Shower Blessings

I was blessed to be surrounded in a prayer circle by about 30 of the most wonderful women in the world today. My friends S. and S. hosted a baby shower and blessing service in my honor. I am truly grateful for everyone's love and support! Words cannot express my gratitude. Not only was I showered with gifts but they also brought items to be donated to the orphanage. As part of my testimony I shared the song "He's Been Faithful" by Vicki Yohe. I have included a link to the song~ because He has truly been faithful to me!

Five Days and Counting!!!

Yesterday I got the social report on little Geremu. It was full of adorable pictures and information about his personality. Of course we spent all day yesterday reading the information about him and looking at his pictures. Today I was blessed with a day off from school because of an ice storm. Hopefully I will be productive. I still can't believe it...FIVE DAYS AND COUNTING!!!!
Here's our little prince...

The Best Class in the World

My students are excited to meet the baby. On Friday one of my students brought in baby shower decorations,so we hung them on the SMART board. Today I sent a letter home that I agonized over for quite a while. I announced that more than likely I would be staying at home with my son for the rest of the school year. I may have to come back in June to finish the school year, but I don't know yet.
My son has spent the last four months in an orphanage and has had so many transitions in his little life. I would feel bad about having him spend time in daycare right away.
My last day would be February 26th and we leave for Africa on Feb.27th. I really have mixed emotions about this because I have the world's best class and I am also very dedicated to my profession.
I am still wondering how in the world I am going to balance teaching and motherhood. People keep telling me you learn to balance the two, but I believe it will be hard. Guess I'll see in September!

10 Days and Counting!!!

Well today we finally finished the nursery! My favorite buddies P&A came to help finish it up. When we finished A exclaimed," Seth's room is beautiful!"



Tens days and counting... While sitting in the nursery I couldn't help but tear up. After all the interviews, paperwork, and more paperwork I can't believe we have a travel date and it is 10 days away. It is still hard for me to believe that an actual baby is going to be sleeping in the room. God is faithful to his promises and for that we are forever grateful!

The Power of Prayer

After an emotional few days of not knowing what in the world was going on with our adoption,we now have an official birth certificate and yesterday we received our travel call- we fly to Ethiopia on February 27- with an arrival date of February 28, 2008! The travel agency called while I was teaching my second graders and my students immediately asked " Is it time to get your baby in Africa?"
Yep...it's finally time! Thanks to all who prayed for us! If you don't believe it~ try it~there is power in prayer!

Riding the Emotional Rollercoaster of Adoption

I am ready to get off of this rollercoaster!

As I posted earlier~ On January 17, the Ethiopian courts officially named us the parents of little Geremu Assefa. All we had to do was wait for the birth certificate and then they would call us with a travel date.
Well, on Wednesday I got a phone call, but it was not what I was expecting. Our adoption agency representative called to tell us there was a problem with our case and that the birth certificate had not arrived and worse case scenario, our child could be declared unadoptable and have to stay in Ethiopia. WHAT IN THE WORLD???? Needless to say, I felt like a ton of bricks had landed on me.

The US Embassy is reinterpreting immigration law concerning orphans coming into the US from foreign countries and it looks like our case is one of those in the mix. We understand that this needs to be done to make sure that international adoptions are ethical and legal but that does not help me feel any better.


What is an Orphan?
Under U.S. immigration law, an orphan is a foreign child who does not have any parents because of the death or disappearance of, abandonment or desertion by, or separation or loss from, both parents. An orphan can also be a foreign-born child with a sole or surviving parent who is unable to provide for the child’s basic needs, consistent with the local standards of the foreign sending country, and has, in writing, irrevocably released the child for emigration and adoption.


If it appears that the child is not eligible for classification as an orphan under the U.S. immigration law, the USCIS will issue a notice of intent to revoke the approval of the orphan petition. When the petitioner receives such notice, he or she is provided an opportunity to submit evidence to overcome the stated grounds for revoking the approval. An Orphan Petition May be Denied if the USCIS determines that the child does not fit the legal definition of “orphan.”


We are very prayful that they will approve the orphan petition and we will get a birth certificate and a travel date in the near future.

Those who read this...keep our family in prayer!

We know God is an AWESOME God and He is faithful to His promises!