Welcome Home Silas!!

Well, we have been back home now almost for a week (doesn't seem like it can already be one week). We were gone almost 3 weeks and stayed healthy up until the end of the trip. Luckily, all 3 of us were "OK" for the plane, and Silas did a wonderful job foir those 24 plus hours. Once we got home, Sarah and I both brought back our sickness with us, and have spent the better part of this week fighting it off. But all in all, a great trip and we wouldn't change it for a minute.

Silas has transitioned so well, and seems to now be getting on a schedule. We will go for our first doctor appointment tomorrow AM. He has bonded very well with us and he could pick his mommy and daddy out in a crowd for sure.

I'm sure Sarah will have more to say later, but wanted to get something up, as I know many have asked if we have made it back.

But for now, I will let the pictures do the talking.....







J

24 hour Countdown

Well, our week of fun and relaxation with friends in Cairo, Egypt is quickly coming to an end. It is somewhat bittersweet, as we will miss them but am so excited about the next few days as we finally get to hold Silas in our arms. We spent the first 2/3 of our week here in Cairo visiting tourist spots, resting, hanging out with friends, and just seeing their day to day activities. The last 1/3 of the trip we spent together with our friends on a mini-vacation in Hurghada, Egypt on the Red Sea.
One last day to get in a few more activites, and then we are off to the airport tonight for a 2 am flight to Ethiopia.

**** Also, if you haven't watched the video again in a few days found below, check it out again. We have added some pictures that we recently received from another Ethiopia adoptive family.

J

This week!!

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

Silas James Woods

We Passed!!!

Make video montages at www.OneTrueMedia.com

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.

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

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!

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

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

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

It's a BOY!

Tonight we got the call! We are now parents of an 8 month old boy. More details to come, but wanted to share our excitement!

J

35 Weeks!

Tomorrow will be 35 weeks (shouldn't we be getting close to a "due date"). Courts will be closing for the rainy season at the end of the week. Continuing to pray for as many people to get through court as possible so when they open back up they won't be very backed up and we can go and get our baby sooner! Praying it will be before Christmas. Thought we would have our referral, but anticipate that it will be coming soon! Can't wait!

S

Keep the court opinions coming!

It has been great to see so many families pass court in these last few weeks before closure for the rainy season. While it's been somewhat of a bummer referrals have not been coming for those on the wait list, that small bit of disappointment is overwhelmed by the joy we have when we hear of other families who have passed court and will travel over the next few weeks.

J

Our Story...Finally!

On Easter Sunday April 8, 2007 our Pastor preached the most life changing sermon. We were beginning a series called FAQ where you could send in questions and Pastor Alex would answer them. He wanted to start with his question, what about the orphans? He took us through how often it is talked about in the bible and how it was hugely on Jesus’ heart. A couple of months later this turned into a sermon called Adopt(ed) which is now an amazing ministry in our church.
Adoption has always been on our hearts. We had looked at it as a someday thing (much further down the road) not a lets do this first thing. After that Easter Sunday what kept stirring in me was when Pastor said, “why is adoption plan B, why isn’t plan A?” What a statement with not a good answer to give. When we are young we plan our lives…you graduate from high school, go to college, get married, and HAVE kids. I just always assumed HAVE kids meant biological.
So on to the details…a couple of weeks after Easter Jonathan and I were driving home and the discussion of kids had come up (again). We had been married going on 4 years and it just seemed about that time. I can still picture as we are pulling into our neighborhood you curve around a large pond and the words coming out of Jonathan’s mouth that he would like to consider adoption first. My eye’s welled up with tears and I really didn’t say much for a couple of days as I let it sink in. I knew in my heart that God had been telling me the same thing, but just didn’t want to admit that my planned out life now had unknowns.
Once we began to discuss it Pastor did the Adopt(ed) sermon which continued to confirm what we had been feeling. In July of 2007 our church had our first Considering Adoption class. It was the perfect setting to discuss with other couples who had the same questions, fears, and to just be able to talk to them about the excitement of it all.
After completing the 6 week class we decided to seriously start looking into the process. We discovered that before you choose an agency you have to choose a country. Every agency does not adopt from every country. Through lots of prayer, fasting, and God’s guidance we decided on Ethiopia! We were ecstatic! We felt like we had made some progress.
Ethiopia it was, now what agency do we use? I started calling just about every agency that adopts from Ethiopia with a list of questions that Jonathan and I wanted to know. We went over how the agencies answered the question and how the phone conversation went as well. When we spoke with Gladney it just seemed to click. We went to their informational class in January 2008 and decided they were who we were going with.
At the time we were 24 and to adopt from Ethiopia one of you had to be 25 (my birthday was the next one in July) before we completed our home study so there was a little waiting involved. At the time seemed awful, but looking back I am really glad that we did have to wait. It took a little over a year to start the process from that Easter sermon. Taking so long confirmed for us that we weren’t experiencing a “camp high” or jumping on a bandwagon we were following God’s will for our life.
We have been on the waiting list for over 7 months now. It has been hard at times, but we know that it is all in God’s hands and it is His perfect will and plan for us. We are so excited to be able to see Him work in our lives as He continues to give us patience that we don’t understand.

S

Almost 7 months

We are coming up on 7 months this week for the wait list time. We have had mixed feelings in this process. Sometimes feeling like the time is going by so fast, but at other times questioning why it takes so long. We have several big celebration over the next month. First is Sarah 26th birthday this week. Then in the middle of August we will celebrate our 6 year anniversary. Hopefully we will also be celebrating being parents! Until we get the phone call, we can only wait and pray for the safety and well being of our child.

It is funny how I have began to look at babies over the past few months. Now, when I see a baby I think to myself, "I wonder if my son/daughter is doing the same thing", "I wonder if my baby has the same size foot, cute nose, smile, etc". Until you get the referral, the baby seems to just be a fuzzy gray figure in my mind. I want to see details, I want it to be as clear as the waters of Cozumel, I want to hear their laugh, see their smile. But until that day....

J

Update Expiring Documents

OK, so we now are coming up on the 1 year anniversary of many of the documents needed in submitting our application to adopt to Gladney. Depending on the document type and if it is a Gladney or Dossier document it can have a 12, 18, or 24 month life before needing to be updated. To keep track of the documents and the expirations, I created an Excel spreadsheet with date created, expiration date, and 60 days out (prep time for update).

As for wait time for a referral, average wait times vary each month but as of last month were 8 months. While we understand the process and its complexity we both are eager to see our baby! It has been almost 4 months since we were placed on the wait list, but during that time average wait times have basically slowly increased; therefore having no net gain or loss in referall time.

We keep saying that it will happen in His timing.

J

No news is not always good news… / Names / Food

No news is not always good news..:

We have been waiting for around 2 ½ months which is like nothing in adoption terms. We knew that it would be a while before we received our referral, but thought it would be easier than it has increasingly been. I am not usually an emotional person, but lately whenever someone asks how the adoption is coming my eyes unavoidably start to well up. Fortunately, we have been extremely busy lately so time has been moving by semi fast until lately when things have been slowing down. We wonder that if it weren’t our first if it would be as hard, we are just ready to be parents.

I have been extremely fortunate to have great friends that I get to hang out with them and their kids. I always feel so blessed after spending time with them.

Names:

Most know by now, but for those of you who don’t know we have decided on names...

If it is a Boy: Silas James
Reasons:
Silas means ‘man of the woods’ – our last name is Woods and it seems like a manly name. Also, I have always loved the stories of Paul and Silas in the bible doing their mission work.
James is after Jonathan’s dad and grandpa.

If it is a Girl: Addison Elise
Reasons:
Addison is after the capital of Ethiopia, Addis (you pronounce it like the beginning of Addison). It is actually Addis Ababa, but everyone refers to it as Addis.
Elise is after my great-grandmother, Dollie. It is her middle name. She is one of the Godliest women that I know!

Food:

We go home just a little bit ago from an afternoon of Ethiopian Cooking and great fellowship with other families who have adopted or are adopting from Ethiopia. This is the second time that we have done this now. We don’t have an Ethiopian restaurant in Tulsa, the closest one is in OKC which we go to occasionally, but is not exactly great for a night out. A couple months back some Tulsa and OKC families got together and the owner of the OKC restaurant came and cooked/showed us how to cook some of the meals. We love getting together with everyone, but it would be wonderful to have a restaurant in town, I am sure that Caleb and Becca may agree after all of the amazing prep work they did for us today! If you are ever in OKC you need to stop into the Queen of Sheba for some fantastic food!


I would love to say that we will update this blog more often, but I wouldn’t want to mislead you. We will get the hang of this eventually, but until we get a referral there isn’t a lot going on, but we will try to update you every so often even if the title is no news. Have a wonderful evening!

S