Tuesday's Update

Okay...here is the update.

 

Greetings from warm Addis Ababa.  Our updates have been few due to the internet service and due to the fact that our life is really busy right now.  :-) 

Our embassy appt went well.  It was very brief...so brief that it is hard to believe we travel so far for just a few minutes.   Tomorrow afternoon, we will receive the kids visa and passports and be ready to head home. 

 

S and B both are doing well.  S seems very happy and does an amazing job of communicating without English.  He is picking up some words from us .  He has been practicing his sisters names and can say them quite well.   Each day he asks, ' America?'.  It has been really fun to see more of his personality come out.  He is always giving, loves to sing and dance  and is very social. He has the greatest laugh. 

 

 

B has been more quiet.  She displays more signs of grief than S at this point but overall, she is doing much better than I expected.  We are seeing smiles and hearing her laugh.  She loves her little doll stroller and loves to eat snacks.  Her and S both call me 'momma' and James 'ababa"  (Abat is father in Ethiopia) . She is sleeping through the night (THANK YOU LORD).  She has quite a cough but sleeps through it.  The dr.  checked her lungs and ears and she seems fine.  Praying it all goes well for her on the plane rides home. One day, Josi was reading her a book and Little B reaches over and grabs Josi hand. What a sweet picture. 

 

We would continue to covet your prayers.   We fly out late on Wednesday night.  James and I are both pretty tired so the thought of 24+ hours of traveling is not real appealing.  However,  the desire to get HOME and be a family supercedes all.  

 

Love,

Mom

 

We would appreciate your prayers for my mom, Josi, and B as they are sick.

 

Thanks,

~Myriah~ 

 

Update!

Here are bits and pieces of updates I have gotten from my mom: 

Sunday:

We went to Hannah's Hope this morning and spent some time hanging out with all the kids.  B DID NOT cry when she saw us!!!!   :-)   She was quiet but took my hand and played with us.   Of course I had veggie puffs which helped her out quite a bit.    We gathered up S's backpack...his giraffe is has an injured leg that will need repaired once we get home.  S was wearing his bears jersey and the gray shirt we brought him.    When they told him we were coming today, his response was, "YES!".  He seems very happy.  

We were able to have someone explain a few things to him.  I think the home schooling part was the hardest for him to understand but then he asked if Josi is home schooled and that seemed to make it all just fine.  He is first in his class at school ...they gave us his final exam papers. 

Back at the hotel. little B cried and cried.  She was not happy with us but finally fell asleep on your dad so they both enjoyed a nap. S loves everything...his clothes, the games/puzzles we brought.  He specifically enjoys pushing B in the umbrella stroller...at a rather fast speed.   He repeats words that Josi and I use...and calls Josi by name. He was looking at pictures of the three of you and trying to say your names.  I think he will pick up English rather quickly.  

The itinerary says that B wakes up at 6 am!!!!!  What will I do?   I am not sure how we will entertain them for three more days in the hotel.   

 

Moday:

B seems better this afternoon.   She has a lot of congestion and a bad cough, we think that is what made her throw up.  Plus...we were riding in the van to the embassy and it was a long ride.   I also think she had a fever but the doctor checked her ears and lungs and they looked good.  So..Dr. thinks the congestion and coughing is what made her sick.

S is doing very, very well.  He seems very happy.  It is a lot of work managing these two.  They are super duper busy....just don't know any appropriate boundaries so that is challenging.  It will take some patience on the part of all of us to slowly teach them.

S is telling the all the people at the hotel about his three sisters in America!!!  He keeps saying your names.  It is hilarious to hear B talk in Amharic.  she was giving Samuel the 'what for' today. 

S and B are sleeping really well.  They are already picking up on English too! They are very good at saying 'no'!  :)

Josi is doing very well sharing mom and dad, although she is very ready for some time with her big sisters.

Love,

Momma

Tomorrow they will go back to HH and say goodbye to everyone and then fly out at 12:15pm South Dakota time.  Please pray for safe and smooth travels, no delays, good seating on the planes, healthy bodies and that the time spent traveling home would go by FAST! :)

~Myriah~

TODAY IS THE DAY!!!

TODAY IS THE DAY!!!!! In a few short hours we will board one of many planes :-) that will take us to Ethiopia....and to our sweet children. We arrive in ET late Saturday night and will head to Hannah's Hope on Sunday. Sunday will be a BIG day...as little man and baby girl will come into our care, leaving the people who have loved and cared for them during the most difficult time of their little lives. We, of course, are beyond excited to finally have them in our arms. This seems to be the way of adoption: loss woven together with great joy. It is also the way of our Redeemer...taking what is lost and filled with sorrow, breathing in His goodness to create beauty~a wonderous beauty that reflects who He is. Oh how our hearts long for little man and baby girl, to one day reflect on their lives and see His beauty.

We would appreciate your prayers as we bring our sweet children HOME!!! If you would be so kind as to pray for the following:

Smooth, safe travels, good healthy and good sleep while we are gone. (these go a long way in managing the chaos that will ensue)

That our hearts would be filled with peace as our family is apart. (I am so ready to have my family all together under one roof)

That the Lord will continue to bring healing to Wynter's bone infection. Neither she nor I want her to have any issues arrise while we are gone.

Monday morning is our appointment with the US Embassy~ as you go to bed Sunday night, pray that this is appointment is quick and seamless.

For communication with little man and baby girl. We have all been trying to learn some Amharic ~you could pray that what we attempt to say in Amharic will actually sound Amharic! (yes, I know..I'm asking for a miracle!)

That the Lord would fill little man and baby girl with peace..that even now, He would be speaking words of truth and peace into their hearts. That they would feel safe and comfortable with us. That they would see Jesus in us.

That the Lord would give us wisdom as we shepherd these two little hearts through the grieving process of leaving Hannah's Hope, their friends and their mother land.

We appreciate you covering this journey in your prayers.

 

May God be glorified~

This Wild Ride called....LIFE

We have had some crazy weeks here lately.   'Crazy' would be the upshot word when in reality it has felt more like we are being pressed in on every side.   After returning home from our court trip, we worked to clear our plates so we could focus our time/energy on our two little ones when they arrived.  The Lord, in His wisdom had other plans for us.    As I was asking Him, "Why now?", I had the distinct impression that He was telling me:  "I am enough".   Why oh why do we not rest in that truth?    I longed for the peace that comes from that truth.   Yet, peace requires trust.  So then I prayed, "Oh for grace to trust Him more".    We knew we were nearing the end of our adoption process and our 'crazy circumstances' were colliding with the timing of expected travel.   How on earth would this all work out?  How could we be two places at one time?   Looking back, it is funny that we (okay..mostly me) worried about those details because now I see how He has woven it all together....for our good and for His glory. 

Today, we received confirmation of our embassy appointment to bring our children HOME!!!!  This is the last step in the legal process and news we've waited on for the last six weeks.    WHAT JOY!!!!  The embassy has assigned us an appointment the last week in February ...within 48 hours of that appointment, little man and baby girl will receive their visa and then we will board the flight home and begin the life long journey of FAMILY!   

We began our adoption process almost two years ago.  It has been long, hard, stretching, humbling and thought provoking.  It has deepened our relationship as a family.    We have grown in our understanding of who God is, His heart for the orphan (including you and I) and the vastness of His character. And as we gaze upon little man and baby girl's face...we see ALL of this.  All that God has done and the indescribable beauty of His hand.   

Little man and baby girl~ you are so Worth the Wait!