before the judge

We stood before a judge today and promised to raise our boys just as if we had birthed them ourselves. This is the last final hoop for our adoption and it was sweet moment for our family. Special to have all of us dress up in "nice" clothes and it was too cute to have the boys wear ties for the first time (there is just something too cute about a little guy in a tie). It was special to have the girls be there for this part of the adoption process.

The judge shared what a special thing it is to have adoption hearings, but he also shared that this is a legal and binding agreement. Our boys are joint heirs with the girls. They will not be our "adopted sons" but they are our SONS. He asked if we believed if it was in the best interest of the boys to be part of our family. He asked if we were financially and emotionally able to care for them. And then he asked the girls if our world has changed since the boys came home (um...yeah...our world has changed and it has been a blessing).

We are blessed. We are grateful. We are a family of 6.

Our family with our attorney George. What a blessing for him to "help us out" (read...HERE).

Even Papa was able to be there to be part of our celebration.

Like I said...something too cute about little boys in a tie.

TYSON FIKADU

TATUM ABUSH



We love our sweet peas...

We PASSED court !!!!!!!!

Praising GOD !!!! He is so good. My mind is just spinning....and we are thrilled.

Thank you for praying with us!!!! We are so grateful for all of the love and support.

Dear Sweet Peas,

We are coming !!! You are now part of our family. I can hardly stand the excitement. We are so happy to hear the great news that you are now officially part of the family.

Love, Mom

Tonight while we sleep...

(let's be honest...I don't think we will sleep too much) someone from our agency will represent us in the adoption court in Ethiopia. So many thoughts are running through my head today. Will the birth mother be able to be there? Is all of our paperwork in just the right place? Did MOWA get their letter of recommendation written? Is it God's will for our case to pass the first time in the court system? Rather than focusing on my concerns, I am going to lay them at God's feet and trust in my heavenly Father. Will you join our family in prayer?

We are going to spend our evening praying. If you feel led, these are the things we are praying for.

Praying for the birth mom.

• For her to be able to make it to court.
• For her to have the proper ID with her.
• For peace in her decision in her adoption plan for the boys.
• For blessings and protection for her.

For the court system.

• For the Ministry Of Women's Affair to have their letter of recommendation done and in place.
• For our POA from our agency - for her protection and mercy.
• For our judge to have a heart for adoption and blessing on our family.
• For all of our paperwork to be available and just right.

For our boys.

• For their hearts to be prepared for our family.
• For them to attach and bond with us.
• For their complete healing of their body, mind, heart.
• For a good transition into our family.
• For a good connection with our girls.
• For them to come to know Christ as their personal savior.
• For better health than we anticipate.
• For their protection and safety.
• That God will raise them to be godly men and be used in positive and powerful ways.
  

For our girls.

• For our time apart while we are in Africa.
• For a smooth transition to being big sisters.
• To understand why our family dynamics will be different and strange for awhile.
• To be able to demonstrate the love of Christ to the boys.
• To be OK with less of Mom's time.
• To have a good attitude about all the sacrifices they will have to be part of.
• To be able to process their feelings well.

For Chuck and Cris.

• For us to attach and connect well with the boys.
• For our health and safety when we travel.
• For God's continued provision as we pay for the travel funds.
• For Cris' time to be multiplied to care for all the needs of 4 kids.
• For our adjustment back into having a baby/toddler and a preschooler.
• For us to continue to focus on the positive things as we encounter difficult stages.
• To be able to demonstrate God's love and kindness to our new kids.
• For our adjustment all together with our new kids.
• To remember all the training and education we have learned.
• For wisdom to parent our boys in a way that will only benefit them.

For our family.

• To be a positive example of adoption and be advocates for other orphaned children.
• For protection from the evil one and his workers.
• For the grandparents to be able to focus on what is best for our new boys.
• That our extended family can be a positive example of accepting adopted children the same as birth children.
• For wisdom to handle racial difficulties and protection from those situations.
• To be a positive example of racially diverse family. Showing that God sees His whole family in a variety of shades.
• To demonstrate God's heart for adoption.
  

Just wanted to pass on a few blogs from today that really touched my heart. Andrea (HERE) has such beautiful words from God's Word today. And HERE is a letter from a mom who is in the process of adoption who is struggling with her family and the lack of support and encouragement.


Dear Sweet Peas,

We are hopeful that tonight our adoption case will pass court in Ethiopia. We are preparing our home for your arrival. And praying that God prepares you both for us.

We love you, Love, Mom

more preperations

Got some Hep A and B shots today. Trying to make sure we have our act together just in case we pass court this week. I have been guarding my heart and trying not to get my hopes up...but...I think I let my mind start to wander into the possibility of going soon to bring the boys home.

This weekend we moved the girls into the same room and got their room all ready to become the "girl room" . And we are working on making up the "boy room". We are still short on beds and clothes but at least we have a plan now. I can only guess on their sizes and hopefully we will get some more concrete info on sizes before we travel. I need to start getting diapers again and find some sippy cups (maybe the little one still uses a bottle???). But honestly, this is the fun kind of planning. Much more enjoyable than paperwork. =)

I was able to talk to another adoptive mom who recently returned from the orphanage where the boys are and get some first hand reports on how cute our little guys are. It was the most amazing and heart warming call. I had not asked this family to "look out for our boys" but I took a chance and thought I would ask if they saw them (there are about 60 children in the transition home where our boys are, so it was a bit of a gamble if she remembered them). Turns out they were the 2 kids that stuck out in their minds the most. They were so thrilled to share that they loved on our sweet boys and how precious they are. Oh...just the kind of report a momma wants to here.

Please PLEASE PLEASE pray with us about our court date. It will be Thursday night when we are all in bed. January 15. Praying for our birth mom and trusting she will be able to travel and be at the right place at the right time. We are also praying for all the proper paperwork to be in place.

Dear Sweet Peas,

Oh...We are trying to imagine your sweet smiles and precious faces. We are so thankful you are in a place now that is preparing you for our family. We are trusting God for the right timing to bring you home. I can't wait until we can hold you in our arms and hug you in person.

Love, Mom

We have a court date !!!

Just got off the phone with our case worker. We have a court date !!!! Wow !!!! I was trying not to get my hopes up about a possible court date in January (my motto in life is prepare for the worst and hope and pray for the best).

Our court date is January 15, 2010 !!! Did you catch that 10 days from now. Now back to the preparing for the worst, most families do NOT pass court the first time, so we may not pass court and if that happens, another court date is scheduled. 2 things need to fall into place for court to go smoothly - first the birth mom needs to show up (and our birth mom is traveling from the southern region) and the MOWA needs to write their letter of recommendation. So we will specifically pray that those things happen.

But for now....we are rejoicing in the adoption still moving in the right direction. Praise God for His hand our our situation !!!!

Please pray with us that our case passes court the first time.

Dear Sweet Peas,

My heart just leaps with joy when I look at your pictures and think about you. It is hard to stay focused on our tasks here at home. I am praying that all the details go smoothly for our court date. We are getting closer to having you within arms reach.

Love, Mom