Gotcha day-----December 8, 2008

Yes, we are officially back from Ethiopia and have our precious daughter home, for a week now----wow, so hard to believe it's been a week. We left for Ethiopia on December 6th, and boy what a long plane ride it was to get to Ethiopia...a grueling 27 hours, and with all that pent up excitement and raw emotion, not an easy trip over there. Dear hubby came down with a case of nervous diarrhea the he just knew was the stomach flu, but it wasn't just nerves, like I told him it was!!!!!!LOL. We traveled with 7 other families, all great families that I enjoyed getting to know so much and miss them lots. After arriving in Addis Ababa, we were all so weary. We were taken to the hotel by bus, our luggage was unloaded and we were tucked in for the night. Did we sleep????? Are you kidding?????? There was no way I could sleep knowing that my baby girl was little more than a block away. The next morning-----December 8th, 2008, we got up, was met at the hotel by Almaz, and finished our paper work. Almaz is completely awesome guys, I adore this woman!!!!!!!!, then it was time to go meet my little girl. We all went to Hannah's Hope as a group and stood out in the driveway and got to watch as each family met their precious child and children. 3 families met their babies, then some one came to me and Eddie and said---Tigist is upstairs asleep....Asleep, oh no, I want to hold her!!!! I can barely remember going upstairs, I was so exicted, so nervous, just completely overwhelmed with emotion. 2 of the people I just witnessed getting their precious children were very dear people in my life, I was completely moved by what I had just saw, and now it was my turn, but she was asleep. How was that going to go? We got upstairs, walked over to her tiny crib, and there she was, resting so peacefully. She was absolutely beautiful, she took my breath away. After standing there in complete awe, she woke up, looked up at us and smiled so big, as if to say, Hi mom and dad, it's about time you get here. She never cried, only smiled and cooed. Then we had to leave her there, to go eat lunch and go shopping....SHOPPING..... I hate shopping....I just wanted to stay with my girl. But we left and I couldn't think of anything besides going back to get my little girl. At 5:30 that day, Ethiopian time, we took her to the hotel with us, she will never be an orphan again, she will never live another day in an orphanage.----Praise be to our Holy God--------
Our time at the Union Hotel was so special. We all 3 just hung out, did what ever we felt like----which was mostly nothing----- and bonded with Natalie Tigist Grace Meade.

During our trip to Ethiopia we met Natalie's birth mom. I will leave that info confidential, but I can tell you it was difficult, but well worth the heart ache. We also got to bond with the other families, and Eddie and I spent some much needed time together. The plane ride home was again torture, but we survived.

We've been home a week now. I can tell you that Natalie's breathing has improved. She wheezed a lot in Ethiopia, but not so much now. She's growing like a weed, but is very short for her age---she takes that after me, LOL. She found her feet yesterday, is sitting up on her own some, and grasping things and bringing them to her mouth better. I started her on cereal today, I hope it helps her sleep better at night. She sleeps in 2 hour interval, and gets up for bottles at that time. We definately hope that gets better. I know that she would rather for me to hold her all the time than to be put down, she stares at me when someone else holds her, and I think she reached for me today, at least I like to think she did. We are having so much fun getting to know her. She definately has us wrapped around her little finger, and is definately running this house right now.

My prayers now are for continued good bonding and attachment, good health and happiness, many prayers for Hannah's Hope and Almaz----such a great orphanage, and for Natalie's birth mom. We feel that she is now part of our family and love her so much.

What a pleasure it is to finally post about our gotcha day, and bringing our little girl home. People are asking if we're going to have any more new additions to the family. We honestly don't know, can't really see that far ahead right now. But know that we have our ears open to God's will and would gladly walk in complete faith again, no matter where He calls us....

I leave you with the lyrics to one of my favorite songs....Our God is an awesome God He reigns from Heaven above, with wisdom, power, and love, our god is an awesome God.

Thank you all for your diligent prayers as we've walked this path, and I look forward to continuing to share pictures and stories of our little family.

Our baby Natalie

So much to catch up on

Well, I haven't posted in a month. So much has happened in this past month, it is just mind boggling. Yes, we passed courts, and we got our travel dates. I'll give you one guess as to where I was when I got that call----yealp, I was at work, can you belive it---I'm always at work when Julie calls with big news. I was working up on 4th floor, having a pretty good day. I went down to get lunch and was getting off the elevator on 4th floor to go to the break room and eat when my phone rang. I looked down at it and it was Julie. I froze for a few seconds and finally answered with a "UUUMMMM, hello". Yes, I was so scared it was bad news, but it wasn't!!!!! Julie says, "Are you ready to go pick up your baby?" OH MY GOSH!!!!! We traveled Dec. 6th to 12th. What a trip and what a time we are having with our new little one. I'll post pictures and such when I get them all organized. I cant wait to fill up this blog with her beautiful face. More later!!!!!!

Tagged

I got tagged!!!!!!!! This picture is from my 4th file, and is the 4th picture in that file. It is of ME, horray, it's a crummy picture of me with "lovely" naturally curly hair. I hate my hair that way. But this was taken in El Salvador on my 1st mission trip. I am in the make shift clinic which was really the Sunday school area at the little church we attend in El Salvador. This clinic was much nicer than the last one we served in. As you may be able to see, we had actual walls here. Our last mission trip our clinic only had corrigated tin and cardboard boxes for walls. I am treating a patient, not sure what her ailment was. We treated over 400 people during that particular week that we were there. You can also see medicines behind me, that is our "makeshift" pharmacy. All those medicines was donated to us by several different drug companies. That was an awesome, life changing trip. I made many lifelong friends in a different culture and they are people I consider as my family.----Gosh, I miss it there.

I don't know who to tag, so if you haven't been tagged and your reading this, YOU'RE it!!!!!!

Court date

Our court date is tomorrow, well tonight our time. I've prayed so hard all week. I have a headache today, I think it is from praying and meditating so hard on God's word. I want to hold my little girl so bad. I worry about her health. I'm not sure what has happened as far as her health goes since she was in the hospital last month. I wonder if she'll need some specialized care, if we'll have to take a nebulizer to Ethiopia, I have no idea what is going on. I just pray that God carries me through the next several days until we know if we got through courts successfully or not. Bethany's baby Liam's case is being heard tomorrow to. I pray that we both get through this time and get to travel and get our babies before Christmas. Oh man, would that not be the most awesome answered prayer there is.

God, pour out your blessing on us tonight please.

Sheer sadness

I got an update yesterday, not a good one. I get asked everyday at work "Have you heard anything about the baby". What a blessing it is to work with people who care so much about our adoption. The update yesterday has devastated me. We found out yesterday that there are some changes in the court systems and our travel will most likely be delayed. How much of a delay? Who really knows. I sat at my desk here at home and listened to Julie tell me all that was going on in complete silence....I just could not believe what I was hearing, I couldn't think, I couldn't hardly breath, it was everything I could do to keep from bawling on the phone. So I wished her well as she travels to Ethiopia, hung up the phone, sat down, and just sat there, staring off into space, just trying to process all that I had just heard... How long will we have to wait before I hold my precious daughter, and my worsest fear is not ever having her home at all. How could I let myself fall so in love with a picture and a hope. I am a nurse, I deal with tragedy every day. I'm a realist, hard as nails, can be a... "that attitude will not fly in this ER" nurse, a real bad a*# when I need to be. How have I let my heart get so vulnerable?

Well, I was just sitting in my chair when my husband came home from work. I got up and told him about the entire conversation with Julie and then the bawling let loose. I am still a complete mess. And my greatest fear is still....what if this little girl I love so very much is never mine? Now I am having to accept the fact that my girl will not spend her first Christmas with us, and we won't be with her. All the day dreams I've had about sitting and holding her while we open presents won't happen this year. I may not get to travel with Bethany, I've gotten so close to her, and it just breaks my heart to think we won't share getting our precious babies together.

"God, I pray that you give me the strength to endure this wait. Not knowing when it will end is almost unbearable. I know that you are with me, please pick me up and carry me, because my legs are so tired I just can't hardly walk this path anymore".

Guys, today is my daughter's 16th birthday. I have waited 16 years to celebrate this day with her, please pray that my spirits will lift and I can be a happy mommy for her.

Good bye Summer!!!!!!!!!

This weekend we went down to the park and enjoyed the beautiful sun and fall colors. We had a great time, but we all know that this is one of the last few days of warm weather left and the cold, dreary days of winter are right around the corner. But that also means that our baby girl will be home. Oh how I feel sorry for her leaving such a warm enviornment and coming to our long, cold winters in Southwestern Virginia. We'll have to bundle her up good when we get her home!!!!

Package to our baby

This is the package we're sending to our baby girl. Oh how I wish I could fit into that gallon zip lock bag. I have kissed every item that went into that bag (am I crazy?). The scripture idea I got from Autumn's nursery, by the way Autumn, your nursery is so beautiful!!!! It is embrodered and I prayed for our baby girl the whole time I worked on it. What a joy it was to put this together. It'll be in the mail to AGCI tomorrow!!!!!!!!

El Salvador Mission Trip

I know this is supposed to be a blog about our adoption, but OH WELL, it's my blog and my mind is in El Salvador today. I miss it so bad. El Salvador is definately my 2nd home. This is a picture of me with some girls I played jump rope with during our last trip down there. As you can see, I'm in my scrubs because my main role there is providing medical care. There isn't a lot of time for play but I do manage to get out of the clinic for a few minutes and just go play with the kids. That is really what I enjoy about these trips. The lady in the back with the pink shirt is one of the ladies from the church we attend while we are there. She is an amazing woman and makes out of this world papusas. Our church is preparing for another trip to El Salvador in January. We will not be able to go as we feel that our baby Natalie wil be home, or will be home soon after, praying for the 1st option!!!! But my 16 yo daughther Ashley will be going, her 1st trip there, and I won't be going with her. Okay, that is still a scarry thought and we've been planning for her to go for a couple months now. But she is going to serve God and feels she is lead to go. I don't know of a better thing for her to choose to do. Below is a picture of a beautiful corn field. This is a community corn field where most people there get their corn for tortillas from this one field. There isn't very much land so everyone has to share this field.

Reflection

As our adoption process has went on, I have learned a great many things. It has been an incredible time of growth in my abiltiy to be patient. I have never been a very patient person, I absolutely HATE surprises, birthdays, Christmas, because I don't like to wait, and I hate not to have control. Well, let me tell you that if you desperately need help in these area, like I did, just start on this wonderful journey called international adoption. I have learned not to be in control of every situation, and there is NO room for impatience. I am so grateful to my Lord that he has called our family to take on this feat. I am now mmmuuuuccccchhhhh more patient, and don't mind so much not being in control. I have complete peace in my heart with this entire process. Earlier on, especially with waiting for our referral, I was not so OK. Not knowing where my baby girl was, if she was being cared for, if she was cold, hungry, alone, or even born, was most definately the hardest part for me. But now I know who she is, I know where she is, and I know that she is being cared for, it's so much easier. I of course think about her every waking moment, and long to hold her in my arms, kiss her beautiful face and tell her how much I love her, but that will come in time, in God's time. I know that God is preparing my husband and I's hearts for this upcoming trip to Ethiopia. We will meet her birthmother, and I know that is going to be so hard. So, yeah, God is definately preparing our hearts for that. Our mission trips to El Salvador have been such heart opening experiences for us, I can't imagine how just the TRIP alone will change our hearts and lives, let alone having this new wonderful little girl as our own.

Lord, I praise your Holy name, you are a wonderful God. I'm so glad and thankful that you brought us on this journey. Not only are we gaining this wonderful new family member, but we've grown as YOUR children as well. Nothing can be better than that. Thank you for loving my family enough to choose us to go on this journey with you.

Amen.

It finally happened

God never fails to amaze me. On September 16 we recieved our referral. So you're saying, okay it was on September 16, big deal, right? Well, September 15 is Eddie and Joshua's birthday. Months ago my sweet husband starts saying in a joking way, "Well get our referral on my birthday". Well, our referral was actually in the office of AGCI on THE 15th!!!! My husband's dumb luck!!!!!!

Our new little girl is just amazing. Her birthday is July 10th, she is 10 weeks old today. She is the most beautiful little girl in the world. Before our referral came I had so many anxieties and I had very long conversations with God about all these. I so wanted a little baby. I just worry about bonding so much after a child is over 6 months old, so I would tell God this everyday. I would worry that I wouldn't think she was cute, that I wouldn't fall in love with her picture. So many stupid things went through my mind, I'm almost ashamed. But let me tell you, God took care of all my worries. I love this little girl I've never touch just as much as I do my 2 biological kids. She is my whole world, and she is truly mine in everyway I can think of. We serve such an awesome God, and I've said this for a long time, but he in all honesty hears every concern we have. I know that with all my heart, because as stupid as all my concerns were, He cared for every one of them.

I so want to post a picture of her on this blog. She is our famiy too. Oh, I can't wait to get that little girl home........ Come on court date.

Almost there!!!!

Well, its been a very long time since I've posted, but lots has happened. We are currently # 4 on our agency's waiting list!!!!!!!!!! It seems like it has taken forever, but we're getting there. I dream about our baby girl in Ethiopia every night even though I have no idea where she is or what she looks like. I pray for her every day, nearly every second. Josh and Ashley are so excited to. We're buying small things for her to help us to keep focused, ---this is really going to happen. I just pray that we will soon see her face. COME ON REFERRAL!!!!!!