Taco's For Dinner

I couldn't resist taking pictures of my sweet little girl. Can you tell she LOVES taco's. She ate 4 tacos for dinner. That was more then me!
She is definitely not a light eater.
She usually isn't this messy when it comes to eating. Most of the time she does a better job then her brothers but for some reason she just attacked those tacos.

Blog Roll Update

It is time for me update my blog roll. I haven't done it in a very long time and I do apologize. I spent some time today going through the blogs I visit and I put them up. Please let me know if I forgot someone and they would like me to add them to my blog roll (or taken out. If your blog or web site is password protected I did not add you to my blog roll. ). I enjoy all of your blogs very much.

Sunday Reflections

How lovely is your dwelling place, O LORD Almighty!
My soul yearns, even faints, for the courts of the LORD; my heart and my flesh cry out for the living God.
Even the sparrow has found a home, and the swallow a nest for herself, where she may have her young - a place near your altar, O LORD Almighty, my King and my God.
Blessed are those who dwell in your house; they are ever praising you.
Psalm 84:1-4

No News On Friday

I thought I might as well put you all of your minds at ease as mine was a few moments ago. Our AWAA coordinator called to let us know that the judge told our in country representative to come back Wednesday. Remember we still have our official court date on Friday February 8th so nothing has changed. It was great talking to our coordinator who pointed out to focus on Feb. 8th and if it is meant to happen sooner then it will happen. So I am going to try to focus on Feb. 8th and try not to spent too much time checking my e-mail. We have 2 weeks to go and we are looking forward to it very much. I got shopping fever in the last few days and I started stocking up on diapers to take to the transitional home and other gifts. Since I didn't save any clothes from Emma's infancy (thought we were done) I am also looking for some cute little girl clothes. I also bought all the bottles we will need. I let the kids pick a few little toys for our girl to keep her busy on the plane (they liked that a lot). I still need to finish some of the gifts I am working on and get some more. I hope you all will have a great weekend and thank you so much for all your messages, emails and phone calls. It helped me a lot.

(By the way the picture above was taken at an Ethiopian restaurant in Cambridge MA. It is mom telling stories to her children. Yep that is my life. Now with three but soon to be four.)

Keeping busy

First of all we got an email from our coordinator to let us know that our in country representative has an appointment for Thursday where he will make an appeal before the judge for an earlier court date.

This is big news in a way. You have no idea how much we (and all the other families) would want an earlier court date. I can now take a day off from constantly checking e-mail until Thursday.

On the other hand I am trying to stay busy as much as possible. I started working on some gifts that we will take with us and I wanted to ask any of you who already made the trip if you can give me any ideas when it comes to gifts. I also found out that there are great craft ideas in the blog world. Anyway I came across The Mini Patch folio a while back and I thought it would make it a great gift. So far I have made several and I have about 8 more to go.

Can you tell I am having fun with it?

I also made a blanket for my baby girl. I noticed that Ethiopians bundle up babies a lot. There were a few families who mentioned this so I better take some blankets with us.
I also made a matching bib since I was already sitting at the sawing machine.
Both the blanket and the bib are two sided.
Sometimes I wonder if I am loosing it.

Emma asked me for some juice earlier today. Since we were already done with school I asked her if she would like hot cocoa instead. You bet she said yes and somehow the boys heard the offer as well. However I was low on milk. Then I remember that I had another gallon down in the garage. Since I was on my way down I thought I should take some trash out. It was also trash day so I went upstairs to collect odds and ends that should have already been in trash can. Then I remembered all the boxes I have been saving since Christmas for my crafts and projects and since I used something else instead I needed to collapse all the boxes and take them out. Sometime in between I heard Nate calling me that Emma bit him (It wouldn't be the first time that Emma left teeth marks on her brothers. I blame that one on Fil's side of the family since I heard many stories from his dad about his uncle biting in school). A little bit later I heard Emma screaming at the top of her lungs. Who knows what was wrong. My guess is one of her brothers walked by her (that high pitch scream comes from me.) So here I was taking all the trash I can get into my hands out. About half hour later I was standing in front of the stove thinking did I forget something? Oh yeah the milk. So I went down this time only to get the milk and made hot cocoa for everybody (about 45 minutes after Emma asked for drink, way to go mom).
Just in case you are wondering about the colored marshmallows that is what I get for not paying attention in the grocery store (I believe it was Nate who manage to somehow smuggle it into the grocery cart. That he gets from his daddy.)

I hope you all had a great Tuesday :)

It Is Starting to get hard

Wondering what I did on Monday? Even though it was a holiday we did school with the boys since my goal is to get as much done before we have to travel. We even made it to the library.

I do have to admit that most of the time we spent home I was stalking the Carpenter's and David's blogs to see any updates from their trip. Also I have been following Tonya's blog who is right now in China picking up her little girl Noelle. We met Tonya at the Steven Curtis Chapman concert last fall. They have been waiting for their little girl for a long time. By 4 pm I got to see so many cute little faces from Ethiopia and China. I am so excited for them. I am very impressed with their detailed blog updates.

I have to admit that it is also getting hard on me. I wanted so bad to be in Ethiopia to hold my little girl. For some reason it hit me and Fil very hard today. The kids got all jumpy and excited when they saw the Carpenter's holding their little kids as well when they saw the David's.

On another note I stopped at Gap on Friday and found out that their One products went even on a bigger sale. You can see Emma wearing one of the the shirts I got. They were all around $2 plus another 25% off. You can't go wrong with that.

It was great talking to Erica. I sure hope we will all get to travel SOON!

Sunday Reflections

The proof of spiritual maturity is not how pure you are, but [having] an awareness of your impurity. That very awareness opens the door to grace. Spiritual maturity is not measured in the rules you keep. Spiritual maturity is not measured in the Bible answers you know in small groups. Spiritual maturity is not even about what you do. Primarily, spiritual maturity is knowing who you are in Christ.

Philip Yancey, The Jesus I Never Knew Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him.

(James 1:2-5)

Update on Thursday

DO YOU SEE....

...our new ticker? Yep it says 22 days until our court date. That is right. We have a court date on February 8th. We are excited and the kids cannot stop running around the house with joy. WOW I need to start planning for the trip.

Thank you so much for all your prayers we are learning so much about trusting God and patience through this entire experience.

We are also excited for Carpenters who left at noon today to pick up their kids and the other families who have left or will be leaving shortly.

Update on Tuesday

This picture pretty much describes where we are now in our adoption process. I know we are moving forward but it sometimes feels we are not getting anywhere. I know many of you have been checking my blog today in the same way I have been checking my email (every 5 minutes for me). Here is the e-mail we received a few minutes ago:

Dear Families,

I heard from Girmachew today. He will be appearing before the judge on Thursday. We do not however anticipate a final decision for another 2 weeks. According to Girmachew MOWA is asking the court to not grant court dates right away as they have too many dossiers to review and sign. We will continue to pray for an immediate court date but it is very likely that it might not be so. Please contact me if you have any specific questions. Otherwise please expect to hear from me later this week.

Blessings

-----------------------------------------------------------

Please continue to pray for us and other families waiting for our little ones.

Sunday

Weekend

This weekend we started orange as you can see. Yep the boys have orange hair. It was "hair night" at Awana and the boys talked me into getting orange color for their hair. They picked orange to make dad and uncle Vit proud (too bad Broncos are done for the season).We did wash it off before they went to bed and I am glad we did. I didn't want to wash their bedding the next day :)

We headed down to Boston on Saturday to enjoy a 45 F day. Even though we wore jackets it wasn't that cold. Here are to boys in front of a big boat that is apperently carrying LNG.

And here is me and Emma.
And boys with dolphins.
We made it to aquarium again and we had a great time. Emma was very interested in the fish.
Sam was busy taking pictures and Emma posed for everybody with a camera.
Here is Fil and Emma watching a sting ray.

All the kids looking at a shark .....
..... and many more fish.
We had a great time.

Prayer request

I promised I would let you all know if there are any news in our adoption process. Today we received an email from our coordinator Duni:

Dear Families,

According to our staff in Ethiopia, The Ministry of Justice will be giving court dates to AWAA on Monday. I shall have news for you on Tuesday. Please bear in mind it is entirely up to the court to set a date and AWAA has no control over this. We anticipate that the court dates will be sooner (end of January) rather than later but again we do not know for certain.

I understand that this is vague but I also know you all want to know everything that is happening relating to your adoption. Please be in prayer over the weekend for an immediate grant of court dates when our staff member appears on Monday. My thoughts and prayers are with you all.

Grace & Peace

We would like to ask all of you to join us in prayer for us and other families who are waiting for court dates. It has been a long process and even though we can see the end in sight it seems sometimes too far.

I was looking at some new adoption blogs on Mary's blog at Ethiopia Adoption Blog and came across many great families adopting from Ethiopia as well. On one of the blogs I came across devotional from C. H. Spurgeon and I have to say it was something I needed to hear this morning. I wanted to share it with all of you.

The lot is cast into the lap, but the whole disposing thereof is of the Lord.”

Proverbs 16:33

If the disposal of the lot is the Lord’s whose is the arrangement of our whole life? If the simple casting of a lot is guided by him, how much more the events of our entire life—especially when we are told by our blessed Saviour: “The very hairs of your head are all numbered: not a sparrow falleth to the ground without your Father.” It would bring a holy calm over your mind, dear friend, if you were always to remember this. It would so relieve your mind from anxiety, that you would be the better able to walk in patience, quiet, and cheerfulness as a Christian should. When a man is anxious he cannot pray with faith; when he is troubled about the world, he cannot serve his Master, his thoughts are serving himself. If you would “seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness,” all things would then be added unto you. You are meddling with Christ’s business, and neglecting your own when you fret about your lot and circumstances. You have been trying “providing” work and forgetting that it is yours to obey. Be wise and attend to the obeying, and let Christ manage the providing. Come and survey your Father’s storehouse, and ask whether he will let you starve while he has laid up so great an abundance in his garner? Look at his heart of mercy; see if that can ever prove unkind! Look at his inscrutable wisdom; see if that will ever be at fault. Above all, look up to Jesus Christ your Intercessor, and ask yourself, while he pleads, can your Father deal ungraciously with you? If he remembers even sparrows, will he forget one of the least of his poor children? “Cast thy burden upon the Lord, and he will sustain thee. He will never suffer the righteous to be moved.”My soul, rest happy in thy low estate,Nor hope nor wish to be esteem'd or great
To take the impress of the Will Divine,Be that thy glory, and those riches thine.

Morning & Evening, December 19th, CH Spurgeon

Walk though the neigborhood

It was so nice today in New Hampshire that we couldn't resist taking a walk in our neighborhood. It was so nice and warm that we didn't even have to wear jackets. The boys pulled out their scooters.... .... I put Emma in a jogger hoping she would take a nap.
On our walk we found out what is going on in our neighborhood. We saw this sad little tree. I guess it couldn't handle all the snow we got in December...
...we saw who was voting for who today...
... we saw several sad snowmen....


... talked to our mailman ....
... finally saw the fire hydrants (since they have been covered with snow for awhile)....
...admired some mailboxes and saw who was is in winter spirits ...
And there is always one that puts smile on my face. Way to go Lisa!

Ski lessons

We are back to ski lessons. This year we started on time not in February like last year.

Here is Nate warming up before he headed up the hill. Nice pose Nate!



And here is Sam coming down the hill.

This year the boys have 2 hour lessons in the afternoon and it gets crazy on the hill. We saw some of our friends out there and it was good for me to catch up with them. Even though we do have the option to sit inside the lodge to stay warm Emma preferred to be outside the whole time. It gave me the opportunity to practice with my new camera.
She was willing to pose any time I asked. She also made lots of new friends. Fil even made it on his way home from work for the last 15 minutes so he got to see boys skiing.

Save the Planet

I don't know about you but our family buys a lot of stuff online. Around Christmas time there were packages coming all the time. We ended up with a ridiculous amount of boxes. But one instance takes the prize. I wait every year until after Christmas to get my calendars. They go on a 50% off sale the day after Christmas and that to me is much better deal than paying the full price (they only come a few days late). Anyway this year we ordered them online from Barnes & Noble since we are members so we got an extra 10% off and there is better selection online then in the store (plus they didn't have the calendar I wanted in the store). The one order came in three large boxes as you can see above (total of 4 calendars). They all came from the same warehouse in NJ and all three boxes came via different route by UPS. Now that is what I call a green company. So much for saving the planet.
Here are the kids trying to make me go crazy. I was cleaning our closet today and found this small kid piano. Now I remember why it was well hidden in my closet. They had a blast playing with it but believe me it will get lost again as soon my darlings are in bed.

I AM NOT ....

...going out today. If you are wondering why that is it is due to the fact that the temperature is around 0 degrees Fahrenheit (that is around minus 16 Celsius for people outside of the USA). I am sure you agree with me that it was a good day to stay at home. We all snuggled on the sofa during our school and even pulled out extra blankets. Emma sat down with us to stay warm. Later when the boys were working on their math she brought down her hat and it all day long. She wrapped up all her babies so they would stay warm as well. This is the time of year when we start seeing commercials on TV for Florida vacations and each time I see them I think of you Mel how nice it must be down south. I am sure it is nice in Phoenix and California as well. We got snow but that comes at a price in times like this.
Here you can see ice on our windows. Brrrrrr it is cold. I wasn't so sure if I wanted to go out to get the mail. Ultimately in the end I did because there were some books we ordered. However they were so cold I couldn't even touch them.
I worked a little bit on a new world puzzle. I put together Africa, Europe and North America without any problems (and Australia and New Zeland :). I also learn that I pretty much suck at the rest of the world. Time to refresh my map knowledge.
Here is Emma still in her hat looking at one of the books we got today in the mail. It warmed up by dinner time and here she is with me in the kitchen while I was cooking.

I sure hope it will warm up soon. I believe it is time to watch Pride and Prejudice (that kind of night). I am not sure I will watch all 5 hours but we'll see.