8 More Days Until Court --

It is hard to believe we will know in one more week if M. is ours. We are trying to stay busy so the days do not tick on by. We did find out that we will all be traveling to Ethiopia. My mom included! This is going to be one exciting journey. Now I just need help with packing. That will be over 14 suitcases, not counting carry-0ns. We are planning to fill many of the suitcases with donations and my mother in-law has requested that we bring books in English for the students to read at her school. I will be paying Powell's a visit soon.
Last Thursday we had the biggest blessing at our baby shower. We were overwhelmed by the kindness and love of so many people. M. is going to be well-set for his life in Oregon. I hope that he does not mind changing clothes as we received so many cute things I will be wanting to change him all of the time. Three moms at the school where our kids attend put this together and invited the school. It is amazing how many people have wanted to help this precious boy.
I have started making doctor appointments and trying to figure out the shots we will need.

This is so exciting that we are actually at count down.

HOPEFULLY FEBRUARY EIGHT WILL BE GREAT

Today we heard that Malachi's court date will be on 2/8 if all goes well. Many of the court dates now are postponed or have to meet again to have more paperwork. Ethiopia is becoming more strict so we are really praying for a positive decision that he is legally ours on the 8th. Then we will be traveling to pick him up two to three weeks later. We will leave just after Nehemiah turns 12 and try to be home before Rebekah turns 7. We will miss my mom's birthday which makes me sad, but she understands. Then on the 20th we will celebrate Malachi as he turns one ( 3/20) .

I had a friend remind me today that I need to rely on God's calendar and not mine. There are five families that go to court on the same day as we do from our agency. So we will probably have others going to the orphanage when we will be going.

THANK YOU FOR PRAYING WITH US--

Still no court date

We had held our breath until today believing we would know when we would be able to meet our little Malachi. Today came and passed and now we were are being told we will know by the end of this week. The waiting has been hard and is getting harder as we know we are missing so much of his precious life.

Also, we had to remove pictures of him as some families are having trouble with the courts in Ethiopia since the children are not theirs legally yet. They are getting strict about posting pictures of children who have been referred. We decided to be on the safe side. It will not be long and we will be able to share his little face again.

Also, today three of my dear friends sent out flyers to the whole school where my children go for a baby shower. It will be next Thursday and will be for families in an open house format. We feel so blessed and overwhelmed by this kindness. How fun!

Anna

Here is Anna! She is 8 years old and brings us lots of laughs. She is so loving to her brother and sisters. Each morning when she wakes up she gently carries Rebekah to her bed and makes her sister's bed for her. She was never asked to do this, but does it because she loves her sister and wants to make life easy for her. She has a deep love for God and we are always learning from her.

Friday Happenings

Today we had the wonderful opportunity to wish our friends off to Ethiopia to pick up their two children. What a special time to see them so excited and full of wonderment about their new children. I so appreciate the way this couple respects their new children already. They were talking about what it will be like for their four year old son as he is taken away from everything he knows. It is huge for him and they want to be so careful to enter his world in his time. It was very emotional thinking about the changes ahead, even though it is exciting it is very sad when you think about the emotions the kids may be having. They are going to see if they can take pictures of our son when they are at the orphanage. It will be so special even if they get to just see him. Just to be able to talk to someone who has seen him would be amazing. They will get to meet Aser's mom on Monday morning. How cool is that!?

Today a friend gave me a car seat for Malachi and a huge bag of clothes too. This friend has already given us so much and she has made all of this so special. She had scrubbed and sanitized the whole seat for him. What a loving thing to do! I am still so overwhelmed by her caring for us in this special way. Her mom has helped make it possible to get Malachi a new crib. It will be fun to go shopping this weekend and get it all set-up.

I have been amazed how many people have wanted to help us get ready to bring him home. There have been so many people who have offered things for Malachi. THANK YOU!

My pictures would not work to download a picture of Anna so I will work on that for tomorrow. Here is Rebekah in the snow and she is in the 1st grade and loving life. Her laugh and joy are contagious.

IT IS FRIDAY AND SLEEP HERE I COME--YEAH!!!

Some News To Get Excited About

It is so much fun to get new news! Today our director called to say that the lawyers were turning in the paperwork to the courts so we should have a court date by next Tuesday or Wednesday. WOW! This is starting to seem a bit more real again. He said we should plan to be in Ethiopia in about 4 weeks. That is only 30 more nights of sleep:) Just about 20 minutes before he called I had received an email from a travel agency about a special from Portland to Addis that is running through March.

Now I will have to get in for my shots. UGH! Anna would love to go in my place. She is very taken by shots and anything that makes others feel faint just energizes her. We wonder what career she will be in when she grows up. Aser has had his shots as he was in Ethiopia about nine months ago. Lucky Guy!

We have been so blessed by many different people in our lives. I hope each family and person is blessed with the gifts and help they have given us to make this happen. It has been touching to see how much people care. It is a bit overwhelming when I think about each person and detail.

These are some pictures of when we went to play in the snow. Here are pictures of our two oldest children. Nehemiah is 11 and Lydia is 10. They bring such joy to our family. I will post our younger two tomorrow night. We had such a fun time!

Selah--Rest at Last

We are finally beginning our own way to document this wonderful journey to our Malachi. This has been long in coming and we will post details in the following days. Thank you for your love and support during this time. God is good!