Family Woven by Faith

We're Home!!!

2010-12-14T00:41:00.000-09:00

It still is surreal to me, but all four of my children are tucked in their beds for the night in the same house! (I guess it's equally surreal that I have four children, period)!

My trip for our embassy appointment and to bring Karis Lemlem home was amazing. Never before have I so literally felt the prayers of others lifting us up before the throne of God! Some day soon I will sit down and write out all the details of our homecoming, as they are a testimony to the greatness and faithfulness of our God!

Meanwhile, I'm recovering from jet lag and a head cold, and Mark and I are both tired from a baby that's having trouble figuring out how to sleep here.

My sister Tricia took amazing pictures of our airport reunion. She was hesitant to post them, as she's always considerate not to "steal my thunder" in posting things about my family before I get to.

However, any thunder I may have is currently buried under a heap of spit-up cloths and diapers, so I told her to post away-and she did!

So, check out the homecoming party they staged for Karis Lemlem, and share our joy as she's united with her family! It's all right here...unless you find this link well after the fact, in which case you'll have to scroll down till you get to Dec. 13!

Embassy Appt

2010-12-08T04:43:00.000-09:00

Posted on FB Weds. morning:

"Our embassy appointment is complete!!!! As soon as we land in Chicago, lil' miss Lemlem is a citizen of the good ole US of A!!! She was a trooper through the wait, and even finally gave in and feel asleep! God is taking such good care of us through such good people! Our travel group guys have been incredibly helpful w/ carting bags and such as I go this alone w/ baby girl. And the staff here is amazing as always, covering our backs on everything. We actually made it through embassy simply by the grace of God, as we weren't informed that I needed a copy of Mark's visa from court travel-thankfully they let it slide!"

- IT girl

First Day/Night with Karis Lemlem

2010-12-08T04:40:00.000-09:00

Posted on FB Tuesday afternoon:

"Karis Lemlem and I are here at the computer, and we could seriously use some prayer! She basically was inconsolable for the first hour we've been here. She did finally sleep for a bout 10 min, but the moment I moved, she was awake & crying again. And she doesn't like the bottle type I have for her either. But, she's mesmerized by the computer screen, so at least she's calm for the moment!"

(a few hours later.......)
"THANK YOU for praying! In hopes of distracting her, we went down to dinner, & I had over an hr. of smiles from her till she got fussy @ bedtime. We tried 4 different bottle/nipple combos-all met w/ crying. I finally just sat her up on my lap, held the bottle in front of her-she got it in her mouth herself, chugged it all sitting up, fell asleep, burped, & was (& still is!) snug in bed...all in 15 mins! Hallelujah!"

(Next morning.........)
"We had a fantastic night! She was asleep by 8:30 pm, then woke up @3:30 for her bottle, practically stayed asleep while drinking it, then went back to bed and I had to wake her up at 8 this morning! We're both smiling, happy campers this a.m. as we head out for our embassy appt...please pray that it goes smoothly!"

- IT girl

Made it to Addis!

2010-12-08T04:36:00.000-09:00

Posted on FB late Monday evening:
"I'm safe & sound in Addis! Nearly cried w/ joy @ seeing the bassinet waiting in my room! Learned some things along the way...Frankfurt has the least efficient & most poorly laid-out airport of any I've ever seen, & the smell of German beer on the breath of those sitting next to me on the plane makes me nauseous. Other than that, it's all good. "Paperwork party" in the a.m., then to get my girl in just 12 hours!!! Finally got my contacts out, took an incredibly long, hot shower, and am ready to go horizontal for the first time in two days. Will report back tmo with my baby in tow!"

- IT girl

Bringing her home...

2010-12-05T12:09:00.000-09:00

Well, we're finally on the final leg of this adoption process! (Well, excluding the next 18 years of raising her...but you know what I mean)!

I am currently en route to Ethiopia to finally bring our daughter home!!!

There are so many emotions coursing through me right now...joy being prevalent, but also mixed with concern for our trip home, grief for Karis Lemlem to be losing all that she knows and is comfortable with, all layered through the normal excitement and surreal acknowledgment that we're actually having a fourth child! In so many ways it's like giving birth...and in so many ways it's not! It was very hard to leave Mark and the kids last night, and I came to realize that I didn't really want to leave to bring her home...I just want her magically home! But, since that's not possible, I'll do what I have to do!

To that end, I have several specific prayer requests that I would humbly ask you to be seeking the Lord for us about.
1. For my time in Ethiopia...that Karis Lemlem and I would have a relaxing time of bonding together, so that as she experiences the new and possibly frightening surroundings on the way home, that she would truly feel comforted by me...and that I would feel the comfort and peace of the Holy Spirit that will flood through me to her.
2. For our embassy appointment on Wednesday, that everything would go smoothly and that there are no issues in getting her travel visa issued.
3. For our travel home...

For favor with the many airline attendants from whom I will need help!
For extra seats next to us on our flights
For Karis Lemlem to be healthy and to sleep well much of the time
For our flight connections...I have just 3 hours in Chicago to get through Customs and Immigration, hauling bags and baby and getting to our connecting flight
For our flight home with Mark from Pittsburgh, as we have a connecting flight in Detroit with only a 45 minute layover

4. For our kids: Adding a new baby to any family by any means is stressful. Good stress, yes, but stressful all the same. Anna will especially need grace through this adjustment. Also, she really had a difficult time when we last went to Ethiopia, and I know me being gone for yet another week will be hard for her (when it's the day before you leave and your three-year-old tells you every four minutes "I lub you, mommy," you know she's thinking about it too much...as heart-warming as it is to hear)!
5. Pray for Mark and everyone holding down the fort at home, and for Mark's flights to meet me in PA to be safe and smooth.

We're so grateful to have so many standing with us in prayer. I'll be posting updates throughout the week via facebook...if there's anything lengthy or incredibly noteworthy, Rebecca will post it here for those of you not on facebook!

If you're local, we'd love to see you in Anchorage when we get in on the 12th! One week and we'll all be home!!!

Finish Line

2010-11-30T23:15:00.000-09:00

I hope I don't get any details wrong in this post...because in this case, the truth is stranger than fiction. Not strange...but remarkable, amazing, divine, out-of-this-world crazy. And this is kind of lengthy and detailed, but I believe your heart will be blessed by what you read here!

We, admittedly, were beginning to stress about the last bit of our finances that we needed to go to our embassy appointment and bring Karis Lemlem home. We KNEW God had provided everything we needed up to this point, just like He always has through everything. But, when it comes down to the rubber meeting the road, it gets a bit hot! A week out from presumably needing almost $6000, and we had not an inkling where it would come from.

The run down:
Flights for both of us: $4000 (estimated)
Flight for Karis Lemlem: $300 (estimated)
Visa for Karis: $400
In-country costs: $1200-$1400.

As we started looking at flights, it was getting nasty...and with little flexibility due to Mark's work schedule, available flights were soon over $3000 PER PERSON. Ugh.

That is when we made the decision for me (Wendy) to travel alone. Save on flights. Save on in-country. It'll be tough, but I can rally-at least that's what I told myself then!

And then God's handiwork became evident once again.
$1000 given by a friend.
$500 given by another friend
$75 given by another friend from college.
$370 remaining in our adoption fund

Total: $1945
My ticket AND Karis Lemlem's combined final ticket cost: $1922!!!

So, this left Karis' visa and our in-country costs.
I really felt strongly that we should do the t-shirt fundraiser...if for no other reason than I wanted them! My sister Rebecca went to work designing, Daniel and Sarah at http://www.bluebirdscreenprinting.com/ were ready to roll on short notice, Eric digitized the design for us, and away we went!

Many friends, family members, and fellow adoption peeps rallied on the t-shirt fundraiser. Donations and help spreading the word from friends from high school. (I'm getting old, folks...that was 15 years ago, and I'm once again blown away by the generosity and goodness surrounding us from past to present).

In the meantime, I rec'd the new estimate on in-country costs for just me traveling: $800-$1200.
T-shirt fundraiser results (includes many generous gifts): $1100!!!

So, we're down to just Karis' visa ($400), and then we also got the bill for our homestudy update that we had to do last month ($324). And it was disappointing that we now could not take any donations to the orphanages/street kids, because I could only take 2 bags...which is one for me and one for my baby girl. Extra baggage is $200/bag. *disappointed sigh* We had a whole suitcase of medical supplies given by a nurse here in Anchorage, and we also had hooded sweatshirts donated by friends from church for the street kids Bisrat works with, as well as a whole tote of cloth diapers I have had in storage and tons of new plastic pants and ear thermometers bought by another friend from church for the orphanages.

Well, last week our church treasurer called me to see if I was home b/c she was going to drop off a cash donation that had just come in. We just missed each other from her coming by and me getting home...and there was $400 sitting in an envelope on my table. Karis Lemlem's visa taken care of. Just. like. that.

A week later, a family member of a friend was here and wanted to buy a t-shirt. She left a check on the counter for it. $300. Homestudy update bill taken care of. Just. like. that.

At church on Sunday, I was reminded that from another friend sending a check, there was $200 in the adoption fund. And someone else gave me $100 specifically for the orphanage donations. And someone else gave the treasurer $100 for the same thing. Extra baggage fees taken care of. Just. like. that.

Of course there is the issue of having traveling money for , meals, tips for bag attendants at the airport in Addis, and emergencies....and someone else at church handed me $400 to have for travel. Taken care of. Just. like. that.

The only thing left in this whole process is our post-placement visits (follow up with the social worker who did our homestudy) and readoption fees. Could run anywhere from $600-$1500, depending on what our homestudy agency charges.

Between today and yesterday, we received another $650 total from friends and family.
I don't know about you, but I'm pretty sure our post placement costs will run us about $650.

I hope you have read in amazement what God has done for us. We are in awe of how mighty our God is. We are completely humbled by how he has chosen to bless us. I can hardly wait to see what the Lord is going to do in the life of our baby girl, who is really HIS baby girl...it's surely going to be something great with all that he has done in her life in six short months! "Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart..." Jeremiah 1:5

"Many, O Lord my God, are the wonders you have done. The things you planned for us no one can recount to you; were I to speak and tell of them, they would be too many to declare. Ps. 40:5

"Surely God is my help; the Lord is the one who sustains me." Ps. 54:4

"I will remember the deeds of the Lord; yes, I will remember your miracles of long ago. I will meditate on all your words and consider all your mighty deeds." Ps. 77:11-12

"Declare His glory among the nations, his marvelous deeds among all peoples." Ps. 96:3

Embassy Date!!!

2010-11-17T19:03:00.001-09:00

We are so grateful to finally have a concrete embassy date...December 8th!!!
While we are disappointed that we won't be able to bring Karis Lemlem home for Thanksgiving, we're so thankful that we'll be home in plenty of time for Christmas-in 25 days, we will all be under one roof! Plus her health has improved tremendously, so we're relieved of that!

Logistically and financially, the December 8th date is working so much better than if we left this week! Although our plan isn't entirely what we had hoped for, it will still work reasonably well (though don't ask me how well it's working 10 hours into our flight...you might not get the same answer)!

There were several issues to work around. One is Mark's work schedule. While he's allowed to take the time off, he still needs to service all of his stores, and would have to make it up...meaning a double load after our trip. Also, our flights were going to be over $3000 each. So, we were trying to use our airline miles to at least get to the east coast, which would make the international leg that much cheaper. But, in trying for Thanksgiving week, it was no surprise that there were no flights available. Now, we can use our miles!

At this point, I (Wendy) will leave very early a.m. on Dec. 5th, which will get me into Addis at 2:20 a.m. on the 7th. After a (hopefully) good hard sleep, I'll be off to the Transition House to bring Karis out of the orphanage for good and forever!!! That would be 20 days from now, in case you weren't counting! :)

Mark will fly out on the morning of the 10th, getting into Pittsburgh late that night. Karis Lemlem and I will fly out late Friday night and get into Pittsburgh the night of the 11th. We'll have a few precious hours with Mark's parents, brothers and sisters-in-law, nieces, nephews, and anyone else who blesses up by showing up! Then we leave Pittsburgh at 6:30 the next morning, and arrive in Anchorage at 2:30 p.m! While we're disappointed to not have more time in Pittsburgh, it still absolutely boggles my mind that it worked out at all, and that Mark's whole trip and my trip from Pitts to Anchorage is all free with miles!

There are still a few financial variables, like the in-country cost (which should be much less now for just one person), & Karis Lemlem's ticket (international flights still charge even for a lap infant), but we know it's going to be much more manageable and we won't need to sell nearly as many shirts! But please keep spreading the word about our t-shirt fundraiser, and thank you to every one who has ordered so far! At this point, we're just about giddy with excitement that we are THIS CLOSE and GETTING CLOSER to bringing that baby girl HOME! We're as happy as she looks!

Still no embassy date

2010-11-15T23:51:00.000-09:00

So, it turns out that Monday was NOT the day to find out our embassy date.

The embassy office did not accept our paperwork on Monday. The fact that our paperwork was even in had to submit is a huge praise! It's still ahead of the typical time frame!

Apparently, there is something that needs to observed or celebrated on Tuesday, Nov. 16th, because the offices will be closed. They will try again on Wednesday to submit our file. If the embassy office accepts it and chooses to give us an appointment within the very next week, it will truly be the hand of God at work, as this Wednesday would be the typical date to submit for appointments two weeks out...our next date option being Dec. 8th.

So, we'll wait and see. I haven't heard any other news regarding Karis Lemlem's health, and usually they send updates on Mondays. So, I'll have some checking in to do tomorrow! Please keep praying for God's perfect timing!

Hard Stuff, Part I

2010-11-13T22:52:00.001-09:00

I know it may seem that once Karis is finally home, the hard part will be over. That couldn't be further from the truth! There will be many more hard things that come with the territory of parenting an adopted child. Worth it? Oh, yes. Challenging? Yes. Bad? No. Just hard.

One challenge for us is how to handle comments others may make once Karis Lemlem becomes part of our family. I know it's inevitable, and I want to help people understand the realities.
But it will be a challenge if someone says:

"She's so lucky to be part of your family." No, actually. If luck had anything to do with it, she wouldn't have been an orphan in the first place. We're blessed to have her in our family.
"What happened to her? Why was she up for adoption?" Thank you for your interest, but that's her story to tell to whomever she chooses when she's older. Please don't be offended...and put yourself in her eighteen-year-old shoes. You wouldn't want everyone knowing all the hard places of your life, either. We're holding those hard parts of her life carefully. We're new at this (obviously!), and as we figure out what we're doing, we want to err on the side of caution. Information can always be shared later...you can't take it back once it's out!
"She was meant to be part of your family!" Um, I beg to differ. I don't think God sets upon a plan to destroy families. Her adoption into our family is making the best of a really tough situation...He does work all things out for good, but she was meant to be part of her first family. We're the "Plan B." Yes, I know God knew about it from the beginning. But it doesn't mean the injustice of the tragedy that brought her to us in the process is pleasing to Him. If we could, we would give her back her first family, and give her the opportunity to be nurtured by her own parents. It's not possible, and we're grateful that we're allowed to parent her, but I am so sad for what she has had to endure in her short life.

While we're on this topic of "hard stuff," a few things to share about her name...

We plan on calling her Lemlem for a while, until we are at least familiar to her. Then we'll call her Karis Lemlem...until she becomes used to hearing both names. And then? We'll just see what happens. If she were older, I'd ask her which name she prefers. For now, I want both to be familiar to her.

This isn't what we originally planned. But when I think about this transition for her, it makes me cry...by the time she gets carried off the plane in D.C., there will be not one shred of anything familiar to her remaining. A sea of white faces. Unfamiliar voices, sounds; language rhythms. New smells, new formula (never mind the fact that it will hopefully help the spit up trouble!). Love, yes...but love expressed in different form and language than she's used to.

The very least we can do is call her by the only name she knows. It means nothing to her, nor should it, that we've had the name "Karis" chosen for a daughter for forever. The significance of its meaning is lost on a tiny baby who is feeling set adrift. It's the opposite connotation of what we hold for adoption. We perceive love and safety and a family to cherish her. And it is all that and more...but not from her perspective-not yet, anyway. Will she come to feel loved and safe and that she belongs? That's the goal. But for now, I imagine she'll feel pretty lost.

And the name Lemlem? It was chosen for her specifically because of its meaning, which given the circumstances of her life, is profound. It was a name chosen with love. It means "to flourish and grow." We love all the more the family member who gave it to her for choosing life for her, both literally and symbolically. And yes, it's undeniably beautiful with "Karis," which is the Greek word used for "grace." Think about that...for grace to flourish and grow in her life, to grow and flourish in the grace bestowed upon her. Amazing.

Speaking of helping her to not feel adrift...
For a while, Mark and I (and the kids, too) will do most of the holding of her. We know you love her. We know you've waited just as long as we have to love on her-and we appreciate that so much! And maybe we can just sit down on the couch, you-me-and Karis Lemlem, and you can sorta hold her. :) (The jury is still out on initial airport greetings)! :) See, for the whole of her short life, she has been cared for by a rotating staff. We want her to realize that this isn't just another orphanage with a different staff. It's her family. She needs something? Moms and dads take care of needs. If we don't do everything for her, it will make it that much harder for her to realize that "home" is something different. Hard to do? Yes. But that's our job.

More posts to come on hard stuff that may be helpful for you to understand...

SUSPENSE

2010-11-13T22:12:00.000-09:00

I ~~hate~~ strongly dislike suspense.

But we have lots of it right now, because MONDAY IS THE DAY...the day that our process coordinator in Ethiopia will take our paperwork to the embassy, and ask them to handle our case in just one week.

Typically, the embassy won't make appointment for less than two weeks out from when the receive files. BUT, we didn't have court until the 29th, and there was no way that all the pieces would have been received in time to submit them. While it looks like that our paperwork was "submitted too late" to have the embassy date right before Thanksgiving, it actually means that our paperwork has been submitted on a much earlier time frame than otherwise thought possible, and it's a wing and a prayer that they'll take it "later" than two weeks out. Make sense?

That said...PLEASE PRAY WITH US that we are graced with an embassy appointment NEXT WEEK. Embassy handles cases from our agency on Wednesdays, but since it takes about two days to get the printed visa after the appointment, they would likely push us up to Monday of next week. One. week.

If we don't receive an embassy appt. for the week of Thanksgiving, then our date will be Dec. 8th. That's not entirely bad, either...it gives more time to prepare to leave, and to raise money, as we're about $4500 shy of being able to pay our travel expenses. Logistically, we'd prefer Dec. 8th. Emotionally, I want Nov. 22. *sigh* :) Either way, it's SOON, and our baby is home for Christmas!

Grace. (aka "Court")

2010-11-13T21:12:00.001-09:00

I just realized that I never shared the story of our court appointment to become Karis' parents.

In order to "pass court," a family must go before the judge. She asks a few questions (thankfully they were all "yes" or "no" questions!) to help ascertain that we are prepared to parent one of her country's beautiful children. Most of the approval comes from the Ministry of Women and Child Affairs (MOWA). It is MOWA who takes the time to look over all of the dossiers that enter the country, after which they process a letter indicating to the judge their approval.

Typically, when a family does not pass court, it is generally because the letter that MOWA has written has become lost, or because despite their intention to write the letter, it hasn't gotten done yet.

We were told by our coordinator that some of us did not have letters in our files yet, and that hopefully they would be delivered by our 1:30 court appointments.

We waited for about an hour in the waiting room with many other couples from other agencies in addition to the four other family "traveling buddies" we had. The first couple went in, and came out all grins with "thumbs up!" They had passed! Now I honestly cannot anymore remember the exact order we went in after that. But when our friends Scott and Rachel came out, they were unsure as to whether they passed or not...and we also emerged from our 5-question appointment unclear as to whether we had passed or not. By this point, I was so nervous I was ready.to.throw.up.

The final family went in, and came out all smiles as proud new parents of a 5 yr. old and 2 yr old sibling pair. And then our coordinator spoke to all of us, and told us that there was another issue besides missing letters from MOWA. Several of us had children that come from Shalom orphanage...and Shalom's license had lapsed. It was nothing uncommon...just a delay in their part on getting their license renewed. However, the judge was not going to pass any cases with children from Shalom until they had demonstrated their compliance through re-licensing. After sharing that our letter was there, but that we hadn't passed because of the orphanage licensing issue, she went back in to to speak to the judge.

Our letter from MOWA was there. Do you know long and how often we prayed for all of our paperwork to be in the file? Specifically to be in the file? A long time and annoyingly often. It was there.

However, Karis came through the Shalom orphanage. The judge had NOT passed our case. But the family with two children? Their children were also from Shalom. And they passed. No explanation as to why. And so our coordinator went back in to speak with her, and urged the judge to "be consistent." She had passed them, so she should pass us.

And she did.

By the grace of God, she did.

We were so close, so ridiculously close, to not passing. There was nothing about us that she should have singled us out for favor. I don't know that we had any more people praying for us than had been praying for others. But we were graced with passing...the most tangible expression of grace I've seen this side of Judgment Day.

I cried. I still do. Every.single.time I tell this story, and as I type it out...I cry out of gratefulness for His grace and favor.

Did I ever tell you the story of how we named Karis? It's the Greek word used in the New Testament...for "grace." It's already proving true in her life.

Looking Up

2010-11-13T21:01:00.000-09:00

I'm sorry I neglected to post this on here after I posted on facebook...

On Wednesday, after receiving a plethora of tough news, I emailed our coordinator at our agency. This is what I sent:

I am wondering how regularly the embassy allows paperwork to be submitted late. Is this something that you feel is likely to happen, or is that completely out on a limb? Will we know for certain by Friday, or will our appointment day still be in question after that point?

Our daughter Lemlem has pneumonia…she was sick while we were there two weeks ago and has just gotten progressively worse. I am considering traveling early to be with her, but will need to know a concrete embassy date before making plans, as I have three other children at home. Any advice you can give regarding this would be appreciated. Also, does the health status of the children involved ever influence the embassy in their scheduling?

Within ten minutes of me sending this email, she called me back...and she had already been in communication with both our process coordinator and the Transition Home staff. She let me know that they were certainly going to be advocating for our case to go before the embassy next week, and that they would also keep in close contact regarding Lemlem's health. She also let me know that the TH doctor did not view her pneumonia as serious, and that she was responding well to treatment.

I have been impressed by our agency before (to be realistic, there have been a few UNimpressive moments, too), but this was truly remarkable to me.

AND, a friend called us, completely out of the blue, and let us know that they were sending us a check fro $1000. Yes, you read that correctly. And then another friend from college contacted me the next day to ask for my address, because the annual Christmas check she and her husband give each year to a ministry or missionary they wanted to send to us. Humbling. We're so grateful.

God indeed hears the cries of His people...

Rough Day for News

2010-11-10T09:59:00.000-09:00

Before 9 a.m. this morning, I received three hard pieces of news:

1. Karis now has pneumonia. I'm not really surprised, as she was so sick while we were there, worsening to the point of running a fever the day we left. A friend who was there the next week let me know that she was still coughing and congested. That baby just needs to come home, and I ask that you pray for her strength and healing!

2. Our paperwork needed for an embassy appointment did not get submitted in time...though the AWAA staff sounds hopeful that the embassy will accept it late so that we can still have an appointment the week of Thanksgiving. So, it's not a complete loss yet, but would have been encouraging to know it was all wrapped up.

3. One source to which we had applied for a grant is out of funds, and we were extremely hopeful that this would come through for our travel expenses for the second trip. We need about $6000 for our tickets, Karis' ticket, her visa, and our in-country expenses. And while we're incredibly excited that we might be able to bring Karis Lemlem home the week of Thanksgiving-that's not very long from now given the funds that are needed! I just keep reminding myself that the timeline and amount do not serve as an obstacle to God whatsoever-we're just in a very hard place right now.

Donations to Go!

2010-11-03T22:36:00.000-08:00

Here's our pile-o-goodies that we took to Ethiopia with us to donate to the orphanages! One full suitcase!

Headed Home

2010-10-31T09:23:00.000-08:00

We're headed to the airport in Addis in about an hour. Saying good-bye to Karis was impossibly hard. Now we just have to focus on getting home and seeing our other three kids, or we'll go crazy. Mark's stomach isn't feeling the greatest, and I have a really sore throat, so please pray we have restful flights home!
(Posted on Facebook ~7am (AK time), ~6pm (ETH time))

- Posted by "The IT Girl"

WE PASSED!

2010-10-30T17:14:00.000-08:00

In case any of you hadn't heard yet, Mark and Wendy passed court!!!! Karis Lemlem Milligan is officially their daughter! As a result, their private blog, with pictures of Karis from the time of their referral til now, is open to the public; you can find it at: http://www.karislemlem.blogspot.com/. THANK YOU to everyone for your prayers and support!!! :)

- Posted by "the IT girl"

Prayers Needed!

2010-10-28T13:40:00.000-08:00

Update from Wendy via Facebook:

"A hard start to our day. Visited an orphanage with deplorable conditions, and left in tears. Our group was able to buy 10 crib mattresses (yes, babies are sleeping on the wooden bottoms of the cribs). But they also need massive quantities of diapers...ripped pieces of sheets wrapped around their bottoms and held in place w/ their onesie t-shirts isn't cutting it.

Our time with Karis each day is becoming routine and relaxed all the way around...though today poor baby girl is sick-again! B/t having her temp taken and being weighed, and being congested and coughing, and being woken up from her nap, she was pretty crabby for a bit. But after a snooze in our arms and a bottle, she was more like her happy self! She is one amazing baby!

Please be praying for us today and through the night! Friday is our crucial day here...the birth families appear in court in the morning, we get to meet and talk w/ a member of Karis' birth family after that, and then we're off for the all-important court appointment!!! PLEASE PRAY that everything goes smoothly and that we pass right away! Thanks for standing with us through this journey!"

- Posted by "the IT girl" :)

Day Two!

2010-10-27T15:08:00.000-08:00

Update from Wendy via e-mail (a few new adorable pics on private blog as well!)

"We had a great day today, just super busy. It's hard to believe that we've actually only been in Ethiopia for 2 full days...it feels like weeks, though not in a bad way!

This morning we had our meeting with Duni (the Eth. coordinator), and we're all hopeful and praying that God answers Andrew's prayers for a Thanksgiving homecoming! She is highly hopeful & somewhat expectant, that IF all of our paperwork is processed in typical time frame that we'll be back the week of Thanksgiving! And that because of the holiday, they will likely be pushing to actually handle our cases earlier in the week, and that we could be flying home on Thanksgiving Day!

After that we went shopping, which was fun for me-not so fun for Mark! Then we went to Makush restaurant for lunch (we split a grilled chicken pizza) and then went to the Transition Home to see Karis!

She was fussy at first, and had lots of spit up, and just kept rubbing her eyes! She was so sleepy, but didn't want to sleep! We finally just walked around the property till she fell asleep. We also met with the TH doctor to go over her known health history, and to have answered any questions we had. We didn't have many-he was very thorough and professional. She didn't gain any weight in the past month, but is obviously healthy and happy!

After she woke up, she was so incredibly happy! She kept spitting up so I just kept changing her clothes into the ones I had brought to check for size. Size 3 mos fits her perfectly now, so moving into the 6 mos. outfits for when she comes home! But she loves having her clothes changed and loved having nothing on!

It was hard as usual to say good-bye to her...but it does help knowing how attentive the nannies are. Then we came back to the guest house and I did computer stuff...emailing pictures to families, messaging with updates about other kiddos, and getting pictures off the camera.

We went to a traditional Ethiopian restaurant for dinner. The music and dancing was great, but let's just say that I took off my shopping list an injera mat! Believe it or not, Mark actually liked it more than I did!

Tomorrow we will start early b/c several of us had a few more items to shop for, and then we'll visit two different orphanages. And after lunch, it will be back to see Karis!

Friday morning will be difficult, as we will have the opportunity to meet Karis' uncle and to ask him any questions. Then court in the afternoon, and hopefully time to visit Karis."

Pics/Videos

2010-10-26T14:07:00.003-08:00

For those of you who have access to the private blog, I have posted some pictures and a couple videos of Mark and Wendy's time with Karis today, so go check it out! :)

- "The IT Girl"

First Day with Karis!

2010-10-26T09:39:00.001-08:00

"We arrived safely in Eth. and have already put in a full day with lots of time loving on our baby girl! She's amazing and sweet and too adorable for words! Flights were all good, w/ space to spread out on the DC-Addis leg of it, and all of our bags made it!

On the group itinerary, we were slated to bring our donations to the Transition home today...so from the time we got in, got through immigration, & got to the Guest House, we had exactly 45 minutes to shower and get all of our luggage shuff...led around so that all the donations were in one bag, and then off to the Transition Home to meet Karis! It was surreal, finally holding her. Yes, I cried...thankfully she did not! We have video and pictures of the whole thing! She was very serious the whole morning, and a bit fussy. After lunch we went back to the TH, and after handing out care pkgs, I went in to see her and they scooped her right up out of her nap to hand her to me! But she was surprisingly good natured for having been woken up. We actually got some smiles out of her, and then we got to feed her her bottle. Then she fell asleep in my arms, and we curled up on the couch on the porch and had a little nap together! And it's been a long time since I've had baby spit up on me, but she sure made up for it today-not complaining a bit! Then the nannies changed her clothes from all the spit up, and she LOVES to have her clothes changes-she smiled and giggled and we got some of it on video! Such a precious first day with our daughter!

We had such fun giving out care packages today! I will try to email pics from here tonight, and pray that the internet is fast enough!"

Seattle

2010-10-25T01:07:00.002-08:00

Hi everyone - just wanted to share a quick Facebook update from Wendy!

"Thanks, everyone, for sharing in our excitement & for all the prayers! We're in Seattle...it was much harder to say good-bye to the kiddos than I thought it would be. Anna asked, 'Mommy, why do you have a sad face?' That at least made me laugh! Oh, to have all of our children in one country, let alone under one roof!"
(10/24 - 10 pm, AK time /// 10/25 - 9 am, ETH time)

- Posted by Rebecca (Wendy's little sister and "designated IT girl") :)

We're Off!

2010-10-24T13:20:00.000-08:00

We're headed out to the airport in just a few minutes!!! I still cannot believe that this day if finally here, and that on Tuesday I will finally be holding our precious girl!

Please be praying for these things specifically:
1. Our court appointment on the 29th...that every piece of required paperwork is accounted for so that we pass!
2. That the wheels that must turn for getting our embassy appointment would turn effortlessly and quickly so that we can go get Karis and bring her home in just a matter of weeks.
3. For our kids and my mom...and for us as we're leaving them. We don't leave our kids very often, and certainly not for this length of time, and we're all a little emotional right now.

Most updates will be on facebook, though Rebecca will try to get on this blog the updates from there. When we pass on Friday, we will have new pictures of us with Karis, and the private blog I've been keeping with all the pictures we have of her will go public!

We're off...we're coming, baby girl!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

48 HOURS!!!

2010-10-22T18:56:00.000-08:00

So much for counting down this week!
How is it that the past 3 months have crawled, and the past week has gone by in the blink of an eye?

Either way, we are where we are...in 48 hours (actually, 46 if we want to be precise), we will be on a plane headed for Seattle headed for D.C. headed for Rome headed for Addis!!!

Oddly...the same amount of time b/t now and when we leave is the same amount of time between leaving and arriving in Ethiopia. Only I'm sure that span will go a whole lot more slowly...

9 DAYS!!!

2010-10-15T00:14:00.000-08:00

Just so you know, on this here blog this week, you may learn to count backwards better than ever before!

I had a crazy, wonderful day today. My dear friend Kindra watched the kids for me, even doing all of their schooling with them...so that I could go get ready for our trip! Last night I spent hours poring over other people's travel advice from our agency, and then making one veeeeeeeeeeeerrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrry long list, Then Rebecca and I headed to Anchorage for a day of shopping!

We hit the $1 bins at Target pretty hard, and have tons of goodies to give out at the orphanages. We found some nice little gifts for the nannies at the transition home where Karis lives. And I got almost all of the necessary little travel incidentals...from hand sanitizer to a pair of comfy pants to wear on our 48-hour-journey.

At Costco, I did all of our grocery shopping to last us from now till we get back. This coming week I'll be making dinners in double and freezing to make it easier for my mom, who is staying with the kiddos, to cook for some food-allergic kids. I also got our required 10 packs of baby wipes to bring to the transition home, and the most loved gift of all for nannies and drivers and such in Ethiopia: chocolate!

Overall, it was a very productive day, and I feel ready to break out the suitcases and get packing!

Cleared for Travel!

2010-10-08T07:39:00.000-08:00

Praise the Lord...the court has confirmed our appointment for October 29th!!!

We were able to rebook our exact same flights for the nearly the exact same price...so we leave here the night of the 24th and return the night of Nov. 1st!

Thank you so much for praying with us...16 days to pack, get donations for the orphanages gathered, get my kids squared away for while we're gone, and celebrate Jacob's birthday!

PLEASE PRAY!!!

2010-10-06T08:25:00.000-08:00

This morning, Kristen (the travel coordinator with our agency) called the three families traveling for court on Oct. 29th. Apparently there are not a lot of details, but the court is being "funny" about keeping our appointments on the 29th. They have not been clear on what they want to do.

The in-country staff is campaigning hard for us, urging them to honor their commitment...especially as all of us have already purchased our tickets. If the court refuses to keep the date, we will have no other recourse than to change our tickets.

At this point, the courts are closed for the day, and the earliest we will hear anything is tomorrow morning.

Please pray with us on this one...
Lord Jesus, you know the plans you have for us, the plans you have for our
children. We know that there is no "funny business" that you do not know about.
You provided clear travel itineraries and funds for tickets for all of us with
court on the 29th, and you can move mountains on our behalf. Lord, please grant
Duni and the AWAA staff favor as they beseech the court to honor the commitment
they have given. Smooth the way ahead of us, that there is nothing in this that
will prevent us from passing court when we DO, by the grace of God, have court
on the 29th. Please be mighty to save in this situation. Amen!

21 Days!!!

2010-10-05T14:28:00.002-08:00

I think I should come up with a list of everything I need to get done and packed before we leave...I'm sure there's at least enough for one a day for the 21 days until we meet Karis...which really leaves me just 19 days to get everything done!!!

22 DAYS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

2010-10-04T16:26:00.000-08:00

Assuming that our itinerary is approved by our travel coordinator tomorrow, we will meet Karis in just 22 days!!!

It was interesting trying to get our flights, as you must be in-country 2 days prior to court, and can't leave until the evening after court, and also finding that it was significantly cheaper to actually stay a few days longer than we expected.

We leave here at 5 p.m., Sunday, October 24th, which has us in Addis at 8:20 a.m. on October 26th.

Baby-holding (and sight-seeing when they finally kick us out for the day*) on the 26th, 27th, and 28th.

Court on the 29th. Hopefully, prayerfully, there will be much rejoicing and the sharing of pictures of the beautiful baby who is legally our daughter!

More baby-holding and sight-seeing on the 30th. Church service (I'm so looking forward to this, too!) and baby-holding on the 31st. Tearful farewell to our precious girl. Fly out at 10:15 p.m. Arrive back in Anchorage on Nov. 1st at 10 p.m.

Continue praying for a speedy embassy date so we can hightail it back to get her and bring her home!!!

There you go, in a nutshell! 22 days!!!

*The hours we may spend at the transition home with Karis will be limited. I think this is mostly due to the fact that the nannies have to carry on a routine with all of the babies and children after the parents leave...which can be very difficult to do when you have had doting parents there every day all day for a week.

WE HAVE A COURT DATE!!!

2010-10-04T10:48:00.000-08:00

We just received word from America World that we have a court date scheduled for October 29th!!!

We have to be in-country by the evening of October 26th, and we finally get to meet Karis on Wednesday, October 27th!!! I am so excited I could burst!!!

PLEASE start praying now with us that we pass court the first time around (there is a 50% pass rate, with no reflection on the families whatsoever...it's all a matter if every document and letter that is required actually finds its way into our file).

Also, please be praying that we are HOME BY CHRISTMAS!!! (Thanksgiving is still remotely within the realm of possibility, though not highly likely). There is typically a 4-6 week wait between a court date and an embassy appointment . If we don't pass court the first time, or if the US Embassy is backed up for any reason, it could delay our appointment schedule. SO, please pray for the Spirit of God to move on our behalf!

"Welcome to Travel"

2010-09-30T20:32:00.000-08:00

We've reached yet another milestone in this whole process!

There was an email title "Welcome to Travel" sitting in my inbox...the day after courts reopened! I nearly had a heart attack, thinking it was a court date! Alas, it was not, but it is a big major step in the right direction!

AWAA lays out the entire travel process from start to finish, and I'm feeling much less stressed about unknown details at this point. It was also a request for some travel documentation that needed to be submitted in the next three days. It was easy stuff, but the fact that they wanted it so soon made me wonder if they knew something we didn't!

Of course, all of that information was submitted the very next day. :) And now, we wait for the word "go!"

Movin' Right Along...

2010-09-29T11:30:00.000-08:00

Well, the courts in Ethiopia are officially reopened!

While we've been waiting, we've gotten quite a bit done. At the end of August, Mark and I submitted ourselves to $800 worth of vaccinations for travel! Last week we took our last "self-induced nausea pill," aka oral typhoid vaccine. Phew. Now to get our malaria meds squared away.

We also had to have our biometrics renewed for USCIS. For the life of me, I can't figure out why we need to be re-fingerprinted after a year. Thankfully, they give you one free renewal...seeing as they're $830.

We also have to update our home study, as it needs to be renewed yearly. I can't believe that it's been a year since we've done it...and Judy, our social worker, will actually be here this afternoon! We do need to make changes regarding Mark's new job, but other than that it should be quick and painless.

And, of course, we feel much more ready to bring home a new baby! The girls' room is all set, Karis' clothes are all washed and in her dresser (assuming she's not the next size up by the time she comes home)!

I do still need to get a few things, like a bassinet/co-sleeper. I also don't have a swing or infant seat anymore, so I'll be scouring Craigslist again. I'm closing in on feeding details being taken care of, so we're in good shape, I think! Now all we need is a court date to go meet our girl and legally become her parents!

It begins...

2010-09-23T21:38:00.000-08:00

...the uncontrollable urge to buy something, anything, for Karis! (This was shortly after we received her referral)! Anna slept with this little package of pacifiers in her bed for weeks-along with the picture of her baby sister! (And yes, I realize she may not ever learn to take a pacifier-that's why I only bought one package)!

Girls' Room is Ready!

2010-09-18T17:21:00.005-08:00

I've had so much fun these past few weeks getting the girls' room ready for Karis to come home! Rebecca has put in a ton of hours on this with me...I wonder if she regrets the Christmas gift coupons she gave me for "Color consult" and "Painting one room in your house!" Seriously, we've had such a blast with this! There are few things in life more exciting than nesting for a new baby!

Anna LOVES pink and purple. When we discussed the room makeover with her, those were really her only parameters. So, we went with a nice soft pink (the coloring in the pics is a little off), and a light chocolate brown, and a faint lavender for the closet and for accent. For inspiration, Rebecca did a huge search of nursery decor and I searched etsy vinyl stickers. She found the most darling crib set, that I thought I would never get because I didn't NEED it...the pink and yellow gingham set I had for Anna was perfectly fine. Unbeknownst to me, Tricia and Rebecca went ahead and got the window valances and bedding set for me for my birthday! I am thrilled with it...thank you, thank you!

For the "stencils", I printed on transparency paper the animals/tree we wanted to use, and then with the overhead projector, we enlarged, traced, and then painted over our lines. I couldn't be more pleased! Rebecca did much of the giraffe free-hand, and lest you don't take time to watch the video, check out the Africa spot/Ethiopia heart on the giraffe! Anna is delighted with her room, and is even more excited for her sister to come home now that we have the crib ready and her baby toys in a basket! The only thing really left to get are the letters K-A-R-I-S for the wall. I was so excited about having a girl before Anna was born that I splurged at Company Kids and bought the pink gingham wall plaques to spell her name. Silly me. Now I have to get them for Karis, too...and at $10/letter, well, there aren't that many really nice girls' names with only 1 or 2 letters. Lesson learned. And we still have to bring up the bin of baby clothes from the basement...I can't wait to do that!

Interestingly enough, someone insinuated that this whole room makeover wasn't fair to Anna, like "This is all well and good for Karis, but what about poor Anna who now is unfairly subjected to this African-themed room?" Granted, they didn't say it in so many words, but that's exactly what they were saying. I was glad they asked, because it really helped me articulate some thoughts on the subject matter, as did finishing the book "There is No Me Without You." More on that later, but the ending is perfect for this situation.

Yes, Karis is being adopted into an American family, and she will be an American citizen, and the culture she will "fit with" is going to be overwhelmingly American. But that is only one side of the equation. We are also adopting into an Ethiopian family, and Ethiopia is becoming a part of our culture (to the best we can manage), and it is just as right for us to integrate Ethiopian heritage into Karis' life as it is to integrate it into ours. She is as much American as we are Ethiopian. Will the scales always be balanced? Probably not...but you can bet that we're going to try.

I thought I should include a "Before" picture and video to give you an idea why I'm so excited about this room makeover!
BEFORE:

Another view of "Before":

Update from Ethiopia

2010-09-15T07:01:00.002-08:00

(Another pic that Jen took while Rebecca was holding Karis back in July)

Another adoptive mom is in Ethiopia right now, completing her embassy appt. to bring her baby girl home this week! As is typical on our yahoo group, those who travel offer to take care packages and/or photo consent forms. It was too short of notice to send a package, but I did email a consent form to Jo, and she sent me this email that blessed my heart:

Just got it and printed it off. I will love on her and check to see what size clothing she is wearing . She must be a tiny peanut. Lidiyanna is too. I completely understand your emotions. When did you get your referral and when is your court date or are you waiting for an assignment? I know how hard it is to wait.

We are soooo thrilled to bring home our daughter as I know you will be as well. I remember how much it meant to me to have someone love on Lidiyanna before we could go, so I will be honored to do the same for you.
Jo

Then I received this note via facebook yesterday:

Took pics or your sweet baby girl yesterday. I will try to send them to you soon. Computer stuff is slow here.She looks great and healthy. I loved her adorable chubby cheeks. She was wearing a 0-3 month outfit and it fit her well.Send you the pics soon.

So at almost 4 months old, she's finally out of newborn size clothing! Good to know! And Jo, bless her heart, just emailed me pics this morning! She will send them full resolution later, but I'm so thankful for the pictures this morning!

August Update

2010-09-15T06:45:00.006-08:00

It dawned on me that since I started a private blog with pictures of Karis (until she's legally ours, we can't share on a public forum any identifying information-name or pictures), I haven't been posting any of her updates on this blog. And I should!

Aren't these feet precious? This is one of the many beautiful photos that Jen Ely took for me while she and Rebecca were there at the end of July!

Here is her August update...I apologize for the redundancy for those of you who have read it already! We will receive another update at the end of September. And, joy of joys, they won't send us an October update because that month, we will get to feast on her with our own eyes and get the update ourselves, in person!

Name: L***** Milligan
Measurements:
Taken on: August 31,2010
Weight: 10 pounds (up from 7 and a 1/2 in July!)
Height: 58 cm
Head Circumference: 38 cm
Eating/Health:
She takes 5 ounces of formula seven times per day.
She had rash on her neck on August 17th; she was treated with Zinc Oxide. She had URTI on August 23rd; she was treated with Cotrimoxazole syrup. She has occasional cough.
Development/Physical:
She follows moving objects with her eyes.
She making sounds like e,e,e…
Personality/Other Comments:
She doesn’t like to be held. She likes to be rocked in rocky bed (per those who have been to see her, this isn't exactly true...they've held her and she seemed plenty content that way!).
She smiles when the nannies play with her.
Questions
1. What is L*****’s daily schedule (eating, sleeping, awake times)?
She takes nap almost after every feeding for 1-2 hours during the day. She eats at 6am, 9am, 12am, 3pm, 6pm, 10pm, and 2am. She sleeps well at night waking twice for feeding and diaper change.
2. Does L***** smile, and if so, what makes her smile?
She smiles when the nannies play with her making funny sounds.
3. Can she hold her head steady when being held upright, or does she still need her head supported?
Yes, She needs her head supported.
4. Does she go to sleep on her own, or is she rocked to sleep?
She likes to be rocked to sleep.
5. When she is fussy, what soothes her the best?
She gets comforted when she gets her bottle with formula and is rocked on her rocky bed.

Karis' Bed

2010-08-19T15:53:00.000-08:00

I love this picture of her little bed, with our family picture posted at the head and her name at the foot...but I will love even more her sleeping in her own bed in the same room as her big sister!

Referral Acceptance!

2010-08-19T15:48:00.000-08:00

I neglected to post these before...obviously we accepted the referral of our precious girl, and can't imagine there is any way we could have or would have said no! Signed the paperwork, included a check for just over $5000 (which we HAD in the church orphan fund, hallelujah!), and FedExed it off to our agency! Talk about a milestone!

Update from Ethiopia!

2010-08-05T10:25:00.000-08:00

Ashlie just sent me this lovely note via facebook! I know she's frustrated with being stranded in Ethiopia until they get Embassy clearance to leave the country with her new son Easton, but I so appreciate how she uses her time to bless the rest of us who have children waiting for us! Thank you, Ashlie!

Wendy~
We got to spend some quality time with L***** today!!! I was at the TH around 2:00 with another family. They have a women traveling with them,and she held L***** for over an hour!!! She is doing good! A little rumble in her chest but no coughing. She is still very tiny, compared to Easton. Her features are very delicate. The nannies love her a lot, you can tell that she is special to them. I hope it does your heart happy to hear that you baby girl is doing well.
Hope you get to her soon~ Ashlie

(Just as we can't publish pictures of Karis until she is legally our daughter, we can't tell you her given name. It's very cute, though, and we plan on keeping it as her middle name. Funny to me that her initials will be in alphabetical order...KLM). :)

Submitted to Court!!!

2010-08-05T08:40:00.000-08:00

Our Family Coordinator just replied to my email inquiry that we have indeed had our paperwork submitted to court! That's a great step...at least we're "in line," even if we don't get assigned a date before closures. But it would do our hearts good to have a date in place before the courts close tomorrow...thanks for praying with us!

Healthy!

2010-08-05T08:37:00.002-08:00

I just got word today that Karis finished up her meds for her Upper Respiratory Tract Infection, and that's she's significantly improved! Praise Jesus! The video I have of her coughing just breaks my heart...I'm so relieved she's doing better!

Updates and Prayer Requests...

2010-08-01T15:17:00.001-08:00

As is evident from the lack of activity on my other blogs, there is a lot going on in our life revolving around Karis!

We did get a picture via email on Tuesday from one of Rebecca's teammates. Trust me when I say that even a completely unbiased opinion would say that she is the most beautiful, precious little bundle ever. I just cannot wait to share her pictures with you! But as grateful as I was for the new picture, it put me further into an emotional tailspin. I just could not get past the agony and despair of not being with my baby for an extra two months, waiting for "no good reason," just waiting...while she grows and changes without knowing her family. Buckets of tears here this week, I tell you. I spent several days just rotating back and forth from our agency's Ethiopian yahoo group to see if anyone else had gotten court dates, to facebook to check for updates from Rebecca, to email to see if any pictures had come through. And back and forth and around I went...becoming more sad by the moment.

By Thursday night, I was ready to crack emotionally, and I did...at our worship team's prayer and practice. One big fat ugly cry. But you know what? They prayed over me...prayed for peace, for joy during this process. And God answered! It has been the difference between night and day! Not that I am not still longing and praying to get there as soon as possible, but not devastated at God's obvious answers, either! I am filled with joyful anticipation instead of heartbreaking agony. A good switch, for sure.

We would like specific prayer for the following things, though...and as always, we are so grateful to have you all standing with us!

Karis' health: She has an Upper Respiratory Tract Infection. Unfortunately, this is pretty common in orphanage life. But she is so tiny, we would appreciate prayer for her strength and a speedy recovery.
A court date. Obviously, as court closes this Friday, we are not headed to Ethiopia this month, despite our best-laid plans and prayers.
HOWEVER, we are praying that our October date will be assigned this week. If we get assigned a court date this week, it would help with:
- Travel costs: Purchasing tickets two months in advance will likely be much less expensive than tickets purchased 1-2 weeks in advance!
- Quicker court date: There will an absolute flood of requests for court dates when the courts reopen on Sep. 27th. If we are assigned a court date now, we will "beat the rush."
- Planning! How much easier it will be to navigate the next two months with a travel plan in place, from travel arrangements to care for the other three kids to Mark's new job if we know a date two months in advance instead of the 1-2 weeks in advance we can expect otherwise. A light at the end of the tunnel, so to speak.
We know that God's ways are not our ways, but we're hopeful for a court date to be assigned this week...thank you for your prayers to that end!

Updated Update from Ethiopia!

2010-07-26T08:57:00.001-08:00

UPDATED: There was another facebook update that came through later from Rebecca about her time with Karis:
Hey I'm working on sending you pictures right now! I can't promise anything, the internet is TERRIBLY slow, and there's at least 4 people trying to use it right now, so, yeah...it's slow :) Jen got some AMAZING pictures though. You will die. She is so, so beautiful Wendy. I bawled like a baby when I saw her! I got to... feed her, and spent about 4 hours just holding her. They let Jen and I take her into a room and let us lock the door so no other kiddos could disturb us, and we just hung out! She is so beautiful!!! The nannies are wonderful, they don't speak much English, but it was wonderful seeing them interact with the other babies, they are great! I will give you more details when we talk next, I'm trying to message you the number for Kari's cell phone that you can call with an int'l calling card. Or we can try to get on Skype! Instant messaging though, I think audio would be a disaster :) Love you so much!
PS: No...the photos didn't come through. At least Rebecca will be home by Sunday, so I don't have too long to wait!

Rebecca called me from Addis last night! She as so excited because she was going to get to go visit Karis a few days earlier than she expected! I guess they're staying about a half-hour away from the Transition Home, but her team leader Kari was headed over that way for errands, and asked Rebecca if she wanted to come along! Of course she said yes!
I didn't get any pictures via email yet, but this is what she posted on facebook:

I got to meet Karis today!!!! By far this has been the best day of this trip! I'm not allowed to post actual pictures of her until they pass court in a month or two, but trust me when I say she is the most beautiful baby! And I'm not biased either, the people on my team agree ;) She is so so so tiny, but very precious, and has the longest fingers and toes I have ever seen on a baby! I don't want to leave her!!!

She'll get to visit Karis again on Wednesday when they spend the day at the Transition Home loving on all the orphans there!

Referral Day Video!

2010-07-25T17:37:00.006-08:00

After Andrew and I rec'd our referral call at home, we waited anxiously for Mark to get home from work PRONTO so we could open Karis' picture!

I called Kindra to see if she would come down and video us opening the email, and of course she said yes-it meant she got to be the first one outside of our family to see her!

At first it was frustrating because I wasn't paying attention to the fact that there were so many attachments that there was a scroll down for the attachment bar. Once we realized the pictures were indeed there, we were pretty excited!

At any rate, I'm glad we captured the kids' first reactions to their new baby sister!

Update from Ethiopia!

2010-07-24T14:27:00.000-08:00

Our agency has a yahoo group for everyone in the Ethiopia program, and it is the most amazing, prayerful, supportive group! As families travel for court or embassy appointments, we can send care packages, have pictures taken, and receive updates!
Erin was just there at the Transition Home to meet her baby girl and have their court appointment, and she graciously checked on Karis for me and gave me this message via facebook:

I checked on your precious L*- She was sitting in a bouncy seat right by the nanny- she looked up at me with sparkling clear eyes and she is so sweet- tiny, but you can see a spark in those eyes- She was bundled in a blanket all warm and snug- rest easy, she is in good care!!! Hoping you get to come soon!

Thank you so much, Erin...you've set my heart at ease!

*Karis is the name we've given her, but she still goes by her given name until she is legally ours. We plan on keeping her given name as her middle name. Until we pass court, we can't share any identifying information publicly.

Fun Milestone

2010-07-23T18:57:00.000-08:00

Our agency has a blog, and about once a month, they post a list of how many referrals have gone out in which program.
I'm quite used to looking at those posts, calculating the months and averages b/t DTE and referral received...and finally, our referral is on that list!
The posting is here. We are the 1/22/10 DTE listed under female infants!

Roller-coaster

2010-07-22T11:04:00.002-08:00

Our adoption has been an all-consuming emotional roller-coaster since we received the referral for our baby girl last Friday. I think I spent the better part of the weekend crying for joy, and all of us stare at her picture so much it's almost ridiculous!

Then on Tuesday we had Karis' medical paperwork looked at, and there were initially some alarming findings. With a second opinion and a great deal of communication with the staff in Ethiopia via our family coordinator, we are less alarmed but we do know that she is not entirely well.

Add to this the fact that courts are closing Aug. 6th until Sep. 27th. Today, families who rec'd their referral July 1st and earlier are receiving court date of August 6th. One dear mom who rec'd her referral June 24 was given a court date of Oct. 2nd. When you hope and pray and BEG for a date before closures, it's devastating. Maybe not in the overall lifetime of your child is it devastating, but for right now...it's hard. Impossibly hard.

You see, adoption is a total miracle. For those of you who are parents, think about the love you have for your children...the hopes, dreams, fears, totally-sold-out love you have for them. We have them for Karis, though we've never met. God planted it in us the moment we saw her face (maybe even before)! So imagine having a sick child all the way across the ocean, unreachable...and you have a smattering of how we're feeling.

We are not giving up hope for a court date until we have a reason to give up hope. I know it's not likely. I know I'm grasping at straws. But for now, that's all I have...faith that my God will do what's best, that he will move this mountain if it should be moved. For my part, I'll keep on asking.

REFERRAL!!!!!

2010-07-16T23:12:00.000-08:00

WE HAVE A BABY GIRL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Our family coordinator called us this morning at 10:15! I started crying as soon as I saw the number on the caller-id! While she tried to conference Mark in on his cell, I told Andrew that I was on our referral call, and he grinned from ear-to-ear, jumping up and down! I gave another phone to him and instructed him not to say a word, and go into the bathroom so it was quiet.

Our family coordinator couldn't reach Mark on his cell (he never heard it ring, as he was on the phone with a customer), so she got back on the phone and said the words I have been longing to hear "This is your referral call!"

She told us that she was 6 weeks old, though from her paperwork she may actually be 9 weeks old. She is just precious...so, so, so tiny! She only weighs about 7 1/2 pounds! Her picture breaks my heart...she looks worried. But such big beautiful brown eyes!

Mark headed home shortly after that...and we waited to open up the email with our baby's picture until we could all be together! Kindra came down to video us opening the email...I'll upload it next week! I spend the next several hours crying and calling everyone! Anna asked me why I was sad..."I'm not sad, I'm so, so, happy!"

One of the many beautiful things about God's timing is that Rebecca leaves TOMORROW for Africa, and we were able to get some things together to send to Karis! The kids were so funny, and had quickly gathered a huge pile of books and toys to take to her! We whittled it down to some special outfits, a few books, and a little blankie or two!

I will write more later, I'm sure...my mind is quite frazzled and distracted! We're heading out camping for the weekend for Andrew's birthday-a baby sister for his present! I'm sure I'll think of other details later, but there's the excitement at our house!

"The Lord has done great things for us, and we are filled with JOY!!!"

Court Closures

2010-07-15T22:15:00.002-08:00

Well, it's official. Exactly what I hoped wouldn't happen, will. Seeing as we're "on deck," meaning we'll likely receive our referral in the next 1-3 months, the following message from our agency directly affects us:

We have received confirmation that the Ethiopian Court will be closed August 6th-September 27th.

These closures may or may not affect your family depending on your prospective waiting stage. Referrals will continue to be issued to families during the court closure. Families who receive a referral within the next one to three months will experience additional delays in their process due to the court closure. The wait time during referral and court date will be extended during this time frame. We expect that families who receive referrals between now and the end of September will not receive notification of a court date until sometime in October.

Court date notification in October will likely mean court in late October/early November (when we finally get to meet our baby!). If we pass court the 1st time (there's a 50% pass/fail rate that has no reflection on the family, simply a reflection on whether all of the paperwork has been processed correctly and in a timely manner), then it's typically a 4-6 week wait to gain Embassy approval/visa. All told, there's a slight chance we'll be home by Christmas. Slight.

Even though it will be so hard to wait even longer to hold Karis, we still are longing to just to see her face...and we pray that day will come quickly!

Rainy Season

2010-07-12T10:43:00.000-08:00

In the Ethiopian adoption world, there is a great deal of discussion, angst, and worry about when the court system will close for the rainy season. I've heard rumor that it will be closed Aug. 6th through Sep. 27th

I've always found it odd that the US embassy will still issue visas during the rainy season, but that the federal courts close down. On our Yahoo group today, a very thorough explanation was offered by someone who has already been there, done that...so I thought I would share:

If you receive your referral during closures you'll be put in "line" at AWAA for assigning a court date once court reopens. We received our referral last year on Sep 19 and our first court date was Dec 4 and assigned to us in November.

Although investigations should be able to "continue" during the court closures, remember that the courts close because of the rainy season. This is because the road conditions become impossible to travel during this season, as well as major power issues etc. Employees cannot get to work, witnesses cannot travel in. Therefore, you have to understand that any investigations the embassy would be conducting could not be completed if the agents can't "get to work" or "get out to investigate." Also, families do not travel during this time because the conditions are too difficult to travel in, so it would be highly unlikely for Embassy appts to be scheduled during this time. It's truly a holding period in the program except for the beginning when the children brought into the TH are referred out. But then there is a long lull in referrals since the whole "machine" stops and bows to the rain and the dirt road washed out conditions it brings. . . . It's not simply that the courts take a vacation and that's the only part of the system that throws a kink in the gears. Every part of the country and it's happenings get hindered by the rain. . . .

It's simply part of the time table that God knew before He called you to this. We received our referral for the kids right at the beginning of the court closure season and had to wait until the middle of January to travel and bring them home. We understand how anxious that can make some of you, but it's a busy season here in America and it really does go by quickly, and as many kids who've spent the rainy season at the TH have told their families, it's a fun time for the kids in ET. The staff does a wonderful job of entertaining them and making it a special vacation type season.

While it's not comforting to me at all to know that the older kids will be having fun during the rainy season...knowing that the earlier a child is in a loving family, the better; I do take comfort in the fact that it is part of the timetable God knew about all along!

I recognize this feeling

2010-07-10T23:48:00.000-08:00

I have been driving myself to utter distraction ever since we got our "On Deck" email yesterday. Thoughts of Karis and details and timeline guesses have filled my thoughts.

And I realized that I have felt kind of like this before...almost exactly like this. And it's happened to me three times before.

If you've been through this experience, I think you'll understand where I'm coming from. You know what it's like when you go to your 38-week OB check up, and they tell you you're 2-3 cm dilated? Which basically means you could feasibly go into labor any day...or not. You could still wait it out two more weeks and then some. But the fact that you are even a bit dilated is so encouraging, because it means progress is being made and that you're that much closer to holding your baby in your arms.

That's what I feel like.
Just like being pregnant, except that I can still see my toes and I don't have heartburn.

"ON DECK!!!"

2010-07-09T13:31:00.000-08:00

Okay, so AWAA doesn't include a bunch of "!!!!!'s" when they send the "on deck" email, but I sure do!

We got our official "On Deck" email today, which basically asks us to verify our child request, gives us info regarding accpeting our referral, etc, etc...and that we will likely receive our referral in 1-3 months!!! Some people have their referral the next week, some wait longer. There's really no way to tell. But still, I'm so excited I'm crying. So soon, baby girl, so soon.

Yard Sale Fundraiser

2010-06-28T21:42:00.002-08:00

Over Memorial Day weekend, Rebecca and I had a yard sale together...for her to raise funds for her missions trip to Ethiopia/Uganda this summer, and us for our adoption.

As busy as we both are, a lot of this happened in the wee hours of the morning.
We made these...

...and turned this...

...into this.

We learned several things:
1. We should have taken the time to do more publicity at the sale regarding why we were trying to raise money...if they had known more, people would have been more generous.

2. On Memorial Day weekend, there are two kinds of people. One kind is out camping/boating/fishing/having fun somewhere besides at garage sales. The other kind of person is having a garage sale. Between the two, there aren't a whole lot of people left to actually come buy things.

3. I can be really hot, even in Alaska, and despite only raising $300 (which was then split between us, meaning that overall, all the effort really wasn't worth it, esp. for us having made extra trips to Sol. to deliver stuff before the sale), my kids still had a lot of fun.

Time Flies!!!

2010-06-26T23:23:00.004-08:00

I have neglected this blog for a bit now on account of lack of news. We have just been trying to be faithful in the waiting. We talk about Karis all the time...we are looking forward so much to seeing her sweet face. Anna asks routinely when we're going to go get her baby sis'er and how we'll get home. The kids pray for her every night. I pray for her all day long!

I have connected with our yahoo group of families within our agency who are adopting from Ethiopia, and have been blessed by joining with them in great prayer, heartache, and rejoicing on this rollercoaster ride called adoption! There was a definite slow-down in referrals, as another new Ethiopian court policy is that all children must have a regional birth certificate before proceeding to court. Until this past week, no less than 20 families have been waiting, pictures of their sweet children in hand, to even be assigned a court date. Then the floodgates opened this week, and travel dates and court dates have been assigned...and referrals have been given out again!

Now I doubt that you keep track of it like I keep track of it, but we are just finishing up MONTH 5 of our wait. And are you ready for this? WE ARE #1 ON THE LIST FOR BABY GIRLS!!! (Provided, of course, that there aren't any other "mystery" families...the list is unofficial, after all). The family with the latest referral has only been waiting six months!

The rub now is that the court will be closed sometime in August-September for the rainy season...and if we have our referral by then but not a court date, we would have to wait till after September to go and meet her. Yet this whole process has been orchestrated by God, and I'm not about to start doubting His timing now!

Ladies' Tea Party Fundraiser!

2010-05-23T00:00:00.009-08:00

On May 15th, the culmination of much hard work and planning finally went into effect...
our Ladies' Tea Party!

My dear friend Lynne had donated, over a year ago, a beautiful queen-sized quilt she had made. She originally made it to raffle to raise funds for a missions trip years ago, which ended up not being needed. So, she offered it to us for our fund-raising efforts. With us not wanting to go the "raffle" route, Lynne concocted the idea of an event for women which would have the quilt as its door prize!

We asked Rose at the Inn at Tern Lake if we could use the great room at her Bed n' Breakfast (a gorgeous local establishment that hosts wedding receptions-including Tricia and Jerry's almost six years ago!), and she graciously offered the space free of charge!

I asked six special women if they would serve as hostesses...and they all willingly offered their help! They each tried to sell tickets ($15 admission), and exuberantly took on the task of decorating their table in hopes to win the "People's Choice" award for most appealing table! Rebecca won the prize for the best table...she had all of the kids at her table, and had an African theme, complete with African animal masks for the kids to wear!

Everyone seemed to have a delightful time visiting, and it was a wonderful opportunity to bring awareness to the orphan crisis. I created a "Trivia Quiz of the non-trivial sort" using Ethiopian statistics...such as the population of Ethiopia, then the number of orphans in the country, the median age, and percentage of children who die before age six. (There was a prize for those who got them all right)! I also showed a clip from the Show Hope DVD...and it was a somber education for many in attendance.

We had a buffet with a delightful assortment of goodies that our friends and family helped to make. There was live background music provided by our friends Keith and Kristin (who also play on our worship team), and my friend Virginia on the keyboard. It made the atmosphere so inviting to have their beautiful music playing!

We also had a silent auction going throughout the tea party. We had so many donations...my friend Mel made a lap quilt, my friend Willow made a lamp, there were lia sophia items from my mom and Pampered Chef products that I had gotten for free with the fundraiser parties I'd had, artwork and ceramic pieces from my friends Sue and Melissa, framed prints of nature photography from Tricia, a fishing charter for which I had traded out goat buck!, small household items from my friend Rosella, a big sketch of Teddy Roosevelt and a handmade bedframe from my friend Judy, and more...I'm taking a big risk by trying to list everyone individually! We were just blown away by the outpouring of love and support to pull this event off successfully!

The most fun came when it was time to do the drawings at the end of the party! Melanie offered her flower arrangement to draw a name to win, and of course the drawing for the quilt! I had Lynne pull the name out of the basket, and she pulled out my friend Jill's name!!! I was so thrilled that she won, as she and her family are in the process of adopting two children from Rwanda!

The whole event was such a blessing to us, and I pray it was a blessing to those who were involved in various ways! And the final result? $2025 raised towards our adoption fund!!! Praise God!!!

(Thank you, Tricia, for taking all the lovely photographs of this event)!

The "List"

2010-05-11T14:40:00.003-08:00

It may be unofficial, but it's a list.

I recently joined our agency's yahoo group for families in all stages of adopting from Ethiopia. It's an amazing group of supportive, encouraging, PRAYING families, and I feel blessed to be a part of it.

One of the adoptive moms in the "secretary." Sometime I'll have to ask her how she got roped into the job! But one of the amazing things she does is to keep track of everyone's DTE dates, the age and gender of the child they requested, and puts everyone in a nice tidy spreadsheet.

This list has a lot of benefits. Basically, it lets us know at a glance where we are in the line-up for baby girls. As families receive referrals for their children, we can see how that affects our family. It also keeps us in prayer for families that are preparing to travel and for families that are having court dates.

There is one definite drawback to such a list. It. becomes. consuming. As in "trying to not get our hopes up, but look where we are in the line-up now!!!" The other drawback is that it is an unofficial list...there may very well be families that have NOT joined the yahoo group, and as such we don't know if they have DTE dates before our own. It can just lead to some major disappointment.

For these reasons, I am so glad that I didn't join the list any earlier...it would have been agonizing to watch our name creep up the list ever so slowly. As it is, when I joined last week, I realized that we were somewhere around number 12 in all, and at about #7 or 8 for baby girls!

BUT, the past two weeks have seen a MAJOR amount of movement, with court dates being set for families that already have referrals, and LOTS of referrals being given!

Believe it or not, we are now tied (another family has the same DTE as we do, and also requesting a baby girl) in 5th place!!! Actually, I should say we're tied for 4th place, as one of the families ahead of us had requested either gender, and they were just notified that they will soon have a referral for a baby boy.

I still can't believe it...only 3 or 4 more families need to receive their referral for a baby girl, and then it's our turn!!! Two of those families just received an email notifying them that they are "on deck" and will soon have their referrals.

To think that through this whole process, God is moving things along in His timing, knowing each family and knowing each child that needs a family, and He is matching them up in the best way possible!

Three!

2010-04-24T16:20:00.000-08:00

Three months down! Only 5-8 months left in our wait time for a referral!

Tick-Tock!

2010-03-23T21:50:00.004-08:00

I know I didn't get it posted yesterday, but I certainly thought about it...

We are TWO months down in our waiting game! our 8-11 month wait for our baby girl is now a 6-9 month wait, and I already know what it feels like to be pregnant for that long (though I'm actually losing weight time time around rather than gaining it)! :)

lia sophia fundraiser!

2010-03-17T23:30:00.003-08:00

I don't know if you're familiar with lia sophia jewelry or not, but the ladies in my family have really come to love their stuff! My mom became a lia sophia advisor over a year ago, and so she graciously agreed to do a fundraiser for us!

This past Sunday we had a party here at the house, and most of the ladies who attended are also working on collecting orders from their friends and family.

Do you like jewelry? Do you have gift-giving occasions coming up? Do you have an outfit that needs an update?

You can be part of the party, too! Here's how:

Head to my mom's website: www.liasophia.com/lindajoy

From there, you can view the entire catalog online. Enter Wendy as the hostess, and start shopping! The entire commission on the sales, 30%, will go directly to our adoption fund! If you have any questions, just email me or my mom (her address is on her website).

The only clincher is that this fundraiser will only last through Sunday, March 21st...so hurry! And if you're not in the market for any jewelry, we still need the most important support of all: Prayer! Thanks so much!

Silver Lining

2010-03-11T23:15:00.003-09:00

To all those who have commented, emailed, or called about our discouraging news...THANK YOU!!! We feel so blessed to have such an amazing support group with us through this!

As far as the changes being instituted in the Ethiopian Federal Court, they are really quite positive overall. Very hard for us mid-stream, yes, but overall positive for the country and the children.

And, there is more to it that I didn't realize...the silver lining is there, after all! I'm just going to copy below what my friend Jen left as a comment on our last post (Jen, have I told you lately that I love you?) :), and please correct me if I'm off on my explanation here!

Jen adopted her daughter Gigi from Kazakhstan, which requires a a trip for court prior to bringing your child home. With the court proceedings handled ahead of time, the newly adopted child travels to the US on an IR3 visa, which means that as soon as they step foot off the plane, they are a US citizen.

Jen just adopted her son Gav from Ethiopia...obviously prior to the newly required pre-travel court trip. Her husband Jim went over, and came home a week later with Gav! Without the pre-travel court trip, the child is granted an IR4 visa, and is not technically a US citizen, (and I think maybe not even recognized legally as your child in the US), until you go through the re-adoption process in the US court system.
Put the pieces together: adoption + paperwork + US court system=hassle + $$$.

With that background in mind, here's Jen's perspective:

I am sorry you are facing yet another financial burden. Ugh!

There is definitely lots of good news in this, and your finances may not actually take that much of a hit due to the elimination of the readoption fees.

Ironically, it was just yesterday when I was grumbling to myself, "If we adopt from Ethiopia again, we're traveling over pre-court. No more of this IR4 business!" It is one big hassle! Gigi came home on an IR3, and it was so simple! Not to mention, with the IR4, there is all the readoption stuff which requires a lawyer, and upwards of $1-2k extra about 3-6 months after our kiddos come home. No more lawyers or expensive readoption fees (or travel for American court) for an IR3 visa. It's a beautiful thing! :-)

So yeah, needing more money is no good. No good at all. But there are quite a few positives too. Having done it both ways now, if I can help it, I'll never bring home another kid on an IR4. It might be a little more expensive, but in the grand scheme of things it's actually a good thing.

I hope that didn't come across as preachy! I just was hoping to give you a little peace knowing that once you overcome this new obstacle, the benefits are quite positive.

I do have more peace about all of this now...but more fundraising news headed out soon!!! :)

Not the change we hoped for

2010-03-10T14:02:00.002-09:00

We received an unexpected email from our agency today. There has been a change in court policies enacted today by the Ethiopian Federal Court. Here's the news:

Beginning today, families need to be prepared to travel to Ethiopia approximately 4 - 8 weeks after receiving a referral in order to be present in Ethiopia for their appointed court date. Families will remain in Ethiopia for roughly 5 -7 days and will then return to the US. After officially passing court, families will then travel back to Ethiopia approximately 10 -12 weeks later to pick up their adopted child(ren).

There are still many details to be worked out, and many questions that the answer people don't even have answers for yet. But I sure have questions that I'm sure will have answers soon enough!

I know we're supposed to give thanks in all circumstances, and I'm trying. But I'll admit that this is pretty discouraging...lately, as folks have been asking me how the process is going, I've responded with "Great! Our dossier is in Ethiopia, and we only have about $8000 left to raise." But this will change that a bit. I've done flight searches from Anchorage to Addis Ababa, and the lowest ticket price I've seen is $2500. Per person. Basically, this change will mean we need at least $5000 more, maybe more.

What can we say? Not much, other than it will keep us on our knees longer-which is always a good thing, and it gives God the opportunity to shine even brighter, right?

Ulterior wishing

2010-02-23T13:18:00.004-09:00

We're so anxious to have Karis home. Not anxious as in agitated and edgy, just longing to have our family together.

The kids and I spend a great deal of time talking about what life will be like with their little sister...such as when I'm maneuvering the grocery store with Jacob in the basket part of the cart, Anna sitting in the front, and Andrew alternately standing for a ride or pushing the cart while I steer from the front. They all want to know who will sit where. I've explained that basically, everyone will get bumped a spot. So...

Jacob thinks carting through the store will be great with Karis...he prefers to stand on the front instead of ride in the basket. It will be great for Anna...she always asks to sit in the basket where Jacob is. And for Andrew, well, he's realizing that being the oldest isn't all it's cracked up to be. He still has to walk!

But Anna has the most to gain! They've also wanted to talk about arrangements around the dinner table. Karis will get the high chair, Anna will be moved to a booster in a "big chair."

Well last night, as I was preparing dinner, Anna asked yet again (this girl gets points for persistence) if she could sit in a big chair for dinner.

"No, Anna."

"Why not?"

"Because you're still two years old."

"When my baby sister be home?"

I couldn't help it. I laughed right out loud. Yes, Anna's anxious for her baby sister...but for different reasons than the rest of us!

Counting Down!

2010-02-22T23:38:00.001-09:00

Hard to believe we're really in the waiting phase after working so hard on our dossier!

But, the referral time-frame for infant girls through our agency is 8-11 months.

Remember our DTE (Dossier to Ethiopia) was 1/22? We're down one month already!

So, 7-10 more months to wait!
(I know I say stuff like this a lot, but wouldn't it be so amazing to have our referral for my birthday in September)?!

I wish I knew

2010-02-04T22:15:00.003-09:00

Tonight I tucked Anna into bed, and as always, we prayed for her baby sister. Then the questions began.

"Where my baby si'ter?"

"In Ethiopia."

"Etiopie?"

"Yes, in Ethiopia."

"Why?"

"Because that's where she is right now."

"When my baby si'ter come home?"

"I don't know, Anna."

*sigh* Explaining adoption to a 2-year-old is not easy!

It's Official!

2010-01-23T13:42:00.002-09:00

This is the message we received from our agency yesterday (Friday):

Your dossier will be sent to Ethiopia via FedEx later today! Thus, your DTE date is today!

The wait has officially begun!

With a DTE (Date-to-Ethiopia) of 1/22, we can expect a referral for a baby girl anywhere from October-December, traveling anywhere from November (at the very earliest) to March.

I'll post more later about some potential changes we're praying for in our adoption plans and on "what do we do while we wait?" For now, just wanted to share the good news!

Crunching

2010-01-14T22:58:00.004-09:00

Tonight I was filling out a form for one of our grant applications, and they ask for a breakdown of financial assitance rec'd so far.

And this is what I listed:
MP Community Church: $2200
Gifts from friends and family: $9900
Fundraisers (Read For Orphans): $1770
Just Love Coffee Store: $ 100

Isn't that AMAZING? I tell you what, our friends and family are truly the most supportive group of wonderful people we could ask for!!! We are humbled and blessed...THANK YOU!!!

Seriously, look at that. Bottom line of assistance received thus far: $13,970.

The estimated costs for our program run from $19,000-$29,000. We've taken an average of $25,000, since it's a nice easy number to work with.

With some things, we've been on the low side of the estimates (e.g: Home Study costs can be anywhere from $1200-$2800, which is one of the reasons the agency has to give such a broad total cost range...our home study was $1450).

Airfare totally depends on many factors. With that item, we know we're going to be on the high side of the range (agency estimates that airfare for 2 people will be $2500-$4000...I've searched for tickets with dates in all seasons, just to compare, and prices range from $2500-$3500 per person).

That said, we feel pretty safe with our $25,000.

And with that, my friends, we need only $11,000 more!!! A year ago, that would have seemed huge to me. Now, not quite as much!

Funny how amounts shrink as your faith grows...

On its way!!!

2010-01-13T10:34:00.000-09:00

So here it is, in quadruplicate! (Is that even a word)?

Presenting our dossier, that embarrassingly, we started paperwork for back in March. *sigh* We just trust that this whole process, interruptions and delays and all, have been part of God's timing. When we got our information packet, it stated that "most families take 5-6 months to complete their dossier." Ha! Nearly a year! Do you know what it feels like to carry a burden of a "to-do" list for that long? At this moment I feel like I'm flying!!!

Andre, you've got a precious package here! Thanks for humoring me and letting me take your picture with our labor of love!

Dossier, dossier, on its way
Over your travel we did pray
Get to Ethiopia oh-so-fast
So our baby will have a family at last!

Exciting Stuff!!!

2010-01-10T23:56:00.005-09:00

Okay, so I've been promising some exciting news for a week or so now, not wanting to be hasty in putting together the details. But our God is one incredible God, and I can't put this off any longer!

The point we've been at for a few months now is needing to raise the $7200 that needs to accompany our dossier submission. There are more needs down the pike after that (anywhere from $6k-$12k more), but that has been the need at hand.

Sadly, I've been negligent in keeping the sidebar tally of provision updated as gifts would come in. In November, some friends sent us $100, hoping to help speed up the process (which overwhelmingly blessed us, as they're in their own process to adopt two kiddos!). Then we had the Read For Orphans, which ended up raising $1770!!! Again, above and beyond what we had hoped for or expected. I babysat for a friend for a few hours, and she insisted on paying me $100..."yes, you have to take it-it's for Karis, not you." Humbly blessed. We've made almost $100 from our Just Love Coffee store. Amazing. Yet, still so far from our $7200.

So we have waited, and prayed. And prayed and waited. And although it was far from our timing, we have seen God provide miraculously in a matter of 3 days.

We have some family members who are exceedingly generous, and they told us many months back that they had an account to which they would contribute several hundred dollars each month towards our adoption. On the 28th of December, they gave us a check for $3000. I am not kidding you. That very same day in the mail, we were surprised and blessed beyond measure. Some dear friends in Montrose (and this will get it's own post, b/c the pictures and note are priceless!) did a "Cookies for Karis" sale right before Christmas. $1100, from selling homemade Christmas cookies! Some other wonderful friends in Montrose sent $500. A family member in NY heard about our car accident, and felt led to help us out by sending $1000. The next day, we received a note and a check from a precious woman we have never even met, but is a friend of a friend...she gave $400. The next day in the mail, some close friends in Anchorage sent us $500.

Are you seeing what I'm seeing through my myriad of tears?

$6500, all in the space of three days.

There are simply no words to describe how grateful and humbled we feel to be a part of this miracle that God is working for a beloved girl we love like crazy though we haven't yet met. See what God is up to to bring her home? It boggles my mind.

So what does this mean?

Our dossier will be headed out of here shortly-can I hear an AMEN?!?

We had two documents that had to be state certified/authenticated, and they should arrive back from Juneau on MONDAY (well, looking at the time-today)!

I am holing myself up in the office with the gate across the doorway and making copies like a madwoman Monday evening (well, hopefully I'll be more organized than that!), as we need three complete sets of our dossier. Then off to our agency this week!!! Dossiers get reviewed at our agency on Mondays, then 2-3 weeks for translation/authentication/blah blah blah. So my best guess is that by FEBRUARY our dossier should be landing in Ethiopia!!!

"My Crazy Adoption"

2009-12-13T00:00:00.002-09:00

If you've never hopped over to the blog "My Crazy Adoption", it's a great place to stop in! Kari Gibson (daughter of Gary Smalley) and her husband adopted little Zoie from Ethiopia last year, and are in the process to adopt again.

She's created a website that touches on everything from recipes to adoption, and is a great resource!

I love her "Simply Love" t-shirts they're selling as a fundraiser...esp. the men's t-shirt, which says "Man Up. Protect and Love the Fatherless." The back of the women's t-shirt says "If you are a Christian, then orphans are your thing." We'll be sporting them before too long! (If you all knew a secret code that Mark didn't know, I could tell you that I'm buying them now while they're available and saving them for our Mother's Day and Father's Day gifts this year, but I don't know a secret code. So shhh... don't tell, and maybe he will forget that he read this).

Fun!

2009-12-10T11:05:00.004-09:00

We just received our first check from our Just Love Coffee fundraiser store! It wasn't much, but more than we had before...we're grateful to those of you who have started buying coffee from us!

I must say (and I can be unbiased here b/c I have no control over the product whatsoever) that it is some seriously.good.coffee.

If you haven't tried it yet, check it out! www.justlovecoffee.com/milligan. Our adoption fund receives $5/bag of coffee sold, $9/sampler. Every bag of coffee brings Karis one step closer out of an orphanage and into our home!

The storefront still appears that you have to join the coffee club, and you don't...you can just purchase ala carte. If you purchase some, leave a comment to let us know how you like it!

So far ~~our~~ my favorite is Selam Tsehai, but Ethiopian Sidamo is on its way right now (despite my best efforts over the past 12 years, Mark is still not a coffee drinker)!

They have also just added an espresso blend, there are green beans for those who like to roast their own, and all coffees can come either whole bean or ground. There are also a few samplers if you're not sure which one you'd like to try first!

Another great note is that the Swiss Water Decaf is not treated chemically...it is very hard to find a naturally decaffeinated coffee!

So head on over to make sure you have all the coffee you need for Christmas entertaining, and enjoy knowing you're helping create one less orphan in the world!

Read For Orphans Results are in!

2009-12-02T22:39:00.004-09:00

Well, mostly, that is!

We are just blown away by how God has used the lives of kids (and their super-supportive parents AND friends and relatives who did the sponsoring!) to bless our daughter in Ethiopia by helping to bring her home. Blown. Away.

The results are trickling in, and I have some "sort-of" tallies...as in, I've been informed of total amounts earned, & checks are still arriving, but I don't yet know how much each child has read in order to award some Amazon gift certificates (though I just found an awesome website with great Ethiopian kids books I wish I had known about to award with instead)! If anyone else participated that I don't have recorded here, please leave me a comment or drop me an email!

So, in no particular order, here's what I know:

Times Five kids:
Jordan...raised $58
Christian...raised $82.50
Adam...raised $73.50
Eden...raised $60
Maria...raised $118

Friend of the Times Five gang, who helped us despite never even meeting us before!
Hannah M...read 40 books and raised $68

From our church:
Jordan L. from AK...read 20 chapters and raised $200
Dakota L. from AK...read 24 chapters and raised $150

Our nieces and nephews in PA:
Walter, Lesley, Laura, Katie, and Ethan M...raised $450

And the siblings trying to bring their sister home:
Andrew...read 39 books and raised $194
Jacob...read 41 books and raised $166.40
Anna...read ? books and raised $10 (not sure if reading books to herself while on the potty counts, or her shortened attention span during bedtime stories with the boys...but Grandma M. sponsored her anyway)! :)

Can you believe it?!?
16 kids working together raised $1630.40!!!

God's workings never cease to amaze me. We are continually humbled by the outpouring of love and graciousness by those around us as we make our way through this new territory.

To all of the kids who gave of their time and efforts in seeking out sponsors and in READING, we just want to say THANK YOU!!!

To those parents who helped record and tally and collect...THANK YOU!!!

To the faithful sponsors who were willing to put a high price tag on a simple activity because of the cause...THANK YOU!!!

Wrapping Up "Read For Orphans!"

2009-11-23T09:11:00.005-09:00

I hope all the families participating in our Read For Orphans campaign have enjoyed two full weeks of "reading with a purpose!"

If your family started the RFO on November 8th, then it's time to report back to all the sponsors to collect pledges. If you started at a later date, then just continue on to finish out your two weeks.

Andrew and Jacob are doing the same thing here this week, and we're excited to see how God has been working through all of you on our baby girl's behalf!

I'm hoping to post a report here by Dec. 2nd, so please get your pledges sent in so we can tabulate and let you know how it went!

It Arrived!!!

2009-11-18T23:38:00.000-09:00

Our long-awaited, most important form has finally arrived! I guess I can't really say "finally," as it could have taken up to 12 weeks, and instead it was only 9 weeks. I know I thought I would be devastated if we still hadn't gotten our dossier off by this point. But honestly, we've been so busy with getting fundraisers going that it's okay. And I'm not devastated that here we have our final piece, and we don't have all the funds together to send it off. I know that some of the $7200 has been raised already...I just don't know how much "some" is. And I'm okay with that, despite the fact that sometimes this is a moment-by-moment struggle to have faith in my Jehovah-Jireh, our Provider. At this moment, my weakness is being made perfect in Him!

I do know we made about $150 on the Pampered Chef fundraiser...thank you so much to those of you that ordered! And I do know that several kids are reading voraciously! Our wonderful nieces in PA called the first Sunday of the Read for Orphans campaign, simply besides themselves with delight that between them and their siblings, they had over $300 raised already! Between Andrew and Jacob, they've raised about $150. So it's working, God is faithful, and we just need to have faith and patience!

So what's next? We need to have two documents state-certified, though I haven't yet a clue how to go about that. And then we need to make three sets of copies of our stack of dossier documents, and then off it goes, with $7200, to our agency for review and translation...and then off to Ethiopia!!!!!!!!!

Why Adopt from Ethiopia?

2009-11-16T00:29:00.002-09:00

I saw this list of sobering statistics on another adoption blog. It's interesting to read other adoption blogs, especially the "Why we're adopting from country X" posts. Whether it is remarkable (or unremarkable, actually) is that for any international adoption, the list is similar to this one...perhaps different issues, but hard facts nonetheless.

So why pick one country over another if they all have horrific circumstances pertaining to the orphan crisis?

I don't think we pick. God picks for us. And when we're trying to follow His will, it's an unmistakable pull towards one country over another. I find that both reasonable and comforting. Our baby is in Ethiopia, and we're going to bring her home...

Why Adopt From Ethiopia,you ask?

• One in six children die before their fifth birthday

• 44% of the population of Ethiopia is under 15 years old

• 60% of children in Ethiopia are stunted because of malnutrition

• The median age in Ethiopia is 17.8 years

• 1.5 million people are infected with AIDS (6th highest in the world)

• 720,000 children have been orphaned by AIDS alone, and there are 4.6 million orphans in Ethiopia.

• Per capita, Ethiopia receives less aid than any country in Africa

• In the 90s the population (3%) grew faster than food production (2.2%)

• Drought struck the country from 2000-2002 (first year no crops, second year no seeds, third year no animals)

• Half the children in Ethiopia will never attend school. 88% will never attend secondary school.

• Coffee prices (Ethiopia’s only major export) fell 40-60% from 1998-2002.

• Ethiopia’s doctor to children ratio is 1 to 24,000.

• In 1993, after 30 long years of war, Eritrea broke from Ethiopia and became an independent nation leaving Ethiopia landlocked without any major seafaring ports.

Who Can Resist?

2009-11-14T23:34:00.002-09:00

I have been very proud of the boys in their efforts with our Read For Orphans campaign. For those of you who sponsored the boys, I'm not sure how you'll take the news that they've been reading up a storm, and the bedtime routine has certainly been pushed later as a result!

Jacob has lately been "growing up" before my very eyes, as he feels a certain responsibility, as the new 5 year old, to handle things differently. For those of you who know Jacob in person, you have witnessed his "very slow to warm up to new situations" tendencies, and his reticence to strike up conversations.

While his required "warm-up" period is still present, it is significantly shorter, and he's been willing to step out of his comfort zone to speak with people.

Case in point (lest you think I'm posting on the wrong blog!): Last Sunday the boys were asking friends from church to sponsor their reading for Read for Orphans. I know, I know...it's hardly fair, sending the pastor's kids out to ask for sponsors from among the congregation. :)

But to top it off, this is how Jacob worded his request to one person in our church.

"Will you please sponsor my reading so that we can bring my baby sister home?"

Awww...

PS: If you want me to hear it in person, I can have Jacob call you to request your sponsorship. :)

Our Orphan Sunday

2009-11-11T15:21:00.002-09:00

I'm not sure the term "celebrating" is the right term for what to do with Orphan Sunday...perhaps "Remember," "Commemorating," or "Honoring." I'm sure those behind the movement to bring awareness to the orphan crisis by creating Adoption Awareness month and Orphan Sunday had the dilemma of what to name it.

Regardless of how we acknowledge it, it's my prayer that each year, more and more churches are using Orphan Sunday as a way to challenge their congregation to get involved in God's call to care for orphans.

Unfortunately, we had technical difficulties at our church on Sunday, so we weren't able to show the video or host the live event from Nashville with Steven Curtis Chapman.

However, I have never been more proud of my husband as I was after he preached on Sunday. His sermon was incredibly powerful and poignant for Orphan Sunday. So often, preachers will simply relate the concept of adoption to our own spiritual condition, from which we needed God to ransom us, defend us, and call us His own adopted child in order to save us from our sins. That is all true. It's all vitally important. But James 1:27 is often glossed over.

"Pure and undefiled religion in the sight of our God and Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their distress, and to keep oneself unstained by the world."

Too many churches, too many pastors, want to forget about our responsibility to live out our faith...to act upon the "as you have done to the least of these, you've done unto me." (Matt. 25:40).

My husband is not among them, and he leads his church to not be among them. He calls it like it is. To share the change God has wrought in his own heart, he gave the illustration of a student sitting in class, dutifully paying attention, silently praying that the teacher will not call on him to give the answer! And that when the teacher did call on him to respond to James 1:27, he was dutiful, but not necessarily passionate about it. But when we respond in faith, God does a mighty work all the way around...and with tears in his eyes, Mark shared his new perspective. "That's my child over there, and I'm going to go get her!"

Do we have that passion? Do we have the heart of God, to love and reach out the way God would? I've said it before and I'll say it again: the church has done a shoddy job of caring for orphans. It's time to change that. If we are the Body, why aren't His arms reaching? We sang that song on Sunday, and I pray it isn't just words we sang, but a battle cry we're issuing as we reach out.

I would love for you to leave a comment about what your church did for Orphan Sunday.

And if it didn't do anything, and you're willing to be a spark in your church, please email me (milligansnorth at gmail dot com) your mailing address, and I will send you a resource DVD to use for next year.

Or go to http://www.showhope.org/Resources/VideoLibrary.aspx, and pick a clip to show your pastor and ask him to show it during church sometime this month...Adoption Awareness goes on! A single video clip of just over a minute might be exactly what God wants to use in someone's life.

And start praying, or keep on praying, for orphans to make their way into their forever families.

The only wrong way to help orphans is to do nothing at all.

Orphan Sunday

2009-11-08T00:54:00.003-09:00

Orphan Sunday from Christian Alliance for Orphans on Vimeo.

What will YOU do about the most important statistic?

One more in!

2009-11-06T10:32:00.000-09:00

My passport has arrived!

Now, aside from the funds that we need to raise at this point, we only need our I-171H!

Do you have any idea how thankful I would be to have our dossier off to Ethiopia by Thanksgiving Day?

REALLY, REALLY, REALLY, REALLY, REALLY, REALLY, REALLY THANKFUL!!!!!!!

Read for Orphans!

2009-11-05T21:45:00.007-09:00

We were searching for ways in which to both raise money for our adoption and also engage the faith and actions of the body of Christ...for the command to care for orphans in James 1:27 applies to all of us!

A friend suggested the idea of a read-a-thon (thanks, April!), and it seemed like the perfect fit!

So what is "Read for Orphans?" It's quite simple, really. It begins on November 8th, which is Orphan Sunday. Children from age 3 on up through high school set a goal of how many books they will read over the next two weeks (older kids can set goals by chapters instead of whole books). At the same time, they seek out sponsors who will pledge an amount per book, such as .25/bk. Or, sponsors can just support the reader with a flat donation.

After the two weeks of reading is completed on Nov. 21st, the pledges are collected, tallied, and mailed to our church for our adoption fund. Prizes will be given based on who reads the most!

If this is successful, we will try to make this an annual event, putting the proceeds to any number of orphan causes.

We would love to have you join us in this effort! If you would like to participate and you don't already have the info, please just leave me a comment with your email address, or email me at milligansnorth at gmail dot com, and I'll get you the rest of the info you need!

Thanks so much for standing with us in this!
Happy reading...you're part of a miracle in progress!

PS: If you're another adoptive family and would like to use this idea, I'd be happy to send you the packet I made up that will be really simple to personalize for your own use!

Crazy? Crazy!

2009-10-29T23:05:00.002-08:00

Want to know the overall most prevalent comment we get regarding our adoption?

"You're crazy!" But coming from the ones who say it, I know they mean it in the most loving, supportive way possible...as they chuckle and hug us. It's not a criticism (those come in other forms, believe you me), just an observation. I find no offense it whatsoever (at least not so far, in the way it has come and from whom it has come)!

This declaration of crazy comes from people who know our family, who love the three children we have already, and who know that life with [a job, a ministry, homeschooling, 3 children, 4 goats, 13 chickens, and an adoption] does not fit into a tidy little box that we open every morning at 7 and have wrapped up neatly with a bow by 8 p.m.

My newest response comes from the heart of what God is teaching us in a major way:

OUR LIVES ARE NOT OUR OWN.

We have been bought with a price...Jesus laid down His life for us on the cross. In accepting His free gift, we live in and through Him. And HIS life was not His own. Out of love, he was compelled to give it up, that we might have an abundant life.

There are so many so-called "rights" that we cling to. The right to a comfortable home, a decent car, free time to do whatever we want. The right to sleep in on Saturday mornings, to control our schedules.

We cling to these rights for our children, and from us they learn to cling tightly, as well. The right to lots of books, the right toys, a spacious bedroom. The right to stay in their comfort zone, to x-amount of hours of individual attention.

But you know what? Our lives are not our own. The rights to which we cling are not "rights" at all, but privileges we enjoy. They are not necessities, they are gifts. And when we start demanding gifts, a beautiful life lived in the Spirit instead becomes a downright ugly, spoiled-brat life.

To those who have heard the clear call of conviction to obey God in a particular matter, do you dare disobey for the sake of hanging on to the gifts you've been given? Or do you understand by faith that laying down your life is the only way to really live it? "anyone who does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me. [Because] Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it" (Matthew 10:38-39).

So are we crazy to be pursuing this adoption? A resounding YES!

"Better a full, busy life lived in obedience to God
than a nicely-ordered life lived in rebellion to His call.
If you're busy, be busy with what He's handed you,
not with the things you've picked up on your own."

-WJM

I hope you've hung with me this far...sorry for a wordy, un-pictured post. We really appreciate you taking the time and effort to follow with what God is teaching us through this whole journey, to understand our hearts right now.

But I would love for you to read one more thing. It's the post that started us exploring this whole concept in a fresh way. It's a post by a 31-yr. old mom who, after having 3 biological children, adopted a sibling group of 3 kids from Ethiopia, then adopted another sibling group of 3 kids! Yes...nine children. (No, we're not headed for 9 children, I don't think)! Reading her original post will give you a better understanding of where we're at...Check it out here...thank you!

I promise to make up with pictures of our baby girl later for all the boring posts you've been enduring on this blog!

Why $7200?

2009-10-28T15:14:00.003-08:00

So why do we need $7200 to send with our dossier? Our agency breaks amounts that are due into more manageable chunks, some of which are timed to be due with the dossier, and other parts are connected directly to the dossier. Here's the breakdown:

Agency fee mid-payment, $1500 (which reflects a 25% pastor's discount).Honestly, I have never asked what exactly the program fee covers. I do know that there is a full-time, wonderful staff in VA that must get paid. The staff makes everything happen, they lead us through the entire complicated process. And they even do it cheerfully! I also know that there is staff in Ethiopia who meets with adoptive families when they arrive, makes court appointments, and handles paperwork.
Translation/Authentication: $800. That huge stack of paperwork we're gathering? It all has to be translated into Amharic. And authenticated, which give assurance that it's all legal, etc.
Post-Placement Deposit: $1000. This is actually refundable after the post-placement visits with the social worker have been completed at 3, 6, 9 and 12 months. This is the agency's way of ensuring families meet the standards set by the gov't of Ethiopia for reporting back on how their orphans are doing. If families don't cooperate with this, the country may decide that they don't have enough control over what is happening to their population, and close down adoptions (I have heard this is what happened with Guatemala, at least in part. International adoption is one comlicated can of worms!).
Courier fee: $150. Get that important stack of paperwork delivered safe and sound!
1st half of international program fee: $3750. This covers children's medical exams, the transitional home child-rearing, and an orphanage donation. All good stuff.

Grand total: $7200.

I'm working on a post explaining why exactly we're doing fundraising for this adoption. I mean besides the obvious...we think it is right and good for "the church" to support adoption. I hope to share our perspectives on this, and to illustrate how our own church and our families have grasped the heart of it. Stay tuned.

Passport!

2009-10-28T15:08:00.003-08:00

We have a passport! Mark's passport arrived today!

As you may recall, we're only missing four things in order to send our dossier off to Ethiopia:
1. Mark's passport.
2. Wendy's passport.
3. Form I-171H
4. $7200.

It feels great to be making progress again!

Coffee Fundraiser!

2009-10-26T12:08:00.003-08:00

The Just Love Coffee Store has finally launched!

Just Love Coffee Roasters was started by Rob Webb, coffee roaster and adoptive father of two girls from Ethiopia. He forged a way to merge his work and his faith in an amazing way, and Just Love Coffees was born.

He has made available to adoptive parents a seamless fundraiser. His company roasts fine coffees from over the world, makes it available through each adoptive family's online storefront, ships it directly to customers, and the adoptive family receives $5 per bag of coffee.

To many (myself included!) coffee is a life staple...and now it can be used to care for orphans!

We ask that you check out our storefront at www.justlovecoffee.com/Milligan. The neatest option is the 2Buy2 Coffee Club...receive 2 bags of coffee every month of every other month to save on time and shipping! We're definitely going that route! But you can buy bags of coffee individually, too. We will continue to receive funds from the storefront until our adoption expenses have been met. Then, for those of you in the 2Buy2 Coffee Club, you will still be supporting orphan care in Ethiopia through your purchases!

If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to either leave a comment or email us at milligansnorth at gmail dot com. If you browse around the Just Love Coffee site (which I encourage you to do-it's a really neat story!), make sure you come back to our page (Milligan will be in the URL at the top) to make your purchases.

Just think...if 30 of you each purchased one bag of coffee a month for the next 12 months (the estimated time left till we travel to Ethiopia), that would raise $1800 towards our adoption. If 30 of you shared our fundraiser with just one other person that purchased coffee monthly, that would be $3600...that's almost 20% of what we have left to raise!!!

We would appreciate your help in spreading the word...email to friends and family or post the link to our store if you get a chance! Thanks so much!

Coffe Store Launching Monday!

2009-10-23T00:26:00.003-08:00

Woo-hoo! The team at Just Love Coffee has been working tirelessly to get each adoptive families' storefronts up and running, and the official launch date is Monday, October 26th!

Starting then, you'll be able to go to our site (of course the link will come here on Monday!) to purchase your coffee! A fine line of Fair Trade Certified coffees...all of which support placing orphans into forever families.

So all of you coffee-drinkers and all of you non-coffee drinkers who entertain them, Monday's the day...stay tuned!

Pampered Chef Fundraiser!

2009-10-19T10:41:00.003-08:00

Do you know anyone who loves Pampered Chef products? Do you? Do you have some Christmas shopping to do?

We can help you to help us with our adoption!
We're hosting a Pampered Chef fundraiser from now until Dec. 5th. If you're local, I'd love to have you come for the party on Nov. 7th. But since most of you aren't local, I wanted to share the shopping link with you.

Just go to http://www.pamperedchef.biz/kitchentips?page=host-search-results&showId=2260991, and start shopping! Voila! Our fund for our adoption will receive 15% in sales!

Thanks for your support...and even if you're not interested in Pampered Chef, please pass the link along to everyone you know, post it on your blogs, etc! Thanks!

$7200, here we come!

2009-10-18T01:45:00.002-08:00

I keep hoping to get all my ducks in a row and details in order before posting some initial info. But, it's not happening, so here goes the "un-organized" nutshell!

Nov. 7th...a Pampered Chef party/fundraiser! It will be here at our house, BUT you can place orders online and our fundraiser will be credited! I will update with this post soon with the actual website, but for now, just know that it's coming up, and save some of your Christmas shopping! Our adoption fund received 15% from all the sales!!!

Nov. 1-15th: Read for Orphans! I am so excited about this...kids can be involved with helping orphans, too! This will be a two-week read-a-thon, and kids of any age (you can read to your toddlers and preschoolers) can participate. Kids just set a goal of how much they can read in 2 weeks time, get sponsors to pledge a certain amt. for their reading, and all the proceeds help our adoption! If this works well, I'd like to make it an annual event to help other adoptive families!
I will be emailing out info packets on this, so if you want your kids in, leave me a comment or drop me an email at milligansnorth at gmail dot com!

Nov. 30th: Discovery Toys fundraiser! My former upline (from my former "I'm a DT consultant" life) is helping me out with this one! Unfortunately, we can't do online orders, so all products ordered will come to me and then would have to be shipped to you from here. But, if you love DT and want to check out their online catalog, we'll try to work something out! Our adoption fund receives 20% from our sales!

Jan/Feb: lia sophia fundraiser! My mom is a lia sophia advisor, and we'll do a party this winter after the hubbub of the holidays. lia sophia, if you aren't familiar with it, is gorgeous jewelry...even for un-girly girls like me! My mom will donate 10% of the sales, AND the free jewelry I earn as a hostess will be auctioned off!

So there's an overview...check back for more info by early next week! While we need much more than $7200, that will at least get our dossier on its way to Ethiopia!!!

Phew!

2009-10-02T18:44:00.002-08:00

As of two days ago, our part of getting our dossier together is FINISHED. Every document, certificate, signature, notarization that is our responsibility is finished.

At this point, we need three things to send our dossier off to Ethiopia:
1. I-171H (form from USCIS)
2. Passports (copies need to be included in the dossier).
3. $7200 (the next fees due, which included translation of our dossier and courier fees).

#1 and #2 are a waiting game...best guess is 4-6 weeks for each of them.
And the $7200? Now that the dossier is off my plate, let the fundraising efforts begin! Stay tuned!

Police Clearances.

2009-09-23T11:29:00.001-08:00

Check.
Two off the list.
Woo-Hoo!

Another one in!

2009-09-21T22:58:00.003-08:00

Mark's birth certificate arrived today!

It's really funny to me that nowadays, official-looking envelopes are greeted with more enthusiasm than a hand-written, personal envelope!

(Not to say that I don't appreciate personal mail, too-don't get me wrong! To those that sent them, thank you for all the birthday gift checks...one passport paid for)! :)

Not quite the birthday present...

2009-09-20T00:05:00.004-08:00

Today (well, yesterday...I see it's after midnight now) was my birthday. And it was a delightful day all the way around, filled with fun times with those I hold dear.

I have just one disappointment from the day.

For months, I have had the goal of finishing our dossier by my birthday...the best gift I could think of. My birthday has now come and gone, and the dossier still sits unfinished.

I can't be too discouraged-we're close. Very, very close. I wish I could explain the urgency I have felt in the past few weeks to have our dossier flying to Ethiopia. It's almost surreal. I cry easily when thinking about the daughter God has planned for our family, desperately wishing this stage to be over so we can officially begin waiting for her. I know it's all in God's timing, but lately-the urgency I feel clutches at my heart. I can't really explain it, I guess...I just know that it's time. Almost like the transition phase of labor, knowing that it's getting worse before it gets better, the panicked feeling to do anything to stay ahead of the pain, the frantic focus on what's at hand and just ahead. It's a heavy weight and a heart of hope all at the same time.

But seriously, we are almost done. Here's the document list for our dossier...the only documents left to gather are in bold.

1. Application letter
2. Husband's Birth Certificate-requested, still waiting
3. Wife's Birth Certificate
4. Marriage certificate
5. Husband Physical Exam Form.
6. Doctor's letter
7. Wife's Physical Exam form
8. Doctor's letter
9. Proof of medical insurance
10. Proof of life insurance
11. Financial statement
12. Husband's employment letter
13. Husband's 2nd job employment letter
14. Wife's non-employment letter
15. Home Study
16. Letters of Reference (3)
17. Husband's Police Report
18. Wife's Police Report
19. Agency Post Placement Agreement
20. Agency Recommendation
21. Power of Attorney
22. Dossier Cover Sheet
23. 2 extra passport photos each
24. Copies of passports.
25. Family photo pages
26. Approval from USCIS (Form I-171H)

If you compare this list to the dossier progress from August 31st, it's encouraging, especially considering the items that are left.

#17 And #18 are supposedly going to be ready for Mark to pick up from the police dept. on Monday.

#19 is a simple form I need to get to the home study agency.

#25 I can whip out using Picasa in an hour.

#22, the cover sheet, can't be done until all of the documents are under it!

So, #25 is all I can really do right now, all that needs to be done sooner than later. Mark's passport renewal will be $75. My passport application (can't renew if your original passport was issued if you were under age 16 and if it's more than 15 years old, both of which apply to me) will be $100. I'll really have to pray about whether to expedite them, which would be another $60 each. I know $415 is nothing for our God who owns the cattle on a thousand hills!

#26...Praying it comes quickly! Basically, USCIS takes both the home study and the fingerprint results to create one government approval piece, the I-171H. Please pray with us on that one!

Well, if you're still reading at this point, your stamina is impressive! Thanks for standing with us through this journey!

It's Done! It's done!

2009-09-16T22:05:00.004-08:00

It's done, it's done, it's done!

I got a phone call from our home study agency informing me that our
HOME STUDY IS FINALIZED AND ON ITS WAY TO USCIS!!!

Thanks to the Lord leading some very generous family members, the $750-$800 (variable based on social worker's travel reimbursement) we need for the final payment for our home study is available!!!

Please pray that USCIS gets our I171-H to us in good time!

Finally!!!

2009-09-12T10:56:00.001-08:00

Guess what arrived in the mail yesterday?
Our marriage certificate and my birth certificate!
First requested on July 21st...gotta love government efficiency.

More updates coming soon!

Paperchasing Woes

2009-09-05T08:35:00.004-08:00

I now have a better understanding of why this phase of the adoption process is called "paperchasing." I feel like just calling a time out so that I can try and sneak up on some of the papers we need before they run off again...

In order to get a referral for our baby girl, our dossier first needs to be sent to Ethiopia.
Before we can send our dossier it needs to be complete.
To complete the dossier, we need to have form I-171H.
To get form I-171H, we need to submit our home study to USCIS.
Before we can submit our home study, we need my FBI clearance from my 3rd set of fingerprints.
We've been waiting for them for 6 1/2 weeks. *sigh* So much for our writer's recommendation to say "Please rush, as the home study is nearing completion, and the first set of fingerprints was rejected."

Our dossier also needs our birth/marriage certificates.

To obtain them, you order them online through VitalChek "for fast and easy service."
So, looking for "fast and easy service," you place your order online. VitalChek routes your order through the appropriate state office (in this case, NY). For security reasons, to complete your order, you must also print out your order receipt, add a copy of your driver's license, and upload it to VitalChek.

Of course, they will only send your birth certificate if your billing address and shipping address match. Since we have a PO Box, and have had one for 7 years now, it's obviously the one we had to use. But if you're using a PO Box, you have no option other than to use regular, untrackable, snail mail. You convince yourself that it could be worse, and that it will arrive eventually.

About the time that you expect your certificates in the mail, you get an email from the records office in NY, saying that they won't mail your certificate to a PO Box unless you get a notarized letter stating that you get your mail at a PO Box, not a physical address, along with yet another copy of your driver's license which must show the same PO Box as the address. By this time in the paperchase, our notary (who also happens to be our postmaster) is used to us showing up with papers to be notarized. After getting the letter and copy of my license notarized, it's supposedly a quick step to just upload the document from my VitalChek account. Great...except that orders over 45 days old are no longer accessible online, and any communication must be faxed.

Ordering from PA wasn't that much better. Cheaper, yes. Better, no. I tried no less than 4 times to order Mark's birth certificate online through VitalChek, and always received a note that there was a discrepancy b/t the shipping and billing address. So I would re-do, thinking perhaps I made a mistake. Still never works. So the 5th time I get the error message that my order cannot be placed online, I follow their link for fax instructions to place the order that way. I get the order faxed, and am deceived for three days into thinking that all is well. Then I get an email stating that the PA records office no longer accepts orders via fax, I should fax it in, and the order they have in their hands will be shredded.

You know, I'm not really a swearing person. I did swear like a sailor when I was in 5th grade, but it was a passing phase. Or something. But I confess that I've thought of some choice names for the Dept. of Health Records offices of NY and PA lately.

And I would recommend, if you have certificates from NY or PA and you might adopt at some point in the next decade, you might as well request the certificates now. Except that they can't be more than a year old for your dossier. So it would backfire. Guess there's nothing to do but keep chasing...and praying that God's hand pushes the paperwork fairy along at a faster pace. Or something.

Dossier Progress!

2009-08-31T20:45:00.002-08:00

Let me just say this: If you have a major project you need to tackle, the best thing to do is to have your inlaws come for two weeks and schlep your kids around from one adventure to the next for days on end...you'll get a lot done!

Here's the list of what needs to go in our dossier (and it all needs to be notarized, too):
1. Application letter
2. Husband's Birth Certificate-requested, still waiting
3. Wife's Birth Certificate-requested, still waiting
4. Marriage certificate-requested, still waiting
5. Husband Physical Exam Form.
6. Doctor's letter
7. Wife's Physical Exam form
8. Doctor's letter
9. Proof of medical insurance
10. Proof of life insurance
11. Financial statement
12. Husband's employment letter-working on it.
13. Husband's 2nd job employment letter
14. Wife's non-employment letter
15. Home Study
16. Letters of Reference (3)
17. Husband's Police Report
18. Wife's Police Report
19. Agency Post Placement Agreement
20. Agency Recommendation
21. Power of Attorney
22. Dossier Cover Sheet
23. 2 extra passport photos each
24. Copies of passports.
25. Family photo pages

As of a week ago, I had just 2 of the 25 required papers (# 5 and #7 in italics). Everything in bold has gotten completed just this past week...and it's all notarized, too! It feels sooooooo good to have the weight of this lessened, and to know that much of what we still need is out of my control. I am so grateful to mom and dad for all their help while they were here...the kids had a wonderful time making memories with them, and we're that much closer to our baby girl!

Hallelujah!!!

2009-08-21T00:11:00.003-08:00

Have you noticed our list of adoption expenses in the sidebar?
Take a look at #5 and #6. Doctor visits for both of us.

We thought Mark's insurance would have covered his, but because the blood work our agency requires isn't deemed as "usual or necessary" by the insurance company, most of his wasn't covered. I have just a major medical policy, so we knew mine would be more expensive, though I'll admit we were a bit blown away by how much it costs to have extensive blood work done.

So here we sat with $748 in medical bills. Having gone through Providence Medical Center, we decided we had $748 to lose and who knows how much to gain if we didn't apply for their financial assistance program. I submitted the necessary forms weeks ago, and we've still been waiting to hear back.

Today, we received the Financial Assistance Approval letter. "Thank you for your interest in our Financial Assistance Program. We are please to notify you that your application has been approved. The level of Financial Assistance that you qualify for it 100%."

What more can we say? Hallelujah, God is good!

For lack of a better word...

2009-08-12T13:23:00.004-08:00

I know the word "weird" isn't exactly descriptive, not on the top ten list of words used by skilled writers. But sometimes it works for lack of a better descriptor.

I took the kids on a Tot Time field trip to the fire department on Monday. There was only one other mom from MP; most were from S, so I didn't really know any of them.

At some point during the tour, it came up that the volunteer firefighter giving the tour was pregnant, and the questions revolved around how that would affect her work at the station. And lo and behold, there were at least 2 other moms there who were also pregnant, all of them due around the same time.

The conversation turned to morning sickness, prenatal yoga, and due dates.

I wanted to chime in just as excitedly, just as eager to share my news as they were to share theirs. "I'm expecting a baby, too!"

But imagine the conversation.
"Oh congratulations! How are you feeling?"
"Ummm...fine."
"Would you like to come to prenatal yoga with us?"
"Well, um, thank you, but..."
"Well, when are you due?"
"Hopefully by next Christmas!"

Seriously. How does one interject into a conversation like that with a bunch of strangers?
I only saw one way...to not to. (Yes, one of our favorite lines to repeat from the movie Cars).

I don't fault the other women one bit, and I'm sure they would have been excited for me if I had shared. But the whole feeling I had during their conversation was a brand-new experience for me, and it was
just
a
bit
weird.

Home Study Visits. Check.

2009-08-06T14:30:00.003-08:00

Hurrah!
We are almost over the big hurdle of our home study! Our visit yesterday went much better than I expected...no water and all!

Of course with coming down from Anchorage, the first thing she asked when she got here was if she could use the bathroom! I simply let her know that our pump was in the process of being fixed, so we don't have water today, but here's the bathroom, don't flush, here's baby wipes for washing up with, I'm sorry for the inconvenience! It didn't seem to phase her a bit!

She asked Andrew for a tour of the house, which he was happy to do. Ironically, she didn't even see the girls' room, since Anna was taking a nap...but she basically just wanted to see how many bedroom/bathrooms were in the house. She was also impressed with our basement, "what a great playroom," to which we owe a debt of gratitude to our NC VBS team!

(The basement had been a huge worry of mine. Regrettably, I neglected to take a "before" picture. But just imagine a construction zone...with having just finished the apartment remodel job on the other side of the basement, we had boxes of plumbing parts, piles of electrical outlets and wires, a mound of insulation, bits and pieces and sheets of drywall, enough tools to outfit a hardware store, an extra toilet and bathroom sink laying around, and enough dust to create a man out of...all of this covering and creeping over every part of the basement so that we could harldy walk through it. Sound like a perfect part of a family home ready to be inspected by a social worker concerned about the safety of children? Hardly. Mark and I had just the night before asked ourselves how many years it would take to clean it all up. Knowing my concerns, the team came home from VBS on Tuesday afternoon and had the place gleaming and organized. I kid you not...it's an awesome sight to behold)!

At any rate, she was here for about 2 hours, tapping away at her notes on her laptop as we talked and as she interviewed Mark. The kids were extremely cooperative, answering her questions when needed, and playing quietly when not.

The only downside is that she didn't end up coordinating our visit with another family down in Homer...so we'll have a bigger chunk to pay for her travel expenses than we hoped for. But we already have almost half of the $650 that will be due...and I'm sure that God will provide the other half before we need it!

All in all, Judy was very encouraging about everything, and said she would have it written up for us to review in short order! Praise Jesus!

Home Study visits are today!

2009-08-05T14:14:00.003-08:00

We would be grateful for your prayers for a good visit with the social worker today...in a mere 2 hours! This will be Judy's first and only time to our house, which, incidentally, hasn't had a drop of running water since Saturday night. Not exactly the "tip top" shape I was striving for.

She will interview Mark first, who also, incidentally, hasn't had more than 5 hrs. of straight sleep a night for over a week now. Yes, that's directly related to our water situation.

Then she'll talk with both of us together, particularly about parenting our three ~~angelic cherubs~~ whiney kids who are overtired from VBS all week and are missing daddy time, since he's been spending an inordinate amount of time with our water system down in the basement.

Do you see now why I'm asking for prayer? Thanks!

Coffee Name Change

2009-08-02T00:59:00.002-08:00

You may notice that the link on the sidebar for the Coffee Fundraiser has changed. Instead of One Love Coffees, it's now Just Love Coffees. I personally kind of like the name change, and hopefully you'll like the name and the coffee! Here's the scoop (no pun intended!).

After being on the phone with our attorneys all week, we have changed our name to Just Love
Coffee Roasters. The children of Bob Marley are attempting to register and protect the name "One Love" as it pertains to, not only, coffee, but every industry. So we decided to go back to the drawing board to come up with an alternate name. We believe that "Just Love" is actually more
synonymous with our mission. We like the dual meaning of the word "just" as it relates to the orphan crisis and our efforts to do our small part in helping. We are currently redesigning all of our artwork, working with our web team to make the necessary changes and getting all of the
paperwork filed with the State and Federal government. We apologize for the confusion and look forward to getting everyone up and running in a short time.

Speechless

2009-08-01T00:38:00.002-08:00

Well, not usually. But on rare occasions, yes.

You know how I just spent $97.25 on original certificates from NY?

On Sunday, Kindra (our church treasurer) passed along an anonymous gift.

$100.

Are you kidding me?

No, God is pretty serious about blessing us. Wow.

One Love Coffees!

2009-07-24T12:45:00.000-08:00

So you may have noticed some changes in the sidebar...One Love Coffees!

One Love Coffees is a new company started by Rob Webb, an adoptive dad who also happens to be in the coffee business. In a seamless transition between work and faith that is rarely seen these days, Rob is starting a new coffee business to support adoption.

We received notice of One Love Coffees through our agency, and immediately checked it out. As is the way with God, the email from our agency came just as I was trying to formulate our "anticipated funding plan" for our home study writer. It was as though it was one of the 5 smooth round stones needed to slay the giant!

Here's how it works: When One Love Coffees launches this fall, we will have a "storefront" on their site. Anybody, anywhere, can get online, go through our coffee storefront, and purchase their coffee...really good coffee, I might add! For each pound of coffee sold, One Love Coffees will mail us $5. Think about that. Just 100 people (I'm sure we have a network, from coast to coast, bigger than that!) buying 1 bag of coffee/month will raise $6000 in one year!

We're so excited about the way God can use this to provide for our adoption needs. And it's not just through our agency...if you're in the adoption process, head over to One Love Coffees to sign up! Rob is actually embarrassed by his, and I really quote, "cheesy little site." I guess the "real deal" will be rolled out soon.

In the meantime, spread the word, and thank you for considering us for all your coffee needs! I'll keep you posted on when they're ready to launch!