New Pictures!

We received these new pictures of MAC today. Another family just returned and sent them to us along with some size information. They said that he wears about a size 5 and that he's pretty small. He might even fit into a size 4. The flip flops he was wearing at the time were a size 3/4. So...he's about the size of our 5 year old (maybe smaller) with feet the size of our 9 year old. LOL!

Tickets are Purchased!

We bought our tickets! We ended up going with the airline that could confirm flights both ways for us. It was more expensive but we decided to stay at a different hotel which will save us quite a bit. Plus the seats are roomier which is a bonus for such a long flight! We're waiting for confirmation on the hotel. That could take a few days, but hopefully we'll be able to get one of the rooms we prefer.

My friend and her husband ARE flying the same airline and the same flight!

And... I found out ANOTHER friend is traveling for the same embassy date. It's going to be so wonderful to have a whole network of Christians to support each other while we're there. The way God works out details is just amazing!

We're flying out early on July 19th. We plan to stay at a hotel the night before because we have to be at the airport before the ferries start running. We'll arrive in Addis around 11 am on Monday morning. (I KNOW! We have crazy long layovers but the airline puts us up in a 5 star hotel for the longest part so we hope we'll have a chance to rest up). We arrive home the following Saturday (late).

That's it for now! I may not be blogging to much over the next few weeks.... too much to do!!!

The 23rd it is!!!

Our embassy date is officially on July 23rd! We're so excited to bring MAC home!!! We're still not sure which flight we'll be taking. Hopefully we'll know by the end of the week.


On another note, the friend who's adopting one of the boys we've prayed for has the same embassy date! They also had the 30th and were switched to the 23rd! We met through the sonlight forums and she's become a very close friend (even though we've never met in person ;o)). We're very excited to be able to meet in Ethiopia and to go through this experience together. We *might* even end up on some of the same flights.

Possible Embassy Date Change

We're still working on booking airline tickets. We have two separate flights on hold for now. The less expensive airline can get us there okay but the return flights are all full so we're on a "wait" list. Oh... the joys of international travel.

And now...today we found out that our paperwork will be ready for a July 23rd embassy date!

Boy are we making our travel agent work! We'll keep you posted as we know more...

We're headed to Africa!!!

July 30th! That's our embassy date. We're still working on getting our airfare and travel arrangements. We'll probably be gone about a week including travel time. I'll post again later when I know more...

Cat turned 7 last week!

Seven years ago this beautiful little angel was born into our arms.

She was such a sweet and happy baby.

Our sweet little angel, affectionately called Cat, turned 7 on June 5th.

Now our sweet little angel is an energetic cowgirl...

but she's still just as sweet as can be.

Her big birthday surprise this year was to get her ears pierced.

She's very excited about her new sparkly ears and

eagerly looks forward to wearing some of the

cute earrings she received as part of her gift.

Happy Birthday sweetie! We love you!!!

We Passed Court!

MAC is legally our son. As soon as our agency has confirmation of our visa paperwork from the embassy we'll be given our travel dates. Meanwhile...here's a few photos of our newest blessing:

Still no news...but the Blessings Continue

Our agency director is in Ethiopia right now and she e-mailed late last night to say that there had been no news due to power but that the power was back on. She also said that many families passed and several had new court dates for next week. Now we anxiously wait to see which category we're in. Hopefully we WILL hear today sometime. If not, it's going to be a LONG weekend.

As far as the continued blessings...we were blessed again by another loved one last night. They have a cd that is going to mature next week and they're giving it to us to help with our travel costs. THANK YOU!

We continue to feel so much love and support throughout this whole process. Thank you again to everyone who is praying for us and for the orphans around the world.

We hope we can introduce you to MAC real soon!

No News but a Day of Blessings...

Today is Cat's 7th birthday. I've been so busy cooking her choices for tonight's dinner, wrapping gifts and taxiing kids around I haven't had a chance to share about her today. I think I'll wait until after her party and then I'll have pictures to post later this weekend.

There's been no news about MAC. We were hoping to hear something this afternoon but it looks like we won't be hearing anything until tomorrow. Still praying for good news...

Yesterday was quite a day of blessings. Dh drove to the post office before work to pick up the mail and one of our loved ones had sent us a beautiful card with a check to help with adoption expenses. It was so unexpected and we know they sacrificed something to send it to us. You know who you are...and we were SO blessed! THANK YOU!

Then, we went to a dinner party to celebrate my niece's high school graduation. (I'll have to blog about her another day...) Anyway, during the course of the evening we were blessed again with an offer to watch our kids while we travel this Summer, whenever we travel. Wow! The Lord just keeps paving the way... They probably don't read my blog but I'll still say THANK YOU!

THEN, when we got home that evening we had another card from another one of our loved ones. This also included a check to help with adoption expenses and was completely unexpected. Again, we know they sacrificed to help us that way. You also know who you are and you blessed us tremendously. THANK YOU!

I've been filled with so much peace on these days of uncertainty, waiting to hear court results. I KNOW this peace is the result of so many people praying for us...THANK YOU!

It has been SO awesome to see how the Lord has and continues to provide for us. THANK YOU Lord for all the wonderful blessings!!!