1 week

Well, it's been one week since we got fingerprinted for CIS. Wow, time sure has flown by!! It helps so much to keep busy. The tournament took up a lot of time and we have another one at the end of May. Did I mention that we have to make it through high school graduation first?! I can't believe our little girl is graduating from high school. You know how people say "they grow up so fast" and "she'll be grown before you know it" ? I'm so there! I can remember when people would say that and I would think 'yeah, yeah, whatever'. Well, they were right!
Of course, we have to have a graduation party.....any suggestions? We're thinking the perfect graduation present would be two new sisters and a plane ticket to Ethiopia!

When it rains it pours....

Well, the baseball tournament is OVER!!!! Yaaaay! Don't get me wrong, I enjoy giong to tournaments, but running one can be a bit stressful.....especially when it rains!!! With a little rearranging of the schedule, we were able to squeeze in enough games for all of the teams to play at least three games. Most people were fairly satisfied, but I've learned that you can't make everyone happy.
My title also has a double meaning. We had so many people from the community (and surrounding communities) willing to help and donate baked items to sell and drawing items to give away. All of the kindness that was 'poured' out in support of this was overwhelming. We found that people really do care and are willing to help in any way possible. Most people are very excited about the adoption. It's nice to share this experience with others.

Fingerprints, finally!

Thank you to all who prayed for Kayla's fingerprint appointment form to come in the mail. This morning about five minutes before we left, we got it!!! I was so excited because I'm sure they wouldn't have fingerprinted her without it! We drove two hours and were fingerprinted rather quickly...it was great. Then, we were able to do some shopping and go out to eat, then race home to catch American Idol....I just love that show. We also had to do some more things to get ready for the baseball tournament this weekend. I think it should be a big success. John has put in a lot of work and it should pay off. Many people have also volunteered their time and resources. We're so thankful for this. We can tell that God is in control! We're still praying for good weather. It's looking good so far.

Keeping Busy

It always helps to stay busy while you're waiting for the next step in the adoption process. Last weekend was prom weekend, so we spent all day Saturday doing prom activities with Kayla (hair, nails, dress, pictures, pre-prom meal and, of course, the promenade). Isn't she beautiful?!

Emma also had to get in on the fun. She thought she was going to prom, too! Don't you love the hair!? Is she 3 or 13?

Next weekend we're hosting a baseball tournament. The proceeds will be used to help finance our adoption. There are 29 baseball teams involved from all around this area. We're selling refreshments, lunch, and t-shirts. John also organized baseball competitions over the lunch hour. Please pray for good weather!! I hope that this tournament will also help to raise awareness about poverty and adoption. The backs of the tournament t-shirts will say 'Join our team in the fight against poverty.' Many people have volunteered their time and resources to help us pull this off. We know that God is working for us!

Tomorrow we get to get our first vaccination.....yaay!?? Then off to CIS for fingerprinting on Wednesday. Please continue to pray that they'll go ahead and fingerprint Kayla!

New Pictures!

It was very exciting yesterday to receive some pictures of our girls from Debbie Walton that she had from when she went to Ethiopia to bring home her daughter, Kuri. Thank you so much Debbie! We really enjoyed those pictures! Then, last night we received more pictures from a friend who just came home from Ethiopia. The girls are absolutely precious, and I can't wait to give them each a big hug and bring them home!
An update on the fingerprint appointment....We decided to just take our daughter to our appointment along with our receipt that shows we paid for her and hope that they let her go ahead and get fingerprinted. Please pray that this works out. Each day counts if we want to be able to make it through court and pick up the girls before the rainy season begins in August!

Fingerprint appt., maybe

I was so excited this morning when I got the mail and there was an envelope from CIS. I opened it and found that we could go any Wednesday to get fingerprinted! Since today is Wednesday, I was ready to jump in the car, drive 2 hours and get it done!! Then I realized that Kayla, our 18 year old daughter, needed to be fingerprinted, too, but her form did not come....ouch. My balloon was quickly deflated. Not sure what to do next. I emailed Gladney to get some advice....yes, I bugged poor Mary again. Hopefully, I'll have an answer soon and we can get our fingerprints done next Wednesday.

are we there yet?

Are we there yet? This is what it says on the cover of our adoption photo album. I felt like this was an appropriate title for our adoption journey. We began this 'trip' in January and I feel like we've moved fairly quickly through the paperwork, but it still seems like forever to reach our destination. It reminds me of those trips we would take as a family when I was younger. It was a mere four or five hours from our house to the exciting theme park, Adventureland, but it seemed like it took FOREVER! Lots of waiting...and saying to poor Mom and Dad, "Are we there yet?"
Mom and Dad are now Tonia and Mary from Gladney and Kate from KBS dossier. I appreciate their patience so much as I crawl through this process!
I hope this blog helps to keep everyone up to date on what's going on with our adoption and helps others just beginning to see the light as other blogs have done for me!