend Caylene (in the middle of getting her Dossier submitted to adopt from Ethiopia) wanders to her agency's waiting child list & feels God tap her on the shoulder. They'd always been open to adopting an HIV+ child, but had terrible insurance. Not anymore!!!! So they move ahead to adopt S & R!!!!

Fast forward to November. My husband is preparing to go to the Mid-Atlantic Orphan Summit in Harrisburg, PA for our non-profit, No Longer Orphans (NoLongerOrphans.blogspot.com). I "happen" on to the CCI waiting child list & see the sweet 7 year old gal STILL on the list. With hat in hand (and new found health insurance info) I ask my sweet husband just to take all her info with him to pray over. We revisit all the pictures, watch the video they'd sent us, talk, talk, talk, pray, pray, pray - and before he even leaves we're ready to move ahead!!! But I want him to be super sure & wait until after the conference to tell CCI.

At the conference Matt gets to meet one of my hero's - Carolyn Twietmeyer of Project Hopeful - www.ProjectHopeful.org. She & her husband really pioneered adopting HIV+ kids & started a foundation (project hopeful) to get information out & clear up some of the processes to adopting them internationally. Which btw, they DID! It meant we only had to be in ET for 1 week instead of 2!

So Matt comes home from the conference even more sure than when he left. I send Carolyn a message on facebook (imagine - being "friends" with one of your hero's!!!! I LOVE technology) who quickly responds that she knows ANOTHER FAMILY that's pursuing this gals adoption. I'm devastated. It's CRAZY how quickly you can fall in love with a picture! I quickly call CCI & they tell me how sorry they are. This orphanage is the only one they work with that has multiple agencies referring kids to them. I put on my happy face & decide to be glad that she has a family.

Meanwhile we've decided we REALLY like CCI. Aside from the mixup - which honestly, 7 years old, HIV+ - that's a hard to place child. She deserved to be shouted about from the roof tops for EVERYONE to hear. Who knew 2 families would fall in love with her almost simultaneously....well, God did!

So we're really liking CCI. What do you KNOW - they have other children waiting for families! Unbeknown to me my husband saw the picture of this ADORABLE brother & sister on CCI's waiting child list as well.....and as he tells it knew INSTANTLY they were supposed to be our children. But what to do when your "adoption deranged" wife has a different idea? He's a wise, very confident in his God, man - he let me "run with it" knowing full well that God would point us in the right direction.

So (remember I have NO IDEA that Matt's already decided what the answer is) I call CCI and talk with them about the other children on their list. 30 minutes later I walk downstairs & say "Matt, I know we only talked about adopting 1....but there's this brother/sister set that I think would be perfect!"

I'm not lying....that's EXACTLY how it happened.

Is God awesome or WHAT?!?!?!

So with 54 children on CCI's waiting children list we pick the same ones......I'm going to choose - WHAT?!?!?! God is WAY more than just awesome!

So yes, they're gorgeous. Adorable. Beautiful beyond words! We're going to be a bit snug in our current house (we're talking to a contractor!) and we won't fit in any of our current vehicles (I'm still having issues saying the V*N word.....aahhhh!!!!) and we're jumping up & down excited out of our minds!

We're on paperwork overdrive - BIG TIME! Honestly, with God's help we're hoping to be paperwork ready by mid-December!!!! It'll then be 6-8 weeks later that we TRAVEL! This time we have to go to ET for the court date (the rules changed a few months after we got back with Ellie). We'll have to come home without them :( and wait a LONG 6-8 weeks more before we can travel to bring them HOME!!!! So maybe MARCH!!!!! I can't even IMAGINE!?!?!?

PLEASE keep us in your prayers! I LOVE getting to play "keep up with God" - usually it's me running WAY far ahead. Every time I look at Ellie I see how God perfectly created us to be her family!!!! That gives me HUGE doses of faith to know that B & B (we can't say names or show pics until we pass court) will fit perfectly too!!!

WOOO HOOOOO!!!!!!