We feel so blessed!  We got the call today!  We have a court date!!!!  October 27th :)  We have several other families that we know that will be traveling at a very similar time and I thought it would be wonderful to get the same flights.  But Chad had an even better idea.  Airline miles!!  What are the chances that we could use them?  Not very good, except God seemed to be working!  Chad spent about an hour on the phone and when it was all said and done we saved about $2500 by using our miles!  The lady who assisted Chad was really surprised by how well it all worked out....so were we!   WHAT A BLESSING!  We have a two day layover in Germany...but hey, mini-vacation!:)  I've never been to Europe before!  It's perfect!  We are soooo blessed!

We are also so excited for the families we get to be in Ethiopia with!  We know it will be such a blessing to travel with people we've already started to form friendships with. 

If everything were to go well....we might be on the timeline for an embassy Date of December 7th.  That would be SOOOOOO great.  If we miss that, the next date is 2 weeks later, December 21st.  Either one would be SOOOO great, but I'm praying for the 7th:)  I'd love to have our boys home in 2010!  We are just so excited to see God's timing playing out!

This week we got an e-mail stating that our court application has been turned in and they will continue to assign court dates even though courts are now closed until late September.  This was such a wonderful surprise!!  We had expected to wait until Sept 28th, have the application turned in with TONS of others and then wait weeks to get a date.  Now we should hear next week what our court date is!!!  It will likely be in early November, but how exciting to be able to book our plane tickets and get our lodging arranged and child care lined up (for Abi and Ben, cause no they are not coming:)!  Several other friends of ours also got this great news which means it's very likely we will get to travel with people we've already met in person or at least on-line, people we've been hoping to meet! 

We also got 10 new pictures of our boys!  It is so fun to look at them!!  We also know that they are already in Addis, which is fun to know:)  With each picture, you can imagine a little bit of personality. 

Please pray that we hear early in the week about a court date...cause it will be hard to "wait" knowing that the info could be coming any time.  I guess I just need to work on some projects and keep myself busy!  We've been moving furniture and beds, so I do have plenty of cleaning and organizing to do.  I'm also re-reading the book "The Hole in Our Gospel" to get ideas for our church because we are doing a sermon series on it is fall.  WHAT A POWERFUL BOOK!  If you get the chance, READ IT! 

Look forward to posting our court date when we hear.....that's so exciting to say!!!

We been matched with two precious boys!!  They are siblings (the have to be with Bethany).  “Z” is approx 5.5 years old, and “A” is about 3 years old.  “Z” is described as very active, enjoying soccer and running.  From his pictures, I’d say he’s a real charmer!!  What a beautiful smile!  Younger brother “A” is described saying, “quiet yet communicates well”.  He likes to sing and one of his favorite prayer is “Thank you God”.  “A” has one of the sweetest faces in the world!  Can wait to meet these precious boys!

Hopefully on Monday, we will be turn in our acceptance paperwork and making sure everything else is up-to-date.  We had an appointment today to update our fingerprints, which expire after 15 months (go figure, it doesn't seem possible for them to change, right?).  Now we have to update our  Immigration Pre-approval which expires in October.  The extra paper work would have had to be done even without the referral of these two boys, but let me tell you.....it's much more exciting knowing the names and faces of the precious boys we've been matched with!!! 

Next , we wait for a court date (which under new rules we have to travel for).  Court closes every year for 6-8 weeks in Aug/Sept.  This year they close Aug 8 until September 28^th.  I’m assuming we will be hoping and praying for a court date in Oct or Nov and maybe will be able to travel again for the embassy date in Dec or Jan to bring the boys home.  These approximations are likely only if things go smoothly.  There are no guarantees on the timing, especially because no families have yet traveled under these new rules.  No one knows exactly what the two trips will look like and what the timing will be.

We are so excited to finally be at this point, with names and faces of these precious children!   We covet your prayers for their health and well being.  We also pray that they will adjust well to all the changes they have and will be going through.  Praise God for bringing us to this point in our journey!

Last week, a family from our agency received a sibling referral for two little girls, aged 2.5 and 1.5!  They had their papers in Ethiopia since May of last year.  Our papers went in July, and so I was very curious how close we were getting to the top of the sibling waiting list.  So I had to ask.   This is the response our Social Worker got from Corporate, “So what I can say is that this family is at the top of the list - and if/when we get a referral for a sibling group that is in-line with their preferences and is a good match for them, we will let you know asap!”

This means the wait is still very unpredictable.  It could still be many, many months, but we are FINALLY at the top of the list!   We are so excited, and yet a bit nervous as well.  We are entering the hardest part of the “wait”.  Being at the top and knowing it could be anytime is harder than knowing you are #5 or 6 on the list.  I know it will get even harder once we have the precious pictures of our children and have to wait to have court and embassy dates assigned.

Please pray for us.  Pray for peace and patience.  We have really done pretty well with the 12 month wait so far (by God’s grace).  Also, please pray for the children that God has planned for our family.  It seems that most children are only in the orphanage for a couple months before they are matched with a family.  This means they may be at the orphanage now or may be coming in the next couple months.  One important thing to remember about adoption is that in order for them to join our family they have experienced the loss of their birth family.  So it is likely that our future children are currently or soon going to be experiencing a tremendous amount of grief and loss.  It breaks my heart to think of their pain!  Please pray for God’s peace, for His protection, and His love to surround them at this time!

The current rule is that adoptive families will have to travel twice.  Once for the court date (this is the new trip) and once for the embassy date (this is the trip when you are able to bring your kids home!).  The first families who have to travel twice are waiting for their court dates.  It seems like the dates are taking longer to be assigned (it’s been about 2 months since referral, and it was common to have a court date within 4-6 weeks).  We are praying for all those families who are trying to be ready at any moment to buy plane tickets, find child care for their kids they have at home, schedule time off of work etc.  I can’t imagine how stressful that would be and please join us in praying that the Ethiopian courts would be able to figure out this new system soon!

We are so blessed to be surrounded by so many loving friends and family during this adoption journey.  Thank you for all your thoughts and prayers.  We look forward to the day we can announce that we have been matched with precious children!!

For about the last couple of days there has been rumors that the Ethiopian government may require adoptive families to attend court for the adoption process...now it's official.  We have gotten confirmation from our agency that this will be the case starting in April.  That likely means two trips....(unless they would streamline the paperwork between court and embassy so that it would be one trip that last 3-4 weeks).  This will involve more cost (extra plane tickets & cost of stay) and more "vacation" time and time away from Abi and Ben, but we know that it's worth it. Thankfully Chad has a lot of vacation stored up!

The reason for this change is apparently due to some families who have passed court and when they come for their embassy date to bring the kids home, have changed their minds.  I can hardly imagine!  But this is just one step the government is taking to safe-guard the kids and to assure that the adoptive parents have seen the kids and there is not much chance of a "surprise".

At this point I'm just sad for all those who have referrals and are waiting for court dates....they didn't plan on traveling for 3-4 months and now they might have to get on a plane in less than a month.  AND then again a month later.  Their are a lot of families that I know that are stressing so please be in prayer for all the families in process.  I also am sad for all the social workers how have to relate this to all their clients...I'm sure it's frustrating/hard to have to tell everyone about this rather big change in the process.  You are told to expect change when dealing with international adoptions...but it doesn't always make those changes easy.

The news for me is kinda mixed.  Because we haven't been matched yet, everything seems so hypothetical...it just isn't very real yet.  But as I think about it -  I'm excited to see my kids that much sooner (4-6 weeks), but I think it will be hard to see them and then have to leave them:(  That just seems SOOO hard for us and the kids!  One good thing is that they will come home and become citizens as soon as they touch down in the USA.  If you don't see your kids before court, you have to do extra paperwork (time and money) to get citizenship.  Some families I know have been home for almost a year and their kids are still "aliens".  I've heard some states are worse than others and MI not so bad, but it will be nice to have a little less cost and paperwork needed after they are home!

Another benifit that someone meantioned is the opportunity to meet any living birth parents (they have always been required to attend court).  That would be a very special time...probably difficult, but I've heard a lot of positive feedback from those who have had this opportunity. 

We are still hoping and praying for a referral in the next 6 months and we would love to bring our kids home sometime in 2010, but we know that their is know way of knowing or even estimating when we will be matched.  Thank you to all of you who are "following" us on this journey and praying for us along the way!   

I am often asked if there is anything new with the adoption process.  We always appreciate people's interest!  No news for us, and it's hard to know how long until we might be matched with our children.  But our agency has some new orphanages they are working with so there has been a lot a matches made for other families who are waiting.  In January there were 23 referrals (last year there were a total of about 70...10 in December).  In December, families were waiting 14 months to receive an infant match and some people were matched in January only waited 9 months.  Yesterday there were at least 5 new matched families!  We rejoice with them all!!

As some of you may know there is an "unofficial" waiting list that I keep an eye on on Bethany's forum.  There were 7 families who all had our paperwork sent on July 1, 2009 (along with ours).  There were 4 of us open to siblings (or only wanting sibs).  Well, there are now only 2 families left of our original 7....all the others have been matched (no sib groups though)!!  Some just got matched yesterday, some have court dates, others have passed court and are waiting for an invitation to travel.  So we know that if we were open to a single child we would have been matched already:)  It would be hard, but I feel so strongly about getting a sibling group that the idea of only one child makes me sad...so it's been easy to celebrate with others and not be jealous!  It's not that the wait is easy, it's just that I have a lot of peace about it.  It's been less than 8 months, and we were told the wait would likely be about 12-15 months...so that helps in being patient!  I'm definitley trying to take this time to read and prepare.  I've been reading a couple of books and feel like I'm learning so much about parenting...especially understanding the complexity of international adoption and the effects on kids.  Again I celebrate the new level of service that our agency provides with a video life book for the kids.  To have that connection to their birth country, culture, community and any living family will be priceless!!

We look forward to hopefully have amazing news to share in the next 6 months or so, but in the mean time we are enjoying the precious children we already have been blessed with!

It’s official.  We’re committed to running the 5/3 Riverbank 25k on May 8^th.  So let the training begin (OK, continue…we’ve been training for 2 weeks now).  The ultimate goal here is to see if I will be able to run the Chicago Marathon in October.  For those of you who know me well, you remember that I ran the Chicago Marathon in 2001….nine years ago….and it about ruined my body…but I got to know Chad so it was all worth itJ 

So, you might be asking, “What are you thinking?”  That is a great question.  The answer is that I feel God calling me to train.  We want to join Team World Vision and raise money for children in Africa who are dying because of a lack of clean water, food and medicine.  I don’t know if he will grant me the physical ability to complete the training, but I’m confident that I’m supposed to start training and see what doors are opened and which are closed.  I’ll also be smarter this time…I will do 2 of the 6 days of running per week as a cross-training activity…I’ll do some workouts in the water and some elliptical training.  Also, if my hip hurts, I’ll walk instead of limp-running (not recommended).  I know better what kind of pain to run through and what to walk out. 

So we are hoping to get a team together.  Anyone feel God might want you to join our team?  

So while we wait for our adoption to happen we can focus our efforts and passion for caring for orphans on running ....and running some more!

26.2 for Africa on 10-10-10 (or 13.1 at Chicago’s Half Marathon Sept 12^th).  I care. So I run.

Honestly, since September when there were 9 referrals in a week...it has been slow watching the forum for referrals...it seemed like 1-3/month.  People had been waiting 14-15 months for their referrals and it just made our wait seem to be very long.  BUT the past two days have been SO EXCITING.  There have been at least 15 referrals!  So many people on the forum have been blown away because they have only waited 9 months or less.  Yesterday someone with an Aug 2009 DTE (Dossier To Ethiopia) received a referral!  That's only 5 months!!   As some of you know, there were 6 people on the boards with the same DTE as ours (July 1, 2009)...and 4 or us wanting sibs 1-5 years old.  Well, today one of those reported getting a referral...they were open to a single child or sibs and they got a referral for a little 3.5 year old child.  So if we had requested a single child up to 4, that could have been us! 

When ever people ask, I've been saying... "We've waited 6 months and expect it to be at least 6 more"....but now...it could be sooner!  The reason for all this movement is our agency has just partnered with a new orphanage which seems to be large with many different locations.  One wonderful thing is that our agency is very dedicated in making sure the child comes first..."they are finding families for children, not children for families"....which is an important difference!

So on the boards (which only represents 40-50% of those in the program) there is only one sib group in front of our group and 3 in our group.  I'm hoping with this new relationship with a new orphanage, more sib groups will become available!  So we continue to trust in God's perfect timing...but we are more optimistic that it could be 1-2 months before we get the referral (pics & info) instead of 6-8 months.  Please pray for our patience in this exciting time!

Dear Heavenly Father,

               We praise your name because you alone are Holy.  You alone are worthy.  You are the Alpha and Omega.  You are the Father of the heavenly lights….all good things are from you. 

               We confess, Lord, that we often fall short of the calling that we have received.  We are sinful people and we ask that you would forgive us.  Help us to be more like you.  Fill us with you love, you joy, your peace.  May we be a light to those around us.

               Thank you, God, for this special day.  Each day is a gift from you.  We are grateful to have this Thanksgiving Day to spend with family.  Our hearts are full when we think of all the good things you’ve blessed us with.  We thank you for the sunny and warm weather we’ve enjoyed this November.  We thank you for the freedoms that we enjoy in our country.  We thank you for all the men and women who have sacrificed so much for those freedoms.  Thank you, Father, for your creation, for your Son and the sacrifice our Lord Jesus made on the cross to save us from our sin. 

               Thank you for the adoption journey you have called us to.  Thank you for all the other families who are also in the process of adopting.  We thank you for those we have been able to start connecting with on the adoption forum.  Thank you for the encouragement and prayers that we can support each other with.   We pray for all those who are waiting for court dates, and travel dates…to be so close to having their precious children home.  We pray especially for those who have paperwork that needs to be corrected in a timely fashion for them to be able to travel.  We pray for all of those who are waiting for a referral.  Lord, it can be so hard to wait.  Help us to make the most of our time.  Help us to learn how to be better parents.  Help us to serve you in our waiting time. 

               Lord, we know that you have a heart for orphans.   Thank you for giving us a tender heart for children…especially orphans.  We thank you for all those who care for these children.  We thank you for those who are involved in foster care and adoption through the foster care system.  We thank you for all those you are involved in orphan care.  We thank you for all those who sponsor children.  We thank you for all those who have dedicated their lives to serve the fatherless.

               We pray for all those in the world affected by AIDS and HIV.  We thank you for modern medicine.  We thank you for medicine that can make living with HIV possible.  We specifically pray for all the children who have lost one or both parents due to AIDS.  We pray that you would comfort them and provide for all their needs.

               Lord, we love you and we want to serve you better.  Thank you for your love!  We pray all of this in your Holy Name, Amen!!

I’ve been telling Lora she needs to update the blog, and figured that I may as well do it myself.  I’m a big boy, after all. 

Well, it’s been a full year since we began our adoption journey.  And what a year it has been!  With the whirlwind of paperwork and hoops to jump through largely behind us, we can now sit and wait patiently - or sometimes impatiently – for the process to continue!

As we wait, Lora has been connecting with other adoptive moms on the Bethany forums and reading as much as she can about adoption and caring for adopted children.  Me…not so much!  We are taking in some required training from Bethany whenever possible and attending other adoption-related events.  We’re also dreaming of ways we as a local church can work to help orphans both here in Michigan and around the world.  For those at East Saugatuck, stay tuned for more information on that!

As one way of starting to bring a global picture into our household, we’re getting a world map and hanging it on the wall in the house.  We’ll have push-pins for our little location in Michigan, Ethiopia, the locations of our four sponsored World Vision/Compassion children, and also the locations of our friends who are currently on or are entering the mission field.  We’re hopeful this is a great way to make a very big world very personal to our children.

With November being National Adoption Month, it really brings adoption to the forefront of with lots of media time for both TV and radio.  It’s interesting to hear all the press coverage and think about how much it was poking and prodding us in the right direction just one year ago!  We’re praying that this coverage raises awareness and will touch others to do their part to help the cause of the 143+ million orphans in the world today.

For those who haven’t already seen it or heard about it, Lora and I were on Fox17 news last week at a Bethany-sponsored event/concert.   Here’s the linkage:

http://www.fox17online.com/videobeta/watch/?watch=cae6f8a3-925f-4162-8bf9-1b0d35e9bac8&src=front

To leave you, I’d like to share a video that tries to show the magnitude of the number 143 million.  What can you do to help one orphan today?