court date is tomorrow

Please pray for our court case as you go to sleep tonight. Our court date is tomorrow and Ethiopia is 7 hours ahead of us. As we sleep tonight, a decision will be made about a baby girl's future. We have been told that court cases do not pass 50% of the time. If we don't pass, we may not be able to travel at the end of this month. Please just pray that all needed documents and people are present and that the case passes easily. I'm trusting that we will hear good news tomorrow afternoon or early Friday. Thanks for your continued prayers...

big week ahead

As I sat in church this morning, singing patriotic and worship songs, I had great difficulty holding back the tears. We have waited for this week for so long now. We have waited for a court date to know that we were one big step closer to bringing home our little girl. Our music pastor did a wonderful job of tying in scripture that related to freedom this morning. Then it hit me...our baby's Ethiopian name given to her by her birthmom means "freedom, liberty". I was overwhelmed. I have known the meaning of her name and have appreciated that her birthmom gave that name to her for a reason, but realizing that all again on July the 4th with an impending court date brought all my emotions to the surface. Just as I felt when we received our referral(s), I go into this week with mixed feelings. Of course, I want us to pass court easily. But I also grieve for a birthmom who feels she has no other choice than to give her daughter "freedom" and I honor her for the sacrificial gift she is giving her child. In a different country, she would most likely not have to make this decision. I just pray that I can always honor her. Please remember us this week...the court date is Thursday, July 8th.

update on necklaces

Some of the necklaces that are shown two posts ago have sold. Thank you to those who have been interested. I love that people will be wearing Ethiopia cross necklaces and be able to share adoption with others when asked about them!
#1, #2, and #6 are still available and more are coming soon. Let me know if you are interested. Please pray for our upcoming court date on July 8th. That's a week from tomorrow. Thank you...

court dates!!

We got the call this afternoon!! The first court date with the birth mom and our agency is July 8th. Our court date where we need to be present is scheduled for August 3rd. We will need to arrive in Ethiopia on July 31st. Right now, it all feels like a dream. Tomorrow is my birthday and I asked God to give me this for my birthday and He DID!! I'll remind you again...but please pray for us on July 7th and 8th (Ethiopia is 7 hours ahead) and that all will go well in the first court hearing. If not, then we may not be able to travel for the August date. Thank you for your continued prayers and support.

necklaces for Addia

Check out our beaded Ethiopian cross necklaces. They are shown on a 12 year old so check measurements for sizing. I'm happy to take color requests too. See ordering info below....

#1: 17" red, light blue, brown wooden and brown beads

#2: 18" mint, brown wooden, green, red and mint beads
#3: 18" mint, brown wooden, camel beads -SOLD
#4: 16" teal, pink and purple beads
#5: 19" mint green, dark mauve, red and natural beads

#6: 18" brown, light orange and amber orange beads

#7: 18" blue, cream, yellow/tan beads

We are selling necklaces to raise money for our two trips to Ethiopia. These are made with different colored beads and Ethiopian nickel crosses. They turned out great and the colors are even better in person. Each necklace has a toggle clasp. They are $40 each and shipping will be $3 for those of you who are out of town. You can pay using the "Donate" button on the right and in the message box, tell me which necklace you want and send me your address and I'll send it to you as soon as possible. Thank you for helping to support our adoption!! More necklaces coming soon! We think we are getting close to bringing her home...

update...correction

We are still waiting to hear about a court date. Our agency is notified of court dates on Wednesdays so we are hoping to hear tomorrow. It does look like we will travel twice. The first trip will be to meet the baby and appear in court to tell the judge in person that we do want to adopt her. Then we will come home without her and travel approximately 7 weeks later to bring her home. We think each trip will be about a week long. There are many unknowns right now, because we are in the first group of families from our agency that are having to travel twice. Before we travel, there will be a court date in which our case will be presented by our agency. The biggest question is how soon we will travel for our court date once that first date is completed. We are hoping that we will travel before the recess which is believed to start on August 6th. If we don't get to appear in court before the recess, we will have to wait until October for our second court date. If both court dates occur before the recess, we can travel during the recess to bring her home. Our prayer is that we pass court quickly and then travel before the recess. We want our sweet little girl home before her first birthday which is October 24th. Please continue to pray with us that it will be God's will for our case to start to move quickly. We sent in our first application on September 15, 2008. I never dreamed the process would take 2 years. I have learned a lot during the wait, but I am so ready to have her in our arms. Traveling twice does make me anxious for several reasons. Our kids are already worried about us being gone so I know two trips will be harder on them. Also, I am sad that we will meet and love on our little girl and then have to leave her for 7-8 weeks. I think waiting is difficult now...I can't imagine how difficult it will be once we have held her. Lastly, the financial burden is also a stress, but we have seen God provide over and over in this process. I am working on a little fundraiser. I am making some Ethiopian cross necklaces with pretty beads. I'll post pictures soon. Thank you for your continued prayers....

papers submitted to court!!

Just wanted to let you know that our papers were submitted to court today. We are one step closer and I am SOOOOO happy! I'll let you know when we have a date so you can pray that we pass the first time. Courts will close the beginning of August so we hope and pray that we pass court before the recess and then it looks like we will only travel once. Right now, CWA families are traveling about 7 weeks after they pass court. Could she be in our arms by the end of August?