Yes, we got our court date - it's in less than 3 weeks! AHHH! I am freaking out a little! Turns out that we are not required to go for this first trip - we squeaked in right before the new laws take effect, but there are many advantages if we do decide to go for the court. We will have to decide in the next few days. We would have to leave about two weeks from today! Again - AHHH! I am feeling completely overwhelmed with this decision - so many things to think about and prepare for - especially because I leave in three days for an 8 day trip to Missouri! But the best part of this is, whether we go or not, as of the week of May 17th, they will legally be ours! :)
Say a prayer for us!
Kelly
Thursday, April 29, 2010
Tuesday, April 27, 2010
Package for our kids!
We are sending our first package to Ethiopia! Our case worker is going to Ethiopia next week and we are sending along a few small gifts for our kids. We have put together a small photo album with some pictures of our family and home. We also sent along a tiny little backpack for each of them, filled with a few small toys, treats, and a new shirt for each. I had so much fun today, finally shopping in the pink aisle in the toy department! We are hoping that our caseworker will be able to see the kids and give it to them directly, but they live in an orphanage that is in a really remote area, so she may just have to send them with the orphanage director. We are really hoping that she can bring back photos, video, and more info about our kids, but we know her time is limited and she may not get down to see them.No word yet on a court/travel date - hope to hear very soon!
Tuesday, April 20, 2010
New Referral!
Well, I have been putting off starting this blog because I didn't want to jinx anything. I guess it's time to have faith and plunge into this thing head first! 
Click on this photo to enlarge!
We received our second referral last week - we feel really good about it! They are 3 year old twins! Their names are Netsanet (female) and Eyasu (male). Their birth father is deceased and their birth mother is still alive, but cannot afford to support them. They are the youngest of her nine children. It breaks my heart to think of having to make a decision like that - I can't even imagine. They just recently came to the orphanage. As you can see from the pictures, their heads have recently been shaved - probably either because they had lice (or someone else did) or their hair just wasn't taken care of.
We have submitted our court papers to the Ethiopian courts and are now waiting on a court date. In light of some new laws that have just taken effect, we will probably have to travel to Ethiopia twice - once for the court hearing to officially adopt the children, then again a few months later when their visas and passports are ready and we can bring them home. We are hoping for a May/June court date and then sometime in the early fall we hope to bring them here.
Our boys are really excited! It will be interesting to see how they all interact. Especially since the twins are only about 7 - 8 months younger than Cooper. We will have 4 kids with only about 3 years total difference in age! We are trying to think of american names for them - of course we can't agree on anything! Everything that I love, Kevin hates, and vice versa. I think we are going to have to resort to having me name the girl and Kevin name the boy and just be happy with what the other chooses!
In the coming weeks, we are hoping to start a service project of some kind, to benefit the orphanage where the twins are now living. The orphanage is run by a foundation called Kingdom Vision International. We feel really good about this organization and their leadership and feel like any money or other donations will be put to use directly for better care of the children. We are hoping to take money and/or donations with us on both trips so we can take pictures/videos of these donations being distributed so you can all see how much they are appreciated! I am truly excited about this aspect of our travels, and hope that we can get the support of all of our family and friends!
We'll keep you posted about any new developments! Please keep us in your prayers!
Love,
Kelly
Click on this photo to enlarge!
We received our second referral last week - we feel really good about it! They are 3 year old twins! Their names are Netsanet (female) and Eyasu (male). Their birth father is deceased and their birth mother is still alive, but cannot afford to support them. They are the youngest of her nine children. It breaks my heart to think of having to make a decision like that - I can't even imagine. They just recently came to the orphanage. As you can see from the pictures, their heads have recently been shaved - probably either because they had lice (or someone else did) or their hair just wasn't taken care of.
We have submitted our court papers to the Ethiopian courts and are now waiting on a court date. In light of some new laws that have just taken effect, we will probably have to travel to Ethiopia twice - once for the court hearing to officially adopt the children, then again a few months later when their visas and passports are ready and we can bring them home. We are hoping for a May/June court date and then sometime in the early fall we hope to bring them here.
Our boys are really excited! It will be interesting to see how they all interact. Especially since the twins are only about 7 - 8 months younger than Cooper. We will have 4 kids with only about 3 years total difference in age! We are trying to think of american names for them - of course we can't agree on anything! Everything that I love, Kevin hates, and vice versa. I think we are going to have to resort to having me name the girl and Kevin name the boy and just be happy with what the other chooses!
In the coming weeks, we are hoping to start a service project of some kind, to benefit the orphanage where the twins are now living. The orphanage is run by a foundation called Kingdom Vision International. We feel really good about this organization and their leadership and feel like any money or other donations will be put to use directly for better care of the children. We are hoping to take money and/or donations with us on both trips so we can take pictures/videos of these donations being distributed so you can all see how much they are appreciated! I am truly excited about this aspect of our travels, and hope that we can get the support of all of our family and friends!
We'll keep you posted about any new developments! Please keep us in your prayers!
Love,
Kelly
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