Showered

Last Thursday I had my shower at work. It was such a blessing and my co-workers did so much to make it extra special! I know they spent a lot of time planning and orchestrating the whole thing (partly because they kept kicking me out of our team meetings so they could talk about it!). 

My wonderful team (minus Ellen)! Love these ladies!

The library was decorated in an African theme...

The delicious food that I forgot to eat. I was so busy talking, opening presents, and showing off the boys that I only had a few carrots! And then I laid in bed later that night bemoaning the fact that I had forgotten to have the cake and punch! And I love cake and punch!!

Other random shots from the shower:

And I never looked at the camera because I didn't realize someone was taking pictures!

Here I'm wondering, "What could be in this gigantic box?!" Surprise! It's a double stroller, and I had no idea! The sixth grade teachers and assistants chipped in to get it for us- what a blessing!

And some of the other goods... 

And I have to say that these cars roll perfectly across our wood floors... we tried them out!

I truly was overwhelmed by the kindness and generosity of so many of my co-workers! Really. I couldn't get over it. And 50 thank-you cards later, I'm still not over it! 

And I should add that I showed a little video of our boys (which we affectionately call our "little hobbits" video since it is set to a song from The Lord of the Rings)- I think it was played close to 20 times throughout the course of the shower and everyone "oohed" and "aahed" at all the right places! But let's be honest- how could they not?! After all, they are the sweetest boys in all of Ethiopia the world!

Six Months

Happy 6 month birthday, baby boys! To celebrate, we've watched a little video of you about a dozen or more times over the past 24 hours...


Last night, we got the sweetest video of our two boys. The video is about 5 minutes long, and we pretty much have the entire thing memorized by now! The first time we watched it, both Don and I were about 3 inches from the computer screen watching so intently the whole time and grinning from ear to ear. 


They are just so sweet. 


And they seem so different. And we love that about them! 


Based on the pictures we've seen, the video, and the report from this family, our big guy is quite an entertainer. He loves attention and is already a bit of a ham at six months old. He has the sweetest smile and sparkly little eyes that just light up when he is held or when people are talking to him. He might just be our little jokester. 


Based on those same sources, our little guy is more shy, more pensive, and even a little more sensitive. At one point in the video he tips over while trying to sit up and he gets this little sad, pouty face that makes you just want to scoop him right up and snuggle him and reassure him that he's going to be okay. He might just be our little lover. 


Who knows? We could be totally wrong and we're trying not to peg their little personalities when they are so young and when we've never even seen them for ourselves, but it is fun to get these glimpses into their lives and behavior now.  


We are really hoping that we'll get submitted for court soon and that our court date will be in early March (or sooner would be nice!). 


Please pray with us that we'll not only be able to go and see them soon, but also that the whole process will be brought to completion and that we'll be able to have them home by this summer (or sooner would be nice!).  

The Best Kind of News

From our new friends that are now in Ethiopia...

Hi Sara, 

Your twins look great!  We were there yesterday on a whirlwind tour but we did get pictures and video of them.  Seeing them I do not have any concerns about either boys.  We can talk on the phone after I'm back and I can give you all the details but I just wanted to write to set your mind at rest. They were happy and healthy and adorable.  Both smiled but [Big Guy] is especially smiley - he would not stop, in fact!  It was hilarious.   

Pictures and video when we get back!!

Thank you, God, for answering our prayers to send people to love them and care for them!


Thank you for answering our prayers that they would be healthy, well cared for, and happy! 


I almost cried when I read this email. God is good. 

An Update on the Process

Just in case you are wondering... there really aren't any updates. 


We are still waiting for our court date. We were told it could be about 3 months from when our paperwork arrived in Ethiopia (which for us was Dec. 24). We are hoping and praying that it will be much sooner. Please join us!


The main delay that we are seeing right now is the time between court and embassy. The US Embassy has changed some of their policies and it's really slowing everything down. For example, they used to have 5 clinics in Addis that were approved to do the medical clearance on the children before they were cleared to come to the US, and now they've reduced that number to 2 clinics. There are probably hundreds of agencies working in Ethiopia to match families with children, and all of these children have to funnel through these 2 approved clinics. It can take weeks/months for children to get appointments at one of these clinics, which means there are many additional weeks that you have to wait before you can bring your children home. 


Please pray that the US Embassy would approve more clinics or that the clinics could somehow process these cases more quickly. It's a total bottleneck... families are passing court and then waiting months and months to be approved to bring their children home. The process used to be about 6 weeks to clear through embassy, and now some estimates are putting that number at 4 months. That's just too long. 


We're praying that God will surprise us with a really SHORT wait and that our two precious babies will be home in record time! And since every post needs a great picture, thank you Jackson family for these sweet blankets! We love them and are sure the boys will too!

A Letter to our Sons

Dear Boys,


We heard you loved the blocks we sent you! We are so happy to know that they made you happy! It gives us great joy to think of you smiling and playing with them. We wish we could be there to capture all those smiles and coos and first discoveries. 


We think of you and pray for you daily (and many times throughout the day)! We have prepared a room for you with two cribs, one for each of you, but close enough so you can still peek at each other. We have books that we can't wait to read to you and lots of toys for you to play with once you get home. 


I wish you knew how loved you are already. You have a huge family waiting for you to come home! You have grandparents ready to love and spoil you, aunts and uncles that are crazy about you, and lots of cousins to play with! You have a big church family that has been waiting with us to bring you home... you should have seen how happy they all were when we showed them your pictures! You, little boys, are very precious to us and to many others!


We hate to be away from you, but we know that you are not alone. Of course, you have each other, but you also have a heavenly father who has loved you from before you were even born! We know that He is caring for you and watching over you even now. 


Little boys, you belong to God. He created you and you are His, even though we get to borrow you for a short time to play the part of your mommy and daddy. And do you know how thankful we are that we get to be your mommy and daddy? Well, we just can't imagine anything better in the whole wide world!


We can't wait to come and get you, sweet babies, and we pray it will be soon!

Our Eclectic Nursery

We are so thankful that we got all of our nursery furniture donated to us from Don's cousin and my sister (who no longer needed them). Of course, I had a moment of wanting to pick out all of my own nursery furniture to create my "dream" nursery, especially after having to wait for so many years! But reality (and practicality) finally set in and I am happy that I was able to figure out how to arrange two very different (but beautiful) nursery sets in a way that I think is cute and cozy. And Don was happy that we probably saved close to a thousand dollars by not buying two cribs, a changing table, and a rocking chair (that made me happy, too- though it was definitely more his idea than mine).


Plus, all that really matters is getting those two sweet boys home and sleeping in their own little cribs!


These cuddle cloths were something I found in the clearance bin at the Land of Nod outlet. The crib bumpers also came from the Land of Nod outlet (so glad I bought two of them almost a year and a half ago when I had no idea if we'd even get twins!). The rest of the crib bedding was purchased on clearance at Target over the past few years. 

The window frames are from my grandma's house, the shutter I picked up on the side of the road and spray-painted, and the rest of the frames were either moved from other locations in the house or purchased at TJ Maxx. The little bamboo animals were also in the clearance bin at the outlet. 

Some gifts from my first shower last week. Thank you, friends!

Looking cheesey and posed... but happy with the final product!

And please excuse the price stickers that are still on some of the frames. Those darn stickers at TJ Maxx are impossible to get off! I just couldn't wait and go through the whole peeling, unsticking, goo-gone-ing, windex-ing process.


The bedding is on, the dresser is filled with little boy clothing, the toys are in the bins, the books are on the shelf- and we're ready for them to come home!