Our travel dates to Ethiopia are December 7th-14th, but we decided going to pick up our son wasn't crazy enough for this trip. We will actually be leaving November 27th (1 week from today, YIKES!!) and going to Cairo, Egypt to visit some friends who live there for a little over a week. So the list of things is quickly growing of the have to get dones before we leave. I never dreamed with the court date being pushed back a week we would get this travel date. So in a week we are attempting to paint his room, get it all set up, pack, figure what in the world we still need for him, decorate for Christmas (we'll be getting back on the 14th and might have our hands a little full so want it done before we get back), pack, wrap things up at our jobs, pack, say goodbye to family that will be moving while we are gone, purchase the humanitarian aid items, oh and did I mention pack (no idea what to pack, I just know that has to be on the list somewhere). Please pray that we don’t forget anything, and that we don’t stress over little things. We have family and friends that have been great and offered to help where they can. Though it is hard for me to accept help we really appreciate it.
S
Friday, November 20, 2009
Thursday, November 19, 2009
Silas James Woods
We Passed!!!
It took a while to find out if we passed because the phones in Ethiopia weren't working. We were told that if they couldn't get through today we would have to wait until tomorrow...not cool...it worked out though, Ethiopia's phones are working again and we passed...all is good, God is in control.
It took a while to find out if we passed because the phones in Ethiopia weren't working. We were told that if they couldn't get through today we would have to wait until tomorrow...not cool...it worked out though, Ethiopia's phones are working again and we passed...all is good, God is in control.
Tuesday, November 10, 2009
New Court Date...
It is all in God's hands, we trust and believe in that and know that it is all in God's timing, but unfortunately today was not His timing...we are not going to pass court today. The birthfather was in a car accident and was injured. He was among the less injured, but is still in the hospital. Since our agency knew that he wasn't going to be able to make it they were able to meet with the judge before courts began today to get a new court date next week. Our new court date is next Thursday, November 19th. It is a huge praise that we know the birth father was attempting to go to court. Our prayer now is the he is well enough to travel next week and that everything goes smoothly on the 19th. Thank you all for the support that you have given us and please continue to pray for Silas and his birth father's healing. We want more than anything to be with him, but this just wasn't the time.
S
Thursday, October 22, 2009
WE HAVE A COURT DATE!
Mary called at 10:52 today to let us know we have a court date!! It will be on November 10th. Our current specific prayer is that the birth father shows up and shows up with the proper identification, and also that all paperwork needed for the courts to render a favorab le decision will be provided in a timely manner. 100% excited! Each step brings us new joy in our journey! Praying we pass! Praising the good news!
Wednesday, October 14, 2009
I'm in love with a stranger...
After a month and a half and I still can’t stop staring. We have such a massive love for someone that we have never met or seen video of, just pictures. I have seen pictures of several precious kids, but the feelings that we have for Silas are indescribable! It has made me start to think of God’s love for us. God knows everything about me, every thought, EVERYTHING, but to understand His love for me is unreal. I feel like through the adoption process He has been so gracious to give us a glimpse into how much He loves us.
Throughout the adoption process He has been so faithful to listen and answer prayers in His perfect timing. We feel that he has challenged us though to start praying more specific than general. There have been so many times that he has answered our prayers with what seemed the bare minimum, or at the last minute, but it was exactly what we prayed for in our general prayer. Please specifically pray with us that we receive a quick court date, not only that but that it is our only court date. For that to happen all of our paperwork in Ethiopia must be in order and Silas’ birthfather must show up for court. He lives 9 or 10 hours away and is a farmer. Please pray for him to show up/for transportation. We are not legally able to assist him in getting to Addis. We had really wanted Silas home for his 1st birthday at the end of November, but realize that it is unrealistic. We are praying that he is home by Christmas!
S
Throughout the adoption process He has been so faithful to listen and answer prayers in His perfect timing. We feel that he has challenged us though to start praying more specific than general. There have been so many times that he has answered our prayers with what seemed the bare minimum, or at the last minute, but it was exactly what we prayed for in our general prayer. Please specifically pray with us that we receive a quick court date, not only that but that it is our only court date. For that to happen all of our paperwork in Ethiopia must be in order and Silas’ birthfather must show up for court. He lives 9 or 10 hours away and is a farmer. Please pray for him to show up/for transportation. We are not legally able to assist him in getting to Addis. We had really wanted Silas home for his 1st birthday at the end of November, but realize that it is unrealistic. We are praying that he is home by Christmas!
S
Tuesday, October 13, 2009
Abierto!
Abierto... Spanish for open. Going back to my school days and Spanish class for this post.
Courts are now open. Email went out today that Ethiopian courts have officially resumed as of this week. Dates have not been assigned as of yet, but good to hear that things are rolling.
I have decided to keep an open-mind as we move through this final stage of the adoption process. I usually like doing the research for a project, vacation, purchase, etc. then go about completing it my way. For this, I have decided I will first and foremost surrender all control and hand over to God as we move forward. All the different integral issues will come together in HIS timing, not mine.
Also, I am open to suggestions/tips as we prepare for travel to Addis. So please if you have any comments, send my way.
Finally, I had the opportunity today to grab some great Ethiopian food in DFW area at the Queen of Sheeba in Addison as they happened to be open as I passed through at lunch time. I had the opportunity to speak with the owner and another waitress for a while and pick their brain on Ethiopia. I always enjoy these opportunities.
Until the good news of a court date arrives!
J
Courts are now open. Email went out today that Ethiopian courts have officially resumed as of this week. Dates have not been assigned as of yet, but good to hear that things are rolling.
I have decided to keep an open-mind as we move through this final stage of the adoption process. I usually like doing the research for a project, vacation, purchase, etc. then go about completing it my way. For this, I have decided I will first and foremost surrender all control and hand over to God as we move forward. All the different integral issues will come together in HIS timing, not mine.
Also, I am open to suggestions/tips as we prepare for travel to Addis. So please if you have any comments, send my way.
Finally, I had the opportunity today to grab some great Ethiopian food in DFW area at the Queen of Sheeba in Addison as they happened to be open as I passed through at lunch time. I had the opportunity to speak with the owner and another waitress for a while and pick their brain on Ethiopia. I always enjoy these opportunities.
Until the good news of a court date arrives!
J
Monday, September 14, 2009
6:36 PM
The Call:
You picture this moment over and over in your head for months. You go through all of the scenarios that you see on other peoples blogs and see how it would have played out in your life…then you get YOUR call.
August 25, 2009
Jonathan was playing in the adopt(ed) golf tournament that day hosted by our church. That evening we met up for the banquet/silent auction following the tournament. We were going to be a part of the evening in something called cardboard testimonies. On a piece of cardboard you were supposed to write what brought you to adopt/care for orphans and on the reverse side where you are now. The group of us that was participating congregated in the back hallway discussing how we were going out and coming off stage. I decided to go back with my friend Rachael (who just adopted their amazing son) into the banquet area to check my phone that was in my purse (not expecting any special calls because it was after 5pm). Less that 20 seconds after I picked up my phone it started ringing "Unknown". In my head I am thinking, "okay it is after 5pm, we are at an adoption banquet, Jonathan and I are actually in the same place, it must be a wrong number there is no way that this is our call." I answer the phone and hear exactly what I have heard that I will hear:
Sarah: “Hello”
Mary: “Sarah”
Sarah: “Mary”
Mary: “I have some good news for you”
Trying to decide what I should do next I start hitting the table a couple of my girlfriends are sitting at with silverware rattling saying, “IT’S THE CALL, IT’S THE CALL”. I then run into the back hallway where Jonathan was, yelling something about either it’s the call or it’s Mary. We can’t really remember. All I know is someone thought there was a fire, someone else thought something was happening inside where the banquet was taking place. I asked Jonathan what his first thoughts were when I came busting through the door, he said he thought, "okay, I have to be the one to remain calm", so apparently I wasn’t. Poor Mary..., I kept telling her “you don’t know where I am! You don’t know where I am!” Of course she didn’t know where I was. But at that moment, being at an adoption banquet where the whole room is so excited for you, I had no idea what to say.
I had always pictured myself at home in the afternoon ,after work, and Jonathan still downtown at work. Having to wait to hear about our child and see pictures until getting a ride home.
So, back to Jonathan being the calm one…my boss was in the back hallway with us and said we could use his computer. We dart through the hallways of the church and land at his computer then have to wait for what seemed like the longest boot up process known to man. While waiting on it to boot up we had Mary call back on my boss’ number so we could have her on speaker phone instead of both listening on my phone. She proceeds to tell us that we have a son! He was a full 8 months old. Then the pictures came,along with the tears (happy ones of course). I am not one that really cries much, but if I am going to cry at least it is over something like this, he is totally worth crying over. He is perfect in every way, minus the fact he isn’t with us right now.
We feel so blessed and honored that God chose him to be our son. He is so handsome and always smiling. In our first report that we received it said that you can just stare at him and he breaks out into fits of laughter.
Once we got off of the phone with Mary we didn’t know what part of the banquet they were on so we didn’t know if we had missed our part or not. Right when we walked out was when we were all fixing to go on stage. One problem, the back side of our cardboard testimony was incorrect. Quick fix, grab a magic marker and a spare piece of cardboard found backstage. Jonathan held up the sign that said, “Spring 2007 God laid Adoption on our hearts as Plan A for OUR family…” on the back when he flipped it over it said, “Counting the days until we receive our referral…4th on the waiting list” of course that was according to the FBI list that is unofficial, but it is obviously close. When he flipped the sign over to show the second side he knelt down and crossed out 4th on the waiting list as I held up a sign “parents for 5 minutes!” It was the most amazing feeling to know that God was in all of this and he made his fame known that evening! The cheers and emotions were amazing, the only problem was none of our family was there and things were already being posted on facebook and we were already receiving text messages from people who weren’t at the banquet…exciting, but a problem.
When the banquet was over we left out a back door to hurry home. My parents were coming over with 2 of my brothers and a sister-in-law to see the AMAZING crib and dresser that our wonderful friends had given us the Saturday before. They came in separate cars otherwise we were going to have his picture up on the computer in the crib, but telling them was just as exciting! Once we showed them pictures and told them all out their grandson and nephew we rushed off to Jonathan’s parents. Jonathan had text his dad to see if he could borrow a trailer hitch because he said that he couldn’t disguise the excitement in his voice. His dad read right through him as it was 10 at night. He knew that he didn’t need one that late even though his mom was trying to be cautious and not get her hopes up just yet. We told them soon after we came in and oooed and awed over him.
When we left there and decided to stop by as many family members homes that we could because we didn’t want anyone finding out 3rd hand because of technology. We found one of his brothers and sister-in-laws lights on and one set of his grandparents. It was so exciting to share in the joy with them all. His Memaw said that she stayed up until 3am in her rocker just thinking about him. I talked to her the next day (on her 60 anniversary) and she said that she had already called all of Texas and was getting ready to start in Louisiana; with relatives that is.
We can’t wait to hold our precious little boy. In the meantime, please pray for him to continue to grow strong (he was malnourished), for his birth family, and that we receive a quick court date with all necessary parties showing up on time with all proper documentation.
Thank you all so much for all of your prayers and support through this incredible journey!
S
You picture this moment over and over in your head for months. You go through all of the scenarios that you see on other peoples blogs and see how it would have played out in your life…then you get YOUR call.
August 25, 2009
Jonathan was playing in the adopt(ed) golf tournament that day hosted by our church. That evening we met up for the banquet/silent auction following the tournament. We were going to be a part of the evening in something called cardboard testimonies. On a piece of cardboard you were supposed to write what brought you to adopt/care for orphans and on the reverse side where you are now. The group of us that was participating congregated in the back hallway discussing how we were going out and coming off stage. I decided to go back with my friend Rachael (who just adopted their amazing son) into the banquet area to check my phone that was in my purse (not expecting any special calls because it was after 5pm). Less that 20 seconds after I picked up my phone it started ringing "Unknown". In my head I am thinking, "okay it is after 5pm, we are at an adoption banquet, Jonathan and I are actually in the same place, it must be a wrong number there is no way that this is our call." I answer the phone and hear exactly what I have heard that I will hear:
Sarah: “Hello”
Mary: “Sarah”
Sarah: “Mary”
Mary: “I have some good news for you”
Trying to decide what I should do next I start hitting the table a couple of my girlfriends are sitting at with silverware rattling saying, “IT’S THE CALL, IT’S THE CALL”. I then run into the back hallway where Jonathan was, yelling something about either it’s the call or it’s Mary. We can’t really remember. All I know is someone thought there was a fire, someone else thought something was happening inside where the banquet was taking place. I asked Jonathan what his first thoughts were when I came busting through the door, he said he thought, "okay, I have to be the one to remain calm", so apparently I wasn’t. Poor Mary..., I kept telling her “you don’t know where I am! You don’t know where I am!” Of course she didn’t know where I was. But at that moment, being at an adoption banquet where the whole room is so excited for you, I had no idea what to say.
I had always pictured myself at home in the afternoon ,after work, and Jonathan still downtown at work. Having to wait to hear about our child and see pictures until getting a ride home.
So, back to Jonathan being the calm one…my boss was in the back hallway with us and said we could use his computer. We dart through the hallways of the church and land at his computer then have to wait for what seemed like the longest boot up process known to man. While waiting on it to boot up we had Mary call back on my boss’ number so we could have her on speaker phone instead of both listening on my phone. She proceeds to tell us that we have a son! He was a full 8 months old. Then the pictures came,along with the tears (happy ones of course). I am not one that really cries much, but if I am going to cry at least it is over something like this, he is totally worth crying over. He is perfect in every way, minus the fact he isn’t with us right now.
We feel so blessed and honored that God chose him to be our son. He is so handsome and always smiling. In our first report that we received it said that you can just stare at him and he breaks out into fits of laughter.
Once we got off of the phone with Mary we didn’t know what part of the banquet they were on so we didn’t know if we had missed our part or not. Right when we walked out was when we were all fixing to go on stage. One problem, the back side of our cardboard testimony was incorrect. Quick fix, grab a magic marker and a spare piece of cardboard found backstage. Jonathan held up the sign that said, “Spring 2007 God laid Adoption on our hearts as Plan A for OUR family…” on the back when he flipped it over it said, “Counting the days until we receive our referral…4th on the waiting list” of course that was according to the FBI list that is unofficial, but it is obviously close. When he flipped the sign over to show the second side he knelt down and crossed out 4th on the waiting list as I held up a sign “parents for 5 minutes!” It was the most amazing feeling to know that God was in all of this and he made his fame known that evening! The cheers and emotions were amazing, the only problem was none of our family was there and things were already being posted on facebook and we were already receiving text messages from people who weren’t at the banquet…exciting, but a problem.
When the banquet was over we left out a back door to hurry home. My parents were coming over with 2 of my brothers and a sister-in-law to see the AMAZING crib and dresser that our wonderful friends had given us the Saturday before. They came in separate cars otherwise we were going to have his picture up on the computer in the crib, but telling them was just as exciting! Once we showed them pictures and told them all out their grandson and nephew we rushed off to Jonathan’s parents. Jonathan had text his dad to see if he could borrow a trailer hitch because he said that he couldn’t disguise the excitement in his voice. His dad read right through him as it was 10 at night. He knew that he didn’t need one that late even though his mom was trying to be cautious and not get her hopes up just yet. We told them soon after we came in and oooed and awed over him.
When we left there and decided to stop by as many family members homes that we could because we didn’t want anyone finding out 3rd hand because of technology. We found one of his brothers and sister-in-laws lights on and one set of his grandparents. It was so exciting to share in the joy with them all. His Memaw said that she stayed up until 3am in her rocker just thinking about him. I talked to her the next day (on her 60 anniversary) and she said that she had already called all of Texas and was getting ready to start in Louisiana; with relatives that is.
We can’t wait to hold our precious little boy. In the meantime, please pray for him to continue to grow strong (he was malnourished), for his birth family, and that we receive a quick court date with all necessary parties showing up on time with all proper documentation.
Thank you all so much for all of your prayers and support through this incredible journey!
S
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