moving back

Well, see you later folks. I will post here only if it's something that directly involves our adoption process. Otherwise, recording our little life moments will resume over at mamalovesadeal!

the latest

I know I have not been the best blogger these days! We've just had some very busy days, dr appts, and just life in general. I did want to give an update on Silas' health. I want other adoptive parents who read our blog to be best prepared for what they may encounter when they come home with their children.

Going one by one might be easiest!

-He is just finishing up his third antibiotic for his double ear infections and bronchitis. After a chest xray showed some nastiness in his lungs, it looks like it was either really bad bronchitis or pneumonia. We will have to go back for another xray in 2 weeks to make sure that it's clearing up. He seems to be feeling SO much better than he was though!

-They were worried that he had not been gaining weight. When we took him a little over a week ago, he had not gained anything since we left Ethiopia. And he eats like a mad man! So they wanted to closely monitor his weight. Thankfully when we went today he had finally gained! Last time he was 16 lbs 7 oz, and this time he was 17 lbs 2 oz! We will take all we can get! It will continue to be monitored, and we will keep giving him all the healthy calories he will take!

-He had a positive TB skin test. He had a BCG vaccine in Ethiopia, and doctors argue as to whether that can cause a false positive result. His chest xray was clear of any TB, so we are so thankful for that. Signs are pointing to it being the BCG. The plan for now is to just wait awhile and have him retested. We want to do all we can to avoid putting him on the 9 months of antibiotics if he truly doesn't need it.

-We found out he has giardia, which is a common parasite. He starts on medication for that tomorrow. Hopefully he can kick that with one round!

-His initial blood work came back showing very low white cell counts. We went back for more blood work this past weekend to make sure they were rebounding. Unfortunately they were either unchanged, or even under what they were. They are at critical levels. They think this is because he was just fighting what he had for a very long time and it just wiped him out. We will go back again on Saturday to have more blood drawn. Please pray his numbers have increased! If they haven't, they will do more in depth tests to check for genetic disorders or HIV. We are not concerned at this point, since all things point to him just being depleted by this illness. However, this means we are pretty much housebound! We just can't risk him catching something at this point since he has no reserves to fight it off.

Sooo...we go back on Saturday for more blood work, go get another chest xray in a few weeks, and then collect stool samples when he's done with his meds to make sure the parasite is gone. That is the game plan for now! In the mean time please pray with us that his white blood cell counts will increase!!!

wow

I'm not even sure where to start since we last posted! We are home and doing well. We are all still adjusting and getting to know one another. Overall, it is going amazing! We definitely have some grieving and attachment issues with him, but I feel like I see improvement every day. His brother and sister could not be happier! They are a great help and somehow always know how to make him smile. He is eating like a champ, and I'm anxious to see what kind of weight he's gained when we go to the International Adoption Center on Monday. He's finally eating our formula and LOVES every single kind of table food we've given him. He is one happy camper with a full belly! He is also learning so much! Since we've had him he has learned to do the sign for "more", waves hi/bye, and claps his hands. He also will repeat after us and say "ma-ma" and "da-da", but doesn't call us that yet. He is also pulling himself all along the floor to get wherever he needs to go. His leg and arm strength are improving a ton, too. He has such an amazing smile, and on the other side of the coin has quite the scream! He has slept through the night the last 2 nights and then taken 2 long naps during the day. That's what I'm talkin about! I just hope we can keep this going and maybe we'll feel sane again! Time to go change a diaper that is stinking up the entire house...

I'll leave you with this cuteness taken while we were in Ethiopia:

Wednesday

Today was a pretty relaxed day for the most part. We didn't have
anywhere we had to be until noon. Then we went to the Transition Home
to do our care packages/photos, donations, and gifts. I loved being
able to take pictures of the kids for other families! Coffmans- your
little girl is SO incredibly beautiful and sweet. She followed me
around the rest of the time I was there and just hugged me and kept
her arm around me. I loved it. :) Your son was gone to the dr.
getting a check up, so she opened up the care package and just lit up!
She loved everything you sent! We got some wonderful pictures and
video for you! Then your son came back and we got some pics of him as
well, but they had already put the care package away but said they
would give him his things. Both of your kids have such gorgeous eyes
and eyelashes! Setliffes- Your daughter is of course gorgeous! She
was giving me the stare down at first, but warmed up after awhile. I
finally got some smiles when I tickled her belly. She really liked
that! Later she saw me across the room and I just had to smile and
got one back. What a sweetheart she is! I read her your note and she
really loved the rattle you sent. I passed on lots of kisses for you!
We got video for you too! Butlers- Your little boy was also gone to
get his check up, so I only got a few moments to take his picture. He
was not happy to have a stranger in his face clicking away! But when
the nanny held him he was consoled quickly. He looked like he was
maybe feeling under the weather, and maybe had the chicken pox.
Almost all of the kids are sick with runny noses/coughs. He is such a
cutie! Those eyes of his, my goodness! He was very happy on our
first day there when we met our son. I sat on the floor and played
peek-a-boo with him and got some big, big smiles! We got video for
you today too, but he will be crying in some of it. I think we scared
him a little, sorry!
Today was a little rough at times with Silas. He is just not feeling
well. We could obviously tell that and have him on the antibiotic
that we brought. Today the TH dr. told us that he has a double ear
infection, bronchitis, and a severe diaper rash. Poor baby! Please
pray with us that the medication does it's work quickly or the plane
ride will be very hard on his little ears. He yanks on them all day.
I could also tell he was grieving today. Just looking around crying
with nothing to console him. His world has been turned upside down!
Most of the time though he is such a happy boy! Smiling, laughing,
being silly. All of the nannies there LOVED him! They all wanted
pictures with him and want us to send them all to them. They were so
sweet and just kissed him nonstop. :) It was a wonderful experience
there and the nannies were so happy to see him have a family.
After the TH visit we did some shopping. (We were told we'd have
lunch but never did. Future travelling families, always have snacks
in your bags just in case! You never know how your schedule might
change. So glad I had our CLIF bars.). It was fun to shop and find
neat things. It is hard to see all of the beggers and street kids.
One of the little boys followed us everywhere. We just loved him! He
is one of the boys that our guide, Robel, helps care for. He yelled
our names as we drove away on the bus. He had one of the best smiles
I've ever seen! I wish we could have stayed longer just to hang out
with him.
Tomorrow we will be visiting the orphanges and I think do some more
shopping. We are also praying to hear word from the Embassy tomorrow
about some of the families who are hung up with paperwork. Please
pray! They did find someone to help advocate for them and have seen
some progress.
Sorry we haven't posted pictures but our internet access has been very
spotty. I promise to post lots once we're home! Speaking of home, we
can't wait to be there!!! But we are LOVING Ethiopia...the sights,
sounds, people, food, etc. We are also so thankful that Phil and I
are still healthy. Praying that continues!
We have had power every day that we've been here! It did go out for a
few minutes tonight but came back on. We might have a no power day
tomororw so we'll just have to wait and see if we can update. Thank
you all for your prayers. Can't wait to be home in just a few days!!!

Tuesday in Addis

Tuesday:
He is officially ours, forever!!!
Today was a great, but very long and dramatic day.
Early this morning, we went to the transition home to pick up our
children.  Then we immediately drove to the Embassy to have all of our
official paperwork finalized and to get Silas' visa.  Well, after
waiting about an hour, they told us that they simply weren't ready for
our group yet so we all had to come back later.  Not that big of a
deal, but a little bit of a letdown.  So, we had lunch at a local
place, the Zebra Grill, which was an interesting combination of
Italian & Mexican (as in, a burrito with marinara sauce on top),
pretty good though.  Then, straight back to the Embassy.  After
waiting in line for another hour or so, Amber and I were the first
from our group to be interviewed.  It went great! It only took about 5
min and we were done and Silas' visa was approved.  That meant that
everything was done for us to be able to bring him home...that's an
amazing amount of refreshing right there! Of our 8 families in the
group, 5 passed just fine.  3 are having some pretty big paperwork
issues - PLEASE PRAY FOR THEM!  There were lots of tears and prayers
being said as those 3 families were told that they may not be able to
take their kids home with them.  AGAIN, PLEASE PRAY FOR THEM!
Our day with Silas has been wonderful! He is the happiest child ever!
He is hugging and laughing and playing and...uh, just awesome!  He
wasn't eating so well today as he didn't like our formula.  So, after
only having 1 bottle at 9am, we had to go back to the transition home
to get the specific formula they gave him...we got that at about
6:30pm and he ate it around 8pm.  So, yeah, not much food for him
today, but tomorrow looks to be better!  Even with little food, he was
not grumpy at all.  He didn't much care for the antibiotic we gave
him, but he was still able to take it.

We're missing Gibson & Maya terribly.  We just wish they could meet
their new little brother...soon enough I guess.  Please give them lots
of kisses and squeezes for us!  (thankfully, Amber was able to talk to
them on the phone for a few minutes today!)

Now we are unbelievably exhausted and gonna try to turn in early (it's
about 9pm here).  We love you guys and thank you so much for your
prayers.  You guys are a huge part of getting us here and we will
never forget that!

Hopefully we'll get another update out tomorrow.  G'night...or, for
those of you in the midwest, good afternoon.  :)

phil (and Amber)

Monday in Addis

{sorry for the delayed posts...internet connections in third world countries are apparently a little spotty...who would've guessed? :) }

Monday:
Our first full day in Addis has been amazing!
We started the day with a big breakfast with all of our travel group
(8 couples), then started the process of filling out paperwork.
After that, we headed out for a great lunch at a local restaraunt
called Lucy's.  Amber played it safe with a penne & tomato sauce dish.
I went all out and got the pepper steak. It was amazing!
Then, we got in the bus and started on the drive we'd all been waiting
for...the trip to the Transition Home!
The process was surreal.  We pulled in and were greeted by dozens of
kids running up the bus, giving us 5's, waving hello, etc.  It was
wonderful.  Then, they had us all line up out in front of the building
and started bringing our children out 1 at a time. It was alphabetical
order so that means we, the Wings, were last.
It was amazing to watch the other families just explode with joy at
the sight of their kids. Many of the kids did the same for their new
parents.
Finally, it was our turn.  They brought Silas (Yegermal) to us and our
faces could not smile any bigger! This boy is incredible...he was so
cuddly...and he was kinda sleepy.  We got to hang out with him for a
couple hours, feed him a bottle, play with him on the floor, and take
LOTS of pictures.  I can't even express how great it was. It took him
a little while to warm up to us, but once he did, it was a great time
of fun and bonding.
There is no doubt at all that God has orchestrated
adoption...especially this one.  It just felt so right.  My words
cannot express how warm our hearts are and how excited we are for
tomorrow when we get to keep him FOREVER!

We love you all and can't wait for you to meet our new little man!

THANKS!

phil (and Amber)

We are here!!! After a very long journey with a few delayed flights,
we made it. We haven't slept much so we are very tired and ready for
bed. We are on the third floor, so with the elevation you get to the
top winded! We also were expecting to have a kitchenette and suite in
our room, but we do not have a room like that. Just a bed and bath.
We will make it work, just different than expected. We will have to
come downstairs to the kitchen when we have to make bottles or heat
anything else. There are several other families here from our agency
with the Rwanda program with their kids. One couple here is the first
blog I ever followed from AWAA when they adopted their son from
Ethiopia two years ago. Now they were picking up girls from Rwanda.
Just a fun surprise!
We are off to bed! We have to get up early. We want to be rested and
ready to love on our sweet boy tomorrow!!!

tomorrow!!!!!!!!!

We will be on a plane in 24 hrs...on our way to Silas! We are so excited, but still have plenty of things to keep us busy until we leave. Gibson and Maya will be spending the week by splitting their time with both of our parents. I know they will miss us, but I have a feeling they will be spoiled in a big way while we're gone. :)

I wanted to share the itinerary for our time in country:

Day 1/Sunday

Arrive at the airport. Check into guest house and try to get some sleep!

Day 2/Monday

Morning – Complete paperwork

Afternoon – Eat lunch. Go meet Silas Yegermal! Spend the rest of the day at the Transition Home with him.

Evening: Dinner at traditional Ethiopian dinner

Day 3/Tuesday

Morning- Shopping at the markets

Afternoon- Lunch and then back to Transition Home. Take Silas Yegermal with us for good! It's also my birthday! :)

Evening- Dinner on our own at hotel

Day 4 / Wednesday

Morning- on your own at hotel until we leave for the Embassy

Afternoon – Embassy appointment. Shopping.

Evening – dinner on your own at hotel

Day 5 / Thursday

Morning – Spend the morning visiting Kids Care Orphanage

Afternoon - Lunch and then visit Gelgela Orphanage

Evening – dinner on your own at hotel

Day 6 / Friday

Morning and Afternoon – whatever we want/need to do.

Evening- Airport!

We will be updating as much as possible while we are gone and however time/internet connection allows. You can check here, our facebooks, or Phil's twitter for updates!!!

(find me on fb: Amber Stenger Wing. phil's twitter: twitter.com/philwing)

only a few days away...

It is Tuesday night and we are leaving on an airplane on Saturday afternoon. I can't believe it's so close! I am running around like a crazy lady doing house projects, laundry, phone calls, trips to the bank, lots of Target runs...the list goes on and on. I haven't started officially packing yet, and I probably won't until Thursday. I do have everything set aside and I know what I need to take.

It is so hard to believe that in one week, the 15th, it will be "Gotcha Day" and Silas will be ours forever! It also happens to be my 30th birthday. I can't imagine a better gift!!!

booked!

Our flights are officially booked...and it feels GOOD baby! We leave on Sept. 12 and return on the 19th. I can't believe we will be boarding that plane in 2.5 weeks. After over 2 years, the moment is finally upon us. My arms are so ready to hold this little boy!

But I do have a very long to-do list to attend to before that can happen. :)

WE PASSED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Introducing Silas Yegermal Wing:

The first photo we saw of him on June 5th:

Our latest photo of him:

Yes, he's cute!!! Our tentative travel dates are September 12-19. I cannot wait to go get this little guy!!!

*special thanks to the Clovers, Redds, and Zeunes who took photos/care package and loved on our little boy!

Closer to Me

I LOVE the band Future of Forestry. LOVE. Their last album, "Twilight", is awesome. They just released an EP in the Spring titled, "Travel". I can't wait until September when the next EP, "Travel II" is released! This song from "Travel" is stuck in my head and in my heart right now. Just longing to be near to Jesus!

I wish I could feel all the strength of your peace
Inside me, building love endlessly
I wish I could fall in a sea of your light
While the brilliance around me, watch it chase away night

Closer to me
Oh, I want you to be
Even closer to me

I wish I could feel just the warmth of your breath
Around me as I lie on my bed
I wish I could taste of your sweet ruby wine
As you lift me to heaven, to the place where we shine

Closer to me
Oh, I want you to be
Just closer to me

For the day I await
'Cause my heart knows I've found you
And I'm still looking for you
For the day I await
'Cause my heart knows I've found you
And I'm still looking for you

Court Closures

We just received confirmation today that the courts in Ethiopia will be closing on August 22nd. They will likely reopen sometime at the very end of September or beginning of October.

Just a reminder...our court date is August 19th. Please be in prayer with us that we PASS on this date! If we do not pass, we would not get another court date until October. And well...I just can't think about that right now!

Court Date!

We have a new court date of August 19th!

100%!!!!!!!!!

After some recent donations and CD sales...we are currently at 100%!!!!! Truly this is a miracle from Him! We started out with little to no money for our adoption, and He has provided EVERY SINGLE PENNY. I am sitting here humbled and amazed. We are a classic example that if you step out in faith, even if it makes no sense (Like, an adoption is how much?! We can't do that!), He is faithful to complete it!

Because we have met our goal, the price of the CDs will be going down to $5 each plus shipping to empty out the small stock we have left. However, we are headed out on vacation and will not be able to fill any new orders for the next week or so. We will get the paypal issues with the new price straightened out when we return.

We are anxiously awaiting news of our next court date. We will keep you all posted on when we hear. In the mean time we have a few new photos of Silas and even a video to keep us company! Seriously, this video is 30 seconds of adorableness. I can hardly stand it. We also have more families taking photos for us in the coming weeks, so I can't wait for that! My heart takes much comfort knowing that one of my best friends, Kate, will be there next week to love on him! They are going to pick up their son and will see Silas and take some pics for us. I just know that she is going to hug him, kiss him, and love him just as I would! She can pass on the message that we love him so much and can't wait to come for him.

A fellow adoptive mom, Kathy, recently posted on her blog about how her heart has changed through the course of their adoption. She talked about how when their adoption began, the focus was on an orphan. Here is an excerpt of what she said next:

"Our adoption is no longer about an orphan. It is about our child. Something has transformed in my heart....Elijah is no longer an orphan, he is just our child. He belongs to us. So, this adoption is now about bringing our child home...the child that was chosen for our family and planted in our hearts."

It's so true! I have another child and his name is Silas. And now I am advocating for him. He is our son, in the same way Gibson is our son. I feel like this is a concept that many people outside the adoption world have a hard time grasping. But let me tell you, this Momma's heart is full out in love with this boy that I've never even held.

It's the miracle of adoption. And it gives me just the tiniest glimpse of the way that my own Adoptive Father, in His sweet mercy, loves me.

we wait on...

We got a call today that we did not pass court. There is something wrong with one of the documents for Silas. The judge closed our case while this is being fixed. We now will have to appeal and get a new court date. It could be two weeks or more before we receive a new court date. Please pray for a swift resolve and for us as we are sad today about the news. We do have great hope, however. We know this is not a surprise to God and He will bring Silas home exactly when he is supposed to be here!

edited to add: We now have found out that MOWA (the ministry of women and children's affairs) in Ethiopia is taking two weeks off for training. Seriously?! This means there will be no new court dates issued during that time, and when they do resume normal business, there will be quite a backlog of families waiting. This means it could push our case back even further. We are praying that the Ethiopian courts DO NOT close from August-October this year! If they do indeed close, there basically would be no chance for us to get a court date, pass, and get through in time. We need a miracle! Please pray for our sweet Silas, and all other families involved in these hang-ups. I'm not sure what I would do without the hope of Jesus today!!!

one week!!!

We are just one week away from receiving the all important phone call that tells us if we passed court. We are praising the Lord today that our wonderful friends, the Zeunes, passed court! We are now PRAYING we are able to make it into the same travel group. This means if we pass court, our paperwork would need to move VERY quickly! Please pray with us! We would be sad if we travelled just one week apart. We completely trust that God's timing is perfect. It has been all along (and always is, right?!). So while we are sleeping on Monday the 6th the judge will be hearing our case. We covet your prayers that all things will be in place and that the judge will be favorable toward our case!

Court Date!

I was so excited to open up my email and find our court date info waiting! The day is July 7th. Please pray with us that all of the details on the other side of the world will come together so we PASS! Once we pass, we can post a picture so you can see for yourself how cute he is! We are very excited that the court date is only 2.5 weeks away. Wow.

IT'S A BOY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

We are still in shock. We received a referral for a very adorable baby boy today! He is a little tiny 7 month old! We can't stop staring at his face...

PRAISE GOD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! We are in awe of His goodness.

9 months

Today marks 9 months waiting for our referral.  Trust me, I am so ready to be done with this "paper pregnancy"!  I want to see this baby's face!  It has been hard not to become discouraged lately as things in Ethiopia have slowed down.  Several things have come up that is effecting abandonment cases, as well as families passing court.  It would take me a while to explain it all!  Basically for us it just looks like the wait will be longer than we expected (not like that hasn't already happened!).  However, we trust FULLY in His timing!  It is a very real possibility that we might get caught in court closures and not be able to get our child until late fall/early winter.  My heart can barely go there without breaking into pieces.  We haven't lost all hope because we know our Savior can move mountains!  We believe the time appointed for our child to join our family is nothing short of perfect!  Today I NEED to rest in that.

little sweethearts

Phil and I found out a few months ago that another family that attends the same church we do was adopting from Ethiopia.  I was so excited!  Our church is large, so we kept missing meeting one another.  They recently returned home with their 3 new children and Phil got to meet the oldest, a beautiful girl, last week.  Today we ran into them at Kohl's of all places.  I was able to meet the mother, and the two youngest.  They were two of the most handsome little boys I've ever seen.  Oh my, they stole my heart.  As soon as I saw them, I almost burst into tears.  I didn't want to completely freak them out though!  That emotion came out of nowhere and I was not expecting it!  I had tears welled up in my eyes the whole time we spoke.  I touched their beautiful brown skin, stroked their hair, and fought more tears.  It brought so much joy to my heart to see them.  They are from where our child is from and I can't tell you how much that meant to me.  At the same time it was hard, because my arms ache to hold our child!  I can't get those sweet little Ethiopian faces out of my mind...and I'm hoping to see the face of our own little baby SOON.  

you MUST read this!

America World and Children's Hope Chest are doing some amazing things to help severely malnourished babies in Ethiopia.  Our agency's transition home has recently began to take on more malnourished babies and they need this special formula!  Go here to read this!

*edited to add:  PLEASE scroll down and also read about Tom's recent trip to Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.  It is POWERFUL.  We will be walking those streets in just a few  short months.

what a ride!

Adoption is such a roller coaster ride in so many ways.  Things change constantly, you never know what's going to happen, and most of all...the emotions!  The last month or so has been that kind of ride to me.  Last week I was feeling especially down.  There really was no reason why, just feeling like, "This is never going to happen, is it?!".  But I am happy to report that I'm coming into this new week filled with hope.  I can see God's hand throughout our whole journey, and I know and have faith that He would never leave us now.  I know His timing is perfect, even if it's not what I thought it might be (why do I think I can figure it out anyway?).  I know I can trust Him.  He is after all my own adoptive Father!

"he predestined us for adoption as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will"  Ephesians 1:5

follow-up on Monday night

Amber and I just wanted to update you all on how the Chick-fil-A fundraiser went.  

Well, it was awesome!  The place was packed for 3 hrs straight and we got to have a lot of really good conversations about adoption, God's calling of a disciple, music, etc.  I even got to talk with 2 families who were greatly considering adoption themselves.  One other conversation was with a guy who just got back from a military deployment...IN ETHIOPIA!!!  It was really encouraging to hear his stories about the wonderful community over there, the beautiful people, and the presence of God specifically in these orphanages.  

As far as the funds go, we made $433 from the purchases, and $250 in our donation bucket.  So, all total, we made almost $700 toward our adoption with this one day fundraiser!!!  It was amazing!

Thanks so much to all of you who came out and bought food, helped serve guests, helped clean tables, stuck around to make me feel cool, etc.  It really was a great night and I am so grateful for God's faithful provision of not only money, but great community as well!

Click here to download a coupon for the Chick-fil-A fundraiser event.  

A Challenge:  anyone who is willing to eat all 3 meals there on the 20th (breakfast, lunch, and dinner - all with coupons) will get a free signed copy of my CD "To Find You" and a free To Find You T-shirt!!! No joke. (you will just need to show your receipts that night to claim your CD & T-shirt - shirt sizes limited)

For more detailed info on the event, check our facebook page.  

THANKS SO MUCH  for all the kind support!

fundraising

We are so excited to let everyone local know about our fundraiser through the Centerville Chick-fil-A .  If you present a coupon any time of day this Monday, April 20th, 20% of your purchase will go toward our adoption!  You can pick up a coupon at any of the Apex gatherings this weekend, or we can email it to you to print out.  You must have the coupon in order for it to work.  Also, Phil will be there from 5pm-8pm playing music!  We are so excited about this opportunity to share with people about our adoption and give them a glimpse of the One who brought us here.  So if you like Chick-fil-A as much as we do, come out and see us!  

We were so excited to hear of a few more families receiving their referrals today!  So amazing for them, and we are thankful that each one brings us closer to ours!  We are still praying for an April referral!

7 months!

Well we have been waiting for our referral for a little over 7 months now.  But we have been dreaming of this baby for much longer!  It was the Summer of 2007 when we made the decision to adopt.  It is hard to believe that by the time we get our little sweetheart home that 2 years will have passed.  Also, this May will mark one year since we started the official paperchase! Time seriously flies.

Our yahoo group had tons of excitement last week.  Families are traveling, passing court, and new referrals were given out.  We are hoping and praying for an April referral.  Also, please join us in praying that we pass court THE FIRST TIME.  We will be cutting it close to the court closures in August with a June or July court date.  But we have absolute peace and know that the Lord has the perfect time for this child to join our family.  We are getting so anxious to see his/her face!  I just can't imagine what it will actually be like to have a face and a name to this child we've prayed for for so long!  Gibson and Maya are asking a lot about their little brother or sister.  Whenever I'm looking at other adoption blogs, Gibson runs over and says, "Is that them?  Is that our baby brother or sister?!"  He has understood what was happening from day one, so I'm sure this really has seemed like a long wait to him!  

When we sent in our dossier we were given an approximate wait time of 5-7 months.  Obviously, that wait time has been lengthened as we are in our seventh month.  But I have to say, God has given us so much grace.  I have truly been able to have joy in the wait.  I have not felt consumed by it.  I have enjoyed the last year with our little family of four.  Don't get me wrong, I still think about and pray for our baby every single day.  But, I can look back and see clearly how God has been so good to us.  

I know I have said this many times, but I think I could say it a million times and it still wouldn't be enough:  THANK YOU to each and every one of you who has donated money, bought CD's, and said so many sweet prayers for us.  It has meant the world.  We feel so loved and supported.  This child is loved by so many people that it's astonishing!!! 

Sad News

The book, "There Is No Me Without You", was the first piece of the puzzle God used to lead us to Ethiopia.  Reading about this wonderful woman and the love she gave to orphaned children was truly amazing.  I was so sad to hear of her passing.  You can check out this article and read how you can help!

http://www.thereisnomewithoutyou.com/blog?op=view&id=63

Giveaway

Everyone head on over to onceamonthmom and enter to win a copy of the CD!

six months!

Wow, 6 months waiting. It has come so fast. It is very hard to believe that sooner than later, we will be seeing our sweet son or daughter's face! We do have a new development in our adoption journey. When we applied with our agency, we were told that Ethiopia liked to have a 2 year difference between your youngest child at home and your adopted child. So, since Maya is 2.5 right now, we thought we would have to be referred a baby 6-8 months old or younger. I asked our family coordinator this question again last week, and things seem to have changed! She said that Ethiopia is actually now very relaxed with the ages, and that our agency just prefers to keep the kids 12 months apart. So if you are still following me at all (I know it's confusing unless you are in it!), that means we could get referred up to an 18 month old! We are approved up to 18 months. A lot of families ahead of us are only approved up to 12 months, so if there is a little surge of toddlers coming into the the orphanages, this could mean we could get our referral sooner than we thought. We really are trying not to get our hopes up, though. I also am having to adjust my mind to a possible toddler! I have just been thinking tiny baby all of this time! We truly are filled with so much peace about it. We know that God has THE perfect child for our family. We are just beyond excited to meet him/her! I just can't imagine actually getting the call! Wow.
In other news, our CD sales are going very well. It is so wonderful to see the funds coming in for this last half of our expenses. We still have a large chunk left to raise, but we are building it with each CD sale. We have had a table set up at Apex the last few weeks (Apexers, we will have the tables out next week too!), and we have sold a lot there. The coolest thing is being able to talk to people about our adoption. So many people are interested in the process and what God is doing in our family. I feel amazingly blessed. This baby is so loved already! We have been so humbled by this journey. Whether people have given prayers, encouragement, or monetary gifts, the love is indescribable. God is so good! Last week Phil got to meet a family that actually attends our church that have 6 children and are adopting a sibling set of 3 from Ethiopia! So cool to make that connection.
In other random news, I ordered a sling and I LOVE it! I got it from a seller on etsy called SnuggleBugSlings. She is having a clearance sale for $9.99! I got a black one lined in khaki. I wore Maya around in the hip position (she is 26 pounds) and it was so comfy. She loved it. I am encouraged that no matter what age child we get, this will be very helpful. It would be so easy to fold this up and throw it in a diaper bag. And, I know it will definitely come in handy while we are traveling in Ethiopia and going through the airports on the way home. Since we won't have a stroller, this, along with the bjorn, will be a huge help! I also think it will be a wonderful aid in the attachment and bonding process.
OK, I think I'm done rambling now. I will keep updating here as soon as we have any new news!

so good

awesome!

Our CD sale fundraiser is in full swing! So far we have sold just under 40 online. We have also sold quite a few in person, but we haven't counted that up yet. Don't worry, we still have A LOT to sell! But one of the coolest things so far has been addressing the envelopes. We have sent CD's to Ohio, Michigan, Tennessee, South Carolina, Texas, New Jersey, Kentucky, Nebraska, Florida, North Carolina, Illinois, Georgia, and Arkansas. Isn't that so cool?! I think it is so amazing that what God is doing in our family through adoption is going out across the country!!!

You can order at www.philwing.com!!!

I am so excited to announce that the CD is now available for purchase! Every single cent will go toward bringing home our child. Just go to www.philwing.com!!!

5 months waiting to see our new baby!!!

the sweetest

I was just watching a little Beth Moore on TV. She was talking about our calling to reach the world, and not just the comfort of our own little selves. It was showing footage of her time in Africa. The children were dirty and lined up for food. Gibson said, "Don't worry Mom, you'll just go get our baby brother from Africa, brush him off, and he'll be so happy!". Then out of nowhere he began singing "Jesus Loves the Little Children".
I LOVE his little heart!
And now I need to go wipe my tears...

hooray!

I am so happy to start seeing the referrals rolling in for families! There has been a bit of a "drought" lately, so it is so refreshing to hear the good news. It is very exciting to hear about these families being united. And also exciting that it means we move up the list with each one! Can't wait to see that baby face...