Fingerprints AGAIN

We finally went today to get our fingerprints redone. Our I-171H expired and we had to do our fingerprints again so our form is valid. Otherwise we would be able to bring home our sweet pea. Hopefully we will get the form back before we travel for court, but we shall see. We at least have to have it by the time of our embassy date. It feels good to have it done. It takes FOREVER to get anything done through CIS. Our appointment was at 8am so Andy and I had to get up EARLY. My mom came over to get the kids off to school and then took Nathan to her house. On our way home (after a yummy breakfast date with my hubby) a HORRIBLE storm came through. We think we saw the beginnings of a tornado! Once we arrived at home, the wind came howling through and the phone rang. The sirens were going off in town indicating a tornado warning. YIKES. We were ready to run down to the basement. I called my mom to make sure they were ok and she and Nathan were hiding out in the pantry!!! Definitely a memorable morning.

Moving Right Along

We have reservations made at the guest house we will be staying at while in Ethiopia. We hope to take part in a feeding program the director of the guest house runs. She feeds city kids and orphans on the streets every Saturday! I hear amazing things about it and I can't wait to see it in action. We also received our plane tickets and travel itinerary in the mail from our travel agent. Things are moving right along. It won't be much longer and we will be headed out to meet our baby girl. Oh I can't wait. We have 2 families over there now that are taking pictures for us, so I am eager to see another update. We continue to pray for her health and safety. She is so precious.

Court Date

On October 11 we received the email that brought the unbelievably wonderful news that we have been waiting on for MONTHS. We are going to Ethiopia to meet our precious baby girl!!!!! We have a few weeks to prepare, but things are moing forward. I was at preschool teaching my little ones when I saw on my phone that I had missed a call from Andy. He never calls me during school hours so I knew that it was either about one of the kids or he had gotten info about our baby girl. I called him back when my class went on rotations and he asked if I wanted to go to lunch. OF COURSE I DO!!! So, I called him when class was over and he walked in the door of my room as I hung up the phone. He was holding a piece of paper and he handed it to me. On it was an email from Salome our social worker from FTIA. On it was our court date!!! At first I was a little disappointed because it is still several weeks away, but then I was overjoyed because it is official!!! We are going to hold our baby girl in our arms soo soon. It gives us time to pack, shop, get shots, get fingerprinted, get my classroom prepared, let Andy accrue enough vacation time, etc. We are sooo excited. Now that we have a date, I can't stop thinking about her and imagining what it will be like to hold her and look into her precious brown eyes. We have 2 families going over next week that are going to take more pictures of her for us! These will probably be the last ones we get before we go over ourselves. Andy contacted our travel agent and got our flights all settled and I contacted the guest house where we will be staying and made reservations. It feels good to be at this point of the process since it has been soooo long for us. We have had so many delays and bumps in the road. We are praying for smooth travels and court appointment. May the Lord go before us and prepare the way for our journey. He has been so faithful.

Happy Dance

Yesterday was a WONDERFUL day!!!! We got our first update on our African beauty and man o man is she beautiful. Andy called me while I was at preschool getting ready to take Nathan to lunch at my mom's. I started crying as I opened the email on my phone and looked at her beautiful pictures. She is sooooo healthy looking and happy. Her eyes are very clear and peaceful looking. She is still small, but growing. At 5 months she is 13 pounds and 20 inches long. I'm not sure if the length is accurate, but it might be. She has gained 5 pounds since her referral in July. Her hair is starting to come in and boy is it CURLY!!! Mommy is going to have fun trying to do her hair! YIKES...I had better start ready up on it! Based on the pictures and the mats she is on and the chair she is sitting in, she is in Addis...that means she has been moved from the orphanage in Awassa to the transition home in the city. This was good news for me because it means they are expecting us to come soon. The best news is that she got the care package we sent to her...she is playing with the toy keys we sent....she is holding the voice recorder we sent of us reading to her and sharing our hearts to her...she is looking at the picture album we sent and actually looking at a picture of her big sister Andrea! Her cheeks are full and her skin is clear. I am on cloud nine. It came at a time when I was getting really discouraged. Everyone else was getting updates except us...the two month wait was worth the joy we felt at seeing her beautiful face again. Thank you Jesus for the gift.