Re-Adoption Day

This Friday, we had our re-adoption hearing. We had to re-adopt the boys here in the U.S., and now we will be able to apply for citizenship. It was a fun day! There were lots of families adopting, both domestic and international. There were three other families from all over Texas adopting Ethiopian children. It was so neat to see the precious children and visit with the families. I think Mikaele and Ephrem's favorite parts of the day were the balloons, teddy bears, and cookies! Here are a few pictures from the day...

A Few Pictures...

I thought we would blog more once our boys were home, but finding time hasn't been so easy. For now, here are a few pictures. They are all from May. We have lots of newer ones we'll try to post soon.

Just being silly together :)

Baby Dedication at our church on Mother's Day
(This was a very special day. We'll try to post more about that later.)

Mikaele's 4th Birthday ~ May 17th

Mikaele has been asking to go fishing for awhile. He caught a big fish with Papa on his birthday!

Ephrem helping Papa get his fishing pole ready.

Rejoicing!!!

Today, the sweet Fournet family finally passed court to bring home their precious twins! They waited 8 months for their referral and have faced delay after delay in the court process. It has been over a year since they received their referral and they finally passed court on the tenth try. We were blessed to meet the twins while we were in Ethiopia and can't wait to finally see them home with their family. They waited so gracefully and have been an encouragement to so many of us in the Ethiopia adoption community. Fournets, we are rejoicing with you!

International Flag Day at Church

We displayed sixty different nation's flags at church on Sunday as a reminder of Jesus' command to make disciples of all the nations. Guess who they asked to carry the Ethiopian flag during the ceremony. We accepted, obviously. It was an honor for us to carry our boys' native flag.

Pictures From the Weekend

Mikaele at a DFW Ethiopia Adoption Gathering

Ephrem with new friends at Ethiopia Adoption Gathering

Meeting and playing with cousins Jon and Jack

Mikaele petting Jasper with PawPaw and Jon

(This is a huge step as the boys came home terrified of dogs.)

Cake at a shower given by friends from Monica's mom's work

Ephrem eating cake Mommy brought home from the shower

Mikaele enjoying the cake too!

Brief Update

Several people have asked for an update. Sorry it's taken us so long. The boys have kept us so busy non-stop. There just hasn't been time to get on the computer until late at night and by then, we are exhausted. Adjusting to a new country, a new family, a new home, a new language and learning boundaries is hard work for the boys which makes hard work for Mommy and Daddy too. Last week was really difficult, but things seem to be quite a bit better this week. We are starting to get into a routine and things are going more smoothly most of the time. We are still having challenges at bedtime and it's taking awhile for the boys to get to sleep which keeps us up later than we would like with no time to rest or get anything else done around the house. Mikaele is really picking up the language so quickly. It is amazing to watch him learn new words every day and hear him use them correctly. Little Ephrem has started repeating words this week. Overall, I think the boys really are doing well. We are enjoying getting to know them. I'll try to update more often now that things are settling down and we'll try to post some pictures soon too.

Ready to Go!

Our bags are packed and we're ready to go meet our boys! Please pray for us, for health and safe travel. Most importantly, pray for Mikaele and Ephrem as their lives are about to be turned upside down. I imagine it might be a scary time for them not really understanding what is going to happen next in their lives and that this is really forever. Pray for all of us as we become a family.

I'm not sure how to put into words how we are feeling right now, so many different emotions all at once. I'm also not sure I really believe it is time to travel to bring our boys home. I wonder when it will finally sink in. Maybe when we are on the plane tomorrow, maybe after we meet the boys, maybe not until we are all home. Right now it just feels like a dream.

Finally, we are so thankful for the overwhelming love, support, and encouragement we have received from so many people over the past few weeks. Every hug, prayer, e-mail, blog comment, phone call, etc. has meant so much to us. We are blessed.