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 :)