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!