The Crispin Crew

We Passed!

2012-01-25T23:06:00.000-06:00

We passed court on December 27th (on our court day). I should have posted this a few weeks ago, but life has been nuts. I will post again soon with more details from our trip. In the meantime, here are some pictures. The next step is US Embassy. Hopefully we will hear something in the next couple of weeks.

T-Shirt Fundraiser & We Got a Court Date!!!!!

2011-11-23T22:00:00.000-06:00

I got a very exciting call this morning from our caseworker...we have a court date!!!! December 27th...which means we will arrive in Ethiopia on Christmas Day! We will meet our precious one on the 26th and appear in court on the 27th! We are ecstatic!

Things have moved so fast, and we still have some funds to raise. (A little more than we thought...if you thought flying to Africa was expensive, try flying to Africa at Christmas.)

We have teamed up with Adoption Bug and Show Hope for our latest fundraiser. We are selling several different super cute designs to help raise some of the remaining funds. Just go to our family's page at adoptionbug.com/TheCrispins, and order a shirt. We decided to include several Show Hope shirts in our fundraiser because they have become an important part of our adoption journey through a very generous grant.

Here are just some of the T-shirt designs. Please click on over to our site at Adoption Bug, place an order, and help us bring get to Ethiopia this Christmas!

Click here to see the rest of the designs!

Just Love Coffee!

2011-09-07T23:22:00.001-05:00

I know I have some friends out there that are coffee connoisseurs. Now you can purchase some yummy coffee AND support our adoption at the same time! Just click the link below and you will be taken to our Just Love Coffee store. A portion of each sale benefits our adoption fund!

www.justlovecoffee.com/TheCrispins

Referral!!!

2011-09-07T20:05:00.000-05:00

Well, it actually came a couple of weeks ago, but we were waiting to post because some family members were on vacation and we had to share with them first.

I know what you are thinking though...”I thought you still had like another year or more on the wait list?!” I know...so did we. We got our referral on August 17th. Exactly one year since we started the process. We had been on the wait list for a little over 3 months, and the current average was over 15 months. To say that we were surprised is the understatement of the century. Because we were open to medical needs, we knew it was a possible to get a faster referral. We just weren’t expecting it because everything else about this process has been so much slower than all of the estimates.

We accepted the referral of a precious 14 month old, and because of the nature of the medical need, we really can’t share any more information at this time. I wish we could post a picture, but we can’t do that either until the adoption is finalized. I will just say....Oh.my.goodness! I cannot wait to have this precious one in my arms.

As if we didn’t know already...God has shown that He is still ever in control of this process. The referral a year ahead of schedule had us a little panicked because we thought we had another year or more to save up for the remainder of the cost. We had applied back in April for a Show Hope grant and for whatever reason had still not heard back. We got the letter in the mail yesterday...we got the grant! I am continually amazed by what He has shown us throughout this process. I can’t wait to see what else He has in store for our family!

2 Months Down, ?? to Go

2011-07-13T15:30:00.000-05:00

Last week we passed the two month mark on the wait list. Keeping track of the months has become somewhat futile though because the timeline is now so unpredictable. For now though, we just wait and pray.

I know I have not been posting much. It has been a rough several months for us, and I don't want to have a depressing blog. My grandma passed away yesterday. That's 3 parents/grandparents for us in 4 months. I just feel kind of numb right now. I just can't believe I won't be going to visit her again, and that I can't pick up the phone and hear the excitement in her voice when she realizes it's me on other end. I won't hear my grandpa's stories anymore, or hear him volunteering my grandma to go pick up ice cream. :) My kids won't get to know their grandpa either. The oldest two will just have a few memories from the months he was sick. I am just ready for this season to be over. It has been too much at once.

On a brighter note...yesterday was our anniversary. We have been married 8 years! We managed to get out for a date night thanks to some sweet friends that kept our kiddos for a few hours.

1 Month Down and Some Thoughts on the Wait

2011-06-11T21:02:00.000-05:00

Earlier this week marked one month officially on the wait list for our adoption. As things now seem even more uncertain in the process, I don’t necessarily know if that means we are one month closer, but the month did seem to go by pretty quickly. (By the way, the pic below is 3 years old, but I couldn't resist posting Ethan's "thumbs up" as our number one. Was he ever really that little?!?)

I have heard a lot of people talk (and read a lot of blogs) on the subject of waiting when it comes to adoption. The general consensus seems to be that the entire process will go according to God’s timing and His plan, therefore I should not be praying that the process goes quickly.

I think I am gonna have to disagree on that one.

While I 100% believe that God is sovereign and can make this adoption happen at any moment, I do not believe that it is His will that orphans remain without families while there are holdups in the process for whatever reason. When adoptions slow down in any country, fewer children are united with loving families. They remain in institutions or without a home altogether. They may not get the food or medical care they need, and ultimately some of these kids will not survive.

I was talking to a friend last weekend who runs an orphanage in Africa. Her orphanage is probably one of the best there is, but as she herself put it, no matter how good of a job they do, “it is still an institution. It is not a family.”

I believe that the delays are evidence of the fallen world that we live in. In a perfect world, children would not have to wait on paperwork to be completed before they can be held by their mother. (Of course, in a perfect world, there wouldn’t be a need for adoption either as there would be no death, disease, poverty, or any other situation that would lead to a child being without a family.) The fact is, our world is not as it should be...as it was created to be. The consequences of sin are evident all around, and this process is no exception. (By the way, I am in no way blaming any one earthly organization for the delays. The very reason that added scrutiny is needed is because we live in a world where not everyone is looking out for the best interests of children. Those involved are trying to determine a way to make sure these kids are kept safe. Our battle is not against flesh and blood.)

God tells us in his Word that “all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.” (Romans 8:28) This does not mean that everything that happens will be good, but it does mean that He can bring about good from really crumby situations. He will use the holdups to bring the specific child He has planned to be in our family. He will also use those delays to teach us and grow us in ways that we never would have imagined. He will use the delays to show us more about who He is, but I do not believe that He is the creator of the delays. After all, “God sets the lonely in families.” (Psalm 68:6)

I also do know that at many points in this process, God will steer the decisions of everyone involved, and He can intervene and bring our child home tomorrow. He sees this entire process from beginning to end, and is watching out for our kids wherever they are...because they are His kids. He loves them more that we ever will. My God is sovereign, powerful, and He loves us. He wants kids to have families. He wants us to grow in Him. And he wants to bless us...and I can’t think of a better blessing that the precious kiddos He will put in our lives through this process.

So, I will be praying that this process moves quickly...for us, for the other families that are waiting on their kids, and especially for the sweet children that wait in orphanages around the world for their mommies and daddies to come and get them. I will be praying that the hindrances to children being placed in loving families are removed. I will be praying for wisdom and guidance for those who make decisions in all stages of the process. The lives of children hang in the balance.

Longest Pregnancy Ever!

2011-05-17T09:36:00.003-05:00

I just realized that we have officially been in this adoption process for 9 months...meaning if I was pregnant, I would be having a baby right about now. This may be the longest pregnancy ever. The thought is making my back ache...and I may need a foot rub.

WAIT LIST!!!

2011-05-13T13:57:00.000-05:00

As of this week, we are officially on the wait list!!!!

I spent the earlier part of this week in Southern California for my grandfather's funeral. We have had a rough couple of months between the passing of Jonathan's dad and my grandpa so close together, but God has given us little reminders of His goodness on the hardest days. You may remember that our home study was finalized and we got our Gladney approval on the day Jonathan's dad passed away. On Tuesday, I left my phone in the car during my grandpa's service. It was a wonderful service with full military honors in recognition of his combined 41 years in the United States Air Force and California Air National Guard, but it was very hard to get through. When I got back in the rental car to make the drive from Riverside National Cemetery back to my grandparents' house in Los Angeles, I saw the email from our caseworker letting us know that we were officially on the wait list. The timing couldn't have been better.

So, everyone keeps asking us the same questions...how much longer does this take? When will you have your child home? The best answer I can give you is...I have no idea!! A few months ago, the average wait time for a referral of a healthy infant was 8 or 9 months. Our agency then had a 3 month hold on referrals, pushing the current wait time to about a year. Now that they have begun issuing referrals again, the are estimating that the wait time will drop back down to what it was in a few months. There is however a bit of restructuring going on within the Ethiopia government regarding how they process adoption cases. Depending on how that plays out, there is the potential for more delays. The other factor that comes into play is that we are open to some special needs, which could shorten our wait depending on what the needs are of the children that come into Gladney's care and what the families ahead of us on the list are open to. In other words, next month a child may come along that has a need that no one else ahead of us is open to, or Gladney could go 6 months or more without any special needs children coming into their care. So, our guess is as good as yours when it comes to when we will get our referral. Please pray for patience and sanity for me. :) Regardless of how long this takes though...we are one step closer!!!

Doubly Awesome Day!

2011-05-05T14:00:00.000-05:00

Today marks 5 years since I became a mommy...which means IT'S ETHAN'S BIRTHDAY!!!! I will have to post pictures of the occasion tomorrow since it is to early in the day. (I still have presents to wrap and a cake to frost.)

Happy Birthday Ethan!!!!

In other incredibly exciting news...WE GOT OUR CIS APPROVAL TODAY!!!!!! I have been eagerly checking the mail for the past five weeks waiting for it and wondering if it would even come. The machine that took my fingerprints didn't like them, so I wasn't sure if I would have to go back to get re-fingerprinted, but apparently I don't have reject fingers!

So, we have to go get the cover-page for the CIS approval notarized and tomorrow Jonathan is going to take it downtown himself to get it authenticated. This will complete our dossier, and barring any unforeseen catastrophe, we should be on the waitlist by next week!!!!

Easter 2011

2011-04-25T15:55:00.000-05:00

We had a great Easter yesterday. Ethan came to "big church" with us and did really well. We then went home where their Easter baskets awaited. (We decided to wait until after church to do the bunny stuff.) Then, after nap time we colored eggs and watched some Veggie Tales DVDs that the bunny brought the kiddos. It was a great Easter because Ethan is starting to grasp what Easter is all about.

They sure were cute in all of their Easter outfits too. I am not looking forward to the day when the boys don't want to be dressed alike anymore.

A little sibling love. :)

Maybe by next year that Easter photo will be a little more crowded. :) We are still waiting (im)patiently on our immigration approval, and then we will officially be on the waitlist.

Adoption Fundraiser - Buy a Cross, Support our Adoption

2011-04-11T21:56:00.003-05:00

In case you are unaware, my mom is super talented when it comes to all things crafty. (Apparently not a single crafty gene was passed on to me.) My mom has recently taken up woodworking and is making some amazing stuff! She has decided to design something specifically to be a fundraiser for our adoption! (I think she is a little excited about getting another grandbaby.)

She is selling these crosses here on her Etsy site. They are $10 each, and 100% of the money from these crosses goes directly to our adoption fund!!! If you see something else you like, be sure to mention "Adoption" and 100% will still go to the adoption fund. There is some other cool stuff on her site, including the tree she made me for my birthday.

Also, if you live near either my mom or me, you can buy a cross directly from either of us. She gave me a stash of them to have on hand. :)

Reject

2011-03-31T14:40:00.000-05:00

At least that is what the fingerprint machine kept saying to the lady trying to take my fingerprints today for our USCIS approval. :(

3 of my 10 fingers are apparently too smooth. I blame it on the endless diaper changes which result in endless hand-washing. She kept trying to get a "passing" fingerprint on those fingers but couldn't, so now they send them to the FBI anyway and see if they are good enough to clear. If not, they will send me a new appointment, and I will have to go back and try again.

Birthdays!

2011-03-29T10:44:00.000-05:00

Last week was birthday week in the Crispin house. Caden's and my birthdays are 2 days apart, so we get a few days straight of celebrating. :)
Caden turned 3, which has got to be the most fun birthday with kids because it is really the first year that they really get that it is their birthday! Caden was hilarious all day long (as usual!)

Can you tell the kid loves Buzz Lightyear? He got to pick out the birthday decor.

Ethan is always excited for birthdays too, regardless of whose it is, because it means he gets cake.

And would someone please tell me how it is that my one year old already knows how to do a cheesy fake smile?

This boy really only wanted the icing.

Everyone wanted in on unwrapping the presents.

All in all a good birthday for Caden.

Caden's birthday was on Thursday. On Friday, we headed up to my mom's to drop off the kids so we could have a night out for my birthday. We stayed in a hotel and actually got to sleep in (for the first time in almost 5 years!) We also ordered room service for breakfast. I have decided that breakfast in bed in a hotel is the way to go. That way someone else gets to clean the crumbs out of the sheets. :) We then headed back to my mom's where the boys and Grandma had made me this:

Can you tell who colored which letters?

My mom also made me this for my birthday:

It is an African tree made out of African mahogany. My mom is getting really good at woodworking. She just got her second saw and has been making all sorts of cool stuff. She made Caden three animal puzzles for his birthday. You should check out her Etsy site here: http://www.etsy.com/shop/glrivera2004?ref=pr_shop_more

We have our USCIS fingerprint appointments on Thursday! I can't wait. It is our last step before the waitlist! :)

Spring Family Fun...And we got our USCIS fingerprinting appointments!!!

2011-03-21T22:14:00.001-05:00

So, I figured it is about time for an update with some pictures. We are loving the warmer weather and the longer daylight. We went out for ice cream the other night, and the kids were so funny that I had to get a few pictures.

Caden wanted to push Abbie's stroller.

This is actually a more typical picture of them. It is hard to get a picture of Caden where he is not a blur.

Ethan made himself very comfortable while eating his ice cream cone.

We also made it out for a fun trip to the park earlier this week. I completely forgot that it was spring break for all of the big kids in town when I told the kiddos we would head to the park, so we went to a smaller playground next to a splash park (which was still closed) and we had had the place to ourselves!

The boys figuring out how to fly like Buzz Lightyear. :)

Couldn't get Ethan to look up for a picture for anything!

After taking this picture of Caden, I decided he was looking a little too much like a toddler version of a current preteen rockstar, so he got a haircut. He sure is cute though isn't he?

Abbie loves to swing.

Caden was not happy when it was time to go home.

And last but not least...look what came in the mail today!!!!

Our appointments are next Thursday!!!

Gladney Approved, One Step Closer??

2011-03-14T20:27:00.000-05:00

We received our Gladney approval on Friday, March 4.

I would have posted about this sooner, but it has been a crazy couple of weeks. When I received the email on my phone, we were sitting at the hospital bedside of my father-in-law, who would walk into the arms of Jesus a few hours later after a battle with cancer. I am pretty sure that at that point he could still hear what was going on in the room, so I am glad that we got the email when we did. He asked often how the process was going, so I am glad he got to hear that we were one step closer to bringing home another grandchild to add to his current dozen. :)

Aside from everything else that happened over the last week, our approval has not brought quite the excitement I was hoping for. We really don't know if we are any closer to bringing home our kiddo. With all the unknowns in Ethiopia right now, we just aren't sure what will happen. We are praying that whatever is going on is just a temporary staffing issue that somewhere along the way something was misconstrued to be more than it is. I don't know what the outcome will be, but I do know someone who does. We know that God has led us every step of the way in this process, and we know that he is not going to leave us now to figure out the rest on our own.

Now, we are basically just waiting on our USCIS (immigration) approval, then our dossier will be complete, and we will be on the waitlist. (We got a very official looking receipt from USCIS and they cashed our check, but we don't have our fingerprint appointments yet.)

The next few weeks should be super busy. We are going to have another two garage sales (one at our house and one at my mom's) at the beginning of April to add to our adoption fund. Next week we will also celebrate Caden's and my birthdays. That's right, they are 2 days apart. I brought him home on my birthday. :) Definitely the best birthday present I have ever gotten.

Please keep praying for us and all the other families that are in the process of adopting from Ethiopia. As stressful as this is for us, I cannot even imagine the emotions of the families that have already seen their child's face or should have been receiving referrals any day. Please pray that the government agencies in the Ethiopia that are meeting will come up with a system that is best for the orphans of Ethiopia and will give as many of them as possible a chance of growing up in a loving family.

6 Months Into the Process

2011-02-17T16:45:00.001-06:00

Today marks 6 months since we requested our info packet from Gladney and began the adoption process. Today is also the day we finally got our first draft of our home study back!!! Because of all the crazy weather, the Gladney offices have been closed on and off, so it took a little longer than usual. We also finally got BOTH certified copies of our birth certificates in the mail today! It is funny how we have just been waiting on paperwork to roll in for the last month with nothing happening and now we get 3 things in one day. Once our home study is finalized, it will be sent off for our immigration approval and we should be done (for a little while at least) with paperwork!

The estimated time on the wait list has increased too, so while I was hoping we would get our referral by Christmas, it really will probably be early next year. :( We also upped our age range to 0-18 months because of this. We originally could only request 0-12 months because of Abbie's age (our agency requires a one year age gap), but since the process is taking a little longer, Abbie may be a little older by the time we get our referral.

We are glad to have the first 6 months of this process behind us. It really has gone by pretty quickly, and we know that God has control of the entire timeline. He knows who is supposed to be in our family and when they will be ready and waiting for us, so every delay has a reason (although it is HARD to see that right now!)

FBI Clearances - Take 2!

2011-01-27T14:40:00.000-06:00

We got our FBI clearances back again today...complete with appropriate seals and signatures! Hooray! I was really surprised that they came back so quickly. It only took 9 days including sending them there and back. Now we are just waiting for our homestudy to be finalized so that we can send off for our CIS (immigration) approval. We are getting closer to the waitlist!!!

Two Steps Forward, One Step Back

2011-01-17T16:59:00.000-06:00

Apparently my excitement over our FBI clearances was premature. I have to send the forms back to get the raised seal stamped on them. :( Hopefully that won't take too long.

FBI Clearances!

2011-01-17T09:42:00.000-06:00

Our FBI Clearance arrived this morning! I really like seeing the FedEx truck lately. We sent off our fingerprint cards on November 23rd, so it took about 8 weeks to get them back. I was figuring they should come soon because the charge hit my bank account a month ago. One step closer!! We almost have everything ready for our dossier!

No Spam Filter can stop us!

2011-01-08T09:19:00.001-06:00

After our home study last week, I emailed the dossier assistant that our agency recommends. I figured I might not hear back from her right away because of New Year's and the long weekend and all, but by this Thursday I still hadn't heard from her. I called to make sure she had gotten my earlier email and she called back within minutes saying she had emailed me a packet of info last week! Apparently my spam filter on my email thinks that it is imperative that I know about 50+ singles in my area and cheap Canadian drugs, but something this important surely must be trash! Ugh! So, now she is added to my address book and I should now receive all of this important correspondence. We got our entire packet of info filled in and sent off the first FedEx pack to her the next morning. Progress! We are getting closer!

**Update: It is Monday morning, and I just got my tracking email from FedEx saying that my packet was delivered this morning! It wasn't supposed to get there until Wednesday afternoon. Hooray! This makes up a little bit for the info being lost in my spam folder for a week. :)

Abbie's First Birthday

2011-01-04T22:43:00.001-06:00

I can't believe my baby girl is already a year old!!! We love our Abbie Lynn!!!

I am thinking that she looks sooo much older all of a sudden. I was looking today at the boys' pictures from their first birthdays and they just looked younger still.

We had her party at home with just the 5 of us. It has been such a hectic month that it was nice to celebrate with just us.

Getting ready to eat some hot dogs. This is our birthday tradition because everybody likes hot dogs! This means we don't have to worry about anyone not eating and then not being able to have dessert. Who wants to miss out on cake?

Opening presents. I think it looks like she is shaking it to see what it is.

Smash Cake! She wasn't really sure what to do with it at first, but she figured it out.

Starting to dig in.

She really did like the cake. She may take after her mommy. ;-)

Right about here is where I was really hoping that it would wash off easily. :)

It really does not feel like a year has already gone by. It seems like she was just born a few weeks ago. Maybe it is just because is has been such a busy year. It does however make me feel like maybe this next year of waiting for our next kiddo to come home may not drag on forever.

Home Study!

2011-01-04T22:28:00.000-06:00

On Thursday after Christmas we had our home study! I really had myself completely overly worried about it. I had spent the previous weeks unpacking the last few boxes that were in the house since our move (I know I am super slow at unpacking!) We had Christmas on Saturday, left town that evening, and then came home on Tuesday afternoon to the mess that we left on Christmas! We stayed up until 1am cleaning and getting ready. Apparently there was no reason to do that because she really didn't care too much about the house itself. I was just really wanting to make sure that I had done everything I could do to get ready.
The caseworker came and spent almost 5 hours with us. She basically just asked us a lot of open ended questions about our lives, families, parenting style, what we like to do in our free time, etc. She also discussed some of the issues related to international adoption.
All 3 kids were there the whole time, and I was really hoping that they would play nicely and occupy themselves. Ha! I don't know why I thought that would happen. I had also hoped that she would be able to come during the afternoon so that the kids would be napping for most of it. Instead the appointment was at 9am. About an hour into the interview, Caden came into the living room with Legos sticking out of his ears. I am sure we looked like very attentive parents right about then. :-P I think she thought the kids were cute though and never thought that they were being obnoxious. I guess she is used to this. :)
Anyway, everything seemed to go really well, and she didn't seem to have any big concerns. It should take a few more weeks to get our finalized home study back. Then we just have to finish our dossier!

Christmas Morning

2011-01-04T22:15:00.000-06:00

I know I am a little late posting this, but the last week and a half has been super busy. Here are some pics from Christmas morning.

Ethan was super excited to go see what Santa left for him. He woke us up early.

Caden is not a morning person, and Santa's coming did not change that.

Abbie had no clue what was going on, but she is pretty much always happy.

Ethan got the Toy Story garbage truck he has been wanting. He loves everything Toy Story or Lightening McQueen related.

Abbie had fun opening presents, but she would not put her Monkey down the entire time. She would open a present and then return to playing with Monkey.

Caden got a guitar! This kid is our musician in making. Everything he picks up turns into a drum or a guitar. He basically has not put down his guitar since.

This pretty much sums up Caden's pose for the remainder of the day on Christmas.

Even once he was too tired to keep playing, he laid down with his guitar.

Now Faith...

2010-12-09T14:46:00.003-06:00

Every week in Ethan's Pre-K curriculum that we are doing at home this year he has a memory verse. He works pretty hard at them and has done really well. One of the first few verses was Hebrews 11:1:

"Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see."

Kind of a tough verse for a 4 year old, but he did pretty well memorizing that one. He still remembers it, but Caden is the one that has latched onto this verse for some reason. He only recites the first two words.

"Now faith."

Every morning when we go over Ethan's verse for the week, Caden runs up saying he knows his verse. He then tells me his verse.

"Now faith."

The same verse everyday for about 3 months now. He has also asked me what faith means. I have told him that faith means trusting God. Some of you might have a better operational definition of faith that can be understood by a two year old, but that is what I came up with on the spot, and he seems to get that.

I have thought that it was strange that he has hung onto this particular verse, and even just these two words for so long given how many other verses we have gone over. There have been much simpler verses that certainly seem easier for a small child to understand, but this is the one that he keeps spouting off.

"Now faith."

I don't think it is an accident though.

I think God has given me a constant reminder in the form of my sweet 2 year old chasing me around all day telling me he knows his verse. I need to be reminded that God has all of this under control. Even my son knows that we are supposed to be trusting God.

We know how clear God has been in leading us in the adoption process. He has given us so many confirmations along the way. Yet I am very quick to forget all of it and completely stress out about how we are going to get it all done. The paperwork is overwhelming. The financial side is scary. And when I have 3 kids under the age of 5 running through my house screaming and ripping the place apart I wonder if God picked the wrong mommy for this job.

I need to be reminded that I don't need to know all of the answers. I will never know all of the answers, but God does. I am not able to handle all of this on my own, but God certainly can. God can handle all of the details, big and small. My only job is to trust God. Have faith in Him and His ability to accomplish everything that He has planned. Now. I am thankful that God knows exactly what I need to hear, when I need to hear it, and how to make sure I hear it over and over and over again.

Making Progress

2010-12-05T23:10:00.000-06:00

We are making progress!!! We still have a lot of work to do, but the week of Thanksgiving we sent in ALL of our agency paperwork. We got an email last week saying they had received everything and requested our home study and that we should get a call from the social worker within 30 days to schedule the home study appointment. I figured it would probably be a couple of weeks before we heard from them and that the appointment wouldn't actually take place until January or February, but we got a phone call the very next morning!!! Our home study is scheduled for December 30!!!! I just didn't think they would fit us in so quickly with Christmas and New Year's and everything coming up. We are really excited to say the least.
We also sent off our fingerprints for our FBI clearances last week. We still have quite a bit of work to do on our dossier before we are completely done with paperwork, but it is definitely nice to make some major progress.
Here are some pics we took of the boys with the FedEx pack as we sent it off to our agency.

Ethan is super excited. Every time I mention to him that we are doing something that has something to do with the adoption, he asks if we are going to get the babies now. :) He thinks it is about time we go pick them up. And yes, that's right, he only says "babies." He even corrects me if I say baby and says "No Mommy, baby means there is only one. There is more than one." We will see if he is right. (One time he told me we were getting 10, because we needed 5 more boys and 5 more girls. I had to assure him that this time there would be no more than 2!) That kid cracks me up.

Caden is still not entirely certain why we are so excited about this envelope. We talk a lot about the baby, but he doesn't completely get it. I think he will catch on when we get our referral and have an actual face to go with all of this talk. He was happy to smile for a picture for mommy though. :)

I couldn't leave you without a picture of Abbie and her newest trick. She is not walking quite yet, but she is standing really well. Isn't she cute? I think so. :) I can't believe that she is already 11 months old! This is going by entirely too fast. She needs to slow down on all this growing up.

Paperwork, Paperwork, and More Paperwork

2010-10-19T16:12:00.000-05:00

I bet you can't guess what has been filling up my time lately....
Ok, so maybe you can. I am drowning under a mountain of paperwork. I am the type that really likes to check things off my to do list, but this to do list seems to go on forever. It also seems like every item I am waiting to check off is lacking one piece of information to prevent me finishing it...so nothing is getting checked off!!! I may loose my mind.
I emailed my sweet friend Jackie yesterday. She brought her baby boy home from Ethiopia earlier this year, so she has seen the light at the end of the tunnel. She made me feel much better. Thank you Jackie. :)
I also just finished typing up a letter that I will have to get notarized that says I make no money for staying at home with my kids. It makes me laugh that that needs to be notarized...by a notary whose commission doesn't expire until 2012. Just in case. In case of what I have no idea...but just in case. :-P

Our Big Announcement....

2010-09-27T16:48:00.000-05:00

I know what you are thinking, and the answer is no, I am not pregnant. :)

BUT....our family is growing.

We are thrilled beyond words to announce that we are adopting!

In approximately 18 months (give or take based on paperwork, government agencies, and everything in between) we will be bringing home a baby (or two) under a year from Ethiopia.

Did you know that there are approximately 147 million orphans in the world?
Did you know that every day 26,000 children die of starvation and preventable diseases?
Did you know that God calls us (all of us who call ourselves followers of Jesus) to take care of these kids?
That can take on different forms. Some may support orphan care ministries; some may take mission trips; some give through church and other missions organization, and some bring a few of these kids home to make them a part of their families. This is where we feel God's leading. We have enough room in our home and enough food on our table. We have enough love in our family. We love our kids more than anything on earth, and we cannot imagine one of them growing up without the love of a family. We cannot imagine not giving a child a family when it is in our ability to do so. We cannot provide a home for 147 million, but we can for some.

So that is what we are doing. We are about a month into the process. For those of you unfamiliar with international adoption, we will spend the next few months on paperwork, physicals, background checks, a home study, etc. to get our approval through our agency here in the US. During that time we will also begin preparing our dossier (a giant stack of papers that contains every bit of information anyone would ever want to know about us, notarized, and stamped by the US government) to send to Ethiopia. Once it gets to Ethiopia, it will be translated and we will be put on a waitlist. The current time on the waitlist is approximately 8 months. This could take longer or it could go faster. After that we will get our referral (get matched with our baby/babies). We will get pictures and all the available information on our kiddo. Once we accept our referral, we will be assigned a court date and will fly to Ethiopia for court. We will get to meet them during that trip, but we will not be able to bring them home yet. After we pass court, we will then come back home for 3-6 weeks while we wait for our US Embassy appointment. We will then fly back to Ethiopia to pick he/she/them up, go to our Embassy appt, and then bring them home!
I am trying not to think to much about having to leave them in Ethiopia after the first trip. That is going to be rough. I am also not trying to think too much about having to leave my other 3 here while we fly halfway around the world (although they will probably have so much fun with Grandma that they won't notice we're gone!)

I am trying to think of any other questions I may need to answer...
-We do have the opportunity to request a specific gender, but we are not going to. We figure that we don't get to choose when we get pregnant, so we won't choose this time.
-We have said that we will accept one baby or twins. Our agency does not place unrelated children, only siblings, and because of the ages of our kids, we can only request a child under 12 months, so siblings would then have to be twins.
-We have told both our families, and everyone is excited and supportive (a major blessing!)
-Our kids are super excited! Well, at least Ethan is. Caden and Abbie don't really know what is going on yet, but they will catch on. :) Ethan keeps asking me when we are going to get those babies. He does not understand why this is taking so long. Oh, and Ethan is convinced that there is more that one baby, so we will see if he is right. :)

So, that is our news. If you have any questions, please feel free to comment. :)

Poor neglected blog...

2010-09-27T15:58:00.000-05:00

Ok, I am quite aware that I am the world's lousiest blogger. But I am going to get better.

There is big news coming... I mean HUGE! (At least huge for us, you may not think it is all that big...we will see.)

I will be making updates more frequently for your reading enjoyment. For now, I will leave you with a few picture of my now gigantic children (in comparison to the pictures that are currently on this blog.)

(These pictures are from Abbie's Dedication.)

Abbie

Ethan and Caden (I know, not the best picture, but it is impossible to get both of them standing still at the same time!)

The whole family (plus my Dad) I don't have a single one of the 5 of us with everyone looking the same direction and no one in mid sneeze. This is the best you get.

Don't worry... I won't leave you up in the air for long with regards to what our news is. I will start working on the post. Check back soon!

Happy New Year!

2010-01-01T17:13:00.003-06:00

So, I was just looking over my blog and realized that I have had it for about a year now, and I have succeeded in making 10 posts. Hmmmm... maybe it has been a busy year. In 2009, Jonathan changed jobs, we moved to a new state (we never thought we would leave Texas), we spent most of the year patiently waiting on a baby girl (who will be here Monday if not sooner), along with a billion smaller changes that go along with all of the above. No wonder I have not sat at the computer and journaled my thoughts for all of you to read! I will definitely try to do better once Abbie comes so that you can watch her grow (along with the boys of course!) I just have a feeling that 2010 is not going to feel much calmer than 2009. Just in the first three weeks we are planning to have a baby and make a trip back to Texas to close on our house! Anyway, I will also try to sit down and really figure out this blogger site so I have an easier time posting pictures and don't dread trying to blog as much. :-P So, to all 2 of you (I am guessing) that will read this, HAPPY NEW YEAR!

It's a...........

2009-09-03T17:33:00.002-05:00

GIRL!!!!

We had our sono today and were able to finally find out what we are having! We had a sono at 18 weeks, and the sono lady would not give us an answer. (I thought it looked like a girl, but I didn't know why she didn't think it was obvious, so I wasn't sure.) After waiting an additional four weeks for the next appointment, it looked like we may not get an answer today either! The baby was basically sitting on her foot with her leg tucked up under her so we could not see what we needed to. She stayed that way until the very end of the sonogram. The sono tech said from what she could make out, it could go either way, but that I would probably get another sono at 36 weeks. I was about to go nuts when I thought I would have to wait another 14 weeks! By that point I will probably only be a week or two away from having the baby, and just might as well let it wait and be a surprise! Anyway, thankfully our compliant (hopefully) child moved her foot just in time for us to get a look at the necessary parts and determine that she is in fact a baby girl. Now I guess it is time to start buying little pink bows. :-)

Long Awaited Update

2009-05-31T16:20:00.006-05:00

So....it has been a crazy couple of months around here, and apparently my blog has been severely neglected. Sometime when I am less exhausted and have more time I will post some pictures of the last two months. Some highlights since my last post that should have been posts with pictures would include my birthday, Ethan's birthday including his joint party with Bo at the bounce house place, Ethan's last day at Sonshine, and Jonathan's birthday. As you can see, I have failed to blog on a lot of major events. :-P
Here is what has been up with us though: In case you haven't heard, in two weeks we are moving to Baton Rouge. This is pretty major for us since we have both lived in North Texas since preschool. Jonathan got a pretty big promotion, so this is big excitement for him. He will be the branch manager for the location down there. He has already been commuting for a few weeks and is really enjoying the job. Please pray that our house here sells quickly though. I really don't want to deal with double house payments for very long.
Also, we have baby #3 on the way! My due date is January 5, which means we will probably have a baby by Christmas. (Both the boys were 2 weeks early.) I am almost 9 weeks right now, which means I am dead tired all the time. I am going to need some supernatural energy to get this house packed for this move. And in case you are trying to do the math, we should find out in late August whether it is a boy or girl. I am good either way. As much as I would obviously love a girl after two boys, I love having boys and honestly don't know what I would do with a girl! Sometime when I am less exhausted and have more time, I will post the sono pics. Right now the baby looks like a gummy bear, so there really isn't a whole lot to see, but I get another sonogram at my 12 week checkup, something new since my last pregnancy. Apparently it is yet another test to make sure all is well in my tummy, and we all know I won't turn down a chance to peak at the baby!
Anyway, I will leave you to digest all the information. I will try to get some pics up soon, but I offer no promises before the move. :)

Happy Birthday Cade-na!

2009-03-25T14:32:00.011-05:00

I can't believe my baby is 1! Caden's birthday was yesterday, and we had a great day. While Ethan was at school, Caden and I went to the park and fed the ducks, just the two of us. I don't think he has ever gotten one on one park time with mommy. We then had hot dogs for dinner, and I made cupcakes! (Which was actually a first for me.) They were pretty good. Caden certainly enjoyed them.

At the Park

2009-02-25T16:02:00.004-06:00

We went to the park on Friday, and I got some cute pictures of the boys playing. (I know, I am not a great photographer, so it is a good thing the boys are just so adorable!) Caden is just getting big enough to start crawling around on the playground. He thought it was great!

One of my Favorite Pictures

2009-02-18T17:08:00.003-06:00

Ok, I know this is an old picture, but I did not have a blog back in October. This is the boys in their Halloween costumes. Ethan was Buzz Lightyear, and Caden was a sock monkey. This pic is the wallpaper on my computer, and I decided it just had to be somewhere on my blog. :-)

Mom... Where are my Lightening McQueen Socks???

2009-02-18T16:16:00.009-06:00

I have learned a valuable lesson recently. If you are going to buy a two year old Lightening McQueen socks, buy more than one pair. Yesterday Ethan wanted his socks (as he does every day) and I said they were in the dryer, but I didn't have time to look for them right then. He proceeded to look for them himself. He started out just leaning into the dryer, and he moved farther and farther in until he just climbed in altogether. And yes, that is Lightening McQueen on his shirt as well, and apparently Pooh was part of the sock search party. ;)

***Disclaimer: After taking the pictures, we did discuss the importance of not climbing in the dryer, especially while it is running. :-)

Starting to figure out this whole blog thing...

2009-02-12T23:21:00.002-06:00

So, I guess I am starting to figure out this whole blog thing. I figured out how to add friends' blogs and follow them. I am kind of shocked at just how many people have blogs! Anyway, I will try to add a blog with some pictures soon... I am too tired to try to tackle that now. :-)

Crazy Week

2009-01-29T11:13:00.003-06:00

As you may know, Jonathan's job situation has been kind of crazy for a little while. He has had the same job for 6 years, but over the last year or so, he has had some problems with his boss and him not communicating on the same wavelength. Lately we have been feeling a bit of unrest, like God was letting us know a change was coming. Last Wednesday afternoon, Jonathan was let go from his job. When he called me, I said "Cool!" (apparently not the response he was expecting) He planned to enjoy Thursday and Friday at home with the boys and start making phone calls Monday morning, however word seems to get around fast in that industry, and by Thursday morning he had received three calls for interviews. He got one offer on Thursday, and another on Friday morning which he took, so he was only jobless for about 40 hours. He officially started Monday, however he went ahead and visited some customers on Friday to let them know where he landed. The job is basically the same position, just for a different company. The pay is structured a little different which may be scary at first, but will be much better in the long run. The best part is, he only has to be in the office one morning a week! The rest of the time he works out of his truck and the house!!!! Also, his new boss said he wants working for him to be as hassle free as possible. Definitely a good thing given the past year. :-)
I have already enjoyed him being home more, although it is definitely an adjustment. I have to learn to just pretend he is not in the other room and get on with my day, or nothing may ever get done around here again! The week has definitely been interesting, and God is good. He takes care of us. He even had me prepared so that I could enjoy the job loss instead of freaking out (which would have been much more in character for me.)

Jumping on the Blog Bandwagon

2009-01-05T17:10:00.000-06:00

So, I am finally jumping on the blog bandwagon. I have been reading everyone else's blogs for a while and was starting to feel a little left out not having one of my own. Besides, it seemed like the "mommy" thing to do. The beginning of the new year also seemed like just the right time to start. I have never been one to make a bunch of resolutions, (it seems like it God was leading me to change something, I shouldn't wait until New Year's day to make the change) but I am not opposed to them either, nor am I opposed to just to trying new things in general. I also read on a friend who is heading out on the mission field's blog that she wanted her friends to start blogs so she can keep up with everyone when she leaves the county. So this is partly for you Cristi. :-) Anyway, don't expect posts every day. (I am not sure how some of you find the time for this.) And don't get your hopes up too much for big exciting posts on my blog. While I may find my day to day happenings amusing, I don't know that others will share my feelings. So... off to see if my boys are awake from their naps yet.