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.