Introducing......( for real this time!!!!)

I'm wearing a tie.  You know something is going on if I'm wearing a tie.  Today was a good day.

About two hours ago we appeared before an Ethiopian judge.  The judge asked us questions that we've answered a million times before while doing paperwork..."will you do all the follow up paperwork?"  Etc.

Then she said some very magical words. She said,"this boy is now officially yours."

So we are now legally (Kathy our social worker just told me so) allowed to post pictures of our son.

So I would like I officially introduce you to Elias Dereje Reinard. 

Just to be clear....this DOES NOT mean that he gets to come home with us.  But as far as the government of Ethiopia is concerned he is our son.  The United States now gets to process our paperwork one more time.  Then we get to fly back over here to come to the US embassy and finish it off and come home. 

Sooooo please continue to pray this cute little man through.  We really want the US  to get things moving.

Who's in the details?

Not much longer and we're off to Ethiopia.  The last 5 days have been frantic, stressful, joyful, hopeful and wild (probably a bunch of other words that end in ful). 

They say that the devil is in the details.  I get the expression and all.  I'm not a detail person.  That's why I married Marjorie.  Details frustrate me to no end.  That said, I've seen nothing but God's hand working in the last 5 days.

We shared with you in our last post that we were struggling to find a flight.  It was easy to fly into Addis Ababa, but extremely hard to get out.  I literally spent most of two days looking for flights.  We needed to get there, but we also wanted to be good stewards of the money that has been donated.  This was extremely hard because of the season that we have to go, and the quickness that we had to go. 

We found a flight.  Round trip out of Washington DC.  Good connection.  Not too long of a layover in either direction.  AND it stays out of the Middle East, which if you read the news, you know is a "no go" zone for American's right now.

Not only did we find a flight.....but later that day we got a call from a travel agency that we've worked with to fly internationally before.  They asked what I found and I told them.  I also told them the price.  She was very impressed.  She said I got a very good rate and that they were struggling to find anything that good.  MAN does that make me feel good.

We have a place to stay.  We have drivers.  Just a few minutes ago, I found out we have a cell phone while we're in Addis.  We have connected with other families who will be going to court with us.  We're hoping to have a celebration dinner with them after court next Wednesday.  We have free wifi so we should be updating you from Addis.....but then again....it's Ethiopia....so who knows.

Where I was overwhelmed last Friday and Saturday, I've seen detail after detail fall into place.  We're not done yet.  We're not on the plane yet.  There are still lots of things that we have to do in the VERY near future.....but man it's been amazing.  God is good!



FOR YOU:
-Prayers are still needed and appreciated. 
That all the details work smoothly. 
That all our travels will go smoothly.
That our court appearance goes super smoothly and we can report back to you.

We're Going!!!!!!

I was at home cleaning the basement of all things. The phone rang. I charged upstairs to get it.

Hello?

Aaron this is K from Children's House. Are you ready to go to Ethiopia? Because you need to go now.

What?


THIS IS FOR REAL!!!!!

You've been praying and we've been praying and now we're going.  We have a court date in Ethiopia in a week and a half.  We have to fly there in a week.  Our brains are overloaded with information and details that need done, and freaking out.

We get to meet our son face to face in a very short time.

We'll obviously let you know what's going on.....when we know more.
God is GOOD!

FOR YOU:

-As we're looking into tickets, and it is crazy!!! They significantly more expensive because they're last minute and because of the time of year.  Also....there seems to be few flights coming home.  One airline gave us the option to come home in early September because that was the first flight they had openings on......and were kind of shocked we weren't OK spending 3+ weeks in Ethiopia.....which would be nice....but not very practical.  HA

-We are stressed.  We have lots to do in a very short amount of time.  We also don't want to lose our focus.

ANSWERS TO PRAYER:
-We found out yesterday that we have to do an extra piece of paperwork because of some changes that are beyond our control.  That single piece of paperwork is going to cost a couple hundred dollars.  HOWEVER....yesterday morning someone donated some new appliances to us to sell.  Bill taken care of.

-C and T were already going to my parents house to go camping the week that we need to be in Ethiopia.  Childcare taken care of.

Court Update

We told you last week, in our news update, that our paperwork was going to court in Ethiopia this Wednesday. 

We'd first like to say thank you for your thoughts and prayers on Wednesday.  We've heard from so many of you asking what we know.

On Wednesday the boys and I woke up and went to eat breakfast.  I reminded them that the paperwork was going to court today.  I also realized that even as we were praying about the paperwork....whatever was going to happen already had happened.  With Ethiopia being 7 hours ahead of EST, when we were praying at 9, it was already 4pm there.

So we heard from our agency that it looks like we passed through court.  We are another step closer.  Unless something was really wrong with our paperwork we were pretty confident that we would pass.  We didn't get all excited when we found out.....and then we were reminded that this is a big deal.  This is a step closer to bringing our son home.  We needed this step to go well.  We're still moving in the direction we want.

So what's next?

We're waiting on a letter from WoMA (Ministry of Women's Affairs) telling us when our next court date is.  This next court date is when Marjorie and I fly over to physically take our paperwork to Ethiopian court.  We need this letter NOW.

The problem is that even when things are running smoothly, WoMA is slow.  We've heard that they're particularly slow and backed up right now.  So if we're going to get to Ethiopia before courts close, we need a bunch of paperwork (not just our own) to clear through them FAST.

We are being guardedly optimistic that this can happen.  We know God has a plan.  That may be that we go now.  We also know that the way things are working right now, there's a very real chance that we're going to have to wait until October for our first trip.

FOR YOU:

As always, we still need your prayers.  Obviously right now we need to hear that we are headed to Ethiopia to meet our son sooner rather than later. 

Beyond that obvious prayer, please pray for our hearts.  That they wouldn't be hardened to the process and not be cynical from past adoption struggles.  That we would continue to be open to what God is speaking into our lives.

Also pray for C and T's hearts and minds in this adjustment.  Corban particularly has been having dreams about traveling to Ethiopia right now to pick up his brother.  They are excited, but I'm sure they don't fully grasp what changes are going to come to every day life.  Pray that their hearts would be molded for their new brother.

Corban's Gotcha Day

 July 13th is Corban's Gotcha Day.  For those who don't know what that is....it's the day we "gotcha".  So 7 years ago this past Saturday, Marjorie and I met a scared, tired, hungry Corban in Dulles Airport in Washington DC.  The first few days were rough.  I seriously can't believe he's been part of our family for 7 years....it seems like yesterday.  I can't imagine our family without him.  He went away a few weeks ago for his first overnight camp for two days....and the house just wasn't the same....the energy level was decreased by A LOT.

So every year we celebrate our boys Gotcha Day.  Different adoptive families celebrate in different ways.  We don't give presents.  We "do something" together as a family.  Usually this has meant a fun relaxing day with some mini-golf and ice cream and a nice dinner.  This year we did something different.

(This is kind of in two parts so make sure you follow all the way down.)


So last year my parents were given a gift certificate to the Gateway Clipper fleet in Pittsburgh for a river cruise....for the entire family.  It's taken all of us more than a year to coordinate schedules and make it happen.  So my parents, my brother and his family, my aunt and uncle, and my roudy brood, set off on one of their boats for lunch and tour up and down the rivers around Pittsburgh.

IT WAS AWESOME.  The kids had so much fun on the boat.  Corban, our creative one, was a pirate, firing cannons at every water craft out on a gorgeous afternoon.  The kids touched every corner of that boat.  In fact Marjorie and Tobiah almost were in the control room....that they were suppose to be in.

One thing I learned was that the fountain at the point doesn't use water from any of the three rivers but from an underground glacial aquafer.  How cool is that?

Now....my parents are looking for a new home.  My dad retired back in January, and their entire married life (39 years) they've lived in a home provided by the church that they've served.  So they're looking for their first house.  Which means....that this is probably Corban's last Gotcha Day at Grandma and Pa Pa's.  This is significant because his very first Gotcha Day was at Grandma and Pa Pa's....so we have some special photos of that first day or so at their house.  So we decided to recreate those pictures this weekend (we also did two pictures of Tobiah from when he came....you'll remember that we immediately went to Children's Hospital with him....so we don't have many at my parents house.....we're gonna hold off on Tobiah's pictures till later.)

So below is the original picture, then the new picture.  We did our best.

This next picture is significant because it's the first time Corban felt safe enough to let anyone other than Marjorie or I hold his hand.

Love you C-digs.

News Update 7/11

Hopefully by now you've read our BIG news from a couple weeks ago.  If not, you better start there.

A couple small updates.

1.  We just wanted to clarify....yes we do have pictures....no you can't see them.....at least not here.  If you see us in person, we'll gladly show you.  We're not allowed to put pictures of Elias up here until he's officially ours via paperwork.  Please know we're giddy to show you his giant eyes.  When we can we will.  

2.  That being said....if you've already seen a picture of him.....we have new pictures!!!  You should ask to see them.

3.  In our announcement post we explained that the Ethiopian courts shut down for August and September for rainy season.  At the time we were still holding out a little hope that maybe just maybe we could get in before they closed.  Then we more realistically realized the time frame doesn't work....we're not going till October.  In our e-mail tonight we have this news to share.  Our first court date (just paperwork in front of an Ethiopian judge) goes to court July 17 (next Wednesday).  Our agency says that "since they've been slow in writing their acceptance letters, it is too optimistic to think you will be able to travel before court closure a few weeks after that....but really one never knows."  Well to that I say, "I serve a God who specializes in 'too optimistic'".  We know that it's not likely.....BUT.....how awesomely crazy would it be if we had to make a mad dash to Ethiopia in a couple weeks?  I'm willing to take on the stress that would come with a whirlwind trip like that!!!  

4.  We get regular updates on Elias from our agency.  He's a little small for his age....but so were both C and T before they came home.  So what.  They say that he is a delight and plays well with the other kids.  He is walking, running, potty training....and is talking....but no one can understand anything he says.  That's cute and all....but I want him to be doing those things in my house.

Actions for you:
 1.  Would you join with us on Wednesday to pray for the court to clear our paperwork?  Also that if the follow up is suppose to....it'll be pushed through before courts close.  And mostly that we'd have a peace about however that turns out.

2.  While interacting with people both in person and online, we've realized that large groups of people haven't heard our news yet.  Can you help us with that?  Can you spread the word about what's going on with our adoption.  God is moving.  Things are happening.  We begin to see glimpses of light at the end of the tunnel.

As always......thanks for partnering with us in this journey and continuing to pray for us regularly.  We feel it and know you are with us. It means the world to us.  Thanks.

T-shirt SALE

Because of the recent news, we want to kick some things into high gear.

As you probably know we've been selling T-shirts to help fund our adoption.  We still have a bundle of these.  We'd like to have zero.  SO....to not only help fund the adoption, but close out our stock of shirts...we're putting them on SALE.

If you are local we're going to drop the cost of a shirt from 20 dollars down to 15 dollars.

If we need to ship you the shirt, we've said 23 dollars would do it.  We'll now ship you a shirt for 18 (and that's even with the USPS postal price hike).

Currently we have Youth small, Youth medium, Youth Large, Adult small, Adult medium, Adult Large and Adult X-large. 

First come first serve.  These are super comfy shirts.  All the cool kids are wearing them.