The Rogersuz

Reason to Sing

2012-01-21T06:23:00.000-08:00

I do NOT want this post to be a complaining post. I want it to be a way for me to share a little about me learning to trust my heavenly father. Please forgive me if it sounds like I"m complaining because the Lord has provided many many blessings this week that I am so very thankful for and He has blessed us beyond measure. Thank you Lord for holding us in Your hands.

So, in light of that let me continue...
This was one crazy week for sure, but you can see from my previous post that God provided MANY blessings during the week. He is good. Josh began his travel schedule this week. The Lord provided a promotion at work for my husband and I am very proud of him and his hard work. That being said, the new job requires quite a bit of travel. That is going to take some getting used to for sure. Honestly, Amaya and I do great except for one part of the day. The mornings. Getting up, dressed, breakfast, coffee, to the sitter, and to work on time seems impossible. I know this seems silly seeing as how I only have one child and those with multiple children probably just laugh, but for some reason it's a big struggle for us. By the time we leave the house I feel like I"ve just run a marathon. Part of the problem is that our sitter is so far from our house. She is only about 15 minutes north of my school, BUT that's almost a 30 minute drive in the morning to get there and then a 15 minute drive back to work. For this reason we are going to begin looking for different options that might be closer to our house. I know the Lord will provide. He always does. He is faithful. He is in control.
We found out one of our close friends that we met on a mission trip to Ecuador many years ago is going through a really tough time. Their five year old daughter may have cancer. She went through surgery last Friday to remove the tumor. They are waiting on the results. Wow, no words. I know the Lord will provide. He always does. He is faithful. He is in control.
I was really really hoping for an infant boy referral this week. It seems like it has been forever since the last boy referral (almost 2 months). As far as I know there weren't any boy referrals. However, there was an infant girl referral! This is very exciting, especially since our friends the Garmans moved down on the list! Wahoo. I just keep saying that God is working it out so we can travel with them to Ethiopia. So we continue to wait and see what God's plan is for our little guy in Ethiopia. EASIER SAID THAN DONE. We know this is God's plan. Just because something is God's doesn't always mean its easy I know the Lord will provide. He always does. He is faithful. He is in control.
Friday was a particularly rough day. You see, our school district is going through what most other school districts are going through. REDUCTION IN FORCE. We didn't pass our last levy. This means cuts. Let me first say that I'm not sure there is any school quite like ours. We have a group of the most flexible, hard working, committed teachers I know AND for the most part we all get along. Sure there are certain teachers that are closer than others, but despite our flaws and things that irritate us about each other. We are family. We have monthly hang outs. Christmas parties. Baby Showers. We all worked together long enough to learn about each other and our lives. I've worked there for 9 years. In those nine years I have seen the kids grow immensely. I've seen teachers convinced that just because we are a very low socio-economic student population doesn't mean we can be a school of excellence. I've seen them prove it by being an "excellent" school the last two years. Friday we got the news several of my co-workers would be let go next year. One of whom I've worked with and have become friends with over the past three years. They are an awesome family. We also got the news that some major restructuring would happen and the RIF isn't even close to being over. This was one of those times that I expected myself to be strong. It's like I thought, "I've had Christ in my life for over 20 years. When tough stuff happens I'll be strong. I would never doubt. I would never wonder what's going on." Um, yea right. Nope. I cried. Then I questioned, "God Where are you? What's happening here?" After a tough week and being extra tired than normal I kind of crumbled. It does make me so very thankful that I am not in control. It makes me so very thankful that I can run to my savior and cry out to Him. Thank you David for giving us those awesome Psalms that show how we can cry out to our heavenly father. And Here's the thing that no matter how I feel I know the Lord will provide. He always does. He is faithful. He is in control.

I came home from work on Friday and my husband (thank you Lord for getting him home from the winter weather in Seattle) instantly said, "you must listen to this song." Can I just say I am so thankful that we can share our deepest most inner feelings and thoughts with our Heavenly Father? Just take a moment to sit and listen (you have to pause the player on the right of the
screen). I am so thankful that I do have a reason to sing and that reason is a savior who came as a tiny baby to save a broken world. From Genesis to Revelation you can see that God had a plan to redeem His people. I know the Lord will provide. He always does. He is faithful. He is in control.

My top ten..well 14

2012-01-19T18:25:00.000-08:00

Things I am thankful for this week(in absolutely no particular order):

1. The super awesome friends God has provided me with in a city where I have no family. I
could not ask for better friends. Seriously. I have no idea what I'd do without them.
2. An amazing House Church filled with people that love the Lord and care for one another.
3. My beautiful daughter and her amazing ability to be way more flexible with what life brings her than her mama. She makes me smile every day. Love her.
4. The girls I work out with at work. They keep me going when I don't want to.
5. Skype
6. A husband that will talk on the phone to me when he's out of town on business (he hates talking on the phone).
7. A mom that will talk on the phone any time I call.
8. An awesome accountability partner.
9. Netflix
10. Starbucks K Cups
11. Freezer meals
12. Hair Dye (got cover the gray)
13. My bed
14. A God who doesn't give up on me even when I'd like to and who cares for me and loves me despite of who I am.

A look back and a look forward!!

2012-01-01T07:55:00.000-08:00

Today marks the very first day of 2012. Wow, we have so much to be thankful for over the last year. We are really thankful for a time of rest and relaxation over the past two weeks. Josh was able to take the week off between Christmas and New Year's and we were able to spend time with family and some much needed time at home. God is good. No, our year did not include bringing home our son, but we are still in constant prayer that we will 1.) be patient in the wait and 2). receive a referral soon. The road after referral will not be easy either as we will have to travel for a court date, pass court, then be submitted to embassy, etc. BUT we are not anxious because we know our Father in Heaven is in control and we are not. In the mean time we are enjoying time with our precious daughter who just turned three year old! How did that happen?? And of course the business is about to ensue as we get ready to head back to work this week! I thought I'd leave you with some pictures of our time together as a family over the last few weeks!!

Making Cookies with Mommy and Daddy

My beautiful sis-in-law and precious Niece!

Christmas Eve Service

These cousins are the best of friends. I just love it.

Our best attempt at a pictures with my bro and our kids!

Christmas morning coming down the steps at Mimi and Poppy's house.

Poppy made us omelets, scrambled eggs, and toast for breakfast before church!

Let's go celebrate Jesus's Birthday!

Mimi and Ma.

We got to see Steph, Dave, and Ryan!!! Best of friends since 3rd grade.

Traveled to the Indianapolis Children's Museum for Amaya's birthday with the Wells. So fun.

Focus on the light...

2011-12-22T16:50:00.000-08:00

We were hoping for a few referrals this week (ok at least just one) before Christmas. Unfortunately, that didn't happen. We had been praying lots and lots and lots, but for some reason God has another plan. One that is not our own nor one we are in charge of. Someone on the wonderful group we belong to from our agency posted their daily devotional and I wanted to share it with you. During this Christmas season take time to look at all of the blessings God has given you.

"Whatever is true... whatever is lovely... whatever is right... think about such
things..." Philippians 4:8 (NIV)

I've decided that pre-lit Christmas trees are a modern marvel. Three parts of a
tree insert together. Three plugs connect into each other, into the wall and
voila! An instant, gorgeous, perfectly balanced display! Can you hear the angels
singing?

Except of course when it doesn't ...light up, that is.

The day after Thanksgiving, we hauled our Christmas treasures down from the
attic; dragged them into the house, box by box. Anticipation ran high as
Christmas carols and cinnamon candles filled the air. Two girls and their single
momma were excited to get our house all Christmas-y.

The tree was first. Bottom section, check. Middle section, check. Tiny pointed
top section — all in place. Plug A into B into C and ... tada! Well, almost.

It was a 'tada!' moment except for three pesky branches that remained dark.
Cords were plugged and re-plugged. Still dark. Branches were jiggled and bulbs
tested. No lights.

The type A' perfectionist in me was completely frustrated, and it felt like my
Christmas cheer was being sucked down a black hole of disappointment. It was a
simple thing, yet in that moment the tree symbolized the many areas of my life
that were dark, filled with disappointment and out of my control.

My then thirteen year old squinted at the tree, tilted her head and forever
changed my perspective with these simple words: "Momma, I know! Don't look at
those branches that are dark. Just look at the branches that are lit."

Hmmm, I thought. Looking at the lit branches only, I was reminded of Paul's
words today in Philippians 4:8, which encourage us to find what is true and
lovely and think on thosethings.

Sure enough, when I concentrated on the twinkling lights, the areas of darkness
seemed to disappear. When focused on the working lights, they were so bright,
the darkened parts didn't matter much.

It was a great Christmas tree lesson, but one I knew Jesus wanted me to apply in
my life too. I have my own dark branches that include widowhood, family health
struggles and financial challenges. But lighting my way are other branches
overflowing with love — His love and the love of my family. I also have friends,
a house to live in, two precious girls to kiss goodnight, flavored coffee,
fluffy pillows. The list goes on and on — if I focus on what I have instead of
what I don't.

This Christmas, let's purpose together to look at the branches that are lit in
our lives instead of thinking on those that aren't.

We will always have things we wish were different. But we also have a choice to
concentrate on what isn't or think about what is. Instead of bemoaning our
life's lack of Hallmark perfection, let's focus on the lit branches: things like
love, sacrifice, time and togetherness.

Instead of heaping more on our to-do list, or trying to achieve an elusive
Christmas ideal, let's choose to see the blessings we do have. And if we squint
our eyes just right and tilt our heads, life looks pretty bright after all.

Dear Lord, thank You for simple illustrations that help us to see Your truth.
You are the light of the world and our hope for the future. Please help me see
the things that 'shine' in my life instead of dwelling on the darkness. In
Jesus' Name, Amen."

13 months and what its all about...

2011-12-12T07:23:00.000-08:00

Well hello there. Yes it's been awhile since our last post. Mostly because to be honest there really isn't much to share in the adoption world. The wait continues and everything is slow. Passing our 13 month DTE date wasn't really very exciting. Also, the wonderful fun of beginning to update all of our adoption paper work has begun. This week we have appointments to update our fingerprints. Then in a few months we'll begin updating our i171H paperwork (the paper from the government giving us permission to adopt), which means more paper work. Let me tell you what folks. There is one thing this adoption has done for us. It has allowed us to a). cling to the feet of Jesus and b). learn much more about sweet communion with our Lord in prayer. I now treasure the prayer times we have together as we pour out our hearts to our Father. Is this what we expected? nope. Is it definitely teaching us a lot about our relationship with each other and our Savior? yep. Will you please join us in prayer? Pray that more of the orphans paper work would clear with no problems. Pray for political strife in Ethiopia and that Satan would not use this to keep orphans from having a forever family. Pray for the staff at AWAA as they work endlessly to help bring kids home. Pray that we would be strong in the wait. We received the sweetest most perfectly timed card from a relative this week reminding us that God will bring our family together in his timing. It meant the world to us. To end I thought I'd post a video about what its really all about. This passion we have for adoption is strong and it makes things like this video happen. I cannot even begin to explain how thankful I am that God adopting me into his family and I thank him for allowing orphans of this world to find a forever family here AND with Him.

.

Hope

2011-11-18T11:50:00.001-08:00

As another Friday is going by and we are praying for more referrals, we are clinging to these words of Hope from God's word.

Isaiah 43:1-3A
1But now thus says the Lord,
he who created you, O Jacob,
he who formed you, O Israel:
"Fear not, for I have redeemed you;
I have called you by name, you are mine.2 When you pass through the waters, I will be with you;
and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you;
when you walk through fire you shall not be burned,
and the flame shall not consume you.3 For I am the Lord your God,
the Holy One of Israel, your Savior.

Romans 12:12
12 Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer.

It's time...to fill the freezer!

2011-11-15T16:40:00.001-08:00

This weekend was time for another freezer cook with Abby. We decided to do as many meals as possible seeing as how the holidays are soon approaching and we knew we wouldn't be cooking together for quite some time. So we dug in and got to work! As far as planning for the big day goes, we got a ton smarter this time and took advantage of Google Docs. It took us this many months to figure out we could both have the document up and be working on it at the same time? Let me just say that cut down on the time it took to plug in our meals and ingredients that we would need at the grocery store!

I was very very excited this time because the week before our big day our local market, Dots, had their chicken on sale. This chicken is so yummy! So I stocked up on the chicken the week before, which also meant we cut and portioned the meat into bags early. That definitely saved on some preparation time! I also cooked up all of the other meat in crockpots the night before our big day. That also saved on time. Its the little things that count when you are cooking tons of meals in one day!

So how did our day go? It went great! I mean, for almost half of the time we had 4 kiddos under feet as we were cooking (it was amazing how much we got done in the hour our husbands took the kids out for a little drive!). It took approximately 11 hours (including clean up) and was totally worth it.

WHAT DID WE COOK? I know you are very curious right? Welp, here's the line up!!

Spaghetti Sauce

Vegged out Sloppy Joes - I have to post this recipe some time. It is fantastic!

Parmesan Chicken Bake

Chicken Tortilla Soup - Can you ever go wrong with a Pioneer Woman recipe?

Italian Sausage Spinach Tortelli Soup - yea so we added the sausage part.

Shepherd's Pie - I cannot say enough about this one. Rachel Ray GOT IT RIGHT. It has a yummy gravy that adds tons of flavor. We do mashed potatoes on top instead of tater tots like she suggests.

Crockpot Chicken Marsala

Johnny Marzetti

Honey Lime Chicken - another recipe I need to post. It looks delicious. Cannot wait to eat this one!

Soyaki Chicken - Soyaki mix from Trader joes, stir fry veggies, and chicken. Easy Peasy.

Chicken Broccolo Casserole - thank you OnceAMonthMom

Angel Chicken - my personal favorite

Crock Pot Chicken Taco Chili

Creamy Chicken Pot Pie

I think you'll be able to guess who was taking all of the pictures because there is not ONE picture of her!!!

Chicken Broccoli Bake

Washing dishes

Big bowl of chicken- yum?


Playing..

Thank goodness for Netflix during nap time!


Time to pack up the food. Its only about 12:15 AM!

A big bop on the head!

2011-11-07T17:58:00.000-08:00

As I mentioned in the previous post, this past Sunday was Orphan Sunday and I was a little nervous about going to church. Well, um, yea all I got was a big huge bop on the top of the head! It was such a wonderful, amazing, and refreshing morning. If you go to Apex's site, you can even watch the short videos that were played this weekend (um yea watch until the end)!! I can't really capture the service by writing about it but at the crux of it all, we were reminded that God adopted us (the sermon was out of 2 Samuel 9 when David brings Mephibosheth into his home). Without Christ we are all fatherless and crippled and lost. God sent his one and only Son so that through him we could be saved and ADOPTED into his family! This is what makes the story of adoption so incredible. So amazing. If we are a part of the body of Chirst then we are all adopted!!! Can you hear me practically shouting it from the rooftops right now? Even though going through this adoption process is the hardest thing we've ever done, we are 100% sure that it is exactly what God wants for our family. The very last song we sang this weekend has become one of my favorites and I can literally shout it out over and over! I'm so thankful that God gave me this weekend as a huge bop on the head!

To Know Your Name
The precious blood of Jesus Christ redeems,
Forgiven I'm alive, restored set free.
Your Majesty resides inside of me,
Forever I believe, forever I believe.

Arrested by your truth and righteousness,
Your grace has overwhelmed my brokenness.
Convicted by your spirit, led by your word,
Your love will never fail, your love will never fail.

Cause I know you gave the world
Your only son for us
To know your name
To live within the saviour's love and He took my place
Knowing He´d be crucified
And You loved, You loved
A people undeserving!

ONE YEAR - DTE

2011-11-03T06:54:00.000-07:00

Tomorrow, Friday, November 4, 2011 marks our ONE YEAR DTE (Dossier to Ethipiopia) date. I have to be honest. We never thought we'd see this date, but it has come and will probably go without hearing much of anything. Things are just plain slow. Nothing much has changed. I am going to be honest. This week has not been an easy one. It's just been plain rough. We've been "pregnant" for what seems like an eternity to us. Yes, we knew when God called us to adopt that it would be rough. That, however, does not make it any easier. This coming Sunday happens to be national ORPHAN SUNDAY. I'm so glad that our church has chosen to raise awareness on this important day. I am, however, not so sure I can sit through the whole service. Not sure I can sit through half of the service. Not sure I can enter the room. Not because I don't want others to know ways that they can help with the millions of orphans around the world, but because there is this little guy miles and miles away that will someday be ours that we thought we'd know by now, and the thought of it is just plain hard.. That is why i was so very excited to read this AMAZING blog post by Jen Hatmaker. Yes, it is a tad long, but it IS WORTH THE READ!! I know it is so hard sometimes for others to understand what adoptive parents are going through and what the right words to say to them might be. READ THIS! Sit down with a cup of coffee and put on some good music and read. Its good folks. It shares our hearts. Yes we chose adoption. no we will never give up on our son and yep sometimes that means its just plain difficult.

Post from Jen Hatmaker:

"Our good friends just returned from Ethiopia last night with their two little boys. Ok, they've had their "airport" moment and we were right there with them. What are some things we can do now to support them in the "real life" journey without overstepping our boundaries? Thank you so much for your transparency and honesty. Everyone can benefit when you share from your heart.

I was so moved by this email. Having benefitted from a community that practically smothered us with support throughout our adoption journey, I am so grateful for all the other good friends out there, loving their people and asking how to help. Since reading this email, I’ve been marinating on her question, and I’ve decided to write this Field Guide to Supporting Adoptive Families. (And it will be brief because I will try to remember that this is a blog and not a manuscript and the rules of blogging include succinctness, so that is exactly how I’ll proceed today, except for the exact opposite of all that.)

Let’s break this down into two categories:

Supporting Families Before the Airport

Your friends are adopting. They’re in the middle of dossiers and home studies, and most of them are somewhere in the middle of Waiting Purgatory. Please let me explain something about WP: It sucks in every way. Oh sure, we try to make it sound better than it feels by using phrases like “We’re trusting in God’s plan” and “God is refining me” and “Sovereignty trumps my feelings” and crazy bidness like that. But we are crying and aching and getting angry and going bonkers when you’re not watching. It’s hard. It hurts. It feels like an eternity even though you can see that it is not. It is harder for us to see that, because many of us have pictures on our refrigerators of these beautiful darlings stuck in an orphanage somewhere while we’re bogged down in bureaucracy and delays.

How can you help? By not saying or doing these things:

1. “God’s timing is perfect!” (Could also insert: “This is all God’s plan!” “God is in charge!”) As exactly true as this may be, when you say it to a waiting parent, we want to scratch your eyebrows off and make you eat them with a spoon. Any trite answer that minimizes the struggle is as welcomed as a sack of dirty diapers. You are voicing something we probably already believe while not acknowledging that we are hurting and that somewhere a child is going to bed without a mother again. Please never say this again. Thank you.

2. “Are you going to have your own kids?” (Also in this category: “You’ll probably get pregnant the minute your adoption clears!” “Since this is so hard, why don’t you just try to have your own kids?” “Well, at least you have your own kids.”) The subtle message here is: You can always have legitimate biological kids if this thing tanks. It places adoption in the Back-up Plan Category, where it does not belong for us. When we flew to Ethiopia with our first travel group from our agency, out of 8 couples, we were the only parents with biological kids. The other 7 couples chose adoption first. Several of them were on birth control. Adoption counts as real parenting, and if you believe stuff Jesus said, it might even be closer to the heart of God than regular old procreation. (Not to mention the couples that grieved through infertility already. So when you say, “Are you going to have your own kids?” to a woman who tried for eight years, then don’t be surprised if she pulls your beating heart out like Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom.)

3. For those of you in Christian community, it is extremely frustrating to hear: “Don’t give up on God!” or “Don’t lose faith!” It implies that we are one nanosecond away from tossing our entire belief system in the compost pile because we are acting sad or discouraged. It’s condescending and misses the crux of our emotions. I can assure you, at no point in our story did we think about kicking Jesus to the curb, but we still get to cry tears and feel our feelings, folks. Jesus did. And I’m pretty sure he went to heaven when he died.

4. We’re happy to field your questions about becoming a transracial family or adopting a child of another race, but please don’t use this moment to trot out your bigotry. (Cluelessness is a different thing, and we try to shrug that off. Like when someone asked about our Ethiopian kids, “Will they be black?” Aw, sweet little dum-dum.) The most hurtful thing we heard during our wait was from a black pastor who said, “Whatever you do, don’t change their last name to Hatmaker, because they are NOT Hatmakers. They’ll never be Hatmakers. They are African.” What the??? I wonder if he’d launch the same grenade if we adopted white kids from Russia? If you’d like to know what we’re learning about raising children of another race or ask respectful, legitimate questions, by all means, do so. We care about this and take it seriously, and we realize we will traverse racial landmines with our family. You don’t need to point out that we are adopting black kids and we are, in fact, white. We’ve actually already thought of that.

5. Saying nothing is the opposite bad. I realize with blogs like this one, you can get skittish on how to talk to a crazed adopting Mama without getting under her paper-thin skin or inadvertently offending her. I get it. (We try hard not to act so hypersensitive. Just imagine that we are paper-pregnant with similar hormones surging through our bodies making us cry at Subaru commercials just like the 7-month preggo sitting next to us. And look at all this weight we’ve gained. See?) But acting like we’re not adopting or struggling or waiting or hoping or grieving is not helpful either. If I was pregnant with a baby in my belly, and no one ever asked how I was feeling or how much longer or is his nursery ready or can we plan a shower, I would have to audition new friend candidates immediately.

Here’s what we would love to hear Before the Airport:

1. Just kind, normal words of encouragement. Not the kind that assume we are one breath away from atheism. Not the kind that attempt to minimize the difficulties and tidy it all up with catchphrases. We don’t actually need for you to fix our wait. We just want you to be our friend and acknowledge that the process is hard and you care about us while we’re hurting. That is GOLD. I was once having lunch with my friend Lynde when AWAA called with more bad news about Ben’s case, and I laid my head down on the table in the middle of Galaxy Café and bawled. Having no idea what to do with such a hot mess, she just cried with me. Thank you for being perfect that day, Lynde.

2. Your questions are welcomed! We don’t mind telling you about the court system in Ethiopia or the in-country requirements in Nicaragua or the rules of the foster system. We’re glad to talk about adoption, and we’re thankful you care. I assure you we didn’t enter adoption lightly, so sharing details of this HUGE PIECE OF OUR LIVES is cathartic. Plus, we want you to know more because we’re all secretly hoping you’ll adopt later. (This is not true.) (Yes it is.)

3. When you say you’re praying for us and our waiting children, and you actually really are, not only does that soothe our troubled souls, but according to Scripture, it activates the heavens. So pray on, dear friends. Pray on. That is always the right thing to say. And please actually do it. We need people to stand in the gap for us when we are too tired and discouraged to keep praying the same words another day.

4. If you can, please become telepathic to determine which days we want to talk about adoption and which days we’d rather you just show up on our doorstep with fresh figs from the Farmer’s Market (thanks, Katie) or kidnap us away in the middle of the day to go see Bridesmaids. Sometimes we need you to make us laugh and remember what it feels like to be carefree for a few hours. If you’re not sure which day we’re having, just pre-buy movie tickets and show up with the figs, and when we answer the door, hold them all up and ask, “Would you like to talk for an hour uninterrupted about waiting for a court date?” We’ll respond to whichever one fits.

Supporting Families After the Airport

You went to the airport. The baby came down the escalator to cheers and balloons. The long adoption journey is over and your friends are home with their new baby / toddler / twins / siblings / teenager. Everyone is happy. Maybe Fox News even came out and filmed the big moment and “your friend” babbled like an idiot and didn’t say one constructive word about adoption and also she looked really sweaty during her interview. (Really? That happened to me too. Weird.)

How can you help? By not saying or doing these things:

1. I mean this nicely, but don’t come over for awhile. Most of us are going to hole up in our homes with our little tribe and attempt to create a stable routine without a lot of moving parts. This is not because we hate you; it’s because we are trying to establish the concept of “home” with our newbies, and lots of strangers coming and going makes them super nervous and unsure, especially strangers who are talking crazy language to them and trying to touch their hair.

2. Please do not touch, hug, kiss, or use physical affection with our kids for a few months. We absolutely know your intentions are good, but attachment is super tricky with abandoned kids, and they have had many caregivers, so when multiple adults (including extended family) continue to touch and hold them in their new environment, they become confused about who to bond with. This actually delays healthy attachment egregiously. It also teaches them that any adult or stranger can touch them without their permission, and believe me, many adoptive families are working HARD to undo the damage already done by this position. Thank you so much for respecting these physical boundaries.

3. For the next few months, do not assume the transition is easy. For 95% of us, it so is not. And this isn’t because our family is dysfunctional or our kids are lemons, but because this phase is so very hard on everyone. I can’t tell you how difficult it was to constantly hear: “You must be so happy!” and “Is life just so awesome now that they’re here??” and “Your family seems just perfect now!” I wanted that to be true so deeply, but I had no idea how to tell you that our home was actually a Trauma Center. (I did this in a passive aggressive way by writing this blog, which was more like “An Open Letter to Everyone Who Knows Us and Keeps Asking Us How Happy We Are.”) Starting with the right posture with your friends – this is hard right now – will totally help you become a safe friend to confide in / break down in front of / draw strength from.

4. Do not act shocked if we tell you how hard the early stages are. Do not assume adoption was a mistake. Do not worry we have ruined our lives. Do not talk behind our backs about how terribly we’re doing and how you’re worried that we are suicidal. Do not ask thinly veiled questions implying that we are obviously doing something very, very wrong. Do not say things like, “I was so afraid it was going to be like this” or “Our other friends didn’t seem to have these issues at all.” Just let us struggle. Be our friends in the mess of it. We’ll get better.

5. If we’ve adopted older kids, please do not ask them if they “love America so much” or are “so happy to live in Texas.” It’s this simple: adoption is born from horrible loss. In an ideal world, there would be no adoption, because our children would be with their birth families, the way God intended. I’ll not win any points here, but I bristle when people say, “Our adopted child was chosen for us by God before the beginning of time.” No he wasn’t. He was destined for his birth family. God did not create these kids to belong to us. He didn’t decide that they should be born into poverty or disease or abandonment or abuse and despair aaaaaaaall so they could finally make it into our homes, where God intended them to be. No. We are a very distant Plan B. Children are meant for their birth families, same as my biological kids were meant for mine. Adoption is one possible answer to a very real tragedy… after it has already happened, not before as the impetus for abandonment. There is genuine grief and sorrow when your biological family is disrupted by death and poverty, and our kids have endured all this and more. So when you ask my 8-year-old if he is thrilled to be in Texas, please understand that he is not. He misses his country, his language, his food, his family. Our kids came to us in the throes of grief, as well they should. Please don’t make them smile and lie to you about how happy they are to be here.

6. Please do not disappear. If I thought the waiting stage was hard, it does not even hold the barest candle to what comes after the airport. Not. The. Barest. Candle. Never have I felt so isolated and petrified. Never have I been so overwhelmed and exhausted. We need you after the airport way more than we ever needed you before. I know you’re scared of us, what with our dirty hair and wild eyes and mystery children we’re keeping behind closed doors so they don’t freak out more than they already have, but please find ways to stick around. Call. Email. Check in. Post on our Facebook walls. Send us funny cards. Keep this behavior up for longer than six days.

Here’s what we would love to hear or experience After the Airport:

1. Cook for your friends. Put together a meal calendar and recruit every person who even remotely cares about them. We didn’t cook dinners for one solid month, and folks, that may have single handedly saved my sanity. There simply are not words to describe how exhausting and overwhelming those first few weeks are, not to mention the lovely jetlag everyone came home with. And if your friends adopted domestically right up the street, this is all still true, minus the jetlag.

2. If we have them, offer to take our biological kids for an adventure or sleepover. Please believe me: their lives just got WHACKED OUT, and they need a break, but their parents can’t give them one because they are 1.) cleaning up pee and poop all day, 2.) holding screaming children, 3.) spending all their time at doctors’ offices, and 4.) falling asleep in their clothes at 8:15pm. Plus, they are in lockdown mode with the recently adopted, trying to shield them from the trauma that is Walmart.

3. Thank you for getting excited with us over our little victories. I realize it sounds like a very small deal when we tell you our kindergartener is now staying in the same room as the dog, but if you could’ve seen the epic level of freakoutedness this dog caused her for three weeks, you would understand that this is really something. When you encourage us over our incremental progress, it helps. You remind us that we ARE moving forward and these little moments are worth celebrating. If we come to you spazzing out, please remind us where we were a month ago. Force us to acknowledge their gains. Be a cheerleader for the healing process.

4. Come over one night after our kids are asleep and sit with us on our porch. Let me tell you: we are all lonely in those early weeks. We are home, home, home, home, home. Good-bye, date nights. Good-bye, GNO’s. Good-bye, spontaneous anything. Good-bye, church. Good-bye, big public outings. Good-bye, community group. Good-bye, nightlife. So please bring some community to our doorstep. Bring friendship back into our lives. Bring adult conversation and laughter. And bring an expensive bottle of wine.

5. If the shoe fits, tell adopting families how their story is affecting yours. If God has moved in you over the course of our adoption, whether before the airport or after, if you’ve made a change or a decision, if somewhere deep inside a fire was lit, tell us, because it is spiritual water on dry souls. There is nothing more encouraging than finding out God is using our families for greater kingdom work, beautiful things we would never know or see. We gather the holy moments in our hands every day, praying for eyes to see God’s presence, his purposes realized in our story. When you put more holy moments in our hands to meditate on, we are drawn deeper into the Jesus who led us here.

Here’s one last thing: As you watch us struggle and celebrate and cry and flail, we also want you to know that adoption is beautiful, and a thousand times we’ve looked at each other and said, “What if we would’ve said no?” God invited us into something monumental and lovely, and we would’ve missed endless moments of glory had we walked away. We need you during these difficult months of waiting and transitioning, but we also hope you see that we serve a faithful God who heals and actually sets the lonely in families, just like He said He would. And even through the tears and tantrums (ours), we look at our children and marvel that God counted us worthy to raise them. We are humbled. We’ve been gifted with a very holy task, and when you help us rise to the occasion, you have an inheritance in their story; your name will be counted in their legacy.

Because that day you brought us pulled pork tacos was the exact day I needed to skip dinner prep and hold my son on the couch for an hour, talking about Africa and beginning to bind up his emotional wounds. When you kidnapped me for two hours and took me to breakfast, I was at the very, very, absolute end that morning, but I came home renewed, able to greet my children after school with fresh love and patience. When you loved on my big kids and offered them sanctuary for a night, you kept the family rhythm in sync at the end of a hard week.

Thank you for being the village. You are so important."

Just checkin in!

2011-10-20T11:21:00.000-07:00

I realize that its been awhile since I've written. Life has been ~~slightly~~ ridiculously busy lately. We've had several weekends out of town and visitors and work and...well you get the drift. Just life! I do love this time of year. We made sure we had a chance to go to a pumpkin patch (with Aunt Amber!), make apple pie, and do up some applesauce. It just isn't fall without fresh orchard apples, which by the way I 'm learning are way easier to find up near Amish country than around here!! It certainly is fun to do these activities with Amaya now that she is older and really looks forward to doing them. She calls our trips "field trips" and will say, "wow mommy that was a good field trip!" This weekend Josh and I have a chance to get away and are attending the Marriage for Life Conference. We are excited about the weekend, however I'm just a tad nervous about our little girl's first weekend away from us! I'm sure she'll have tons of fun with the grandparents, but I have a feeling I'll be texting a lot to see how she's doing (um, what did I do before texting?). I'll be sure to let you know how the conference goes. Hopefully after this weekend, life will return to a slightly slower pace than it has been the last few weeks. I'm not sure I can keep up much longer.

Life in the adoption world is going slow but well. There was another infant boy referral just last week! PTL! This means we moved down another slot on the list. We're still somewhere between numbers 5-10 and are praying that things keep moving along and that we see some more referrals. Please be praying for some girl referrals as well. There just haven't been many this year and the people on the girl list have been waiting MUCH longer than originally planned. We appreciate all of your continued prayers. Not only for our little guy, but for the many orphans around the world that need a forever family. Please pray that things in Ethiopia would continue to keep moving, that families stuck waiting to pass court or to clear Embassy would have peace in the wait and that their wait would end soon. We know God's timing is perfect, but when you have a child 24 hours away its just plain difficult for families to be away from their children. Thanks for praying! To end I'll share a verse from Isaiah that helps me to remember that God is working and he is making a way. We just need to trust him. He can move mountains.
Isaiah 43:19
19 Behold, I am doing a new thing;
now it springs forth, do you not perceive it?
I will make a way in the wilderness
and rivers in the desert.

Never say never

2011-10-07T10:02:00.000-07:00

If there is one thing I have learned over the past 15 months it is NEVER say NEVER. I think there are a lot of people that would love to adopt, but when they see the cost they just don't think they can do it. Well, they can't, but GOD can. When we began this journey the financial aspect was very daunting, but we talked it over with friends that had been through it. They said, "trust us God will provide." Well, they were right. Over the course of 15 months we have had several fundraisers and had many very generous donations to the adoption. We have also been working very diligently at saving as much money as we possibly can into the adoption saving fund. Well folks, today we reached our goal (which is our next payment to AWAA plus what we are praying is enough for both times we travel and other expenses)! God is so good. I cannot say it enough. THANK YOU, THANK YOU to all of those that have given so generously to help us bring our son home. We do not have words for how grateful we are. Now, let's pray harder than ever before that we start seeing more referrals!!!!!!

11 Months DTE

2011-10-04T05:09:00.000-07:00

Can it be true? Are we really at the 11 month mark of waiting for a referral? Yep. It's true. The good news? God has given us a peace this month about the wait. We are thanking the Lord for that because last month we were both ready to go get on the next plane to Ethiopia! How much longer will it be you ask? Honestly, we have no clue. The average wait time is currently 10-16 months. However, I"m at the point where I don't try and figure out a timing at all. We do know we are probably somewhere in the top ten on the list at this point. Hopefully between about numbers 6-9 so we have moved several spots in the last few months! I also have other GREAT financial news, but I'll wait to share that on Friday. God is good. All the time. Here's to another month of waiting for God to bring us our son!

Heart of a child

2011-09-28T05:03:00.000-07:00

This morning as I was getting dressed for work I heard our daughter cry out. I went into her room and she was just laying in her bed. I said, "what's wrong honey?" She said, "I am crying because my brother is not home yet."

God has given our little girl such a special heart. Praying for patience in the wait and for a time to really learn a lot about taking care of him when he does come home. Keep praying!!!

Be Still and Know that I AM GOD

2011-09-15T09:18:00.000-07:00

Today I needed to lean on this verse as a reminder that God has everything in His control. Today I wanted to take everything into my control. Speed things up or give up altogether. However, God gave me these words as a great reminder of who really is in control.

Psalm 46
1 God is our refuge and strength,
a very presentt help in trouble.2 Therefore we will not fear though the earth gives way,
though the mountains be moved into the heart of the sea,3 though its waters roar and foam,
though the mountains tremble at its swelling. Selah
4 There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God,
the holy habitation of the Most High.5 God is in the midst of her; she shall not be moved;
God will help her when morning dawns.6 The nations rage, the kingdoms totter;
he utters his voice, the earth melts.7 The Lord of hosts is with us;
the God of Jacob is our fortress. Selah
8 Come, behold the works of the Lord,
how he has brought desolations on the earth.9 He makes wars cease to the end of the earth;
he breaks the bow and shatters the spear;
he burns the chariots with fire.10 "Be still, and know that I am God.
I will be exalted among the nations,
I will be exalted in the earth!"11 The Lord of hosts is with us;
the God of Jacob is our fortress. Selah

Another day...Another freezer cook!

2011-09-11T06:35:00.000-07:00

Yep, it was time for another day of freezer cooking with the great Abby Garman! This time around we decided to do a few breakfast items and cut a few dinner items out. We don't usually bake simply because it can add a lot of time to the cooking day, however we really wanted some yummy breakfast items to grab in the morning. The day went really well and everything looked delicious! There was only one item we didn't get to and we're actually going to make those in a few weeks. Let me tell you what, I must be getting old because my legs and wrists hurt like the dickens when were done. I honestly felt like I was 100 years old, but it was totally worth it and as always tons of fun. I must say cooking without a bunch of kids running around (thanks to our husbands) is easier AND allows us to have good conversation while we are cooking! If you ever think about freezer cooking I definitely suggest finding a partner to cook with. We've already decided that at our next freezer cook in November we're going to do a "favorites" menu! We're looking forward to cooking all of our favorites from the last few months.

Here's our menu with a few pics of our day! We always mean to take more pictures but the day just gets away from us. Maybe next time right?

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins

Waffles (well we didn't quite get to making these but we're making them in two weeks!)

Breakfast Cookies -These are REALLY good and very healthy! Thanks OnceAMonthMom!

Chili

Pot Pie

Bacon Ranch Chicken

Honey Lime Enchiladas

Shepherds Pie - Abby and the kids had this for dinner and she said the kids LOVED it. We made these with mashed potatoes instead of tater tots because my husband doesn't like tater tots. Strange if you ask me, but the mashed potatoes are just as yummy (yes we cheated and used instant. NOT make 52 servings of mashed potatoes from scratch! Which by the way you were right Abby we needed the whole box!).

10 months DTE

2011-09-05T11:58:00.000-07:00

Yesterday marked our tenth DTE (Dossier to Ethiopia) anniversary. We're around #8 on the "unofficial" waiting list. One very exciting thing that happened this month was that we are very very close to our financial goal for the adoption! We only have about 1200 more dollars to go. WAHOO!! GOD IS AWESOME!

Yesterday I (Tami) received this e-mail from our little guy (I think my husband had something to do with this). Love it...

"Dear Mommy,

Happy 10 month DTE anniversary! Can you believe that you and Daddy have had to wait this long? I know waiting to find out just who I am is very hard for you. I sure know its hard for me. But I know that God has created me just for you and you just for me. Remember what Daddy was telling you just the other night about Abraham? He said that even though Abraham and Sarah had every reason to believe that there was no way God's promises would come true, they still had believed. So when it is hard to believe that the day will ever come when you get to hold me remember that God's timing is perfect and he knows just what you and I need. I love you Mommy and I can't wait for you and Daddy to hold me in your arms.

Tell Daddy and Amaya that I love them and I can't wait to meet them too!"

THANK YOU!!!

2011-08-27T13:49:00.000-07:00

Thanks to all of you ordering Mary Kay items this past week we were able to raise 140 dollars towards the adoption! Wow, that is so awesome. THANK YOU!!!

Mary Kay Adoption Fundraiser

2011-08-22T15:50:00.000-07:00

We are getting very very close to having all of the money to bring our son home!! How exciting is that?? We are only about 2000 dollars away from our goal! Thanks to Patti Hollender we are having a Mary Kay Adoption Fundraiser this week from August 22nd - August 26th! 25% of sales will go towards the adoption. You can order online at www.marykay.com/pattihollender!!

He Can Move Mountains

2011-08-08T09:07:00.000-07:00

Adoptive parents will tell you that this journey leads you through a roller coaster of emotions. There are weeks when we see movement and see God doing such amazing things are we are filled with hope. There are also weeks that are filled with discouragement, anxiety, fear, exahustion...you name it. My problem is that I usually try to ignore all of those emotions as long as possible. I tell God I"m trusting in Him and His timing, but somehow I feel like I'm really just hiding. Instead of praying in FAITH I begin to pray in FEAR. Not good. The most awesome thing is that God always uses something in my life to knock me over the head and remind me of WHO He is. That happened this past Sunday.

Josh and I had the awesome opportunity to fill in for our friend Abi at a church she and her husband lead worship at. Abi had two precious little twins just this past week and called Josh to ask if he could lead. This small downtown church was brimming with people that completely and totally saw God move mountains and I saw that they believe God could do ANYTHING. I walked into see gorgeous hard wood floors and stained glass window and beautiful wood ceiling. The pastor's wife began to tell me about how they found the church and it was a WRECK. Trees were growing through the windows, pews were trashed, evidence of vandalism was all over, and no one wanted the trash dump! What could God possibly do with this place? Well in a matter of months they bought the church, and house beside it, and community hall, plus some of the park for a mere 3000 dollars. OH, and someone had donated exactly 3000 dollars. People poured in from all over to help renovate the church and before they knew it people were filling the church every Sunday. They also run a ministry for drug and alcohol addicts as well as other activities in the community. Ok, that's awesome. I found myself thanking God for His awesome miracles.

After Josh and I finished practicing and were waiting for Sunday School to begin, I opened my Bible to read Psalm 150. I had been meditating on this Praise Psalm written by David. As I read I decided to go back a few Psalms and God led me to Psalm 146. It reads:

1 Praise the Lord!
Praise the Lord, O my soul!
2 I will praise the Lord as long as I live;
I will sing praises to my God while I have my being.

3 Put not your trust in princes,
in a son of man, in whom there is no salvation.
4 When his breath departs, he returns to the earth;
on that very day his plans perish.

5 Blessed is he whose help is the God of Jacob,
whose hope is in the Lord his God,
6 who made heaven and earth,
the sea, and all that is in them,
who keeps faith forever;

7 who executes justice for the oppressed,
who gives food to the hungry.
The Lord sets the prisoners free;
8 the Lord opens the eyes of the blind.
The Lord lifts up those who are bowed down;
the Lord loves the righteous.
9 The Lord watches over the sojourners;
he upholds the widow and the fatherless,
but the way of the wicked he brings to ruin.

10 The Lord will reign forever,
your God, O Zion, to all generations.
Praise the Lord!

Wow, David has been through so much and he praising God with all He has. I came to the part that speaks about not putting your trust in the sons of man. Who have I been putting my trust in? Where is my faith? I also came to the part about the Lord watching over the fatherless and a peace flooded my soul as I thought about our little guy in far off Africa. It was as if God was speaking to me, "I've Got Him. He's in my arms. Peace my daughter." I smiled.

I then sat through a Sunday School class about putting on the full armor of God and standing up for what you believe no matter what others might think. I think God had something for me because during the message the pastor also got up and starting talking about...yep the armor of God. Put on that breastplate of righteousness, the gospel of peace on the feet, the shield of faith, the helmet of salvation, and the sword of The Spirit, and walk forward. What part of us is not protected? Our back side. Never does it tell us to run away or in FEAR. It says to "Be strong and in the power of His might, put on the whole armor of God." When you feel God's leading in your life and you ACT, the adversary doesn't like it, which usually means be ready for a fight. Once again, I felt God saying, "keep fighting. Keep going. I'm here. I'll be with you. Don't turn around and run."

First God gently whispered peace into my heart and replaced the discouragement and fear of such an unknown, and often frustrating journey. Then he reminded me that I need to be ready. I need to prepare myself and stand firm in my faith. He will be there. He will lead. I left that place with an overflowing cup. I left thanking God for speaking. I left thanking God for people that really believe he can MOVE MOUNTAINS. I left praying for our little guy wherever he might be and believing that God's there.

A Freezer Full and happy 9 months DTE!

2011-08-05T12:28:00.000-07:00

Yes its true! As of yesterday we had been DTE for 9 months. Its a little hard to believe that we've been on the waiting list for 9 months, but to be honest we know that it could still be quite some time before we receive a referral so we just continue to trust and pray for our little guy wherever he might be. Its definitely really really tough to say the least. We want our little guy home. We want to know who he is and see his face. However, I have to trust and know that God's plan is the best. We are also praying A LOT for several friends that we've met in our agency. They are waiting for their MOWCYA letter so that they can pass court before courts close next week. Our God is awesome and we are praying that they'll be able to go get their kiddos VERY soon!

This week it was time for another freezer cook with my good friend Abby! It was a fun filled day of cooking and filling bags full of yummy food. I have to say that these meals look DELICIOUS and we did it pretty cheap this time too! I also remembered to take some pics this time too so you can see a little more what our cooking days look like! Here's a list of our menu with some pics!

Basil Chicken over angel hair
Salsa Chicken (2)
Slow Cooker Chicken Marsala
Mini Meat loaves
Soyaki Chicken stirfry
Slow cooker fajitas
Marinara sauce
Taco meat

Egg Casserole Cups

Vegged Out Sloppy Joes (SO YUMMY)

Lasagna Soup

Yes Coffee is a MUST!

LOTS OF FOOD!

Great summer and 9 months...almost

2011-08-01T18:04:00.002-07:00

Can it truly be August 1st? The summer has flown by and I am so thankful for the wonderful summer God gave our family. We were able to visit family and take a great trip to the beach, which we actually did not expect to do this summer! Amaya enjoyed every moment of the water and sand at the beach and we like to call her a true "beach bum." We also had a special visit from my parents and my precious nephew last week. It was such a treat to have them for a few days! My nephew is 18 months and full of energy. I cannot believe this little guys vocabulary! He sure is a talker and the kid does not shorten anything he says. Seeing this little guy running around saying "refrigerator" and "bathroom" was the best. He slept and ate like a pro and it was such a joy to have him in our home. I hope his mommy and daddy will let him take another little trip soon!

In other news, we are in the throws of potty training in our house. There are moments like today when I think we have arrived. Dry underwear and going in the potty all day today was a huge success, but I am reminded on the not so good days that we are still working on it and that's just life! We have learned that anything princess is a huge reward for our daughter and going to the sitter has actually helped her out a lot because another little boy there is potty trained. Her sitter is really good at being firm but kind about using the potty. I have to admit this potty training stuff is tough. I'm thinking that if we just taught 3 month old how to sit on the potty maybe it wouldn't be such a big deal later in life, ha!

August also means that in just a few shorts days I will be back to work! Wow, how does the summer go by so quickly? I was already in my classroom today and I'm glad that there is always an excitement about the beginning of the school year. There is also always a bit of anxiety as I know our schedule will once again be changing and getting back to our routine isn't always easy. I am so thankful that God blessed us with a great little girl that is very flexible! She has already informed us that she is now ready to go to school (preschool? yikes!!).

In adoption news this week will mark our 9 month DTE date. Can you believe it? I'm posting now because I'll be at a workshop (yes with the Double Dream Hands man himself) at the end of the week and am not sure I"ll have time to post. There really isn't much news to share other than we are still waiting and are approximately #9 or 10 on the wait list. Courts close for the rainy season next week. Referrals can still be given during the 2 months that courts are closed, but we aren't expecting many because the Transition Home will be full. Our God is a mighty God and we continue to trust in His plan no matter what that might bring!

Painful Reality

2011-07-25T20:25:00.000-07:00

Recently I (Josh) read a blog by a medical missionary serving in Ethiopia about the reality that many in the country face (I will warn you that this is extremely difficult to read but you must read it - CLICK HERE). But as I struggled with emotions of sorrow, outrage, and disbelief I was reminded of Matthew 25:45, "The King will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these my brothers of mine, you did for me." Francis Chan in his book Crazy Love commented that, "Jesus is saying that we show tangible love for God in how we care for the poor and those who are suffering. He expects us to treat the poor and desperate as if there were Christ himself."

And in God's sovereignty, at that moment, on the radio played "Love Me" by J.J. Heller (to listen to the song without the background music you can push pause on the player in the lower right hand of the screen).

It hit me like a TON of bricks, I felt disgusted at myself. Here I am so often giving my measly and inadequate leftovers and trying to pretend like I am making some great sacrifice. In reality I know nothing of sacrifice, nothing of difficult decisions. What do I know of trials and sacrifices that that African family doesn't experience daily. Moreover what do any of us know of sacrifice in light of Philippians 2:6-11. David Livingston an African missionary said, "People talk of the sacrifice I have made in spending so much of my life in Africa...I never made a sacrifice. We ought not talk of 'sacrifice' when we remember the great sacrifice which He made who left His Father's throne on high to give Himself to us."

"Jesus I need to give myself up. I am not strong enough to love You and walk with You on my own. I can't do it, and I need You. I need you deeply and desperately. I believe you are worth it, that you are better than anything else I could have in this life or the next. I want you. And when I don't, I want to want You. Be all in me. Take all of me. Have your way with me (quoted from Crazy Love by Francis Chan)."

World magazine article on Ethiopian Adoption

2011-07-24T15:50:00.000-07:00

The World Magazine wrote an excellent article explaining why Ethiopian adoptions have slowed down significantly. It is a great read! It's a tad long, but if you the time, its definitely worth reading and understanding a little bit more about the adoption process. If you'd like to read it simply click HERE.

Longer Wait Times

2011-07-14T10:41:00.000-07:00

I always like to wait a few days to post any new updates we might receive. This is mostly due to the fact that I wouldn't want to write something out of frustration or a first reaction to something. Therefore, now that I've (and we) have had a little time to process the latest news and lay it at the feet of Jesus, I'd like to share it with you. Josh and I received an e-mail a few days ago updating on the new average wait times for infant referrals. The e-mail stated,

"Dear Josh & Tami,

As your family is in the waiting stage of the adoption process, we are writing to inform you of a change to our predicted timeframes between dossier submission and referral.

The wait for a male referral is now predicted to be between 10 and 16 months. The wait for a female referral is now predicted to be between 11 and 18 months. Wait times currently show a trend of increasing.

There are many factors that contribute to wait times. Each child’s case can vary in the amount of time it takes to be ready to be referred to a family. America World thoroughly investigates each case and it can take weeks, and at times months, to clear referrals with medical or documentation issues, or to obtain necessary governmental documents/clearances/etc. that are needed before he or she can be referred.

While we know this news is disappointing, we are encouraged to share that MOWCYA has increased the number of recommendation letters they write to 15 per day. We will continue to apprise your family of any other changes that occur, and we are praying for your family and all families in the various stages of the adoption process. Please feel free to let me know if you have any follow up-questions."

Yes, this does happen to be the third time that the wait times have increased for our family. Why? Well the e-mail pretty much explains it. They are being VERY picky about every piece of documentation for the orphans (which is a good thing) and this is making things slow down significantly. My friend abby and I laugh because we say that every since people starting asking "when do you think you'll bring your baby home?" we've always said, "oh probably about a year" and we are still saying the same thing. At times it feels like we'll always be saying, "oh probably about a year from now." In truth, it will happen exactly when it is supposed to and I know that means we'll truly have the son that God means just for us. I have to admit that this time was one of the most discouraging. Partly because I walk past our guest room and am just dying to make it a nursery, Amaya is now asking about when her baby brother will be home a lot more frequently, and because there was a day when we thought we'd be extremely close to a referral at this point. Someone on our Yahoo group (who has now been on the wait list 11 months) wrote such an excellent post when we all got the e-mail and I don't think she'd mind me sharing a portion of it with you. She writes,

"Sometimes His (God's) best is being sold by your brothers, stuffed into a cistern, and sent to a far away land. Sometimes His best is to give up a cushy job taking others money to become poor, hungry, and persecuted and follow a man claiming to be the Messiah. Certainly His best was put on the cross for us.

I'm putting my best up tonight and choosing to rest and trust, despite my 10 months and 29 days of waiting and the disappointment I feel this night. I hope God will lead you to what your best is, the way you can show faith and trust despite the struggle that this day has brought.

If you're really stuck in the sadness, pray for a family who's child is stuck in Ethiopia. Pray for the children who are not and will never be "paperwork ready" for adoption. Pray for a nation that is on the brink of another starvation crisis. Pray your heart out for Ethiopia and ask God to give you peace about the small part we all get to play in His redemption of that beautiful nation. That's what I'm going to try and do, focus my heart on praying for that which is worse than I feel in this moment. Trusting that God has His BEST for me each day is no easy effort, but the riches it brings..."

Wow, what a way to bring me back to focusing on OTHERS and not myself. What a way to remember that none of this is for us or about us. It is about others. In fact, that is how we should be living all of our lives. Serving others. Praying for others. Focusing on them. It is amazing what happens when you begin to focus yourself to the needs of others instead of being consumed about what you think you need RIGHT NOW. So, the wait times have increased. Something else in the process has changed. Has our God changed? Nope. He's still the same God. I love soaking in that and remembering that He doesn't change. He always stays the same.

myWaterProject

2011-07-10T17:27:00.000-07:00

Our sis, Ali Rogers, is raising funds to help provide clean water to people in Africa. The Water Project, Inc. is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization that's bringing relief to communities around the world who suffer needlessly from a lack of access to clean water. Can you imagine having no water? Walking miles just to find some clean safe water? God has given Josh and I such a heart for those in Africa and we were able to visit Kenya, Africa in 2007. This trip began our deep desire and passion to love on the people in Africa the way that Christ has called us to help others. This led us to the desire to adopt our son from Ethiopia (we're getting closer!!). We wanted to share a little of our sister's heart about Africa as well and give YOU the chance to help raise money to provide clean drinking water to those in need. If you like to read more about The Water Project or give financially you can click HERE. The goal is to raise 1000 dollars. On this page Ali shares a little of her own heart as well so we didn't think she'd mind if we also shared that here with you. Ali writes,

"I have always had a heart for Africa. There is one place I have always said I wanted to travel to in my lifetime. That place is Africa. Why? The answer to that question is something I can not answer on my own. I truly feel as though God has put this in my heart in hopes that I can grow and develop by means of the African people. Not only grow because of them, but be a light to them.

I have been blessed with the opportunity to travel to Rwanda and Uganda in the Spring of 2012. Through the Go-Ed Africa program, I will spend a semester living among people who are so full of life and have a different outlook on life. I know that God will use this opportunity to not only help me grow in my faith, but also help me to develop some of my own opinions and view on issues that i have been sheltered from over the last 19 years in the chocolate bubble.

In addition to the love for Africa that God has put in my heart, my oldest brother has been active in the adoption process for the last year. Through America World Adoption, my brother and sister-in-law are patiently waiting to bring home their little boy from Ethiopia, Africa. We don't know who he is or what he looks like yet, but we do know that God has his hands around him, whoever he is.

God is great! It is hard to say why he does the things he does, but he has a plan. In Jeremiah 29 verse 11, it says ""For I know the plans I have for you", declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." If we knew His plan for us, what would be the point in putting our trust and faith in Him?

God has big plans for both me and the people of Africa. I don't know where my heart will be lead to in the next year, but I am excited! The impact that these donations have on the people of impoverished countries can help make an immense difference. We have the luxury or flipping a nozel that streams fresh water. I think too often we take things like water for granted. Please help support the Water Project and provide fresh water to those who are in need. Any donation you are able to make would truly be a blessing to the people of Africa."

in His Grip,

Ali

2011-07-04T10:54:00.000-07:00

Happy Independence Day!! Today marks our 8 month DTE (Dossier to Ethiopia) anniversary! 8 months of waiting to see our little guy's precious face. To be completely honest, we have been getting a tad (ok sometime A LOT) impatient. It is tough when it seems like things are moving so very slow and we wonder what the future holds. However, we continue to pray for an extra big dose of patience and remember to be thankful for the here and now and what God is teaching us in these moments. We are also praying for our friends the Seevers who will be traveling to meet their two children and have their court date in July!! There are also several other AWAA families that we have met that will be traveling as well. We are praying that they have safe travels, enjoy every second with their children, AND PASS COURT before the courts close for the rainy season in August/September!!

Speaking of the here and now, our little girl FINALLY had her first hair cut after 2 1/2 years. This was the very first activity that took place when we went to visit Nana and PapPap and the rest of the family in PA. I think this girl is going to LOVE being pampered for sure. She sat up in that chair and didn't even move. Once she was done it was all smiles as her curly hair shined!! I cannot believe how fast our little girl is growing up.

Ethiopia update and time with great friends!

2011-06-21T14:06:00.001-07:00

It's been a few week since our last update! Most of that is due to the fact that there isn't much of an update. The good news is that some of our adoption friends that we have met through our agency received court dates and referrals this week (very exciting thing to get that before the courts close for rainy season)! We were so very excited for them!! They have also been waiting and praying for their child/children and are so very excited to meet them and bring them home. They still have a bit of a journey ahead of them, but we are constantly praying that the journey would be quick and that their children will be home soon. AWAA had a conference call today to update us on the situation in Ethiopia. As I said before the information is mostly the same as before. MOWCYA (Ministry of Womens and Childrens, and Youth Affairs) is up to writing 10 recommendation letters a day in Ethiopia. That is up from the five they have been writing so this is good news. Our agency said there are still many meeting going on between the courts/MOWCYA/leaders of Ethiopia, but that they still seem to be committed to adoption in Ethiopia. So, we continue to pray! They aren't exactly sure when courts will close down for the rainy season in Ethiopia, but it will most likely be some time the first or second week of August and last through September. Our agency has also said that they are sticking with current wait time of a 7-10 months for infant boy referrals, although things could always change (as we've seen before). So, all that to say that we keep praying and we'll keep you updated!

In other news, I had a very special weekend with some very special ladies! A few of my college friends were in town and it was wonderful to spend time with them. Isn't it great to have friends that you can just pick up with no matter where you left off? Such a great feeling! I hope I can continue to see more of them no matter how far the distance is or how big our families get!!
Here are a few pics from the weekend.

Rachel and Kelly (baby will be here soon! YAY!)

Debbie with Claire and Lindsay

Janelle, Me, and Rachel

Me, Rachel, and Kelly

My Favorite Things

2011-06-16T13:46:00.001-07:00

My Favorite things about being home for summer vacation:

1. Afternoon naps for both my daughter AND I.
2. Staying up late at night (no 9:00 bed time!).
3. No need to do ALL of the laundry and clean up on Saturday.
4. We get to meet Josh for lunch once in awhile.
5. Play dates with friends.
6. The alarm does not go off at 5:20 in the morning.
7. I actually sat down and made some cards this afternoon.
8. Hugs from my little girl whenever I want!
9. Trips to the water park.
10.Did I mention afternoon naps?

Thanking the Lord today for the job he has provided me and the fact that it allows me this much vacation time. I relish every single second of it!

Great Reminders

2011-06-13T13:17:00.000-07:00

When we began this adoption journey we knew it would be tough. Others that had gone through the process gently warned us that it would be sort of a "roller coaster" ride of emotions as rules change, regulations change, timing changes. Nothing is for certain. Therefore, we prepared ourselves as much as possible. We prayed and asked God for strength and wisdom as we followed his leading. I will definitely say that we have had our share of ups and downs in the last 13 months. We are thankful for those that have encouraged and prayed with us each step of the way. This last weekend was one of those "down" moments. Obviously the wait has become much longer than anticipated and there are days when it just seems like it will NEVER happen (it will). So today I sat down to read the Bible and asked God to remind me of his faithfulness. I am going through a study with some girls on YouVersion. Well, guess what the reading was for the day? Genesis 50, which is the end of the story of Joseph. Joseph explained to His brothers that everything he went through was exactly God's plan for his life and that God meant it for good. I started thinking about what Joseph must have been thinking as he was sold into slavery, then treated wrongly, and eventually thrown in jail, and then eventually set as a right hand man to the ruler. God had a plan that Joseph could not have seen, yet Joseph trusted and obeyed. He served others through everything. How awesome is it that God brought me to that exact passage today? We know God has a plan. We will trust Him in his plan. I don't think it means we'll always have these huge smiles on our faces or won't sometimes ask God what is going on, but it does mean that we trust His plan for our lives. I also pray that I will be willing to serve others and show them my love for Christ even in those times of discouragement. If you get a chance today to read through the story of Joseph in Genesis please do. It is such a wonderful reminder of how awesome our Great God is.

7 months, schools out, and a new freezer menu!

2011-06-04T04:45:00.000-07:00

Today marks our seven month DTE (Dossier to Ethiopia) anniversary! I know I always say this, but in some ways it has flown by and in others it seems like forever. We're still thinking that it will be quite some time before a referral comes and we see our sweet boy's face so we are praying for an outpouring of patience as each month gets a little bit harder! I'm not sure that we've mentioned this before, but there is a rainy season in Ethiopia that just started. Due the the rain, the courts close in August and September. Therefore, if we don't receive a referral before then we will be waiting until afterward. We continue to know that God has a plan for our family and we trust Him in it! We also found out this week that someone close to us has decided to adopt from Haiti! How awesome is that?? They already have a picture and she is the most sweet and precious little girl ever. We are so excited!!! Praise God for giving these kids a forever home.

Another exciting thing about our seven month is that SCHOOL IS OUT FOR SUMMER!! If you can't tell, I am extremely excited about it. We have some fun summer plans that involve visiting the grandparents and having fun at home. I won't lie and say that God is really working on me and "change." Even when it's good change. Every summer and fall is a big adjustment in family schedule. We have to get a new routine and get used to a different schedule and then before we know it we are doing it again. I"m not complaining about the summer, but am saying that I always pray for smooth transitions!

Now, on to freezer cooking! Abby Garman and I decided to cook that day after school was out. That was a Friday. That meant we would have all four children with us while we cooked all day. I can honestly say I've never done a freezer cooking day with four children all day. However, seeing as how I wasn't feeling great that day, AND four kids under the age of 5, I think we did a pretty good job!! It really was a fun time and we came out with a freezer FULL of food. Gotta love that right? Below are the meals and a few extra breakfast items we decided to put on our menu.

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins (thank you Abby because these are delicious!)
Betty Crocker Waffles
Cornbread Casserole
Spaghetti Sauce
Philly Cream Cheese Pot Pie
Orange Chicken
Tater Tot Casserole (thank you OnceAMonthMom)
Chicken and Rice (mom's recipe of course!)
Mom's Enchiladas (our husband's personal favorite)
Angel Chicken
4 bags each of marinaded chicken for grilling purposes
2 bags each of extra taco meat
1 bag each of extra chicken

2011-05-21T12:32:00.000-07:00

Well, its been a few weeks since our last post! We've had a chance to stay home the last few weekends and do outside work in the yard, which I'm actually finding out that I love to do! Our garden is planted, flowers are planted in the beds, lots of weeding has occurred, and several new plants have gone in!

The end of the school year is quickly approaching. I told A today that in a few weeks we could do some fun things during the day. She informed me that we could go swimming when it gets hot. Yep, we're both looking forward to some time at home!! For now, I have one more concert for the year this coming Monday night! I'm very exciting about this concert. This year we are combining all of the four elementary choirs and doing a joint concert. Pretty cool huh? I really hope that our kids shine! The crazy part of the whole deal is that we'll be rehearsing the kids from after school until the concert at 6:30 (break for dinner of course). I'm hoping for an extra dose of patience on Monday, but like I said I"m totally excited for the concert!

This week was actually a pretty busy week for our adoption agency, which is also very exciting! This week five AWAA families were assigned court dates (6/15, 6/28 & 6/29), two families received referrals (1 boy and 1 girl), two families were submitted to embassy, and three families received their Embassy date (next week, 6/1 and 6/2)!!! It is awesome to see movement! God is good! We continue to pray that we'll see movement in the weeks to come as well. For now, MOWCYA is still only writing five letters a day, which is keeping things slow, but our God is a mighty and faithful God and we trust in his timing!

One year!!

2011-05-08T10:42:00.000-07:00

One year ago today, Josh and I sat down and filled out an application to adopt through AWAA. It was such a wonderful Mother's Day weekend as we followed God's leading in our lives to build our family through adoption. A lot sure has happened in that year! Our little girls is now almost 2 1/2 year old and is full of energy, and we have been DTE (Dossier to Ethiopia) for 6 months waiting for a referral for our little boy. Last Mother's Day I remember wondering what I would be doing on Mother's Day 2011. I wondered if we'd know our little boy yet or have seen his face. So far we're still waiting, but that's ok because we know it's in God's hands. We are so very thankful for all of God's blessings over the past year!

Mother's Day 2011 is being spent with our Hershey Family and its been such a wonderful weekend celebrating with family! Josh's sister, Ali, picked out such great material for our son's first blanket AND Amaya received her new big girl quilt (Aunt Amber helped pick out this material). I feel so privileged and thankful to have such a talented and wonderful mom-in-law that gives of her time to make her grandchildren these beautiful quilts! We love you!! Both quilts are made by BSueSews.

Material for Brandt's Quilt!!

Amaya's new Big Girl Bed Quilt!

6 months DTE!!!

2011-05-04T05:17:00.000-07:00

Today marks our 6 month DTE (Dossier to Ethiopia) anniversary! We're taking today to be thankful that God has brought us this far in the process. We still might have quite a long time to go or meeting our son might just be around the corner. No matter what, we are so thankful that God has taken us on this journey. Last night we sat down and prayed for patience in the wait.
I think I got a little anxious this weekend when we moved bedrooms around. Our little girl is officially in a regular size bed! How did she grow so quickly? She absolutely loves her new "big girl room" as she calls it. This means there is now a crib in the other room just waiting to be used!! I think its a good reminder to pray for our son every time I pass the room with an empty crib just waiting to be filled. We pray for the lil' guy often and thank you for doing the same!!

Patience in the wait

2011-04-29T13:27:00.000-07:00

Patience has never been my strong suit. I often find it ironic that I am constantly trying to teach the students I work with every day about patience. Whether its while waiting in the lunch line or waiting to play a certain instrument, you can tell it seems painfully long to them. Their faces get this smashed up disconcerted look as they try hard to make themselves wait. They might prance a little or make ugly noises out of their mouths or they may close their eyes tight as if they are "wishing" for the time pass more quickly. I realized today that I am no different. We found out today that the wait for a boy as grown to an average of 7-10 months. Deep down inside we knew the wait was going to be much longer than first expected. However, seeing it in writing made it official. I am about to be brutally honest. I made a very ugly face, then I pranced around a little bit, and I'm pretty sure if anyone would have been near me they would have heard those ugly noises too. Yet, when I closed my eyes I paused. It was a rather long pause. A voice came and I welcomed it like a cool drink of water on a hot summer day. My Lord brought me to Psalm 8, a Psalm I'd been studying over the past week.

1 O Lord, our Lord,
how majestic is your name in all the earth!
You have set your glory above the heavens.

2 Out of the mouth of babies and infants,
you have established strength because of your foes,
to still the enemy and the avenger.

3 When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers,
the moon and the stars, which you have set in place,
4 what is man that you are mindful of him,
and the son of man that you care for him?

5 Yet you have made him a little lower than the heavenly beings
and crowned him with glory and honor.
6 You have given him dominion over the works of your hands;
you have put all things under his feet,
7 all sheep and oxen,
and also the beasts of the field,
8 the birds of the heavens, and the fish of the sea,
whatever passes along the paths of the seas.

9 O Lord, our Lord,
how majestic is your name in all the earth!

It's true. All of it. What's the best part? If he has dominion over everything, then he'll bring our son home just when it's time. It's still hard. I still prance a little. I still squint my eyes. Yet, I still come back to the fact that Our Risen Lord is over ALL. He knows me inside and out. All I have to do is look up at the stars in the sky and see his majestic splendor. He's got it and I'm so thankful that He's my father.

I still pray for patience. Every day. I still pray for more orphans to have their forever families more quickly. I still pray. I won't stop. Ever. I love talking to my Abba Father; the maker and the creator of the universe.

Are We There Yet?

2011-04-17T14:39:00.000-07:00

A fellow adoptive mom wrote this on her blog about the emotions we go through as a waiting adoptive parent, and I just had to share because it is so true. This is exactly how it feel sometimes and I'm so glad to know that our Father is in control.

"It's funny, I'm starting to feel like the kid in the back of the car during a long road trip. How many times will I say "Are we there yet"? I don't have a clue how long the trip will take. I don't have a clue how we'll get there. I don't know the directions, haven't seen the map ... but I know my Daddy is driving and that means, I can trust that we'll get there someday. I may get bored or frustrated along the way. I may begin to loose heart and need a break. Every once in a while, I will throw tantrums and we'll need to stop the car and readjust. BUT ... in the end, I don't really need to know anything other than the final destination will be worth every moment. I know my Daddy has prepared an awesome destination ... why else would he drive so far! So, today we wait another day. And yep, today, I woke up thinking "Lord, are we there yet?"

2011-04-16T09:59:00.000-07:00

Its been a few weeks since our last post! I suppose that is because life has been happening. Spring break was wonderful and included a visit from Mimi and Poppy! Getting back into a regular work this week was a little tough plus A came down with some sort of virus. That's life right??
Honestly, we haven't really heard anything in adoption news other than that they can give us no real time frame yet. I did talk to the director of Human Resources at work and found out that I will need to take payed time off for the first trip to Ethiopia and any other days I need off before we actually have him in our arms to take home. That was disappointing to hear, but I know God has it all in control. We continue to be about #15 on the "unofficial" list of those waiting for a referral from our agency. The good news is that more and more families have been passing court. However, there are lots of families waiting for embassy dates to go and pick up their children. No one knows why there is a hold up (and there might not even be a real reason). So we wait and pray for patience in the process. I'm so thankful that God has a plan. I'm thankful that there are more and more orphans getting forever families every day and I pray that God would continue to give these orphans a home.

Five Months DTE!

2011-04-04T12:12:00.000-07:00

Today we have officially been DTE (Dossier to Ethiopia) for five months! We still aren't sure how much longer we'll be waiting, but we did move to approximately number 15 on the unofficial waiting list last week! Yay for being in the teens! There were 5 referrals in our agency last week. It was a very exciting week for these families as they got to see their child for the first time. We continue to pray that God will continue to help things in Ethiopia run as smooth as possible and that more children would be matched with their forever families every day. What an awesome thought! Thank you for all your continuing prayers. They are much appreciated as the process is full of unknowns. Also, for those of you wanting to order any Thirty One products, the sale is still going on until April 10! You can shop by going to www.mythirtyone.com/59818.

Thirty One Party starts Friday, April 1st!

2011-03-31T18:20:00.001-07:00

Have I mentioned how much I LOVE Thirty One products? Well, I do, which is why I'm so excited about the Thirty One party to help raise money to bring our little guy home.

You can shop anytime between Friday, April 1 and Sunday, April 10. If you'd like to check out their products you can go to www.mythirtyone.com/59818.
If you check out the products and want to order online, feel free to do so. You can also contact Krista at 330-806-1275 or kristaluyster@hotmail.com to order.

Thirty One Party!!!

2011-03-28T11:28:00.000-07:00

I am so excited to say that I will be hosting a Thirty One party to raise funds for the adoption! First of all, let me say that I LOVE Thirty One products. In fact, I just recently purchased one of their insulated and monogrammed lunch totes for work! There is so much space and the material is wonderful. When a friend from Facebook said that she would be willing to do a party to help raise funds for the adoption I was super excited!! The party will open Friday, April 1 and run until Sunday, April 10. In the mean time go ahead and check out the great products Thirty One has to offer!

Yum, Yum, Yum!

2011-03-27T13:09:00.000-07:00

This week my friend, Abby, and I had another round of freezer meal cooking. I thought you might like to know just want kind of recipes we tried. Abby and I put together our own meal plan this time, which was fun, but props to Once A Month Mom for all of their hard work because it is no easy task! Let me tell you what, if you would like to try this whole freezer meal thing then Once A Month Mom is a must have resource! First its the meals, then the grocery list, then the instructions. However, Abby and I were both really pleased with how our menu turned out (THANK YOU Abby for all of the grocery shopping you did)!! We of course completely forgot to take any pictures during cooking, but let's just say it was tons o' fun and I have a freezer full of yummy food once again. After adding all of the meals up I believe we had about 24 meals each! Here is a list of the foods we made as well as links to those that are online! If you have any questions please let me know!

Corndog muffins
Chicken noodle soup - our own recipe
Mini Meatloaves (turkey)
Marinated Chicken breasts (x2) - "dump" recipe
Marinated Pork chops (x2) - "dump" recipe
Baked Ziti - our own creation
Slow cooker tex mex chicken
Slow cooker sweet and sour chicken
Shepherd's pie
Ranchero Chicken Over Rice
Chicken Parmesan

MOWA update

2011-03-17T17:56:00.001-07:00

Here is the latest information on the situation in Ethiopia. Josh and I feel like its definitely a step in the right direction and we praise God!

"We are writing to update you on the current situation in Ethiopia. While meetings between Ethiopian government officials continue, we have seen positive steps. Within MOWA, there have been significant and positive personnel changes which have resulted in overall staff turnover and changes in the adoption unit. This unit is now called the Ministry of Women, Children and Youth Affairs (MOWCYA). We are hopeful and expectant that the new leadership will not only support processing an adequate number of favorable recommendation letters, but also implement policies that will best serve the children. Due to the staffing changes, we anticipate much transition over the next few weeks. However, we expect that once everyone is settled into their new positions, MOWCYA will work to process a higher number of recommendation letters than they currently are able to process. We have continued to receive optimistic feedback and have seen how the Ethiopian government is very committed to adoption. I hope this information is an encouragement to your family. We will continue to update your family with any confirmed information we receive."

Daddy Breakfast

2011-03-15T13:54:00.000-07:00

Ever since our daughter started eating "people food," breakfast has been her favorite meal of the day. She simply loves it. Well, I happened to mention to her on Friday night how excited I was that we were finally going to have a Saturday to just the three of us and that we would be eating a fun breakfast together. She instantly shouted, "and we have pancakes (daddy's homemade of course), sausage, eggs, and chocolate milk!" Apparently this girl knows what a good breakfast looks like. Her wonderful father ran to the grocery store after a late band practice Friday night just so that our breakfast could be complete with everything that A so nicely requested. Here are a few pics from our fun morning. Well, you won't be seeing any pics of me, but I can use the excuse that I was the one taking the pics!

God's timing is perfect

2011-03-11T09:44:00.000-08:00

After the announcement yesterday, our agency also sent us an update from the National Council for Adoption (see below). It was actually a little encouraging to read what NCFA has been doing as the situation in Ethiopia unfolds. Their statements is below. We think some good things may come of this. In general, the adoption rate is still going to slow down, however, knowing that NCFA is working to see more orphans find homes is encouraging! Thank you also to everyone that has had such encouraging words to us over the past few weeks. It has been much appreciated. Isn't it so good to know that NOTHING surprises God? My mom sent me this verse this week,

Isaiah 41:10
10 fear not, for I am with you;

be not dismayed, for I am your God;

I will strengthen you, I will help you,

I will uphold you with cmy righteous right hand.

NCFA Issues Statement Regarding Ethiopia Adoptions

At the end of February 2011, the Ethiopian Ministry of Women, Children and Youth Affairs (MOWA) issued an unexpected directive indicating a dramatic reduction in the number of intercountry adoption cases to be processed by the Ministry. This directive is scheduled to go into effect by Wednesday, March 10, 2011.

In 2010, more than 2,500 Ethiopian children were adopted by American families. Should MOWA implement the recent directive as indicated, the number of adoptions from Ethiopia could fall as much as 90%, although the full impact of MOWA’s decision is unknown and cannot be predicted at this time.

This ruling follows a year of significant progress in improving and increasing transparency in the Ethiopian adoption process. Following several safeguards enacted last year, NCFA’s confidence in the Ethiopian adoption system has grown significantly. Additional protective measures may still be necessary, however, to increase global confidence in the process. MOWA’s recent decision appears to have surprised many Ethiopian government officials, as well as the Central Adoption Authorities in the U.S., Italy, and Spain. Many within the adoption community, including the U.S. Department of State (DOS) and the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS), members of Congress, child welfare officials in many countries, and the National Council For Adoption (NCFA), have criticized the MOWA directive as unfair, unnecessary, and harmful to children in Ethiopian orphanages who await permanent families.

NCFA is grateful for the swift action taken by the U.S. Department of State, led by Special Advisor Ambassador Susan Jacobs, to communicate with Ethiopian adoption officials in an effort to reach a favorable resolution that will serve the best interests of abandoned and orphaned children in Ethiopia.

“We are encouraged by the advocacy taking place behind the scenes and hopeful that these collective efforts will bring clarity and an immediate adjustment to this unjust and unnecessary ruling, which has the potential to negatively impact so many vulnerable children,” said NCFA president and CEO Chuck Johnson.

Unconfirmed reports indicate that personnel changes within MOWA have resulted from the rogue handling of this decision, and because of this, NCFA is hopeful that new leadership will offer opportunities for better communication and a swift resolution to this looming crisis. NCFA respectfully calls on MOWA to amend its recent harmful directive and ensure that subsequent reforms reflect a comprehensive child welfare policy that retains the option of intercountry adoption for Ethiopian orphans while ensuring policies and procedures that serve the best interests of children.

MOWA update

2011-03-08T14:46:00.001-08:00

We received this e-mail from AWAA on Monday.

"To follow up from the email sent on Friday, thank you for joining us in prayer. It is a blessing to know so many families are praying on behalf of the current situation in Ethiopia. We would ask you to continue to pray as court and MOWA (Ministry of Women's Affairs) are still meeting and will continue to do so in the days and weeks ahead.

As of today, MOWA has begun to write fewer recommendation letters each day for families in the court process. This is something we anticipate will continue over the next few weeks as the court, MOWA, and other entities meet to discuss MOWA’s desire to decrease the number of recommendation letters they write.

We know many questions arise from difficult news, please be assured we will continue to inform you as further details unfold and will be in touch with your family directly as we have new information."

We continue to pray that God would do a might work in Ethiopia. There are obviously A LOT of politics involved, but all we can think about is that we know God has a little guy out there somewhere for us who has no home. We pray for him daily. Please pray with us. What a great and might God we serve.

Prayer needed

2011-03-05T05:01:00.000-08:00

We received this e-mail today from our agency. They are being very very cautious in writing this to us as a lot of times rumors can fly and they would not want to share any false information with us(another reason we love our agency). However, it does seem as if the Ethiopian government may be cutting the amount of adoptions it does SIGNIFICANTLY. Please pray...

We are writing to ask your family to join us in prayer for the Ministry of Women and Children’s Affairs (MOWA) regarding the number of cases they will be able to process each day. They have made statements that they desire to decrease the number of recommendation letters they write each day. We understand that because of these statements, the Court and MOWA are in the process of meeting to discuss and work out any potential changes or new processes regarding adoptions in Ethiopia. We want to blanket these meetings with prayer and ask you to come along side us in this.

We are sorry to be sending information to your family so late in the day but we wanted to communicate this request to you before the weekend. We know rumors and concerns can arise from any information being shared in the adoption community and our desire is to continue to primarily provide you with any confirmed information in a timely manner. Please rest assured we will continue to seek information on what is happening in the adoption process in Ethiopia and will share with you any new confirmed information we receive.

I just had a good conversation with God. He reminded me that He has it in His in hands. This doesn't make it easy or less painful. We once again place our trust in Him.

Four Months!

2011-03-03T17:26:00.000-08:00

Tomorrow marks our 4 month DTE (Dossier to Ethiopia) date! In some ways it has flown by. Other days it seems like its been an eternity. We continue to trust God's perfect plan. We pray for our little guy every day. Keep up the prayers for the many families waiting for referrals, court dates,and embassy dates! Things are still slow, but we continue to trust.

I (Tami) have to be completely transparent for a few minutes and share something from my heart. Anyone who knows me knows that I struggle with the "martha" syndrome. I'm just being honest. I have a constant list in my head of what needs to be done now and just can't wait for anything. I love it when the house is clean and everything is in its place and I tend to make these "things" that need done my priorities. My husband attempts to very nicely remind me that the world will not blow up if the dishes aren't ALL out of the sink or if there is a piece of clothing on the floor, but I don't always want to listen. Now, if I'm being completely transparent these things also turn into worries about anything and everything. I can definitely do my share of worrying. I honestly think my husband cannot even believe some of the things that I've worried about. The reason I'm sharing this is because this week was one of those weeks. We hadn't really been in the house all week. I went to work, came home, made dinner, and off we went. I dropped into bed exhausted at night. By Wednesday I was feeling a tad overwhelmed and knew that A and I were going to House Church by ourselves due to the fact that Josh had band practice. I rushed home and was home by 4:15. I continued to rush to pack lunches for the next day, get A in her pajamas and fed, get food made for house church and made sure the house wasn't a wreck. Meanwhile A had taken a black marker to her kiddie table. Really? ACK! By the time my feet hit the front door of House Church I was in no mood to share Jesus with others! I just wanted to start the whole day over. I had previously read the Bible passage for HC that night but I'm not sure I had really read it. In fact its a passage I've read lots before and I thought I knew well...

1 Peter 5:6-7 Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you, 7 casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you.

You see, the part that I really hadn't ever paid much attention to was the HUMBLE part. If I am humbling myself before my savior I don't think that means running around my house so that I think its "perfect." NOPE. In fact, I'm sure that I can be pretty prideful about all of it sometimes. So, if I am in fact NOT humbling myself before the Lord how can I cast my anxieties on Him? It hit me. I can't. I wish I could go back to when I stepped in the door at 4:15 and stop. I wish I would have prayed for strength. I wish I would have humbled myself before the Lord instead of worrying about the things that I thought were important. I didn't. I'm so thankful that God is teaching me more about what being one of his children looks like. I'm going to try and humble myself before Him. I'm going to try and cast my anxieties on him. You'll probably laugh when I say I can even start worrying about whether I'm actually doing that or not. So, I'm going to try and remember that I will fail. I am, after all, not perfect. Yet, I do know that the more we humble ourselves, the easier it will become. The more we humble ourselves, the less important things like dishes and laundry seem. The more we humble ourselves, the more important loving others like Jesus becomes.

Provisions through pancakes, sausage, coffee, and orange juice!

2011-02-25T10:08:00.000-08:00

As I mentioned in an earlier post, last weekend we traveled to my parents house. We had a wonderful time visiting Mimi and Poppy, Uncle Matt, Aunt Que, and my precious nephew! We were able to have some quality time together as a family which is always treasured. While there, we held a pancake breakfast at their church. Mom, dad, my bro and his wife were a HUGE help. We could not have done it without them. Dad cooked up all the sausage while Josh flipped the pancakes and mom helped me serve. It was so wonderful talking with friends and family that we had not seen in a very long time. The breakfast went well and we want to make sure everyone knows just how grateful we are for their generous donations. God provided in AMAZING ways! We were simply awed once again. We now have the funds for our next payment which is due when we receive our referral. Thanks to everyone for helping to bring Brandt home. We simply cannot thank you enough.

How the freezer saves my life!

2011-02-08T14:03:00.000-08:00

Yes, you read it correctly. I am in love with my freezer. I'll get back to that in just one second. First of all, however, we have officially been DTE for 3 months now! WAHOO! Even though the average wait time has been pushed back to 5-8 months we are still so excited to have been waiting for 3 months already. I have to admit that I"m getting antsy to do stuff like decorate his bedroom and reorganize the house for another little one, but I'm trying to hold off until the early spring. As for right now, I have lots of ideas for the room floating around in my head!

We also planned a pancake breakfast fundraiser for February 19th at my parents house!! We are super excited to cook up some yummy pancakes and sausage and perhaps get to share a little about how God led us to adopt.

Now, back to the freezer. Back in February of 2009 my friend Melissa introduced me to Tricia and her wonderful Once a Month Mom blog (seriously check it out). From the first time Melissa and I cooked I was hooked! We took an entire Saturday, cooked a bunch of meals and froze them. We continued to do this for over a year. Why does this save my life? Well, after coming home from work, the LAST thing I want to do is slave over a stove for over an hour, and my 2 yr old does NOT appreciate that either! Its wonderful to have yummy pre-made meals that I can come home and stick in the oven or put in the crock pot in the morning. Well, as of last month my freezer had NOTHING in it. I was missing those meals that I could come home from work and stick in the oven! Therefore, my friend Abby agreed to cook up some meals with me! Oh, how wonderful! Let me just say that we even took 4 kids with us when we shopped for all of the food and we survived. This time we decided to get together on Friday night and do all of the prep work. We also decided to cook our two soups over night so that we could simply put them in containers the next morning (GREAT idea). On Saturday we spent the day jammin to some great music and cooking lots of food. Now I have a freezer full of food and a happy family!

Abby is gearing up to cook.

Can we say taco roll ups?

Ice Day

2011-02-01T06:05:00.000-08:00

The ice is now upon us! This has been quite a January for so many. Snow and ice have given us our fair share of problems and I have to stay I am definitely ready for spring!! However, being a teacher means that I get a day at home with my little girl on snow/ice days! I cannot lie. I love these days. We definitely have fun together, plus I feel like I can catch up on a few things that need done around the house and sometimes I can even bake a special treat! I"m not sure I"ll be talking about how much I like the days when we're making them all up in June though! BLAH. But for now I'm cozy in the warm home (thankful we have electricity) watching my little girl play with her baby dolls and thanking God that Josh made it safely to work.
For those of you that aren't aware, our agency saw 5 referrals last week! That is so very exciting!! That means 5 families got to see a picture of their beautiful child/children for the first time. It was more referrals than we have seen since going DTE on November 4, 2010 so it was very exciting. For those of you that like numbers that puts us at approximately number 21 on the list for an infant boy (not an official list). You can be in prayer that more and more children would be united with their families over the next few weeks and months as things have slowed down significantly in Ethiopia and many families are anxiously awaiting court and embassy dates. I know that I have probably explained the next few parts of the process before, but just in case you are still confused here is a very simplified version of it looks like:

1. Receive a referral for a specific child. Sign the paper work saying that yes we want to adopt this child. At this time we see pictures, receive health information, and any other information they might have on the child.
2. Wait for a court date.
3. Receive a court date and set plans to travel to Ethiopia!
4. Travel to Ethiopia and meet our son and spend some time with! Go to court. All paper work for us and the child must be present at court to pass court. I'll write more about all of this paper work as the process continues. They will ask us a series of questions about the adoption and we are praying we pass the first time. If we don't pass, we do not have to stay in Ethiopia. Our other court dates will take places without us there. Fly home by ourselves.
5. Pass Court
6. Wait for an embassy date.
7. Receive an embassy date and set plans to travel to Ethiopia for a second time!
8. Travel to Ethiopia and hug and kiss our son one million times:) Go to our embassy appointment. Once again all paperwork MUST be in order. We must be cleared by the embassy.
9. Fly home!

That's an overview of what the months after our referral will look like. As you can see there are many steps in the process and we MUST be patient, however hard that is. This would not be possible with knowing that God has everything safe in his arms. We know He has a special little guy just for us and we pray for him every single day.

How's it going?

2011-01-23T13:03:00.000-08:00

Many encouraging people have asked Josh and I how the adoption is going. The truth is that some days are really good and some days go by very slowly as we wait. We love the encouraging words from people throughout our days that makes us know God has everything right in His hands and we thank YOU for that! Nothing new is really going on, however we did receive news this week that the wait times for an infant boy are now increased to 5-8 months (that is the average as of right now). Things are just going extremely slow with court dates and Embassy dates. Once again we reminded ourselves that God's timing is perfect and we will wait as long as needed to bring our son home.

We were also blown away this week by 2 large donations towards the funds for our adoption! Wow! God is providing is so many ways and it is so awesome to see. Thank you GOD!!

In other news, we were able to have a small belated birthday party for A this week. I hate to say it, but when you have a kid that has a birthday 4 days after Christmas the party somehow gets pushed back. However, its was such a fun party. My parents were able to come down and visit and our best friends came over and we were all about Dora!

Check it out:

Mimi and Poppy

Dora's bracelet cake thanks to Aunt Amy.

The Faith of a Quiet Sister

2011-01-15T07:06:00.001-08:00

Recently I (Josh) have been reflecting a lot on the thought of legacy. What is it? What does it mean? What will mine look like? What do I need to be doing to make sure that the legacy I leave behind is one that is honoring to God?

Hebrews 12:1-2 says, "Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God."

This has never been made more clear to me than when traveling home from a recent business trip. I sat next to a woman who was very clearly battling cancer. Not knowing what to say or even how to engage her I just sat there. In the moments before take-off she pulled out a notebook and began scribbling down thoughts and messages about scripture. Psalms 3 was one she had scribbled down. And in that moment I thought, this is it! This is what it is all about. Even as this lady faced the uncertainty of cancer her focus and desire was to leave a legacy o her family that shined the light of Christ.

After that realization I retreated to my iPod and turned on a new album I had just purchased by Andrew Peterson called "Chasing Stars." The song that began to play was called, "Planting Trees." The lyrics just resonated with my soul so I thought I would include them here:

We chose the spot, we dug the hole
We laid the maples in the ground to have and hold
As Autumn falls to Winters sleep
We pray that somehow in the Spring
The roots grow deep

And many years from now
Long after we are gone
These trees will spread their branches out
And bless the dawn

He took a plane to Africa
He gathered up into his arms
An orphan son

So many years from now
Long after we are gone
This tree will spread its branches out
And bless the dawn

So sit down and write that letter
Sign up and join the fight
Sink in to all that matters
Step out into the light
Let go of all that's passing
Lift up the least of these
Lean into something lasting
Planting trees

She rises up as morning breaks
She moves among these rooms alone
Before we wake
And her heart is so full; it overflows
She waters us with love and the children grow

So many years from now
Long after we are gone
These trees will spread their branches out
And bless the dawn
These trees will spread their branches out
And bless someone

So I guess after all my pondering I have come to realize the only thing that matters about our legacy is how we shine the light of Christ into the darkness that surrounds.

Take 10 minutes and watch Andrew Peterson perform the song Planting Trees and talk about how it came about.

Confessions of the soul

2011-01-07T10:57:00.000-08:00

Yes, it has been awhile since a last update. I am totally fine with that because we were off spending wonderful time with family and friends over the holidays. God has blessed us with such wonderful family and friends and we were so thankful for time to relax and catch up. We also had a wonderful new addition to the family as Josh’s brother, Justin, married Christy over the holidays. There is nothing better than a Christmas wedding (yes we know from experience: happy 6th anniversary to ourselves on December 18!). So all that to say we have been busy, but it was a very good busy. I will certainly post some pictures very soon. This week totally took us off our feet as we got back into our routine. Wow, that was rough!

1 Peter 5:6-7 Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you, casting all your anxieties on Him, because he cares for you.

As the new year begins, I find myself thinking, praying, thinking, and praying some more. All adoptive parents go through different emotions during the adoption process. For us, the first 2 months (yes we have officially been DTE for 2 months) flew by. We were busy and just couldn’t seem to catch up. Have you ever realized it’s easier to “think” you are giving everything to Christ when you are busy and don’t have time to REALLY think about things? Then, when you have a second, you realize you’ve been just pushing away that part of your brain that is trying to talk to you? It’s trying to remind that something REALLY important is going on and maybe you haven’t prayed about it enough or given it ALL over to Christ? Wow, that totally hit me this week. I began to think more about our son and become more impatient with the process. I wanted him here and now. I became discouraged because things are still going SO slowly with the other families ahead of us. Let’s face it, I began to WORRY. When our precious 2 year old daughter said, “Mama Brandt Home,” I practically burst into tears. Now, everyone knows NOTHING in the adoption process is set in stone. There are many ups and downs and one must learn to be flexible and let God lead. Well, there is certainly no room for worrying in all of that. However, worry is exactly what I started to do. All of the awful, bad things that might or could happen began creeping up. This however, made good things happen. I RAN to God as fast as I could. I knew I needed to pray. I began to pray and I have still been praying like I should have been from the very beginning. I prayed for our son (even if he isn’t born yet). I poured out my heart before God. Then I discovered something that should NEVER have taken me 29 years to found out. What I have found is that praying only leads to more praying and more praying and you begin to truly converse with God. Once you begin praying you only pray harder. Things begin to come to mind that you certainly never put there, but God begins laying things on your heart. Wow. I was completely blown away. You know, I have grown up with some great examples of prayer. My grandma is on her knees every day praying for those around her. I know she keeps lists of prayers and continues to pray for them daily. I grew up with a father that was kneeling by his bedside every morning before going to work and a mom that continually prayed throughout her day. Somewhere in there I forgot to follow their example. Life got busy and I didn’t keep up with it. Through this adoption process I am certainly learning daily to “let go”. I think sometimes we feel like we have a choice. Well, there is no choice here. I can worry and I can be impatient. I can let that worry consume me so that I am not thinking about others and serving others the way that I should be OR I can let go. I can trust God that he is in control NO MATTER what happens. We began this process knowing that God was completely and totally in control and we need to continue the process the same way. Is it easy? Nope. Is it worth it? YEP. So I have a request for you. Will you join me in prayer? Will you pour your heart out? Will you thank Him for all of the many blessings you have right down to the warm blankets you have to sleep under each night or the food that is on your table? I have a feeling that if you do, you’ll find you has a deeper relationship with our creator. You will only want to talk to Him more. So pray.

Over the River and Through the Woods...

2010-12-22T11:21:00.000-08:00

I wrote last week about our trip Northwest to visit the Seever Family. We truly had a blessed time. They were wonderfully welcoming to the 3 of us and we had great fun and great conversation. We spent the afternoon talking, took a trip to the Toledo zoo, and ate yummy soup for dinner. It was great learning about how God led them to adoption and to see them so excited! We hope to see them again soon.

As far as the waiting process goes, the time has been going by quickly. I knew this would be the case over our busy holiday!! I thank the Lord that the first few months are flying by. We are still praying that our agency would see more movement as far as court dates and embassy dates go. There are families that have been waiting and hoping for court dates and embassy dates and we are praying that they hear something soon! The "back up" is causes my several things. First of all, there is a rainy season in Ethiopia. Every year the courts shut down for over a month during the rainy season (September and October). When this happens EVERYTHING backs up and it can take months to get back on track. Secondly, they cannot give out any new referrals for children if ALL of their documentation is not in or if they are sick (obviously the children are sick a lot). Josh and I also have a feeling that the new 2 trip policy (once for court and once for your embassy appointment to pick up your child) is making things take a bit longer. So all this to say we are praying that God would move mountains and that families would be able to bring their precious children home sooner than ever. We pray that God would teach us many things during our wait and that he would help us to simply enjoy the time with A and cherish the joy she brings to our lives.

Speaking of the here and now, we made the "mistake" of telling A that she was going to Nana's house this week. Now every five minutes she asks if we are going to Nana's and she cried at nap time today because she thought we were leaving!! I don't blame her at all though:) We are all very exciting to be with family this Christmas AND celebrate Josh's brother getting married to Christy! God has blessed us with wonderful family. Yes, we will be very busy over the next few weeks and are looking forward to it. We pray that you are your family have a wonderful Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Let it Snow, Let it Snow, Let it Snow

2010-12-15T17:38:00.000-08:00

We have been loving the snow falling down over the past week! Our daughter looks out the window and says, "look mama! Its Snowing!" Now, when you live here, 3 inches of snow is considered a "winter weather advisory." Yes, its true. However, as a teacher I have no problem with this. It means more 2 hour delays and a little extra time in the week. Love it!
We are looking forward to meeting THIS FAMILY this weekend. Their family is also adopting from Ethiopia through our agency. We'll be driving up to visit them as well as take a trip to the zoo and see the lights! I'm sure we'll be posting pictures soon!

PNO (Parent's Night Out!)

2010-12-09T13:36:00.000-08:00

Yep you read it right! If you are a parent in the Dayton area and simply need a night out on the town here is the answer! We are once again partnering with the Garman family to raise money to bring our sweet babes home! On Friday night, December 17, 2010 from 6:00-11:00 P.M. you can drop your children off at Apex Community Church and have yourself a date! There will be games, snacks, movies, and fun for all! There is a suggested donation of 10 dollars per child and we will take all ages. We only ask that you please let us know how many children you'll be dropping off and the age of the children so that we can plan appropriately.

There are several things that we covet your prayers for as we prepare!
1. VOLUNTEERS! Yes, we have people that have volunteered to help us watch the kiddos (background checks through the church are already done as to ease concerns). Please pray that the volunteers are all able to make it and that we will have enough volunteers to watch over the amount of children we have! If you are someone that would like to volunteer please let us know!
2. That children would come!
3. That we would be very organized in the process as far as registration, volunteers, etc.
4. ENERGY!! Pray that we have lots of energy to watch the children that God brings in the doors!

You may be wondering how much more funding Josh and I have left to do for the adoption. Basically, our next payment for the adoption will be approximately 6,000 dollars. After that we will have to pay travel expenses to Ethiopa twice. This is averaging approximately 10,000 dollars as of right now. Josh and I are working very hard at saving as much money as possible to fund our adoption and bring our child home. We know that God will provide in amazing ways and have DEFINITELY already seen that happen! Thank you so much for partnering with us in whatever way you can whether through donations or through prayer! God is using you in a mighty way.

One Month and counting!

2010-12-04T05:32:00.001-08:00

Today is December 4, 2010. This officially means that we have been on the waiting list for...

Although the wait has just begun it feels great to be 1 month closer to meeting our little guy! There haven't been many referrals (people receiving information on their child for the first time) this month, however one of the orphanages has been waiting on their renewed License and things on the Embassy side have been backed up as well. As you can imagine, when one thing backs up, they ALL back up. This is the EBB and FLOW of the adoption process. We are continually praying that more movement would happen soon for the many families that have been waiting patiently much longer than us. We pray that their children will be able to go home soon.
Last night, I was at our best friend's house. I watched 2 things that really got me thinking. There was an NBC movie special on titled, A Walk in My Shoes. Now, I know these movies are sometimes very cheesy and our friend Mark was making fun of me for loving these "Hallmark" movies. However, although the movie was not written from a Christian worldview, it still have a very good message. Do we really take the time to think about what it is like to walk in other peoples' shoes? REALLY? I might try sometimes, especially with my kids at school, but take it one step further. How does CHRIST see these people? How does He view them? How would he treat them? What should it really look like if we are walking like he walked on this world every day of our lives? Would we treat people differently? Maybe we would have more compassion and understanding? Wow, I have a lot to learn. I fear that God must get awful disappointed in me a lot. So we also happened to keep the TV on after the movie was over and Dateline was on (we really never randomly have the TV on). It was a special on the Sudan. I know there are many different political views on the problem. However, my heart hurts for the people of the Sudan. The fear and the uncertainty that they face every day must be unbearable. I cannot imagine the things these people face every day. It got me thinking about the comforts of my own life. I take them for granite so often. I rarely think about how blessed I am. There are people right here in my own community that are in need, in my own state, in my country, and in other countries around the world. There are people that live in fear of their lives every single day. There are people that go to bed every night praying that when they wake up their child will still be there and that their child will still be alive. I had a very restless night of sleep. It was the good kind of restless sleep though. The kind of restlessness that makes you realize that God is working on your heart. When you REALLY pray for God to break your heart for what breaks His, he WILL do it. It will not be easy, however, it only brings you closer to Him. I should yearn to share God with other every day of my life. My heart breaks into pieces knowing that above all these people may not know about the One living God.
Below is a video that is a MUST MUST see. It simply brought me to tears and is a constant reminder of our call as sons and daughters of the living God. (You can push pause on the music on the blog by scrolling down and clicking pause on the right hand side).

Time to party!

2010-11-27T12:39:00.000-08:00

It might be kind of ironic that the last post was all about how I am thankful for our jobs. This post is all about being thankful for times to relax and chill with family! Josh and I rotate holidays every year. This year we were at my family's house for Thanksgiving. My parents just finished a great addition on their home that we love spending time in! We ate a GREAT Thanksgiving dinner and also celebrated Christmas together since Josh and I will be in Hershey for Christmas! We also had a great time with my dad's side of the family. I really did spend my time thanking God over and over again for his many blessings. I thanked him for the little things that I so often take for granite like Family and Food, things our son most likely does not have much of. I prayed that if our son is already born that God would wrap his arms right around him.
Here are a few pics of our Thanksgiving/Christmas fun:
Cousins chillin on the couch

Lots of kisses

Reading with poppy

Chillin with "ma" (great grandma)

Uncle Matt

Opening Christmas Presents

I can't believe I am posting myself in my pajamas. However,
I was very excited about my new Shark Vac N' Steam!

My beautiful mother and I.

My Aunt Pam and her daughter, Maria.

My Aunt Mary and I.

Yes I"m Thankful for..

2010-11-24T07:13:00.000-08:00

Yesterday I was thinking a lot about our "jobs". You know, the ones we scurry out the door for every day in hope that we will be on time! The ones that sometimes we don't always act very thankful for. There are times in everyone's life when a job is simply a "job." However, Josh and I have been very blessed and I need to constantly remind myself of that. I am at a great school with a great supportive staff and great kids. I get all the major holidays off plus a great break in the summer. Great right? Josh has a job that allows him to work from home if he needs to, which means when we are traveling we can usually leave a day early and spend more time with family. They have been very understanding about the adoption and have let Josh make all of his appointments. He enjoys what he does (most days) and is learning a lot about his field in the process. When I look at where we are now and how God has brought us here I am so thankful for his guidance in our lives. I am so thankful for God's provision. No, it might not be exactly the way I pictured life at this time, but God's plan is PERFECT.

Thankful

2010-11-21T16:06:00.000-08:00

We were thanking God for His many blessings in our lives today. There are many things Josh and I are very thankful for. I decided we'll share these many things over the next month leading up to Christmas. So let's get started!

We thank God for this little girl every day of our lives! This was her being silly after eating her lunch today. We just can't get enough hugs and kisses from this special little girl!

Hope for a home t-shirts!

2010-11-13T11:54:00.000-08:00

Josh and I just received a new shipment of shirts this week!! We are currently working on raising money for the next step of our adoption, which will be our referral for a child!! If you are interested in purchasing a shirt for $15.00 ($3.00 S&H) you can purchase one by clicking on the link on right of the screen! The shirts do run a tad big if you are debating on what size to purchase.
P.S. We have now been DTE over one week!

Dossier has arrived!

2010-11-10T12:29:00.001-08:00

Yes, I am going to admit it. I tracked our dossier on Fedex quite frequently. It made its journey from...

Dayton, OH to
Indianapolis, IN to
Herndon, VA to
Newark, NJ to
Paris, FR to
Dubai, AE to
Addis Ababa, ET

in less than a week!! Wow, how far we have come from the pony express days huh? Praise the Lord that the paper work has arrived safe and sound.

5 Months 26 Days All Lead to Today

2010-11-04T16:32:00.000-07:00

Today we are DTE! For those of you who aren't down with the lingo that means: Dossier to Ethiopia. What is a dossier you ask? Well the dossier is essentially all the documents that are required by the Ethiopian government to review our petition to adopt. As I am sure you can imagine it has been quite the process to gather all the necessary documents. Just to give you an idea of what all was included here is a list of everything that was included:

4 - Family Photo Pages
Copies of our Passports
State Certified, County Certified, Notarized Power of Attorney
State Certified, County Certified, Notarized Dossier Cover Sheet
Application Letter to the Ministry of Women & Children's Affairs in Ethiopia
Copies both our Birth Certificates
Copy of Marriage Licence
Notarized Copies of Physical Exams for both of us
Notarized Proof of Health Insurance (including proof that insurance covers adopted child)
Notarized Proof of Life Insurance for both of us
Notarized Financial Statement
Notarized Employment Letters for both of us
Notarized Home Study
3 - Notarized Letter of Reference
Notarized Background Checks (Local & State)
Notarized Copy of our I-171H Visa
Notarized Post Placement Commitment
Hague Adoption Training Certificates for both of us

As you can imagine we needed every day of the last 5 months and 26 days to get this point and we are ECSTATIC to have our dossier finally sent to Ethiopia (yes we will anxiously be checking the tracking number every day until it arrives safely in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia!). What now? Well, we wait! We will eventually receive a "waiting number" and of course will let you know what that number is as soon as we can. So don't go anywhere! We'll be here with lots more updates and information about Ethiopia. We THANK GOD for bringing us this far in the adoption process and know He has our son safe in his arms.

A long journey to The Blue Nile

2010-10-28T17:17:00.001-07:00

Wow, so much has happened the last two weeks in the Rogers’ household. God has moved MOUNTAINS and we feel so incredibly blessed. As you may know we have been waiting for the i171H form. This form is a very important piece of paper stating that our son can be an American Citizen. Josh and I had been checking the mail each day hoping that it was the day. On Thursday, October 21, 2010 Josh was set to get back from a business trip and I had a 4^th grade concert to attend. We got home after a very long day and open a “government” type looking envelope. We stared at the paper and had NO idea what it was! We were stumped. The next day we asked a few people if this might be our i171H form. They laughed and told us to look at the VERY tiny numbers on the bottom right hand corner of the paper. Sure enough, just what we had been waiting for! The i171H form had arrived. We had a good laugh about the fact that we had been waiting anxiously only to not even recognize the very “plain” looking form when it came in the mail.

The next step on our list was to get our documents county and state certified. Josh handled the county certification quickly without too much trouble. The state certification meant a trip to Columbus, Ohio to see the Secretary of the State. We decided to make a fun trip out of it with our friends, the Garmans. We packed snacks, movies, and our children in the vans and headed out. When we arrived, Dan and Josh went in to the get the documents state certified. The guys were seriously done within 15 minutes! Our documents were officially State certified. WAHOO!!

We then had dinner reservations at an authentic Ethiopian restaurant on High Street in Columbus called “The Blue Nile.” We were also very excited because my brother, his wife, and their adorable son were able to join us! It is difficult to explain Ethiopian food. First of all, they do not use silverware. They use a no yeast flat bread called Injera to scoop up the food. Josh and I had experienced this on our visit to Kenya in 2007, but Injera is MUCH tastier than Ugali. My dish consisted of beef tips and peppers and was spicy, which I loved. The boys shared a combo of 2 lamb dishes, a lentil dish, and a chicken dish. Josh gave them very high praises as well. The spices in the food were amazing. Our experience at “The Blue Nile” was wonderful and the people were very kind. We thanked them several times for their generosity considering we had 5 kids under the age of 4! Which by the way the kids also enjoyed the food! We left with full stomachs and smiling faces.

What is next for us in the adoption process you might ask? Lord willing we can get our Dossier sent out bright and early tomorrow morning to AWAA. They will have 2 staff members review each document carefully to make sure we are not missing anything. Once this is done they will mail (they only mail on Fridays) the dossier to Ethiopia and give us a tracking number. We will officially be DTE (Dossier to Ethiopia) at that point and will then be assigned a “waiting number” and we will begin the next waiting phase.

I absolutely must mention that NONE of this could have happened without YOU. We cannot thank you enough for the donations, volunteer work, t-shirts bought, pampered chef items bought, etc that have provided us with the funds to be able to send in our dossier. God has provided in AMAZING ways and we are very very very grateful.

Lastly, even though getting our papers state certified today did not seem like a huge event, in all reality it was a giant step in being able to bring our son home. Josh and I were reminded today that the things that we do in our lives that seem like little insignificant tasks may very well be having a very huge impact in someone else’s life.

Ramblings of a Sojourned Soul

2010-10-22T18:18:00.000-07:00

So I will start by saying that this is Josh. I don't often write on our blog so this post may seem completely different than many before. So here are my thoughts (as scary as they may be)...

Over the past couple weeks I have been reading an incredible book called, “The Hole in the Gospel” by Richard Sterns. If you haven’t read it I highly recommend it, but only if you are prepared to have your world rocked. In one of the sections of this book the author highlights the grim reality that much of the world faces everyday. Here are some examples:

Roughly 1 out of 4 children in developing countries is underweight
Some 350 to 400 million children are hungry
About 1 in 7 worldwide – 854 million people – do not have enough food to sustain them
Approximately 25,000 people die EACH DAY of hunger or its related causes – about 9 million people per year (this is greater than the population of the five major cities in Ohio: Dayton, Toledo, Cincinnati, Columbus, and Cleveland every year)
As many as 5 million people die every year of water-related illnesses.
1.5 – 2.7 million people die of malaria every year.
Estimated that 1/3 of the world’s population is infected with TB.
AIDS has left over 15 million children behind as orphans.

To be brutally honest, I am not sure that I can really even begin to understand what it would mean to not have clothes to cover my body, clean water to drink, food to eat, or access to even basic healthcare, yet that is the reality that a majority of people throughout the world face everyday.

So what am I trying to say…

Thinking about the reality of the need around the world is overwhelming, especially when I have so much. It is very easy to become paralyzed the devastating realization that the realistic impact of one person can have seems so small.

Yet Christ has conquered all! Jesus said in John 16:33, “…In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.” As believers we know one day soon Christ will return and restore his creation. In the meantime as believers we are called to be his hands and feet. Every one of us can make a difference. For Tami and I our decision to adopt has been motivated by this reality. For you it may be something different. The important thing to remember is that all of us are called to make a difference. Robert Pierce, the founder of World Vision said, “Don’t fail to do something just because you can’t do everything.”

While it may seem cliché, the world can only change one person at a time. Our call is to identify those opportunities that God has provided…

For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me.’ Then the righteous will answer him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? And when did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? And when did we see you sick or in prison and visit you?’ And the King will answer them, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, [6] you did it to me.’

Pampered Chef Fundraiser!

2010-10-15T07:06:00.000-07:00

First of all, let me say that I LOVE Pampered Chef products. I have several of the products myself and think they are absolutely wonderful. This coming Monday, October 18, 2010 - Sunday, October 31, 2010 I will be having an online Pampered Chef party to help raise funds for the adoption! 15% of the sales go directly to the adoption fund. Beginning Monday, October 18, 2010 you can simply go to www.pamperedchef.biz/stephaniemonroe and shop for great Christmas gifts or for your own kitchen.

Spaghetti, and Sauce, and Fingerprints, Oh my!

2010-10-10T15:28:00.000-07:00

This past weekend seemed to go by in a whirl, but I loved every second of it. We began the weekend by bagging the bread (leftovers from Panera and Big Sky) and setting up for the spaghetti dinner. Ok, well Josh did most of the bagging and setting up while I was at home with Amaya. We arrived at church on Saturday night with Abby and Dan totally ready to get our spaghetti on! What transpired over the next 24 hours amazed me. People came to help cook and serve any way they could. It seemed like there was always someone at each service asking, "do you need anything?" That alone was such a blessing to my heart and something that was not expected! By the end of Saturday night we learned that we needed to cook more spaghetti ahead of time than we thought. Wow! How exciting! By Sunday morning we had the system down a little bit better and Abby and I were glad we had bought the extra few containers of spaghetti sauce and spaghetti even though our husbands laughed at us! By the time Sunday afternoon rolled around I sat in amazement at what God had just done. He (yes HE) had raised almost 1300 per family!!! We are getting closer to having that 7,700 dollars we need to send our paper work every day. God is so good. All the time. Thank you to all of YOU that came out and supported us this weekend. Those that helped serve and those that ate. You are all such a blessing in our lives and are taking such a huge part in helping bring our son home. I completely forgot to bring my camera so I will post pics as soon as I can get some from Abby.

Today Josh and I left at about 12:30 and headed down to Cincinnati to get our fingerprints for USCIS. We arrived early and entered the federal building. We found the room quickly with another couple that was there to also get fingerprinted. We walked into the huge empty room and sat down to wait. We figured that the employees were still at lunch. We had a great time introducing ourselves to the other couple. They are in the process of adopting a child with special needs from China. They were such a nice couple and we had fun chatting with them. The employees arrived a few minutes later (still no one else in the room). We all then went through the process of filling out one piece of paper and taking turns getting fingerprinted. All in all it probably took less that 15 minutes! They didn't even question the fact that my appointment was for the next day. The lady just waved me on! WAHOO. All that anxiousness for NOTHING, of course! Josh and I then took the opportunity to have the most wonderful date. We walked along the Ohio River for awhile and browsed the book in Barnes N' Noble, used a gift card to eat a very early dinner at the Montgomery Inn Boathouse on the river (SOOOOO YUMMY), and then left and stopped by the Cincinnati Premier Outlets. We both decided that it was the best date in a long time. We had fun talking and relaxing together and thanked God for the chance to "get away" for a few hours before the next few days of craziness begin. Thanks God! So now we wait for our i171H form to come in the mail! I'm going to try and be very patient. We also need to work on making 3 copies of all of our Dossier paperwork and getting it all county certified and state certified. Thank you for the continued prayer!

It is spaghetti dinner time!

2010-10-03T12:28:00.000-07:00

I am so glad to say that while going through this adoption process we have met several families that are also adopting from Ethiopia. One of these wonderful families is right from our home church! We are so glad that God has brought our families together and that we can go through the process with them. They have definitely been an encouragement to us. You can meet the Garman family on their family blog by clicking HERE.

This brings me to the spaghetti dinner. The Garman and Rogers crew will be hosting a spaghetti dinner together next Saturday, October 9, 2010 and Sunday, October 10, 2010 at Apex Community Church (5200 Far Hills Ave, Dayton) after each service. We will serve bread, salad, and spaghetti (eat in or carry out) for a suggested donation of 5 dollars. We are praying that God will do amazing things and help us raise the money needed to send our Dossier (paper work) to Ethiopia! We know He will!

Fingerprinting Appointments

2010-09-30T13:54:00.000-07:00

Well it is a good thing I posted the Matthew West video yesterday and learned a thing or 2 about patience! I am learning patience in EVERY step of this process, even the ones that you just do not expect. I came home today to 2 things. 1. Dog poop - my dog loves me:) 2. Two envelopes from the USCIS!!! I opened them as quickly as possible. My fingerprinting appointment is set for Wednesday, October 13 at 8:00. Yes folks that is 8:00 AM! I have to be in Cincinnati, which is a good hour from our house. The drive by myself should be fun at rush hour!! YIKES. I am nervous about that one. Hopefully my boss will be ok with me taking the time off. Josh's appointment however is smack dab in the middle of his next business trip. In order to reschedule you have to mail the letter BACK to USCIS and wait for another appointment. So needless to say I"m trying very hard to remember that its just a tiny little hiccup. No big deal right? (inside I am saying, REALLY COME ON! They couldn't give us some options or think that we might have plans?). So I sat down and prayed for a HUGE dose of patience and understanding. God seemed to whisper back in my ear, "daughter I have it. No need to worry or fret. I got this!" I know God will work it out just as it's supposed to be. SO for now I continue to pray for our sweet son and for a huge dose of patience for his mama!

Matthew West and his song "One Less"

2010-09-29T14:38:00.000-07:00

Today I noticed that many of the family blogs that I follow had posted this video. I watched it and was in tears in the first 10 seconds! I simply had to share it for any of you that had not had a chance to see it. Matthew West tells the story of how he came to compose his song, "One Less." Make sure you watch the entire way through. To turn the music off on our blog scroll down and press pause on the player on the right hand side. I think I know what album I will be buying next.

One Less by Matthew West (The Story Behind The Song) from emicmg on Vimeo.

SAY CHEESE!

2010-09-23T16:27:00.000-07:00

Well I couldn't help myself. I called USCIS (US Citizenship and Immigration Services) today to make sure our home study really did arrive safe. The nice man said that it was in their system and that hopefully they would be processing it soon. So we wait now for another fingerprinting appointment! Praise the Lord!

In other Family news, I have always been that person that forgets to bring my camera to everything! What? Take a picture? Yep I forget every time. Therefore, I was glad when my mom suggested getting some family pics taken. I thought it was a great idea! Thought I'd share a few.

The whole family

Grandparents with grandchildren.

My darling daughter

Sending that home study on its way!

2010-09-18T06:11:00.000-07:00

Thankfully our home study arrived on Thursday afternoon. Yes, I opened it as fast as I could and wanted to jump in the car and go to UPS right then and there! However, I was patient enough to wait until Josh got home and we decided we would make sure we had the correct address because we had already sent in our i600a form earlier. So we waited until Friday after work and all took a trip to UPS together. I think the UPS man thought we were a little bit nuts, but he was very nice. So we put the home study in an envelope and sent it off to Missouri. We are praying it finds its way safely there and is added to the collection of our other documents and i600form that was previously sent. Although we still have to wait to get fingerprinted again and for our i171H form, I am feeling like I want to make sure we have all our necessary documents for our Dossier. One of the things I have left to do is put together a 4 page photo book of our family. I have NO idea why I keep putting it off. That should be the fun part right? SO I"m hoping to get that part done this week. Although we are super excited about being one step further in the process we are still faithfully praying that God will help us have the funds necessary to send in our dossier whenever the time comes. We fully trust that he will show us the way! Amaya wasn't really in the mood to smile so this is our best try....

Prayers Answered!!

2010-09-15T04:15:00.000-07:00

We received an e-mail from our social worker yesterday stating that our Child Abuse Clearances had gone through (after only 97 days) and that she would be sending our Home Study to us in priority mail. WAHOO!!! So what is the next step? We send our Home Study to MO and wait (yes once again) for 2 things. 1.) An appointment to get fingerprinted AGAIN. 2.) A from in the mail called the i171H. This form states that our son can be an American Citizen. For now we are thanking God for bringing us one step closer to bringing our son home!

Our Heart of Adoption

2010-09-06T17:07:00.000-07:00

Recently came across a video by John Piper that talks about adoption. I am not sure that we could possibly explain our hearts any better than this.

Adoption T-Shirts

2010-09-03T06:40:00.000-07:00

"Hope for a Home" is really what it's all about. God has given each and everyone of us hope for our ETERNAL home. We live with that hope every day in our lives. We also hope that more and more people will reach out and give the millions of orphans around the globe hope for a home here on earth.

The t-shirts were designed by our friends over at Antistatic Design (http://www.antistaticdesign.com/) a special thanks to them for all their help. Please check out their site they do some INCREDIBLE work.

We are currently taking pre-orders and will hopefully be printing our shirts in the next couple weeks. You can order shirts online through paypal (use the link to the right). The money we raise with this fundraiser will go to help send our dossier to the Ethiopian government. The cost of this portion or our adoption is approximately $8,000.

getting there!

2010-08-26T16:32:00.000-07:00

Today we had our last meeting with our social worker. It went well and our home study is written and ready to go. However we are still waiting on our child abuse clearance to go through. The last time our social worker talked to the office they said that they are still currently working ones that were sent in May. Ours wasn't sent until June 11. So we could still be waiting some time. Our social worker is waiting until Monday and then writing an e-mail that specifically states the names of the 4 families she is working with that are just "waiting" on the child abuse clearance to go through. Apparently they have had an increase of clearances to do this year + budget cuts and government employees cut which = BIG TIME BACK UP. So we continue to pray that our clearance will go through so that we can get our home study sent to MO and be waiting for the next important piece of paper. We also pray daily that God would provide patience and understanding as we wait. We aren't sure we can explain the longing we have for our son some days, but can say that it is no different than when we were waiting for Amaya to come into the world. We pray for him daily and know that God will keep him safe in his arms.

Prayer for patience...

2010-08-18T16:52:00.000-07:00

The school year began this week. Wow, where did the summer go? I'm so thankful we had a fun summer and that I could spend time with Amaya. Now its back to the grind! I've been having fun planning concerts and finding great songs for the kids. I enjoy the beginning of the school year and love that I get to experience that "back to school" feeling every year.

I titled this post prayer because we'd love for you to pray for us in several ways during this portion of the adoption process:

1.) We are STILL waiting on child abuse clearances to come back. Our social worker said that it "should" only take about 1 week, however it has been taking more than 70 days for her to get all of her clearances back for her families. She has no idea why. She sent ours in on 6/11 and we are still just waiting. We can't do anything until this returns.

2.)This brings me to the patience part. Please pray that we will be patient and not become discouraged. I know that God has his perfect timing.

We are set to meet our social worker for the last time next Thursday. It would be a MIRACLE if our child abuse clearance went through by then so that we were ready to send our home study on. We're praying that this would happen! Thanks for praying for the adoption and our precious son.

Weekend getaways and more waiting!

2010-08-09T11:00:00.000-07:00

This weekend we visited our family in Northeast Ohio. Tami's cousin, Stephanie, got hitched and Josh worked hard with Bud on the house! We also got to see our PRECIOUS nephew and we just couldn't get enough of him. Here are a few pictures from the weekend...

Mimi with the grandkids

The guys working hard

The cutest nephew EVER!

The beautiful bride

and as for the waiting part we are still waiting to hear back from our social worker about our home study. Hopefully we hear back soon and can send our homestudy on with the rest of our paper work. I wanted to share a blog post from one of my dear friends that I have met through AWAA. There are many people that ask "Why, Oh Why?" about our choice to adopt. I think answers are exceptional and reflect exactly how we feel! I know we already wrote a letter answering these questions, but please check this post out!

Change of Pace...

2010-08-01T18:45:00.000-07:00

Summer has been flying by, but alas, we have made it through most of the craziness and are looking forward to our last few days of summer before Tami heads back to school (in less that 2 weeks!!). God has blessed us with lots of fun family time over the last few weeks. Amaya loves the park and mommy and daddy love taking her there so it works out well and its free (big plus). Here's a picture of her being a little monkey.

Our paper-chase continues to go well. It is hard to believe that we have already been gathering documents and working through this process for over 3 months. The exciting part is that we feel like we are nearing the finish line as far as our part of the paper work goes. The big piece that remains is our final home study. Once we have received this from our social worker we will be sending that in to the government and will be waiting once more for a very important piece of paper called the i171H form. Once we fill this form out and get fingerprinted once more we can begin making arrangements to see that our dossier is ready to send to the Ethiopian government. We are praying that this happens over the next couple of months, but as always God is in control!! We are planning several fundraisers over the next few months as the costs of each tiny item in the process is mind boggling, but once more God is in control. We continue to pray for our son daily and ask that you do the same. We love him already and cannot explain the peace we feel as each part of the process to bringing our precious babe home unfolds.

2010-07-20T08:55:00.000-07:00

The summer is going by quickly in our household and I'm very thankful for the time home with my daughter in the summer. We had a chance to get to the nearby water park last week, which was tons of fun. We also had some time this weekend for some much needed family time. Its amazing how things like a walk around the neighborhood, a trip for ice cream, and some swinging at the local park can restore your spirit and ready you for another busy week! Thank the Lord.

We also had a great time celebrating 2 very special boys' birthdays!! C just turned 5 and B just turned 1. The theme was Cookie Monster and was so cute! The party was complete with yummy chocolate cookies, cupcakes, and milk. I just had to share a few pics.

Cupcakes...

Cookies...

Dinner...

Blue Icing Everywhere!

In adoption news, we met with our social worker last week and it went very well. She comes to our house this coming Friday for our in home visit. During this visit she will interview Josh and I separately and do a safety audit of our home. Most of our home study paper work is complete so we are now focusing on the Dossier paperwork and trying to remember to take things 1 step at a time! More importantly, we pray for our son every day and know that God's timing is perfect in all things.

God is so good!

2010-07-12T08:12:00.000-07:00

Where do I begin? Our garage sale this weekend went well and it was because of so many great people that helped bring it together. Our friends and family came together to really make this happen and we feel so blessed to have them all in our lives! My mom and grams came down on Wednesday night and with the help of our friends Mark and Amy, we organized the items and priced everything. Wow, that is one big job!! We would never have finished it without the help! Thursday, Friday, and Saturday went by so quickly. We met many nice people at the garage sale and sold quite a few items. Let me tell you what my grams is quite the salesperson!! She can convince anyone that they need something:) We also saw many familiar faces at the sale too, which was a great encouragement. By the end of Saturday with the sale and some very gracious donations, we had raised just under 1000 dollars! Wow, God is great! In case you are wondering about the cost of adoption and what this money will go towards, we recently sent 3000 dollars to the home study agency for our home study and will soon be writing a 845 dollar check for our i600A form (yes that is one piece of paper!). The funds raised from the garage sale will go towards these costs. As we said before, we cannot express how thankful we are for all of those that helped make this happen!! THANK YOU!!!!

Prayer please: our fire inspection is Tuesday morning, July 13 at 8:00 AM. We still have to get ready by hanging the fire extinguisher and fire alarms and posting our evacuation routes and important phone numbers. We've just been so busy with the garage sale we haven't had time. I am nervous about the inspection after talking with the inspector on the phone. PLEASE PLEASE pray that we'll pass without a hitch!

Giving Thanks

2010-07-06T11:22:00.000-07:00

Our family just came back from a wonderful trip to visit family over Independence Day (pics soon)! It was nice to have a few days to relax and just enjoy family. In a way, I think it re-energized us for the week ahead. We had some really great conversations with family and friends about the adoption and it always encourages us to see their excitement as well. This week Josh and I have appointments to get our TB tests done and our background checks and fingerprints at the police station. This week is also our garage sale to raise funds for the adoption. God has provided in big (huge) ways for our garage sale that begins Thursday at 9:00. (Thursday, Friday, and Saturday from 9:00 am - 4:00 pm). We are so blessed by family and friends that are willing to donate items for our garage sale. I literally can't believe it. We have baby toys, clothes, bikes, desks, furniture, chairs, and the list goes on! We cannot begin to express our gratitude to those that have donated items. My wonderful mom is also coming down to help out and as a special treat my grams is coming with her! Our wonderful friends, Mark and Amy, have also given of their time to help us with the sale (what would we do without them?). We are praying for good weather this weekend and most importantly that through our story perhaps we can share a bigger story. The one about how God redeemed us and that now we are part of his family forever. I'll leave you with the lyrics to a song my husband shared with me this week that "hit home" for me.

"Peace Be Still " by Rush of Fools.

Come to Me, you who are weak

Let My strength be yours tonight

Come and rest, let My love be your bed

Let My heart be yours tonight

Peace be still, Peace be still

Please be still and know that I am God

And know that I am God

Come empty cup, let Me fill you up

I'll descend on you like a dove tonight

Lift your head, let your eyes fall into Mine

Let your fear subside tonight

Just Love Coffee

2010-07-02T11:43:00.000-07:00

Josh and I are very excited to be working with Just Love Coffee! Click on the picture on the right and you can order great coffee. $5 dollars per pound will go towards raising funds for our Ethiopian adoption.

Fireworks!

2010-06-30T13:02:00.000-07:00

I thought the title was very fitting considering that one of my FAVORITE holidays is this weekend! I have always loved Independence Day and I LOVE fireworks! I just think its simply amazing to watch the colors and be amazed. I'm not sure my daughter will quite love them this year, but I"m sure she'll learn to some day:) This year we'll be traveling to Hershey for the festivities including my sis-in-law Ali's, high school graduation party! We are looking forward to our family trip and are praying for safe travels.

I also thought the fireworks title was appropriate because I happened to talk to the fire marshal on the phone yesterday. As part of our home study we have to have a fire inspection of our home. He informed us of the "special" tagged and inspected fire extinguisher we'll need to purchase as well as the fact that we'll need a fire detector in every bedroom. I am ALL ABOUT safety but in our tiny house if 4 fire detectors all go off at once we might not be able to hear anymore! So alas, he is coming on July 13th to do our fire inspection and we are hoping all goes well. I got one more form signed and dated today, WAHOO! Amaya's doctor signed her physical form. It feels so good when one more adoption paper is complete. Josh and I have our physicals this coming Thursday.

And last but not least our GARAGE SALE is NEXT WEEK!!! This is our first fundraiser for the adoption. We are gearing up for three days of garage sale fun. We are so blessed by the people that have donated items for the garage sale and by 2 amazing best friends that have offered to help. It is truly amazing. It also looks like my mom and grandma will also be able to come down to help, which is another huge blessing.

I am constantly thanking God for his provisions. Part of my heart belongs in Ethiopia now. I cannot even begin to explain the longing. I told Josh last week that I am anxious for the process. What if something really difficult or crazy happens? He turned to me and said, "Tami, nothing crazy will happen. You know why? (long pause) Because no matter what happens, to God, none of it is crazy. Its all just as he planned it." He was exactly right.

Cooking with Mom

2010-06-23T05:22:00.000-07:00

The Rogers household has been quite busy lately. Josh took a missions trip to Honduras last week and hopefully he'll post some pictures soon. His trip went well and we are glad that he is home safely. We continue to fill out the many adoption papers and gather other important documents. We have our first meeting (of four) with our social worker this Friday morning. We are also working on getting a garage sale together in July as a fundraiser for the adoption. More information on that soon!

This week Amaya and I had some fun making brownies together. After I saw my friend Amanda and her daughter cooking together I was excited to cook with Amaya! Now when I say "making" brownies I mean straight out of the box. I am a Hershey girl through and through but when it comes to brownies I have come to believe that there are no better brownies in the world (even homemade) than Ghirardelli Dark Chocolate Boxed Brownies. Seriously so delicious! So Amaya and I had some fun making them together...

First we got out the bowl and box

Then we pour the mix in the bowl

Then the oil and water (mama put in the egg)

Stir it up!

Ready to go in the oven

The new two trip policy and where we put our hope!

2010-06-10T14:05:00.000-07:00

Well, as we said things can always change when you are in the process of adopting. We found out last week that we will now be required to travel twice to Ethiopia when the time comes. All adopting parents are required to travel to Ethiopia for their court date as well as when they pick up their precious child. Yes, this does mean more expenses and more vacation time from work, but like we keep saying: God is in control! The first AWAA family required to travel for court just arrived back in the U.S. and said that the trip went well. They were able to hold their baby, which they said they were VERY grateful for because they had the chance to see him at such a young age. Babies grow so fast and to have the memory of him so young was wonderful. Hopefully by the time Josh and I need to travel we'll know a few more details about that first trip and will keep you updated. For now, its more of the paper chase!! I, Tami, was able to go and get our copy of our marriage license this week (all documents have to be dated within five years) and was laughing because even that seemed like a big, ok HUGE, accomplishment and I was delighted to be able to cross something off of the gigantic to do list. The nice lady also gave it to me for free!! Ok, it was only supposed to be 2 dollars, but I still felt as if God was using that little moment to say, "Please trust me. I have you in my arms." Wow, such an awesome thought. How easy it is for us to doubt. I was reading this morning in Genesis 18 about the laughing Sarah. How many times have I laughed or doubted that God could do something amazing? I do know where to put my trust and every morning when I wake up I want this to be my prayer, "My hope is in You!" So as I continue to collect documents and fill out paper work I remember what a mighty God we serve.

Prayer Request: Please pray for Josh as he leaves on a missions trip to Honduras on Saturday. I'm so glad God has called him to serve and am praying that I will not worry about him while he is gone, but will once again trust!

The Paper Chase and vacation

2010-06-06T17:12:00.001-07:00

The "paper chase" part of our adoption has begun. About 1 1/2 weeks ago we received 2 e-mails with over 40 documents including anything and everything we need to do to prepare our dossier for the Ethiopian government. From birth certificates to background checks to physicals from our doctors and writing autobiographies on ourselves, it is a lot. Included in this is the "home study" portion of the adoption, which also means more paper work and interviews with a social worker. This entire process will take approximately 4-6 months but could always take longer. It is definitely all a bit (EXTREMELY) overwhelming, but we continue to pray for guidance (and our own flexibility) during each step of the process. We definitely continue to take things 1 day at a time and know God's timing is perfect.

In the mean time we enjoyed a wonderful vacation to the Smokey mountains with Tami's family. We all piled into 2 vans and headed to our cabin in the mountains. It was a gorgeous cabin with a beautiful view. We spent our time playing games, playing with the kids, walking in downtown Gatlinburg, and hiking in the mountains. Our time together went way too fast, as it always does, but we enjoyed it immensely. A is getting to be a big girl and is saying lots of words now, which is fun (unless she is telling us no!). J, our nephew, is simply precious. He can hug like no 6 month old I've ever held! His smiles and hugs just made our days!

God has a plan!

2010-05-22T05:00:00.000-07:00

It is strange how so much can change in 2 weeks time. Josh and I believe strongly that God is in complete control over our adoption from Africa, which is why we are now adopting from Ethiopia. AWAA actually contacted us about considering Ethiopia instead of Rwanda for several very important reasons. After praying, we decided this was a wise decision. It is very comforting to know that God has our little one right in his hands. So the journey has begun! We received our follow up e-mails with the paper work and initial fees. We have an 8 hour online class on adoption to take and will get set up with the social worker soon to start our "home study." We want to ask for your prayers about a few things. 1. Please pray for our precious child that we already can't wait to meet. 2. please pray that we would not become discouraged in the process but would continue to have patience and completely rely on God's timing. 3. Please pray that Josh and I will be able to raise some funds for the very expensive process. Thank you for praying with us!!!

Beginning the adoption journey

2010-05-09T10:33:00.000-07:00

This weekend was a very exciting one for Josh and I. We have always known that one day we would want to adopt. God has put a deep desire to adopt in our hearts. Most importantly because we know that "we are sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus” (Gal. 3:26). As a result of God’s adopting us we are just as eternal and secure in our relationship with Him as His only-begotten Son. All the security and loveliness of God’s Son is ours as His adopted sons. Wow, what an awesome and amazing thought! When we accepted Christ into our hearts WE ourselves were adopted!
First, we decided that we'd like to try and have one biologically and God gave us our precious daughter Amaya. We love her so very much and are so thankful for her. Since about January, Josh and I have been seriously praying about what direction he was going to lead us in next. After much discussion between each other, getting advice from others, and lots and lots of prayer we decided to go ahead with the adoption process. The question of where to adopt from wasn't too difficult of a decision for us. Once we decided we wanted to adopt internationally we knew we wanted to adopt from Africa. Josh and I served in Africa on a missions trip several years ago and simply FELL IN LOVE with the continent. The people of Africa were such a beautiful people. The agency we are going through, www.awaa.org, just opened up adoption through Rwanda and we felt such a peace about adopting from Rwanda as we read about the country. Josh and I sat down on Saturday night, prayed about the adoption, and fill out our application. Many of you may know this process is a LONG one! Not only is there lots and lots of paperwork, and you have to wait for a child to be referred to you, but the laws are constantly changing so you never know what to expect. We are praying that God will give us patience as we begin this journey. We know that he is completely and totally in control and very excited as we begin this process with much anticipation!

Coming soon...

2010-04-26T17:33:00.000-07:00

My mom and I have been working diligently for the past few months! In just a few weeks we will be launching our new cleaning blog! The site will provide helpful cleaning tips, cleaning product reviews, and just a little about everything when it comes to having a clean home. Be looking for the new site soon!

The big Trip

2010-04-11T10:16:00.000-07:00

I cannot believe Spring Break has come and gone already! Amaya and I left bright and early last Saturday to embark on our journey across the country. As I said in my last post, I was very nervous about the plane flight. I wish I could say that I had no reason to be nervous because Amaya was a saint on that long 5 hour plane flight. However, it was the LONGEST 5 hours of my life! Amaya screamed almost the entire time and this is after someone was kind of enough to switch us spots so Amaya could have a seat all to herself. There was no consoling her at all. She refused to keep headphones on her head to watch any movies, didn't want snacks, she didn't want to read books, color in her coloring book, or anything else I tried, including her binki and the Tylenol. So, here are my tips if you are flying with an child over the age of 1.

If at all possible buy an extra ticket for your child and put the car seat in the plane seat. Maybe this would have helped?
Don't expect your child to sleep on the plane. It just might not happen.
Practice using headphones with your child a few weeks or months before you leave if you plan on trying a portable DVD player or iphone.
Realize that others have gone through it too and that you'll be off of the plane very soon(even though it seems like you'll be stuck there for an eternity).

So other than the difficult plane flights we had a wonderful time in California. It was wonderful to see Patti, Braden, and Tommy and it was great to spend so much time with them! California was absolutely beautiful. It is green this time of year because it rains in the spring and its simply breathtaking. Amaya had a great time playing with Braden (we miss them so much already!) and got used to sleeping in the car every day as we traveled around. We saw the Jelly Belly factory, Travis air force base, Pacific Highway, the beach, downtown San Fransisco, the Golden Gate Bridge, the Redwoods, and my personal favorite, Napa Valley. I love looking out over God's creation and just being amazed at the work of His hands. To think that He creates things that are so majestic and beautiful. From the huge gigantic Redwood trees to the tiny little creatures that crawl on the ground beneath them. Wow, what a great and mighty God we serve! So tomorrow its back to work for me and I know that I have so much to be thankful for! I'm thankful that God brought us home safely and that my husband was here to greet us and give us big hugs and surprise me with a newly painted bedroom! I"m thankful that my daughter has a voice to scream with and that those time are quickly forgotten every time she giggles and makes us laugh. I"m thankful for so many things and I think I often forget to thank God for those things! So take a few minutes today to simply thank God for all of those little things that you are so thankful for!

Spring Break!

2010-04-01T13:33:00.001-07:00

Today is officially the beginning of my spring break and I am THRILLED, especially since the weather has been gorgeous that past few days. Tomorrow will be spent packing in preparation for our trip to California! I have to admit that taking a 15 month old on 1 45 minute flight and another 5 hour flight might be making me just a tad nervous. I am prepared to entertain! Luckily I"ll have my friend Amy there to help and it will be totally worth it to go see a great friend in California! So I thank God for great friends and the gorgeous weather outside today. Amaya and I got home after work and went directly outside for a few minutes. Have a great Easter everyone!

Cooking and Moms

2010-03-28T09:54:00.001-07:00

This weekend was another freezer cooking weekend! As I've mentioned before, Melissa and I have been cooking once a month and freezing all of the food. It has been such a wonderful blessing for me as a working mom. Since Melissa has been pregnant and extremely sick we haven't had a chance to cook together. Well, Tricia from onceamonthmom offered to come and cook with us so that Melissa could have a chance to sit and not do as much of the cooking. We cooked the march menu from the onceamonthmom website. Let me tell you what, food for a month for 3 people is A LOT of food! This is where my mama comes in. She came down this weekend with my grandma to visit and watch Amaya while I cooked. Well, little did she know she'd be helping to chop all of the vegetables and clean the kitchen!! She is amazing! She also helped with laundry and other stuff around the house and had tons of fun with Amaya. She is such a wonderful mom and definitely has the spiritual gift of serving others! Did I mention she is such a wonderful mom?
So alas, we woke up bright and early, got some coffee, and got down to business cooking a bunch of yummy food. Tricia was at the stove most of the time, I was over at the other counter, and Melissa was at the table! Other than my occasional freak outs and mess ups on the recipes I was cooking, it was a success and we have a freezer full of food!! They all look so yummy!! It was also fun to have 3 of us in the kitchen and the time goes pretty fast when there are 2 people to talk to. Also, Tricia introduced us to a new Glad Ovenware product. The Ovenware stacks very easily and you can take it out of the freezer and put it in the oven. You can also reuse the containers!! What a great idea! So alas, the cooking is done for another month and I can relax a little when it comes to coming home exhausted from work and wondering what we are going to eat!

Spring is in the air

2010-03-20T18:13:00.000-07:00

Seeing the sun out all week was simply the BEST! It even made going outside for recess duty at work not so bad. Well, apparently Amaya felt just the same way. She loved running around outside all week and we were finally able to get her slide out of the shed, which she was very excited about. She and daddy had lots of fun with it.

Scrubbing the Floors

2010-03-12T13:23:00.001-08:00

Most people that know me know that I like to be clean. I frequently blame it on my neat freak mom, but its true. I do like things neat and organized and clean. This can turn me into quite a "Martha" but that's a story for another day. Today I had the afternoon off because Amaya came down with pink eye (also a story for another day.) While Amaya was sleeping I decided that I was going to scrub the floors on my hands and knees. Usually my cleaning lady or I will use the swiffer, but I don't feel like it does an adequate job at getting all of the gunk up. Now, If you asked my mom how much I liked to do this she would laugh! I HATE scrubbing the floors. It was one of my chores as a kid and I complained every time and tried to bribe my brother to do it. Well, my floors really needed it today so I got to work. I swept, took all the rugs up, chairs went in the living room and I scrubbed away and then did the bathroom floors! The good part about all of this is that I LOVE when all of the floors have been scrubbed. They feel so clean and I can walk on them in my bare feet and I want them to stay clean forever so that I don't have to do it again. HA! That is NOT happening with a toddler. So, for today my floors are clean and I'm going to enjoy it to the fullest. So, I guess the point of the story is that no matter what cleaning product comes out...there is nothing better than your good old hands and knees and some hot water and soap!

Cincinnati Museum!

2010-03-07T17:44:00.000-08:00

This weekend we traveled with Uncle Mark, Aunt Amy, Carson and Brennan to the Union Terminal Museum in Cincinnati. They have 3 museums but we chose to go to the Children's section this time. Wow, its was a BLAST. Amaya had such a good time and ran from section to section with excitement. There was a huge tree to climb, grocery store toys, a huge water table, and much more. It was definitely something we'll go to again! Here are a few pics of our adventure.

Family Time

2010-03-03T13:11:00.000-08:00

This weekend my parents were able to come and visit us. I was very excited (as I always am) because my dad has been very busy building an addition on their house and hasn't made the trip down in awhile. We had such a great weekend. I got a little shopping/girl time in with my mom and we all went out to lunch at the Rusty Bucket (YUM!) and enjoyed our fried pickles! On Sunday we went to church, took afternoon naps, and then mom, Josh, and I went and saw "WICKED" at the Schuster in downtown Dayton. I love going to see musicals. My dad doesn't quite understand the love but for me its a few hours to escape and enjoy the incredible talent of other people. It was a great show and although I had already seen it once in Chicago it was well worth it. As always the weekend flew by without us even paying attention and it was time for "Mimi and Poppy" to leave. I'm so glad that Amaya loves both sets of her grandparents so much!! We love when they come to visit us in Dayton. Here is a video of them playing Ring Around the Rosie Together.

Google Reader

2010-02-23T16:58:00.000-08:00

Well as in most things in life I"m a little behind the times. For example, when capris were all the new craze I hated them. Yes despised them. Then 2 years later when they were still "sort of" in style I happened to decide that I liked them. When UGG boots were the new fashion I thought they were so ugly. Once again, now I envy people who can pull off that whole "skinny jeans" and boots look (heck no not these thighs in those jeans!). Well when this whole "Blog" thing started I wasn't really all that sure about it. I didn't really get the point or know what people had to blog about all of the time. Now, however, I love reading other blogs and I follow several. Well, I was very excited when Amy Wells showed me how to use google reader. It organized all of my blogs for me and shows me the newest post that I have not read and its all in one place!! This is just what I had been hoping for! No more typing in the blogs or putting them all in my favorties (hey! I said I was behind the times). So I'm sure everyone else knows about this great tool, but I am enjoying it now (just like capri pants and UGG boots).

2010-02-21T05:43:00.000-08:00

Wow, the days have flown by the last two weeks! Last weekend we were blessed to have Mom Rogers, Ali, and Amber visiting!! It was such a blast. The trip included Prom dress shopping for Ali, Valentine's day treats for all, a trip to Brio (a yummy restaurant), a game of Skip-Bo, a late birthday celebration with Amaya, and a special date night for Josh and I!
Amaya loved the time with her Nana and her aunts and was of course spoiled. Nana and Ali made it out just in time for the snow storm to hit, which meant another snow day on Tuesday!! We are now up to our 4th snow day with one more left before we have to start making them up. UG, let's hope that doesn't happen.

Josh left on Tuesday for San Fransisco and was gone until Friday morning. Amaya and I are very glad to have him back and are enjoying our Saturday with him! Josh and I are headed to church and are looking forward to talking to people about raising money for tents to give to people in Haiti. The rainy season has started and people desperately need tents. Check out www.ahomeinhaiti.com.

Here are a few pics from the weekend!

Nana made Amaya her very own Raggedy Ann!
It is so very cute. Oh, and check out our AWESOME
quilt on the couch. Yes, made by Nana. We love it:)

Amaya had a chance to celebrate her birthday (late)
with Nana and the girls. She actually ate the cake this time!!

Snow, Snow, Snow!!

2010-02-10T14:04:00.000-08:00

Well, its been quite a week around here. After getting lots of snow last weekend we had another snow storm this week, which resulted in 2 snow days (perhaps the best thing about being a teacher?)! I was very excited about the days to spend at home with Amaya. We worked out, made scrambled eggs for breakfast, watched the Wiggles, did some laundry and vacuuming, played with toys, and took naps while mommy got to do some scrapbooking. I can't remember the last time we had this much snow in Dayton! We took Amaya out in it for just a few minutes on Saturday but she didn't seem too excited about the adventure. I'm thankful for my few days at home to catch up on laundry and have some mommy and Amaya time. However, I think it will be back to school tomorrow! I'm actually hoping to get back because my 2nd graders have a concert next week! yikes!

In other news, we are looking forward to having Nana, Ali, and Amber in this Valentine's Day weekend! I'm sure we'll be posting pictures of our fun Valentine's Weekend. Here are some pics of Amaya in the snow!

Saturday mornings

2010-01-30T06:03:00.000-08:00

I love Saturday mornings. I love that if Amaya sleeps until 7:30 we feel like we got to sleep in just a little. I love that its the only morning that Amaya gets to get out of her crib and come snuggle with mom and dad. I love Josh making pancakes for his girls and the fact that we don't have to rush out of the house like every other morning of the week! I'm sure there are days that we'll be rushing out of the house for basketball or soccer games on Saturdays, but right now I cherish our mostly quiet Saturday mornings, especially since the rest of the 6 mornings are a little nuts. As for right now Amaya is playing with her toys and my new favorite band "Need to Breathe" is on in the background. I do need to do some cleaning because my mom and sis-in-law and 2 month old nephew are coming for a visit! I am very excited to see family. I miss them all so much! So today I am very thankful for Saturday mornings at home with milk and pancakes and lots of hugs.