YES! An update.......

Today is Wednesday and the first day that we have been able to check e-mail. It will be a short message, but we want to let everyone know a little bit about our time here. Our hearts are filled with love today. On Sunday we met Mekebo's birthmother. Mekebo, I want you know know that your birthmother is amazing. You are so much like her. She wants to see you. She wants you to know that she loves you. You have 2 families that love you!

And then our little girl...she is perfect. She has not warmed up to us yet, but hopefully some day she will love us. We spent about 5 hours with her on Monday. She cried a lot. She loves her nannies. The Director of the orphanage told us that he would like us to come back later this week to spend time with her so we will spend Friday with her. He thinks it will help her transition a little better. We can't wait to see her again. I can't imagine leaving her here but we know she is loved.

Yesterday we were able to visit the government run orphanage in Addis. Wow, we are blessed that she is in a private orphanage. Friends and families, be prepared for me to ask for donations. The next time we come back we want to bring many donations to this orphanage. The conditions are devastating.

Please pray for us. Tomorrow is our court date and we really want to pass. Tomorrow we will transfer to a new guesthouse near the airport.

Eli and Mu- we miss you dearly and we can't wait for you to meet your new sister. She will love you. She is beautiful. Her hair is curly and her eyelashes are amazing. She is wearing 6-9 month clothes now. We hope you are having a great time with Uncle Matt and Aunt Cath and Noah and Haley. We will see you on Sunday. I hope you are being good and listening well. Mekebo, we can't wait to show you pictures of your birthmother. She is about 5'0''. Love and kisses.

And we are OFF!!!

Viroqua to Madison. Check. (A big thank you to Erin for taking the boys! Also, Molly Kramer rocks for driving us to the airport!)

Madison to Chicago. Check. 

Chicago to Dulles. Check.

Dulles to Addis...about to board the plane for the 12 hour ride. 

We are so excited to see what the next 9 days are going to bring. Emotions are going to fly. We arrive in Addis on Saturday at 0745 (they are 8 hours ahead of Wisconsin). 

We will continue to update. They are now calling for us to board. 

Eli and Mu- we love you SO much and can't wait to see you soon! Kisses! Hugs! We will give you sister kisses for you! 

Test Run

Hi, it's Amanda!

Just stopping by to test a posting. I will be posting information for Jill, Brian and Glenda while they are on their VERY exciting trip. Prayers for a safe and wonderful trip!

Here We Go

Tomorrow is the day. We are in the midst of a crazy house. Suitcases
are setting everywhere. Adoption papers are being searched for. I am
tired but I can't sleep.

This has been a great week; my sister-in-law, Erin, and my nephews
Ryland and Cael have been here this week. The boys have had a blast
playing baseball in the rain, sliding down the redneck slip-n-slide
and eating by the bonfire. Tomorrow Erin will trek from Readstown to
Madison with four boys...may God be with her!

Thank you to Erin for watching our boys tomorrow. Thank you to Matt
and Cathy for watching the boys for 10 days! I know that I will miss
the boys more than they will miss me!

SOCIAL REPORT

FINALLY! Today we received our litte "star's" social report. 14 pages of pure bliss. 14 pages to make this momma really really anxious to travel to Ethiopia to see one ADORABLE little girl.

I can't wait to show the pictures after we pass court! She has unbelievable hair- corkscrew curls all over her perfectly round head. Tiny little legs with no fat rolls to be seen. Eyes that twinkle. And a smile that lights up a room.

In two weeks from today we will be able to see her. I can't wait. I can't wait!

Family Pictures

This is a typical Mekebo look...complete with the squinting.

This is Eli, aka our little tree climber.

This picture concluded with them wrestling in the grass.

The boys took the chance to put us in choke holds.

It is June. I can't believe how the time is flying. Summers seem to go so fast. The boys get older and each summer has its own fun. Elijah will be doing baseball. Mekebo will be doing a combination class of football, baseball, golf, etc. And they will both be doing swimming lessons in August. We are going to continue homeschooling during the summer.

These family pictures were taken by my friend, Jody Bendel. She did a great job capturing our family. It always helps when you have a friend taking the pictures because they know the personalities of your children. Eli hams it up. Mekebo wants no part in pictures.

This week we received an update of Kokeb...she is 16.5 pounds now! She seems to be growing well.

We are counting down the days until we travel. YAY! Matt and Cathy are going to watch the boys on this first trip. We are so lucky that they can hang out with them. Noah and Haley have been here this week and we have had a blast. We are blessed to have such wonderful, and silly, family members! Haley even said she would teach Eli while we are gone.

Thanks for everyone's prayers. I know God is listening!