We're leaving on a jet plane!

The roller coaster continues! Around 11:30 yesterday morning, I received a call saying our court date is on, and we need to be in Ethiopia by Thursday! So, we rushed to get shots and prescriptions, last
minute items, took two trips to the orthodontist, saw our oldest on opening night of her musical, completed a midnight Walmart run, and we're now at the airport waiting to board our first flight! On no sleep and heightened emotions, I probably won't explain this very well, but... here goes! Review of adoption cases by Federal MOWCA is still under suspension. However, the courts are continuing to process cases who have approval letters.  Our court appointment is May 2nd.  Please pray for a smooth process! We will meet our son THIS WEEK! We don't know a whole lot about what happens next, but we do know that we will see him and go to court where his adoption will be legally finalized . Then, we wait. We will need a letter from MOWCA in order to get his visa and passport so he can come home. Due to the suspension, this will likely take longer than we thought. Please join us in praying that God would continue to amaze us by moving all these mountains! I'm not sure how much I'll be able to update in country, but we'll be home on May 5th, so. .  . Stay tuned!!!

In the meantime, be sure to preorder your shirt! (see previous post for photo and link!) My phone is not allowing me to copy and paste!!

Adoption fundraiser t-shirt presale!

Because we know God can move mountains to bring our boy home (Matthew 17:20), we're going to move forward with our t-shirt presale. These shirts are super soft, won't shrink, and will have a vintage look and feel*. All sizes $15. We will collect orders through Sunday, May 7th. If you're local, you can pay in person when you get your shirt. If you're out of town, we'll add a small amount for shipping, and you can pay by check or PayPal. You'll receive an invoice when shirts are printed. 

Order yours here: https://docs.google.com/…/1FAIpQLSc7Hdd8kqKPbpWTS…/viewform…
*JERZEES® - Dri-Power® Active 50/50 Cotton/Poly T-Shirt. 29M
Unisex T-Shirt - Black Heather

Roller coaster week

This has been a week full of highs and lows. Early in the week we learned that the delay in getting a court date was due to some missing paperwork. Our POA got the missing report and was given another date to report to the judge on April 26th. That meant we would get a travel date sometime next week. The very next day after that news, we got a call saying he was able to get into court early and we would need to be there by April 27th! NEXT WEEK! Our heads were spinning, and we were so overwhelmed and excited by the thought we would meet our son in just a few days! About an hour later, we received a report from his social worker saying that she had given him the photo book we made. She told us he was so excited and pointed at the pictures of himself saying "Kidus!" He pointed at the photo of me and his Gamma and said "Mimi." He was super excited about the planes and cars and loved looking at photos of his room. The next hour we learned that Federal Mowca had made a seemingly sudden and unexpected decision to suspend review of all cases. For us, that could mean we would still travel next week for our family court date and meet Kidus, but it would likely shorten our first trip and lengthen the time between the two trips, or our court date could be cancelled due to the uncertainty. Yesterday an official from Federal MOWCA called the US Embassy in Addis to tell them that all intercountry adoptions were suspended, effective immediately.

Needless to say, we are reeling and heartbroken. However, we are trying really hard to stay calm and patient. This is not the first time in our 6 year wait that adoptions have been suspended. Beyond that, we know that God has a plan, and He is good. Though we were shocked, this suspension was no surprise to Him. He will use this for our good and His glory.

As I type this, I am sitting on a secluded little beach with my family taking in His glorious creation and feeling His "bigness."  What's really crazy and encouraging is that this trip has been planned for weeks. In His infinite wisdom, He knew I would need to sit here and feel His presence in the place I feel it most. God is a good, good Father. He knows and loves me and my family. His plans are always the best and He is sovereign. These are the truths that I am telling my heart.

We assume, but we don't yet know for sure, that we will not be traveling next week. Please pray for Kidus's heart. As another friend stated, "I'll pray for time to be fuzzy for him as he waits." God knows and loves him, too, and we are confident that he will protect and comfort him as he now waits for us.

Please join us in praying for a miracle. Pray that this suspension will be short, or at least that MOWCA will decide to go ahead and finalize the cases that were in process. Please pray for our hearts, that they will trust and believe what we know. Pray that we will glorify God as we walk through this valley.

#lovefromizzy

Last week a good friend of mine had to say goodbye to her daughter.  This mom has been such a picture of God's love, strength, and grace to me over the years I have known her. Not only did she love and serve her daughter well - giving more and more of herself daily to meet her family's needs, she also continually loves and serves her community.  She has provided trainings at the preschool where I work.  She has spoken at adoption conferences and poured into adoptive moms.  At Izzy's funeral, she talked about the idea of pouring yourself out instead of trying to fill yourself up.  That is where you find fullness, because that is where you find Christ.

As I sat at Izzy's funeral on Saturday, the grief filling the room was almost a physical weight, but there was also such hope and joy in the midst of the pain.  We laughed as the people closest to Izzy shared stories, and we cried as they spoke words of love into one another.

This Holy week as I think about the life of Christ, I see an earthly example in Izzy.  She loved with her whole heart, endured more suffering than most - with a smile on her face.  She was gentle and kind, a blessing to all who knew her.  As a mom, I wrestle with the thought that her life was much too short, and yet I know that the Lord has numbered all of our days and has plans for all of our lives.  I want to shout that it's unfair, and yet I know that my God is just and his wisdom is incomprehensible to me.  The pastor's words at the service about suffering and the sermon at my church on Sunday were both a comfort and a challenge.  We are all called to suffer if we claim to love Jesus, because he did.  He took on more suffering than we will ever know.  And at just the right time, he said, "It is finished."  His physical suffering was finished, never to be endured again.  Izzy's physical pain is done.  Her last breath on earth was her first breath in the arms of her Savior.  She suffers no more.  When he said, "It is finished," it also meant that his mission was complete.  He had accomplished the plans the Father set out for him.  At the funeral, Izzy's dad talked about her mission of love.  He told the sweetest story of a little angelic Izzy accepting a difficult mission from God to come to earth to teach those around her how to love.  She completed her mission, leaving behind a legacy of love.

Izzy's family has challenged us to keep that legacy of love going.  Choose kindness and show love.  Izzy's family would like to see your acts of kindness on social media using #lovefromizzy.  So many great things have already been shared.  Here's one small way you can contribute.

Nesting!

First, THANK YOU!  We have been blown away by your generosity and God's provision.  In ONE WEEK, we have almost reached half of our goal!  Please keep sharing and praying with us that the rest will come in before we travel.

This week we also began preparing a room for our sweet boy!  It's not all the way done yet, but here are some sneak peeks.  A whole lot of love has gone into this room already....  First, Gamma and Papa gave us a bedding and decoration budget. :) We used the cute little orange and blue elephant that was handmade in Africa for inspiration.  We moved Evy into Jayden's room, and Chann painted the room blue.  The dresser was Chann's when he was growing up.  We had painted it white for Jayden when she was born.  This weekend Chann and Evy sanded the white off, and now it's being stained for a new look for Kidus's room.  Jude helped me set up the tee-pee, and both Jude and Asher brought in toys and put them in place.  Jayden helped frame the photos, and I made a few prints for his nightstand.  Jayden had bought the tiny wooden safari animals for Kidus over a year ago, so she was excited to finally put those in his room!  The vintage map of Africa is from a friend when we first began the adoption process.  Finally, my amazing brother made the awesome headboard and delivered and set it up tonight!  We just have a few things left to do for the room to be completely ready for our SON! It has been so exciting to see all these things come together so quickly to make a welcoming space for Kidus.  We hope and pray that we will get a travel date by the end of this week. We cannot wait to get our boy home with us!