Waiting on Embassy........

I apologize for not updating my blog! We have be soooo busy lately........ I am going to try updating you now. 

After court when we went home and waited.....it was the hardest part of this whole journey. I had to really trust that God's timing was perfect. 
Each week was getting harder. I finally emailed our director and asked him if he felt we were going to be submitted on Monday (Tues 22) and he told us that we were still needing a medical file. I was DEVASTATED!! I wanted our case be submitted so badly. That morning, another family's case was submitted. I was so happy for them!!! However, I felt a little bummed because I really wanted our file to be submitted. Moments later, I received the email saying that our case was "deposited"!!!! I was so happy!!!! I could have exploded. 

 On Jan 28, 2013, I received another email saying .....
We would like to inform you the consular section completed screening for your Form I-600 petition.  We will now begin the review of orphan status for the I-604, Determination on Child for Adoption.  As part of this process, we may request additional information or documents as it becomes necessary throughout the I-604 process.  You will receive notice when processing is complete.

Once again, I felt so much happiness because we were getting so much closer to bring our precious baby home!!!

On  Jan 30th, we received this email......

Good morning  Adoption Avenues Agency

Please find the below requested documents.

1.     Family, Child name: -

     Case number: -  

- The finger print has expired on May 31,2012. Needs amendment.

-   Please bring the copy of this e-mail when you come to the Embassy to bring the additional documents. And when communicating with this office, please provide agency name, child’s full name and case number exactly as shown in this e-mail.

Make sure parents don’t make any travel plans unless you hear from us that it is cleared for interview.

Regards

This email made my stomach hurt because we had our fingerprints done on May 31,2012!!!! It was an error on their part. That day, my husband called a few people to get this corrected. Finally, they were able to send an email to the Embassy clarifying that it was an error and that our fingerprints do not expire until August 2013! 

My husband and I continued to pray that God would clear our case quickly. The embassy also requested an interview with the birth mother.  We were very fearful that they would not clear our case because they could not locate the birth mother.

 On Feb. 1st (Friday), I woke up around 3:30am. I quickly checked my email ( I checked my email ALL THE TIME). Ethiopia is 8 hours a head of us so I knew I could possibly have an email.I was obsessed with checking my email after midnight. Throughout the week, I would stay up past midnight just so I could check my email.  When I pulled my email up there it was......an email saying CLEARED!!!!! I quickly jumped up and woke my husband up. He was so tired and had no idea what was going on. I kept yelling....LOOK! LOOK!, LOOK! (while putting my phone in his face)! When he finally realized what the email was saying, he jumped up and said, "WE CLEARED!?!?!?!" It was the most exciting moment. All the waiting and worrying was OVER. We FINALLY get to bring our beautiful little girl home. Even though I was ready to jump on a plane that weekend, I needed to prepare before we left so we decided to schedule our Embassy appointment for Feb. 11th and we would leave on Feb. 8th. I remember feeling so excited. I couldn't believe that I was about to bring my daughter home FOREVER!!!!  My children were extremely excited.

Saying goodbye...........

Day 5 (Wednesday) LAST DAY-
Breakfast at the guest house- We woke early this day. We decided to go on a morning walk with another couple. I really bonded with one of the ladies who was also staying at the guest house. The walk was beautiful!!! I saw women carrying huge jugs to get water. Made me realize how much I take for granted. At home, we waste water and these women had to wait in a long line to get water every morning. It was heartbreaking.  I also got to see a school!!! The school was definitely different than my school. I was fascinated by the classrooms. I got excited to see one classroom with multiplication facts on the board! I also met a teacher while walking around. She was so excited to know that I was also a teacher. She hugged me and kissed my cheek! She was so sweet! As we walked around , I passed out more toys. The kids were so appreciative of these toys. I absolutely loved making them smile. When we got back, we went to the market one last time. I wanted to get a few more things. We didn't have much time, but enough time to get a few things. Then it was time to head to the foster home.

Check out the multiplication facts!!!

One of the teachers at the school

A classroom

This is the outside of the school

Foster home-Today was a hard day for me. I was really trying to enjoy every minute of Keira, but it was hard to feel happy. I was about to leave my baby. I didn't want the morning to end. I did not want the day to end. Matt and I hugged and loved all over........Of course, the two hours flew by! The nannies came and took the babies away. Once again, tears ran down my face...................

Lunch/Embassy-  Lunch time was VERY stressful. Everyone had to be somewhere and there were barely enough drivers. Two other families had court today. I was very excited for them too! When we got home, we ate lunch and they went to court. Matt and I had to have something notarized so we had to go to the US Embassy. We waited for our driver to pick us up at 2pm. I was nervous about this time because I was afraid we would not make it back in time for our LAST visit with Keira.  As I was sitting on the steps, I felt very sad. I kept getting so emotional thinking about leaving her. Once our driver arrived, we went to the US Embassy. It was very busy! After that long process, it was time to head back to the foster home. It was almost 3:00. We still had to take Keira's visa papers to Mr. Alemu (our lawyer) and pay some fees. With that said, I started to stress out!!! I did not want to miss any time with Keira. Our driver dropped me off at the foster home. Matt volunteered to do all the paperwork so I could have more time with my sweet girl. I couldn't keep it together.

Saying goodbye......As I held my sweet baby, I would cry looking at her. I couldn't figure out how I was going to say goodbye. Thinking about this moment, brings tears to my eyes. Matt finally arrived at 4:00. He didn't have much time to visit with her. So I handed her to Matt ( I didn't want to share). He noticed how sad I was so he handed her back to me so I could hold her even closer. Both of us loved all over her. We kissed, hugged, and loved on her every second. We showed her pictures of her brother and sister. She loved the pictures!!! It was very hard to say goodbye. When it was time to hand her over, I cried and cried. The nanny kept standing there waiting for me to hand her Keira. It was so hard handing her away. I have experienced a lot of heartbreak in my life, but this hurt. I remember Keira looking at me as if she knew I was sad. Her BIG eyes just starred at me. I had no idea that I would love her so much. Keira is truly special. God created this perfect little girl just for us. I thank God for her birth mother. I think about what her mother must have felt. Her biological mother probably felt terrified, lonely, and helpless. If only she knew how much we appreciate her. If only she knew how much her baby would be loved. I am so thankful that God placed that baby in her belly to grow! I wish I could hug her biological mother and tell her that her little girl will be loved forever. I wish that I could thank her for giving her baby a wonderful life. We will give her daughter an amazing life. We will never fail her. Although, Keira's biological mother's situation was not great and she probably experienced a lot of heartbreak..... I thank God everyday for giving me the most amazing little girl.

Moments before I had to say goodbye..........

The end........I cried a lot, but I pulled myself together. Since it was our last night, we all decided to go out and eat dinner. All the wonderful families, drivers, and a the wonderful woman who took care of us all ate at Island Breeze. It was a wonderful dinner. I felt such a connection with all these great people. I will NEVER forget my experience in Ethiopia. I am so grateful for every person who came into my life. Not only was it hard to say goodbye to Keira, but it was hard to say goodbye to the other families. They will always be in my heart......................

Day 3 and 4

Day 3 (Monday)-
Breakfast at the guest house- I was very excited to eat breakfast and see my beautiful little girl again!!  Breakfast was good, but not my favorite. We had egg rolls. The egg rolls were VERY good, but I am not a huge fan of egg rolls for breakfast. The coffee was also amazing. Some of the families were getting sick. They had some kind of stomach bug. So some of the families were in bed all day. As soon as breakfast was over it was time to head over to the foster home!

Foster home- I loved hearing the nannies call her name....... her name is Mariamawit. The nannies would pronounce it "Maury-yama-wit". They would say it so fast, too. They made it sound beautiful! It was hard to call her Keira so we called her Mariamawit most of the time. Once again, Keira was amazing! The nannies would fix her hair. They slicked it back into a ponytail. It always made us laugh. I appreciated their effort in fixing her hair, but I loved to see her hair down. She has crazy yet beautiful hair!!! I finally decided to change her diaper. I was actually nervous!! I was afraid I would do it wrong or I would make her mad. It was so much fun changing her diaper and outfit. I never thought I would be excited about changing a diaper, but I was! She smiled the whole time. Again, this little girl is perfect! She enjoyed her bottle and fell asleep quickly!! It was a little harder to say goodbye at 12, but I knew we had two more hours in the afternoon!

Lunch at the guest house- Lunch was great!! They would make us a different pasta everyday. I would get excited about eating lunch each day. After lunch we decided to go to the Market. One of the other moms went with us as well. I thoroughly enjoyed the Market. Everyone was so kind! Before we knew it, it was time to return to the foster home. Even though I was not finished shopping, I was not about to miss my time with our sweet little girl!!!

Foster home-Another great afternoon with Keira! She never failed us. She constantly smiled, laughed, and loved on us. There were two more families in the room with us. It was very neat to see them getting to meet their daughter as well! Once again, she fell asleep in our arms. It was getting harder to share Keira. Matt would have her and then I wanted her right back!!! We could not get enough of her!!! We got to tour the foster home. After seeing the foster home, I had a lot of peace. The nannies really take care of the babies! All the babies were so sweet and precious!!

Keira's bed in the foster home.

Dinner at the guest house- The new family came for dinner. They were staying somewhere else, but would eat with us. It amazed me how close I felt with these other families. I felt like we were one big happy family! We would share stories and laugh together. There were 4 families. At this point, I knew it would be very hard to say goodbye to this experience. 

Day 4 (Tuesday)-
Breakfast at the guest house- We had wonderful pancakes for breakfast. They were delicious! It was an exciting day for many reasons......
1) It's our court date at 1:30pm
2) We get to see Keira
3) It's Christmas!!!!

Foster Home- Today was very special.We changed Keira into a Christmas outfit. She is so beautiful! She could wear ANYTHING and be beautiful!!! I remember holding her knowing that in a few hours she would be legally mine FOREVER. I held her very tight and kissed her sweet face. Our sweet driver gave all of us a Christmas present. I got a beautiful scarf, Matt got an awesome wallet, and Keira got a wristband that she LOVED!! The driver was an awesome person. He also made this whole experience wonderful for us. He was so kind and would do anything to make us happy. I am so grateful to have met him! I also talked to one of the ladies who help manage the foster homes. She talked about my daughter's biological mother. She told me that she met her once. She told me she was VERY young, tiny, and beautiful! It was nice talking about Kiera's biological mother. I just wish I knew more.........Of course, the two hours flew by...... We had to leave a little early because of court. They wanted us to hurry and eat lunch so we would be ready for court! We kissed Keira goodbye and jumped in the car. I got emotional that day. I knew that tomorrow would be the last day I would see her and we were about to go to court. My emotions were everywhere.

All the beautiful moms!

Lunch- We ate lunch which was great! My stomach was starting to hurt A LOT. I thought maybe I got the stomach bug that the other families caught. Matt kept telling me that it was probably my nerves. I was so nervous about court. (((What if we didnt pass?!?!))) Before I knew it, it was time to head to court........


Court- There was another family with us who also had court. When we arrived, we were all very nervous!! We sat in the waiting room. We didn't wait long, but it felt like hours!!  I was so thankful to have had that other wonderful couple with us. It definitely made it easier. Then, it was our turn. We walked in the judge's room and there she was........I felt so vulnerable. Then the judged asked us very simple questions....before we knew it.....SHE WAS OURS FOREVER!!!! It happened so fast. I started crying because I was so happy!!!!!!! I couldn't believe she was our little girl forever! It was over and now it was time to see our beautiful little girl!

Foster home/Christmas Celebration- When the nannies brought her down. It felt amazing. They were carrying MY little girl. Matt and I hugged and kissed her a thousand times!!! I have so much love for this little girl!!! She is 100% my daughter!!!  The foster home had something special for us. We had the most beautiful coffee ceremony AND Christmas celebration! Everyone was a part of it. They had a cake, bread, cokes, and popped soy beans prepared for us. They brought the toddlers and kids into the little room and had them all sit down. They turned on a music video and encouraged the children to get up and dance. The kids would dance and smile. It was fun!!!! I was overwhelmed with emotions. I did not want that moment to end. Keira was so sweet. She loved everything that was happening around us! After everyone ate, we went outside with the kids. The children were so sweet and appreciative of everything. They thought it was so much fun getting in and out of one of the cars that was parked in the courtyard. They also had fun kicking a ball around. That day was AMAZING. It was the best Christmas EVER.

They had this cake made just for us!

Matt cutting the cake

Coffee ceremony-Ethiopian tradition.

Snacks they prepared for us

Drinking the coffee-It was great!!!

Dinner at the guest house- Dinner was great as always. I was very tired after this day. It was a great but emotional day. My Christmas could not have been any better. God is so good. God truly made this day magical!

Day 1 and 2 in Ethiopia........

Where do I begin........First of all, I miss my sweet Keira so much. It's hard to find my happy place. Thank goodness for my other two children, husband, family, and friends who have lifted me up.
 So, I will start with day 1 .........

Day 1(Friday/Saturday)....I have NEVER been on a plane, but I enjoyed it! I wasn't scared at all. Our first plane was TINY. It was one seat on the left and two seats on the right. That flight was over quickly. The second flight was awesome! The plane was huge, comfortable, and I loved all the free movies! I also got excited about the dinner they served. I thought it was very good, too!We were a little worried that if we had ANY delays in Newark, we would miss our Frankfurt flight in Germany. After running, riding the tram, and going through security-WE MADE IT. Then, they delayed it because the the starter was broken (that did not make me feel good). I also had to sit beside strangers. That was not fun either. One lady sat beside me and broke her plastic cup into tiny pieces. It was so annoying and loud! I did fall asleep and NO one woke me up for dinner. However, Matt said I did not miss anything. The food was no longer good. Finally, we made it!!! When we arrived at the airport.We had to get our visa, change our money, and then get our luggage. I felt overwhelmed. I was afraid our driver had left because we arrived much later and had to do all those things in the airport. We couldn't find our driver in the airport. I began to cry a little because I felt so out of place. Finally, we decided to go outside the airport. When we walked outside there were SEVERAL people. Again, I felt overwhelmed and then there he stood holding a sign - Milam! I could have hugged him!! We got into his car and off we went! His driving SCARED me! I had no seat belt either. I actually prayed in the backseat. I prayed that I wouldn't die in his car. He swerved around people and honked every 5 mins. I was in culture shock. When we arrived to the guest house and everyone was asleep. I had no idea what to do. I felt homesick and was ready to come home. So we jumped in the bed and went to sleep.

Day 2(Sunday).......
Breakfast at the guest house- We woke up early. I was afraid no one would wake us up. I did not want to miss breakfast and our first visit with Keira. We got dressed and went downstairs and met the other families. Breakfast was AMAZING! We ate the best  french toast.  I no longer felt homesick. Everything changed. I felt excited and loved the other families! It was time to go load up and head over to the foster home from 10-12pm. Matt and I were so excited! The drive over seemed a lot different. I didn't feel scared and started to understand their driving. I realized that I wasn't going to die and he knew what he was doing. Then , we pulled into the foster home. My heart started beating fast. I was about to meet my beautiful little girl!

Meeting Keira- We were standing their waiting, waiting, and waiting. They called for her name "Mariamawit". Then, I saw the nanny walking down the stairs with my precious girl in her arms. My heart could have exploded. It was the best feeling. The nanny was standing right in front of me. Keira smiled the moment she saw my face. I couldn't believe how beautiful she was. It was so surreal. She went right to me. Matt and I were in awe of her. She was perfect!!! We got to spend two hours with her. It felt like minutes......I couldnt believe how fast those two hours went. She laughed, played, and fell asleep in my arms. Matt and I couldn't get enough of her. I kept thanking God for giving me this beautiful little girl. Just writing about her makes me tear up because I miss her so much! It was hard to say goodbye to her, but it was time for us to leave. I knew that I would get to see her again at 3pm so I was able to say goodbye!

Lunch at the guest house -We went home had lunch. One of the couples at the guest house asked if we wanted to walk around. Our driver insisted on going so he could "protect' us. lol. The five of us went on an adventure.(((Ethiopia is BEAUTIFUL)))) It really opened my eyes to a lot of things. I really enjoyed walking around and just seeing everything. Everyone was so nice, too!  A sweet little boy followed us everywhere. I even got him to say my name. When we returned to the guest house, I gave him a toy. Before I knew it, kids were surrounding me. You would have thought I was passing out gold! They were so excited to have a toy. It broke my heart.

Foster Home-It was time to go back to the foster home form 3-5pm. Our 2nd visit with her was just as amazing! She was always happy!!! She laughed at everything we did.The room we were in was very small and we had to share it with two other families. It was very cozy though. It did not matter where we were or who was around us. The three of us were in our own little world. I thoroughly enjoyed watching the other families interact with their sweet babies, too!!! Again, the two hours flew by. It felt like minutes........The nannies came down and took our babies away.

Dinner at the guest house- When we returned home it was dinner time! I LOVED the meals at the guest house. They definitely knew how to cook! They would make us American food. After dinner, everyone went to bed. Matt and I stayed up and just talked about our day. Day 2 in Ethiopia was amazing! It was one of my favorite moments in my life! I never thought that our first meeting with Keira would have been so amazing! We prepared ourselves for the worst before we came. We knew that she could possibly be scared of us, not bond with us, cry the whole time,  and much more.  With that said, the visit exceeded our expectations! She blew us away! Our day was PERFECT!

God's Plan.........

Thinking about her.........It's amazing how this little girl who is so far away is loved so much. Everyday we pray that God gives us a court date so we can touch her little fingers, kiss her sweet face, hold her tiny feet, and give her all the love she deserves. I never realized that this part of the process would be so hard. I thought that once we got a referral we would feel "at peace" because God picked our daughter out and soon she would be joining our family. I feel like I am always asking God to give me patience. With that said, I think God is giving me opportunities to be patient.  It has definitely not been easy...........


While we have been waiting, our little girl got very sick. We could tell she looked sick in her pictures. When she was moved into the foster home, she had a parasite that she contracted while at the orphanage. The parasite made her very sick. She ended up being admitted to the hospital with pneumonia and gastroenteritis. She had to be on oxygen and an IV for a few days. However, we know that God was with her the entire time. One week later, she was back in the foster home. When they sent us our update, she was finally smiling! I had several pictures of her, but she was never smiling. Not only was I happy that she was out of the hospital, but that she was finally happy! 

It's been 2 months since we fell in love with this little angel. We decided to name her Keira Marie. She now weighs 12lbs. I love everything about this little girl. I love her fingers, toes, nose, cheeks, legs, ears, BIG eyes, and everything else..........God picked the perfect little girl for us to love forever.

Now, we continue to wait......... we had our first court date on Nov. 28th. This court date does not involve us. This is when the court system reviews papers, interviews the birth mother, and requests the Federal MOWA letter. Once they have BOTH letters, they will assign us a court date that we will attend. We have yet to hear anything about the Nov. 28th court date. However, no news, is good news! With that said, we continue to trust in God's plan. We have to trust that God's timing is PERFECT. I have to stop feeling discouraged and just have faith.  I catch myself feeling discouraged, whining about not getting a court date, worrying that something is wrong, complaining that other cases are moving much faster than ours and then I realize that I am not really trusting and allowing God to be in control. Worrying will do nothing, but make this whole process harder and longer. God can move mountains, yet I am worrying?! With that said, I am letting go of all my worries and trusting in God.We will continue to pray for her and that she will be HOME soon.

 Matthew 21:21

Jesus replied, "I tell you the truth, if you have faith and do not doubt, not only can you do what was done to the fig tree, but also you can say to this mountain, 'Go, throw yourself into the sea,' and it will be done.

Mark 11:24 Therefore I say to you, whatever things you ask when you pray, believe that you receive them, and you will have them.

Romans 8:28
And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.

It's a GIRL!!!!

Where do I begin???? On Tuesday, I was sitting at my desk checking my email and there it was..........."The Referral" email that I had dreamed and prayed about receiving! My heart dropped. My husband and I talked about this moment and we agreed that we would wait for each other to look at it. I just couldn't help myself though. I LOOKED! I had to see my daughter! I opened the email and there she was...my beautiful little angel. She was absolutely PERFECT!! I cannot express the emotions I felt when I saw her for the first time.God is so good!! I still cannot believe that God is so gracious and is giving us this beautiful angel to love forever. Once my children were out of school, I showed them the pictures. They were just as excited as I was!! Not only do I love her already, but my children love her just as much. They keep saying they can't wait to play with their new baby sister. God has guided us through this whole process. Every time we felt defeated, stressed, or overwhelmed, He was there comforting and reassuring us that He will always be with us.. Recently, Matt and I were struggling financially so we just kept praying that God would provide what we needed. We still owed some of our agency fees and we would've had to pay fees when we accepted a referral. The whole idea combined with daily life's struggles began to overwhelm us, but we continued to pray and have faith that God would provide. Sure enough, like He always does, God provided in a BIG way! We received a $6,000 grant from Show Hope which takes care of all our agency fees. How amazing is that!!!! We stepped out in faith and God displayed His grace and love. Every day I carry her pictures around with me. I cannot stop looking at her sweet face. God is so faithful! I just pray that we won't have to wait very long to bring our little girl home to her family. 

Having Faith

We did it, we finished the "paper-chase" our dossier is in Ethiopia! We are so excited to finally wait! I never thought we'd get to this step in this process. It definitely hasn't been easy and I know it will continue being a challenge. However, I am not worried because God is in control! A few weeks ago, Matt and I owed $3,700 to our agency. With that said, we knew we had to HAVE FAITH. I currently have the summer off while Matt works. It's been rough! We decided to try taking out another small loan. Since Matt and I already have a loan, we could only get an extra $1,600-1,800 more. Then, we realized Matt's tuition is due in August and we will have to pay about $600-800 for the first payment. That means we will only have $1,000 left for the adoption fees! We still owed $2,700!!!! Matt and I continued to HAVE FAITH and prayed every night. Finally, we emailed our pastor and associate pastor and asked them if we could have a fundraiser at our church. Our pastors were thrilled to support us! They were excited to help us do a fundraiser. So, they told us that we would do the "cook-out" in 2 weeks and that all we needed to do is bring a few drinks and ice. THAT WAS IT! I felt a little helpless, but extremely grateful!

Our hotdog and hamburger fundraiser was super simple. It was probably the easiest fundraiser we have had so far. Moe's even donated some Moo Moos, chips, and salsa! We have never felt so much support and love like we did that day. Matt and I are so blessed to have such an amazing church family. So many people went above and beyond to support us. God really laid it on so many people's hearts to donate.Guess how much we raised....... around $2,700! We raised just enough money!!! Matt and I had FAITH, and God provided!!!!