I'm in LOVE!!!!!

They are AMAZING!!!!!!

Bona is so loving and kind. Of course I can't tell what he's saying to me or his sister. But he is using the right tone!!! And she's only cried once when he tried to help Buzena with the dolly!

Buzena is such a snuggle bug! She loves ton have me carry her up and down the 4 flights of stairs...duh! And cheers me on by breathing all hard with me. She woke up tonight and said Mommy?!?! I put my hands out...our beds are 2 inches apart! And she crawled right into them and put her head deep into my neck and fell right back to sleep!

We spent all Wednesday afternoon and all day Thursday at the hotel. I'm thinking I will venture out today for some lunch at Kaldis and maybe the Internet cafe...this internet is killing me!

The kids are very well behaved! I've really tried to limit the amount of candy and junk I'm giving them...because of course i have tons! Mainly to give out at the orphanages...and for bribery with my two! The dum dum suckers can in handy big time today though!!!! Bona had been up since 4 am and at 2 pm full on melted down when I said no to wrecking havoc on my iPad. But a good set of tears....I'm sure as much from the stress of all the changes as to sheer exhaustion...and 3 dum Dums later he was back to his happy go lucky self!

Cayenne has commented numerous times how they just seem like Ross kids! That happy, playful, loving personality has already come through...I can't imagine how much more fabulous it will get when they really settle in!

I took them down to the lobby for breakfast this morning and one of the gals asked me when they're modeling contract was kicking in!?!?! They really are gorgeous....which is how I feel about the majority of the Ethiopian people!!! Yes, they are beautiful on the outside...but they have this inner joy that doesnt come from their situation...or what they have...but just who they are! The love and kindness as a culture that they have for each other....the fact that it's the birthplace of 3 of my children...the gorgeous weather!!!!.... really do love it here!

Thank you God for letting me have this extra time with the kids!!!!! I am so incredibly grateful. I pray it will help their transition and ours too. I can't wait to see bona's face when we come back and daddy is with me!!!! His first question was where is daddy!?!?!?

Thank all for your prayers!!! Please pray for us especially next Tuesday...that's when I bring them back to the orphanage. Pray they will completely understand what is going on and that I wont completely lose it....at least not in front of them.....

Jill


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We made it!!!

We are all here...safe and sound..even all the bags! We had one small canister of formula break open, but other than that it's all good!!!

Craig and cayenne meet their kids first...hopefully in the morning. Theres talk of another family coming in at 7:45 and us waiting for the...which I don't mind...but then going out to LUNCH and THEN off to the transition home. Don't these people know that these adoptive families are FAR to excited and nervous to eat anything!?!?! They tortured us with food last time we were here too!
After we play at the awaa transition home with Craig and caylenes kids we will come back to the guest house and then travel with the CCI people to my kids orphanage...and hopefully bring them back with us to the hotel!!!!!
I can't wait! I had a mild panic attack about an hour before we landed in addis. My heart was beating out of my chest and I was sweating like CRAZY! I don't think I have ever realized how much Matt balances out my emotions.....but a lot of praying and a few deep breaths later I was mostly ok.....I wonder how I will hold up tomorrow? Please pray for a calm spirit to wash over me...I don't want to scare the kids or miss even a second of anything!

Next episode.....our first meeting!!!!!!!!!! YEAHYEAHYEAHYEAH!!!!!


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Next stop ETHIOPIA!!!!!!

There aren't words in the English language to describe how I feel right now!!!! Excited...nervous...tired!!!!

God keeps showing up, like always! We were able to get a whole extra bag of diapers on the flight! Yeah that KLM let us and double yeah that Miss Celeste and her gals sewed so many for us to bring!

Next prayer request....that our flights get to ET on time. My flight arrives 30 minutes after Caylene and crew. It would nice to ride to the hotel together....since God seems like He wants to show off :)




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Court date!!!!!!!

Can you hear the screaming!!!!! I had NO idea! Out of left field...there it was sitting in my inbox....subject: Court Date. I about passed out dead!

May 20th!!!!!!!!

AHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!

To say I'm a bit excited would be a giant understatement.

I'm soooooooo relieved. God's timing is PERFECT as always. My list of things to do before the trip was almost completed....because as you can guess I've been mostly worthless ever since that email arrived. God knew I needed to make some serious headway on that list...in fact I'd even joked that was what He was waiting on! Ha!

I'm so relieved because now when I bring the kids back to the orphanage I can tell them 6 weeks! Only 6 weeks and mom and dad will be BACK!!!!!!!! And Lord willing they'll be home for the better part of the summer! Oh I felt so greedy asking for that. But it would be so nice to get to just hang out and be a family before the craziness of the school year sets in.....yeah yeah yeah!!!!!! While it's still a possibility we won't pass court the first time.....and/or our wait for an embassy date gets drawn out (the avg wait right now is 4.5 weeks).....I absolutely with all my heart believe and know that Gods timing on them coming home will be perfect....and above all else, THAT is my prayer....

Stay tuned!!!! My next blog will be from Ethiopia!!!!!!! AHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!

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GOOD NEWS!!!!

LOTS of GOOD NEWS today!!!

FIRST - we got to see the best video EVER!!! Our two soon-to-be's opening a care package we sent them!!!! They LOVED the photo albums we sent over. They were quite excited that their new little sister is also Ethiopian! It was just AMAZING to watch them. They were SO SWEET together. Caleb watched the video at least 3 times. He kept trying to figure out what they were saying & repeat it!!! Then he wanted to know how they knew he was watching them because they were waving at him.....the blonde runs deep in that one :)

Thank you SO MUCH Ben Anderson for bringing our goodies over & loving on our kiddos for us!

SECOND - it looks like things are starting to move in the right direction for ET adoptions!!! We've been bombarding the gates of heaven with non-stop prayers & God has HEARD & ANSWERED!!!

"As you know, over the past week "agencies" have been working in collaboration with Joint Council, other licensed Adoption Service Providers in Ethiopia and the US Department of State to get clarity on the proposed changes instigated by the Ministry of Women’s Affairs that would have drastically reduced the number of adoptions processed by their office.

We have spent the entirety of this week and last connecting with our own Foreign Staff, participating in caucus calls led by Joint Council and the US Department of State, and independently collaborating with other Adoption Service Providers to get clear and accurate information concerning this matter. Your grace and patience has been so appreciated during this time! What we know as facts are:

• MOWA posted a notice indicating as of March 10th they would be reducing the number of adoptions processed through their office to 5 cases a day.
• Within days of this announcement, the director of MOWA and several other staff members from the ministry have been terminated.

Today we want to update you on the feedback we received yesterday from our foreign staff in Ethiopia, which was confirmed in a discussion with our adoption colleagues in a Joint Council caucus call later in the day.

At this time, all Foreign Staff on the ground in Ethiopia are reporting that MOWA has completed their staffing changes and are now currently working at full capacity to complete those adoption cases currently re-scheduled or assigned a court appointment through the courts of Addis Ababa. Our staff believe this to be around 800 cases they are working at full force to complete with no restrictions on the number of cases processed each day. This is great news! We are thrilled to hear these drastic changes do not seem to be going into full effect.

We are also pleased to report that for new cases moving forward; it appears the original changes proposed by MOWA will not be implemented to the degree of 5 cases a day. At this time it is unknown whether or not MOWA will issue a formal statement regarding how they will process cases in the future, but from all discussions it will not be a drastic decrease from before. Through the continued work, meetings, and advocacy of many Foreign Staff members in Ethiopia, it appears any future changes within the case processing for MOWA will avoid sweeping and disproportionate alterations to the number of cases processed each day. Rather, the hope is that MOWA, Joint Council, Adoption Service Providers, the US Department of State and other NGO organizations can come together to support the government of Ethiopia in strengthening the process for ethical adoptions to continue while also improving the general social structures to assist with family preservation in Ethiopia. This plan was acknowledged in the recent posting by the US State Department this morning athttp://adoption.state.gov/news/ethiopia.html. We understand the US Department of State cannot issue a formal statement without MOWA issuing a retraction. Based on the information we are receiving, MOWA is concentrating on processing the current adoptions and the new staff is not focused on numbers, but doing their jobs."

THIRD - I leave in 9 DAYS for ETHIOPIA!!!! No, we don't have a court date :( But this mama's heart can't wait another MOMENT! I was SERIOUSLY in a giant emotional FUNK after all the news about the slow down came out. Our director told us we'd most likely have them home within the YEAR! Friends of ours just finished a 42 month wait for their little one from Guatemala....so I have first hand knowledge that waiting won't kill you.....but it sure makes you feel like you're dying! and a very slow, painful death at that. We saw Ellie's picture the beginning of October & we were traveling to bring her home the middle of January - 3 MONTHS! We're on 4 months now with no end in sight...no WONDER I feel sick!

To say I'm excited is a GIANT understatement! As if getting to meet my kids for the first time isn't enough - I get to travel & stay with Craig & Caylene!!!! I get to be there when they meet THEIR kids for the FIRST TIME too!!!! That ALONE would be enough to make me lose sleep! and it doesn't stop there! My dear friend KELLI will be there too!!!! STOP THE INSANITY!!!!

I can't even IMAGINE meeting the kids for the first time. Mostly because I start bawling! I think it wasn't such a big deal to be crying my eyes out when I met Ellie the first time - she was 12 months old.....but these two!! They're 5 & 3!!! And I don't have one of those cutsie little cry's - it's the full on UGLY OPRAH cry! Case in point - this was taken about 7 minutes before we met Ellie the first time!

So I've got to GET IT OUT OF MY SYSTEM NOW! I wonder if they'll recognize me from my pictures....do you think they'll run over screaming and yelling...or be more reserved....oh see - that worked! I'm down a few more tears :)

So one last bit of amazing.....the kids get to stay with me when I'm in Ethiopia!!!! Yep - 7 fun filled fabulous let's learn a bunch of Amharic & English snuggly cuddly kick a ball watch a movie play with legos jump rope do a puzzle color draw read a book fantastic days!!! oh goody - down a few more :)

Thank you for all your prayers! The hand of God is amazing! Truly seeing & feeling His hand...priceless! I've always said adopting has been the hardest thing I've EVER done....and also ABSOLUTELY the most rewarding! I can't WAIT to tell you all about the two newest ones!!

Whew...down a few more :)

If you're happy and you know it....

Smile like a goof ball!!!!













Hug your new calf!!








Play in the hot tub!!







Wear your daddy's flip flops!!







What do you do when you're happy and you know it!?!?!

Circle the Wagons!

All right people. It's time to Circle the Wagon, gather the troops, whatever you want to call it - but the Ethiopian adoption process NEEDS YOU!!!

If you currently have/or have ever had any kind of prayer life - NOW IS THE TIME to put it to good use!

I am ever mindful that Satan has set out destroy these children's lives. Anyone or anything that steps in front of that - beware.

In the past few months Satan has been working OVERTIME to ruin adoptions out of Ethiopia. Our agency has been working there for over 20 years - they have NEVER seen it this bad.

Here's what's going on -

Ethiopia’s Ministry of Women’s, Children’s and Youth Affairs has issued a directive saying it will process a maximum of five inter-country adoptions a day, effective March 10. Currently, the ministry is processing up to 50 cases a day, about half of them to the United States.

Abigail Rupp, head of the consular section at the U.S. Embassy in Addis Ababa says the cutback is likely to result in a drop in adoptions to the United States from last year’s 2,500 to fewer than 500. She says the biggest concern is for the estimated 1,000 children currently in the adoptions pipeline, who may be forced to wait more than a year for their cases to be considered.

You can't pass court with out an approval letter from MOWA. With them processing only 5 a day - in just a WEEK they'll be behind 225 cases. In a month they'll be behind 900 cases. Even if no new cases came in it would take them 9 MONTHS to finish what used to take 1 month.

Apparently a few fraudulent cases have slipped through. MOWA feels that by slowing down their processing they'll be better able to access each case.

How you can pray:
*For the children that have already waited a long time for their families....for protection & provision.
*That MOWA get this figured out!!! Absolutely put safeguards in place, but maybe also put more PEOPLE in place to continue to process as many as they were before.
*For the families that have already waited so long to bring their children home...that they would not grow weary and give up the fight.

So in light of this news.....they're telling us to expect a VERY LONG wait for our court date.

My heart is breaking.....I am nearly overwhelmed at how much I love these children already. Quite a few pictures & 2 videos is all I have....but they're MINE! They have been through so much already. They've been in the orphanage since July 2010. I know in my head that there needs to be safe practices in place - Absolutely! and yet I'm amazed at how Satan can use a few bad apples to spoil THOUSANDS.

Thank you for your prayers. For all the orphans in Ethiopia and specifically for our little B & B.