One Sought Me

Todd and I and our family are blessed to have friends in our neighborhood who are from Ethiopia.  Through a friend of a friend, we first met near a year ago and our families have hit it off ever since.  The mama and I enjoy talking about the children and she is very helpful to me in learning about Ethiopia, the culture, traditions, and the people. Last weekend we were graciously invited over for dinner. The kids played while us parents talked in the kitchen.  (We'll just call the mom Allie) Allie breezed around the kitchen pulling out spices and telling Todd and I all about them.  We smelled them and she told us how to use them and what types of recipes they would be used.  My weakness is anything to do with the kitchen, so I was utterly amazed that real cinnamon comes on sticks.  (Yes, I'm that terrible).  Todd has the cooking talent (in my opinion) and he really enjoyed the different food and spice combinations lesson. One staple food in Ethio...

Our oldest daughter, Quinn, who is nearly 10 years old, will be (Lord willing) traveling to Ethiopia with us when we have our visit to pick up the children and bring them home with us!  Quinn is very excited about this and feels blessed to be able to visit another country, especially the birth country of her new brother and sister!  Her passport has arrived!  One more thing that is lining up into place and another step ready to go! Visit here to read more about Quinn's interview for traveling to Africa!  Thank you for your continued prayers and encouragement as we continue to press forward and gain ground in meeting with our adopted children!!  Ephesians 6:18 " praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication. To that end keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints" Philippians 1:3-4 " I thank   my God in all my remembrance of you, always in every prayer of mine for you al...

This little beauty, our oldest child, is coming with us to Ethiopia!  We took her today to apply for her passport!  Quinn will be 10 years old in late summer and although Todd and I would have loved to have her come with us to Ethiopia from first thought, we just weren't sure.  We have our own apprehensions about traveling to a foreign country, the flight, the foods, the planning, the safety of it all, but after researching, talking to others, and praying about it, we decided to give Quinn the option of coming with us during our second trip to Ethiopia.  Our first trip is for meeting the children and to appear before the court.  Then we return home while the children remain in the foster care home and their visas will be processed.  The second trip will be a few weeks maybe a month (hopefully) later to pick up the kids! Reasoning that Todd and I would have already felt things out during our first trip, and be able to better prepare Quinn for the big a...

Our precious Quinn is nine years old. She has her own little miracle story of what God brought her through, and us through, to be our first child.  Ever since I laid eyes on hers, I felt so blessed to experience the love of being a mother.  Through her, I enjoyed my first Mother's day!     Quinn has a sensitive heart and deeply cares for others.  She enjoys painting, coloring, photography, making jewelry, and any arts and crafts.  She loves horses and kitties, and enjoys her dance, and gymnastics classes. Quinn is a wiz at math and loves to read too.  She loves to learn about the Lord and holds scripture tight in her heart.  Her name means "blessing to all" and that she surely is!  Quinn wrote this about an observation she had while taking pictures of the Spring flowers in our yard.  I saw flowers on the bank in our yard. And then I walked over to look at them and I saw one that was different than all the others. ...

These two funny kids grabbed some of my old books and decided to 'read' to each other!  They had the best stories!  The littlest one started and said, "Once upon a time far far away..." then the older one took over and said ...."there were two friends who lived far far away..and there were many games... far far away. "  Then our daughter said, "and Jesus will be with them...." I know the children over hear many conversations about the adoption and the process that we are in.  We are guarded with our words knowing that little ears are near and little minds are active to take even minor information and turn it into something major just because it is unfamiliar to them.  In times like these when the kids are playing or story telling about adoption are times when I know they are understanding and internalizing what they hear talk of.  It comforts my heart to know that their little hearts are being moved and stretched to understand what adoption me...

Along with the paper collection of our home study, appointments, and inspections, we are also preparing for our adoption with Ethiopia by preparing our biological children for the soon coming changes in the family.  The joining of a new family member is an exciting adventure as it brings a new personality to learn about, new temperaments to adjust to, and new likes and dislikes in that special child!  With all these little people living under one roof, there are times when mom is not so available to everyone at every moment.   For me, meal time hits the top of the list of the times where I wish I could race into the nearest phone booth, spin around, and become Super Woman!  Well, I do have a pantry closet I could spin in and put an apron on!  That'll have to do.   It probably doesn't help that I'm not very confident in the kitchen, not a great cook, and therefore not good at the timing of having all the meal ready at once. I try to adjust for th...

Let me back up a year or so to how we eased in to the idea of adoption with our biological children.  Currently our bio kids are ages 2, 5 (just had a birthday!),6, and 9, so they are young.  We do have three close family friends who have adopted internationally so our children have those families to observe and just be around.  In a child's mind, those families are just that, a family.  This is a good thing of course, that the children know that families can look different from other families and each member can look different from the other.  But, I will say, our children didn't really know about adoption from these relationships, they knew about diversity within a family.   The families were already established and we weren't along for the processes of their adoptions. In order to teach our children about adoption and acceptance of a child, we started on a easy level then slowly moved to the more difficult topics.  When I say easy level, I'm ta...

I have to admit that Ethiopia wasn't the first place we considered when looking into adopting internationally.  However, various countries that were once available to work with the U.S. are currently experiencing situations that have closed adoption processes either temporarily or permanently with the U.S. ( see this unfortunate current news about adoptions in Russia ). Also, since we already have biological children, and 4 at that, many countries will not accept families with bio children to adopt and/or families with over 3 bio children to adopt.  The list of requirements goes on and on, depending on the country. When we were in contact with our agency in the research and questioning phase, they suggested Ethiopia to us asking if we would consider it. Our response was, "a child in need is a child in need, no matter where they might be on the map."  This is where our heart is.  We do meet all the requirements for adopting from Ethiopia, especially since there is ...