The Sills Adoption Adventure

Peek-A-Boo

2011-11-17T12:08:00.000-05:00

I just had to put this on here because it was so cute. Last night Hagirsa was looking at our full-length mirror and kept peeking around the corner at it. I came over by him and he said, "Where'd he go mama, where'd he go?" I just lauged and hugged him then he put his little face over the mirror and said, "Peek-A-Boo" at himself. So darn cute.

What a Difference a Year Makes

2011-08-02T20:50:00.000-04:00

A year ago tomorrow, we got a call from Bethany telling us we have a little boy. It's amazing how much has changed in a year. We love you so much Hagirsa!! Hagirsa was just baptized on July 24th at Harderwyk Ministries in Holland. It was a beautiful service with so many loved ones who could be there.

Family Picture

2011-07-08T21:52:00.001-04:00

We finally got our family picture done this morning. We can't wait to see all of the pictures from today. The kids did such a good job. We are so lucky to have our whole family together. The pictures were taken by April Kornoelje Photography.

Camping with Families who Adopted from Ethiopia

2011-07-07T16:31:00.000-04:00

Hanging out with my best buds, Reese and Eli

Yummy breakfast on the campfire

Sammy is playing with me - love that kid

All the kiddos

Ian dug a hole for Kendal and Hagirsa to play in

I hope this is a yearly event. We had friends drive from Pennsylvania and fly from Kansas to be here. It was so heartwarming to see some of these kids for the first time again since we've seen them in Ethiopia. Thankfully, we are blessed in West Michigan to have a lot of the families right here. It was a lot of fun.

Summer Fun

2011-07-06T16:31:00.000-04:00

Does Hagirsa love the water you ask? Oh my goodness. I've never seen a kid gravitate to water like this kid does. He knew what the word, "bath" meant right away. He is hysterical to watch in a lake or pool. He goes in like he owns the place and doesn't care about going under or how much he gets wet. When he does go under, he just comes up smiling and laughing with his eyes and mouth wide open! He can count to three now due to us dunking him on "three." He'll say, "two" to get you to do it again.

He's growing so fast. His budda belly seems smaller now. Maybe we're just getting used to it. He feels taller though and he's cutting more teeth! Yes, this will be nine of them since we've been home. I guess he'll get them all out of the way. We've attributed his constant runny nose to this.

His new thing when he gets mad is to say all the naughty words in a row while pointing his finger at you....."no, mine, stop." I literally just laugh when he does it. I wouldn't let him get in the dishwasher yesterday so all the words went flying along with the pointed finger at me. He means business! :)

Having a great time with him this summer and introducing him to all sorts of new things. I can't wait for what each new day brings for him and us as a family. His baptism will be July 24th and we are so exited. We have water from Lake Awassa near where he was born to baptize him in. It will be an emotional day. God is good!

Yezalalem Minch Fundraising Walk

2011-06-22T14:42:00.000-04:00

The Future Hope Campaign was developed to raise money for Yezalalem Minch in Ethiopia. While we were in Ethiopia, we were given the opportunity to be a part of the most wonderful program, Yezalalem Minch (yezalalemminch.org). The family that we staying with in Ethiopia runs YM. We have been so blessed to have them in our lives. YM helps orphans get food and education in Ethiopia among many other things (child sponsorship, adoption, family education, etc.) Their vision is to see all orphans and vulnerable children in Ethiopia be productive and valuable citizens to their country.

Kreg I have been working with four other families in MI who started the Future Hope Campaign to raise money for this cause. YM is about to lose the land they facilitate all of their programs on due to rising costs and goverment involvement. We are trying to raise money for operational space and a future vocational school that is their OWN.

If you go to the website, www.futurehopecampaign.org (started right here in West MI), you will find information and a pledge form. Any money donated will go to pay for the "Land of Opportunity" and you will receive a tax deductible receipt in the mail. A lot of times we give our money to great causes but never know where it's really going. I can testify that I have met and been a part of where the money will go. It will be the best money ever spent.

Fellow Ethiopian adoptive parents and supporters walked this weekend at Kent Trails to raise money. At the walk itself, more than $11,000 was raised! Thank you so much. We will still be raising money through August 1st, 2011.

May Update

2011-05-20T15:35:00.001-04:00

These are pictures from Tulip Time last week. Hagirsa did not want to sit but we got a few shots in. He had his check-up doctors appt on Tuesday and he grew 2 inches since we've been home! He's very healthy besides the constant runny nose. He had his "little man" surgery today. He did so well. I got him up last night and fed him and played with him for a bit. He got up this morning and didn't cry all morning until they took him into surgery. Everything went great and he will be healing the next couple of days. So glad the weather is nicer. He loves to be outside. I'm excited to be able to spend more time this summer with both of the kiddos.

Happy First Easter Hagirsa!

2011-04-24T22:07:00.001-04:00

Hagirsa really enjoyed Easter. It was so nice to spend our first holiday with him. We were thinking about Ethiopia a lot today because Easter is their biggest celebrated holiday. When he's old enough, we can't wait to share the story of Easter with him. Hagirsa went to nursery for the first time today. The ladies couldn't get over him and took lots of pictures. He did great. When I got him to come sing with us, he had his hands in the air praising the Lord. It was so sweet and put a permanent smile on my face! We are very thankful that he came from an orphanage that taught the children a lot about God.
Hagirsa was not scared of the Easter Bunny AT ALL! He kept following him around with an egg and offering him it. He didn't really get the concept yet. He just wanted to chase the bunny. Kendal didn't really want to go anywhere near him (bunny). Such a great day with family and friends. Hope everyone had a great holiday remembering the true meaning of Easter.

Finally a Family Pic

2011-04-08T12:48:00.001-04:00

Hagirsa is doing very well. It's almost as if he's been here his whole life. It just warms my heart to see him with family and friends. He's such a happy little guy. He picks up words and sign language so quickly. He just learned to say, "I love you" and loves to blow kisses. He always blows kisses before he goes to bed so each time I carry him in his room now he blows me a kiss! Too funny.

Kendal is such a big helper (most of the time). She loves to play with him and pick him up. He LOVES to be outside. He got a "new" bike from his cousin, Jack, on Saturday. His little legs don't hit the pedals yet but he loves to just sit on it and be pushed around.

His sleeping habits are getting better but he still likes to self-soothe by banging his head into the side of the crib. He doesn't do it all night like he used to. He's been doing it more when he's falling asleep and when he wakes up. We're hoping it slowing will just go away soon.

Updates are far more infrequent now but wanted to get some new pics on here. Enjoy!

HE'S HOME!!

2011-02-19T16:05:00.001-05:00

I will eventually finish our trip timeline but we have been so tired and haven't had time to get on here. I thought I would post some pictures instead! I posted pics of our other days as well.

Gotcha Day - Day 7

2011-02-07T13:06:00.003-05:00

We woke up anxious again. My life story on this trip. We went to the Bethany Corporate Office here to meet with social workers and the head of Bethany. He showed us how to fill out our Embassy forms that we do tomorrow. We then met with our social worker and his nurse to go over final details. Hagirsa is a happy, healthy boy.
We started with lunch at a golf club today! My favorite. We got to eat outside and loved the warm weather. Did you know that Malarone and Cirpro BOTH make you sensitive to light? Yep, got a nice sunburn at the beginning of February which I can say has never been done before. We were all so anxious, we just wanted to GO!
We had a few families on the bus getting children from other orphanages as well today. We went to the Mussie orphanage and got to see four children with their parents - so emotional! Kids sang songs and they cut a cake and everything (never mind the butcher knife they gave a five year old to do it with). Very sweet little ceremony. Now unto our day. We walked in and they had the children that were leaving dressed up in traditional Ethiopian clothing. Hagirsa looked so dang cute as ever. His nannies cried and cried. They tried to hide their faces but that didn't help. They kept asking for Hagirsa to hold - one more time. "He is such good boy, so happy, he so lucky to have you as family" one said. So, we all cried, hugged and had bittersweet feelings about the whole experience. These nannies have been his mom for half of his life. They know him way better than I do. I'm hoping the transition goes well. We took a great big group picture which was amazing. So many orphans now into good homes in the US. It broke my heart to leave the orphans there that weren't leaving yet. One was Samuel and he LOVED Hagirsa. We found out he will be in the Grand Rapids area when he comes home. He was crying too. So many tears this past week. Anyways, the bus ride was a bit stressful. My quiet kid whom I've never heard cry decided he was going to on the bus ride home and for about an hour after that. It is a sweet little cry. He is teething though, has really bad diaper rash, and left the only world he knew to come with us to a new place with more new faces. Poor thing. After feeding him I decided to bring him down to the common area where the kids were and he was TOTALLY fine. Kendal is going to be so helpful in this transition. We put him to bed okay, he was fussy for a bit but a little bottle and he was out. He put up a good fight though. Can't wait to see what tomorrow brings after some sleep that we all will hopefully get.
Side note: I tried camel tonight. No, it doesn't taste like chicken, I though it tasted like beef. Weird! You can buy it on the street right around the corner from us at the butcher. Whatever dead head is outside the market, that's what dead meat is hanging inside the market.
Can't believe we are a family of four now! We go to embassy tomorrow to finish paperwork and file for his visa. His passport is so cute. Going to bed early tonight, when your kid sleeps, you sleep! Have a good week everyone.
--
Stacey Sills
Health and Prevention Consultant
Ottawa Area Intermediate School District
13565 Port Sheldon St.
Holland, MI 49424
1-877-702-8600 ext. 4111
ssills@oaisd.org
He who has health, has hope. And he who has hope, has everything. ~ Proverb quote

Day 6 - Sunday

2011-02-06T15:56:00.002-05:00

This is the fun day. We get up and have a quick breakfast. We then leave for this resort that has a boat ride you take to photograph hippos! So excited. People are dropping like flies though getting sick today. So many reasons why you could be sick here it's scary. So anyways, we get on a pontoon boat that takes us about 1/2 hour across Lake Awassa to see the hippos and we DID. Got some great pics. So amazing. Came back while the other group went and walked through the resort where monkeys were on the trees just like squirrels are at home. Got lots of pics of the monkeys. My favorite was the one holding her baby. The girls played putt-putt. So, I legally can say that I PLAYED GOLF IN ETHIOPIA! We ended up staying at the resort because one of our friends was really sick. We at right on the water of Lake Awassa. It was a beautiful day too. I got sunburned! It just so happened that the second prime minister of Ethiopia was eating outside as well with about 100 other people on poverty. He would be like our vice-president in our country. I was wondering why so many people had AK47s standing on balconies. So, I did get an illegal picture of him. Got lots of pictures by the water of the exotic birds and more monkeys before we left. We started on our 5 hour trip back on a bumpy bus with sick people on it. Two more got sick and one is actually in the hospital now getting her fluids revived. Very scary. I'm doing good mom! :) Tomorrow morning we will get up and head to the Bethany Corporate office here and get prepped for our embassy appt which is Tuesday. We then eat lunch and go pick up Hagirsa. They do a goodbye ceremony which I'm looking forward to except the tears I shall have again. These nannies have had him for half of his life. They love him. One of the nannies patted his head on Friday and said, "I will miss this one" and had to walk away because she was crying. It will be a packed house tomorrow night with all of our kids here together. At least the kids all know each other so that will be helpful for them. Alright, it's almost midnight here so I'd better get to bed. I will enjoy the Superbowl in my sleep tonight since we are 8 hours ahead! Go Lions!! :))))
--
Stacey Sills
Health and Prevention Consultant
Ottawa Area Intermediate School District
13565 Port Sheldon St.
Holland, MI 49424
1-877-702-8600 ext. 4111
ssills@oaisd.org
He who has health, has hope. And he who has hope, has everything. ~ Proverb quote

Day 5 Continued

2011-02-06T15:44:00.002-05:00

So, Sisay who was the one who trained us at Bethany and was with us at court got married about three weeks ago and was having a prolonged reception. We went to that and got to pray and pray with Ethiopians. It was very cool to see the ceremony while my mind is racing about what may happen in less than an hour. We see a goat and find out that he has to kill it and they will eat it for dinner. The goat kept making sounds during the ceremony - famous last words. Kind of funny - not for the goat. So, as we leave I ask where we will meet her. Well, she's not here yet............seriously, our time and Ethiopian time are not the same. So, we sit down to eat dinner at our hotel for that night in Awassa. I ordered but didn't think I could eat. Mahi, then comes up to us and says, "She is downstairs." Oh my gosh. What do to? I feel so unprepared. How can you feel prepared for this. We were asked if we would like to eat and then meet her. We opted for meeting her first if that was okay with her. She agreed. We walk downstairs of the restaurant and there she was. THERE SHE WAS! The woman that gave birth to my son and gave us this precious miracle was right in front of us. What do you say? I hugged her and we were escorted to a room to "interview" her. She was very shy and timid. We asked if she would mind if we could record our questions to her so that Hagirsa could see them later. She said that was fine. We asked lots of things (most I won't put on due to Hagirsa being the one that can tell people if he wants in the future) but there were two answers that so warmed our hearts. We always have wanted "Hagirsa" to be his name unless it meant something negative. We asked her what it meant and she said she had him in peace and so that's why she named him "Hagirsa" which means peace in Sidayamo. Yep, cried. We got some information about her family and her life. She is twenty right now and is remarried. She smiled and even laughed in the interview even though I could tell she was very nervous, as were we. The last thing she added (which was not on tape) was that she prayed and prayed for her child to go to a christian family and now she is so blessed. That's all she wanted for him. We showed her the photo album we brought and the videos we had taken of Hagirsa walking the day before. She thought it was the cutest thing. She was smiling and laughing and holding her chest to laugh. Kreg then prayed with all of together. We got our pictures taken with her and two by herself for Hagirsa to have. She was beautiful and so petite and about 4'10". We all hugged, gave an Ethiopian handshake and said our goodbyes. So hard to talk when we got back up to the group. We made everyone cry with the story about his name. We made sure she knew how much WE are blessed to have HIM. Finished what I could of dinner and then just layed on the bed. I couldn't fall asleep. My mind was racing about what I didn't ask her, etc. She really wants him to come back someday when he gets older so I will make sure that happens. :)

The second picture was where we first saw his birth mom. She was sitting in the back left table.
--
Stacey Sills
Health and Prevention Consultant
Ottawa Area Intermediate School District
13565 Port Sheldon St.
Holland, MI 49424
1-877-702-8600 ext. 4111
ssills@oaisd.org
He who has health, has hope. And he who has hope, has everything. ~ Proverb quote

Day 5 - Saturday

2011-02-06T15:30:00.002-05:00

So, we eat breakfast in the morning and know that today is going to be a tough day. We decided from the very beginning that we would like to meet Hagirsa's birth mother for a lot of reasons. Mostly, so we can tell him about her. We get on the bus to drive to Awassa with about 20 people - eight families doing the exact same thing. I was an anxious mess the whole day. The scenery was beautiful but I was very distracted wondering the unknown. The countryside was beautiful. Mountains were on both sides of us most of the way down. There were lots of little "towns" on the road. Most with just a few shops and houses. There were a few lakes and we got to see camels. One guy was herding them and another was a camel farm. We arrive in Awassa and eat at a very beautiful restaurant. We then head to the orphanage where Hagirsa started and lived for about a month. We knew the birth mom was supposed to be there when we arrived. We first got a tour of the orphange. It was heart breaking to see so many very teeny tiny infants that were in the cribs. Way too many. It was also heartbreaking to know that they do not have an organization working with them now to adopt these children. Tears were rolling at this point. Kreg cried when we saw twin boys 2 months old in adjoining cribs. He truely wanted to take them home if we could. I would have been okay with that. The kids that were older waved and blew kisses to us. We then walk out back where sits unfamiliar faces to all of our group. Everyone is wondering who goes with who. This was the most awkward moment of our lives. So, we are all sitting there and our social worker from Ethiopia comes over to us and says this, "Your birth mother changed her...............address." My heart sank because for what seemed like a lifetime I thought she was going to say, "mind." She said that she would be here in an hour. So an hour passes and the couples are meeting their birth parents/grandparents. Things are going awesome for everyone. I ask after an hour has passed if they are getting close. She checks and has a very sincere look on her face. She says that they can't find her. Wow, speechless and lots of tears again. When in the world would we ever get this chance to meet her I'm thinking? What if they don't find her before next Saturday? My heart is racing and I think I was going to be sick again. They said they are still looking for her and not to worry. No, I don't worry at all!! So, after some more time and tears, Mahi, our social worker, comes over and says that they found her father and that she got remarried and moved. He knows where she lives though and can find her they say. Another hour goes by. No word. Finally, they tell us that she is on her way and that she would be here in about an hour.

The last picture was inside the Shalom orphanage in Awassa.
--
Stacey Sills
Health and Prevention Consultant
Ottawa Area Intermediate School District
13565 Port Sheldon St.
Holland, MI 49424
1-877-702-8600 ext. 4111
ssills@oaisd.org
He who has health, has hope. And he who has hope, has everything. ~ Proverb quote

Day 4

2011-02-06T15:06:00.002-05:00

The last post was day 2 and 3 with traveling. Friday we got up and had some breakfast. We had some time to walk down the street we were on and played with some of the kids. I played hopscotch and Kreg and Tim got out the soccer balls of course. Everyone in Ethiopia knows how to play soccer (football here). We then left for the orphanage. We got there and found out they were going to tape us for our Life Book that they are making for us. So, there was a camera crew taping our first sight of him and for about an hour after that. We walked in and saw his cute little face sitting on the kitchen floor all by himself. He is so stinkin' cute. I went right over and picked him up. He was not timid at all with Kreg or myself. He smiled right away. We put our camera on him and got to see him walk for the first time. He took about ten steps before he squatted down so we missed quite a bit unfortunately when we were gone. He is so coordinated. He loves to move around and he LOVES to be held. He is really particular about just one toy. Whatever he has that day (this time it happened to be an empty bubbles bottle), he doesn't want to give it up. We may have our hands full for a while - literally! I'm okay with that. We got to play with all the kids and see all of the faces of the rest of the adoptive families light up. We eventually had to leave. We went shopping again and when I got to the first stop, I was violently ill. I had to use a restroom NOW. If you don't know anything about bathrooms in Ethiopia, don't find out. They are not really bathrooms so it was an awful experience. None that I had ever felt before or want to feel again. I eventually got better as the day went on. Got some other things to bring home to remind us of Ethiopia. We came back and layed down for a bit and then we had dinner together with the rest of the families at a traditional restaurant and then came back "home" to our guesthouse. Tomorrow we leave for Awassa to meet Hagirsa's birth mother.
--
Stacey Sills
Health and Prevention Consultant
Ottawa Area Intermediate School District
13565 Port Sheldon St.
Holland, MI 49424
1-877-702-8600 ext. 4111
ssills@oaisd.org
He who has health, has hope. And he who has hope, has everything. ~ Proverb quote

Day 2

2011-02-06T14:55:00.002-05:00

Got up with our friends and had breakfast. Since we packed so suddenly we did forget a few things so we headed to the Mall of America - Where there's a will there's a way that I will find the biggest mall around. We then headed to the airport and left again. We found out that the weather got bad right after we left and THEY closed their airport as well. Sensing a theme here? God really wants us to get there! We flew to Amsterdam and had a few hour wait. As we were waiting, we see a couple that looks just like a couple that stayed with us during our first trip. It WAS! They were on our next flight! So awesome! So, we got to catch up with them and hear about how they found out last minute as well and got there. Flew out of Amsterdam to Sudan (kind of scary), fueled up and then landed in Ethiopia without a place to stay yet or knowing if anyone was going to be there. Sara and I sweet talked a friendly guy and he let us use his cell phone to call Abel. He was right around the corner and said he got us a place to stay. Praise the Lord! Our place is beautiful and has lots of room for kids! We got in late at night so we pretty much just went to bed. The smells and sounds of Ethiopia were all so familiar. We were also told that he would pick us up in the morning to go see all of our children!
--
Stacey Sills
Health and Prevention Consultant
Ottawa Area Intermediate School District
13565 Port Sheldon St.
Holland, MI 49424
1-877-702-8600 ext. 4111
ssills@oaisd.org
He who has health, has hope. And he who has hope, has everything. ~ Proverb quote

First Day

2011-02-06T14:48:00.002-05:00

So, I'm in the car driving back from a meeting in Lansing and Kreg says to me, "Hun, I think we're leaving tonight." There was silence on my end. What???? We found out that morning that we were invited to travel and that our embassy appt would be next week. Due to the snowstorm coming in, we decided (along with two other couples) to try to beat the storm and fly north to Minnesota. We were the ONLY flight out of GR that flew out that night. I took a picture of the screen that had all flights cancelled but ours. We had a bumpy ride but made it safely to Minnesota. Had dinner when we got there and then headed to our hotel that we got that night in the airport!
--
Stacey Sills
Health and Prevention Consultant
Ottawa Area Intermediate School District
13565 Port Sheldon St.
Holland, MI 49424
1-877-702-8600 ext. 4111
ssills@oaisd.org
He who has health, has hope. And he who has hope, has everything. ~ Proverb quote

PRAISE THE LORD!

2011-02-02T08:32:00.000-05:00

We are on our way to get Hagirsa. Words cannot explain the excitement, nervousness, anxiety, etc. Could be because we found out at 2:00 p.m. that we were leave at 7:45 p.m. from Grand Rapids in the biggest blizzard ever! Our flight was the only one NOT cancelled. We are safe and sound in Minnesota with the two other couples we have been traveling with. We leave at 3:00 p.m. here today to fly to Amsterdam, The Sudan and then Addis! Thanks for all of your prayers. We will try to keep you updated as much as possible when we are there! Can't wait to see our son.

I'm In Labor!!!

2011-02-01T12:08:00.000-05:00

We received "the call" this morning that we can travel this weekend! Kreg is working on the flight and our friend, Sara, is working on our trip to Awassa. Praise the Lord! We get to bring our son home soon!

A small set back

2011-01-31T14:50:00.000-05:00

So, the Embassy was closed this afternoon in Ethiopia due to a new building ceremony (Seriously, how many ceremonies and holidays can one place have in a month??). Our documents will be taken over first thing tomorrow morning. We should hopefully know tomorrow or Wednesday when we would leave (being optimistic).

We also found out that there was a woman working at our son's original orphanage who had told a few families that they would get money for the relinquishment of their child. This is the major reason for the hold up, besides documents in other cases that were not correct. The families that were told they could get money were actually not given that money. All of them told the Vice Consular Chief last week that they would still relinquish their child. I can't imagine getting this far and having to find out now that this was the case and that she'd take him back now (that could have happened). My heart sank as they were going over this information on a conference call this morning. Thankfully, we didn't have this happen and we will be leaving very, very soon!

Kebele Documents and Translations

2011-01-28T14:01:00.000-05:00

We found out today that the embassy is asking for these documents in order to process our case. The good news is that our friends who had this happen this week received a travel call shortly after. Bethany assured us that they will do this Monday or Tuesday of next week. Hopefully, that means that we will receive a travel call next week sometime. We're getting closer, day by day.

"H" had a small medical issue last week and it sure is hard to hear about it over an email. Not that we wish he had one at all, but we wish he was home so that we could take care of him. The medical issue was taken care of and he is still a healthy little boy. Can't wait to see how much he's grown.

This Means US!!

2011-01-28T08:36:00.003-05:00

Dear International Team,
Good news! Our Country Director in Ethiopia met with Vice Consular Chief today and was informed that all Bethany cases that were on hold at the Embassy will be cleared. This includes the four cases that were under investigation. The Vice Consular Chief informed Bethany that he will direct his workers to start clearing cases that were on hold.
The Embassy may still require further information/clarification in some cases. We were told that the request for information will be only on technical or procedural issues regarding those cases. For instance, the Embassy has been asking us to provide the names of other relatives in the child's family of origin. Other times they have asked further information on the child's background.
However, the Vice Consular Chief informed us that such requests for further information/clarification will not be consequential to the decision to clear all cases that are on hold. The Embassy would not inform us regarding the order in which they will clear cases. We continue to pray for our families as they patiently wait for the union with their children. Thanks for the team work.
Sincerely,
Ethiopia team

Praying

2011-01-24T20:47:00.000-05:00

While we are asleep tonight, the Vice Consular Chief will be presenting his findings to the US Embassy in Ethiopia. Please pray TONIGHT that he will clear our case and that we can go get our son.

The Latest

2011-01-24T16:45:00.002-05:00

This is the latest email we received from the corporate office:

For families who currently have cases submitted to the US Embassy and are waiting for clearance to travel - our team in Ethiopia passed on that the Vice Consular Chief is back from his trip to the south. While in the south, he visited a number of orphanages, in order to complete his investigations into these orphanages. Our team was told that the Vice Consular Chief would begin issuing reports on cases under field investigation to agencies starting tomorrow. As there are many families, orphanages, and adoption agencies involved in this investigation, we do not know if we will hear more on Bethany cases in particular by tomorrow or even this week. It appears that as a report is finished, the US Embassy will forward it to the agency. Note that the report could include clearance for the family to travel, or it could include a request for additional information.

We heard another update from our team in Ethiopia, which was confirmed by a Dept. of State conference call on Ethiopia that we are now on. The US Embassy will no longer only permit agencies one appointment every other week, but instead, once a family is cleared for travel, the agency, family & Embassy will work together to schedule the best Embassy appt. date for all involved. So, appointments, in theory, could be made every day, with more than the normal 10 cases per agency per day, but based on the Embassy's availability (as there are other agencies that will be making appointments as well). As long as the Embassy has a slot for a particular day, and the family's case has been cleared by the Embassy, they will see that family.

Still on Hold

2011-01-21T15:33:00.000-05:00

Well, next week isn't looking too promising for us to leave. The Vice Consular Chief will be coming back from Awassa "sometime next week," Well, we would fly out on Wednesday so it looks like that's not going to happen either. That's two more weeks now we'll have to wait (again). We are now looking at February 9, 2011 to leave. We are trying to be positive that this will be our date to go get him. We will know more "sometime next week" when he gets back and hopefully has an update for Bethany and all of the parents that are being affected by this situation. Please pray that he has good news once he makes it back and that we can all go get our babies. This is not a paperwork issue, these are children we are talking about! I swear if you saw me in person that I'm not this negative, this is just my place to vent about this whole situation.

Twice the Pregnancy

2011-01-18T11:31:00.001-05:00

I just realized that the waiting time to get our son right now is twice that of a pregnancy. Yes, I don't have morning sickness but the emotional side of this "pregnancy" has taken a toll (oh, and the weight gain that I'm trying real hard to lose). I keep getting asked now if I'm sick of being asked when he will come home. I'm not, I just don't want to have to answer it. I want him home. I'm sure with the situation right now we will not make the next embassy date either so we are looking into February. My stomach is in a knot and my heart aches for this little guy. I think about what he's doing during the day and that he probably has no idea of the love for him on the other side of the world. He's probably walking by now too. He was walking great holding onto our finger when we were there. He is very determined too so he's probably not walking but running!
I was thinking about walking down the hall at the GR airport to meet Kendal when we get home and I am so excited for that day. She is such a good big sister. She had to draw her family for a poster at school and didn't think twice about adding "H" to it. She said she likes his hair longer so she made him with longer hair. :) She added Rem to it too with only three legs - kind of funny but accurate.
Thanks everyone for all of your prayers. I know I've said this before but we are so blessed to have so many people love this little boy without meeting him. So, hopefully the contractions will start and we will have a "delivery" of this little guy very soon.

Vice Consular Chief

2011-01-16T17:59:00.000-05:00

We didn't know there was such a person but he is the person we are praying for now. This man will be traveling to southern Ethiopia (Where H is from) to address the concerns with the orphanage. We will not have resolution on our adoption case until he returns and decides what he will do. This is because of some unethical paperwork procedures in the orphanage that "H" originally came from. Please pray that he does not find specific evidence in our case and that as soon as he gets back we get the GREEN LIGHT to go.

Key Word of the Day: Frustration

2011-01-12T11:34:00.000-05:00

So, no one knows anything about what is going on thousands of miles away where our little boy lives. We have fingerprints that expire on March 7th and we were told we'd better get them updated. If I don't travel to get our son before March 7th, I will need some serious counseling. Some parents who have documents expiring in April and May were told the same thing. The hardest part is not knowing. We would have known yesterday if we were to go to the next Embassy appointment. That puts us now at least two more weeks behind. That will be a month from when they first told us we could expect to travel. I know we've all heard of adoption horror stories, but it hasn't happened to OUR family. Now, we wait. Please God, listen to our prayers and let us go get our son.

Merry Christmas "H"

2011-01-06T22:42:00.000-05:00

Tomorrow is Christmas in Ethiopia. We were supposed to come home tomorrow. So sad that our little guy will not be with us any time soon. We found out that no one has any idea as to when he could come home. The Embassy is reviewing cases further and especially from the orphanage that he is at (long story).

The good news is that we got an update on Tuesday. He still is a "very active little boy" they say. He's smiling in all of his pictures and his cognitive and motor skills are right where they should be. He even gained almost three pounds since we've left! Who knew we would have a chunky baby from Ethiopia! He's playing with the rings that my sister sent with us to give to him in one of the pictures. We so miss him and feel such a connection to this little guy that we've been praying for, for years. We love him so much and can't wait to get that email that says to pack our bags.......oh, wait they ARE packed. :) We could leave in about 20 minutes if we need to!

Trying to remember what the Christmas season is about today. God has given us a gift and he is our son. Jesus was "adopted" too. I know that God has a plan for our family and I am confident that this little boy will bless us with his presence very soon. Merry Christmas "H." We love you.

Changes to "H's" Orphanage

2011-01-04T10:48:00.000-05:00

We just found out today that the orphanage our son is at is now not going to be an orphanage Bethany is going to work with anymore. They have found some "unethical" paperwork procedures being done (not finding out enough about the child before they give a referral). They had been given warnings and didn't follow through. So, Bethany is now not going to have a working relationship with them anymore. The obvious problem is that our son is there now and the workers there do know about the situation. The Embassy is not happy with this orphanage either and that is why the extra review process with our children. We are praying that the orphanage does not get shut down (because the government can do that) and that the review process goes quickly so we can get him out of there.

Patience is not a Strength of Mine

2011-01-03T16:59:00.000-05:00

So, today would have been the day we picked up Hagirsa from the orphanage. Please pray that we will get to go soon and that he remains a happy, healthy baby. I'm so glad that he's too young to know what's going on.

What to Say?

2011-01-01T19:50:00.000-05:00

What do you say when asked something you don't know the answer to? Unfortunately, "I don't know." We've had to say that a lot the last couple of days. We've been asked a lot, "when do you get to go?" or when are you going?" It's so hard to not know the answer to that. We really don't know. Hopefully we'll be able to be at the next Embassy date which would be January 18th. I'm not holding my breath. The Embassy could take as long as they want to review everyone's case. Well, our bags our still packed and we are ready to go when we get the call (or email). Hopefully, this time we will have more than 24 hours to plan for it!

It's a "No Go"

2010-12-28T14:36:00.003-05:00

This is an email another member of our group received today (wishing we had heard something as well - we've been sitting here all day waiting to hear some news):

We just spoke to the team in Ethiopia, who had a meeting with the US Embassy today. They discussed the extended time frame it was taking the US Embassy to issue invitations for Embassy appointments to families. It was a very positive meeting, with the US Embassy being complimentary about our Lifebooks and desire to complete ethical, transparent adoptions.

They did indicate, however, that we should no longer rely on them taking only 1 - 1 1/2 weeks to review
cases after submission (our team in Ethiopia currently submits the case at least two weeks prior to the family's
intended Embassy date, as soon as they have the required paperwork (birth certificate, passport, etc.) in order to do so). The Embassy could not provide a specific time frame that their review would take, but families would need to, instead, wait until our staff received the "okay" for the
family to travel before starting to plan for a specific Embassy date.

Please inform your families that we do not, at this time, expect that they will be able to travel for the Jan. 4 Embassy date, as we do not know when the Embassy will issue this "okay" to travel. The US Embassy is closely reviewing each child's documents, which takes time. The US Embassy pointed out that this is in the child and the family's best interest to ensure that ethical adoptions are being completed.

God only gives us what we can handle

2010-12-28T10:47:00.000-05:00

I'm trying to believe in this as I sit in my cubicle at work stalking my email waiting for some news. We would be at the airport at this time tomorrow. I can't believe we don't know yet. Trying to have faith that it will all work out............

Is this labor?

2010-12-27T15:22:00.000-05:00

Okay, since I've had a baby before, I know this isn't what labor is really like but waiting to find out if we can leave yet 45 hours from now to bring our son home is similar to labor pains! I'm feeling sweaty, nauseous, shaky, nervous, anxious and have no question that an epidural would help make the "pain" go away right now. I remember counting my contractions on a newspaper the night before I had Kendal and I think that counting down the clock until tomorrow morning when we "may" find out if we can get our son is similar. It hurts more and more the closer it gets. "H" we are coming, we promise. Trying to remember scripture that reminds us that things are in God's hands and that He has a plan for us.

Wanting to Cry

2010-12-27T10:08:00.000-05:00

We have been "patiently" waiting to hear if we have been invited to come to Ethiopia to the Embassy date on January 4th. We would leave on Wednesday around noon from Grand Rapids (along with a few other couples in the same boat). We were told we would get word today and no word. A representative from the Bethany office in Ethiopia is meeting with the Embassy tomorrow to see why there is a delay. All of the couples from Bethany have not been invited.........We are really struggling to deal with this. We have plans for Kendal and Remington and now we may have to change all that. No one has any answers and it's so frustrating. I can't imagine not having our little boy any longer. Now that we are this close, it's so much harder to wait. So, we may get some great news tomorrow (there has not been any timeframe this short by the way) or we may have to wait who knows how long to get our son. Please pray that we can all travel on Wednesday to get our children.

Great News

2010-12-16T20:48:00.001-05:00

We received an email today giving us an unofficial embassy date for January 4th! We would leave on December 29th and return Janurary 7th! January 7th happens to be Ethiopian Christmas. Wouldn't this be the best Christmas present ever? We're still trying to grasp the fact that we would leave so soon. We are still trying to get used to the time change! I do have the babies suitcase packed mostly already. If anyone can think of anything really cool that a one-year old can play with that is quiet, let us know. We have a long trip home. So excited. Can't believe he could be home so soon! The last two weeks flew by so these next two weeks will be nothing. Baby "H" will be HOME soon!!!

Happy Birthday "H"

2010-12-12T07:18:00.000-05:00

Today is his first birthday. Definitely bittersweet. We can't be with him but we know he is taken care of and is a healthy, happy baby. He did officially become our son last Friday, December 3rd. This was a very emotional day. Waiting for the judge seemed like an eternity, especially for my stomach. She asked us seven questions which all of our answers were, "yes" and then she said, "He is yours." The best three words I think I've ever heard. We have been on this journey with six other couples and it was such a blessing to have this connection. We should travel again in about six weeks to get him. We are waiting for his birth certificate and passport to be processed. When we return we will be there from a Thursday to Thursday (along with travel). We will travel to Awassa to hopefully meet his mother. This will be an emotional trip for sure. We want to go there anyways to see where he is from. The big city of Addis doesn't give a picture of the whole country. We then will get him on the Monday and go to the US Embassy on Tuesday. His paperwork should be processed then and be ready by Thursday and we will leave that Thursday night. We will keep you updated on the progress of his paperwork. Happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you!

Ethiopia

2010-12-02T09:43:00.002-05:00

I hope this works. I tried to update the other day from my home email and it didnt work. Our son is the most beautiful gift ever. We got to spend about 2 1/2 hours with him the last two days. We have lot and lots of pics and video. He is such a good little boy. A lot of his personality reminds me of Kendal. We are loving this country. It's obviously very different from the US but everyone is so laid back and wonderful. Everywhere we have been has been great. It's crazy just to see a cow walking down a busy street. The guest house we are staying in is very nice. The food is beter than we have at home. The noises are so different. At night we hear dogs, cows, Muslim chanting on a loud speaker. The smells are so different too. We got terrible news in the Chicago airport that no one going to court on Friday would pass. We all just sat there and didn't know what to think. It was due to licensing in some of the orphanages here. We got word today that one hour before our training at Bethany that the licenses were renewed! So hopefully tomorrow will go well at court and we will pass. He will then be officially our son.

We leave tomorrow!

2010-11-28T20:30:00.000-05:00

We leave tomorrow to meet our little guy. We're anxious about the trip itself but are so excited to finally meet him. Thank you to our family who is taking care of Kendal while we are gone. It makes it a lot easier knowing that she is being taken care of. She knows all about both of our trips, so feel free to ask her. She'll tell you all about it and her brother. So, please pray for safe travels for us and that Hagirsa feels how much we love him. We won't get to see him much on this trip but at least we get to hold him for a small amount of time. Hopefully our court date passes and then he will be our "son" on December 3rd!!

Thank you, thank you, thank you

2010-11-22T16:44:00.000-05:00

We just wanted to thank those of you who came to the pancake breakfast on Saturday. We are so grateful for your donations and those of you who worked and helped to get it ready. Thanks Kevin for making the slideshow for us. It turned out beautifully. Thanks to my mom, Kevin and Kendal for helping us set up the night before. Thanks to Kris, Kevin, Pa Sills and Kreg's co-worker for cooking all morning. The pancakes were good! Thanks to the Veenstra family who did dishes and served food. Thanks to Leslie for taking the donations. Thanks to lots of you who cleaned up as well and to Harderwyk Ministries who let us use the facility. We made $99.00 for Yeselalem Minch Orphanage feeding program (through coffee sales) and lots of you brought items we can take directly to the orphanages next week. We have the two suitcases of donations filled to the brim. I'm buying a scale tonight so that we can get our 50 lbs worth of stuff in each suitcase! Most importantly, thanks for all your prayers. They have been answered by way of an 11 month old little boy.

By the way, "H" is feeling better! Can't wait to see him soon. We leave one week from today!

Please pray for H

2010-11-16T06:53:00.000-05:00

We just got an email from Bethany yesterday saying that "H" is vomiting and has diarrhea. They are giving him two kinds of medication. Please pray that he will feel better very, very soon.

Eleven Months Old

2010-11-14T21:12:00.001-05:00

Our little guy was eleven months old on Friday. He weighs 15.5 pounds and his motor and gross skills are awesome and on target for his age. We are so thankful for that. We will get to see him almost a week before his birthday so I bought a bib on Saturday that says, "Birthday Boy." I hope they let me put in on him for a photo op and to sing to him. We leave two weeks from tomorrow to go meet the answers to our prayers!

Home Study and Ethiopian Update

2010-11-05T06:49:00.001-04:00

We just had our last home study (prior to adoption) on Wednesday. Everything went really well. We had some questions answered about traveling and just got to talk a lot about our little boy. One comment she made was that Ethiopia takes care of their children better than any other country they've worked with. Kendal showed Belinda (our case worker) his room and told her how much she is going to help when he gets home. Kendal can't wait to be a big sister.

Last night I met at Panera Bread with about 15 moms. They either had their children home, had just gone to Ethiopia or had court dates like ourselves. It was so nice to ge the "real" story about what will happen when we get there. I got to see video of the orphanage where he is at. One video had them all singing songs with the older kids in the orphanage leading the songs. Even the babies were getting into it and clapping. The kids all seemed so happy. It's comforting that when we leave there in between the court date and embassy date, that he will be taken care of and is happy. We also got to get the inside scoop as to what to bring with us. Things I wouldn't have thought of like diaper bags (for us because you can't put anything down their toilets), nasal spray (because it's so dry), peanut butter and syrup (they love it and I guess it's really expensive there), and just lots of little things I wouldn't have thought to bring. I'm so thankful to have the chance to talk with people who were JUST there! They got to play and hold our little guy. Okay, 24 days before we leave!!

New Pics and Great News

2010-10-28T16:35:00.000-04:00

We had another couple that is adopting from Ethiopia graciously take pictures for us last week of him. He is the sweetest thing. Jennifer, the girl that took the pics, said that he is a "kind spirited little boy." She said he is crawling and sits up on his own (almost). She says he smiles all the time and is very curious about what everyone else is doing all the time. His pictures look SO different. They do grow SO fast. His hair is grown out a bit. It makes you realize how much you miss when they are little. She said though that he is so loved there in his orphanage not only by the caretakers, but by the older kids in the orphanage and the future parents that come to visit the orphanage.

On another note, we received some great news about Kendal today. In the midst of all of our adoption excitement, we have been worried that Kendal could have something serious. We were referred to a pediatric surgeon and had the appt. this morning. She has, "benign active lymph nodes" and they are not to worry about at all unless they get larger. So, we are not only blessed with great news about our little boy but our little girl as well. They are both angels and we are so incredibly blessed that they are both happy and healthy. Praise, praise God.

Ethiopian Bethany Workers in Zeeland!!

2010-10-13T18:49:00.000-04:00

So, tonight we got to meet people from Ethiopia that work for Bethany. They were travelling to the US for some training and we had the opportunity to meet them before we MEET them! The man in the picture will be our driver to the court appointment as well as our Embassy appointment. We were able to meet social workers, a foster care worker and the director of Bethany in Ethiopia (and his wife). Everyone was SO nice and so excited for us. I also asked to make sure we were pronouncing our little guy's name correctly and we were!

We also met a couple that will be in Ethiopia and has the same court date as us. The most awesome thing that happened was that we met a couple who is leaving on Monday for Ethiopia. Their son is in the same orphanage as ours. They said they would take pictures and send them to us (we have to get some paperwork going for them to do that). We are so excited to get some more info about our little guy! He is now ten months old!!

Ethiopia Here We Come!

2010-10-11T21:36:00.000-04:00

Oh my gosh, we just found out tonight that we get to meet our son on December 1st!! That is seven weeks away (51 days to be exact). We are sooooo excited. Our court date is December 3rd and if all the paperwork goes through, he will officially be our son on that day! We are so thrilled to meet this little guy that we can hardly stand it. If you've seen his pictures, you know what I mean!

We will then have to come home and travel back to Ethiopia 1-2 months after the court date to pick him up and bring him HOME!

We've gotten some questions about if we're bringing Kendal to Ethiopia and the answer is, "no." We would love to take her but we don't want to have to worry about her and she's too young to really understand and remember what is going on. She is so excited though. Her prayer tonight was that she hopes God brings Hagirsa to our house tomorrow.

So please keep praying that he remains healthy and that we have safe travels to and from AFRICA!! Can't wait!

Getting Closer to Court Date

2010-10-11T17:00:00.000-04:00

Our friends that submitted their dossier the same day as us and got a referral a few days prior to us, just got a court date for December 3rd!! I am so hoping and praying we will hear soon. His birthday is December 12th and we would LOVE to celebrate it with him. Getting anxious to hear sooooooooooon!

Save the Date

2010-09-30T06:57:00.000-04:00

We are going to be putting on a pancake breakfast on November 20th to raise money for our adoption and for the orphanage that our little guy is at. It will be from 8-10 a.m. at Harderwyk Church in Holland (the main building). We are going to try to get everyone to bring either a pair of new socks or undies (ages 0-10 years) for us to bring to the orphanage with us. Kreg and I will each have a whole suitcase that we can fill with things to bring to them. We already have some formula and clothes. We would like to bring them something the kids can have that is new and a necessity. If you think of anything else, please let us know. We hope to see you there. More info to come.......

Great News!

2010-09-23T16:57:00.000-04:00

Two great things in one week! Monday I got to work and found a screening and 10 PICTURES of our little guy! He is seriously just the cutest thing you have ever seen. Better than that, he is healthy! There was nothing in his report that we should be concerned about at all. We had sent him a picture book with all of our pictures in it (Kendal, us, grandparents, aunts and uncles, etc.) and saw that in one of the pictures, he was playing with it. So, he has sort of met us already! Can't wait to hold him. He looks so happy in his pictures and we are so thankful for that.

I just got an email today stating that our dossier was sent to court in Ethiopia and that we should be getting a court date in November or December. Wow, we get to meet him soon.

Orphanage

2010-09-12T15:11:00.000-04:00

Found out through a couple of different people that our little guy is being well taken care of at the orphanage in Addis Ababa. Each person has said that the orphanage is clean, lots of toys, and the caretakers are wonderful. We are so blessed that he is there. We haven't heard anything yet about our court date but we will post as soon as we know. Hopefully we will hear soon.

Baby room is done!

2010-08-15T14:38:00.005-04:00

Baby room is done. :) We decided to move him upstairs to be closer to us. All we had to do was paint the top blue. I wasn't sure how that would go over with Kendal but she was so excited and couldn't wait to touch the dry paint. Thank you Kendal for giving up a few things in your room to give to the baby too.

A little delay

2010-08-12T08:32:00.000-04:00

We found out on Friday that the courts in Ethiopia are closed. They closed Friday and then won't open again until Sept. 30th. So, our paperwork won't start until then. After the 30th, it will be about 2-3 months for us to travel the first time and then 1-2 months after that before we can bring him home. He is such a pumpkin. We did find out that we will get updates on how he is growing and new pictures of him every month. His room is getting done. The drywall is complete. A guy I work with did it and it turned out nice and he gave us a great price on it. Thanks Tom! Now, we need floor and paint. I ordered his bed set yesterday so we can get the paint once it arrives! So excited!!! I didn't think buying boy stuff would be so much fun!

Love at First Sight

2010-08-04T19:57:00.001-04:00

He was definitely worth the wait! We got a REFERRAL yesterday! A little boy waiting for us in Ethopia. He is a smiley, healthy baby. He has been in the orphanage for about a month. He is the cutest thing you have ever seen. We would love to put his picture on here but we are not allowed to until we bring him home. So, if you see me, ask for my new baby album which has one page filled in with his picture!

Kendal is really excited. She keeps calling him her "baby brother" instead of by his name (which is hard to pronounce). She helped me go through her clothes already and get out anything that may fit him that was gender neutral - not much by the way. I didn't realize how much PINK we have!

We cannot be more excited. We meet with our social worker on Friday to fill out some more paperwork and send him a small photo book of us so he can see who we are. We will travel the first time in about three months to go to a court date and then see him in the orphanage. That trip will be about 4-5 days long. We can't actually take him out of there until the second visit which will be around 1-3 months after that. Then, the little guy can come home with us.

GOD IS SO GOOD!!! Please pray for him that he has the best care possible and that he knows deep down that he has a family that loves him so much! Thank you all for all of your prayers. God was listening!

Construction

2010-07-29T14:08:00.000-04:00

Construction started this week on the new baby room. All we need now is a baby to put it in! The dry wall is being finished today and next week it should really look different! So excited!

Bummer

2010-07-09T17:33:00.002-04:00

Wow, there are a lot of changes going on in the Ethiopian court system right now. A new director means we need to redo some of our dossier paperwork with the old directors name on it. We need to get it retyped, recertified and redone at the sec of states office in Grand Rapids and then taken personally over to the GR Bethany office. Also, the court system takes a break for a month and a half in August. They have also changed some info on if the birth certificates can still be used as passport and that their birth parents sign papers before the child is released (never done before). So, lots of changes that will just take more time unfortunately.

GoJo Ethiopian Restaurant

2010-06-25T14:08:00.000-04:00

Kreg and I are going to eat at GoJo Ethiopian Restaurant tonight for our 6th year anniversary! I can't wait. Last time we went, the food and environment was awesome!

Do you love coffee?

2010-06-02T14:50:00.000-04:00

We just became a "coffee roaster" from a company called, "Just Love Coffee." It is an organization that uses the proceeds to help an Ethiopian orphanage and families adopting (that's us) not just from Ethiopia, but from anywhere in the world. The guy that started the company is a father of four children, two are adopted from Ethiopia. He took his love of the coffee industry and love of his children and orphans and started this new company. The coffee is purchased from high quality, Fair Trade, specialty coffees from all over the world. So, check out our new website: www.justlovecoffee.com/TheSills

Visiting Little Ethiopia in California

2010-05-26T08:33:00.002-04:00

We stopped in Little Ethiopia on our way to Brandi's graduation. Everything was still closed but we got to take some pictures. I was really excited when everyone agreed to go back Saturday night for dinner. We stopped at "Mercato Ethiopian Restaurant-Market." I got a bracelet and a flag to bring home. We stopped at another store and I got Kendal a T-shirt that has the Ethiopian alphabet on it. We then went to dinner at "Little Ethiopia" Restaurant. The food was awesome and it was fun having everyone use their hands without utensils to eat (they don't give you any). Everyone loved the food which made me feel good that I brought them here. Well, soon we will be going to the REAL Ethiopia but it was fun and memorable to get a little taste of it on our trip.

Little Ethiopia

2010-05-17T13:41:00.000-04:00

My mom, sis, and I are going to California on Wednesday to see Brandi graduate. We are so excited and proud of her. One of the many places we will visit in the short three days we will be there is "Little Ethiopia" in LA. Apparently, it has the highest population of Ethiopians in the world outside of Ethiopia! I can't wait. Here is a paragraph about it:

Little Ethiopia is located in the heart of Los Angeles and yet sprawl it does not. Even Washington D.C.'s acclaimed Adam's Morgan, the unofficial seat of Ethiopian diasporadom, cannot boast of having the same number and variety of businesses on a street less than a fifth of a mile (0.8 km) long. Fourteen Ethiopian-owned businesses - six restaurants, two travel agencies, two markets, one hair salon, one insurance company, one café and one boutique - flank Fairfax Avenue between Olympic Boulevard and Whitworth Drive. Three other Ethiopian businesses on Pico Boulevard - a restaurant, a printer and a grocery store - add to the tally. - Branna Mag - 2002.

Wait Time is LOWER!!

2010-05-04T08:59:00.000-04:00

This is such great news. It is confirmed that our wait time is now lower. It was 12-15 months for a referral and now it is 6-12 months. How awesome is that?? I told Kreg we need to get moving on our shots and our funds!! We are so thrilled and excited that we may get to see our kiddo (s) sooner than expected. Great, great news!!!

Mother-To-Be

2010-04-29T11:14:00.000-04:00

Just got an unexpected present in the mail yesterday. My friend, Toby, who has also adopted, sent me a shirt that says, "mother-to-be" in amharic. Such a cool and thoughtful gift. I was so excited to get it. I can't wait to wear it and show it off! We also found out today that the wait time for us may be a little bit shorter than the anticipated 13 months average. We will find out more soon. We have a seminar tonight that we are going to called, "The Chosen Family." I'm looking forward to learning more about how we can be there for our little one (s).

Down One Adoption Agency

2010-03-31T15:04:00.000-04:00

Okay, I guess when it rains, it pours. I was not aware that at the end of the year of 2009 that Bethany discontinued relations with one of the four adoption agencies in Ethiopia due to unethical practices. So, there were three, then one got added, now back to three again. I hope this journey doesn't have too many more major "downs" any time soon.

Our New Favorite Word

2010-03-25T12:44:00.001-04:00

The "word" that warms my heart the most right now is "ewedeshalo" which means, "I love you" in amharic. Kendal will say it all the time because she knows I love to hear it. She says it the most right before she goes to bed: "Ewedeshalo mama." We can't wait to say it to my new little one (s) soon!

Tax Credit Extended

2010-03-25T12:37:00.000-04:00

With the adoption of the new health care bill, the Federal Adoption Tax Credit was extended until the end of 2011 and it even increased by $1,000. This will definitely help us in our journey.
Also found out that we still will have to go to Ethiopia twice. We did find out though that whatever the first court date is, is what we will need to attend (many court dates get changed many times for different reasons). If it needed to be changed, we wouldn't have to keep coming back. That's a blessing.

Bad News

2010-03-11T13:20:00.000-05:00

Our ride so far on this journey did seem a little too "easy." We just found out that parents need to be present on their child's court date in Ethiopia as of April 9th. Well, that would be us now. I don't know how I could go there and then leave my child (let alone fly back and forth to Africa again). So now we have so many things to think about. Do we bring Kendal now and stay? Do we come home? I know that in hindsight, anything we are doing will be well worth it but this is hitting us like a bomb. Without even bringing up too much about the obvious cost (plane, cost of living, missing work twice now) this is bad, bad news. Please help pray that this too is happening for a good reason that we do not know yet and that our family will be able to handle this big change.

Family Night

2010-03-04T13:31:00.000-05:00

I can't believe I didn't put this on here earlier. Two weeks ago we met with Ryan and Tami Beld who have adopted two children recently from Ethiopia. Their names are Meselech, 10, and Bazuno (sp?), 4, who are the sweetest children you have ever seen. The highlight of my night was when I asked Meselech to go through a book we got Kendal to learn Amharic. We pronounce things so different here than there so I was interested in seeing how she pronounced words in the book. She went through their whole alphabet, which is extremely difficult, and through the whole entire book with us. She got to the last page and the last phrase was, "ewedeshalo" which means, "I love you" in amharic. She started singing a song about it. Ahh, so beautiful. I almost cried. She asked if she could teach us a game before we left. It was just using rocks. You throw them upand catch them and do all sorts of very quick things with them. She was REALLY good at it. Kreg was amused at me trying to attempt the same motions. It made me think about what they have (or don't have) in Ethiopia - rocks. That's about it. I could tell she was so excited to show us though. I can't wait to go get our little one (s). God definitely has a plan for us and it is great. I pray that we get a call that surprises us a lot sooner than we expect. I also think that our child (ren) are alive right now and hope that they are being taken care of and loved. They are at least thousands and thousands of miles away whether they know it or not.

Gojos Ethiopian Restaurant

2010-03-01T07:46:00.001-05:00

We went out to eat with Tim and Sarah who are adopting from Ethiopia as well. Our dossier's went to Ethiopia on the SAME day believe it or not and we didn't even know that. The food was actually awesome and I would go back in a heartbeat. The "injera" which is what makes up most of the Ethiopian diet was so good. It makes me happy that I can eat the food there! The food overall was spicy and flavorful. So good. The owner and his daughter of Gojos took our order, made the food and served us as well. Such a cool place. Oh, by the way, you don't use utensils! You take the injera and scoop up the food instead of using a fork. I asked for a fork for my salad and got "booed." I definitely recommend this restaurant if you're looking for something different. Kid friendly too.

Go Ethiopia!

2010-02-13T13:47:00.000-05:00

Good luck to Ethiopia's Robel Teklemariam, the one and only Ethiopian in the Vancouver Winter Olympics. He is competing as a cross-country skier - yep, no snow in Ethiopia but he practices just outside the capital on roller skis.

Our Dossier was Sent to Ethiopia!

2010-02-09T12:29:00.004-05:00

We just found out today that our dossier (all our paperwork) was sent to Ethiopia on Friday! I was off on my timeline but I'm so glad I was wrong (for once). Our "wait time" now starts............they estimate about 12-15 months for a referral and then 2-4 months before traveling to Ethiopia. Everyone seems to think it will be a shorter time than that so we're praying that you're right! We are so excited.

Thank the Lord!

2010-02-07T15:15:00.001-05:00

Okay, for some reason our template got erased but now we're back in business. This just made my day. I thought I was going to have to start over! We just met another couple last night who are adopting from Ethiopia, talked to a girl whose sister works there and know someone who is there right now! The world is getting smaller and smaller. Our friend, Jill, who is there right now, may possibly meet our child (ren). They go to our church and her daughter is in Kendal's preschool class. I know the Lord is watching over her while she's there to educate and be with the orphans in Ethiopia. We will be there soon!

Does anyone know how to fix our blog??

2010-02-02T14:29:00.003-05:00

I'm not sure what is going on with our blog. It was working perfectly then all of a sudden the background is gone and the links and posts don't work. Does anyone know why?? Help please! :)

Dossier is IN!

2010-01-16T09:40:00.004-05:00

Kreg and I got our fingerprints in the mail on Wednesday (early!!) so Friday I got them notarized, went to the Secretary of State and got 28 state seals put on our paperwork, went to kinkos to make four copies of our whole dossier and then over to corporate office to hand deliver everything. Our dossier is DONE!! This will be sent to the Ethiopian embassy then back to corporate and then to ETHIOPIA! It will take a few months but it's so relieving to have this paperwork done. Ahhh......

Great News!

2010-01-06T10:45:00.000-05:00

I copy and pasted this memo from Bethany Christian Services about another adoption agency becoming available in Ethiopia. This will hopefully make our "wait time" shorter! How awesome is this!?!?

As we start the New Year, the Ethiopia team would like to acknowledge the Lord’s blessing during the past year. We would like to let you know that the Ethiopia program has expanded through our partnership with local agencies in Ethiopia.

The Ethiopia Country Director, Ato Mekonnen, signed an agreement with a reputable orphanage in November 2009. The orphanage is called Help for the Needy. Help for the Needy Development Association has branch offices throughout Ethiopia.

Fingerprint Appt Tomorrow!

2009-12-17T08:53:00.003-05:00

Well, the Department of Homeland Security is our new best friend. They rescheduled our fingerprint appointment just one week from the last one we had to reschedule. It's tomorrow! I met with Belinda at Bethany yesterday and went over our dossier. Just two very minor adjustments and it is good to go! Here is the next few steps of our process:
Fingerprint appointment: tomorrow - takes about 1 to 2 months to get back results
Once we get the results we take our dossier (with this paper in it) to the Secretary of State's office in GR to get state sealed.
We then make four copies of this whole packet.
We take these copies to the Bethany corporate office in GR as well (these three steps can be done in same day).
They look over our papers (takes about two weeks) and send them to the Ethiopian Embassy in Washington D.C. (takes about 2 months).
The Ethiopian Embassy then sends them back to the Bethany corporate office in GR.
They then send everything to ETHIOPIA!! This then starts our wait time (which takes about 12-15 months for a referral).
We're getting closer even though it seems so far away. It is well worth the wait.

Dossier Done!

2009-11-26T09:30:00.003-05:00

Happy Thanksgiving. We are so thankful that our dossier is pretty much done. Just a few minor details that won't take long at all. We had a minor set back when we got our fingerprint appointments on Friday and they were Dec 10th at 1:00 p.m. Kreg is in Las Vegas for his job so that is definitely not going to work. We're hoping and praying that they can reschedule sometime VERY soon so that we can keep the process moving. Have a great day everyone and remember all of the things, even so small to be thankful for!

November is Adoption Awareness Month

2009-11-04T14:09:00.002-05:00

We are in the middle of getting our dossier for Ethiopia completed. It is actually coming along quite well now. We have 30 items we need to put in this packet. We are trying to teach Kendal a new word each week that is in Amharic (Ethiopian language). I think it's more for us too! Our word last week was, "woosha" which means dog. Amharic is a very difficult language. It doesn't match up to our alphabet and it's difficult to pronounce. It will be fun learning this new language and culture though. We should hopefully hear back from immigration soon about our fingerprint date and then get our other paperwork back to send across the world! :)

Taste of Africa

2009-10-11T14:54:00.002-04:00

We went to the "Taste of Africa" last night in Grand Rapids. It was so much fun. We really enjoyed the food, the music, but most of all, the people. Everyone was so warm and kind. We went with some friends and they seemed to enjoy themselves as well. You should have seen Kendal dance to all of the upbeat African music - so cute. Kreg works with a woman from Kenya who was there and was filling us in on the food and anything we asked her about Africa.

Also, our home study is finally completed. We will pick that up this week and send that and some other paper work to immigration. They will go through this and assign us a day to get fingerprinted. This process should take about 4 months.

Tax Credit

2009-09-28T15:22:00.002-04:00

Please, please, please pray that the state and federal adoption tax credits go through. The current one expires in 2010.

Last Home Visit

2009-09-18T22:14:00.002-04:00

Kreg and I had our last home visit, in our home this time, last week. It went really well and she got to meet Kendal and Remington. Now, we are just waiting for the paperwork to be done. Kreg and I have some online training to finish up as well. When we get the home study in our hands, we can send it to immigration. The process of immigration sending our paperwork back to us takes four months! Can you believe it? In the meantime, Kreg and I have a TON of paperwork to get ready for our "dossier" to send to Ethiopia along with our immigration papers. It will probably take us that long anyways. :) We are so excited to keep this process moving. I saw a little boy and girl at Meijer with their adopted family yesterday it just warmed my heart. The little girl actually waved at me and smiled. I've been thinking about them a lot and I can't wait to have our own wonderful, loving, beautiful children soon.

2nd Home Visit

2009-08-21T19:57:00.002-04:00

Today we met with Belinda, our social worker again for our second home visit. We went over our Dossier, which is our formal application to Ethiopia. Wow, is it long! We have so many things to fill out and most everything needs a notary. It's a long process but Belinda says she will help us along the way. We also gave her personal information about ourselves today as well. We found out there is an Ethiopian coffee being sold here called, Kaffa Bunna. We are going to go try it at DeBoer Bakery tomorrow (one of the few places selling it). 100% of the proceeds of this coffee goes towards one of the three orphanages in Addis Ababa (which could be the one we go through). It supports mothers, children and staff at this orphanage. You can also buy it online at www.blueniletraders.org. We'll let you know how it tastes. Coffee is said to have originated in Ethiopia!

Home Visit Went Well

2009-08-12T14:34:00.002-04:00

We met with our social worker for the first time yesterday. She is amazing and very supportive. The process so far has been very pleasurable and exciting. She prepared us for what is to come in the next two years. The time frame is just incredible as to how long it takes to do everything especially since we are doing international adoption. Some of the information we received yesterday helps us to understand why it takes so long. So many fees that are unimaginable but very worth it. We have a lot of "work" to do including 8 hours of online training and classes and reading as well. It will definitely prepare us (hopefully) for what is to come. Please pray for us as we try to understand and process all of the new forms we need to fill out and that the process goes smoothly. So far, so good! Our next home visit is Friday, the 21st.

First Home Visit

2009-08-02T22:15:00.003-04:00

We just found out that we have been assigned a social worker and our first home visit, which is actually not in our home, is next Tuesday the 11th. We will have two more in the office and then she will actually come to our house and even interview with Kendal. This process, if all runs smoothly, should take a little bit longer than a month (we hope).

Formal Application was Approved

2009-07-28T16:07:00.001-04:00

We just found out today that our formal application has been approved. Our social worker will contact us in the next couple of days to start the home study. How awesome!

Kendal's Response

2009-07-27T16:56:00.002-04:00

I was talking to Kendal this afternoon about adoption (as much as you can with an almost 4 year old). I asked her if she would like a brother or sister in our family. She said, "Is a brother a boy?" I said that a brother is a boy. She said, "No, I want a sister." Then I asked her why she would want a sister and she said, "No, I want both" with an excited smile on her face. So, I guess we're safe with Kendal with whatever gender (s) comes our way. :)

Thank You

2009-07-25T21:57:00.002-04:00

Kreg and I just want to say, "thank you" to everyone. We have so many people in our lives that are so supportive and we absolutely know without a doubt that this child (children) will be loved no doubt by us, but by all of you as well. I think my favorite comment has been by my grandma who most sincerely said, "Stacey, I am so proud of you for adopting." It makes us feel so good to hear all of your heartfelt comments and we just wanted to say that we love all of you and thank you for being a part of our life and this wonderful journey.

The Beginning

2009-07-01T23:19:00.005-04:00

7/2009 - Kreg and I have decided to take another step in building our family. We have decided to adopt. We have, as many of you know, had trouble with conceiving any more children. The best way to describe the past 2 1/2 years is what happens in the grieving process: denial, anger, bargaining, depression and acceptance. Well, we are in the acceptance stage and have decided to move on a different path. We have researched domestic, foster, and international adoptions for the past couple of months. We've also researched different organizations to go through with adoption. We've read books and talked to people who have adopted. We've been waiting for a "sign" and we have decided on adopting from Ethiopia. One comment from a staff member at Bethany Christian Services was this, "Children in Ethiopia are waiting for a family compared to a family waiting for a child." We would like a baby under 2 years of age. We do not have a gender preference. You don't get to choose when you're pregnant so we didn't want to choose here either. We are also open to a sibling group. We just finished our paperwork last week and are now waiting for our home visits with a social worker. This will be a very long process but we are definitely ready for this next step in our lives. Please pray for us while we take on this journey. We'd like for you to take this journey with us by visiting our blog and keeping up-to-date on our progress.