Our continuing mêlée

I have to take a deep breath before I begin; to collect my thoughts. There are many spinning around in my mind right now. But know that today has actually been a good day. You all have rallied around our family and we are so appreciative of you.

 

KC and I have had many of our questions answered. Most of the answers were very eye-opening and many were unexciting, with the exception of one.

 

The bottom line is this - 

 

There are still many in Ethiopia who are not happy with inter-country adoptions. And they are continuing to try to cut down on the numbers of adoptions that get completed. And our case is being made an example of in order to slow the process down.

 

KC and I are thankful for the transparency that our agency has with us. We are so thankful for our coordinator, the team, and Mr. F who are constantly fighting on our behalf because they too can see the unfairness going on with our case. They are doing all they can to get our case reviewed sooner than the 10^th.

 

However, things are very delicate at this stage in the adoption process. You do not want to seem like you are strong-arming them nor do you want to seem like you are requesting "special treatment" for a family. That could seriously jeopardize our case and others in the pipeline behind us. We do not want that to happen. So we are waiting patiently and are praying hard.

 

The only exciting news is that, at this point, no one feels like we will lose Bertie. They are just throwing extra hoops at us to jump through and are essentially just picking on us.

 

How do we know it’s just us? Well, 2 other families were given court dates yesterday with the furthest one out being October 22nd. Their cases were submitted weeks after ours. On the one hand, we’re glad that it’s just us. But on the other hand, it kinda bites.

 

So as of right now, we will have to wait until the 10th. We are so thankful for you all and all your prayers for us today. Please continue to pray for all the other families waiting on referrals and waiting to be submitted to court – pray that they will not have to endure what we have. I would not wish this on anyone.

 

Know that this is a victory friends. We can feel your prayers at work. KC and I have been so full of encouragement and are ready to keep fighting. We are hoping to find out some more news tomorrow, so we’ll be sure to update you again as soon as we hear anything.

 

The takeaway from this news today is:

 

1.      Bertie is still ours.

2.      Our agency is working diligently on our behalf and are praying for us daily

3.      You guys are praying for us daily

4.      The day we meet her will be so much sweeter, knowing what we endured to bring her home

5.      God has great plans for this little girl

 

And again (and most importantly)

6.      Bertie is our daughter and is loved tremendously

 

She knows us. And I’m praying she’s as excited as we are. Because I will run to her as fast as I can. I will hold her and won’t ever want to let her go. ❤️

   

 

Good news and GREAT news!

First, the good news.

 

Our dossier is on its way to Ethiopia (for the 2^nd time)!!

 

Woooooooohhhhhhhhhooooooooooooo!!!!!!!! *happy dance*

 

It should get there by Monday or Tuesday. We’re hoping and praying it makes it to MOWA/MOWCYA by Friday the 26th so we can get our positive recommendation letter and that we get a court date by September 29th/30^th.

 

Friends, in just about a week and a half, we’ll finally know when we’re going to see our girl. Talk about exciting!

 

I’m sure you’re thinking if that’s the good news, what’s the GREAT news?

 

Remember how we sent a photo album full of pictures of us and our home so they could introduce us to Bertie before we arrived?  

 

Well, it finally made it to the orphanage. Our girl knows who we are. She’s seen our faces and the faces of her brothers. She’s seen pictures of her new home and her bedroom.

 

She will recognize us when we show up at the orphanage to pick her up.

 

Guys, she’ll know us.

 

KC and I cannot tell you how happy our hearts are right now.

 

And if that wasn’t great enough news, we found out that they took pictures of her seeing us in the album for the first time. They’ll include those in our next update that we’ll get in the next 2 weeks.

 

We get to see pictures of her seeing us.

 

We’re on cloud nine right now.

 

I’m a little nervous about seeing those pictures though. Her reaction may not be what we’re expecting. Haha!

 

But I’m just glad that we won’t be strangers when we walk into the orphanage to bring her home.

 

Seven months after seeing her face for the first time, she’s finally seeing ours.

 

Now, when people ask us if she knows who we are, it’ll be nice to finally say,

 

Yes, yes she does.  ❤️

   

 

Dossier Update: Part Uno

Okay guys, so we spoke with our coordinator and they have not received our Dossier from Washington D.C. yet.

 

BUT she is confident that she will get it tomorrow morning and will be able to send it out to Ethiopia tomorrow afternoon. It’ll kill us to have to wait an entire week before even sending it off. Well, not literally, but it’d sure feel that way! 

 

If our dossier gets sent to Ethiopia tomorrow, there’s a very good chance that we could have our court date given to us late next week or early the following week! That’s a HUGE step! 

 

Also, I had asked our coordinator if she knew how far out court dates were being scheduled. I was trying to see if there was still a chance to travel with the Clarks.

 

The last case they submitted to court was almost 3 weeks ago. Their court date was the 20^th!! That means there’s still a chance we could get a court date on the Monday the 20^th or the Tuesday the 21^st! The Clarks have their court date on Thursday the 16^th.

With a court date on those days, we could leave here on October 10-11 to make it to Ethiopia with enough time to take the 4 day trip to Bertie's orphanage. We need to make it there before court so she be with us. 

 

I wish I had a bit more news, but since it’s been over a week, I thought I’d update you. I hope to update you tomorrow with even better news!

Dear friends, we know your prayers are working. We can see evidence of that every time we speak with our International Team. So please, help us continue praying. I know He hears us.

 

Thank you sweet friends. We couldn’t do this without you. 

 

  

  

 

 

Progress!

Funny how 3 weeks ago today, we thought we’d get the news that we were cleared to travel that day or Wednesday. Instead, we received word that our case had been delayed again (3 weeks tomorrow) and we would have to re-do our entire Dossier before we were issued a court date. I’m amazed at how much can change in such a short amount of time – and how much your perspective changes once some time has passed.

 

Well, yesterday we mailed off our dossier!!! It should be at our agency’s office in Little Rock this morning. We’re hoping we can get it state sealed and mailed back to us by the end of the week. If that does happen, we’ll be sending it to Michigan first thing next week to be reviewed and then sent to DC *hopefully* by the end of that week (August 29th). It takes about 2 weeks to be authenticated in DC and then our coordinator will send it to Ethiopia with their Friday DHL shipment.

 

If everything happens in about the timeline that it did last year, our file could be on its way to Ethiopia on September 12th!

 

The coordinator in Ethiopia, Mr. F, is confident he can get it translated and reviewed by MOWCYA (or sometimes we refer to them as MOWA) within a few days. He thinks we’ll get a court date issued before courts open back up.

 

If we get a court date on the 16th or 17th, we’d have to travel by the 10th or 11th so we can take the long drive up North to see Bertie and bring her back to the capital to stay with us. That is only about 7 weeks away!! We are boldly praying and stepping out on the ledge again and trusting that He can do this for us.

 

I know it’s HUGE to hope and pray that God can work this through quickly and that we will get a date close to The Clarks. I know it seems crazy to hope this even after all our delays. But we are. It’s easy to get jaded by the amount of rejection and bad news we get.

 

But we’re making the decision to hope for a miracle. God has certainly done wilder things on our behalf.

 

If it doesn’t happen this way, okay. It will be unfortunate and I may cry… a lot. But I’ll still trust Him and have faith that He will come through for us in another way.

 

Please friends, please help us flood heaven with prayers. Not sure what all to pray for our family? Here’s a few things:

 

1.      Pray that our file hits all the stops quickly and without delays

2.      Pray that our file makes its way to Ethiopia by early September

3.      Pray that we get a court date issued ASAP for October 16th or 17th.

4.      Pray that our boys can handle being away from us for so long

5.      Pray that WE can handle being away from the boys for so long

6.      Pray that Bertie begins to bond with and trusts us before we make the long 20+ hour flight home

 

And please continue to pray for us once we come home. Our journey doesn’t end once we land at XNA. <3

 

Thank you guys all SO much for everything. We will continue to keep you updated. It’s getting close! {again}

 

 

  

 

And if not….

We’re tired. Things feel a bit muddled.

 

·         Trying to get that last piece needed for the dossier

·         Praying we get it in the mail to Little Rock by next Tuesday or Wednesday

·         Praying we get a mid-October court date

·         Trying to get everything ready for school starting on Monday

·         Trying to plan for being gone during the school year (and likely over Thanksgiving)

·         Trying to slowly start buying Christmas gifts so we don’t have to worry once we get back

·         Trying to ignore the rude and insensitive remarks made about our family and the decisions we make with God’s leading

·         Life

 

Right now, that’s kind of where we’re at and how we’re feeling.

 

We’re trying to keep ourselves occupied by doing some things around the house.

 

It’s hard to keep your mind distracted sometimes. But we’re trying.

 

We found out this week that we could get a court date given to us during the “closing”. Apparently, the judges are the only ones out during the rainy season. The clerks are still there working.

 

So there’s a chance we could be given our date before the courts officially open.

 

However… (are you expecting those from us now? Haha!)

 

Our sweet coordinator who, bless her, has had to deliver a lot of bad news to us recently, told us that right now they are scheduling couples with positive letters in mid-October into late October.

 

That’s for those who are “paper ready” right now.

 

Unfortunately, that’s not us.

 

Hence (always a fun word), the likelihood of us getting an October court date is looking slim. At this rate, it’s more likely to be early November.

Our friends received word that they are scheduled for October 16. So we may not travel together after all. 

 

………………………………………………………………………

 

I think sometimes you just get to a place that you hear more, for lack of a better word, crappy news and you just stare at those words, sigh, and then kind of purse your lips.

 

And you have to be careful because you don’t want to turn into this “hope for the best, but expect the worst” kind of person.

 

Trust me.

 

That was the beat I followed and it wasn’t pleasant.

 

So while you’re staring at those words glaring back at you, you summon everything you can and utter a small moan.

 

He knows. He understands all the pain, frustration, and weariness that is contained in that moan.

 

And you know what?

 

Despite all the crappiness and chaos, He is still good. He is for me.

 

And He is still worth it.

 

Did you catch that?

 

HE. IS. STILL. WORTH. IT.

 

I want to be open with you guys; I promised I would be through this blog.

 

I want to be real and honest and talk about the ups and downs of adoption, life, my walk with Him.

 

BUT I always, always want to make sure you understand that line.

 

Things may not ever go the way that I want them to. We’ll face battles and trials; and we’ll feel like fireballs are heading straight for us.

 

And in that particular moment, life might feel like it pretty much bites the big one; things might just suck.

 

But it’s only for a season, and HE IS STILL WORTH IT. All of it.

 

We are not naïve.

 

We are not weak.

 

We are not grasping at straws.

 

We are putting our trust and hope in something greater than ourselves.

 

While in this moment things may seem messy and chaotic to me, they aren’t to Him.

 

So yes, today might feel a bit crappy. But He is still worth anything that may get thrown my way.

 

And friends, looking back through time, I know we’re in good company.

  

 

 

Today

Dear friends,

KC and I have felt your love today. And we cannot thank you enough. 

Today was rough. But your outpouring of love and encouragement helped us more than you know. 

Some of you sent texts with nothing but emoticons, my bestie sent me this, 

And another sweet friend stopped by my house with coffee and chocolate (thank you Adriel). 

And oh so many of you commented on my post today letting us know you felt our pain too. 

Thank you sweet friends. 

We couldn't do this without you and your support. 

Yes, today was rough. But tomorrow is a new day. 

Our little family is going to be on the DL the next few days. But I wanted to be sure to let you all know how much we love and appreciate you. 

This week and next week we'll be kicking it into high gear to work on re-doing our Dossier. 

Luckily, I saved a lot of the files because I thought we'd have to re-do it earlier this year. It's just going through the motions of getting everything. 

I think the hardest things to get will be our physicals and background checks. 

We have to reorder our birth certificates and marriage certificates, and get bank statements and tax copies, etc....

It's not hard, it's just tedious. 

So now, we pray that we can get this knocked out quickly, state sealed, authenticated, sent to Ethiopia and that MOWA reviews our dossier and issues a positive letter so we can get a court date soon after they open back up at the end of September (actually a week earlier than we thought!). 

Thank you friends. You gave us the kick we needed to brush ourselves off, and start again. 

As I stated before, we're still fighting hard for her and we'll jump through whatever hoops they want us to. 

We. Are. Heartbroken....

This may very well be the hardest, most difficult post I've ever had to write.

I'm a mess. So this post may not be as fluid as it normally is, so please bear with me.

We still had not heard anything from our agency yet, so KC asked me to take a lunch, grab some coffee, and sit with him at work. So I did.

As soon as KC got into the van, I got a call from Michigan.

Our agency.

I just had a feeling it wasn't good news....

It wasn't.

MOWA issued a negative recommendation letter for us and the two other families waiting to travel this week.

NEGATIVE.

Apparently, 2 of our forms in our dossier had just expired. They want new ones. ALL new ones.

We have to re-do our Dossier. The 60+ page file of our lives: our tax information, income, physicals, background checks, home study... everything.

This was not an easy feat the first time around.

We will not be able to get what's needed, send it to Little Rock to be state sealed, send it to DC to be authenticated, get it back to our agency for review, and send it to Ethiopia for MOWA to review before Wednesday.

That means, that we will not be traveling until at least the end of October.

We cannot submit our dossier until the courts reopen the first week of October. We have no idea how long it will take for them to review it, issue us a positive letter, and then receive a court date.

..................................................

This, was never in the cards. This was a rare request that even took our agency by surprise. They saw an email from the team in Ethiopia and thought it was our court date.

I cannot tell you what it felt like to hear that from our agency. I all at once felt numb, sick to my stomach, and like I was going to pass out. Driving home was a feat and I thank God that I made it.

KC was angry - and just sat there quietly.

To be honest, I screamed out loud in the car as I was sobbing. I could barely breathe.

We were only days away from seeing our girl. ONLY A FEW DAYS.

KC, me, our agency.....

We're all still so dumbfounded...

This truly was a rare occurrence... though nothing in our process has been "normal".

Even now, I can barely wrap my head around it all. I'm still in disbelief that I'm not scrambling to book airline tickets.

I honestly don't know what more to say. This was a huge blow.

I want to be angry with God. I do, I really do.

This wasn't supposed to happen.

But I can't be angry with Him.

I feel like a little kid, sobbing, and beating my hands against His chest, all the while He just holds me and lets me rage on.

He knows our pain. He knows the heartbreak that we are feeling.

I'm sure He's feeling it to.

I don't know what God is doing.

My tiny brain cannot even fathom what He has ahead for us.

We are hurting. And angry. And confused.

And as hard as it may be for my flesh in this moment, I will continue to trust Him.

Because He knows. He knows.

{For I am already being poured out like a drink offering, and the time for my departure is near. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day - and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing. - 2 Timothy 4:6-8}


Please pray for us, that we can fight and keep and finish like Paul did, with faith.