December

December has been quite the month for us. Specifically, last Wednesday was quite the day. I received an email from Isabelle's social worker stating that they had identified a home that could accomodate Isabelle and her siblings together, and that there would be a meeting to discuss transitioning her on 12/14/10. We were so sad to hear about her moving, but also hopeful that she would be placed with a great family where she could maintain a relationship with her siblings. We didn't even know if we would be able to see her open the Christmas gifts we had bought her. It was heartbreaking. Then on 12/14/10 I was preparing mentally for the meeting in two hours that would determine Izzie's fate with us, and the social worker called to say that the meeting was canceled and the prospective family was no longer an option. She will indeed spend Christmas with us, and we are back on the roller coaster ride that is foster care.

Something else happened last Wednesday. Sadly, two of our beloved pastors (Matthew's co-workers) resigned from their positions at the church. For those of you who don't know- that's 50% of the staff! It is so sad to say goodbye to our friends, but they are leaving to chase after the Lord's will for their lives and we are excited to see what the Lord has in store for Matt and Chris, as well as the Journey Church.

I don't think we could possibly experience an emotion that hasn't been experienced in the past couple of weeks. But as always, there is hope!

No movement with adoption. Much movement everywhere else!

Well, in case anyone is wondering, there is no movement on the adoption. None. We got the phone call about being approved, followed by the email with some program agreements and such to sign and send back with our first payment. And there it still sits, in my inbox.

Mostly, I think Isabelle's placement has derailed us a bit. We've got our hands full with two pre-schoolers. And though they are both very easy on us, the appointments with social workers, educational specialists, phone calls from parents, paperwork, etc. are quite time consuming. In fact, right now I must go pick her up from daycare and take her to a well-child exam that is required within 21 days of placement. But it is a blast, it is a blessing, and we love it (and her!).

So, hopefully the blog will not go ignored for another 9 months!

First Foster Kid!

Well, we got our first foster placement today! It was quite chaotic (I expected nothing less, really). We were originally told she would be placed Friday, then Tuesday, then Wednesday, then back to Friday, and finally back to today! Whew! So the day has involved picking her up from previous home, enrolling in daycare, washing clothes, taking the paper shredder and computer out of her room and replacing with toys, filling out papers, papers, papers. Eeek!

She is 3.5 years old and her name is Isabelle. I can't say much because of confidentiality, but she is sweet, mild-mannered, and well-behaved (so far :). Picky eater, which is new to us because Eli will generally stuff anything in his mouth. And she has really taken to Matthew. Eli's been a bit jealous, but he's been really good to her (again, so far :)

Life just got a bit busier!

Here we go again!

Well, let's see. The last post was almost 9 months ago?? I got away from blogging and considered just deleting it altogether since facebook seems like a sufficient way of keeping people updated with our lives. BUT we have officially been approved to pursue our second adoption, which means there will be many details to share that not everyone on facebook is going to care about.

So here's a quick update on the last 9 months:
Eli turned two last Valentine's day and is quickly approaching 3! Physically, he is doing great! He has completed his occupational therapy and is above average in height (so hard to believe the little guy that was waaaay below growth charts is now towering over his peers). He still receives speech therapy twice per month. His vocabulary is okay, but his articulation is low which may lead to him attending a developmental pre-school in the spring.

Matthew and I decided to become foster parents. We have been licensed for a couple weeks now, but have not had a placement yet. The only phone call we've gotten for a placement happened to be when we were out of town and unavailable :(

And, as previously stated, we decided to pursue our second adoption. We are requesting one or two children, 0-5 years old, either boy or girl from Ethiopia. And we said we would consider special needs. First order of business is filling out some paperwork and sending it to our agency with the first program fee. Then the paperchase begins!

Stay tuned for more details!

Christmas Pictures

A little late posting, obviously, but Cheramy took some family photos for us in celebration of our first Christmas together.

Another successful court date!

When you adopt from Ethiopia, you have to re-adopt the child once you get back to the states. So, on September 14th we headed to court and Amanuel officially became Elijah Amanuel. We will receive a new Washington State birth certificate with his new name sometime around December. Then we can apply for a certificate of citizenship. And then on to his social security card. I'm not convinced the paperchasing ever ends! But, of course, it's worth every second.

Here we are with the Honorable Judge Lucas


Eli even got to stamp his decree!

Family Photos

When we were in Ohio for my family's reunion, my mom had a photographer (www.heritagestudioandgallery.com) come take some family photos. Here are some of my favorites:

Eli loves to give this scowl to people. He has found that it is good for a sure-fire laugh. He will scowl, look at each and EVERY person in the room to make sure everyone has seen it, then he will bust out laughing- as will everyone else. He is quite the ham.


See, here is the laugh that follows the scowl...





Here's my family. This is only my immediate family. With all my aunts, uncles, and cousins there were about 50 of us. This photo has my brothers, parents, brother-in-law, sister and nieces.