Joy's first Christmas!

We had a blessed Christmas! It was a wild and crazy time, and the kids really enjoyed it. Tom and I are especially glad for the week after Christmas!

Joy is such an easy-going, happy-go-lucky kid. She is really enjoying her new toys, especially the Disney princess ball pit for kids 3 and up. Hmmm. It's taken this fourth child for me to start ignoring the age recommendations - I knew she'd love this! She is quite a talker. Her words include: mommy, mama, my mommy, dada, hi (echos this), and my MIL swears she said Todd (Tom's brother). Not sure about that one!

Gabe had a Star Wars Christmas. He managed to build the two lego sets in two days. I thought $50+ worth of legos would last a little longer . . . oh well! Tom got a Frank Lloyd Wright lego set that Gabe said he'd help him build it. I can't wait to watch. Gabe had a little cavity filled last week and I got a glimpse at an even whackier kid than normal after he had gas for 10 minutes! What a hoot!! He even said getting his tooth drilled was fun. What a nut!

Megan got her long-awaited DS. I'm not sure what the attraction to this is, because I couldn't pick out a game for her even though I tried. She gets to do a little shopping once the stores calm down and restock! She was a big help this Christmastime because she helped me make 4 or 5 batches of caramel fudge sauce. Although the growing up is inevitable, this is our first Christmas with doubters. A real bummer!

Seth wanted a guitar. He was very pleased with it, but now what?? I guess we'll have to look into lessons. I know Tom would like to learn too. I wonder if there is such a thing as two for one lessons! He also got a couple DS games, so he'll be entertained for quite a while. He is such a thoughtful boy. He asked his Uncle Todd to pick up two gift cards for Tom and I to Biggby coffee. He has a very generous spirit! Now I just have to make sure he pays his uncle back!

Time flies!

Well I went back to work in October and haven't posted since! Oh well, no news is good news, right?

Joy transitioned from an army crawl to a walrus-type crawl to a faster-than-lightning crawl! She is getting more and more daring as she moves from furniture to furniture. We are amazed how long she can stand up without holding on to anything and how carefully she can bend down and begin crawling! She's amazing! Sometime around 8 months she cut her two bottom teeth. Boy are they cute!

She really fought the food thing for several months, but now she is eating baby food including cereal quite well. She's also enjoying puffs, cheerios, mandarin oranges, and toast with jam! We even tried mac and cheese! She started sleeping through the night around 9 months of age. We have had a few weeks of blessed sleep! (Except for the nights when the intermittent colds she catches from daycare interrupt her sleep and ours!)

Speaking of daycare, she adjusted perfectly well to it. We're so lucky and relieved!

More later . . . Christmas break is only 4 days away!!

Fall=Football!

Seth played in his first scrimmage on Saturday. He's #75 (behind Jedi Gabe)!

He's on the Tar Heel team. We're very proud of him!!

Play date!

Joy and Devin had a play date today! (Thanks Andrea and Kelly!) I am so thankful for our growing family of friends. There have been so many unexpected blessings from our adoption journey. This is definitely one of them!

The last day of August!!

It's hard to believe summer is wrapping up. Seth, Megan, and Gabe are ready to go back to school. I'm thankful I have until October to get ready to go back!! Joy is 6 months old already. Here's a few pics from the last week.

A basket full of blessing!

A backpacking baby?? Tom might get his outdoorsy girl yet!

Tom and Gabe at the Hudsonville Fair.

Cran-Hill Ranch

We spent last weekend at Cran-Hill Ranch. We had nice weather (a little humid) and the nights were great for sleeping. Joy slept poorly the first night we were there, but slept normally the next night. The kids enjoyed looking for frogs and turtles, visiting the cats in the barn, and playing carpet ball in the game room. They made some cool tie dye shirts too. We had a potluck with six other families from our church on Saturday night and a campfire. It was a nice time of fellowship. Our last night there Joy woke up at 3 AM with a fever. I wasn't too worried because Megan and Gabe had a fever earlier in the week that went away after a day or so. She slept fitfully until morning when I gave her some Motrin and she was her old self again. We packed up early and headed home.

Gabe riding horse. I can't believe how big he is!

Tom and Joy by our campsite.

Joy loves to lick! I hope Gabe's knee was clean!

Megan and Joy at the beach.

Where's Seth??? That's what we asked all weekend. He was off with Tyler or Aaron DenBesten having a good ole time. I didn't get any pictures of it though!!

Baby Joy

Joy is growing up so fast! She rolled from her back to her stomach on August 8th and now she rolls all over the place! Yesterday we saw her army crawl towards a tempting tag on her blanket. She did it even more today! One of her destinations was our new cat Carly. Good thing I was there to rescue the cat . . . Joy's got quite a grip! (j/k!) She also enjoyed her new highchair this morning and gulped down some baby oatmeal.

Prayers for our friends

A couple of families who have brought children home recently from Ethiopia are in need of prayer. Please pray for Misgana: that she will begin eating and drinking well, be healed of any parasites, and running around with her three new siblings soon! Please pray for her loving parents to have strength. Also pray for Devin: that he recovers fully from head trauma incurred in Ethiopia, that his development continues to explode, and for peace for his parents. These children are such an amazing blessing. Praise God!

Four beautiful kids!

We are so blessed! It's hard to believe that July is gone. We have one more month of summer fun . . . Thankfully, I have September off to care for Joy.

Joy's doctor appointment went well last week. She weighs 15 pounds and is at 50th percentile for weight and 65th percentile for height. We think her estimated birthdate is close enough, so February 26th will be her official birthdate. It's in the middle of my birthday and Tom's. We'll be celebrating constantly for much of Feb. and March with 4 birthdays in our immediate family and 7 total with our extended family. Wow!

What a week!

Joy has adjusted really well over the last week. I'd like to say we've kept things low key, but we visited my folks at the state park in Pentwater on Saturday and Seth and Megan finished up their Age Group Swim season with two practices and a meet. We are starting to see a routine emerge though! She's started taking a nice afternoon nap and has been up to 9ish the last few nights. She is such a happy baby and we're so thankful!

We're Home!

1st Picture: The birth certificate, order of adoption, and immigration paperwork (Visa) needed to leave for home!

2nd Picture: Bathtime!

We arrived home yesterday afternoon. Praise God! Joy handled the plane rides so well . . . I felt like I was going crazy though!

Seth, Megan, and Gabe adore her. Gabe even wants me to wake her up from naps so he can see her. Ha!

Thanks to everyone for their prayers. The patience and peace we felt throughout our extended time in Ethiopia was a miracle. God is so good!

Almost home!

We had our interview at the embassy this morning and have our flight scheduled.  We leave tonight and arrive in Grand Rapids a little before 1 PM tomorrow afternoon.  We still have to pick up Joy's Visa, but there shouldn't be anything holding that up.  Thanks for all your prayers!

still waiting

We were told this afternoon that NVC sent the needed info to the
embassy, but when we went to the embassy they still did not have it.
Please pray with us that this can be resolved tomorrow morning and
that we can fly home tomorrow night.

On a happier note, we went to the Lion zoo (that's an exaggeration
of the word zoo) and the Ethnio-graphic museum today. It helps to
stay busy! Joy is such a good baby. She loves to smile and babble.
She often falls asleep on the long car rides while we hold her - no
infant car seats here! We are so appreciative of the Bethany staff
here. They have been supportive and helpful throughout this whole
ordeal. They have gone the extra mile.

Saturday in Ethiopia

Tom and I traveled to a resort two hours outside of Addis where there
are amazing hot springs. HOT hot springs. We were fortunate that
another couple at our guest house offered to let us borrow their swim
suits. We also went swimming in a really warm olympic size pool. We
saw some great sights! Our hostess at the guest house watched Joy for
us. I highly recommend Ethio Comfort Guest House. We have been very
well taken care of.

A couple more prayer requests: We still have not heard the status of
our paperwork. It needs to make it to the Embassy by Tuesday, so we
can leave Tuesday evening. It looks like that is the first flight out
for us. Also, the farmers outside of Addis really need rain. Please
pray that the rains will come and the crops will be plentiful. Of
course, please keep our kids and their caregivers in your prayers.
This has been quite an experience, but we give God praise for helping
us through it.

please pray!

We are having trouble with a Visa issue. We had to cancel our flight
tonight. Please pray that the information that USCIS needs gets to
them quickly (via email) and that they can then forward it to the
embassy in Ethiopia tomorrow. The embassy closes at 11:30 AM so if
things do not go quickly we could be here until Monday. Also pray that
we can find a flight home because this is a very busy travel time in
Ethiopia. Please pray for our children at home. We miss them and
feel badly about letting them down!

Meet Joy!

We finally have our daughter! She is wonderful!! She has been
content even though we have been doing a lot of running around Addis.
She still wakes up a couple of times each night, but will take a
bottle and go right back to sleep when we put her down. We miss Seth,
Megan, and Gabe! We can't wait for them to meet their new sister.
They will adore her. She is so curious about everything, so Gabe you
better hide those Legos!

Awassa

Picture 1:Along the road to Awassa we encountered herds of donkeys (above),
cows, goats, and even 150+ camels being herded by Nomads!

Picture 2 and 3:  This is the area where Joy was found by a man named Mr. Arega.

Picture 4:  Tom and I at Lake Awassa at sunset.  Tomorrow we might go out on the lake to see hippos!  

The trip to Awassa has been an awesome experience!

T - 2 days!

Almost packed! And Tom installed the infant car seat in the van
tonight. I think we are officially ready to bring Joy home!

Now I have to throw a few things in a bag for Seth, Megan, and Gabe!

Gabe tends to get a little emotional about us leaving. Please pray
for our kids that they will have a fun-filled week with their
grandparents and not miss us too badly. (Or that Gabe's new Legos
will keep his mind off it!) Seth and Megan are excited to check our
email and blog for updates. They will have to show their grandparents
how it's done! We're very thankful they will be so well taken care
of. Thanks Moms and Dad!

Lodging!

We're staying at Ethio Comfort Guest House.  It looks nice and has some good reviews - we'll see for ourselves soon enough!

Travel Call!

Our embassy date is July 7th!  We plan on traveling July 1-July 10.  It looks like we will be traveling to Addis via Amsterdam.  The flight leaves from Detroit, believe it or not!  We are planning on taking a side trip to the city where our daughter was found and spent about 3 months at Shalom Children's Hope.  It will require an overnight stay in Awassa, but I understand we will see the REAL Ethiopia and get to experience Africa and some of its amazing creatures!!  We're so excited!

Re-fingerprinting: Officially DONE

We received our paperwork saying our fingerprints have made it to the
National Visa Center and cabled to the embassy in Addis. Whew! Now
we are working on flights. A little challenging because we are unsure
of our embassy appointment! But we're confident enough to at least
look at the options for traveling around July 1st.

First week of Summer!!

We had a fantastic first week of summer break.  Megan had a great piano recital, Gabe has learned to love swim lessons (after initial disappointment that it wasn't play time), and Seth is READING a book voluntarily! (I even caught him reading in bed with a flashlight late at night!!) 

Seth and Megan are in age group swimming for the first time this summer.  They are really working hard in the pool and learning how to do flip turns and start off the block.  This means I'm in Jenison a little more than I'd like, but at least my classroom is all organized and put away!

We are still hoping for a phone call on Monday so we can travel to Ethiopia next week.  Otherwise, the next embassy date isn't until July 7th.  On a positive note, we received a new picture of Joy from a family that traveled this past week.  Joy looks so healthy.  She's really filled out and even looks a little chubby!  In the new picture, she is sucking on her tongue which is a habit Gabe still has.  They have something in common already!  All of the kids are so excited to have her home.

Fingerprinted (again)!

Tom and I were refingerprinted again today.  We received our appointment in the mail four days ago.  Hopefully it will be processed quickly and cabled to Addis . . . I am going to try to wait until next week Friday before I call to check.  A week's time might be wishful thinking!

Bethany video

Check out this Bethany video.  It focuses on Ethiopian adoption.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OGcO3DpABdA

We Passed Court!

We learned on May 20th that we passed court.  We waited on pins and needles the entire day before for news.  It was hard to wait and wonder, but now Joy is officially our daughter!  We are so pleased.  Now we wait for an embassy date.  This will be the date that we plan our travel around.  Hopefully we will be able to bring Joy home in June, but I'm still waiting for a refingerprinting appointment.  Once our fingerprints are taken then they have to processed and cabled to Addis.  We are trying to be patient and trust God with the timing.

Blessings

1.  A family from CO who traveled to the orphanage where Joy is took video of her.  We have about 12 precious seconds of her as a 2 month old!

2.  Another family has photos from their visit that they are trying to send to us.  Yea!

3.  Some staff members are bringing donations to school for us to bring with us to Ethiopia.  

God is so good!

Court Date!

Our court date is May 19th.  Only 18 days away!!  We're praying to pass the first time, so all our papers need to be in order by then.  We are also working on updating our fingerprints . . . one of the more annoying hurdles to jump since they haven't changed from a year ago!  It's hard to believe, but Joy might be home some time in June!

Waiting . . .

Still waiting . . . We're hoping for a court date in the next 4 to 6 weeks.  I've been surrounded by encouraging coworkers throughout this process.  They have been a blessing . . . and I can always hope that a seed will be planted in someone's heart to pursue an adoption too!

Testing remote posting

Let's see if this works!

Ethiopia Adoptive Moms

We met at Panera Bread to share stories, information, and pictures!  What a blessing to have others walking along the same road.

Referral!

We learned on April 1st, 2009 about our referral of a one month old baby girl.  She is beautiful!!  She has beautiful big brown eyes and a lot of hair!  We can't wait to go to her and cuddle, kiss, rock and sing.  Praise God!

Google Maps

Tom and I used google maps to sneek a peek (via satellite) of Ethiopia.  I think we found the capitol building.  Anyway, it was an afluent area with a few pools.  We're still looking for the airport.  Fun!

A Simple and Delicious recipe

Make a Smilebox recipe

This is one of our favorite meals.  Sorry about the ads on the side . . . but they make posting this free!

Welcome!

Here goes nothing . . . I should be grading papers right now, but playing around with this is more fun!