We just recieved word today that things over in Ethiopia are not so "hot". Not in Addis, but on the roads leading to Kamashi, a 14 hr drive to where our orphanage is, there is tribal unrest. The governers of both tribes, are meeting to sort it all out, and we hope it is settled in the next couple of days.....
While we try to wrap our brain around the fact that these things are happening, we tell ourselves that all of this is so out of our control, and we know that we will have a LIFETIME of happiness with Bona, so we cannot stress over it. We set ourselves up for not being able to get him home BEFORE the closures in August, that way if it does indeed happen-we will be SO pleasantly surprised! We know that God is working in amazing ways to ensure the safety of Bona, and Ryan and I........we will keep you all posted!!!!!
Thank you all for your continues prayers!!! God Bless!
Wednesday, May 28, 2008
Tuesday, May 20, 2008
Time to get time on our side!
If there is one thing about time, is that it never seems to do what you want it to. Isn't it funny how time flies when you don't want to and seemingly stands still when you don't want it to?
When you want to just lie in bed all day that alarm clock seems to go off fast!
When you want to get out of work on Friday after noon, the clock stalls.
When you are waiting to receive your first child, it feels like Friday afternoon waiting for the weekend to start!
But that is where Meggan and I are at now, in the final stages of the adoption process, waiting for the key dates to be assigned and to plan our trip to Ethiopia. It's hard not to have your mind in 1 million places. The anticipation is hard to describe.
When will the case get submitted to court?
When will the actual court date be?
Will the mother show up to court right away the first time?
Will they have power that day?
When will we travel?
What will Bona's reaction be when we first see him?
So many different things to run thru your mind the best thing to do is almost forget about it all, really. I know that sounds impossible and it nearly is. But with the summer months coming we are hoping time does what we want it to now. With all the fun activities that summer brings, we are hoping it flies by like always and Bona is in our arms before we know it.
But until then, we can just sit and imagine all the great times ahead of us. We can't control any of this, so it's best to just sit back and wait to see what is in the cards for us.
Tick, tick, tick.
When you want to just lie in bed all day that alarm clock seems to go off fast!
When you want to get out of work on Friday after noon, the clock stalls.
When you are waiting to receive your first child, it feels like Friday afternoon waiting for the weekend to start!
But that is where Meggan and I are at now, in the final stages of the adoption process, waiting for the key dates to be assigned and to plan our trip to Ethiopia. It's hard not to have your mind in 1 million places. The anticipation is hard to describe.
When will the case get submitted to court?
When will the actual court date be?
Will the mother show up to court right away the first time?
Will they have power that day?
When will we travel?
What will Bona's reaction be when we first see him?
So many different things to run thru your mind the best thing to do is almost forget about it all, really. I know that sounds impossible and it nearly is. But with the summer months coming we are hoping time does what we want it to now. With all the fun activities that summer brings, we are hoping it flies by like always and Bona is in our arms before we know it.
But until then, we can just sit and imagine all the great times ahead of us. We can't control any of this, so it's best to just sit back and wait to see what is in the cards for us.
Tick, tick, tick.
Monday, May 19, 2008
Who's the Lucky one?
When I tell people we are adopting we get a variety of responses. Most people respond positively, and almost all people make some comment regarding how lucky our son is. Some people qualify their statement by stating that he is lucky because there is all this love just waiting for him, but some people seem to say it in a totally different way. I have heard it from virtual strangers and close family and friends. "He's so lucky." "He doesn't even know how lucky he is."......... But, is he really lucky? Would we consider ourselves "lucky" if the we were never able to see our birth family again? Would we be "lucky" enough to have our whole world change before we even turned 1, and after months in an orphanage be given to strange people who don't look like us, don't talk the same language, don't do anything the way our family did? Now these new people are nice, but suddenly they take us away from everything we have ever known and go to a brand new place. Sure, the new place is nice, but it's not home. Don't forget we have very little ability to communicate with these nice people, so we can't even tell them when we need something. I don't think any of us would feel "lucky".
The truth of adoption is there is real loss involved. Bona has already experienced more loss and heartache in his 5 months here on earth than just about anyone else I know. The loss of a father, the loss of your sisters and brother and the loss of your mother, all in under 5 months. Something goes very wrong for a child to need an adoption plan. This doesn't happen because everything is clicking along smoothly. His birth family also has profound loss, they lose the ability to watch this beautiful little boy grow up to be the man I know he will be. Really, Ryan and I are the ones who gain. Our family needs to feel blessed that the beautiful country of Ethiopia is allowing us, to be parents, aunts, uncles, cousins, gigi's and grandpas to this wonderful little boy- We gain a child of our own. We have the huge privilege of raising this child, our son. It is a gift I do not take lightly, for it comes at a great cost to a person I already love more than anything else in this earth. No, Bona is not the lucky one here, it is us who are truly lucky, truly blessed.
The truth of adoption is there is real loss involved. Bona has already experienced more loss and heartache in his 5 months here on earth than just about anyone else I know. The loss of a father, the loss of your sisters and brother and the loss of your mother, all in under 5 months. Something goes very wrong for a child to need an adoption plan. This doesn't happen because everything is clicking along smoothly. His birth family also has profound loss, they lose the ability to watch this beautiful little boy grow up to be the man I know he will be. Really, Ryan and I are the ones who gain. Our family needs to feel blessed that the beautiful country of Ethiopia is allowing us, to be parents, aunts, uncles, cousins, gigi's and grandpas to this wonderful little boy- We gain a child of our own. We have the huge privilege of raising this child, our son. It is a gift I do not take lightly, for it comes at a great cost to a person I already love more than anything else in this earth. No, Bona is not the lucky one here, it is us who are truly lucky, truly blessed.
Nothing New
Nothing new to report, except that we heard that Bona's last bit of paperwork that they're waiting for is supposed to arrive on Thursday-with that being said, hopefully we're submitted this week/next for court. We pray everyday that we will be able to get him home before the court closure! I can't even believe that we are nearing the end of May already-how time flies. I would love for it to stand still just until we have a court date, and then it can move along again! :)
On a brighter note, we are so excited for our baby shower with our friends next weekend-and the best part of it all-our friends Donald and Kim are coming up for it from VA! We get to go and pick them up next friday at the airport! YAY! So with all of the frustrations we experience on some days with the paperwork in Ethiopia, we are so blessed with amazing friends/family that really do a wonderful job of keeping us "busy" (they probably dont know its their job, or that they're even doing it-but they're doing great)!!!! So to all of you-THANKYOU!!!!!
On a brighter note, we are so excited for our baby shower with our friends next weekend-and the best part of it all-our friends Donald and Kim are coming up for it from VA! We get to go and pick them up next friday at the airport! YAY! So with all of the frustrations we experience on some days with the paperwork in Ethiopia, we are so blessed with amazing friends/family that really do a wonderful job of keeping us "busy" (they probably dont know its their job, or that they're even doing it-but they're doing great)!!!! So to all of you-THANKYOU!!!!!
Monday, May 5, 2008
You guessed it, asking for yet MORE prayers....
As we have now been waiting for 12 days to hear if we've even been SUBMITTED to court, we're asking that you please say an extra special something in your prayers tonight for an update with good news! Some days go by and I barely think of a court date and others go by where i feel like i could pull my hair out, sitting at the computer desk waiting for an email from our agency with some information.....
I know I will look back on days like this, and really could probably write a book on all of the ups and downs and emotions that have taken place since November....but ultimately we know that God has a plan, and he will let us know when we'll be bringing our lil' boy home!
I know I will look back on days like this, and really could probably write a book on all of the ups and downs and emotions that have taken place since November....but ultimately we know that God has a plan, and he will let us know when we'll be bringing our lil' boy home!
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