Yep, I can!
After all the ups and downs of the last year, all the preparations of adoptions that did not happen, well, it is now signed on the dotted line!!!
We are going back to Ethiopia! Hopefully sometime in the next six months.
We are adding two little girls to our family, to be loved on by all of us who are so excited! The girls are sisters, the older one has Down Syndrome and is said to be two. After looking at her photos and her walking, we think she is older than that. The little one is six to twelve months, probably closer to twelve months. We are so excited!
God has moved in amazing ways, has made it totally clear and everyone is on board! This time Steve and I will travel together - there is NO WAY I can manage two toddlers, immigration, luggage, customs and changing planes and all that by myself! Ethiopia has changed their rules, and we will need to take two trips, one short one to meet the girls before court and one for visas and to bring them home!
Our application is in, that is all signed, the homestudy is being updated to an international one rather than a domestic one, and we are doing all our education work and all that. I have more papers to fill out, documents to collect and all sorts of stuff to do. Time to make some energy tea!
I am working on decluttering - having toddlers again will be something we need to be ready for, and we need to simplify life a little. We are selling some of our ponies (the kids are too big for them anyway, but we also need less to care for), downsizing our goat herd some, and totally getting things organized! The consignment store, and donation stores are our best friends!
I am being totally smart and taking it one step at a time. We know that we are working towards the next payment for the next step, one piece at a time. I have seen God do amazing miracles and am sure that He will continue the good work that He has begun. If you want to chip in, feel free - there should be a button on the sidebar to connect to our paypal for adoption fees. If you look through posts, we are also making ceramic initial bears, handmade by the kids for their little sisters' adoption fund! Feel free to leave an order, or send our link on to anyone who might be interested. We are doing all sorts of ideas for fundraising!
We are excited and totally in awe of this new direction! I wish I could post photos of the girls, but we cannot until they are totally ours, and likely won't until they arrive home with us, just to avoid any difficulties! I so wish I could share, they are so cute!!!!! I guarantee that when we get home from Ethiopia with them we will post tons of photos!!!!
I had to laugh, because shortly after this all started, I realized that I have alternated between praying for a "baby" and praying for a "child with Down Syndrome" to add to our family. In my heart, I meant ONE child, the same child. God got the last laugh and gave me BOTH, but in two packages!!!! He has SUCH a sense of humor!
Honestly, I have to let you know that the adoption journey and all the unknown cycles between the extreme highs and joy and the total fears and worries. I have never met these kids, honestly don't even really know how old they actually are, or what we might face with them. But, we didn't know what might come with any of our birth kids either. I find that some days are up and some days are down. Some days I wonder if I am absolutely nuts or if it is the best thing ever! I know from past experience it will be better than I could ever imagine, will stretch me in ways I could never even imagine, and will be beyond belief. I know that God will use this for more than I could ever imagine. But in reality, the next year will be a wild ride. So, bear with me if I am a little freaked out some days. I will try to be transparent and honest, with the hopes that someone can glean something from our lives. (And it may simply be "what not to do") I just want God to use this for whatever He has in mind.
Well, the kids have been helping me with sorting things out, getting stuff out to the van to be delivered, advertising what we are trying to sell, and generally being supportive. So, I am going to make them pancakes!!!!!
Blessings to anyone who happens to stumble across this!!!
Christy
"For I know the plans I have for you, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans for hope and a future." Jeremiah 29:11
After all the ups and downs of the last year, all the preparations of adoptions that did not happen, well, it is now signed on the dotted line!!!
We are going back to Ethiopia! Hopefully sometime in the next six months.
We are adding two little girls to our family, to be loved on by all of us who are so excited! The girls are sisters, the older one has Down Syndrome and is said to be two. After looking at her photos and her walking, we think she is older than that. The little one is six to twelve months, probably closer to twelve months. We are so excited!
God has moved in amazing ways, has made it totally clear and everyone is on board! This time Steve and I will travel together - there is NO WAY I can manage two toddlers, immigration, luggage, customs and changing planes and all that by myself! Ethiopia has changed their rules, and we will need to take two trips, one short one to meet the girls before court and one for visas and to bring them home!
Our application is in, that is all signed, the homestudy is being updated to an international one rather than a domestic one, and we are doing all our education work and all that. I have more papers to fill out, documents to collect and all sorts of stuff to do. Time to make some energy tea!
I am working on decluttering - having toddlers again will be something we need to be ready for, and we need to simplify life a little. We are selling some of our ponies (the kids are too big for them anyway, but we also need less to care for), downsizing our goat herd some, and totally getting things organized! The consignment store, and donation stores are our best friends!
I am being totally smart and taking it one step at a time. We know that we are working towards the next payment for the next step, one piece at a time. I have seen God do amazing miracles and am sure that He will continue the good work that He has begun. If you want to chip in, feel free - there should be a button on the sidebar to connect to our paypal for adoption fees. If you look through posts, we are also making ceramic initial bears, handmade by the kids for their little sisters' adoption fund! Feel free to leave an order, or send our link on to anyone who might be interested. We are doing all sorts of ideas for fundraising!
We are excited and totally in awe of this new direction! I wish I could post photos of the girls, but we cannot until they are totally ours, and likely won't until they arrive home with us, just to avoid any difficulties! I so wish I could share, they are so cute!!!!! I guarantee that when we get home from Ethiopia with them we will post tons of photos!!!!
I had to laugh, because shortly after this all started, I realized that I have alternated between praying for a "baby" and praying for a "child with Down Syndrome" to add to our family. In my heart, I meant ONE child, the same child. God got the last laugh and gave me BOTH, but in two packages!!!! He has SUCH a sense of humor!
Honestly, I have to let you know that the adoption journey and all the unknown cycles between the extreme highs and joy and the total fears and worries. I have never met these kids, honestly don't even really know how old they actually are, or what we might face with them. But, we didn't know what might come with any of our birth kids either. I find that some days are up and some days are down. Some days I wonder if I am absolutely nuts or if it is the best thing ever! I know from past experience it will be better than I could ever imagine, will stretch me in ways I could never even imagine, and will be beyond belief. I know that God will use this for more than I could ever imagine. But in reality, the next year will be a wild ride. So, bear with me if I am a little freaked out some days. I will try to be transparent and honest, with the hopes that someone can glean something from our lives. (And it may simply be "what not to do") I just want God to use this for whatever He has in mind.
Well, the kids have been helping me with sorting things out, getting stuff out to the van to be delivered, advertising what we are trying to sell, and generally being supportive. So, I am going to make them pancakes!!!!!
Blessings to anyone who happens to stumble across this!!!
"For I know the plans I have for you, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans for hope and a future." Jeremiah 29:11
3 comments:
Congratulations Sweetie!
XOXO
Anne
That's wonderful news! Congratulations on your new daughters!
We are also with IAG and I saw your cute girls on the waiting child list shortly after we saw our new daughter (and 8 or 9 year old). So glad to see them going home so quickly.
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