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
Tuesday, August 25, 2009
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
J
Wednesday, August 19, 2009
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
S
Saturday, August 15, 2009
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
J
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