Surprise Baby Shower

I have the BEST group of friends in my Bible study. I thought I was going out for Girls' Night In, a grown up sleepover, to celebrate my friend Keri's birthday, but it turned out to also be a surprise baby shower for Allison -- a Happy Birthday Baby Party. These girls have been my friends for years, and have supported and prayed for us every step of the way. I am constantly blown away by their love. One of my friends even made Ethiopian food for us. I haven't even attempted to cook Ethiopian food. She did a fabulous job and I got the recipes from her.

Thank you girlfriends! I thank my God everytime I remember you!

Blue Nile Cafe

We waited for our court date for months, so when it finally came we wanted to celebrate by taking my parents out for Ethiopian food (they have been huge supporters of us in so many ways through this process). I must admit that I didn't enjoy Ethiopian food the first time I had it, but I now love it. It was also interesting to see that my parents were apprehensive at first, and were surprised that they liked it. Megan still doesn't love it, and Emily only likes "orange chicken with a fork", it's curry chicken, and she likes to eat it with a fork rather than injera.

Fear and Anxiety

Very few things about adoption are easy...including doing nothing. We have under 11 days until we leave and I am struggling with anxiety. I want to replace that anxiety with excitement, but it isn't easy.

I know there will be a day when I look back and won't be able to remember our lives without Allison, but right now I am plodding through the journey one minute at a time.  I HATE to fly. Interesting as I am the daughter and sister of pilots. But please don't quote me the statistics about how I'm more likely to be struck by lightening, or killed in a car accident. It will just make me more afraid of lightening and cars. But by the time this is all over I will have spent more than 100 hours in the air. My heart races and my stomach turns just at the thought.

I am anxious about leaving Megan and Emily. Thought I am so happy that I'm not going to miss their first day of school, mentally I'm afraid that I still am. Sending Emily to kindergarten in the midst of leaving for Ethiopia, has me pulled in so many different ways emotionally, that I feel lost in some twilight place (without Edward and Jacob fighting over me --sorry, it made me laugh, and I needed to laugh). I want her first day of kindergarten to be so special for her, yet my mind is thousands of miles away. My mom's heart also worries that something will happen while I'm gone. Ethiopia is really far away.

I'm even anxious about Allison. What if we don't connect right away (which is very possible)?  But, what if we do, and then I have to leave her? How will I get though the weeks between the trips? How do you clean and grocery shop and just sit in a quiet house while two of your children are at school and the other one is on the other side of the world, in an orphanage, without me.

But I have a choice, I can let the fear disable me, or I can use it to draw me near to God. On the cork board of my computer desk I have 1 John 4:7-21 posted, not more than two feet from my head right now. And this is part of what it says..."There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear..." (1 John 4:18)

And this verse is on our family blog from the BibleGateway widget, "“So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.” (Isaiah 41:10)

And of course, I need to remember this verse that I have to hold onto way too often, "Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God." (Philippians 4:8) 

He is guiding me, teaching me, and taking me places that I never dreamed (literally--I used to not know where Ethiopia was). But, can you pray that I will run the race He has set before me, and finish strong (Hebrews 12:1)? It's going to be a very emotional coming weeks. (Good thing I'm not very emotional. Just ask Tony and my good friends. Or, on second thought, don't ask them. Just pray for me.) :)

So, that's where I'm at today. A little introspective, maybe a little depressing, hopefully a little encouraging, but 100% real. Thanks for reading today.

Trip Around the World

Three blog posts in one morning! And that's not even a small fraction of all the things that are floating around in my head. But I want to get them down, both to share with anyone who's following us, but also for Allison to know years from now that we couldn't contain our excitement to bring her home!

My mom has been planning for months to make a lap quilt for me and Alli. Though I'll be tempted to box it away and save it as an heirloom, we want it to be used and loved to play on and snuggle up in (she surprised me at Christmas with a beautiful Christmas quilt that I've already used to snuggle with Megan and Emily). But the thought that came to me just this morning is, out of all the quilt patterns we could have chosen, Allison's quilt will be an "Around the World" quilt. I don't know why it took me so long to realize the significance of it, but Tony and I will go around the world, twice, before we get to bring her home. That she is our daughter, given to us by God, from all the way on the other side of the world. It's something that we're reminded of daily as we pray for Alli (read here).

But now I'm just grateful for my mom and the gift that she is working on, and I can't wait to add Amma's quilt to the room that we are preparing for Alli.

There's a Reason They Call It the Rainy Season

We got into court just days before the courts close for the rainy season, and they aren't kidding about the rainy season. Here is the current 10 day forecast. While we have highs over 110 and monsoons that keep averting us, a week with some rain and highs in the 60s sounds like a great vacation.
 
Weather.com - Addis Ababa, ET
 
Jul 17 Tonight


Periods of rain, heavy at times early. Low around 55F. Winds W at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 80%. 1 to 2 inches of rain expected.

Jul 18 Tomorrow

Periods of rain. Rain may be heavy late. High 66F. Winds SW at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 80%. 1 to 2 inches of rain expected.

Jul 18 Tomorrow night

Heavy rain early ...becoming lighter late. Low 56F. Winds W at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 80%. Rainfall possibly over one inch.

Jul 19 Monday

Periods of light rain. Highs in the mid 60s and lows in the mid 50s.

Jul 20 Tuesday

Periods of heavy rain. Highs in the low 60s and lows in the mid 50s.

Jul 21 Wednesday

Cloudy with rain. Highs in the low 60s and lows in the mid 50s.

Jul 22 Thursday

Cloudy, periods of rain. Highs in the low 60s and lows in the mid 50s.

Jul 23 Friday

Cloudy with rain. Highs in the mid 60s and lows in the mid 50s.

Jul 24 Saturday

Mainly cloudy and rainy. Highs in the mid 60s and lows in the mid 50s.

Jul 25 Sunday

Cloudy, periods of rain. Highs in the low 60s and lows in the mid 50s.

Jul 26 Monday

Light rain. Highs in the mid 60s and lows in the mid 50s.

Another Milestone

We have passed the two weeks until we leave mark. In exactly two weeks, we will be a few hours from landing in Ethiopia!

Passing the two week milestone has made me allow myself to start preparing a bit more. Last night Tony and I went to Target to fill up on little (TSA compliant) toiletries. We want to carry on our essentials, just in case.

This entire year seams surreal right now. We are flying to Africa to meet our daughter in two weeks! How did I get so lucky to live this life?

Signs We're Getting Closer

This morning we got a new gallon of milk, and the expiration date on the milk is the day we leave for Ethiopia. That's a sure sign that we're getting close!

One Year Ago

This week Megan and Emily are going to Vacation Bible School in the evenings at Central. Even though we now worship weekly at our new church, we still love our friends from our years (I was there over 15 years!) at Central. Each evening we have set up to go to dinner with another couple whose kids are at VBS. We really need the adult time to relax and take our minds off all that's going on.

But last year it was different. Last year we also used each night of VBS to talk to people, but it wasn't a casual dinner. I was night after night of processing where baby girl Weber number #3 was going to come to our family from. We met with an agency, a friend familiar with foster/adopt, and of course our (now) dear friends Scott and Amber Thomas. A year ago I knew who they were, and knew Scott's family from growing up at Central, but they forged the way for us to adopt from Ethiopia, after bringing home their sweet son two years ago. Thank you to everyone who has guided us (and continues to help us) along this path.

A year ago, we didn't know the first thing about Ethiopia. Now I dream about it.

Also, I don't ever want to leave it unsaid, but if you have even the slightest stirring to adopt, Tony and I would love to meet with you to tell you our story first hand and we will help in any and every way that we can.

I'm Leaving on a Jet Plane

Things feel so fast and slow at the same time. We leave for Ethiopia on July 30th. Our tickets are booked and paid for (by an anonymous donor--praise God!). We'll go though New York, Amsterdam, and then Addis. Our total travel time is just over 28 hours. That's a long time for someone who hates to fly (me) but an incredibly short time compared to other itineraries we saw. Maybe our friend missed her calling as a travel agent. :)

We are so glad that we will be home for the first days of school, especially with Emily starting Kindergarten this year! Then my parents will stay with the girls while we are gone. I'm sure they'll have lots of great things planned, plus school will help make our week apart go quickly.

We are just under three weeks from leaving. On one hand it really is close, but at the same time, it's a little too far away to start packing. We have Allison's room being used as a staging area. We have some of our medications, paperwork, and other things, but so much can't be done until the last days before we leave. So.....more waiting.

We will spend the first days meeting Alli, sightseeing, and shopping, and our court date is August 5th. We still need our prayer warriors to keep praying that everything goes smoothly, and that we pass court. Then things will be set in motion for our US Embassy trip, hopefully in September or October, when we bring her home!

PS - In honor of my dad and brother, who are pilots, I found the correct make of each plane that we are flying (as long as Google images was correct).

Our Court Date: August 5th

After months of waiting, with my heart aching almost more than I could bear at times, we have our court date. On August 5th, we will stand in the Ethiopian courts to declare that we want Allison Weber to be our daughter forever.

We anticipate we will be in Ethiopia that entire week, though we still have some questions before we finalize our travel plans.

Nothing like cutting it close, the courts are closing on August 9th for the rainy season. Fortunately, the US Embassy doesn't close, so we will go back (probably in October) for our Embassy interview and to bring her home!

Another huge praise is that I was so scared that we would be in Ethiopia for the girls' first day of school, and my heart was breaking at the thought, especially thinking of missing Emily's first day of Kindergarten. But we will leave a few days after school starts!

Hang on Allison! Mommy and daddy are coming as fast as we can. We love you!

10:00 pm Thursday / 8:00 am Friday

It is 10:00 on Thursday night here, but in Ethiopia, it is 8:00 am on Friday morning. So here's hoping and praying that the judge assigned to our case, and the cases of 7 other families with Dove, will give us a court date today/tonight. Otherwise, we wait through another long weekend of waiting.

Our contact at Dove has told our Ethiopian lawyer to call her the minute he has any information. We've told her to call us the minute she hears anything. So, because of the time difference, it could mean a middle of the night phone call. The problem is that we had that talk with her on Tuesday, and since then I haven't been able to sleep. Thinking that I can will the phone to ring. But I can't. It's all in God's hands and timing. But, maybe tonight will be the night.

I just found this wonderful video of Ethiopia. What a beautiful land and people.

Ethiopia: The Whole Picture from Paul Hassell on Vimeo.

Two Months

Today marks two months since our referral of sweet Allison. Back in May I would have guaranteed you that we would have been to Ethiopia and back by now. That I would be posting pictures of her and of our trip (because once we've adopted her through Ethiopian court, I can share her picture). That I would be putting the final touches on her room. That we would have our adoption final and we'd be leaving any day to travel back to Ethiopia for our Embassy date to bring her home. But that isn't how it has worked out.

It's hard. It's hard to know that she is growing up in the orphanage without us. It's hard to think about all the things I'm missing. It's hard to feel like our family is in limbo, not knowing when our travel dates will come.

It will come, and I know that. But here I sit....waiting.

More Lessons from Romans

Just now I was reading in Romans again. Today was chapter 8, verses 22-27.

We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time. Not only so, but we ourselves, who have the first fruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies. For in this hope we were saved. But hope that is seen is no hope at all. Who hopes for what he already has? But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently.


In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express. And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints in accordance with God's will.

Now honestly, some days my mind just can't grasp what I'm reading. And today was one of those days. I was reading out of obedience, yet had to read and reread passages because of distraction. But then when the word "adoption" pops up in a verse, it made me go back and really study it with renewed application and interest.

So, this is what I learned today:

As redeemed followers of Christ, this (earth) is not our home. We are waiting to be adopted by our Father and live with Him in Heaven. But we aren't there yet. This is where we were born, this is all we know, but it isn't what we were made for. Huh. On some scale I can relate. I love and long for Allison (a small picture of how God loves and longs for us), but we are not yet together as we are meant to be. We have already been adopted by Him (as Allison has been matched to our family), but we are still separated. As I am human, and so much less than God, I can only imagine on a small scale how He feels, and why it was so important for Jesus to do what He had to do to redeem us. If adoption redemption was easy, would it mean as much? If one day I decided we wanted a third daughter, and "poof" she was there, would I take her for granted? Or maybe all of these long weeks of knowing who she is, yet being separated from her is deepening my love for her. Groan inwardly? I'm starting to get what that feels like as I am a mother separated from my child.

Oh, and God didn't forget to speak to me in this, "But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently." Patiently. I'm really trying.

And Lord, thank you for the promises in the following verses. Thank you for the Spirit who is interceding on my behalf and lifting up my prayers for my family when I don't even know what to pray anymore. We believe with everything in us that God is gifting Allison to us to love and raise, so because we believe that we are within God's will, I believe that the Spirit is interceding for us. What a wonderful promise to hold onto.

We don't listen to the radio much when we are in the car. I find that it's our best talking time as a family, but recently I did have K-Love on while we were driving. The song "The Motions" by Matthew West came on, and it had become my theme song for this journey almost a year ago (you can click here to see the video) and again I am reminded of not only how Alli will bless and change our family, but how this journey of adoption has changed, and is continuing to change, me. If we hadn't followed God's prompting at this time last year, our lives would be totally different.

I don't know if this makes sense to anyone but me, but I just wanted to share my thoughts and what God shared with me today. Thanks again for following our journey to Alli.

And the Winner Is....

Congratulations to Stephanie Adams for winning the $100 gift certificate to Canvas on Demand. I can't wait to see the picture of your boys once you have it made.

Thank you again to Canvas on Demand for donating the fundraising pack, including the gift certificate. It was part of their "Thanks for Doing Good" program, and we were honored to be selected. In all we raised $140 toward our payment for our stay in Ethiopia when we travel (hopefully soon) for court.

Thanks again to everyone who entered! It means a lot to have your support.