new room, new day

Good morning.  Ty and I did the best we could last night.  We are now on the first floor, which is much easier to get to!  Micah actually slept through for 6 hours!  They have been waking him every three hours all day and every 4 hours at night to feed him since he was a month old.  I am pleased with how quickly he is changing to our schedule!  However, the lack of REM sleep is starting to get to me.  Tonight I vow to go to be when he does.  I do remember this Jackie and Anna and expected it.  I think the stress is not helping :).  AWAA continues to be amazing.  Robel just showed up to check on us.  Duni will be here soon with a high chair and a seat for Micah!  I would suggest that future AWAA families figure a way to bring donations of booster seats (some fold so would not be hard to bring) to the Guest house!  Boy would that make it all easier!  I'm going to try very hard to get an exer-saucer for Micah!  He is mister busy.  I doubt he has ever seen a TV and is enjoying watching Letterman and Wheel of Furtune in the dining area :).  These people are SO neat and clean.  It is amazing!  The difference between them and Americans is pretty shocking.  Anyone coming here will be totally comfortable.  I've been using their laundry service.  They wash the clothes by hand in sinks and tubs outside and hang them out.  It is so cool.  Everyone has a smile.  There are 2 or 3 guards at our Guest House who work 12 hour shifts.  We bring them cokes at least once a day.  They love Micah.  I will post a picture of one of them with him.  All this talk about the Embassy has not allowed me to share more info about Micah!  He is gorgeous!  His skin is beautiful.  He has several deep chicken pock scars that I guess will fade with time.  He has mongolian spots on his bumper, which are so cute :).  They are just blacker than his skin.  He has a funny thing he does with his right eye.  We call it the harry eye ball.  When he sucks on a bottle, his eye lid goes up and down.  It's really funny.  It seems his eyelids are too small for his eyeballs, so he sleeps with his eyes half open sometimes.  It's a little freaky.  Duni says she and one of her children are the same way.  Let's just pray there is nothing wrong with his eyes, though he seems to see great and I don't notice it at other times.  We can't all be flawless! :)  Anyway, he is very busy and is rocking back and forth on his knees now.  He is going to take off and be crawling in the next week I guess!  He is eating like a champ and is quite insistent on being fed FASTER!  He LOVES the bath tub, which is just a super large bowl.  We have taken to putting him in it on the floor with a toy as a play pen :).  He LOVES it.  Too funny.  He started to laugh yesterday!  He thinks Ty and I are very funny.  He LOVED Charlie Beal (the other adoptive dad in our group), who has already been dubbed Uncle Charlie.  Abeh Micah, as we call him now, has been drug aroud everywhere and done such a good job!  He will flow easily into his new life as the youngest kid who has to be woken up from naps and thrown in the car and carted around after his sisters.  The one thing though, I wonder how he'll take to a carseat...  There is no such thing here!!! 
So Robel has just told me he is going to take us to a soccer game tomorrow!  Cool!  I'll post later and let you know what we did today. He wants to take us hiking, for like ever, up a Mountain.  I reminded him he is an skinny Ethiopian who is used to the altitude and runs a 5K in 14.29 (HOLY COW!) and we are fat Americans.  He says it will be fine, but I'm not sure :).  He does have a bumb knee from a motorcycle accident, so that would be to our advantage.  Again, these people are wonderful and we really appreciate how they are taking care of us.  We're doing fine!  The nice lady at the desk (whose name I cannot pronounce) here told me "oh, it will be fine (the investigation), these things happen, you will know Monday I tink!  You can only pray!".  Love her.  Love these people!  God is doing his work here and it is amazing to see!

staying in ET!

Well I dont' know what KT has posted because I can't see the blog so I'll be brief! Ty and I are still in ET. Everyone else left a bit ago. It was a very tearful goodbye for all of us. What we would not give to be with them! However, the Lord has his plan. I will not pretend that this mornings meeting with the US Embassy was anything but frustrating, but we do believe they need to do the right thing and further investigate Micah's case further. I do not want a phone call in 5 years from a mother in Bench Maji whose child was taken from her against her will or traded for a donkey or something, and she wants him back. This would be a huge part of the reason we chose to NOT do domestic adoption! They do not think that is the case with Micah, but they are basically covering their "bumpers" and getting video footage of, hopefully, an interview with her and at the least, an interview with her neighbors stating that yes she did have a baby and yes she could not afford to keep him and gave him up. The police reports, which held up in the ET courts stated that when they went to summon her to court, she could not be found. She had moved for work as a maid. I don't think the chances of them finding her are good, but we shall see. Also, I have been told that giving your child up is shameful in the ET culture, so she may have moved because of that. The US Embassy is dotting all their "i's" after the big blow up with CWA and we just happen to be one of those cases! The orphange where Micah is from, Gelgela, is under very heavy scrutiny. We are all in agreement though, we want to do the right thing by Micah. AWAA has been nothing but stellar through this whole thing. They have done a wonderful job! I know how frustrating this is for them as well. The truth is, we were given the OK to travel by the US Embassy and then they declined our visa request. They said we were good to go! They reserve the right to decline us at any time, and they did. I am so glad they have started this new 8 week investigation process. I am praying it will help to prevent what we are going through from happening to the future families. On that note, these kids need to be adopted! This country is very very poor and there are many orphans. What AWAA is doing is admirable and I only pray that adoption in ET continues to be possible for other families like us. Today while in an art gallery/restaurant as a group, one of the owners (I think) came up to both Becca and I separately and thanked us for what we were doing by adopting these children. He even said "God Bless you!". He saw that I was headed to the bathroom to change Micah and told me to come with him! I was a bit alarmed, but ET is a very friendly country, so I went with him to his office. This is when he thanked me and told me to change Micah's diaper on his desk!!! He then walked out of his office and shut the door! Amazing! Another plus about ET is that the food is EXCELLENT. I have had the best homemade pasta in this starving country! Amber and I have noted that this country is full of contrasts. You have men in business suits passing child beggars, men peeing on the side of the street, nice houses behind gates with shards of glass on the top next to shelters made of random pieces of metal, wood or tarps. It is both beautiful and sad. Also, you've heard it before, but the people here are beautiful. I'll post pictures once I can, but their features are exotic and expressive. Again, another contrast that the beauty sticks out of the obvious hunger and dirt. We have some amazing shots of the street kids. Can't wait to post them. Anyway, I have no idea what Ty and I will do this weekend. I would like to see Lucy and go to a museum. We will probably have to hire a non-awaa driver, which is nerve wracking for me since people around here drive like maniacs! Of course there are no cars eats or seatbelts! We'll see how it goes! Please continue to pray for us! We know God will reveal his plan sooner or maybe later! :) We would really like to just go home with Micah on Tuesday! However, we are relying on our faith to get us through! We are so thankful to have my mom stay with the girls ! We miss them so much and feel like we have been gone for months. As my dear sweet new friend Becca, new mother to Jeremiah, reminded me yesterday:
"The Lord will fight for you, you need only to be still" Exodus 14:14
Miss you all!

Friday - a few extra days in Ethiopia

Well, there have been some complications. Following will be a succession of emails with the progess of these new developments! It has certainly been an adventure for Ty and Audrey, filled with lots of joy and lots of frustrations. They have certainly felt everyone's prayers and well-wishes.

To summarize, there were problems with the US Embassy issuing Micah's visa. They claimed they had not finished their investigations, and would not be able to issue it until they were done. Technically, Audrey and Ty should not have been cleared to go at all. The last several days have been a real test of patience as Audrey, Ty and Amber did all they could to get Micah home!






Thursday mid-day..... Ethiopia time:

Ty talked to the US Embassy this afternoon on the phone and they agreed to meet with us tomorrow (Friday) at 10am.

Here is some background of the problem: The U.S. Embassy is in the process of changing to a new system for the Ethiopian adoptions. In the past, they have been satisfied with all the research on the legitamacy of the orphan done prior to it reaching their desk. Now, they want at least 8 weeks to look into every adoption. (The next AWAA families are not coming here for adoption until mid-May.) Overall this is probably a good thing, but we were supposed to be under the old system, and not this new one.

We have an email from 3/3/10 from them saying that we "are good to go" confirming that we were ready for an appt. to get Micah's visa on the 17th. That means they were satisfied with the investigation at that time and gave us the go-ahead to travel. Then, on Wed, 3/17, when we were ready for our appts, they said they forgot about them, and told us to wait a few days. AWAA pushed them, and they were able to investigate the other 2 families cases quickly as their kids are pretty local. They got visas today and will head home tomorrow as scheduled. But for Micah, the investigation could mean the Embassy officials traveling to the remote place (very remote--as in fly half-way, drive part-way, and walk-in up a mountain the rest of the way) to talk to the police officer who handled the placement and try to find Micah's birth mother. They have all the written reports, which have always been enough in the past.

That email confirmation is the biggest thing we have going for us. They said everything was fine, and gave us the go ahead to come here, and now they have changed. There were several phone call confirmations also, but of course those aren't "on-paper" evidence.

At best, they will call the investigation complete tomorrow, and go ahead and issue Micah's visa. At worst, they will say they need an indefinite amount of time (up to 8 weeks) to complete the investigation. What the AWAA staff seems to expect is that they will do the investigation within the next week and issue the visa then.

So, pray. Pray that the people we talk to: Linda, Christine, and Abigail (all U.S. Embassy employees) will see their error, see that the investigation into Micah's history is complete, have compassion, and issue the visa. Pray that we, Ty and Abanet (an AWAA employee) especially, have wisdom as they plead our case. Pray that we have peace and wisdom about what to do if it does not happen tomorrow.

I think that's it! We should know something by 11am here, 4am Burton time, 3am Lewis/Ferrel time tomorrow. We'll keep you posted.

Becca, Jeremiah's mom, just slid some verses under our door. Here is one: "For I am the Lord, your God, who takes hold of your right hand and says to you, Do not fear; I will help you." Isaiah 4:13.

Love to you all,
Ty, Audrey, and Amber

This was followed by hours of waiting for the appointment, and praying for a good outcome. During this time, Audrey, Ty and Amber visited other orphanages in the area. The other 2 families in their travel group also got the good news that their visas were in order, and they would be able to travel hom as scheduled.

This morning (Friday, US time) we received the results of the meeting, and the email is below:

Hey,
The Embassy appt did not go as well as we hoped, but we are as satisfied as we can be at this point.

The Embassy insists on sending a representative to Bench Maji to look for the birthmom and confirm her placement of Micah, or at least talk to neighbors if she has disappeared as the police report says. These new in-depth investigations are a result of the bad stuff that another agency, CWA, did a while back, and they did it with the same orphanage that Micah came from, Gelgela. Because of the history of problems, they feel like they have to do these extra steps.

They had several options of when/how to send a person there, but AWAA is going to hire a driver/car, and also send an AW employee who is familiar with the area to go with the Embassy person. Hopefully they will leave this afternoon (Friday), get there by Sunday, and investigate Mondayish. If they are satisfied that Micah is truly an orphan, they drive back out to cell phone signal area, call into the embassy, and the embassy issues the visa and Micah comes home. Best case, that would be Tues. or Wed. Of course things could go wrong in all that, so it could be later next week.

The nightmare would be if they found something other than Micah being truly an orphan, and we don't even want to consider that right now.

Amber is going home tonight as scheduled. Ty and Audrey will stay here with Micah. AWAA will continue to take care of them as they have all week. If things take longer than Tuesdayish, Ty will come home to his girls, and Amber will come back to help Audrey get home.

That's the news for now. Christine in the Embassy knew they had made a mistake in letting us come, and not having the investigation done already. She promised, and we believe her sincere, that she will do everything possible to make it happen ASAP. Her cohort, Linda, was a nazi that should be kicked into a canyon. :-)

We appreciate your prayers in all this. We'll continue to keep you posted.


Much love,

Ty, Amber, and Audrey

So, now we wait! We wait and hope that everything falls into place for the best possible scenario. Audrey is planning on using this time to visit with the kids in the transition homes, which I know they will appreciate. They apparently LOVED the bubbles that Jackie sent over for them!

The investigation team is leaving tomorrow to try to get some answers. They could have news as early as mid-day on Monday, depending on the cell service in the remote areas that the investigators are traveling to.

All this talk about travel plans and investigations.... what about Micah? Well, Micah is doing great! Apparently he is super active and tons of fun! According to Audrey he absolutely LOVES to eat and sleep, and is a pretty mellow, easy baby! They have started transitioning him to cereal, and he is a FAN!

So sweet...... apparently he sleeps with his eyes open sometimes.....

Meanwhile, the girls are still anxiously awaiting the return of Mom and Dad and their new baby brother! They have been staying busy with Nana and all of their normal routines! They are getting all of their favorite foods for dinner, and the weather has been glorious for playing outside! Leigh and I headed to the house after work on Wednesday and rode bikes, planted some flowers with Nana, Jackie wanted to sweep the garage (she's SUCH a cleaner) and made some signs for the airport! We won't mention the green paint, ok??? :)

Thursday

Well it's been rough!  We are praying for a miracle today.  Basically the embassy reserves the right to insist on MORE investigations, even though they CLEARED us to come!  They made a mistake and never did re-investigate our cases at all.  AWAA has proof that they cleared all three families to come and get the kids, but they are not honoring that, so far.  Today is the day!  If we don't get embassy appointments today, we have to wait until next week to hear anything.  I hope to be able to update the blog later today with news of their decision.  This has nothing to do with ET and everything to do with the US.  AWAA and ET already investigated our cases and cleared us.  In light of the recent negative publicity, the US embassy has decided to re-investigate all the cases.  We were told this would happen with all the cases after ours.  Apparently it may happen with our cases as well.  Of course I want it all to be on the up and up, but I don't want it to take 8 weeks!  They should never have cleared us to come in the first place!

We are going to leave in a little while to go visit orphanages and shop.  Hopefully we all can enjoy the experience and do God's work without thinking of ourselves.  All in all, we are enjoying our time but wish we had that visa!  It would be much more fun to be here if we knew when we were going home!  We do know God has a plan, we just want to know what it is!

Thanks for your prayers and support!  Micah is wonderful  and slept better last night.  He's already growing and eating ET baby cereal which smells and tastes MUCH better than US baby cereal. He's very happy and seems to like us very much :).  He is pretty easy so far!  We are so blessed that all three of the kids are so great!  Lilly is 3 1/2 and does not even speak Amharic so nobody can understand her.  Yet she plays and plays and is totally distracting me right now as I type, trying to get my attention.  Jeremiah, the Beals son, is SO cute.  He has been sick the whole time we've had him here but is still so happy and smiley.  He is about a year old.  He is not keeping food down which is, of course, cause for concern.  We are all praying for him!
Anyway, it seems "mommy and daddy" language is universal and our kids are picking it up and flourishing. 

More later!

Embassy Update!

This just came in an email from A:

We were supposed to visit the embassy and finish up the process for obtaining VISA's for our children today. Well, there is some misunderstanding at the embassy level and we do not know what is going to happen. PLEASE PLEASE join us in praying that God moves the people at the Embassy to do whatever investigations they need to do to get us our appointments and get our children's visa's by Friday. We are supposed to leave Friday night. There is a chance it will not happen, in which case, I do not know what will happen with our children/travel. I am praying for GOOD news for all of us TODAY!

Thanks so much. Feel free to pass along to your praying friends!

Otherwise, we are enjoying our time here! This has been a wonderful experience!

Much Love,
A

Embassy Day!

Hey all!  Thanks KT for the updates!  Not sure how long I'll have internet, so this will be very short!  Last night was LONG.  Poor baby is so congested (he is on amoxy) he was up A LOT.  He seemed like he was scared. Eventually I just put him down beside me and hugged him.  He did much better with that!  He ate once in the middle of the night.  This morning he played and had a ball.  LOVES toys!  We had a great Bfast with the other families here.  Now we are waiting to go to our Embassy appointment.  I know it will go fine, but I JUST found out yesterday that his mother DID NOT show up for court (so I have NO picture for Micah) and the police declared him "abandoned".  I feel a little uncomfortable with that, but the Lord will provide.  We are calling him "Ahh- bay" as that is what they call him at the TH.  The ET people are SO LOVING with children and kiss them, want to hold them and grab cheeks.  I would be totally uncomfy if some random person did that in the states, but here, it is fine with me!  Speaking of kissing, at one of the shops yesterday and old man whom I was bargaining with grabbed my face and planted one on me!  TWICE!  The second time I knew it was coming and turned my cheek!  I have been kissed by an Ethiopian man!  :)  The girls got beautiful dresses out of the deal, so it was worth it!  Anyway, more later.  Not sure I have the words to describe this place but I'll try.  Right now Micah is snoozing in his beco. 

Quick notes for those preparing to come.  We are all sitting around waiting to go to the embassy so are brainstorming.  Apologies to those who dont care!  Just skip this part!
Bring: chapstick, shoe polish (brown and black in CANS) and gum to give to the street kids to sell.  Robel (one of our guides) has an awesome street kid ministry and the kids are just amazing!  I also gave them good granola bars and fruit snacks with vit c.
Wear shoes that can be shined and let them shine them! 
Get small bills at the airport when you exchange money for tipping!
DO NOT let the men in jump suits help you with your luggage!  They are VERY PUSHY and you will be forced to tip them at the end.  Have 20 birr in YOUR POCKET and do NOT be sifting through your money.  They are horribly pushy and it is intimidating until you get used to it.  Be prepared to have beggars stalk you out of the airport.  Stay with David or T, and you'll be fine.  You'll need to tip the guys who put your bags up on top of the van, I'd do 10 birr per person.  Again, have it ready and stand FIRM.  They will try to get more.
Bring more baby wash then you think you need and don't forget the bulb syringe.  All three of the kids in our group are a bit snotty, Micah is the worst.
Make sure you have LOTS of snacks to hand out to street people.  I would make sure they have nutritional value too! 
Bring a thermos for hot water if you are taking home a baby! 
Don't forget to drink tons of water.
Work out before you come.  I am in fairly decent shape and walking up 4 flights of stairs in this altitude is KILLING ME. Micah being 18.5 pounds is not helping me! :)  An oxygen tank may help LOL! 
Bring dramamine and a good sense of humor.  Ther driving here is crazy.  David is very skilled but has been known to go down the wrong side of the street.  Backwards :). 
Bring shoes to hand out if you can, and bring money to buy shoes to hand out (very cheap!).  Every one wears crocks in the transition homes!
Bring sports equipment (basketballs!!!) for Robel's ministry.  Also, tennis shoes would be great!  The size would be from 4-7.   Most of the street kids are boys.  They also love soccer type shirts. 
Bring your baby carrier :). 
Bring ear plugs and an alarm clock.  Amber's cell phone alarm is not working here. 
Skype work and has been fabulous for us!  You can also skype phone to phone for 50 cents a minute I hear.
Becca says get a global phone. 
You do not need to bring a bath tub.  They have them here.
You might want to bring some sort of high chair seat if you have an older baby who is eating.  We are just holding ours.  I wish they had bumbo's here... 
If you want creamer in your coffee, you better bring it.  Be prepared to eat LOTS of carbs and NO vegetables.  Bring fiber!  You will need it.  Also bring daytime allergy pills.  The pollution is really bad.  You may want to take something to get you to sleep the first few nights! 
Bring all the medications they suggest.  You will need tums and everthing else that has to do with your tummy.
GET THE MASSAGE at the spa!  OH MY GOSH!  I also got a pedi.  It is a very nice spa.  I paid $35 US dollars and got an hour long deep massage and an hour long pedi!  Who knew I'd have the best massage and pedi of my life in Ethiopia, LOL!  The dude who gave me the massage works on the ET famous marathoner.  My claim to fame! 
OK, gotta go! 
Pictures later!
One last thing!  They need a basket ball hoop here at the guest house!  Anyone want to bring that?  I think Just the hoop/net, not the rest of it.  Just a last minute idea!

GOTCHA!

Audrey is still unable to update her blog from ET, so I'm gonna report in for her! She will be able to give a more complete story when she returns, this is just a quick tease to let everyone know the short version of what's going on!

Today... Tuesday, March 16th is the long awaited "Gotcha" Day! The morning began with a shopping trip. They went to an area that had a lot of little shops selling traditional items and had fun bargaining for their purchases. After shopping was lunch at a pizza place, then off to the AW Transition Home. They were able to take pictures of some of the children whose parents will be coming to get them soon! I know this was a VERY important thing for Audrey and Ty to receive while they were waiting, and I know they are looking forward to being able to share those updates and pictures with the new parents waiting here in the states. They were also able to deliver the donations and care packages that they brought with them.

Then.... they got to take Micah.... this time, FOREVER! After leaving the AW Transition home, they went to the Transition Home for the older kids. They delivered toys and had fun playing with the kids for a bit.

A quick trip to the grocery store for Micah's formula and they were headed back to the Guest House. According to Audrey, Micah was a "trooper" through all of their travels! After eating dinner at the Guest House, they hung out in the room getting to know Micah. He is an active baby, army crawling all over the place! Then.... it was BATH TIME! Micah apparently loved his bath! I did get a short video from Audrey, which I can't figure out how to post, but trust me.... HE'S CUTE! Laughing and smiling, I can't wait to hug him! Then, it was bed time for Micah, and I am sure Audrey, Ty and Amber weren't far behind! What an exciting day! I'm not sure what tomorrow holds for them, but I am sure that it is going to be great, because they finally have sweet Micah in their arms!

That's all I have for now. I'll post again when I know more!
Thanks,
KT

Update From Ethiopia!

Audrey, Ty and Amber made it safely to Ethiopia! Audrey is having a hard time getting to the blog, so here is her update (and some pictures):

March 13, 2010

Departed DC! KT picked us up from the house in the afternoon. We hit target to buy some waterproof mascara and a thermos. The fun began! We arrived in plenty of time to get our bags through. No trouble. All the time we spent weighing and moving stuff around was worth it! We shopped for sunglasses (Ty got some) and ate at subway. We had a big time. We met some ladies doing an annual missionary trip t o ET who had on great purple Ethiopia 2010 Tshirts! She told me she’d send me one and took my email address J. Once on the flight we found the Beals, one of the two other families traveling with us. We also met another adoptive mother and her older son. Their family consists of 2 Russian, 2 bio, 1 Guatemalan and now an ET adoption! We spoke with American/Ethiopian people sitting next to us. Ty and Amber slept for much of the flight. I was not as lucky. I read, listened to music and watched Blind Side (great movie!!!). The ET flight attendants were all beautiful. They carry themselves with a very dignified and proud air. Very interesting. They could be blunt! The food was ok. All in all, it was fairly painless I would have to say! We fueled in Rome and never got off the plane. L we landed on time, at about 8 pm local time. Then we waited in line for our Visas (the $20 pretty bill!), money exchange (13.5 exchange rate) and Passport stamp. Then we got our luggage (All accounted for!) and began the hassle of fending off the guys in the green jump suits! They basically tried to just take our luggage and put it on the customs scanning belt for us. They were VERY insistent. Ty fended them off for the most part but they still were grabbing bags out of our hand and putting them on the belt. The customs guy was barely watching the screen. He asked me to open Micah’s bag and wanted to know what the bottle liners were! LOL! I’m sure to him they were quite strange looking! While he was looking at our bag, other bags just kept going through the scanner, without anyone checking them. Bags would just fall off onto the ground! What a mess! The guys in the green jump suits then were insisting on big tips from the men. Very in your face about it! Ty started haggling right off. I felt sorry for the Beals! Charlie bill totally got scammed! We then went out and found our AWAA driver,T, jamming out to music! He and David took us out of the airport. We were immediately surrounded by men working for tips. I had a beggar flank me all the way to the van! She was saying “hungry, so hungry” and looked like she had a baby, though I did not see it. T told me to keep walking and follow his lead. She was practically touching me! Ugh! The men loaded all 100 of our bags on top of the van! They then haggled BIG time for tips. Ty gave each man 100 birr and they tried to get more. That is about 8.00. Then they tried to get the same from Charlie. He stood his ground. They were really in his face! It was quite an experience! I rode up front to the Guest House! WOW. The town/streets were amazing. Little alley way shops, shacks, tents, boxes, beggars, coffee shops, fruit stands, huge slabs of meat hanging, clubs, guest houses etc. WOW. I cannot wait to take pictures! The guest house is very nice!! Ty and Amber enjoyed the beer, which I did not think was bad actually! There are two fridges full of water and drinks! Very nice. The bed is soft but who cares! The shower is nice and clean and the water is hot! I forgot to NOT brush my teeth with the water. I’m really hoping I don’t get sick!

March 14, 2010

We got up around 530. The noises over night were chickens, dogs whining/barking and wind! This morning we heard chanting! I am so mad at myself for forgetting a daytime allergy medicine! The pollution is terrible… There is a very cute dog outside! I went out on our balcony and kissed at him and he wagged his tail at me! I asked Amber if we could take him home. A and T are trying to learn Amharic right now. It is so foreign to me… Selam! Halo!! Amesigan alehu (thank you). So far we’ve had some dark chocolate with sea salt as we wait for a meal!!!!

Now.... that is where Audrey's post ends, but I will fill in what I know to get everyone up to date, and will post her updates as soon as I get them.

Today (MONDAY, the 15th) was truly an amazing day for the Ferrel family......they got to meet Micah! They are, of course, completely in love with him already. Here is a snippet from the short email she was able to get out today:

Had an amazing day! You are going to eat him with a spoon! He is so awesome! Great baby! Independent. Strong as an ox and 18.5 pounds no kidding!!!!!!!! He is very alert, starting to crawl, starting to sit up and very very active!

Micah is doing great, though they put him on antibiotics today for some lingering congestion. A visit to the pediatrician when he gets home will definitely be in order!

Pictures from their first meeting:





After meeting Micah, Audrey went off for her massage and pedicure, and Ty headed back to the Guest House.

Tomorrow's schedule holds shopping in the morning. then they go back to get Micah and take him "home" with them to the Guest House. They are very excited to get him for good!


Meanwhile, here at home, the girls are hanging with Nana and waiting to meet their new little brother! We have some "welcome home" projects planned!!!



Keep your prayers coming! I know that Audrey and Ty feel and appreciate all of them! Hopefully, more later!

Thanks,
KT

OFF INTO THE WILD BLUE YONDER!!!

Well we have 6, 50 pound checked bags and 6, 15 pound or less carry-ons between the three of us!  WOW!  I had room so I added a set of twin sheets out of the closet and some more baby clothes I do not need (Thanks Nat!  I decided you would rather an orphan have them than get a few dollars for them here!).  We are so very excited!  We worked out, showered and had a big sit down YUMMY pasta lunch with mom and the girls here at the house.  We are ready to go!  Kristie is coming to get us shortly to take us to the airport.  We should be arriving in Addis Ababa at about 1 pm tomorrow.  As soon as we get to the Guest House we will try to Skype mom and the girls and email KT if we can't update the blog from there!  Can't wait to get there and get Micah and can't wait to get back home! 
Thanks for your prayers!  Keep it going!  I hate to fly! :)

Ephesians 5:18-19 (New Living Translation)


Be filled with the Holy Spirit, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs among yourselves, and making music to the Lord in your hearts.

Amber has arrived!

Well Amber (Ty's sis) is here, yipee!  I cleaned the house today and organized some more for mom, who will be here tomorrow, with lists and directions.  I think the dogs will be harder than the kids to take care of!  Between Salsa's anxiety (which is MUCH better now that  they have stopped the bombing at Quantico!) and Rhap and Pronto's resource guarding, there are some important steps to take to insure the PEACE around here!  Good thing mom is used to lots of crazy dogs!  :)  I told her she HAS to make sure Rhap sit's before she's allowed to come out of her crate or out the door!  They MUST be hiked DAILY and preferably twice a day!  I think I put more emphasis on the dogs behavior than the kids :).  The kids will be a snap, I HOPE!  At least if they slip I should not have any dog fights LOL! Tomorrow is a grocery store run and packing.  We are bringing 4 checked bags and each has to be under 50 pounds.  Do you know how heavy 4 huge bottles of bubbles are?  We can't leave them behind because they are Jackie's donation to the orphans!  Something may have to give!  It will not be the 5 pound bag of m&m's either!  We'll see!!! 

a bit of news...

I just learned from AWAA that we will NOT be able to meet Micah's mom when we are in ET.  She lives a 4-days trip away from Addis Ababa and unfortunately the logistics of this 4-day trip make it impossible for her to come to meet us.  I am sad about this as I had hoped to at least have a picture of his mother for him to see.  I really wanted to meet her to thank her and let her know we will tell Micah she loved him enough to save his life by giving him up for adoption.  We will always pray for her!

In case you wanted to know...

In-Country Itinerary Day 1 – SUNDAY Welcome to Addis Ababa Ethiopia!
Ethiopia is 8 hours ahead of us!

Arrival at Bole Aiport, Addis Ababa
AWAA driver will pick you up
Check-in at Guest House

Day 2 – MONDAY Paperwork Party & Meet Your Child!

9:30 am  Meet Robel or T in the lobby for paperwork party at the Hilton hotel
Lunch at Hilton hotel
1:30 – 4:30 pm Visit to Transition Home to meet your child! Consultation with the Transition Home doctor
Afternoon Activities:
Ladies – Boston Spa
Men – Guest House
7:15 pm  Meet Robel or T in the lobby for a Traditional Ethiopian dinner

Day 3 – TUESDAY Shopping & “Gotcha Day!”

9:30 – 11:30 am  Meet Robel or T in the lobby to go shopping
12:30 pm  Lunch at Guest House
2:00 – 4:30 pm  Visit Transition Home and take your child with you
Dinner at Guest House

Day 4 –WEDNESDAY Embassy Appointment

9:30 am Depart from the Guest House for the Embassy
Lunch
Afternoon: Shopping at Piazza (soccer jerseys and jewelry shops)
Dinner at Guest House

Day 5 – THURSDAY Orphanage Visit

10:00 am Meet Robel or T in the lobby to depart for Kids Care
12:30 pm: Lunch at Metro Pizza/Makush
Afternoon: Visit to Gelgela Orphanage (where Micah was dropped off/ Kingdom Vision International (KVI)
Dinner at Guest House

Day 6 – FRIDAY Visas Picked Up / Last Day

10:30 – 11:00 am Meet with Robel or T in the lobby to pick up visas for your child(ren)
Activity: Visit a Coffee factory
12:30 pm:  Lunch at Guest House
3:30 pm:  Meet in the lobby for prayer and group pictures

Depart for HOME!  Get home to Dulles bright and early on Saturday morning! 

Micah has an appointment with the International Adoption Pediatritian on Tuesday.  We should be nice and jet lagged for that :).

The weather seems to be improving!  Today we spent all day outside!  Ty cut up trees and I moved mulch and romped dogs. I worked Rhap in my REAL agility yard and in my "box" in the woods.  The girls "mountain biked" in the woods, made "nature projects", hiked through the woods, rode bikes, rode big wheels and came up with a "great idea!" as seen in the picture.  We spread snow out so it would melt and enjoyed a visit from our friend Leigh.  Our last full day at home as just the 4 of us was great!  Thank you God!

a good day

Well we continue to prepare!  I have been following the blogs of the families who are over there now.  This one: http://thehallmark.blogspot.com/ shows what we'll be doing day by day.  After checking this out if anyone wants to send me some of their used twin sheets to take with me, I'll take them.  My girls really don't need two sets each.  I think I'll take one of the sets I have now and check at target for some on sale.  Let me know ASAP if you want to send me a set.  They do not have to be new.  They do need to be washed!  I am trying to prepare my heart for this visit.  I know it will disturb me. 
Thanks for your prayers!
Audrey

CONCRETE TRAVEL DATES!!!

YIPEEEEEEEEE!!!!  While in Target I got THE call from AWAA!  The ET embassy confirmed our information and cleared us to get Micah!  Yipee!  We'll be leaving March 13 and returning the 20th!  Yipee!  I REALLY have to get that Beco now!  But first, I'm going to pretend like I'm Salsa and take a nap while I'm alone...  I am suddenly VERY tired.  :)  It's been a long time since I've had a nap, but I bet I can figure it out!

good news

This morning while I was at gymnastics with Anna I got a GOOD call from AWAA and a good email when I got home!  Here is part of it

***

Good Morning Ty and Audrey,

The embassy has informed us that they should be able to go ahead and process your child’s visa if your new I171H lists the correct fingerprint expiration dates for both of you.

** Yipee!!!  It DOES list the correct fingerprint dates and I faxed it!  So we wait.  Hopefully we will get concrete travel dates tomorrow :).  Thanks for your prayers!  Don't stop now!  If you want to check out a great gotcha video, check out this blog: http://weloveourlucy.blogspot.com/ The video is on the right.  Remember to pause any blog music before clicking on the video, so you can hear the video music by itself.  Her music is at the very bottom. 

my headache

My head hurts.  We got an email from AWAA earlier to let us know that USCIS made a mistake.  The ET consulate DID receive our update, but there was something missing.  They neglected to send the DATE of Ty's fingerprints in with all the other information for our case.  I have no idea how they could have left out this VERY important bit of info.  So of course, we don't have concrete travel dates.  I was unable to get in touch with Immigration today, but did confirm the problem to have been from them, not the NVC, and I did sick my Senator's office on it.  For what it's worth, I have found Senator Webb's staff to be AWESOME.  So, we pray for news tomorrow and continue to pray for Micah and our travel group!  It's nearly time to meet our NEW travel group!  The good news is I've "met" a ton of very cool people through this!!  Thank you Lord!

The weekend

Well it was a bit of a downer, but we made the best of it.  My mom stayed and we went shopping.  We also painted Micah's room!  The girls got to "faux" paint!  Poor Ty, he was having a hard time with 4 messy girls painting in his new house, LOL!  After the girls went to bed, Ty and mom and I rolled the rest of the room in a much lighter orange color.  It's hard to tell the color in this picture.  I have to say, I LOVE IT!  We did a good job I do believe!  Now all we need is the baby...  Maybe we'll get some news tomorrow.  In the meantime, you can look at where we are staying: Yebsabi Guest House.  Not bad!

We are praying for our travel group!  They are over there right now!  They get to meet their kids in just a few hours!  We cannot wait for updates!

Well... not so much.

So not good news.  The consulate said no to us.  I don't know EXACTLY what happened, but I believe they did not get our update before close of business today. They are 1/2 day ahead of us and they only work 1/2 day on Friday.  The ET embassy is so volatile right now, it would not be a good plan for us to travel without their belssing at this point.   So be it.  HOPEFULLY we will be all UTD on Monday and will get concrete travel dates for two weeks from now, on March 13th.  So I feel better than a few hours ago.  Still sad, but ok.  Thanks for your prayers!  Mom and I are going to paint, clean, pack a little and make curtains for my den.  It will be all good.  His timing is perfect though He forgot to ask me what I THOUGHT!  Just kidding.  I know it will happen at the right time. 
Thanks for praying! 
Audrey

Test Post and Introduction....

Hi, my name is Kristie and I will be updating this blog! :) I am SO excited to be saying that! I never lost faith that THIS is the time for Micah to be coming home. While Audrey and Ty (and Amber) are in Ethiopia meeting their son to bring him home, I will be updating the blog with news from abroad! Safe Travels to Ty and Audrey...... we cannot wait to share your adventures!