Where Does the Time Go?

I've been saying this a lot lately....Where does the time go?  I've never really been an on time person (just ask my family & girlfriends!!), but now it's real bad!!  What I thought would take an hour-more like 2 hours, etc...kind of funny-hopefully I will learn soon to get it together!  But it is all GOOD!  It seems like I just posted yesterdy, but my last post was Thursday!! 

Well-now when the boys introduce themselves to someone-they are just using the names they asked for-Joseph & Peter.  I still call them by Yoseph & Fitmakes me sad and we probably won't officially change names, but I do ee their point and understand why they want American names.  Maybe we'll do those names as their middle names-we haven't fully decided. We also found out their official birthdates-(the ones on their birth certificates are from the adoption agency) and Yoseph has a birthday coming up 11/5-he officially turns 14.  Fit will be 9 on 5/14.  We will definitely celebrate on these dates-even though birth certificates say otherwise. They are special days and we always want them to remeber where and who they came from.

Well-Yoseph has officially turned into a teenager in a matter of days!!  I hve no idea how this happened, but it just did.  We were going to a church Family Fun event on Friday evening and he was like-"Mom do I have to go-it will be no fun".  Then he asked for a mobile phone...kind of crazy, huh??  He tried to convince me that someone else adopted from Ethopia his age has a phone already. I told him-When you turn 16-we'll think about it!!  Then the IPOD craze....we have to limit his time on it.  It's so funny-I feel like I am at school with my middle school kids!  Really-he is doing well and picking up so much more English and using it so appropriately! 

Fit is doing well too!  He loves video games and we have nicknamed him"Easy, Fit"-he hears it so much from us-he is so hard on everything (maybe just the way boys are) and we are trying to teach him to be easier on things.  He is quite social and really enjoyed church family night-he went in the bounce house and played a bunch of games.  You could never tell he's only been in US for less than a month!  He jumps right into everything!  He is doing much better with sleeping too-he was having nightmares for a little while and didn't want to sleep at night. 

Both of the boys want to go to school so bad!  We are planning school for next week-Dr's visit this Tuesday and then vaccinations and blood work, etc...  We also go back to Dentist on Wednesday. I'll post some more pics this week. 

People have been asking me-if it is what we expected and how are we doing.  It's so surreal.  We have been waiting and preparing for 2 years now for kids from Ethiopia and we think we were as prepared as we could possibly have been.  But really-you never know until you are in it!  Is it hard-absolutely, but by far the most rewarding thing we have ever done!  We just love them to pieces!

Good Teeth Report!!!

The boys did so well at the dentist today it was impressive!  We were so proud of them!  For never going to a dentist-their teeth were very good!  Maybe lack of candy?  2 more visits and we should be good-a cavity or so and  few extractions-but NO braces needed-YAY!!.  They were great with the boys so that made us much more comfortable!!  We go the Dr. on Tuesday so no school next week. They will start the week after-which is fine-am enjoying being home with them!  We are doing lots of schoolwork at home so they are getting prepared!  Our house is fully labeled top to bottom with all English words and they really are picking up on and using so many new words from the labels! 

Quick funny story-yesterday we stopped at my school and two of my friends gave them each a card and a small giftbag with a giftcard to our local movie/game place in it .  When we got to the car-they opened the gift bag and Fit said "Oh, soft, huh??" with a puzzled look on his face.  Soft in Amharic is toilet paper-they thought it was a bag with toilet paper because of the tissue paper wrapped around the giftcard!!  Quite funny!! 

Off to bed.....more later! 

One More Thing....

One more thing...our boys have such big hearts!  They both expressed that they really want to "give back" to Ethiopia in some way.  We decided that we will sponsor a child to go to school in Ethiopia!  The boys picked out a lttle boy named Yohannes and we signed up yesterday to sponsor him with a monthly donation for school.  They were excited and will also be able to send letters!  If anyone is interested in sponsoring there are a more children left to help-this is through Ethio-American Family Services-a non for profit group I just LOVE!!!  The link is http://www.ethioamericanfamily.org/sponsorship. 

Lisa

The Boys!!!

 My hope was to post daily, but I already missed a day!  Wait until I go back to work, Ugh!!!  I crashed on the couch last night and slept like a baby-all catching up to me!  So here's a quick re-cap of the past 2 days! 

We took the boys on the boat yesterday-they loved it when Dave went FAST!!! "Speed" they yelled! I guess it is a guy thing-I prefer a nice, quiet boat ride, but obviously I am outnumbered!  They loved fishing and swimming and were in awe over everything!  It was a fun day! 

This morning we were talking at breakfast and the boys shared that they really want to change their names-moe American.  I am torn-I am really against it-we both want them to keep their Ethiopian given names.  But we had to laugh-Fit explained to us "WHY" he wants an new American name. In perfect English and some good visusals/gestures-he said-"when meet people they say what is your name"  I say "Fitamlak" and they say "Fit a who, what, etc... and they can't say it".  He also had all of the gestures to go along with it-very dramatic.  It was so funny-we nearly fell out of our chairs.  We all got a good laugh.  He said he wants a bible name so he looked through the bible and chose three names-Joshua, Jacob and Peter.  Yoseph wants to change his name to Joseph.  This is definitely something we need to think long and hard about-I just love their ET names and can't imagine them as anyone else. 

Here are few pics of "the boys"!!!   Off to the Dentist tomorrow...should be fun!!!

Funny Times...

We all had a blast at the beach/park today and the boys were so good!  A few friends came with us and the boys fished (Yoseph caught 2 fish!!), swam, played-had lots of fun!   Few funny stories to share-at least the ones I can remember-Fit was in the water playing ball with 2 other kids and the ball went far out so I swan out and got it for them.  On my way back,  I overheard a coversation between the boys.  They asked who was getting the ball and Fit said "my mom".  They said-"who is your mom" and he said-"that's my mom" pointing to me and they looked at each other and said "that's you mom" with puzzled looks on their face and Fit said- "Yeah, that's my mom" (with attitude-like how could you NOT know that was my mom) and they said-"Oh, Ok" and carried on playing".  The whole exchange was kind of funny and I just love how Fit didn't think anything of it.  Obviously we don't look the same, but that doesn't matter one bit to him!  I was tickled by it! 

Yoseph is so sweet!  We are still learning this whole parenthood thing and aren't used to food shopping for more than 2 so I have gone to the grocery store basically every day (not to mention the boys are GREAT eaters!!) since we have been home.  Today, I decided I really needed to make a Sams trip to stock up.  I went to Sams after dinner (my first time away from the boys) and Dave took the boys bikeriding.  About 8pm I get a call from Dave and he says-Yoseph wants to know when you are coming home-he doesn't like it when you are not here when it is his bedtime.  He misses you.  How sweet from a 14 year old, right?  That is just the way Yoseph is-very true, caring and thoughtful-touches your heart!

One last story and then I must go to bed....bedtime and Fit don't always see eye to eye!  He came out of his room tonight after about an hour (we thought he was sleeping) and told Dave that he was hot.  Dave went in his room and found the DVD player hiding under his pillow!  No wonder it was so hot-the DVD player gives off tons of heat when you are watching it.  Meanwhile-we were celebrating b/c he went to bed pretty easy tonght in his own bed-little did we know why!!  Typical kids....

Here are a few more pics from today!!

Lisa & Dave

Life is GOOD!!!

It was only 2 weeks ago today tht we received a call about the boys...feels like they have been with us much longer and we can't imaine life without them!  They have mastered bike riding and swimming already along with many other things! They are like sponges constantly soaking up new information-faster than we can imagine.  Ha Ha-If anyone knows how to set up parental controls for ALL electronic devices-Please call me!!  I need to learn these things FAST!!!  I think Fit had taken apart everything he possibly can get his hands on-he is a spit fire-total boy and we love him for it!!!  For those who are familiar with the Ethiopian shrug-Fit is a master at that too-but it is short lived and we all laugh and respond by saying "Ethipian Drama"-including Yoseph!!  Yoseph has the funniest sense of humor and always comes out with something that makes us laugh-it is amazing how much English he knows and understands!  He is so mature and has experienced more than we can ever imagine, but he is finally able to be a kid and he is enjoying it.  They truly are amazing-we are blessed!

We took them to church today-they enjoyed it and were even singing the songs!  Finally got a photo of the 4 of us-not the best, but will get more soon.  I will post a  few more that I took!!  One of my favorites is Dave and Fit sleeping on the chair-it is adorable!

We decided to chage the name of our Blog to "God Bless the Broken Road"...for those Rascal Flatts fans (we love them!!!)-the song says it all.  Here are the lyrics if you are interested: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z7Nzs-r9ZUc 
We have had so many ups, downs, twists and turns in our adoption, but God had truly blessed the broken road for us and will continue to do so.  You just never know what your path will be!

We are bringing the boys to the beach/park tomorrow for fishing, soccer, and lots of playing!!  Should be fun!  We are taking another week off with them and then plan to put them in school the first week of October.

Thanks to everyone for their support!!

Lisa & Dave

Our New Additions!!!!

Well...it has been an amazing 2 weeks for us-I don't even know where to start! Dave and I are now the proud parents of 2 amazing boys-Yoseph (age 14) and Fitamlak (age 8) from Ethiopia. Circumstances came about recently that gave us this wonderful opportunity for the boys to join our family. Lisa met the boys while in Ethiopia in May and spent a lot of time with them and just fell in love with them then! We received a call almost 2 weeks ago (Thank you GRACE!!!!) that they needed a family and the rest is history!! We traveled to Chicago last week and spent the week with them in a hotel while the paperwork was being finalized and then came back to FL this past Wednesday! We didn't expect to be in Chicago that long, but it was a blessing in disguise-it was great bonding time for all of us! The boys have been in he US since September 12th and are doing so well with all of the adjustments-they are phenomenal kids!! We just love being parents to them!


We have had so many "firsts" already...here are some pics (yes-I need to dote and show them off!!) of the boys and I will do my best to keep up with blogging our funny stories(there are already so many already) and new info!! They are learning and experiencing so much each day-it is truly amazing and blessing to be a part of it with them. They are the BEST!!!
We have been waiting for our kids (Danny and Yordanos from Bethel) for almost 2 years and often asked ourselves why? God truly works in amazing ways-can't even begin to tell you-I guess this was the plan all along! To answer your next question....Yes we are still adopting Daniel and Yordanos-we've always wanted a big family!! Things seem to be moving along with our case so we hope to have more good news soon!

We look forward to you all meeting our sons!!! Sounds so good to say that!!!  I just realized I need to change the title of our blog....will think of a new one!!!

More later...
Lisa & Dave

The next best thing....

So today is my birthday and Dave has been asking me for the past 2 weeks....what do you want, how do you want to celebrate...well unfortunately we all know what I want, but I got the next best thing-New Pictures and Updates on the kids! Funny-they came by e-mail at about 11:30 last night! I have been sick all week and not really able to sleep so I was on the computer and was so excited to see the e-mails!! It is so uplifiting and energizing to get updates and new pictures-even after waiting as long as we have-it still has the same effect on us! The picture above is of their orphanage in Ethiopia-can't post any others. We sent a package of stuff with a traveling friend and she was gracious enough (in so many ways!!!) to visit our kids and take pictures and spend some time with them! Boy-do we miss them, but they are healthy and well cared for, which gives us some peace of mind.

I know people are wondering what is going on with our case and how could it ever take this long-but we are in it for the long haul no matter what-they are our kids. They are working on our case and that's about all I can share-we are optimistic, but cautious so hopefully we will have news in the next month or so. Technically, courts are closed (except for open cases-which ours is) until October 1st and supposedly they have 1 judge staying on to hear open cases as they are resolved. We'll see...


Keep praying for us and especially the kids!

They miss us...

We received an e-mail today from Ayele (our driver in Ethiopia) that he went to Bethel yesterday and visited the kids and brought them our presents. We sent a bunch of stuff with a friend who was traveling to Ethiopia to pick up her two children. He said "they are happy, but they miss you a lot". Breaks our hearts-more for them than for us. We don't want them to ever think that we have given up on them or that we are not coming for them. I'm sure it is hard for them to understand what the hold up is-heck it is hard for us to understand it and we are adults! It will happen and at least they know we are thinking of them!

Hopefully we will have some pictures too when my friend comes back-it always puts a smile on my face for a few days after we get pictures!!

More later...

Lisa & Dave

Ethio-American Family Services!!!

Ethio-American Family Services is an organization that is doing amazing work in Ethiopia!! Two wonderful women started this non-for profit organization after returning home with their children from Ethiopia! I had the privilege of meeting Dedra last April through a mutual friend and was in awe of the work she is doing to help the people and children of Ethiopia. They opened an orphanage a few months ago and are in the process of opening another orphanage due to the need for more services for children. This is all done through donations-how phenomenal that so many people have been touched! They welcome any donation-small or large and will use the funds to bettr the lives of Ethiopian children!

Check out the you tube video below of their last visit to Ethiopia!

Twist of Fate!

I am still in awe over this!! Yesterday my friend and I were shopping and I ran into a teacher from another county that I used to work with about 6 years ago. We chatted and I asked about another teacher who I was friendly with, but lost touch with and she said "You are NEVER going to believe this, __ just adopted three children from Ethiopia-she just got home in late July with the children". My jaw nearly hit the floor and I was almost speechless! I shared about our adoption and we couldn't believe the coincidence!! It was so cool-we exchanged #'s and e-mail info and I can't wait to contact my friend to talk more!! Not too often you run into someone in this situation! Funny how people come in and out of your life at different times-I just love twists of fate like this!!

Lisa

A Package of Love!

A Package of love....today I sent a package of goodies (clothes, pictures, kids stuff, etc...) to our kids-not directly, but through a traveling parent! Thank you Kim!! Kim and I traveled together to Ethiopia in May and she recently passed court (Woo Hoo-so happy for them!!) and she is going to visit our kids when she travels to pick up her kids! We are so grateful for this!

We are looking forward to getting some new pictures and an update on how the kids are. I can't wait to hear about their reaction when they see the pictures from my last visit! We do get an update about every other week or so-the caretaker and I e-mail back and forth, but internet connection can be sparce in Ethiopia so you never know! Hopefully we will all be together soon....

Love,
Lisa & Dave

Summer Fun!

One of the perks of being in education is enjoying some time off during the summer-for us we had most of the month of July off! We planned a few getaways and family trips to stay busy while "waiting". We went to the keys and stayed in key west for a few days-had a blast and also went to NY to visit family and friends!

One of the highlights from our summer was to go fishing with a "pro"! We fish (Dave more than I) when we go on the boat, but we don't catch much or what we catch is not the best so we wanted some tips on how to really fish! Earlier in the summer we won a fishing trip from our church casino night and we went last week. Check out these snook we caught-yes they are REAL!!! We caught about 15 snook in about 3 hours!!Unfortunately, we had to release them-not in season and they were too big to keep-but it was a riot reeling them in! My wrist hurt for a few days! Now that we know what to do we will definitely try snook fishing once the season opens!

Our Long and Winding Journey…or shall I say “Crusade”

I know… it has been a while!! I have been procrastinating posting in hopes of some good news to share, but finally decided today to sit down and update everyone on what is going on with our adoption and also about my trip to Ethiopia in May. I’ll start with the “nothing major to report” and end with the amazing-seeing the kids again! Just a warning-this is a LONG post-I’m making up for the past 2 months!

We have officially decided to change “Our Journey” to “Our Crusade” because that is sure what it feels like! After 20 months of waiting, we are still waiting on specific paperwork on guardianship for our children-crazy, huh?. When I went to Ethiopia at the end of May and spoke with the lawyer for our agency she shared that we would get through court this summer and we should be getting another court date within a week-we have been an open case on the court docket since our last court date in April due to some paperwork that was needed. We waited and waited and didn’t hear anything. After many calls and e-mails, we received an e-mail from our agency director a few weeks ago stating that we weren’t going to get through court this summer due to some changed court rules and they will have an update for us in September. We spoke on the phone and he explained the challenges and what is still needed (too long to go into) and he said he is hopeful they will get what is needed for court approval, but can‘t give us a time line. Needless to say, this was devastating news to us. We felt so sure it was going to be this summer and we would finally bring our kids home. We are sad, mad, angry, frustrated, hurt…the list of emotions goes on, but there isn’t much we can do at this point, but wait, pray and hope for a miracle. Our hearts break for our kids who are waiting and hoping we will come for them soon. We feel in our hearts we will bring our kids home sooner or later and we will wait however long it takes and do whatever we have to do to bring them home.

We definitely have been through the ringer with this adoption-nothing like we thought it would be, but what really is? We laugh-we chose Ethiopia for many reasons-love the culture, always had a deep interest in Africa, etc…but also because of the short time frame to adopt and the fact that you only have to travel once when you pick up your kids. Ha-Ha….I have already traveled there twice to visit and we have waited twice as long as originally thought-never as we think it will be! BUT…we have learned so much along the way, met lots of great people and have really grown in our faith and as a couple. There definitely are some positives along the way that we are grateful for! I will blog soon about a non-for -profit charity that I am getting involved in through someone I met along the way! We believe things happen for a reason and sometimes it takes a while to get to the big picture.

I saw this funny shirt on someone’s blog and it really sums things up, but I can’t remember whose blog it was so I can‘t post a picture. Anyway, it says something like:

WARNING: I am in the process of adopting and yes I am still waiting. I am subject to cry and be cranky at any moment so bear with me until I am on the plane to Ethiopia! How true…so bear with us if we are cranky or not wanting to talk about it. We know everyone cares and is truly supportive of our adoption, and we so appreciate this, it is just not easy for us to talk about it when we have little news to share. As soon as we have some good news, believe me you will hear us screaming-even in NY!

I settled for this shirt, but it is pretty neat too!



Now for the fun stuff….my trip was absolutely amazing-better than I could have ever imagined! I traveled with another adoptive parent who got to meet her children for the same time-what a touching experience! I flew Emirates this time and went through Dubai-interesting experience and a much nicer plane! It was great to have some in-flight entertainment on my 16+ hour flight-I probably watched about 10 movies! I used the same driver-Ayele that we used on our last trip! I just love him-he is an awesome guy-funny and really takes care of you! He drove us every day and stayed with us for shopping, dining, etc… My first visit to Bethel (where the kids are) was amazing. Yordanos came running up to me saying Mommy as soon as she saw me-it was so sweet. She had the biggest smile on her face and all of the other kids were saying-Yordanos and Danny’s Mommy is here! I loved hearing that-I wish I could post the pictures, but not allowed until we pass court! Danny came up soon after and gave me a huge hug and kiss and said I love you Mommy. We spent some time together and I gave them special gifts from Mommy and Daddy-a necklace for Yordanos that says a saying about family on it and a watch for Danny. Dave made a video for them before I left and I showed the video-they were so excited to see Daddy-they wanted to see it over and over! One of my favorite pictures is the kids watching the video of Dave with huge smiles on their face-it is so cute! I also spent some alone time with the other kids who are being adopted and spoke to them about their families in America and told them how much they loved them and are waiting for them.

We gave out lots of donations to all of the kids. We had so many donations from various people so everyone got tons of stuff! Thank you to all who gave donations-it means the world to the kids. We brought a bunch of great school supplies for them too. Books, flash cards, markers, etc… I even brought a pennant from President Obama’s inauguration that one of my teacher’s gave me. They knew who president Obama was and were so excited to hang it in their school. We spent some time in the school house and the kids showed me how they could write in English. It is wonderful how much English they know-speaking, understanding and writing. My kids wrote on the black board-I am so happy-I love you Mommy and Daddy. Danny was so funny-he was intently writing on the board all of the words he knew in English (days of week, etc…) and spelling them pretty good. They are all so smart and gracious kids-it is amazing that they have so little and want for nothing. It was also great to see Mame-the caretaker at Bethel. She is such a kind and caring woman and just loves the kids. We stayed for a few hours and played with the kids, didn’t want to leave but we had to get back to Addis.

My next visit to Bethel was just with Ayele and myself-unfortunately my travel partner got sick and stayed behind. We stopped at a fruit stand and bought a ton of fruit and water and goodies to bring with us. The power goes on and off (seemed like more off than on) in Ethiopia frequently so we wanted to get them a good supply of water. The owner of the fruit stand was so kind-he invited us in for a fresh mango and pineapple fruit drink. In turn, I shared my trail mix with them-they had never had chocolate before-they loved it, but who doesn’t like chocolate! The PTO at Dave’s school donated about 50 shirts for the kids so I brought them for them and got some pictures of all of the kids with their school shirts on-it was fun! We spent some time with the kids-laughed, hugged and really got to know their personalities! Danny is hysterical-much different from our last visit. He was much more reserved last time and quiet. This time-he was climbing and running all over and wanted his picture taken -he would say-“photo Momma, photo” in his cute little accent. He was sticking out his tongue, making funny faces and giggling to be funny! He was a riot! Yordanos loves attention, but what 8 year old girl doesn’t! She loves soccer and competition-plays with the boys all the time as the goalie. She does well in school, but definitely has a preference for sports! She likes to play around and have fun! Before we left, Mame said that the Dr. wanted to meet me and to call him to set up a meeting. He is the reason why are kids are there-he created bethel for the kids so I was so excited to get the opportunity to meet him. I actually met him that day at the hospital and what a nice man he is. He really cares for the kids and wants them to be in a good home. I felt so honored to meet him and really thought about how his starting this orphanage and bringing Yordanos & Danny there has changed all of our lives. It was truly a wonderful experience to meet him.

My last visit to Bethel was an overnight visit. I was fortunate to be able to stay overnight with the kids and spend 2 days with them-can’t even put it into words how wonderful it was. Just spending so much quality time with the kids and getting to know them-all the kids, not just mine was a heartwarming experience. I got to eat with them and learn their habits, likes and dislikes. Danny hates macaroni, but likes pasta (long thin spaghetti). Yordanos is not picky at all-likes most everything. We spent time looking through photo albums that we sent them (we’ve sent 3 each) and they knew who everyone was! They even knew their cousins names and ages-it was so cool. They told me they can’t wait to meet them. We played games and listened to music-they loved my I-Pod! We made videos for Daddy and just hung out together. That evening the Dr. came to visit and spend some time with the kids with 2 other visiting Dr’s from Israel. They just loved the kids and the orphanage and it was nice getting to know them better. They played with the kids and showed them some funny tricks-we had fun!

Mame, the caretaker let us all sleep in her bed that night so we would all be together. This was so nice of her to do-what a blessing. We took some funny pictures in our pajamas and said a prayer thanking God for this time together. The kids fell asleep pretty fast, but I stayed awake most of the night just watching them.
I knew leaving the next day would be hard and it was even harder than I thought it would be. I am so grateful and blessed for the time with them, but it is so hard leaving them and not knowing when we will be back. I know they are well cared for at Bethel, but we just want them home. We said goodbye and they kept asking “when come back”? My only response was “soon, as soon as we pass court “. I tried to hold it together so they wouldn’t get upset, but we all teared up and hugged goodbye. I felt a pit in my stomach for about a day after our goodbyes and was so drained from all of the emotions.

My visits and time with the kids was truly amazing and I feel so blessed to have these memories to get us through the “wait”. Each time I get down and think how more can we possibly take-I look at photos, watch the videos and remember how amazing our kids are. They are worth all the time in the world and we will wait as long as it takes.

We did lots of other things on our trip, but it was really all about visiting with the kids-went to an Ethiopian Cultural restaurant-Fasika where they danced the night away and I got to try Ethiopian wine (strong!!), met lots of amazing people and learned so much more about Ethiopia. The more time I spend in Ethiopia, the more I love the country. Even the chanting at 2 or 6 am in the morning or the dogs barking at all hours of the night didn’t bother me much this trip. Maybe I was getting used to it, who knows. I am not sure how someone can go to Ethiopia and not be forever “changed” or “touched” by the people and culture. Sara Groves has an amazing song titled ‘I saw What I Saw” about her trip to Africa and it is so true (the you tube video is at the bottom of my blog). She says, “Something along the road has cut me to the soul, your pain has changed me, your dream inspires, your face a memory, your hope a fire, your courage asked me what I am made of, afraid of”. In another song, she sings, “It’s too heavy to carry, but impossible to leave”. So true-I guess that is why this trip has compelled me to do more in Ethiopia-beyond our adoption. Will blog more about that soon.

Hope you enjoyed hearing about my trip!! Thanks for being there with us on our “crusade“-we truly appreciate all of the support and encouragement and know it will happen eventually. Keep us-especially the kids in your prayers and we hope you hear us screaming good news soon!

Love,
Lisa & Dave

Update

It's been a while since I posted and I have lots to share. No new major info on our case, except that they are gathering the needed paperwork and waiting on a new court date. We don't expect our 4th court date to be too far out-one of the families whose kids are at our kids orphanage did not pass a week or so before us and they just got a date of June 5th. Hoping to hear soon when ours will be. There has been lots going on in the courts in Ethiopia. At this time (started about 2 or so weeks ago), the government has temporarily halted hearing cases of abandoned children due to some possible fraudulent cases. They are currently investigating a few cases, but expect to start hearing abandoned cases again in a few weeks. This does not involve our agency, and this is actually a good thing. They really do need to be sure everything is done properly and these children's situations are what they say they are. For once, we are not in this boat!!! Our children were relinquished rather than abandoned, so the courts are still hearing these type of cases.

Our other news...I am leaving tomorrow (really today-Saturday) for Ethiopia to visit with the kids. We have been talking about this for a while and an opportunity came up to travel with someone and we just knew it was the right thing to do. Will arrive in Ethiopia Monday morning and leave the following Monday. I am very excited to see the kids and most importantly reassure them that we are coming for them. I can't imagine what is going through their heads right now. I will be able to see them pretty often-can't wait to give them hugs and bond with them! Believe it or not-they know we are coming! One of the families was there this week and she shared the news with them! Since Dave is not going, last night we made a video of Dave talking to them and I will show it to them! Have lots of donations, hugs and love to bring. So...off to Ethiopia-will have so much to share when I return! Please keep us in your prayers for safe travels!

Lisa & Dave